Utilization of Internet for Religious Purposes and Psychosocial Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

TY - JOUR

T1 - Utilization of Internet for Religious Purposes and Psychosocial Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AU - Kretzler, Benedikt

AU - König, Hans-Helmut

AU - Hajek, André

PY - 2023/5

Y1 - 2023/5

N2 - BackgroundPrior to the COVID-19 pandemic, research findings pointed towards an alleviating effect of religion on depressive symptoms and loneliness. However, it is not clear whether such a relationship persisted when worships were mostly held as online events. Consequently, this study investigates the link between religion-related internet utilization, particularly for online worships, depressive symptoms, and loneliness during the lockdown period.MethodsData were derived from a representative sample of German individuals aged 40 years and above, which was conducted in June and July 2020. Utilization of internet for religious purposes was treated as a dichotomous variable.ResultsRegarding bivariate analysis, individuals that used the internet for religious purposes were significantly older, and more likely to be female or to live in an urban setting. Furthermore, they had significantly more severe depressive symptoms. According to multiple linear regression, internet usage for religious purposes was both associated with more depressive symptoms, R² = .30, F(11, 3367) = 113.01, ß = 0.39, p = .050, and higher loneliness levels, R² = .09, F(11, 3367) = 25.75, ß = 2.24, p = .025.ConclusionsIt seems possible that the alleviating effect of religion on depressive symptoms and loneliness did not hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may imply that online worships are not perfect replacements for traditional worships in terms of their social and health benefits.

AB - BackgroundPrior to the COVID-19 pandemic, research findings pointed towards an alleviating effect of religion on depressive symptoms and loneliness. However, it is not clear whether such a relationship persisted when worships were mostly held as online events. Consequently, this study investigates the link between religion-related internet utilization, particularly for online worships, depressive symptoms, and loneliness during the lockdown period.MethodsData were derived from a representative sample of German individuals aged 40 years and above, which was conducted in June and July 2020. Utilization of internet for religious purposes was treated as a dichotomous variable.ResultsRegarding bivariate analysis, individuals that used the internet for religious purposes were significantly older, and more likely to be female or to live in an urban setting. Furthermore, they had significantly more severe depressive symptoms. According to multiple linear regression, internet usage for religious purposes was both associated with more depressive symptoms, R² = .30, F(11, 3367) = 113.01, ß = 0.39, p = .050, and higher loneliness levels, R² = .09, F(11, 3367) = 25.75, ß = 2.24, p = .025.ConclusionsIt seems possible that the alleviating effect of religion on depressive symptoms and loneliness did not hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may imply that online worships are not perfect replacements for traditional worships in terms of their social and health benefits.

KW - Religion

KW - depression

KW - loneliness

KW - COVID-19

U2 - 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104900

DO - 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104900

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 36682078

VL - 108

JO - ARCH GERONTOL GERIAT

JF - ARCH GERONTOL GERIAT

SN - 0167-4943

M1 - 104900

ER -