Association between Religiosity and Suicide Risk in Young Adults: A Study Centered on Hindu Culture

Abstract

Aim/Objective: Increasing suicide rate has become a major problem worldwide. Religiosity has been an extensively studied factor that is believed to impact suicide by many researchers. Due to inconsistent findings and lack of research in this field, this study tries to find the association between religiosity and suicide risk while also studying the association of suicide risk with five major dimension of religiosity. It also tries to find gender differences in religiosity and suicide risk. Methods: The sample consisted of 116 Hindus between the ages of 18-25. The data was collected both in offline and online mode. Hindi adaptation of Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS) and Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire (Revised) were used to collect the data. Results: Findings suggest a negligible correlation between religiosity and suicide. No significant gender difference was found in religiosity and suicide risk. Conclusion: The data found no significant association between religiosity and suicide risk in Hindus. Possible reasons include a tolerant view of suicide, multicultural influences, and diverse religious denominations. Further research is needed to understand these findings and improve coping methods for at-risk populations.