Investigating the Status of Spiritual Health, Suppression of Thought and the Perceived Social Support in Suicidal Attempts

Background and Objective: The Suicide is a serious public health problem and the suicide attempt is one of the important indicators of mental health in different cultures. The purpose of this study was to compare the spiritual health, suppression of thought and social support in the suicidal subjects and normal people in Zanjan city. Materials and Methods: From the statistical population of suicide attempters who referred to Vali-e- Asr and Ayatollah Mousavi hospitals in Zanjan, 84 subjects were selected through the available sampling method. In the control group, 84 subjects were selected from the individuals homogeneous to suicidal group. Ellison and Palutzin Spiritual Health Questionnaire, White Bear Suppression Checklist and Social Support were used for data collection. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using the t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The results showed that the mental health and its components, suppression of thought, social support and its components in the suicidal group had a significant difference comparing to controls (P <0.001), in a way that the spiritual health and its components, as well as social support and its components in the group attempting suicide were lower, but suppression of thought was high in the suicide attempters than in controls. Conclusion: According to the findings, it can be concluded that enjoying high spiritual health and high social support can be a protective factors against the suicide attempt. But the use of oppressive thought seems to play a role in suicidal attempts.