Attendance at religious services and subsequent mental health in midlife women

Spiritual and religious factors may influence mental health in midlife women. The purpose of this study was to explore whether strength of religious beliefs or attendance at religious services helps to mitigate the stresses of life in mid-life women.

Data are from a sub-sample of 265 women, ages 40-70, who were participants in the REACH study, a longitudinal study investigating health parameters in a representative sample of households from rural communities in eastern North Carolina. Using t-tests and linear regression analyses, we analyzed the relationship between frequency of attendance at religious services and strength of religious beliefs in 1997 and subsequent mental health in 2003 as measured by the mental health component score (MCS) of the SF-12.

The mean MCS in 2003 was significantly higher (better mental health) in women who reported attending religious services > or =1/week compared to those who reported attending <1/week (53.9 vs. 51.7; p < 0.05). In the linear regression model controlling for self-reported health status, baseline attendance at organized religious services remained a significant predictor of the MCS at six-year follow-up (standardized beta = -0.123, p < 0.05).

Attendance at religious services is positively related to subsequent mental health in middle-aged women. The findings support the notion that religious commitment may help mitigate the stress of the midlife period. More research is needed to translate these findings into clinical interventions that can decrease the burden of anxiety and depression on midlife women.