"Mental Health and Self-Rated Health among U.S. South Asians: The Role of Religious Group Involvement"
Publication details: 2022-02.Subject(s): Genre/Form: Online resources: Summary: OBJECTIVES: Only one community-based study assessed religious group involvement and health outcomes among South Asians in the United States, with mixed results. Using a large, South Asian community-based sample drawn from the Chicago and San Francisco Bay areas, this study examined the effects of six religious group involvement predictors-religious tradition, attendance, group prayer, giving/receiving congregational emotional support, congregational neglect, and congregational criticism. Four health outcomes were assessed: self-rated health, positive mental health functioning, trait anxiety, and trait anger. DESIGN: This study used a new religion/spirituality questionnaire in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis Among South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study (2010-2018), the largest study of mental and physical well-being among U.S. South Asians. Associations were assessed cross-sectionally using OLS regression in both the full sample (N=928) and a subsample of congregation members (N=312). RESULTS: Jains reported better self-rated health compared to Hindus and Muslims. Group prayer involvement, when measured ordinally, was positively associated with self-rated health and mental health functioning. In reference group comparisons, individuals who participated in group prayer once/day or more had lower levels of anxiety and anger compared to several comparison groups in which individuals prayed less than once a day. Religious service attendance frequency was associated with higher levels of anxiety. Giving/receiving congregational emotional support was positively associated with self-rated health and mental health functioning, and inversely associated with anxiety. Congregational criticism was associated with higher levels of anger and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided a new assessment of religious group involvement and health in the U.S. South Asian population. Religious group participation was associated with mental and self-rated health in well-controlled models, indicating that this is a fruitful area for further research. Group religious involvement may be a health-promoting resource for U.S. South Asians who are religiously active, but it is not an unalloyed boon./pmc/articles/PMC7048668/
/pubmed/31466458
OBJECTIVES: Only one community-based study assessed religious group involvement and health outcomes among South Asians in the United States, with mixed results. Using a large, South Asian community-based sample drawn from the Chicago and San Francisco Bay areas, this study examined the effects of six religious group involvement predictors-religious tradition, attendance, group prayer, giving/receiving congregational emotional support, congregational neglect, and congregational criticism. Four health outcomes were assessed: self-rated health, positive mental health functioning, trait anxiety, and trait anger. DESIGN: This study used a new religion/spirituality questionnaire in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis Among South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study (2010-2018), the largest study of mental and physical well-being among U.S. South Asians. Associations were assessed cross-sectionally using OLS regression in both the full sample (N=928) and a subsample of congregation members (N=312). RESULTS: Jains reported better self-rated health compared to Hindus and Muslims. Group prayer involvement, when measured ordinally, was positively associated with self-rated health and mental health functioning. In reference group comparisons, individuals who participated in group prayer once/day or more had lower levels of anxiety and anger compared to several comparison groups in which individuals prayed less than once a day. Religious service attendance frequency was associated with higher levels of anxiety. Giving/receiving congregational emotional support was positively associated with self-rated health and mental health functioning, and inversely associated with anxiety. Congregational criticism was associated with higher levels of anger and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided a new assessment of religious group involvement and health in the U.S. South Asian population. Religious group participation was associated with mental and self-rated health in well-controlled models, indicating that this is a fruitful area for further research. Group religious involvement may be a health-promoting resource for U.S. South Asians who are religiously active, but it is not an unalloyed boon.
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