Is Religious Coping a Protective Factor, and for Whom? A Moderation and Subgroup Analysis on Loneliness and Suicide Attempts Among LGBTQ+ Adults Raised as Latter-Day Saints.

introductionLGBTQ+ adults face elevated rates of loneliness and suicide attempts, yet little research has examined whether religious coping-a protective factor for people generally-effectively mitigates these risks for LGBTQ+ adults raised in theologically conservative, cis/heteronormative religious traditions.

methodThis longitudinal study examined whether religious coping moderates the relationship between loneliness and suicide attempts among 369 LGBTQ+ adults who at some point in their lives were part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a notably cis/heteronormative tradition, across levels of immoral views of same-sex sexuality and demographic subgroups.

resultsContrary to expectations, religious coping generally exacerbated rather than buffered the loneliness-suicide relationship, with greater religious coping strengthening the loneliness-suicide relationship among White and transgender/gender-diverse adults. Religious coping buffered the impact of loneliness on suicide attempts only for adults of Color and non-religious adults.

conclusionThese findings challenge assumptions about the universal benefits of religious coping for LGBTQ+ adults raised LDS, suggesting that suicide prevention research should assess individuals' views of the morality of same-sex sexuality rather than promoting religious coping universally, as this may inadvertently increase risk for certain LGBTQ+ adults in similarly theologically conservative religious contexts.