Religious involvement and depressive symptoms in primary care elders

• Published in: Psychological medicine Vol. 37; no. 12; pp. 1807 - 1815
• Main Authors: KING, D. A., LYNESS, J. M., DUBERSTEIN, P. R., HE, H., TU, X. M., SEABURN, D. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.12.2007
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; Culture; Depression; Depression - diagnosis; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - psychology; Depressive Disorder - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder - epidemiology; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Elderly people; Female; Geriatric Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Geriatric psychology; Humans; Interpersonal relationships; Linear Models; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Mood disorders; Older people; Personality Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data; Primary care; Primary Health Care; Psychological aspects; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Religion; Religion and Psychology; Religiosity; Religious activities; Social Support; Spirituality; Human; Mood disorder; Symptomatology; Primary health care; Religion; Depression; Elderly; Public health
• ISSN: 0033-2917; 1469-8978
• DOI: 10.1017/S0033291707000591

Multiple lines of evidence indicate relationships between religious involvement and depression, although the specific nature of the relationships is yet to be clarified. Moreover, there appear to be no well controlled longitudinal studies to date examining this issue in primary care elders. The authors assessed the linear and non-linear relationships between three commonly identified types of religious involvement and observer-rated depressive symptoms in 709 primary care elders assessed at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Cross-sectional analyses revealed a curvilinear, U-shaped association between depressive symptoms and organizational religious activity, an inverse linear relationship of depressive symptoms with private religious involvement, and a positive relationship of depressive symptoms with intrinsic religiosity. Longitudinal analyses revealed a U-shaped association between depressive symptoms and private religious involvement, such that those reporting moderate levels of private religiosity at baseline evidenced lower levels of depressive symptoms at 1-year follow-up than those reporting either high or low levels of private religious activity. The relationships between religious involvement and depression in primary care elders are complex and dependent on the type of religiosity measured. The authors found the strongest evidence for an association of non-organizational, private religious involvement and the severity of depressive symptoms, although further study is warranted using carefully controlled longitudinal designs that test for both linear and curvilinear relationships.