Religious Coping, Hopelessness, and Suicide Ideation in Subjects with First-EpisodeMajor Depression: An Exploratory Study in the RealWorld Clinical Practice

Religious Coping, Hopelessness, and Suicide Ideation<br> in Subjects with First-EpisodeMajor Depression:<br> An Exploratory Study in the RealWorld Clinical Practice Abstract: Background. This study aimed to evaluate the potential relationships between religious<br> coping, hopelessness, and suicide ideation in adult outpatients with the first episode of major<br> depressive disorder (MDD). Methods. Ninety-four adult outpatients with MDD were assessed<br> through the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the<br> Scale of Suicide Ideation (SSI). Religious coping was assessed with the Italian version of the Brief<br> RCOPE scale, consisting of seven positive coping items (PosCop) and seven negative coping items<br> (NegCop). Results. The results showed that the Brief RCOPE PosCop scale exhibited a strong inverse<br> correlation with HAM-D, BHS, and SSI, whereas HAM-D and BHS were positively correlated with<br> SSI. Brief RCOPE NegCop scores were positively correlated only with SSI. Regression analysis with<br> SSI as the dependent variable showed that higher Brief RCOPE PosCop scores were associated with<br> lower suicide ideation, whereas higher HAM-D and BHS scores were associated with higher suicide<br> ideation. Conclusion. Positive religious coping may be a protective factor against the development of suicide ideation, perhaps counteracting the severity of depressive symptoms and hopelessness.<br> The evaluation of religious coping should be performed in all subjects with MDD in everyday clinical<br> practice. However, this study was preliminary, and limitations must be considered.