Religious Involvement and DSM-IV 12-Month and Lifetime Major Depressive Disorder Among African Americans

Abstract

This study explores relationships between lifetime and 12-month DSM-IV major depressive disorder and religious involvement within a nationally representative sample of African American adults (n = 3,570). MDD was assessed using the DSM-IV World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Multivariate findings indicate that reading religious materials were positively associated with 12-month (odds ratio [OR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001-1.29) and lifetime (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.03-1.21) MDD, religious service attendance was inversely associated with 12-month and lifetime MDD, and religious coping was inversely associated with 12-month MDD (OR, 0.75, 95% CI, 0.57-0.99). Findings are discussed in relation to the role of religion for African American mental health, prior research on the effects of religious involvement on physical and mental health, and theoretical and conceptual models of religion-health connections that specify multiple and often divergent pathways (e.g., prevention and resource mobilization) by which diverse forms of religious involvement impact mental health.