Mental Health, Media, and Religion: A National Study

• In Event: 136 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 13. Mental and Emotional Health

Abstract

The “dark side” of religion for mental health and the stress-buffering potential of religion have received growing attention from researchers. We hypothesize that a noxious association between cultural religious tension and mental health will be weaker with frequent religious involvement and stronger with less frequent religious involvement. To gauge religious tension, we employ a novel measure –perceived negative portrayals of religion on television. We assess this hypothesis using six mental health measures in national data on U.S. adults from 2010 (N = 1,714). We find that the association between religious tension and mental health is buffered by private religious involvement in the case of all six outcomes. The association between religious tension and mental health is buffered by religious service attendance in the case of four outcomes. We discuss the implications of results for health research on religious buffering and the “dark side” of religion health.

Author

• Samuel Stroope