Psychology of Religion and Spirituality © 2013 American Psychological Association

2013, Vol. 5, No. 2, 78 – 89 1941-1022/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0030625

Religious Attendance and Major Depression Among Asian Americans From a

National Database: The Mediation of Social Support

Amy L. Ai Bu Huang
Florida State University Bastyr University

Jeffrey Bjorck Hoa B. Appel

Fuller Theological Seminary Minority Achievers Program, Everett, WA
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

Religious involvement has been shown to serve a protective role regarding mental health for African and
European Americans, but little research has examined its role in Asian Americans. We addressed the gap
using the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) database, the first national epidemio-
logical household survey of Asian Americans in the United States. We examined the effect of religious
involvement on major depression among Asian Americans, above and beyond the effects of known
predictors (e.g., demographics, discrimination, and acculturation factors). Logistic regression analyses
were conducted to predict the presence of the diagnosis over the past year, using the WHO Composite
International Diagnostic Interview, similar to the DSM–IV (1994) criteria. Years in the United States and
discrimination were significantly associated with the greater likelihood of major depression. Conversely,
employment status, English proficiency, and older age were related to the lesser likelihood of depression.
Even after controlling for these variables, more frequent religious attendance, but not religious coping,
significantly predicted the reduced likelihood of major depression. Our findings suggest that religious
attendance might have the potential protection regarding Asian Americans’ mental health. Furthermore,
entry of social support eliminated the influence of attendance, indicating its mediation in the attendance–
depression association, a finding consistent with the collectivist nature in various Asian cultures. This
study is the first of its kind with respect to this association as demonstrated in a national database of Asian
Americans, which, however, should be further examined in longitudinal studies. Implications for
culturally relevant research, theory, and culturally sensitive mental health services are discussed.

Keywords: NLAAS, major depression and mental health among Asian Americans, religion, social
support, discrimination, immigration and acculturation, religion and cultural identity

The World Health Organization (WHO) has predicted that by
2020, major depression will be one of the two leading contributors
to the global burden of disease (Lichtman et al., 2008; Murray &
Lopez, 1996). It is therefore important to identify protective fac-
tors against it. Growing evidence suggests that faith factors (fac-
tors pertaining to religiousness and spirituality) can serve as pro-
tective factors and coping resources to this end (Coruh, Ayele,
Pugh, & Mulligan, 2005; Galanter, 2006; George, Ellison, &
Larson, 2002; Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001; Pargament,
Magyar-Russell, & Murray-Swank, 2005; Powell, Shahabi, &
This article was published Online First April 1, 2013.
Amy L. Ai, College of Social Work and Department of Psychology,
Florida State University; Bu Huang, Research Institute, Bastyr University;
Jeffrey Bjorck, Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Sem-
inary; Hoa B. Appel, Minority Achievers Program, Everett, WA.
The study was supported by a grant from the Pittsburgh Center for Race
and Social Problems. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of this organization.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Amy L.
Ai, Florida State University, 2313 University Center Building—C, Talla-
hassee, FL 32306. E-mail: amyai8@gmail.com
78
Thoresen, 2003; Smith, McCullough, & Poll, 2003; Townsend,
Kladder, Ayele, & Mulligan, 2002). These studies, however, have
been primarily conducted in mainstream populations (e.g., Euro-
pean and African Americans ascribing to various Judeo-Christian
faiths) with little attention to Asian Americans.
Over a century and a half ago, the first major influx of Asians
came from Southeast China to construct major railroads in the
United States (Chen, 1940). Since then, Asian Americans have
become a rapidly growing minority population in the United States
(5.6% of the total population; U.S. Census Bureau, 2012; Passel &
Cohn, 2008). In 2012, Asian Americans have surpassed Latino
Americans as the largest group of newly arrived immigrants to the
United States (Pew Research Center, 2012). As a significant ethnic
group with diverse faiths, the lack of research on their beliefs and
religious involvement has become increasingly problematic, par-
ticularly given that the number of Asian Americans was projected
to triple by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). One reason for the
lack of research in Asian Americans might be attributed to the
diverse belief system within this multiethnic group (Furuto &
Murase, 1992). To address the gap, we analyzed the limited
available data on religious involvement from the National Latino
and Asian American Study (NLAAS), the first national household
survey of psychiatric epidemiologic data of Latinos and Asian
 RELIGIOUS ATTENDENCE AND DEPRESSION
Americans (Alegria et al., 2004). On the basis of studies from
mainstream populations, we hypothesized that certain religious
involvement might mitigate depression among Asian Americans,
and we expected the mediation of social support, on the basis of
their collectivist culture.
Discrimination, Mental Health, and Religious
Involvement
To assess the effect of religious involvement on Asian Ameri-
cans’ mental health, it is important to control for other known
predictors of emotional functioning, especially cultural factors
(e.g., discrimination and acculturation). Asian Americans immi-
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grants encounter discrimination, cross-cultural conflicts, and
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acculturation-related stressors (Daniels, Taylor, & Kitano, 1986;
Fong, 2000; Tsui, 2009). Such stressors have been linked with
greater depressive mood (Lay & Safdar, 2003; Wald, 2005). Find-
ings from the NLAAS have associated discrimination and accul-
turation factors with Asian Americans’ mental health, such as
depressive symptoms over the past 12 months (Gee, Spencer,
Chen, Yip, & Takeuchi, 2007). Noh and Kaspar’s (2003) study on
Korean immigrants supported a detrimental impact of perceived
discrimination on depressive symptoms. Moreover, Korean Amer-
ican college students whose parents held more traditional Korean
views reported higher levels of depressive symptoms, compared
with those whose parents embraced more modern views (Aldwin
& Greenberger, 1987). This fact suggests the likelihood of inter-
generational transformation from acculturation problems of older
Asian Americans to depressive symptoms of younger members.
On the positive side, however, discrimination could also en-
hance a collective social identity among Asian American sub-
groups, especially those who engage in public religious activities,
to experience a sense of solidarity in their shared adversity
(Bjorck, Cuthbertson, Thurman, & Lee, 2001; Guest, 2003; Yi &
Bjorck, 2011). Fischer, Ai, Aydin, Haslam, and Frey (2010) ar-
gued about the interplay of collectivism and religious involvement
in certain cultures, already evident among Asians. Such collective
experiences can be a source of better mental health among Asian
Americans in the face of discrimination. Results from small studies
have pointed to potentially important influences of collective re-
ligious involvement on their mental health. Evidence has also
indicated that religious support seems to be a unique resource for
psychological functioning, even after controlling for general social
support (e.g., Fiala, Bjorck, & Gorsuch, 2002; Lazar & Bjorck,
2008; Maton, 1989a, 1989b). Yi and Bjorck (2011) reported sim-
ilar findings regarding religious support perceived from both God
and congregations specifically among Korean-speaking Christians.
This information may suggest the unique role of collective reli-
gious involvement, such as attending public service, which is
consistent with the collectivist nature of many Asian cultures.
In addition, faith has been framed as a generally adaptive coping
means (Pargament, 1997; Pargament et al., 2000). Interestingly,
however, religious coping was unrelated to functioning for Korean
American and Filipino American Protestants, even though they
used it more than Caucasian Protestants (Bjorck et al., 2001).
Inconsistent with findings from mainstream populations (Parga-
ment, 1997), the differential effect concerning public versus pri-
vate domains of religious involvement in Asian Americans high-
79
lights the need for replication of findings from small studies using
national databases, such as the NLAAS.
On the basis of the collectivism in Asian traditions, a potential
role of faith in mental health may be mediated by interpersonal and
social support. Ferraro and Koch (1994) asserted that religious
persons, through their involvement with faith-based institutions,
may increase social contact or exchanges of assistance, partially
explaining the effect of religiousness as a means to social support.
Others have also viewed social support as an important component
of the role of religious involvement on well-being (George et al.,
2002; Meyers, Sweeney, & Witmer, 2000) and as a mediator of
religiousness on health and well-being (Fiala et al., 2002; Powell
et al., 2003). Mounting evidence indicates the contribution of
religious involvement to social support that is, in turn, associated
with better outcomes in large mainstream populations (Ellison &
George, 1994; Ferraro & Koch, 1994; George et al., 2002; Krause,
2006a, 2006b; Krause & Ellison, 2009). Ai, Park, Huang, Rodgers,
and Tice (2007) showed this mechanism in Caucasians in model-
ing the social-support mediation underlying the protection of reli-
gions involvement on mental health. Accordingly, we expected the
similar role in the link of religious involvement and depression in
Asian Americans in the NLAAS.
Christians Versus Non-Christian Beliefs Among Asian
Americans
To our knowledge, no published research from a national data-
base has explored how faith might counteract or buffer the nega-
tive effects of known stress factors (e.g., discrimination) on de-
pression in Asian Americans. One difficult issue lies in the vast
diversity of faiths inherent within this multiethnic population (Ai,
Bjorck, Huang, & Appel, in press). No doubt, a significant portion
of Asian Americans share adherence to the three most prevalent
monotheist religions in the West, especially Christianity (Ai et al.,
in press). According to Fong (2000), generations of Asians came to
this country as Christians, influenced by Western missionaries. It
is noteworthy that many of the earliest Chinese immigrants in the
19th century were farmer followers of Hong Xiuquan, a Christian
prophet who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Manchu/Qing
dynasty (Fong, 2000; Spence, 1996).
In the 20th century, many Chinese immigrants were Protestants.
Together with U.S.-born Chinese Americans of second-generation
to six-generation Christians, they constitute a third of all Chinese
Americans (Yang, 2002), compared with a smaller proportion of
Chinese Christians in Asia. Most Filipinos and some Vietnamese
are Catholics, though there are also nondenominated Asian Amer-
ican Christians. There are also thousands of Korean American
Protestant churches (Hurh & Kim, 1990). Many other Asians may
have converted to Christianity after their immigration to the United
States. To date, the limited evidence on Asian American religion
has mostly been conducted among these Christian churchgoers,
while few data are available among non-Christians. Because of
their widely diverse cultural heritages, however, even Asian Amer-
icans adhering to mainstream monotheist religions can integrate
aspects of various native beliefs brought from the lands of their
ancestors, resulting in unique expressions of their faiths (Bjorck,
Lee, & Cohen, 1997; Bjorck et al., 2001).
Originating in Asia, roots of these religious legacies can be
traced about 2.5 millennia (Ai, 2010; Smart, 1999). Some core
 80 AI, HUANG, BJORCK, AND APPEL
ideas of these spiritual systems significantly differ from those in
Western religions, regarding concepts of what is secret and of deep
spiritual connections (Ai et al., in press). Some may not be con-
sidered to be religious practices in a more restrict Western defini-
tion. Asian-born faiths tend to focus on one’s integration with
cosmic forces, nature, and sociomoral virtues, rather than on one’s
relationship with a personal God, as is the case for Western
religions, including Christianity. Buddhism, Daoism, and Hindu-
ism emphasize cosmic-spiritual or naturalist views about the uni-
verse and humans (Ai, 2000, 2010; Ai et al., in press). Confucian-
ism underscores moralistic and educational aspects of social life,
including guiding ethics for mutual support, family relations, and
social networks (Munro, 1985, 2005; Peterson & Seligman, 2004).
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There are also numerous forms of folk beliefs in Asian cultures.
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One commonality of various Asian cultures, however, is to view
mental health holistically, integrating mind, body, and spirit (Ai,
2010; Ai et al., in press). Given this perspective, Asian Americans’
faiths can be inherently complex, irrespective of their Western or
Eastern roots, though they may have relevance in mental health
(Kim & Seidlitz, 2002; Mascaro & Rosen, 2006; Zhang & Zhu,
2008). As such, it will be interesting to explore the functional
difference between Christian and non-Christian beliefs without
denying the mixed faiths in between.
The Present Study
The present study’s aim is to begin filling the information void
concerning the role of religious involvement in major depression
of Asian Americans, using three relevant factors in the first na-
tional database (Alegria et al., 2004). Religious attendance and
Religious coping, as the only two quantifiable factors, were rea-
soned to provide preliminary insights on this objective. On the
basis of findings from small studies (Fiala et al., 2002; Lazar &
Bjorck, 2008; Maton, 1989a, 1989b), we hypothesize that Atten-
dance would be inversely associated with depression among Asian
Americans, above and beyond the influence of known predictors in
the NLAAS literature. Likewise, we were not certain about a link
between Coping and depression, due to the existing finding
(Bjorck et al., 2001). We then examined the extent to which social
support mediated the potential effects of either religious involve-
ment factors on depression. Furthermore, we tested the potential
interaction (i.e., stress buffering effect) of religious involvement
on the relationship between discrimination and depression in ad
hoc analyses (Krause & Tran, 1989). In a post hoc analysis, we
explored differential roles of religious involvement for Asian
Americans self-identified as Christians versus non-Christians. A
dichotomized variable was made from the third variable, Religious
affiliation, in the NLAAS.
Method
Data Source
The NLAAS is a part of the Collaborative Psychiatric Epide-
miology Studies (CPES) that aimed to determine the prevalence of
mental disorders and patterns of service utilization in Latino and
Asian American adults living in the United States (Heeringa et al.,
2004; Kessler et al., 2004; Pennell et al., 2004). The NLAAS
adapted the research design of the CPES from an earlier related
representative study, the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS), in
which the sample sizes were relatively small for ethnic minorities,
especially for Asian Americans (Kessler et al., 1994; Wang et al.,
2005). The NLAAS questionnaire is available in six languages—
including Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese—and
data were collected by trained interviewers who asked participants
to answer mostly multiple-choice questions. Items in the NLAAS
included factors on social demographics, mental health screening
and diagnosis, service usage and evaluations, acculturation, and
immigration. Relevant to this analysis, it included three factors on
religious involvement, a measure of depressive symptoms, and
other factors served as our controls.
Despite its status as the first nationwide Asian American data-
base, a major limitation lies in its underrepresenting and failing to
differentiate three major Asian subgroups—East Indian, Japanese,
and Korean descendants. These groups tend to be more financially
affluent and more educated (Pew Research Center, 2012; U.S.
Census Bureau, 2004). Another major limitation is the lack of
cultural sensitivity in the three religious factors, adopted from the
NCS on mainstream population. For example, the factor of Reli-
gious affiliation had no category on Asian-born faiths.
Participants and Sample Design
Both sampling procedures for the NLAAS and weights devel-
oped to correct for sampling bias were previously documented
with more details on procedures (e.g., attrition and weight; Alegria
et al., 2004; Heeringa et al., 2004). Its total sample size is 4649,
including 2095 Asian Americans. In Asian descendants, the
NLAAS mainly assessed the mental health of three major sub-
groups, including Chinese (N ⫽ 600), Filipino (N ⫽ 508), and
Vietnamese (N ⫽ 520). The ethnicities of individuals in all other
subgroups (N ⫽ 467) were placed in the Other category in this
dataset. Thus, three other major subgroups (East Indian, Japanese,
and Korean descendants) were underrepresented in the dataset,
because their collective numbers were combined in one category,
Other. We included all Asian Americans in the database (n ⫽
2095) and also used the previously developed weights (Alegria et
al., 2004; Heeringa et al., 2004) in all our analyses to correct for
the sampling biases. Because many of the demographic variables
for the sample were actually used in the analyses, they are reported
as descriptive statistics in the Results section.
Measures
The outcome variable. Depression was assessed with a di-
chotomized variable indicating whether a diagnosis of major de-
pression existed in the past 12 months, using the World Health
Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (Kes-
sler, Andrews, Mroczek, Ustun, & Wittchen, 1998), which is
similar to the criteria listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM–IV; American Psychi-
atric Association, 1994).
Factors as major interest. Among three factors bearing on
religious involvement, Religious affiliation was assessed under the
demographic section of the survey via one question: “What is your
religious preference?” Responses were coded and entered into the
database as Protestantism, Catholicism, Other religion, and No
Religion. Neither Other religion nor No religion has detailed
 RELIGIOUS ATTENDENCE AND DEPRESSION
categories in the public data provided by the NLAAS. No available
information was given on specifying Asian-born faiths (e.g., Bud-
dhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Hinduism) in the NLAAS.
Because Islam and Judaism are less influential among Asian
Americans, we collapsed the above four categories into two major
subgroups, Christian versus Non-Christian, under Religious affil-
iation, in order to address the potential difference between two
rough categories (Ai et al., in press; Neubauer, 1895; Reid &
Gilsenan, 2007).
Next, two other frequency measures of religious involvement
were used as our major predictors. Religious attendance was
assessed for respondents who had identified a religious affiliation
via one question (i.e., “How often do you usually attend religious
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services?”) with answers scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1 ⫽
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never, 5 ⫽ more than once a week). For those with no religion, the
answer was coded as default (1 ⫽ never) in the NLAAS database.
Religious coping, a major predictor, was assessed for respondents
who had identified a religious affiliation via one question (i.e.,
“When you have problems or difficulties in your family, work, or
personal life, how often do you seek comfort through religious or
spiritual means, such as praying, meditating, attending a religious
or spiritual service, or talking to a religious or spiritual advisor—
often, sometimes, rarely or never?”) with answers scored on a
4-point Likert scale (1 ⫽ never, 4 ⫽ often). For those with no
religion, the answer was coded as default (1 ⫽ never).
Covariates. Control variables included major confounders
(e.g., demographics) and risk (e.g., discrimination) or protective
(e.g., English proficiency) factors, as two sets of potential control
variables, according to Gee et al. (2007). The first set of covariates
(major confounders) involved five demographic and socioeconomic
status (SES) variables: Gender (0 ⫽ female, 1 ⫽ male); Age (ranging
from 18 to 95 years); Income, assessed using an index as the ratio to
poverty threshold (ranging from 0 to 17); Employment (1 ⫽ unem-
ployed, 2 ⫽ employed); and Education, assessed categorically with
14 categories from 4th grade to graduate school level.
The second set of covariates (risk and protective factors) in-
volved five acculturation variables. First, English proficiency was
constructed by averaging three items, respectively, rating speak-
ing, reading, and writing fluencies (Cronbach’s ␣ ⫽ .97). Second,
Birthplace was dichotomized (0 ⫽ foreign-born, 1 ⫽ U.S.-born).
Third, Years in the U.S. was categorized as for levels (0 –5, 6 –10,
11–20, and ⱖ21 years), while the U.S.-born participants were
assigned the highest score to avoid missing values. Fourth, Accul-
turation stress, capturing strains associated with culture change
(Cervantes, Padilla, Amando, & Salgado de Snyder, 1990), was
assessed with a 10-item scale (Vega et al., 1998) for immigrant
respondents, with Yes (coded 1) or No (coded 0) to each question
(e.g., “Do you find it hard interacting with others because of
difficulties you have with the English language?”). Items are
averaged to produce a mean score (higher score indicates higher
stress, ␣ ⫽ .58), while the U.S.-born status was assigned the value
0 to avoid missing values. Finally, Discrimination was assessed a
9-item scale on a 6-point Likert scale on each item (1 ⫽ never,
6 ⫽ almost every day), rating how often the respondent experi-
enced various forms of discrimination in daily life (e.g., “You
receive poorer services than other people at restaurants or stores”;
“You are treated with less courtesy than other people”; and “You
are treated with less respect than other people”; Gee et al., 2007).
The nine items were averaged to produce a mean score (␣ ⫽ .91).
81
A mediator. Social support was assessed with an 8-item mea-
sure on a 4- or 5-point Likert scale for each, with higher values
indicating higher social support. Respondents indicated items re-
ferring to their social networks, including those referring to family
and relatives, friends, spouse as well as others if applicable (e.g.,
“How much can you rely on your relatives for help if you have a
serious problems” or “can you open up to your friends if you need
to talk about your worries”). Items were averaged to produce a
mean score for social support overall (␣ ⫽ .77).
Statistical Analyses
First, descriptive analyses were conducted to present the distri-
bution of variables used in the regression analyses. Second, cate-
gories of religious affiliations were dichotomized for
West-versus-East interfaith comparison. Using independent T tests
and chi-square tests, we compared the two subgroups (Christian
vs. Non-Christian under Religious affiliation) on the dependent
and all independent variables. Third, Kendall’s tau statistics were
computed to illustrate the zero-order correlations between all the
potential predictors (most of which were interval measures).
Fourth, following preplanned steps, two hierarchical logistic re-
gression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship
between religious involvement and DSM–IV major depressive
episode diagnoses over a 12-month interval. These analyses ad-
dressed our primary objective and additional interest in subgroups,
concerning the direct effect of Religious attendance and Religious
coping on the diagnosis of Depression, respectively, above and
beyond those of confounders and risk or protective factors. Both
sets were performed first in the whole group and then in two
subgroups each following the same steps.
In Step I, we entered known predictors, specifically accultura-
tion and discrimination factors (Gee et al., 2007; Noh & Kaspar,
2003), as well as demographics that might also influence out-
comes, such as gender (Cunningham & Zayas, 2002) and eco-
nomic status (Gallo & Matthews, 2003; Miranda et al., 2003;
Nazroo, 2003; Séguin, Potvin, St.-Denis, & Loiselle, 1999;
Snowden, 2003). In Step II, Religious attendance or Coping was
entered into the two models, respectively, to estimate their main
effects and independent influence above and beyond the covari-
ates. In Step III, we tested the potential mediation of Social
support as a mechanism underlying influences of religious in-
volvement. According to Baron and Kenny (1986), if the effect of
predictors on outcomes vanishes after controlling for the correlated
mediator, then the latter factors explain the indirect effect of the
former predictors. In ad hoc analyses, we estimated the interaction
effect of religious factors and discrimination. Also, we tested both
Attendance and Coping in one equation to explore their potential
collective relationship to depression.
Logistic regression computes the statistical significance of odds
ratios (ORs) regarding frequencies of dichotomous variables. Rou-
tinely, the OR indicates the likelihood that one group has a greater
incidence of Depression (measured dichotomously) than another
group. An OR greater than 1 indicates a positive relationship and
less than 1 indicates a negative relationship. Difference in chi-
squares of Steps I and II indicates whether the Step II variables add
to the power of the Step I predictors.
 82 AI, HUANG, BJORCK, AND APPEL

Results ligious coping. Both involvement items were significantly associ-

Descriptive Analysis and Zero-Order Correlations
Most covariates, predictor, and criterion variables in the regres-
sion analyses, as well as Religious affiliation in subethnic groups
(Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese) were presented by Ai et al. (in
press). In the sample, the average age was 41, and gender was
balanced. Average education was 14 years, average years in U.S.
were 11–20 years, three quarters were foreign-born, and most were
employed. Of the whole sample, 4.8% met the DSM–IV require-
ments for major depression over the past 12 months. Concerning
Religious affiliation, 78.7% of the Asian Americans identified with
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ated positively with Age and negatively with Employment, but only
Attendance was inversely correlated with U.S.-born. Religious
coping was significantly correlated with Discrimination and had a
stronger bivariate relationship with English proficiency and Years
in the U.S., compared with Attendance.
Regression Analyses
The two sets of hierarchical logistic regressions models were
first performed on the whole group to address our primary objec-
tive of whether Religious attendance or Religious coping added
predictive power regarding Depression to that of the covariates

one of the three types listed, including 21.3% with Protestant, (e.g., confounders and risk or protective factors), and whether
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24.8% with Catholic, and 32.5% with Other faiths, while 21.3%
with No religion. Concerning Religious attendance, 8.5% of the
sample attended more than once each week, 24.1% attended about
once a week, 10.7% attended one to three times a month, and
24.1% attended less than once a month, while 32.6% did not attend
services or refused to answer. Concerning Religious coping, 29%
used coping often, 21% used coping sometimes, and 16% used
coping rarely, while 34% never used it.
Interfaith subgroup comparison is shown in Table 1, in which
the column of p shows statistically significant levels of respective
T test or chi-square test results. No significance of being diagnosed
with major depression was found between the two subgroups.
Compared with the non-Christian group (n ⫽ 1103), members of
the Christian group (n ⫽ 992) were older and were more likely to
be U.S.-born, to have spent more years in the U.S., to have better
English proficiency, and to report less cultural stress. The Chris-
tian group also experienced higher discrimination and higher lev-
els of Religious attendance, Religious coping, and perceived So-
cial support. No significant differences were found between two
subgroups on Gender and SES (i.e., Education, Employment, and
Income).
Tau correlations between all the potential predictors are pre-
sented in Table 2. Social support was significantly correlated with
all other predictors, including both Religious attendance and Re-
Social support mediated the tested associations. The first model
tested the role of Religious attendance, following three preplanned
steps (demographics and other covariates, Religious attendance,
and Social support). As shown in Table 3, the middle columns
presents the ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for multiple
logistic regression analysis, predicting Depression from factors in
these three steps.
Results showed that the Step I model (see Table 3) was signif-
icant, ␹2(10) ⫽ 65.35, p ⬍ .001. Among demographic and socio-
economic variables, Age and Employment were both significantly
negatively associated with Depression. Each year increase in Age
was associated with 4% decrease of the odds of being diagnosed
with major Depression. Employment was associated with 38%
decrease of its likelihood. Among acculturation variables, English
proficiency, Years in the U.S., and Discrimination significantly
predicted Depression. Each unit of increase in English proficiency
was associated with 30% decrease of the odds of Depression.
However, each level increase in the Years in U.S. was associated
with 32% increase of its likelihood, and the increase of a level of
Discrimination is associated with 86% increase of the odds of
Depression.
After adding Religious attendance, the Step II model (see Table
3) remained significant, ␹2(11) ⫽ 70.38, p ⬍ .001], while the role
of five covariate predictors in Step I persisted. As expected,

Table 1
Interfaith Subgroup Comparison (N ⫽ 2095): Statistical Significant Levels of Respective T Test or Chi-Square
Test Results

Non-Christian,
Whole group Christian, mean mean
Variable (n ⫽ 2095) (n ⫽ 992) (n ⫽ 1103) p value

Age 42.71 39.87 ⬍.001

Gender 46% male 49.1% male ns
Highest grade of school/college completed 13.75 13.62 ns
Census 2001
Income/needs ratio 5.69 5.60 ns
Employment status 65.9% full-time 66.3% full time ns
U.S. born 27.7% 16.2% ⬍.001
Years in the U.S. 3.51 3.01 ⬍.001
English proficiency 3.00 2.61 ⬍.001
Acculturation stress 0.16 0.23 ⬍.001
Discrimination 1.82 1.72 ⬍.001
Religious attendance 3.29 1.82 ⬍.001
Religious coping 2.98 1.96 ⬍.001
Social support 3.15 2.95 ⬍.001
 RELIGIOUS ATTENDENCE AND DEPRESSION 83

Table 2
Tau Correlation and Significance of Potential Predictors in the Whole Group (N ⫽ 2095)

Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1. Age
2. Gender (male ⫽ 1, female ⫽ 0) ⫺.004
3. Education level ⫺.114ⴱⴱⴱ .081ⴱⴱⴱ
4. Poverty index .001 .075ⴱⴱⴱ .285ⴱⴱⴱ
5. Employment status ⫺.064ⴱⴱⴱ .158ⴱⴱⴱ .119ⴱⴱⴱ .248ⴱⴱⴱ
6. U.S. born ⫺.152ⴱⴱⴱ .023 .034 .043ⴱ .014
7. Years in U.S. .064ⴱⴱⴱ .037 .022 .113ⴱⴱⴱ .043ⴱ .655ⴱⴱⴱ
8. English proficiency ⫺.259ⴱⴱⴱ .051ⴱⴱ .330ⴱⴱⴱ .235ⴱⴱⴱ .089ⴱⴱⴱ .386ⴱⴱⴱ .341ⴱⴱⴱ
9. Acculturation stress .121ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.022 ⫺.040ⴱ ⫺.042ⴱ ⫺.016 ⫺.614ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.479ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.377ⴱⴱⴱ
10. Discrimination experience ⫺.173ⴱⴱⴱ .087ⴱⴱⴱ .142ⴱⴱⴱ .130ⴱⴱⴱ .066ⴱⴱⴱ .188ⴱⴱⴱ .178ⴱⴱⴱ .241ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.063ⴱⴱⴱ
11. Religious attendance .097ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.049ⴱ .034ⴱ ⫺.007 ⫺.075ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.065ⴱⴱ ⫺.026 .040ⴱ .019 ⫺.019
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12. Religious coping .059ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.130ⴱⴱⴱ .058ⴱⴱ .020 ⫺.056ⴱⴱ .036 .057ⴱⴱ .118ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.028 .047ⴱⴱ .492ⴱⴱⴱ
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13. Social support ⫺.177ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.114ⴱⴱⴱ .188ⴱⴱⴱ .153ⴱⴱⴱ .047ⴱⴱ .177ⴱⴱⴱ .126ⴱⴱⴱ .280ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.153ⴱⴱⴱ .125ⴱⴱⴱ .081ⴱⴱⴱ .164ⴱⴱⴱ
ⴱ ⴱⴱ ⴱⴱⴱ
p ⬍ .05. p ⬍ .01. p ⬍ .001.

Religious attendance significantly predicted the reduced likelihood
of depression, above and beyond other predictors in Step I. One
unit of change in Religious attendance was associated with being
17% less likely to be diagnosed with major Depression. Adding
Religious attendance significantly increased the predictive power
of the model, evident in the change of chi-square values, ␹2(1) ⫽
5.03, p ⬍ .05. Finally, the Step III model remained significant,
␹2(12) ⫽ 78.11, p ⬍ .001, in which Social support significantly
predicted the less likelihood of Depression. One unit of its change
was associated with a 38% decrease of its likelihood (see Table 3).
After its entry, however, the role of Religious attendance vanished,
indicating the mediating effect of Social support, while five other
covariate predictors sustained their impacts. In the ad hoc analysis,
the interaction between Religious attendance and Discrimination
was tested, resulting in no significant impact on Depression.
The second model tested Religious coping, following the same
preplanned steps. Not surprisingly, however, Coping had no effect
(p ⫽ .327) on Depression, and the chi-square difference between
Step II and Step I (p ⫽ .326) with only a slightly increase of ␹2(10)
from 65.35 to 66.31 (data not shown) was not significant (data not
shown). As an additional check, we further tested Religious atten-
dance and Coping together and found the similar association of
Attendance with Depression but no direct effect of Coping.
The two sets of hierarchical logistic regressions models were
then performed on the two faith groups to address potential sub-
group differences: whether Religious attendance or Religious cop-
ing added predictive power regarding Depression to that of the
covariates (e.g., confounders and risk factors), and if Social sup-
port mediated the supported associations. In the Christian group,
first, the third model evaluated Religious attendance, following the
same preplanned steps. The Step I model was significant with six
significant predictors. Age, Employment, English proficiency,
Years in the U.S., and Discrimination all had similar relations with
Depression as did the entire group model. A new predictor was
Education, for which levels increased with Depression. Surpris-
ingly, all influences persisted through Steps II and III, whereas
neither Religious attendance nor Social support had any effect on
Depression (data not shown). Next, the fourth model tested Reli-
gious coping with the same step, and results were similar to those
in the third model.

Table 3
Logistic Regressions Predicting 12 Months DSM–IV Major Depressive Episode Diagnosis in the Whole Group (N ⫽ 2095)

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

Predictor OR 95% CI OR 95% CI OR 95% CI

Age 0.96ⴱⴱⴱ 0.94, 0.98 0.97ⴱⴱⴱ 0.95, 0.99 0.96ⴱⴱⴱ 0.94, 0.98
Gender (male ⫽ 1, female ⫽ 0) 0.77 0.50, 1.18 0.76 0.49, 1.17 0.67 0.43, 1.04
Education level 1.04 0.95, 1.12 1.04 0.96, 1.13 1.06 0.98, 1.16
Poverty index 0.99 0.94, 1.04 0.99 0.94, 1.04 1.00 0.95, 1.05
Employment status 0.79ⴱ 0.63, 0.99 0.78ⴱ 0.62, 0.97 0.80ⴱ 0.64, 0.99
U.S. born 1.30 0.57, 2.96 1.26 0.55, 2.88 1.26 0.54, 2.92
Years in U.S. (categorical) 1.32ⴱ 1.01, 1.72 1.31ⴱ 1.00, 1.71 1.33ⴱ 1.01, 1.74
English proficiency 0.70ⴱ 0.52, 0.95 0.72ⴱ 0.53, 0.98 0.71ⴱ 0.52, 0.98
Acculturation stress 2.53 0.53, 12.15 2.56 0.53, 12.43 2.22 0.46, 10.79
Discrimination 1.86ⴱⴱⴱ 1.44, 2.39 1.85ⴱⴱⴱ 1.43, 2.38 1.94ⴱⴱⴱ 1.51, 2.51
Religious attendance 0.83ⴱ 0.70, 0.98 0.87 0.74, 1.03
Social support 0.62ⴱⴱ 0.44, 0.88
␹2 65.35 70.38 78.11
df 10 11 12
Note. DSM–IV ⫽ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.); CI ⫽ confidence interval; OR ⫽ odds ratios.
ⴱ
p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01. ⴱⴱⴱ p ⬍ .001.
 84 AI, HUANG, BJORCK, AND APPEL

Finally, in the Non-Christian subgroup, first, the fifth model
tested Religious attendance, following the same preplanned steps.
As shown in Table 4, the Step I model was significant with only
Age and Discrimination as significant predictors in the similar
relationship with Depression, as they did in the whole group
model. These effects persisted through Steps II and III, in which
Religious attendance and Social support, respectively, predicted
the less likelihood of Depression, above and beyond the other
predictors preceding steps. However, the effect of Attendance was
not eliminated by Social support as shown in the first model for the
whole group, indicating no mediating effect of the latter. Next, the
sixth model tested Religious coping with the same steps. Results
were mostly similar to that in the fifth model. Whereas Coping had
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validity to predict lower likelihood of a major depression diagno-
sis, even after controlling for known major predictors in the
NLAAS (Gee et al., 2007). Contrary to reports from mainstream
populations (Pargament, 1997; Pargament et al., 2000); however,
this study does not find a favorable association between religious
coping and mental health. Rather, supporting a small-sample study
on Korean Americans (Bjorck et al., 2001), the two involvement
factors have differential relationships with depression in the
NLAAS database.
Although there is no direct measure for religious support in the
NLAAS, the bivariate correlation between religious attendance
and social support is shown in zero-order correlations (see Table
3). Entering social support eliminated the direct effect of religious

no effect, Social support, significantly predicted the less likelihood attendance, confirming the mediation of the former. This finding
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of Depression in the Non-Christian subgroup in Step III.
Discussion
The primary share of research on the American public has
identified the protection of religious involvement, especially at-
tendance, for mental health in African and European American
populations (e.g., Gorsuch, 1988; Koenig et al., 2001; Mattis &
Watson, 2009; Pargament, 1997; Willoughby, Cadigan, Burchinal,
& Skinner, 2008). It remains unanswered whether this function can
be generalized to Asian Americans at a national level, even 150
years after the initial major arrival of Asian immigrants. This is a
topic long overdue, given that psychological research on Asian
American religiousness or spirituality still presents vast gaps,
challenges, and opportunities. Contributing to literature, the pres-
ent study may be the first of its kind in examining this association
in Asian Americans at the national level. Our findings provide a
positive preliminary step, one that fills a gap in the psychology of
religion in this ethnic minority population.
Findings From the Whole Group on Religious
Attendance and Social Support
Specifically, our findings in whole-group analyses are consistent
with the hypothesis that religious attendance adds incremental
lends support for religious support theory (Ferraro & Koch, 1994)
and a mechanism model in which social support is one of the
mechanisms in the role of religious involvement (Oman & Thore-
sen, 2002). Consistent with the evidence in an African American
sample (van Olphen et al., 2003), the present study may be the first
large-population study on the mediating effect of social support in
the link between religious attendance and depression of Asian
Americans. The importance of the service-related support system
is made evident here, which underlies the potential protection of
religious involvement to counteract the damaging role of discrim-
ination on minorities’ mental health (Guest, 2003; Yi & Bjorck,
2011; Zhang & Zhu, 2008). Our outcome supports other major
findings in the mainstream population that demonstrate the signif-
icant effect of religious support on mental health (Ellison &
George, 1994; Ferraro & Koch, 1994; George et al., 2002; Krause,
2006a, 2006b; Krause & Ellison, 2009).
Furthermore, Gee et al. (2007) has linked discrimination with
more depression but acculturation with less depression, using the
NLAAS dataset. An absent interaction between discrimination and
religious attendance suggests that Asian Americans’ faith-based
involvement could have a suppressing, rather than a stress-
buffering, effect on this diagnosis over the past 12 months (Krause
& Tran, 1989). In other words, increasing religious service atten-
dance is related to lower odds of depression for Asian Americans

Table 4
Logistic Regressions Predicting 12 Months DSM–IV Major Depression Diagnosis in the Non-Christian Group (N ⫽ 1103)

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

Predictor OR 95% CI OR 95% CI OR 95% CI

Age 0.96ⴱⴱⴱ 0.94, 0.98 0.97ⴱⴱⴱ 0.95, 0.99 0.96ⴱⴱⴱ 0.94, 0.98
Gender (male ⫽ 1, female ⫽ 0) 0.77 0.50, 1.18 0.76 0.49, 1.17 0.67 0.43, 1.04
Education level 1.04 0.95, 1.12 1.04 0.96, 1.13 1.06 0.98, 1.16
Poverty index 0.99 0.94, 1.04 0.99 0.94, 1.04 1.00 0.95, 1.05
Employment status 0.79ⴱ 0.63, 0.99 0.78ⴱ 0.62, 0.97 0.80ⴱ 0.64, 0.99
U.S. born 1.30 0.57, 2.96 1.26 0.55, 2.88 1.26 0.54, 2.92
Years in U.S. (categorical) 1.32ⴱ 1.01, 1.72 1.31ⴱ 1.00, 1.71 1.33ⴱ 1.01, 1.74
English proficiency 0.70ⴱ 0.52, 0.95 0.72ⴱ 0.53, 0.98 0.71ⴱ 0.52, 0.98
Acculturation stress 2.53 0.53, 12.15 2.56 0.53, 12.43 2.22 0.46, 10.79
Discrimination 1.86ⴱⴱⴱ 1.44, 2.39 1.85ⴱⴱⴱ 1.43, 2.38 1.94ⴱⴱⴱ 1.51, 2.51
Religious attendance 0.83ⴱ 0.70, 0.98 0.87 0.74, 1.03
Social support 0.62ⴱⴱ 0.44, 0.88
␹2 65.35 70.38 78.11
df 10 11 12
Note. DSM–IV ⫽ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.); CI ⫽ confidence interval; OR ⫽ odds ratios.
ⴱ
p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01. ⴱⴱⴱ p ⬍ .001.
 RELIGIOUS ATTENDENCE AND DEPRESSION
in the NLAAS, irrespective with the level of discrimination. Nev-
ertheless, all these findings should be considered as tentative and
are yet to be confirmed in longitudinal data. Great caution is
required for their interpretation for at least three reasons. First, and
most important, the NLAAS design is not culturally attuned to
Asian-born faiths, which can result in inadequate assessment for
their worship styles. Second, the NLAAS is a cross-sectional
dataset. Third, the database underrepresents three major subgroups
of higher SES, among which religious involvement can be differ-
ent from that of Chinese, Filipinos, and Vietnamese. Finally,
undetected factors associated with attendance may confound our
findings, even though we have controlled the impact of most
known predictors for depression in the NLAAS.
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Findings From Subgroups: Christians Versus
Non-Christians
Our findings in the post hoc subgroup analyses appear to add
preliminary evidence to psychology of religion in Asian Ameri-
cans, concerning interfaith differences among subgroups and cul-
turally relevant potential faith influences. Bivariate results indicate
the balance of two subgroups (including numbers, gender, and
SES, as well as a diagnosis of depression), which makes their
subcultural effects more comparable. Christian Asian Americans
in the NLAAS enjoyed better acculturation as indicated by English
proficiency, U.S.-born status, longer stay in the U.S., and less
acculturation stress. Being Christian is also associated with older
age, attending church services and activities, using religion to
cope, and greater perceived social support, compared to those who
identified with other beliefs. Despite greater Americanization,
Christian Asian Americans reported significantly higher discrim-
ination than did non-Christians. Especially, although acculturation
(English p) and older age were associated with less depression in
Christians, neither their religious involvement nor social support
they perceived was correlated with the absence of a major depres-
sion diagnosis. Instead, higher levels of education within this
group, longer stay in the U.S., and greater discrimination that they
experienced increase with its likelihood. This finding does not
replicate that on the positive role of religion in mainstream pop-
ulations, as noted above.
By contrast, non-Christian Asian Americans in the NLAAS
were younger and less acculturated, compared with their Christian
counterparts. Despite receiving fewer mainstream-cultural, reli-
gious, and social resources, their religious attendance and per-
ceived social support are independently related to a lower likeli-
hood of a depression diagnosis. The absent of mediation of the
latter in the relationship between their religious attendance and
depression indicates no mechanism reviewed for the potentially
positive role of attendance in this subgroup. Still, the finding may
lend support for Cohn and Hill’s (2007) claim of faith as a key
component of people’s cultural identity, which must be investi-
gated in studies of well-being. It also supports Durkheim’s (1915/
1965) notion of the psychosocial function of religion as a form of
social consciousness to enhance the group survival, in this case
non-Christian Asian Americans. Today, Confucianism, Daoism,
and Hinduism remain culturally influential among East- and
Southeast-Asian (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnam-
ese) and Asian-Indian Americans. In Buddhism, the Small Vehicle
(Hinayana) sustains its influence among people with roots in
85
Burma, Cambodia, Lao, and Thailand. Historically, intertwined
with East-Asian faiths (Confucianism and Daoism), the Great
Vehicle (Mahayana) has its impact on people with roots in China,
Japan, Korea, Singapore, Tibet, and Vietnam (Epstein, 2003). Yet,
the role of Asian-born faiths in mental health has received little
research attention in psychology of religion.
Many Asian Americans who reported a non-Christian faith
practiced Asian-born faiths. Several studies do point to possible
benefits of such faiths (Ai, 2000). However, due to the lack of
information in the NLAAS on Asian-born faiths and its unique
involvement, these findings can only be considered to be hypoth-
eses for future testing in Asian Americans. Appel, Huang, Ai, and
Lin (2011) and Huang, Appel, Nicdao, Lee, and Ai (2013) found
that in both male and female Asian Americans, there were no
significant difference in a diagnosis (or prevalence) of major
depression. Despite the fact and compatible demographics and
SES between the two subgroups, there could be other unknown
confounders. For example, there are more Christians in the
Filipino subgroup than in either Chinese or Vietnamese sub-
groups. The current analysis reveals greater discrimination ex-
perienced by Christians. Huang, Appel, Ai, and Lin (2012)
associated religious attendance, but not discrimination, with
depression in Chinese Americans. The potential interaction
between ethnic subgroups and religious involvement may fur-
ther complicate the interpretation of our findings. Whether
Christian Filipinos experienced more discrimination or other
stressors, which may play a role in the lack of a link between
attendance and depression awaits for further analysis.
Implications and Limitations
This study may have implications for psychologists’ practice
with Asian Americans. This population is particularly reluctant to
seek services in response to their emotional distress. Even among
Asian Americans with a probable mental disorder, only a small
proportion (17%) seeks services (U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services, 2001). Factors that reduce the use of mental
health–related services include cultural barriers (e.g., stigma, loss
of face, causal beliefs; Leong & Lau, 2001) and culturally unre-
sponsive services (e.g., a lack of match in language, ethnicity, and
cross-cultural understanding; Sue, Fujino, Hu, Takeuchi, & Zane,
1991). However, Asian Americans rate their health care experi-
ences more positively when providers respect their faith traditions
and learn their cultures and relevant practice (La Roche & Maxie,
2003). Our findings suggest that cultural sensitivity should include
an awareness of the potentially positive role of faith in Asian
Americans’ mental health, which should encourage providers to
integrate the topic as part of regular psychological care.
As the world undergoes socioeconomic globalization, all psy-
chological theories and research will face growing challenges
presented by the increasingly complex interaction of both Western
and non-Western cultures. These challenges will be particularly
relevant in the area of religiousness and spirituality in the U.S.
(Pew Forum, 2008, 2009). Asian-born faiths have already attracted
certain mainstream populations in the West beyond Asian immi-
grants (Pew Forum, 2008, 2009). To address these research chal-
lenges, the investigation of faith’s relation to psychological health
and wellness will need to be expanded in order to address the
meaning and the function of non-Western faiths in individuals’ life
 86 AI, HUANG, BJORCK, AND APPEL
and the interfaith subgroup differences. Future versions of the
NLAAS should involve further details rather than simply grouping
all those who are religious but not Christians (40% in the current
dataset) into one ambiguous group.
Other limitations inherent in this study should be noted. First,
the findings may not be generalized to descendants of East Indian,
Japanese, and Korean Americans as underrepresented major sub-
groups. Second, despite certain evidence conveyed, a cross-
sectional study cannot inform causality. Third, the depression
diagnosis cannot be considered as definitive because it was solely
derived from telephone interviews. Fourth, depression has been
shown to be less common among Asian Americans (e.g., the
current sample reported a low incidence of a major depression
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(4.8%) than did other ethnic groups (e.g., 8.5% among Latinos;
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Nicklett & Burgard, 2009). The low rate among Asian Americans
should be interpreted within the cultural context, given that (a)
their culturally acceptable somatization of mental health issues
(McCarthy, 2001; Takeuchi, Chun, Gong, & Shen, 2002) or (b)
Asian Americans’ reluctance to seek professional services (Sue et
al., 1991; Leong & Lau, 2001).
Fifth, the single-item frequency measures for religious atten-
dance and coping in the current study are clearly limited, consid-
ering that religious involvement is a complex and multifaceted
cultural phenomenon (Hill & Pargament, 2003). In particular, they
were adapted from items used in a national database of mostly
mainstream populations with Western faiths. These items may not
fit well with the practicing Asian-born faiths. In particular, some
Western patterns may not be applicable for participants of non-
Christian faiths with different time- and space-based conceptual-
ization of their faith-based worship. Such an adoption assumed that
measuring religious involvement/attendance of Asian faiths could
follow Christianity as the norm. The weakness is manifest where
the study attempts to measure religious involvement/attendance by
means of standards applicable to Christianity rather than “Asian
faiths.” This measure can well marginalize those for which (1) the
lack of public places for worship/prayer in a given area (e.g.,
Buddhist temples in the central mountain area), (2) devotions are
private, not public (such as shrine in a private mediation space in),
and (3) worship services are not scheduled consistently at a public
site, but rather take place in a religious space at home.
Our analyses indicated that about a third of Asian Americans
selected the “Other” category for their religious preference,
whereas a fifth of them chose the “No religion” category. The
meaning of these categories might have obscured the beliefs and
practices of at least some Asian Americans who practiced Asian-
born faiths. Combining “No religion” with “Other religion” be-
comes an operation out of little choice, simply because of the lack
of definition and information on these categories. This is certainly
subject to criticism. For example, it is unclear whether “No reli-
gion” might include spiritual beliefs with no focus on a monotheist
God. As such, Daoist and Confucianist believers might have
selected “No religion” if they did not believe in God (given the
lack of a God image in these faiths) or “Other” if they believed in
some god(s). In contrast, Hindus could only select “Other.” Also,
Buddhists focusing on personal reincarnation may routinely pray
alone at a temple, a behavior that may confuse a “religious service”
with “religious coping.” As such, these measures will need to be
validated in future studies with greater specificity and cultural
sensitivity. Whether or not these Asian-born beliefs are God-
centered, as are most Western faiths, they are deeply spiritual and
culturally meaningful to various Asian descendents (Ai et al., in
press). With gods, Hinduism is a cultural practice by birth. Without
gods, Confucianism and Daoism are classified as two of the
world’s major cultural legacies involving seven religions (Smart,
1999), while others might see them as secular philosophies.
Finally, it will be helpful to use more culturally appropriate
measures in the future waves of the NLAAS with respect to
Asian-specific faiths, since they are a key cultural component for
many Asian Americans and culturally relevant measures of reli-
gious support. In addition, whereas this national study translated
all measures into various languages, correct translation does not
necessarily guarantee that the meaning of all items is identical
across cultures. With these limitations, the current analyses may
raise more questions than answers. For example, Why does the
more acculturated Christian subgroup seem to experience more
discrimination? Why does their greater religious involvement not
appear to function as a protective force as compared to the lower
involvement in their non-Christian counterparts? And how does
religious involvement in this regard interact with the acculturation
process? The little attention to the religious diversity among Asian
Americans in the NLAAS database is problematic, given the
significant difference of Asians versus Latinos, another group in
NLAAS. These issues should be addressed in longitudinal studies.
Despite these limitations, these measures can be seen as an
important first step given that so little national information is
available regarding Asian Americans’ religious involvement rele-
vant to their mental health. In fact, a current survey shows that
Asian Americans have recently surpassed Latinos as the largest
group of newly arrived immigrants to the U.S. (Pew Research
Center, 2012). Indeed, examining this large sample represents an
attempt to address an underinvestigated topic in this population.
Future research should include more rigorous religious measures
and investigate their unique contributions to mental health in Asian
Americans. More empirical research is warranted with a focus on
Asian American experiences in their Asian-born faiths and adapted
Western religious involvement, in conjunction with acculturation
and discrimination issues. More in-depth analyses are warranted
for subethnic group variability given the significant cross-cultural
differences within this multiethnic population in the U.S. (Ai et al.,
in press). Given the current findings, religious involvement ap-
pears to be a source of strength and stability for Asian Americans
and therefore cannot be further ignored in the literature.
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Received October 27, 2010
Revision received August 2, 2012
Accepted August 15, 2012 䡲