A Global Perspective on Religious Participation and Suicide

Although sociological research in the Durkheimian tradition has generally accepted that religious involvement protects against suicide, few studies have examined this theoretical proposition outside Western industrialized settings. Using multilevel models to analyze data from the World Health Organi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health and social behavior 2017-09, Vol.58 (3), p.322-339
Main Author: Hsieh, Ning
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Classical theory
Cross cultural studies
Cultural values
Drowning
Durkheim, Emile (1858-1917)
Female
Geographic regions
Global Health
Global perspective
Humans
Male
Mental health
Middle Aged
Mortality
Mortality rates
Multilevel
Multilevel models
Participation
Poisoning
Protective effects
Regional differences
Religion
Religiosity
Religious communities
Religious institutions
Religious participation
Sex Factors
Social Support
Socioeconomic Factors
Sociological research
Suicide
Suicide - psychology
Suicide rates
Underreporting
Young Adult
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Summary:Although sociological research in the Durkheimian tradition has generally accepted that religious involvement protects against suicide, few studies have examined this theoretical proposition outside Western industrialized settings. Using multilevel models to analyze data from the World Health Organization Mortality Database and the World Values Survey (1981-2007) across 42 countries in seven geographical-cultural regions, this study explores whether religious participation is more protective against suicide in some regions than others and, if so, why. Results indicate that while religious participation is protective in Latin America, eastern Europe, northern Europe, and English-speaking countries, it may aggravate the risk of suicide in East Asia, western Europe, and southern Europe. This regional variation is the result of differences in both the degree of integration/regulation of religious communities and suicide underreporting. Overall, the findings support the network perspective of Durkheim's classical theory and suggest that researchers should be more cautious about suicide underreporting in less industrialized settings.
ISSN:0022-1465
2150-6000
DOI:10.1177/0022146517715896