The relationship between Suicide attempt and religious orientation among soldiers

One of the psychological traumas in the mental health field is suicidal behavior. Commitment to religious beliefs plays an important role in the prevention of suicidal behaviors. The aim of this study was to reveal the relationship between suicide attempt and religious orientation among soldiers in a Iranian military organizations.
In this descriptive-correlational study¡ 1659 soldiers were selected from military organizations of 6 province by multi-phase cluster random sampling. Study instruments included Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI) and religious orientation criteria. Data was analyzed by using statistical methods¡ correlation¡ t-test of independent groups¡ and chi-square methods.
Results showed that suicide attempt among the two groups was 5.7%. Also the results showed that there was a significant deference between the soldiers with precedent suicide attempt and those with no precedent suicide attempt¡ in terms of scores of religious (Islamic) orientation questionnaire. Furthermore¡ the results showed that there is a difference between suicide attempters in terms of religious orientation. Soldiers with strong religious orientation less likely commit suicide¡ compared with soldiers with weak religious orientation.
According to the results of this research¡ we can conclude that there is a relationship between religious orientation and suicide attempt. Furthermore¡ the levels of religious orientation are also different in soldiers with precedent suicide attempt. Therefore instilling religious beliefs and strengthening religious orientation in young soldiers¡ is effective in reducing suicide behavior.