Background: This study investigated the rate of suicidal intention and its relationship with the features of religious involvement in a non-clinical sample of the adult population exposed to the L'Aquila earthquake.
Methods: The study population was composed of 426 people who had experienced the earthquake (188 males and 238 females). For comparison, 522 people were recruited from nearby unaffected areas. The sample was investigated for suicidal intention screening, distinguishing Suicidal Screen-Negative (SSN) subjects from Positive (SSP) subjects. Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) and Impact of Event Scale (IES) assessments were administered.
Results: More SSP subjects were observed in the population exposed to the earthquake (Odds Ratio 3.54). A higher proportion of females showed suicidal ideation. Multivariate analysis showed overall significance for the between-subject factor. Univariate F tests for each BMMRS variable that contributed to significant overall effect showed that negative spiritual coping was significantly different. No differences were observed for IES scores between the two groups, but correlations with negative spiritual coping were found.
Limitations: The samples are relatively small and data are based on self-reports.
Conclusions: Negative religious coping such as expression of conflict and doubt regarding matters of faith, as well as a feeling of being punished or abandoned by God, can prevail in response to prolonged stress without relief, as was experienced by the population exposed to the earthquake. These features are more associated with suicide ideation. Degree of religious affiliation and commitment examination by mental health practitioners can be useful when suicidal ideation is investigated.
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