Exploring Suicidal Ideation among Psychiatric Patients: Predictive Role of Personality Traits and Religiosity

Abstract

Background. Suicidal behavior is among one of the leading causes of death which may be aresult of suicidal ideations. Biological and environmental factors are said to influence thespectrum of suicidal ideation from passive thoughts about death to active plans to take life.Therefore, the present research aimed at examining the predictive association of personality traitsand religiosity with suicidal ideation among patients diagnosed with different psychiatricdisorders.Method. The sample consisted of 210 psychiatric patients diagnosed with Substance AbuseDisorder (n = 88), Major Depression (n = 84), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (n = 38) with amean age of 26.84 years. The participants filled in Urdu-version of the Sahin-Francis Scale ofAttitude toward Islam, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Beck Scale for SuicidalIdeation.Results. The results divulged positive relation of suicidal ideation with neuroticism andpsychoticism and negative relation of suicidal ideation with extraversion, social conformity, andreligiosity. Further, neuroticism emerged as significant predictor of suicidal ideation followed byextraversion and psychoticism. The direction of prediction was in line with correlation.Conclusion. The findings provide substantive implications for suicide prevention through theidentification and evaluation of individuals with a higher risk for engaging in suicide ideation aswell as highlighting the role of personality and religious attitudes for consideration in futurestrategies for the prevention of suicide.