Religious practices, beliefs, and mental health: variations across ethnicity.

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  • Author(s): Sternthal MJ;Sternthal MJ; Williams DR; Musick MA; Buck AC
  • Source:
    Ethnicity & health [Ethn Health] 2012; Vol. 17 (1-2), pp. 171-85. Date of Electronic Publication: 2012 Feb 01.
  • Publication Type:
    Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Informa Healthcare Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9608374 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1465-3419 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 13557858 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Ethn Health Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: London : Informa Healthcare
      Original Publication: Abingdon, Oxfordshire ; Cambridge, MA : Carfax, c1996-
    • Subject Terms:
      Culture* ; Mental Health* ; Philosophy* ; Religion* ; Religion and Psychology*; Ethnicity/*psychology; Black or African American ; Analysis of Variance ; Chicago ; Confidence Intervals ; Ethnicity/statistics & numerical data ; Hispanic or Latino ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Multivariate Analysis ; Psychometrics ; Self Report ; Social Support ; Statistics as Topic ; United States ; White People
    • Abstract:
      Objectives: We examined whether Black Americans and Hispanic Americans experienced greater mental health benefits from religious involvement than White Americans, and whether these benefits would be mediated through three psychosocial factors--social support, meaning, and forgiveness.
      Methods: Utilizing data from a probability sample of Chicago-based adults (n=3103), ethnicity-stratified multivariate regression models estimated the association of religiosity with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and major depressive disorder (MDD). Models controlled for potential confounders and psychosocial mediators.
      Results: Contrary to our hypotheses, religiously involved Black Americans and Hispanic Americans did not experience greater mental health benefits than their White counterparts. For White Americans alone, service attendance was inversely related to depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and MDD. Religious saliency was consistently associated with worse mental health for Hispanic Americans only. However, both meaning and forgiveness conferred mental health benefits for all three groups.
      Conclusions: The benefits of specific aspects of religious involvement vary across ethnicity. Caution is necessary in any effort to bring religion into the health domain. Our findings, if replicated, suggest that initiatives that facilitate a sense of purpose or forgiveness are likely to prove promising in improving mental health, regardless of race or ethnicity.
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    • Grant Information:
      T32 MH016806 United States MH NIMH NIH HHS; P50 HD038986-05 United States HD NICHD NIH HHS; T32 MH016806-25 United States MH NIMH NIH HHS; HD050467 United States HD NICHD NIH HHS; R01 HD050467 United States HD NICHD NIH HHS; R01 HD050467-03 United States HD NICHD NIH HHS; 5T32 MH16806 United States MH NIMH NIH HHS; HD38986 United States HD NICHD NIH HHS; P50 HD038986 United States HD NICHD NIH HHS
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20120203 Date Completed: 20120814 Latest Revision: 20221207
    • Publication Date:
      20221213
    • Accession Number:
      PMC3319248
    • Accession Number:
      10.1080/13557858.2012.655264
    • Accession Number:
      22296590