Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population
Background: This study investigated association of religious affiliation with positive mental health (PMH) and mental disorders. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 2270 adults was conducted in Singapore. Participants reported their religious affiliation to Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam,...
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doaj-cc1fff7e660a45f3bd3a432d991d378c2021-03-25T00:05:11ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1661-78271660-46012021-03-01183368336810.3390/ijerph18073368Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian PopulationJanhavi Ajit Vaingankar0Niyanta Choudhary1Siow Ann Chong2Fiona Devi Siva Kumar3Edimansyah Abdin4Saleha Shafie5Boon Yiang Chua6Rob M. van Dam7Mythily Subramaniam8Institute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, SingaporeInstitute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, SingaporeInstitute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, SingaporeInstitute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, SingaporeInstitute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, SingaporeInstitute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, SingaporeInstitute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, SingaporeSaw Swee Hock School of Public Health, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, SingaporeInstitute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, SingaporeBackground: This study investigated association of religious affiliation with positive mental health (PMH) and mental disorders. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 2270 adults was conducted in Singapore. Participants reported their religious affiliation to Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Taoism, or other religions. A PMH instrument measured total PMH and six subcomponents: general coping (GC), emotional support (ES), spirituality (S), interpersonal skills (IS), personal growth and autonomy (PGA), and global affect (GA). Lifetime history of mental disorders was assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results: Total PMH (mean ± SD) was 4.56 ± 0.66 for participants with any religion versus 4.12 ± 0.63 (<i>p</i> = 0.002) in those without any religion. After adjustment for all potential confounders, the mean difference in total PMH between these groups was 0.348 (95% CI: 0.248–0.448). Having any religion was significantly associated with higher scores for S, GC, ES, IS, but not with PGA, GA or mental disorders. Compared with individuals without any religion, total PMH and S levels were significantly higher across all religions. Additionally, Christianity was significantly associated with higher ES, Taoism with higher GC, Buddhism and Islam with higher GC, ES and IS, Hinduism with higher IS and Sikhism with higher ES and IS. Conclusion: Our results indicate that religious affiliation is significantly associated with higher PMH, but not with mental disorders in an Asian community setting. In addition, different religions showed unique patterns of association with PMH subcomponents.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3368ChristianityComposite International Diagnostic Intervieweastern religionsemotional supportinterpersonal skillspersonal growth and autonomy |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar Niyanta Choudhary Siow Ann Chong Fiona Devi Siva Kumar Edimansyah Abdin Saleha Shafie Boon Yiang Chua Rob M. van Dam Mythily Subramaniam |
spellingShingle |
Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar Niyanta Choudhary Siow Ann Chong Fiona Devi Siva Kumar Edimansyah Abdin Saleha Shafie Boon Yiang Chua Rob M. van Dam Mythily Subramaniam Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Christianity Composite International Diagnostic Interview eastern religions emotional support interpersonal skills personal growth and autonomy |
author_facet |
Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar Niyanta Choudhary Siow Ann Chong Fiona Devi Siva Kumar Edimansyah Abdin Saleha Shafie Boon Yiang Chua Rob M. van Dam Mythily Subramaniam |
author_sort |
Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar |
title |
Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population |
title_short |
Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population |
title_full |
Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population |
title_fullStr |
Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population |
title_full_unstemmed |
Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population |
title_sort |
religious affiliation in relation to positive mental health and mental disorders in a multi-ethnic asian population |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1661-7827 1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2021-03-01 |
description |
Background: This study investigated association of religious affiliation with positive mental health (PMH) and mental disorders. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 2270 adults was conducted in Singapore. Participants reported their religious affiliation to Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Taoism, or other religions. A PMH instrument measured total PMH and six subcomponents: general coping (GC), emotional support (ES), spirituality (S), interpersonal skills (IS), personal growth and autonomy (PGA), and global affect (GA). Lifetime history of mental disorders was assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results: Total PMH (mean ± SD) was 4.56 ± 0.66 for participants with any religion versus 4.12 ± 0.63 (<i>p</i> = 0.002) in those without any religion. After adjustment for all potential confounders, the mean difference in total PMH between these groups was 0.348 (95% CI: 0.248–0.448). Having any religion was significantly associated with higher scores for S, GC, ES, IS, but not with PGA, GA or mental disorders. Compared with individuals without any religion, total PMH and S levels were significantly higher across all religions. Additionally, Christianity was significantly associated with higher ES, Taoism with higher GC, Buddhism and Islam with higher GC, ES and IS, Hinduism with higher IS and Sikhism with higher ES and IS. Conclusion: Our results indicate that religious affiliation is significantly associated with higher PMH, but not with mental disorders in an Asian community setting. In addition, different religions showed unique patterns of association with PMH subcomponents. |
topic |
Christianity Composite International Diagnostic Interview eastern religions emotional support interpersonal skills personal growth and autonomy |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3368 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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