Examining the relationships between in-person and remote religious attendance and loneliness, quality of life, stress, and anxiety among older adults during COVID-19 in Ireland

Abstract

Background Religious attendance has been shown to have a positive effect on psychological health among the older people (Moon & Kim, 2013). Due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and precautionary health advice, many older adults struggled to attend service in-person. However, 87% of faith organisations provided a form of remote service between June and December 2020 (Ganiel, 2021). Methods Data were from Wave 6 (2021) of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Data were collected via telephone interview and self- completion questionnaires. The analysis sample was made up of 3,961 community-dwelling adults living in Ireland aged 60 years and older. To assess religious attendance, participants were asked about how often they attended in-person and how often they attended remotely using radio, television, or internet streaming. Relationships between religious attendance, Quality of Life (QoL), Loneliness, Stress, and Anxiety were modelled using linear regressions. Results The sample was 44.1% male and 55.9% female, with a mean age of 72.0 years. In-person religious attendance was positively related to higher QoL [Beta=192.92, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI)=9.45, 376.39, p<0.05]. Remote religious attendance was positively related to higher anxiety [IRR=1.03, 95% CI=1.02, 1.04, p<0.001]. Conclusion Results show that in-person attendance was positively related to QoL, while remote attendance was positively related to higher anxiety. This may be a result of the lack of social connectedness felt when practicing religion remotely or the higher level of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research should focus on social connectedness felt during in-person religious practice and during remote practice.