Religious Attendance and Psychological Well-Being in Mexican Americans: A Panel Analysis of Three-Generations Data

Abstract

This study examined the effects of religious attendance on three dimensions of psychological well-being using panel data from a three-generations study of Mexican Americans from Texas (N = 624). Well-being dimensions included life satisfaction (the 13-item LSIA), and respective seven-item and four-item depressed and positive affect subscales of the CES-D. Two-wave path analyses revealed a cross-sectional association between religious attendance and life satisfaction in the two oldest generations, and a salutary longitudinal effect of religious attendance on subsequent depressed affect in the youngest generation. Findings for life satisfaction and depressed affect withstood controlling for health and five sociodemographic correlates of religious attendance and well-being.