Prayer and depressive symptoms in a period of secularization: patterns among older adults in the Netherlands.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
Prayer is generally recognized as an important aspect of religiousness. Relatively few empiric studies examined the relation between prayer and depressive symptoms in later life, and findings so far are mixed.

METHOD:
Respondents, aged 60-91 years, participated in the third (N = 1,702) and fourth (N = 1,346) assessment cycles, with three-year intervals, of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Data were collected on frequency of prayer, perceived meaningfulness of prayer, religious affiliation, church attendance, salience of religion, demographics, and health variables. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale.

RESULTS:
In the total sample, there was no significant association between frequency of prayer and depressive symptoms. Among those who were not religiously affiliated, prayer was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. The results were particularly pronounced among nonaffiliated widowed respondents; odds ratio for praying daily associated with having Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale scores of 16 and higher amounted to 3.59 (99% confidence interval:
1.01-11.79). At three-year follow up, prayer did not predict change of depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS:
As secularization in Western Europe progresses, the current results suggest that clinical exploration of private religiousness among older patients remains relevant, also among people who seem to be less religious.

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Author information

Author/s: Braam, Arjan W (AW); Deeg, Dorly J H (DJ); Poppelaars, Jan L (JL); Beekman, Aartjan T F (AT); van Tilburg, Willem (W);

Affiliation: Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine (EMGO) and Department of Psychiatry, VU Medical Center, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. a.braam(-atsign-)vumc.nl

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (Am J Geriatr Psychiatry), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Apr; vol 15 (issue 4) : pp 273-81

Dates: Created 2007/03/26; Completed 2007/07/16; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 17384312, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Activities of Daily Living - psychology
Adaptation, Psychological
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies

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