Religiosity is a moderator of the relationship between impulsivity and internalizing symptomsBackground There is growing interest in the role of religion in psychiatric disorders. Impulsivity is a psychological trait associated with acting without thinking, with a decision process favoring short-term outcomes without further consideration of its consequences, and is a risk factor for the development of mental disorders.
Objective In this study, the objective was to analyze the role of religiosity as a possible moderator between the association of impulsivity and internalizing psychiatric symptoms.
Methods The hypothesis was assessed in a cross-sectional study enrolling 366 adults evaluated using the abbreviated version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11, the Self Reporting Questionnaire-20, and the Duke Religion Index.
Results Internalizing symptoms were significantly influenced by an interaction between religiosity and impulsivity. Religiosity acted as a protective factor against internalizing symptoms only for participants with high impulsivity.
Discussion The results suggest a moderation role of religiosity in the association of impulsivity with internalizing symptoms.
Religiosity; spirituality; mental health; dimensional psychiatry; personality; impulsivity
The figure shows the estimated marginal means (corrected by age, education and socioeconomic status) of internalizing symptoms measured by Self-Reporting Questionnaire 20 stratified by religiosity and impulsivity. There was a significant interaction between religiosity and impulsivity (F = 44.64, p = 0.022, ηp2 = 0.03). Participants with high religiosity (measured by a standard score of Duke Religion Index) showed less internalizing symptoms than participants with low religiosity (p = 0.007), but only in the context of with high impulsivity (above percentile 75 in the Abbreviated version of Barratt Impulsiveness Scale). ** p < 0.01.