Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Psychology
Date of Award
5-2019
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Jameson K. Hirsch
Committee Members
Andrea D. Clements, Diana Morelen
Abstract
Suicide is a national public health concern, and college students may be at increased risk. Symptoms of psychopathology (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression) may contribute to risk, whereas religiosity (i.e., religious attendance, surrendering to God, and feeling forgiven by God) may reduce risk. Students from a rural southeastern university (N=249) completed self-report measures. Serial mediation analyses indicate that attendance and surrender to God are inversely- predictive of suicide risk, both directly and through the indirect pathways of feeling forgiven by God (1st order mediator) and psychopathology (2nd order mediators). In all models, specific indirect effects occurred through feeling forgiven by God, suggesting the importance of relational aspects of religiosity. Our novel findings highlight mechanisms of action linking religiosity to suicide risk, and may provide direction for therapeutic intervention (e.g., psycho- education regarding religious involvement, fostering feelings of forgiveness) to reduce psychopathology and suicidality in the collegiate population.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Pugh, Kelley, "Religious Attendance, Surrender to God, and Suicide Risk: Mediating Pathways of Feeling Forgiven by God and Psychopathology" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3535. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3535
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.