Religion has a well-documented relationship with mental health benefits and has consistently demonstrated an impact on several specific mental health concerns, including suicide, generally finding various religious facets to be inversely associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. More specifically, religion has been found to be associated with suicide in a number of ways, including decreased acceptance of suicide, decreased likelihood of suicidal thoughts, decreased likelihood of suicidal attempts, fewer suicide attempts, lower relative risk of suicide, lower suicide rate, and increased reasons for living. Several studies have proposed potential mediators (e.g., social support, locus of control, and substance abuse) of the relationship between religion and mental health, usually in non-clinical samples. The current study sought to examine the association between religious attendance and suicidal ideation using archival data of a clinical sample collected from the University of North Texas Psychology Clinic. Results from this sample revealed no evidence of mediation, instead suggesting a direct effect of religious attendance on suicidal ideation. Two mediation models demonstrated the effects of external locus of control and social support on suicidal ideation. These models are discussed in terms of their directionality, considering the extant research on these associations. Findings of the current study have implications for welcoming the incorporation of salient religious topics throughout treatment in mental health settings, including discussion of religious attendance among those clients who have identified religion as a personal value.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc699865 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Price, Samantha Danielle |
| Contributors | Callahan, Jennifer L., Cox, Randall J. (Randall Judd), Watkins, C. Edward, Jr. |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | vi, 43 pages : illustrations, Text |
| Rights | Public, Price, Samantha Danielle, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
Page generated in 0.0207 seconds