Correlates of religious service attendance and contact with religious leaders among persons with co-occurring serious mental illness and type 2 diabetes.
The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of religious participation among persons with co-occurring serious mental illness and type 2 diabetes. Among 201 outpatients, 53% attended religious services, 36% had regular contact with a religious leader, and 15% received assistance from a religious leader. Persons with schizophrenia and African Americans were more likely to attend services and have contact with religious leaders. Both attendance at religious services and regular contact with a religious leader were linked to higher quality of life in selected domains, but not associated with global health ratings or glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. Results indicate that there are important diagnostic and racial differences in religious participation, and that religious participation may be a resilience factor that supports enhanced quality of life for persons with serious mental illness and diabetes.
Murray-Swank
Aaron
A
VA Capitol Network Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA Maryland Healthcare System, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
Goldberg
Richard
R
Dickerson
Faith
F
Medoff
Deborah
D
Wohlheiter
Karen
K
Dixon
Lisa
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life; D012067:Religion; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin