Am J Psychiatry 160:496-503, March 2003
© 2003 American Psychiatric Association
Dimensions of Religiosity and Their Relationship to Lifetime Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders
Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D.,
Xiao-Qing Liu, M.D., M.S.,
Charles O. Gardner, Ph.D.,
Michael E. McCullough, Ph.D.,
David Larson, M.D., M.S.P.H., and
Carol A. Prescott, Ph.D.
OBJECTIVE: The role of religion in mental illness remains understudied. Most prior investigations of this relationship have used measures of religiosity that do not reflect its complexity and/or have examined a small number of psychiatric outcomes. This study used data from a general population sample to clarify the dimensions of religiosity and the relationships of these dimensions to risk for lifetime psychiatric and substance use disorders. METHOD: Responses to 78 items assessing various aspects of broadly defined religiosity were obtained from 2,616 male and female twins from a general population registry. The association between the resulting religiosity dimensions and the lifetime risk for nine disorders assessed at personal interview was evaluated by logistic regression. Of these disorders, five were "internalizing" (major depression, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and bulimia nervosa), and four were "externalizing" (nicotine dependence, alcohol dependence, drug abuse or dependence, and adult antisocial behavior). RESULTS: Seven factors were identified: general religiosity, social religiosity, involved God, forgiveness, God as judge, unvengefulness, and thankfulness. Two factors were associated with reduced risk for both internalizing and externalizing disorders (social religiosity and thankfulness), four factors with reduced risk for externalizing disorders only (general religiosity, involved God, forgiveness, and God as judge), and one factor with reduced risk for internalizing disorders only (unvengefulness). CONCLUSIONS: Religiosity is a complex, multidimensional construct with substantial associations with lifetime psychopathology. Some dimensions of religiosity are related to reduced risk specifically for internalizing disorders, and others to reduced risk specifically for externalizing disorders, while still others are less specific in their associations. These results do not address the nature of the causal link between religiosity and risk for illness.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
M. Cutting, W. N. Grosch, and J. Browning
Psychiatrists and Religious Belief
Psychiatr Serv,
November 1, 2007;
58(11):
1499 - 1500.
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Bjarnason
Concept Analysis of Religiosity
Home Health Care Management Practice,
August 1, 2007;
19(5):
350 - 355.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. K. Boehnlein
Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatric Care: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
Transcultural Psychiatry,
December 1, 2006;
43(4):
634 - 651.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. B. Murray-Swank, A. Lucksted, D. R. Medoff, Y. Yang, K. Wohlheiter, and L. B. Dixon
Religiosity, Psychosocial Adjustment, and Subjective Burden of Persons Who Care for Those With Mental Illness
Psychiatr Serv,
March 1, 2006;
57(3):
361 - 365.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C.-Y. Chen, C. M. Dormitzer, J. Bejarano, and J. C. Anthony
Religiosity and the Earliest Stages of Adolescent Drug Involvement in Seven Countries of Latin America
Am. J. Epidemiol.,
June 15, 2004;
159(12):
1180 - 1188.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
Get information about faster international access.
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2003
American Psychiatric Association.
All rights reserved.
Home
| Search
| Current Issue
| Past Issues
| Subscribe
| All APPI Journals
| Help
| Contact Us
|
