Religion and mental health among older adults in Thailand: a national survey study
Purpose–This study aims to investigate the association between mental health and religion amongThailand’s elderly population. The role of religion and culture remains limited despite the significantnumber of devout followers of religions in Thailand. Thai cultural and religious contexts have a domin...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Emerald Group Publishing Ltd
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/93180/7/93180_Religion%20and%20mental%20health%20among%20older%20adults.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/93180/ https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MHRJ-06-2020-0039/full/html https://doi.org/10.1108/MHRJ-06-2020-0039 |
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| Summary: | Purpose–This study aims to investigate the association between mental health and religion amongThailand’s elderly population. The role of religion and culture remains limited despite the significantnumber of devout followers of religions in Thailand. Thai cultural and religious contexts have a dominantand persuasive influence on the lives of Thai older adults.
Design/methodology/approach–Data was collected in 2018 via face-to-face interaction using astructured questionnaire by the Thailand National Statistical Office. The sample consisted of 67,454individuals, with 13,800 elderly Thai people aged 60years or older selected for the study.
Findings–The results showed logistic regression with the association between religious activities andmental health in the understudied context of Buddhist elderly in Thailand. The variables were significantlyassociated with mental health at a 95% confidence level.
Originality/value–The model revealed that particular demographic and socioeconomic factors (age,education and marital status) were related to mental health for older adults. Regression analysis alsorevealed Buddhist religious activities (giving food to monks, mediation, monkhood, New Year praying,learning Dhamma for solving life’s problems, belief in Buddhism and practicing Buddhist principles) weresignificantly associated with the mental health of the older adult population in Thailand. |
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