Religiosity, Mental Health and Substance Use among Black and Hispanic Adults during the First Six Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York City.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 20(9)2023 04 25.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2319680
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between personal religiosity, mental health, and substance use outcomes among Black and Hispanic adults during the first six months of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York City (NYC). Phone interviews were conducted with 441 adults to obtain information on all variables. Participants self-reported race/ethnicity as Black/African American (n = 108) or Hispanic (n = 333). Logistic regression were used to examine associations between religiosity, mental health, and substance use. There was a significant inverse association of religiosity and substance use. Religious people had a lower prevalence of drinking alcohol (49.0%) compared to non-religious people (67.1%). Religious people also had substantially lower prevalence of cannabis or other drug use (9.1%) in comparison to non-religious people (31%). After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and household income, the association of religiosity with alcohol use and with cannabis/other drug use remained statistically significant. Despite restricted access to in-person religious activities and congregational supports, the findings suggest that religiosity itself may be helpful from a public health perspective, independent of serving as a conduit for other social services.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Substance-Related Disorders
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph20095632
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