Religiosity and Mental Illnesses The Effects of Religiosity on Mental Illnesses

Although mental health and its effects on society has been the center of focus for many scholarly articles, the region of religiosity or spirituality and its effects on mental health remains unexplored. This study works to highlight the gaps of research that has been left in this field and aims to elucidate the relationships between religiosity and depression. My research and analysis of General Social Survey data show that religiosity and depressiveness do in fact share an inverse relationship. In other words, as religiosity increases, the prevalence of diagnosed depression decreases. My findings lay the groundwork for future use of spiritual techniques in therapeutic interventions that hopefully promote the creation of more effective treatment techniques that ameliorate the symptoms of depression.