@article{10272/28067,
year = {2026},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10272/28067},
abstract = {Suicidal behaviors constitute a major global public health problem, with sexual minority groups showing a higher risk of engaging in such behaviors. This study aimed to analyze the influence of hopelessness, life satisfaction, and spirituality on suicide risk according to self-reported sexual orientation. A total of 532 individuals participated (M = 31.15 years, SD=12.002). Of these, 39.8% identified as heterosexual, 34.2% as gay or lesbian individuals, and 25.9% as bisexual. Participants were assessed using the Plutchik Suicide Risk Scale, Beck’s Hopelessness Scale, the Beliefs and Values Scale, and Diener’s Satisfaction with Life
Scale. The results indicate that 52.9% of bisexual participants and 41.2% of gay and lesbian participants presented a high suicide risk, compared with 15.6% of heterosexual participants. Individuals with a high suicide risk reported higher levels of hopelessness (p < 0.001), lower levels of life satisfaction (p < 0.001), and similar levels of spirituality. The proportion of variance explained in suicide risk was 42.8% among bisexual participants, 34.2% among gay and lesbian participants, and 29.9% among heterosexual participants. Hopelessness predicted a similar proportion of across groups (β = 0.446 in heterosexuals, β = 0.447 in gays and lesbians, and β = 0.457 in bisexuals). Life satisfaction showed a protective predictive effect, with β = −0.241 in bisexual participants, followed by gay and lesbian participants (β = −0.186) and heterosexual participants (β = −0.137). Spirituality was significant only among gay and lesbian participants (β = 0.133) and bisexual participants (β = 0.214). Sexual minority groups exhibited a higher risk of suicide, with life satisfaction—but not
spirituality—acting as a protective factor},
organization = {This work has been funded in part thanks to the support of EPIT-University of HuelvaSpain (University of Huelva Research and Transfer Policy Strategy 2026-EPIT Acronym in Spanish) to the CTS-980 (Annual financial assistance to the Research Group) Research Group and by the support of the Centre for Research in Contemporary Thought and Innovation for Social Development (COIDESO) at the University of Huelva (Huelva, Spain). (Financial Support for Translation).},
publisher = {MDPI},
keywords = {Suicide},
keywords = {Sexual orientation},
keywords = {Hopelessness},
keywords = {Life satisfaction},
keywords = {Spirituality},
keywords = {Religiosity},
keywords = {Gay},
keywords = {Lesbian},
keywords = {Heterosexuality},
keywords = {Bisexuality},
title = {Sexual orientation and suicide risk: Examining the contributions of hopelessness, life satisfaction, and spirituality},
doi = {10.3390/bs16030406},
author = {Arbinaga, Félix and Durán Andrada, Jara and Fuentes Méndez, Cristina and Flores Pérez, Manuel and Romero Pérez, Nehemías and Torres Rosado, Lidia and Bernal López, Miriam},
}