Background: Depressive patients may derive consolation as well as struggle from their religion. Outside the Western-Christian cultures these phenomena did not receive much empirical exploration. The current study aims to describe how positive and negative religious coping strategies relate to depressive symptoms in different ethnic groups in The Netherlands. Methods: Interview data were derived from the second phase of the Amsterdam Health Monitor, a population based survey, with stratification for ethnicity (native Dutch N = 309, Moroccan 180, Turkish 202, Surinamese/Antillean 85). Religious coping was assessed using a 10-item version of Pargament's Brief RCOPE; depression assessment included the SCL-90-R and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results: The five positive religious coping items constituted one sub-scale, but the five negative religious coping items had to be examined as representing separate coping strategies. Across the ethnic groups, negative religious coping strategies had several positive associations with depressive symptoms, subthreshold depression, and major depressive disorder: the most robust association was found for the item 'wondered whether God has abandoned me'. Other significant associations were found for interpreting situations as punishment by God, questioning whether God exists, and expressing anger to God. Limitations: Due to the two-phase design and low participation in this urban sample, the non-response was substantial. Therefore, the study focused on associations, not on prevalences. Conclusion: The more or less universal finding about 'feeling abandoned by God' may suggest how depression represents an existential void, irrespective of the religious background. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Population Ethnic Immigrant Religious coping Depression Muslim

urban population Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Islam population based case control study human clinical assessment middle aged Ethnic Groups ethnic group Turkey (republic) coping behavior priority journal Christianity comparative study Aged Depressive Disorder religion interview Young Adult Humans Cross-Cultural Comparison Suriname male Emigrants and Immigrants female Aged, 80 and over Personality Inventory Religion and Psychology Reproducibility of Results cultural factor Psychometrics Article major clinical study adult Translating migration Turkey ethnicity major depression Morocco