Spirituality and Psychological Well-being as Buffers of Suicide Probability among Selected Young Filipino Gay Men and Lesbian Women

Abstract

Suicide is a serious health concern worldwide making it the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults. Among those at-risk for suicide are lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth, who are reported to be more likely to exhibit suicide behavior than their heterosexual counterparts. LGB-specific stressors, known as sexual minority stress, cause this health disparity. However, majority of studies on LGB youth focus on the risk factors of suicide despite the need for more research on protective factors. This study addresses the gap in the literature by looking into how spirituality, an overlooked protective factor in sexual minority, and psychological well-being can buffer suicide behavior among 109 lesbians and 191 gay Filipino youth. Utilizing the cross-sectional predictive research design, a total of 300 respondents completed the Suicide Probability Scale, Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale – Revised and Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Wellbeing. Results revealed that psychological well-being and spirituality are negatively correlated with suicidality. Moreover, stepwise regression indicated that both psychological well-being and spirituality predict suicide behavior separately, but only psychological well-being has a predictive relationship with suicide behavior when both variables co-occur. Implications of these results are discussed.