Causal inference and longitudinal data: a case study of religion and mental health

VanderWeele, Tyler J.; Jackson, J.; Li, Shanshan

doi:10.1007/s00127-016-1281-9

Cited by 226 publications

(199 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Without longitudinal data, assessing the direction of causality is generally not possible. Ideally, for longitudinal studies to provide evidence for causality, control for prior levels of the outcome under consideration should be made and changes in the exposures being studied should be examined so as to obtain more reliable causal inferences (40).…”

Section: Prominent Pathways To Human Flourishingmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the promotion of human flourishing

VanderWeele

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Many empirical studies throughout the social and biomedical sciences focus only on very narrow outcomes such as income, or a single specific disease state, or a measure of positive affect. Human well-being or flourishing, however, consists in a much broader range of states and outcomes, certainly including mental and physical health, but also encompassing happiness and life satisfaction, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. The empirical literature from longitudinal, experimental, and quasiexperimental studies is reviewed in attempt to identify major determinants of human flourishing, broadly conceived. Measures of human flourishing are proposed. Discussion is given to the implications of a broader conception of human flourishing, and of the research reviewed, for policy, and for future research in the biomedical and social sciences.flourishing | well-being | happiness | family | religion

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Section: Prominent Pathways To Human Flourishingmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the promotion of human flourishing

VanderWeele

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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673

537

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“…The evidence base on the topic has grown considerably, the study designs and methodology in this area of research have notably improved, and the number of religious-spiritual exposures that have been examined and the variety of health and well-being outcomes for which rigorous evidence is now available has dramatically increased [3–5]. However, the current research literature is still subject to a number of limitations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion and health in Europe: cultures, countries, context

VanderWeele

2017

Eur J Epidemiol

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Much of the research on the relationships between religious participation and health comes from the United States. Studies in other geographic regions or cultural contexts is more sparse. Evidence presented by Ahrenfelt et al., and that from other research studies, is reviewed concerning the associations between religion and health within Europe and world-wide. The evidence within Europe suggests protective associations between various forms of religious participation and lower depression, lower mortality, and better self-rated health. Methodological challenges in such research are reviewed, and discussion is given as to whether a person-culture-fit explanation suffices to account for the existing data and to what other mechanisms might be operative.

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“…In the paper Causal Inference and Longitudinal Data [2], the authors define the causal effect generally estimated by marginal structural models as: "… the counterfactual outcome … had there been interventions on the exposure at follow-up visits 1, 2 and 3 to fix these values." (p. 22).…”

Section: Motivating Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The paper on intersectionality [1] rightly focuses on interaction as an important component for quantitative studies of intersectionality that could benefit from potential outcomes approaches. The authors chose a particular additive model, the joint disparity decomposition model, due to its intrinsic policy value in describing the gains that would be achieved were the disparity removed, and because "the decomposition sheds light on the importance of each social status category and its intersection" [2] (p. 15). While these certainly represent benefits of the decomposition model, are these benefits commensurate with the concept of intersectionality?…”

Section: Starting From the Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two papers in this issue, "Disparities at the Intersection of Marginalized Groups" [1] and "Causal Inference and Longitudinal Data: A Case Study of Religion and Mental Health" [2], provide compelling arguments for the utility of methods grounded in a potential outcomes framework in social and psychiatric epidemiology. While these methods can sometimes seem complex, the authors provide very clear and accessible guidance for their use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Commentary: on the application of potential outcomes-based methods to questions in social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology

Schwartz

2017

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

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and VanderWeele [1] provide a clear rationale for choosing an additive model. Similarly, VanderWeele, Jackson, and Li [2] describe how marginal structural models can overcome obstacles in the use of longitudinal data to resolve the longstanding controversy about reverse causation in the relationship between religious service attendance and depression. In both instances, methods from the potential outcomes framework solve important technical problems in the estimation of causal effects in social and psychiatric epidemiology.These applications of potential outcomes methods entailed the movement of both the potential outcomes approach and intersectionality concepts out of the realms in which they were developed. Within epidemiology, methods grounded in the potential outcomes framework were explicated largely in the context of estimating the effectiveness of treatments for HIV. The causal effects in this context can be easily conceptualized as intervention effects. How does this interpretation of "causal effects" change when applied to social and psychiatric constructs? Similarly, how do we interpret concepts like "intersectionality", when they move from the rich qualitative observations in which they were developed, into a quantitative sphere that is often seen as atheoretical [3]?Intersectionality and religious service attendance as contested terrain for potential outcomesIn a potential outcomes approach, a causal effect is generally defined as the difference in outcome for the same individual under two different treatments; it represents what would happen if we performed a hypothetical intervention

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Causal inference and longitudinal data: a case study of religion and mental health

Abstract: Longitudinal designs, with careful control for prior exposures, outcomes, and confounders, and suitable methodology, will strengthen research on mental health, religion and health, and in the biomedical and social sciences generally.

Cited by 226 publications

References 36 publications

On the promotion of human flourishing

On the promotion of human flourishing

Religion and health in Europe: cultures, countries, context

Commentary: on the application of potential outcomes-based methods to questions in social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology

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