The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has updated its Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including with new information specifically addressed to individuals in the European Economic Area. As described in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, this website utilizes cookies, including for the purpose of offering an optimal online experience and services tailored to your preferences.

Please read the entire Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. By closing this message, browsing this website, continuing the navigation, or otherwise continuing to use the APA's websites, you confirm that you understand and accept the terms of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the utilization of cookies.

×
No Access

Religious coping and depression among elderly, hospitalized medically ill men

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.149.12.1693

OBJECTIVE: The investigators examined the frequency of religious coping among older medical inpatients, the characteristics of those who use it, and the relation between this behavior and depression. METHOD: The subjects were 850 men aged 65 years and over, without psychiatric diagnoses, who were consecutively admitted to the medical or neurological services of a southern Veterans Administration medical center. Religious coping was assessed with a three-item index. Depressive symptoms were assessed by self-rating (the Geriatric Depression Scale) and observer rating (the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression). RESULTS: One out of every five patients reported that religious thought and/or activity was the most important strategy used to cope with illness. Variables that were associated with religious coping included black race, older age, being retired, religious affiliation, high level of social support, infrequent alcohol use, a prior history of psychiatric problems, and higher cognitive functioning. Depressive symptoms were inversely related to religious coping, an association which persisted after other sociodemographic and health correlates were controlled. When 202 men were reevaluated during their subsequent hospital admissions an average of 6 months later, religious coping was the only baseline variable that predicted lower depression scores at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that religious coping is a common behavior that is inversely related to depression in hospitalized elderly men.

Access content

To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access.