Religiosity and Mental and Behavioural Health Among Community-Dwelling Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Thailand: Results of a Longitudinal National Survey in 2015–2020

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess associations between religiousness (affiliation, and involvement) and five mental and five behavioural health indicators among middle-aged and older adults in a national longitudinal population survey in Thailand. The analytic sample consisted of 2863 participants, with two study assessments in 2015 and 2020. At baseline 91.5 percent were Buddhists and 8.2 percent were Muslims, and 42.6 percent a had high religious involvement. In the adjusted model, moderate and/or high religious involvement was negatively associated with four mental health and four behavioural health risk indicators. Furthermore, being a Buddhist was negatively associated with poor self-rated mental health status, depressive symptoms, insomnia symptoms and loneliness, and positively associated with alcohol use.