Religion and suicide risk in lesbian, gay and bisexual Austrians.
Religion is known to be a protective factor against suicide. However, religiously affiliated sexual minority individuals often report a conflict between religion and sexual identity. Therefore, the protective role of religion against suicide in sexual minority people is unclear. We investigated the effect of religion on suicide risk in a sample of 358 lesbian, gay and bisexual Austrians. Religion was associated with higher scores of internalized homophobia, but with fewer suicide attempts. Our data indicate that religion might be both a risk and a protective factor against suicidality in religiously affiliated sexual minority individuals.
Suicide Prevention Research Program, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria, k.kralovec@salk.at.
Karl
K
Kralovec
Clemens
C
Fartacek
Reinhold
R
Fartacek
Martin
M
Plöderl
D000328:Adult; D001317:Austria; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D063509:Homophobia / Q000523:psychology; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D065840:Protective Factors; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012306:Risk; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data