OBJECTIVE:

This study examines maternal religiosity as a protective factor against depression in offspring.

METHOD:

Sixty mothers and 151 offspring were independently assessed over the course of a 10-year follow-up. Maternal and offspring religiosity were assessed on the basis of self-report of the importance of religion, the frequency of attendance of religious services, and religious denomination. Depression was assessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders-Lifetime version. Maternal bonding style was assessed through offspring report on the Parental Bonding Instrument. A series of logistic regressions were run to predict offspring depression status, taking into account maternal religiosity, offspring religiosity, and mother-offspring concordance of religiosity.

RESULTS:

Maternal religiosity and mother-offspring concordance of religiosity were shown to be protective against offspring depression, independent of maternal parental bonding, maternal social functioning, and maternal demographics.

CONCLUSION:

Maternal religiosity and offspring concordance with it may protect against depression in offspring.