Religie en geestelijke gezondheid De invloed van religie op het psychisch welbevinden na een schokkende gebeurtenis onder drie etnische groepen

Abstract

To date, the relationship between religion and mental health remains unclear. This study examines the influence of religion and religiosity on mental health, and the degree of acculturation of Victim Support Netherlands clients who have experienced a traumatic event. Socio-demographic variables as well as the nature of the traumatic event have been taken into account. A sample of 42 Antillean/Aruban, 118 Turkish and 77 indigenous Dutch clients of Victim Support Netherlands were interviewed and the results analysed. The mental health of the sample has been assessed with the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) and the Dutch version of the Impact of Events Scale (SVL). The degree of acculturation has been assessed by making use of the Lowlands Acculturation Scale (LAS). Results suggest that practicing a religion is not of any significant influence on the mental health of people after they have experienced a traumatic event. Also, the degree of religiosity, socio-demographic factors and the nature of the traumatic event have an insignificant influence. Finally, the results suggest that practicing a religion and the degree of religiosity is not of any significant influence on the degree of acculturation. However, due to the limited scope of this study and the complexity of the relation between the variables, one should interpret the results of this study with care. Further research on this topic is therefore necessary.