title: Religiosity and Impulsivity in Mental Health: Is There a Relationship?
abstract: Our aim is to evaluate the relationship between religiosity and impulsivity in patients with mental illness who had attempted suicide and in healthy individuals. This is a cross-sectional study that included 61 healthy individuals and 93 patients. The instruments used were a sociodemographic data questionnaire, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and the Duke University Religion Index. The healthy individuals presented higher scores in the religiosity domains (organizational, p = 0.028; non-organizational, p = 0.000; intrinsic, p = 0.000). The patients presented higher scores in the impulsivity dimensions (attentional, p = 0.000; motor, p = 0.000; absence of planning, p = 0.000). In the patient group, intrinsic religiosity had a significant inverse relationship with total impulsivity (p = 0.023), attentional (p = 0.010), and absence of planning (p = 0.007), even after controlling for sociodemographic variables. Healthy individuals were more religious and less impulsive than patients. The relationship between religiosity, impulsiveness, and mental illness could be bidirectional; that is, just as mental illness might impair religious involvement, religiosity could diminish the expression of mental illness and impulsive behaviors.
authors.affiliation: *Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program (CETHA), University Hospital; †Programa de Pós-graduação em Medicina e Saúde (PPgMS); and ‡Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.
authors.forename: André C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Caribé
authors.forename: Marlos Fernando Vasconcelos
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Davi Félix Martins
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Junior
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Studart
authors.forename: Lucas C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Quarantini
authors.forename: Nicolau
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Guerreiro
authors.forename: Ângela
authors.initials: Â
authors.lastname: Miranda-Scippa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011041:Poisoning / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult