 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Mary Waterman, MPH, Health Policy, Arthritis Foundation, 4455 Connecticut Ave NW #305, Washington, DC 20008, 202-537-2257, mwaterman@arthritis.org, Corey L. M. Keyes, PhD, Sociology, Rollins School of Public Health, and Taskforce for Child Survival and Development, Emory University, Rm. 225 Tarbutton Hall, 1555 Pierce Dr., Atlanta, GA 30322, and Nancy J. Thompson, MPH, PhD, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30322.
Whether and how religiousness links with health and human development are topics of substantial interest to public health. Understanding what institutions and practices may alter the risk and therefore trend of mental illness should be an objective of high priority for public health. Participation in formal religious practice has been hypothesized to be conducive to health. The provision of social integration is a leading explanation for the health benefits of religiousness. Using the sociological theory of Social Integration to guide the research, this study investigates, in a large and representative sample of adults, whether distinct indicators of religiousness are associated with risk for major depressive episode in the past 12-months. Controlling for a variety of factors, including social support, logistic regression was used to compute forced entry stepwise models to determine the relationship between religious variables and depression. Bivariate analyses were also computed. Odds ratios were examined and showed that those attending services were less likely to have a depressive episode and those seeking social support from religious leaders were more likely to have a depressive episode. The strengths and weaknesses and study limitations will be discussed. Additionally, implications for public health and recommendations for future research will be discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.