CHURCH ATTENDANCE, MEANINGFULNESS OF RELIGION, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMATOLOGY AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 451 adolescents at a public high school in Texas during the spring semester 1989. The ins trument used contained the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and items t o determine participants' gender, frequency of church attendance, and meaningfulness of one's religion. Based on social support research and the writings of Carl Jung and Viktor Frankl, it was predicted that th ose who attended church frequently and those who viewed their religion s as providing meaning for their lives would have lower BDI scores tha n their classmates. The findings supported these predictions. Implicat ions and a discussion of the results are included.