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Religiosity is a protective factor against self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in Jewish adolescents: Findings from a nationally representative survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2020

B.H. Amit ,
A. Krivoy ,
I. Mansbach-Kleinfeld ,
G. Zalsman ,
A.M. Ponizovsky ,
M. Hoshen ,
I. Farbstein ,
A. Apter ,
A. Weizman  and
G. Shoval
B.H. Amit*
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel
A. Krivoy
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel
I. Mansbach-Kleinfeld
Affiliation:
Mental Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel
G. Zalsman
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
A.M. Ponizovsky
Affiliation:
Mental Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel
M. Hoshen
Affiliation:
Research Institute, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel
I. Farbstein
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ziv Medical Center, Safed, Israel Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
A. Apter
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel
A. Weizman
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel
G. Shoval
Affiliation:
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center PO Box 102, 4910002Petah Tikva, Israel
*
*Corresponding author at: Research Unit, Geha Mental Health Center, PO Box 102, 4910002 Petah Tikva, Israel. Tel.: +972 3 9258205; fax: +972 3 9241041. E-mail address: [email protected] (B.H. Amit).
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Abstract

Purpose

Few studies have investigated the association between religiosity and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors specifically in adolescents, yielding inconsistent results. To date, no study has examined this relationship in a Jewish adolescent cohort.

Methods

Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors, as well as depression, were assessed in a nationally representative sample of Jewish adolescents (n = 620) and their mothers, using the Development and Well-Being Assessment Inventory (DAWBA) structured interview. Degree of religiosity was obtained by a self-report measure.

Results

Using multivariate analysis, level of religiosity was inversely associated with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (Wald χ2 = 3.95, P = 0.047), decreasing the likelihood of occurrence by 55% (OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.2–0.99), after adjusting for depression and socio-demographic factors. This model (adjusted R2 = 0.164; likelihood ratio χ2 = 7.59; df = 1; P < 0.047) was able to correctly classify 95.6% of the patients as belonging either to the high or low risk groups.

Conclusion

This is the first study demonstrating religiosity to have a direct independent protective effect against self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in Jewish adolescents. This finding has clinical implications regarding risk assessment and suicide prevention. Further research can potentially elucidate the complex relationship between religiosity, self-injury and suicide in this population.

Keywords

ReligionSelf-injurySuicideJewishAdolescentDepression
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 29 , Issue 8 , October 2014 , pp. 509 - 513
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2014

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