Religious coping, family support, and negative affect in college students

To understand the influence that religion may have on mental health, the present study examined influences of religious coping and family support on anxiety and depression in 190 college students (women=67.4%; M age=21.7 yr., SD= 4.9). Subjects were recruited as volunteers from undergraduate psychology courses and completed the Ways of Religious Coping Scale, the General Functioning subscale of the Family Assessment Device, the Anxiety Scale of the Personality Assessment Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition. Analyses indicated greater family support was significantly associated with less anxiety and depression, whereas religious coping was not significantly correlated with anxiety and depression. Overall findings suggest that family emotional support may provide a stronger source of support for college students than religious coping.