| Abstract: | SUMMARY Evidence demonstrates salubrious effects of religious participation on health-related outcomes. Results from studies relating its effects to psychosocial outcomes have been equivocal. However, many psychosocial outcomes have not been examined. The current study sought to address these limitations by testing the degree to which religious behaviors and subjective spirituality are associated with depressive symptoms and prosocial behaviors. Data from 68 older adults were used to test two linear regression models in which public religious behaviors, private religious behaviors, and subjective spirituality were used to predict depressive symptoms and prosocial behavior. This set of regressors accounted for significant amounts of variance in both outcomes, although a divergent pattern of prediction emerged. More public religious behaviors and fewer private religious behaviors were associated with lower levels of depressive affect, whereas higher reports of subjective spirituality were associated with increased prosocial behavior. The need to broaden the investigation of the effects of religiosity to include more specific predictors and an inclusion of psychosocial outcomes are both discussed. |
