Religiosidade/espiritualidade, sintomas depressivos, ansiosos, esperança e felicidade em crianças e adolescentes em acolhimento institucional

Abstract

Introduction: It is estimated that there are up to nine million children in institutional care worldwide, a context that poses a risk to mental health, making it necessary to investigate protective factors. Objective: To investigate the association between religiosity/spirituality and mental health (depressive and anxiety symptoms, hope, and happiness) in children and adolescents in institutional care. Method: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted with all children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 years in institutional care in Juiz de Fora (MG). A sociodemographic questionnaire, BMMRS (Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiosity/Spirituality), Subjective Happiness Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and Herth Hope Scale were used. Results: The sample consisted of 43 individuals (28 males), with a mean age of 12 years (± 2 SD) and 420 days in care (± 317 SD). The mean scores were: 11 (± 5 SD) for anxiety, 17 for depression (± 11 SD), 4.7 (± 1 SD) for happiness, and 36 (± 5 SD) for hope. On the values/beliefs subscale, in response to the statement “I believe in a God who cares for me,” 95% (n=41) said they “agree” or “strongly agree.” On the global self-assessment subscale, in response to the statement “How important are religion and spirituality to you,” 76% (n=33) answered “important” or “very important.” When asked what was considered most important in their lives, from a list of 10 items, 56% (n=24) responded that God was first in their lives and 7% (n=3) responded Religion. Regarding religious affiliation, 44% (n=19) stated that they had no religion, 34% (n=15) declared themselves to be evangelical, 13% (n=6) stated that they were Catholic, and 9% (n=4) belonged to African-based religions. Feeling God's presence more often was associated with a threefold increase in the likelihood of feeling capable of giving and receiving love. Individuals who reported finding strength and comfort in religion were nine times more likely to feel very strong (OR = 10.29, 95% CI 2.29–46.25), seven times less likely to think about killing themselves (OR = 0.22, 95% CI 0.06–0.82), three times more likely to know where they want to go (OR = 4.95, 95% CI 1.24–19.69), and to identify with happy people (OR = 4.15, 95% CI 0.93–18.40). Feeling God's love, either directly or through others, was associated with five times more likely to feel capable of giving and receiving love/affection (OR = 6.30, 95% CI 1.44–27.45), eight times less likely to feel nervous, anxious, or very tense (OR = 0.13, 95% CI 0.03–0.58), and three times more likely to be optimistic about life (OR = 4.51, 95% CI 1.03–19.65). Conclusion: Children and adolescents in foster care attach great importance to spirituality and religiosity in their lives, with a relatively high prevalence of hope and happiness, requiring attention to clinically significant scores of depressive and anxious symptoms. Variables of religiosity and spirituality are strongly associated with identifying with happier people, feeling more optimistic, and lower scores of depressive and anxious symptoms.