Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Aug 8;4(5):igaa035.
doi: 10.1093/geroni/igaa035. eCollection 2020.

Religion and Mental Health in Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations: A Review of the Literature

Ann W Nguyen  1
Affiliations

Religion and Mental Health in Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations: A Review of the Literature

Ann W Nguyen. Innov Aging. .

Abstract

Religion has been an important source of resiliency for many racial and ethnic minority populations. Given the salience, sociohistorical context, and importance of religion in the lives of black and Latino Americans, this literature review focuses on the mental health and well-being outcomes of religion among black and Latino Americans across the adult life course and specifically in later life. This review provides an overview of religious participation and religiosity levels and an in-depth discussion of extant research on the relationship between the multiple dimensions of religiosity and mental health in these 2 populations. Racial differences between blacks, Latinos, and non-Latino whites are also examined. Suggestions for limitations of the current literature and future directions for research on religion and mental health in racial/ethnic minority populations, especially older minorities, are proposed.

Keywords: Mental health; Racial/ethnic minority elders; Religiosity; Religious participation.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Adksion-Bradley C, Johnson D, Sanders J L, Duncan L, & Holcomb-McCoy C (2005). Forging a collaborative relationship between the Black church and the counseling profession. Counseling and Values, 49(2), 147–154. doi:10.1002/j.2161-007x.2005.tb00261.x - DOI
    1. Angel J L, & Angel R J (1992). Age at migration, social connections, and well-being among elderly Hispanics. Journal of Aging and Health, 4(4), 480–499. doi:10.1177/089826439200400402 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anthony J S, Johnson A, & Schafer J (2015). African American clergy and depression: What they know; what they want to know. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 22(4), 118–126. - PubMed
    1. Aranda M P. (2008). Relationship between religious involvement and psychological well-being: A social justice perspective. Health & Social Work, 33(1), 9–21. doi:10.1093/hsw/33.1.9 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Assari S, & Lankarani M M (2018). Secular and religious social support better protect Blacks than Whites against depressive symptoms. Behavioral Sciences, 8(5), 46. doi:10.3390/bs8050046 - DOI - PMC - PubMed