ABSTRACT
The authors reviewed Appendix C of DSM-III-R, Glossary of Technical Terms, for its references to religion. Religion was referred to more frequently in this glossary than it is in psychiatric research. The authors conclude that although the Glossary uses religion in constructive or cautionary reminders, the high rate of illustrative case examples of psychopathology that involve religion in the Glossary indicates cultural insensitivity in interpreting religion.
Subject(s)
Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Religion , Terminology as Topic , Humans , Mental Disorders/classification , Mental Disorders/psychology , Periodicals as Topic , Prejudice , PsychiatryABSTRACT
The authors assessed all measures of religious commitment (N = 139) reported in research studies published in the American Journal of Psychiatry and Archives of General Psychiatry in 1978 through 1989 (N less than 35). For nearly two-thirds of the measures, the studies either made no hypotheses or reported no results concerning the relationship of religious commitment to mental health status. For the great majority of the measures assessed, the studies reported a positive relationship between religious commitment and mental health.
