Durkheim argued that religion's emphasis on the supernatural combined with its unique ability to foster strong collective bonds lent it power to confer distinctive social benefits. Subsequent research has confirmed these propositions with respect to religion and mental health. At the same time, meditation has been linked to mental health benefits in intervention-based studies. Our investigation offers a unique test of two comparable inhibitors of anxiety-related symptoms in the general population, namely, prayer versus meditation. Using data from the 2010 wave of the Baylor Religion Survey, we find that frequent communal prayer is correlated with an increased incidence of anxiety-related symptoms whereas worship service attendance is negatively associated with reported anxiety. Attendance also combines with communal prayer to yield anxiety-reducing benefits. Meditation, measured as a dichotomous indicator, is unrelated to reported anxiety in our sample of American adults. Our study underscores the selective efficacy of collective forms of religious expression, and points to several promising directions for future research.

Background People living in the Mays Cancer Center (MCC) catchment area face greater cancer-related disparities and face a greater risk of developing liver and cervical cancer. Other priority cancers include colorectal, prostate, and breast cancer. All five major metropolitan cities in the catchment area have lower use of preventive screening services compared to the rest of Texas and nation. In response the MCC conducted a community survey to examine South Texas residents’ 1) exposure to cancer information; 2) knowledge about cancer risk reduction; and 3) intentions and behaviors to reduce cancer risk. Methods A postal address file (PAF) was purchased of 58,960 households throughout the catchment area. The survey was distributed via mail on postcards in two waves. Wave one was launched in May 2020 and was distributed to 30,892 households. Each wave included two mail-outs two weeks apart. To bolster response rate, one week from the last mail out, two follow-up email blasts were sent one week apart to a list of 8,825 addresses from the same mailing list. Post-survey weighting will be applied to the full dataset upon project closeout to provide corrected standard errors and confidence intervals not available at this time. Results Preliminary results (n=432) show the survey has reached 35 of the 38 counties in the MCC catchment area, 36% are from urban counties and 51% rural. Majority of respondents were Hispanic (51%) followed by non-Hispanic white (NHW) (28%) and non-Hispanic black (NHB) (3%). Liver cancer risk: Overall 38% of respondents had been tested for Hepatitis C (n=302). Men had a higher rate of being tested (40%) when compared to women (37%). 51% of respondents were Hispanic followed by 35% NHW and 7% NHB. Colorectal cancer risk: Overall 25% of respondents had received a blood stool test (n=365). Higher than the state (10.9%) and the US (8.9%). Men had a higher rate of being tested (34%) when compared to women (22%). 45% of respondents were Hispanic followed by 43% NHW and 5% NHB. Breast cancer risk: Overall 60% of women had received a mammogram (n=249). Lower than the state (74.9%) and the US (78.3%). 56% (n=83) were Hispanic followed by 38% (n=57) NHW and 3% (n=5) NHB. Cervical cancer risk: Overall 86% (n=212) of women respondents had received a Papanicolaou test (n=246). Higher than the state (77.1%) and the US (80.1%). 58% (n=124) were Hispanic followed by 34% (n=72) NHW and 5% (n=10) NHB. Prostate cancer risk: Overall 49% (n=48) of men had received a PSA test (n=107). Higher than the state (27.1%) and the US (33.2%). 52% (n=25) were NHW followed by 42% (n=20) Hispanic and 2% (n=1) NHB. Conclusions Controlling for gender specific cancers women indicated a higher rate of screening behaviors when compared to men. The highest screening rates among women were found in Hispanics. Alternatively, screening rates were highest among NHW men. Men were more likely to have been screened for liver and colorectal cancer. Screening rates in the catchment area were higher than both state and US rates for pap, PSA, and blood stool tests. Citation Format: Rebecca Jones, Patricia Chalela, Harriet Van Loggerenberg, Edgar Munoz, Ruben Mesa, Amelie G. Ramirez. Mays Cancer Center, South Texas cancer survey: Preliminary results [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: Thirteenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2020 Oct 2-4. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(12 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-011.