Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T02:10:03.179Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Religiosity is a protective factor against self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in Jewish adolescents: Findings from a nationally representative survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2020

B.H. Amit*
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel
A. Krivoy
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel
I. Mansbach-Kleinfeld
Affiliation:
Mental Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel
G. Zalsman
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
A.M. Ponizovsky
Affiliation:
Mental Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel
M. Hoshen
Affiliation:
Research Institute, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel
I. Farbstein
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ziv Medical Center, Safed, Israel Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
A. Apter
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel
A. Weizman
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel
G. Shoval
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel
*
*Corresponding author at: Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center, PO Box 102, 4910002 Petah Tikva, Israel. Tel.: +972 3 9258205; fax: +972 3 9241041. E-mail address: Dr.ben.amit@gmail.com (B.H. Amit).
Get access

Abstract

Purpose

Few studies have investigated the association between religiosity and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors specifically in adolescents, yielding inconsistent results. To date, no study has examined this relationship in a Jewish adolescent cohort.

Methods

Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors, as well as depression, were assessed in a nationally representative sample of Jewish adolescents (n = 620) and their mothers, using the Development and Well-Being Assessment Inventory (DAWBA) structured interview. Degree of religiosity was obtained by a self-report measure.

Results

Using multivariate analysis, level of religiosity was inversely associated with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (Wald χ2 = 3.95, P = 0.047), decreasing the likelihood of occurrence by 55% (OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.2–0.99), after adjusting for depression and socio-demographic factors. This model (adjusted R2 = 0.164; likelihood ratio χ2 = 7.59; df = 1; P < 0.047) was able to correctly classify 95.6% of the patients as belonging either to the high or low risk groups.

Conclusion

This is the first study demonstrating religiosity to have a direct independent protective effect against self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in Jewish adolescents. This finding has clinical implications regarding risk assessment and suicide prevention. Further research can potentially elucidate the complex relationship between religiosity, self-injury and suicide in this population.

Type
Original article
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bailey, W.T., Stein, L.B.Jewish affiliation in relation to suicide rates. Psychol Rep 1995;76(2):561562.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bonelli, R.M., Koenig, H.G.Mental disorders, religion and spirituality 1990 to 2010: a systematic evidence-based review. J Religion Health 2013;52(2):657673.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carli, V., Mandelli, L., Zaninotto, L., Iosue, M., Hadlaczky, G., Wasserman, D.et al.Serious suicidal behaviors: socio-demographic and clinical features in a multinational, multicenter sample. Nord J Psychiatry 2014;68(1):4452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chatters, L.M., Taylor, R.J., Lincoln, K.D., Nguyen, A., Joe, S.Church-based social support and suicidality among African Americans and Black Caribbeans. Arch Suicide Res 2011;15(4):337353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Colucci, E., Martin, G.Religion and spirituality along the suicidal path. Suicide Life Threat Behav 2008;38(2):229244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Wilde, E.J., Kienhorst, I.Suicide attempts in adolescence – “self-report” and “other-report”. Crisis 1995;16(2):5962. [5].CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dervic, K., Oquendo, M.A., Grunebaum, M.F., Ellis, S., Burke, A.K., Mann, J.J.Religious affiliation and suicide attempt. Am J Psychiatry 2004;161(12):23032308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Durkheim, E.Le suicide : étude de sociologie. Paris: F. Alcan; 1897. [xii, 462 p.].Google Scholar
Goodman, R., Ford, T., Richards, H., Gatward, R., Meltzer, H.The Development and Well-Being Assessment: description and initial validation of an integrated assessment of child and adolescent psychopathology. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2000;41(5):645655.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodman, A., Heiervang, E., Collishaw, S., Goodman, R.The “DAWBA bands” as an ordered-categorical measure of child mental health: description and validation in British and Norwegian samples. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2011;46(6):521532.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greening, L., Stoppelbein, L.Religiosity, attributional style, and social support as psychosocial buffers for African American and white adolescents’ perceived risk for suicide. Suicide Life Threat Behav 2002;32(4):404417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, B.E., Minino, A.M., Martin, J.A., Kochanek, K.D., Strobino, D.M., Guyer, B.Annual summary of vital statistics: 2005. Pediatrics 2007;119(2):345360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawton, K., van Heeringen, K.Suicide. Lancet 2009;373(9672):13721381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hilton, S.C., Fellingham, G.W., Lyon, J.L.Suicide rates and religious commitment in young adult males in Utah. Am J Epidemiol 2002;155(5):413419.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoffman, S., Marsiglia, F.F.The impact of religiosity on suicidal ideation among youth in central Mexico. J Religion Health 2014;53(1):255266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacobs, L.The Jewish religion: a companion. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press; 1995.[641 p.].Google Scholar
Jordan, K.D., Masters, K.S., Hooker, S.A., Ruiz, J.M., Smith, T.W.An interpersonal approach to religiousness and spirituality: implications for health and well-being. J Pers 201310.1111/jopy.12072 [Epub ahead of print].Google ScholarPubMed
Kaplan, S.J., Schoenberg, L.A.Defining suicide: importance and implications for Judaism. J Religion Health 1988;27(2):154156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kohn, R., Levav, I., Chang, B., Halperin, B., Zadka, P.Epidemiology of youth suicide in Israel. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1997;36(11):15371542.Google ScholarPubMed
Levav, I., Aisenberg, E.Suicide in Israel: cross-national comparisons. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1989;79(5):468473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loewenthal, K.M., MacLeod, A.K., Cook, S., Lee, M., Goldblatt, V.The suicide beliefs of Jews and Protestants in the UK: how do they differ?. Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci 2003;40(3):174181.Google ScholarPubMed
Lubin, G., Glasser, S., Boyko, V., Barell, V.Epidemiology of suicide in Israel: a nationwide population study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2001;36(3):123127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mansbach-Kleinfeld, I., Levinson, D., Farbstein, I., Apter, A., Levav, I., Kanaaneh, R.et al.The Israel Survey of Mental Health Among Adolescents: aims and methods?. Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci 2010;47(4):244253.Google ScholarPubMed
Maris, R.W., Berman, A.L., Silverman, M.M., Bongar, B.M.Comprehensive textbook of suicidology. New York: Guilford Press; 2000. [xxii, 650 p.].Google Scholar
Neeleman, J., Lewis, G.Suicide, religion, and socioeconomic conditions. An ecological study in 26 countries, 1990. J Epidemiol Community Health 1999;53(4):204210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neeleman, J., Halpern, D., Leon, D., Lewis, G.Tolerance of suicide, religion and suicide rates: an ecological and individual study in 19 Western countries. Psychol Med 1997;27(5):11651171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nisbet, P.A., Duberstein, P.R., Conwell, Y., Seidlitz, L.The effect of participation in religious activities on suicide versus natural death in adults 50 and older. J Nerv Ment Dis 2000;188(8):543546.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nkansah-Amankra, S.Adolescent suicidal trajectories through young adulthood: prospective assessment of religiosity and psychosocial factors among a population-based sample in the United States. Suicide Life Threat Behav 2013;43(4):439459.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nkansah-Amankra, S., Diedhiou, A., Agbanu, S.K., Agbanu, H.L., Opoku-Adomako, N.S., Twumasi-Ankrah, P.A longitudinal evaluation of religiosity and psychosocial determinants of suicidal behaviors among a population-based sample in the United States. J Affect Disord 2012;139(1):4051.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nock, M.K., Green, J.G., Hwang, I., McLaughlin, K.A., Sampson, N.A., Zaslavsky, A.M.et al.Prevalence, correlates, and treatment of lifetime suicidal behavior among adolescents: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement. JAMA Psychiatry 2013;70(3):300310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nonnemaker, J.M., McNeely, C.A., Blum, R.W.National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent H. Public and private domains of religiosity and adolescent health risk behaviors: evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Soc Sci Med 2003;57(11):20492054.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasic, D.T., Belik, S.L., Elias, B., Katz, L.Y., Enns, M., Sareen, J.et al.Spirituality, religion and suicidal behavior in a nationally representative sample. J Affect Disord 2009;114(1–3):3240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasic, D., Kisely, S., Langille, D.B.Protective associations of importance of religion and frequency of service attendance with depression risk, suicidal behaviours and substance use in adolescents in Nova Scotia, Canada. J Affect Disord 2011;132(3):389395.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rasic, D., Robinson, J.A., Bolton, J., Bienvenu, O.J., Sareen, J.Longitudinal relationships of religious worship attendance and spirituality with major depression, anxiety disorders, and suicidal ideation and attempts: findings from the Baltimore epidemiologic catchment area study. J Psychiatr Res 2011;45(6):848854.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silverman, M.M., Berman, A.L., Sanddal, N.D., O’Carroll, P.W., Joiner, T.E.Rebuilding the tower of Babel: a revised nomenclature for the study of suicide and suicidal behaviors. Part 2: suicide-related ideations, communications, and behaviors. Suicide Life Threat Behav 2007;37(3):264277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sveticic, J., De Leo, D.The hypothesis of a continuum in suicidality: a discussion on its validity and practical implications. Ment Illn 2012;4(2):7378. [Internet].CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taliaferro, L.A., Rienzo, B.A., Pigg, R.M. Jr., Miller, M.D., Dodd, V.J.Spiritual well-being and suicidal ideation among college students. J Am Coll Health 2009;58(1):8390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thompson, M.P., Ho, C.H., Kingree, J.B.Prospective associations between delinquency and suicidal behaviors in a nationally representative sample. J Adolesc Health 2007;40(3):232237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, R.L., Bishop, S.Examining a model of the relation between religiosity and suicidal ideation in a sample of African American and White college students. Suicide Life Threat Behav 2005;35(6):630639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wingate, L.R., Bobadilla, L., Burns, A.B., Cukrowicz, K.C., Hernandez, A., Ketterman, R.L.et al.Suicidality in African American men: the roles of southern residence, religiosity, and social support. Suicide Life Threat Behav 2005;35(6):615629.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organisation. Suicide rates (per 100,000), by gender and age, Israel, 2007. 2013. Available from http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/isra.pdf. [updated 19/12/2013].Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.