Prayer, Attachment to God, and Symptoms of Anxiety-Related Disorders among U.S. Adults

Considerable research has examined the relationship between religion and mental health. This study adds to the literature in this area by addressing two main questions: (1) Is the frequency of prayer associated with symptoms of anxiety-related disorders among US adults? (2) Is this association condi-tional on the nature of individuals ’ attachment to God? We examine these questions using data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey (N 1,511). Results reveal no meaningful associations between the frequency of prayer and anxiety symptoms. In contrast, anxious attachment to God is positively correlated with psychiatric symptoms, while secure attachment to God bears a modest inverse associa-tion with these outcomes (when anxious attachment is excluded from the model). Results also show that prayer is inversely associated with symptoms of anxiety-related disorders among individuals who have a secure attachment to God, but positively associated with these outcomes among those who have a more insecure or avoidant attachment to God. Several study limitations and promising direc-tions for future research are discussed. Key words: religion; prayer; anxiety; mental health; attachment theory; ETAS theory