(RNS) A survey of U.S. military members has found that approximately 50% of men and 70% of women use prayer among the coping mechanisms used to deal with stress.

Overall, 53 percent said they said a prayer as a means of coping.

Researchers found that military personnel with high levels of religious or spiritual interests were much less likely than others to perceive “a lot” of stress in their family. They also found that those with high spirituality or religiosity were much less likely than those with low levels of faith to say they had seriously considered suicide in the year before the survey.