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

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

Included in

Psychology Commons

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