Religious denomination as a symptom-formation factor of depression in older Dutch citizens

Objectives. The type of symptoms in depression is likely to be influenced b y cultural environment. As religion represents an important cultural resour ce for older adults, it is hypothesised that religious denomination represe nts a symptom-formation factor of depression in the older generation. Focus ing on older Dutch citizens, it is expected that depressed Calvinists repor t: (1) less depressed affect, (2) more vegetative symptoms, and (3) more gu ilt feelings, than Roman Catholics and non-church members. Methods and procedures. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Sca le (CES-D) was used to distinguish depressed (N = 395) and non-depressed (N = 2333) older adults. and to assess depressive symptom-profiles. The Diagn ostic Interview Schedule (DIS) was used to assess major depressive episodes and criterion-symptoms of depression. Results. Depressed Calvinists, especially males, had higher scores on the v egetative CES-D subscale. The same was found for non-church members with Ca lvinist parents. Among those who have had a major depressive episode in lat er life (N = 84), support was found for all hypotheses. Feelings of guilt w ere also more prevalent among Roman Catholics. Conclusions. Religious denomination modified the type of symptoms in late-l ift depression. As a Calvinist background was associated with less depressi ve affect and more inhibition, there is a risk of underdiagnosis of major d epression in older Calvinists in the Netherlands. Copyright (C) 2000 John W iley & Sons, Ltd.