Abstract
BackgroundSeveral past studies indicated that religious beliefs, orientation, and practice are protective of suicide. Findings from recent studies in China suggest that religiosity may contribute to increased suicidality. However, few studies have examined the associations between religious affiliation across different faiths and suicidality in China.ObjectiveThe current study examines the association between religious affiliation and suicidality among college students in six provinces in China.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study involving 11,407 college students from six universities in Ningxia, Shandong, Shanghai, Jilin, Qinghai, and Shaanxi. We collected the data between October 2017 and March 2018 using self-report questionnaires. They included self-report measures of depression, psychache, hopelessness, self-esteem, social support, and life purpose.ResultsParticipants with a Christian affiliation had 1.5 times (95% CI: 1.14, 1.99, p = 0.004) higher odds of indicating an elevated suicide risk, 3.1 times (95% CI: 1.90, 5.04, p<0.001) higher odds of indicating a previous suicide attempt, and increased overall suicidality (B = 0.105, p < 0.001) after accounting for demographic and risk/protective factors. Christians also scored the highest in depression, psychache, hopelessness, and the lowest social support, self-esteem, and purpose in life. Muslims reported decreased suicidality (B = -0.034, p = 0.031). Buddhism/Daoism yielded non-significant results in the multivariate analyses.ConclusionsChristian college students reported increased suicidality levels, perhaps due to public policies on religion. The decreased suicidality levels among Muslims may be attributed to higher perceived social support. The associations between religious affiliation and suicidality, depression, and hopelessness contrast sharply with US samples. This finding may be influenced by interactions between the religious denomination, individual, and social/political factors. This conclusion includes the possibility of anti-religious discrimination, which this paper did not investigate as a possible mediator and therefore remains a conjecture worthy of future investigation.
Highlights
Suicide is a leading cause of death in young people in the 15- to 29-years age bracket worldwide [1]
Participants with a Christian affiliation had 1.5 times higher odds of indicating an elevated suicide risk, 3.1 times higher odds of indicating a previous suicide attempt, and increased overall suicidality (B = 0.105, p < 0.001) after accounting for demographic and risk/protective factors
The associations between religious affiliation and suicidality, depression, and hopelessness contrast sharply with US samples. This finding may be influenced by interactions between the religious denomination, individual, and social/political factors
Summary
Suicide is a leading cause of death in young people in the 15- to 29-years age bracket worldwide [1]. A recent meta-analysis of 634,662 students by Mortier et al [2] found that the pooled prevalence of lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempts were 22.3% and 3.2%, respectively. In China, a study by Yang and colleagues [3] indicated that the pooled prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts among 88,225 college students was 2.8%, with the highest rates recorded among rural students (5.1%). The risk of lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among college students was higher than adults’ prevalence rates worldwide [4]. Religion and religiosity have been proposed to be protective factors for suicide since Emile Durkheim’s study, which revealed that Protestants reported higher suicide rates than Catholics in late 20th century Western Europe [5]. Few studies have examined the associations between religious affiliation across different faiths and suicidality in China
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