title: Religion, spirituality and mental health: results from a national study of English households.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Religious participation or belief may predict better mental health but most research is American and measures of spirituality are often conflated with well-being.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine associations between a spiritual or religious understanding of life and psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed data collected from interviews with 7403 people who participated in the third National Psychiatric Morbidity Study in England.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the participants 35% had a religious understanding of life, 19% were spiritual but not religious and 46% were neither religious nor spiritual. Religious people were similar to those who were neither religious nor spiritual with regard to the prevalence of mental disorders, except that the former were less likely to have ever used drugs (odds ratio (OR) = 0.73, 95% CI 0.60-0.88) or be a hazardous drinker (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.69-0.96). Spiritual people were more likely than those who were neither religious nor spiritual to have ever used (OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.02-1.49) or be dependent on drugs (OR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.20-2.61), and to have abnormal eating attitudes (OR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.10-1.94), generalised anxiety disorder (OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.09-2.06), any phobia (OR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.07-2.77) or any neurotic disorder (OR = 1.37, 95% CI 1.12-1.68). They were also more likely to be taking psychotropic medication (OR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.05-1.86).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People who have a spiritual understanding of life in the absence of a religious framework are vulnerable to mental disorder.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Mental Health Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London Medical School, London, UK. michael.king@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marston
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brugha
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Meltzer
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bebbington
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D029181:Spirituality; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult