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A Qualitative Inquiry Into Religion and Spirituality in Suicide Attempts

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A Qualitative Inquiry Into Religion and Spirituality in Suicide Attempts University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2017 "Maybe Jesus Was Suicidal Too": A Qualitative Inquiry into Religion and Spirituality in Suicide Attempts Elizabeth Ryan Hall University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Psychology Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Hall, Elizabeth Ryan, ""Maybe Jesus Was Suicidal Too": A Qualitative Inquiry into Religion and Spirituality in Suicide Attempts" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1264. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1264 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. “Maybe Jesus Was Suicidal Too”: A Qualitative Inquiry Into Religion and Spirituality in Suicide Attempts __________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology Joint PhD Program University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________ by E. Ryan Hall June 2017 Advisor: Carrie Doehring Copyright © 2017 by E. Ryan Hall All Rights Reserved Author: E. Ryan Hall Title: “Maybe Jesus Was Suicidal Too”: A Qualitative Inquiry Into Religion and Spirituality in Suicide Attempts Advisor: Carrie Doehring Degree Date: June 2017 Abstract Among the current trends in suicidology that hold promise for suicide prevention are a focus on new areas for empirical exploration and the employment of creative methodologies to ascertain these phenomena. One such area is religion, along with its more enigmatic counterpart, spirituality. Suicidological research has long demonstrated that people who are religiously involved tend to be more protected from suicide than those who are not, yet it has been less attentive to the conditions under which religion or spirituality fails to inhibit suicidality. In the decades since Durkheim’s renowned 1897 study, the majority of the related research has taken a broadscale sociological approach using limited measures of religiosity rather than conducting more penetrating psychological investigations into the idiographic lived experiences of religion and spirituality as they intersect with suicidality. This narrative-phenomenological qualitative study probed the complex convergence of religion/spirituality and suicidality by taking as its central research question “What experiences have suicide attempters had with religion/spirituality over the course of their lives?” Eight adults across the US who have attempted suicide at least once participated in in-depth interviews about the role, if any, that religion and/or spirituality took before, during, and after the attempts. The data were coded according to categories derived from the interview questions and interpreted using a theoretical model of the religion-suicide relationship propounded by Whalley in 1964, specifically its propositions that religion can encourage, stymie, or have no effect on a ii person’s suicidality. The study participants’ narratives, arranged thematically, clearly point to religion/spirituality’s capacity to thwart suicidality but also to promote it, depending on when and what type of religion or spirituality was accessed relative to the suicide attempts. While life-limiting religiosity catalyzed or exacerbated six participants’ suicidality before their suicide attempts, life-giving spirituality has assuaged all eight’s continuing suicidality since their attempts. During the enactment of the suicide attempt, however, religion/spirituality was inconsequential for all eight. Based on these results, the author gives recommendations for further research and suggests spiritually integrated approaches to caregiving and clinical encounters with suicidal or potentially suicidal individuals. iii Acknowledgments This dissertation owes its existence most directly to 11 people: the three professors who have guided my doctoral adventure for its six-year duration, teaching and mentoring me, creating and grading my comprehensive exams, serving on my advising and dissertation committees, and giving me the supremely generous gifts of their time and wisdom: Drs. Carrie Doehring, Sandra Dixon, and Stacey Freedenthal; and the eight people who participated in this study and commended their phenomenal stories to my care. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. This project was also shaped by the other Iliff and DU professors in whose classrooms I experienced the spiritual bliss of learning, reflecting, thinking critically, and communing with brilliant people: Drs. Larry Graham, Jeffrey Mahan, Jason Whitehead, Kelly Arora, Katherine Turpin, Antony Alumkal, Theodore Vial, Frank Seeburger, Carl Raschke, Thomas Nail, and Jeanne Jacobs. Next, I owe a debt of gratitude to my fellow students and others affiliated with the marvelous JDP program: Hannah, Cari, Kerri, Paula, Shyamaa, Zachary, Shawn, Kahm, Joshua, Tom, Patrick, Andrew, Marc, Zoe, Rode, Teresa, Jamie, Stewart, Roshan, Dave, Elizabeth, Jared, Tracy, Melinda, and Scott, as well as Drs. Thomas Wolfe, Pamela Eisenbaum, Annette Stott, Rubén Arjona, and Kenneth Pargament. What a privilege it has been to know you! I would also like to acknowledge my loved ones who did not live to see me finish this degree; I carry you in my heart at all times. Finally, thank you to my tireless supporters: the good people of Littleton Adventist Hospital, my dearest friends, and my family, especially my mom, Denise Brand; dad, Dr. Wendell Hall; twin sister, Kimberly Ford; and partner, Matthew Henderson. You make my life worth living. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Introduction to the Issue .............................................................................................................. 1 Statement of Purpose, Research Question, and Anticipated Findings ......................................... 5 Research Approach ...................................................................................................................... 6 Significance and Expected Contributions .................................................................................... 7 Key Terms ................................................................................................................................... 7 Outline of Chapters .................................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 14 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 14 Literature Prior to 2000 ............................................................................................................. 15 Literature Since 2000................................................................................................................. 20 Research showing that religion guards against suicidality. ................................................... 22 Research showing religion exacerbates or has no effect on suicidality. ............................... 35 Religious/Spiritual Coping and Religious/Spiritual Struggles .................................................. 47 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................... 54 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 54 Rationale for Research Design and Particular Approach .......................................................... 55 Qualitative versus quantitative paradigms. ........................................................................... 55 The phenomena being investigated and existing research. ................................................... 56 Why qualitative. .................................................................................................................... 58 A phenomenological-narrative approach. ............................................................................. 61 Institutional Review Board Approval ........................................................................................ 64 Sampling and Recruitment ........................................................................................................ 65 The Participants ......................................................................................................................... 68 Data Collection .......................................................................................................................... 70 Data Synthesis and Analysis...................................................................................................... 73 Study Limitations and Trustworthiness ..................................................................................... 78 Confirmation bias and leading questions. ............................................................................
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