Suicide acceptability and religious well-being: A comparative analysis in African American suicide attempters and non-attempters

This study was designed to examine the relationship between suicide acceptability and religious well-being, and to investigate the differences that may exist between African American suicide attempters and non-attempters on these two concepts. Two hundred low-income, African Americans were administered self-report questionnaires measuring suicide acceptability and religious wellbeing. Findings indicated that suicide acceptability was negatively related to religious well-being for both suicide attempters and non-attempters. There was also a significant difference between these two groups on suicide acceptability and religious wellbeing. Results were consistent with previous research that suggests that African Americans who attempt suicide endorse higher levels of suicide acceptability and lower levels of religious wellbeing than do their nonattempter counterparts. These findings have important implications for culturally-competent community programming and community mental health programs that serve low-income ethnic minority populations.