Religious faith in society may do more than provide spiritual comfort and moral guidance; it could also help protect against anxiety disorders, according to a study published in the journal Developmental Science. Source: EWTN News.
The research explored if there were links between what societies value – such as independence and community – and anxiety disorder rates among children and adolescents over three decades.
The study analysed preexisting records and data during the years 1989 to 2022 from the World Value Survey, Global Burden of Disease study, Human Development Report, and Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study.
The research found an emphasis on independence was linked to higher anxiety rates in “WEIRD” (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic) nations, while a greater emphasis on religious faith and interdependence correlated with less anxiety disorders globally.
It also found that the importance of religious faith in socialisation, and its link to interdependence, was associated with fewer anxiety disorders across 70 of the countries examined.
The study did not compare religious versus nonreligious people or compare specific countries.
While the effect sizes were small, it did find that “in countries where emphasis on religious faith in childrearing declined, youth anxiety rose,” Brandon Vaidyanathan, professor of sociology at The Catholic University of America, said.
In WEIRD nations, the societies that have norms that are oriented toward independence were associated with more anxiety disorders, but the analyses found no significant association among the non-WEIRD countries.
In “developing societies, [a] shift toward independence accompanies gains in growth and quality of life that may offset its psychological costs, but in already developed societies, it may only intensify competition and achievement-pressure,” Professor Vaidyanathan said.
“The difference between WEIRD and non-WEIRD societies on the independence finding is quite interesting, and the authors suggest that it is stage-dependent,” Professor Vaidyanathan said.
“But religion is universal in providing goods that do not depend on development stage” including “belonging, order, meaning, purpose, routine.”
The study reports that religious socialisation may serve as “a protective factor” against anxiety issues in children and adolescents, which “is at the communal level much more than the individual level,” Professor Vaidyanathan said.
So much so that the US data suggested the societyʼs religious norms predicted childrenʼs anxiety better than the motherʼs own beliefs.
“The religiosity of the surrounding social environment was a stronger predictor of childrenʼs anxiety level than the familyʼs own faith, suggesting the protection comes from the society more than family,” Professor Vaidyanathan said.
FULL STORY
Study shows society’s religious norms can affect children’s anxiety (By Tessa Gervasini, EWTN News)
