Parental belief in religious importance was associated with lower risk for suicidal behavior in offspring independent of an offspring’s own belief about religious importance and other known parental factors, such as parental depression, suicidal behavior, and divorce. This according to a recent study based on offspring (generation 3) from a 3-generation family study at New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University. The association between suicidal behaviors (ideation/attempts) and parental and offspring religiosity in generation 3 offspring aged 6 to 18 years was examined. Researchers found:

• Of 214 offspring, 112 (52.3%) were girls.
• Offspring religious importance was associated with a lower risk for suicidal behavior in girls but not in boys.
• Religious attendance was associated with a lower risk for suicidal behavior in girls but not boys.
• Parental religious importance was associated with a lower risk for offspring suicidal behavior but not parental religious attendance.
• When parental and offspring religious importance were considered simultaneously, there was a lower risk associated with parental religious importance independent of offspring importance.