Longitudinal Associations Between Depression and Religiosity/Spirituality Among Individuals with Asthma in the United States

• Published in: Journal of religion and health Vol. 63; no. 4; pp. 2963 - 2980
• Main Authors: Ruppe, Nicole M., Clawson, Ashley H., Nwankwo, Cara N., Blair, Alexandra L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-08-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aging; Asthma; Asthma - psychology; Clinical Psychology; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - psychology; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Paper; Public Health; Religion and Psychology; Religious Studies; Spirituality; United States; Young Adult; Young adults; United States; United States > US; Spirituality; Depression; Longitudinal; Religiosity; Asthma
• ISSN: 0022-4197; 1573-6571; 1573-6571
• DOI: 10.1007/s10943-023-01903-7

There is limited literature examining the longitudinal stability of depressive symptoms for individuals with asthma, or how religiosity/spirituality relates to depressive symptoms across time. The present study aimed to identify the stability of and the longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and R/S across multiple developmental periods for adolesents with asthma (
N
 = 998) within the United States. Depressive symptoms (
β
range
0.33 − 0.60) and R/S (
β
range
0.26 − 0.73) were stable across time, with some variability. A cross-lagged association demonstrated that use of R/S in young adulthood (Wave 3) was associated with decreased depressive symptoms in adulthood (β = -0.17,
p
 < .001, CI − 0.25 - − 0.09, SE = 0.04). Use of R/S in adolescence (Wave 2) was predictive of increased depression in adulthood (
β
 = 0.13,
p
 < .001, CI 0.05 − 0.20, SE = 0.04). Results demonstrated differential relations between R/S and depressive symptoms across development, and highlight the potential importance of integrating conversations focused on R/S within healthcare settings, especially as R/S during young adulthood may buffer against or reduce depressive symptoms in adulthood.