Association between sexual attraction and suicide risk: the mediating role of spirituality

ABSTRACT The present study’s main objective was to evaluate the mediating role of spirituality in the relationship between sexual attraction and suicide risk. A cross-sectional study was designed for students’ participation from colleges and universities in Barranquilla, Bogotá, and Villavicencio, Colombia. Sexual attraction was investigated using one question with six response options: opposite-sex attraction (OSA) and sexual minorities young (SMY), and with scales, suicide risk (Plutchik Suicide Risk Scale), and spirituality (three items). Three thousand and sixty four young people between 14 and 24 years old participated (M = 16.8, SD = 2.2); 61% were women. The group of SMY participants showed higher scores in suicide risk than the participants OSA. The OSA group showed greater spirituality than the SMY group. Spirituality mediated the relationship between sexual attraction and suicide risk, both in men and women, even after controlling for age. New research is needed in Colombian youth.