2019 Articles

The Role Of Religiosity In Families At High-risk For Depression

Svob, Connie; Weissman, Myrna M.

Background. — About 40 years ago we began a study of the offspring of depressed (high-risk) and not depressed (low-risk) parents, matched for age and gender, from the same community. We interviewed all of their biological children, blind to the clinical status of the parents. Over the years, we returned to re-interview the families at baseline, 2, 10, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years. As the years went by and the sample grew up, we also interviewed the third generation, the grandchildren. As technology became available, we included measures of electrophysiology and magnetic resonance imaging in order to better understand the mechanisms of risk. At the 10-year follow up, we included measures of religion and spirituality — namely, personal religious/spiritual importance and frequency of religious service attendance. We included these measures in all subsequent waves including a more extensive follow up of religious beliefs at the 35-year follow up.