Depression and religiosity in older age

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Psychiatry
• Sociology of Religion

Background:

• Older adults often experience affective distress and depressive symptoms.
• The potential role of religious commitment in mitigating these symptoms requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine if religious commitment can counteract general affective distress and depressive symptoms in older adults.
• To explore the relationship between religiosity, depressive symptoms, health expectations, worry, and coping styles.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 34 Catholic older adults who completed self-report questionnaires.
• Assessment of depressive symptoms, religiosity, health, worry, and coping strategies.
• Comparison of depressive and non-depressive subgroups.

Main Results:

• 50% of participants exhibited depressive symptoms, predominantly females.
• Worsening health expectations and increased worry correlated with higher depressive symptom intensity.
• No significant difference in religious engagement between depressive and non-depressive groups was found.
• Religiosity did not influence depressive symptom intensity or coping strategies, though a trend suggested better health expectations in depressive subjects with higher religiosity.

Conclusions:

• Religiosity is unlikely to significantly ameliorate dysphoric distress in older age.
• Health expectations and worry are significant factors associated with depressive symptoms in this population.