RELIGIOSITY AND DEPRESSION - 10-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF DEPRESSED MOTHERS AND OFFSPRING

Objective: This study examines maternal religiosity as a protective fa ctor against depression in offspring. Method: Sixty mothers and 151 of fspring were independently assessed over the course of a 10-year follo w-up. Maternal and offspring religiosity were assessed on the basis of self-report of the importance of religion, the frequency of attendanc e of religious services, and religious denomination. Depression was as sessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders-Lifetime version. Ma ternal bonding style was assessed through offspring report on the Pare ntal Bonding Instrument. A series of logistic regressions were run to predict offspring depression status, taking into account maternal reli giosity, offspring religiosity, and mother-offspring concordance of re ligiosity. Results: Maternal religiosity and mother-offspring concorda nce of religiosity were shown to be protective against offspring depre ssion, independent of maternal parental bonding, maternal social funct ioning, and maternal demographics, Conclusion: Maternal religiosity an d offspring concordance with it may protect against depression in offs pring.