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'Spiritual' People More Depressed Than 'Religious' Counterparts

While past research has shown that being religious--participating in organized worship services--is tied to lower rates of depression, a new Canadian study shows that being spiritual--searching for a meaning to life--is actually associated with higher risk of depression and anxiety.

Respondents rated their religiousness based on how often they attended organized services as well as their spirituality, or how important searching for a meaning to life was to them. Using DSM-IV criteria, researchers found that religiousness was linked to lower lifetime odds of depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder and social phobia. Spirituality, meanwhile, was linked to higher odds of suffering from depressive symptoms, social phobia and manic episodes.

ABSTRACT: The Association Between Spiritual and Religious Involvement and Depressive Symptoms in a Canadian Population

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This page contains a single entry from Psychology Briefs, the FindCounseling.com Blog, posted on November 6, 2006 9:54 AM.

The previous post was Music Therapy Eases Schizophrenia Symptoms.

The next post is Study: Second-Generation Antipsychotics Show No Advantages in Treating Schizophrenia.

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