Jewish Men Are Less Likely To Commit Suicide

Recent findings published in the journal European Psychiatry shows that Jewish Men are less likely to commit suicide.

"Death by suicide is one of the most common causes of death in the adolescent population, and it is potentially preventable," said Dr. Ben Amit of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine and Clalit Health Service's Geha Mental Health Center, in a news release. "This has led us, like many other researchers, to try to better understand the reasons leading to adolescent suicide - to reduce its occurrence."

Furthermore, findings revealed that about 45 percent of Jewish teenagers were less likely to exhibit suicidal behaviors, potentially based on religious beliefs--and particularly when compared to secular counterparts.

"Using statistical tools, we demonstrated that the protective effect of the practice of Judaism was not associated with a decreased risk of depression. Instead, it enhanced effective coping mechanisms," Amit explained. "This stands in direct contrast to studies of religious Christian teenagers who reported feeling less depressed than their secular peers. According to our study, religious Jewish teens appear less likely than secular ones to be at risk of suicide even though they are still likely to be depressed."

"For many of these teens, suicide is simply about losing hope," co-researcher Dr. Gal Shoval concluded. "We know from working with suicide survivors that even when they were 99 percent sure they were going to kill themselves, they still sought hope. Jewish faith and community may be their most important source of hope."