Internationale Zeitschrift für Schul- und Kognitionspsychologie
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Does Believing in a Religion Relate to Individuals Mental Health? An Initial Study among Chinese College Students

Jie Zhang, Sibo Zhao and Juan Liu

Although there has been an increase in China’s religious population in the past few decades, less than 15% of Chinese claim to belong to a religious group. In such a context, the association between religion or religiosity and mental health may be insignificant or even negative. Data from a 5-year panel study of college students (N=5,860) were used to examine the predictors for religiosity among Chinese college students and religion’s effect on their mental health outcomes. The current study found that ethnic minority students, those with siblings, and those who are non–Communist Party members have a higher proportion than other groups among religious believers. While religious believers tended to have higher self-esteem and social support than non-believers, they were more likely to feel depressed and think about suicide.