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Background Longitudinal studies are key to understanding risk factors for health, well-being, and disease, yet associations may be biased if study invitation and participation are non-random. Religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviours (RSBB) are increasingly recognised as having potentially important relationships with health. However, it is unclear whether RSBB is associated with study participation. We examine whether RSBB is associated with participation in the longitudinal birth cohort ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children). Methods Three RSBB factors were used: religious belief (belief in God/a divine power; yes/not sure/no), religious affiliation (Christian/none/other), and religious attendance (frequency of attendance at a place of worship). Participation was measured in three ways: i) total number of questionnaires/clinics completed; ii) completion of the most recent questionnaire (in 2020); and iii) length of participation. Analyses were repeated for the ALSPAC mothers, their partners, and the study children, and were adjusted for relevant socio-demographic confounders. Results Religious attendance was positively associated with participation in all adjusted models in all three cohorts. For example, study mothers who attended a place of worship at least once a month on average completed two more questionnaires (out of a possible 50), had 50% greater odds of having completed the most recent questionnaire, and had 25% reduced risk of drop-out, relative to those who did not attend a place of worship. In the adjusted analyses, religious belief and attendance were not associated with participation. However, the majority of unadjusted models showed associations between RSBB and participation. Conclusion After adjusting for confounders, religious attendance –  not religious belief or affiliation – was associated with participation in ALSPAC. These results indicate that use of RSBB variables (and religious attendance in particular) may result in selection bias and spurious associations; these potential biases should be explored and discussed in future studies using these data.

Background: We explored associations between possible demographic and socioeconomic causes of religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviours (RSBB) in the parental generation of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Methods: We used a prospective birth cohort study (ALSPAC) in Southwest England with 14,157 enrolled mothers and 14,154 associated partners. Three RSBB outcome measures collected during pregnancy were examined: religious belief (belief in God/a divine power; yes/not sure/no), religious affiliation (Christian/none/other) and religious attendance (frequency of attendance at a place of worship). Multiple demographic and socioeconomic exposures were assessed (23 in mothers and 22 in partners). We explored age-adjusted associations between each exposure and outcome using multinomial regression, in addition to exposure-age interactions. Results: Many demographic and socioeconomic factors were associated with RSBB outcomes, including age, ethnicity, marital status, education, income and deprivation. Overall, higher socioeconomic position was associated with increased levels of RSBB, particularly regarding religious attendance. For instance, compared to mothers with the lowest level of educational attainment, a degree-level education was associated with six-fold increase in the relative risk ratio of religious attendance at least once a week, relative to not attending at all (RRR=5.90; 95% CI=[4.44; 7.86]). The magnitude of these associations often varied by outcome, e.g., income was associated with religious attendance, but not religious affiliation. Although results were demographically and socially patterned, overall effect sizes were relatively small, with a largest pseudo-R2 value of 2.4%. Patterns of association were similar for both mothers and partners. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that numerous demographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with RSBB in this population. While additional work is needed to assess whether any of these associations are causal, this descriptive paper can help inform future studies using this data by considering appropriate confounders and thus attempt to minimise bias that confounding may introduce.

Background: Religiosity is a complex, multifaceted construct, comprising a variety of beliefs and behaviours. Much of the previous research that seeks to quantify religiosity has made use of variable-centred approaches, which place individuals on a continuum of religiosity. However, alternative approaches provide a way to examine different types of religiosity, represented by heterogeneous classes of religious (non)belief. The aim of this study was to apply a person-centred approach to understanding religious beliefs.  Methods: The present study used latent class analysis to identify classes of belief and non-belief in mothers (n=12429) and their partners (n=9953) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a large cohort study based in the UK. For this, we used a range of religious belief indicators. We also examined a number of socioeconomic factors, to identify differences between classes, using logistic regression.  Results: We identified four different classes of religiosity which we named Highly Religious, Moderately Religious, Agnostic, and Atheist, with similar configurations in both men and women. We also found that class membership was associated with several socioeconomic factors.  Conclusions: The findings provide an insight into different patterns of religiosity in adults in the UK. These classes could be used as exposures in future studies of religiosity and how it relates to a variety of outcomes in both mothers, partners, and their offspring.

Longitudinal data on religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviors (RSBB) are essential for understanding both how religion shapes our lives and the factors determining religiosity. Despite this importance, there are few longitudinal studies with detailed and repeated RSBB data. Using data spanning nearly 30 years from the parental generation of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) based in the Southwest of England, we describe individual-level changes in various aspects of self-reported RSBB (religious belief, affiliation, and attendance, among others) measured on four occasions (pregnancy, plus 5, 9, and 28 years post-partum; approx. 3600 mothers and 1200 partners have data at all four time-points). Although RSBBs were generally consistent over time, a shift towards non-religiosity was observed; exceptions included Roman Catholic affiliation, which was remarkably stable over three decades, and religious attendance, which increased from pregnancy to 5 years, before declining at 28 years. Most changes in RSBB were minor, e.g., between “yes” and “not sure” regarding religious belief, rather than between “yes” and “no.” We also provide a simple illustrative example of how these longitudinal data can be analyzed. In addition to describing these longitudinal patterns, this paper will help inform future research using ALSPAC’s longitudinal RSBB data.