Religious attendance and major depression among Asian Americans from a national database: The mediation of social support.

Abstract

Religious involvement has been shown to serve a protective role regarding mental health for African and European Americans, but little research has examined its role in Asian Americans. We addressed the gap using the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) database, the first national epidemiological household survey of Asian Americans in the United States. We examined the effect of religious involvement on major depression among Asian Americans, above and beyond the effects of known predictors (e.g., demographics, discrimination, and acculturation factors). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict the presence of the diagnosis over the past year, using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview, similar to the DSM–IV (1994) criteria. Years in the United States and discrimination were significantly associated with the greater likelihood of major depression. Conversely, employment status, English proficiency, and older age were related to the lesser likelihood of depression. Even after controlling for these variables, more frequent religious attendance, but not religious coping, significantly predicted the reduced likelihood of major depression. Our findings suggest that religious attendance might have the potential protection regarding Asian Americans’ mental health. Furthermore, entry of social support eliminated the influence of attendance, indicating its mediation in the attendance–depression association, a finding consistent with the collectivist nature in various Asian cultures. This study is the first of its kind with respect to this association as demonstrated in a national database of Asian Americans, which, however, should be further examined in longitudinal studies. Implications for culturally relevant research, theory, and culturally sensitive mental health services are discussed.

Perceived Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Mental Health: a Review and Future Directions for Social Epidemiology

“…However, the studies we examined employed this scale in various ways. Some utilized a continuous score based on the sum of all nine responses [9–13], others dichotomized the variable into never and ever discrimination [14], and others averaged the scores of all the items [15–18]. Further, some studies asked participants to specify what they felt was the primary reason for the unfair treatment [11,13,14,18–20], while others did not appear to ask for such specification and examined perceived discrimination in general [9,10,12].…”

“…For African Americans, church-based social support moderates the impact of racial discrimination on generalized anxiety disorder [72]. Among Asian Americans and Latinos exposed to discrimination, frequent religious attendance is associated with lower likelihood of major depression [15] and better self-rated mental health [73]. Moreover, Muslim Americans reporting higher levels of spirituality and increased practice of daily prayer show less likelihood of depression despite discrimination [74,75].…”

Stress, Religious Coping and Wellbeing in Acculturating Muslims

“…It may be that the presence of a community that bears a shared worldview is reinforcing for individuals experiencing a sense of alienation from the wider society. It may also be that instrumental support is offered from a religious congregation, through charity or counseling services (Ai, Huang, Bjorck, & Appel, 2013;Stuart, 2012;Cohen & Wills, 1985).…”

Ethnic Identity and Major Depression in Asian American Subgroups Nationwide: Differential Findings in Relation to Subcultural Contexts

“…We also included other protective factors seldom examined in AA mental health (Ai, Bjorck, Huang, & Appel, ; Ai, Huang, Bjorck, & Appel, ; Pargament, Magyar‐Russell, & Murray‐Swank, ). We first posited that in many AAs, REI may indicate strong identification with a given subgroup because of their experience within unique subcultural contexts.…”