A multivariate twin study of the dimensions of religiosity and common psychiatric and substance use disorders

The authors sought to decompose the covariance between seven dimensions of religiosity and two internalizing psychiatric disorders (major depression and phobia) and two externalizing substance use disorders (alcohol dependence and nicotine dependence). Significant negative correlations, accounted for by shared additive genetic effects, were found between alcohol dependence and six of the seven religiosity factors. Additive genetic effects accounted for significant negative correlations between nicotine dependence and one religiosity factor, social religiosity, and between phobia and unvengefulness. Common environmental effects accounted for a significant positive correlation between phobia and the factor God as judge. No statistically significant covariance due to genetic or environmental effects was found for major depression and any of the seven religiosity factors. Overall, although several statistically significant bivariate relationships were found, the estimates of covariance due to additive genetic effects were modest.