FAMILY-SIZE AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN ORTHODOX JEWISH WOMEN

Family size, religiosity and contextually-assessed stress were examine d in relation to 11 symptoms of depression in Jewish women. Some indic es of family size related to the absence of some symptoms. Notably, ha ving pre-adult children was associated with absence of hopelessness. R eligiosity and family size were highly confounded but the effects of t he two did differ. Religiosity related to the absence of several sympt oms: these were generally different from the symptoms associated with low family size. The data show that the associations between family si ze and religiosity, and depressive symptoms, cannot be explained in te rms of lowered levels of stress.