School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
Department of Sociology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jan 25;17(3):761. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17030761.
A growing body of research has documented salutary associations between religious involvement and poor mental health outcomes, such as depressive symptoms and psychological distress. However, little scholarly attention has been given to the association between Buddhism, a non-Western religious faith, and depressive symptomatology in Thailand. Using random survey data collected from urban Thailand, this study examines the association between religious involvement and depressive symptoms among married women in Bangkok. Findings from multiple linear regression models reveal that (1) Buddhist respondents report significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms than their non-Buddhist counterparts, (2) the frequency of participation in religious activities is significantly and inversely associated with the level of depressive symptoms, and (3) the inverse association between religious participation and depressive symptoms is more salient for Buddhists who frequently practice their faith (i.e., significant interaction effect). Research limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
越来越多的研究证明，宗教参与与不良心理健康结果（如抑郁症状和心理困扰）之间存在有益的关联。然而，很少有学术研究关注佛教（一种非西方宗教信仰）与泰国的抑郁症状之间的关联。本研究使用随机调查数据，从泰国城市中抽取样本，考察了曼谷已婚妇女的宗教参与与抑郁症状之间的关联。多元线性回归模型的结果表明：（1）佛教受访者报告的抑郁症状明显低于非佛教受访者；（2）宗教活动参与的频率与抑郁症状呈显著负相关；（3）对于经常践行信仰的佛教徒来说，宗教参与与抑郁症状之间的负相关更为显著（即存在显著的交互效应）。最后讨论了研究的局限性和未来研究的方向。
