Religiousness, sexual orientation, and depression among emerging adults in U.S. higher education: Findings from the Healthy Minds Study

TL;DR

This study explores how religiousness affects depression in young adults in U.S. higher education, finding that the protective effects of religion may be weaker for sexual minorities.

Contribution

The study reveals that the mental health benefits of religiousness vary by sexual orientation and religious affiliation among emerging adults.

Findings

Higher religious importance was associated with lower odds of depression among heterosexual Christian and Muslim students.

The protective effect of religiousness was weaker or absent for sexual minority students, depending on their religious affiliation.

Among some religious groups, like Buddhists and Mormons, religiousness was linked to higher depression odds for bisexual students.

Abstract

Religiousness has long been found beneficial for mental health, although its protective effects may be attenuated for sexual minorities. We sought to examine the associations between religiousness and depression and whether these associations were moderated by religious affiliation and/or sexual orientation. We analyzed the dataset (N = 103,161 undergraduate and graduate students) from the Healthy Minds Study (2020-2021), which was an online survey administered at 140 higher education institutions across the United States. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the associations between religiousness (religious affiliation and importance) and depression, adjusting for age, gender identity, and race/ethnicity. We tested for effects moderated by religious affiliation and/or sexual orientation. Associations between religious importance and depression varied across sexual minority groups (gay/lesbian, bisexual, or other) and religious affiliations, although the differences across sexual minority groups were only statistically significant among Catholic students. Broadly, among Christian students, higher religious importance was associated with lower odds of depression, but this protective association was only evident among heterosexual students (and not among sexual minority students). Higher religious importance was also associated with lower odds of depression among Muslim students, but again this effect was only present among heterosexual students. Among students who identified as Hindu or Catholic, religious importance was associated with lower odds of depression among students who identified as heterosexual or queer/questioning/other. Among those who identified as Buddhist or Mormon, religious importance was associated with greater odds of depression for bisexual students. In conclusion, religiousness was associated with lower odds of depression for young adults generally. This association was moderated by sexual orientation, showing often weaker or non-significant effects among sexual minorities, depending on sexual orientation and religious affiliation.

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