Religiosity and Mental Health Among Young-Adults in Generation X from Emerging to Established Adulthood

Hwang, Woosang; Cheng, Kent Jason; Kim, Jeung Hyun; Brown, Maria T.; Vasilenko, Sara A.; Silverstein, Merril

doi:10.1007/s10804-022-09414-7

Published: 01 July 2022

Religiosity and Mental Health Among Young-Adults in Generation X from Emerging to Established Adulthood

Woosang Hwang¹,
Kent Jason Cheng²,
Jeung Hyun Kim³,
Maria T. Brown^1,4,
Sara A. Vasilenko⁵ &
Merril Silverstein^1,3,5

Journal of Adult Development (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

This investigation examined how religiosity in the period of life ranging from emerging to established adulthood is associated with mental health. To address this issue, we examined the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity among young-adult Gen-Xers and mental health (psychological well-being, depression, and self-esteem) over this important stage of adulthood. We selected 510 young-adults participating in the Longitudinal Study of Generations surveyed in 2000 (18–29 years), 2005 (23–34 years), and 2016 (34–45 years). Latent class analysis identified three latent religious classes across the three waves: nonreligious, strongly religious, and spiritual-but-not-religious. Young-adult Gen-Xers in the strongly religious class across the three measurements generally reported better mental health when they reached established adulthood than those in the nonreligious class. Mental health in established adulthood was not significantly different between strongly religious and spiritual-but-not-religious individuals. Findings suggest that religiosity may serve as an important resource for mental health in the transition to established adulthood. Implications are discussed in the context of declining religiosity in the US over recent decades.

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Funding

The project described was supported by Award Number 61457 from John Templeton Foundation (PI: Dr. Merril Silverstein) and R21AG064512 from National Institute on Aging (PI: Dr. Merril Silverstein).

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Aging Studies Institute, Syracuse University, 307B Lyman Hall, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA
Woosang Hwang, Maria T. Brown & Merril Silverstein
Social Science Ph.D. Program, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
Kent Jason Cheng
Department of Sociology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
Jeung Hyun Kim & Merril Silverstein
School of Social Work, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
Maria T. Brown
Department of Human Development and Family Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
Sara A. Vasilenko & Merril Silverstein

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Woosang Hwang
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Kent Jason Cheng
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Jeung Hyun Kim
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Maria T. Brown
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Sara A. Vasilenko
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Merril Silverstein
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Hwang, W., Cheng, K.J., Kim, J.H. et al. Religiosity and Mental Health Among Young-Adults in Generation X from Emerging to Established Adulthood. J Adult Dev (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-022-09414-7

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Accepted: 08 June 2022
Published: 01 July 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-022-09414-7

Keyword

Generation X
Religiosity
Spiritual-but-not-religious
Mental health
Emerging adulthood
Established adulthood