Relationship of religion and perceived social support to self-esteem and depression in nursing home residents

This study examined the relationship of religiosity and perceived social support to depression and self-esteem in nursing home residents. It was hypothesized that religiosity and perceived social support would be negatively associated with depression and positively correlated with self-esteem. The Mental Status Questionnaire (a dementia screening instrument), a demographic questionnaire, Hoge\u27s Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale, Procidano and Heller\u27s Perceived Social Support-Friends and Family, and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 83 nursing home residents in the New York metropolitan area. A surprising 70% or 58 residents reported no social support from friends, with 19% or 16 reporting none from family. Perceived social support from family was negatively related to depression and positively related to self-esteem, and was the only variable to support the hypothesis. Intrinsic religiosity and perceived social support from friends were not significantly related to depression or self-esteem. Depression was primarily predicted by self-esteem and health. In addition to being related to depression, self-esteem was predicted by an interaction between gender and perceived support from family, and occupation. Length of stay, church attendance, gender, ethnicity and religious affiliation were other variables related to the test measures. Implications of these findings were discussed, and recommendations were made for future research