Further, for our purposes, the data on substance abuse may be confounded by the fact that the incidence of substance abuse among evangelical Christians is likely to be less than the general population, and possibly less in the subgroup of depressed or suicidal Christians. In evaluating the role of substance abuse as a risk factor or predictor of suicide with Christians, the following factors should be considered: • Present level of use • Length of abstinence • Level of temptation to use reported