Psychological distress and self-harm in a religiously diverse sample of Lebanese students

Assi, M, Maatouk, I and Jaspal, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8463-9519, 2020. Psychological distress and self-harm in a religiously diverse sample of Lebanese students. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 23 (7), pp. 591-605. ISSN 1367-4676

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Abstract

Drawing on identity process theory from social psychology, this study explores the protective and risk factors of psychological distress and self-harm in a religiously diverse sample of heterosexual and non-heterosexual students at an English-speaking university in Lebanon. A convenience sample of 209 undergraduate students participated in a cross-sectional survey and completed measures of religiosity, identity threat, psychological distress and self-harm. Results indicated that non-heterosexual participants exhibited higher levels of psychological distress, were more likely to report self-harm, and reported lower levels of religiosity than their heterosexual counterparts. The multiple regression analyses showed that religiosity is protective against psychological distress, and that sexual orientation distress predicts self-harm. In order to reduce the risk of psychological distress and self-harm, it will be necessary to challenge stigma towards sexual minorities, to promote engagement with a broader range of social identity categories (other than just religion), and to ensure that individuals of all faiths and sexualities in Lebanon are able to access counselling support if they require it.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Mental Health, Religion and Culture
Creators:	Assi, M., Maatouk, I. and Jaspal, R.
Publisher:	Routledge
Date:	2020
Volume:	23
Number:	7
ISSN:	1367-4676
Identifiers:	Number Type 1337499 Other 10.1080/13674676.2020.1788524 DOI
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	25 Jun 2020 08:16
Last Modified:	07 Sep 2021 03:00
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/40108

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