Religious Involvement and Depression Among Korean Young Adults in the United States

Using a sample of 102 Korean church goers, this study found that a higher level of general religiosity was significantly associated with a lower level of depression only for non-visa-holding church members (U.S. citizens). The results underscore the importance of considering both the type of religiosity/spirituality assessed and sample characteristics when examining the religiosity-mental health relationship since both the dimension of religiosity measured and the visa status of the respondents qualified the relationship. A test of the mediating role of social support was not significant. Recommendations were made to explore mechanisms for the religiosity-depression relationship other than social support.