The Relationship between Religiosity and Suicidal Tendencies in Muslim University Students in Durban , South Africa

Despite international studies and evidence into religion’s protective mechanism against suicidal tendencies, within South Africa there has been a lack of research investigating this relationship. This quantitative study investigates the relationship between religiosity and suicidal tendencies in a sample of Muslim students (N=111) at tertiary institutions in the greater Durban area. Two scales were used to test the hypothesis: the Religious Orientation Test (ROT) to measure religiosity and the Multi-Attitudinal Suicidal Tendency Scale (MAST) to measure suicidal tendencies (attitudes to suicide). Demographic information in terms of gender was obtained to determine if there were gender differences. It was found that in this sample there were no gender differences between variables and that a high degree of religiosity acts as a protective mechanism against suicidal tendencies.