Abstract
In this survey among 172 elder inhabitants (55-89) of Sassenheim, a semirural town in the Netherlands, the association between religiosity and depressive symptoms is examined. Religiosity is operationalized as religious salience: the importance of religion in one's personal life (Hoge 1985). Both religious salience and depressive symptoms are significandy correlated with gender, marital status, income, age and chronic diseases. A negative association between religious salience and depressive symptoms appears when the mentioned factors are controlled for. Next, elderly with and without chronic diseases are considered separately. A negative association of religious salience with depressive symptoms is present only among those elderly with chronic diseases. This is an indication that religious salience has a buffering effect on the depressive effects of chronic diseases.
| Translated title of the contribution | Religiosity and depressive symptoms among elderly persons; a study among elder inhabitants of Sassenheim |
|---|---|
| Original language | Dutch |
| Pages (from-to) | 509-519 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Tijdschrift voor Psychiatrie |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Publication status | Published - 1994 |