Financial  hardship and psychological distress: exploring the buffering effects  of religion.
Despite ample precedent in theology and social theory, few studies have systematically examined the role of religion in mitigating the harmful effects of socioeconomic deprivation on mental health. The present study outlines several arguments linking objective and subjective measures of financial hardship, as well as multiple aspects of religious life, with psychological distress. Relevant hypotheses are then tested using data on adults aged 18-59 from the 1998 USNORC General Social Survey. Findings confirm that both types of financial hardship are positively associated with distress, and that several different aspects of religious life buffer against these deleterious influences. Specifically, religious attendance and the belief in an afterlife moderate the deleterious effects of financial hardship on both objective and subjective financial hardship, while meditation serves this function only for objective hardship. No interactive relationships were found between frequency of prayer and financial hardship. A number of implications, study limitations, and directions for future research are identified.
Bradshaw
Matt
M
University of North Carolina, Carolina Population Center, University Square, CB# 8120 123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, USA. johnmbradshaw@hotmail.com
Ellison
Christopher G
CG
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation / Q000523:psychology*; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D012067:Religion; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012923:Social Class; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult