%0 Journal Article
%T Childhood Adversity, Religion, and Change in Adult Mental Health
%A Jong Hyun Jung
%J Research on Aging
%@ 1552-7573
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0164027516686662
%X Research indicates that childhood adversity is associated with poor mental health in adulthood. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the deleterious long-term effects of childhood adversity on adult mental health are reduced for individuals who are involved in religious practices. Using longitudinal data from a representative sample of American adults (N = 1,635), I find that religious salience and spirituality buffer the noxious effects of childhood abuse on change in positive affect over time. By contrast, these stress-buffering properties of religion fail to emerge when negative affect serves as the outcome measure. These results underscore the importance of religion as a countervailing mechanism that blunts the negative impact of childhood abuse on adult mental health over time. I discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for views about religion, childhood adversity, and mental health
%K childhood adversity
%K adverse childhood experience
%K mental health
%K religion
%K life course
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0164027516686662