Spiritual Practices and Depressive Symptoms: A Comparison of American Indian, Hispanic/Latinx and General Population Emerging Adults

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Depression is a significant mental health concern among emerging adults (ages 18–30), but less is known about culturally relevant protective factors across diverse populations. Spirituality has been identified as a potential source of resilience, particularly among American Indian and Hispanic/Latinx communities, where it is often deeply connected to cultural identity and coping. However, limited research has examined how spiritual practices relate to depressive symptoms across these groups. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spiritual practices and depressive symptoms among American Indian, Hispanic/Latinx, and general-population emerging adults. Guided by the biopsychosocial-spiritual model, it was hypothesized that greater engagement in spiritual practices would be associated with lower depressive symptoms.

Methods: Data were drawn from the Spiritual Practices on Emerging Adult Mental Health Project (SPEAM-Health), a retrospective cross-sectional survey conducted in the United States. The analytic sample included 1,613 emerging adults ages 18–30. Spiritual practices were measured using the 11-item Attitudes Related to Spirituality Scale (ARES), and depressive symptoms were measured using the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between spiritual practices and depressive symptoms while controlling for age, gender, education, income, and population group.

Results:Greater engagement in spiritual practices was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms (b = −0.056, p < .01), even after controlling for demographic variables. American Indian participants reported significantly lower depressive symptoms compared to the general population (p < .05), while Hispanic/Latinx participants did not differ significantly. Additionally, certain levels of educational attainment were associated with lower depressive symptoms.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings support prior research identifying spirituality as a protective factor for mental health and extend this work by highlighting its relevance across culturally diverse emerging adult populations. Results underscore the importance of incorporating spiritual and cultural strengths into social work practice and mental health interventions. Culturally responsive approaches that acknowledge and integrate spirituality may enhance engagement and improve outcomes, particularly among American Indian and Hispanic/Latinx populations. These findings contribute to a growing body of research emphasizing the role of holistic and culturally grounded frameworks in addressing mental health disparities.