Religiousness/spirituality, Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety, Hope, and Happiness in Children and Adolescents in Institutional Care

There are 34 thousand children living in institutions in Brazil, a context that poses a risk to mental health, raising the need to investigate protective factors. Objective: investigate the prevalence of religiosity/spirituality and mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms, hope, and happiness) in children and adolescents in institutions. Method: A cross-sectional quantitative study that invited all children aged 7 to 17 years in institutional care in Juiz de Fora (MG). A sociodemographic questionnaire, BMMRS (Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiosity/Spirituality), Subjective Happiness Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and Herth Hope Scale were used. Results: The sample consisted of 43 subjects (28 males), with a mean age of 13 years (± 2 SD). Most of the sample had moderate anxiety and indicative depressive symptoms. In addition, they had below-average happiness scores and high hope. There was a high prevalence of religion and spirituality. The mean scores were: 11 (± 5) for anxiety, with 56% (n=24) above the clinical cutoff point; 17 for depression (± 11), with 44% of subjects above the clinical cutoff point; 4.7 (± 1) for happiness; and 36 (± 5) for hope. On the values/beliefs subscale, 95% (n=41) agreed with the statement “I believe in a God who cares for me.” On the global self-assessment subscale, 76% (n=33) responded that religion and spirituality were important to them. When asked what was considered most important in their lives, 52% (n=22) answered God. Conclusion: children and adolescents in care attributed great importance to spirituality and religiosity in their lives, with a relatively high prevalence of hope and below average happiness, requiring attention to clinically significant scores of depression and anxiety.