Is religion beneficial for mental health? A 9-year longitudinal study

IF 5.3 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology Pub Date : 2024-07-01 DOI:10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100491

Gabriele Prati

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Abstract

Background/Objective

This study aimed to investigate the within-person and between-person effects of religious variables on mental health and vice versa.

Method

Using a large sample of adults residing in Germany from the GESIS Panel study (N = 8146), the random intercept cross-lagged panel model was used. Data on six dimensions of religion (i.e., membership in a religious community; attendance at a place of worship; frequency of prayers; importance of religion in life; and participation in a religious organization) and three indicators of mental health (i.e., depression symptoms, happiness, and life satisfaction) were collected.

Results

The findings revealed that there is almost no evidence of lagged effects of religion on mental health and limited evidence regarding the role of mental health in influencing the dimensions of religion. Moreover, at the between-person level, there was some evidence of significant covariance between the trait-like components, indicating stable, trait-like differences between persons on religion and mental health.

Conclusions

The beneficial effect of religion on mental health may have been exaggerated in previous research.

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宗教有益于心理健康吗？一项为期 9 年的纵向研究

本研究旨在探讨宗教变量对心理健康的人内效应和人际效应，反之亦然。研究使用了 GESIS 面板研究（= 8146）中居住在德国的成年人大样本，采用了随机截距交叉滞后面板模型。研究收集了六个方面的宗教数据（即宗教团体成员身份、礼拜场所出席率、祈祷频率、宗教在生活中的重要性和宗教组织参与度）和三个心理健康指标（即抑郁症状、幸福感和生活满意度）。研究结果表明，几乎没有证据表明宗教对心理健康有滞后效应，而关于心理健康在影响宗教因素方面所起作用的证据也很有限。此外，在人与人之间，有证据表明特质类成分之间存在显著的协方差，这表明人与人之间在宗教和心理健康方面存在稳定的特质类差异。以往的研究可能夸大了宗教对心理健康的有益影响。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

10.70

自引率

5.70%

发文量

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology is dedicated to publishing manuscripts with a strong emphasis on both basic and applied research, encompassing experimental, clinical, and theoretical contributions that advance the fields of Clinical and Health Psychology. With a focus on four core domains—clinical psychology and psychotherapy, psychopathology, health psychology, and clinical neurosciences—the IJCHP seeks to provide a comprehensive platform for scholarly discourse and innovation. The journal accepts Original Articles (empirical studies) and Review Articles. Manuscripts submitted to IJCHP should be original and not previously published or under consideration elsewhere. All signing authors must unanimously agree on the submitted version of the manuscript. By submitting their work, authors agree to transfer their copyrights to the Journal for the duration of the editorial process.