Religiosidade, ansiedade e depressão em estudantes de Medicina e Teologia.

Abstract

The interaction of religion and health has existed since human prehistory. In order to analyze the influence of religiosity, as a protective or risk factor, on anxiety and depression, theoretical exploratory-bibliographic research and systematic literature review were carried out; complemented by a field study to prove or refute hypotheses of degrees of religiosity, prevalence of symptoms of those diseases and negative correlation between religiosities and anxiety/depression in university students of Medicine and Theology. A quantitative and comparative cross-sectional study was carried out in samples of students from these courses, from Recife and João Pessoa, Brasil, in 2019; and measurements by scales: Duke Religiosity Index Portuguese version (P-DUREL); Religious Attitude Scale with 20 items (EAR-20); and Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories, with cutoff values of 11 (BAI) and 14 (BDI) points. Empirical data were analyzed using the SPSS version 13.0 statistical package, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The bibliography explored resulted in a proposed classification of theodicies. The systematic review of 364 articles resulted in 33 publications: 24 with a negative (beneficial) association between religiosity and depression and 16 between religiosity and anxiety; six without statistical correlation; and four with a positive correlation (malefic). The hypotheses of a lower degree of religiosity and a higher degree of anxiety and depression in Medicine students (45% and 25% prevalence of symptoms) compared to Theology students (24% and 8%) were confirmed. In the total sample of 345 students, the hypothesis of negative correlation between religiosity, measured by the four attitudes of EAR-20 and three dimensions of the P-DUREL, and anxiety/depression, was confirmed. The analysis of the subsamples of each of the courses showed a negative correlation between the four religious attitudes of EAR-20 and depression in the Medical Course, and between the attitude of religious knowledge and anxiety/depression in the Theology Course. Negative correlation between the three religiosities of the P-DUREL and depression was observed in the course of Medicine, and only between intrinsic religiosity and anxiety/depression in the course of theology.The empirical part of the research was limited by the fact that it was a cross-sectional study; however, it brings a systematized and replicable methodology to be used in future longitudinal studies that allow better comparison between students from different university courses and consistent conclusions of causality.