One Response to “Are Mormons more depressed than others? I heard that Utah it…”
Diego Castro
2011-02-28 00:11:59
Hi friend. This is an oft cited but misunderstood statistic. In brief, the anti-depressant use in Utah is not a good metric for the level of depression among Mormons. Here are a few relevant points:
The data are not normalized. The same study that suggested Utah has the highest rate of anti-depressant use also showed that Utah has the 7th highest rate of prescription-drug use, meaning that Utahans in general are more likely to get the medical help they need when they become ill, whether that illness be depression or arthritis.
Only 60% of Utah is LDS. A statistic that is valid for Utah is not necessarily valid for Mormons. Most Mormons worldwide do not even live in Utah.
Correlation does not mean causation. In fact, for unknown reasons, many states in the rocky-mountain region of the United States have higher instances of depression. Some rocky-mountain states with small Mormon populations have high instances of anti-depressant use. Other rocky-mountain states with large Mormon populations (Idaho and Arizona) do not rate high in anti-depressant use.
If Mormons are more likely to use anti-depressants (something that has not yet been demonstrated), it is not necessarily because they have a higher incidence of depression. It may simply be that Mormons are better at treating their depression than others. Outside of "Mormondom," it is very, very common for depressed people to self-medicate with alcohol, for example. Since Mormons don't drink alcohol, they may be more likely to seek professional help and/or medication.
Utah's anti-depressant use is a very poor metric for determining the depression rate among Mormons. On the other hand, the studies linked to above, which directly compared Mormons to others, show that Mormons are slightly less likely to suffer from depression.
It's worth pointing out, also, that depression is a physiological condition with a significant genetic component. While religious practices can help people avoid certain situations that may trigger depression, they do not alter underlying physiology/genetics. There is no shame in suffering from endogenous, clinical depression. It's a disease just like diabetes or Parkinson's. Hope this answer helps.
- The data are not normalized. The same study that suggested Utah has the highest rate of anti-depressant use also showed that Utah has the 7th highest rate of prescription-drug use, meaning that Utahans in general are more likely to get the medical help they need when they become ill, whether that illness be depression or arthritis.
- Only 60% of Utah is LDS. A statistic that is valid for Utah is not necessarily valid for Mormons. Most Mormons worldwide do not even live in Utah.
- Correlation does not mean causation. In fact, for unknown reasons, many states in the rocky-mountain region of the United States have higher instances of depression. Some rocky-mountain states with small Mormon populations have high instances of anti-depressant use. Other rocky-mountain states with large Mormon populations (Idaho and Arizona) do not rate high in anti-depressant use.
- If Mormons are more likely to use anti-depressants (something that has not yet been demonstrated), it is not necessarily because they have a higher incidence of depression. It may simply be that Mormons are better at treating their depression than others. Outside of "Mormondom," it is very, very common for depressed people to self-medicate with alcohol, for example. Since Mormons don't drink alcohol, they may be more likely to seek professional help and/or medication.
Utah's anti-depressant use is a very poor metric for determining the depression rate among Mormons. On the other hand, the studies linked to above, which directly compared Mormons to others, show that Mormons are slightly less likely to suffer from depression.It's worth pointing out, also, that depression is a physiological condition with a significant genetic component. While religious practices can help people avoid certain situations that may trigger depression, they do not alter underlying physiology/genetics. There is no shame in suffering from endogenous, clinical depression. It's a disease just like diabetes or Parkinson's. Hope this answer helps.