RELIGIOUS INVOLVEMENT AND DEPRESSION IN OLDER DUTCH CITIZENS

It has been suggested that religiosity helps prevent depression in old er people. This study examines the association between religious invol vement and depression in older Dutch citizens and focuses on models of the mechanism in which religious involvement has an impact on other f actors related to depression. The subjects were 2,817 older adults age d 55-85 years living in the community who participated in the Longitud inal Aging Study Amsterdam. Depressive symptoms were assessed using th e Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Religious involvement was assessed using items on frequency of church attendanc e and strength of church affiliation, Further data were collected on p hysical health, size of social network, social support, sense of maste ry and self-esteem. As in North American studies, religious involvemen t appeared to be inversely associated with depression, both on symptom and syndrome levels. Controlling for sociodemographics, physical impa irment and network support did not substantially affect this associati on, particularly among subjects aged 75-85 years. The inverse associat ion between religious involvement and depression was not selectively m ore pronounced among older people with physical impairments. However, the association appeared to be most specific for subjects with a small social network and those with a low sense of mastery.