Samuel Stroope1,2, Blake Victor Kent2,3,4, Ying Zhang2,3, Donna Spiegelman2,5, Namratha R Kandula2,6, Anna B Schachter2,3, Alka Kanaya2,7, Alexandra E Shields2,3,4. 1. Department of Sociology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA. 2. National Consortium on Psychosocial Stress, Spirituality, and Health, Boston, MA, USA. 3. Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities, Boston, MA, USA. 4. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. 5. Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA. 6. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. 7. San Francisco School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Abstract
Objectives: Only one community-based study has assessed religious group involvement and health outcomes among South Asians in the U.S., with mixed results. Here, using a large, South Asian community-based sample, the effects of six religious group involvement predictors - religious tradition, attendance, group prayer, giving/receiving congregational emotional support, congregational neglect, and congregational criticism - were examined in relation to four health outcomes: self-rated health, positive mental health functioning, trait anxiety, and trait anger.Design: The study used a new religion/spirituality questionnaire in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis Among South Asians Living in America (MASALA), 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 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 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.
Objectives: Only one community-based study has assessed religious group involvement and health outcomes among South Asians in the U.S., with mixed results. Here, using a large, South Asian community-based sample, the effects of six religious group involvement predictors - religious tradition, attendance, group prayer, giving/receiving congregational emotional support, congregational neglect, and congregational criticism - were examined in relation to four health outcomes: self-rated health, positive mental health functioning, trait anxiety, and trait anger.Design: The study used a new religion/spirituality questionnaire in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis Among South Asians Living in America (MASALA), 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 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 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.
Authors: P Ramakrishnan; A Rane; A Dias; J Bhat; A Shukla; S Lakshmi; B K Ansari; R S Ramaswamy; R A Reddy; A Tribulato; A K Agarwal; N SatyaPrasad; A Mushtaq; P H Rao; P Murthy; H G Koenig Journal: J Relig Health Date: 2014-12
Authors: Namratha R Kandula; Andrew J Cooper; John A Schneider; Kayo Fujimoto; Alka M Kanaya; Linda Van Horn; Lawrence deKoning; Juned Siddique Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2018-02-05 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Alka M Kanaya; Namratha Kandula; David Herrington; Matthew J Budoff; Stephen Hulley; Eric Vittinghoff; Kiang Liu Journal: Clin Cardiol Date: 2013-11-05 Impact factor: 2.882