The Association Between Spirituality and Depression in an Urban Clinic

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between spiritual beliefs and depression in an urban population. METHOD: A convenience sample of adult patients of an urban primary care clinic completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of the Zung Depression Scale and the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS). RESULTS: Among 122 respondents, 99 (81%) reported that they consider themselves religious. Responses from the Zung Depression Scale found that 76 (62%) of the patients were depressed and 46 (38%) were not. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the Zung Depression Scale and the SIBS was -0.36 (p