How Religion and Spirituality Impact Mental Health and Mental Help-Seeking Behavior in Arctic Norway: an Epidemiological Study Adopting the SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey

• Main Author: Kiærbech, Henrik
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: UiT The Arctic University of Norway 2024
• Subjects: Sámi; religion; spirituality; mental health; mental health-services utilization; mental health-services satisfaction; DOKTOR-003; Arctic; Norway; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health; North Norway
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33609

Objectives: Most international studies have shown that religion and spirituality (R/S) are related to better mental health, yet the Indigenous Sámi—being more committed to R/S than the majority population in the area—have poorer mental health and are more inclined toward suicidal behavior. Laestadianism—an important R/S factor for these people and this region—is related to poorer mental health and violence exposure. Among the Sámi, mental disorders are often believed to represent punishment from God or evil spirits sent by other persons, and traditional healing is commonly used against mental health problems in this area. The current study explored the relationship between R/S, ethnicity, suicidal behavior, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in the mixed Sámi and Norwegian adult population of Arctic Norway, as well as the association between R/S and help-seeking behavior in this context. Methods: This study used cross-sectional data from the population-based SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey (2012; n = 11,222; 34% Sámi affiliation; 22% Laestadian affiliation) in mixed Sámi-Norwegian areas of Mid and North Norway. The associations between R/S factors, suicidal behavior, NSSI, mental health-service use, and satisfaction were analyzed. Multivariate-adjusted regression models and mediation analyses considering sociodemographics and other risk factors were applied. Results: When adjusting for Sámi ethnicity, sociodemographic, and other risk factors, religious attendance was significantly associated with no suicide ideation, NSSI, or psychological distress, whereas Laestadian family background was associated with no suicide attempts. Religious attendance was associated with no past-year use of mental health services. Conclusions: R/S is not associated with poorer mental health in the Sámi and Norwegian populations of Arctic Norway. On the contrary, religious participation seems to buffer psychological distress and protect against poorer mental health in these areas, and is probably connected to the effect of received or ...