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Church attendance, meaningfulness of religion, and depressive symptomatology among adolescents

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Abstract

Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 451 adolescents at a public high school in Texas during the spring semester 1989. The instrument used contained the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and items to determine participants' gender, frequency of church attendance, and meaningfulness of one's religion. Based on social support research and the writings of Carl Jung and Viktor Frankl, it was predicted that those who attended church frequently and those who viewed their religions as providing meaning for their lives would have lower BDI scores than their classmates. The findings supported these predictions. Implications and a discussion of the results are included.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

    Loyd S. Wright (Professor) & Christopher J. Frost (Assistant Professor)

  2. Department of Education, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

    Stephen J. Wisecarver (Research Associate)

Authors
  1. Loyd S. Wright
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  2. Christopher J. Frost
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  3. Stephen J. Wisecarver
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Additional information

Received Ed.D. in educational psychology from University of Illinois. Main research interests are substance abuse in adolescents, drug use prevention strategies, and suicidal ideation in adolescents.

Received Ph.D. in general psychology from Boston University. Main research interest is psychology in interdisciplinary perspective, with a specialization in the psychology of religion.

Pursuing a M.Ed, in school psychology at Southwest Texas State University. Main research interests are psychological testing and assessment.

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Wright, L.S., Frost, C.J. & Wisecarver, S.J. Church attendance, meaningfulness of religion, and depressive symptomatology among adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 22, 559–568 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537716

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537716

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