McAloney Kareena
Department of Health Sciences, University of York, Seebohm Rowntree Building, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK,
J Relig Health. 2014 Aug;53(4):1036-45. doi: 10.1007/s10943-013-9701-6.
Religion plays a pivotal role in intergroup and interpersonal relationships in Northern Ireland, and individuals traditionally marry within their own religious group. However, 'mixed' marriages between Catholics and Protestants do occur and present an interesting, yet under researched, dynamic within this divided society. Both religion and committed relationships have been associated with physical and psychological health, but little is known about how divergence in religious beliefs within relationships impacts on health. A secondary data analysis of the Northern Ireland cohort of the Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study was conducted to investigate the impact of mixed religion relationships on physical and psychological well-being in Northern Ireland. Less than 10% of relationships were mixed religion relationships, and being in a mixed relationship was associated with poorer mental health but not with physical health. Mixed religion relationships in Northern Ireland are relatively uncommon in Northern Ireland, but are an important form of intergroup contact, as such it is important to fully understand the implications for the individuals involved and develop mechanisms to support those individuals psychological well-being.
宗教在北爱尔兰的群体间和人际关系中起着关键作用，传统上人们在自己的宗教群体内结婚。然而，天主教徒和新教徒之间的“混合”婚姻确实存在，在这个分裂的社会中呈现出一种有趣但研究不足的动态关系。宗教和忠诚的关系都与身心健康有关，但对于关系中宗教信仰的差异如何影响健康却知之甚少。对“理解社会：英国家庭纵向研究”北爱尔兰队列进行了二次数据分析，以调查宗教混合关系对北爱尔兰身心健康的影响。不到10%的关系是宗教混合关系，处于混合关系中与较差的心理健康相关，但与身体健康无关。宗教混合关系在北爱尔兰相对不常见，但却是群体间接触的一种重要形式，因此，充分了解其对相关个人的影响并制定支持这些人心理健康的机制非常重要。
