Religious service attendance, divorce, and remarriage among U.S. nurses in mid and late life

Abstract

Prior research has suggested religious participation can promote marital satisfaction and stability. However, current literature has mainly focused on early life divorce, and used cross-sectional data, leaving open the question of the directionality of effects. We evaluated the prospective associations between service attendance and marital stability in mid and late life considering either 1) divorce or separation; or 2) remarriage, as separate outcomes. Data were drawn from the Nurses’ Health Study, a large prospective cohort study that consisted of US female nurses in their 50s at study enrollment, with repeated measures of service attendance and marital status over 14 years of follow-up from 1996–2010. During follow up, among 66,444 initially married nurses who were mainly Christians, frequent service attendance was associated with 50% lower risk of divorce (95% CI: 32%, 63%), and 52% lower risk of either divorce or separation (95%CI: 37%, 63%). Among initially divorced or separated women, frequent service attendance was not associated with subsequent likelihood of remarriage; however, among widowed women, women who attended services frequently had 49% increased likelihood of remarriage (95% CI: 13%, 97%) compared to those women who did not. The study provides evidence that in this cohort of US nurses, frequent service attendance is associated with lower risk of becoming divorced in mid- and late- life, and increased likelihood of remarriage among widowed nurses, but not among divorced or separated nurses.

Protective factors of marital stability in long-term marriage globally: a systematic review

“…In moments of hardship, religion and spirituality are coping strategies that give couples commitment, capability to accept adversity, and a sense of family community and stability [42][43][44][45][46]. Similarly to the present study, numerous studies have emphasized the role of religion in marital stability and prevention of divorce [47][48][49][50]. Religious affiliation and attendance contribute to couples' well-being, and support and foster marital relationships [51,52].…”

Religious Communities and Human Flourishing

“…Numerous studies have examined associations between attendance and divorce ( Koenig et al, 2012 ). Although many of these are cross-sectional, the longitudinal designs suggest that those attending religious services at baseline are 30% to 50% less likely to divorce in follow-up ( Li, Kubzansky, & VanderWeele, 2016 ; Strawbridge et al, 1997 ; Wilcox & Wolfinger, 2016 ). There are also longitudinal studies that indicate religious service attendance is associated with an increased likelihood of subsequently making new friends, of marrying, of having nonreligious community membership, and of higher social support ( Li, Kubzansky et al, 2016 ; Lim & Putnam, 2010 ; Strawbridge et al, 1997 ; Wilcox & Wolfinger, 2016 ).…”

“…For the dramatically lower suicide rates among those attending religious services, while social support, less alcohol, and less depression may account for some of the effect, these factors may not be as explanatory as might be thought and the moral belief that suicide is wrong, reinforced by religious communities, is perhaps here of considerable importance ( Koenig, 2009 ; VanderWeele, Li et al, 2016 ). With lower divorce rates among those attending religious services, the programs within religious communities that support families and marriages are likely important, as are perhaps the teachings on love and sacrifice, the prohibitions against infidelity and divorce, and greater levels of life satisfaction and lower depression within married life ( Li, Kubzansky, et al, 2016 ; Wilcox & Wolfinger, 2016 ).…”

Religion and health in Europe: cultures, countries, context

“…Again other mechanisms seem to be present. Current evidence from longitudinal studies suggests that service attendance is subsequently associated not only with all-cause mortality but also with less smoking, alcohol abuse, and drug use [1,38]; less depression and lower suicide rates [1,3,10,34,35]; greater meaning and purpose [39]; great optimism [27]; greater happiness and life-satisfaction [21]; lower crime [40,41]; greater social support and greater likelihood of developing a more extensive social and friendship network [21,25,27] as well as lower likelihood of divorce [25,42,43]. The mechanisms by which religious participation affects health may thus be numerous and quite diverse, and current evidence thus perhaps suggests that it may be the small contribution of many different pathways, rather than the substantial contribution of any specific one, that supplies religious service attendance with its powerful effects on health.…”