Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the MIDUS study participants (n = 2672)
| Variable | Religion very important (n = 1094) | Religion somewhat important (n = 858) | Religion not very important (n = 488) | Religion not at all important (n = 232) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 56.7 ± 11.5 | 53.9 ± 11.2 | 52.9 ± 11.0 | 52.9 ± 10.1 |
| Sex, n (%) | ||||
| Male | 391 (35.7) | 397 (46.3) | 258 (52.9) | 134 (57.8) |
| Female | 703 (64.3) | 461 (53.7) | 230 (47.1) | 98 (42.2) |
| Race, n (%) | ||||
| White, | 1003 (91.7) | 801 (93.4) | 461 (94.5) | 223 (96.1) |
| Non-white | 91 (8.3) | 57 (6.6) | 27 (5.5) | 9 (3.9) |
| Education, n (%) | ||||
| College degree | 522 (47.7) | 420 (49.0) | 276 (56.6) | 155 (66.8) |
| High school degree | 514 (47.0) | 406 (47.3) | 201 (41.2) | 73 (31.5) |
| No qualifications | 58 (5.3) | 32 (3.7) | 11 (2.3) | 4 (1.7) |
| Marital status, n (%) | ||||
| Married | 831 (76.0) | 647 (75.4) | 341 (69.9) | 147 (63.4) |
| Unmarried | 263 (24.0) | 211 (24.6) | 147 (30.1) | 85 (36.6) |
| Religious affiliation, n (%) | ||||
| Christian religion | 1061 (97.0) | 770 (89.7) | 312 (63.9) | 43 (18.5) |
| Non-Christian religion | 16 (1.5) | 38 (4.4) | 31 (6.4) | 13 (5.6) |
| No religion | 17 (1.6) | 50 (5.8) | 145 (29.7) | 176 (75.9) |
| Service attendancea | 2.1 ± 1.0 | 3.3 ± 1.2 | 4.3 ± 0.9 | 4.7 ± 0.9 |
| Prayer or meditationb | 1.3 ± 0.5 | 1.9 ± 0.8 | 2.7 ± 1.0 | 3.3 ± 1.0 |
| Religious upbringingc | 1.5 ± 0.7 | 1.8 ± 0.8 | 2.1 ± 0.9 | 2.5 ± 1.0 |
| Spiritualityd | 1.2 ± 0.4 | 1.8 ± 0.6 | 2.3 ± 0.8 | 2.7 ± 1.2 |
| Religious changee | 0.3 ± 0.5 | − 0.04 ± 0.7 | − 0.3 ± 0.7 | − 0.7 ± 0.7 |
| Health, n (%) | ||||
| Good–excellent | 980 (89.6) | 775 (90.3) | 451 (92.4) | 209 (90.1) |
| Poor/fair | 113 (10.3) | 83 (9.7) | 37 (7.6) | 23 (9.9) |
| Missing | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Mental health condition, n (%) | ||||
| Yes | 195 (17.8) | 142 (16.6) | 92 (18.9) | 48 (20.7) |
| No | 899 (82.2) | 716 (83.4) | 396 (81.1) | 184 (79.3) |
| Serious head injury, n (%) | ||||
| Yes | 23 (2.1) | 25 (2.9) | 16 (3.3) | 11 (4.7) |
| No | 1071 (97.9) | 832 (97.0) | 472 (96.7) | 221 (95.3) |
| Missing | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Physical activity, n (%) | ||||
| Weekly | 793 (72.5) | 612 (72.0) | 363 (74.4) | 174 (75.0) |
| Monthly | 190 (17.4) | 163 (19.0) | 96 (19.6) | 40 (17.2) |
| Seldom/never | 100 (9.1) | 74 (8.6) | 25 (5.1) | 17 (7.3) |
| Missing | 11 (1.0) | 9 (1.0) | 4 (0.8) | 1 (0.4) |
| Hypertension, n (%) | ||||
| Yes | 327 (29.9) | 255 (29.7) | 104 (21.3) | 47 (20.3) |
| No | 767 (70.1) | 603 (70.3) | 384 (78.7) | 185 (79.7) |
| Diabetes, n (%) | ||||
| Yes | 96 (8.8) | 68 (7.9) | 31 (6.4) | 18 (7.8) |
| No | 998 (91.2) | 790 (92.1) | 457 (93.6) | 214 (92.2) |
| Alcohol consumption, n (%) | ||||
| Weekly | 289 (26.4) | 306 (35.7) | 210 (43.0) | 127 (54.7) |
| Monthly | 282 (25.8) | 266 (31.0) | 125 (25.6) | 41 (17.7) |
| Seldom/never | 523 (47.8) | 286 (33.3) | 153 (31.4) | 64 (27.6) |
| Smoking status, n (%) | ||||
| Current | 103 (9.4) | 130 (15.2) | 78 (16.0) | 38 (16.4) |
| Past | 321 (29.3) | 294 (34.3) | 177 (36.3) | 89 (38.4) |
| Never | 670 (61.2) | 434 (50.6) | 233 (47.7) | 105 (45.3) |
Plus-minus values are means ± SD
Negative values indicate a decrease in religiosity during the 10-years preceding baseline
aScores range from 1 (more than weekly) to 5 (not at all)
bScores range from 1 (daily) to 4 (never)
cScores range from 1 (very religious) to 4 (not at all religious)
dScores range from 1 (spirituality very important) to 4 (spirituality not at all important)
eScores range from − 3 to + 3. Positive values indicate an increase in religiosity during the 10-years preceding baseline