Master's Theses

Department

Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Abstract

As suicide becomes increasingly more prominent in the lives of people, research is being conducted to investigate causes, prevention, and even opinions on the topic. The impact of religious affiliation and religiosity on people’s acceptance of suicide was investigated in the current study. This was examined by using The Religious Commitment Inventory-10 (RCI-10; Worthington et al., 2003), the Semantic Differential Scale Attitudes Towards Suicidal Behavior (SEDAS; Jenner & Niesing, 2000), and the Proximity to Suicide Scale (PSS; self-constructed). Results indicated that a higher religiosity score was correlated with a more understanding viewpoint of an attempted/committed suicide. Results also showed that the closer someone is to an attempted/committed suicide, the more understanding they are of the attempt/committed suicide. However, it was found that there was no significant difference between the different religious affiliations regarding perception of suicide. Few studies—certainly not those carried out in the United States—address all four issues at once, therefore the current study fills a gap in the body of knowledge. The results of this study are important since suicide is stigmatized in many religions and because a large number of people in society experience suicidal thoughts.

Keywords

Religion, Suicide, Proximity to suicide, Perception of suicide

Advisor

Dr. Carol Patrick

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Document Type

Thesis

Rights

© The Author(s)

Comments

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