---
title: "Psych News Alert: Believing in Depression: Religion and Mental Health"
description: Individuals placing a high level of importance on religion or spirituality may be less susceptible to recurring depression, according to a...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/window_10374088-Jun-24-2025-03-52-20-0308-PM.jpg
---

 6/24/24 11:16 AM

# Believing in Depression: Religion and Mental Health

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Individuals placing a high level of importance on religion or spirituality may be less susceptible to recurring depression, according to a new study in the August 24 *AJP in Advance*. The10-year prospective study focused on the adult offspring of participants in an earlier study that found a link between religiosity/spirituality and a reduced risk of major depression.

Lisa Miller, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology and education at Columbia University Teachers College, led a team of researchers in assessing the mental health of 114 adult children of parents both with and without depression. Individuals reporting a strong connection to religion or spirituality at the beginning of the study were found to have approximately one-fourth the risk of experiencing major depression as other participants by the end of the study.

Read the full study results in *AJP in Advance *at [http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/appi.ajp.2011.10121823v1](http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/appi.ajp.2011.10121823v1).

Additional information about the relationship between religion and spirituality and the diagnosis, course, and outcome of mental illness can be found in *Religious and Spiritual Issues in Psychiatric Diagnosis* at [http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=2658](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=2658) .

(Image: Shutterstock)

[depression](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/depression), [religion](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/religion), [spirituality](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/spirituality)

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