Posted on 03/13/2009 6:09:39 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Like adults, kids who are more spiritual or religious tend to be healthier.
That’s the conclusion of Dr. Barry Nierenberg, Ph.D., ABPP, associate professor of psychology at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who has been studying the relationship between faith and health. He presented on the topic at the American Psychological Association’s Division of Rehabilitation Psychology national conference on February 27, in Jackson, Fla.
“A number of studies have shown a positive relationship between participatory prayer and lower rates of heart disease, cirrhosis, emphysema and stroke in adults,” he says. “Prayer has been shown to correlate to lower blood pressure, cortisol levels, rates of depression, as well as increased rates of self-described well being.”
“But very few studies have attempted to examine how children’s spiritual beliefs impact their health,” he says. Initially, Nierenberg conducted a study of HIV positive pediatric patients (ages seven to 17), comparing religious development, church attendance and prayer to health measures such as symptoms, T-cell counts and number of hospitalizations.
“One significant finding was that children who attended church were more likely to have higher T-cell counts than non churchgoing children,” he says, “but that finding is difficult to interpret. It’s likely that the more ill a child is, the less ability they have to attend church.”
“We needed a second study to more precisely examine religious faith and behavior,” he says.
So they examined 16 children (ages six to 20) who were undergoing hemodialysis due to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). The patients were questioned on a scale of spirituality behaviors and attitudes, and responses were correlated to dialysis-related blood levels, including: blood urea nitrogen (BUN), lymphocytes, albumin, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and urea reduction ratio.
“There was a significant negative correlation between spiritual attitudes and BUN levels,” he says. “As children reported more agreement with statements like, ‘I am sure that God cares about me,’ and ‘God has a plan for me,” their average BUN levels over the past year were lower.”
“We have a deeper understanding of why there is so little in the literature exploring the relationship between health spirituality in children and adolescents,” he says. “It’s challenging to measure in this population. It can be difficult getting all the necessary permission. The pool of children is limited, and the interviews can be time consuming. But it’s important it’s done for the same reason we study it in adults.”
90% of statistics are wrong 67% of the time.
Duh!
I am not surprised by this.
That means the other 40% are right 52% of the time.
Not including the 17% that don't apply, of course...
It’s all those snacks in Sunday School.
Seriously, a parent that cares about their child’s soul would likely care about their body too.
personal observation- my 3 kids have attended church, youth group and many religious affiliated activities throughout their lives 2 had appendixes removed, 1 had exersize induced asthma (yet he worked so hard at ice hockey he doesn’t anymore and is now a personal fitness trainer). Other than that, Thank God, they have never been sick. They almost never missed school for illness, and this year was the first time in I can’t remember when, my youngest had a bad chest cold. Even more interesting, my middle son has not even had as much as a cold (allergies in spring a couple times but thats it) in years and years; He starts seminary in 18 months.
Never really thought about it as a correlation to practicing their faith, but who knows?
You make a good argument. :{)
87.63% of all statistics are made up.
This needs to be shown to the judge in NC, who ruled that the mom in a divorce case, needs to stop homeschooling her kids, and send them to public school.
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