The role of psychological Well-being and religious spiritual struggles in explaining suicidal behaviors in Iranian adults

Religion and spirituality have been introduced as a protective or risk factor for suicidal behaviors from different perspectives, so studies need to address this issue. The present study examined the role of religious-spiritual struggles and psychological well-being in predicting suicidal behaviors in a sample of adults in western Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 407 adults from Kermanshah city, western Iran, between February and April 2024. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), the Religious and Spiritual Struggles (RSS) Scale, and the Psychological Well-Being (PWB) Questionnaire (18 items). Logistic regression analyses were used to identify predictors of suicidal behaviors. In the present study, 78 (19.2%) of the participants were included in the group with suicidal behaviors. The results of the main variables showed that higher PWB was associated with a lower chance of suicidal behavior (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.87-0.98, p-value = 0.007), and higher RSS were associated with a higher chance of suicidal behavior (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.08, p-value = 0.043). Women were approximately 2.5 times more likely to have suicidal behaviors than men (OR = 2.53, 95% CI: 1.37-5.92, p-value = 0.005). History of suicide attempt in family and friends was associated with 3 and 1.7 times chance of being in suicidal behavior group, respectively. The results of this study indicated that PWB was associated with a lower likelihood, while RSS was associated with a higher likelihood of suicidal behaviors among Iranian adults. Additionally, being female and having a history of suicide attempts in family and friends were related to an increased probability of suicidal behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of considering psychological and religious-spiritual factors in understanding the correlates of suicidal behaviors, although longitudinal studies are needed to examine causal relationships.