Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population

Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar, Niyanta Choudhary, Siow Ann Chong, Fiona Devi Siva Kumar, Edimansyah Abdin, Saleha Shafie, Boon Yiang Chua, Rob M. van Dam and Mythily Subramaniam
Additional contact information
Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar: Institute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, Singapore
Niyanta Choudhary: Institute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, Singapore
Siow Ann Chong: Institute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, Singapore
Fiona Devi Siva Kumar: Institute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, Singapore
Saleha Shafie: Institute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, Singapore
Boon Yiang Chua: Institute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, Singapore
Rob M. van Dam: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore
Mythily Subramaniam: Institute of Mental Health, Research Division, Singapore 539747, Singapore

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: 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 ( p = 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.

Keywords: Christianity; Composite International Diagnostic Interview; eastern religions; emotional support; interpersonal skills; personal growth and autonomy; spirituality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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