Spiritual Kids Are Healthier, Researcher Says
March 12, 2009
Like adults, kids who are more spiritual or religious tend to be healthier.
That's the conclusion of Dr. Barry Nierenberg, Ph.D., ABPP, associate professor
of psychology at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who
has been studying the relationship between faith and health. He presented on the
topic at the American Psychological Association's Division of Rehabilitation
Psychology national conference on February 27, in Jackson, Fla.
"A number of studies have shown a positive relationship between
participatory prayer and lower rates of heart disease, cirrhosis, emphysema and
stroke in adults," he says. "Prayer has been shown to correlate to
lower blood pressure, cortisol levels, rates of depression, as well as increased
rates of self-described well being."
"But very few studies have attempted to examine how children's spiritual
beliefs impact their health," he says. Initially, Nierenberg conducted a
study of HIV positive pediatric patients (ages seven to 17), comparing religious
development, church attendance and prayer to health measures such as symptoms,
T-cell counts and number of hospitalizations.
"One significant finding was that children who attended church were more
likely to have higher T-cell counts than non churchgoing children," he
says, "but that finding is difficult to interpret. It's likely that the
more ill a child is, the less ability they have to attend church."
"We needed a second study to more precisely examine religious faith and
behavior," he says.
So they examined 16 children (ages six to 20) who were undergoing hemodialysis
due to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). The patients were questioned on a scale
of spirituality behaviors and attitudes, and responses were correlated to
dialysis-related blood levels, including: blood urea nitrogen (BUN),
lymphocytes, albumin, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and urea reduction
ratio.
"There was a significant negative correlation between spiritual attitudes
and BUN levels," he says. "As children reported more agreement with
statements like, 'I am sure that God cares about me,' and 'God has a plan for
me," their average BUN levels over the past year were lower."
"We have a deeper understanding of why there is so little in the literature
exploring the relationship between health spirituality in children and
adolescents," he says. "It's challenging to measure in this
population. It can be difficult getting all the necessary permission. The pool
of children is limited, and the interviews can be time consuming. But it's
important it's done for the same reason we study it in adults."
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