The Gerontologist Advance Access published April 15, 2014

The Gerontologist, 2014, Vol. 00, No. 00, 112

doi:10.1093/geront/gnu020
Research Article

Listening to Religious Music and Mental Health

in Later Life
Matt Bradshaw, PhD,*,1 Christopher G. Ellison, PhD,2 Qijuan Fang, MA,3
and CollinMueller, MA4
Department of Sociology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas,2Department of Sociology, University of TexasSan Antonio,3Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Ohio,4Department of Sociology,
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
1

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*Address correspondence to Matt Bradshaw, PhD, Department of Sociology, Baylor University, 316 Draper Academic
Building, One Bear Place #97326, Waco, TX 76798-7326. E-mail: drmattbradshaw@gmail.com
Received May 16 2013; Accepted February 24 2014.

Decision Editor: Helen Kivnick, PhD

Purpose of the Study:Research has linked several aspects of religionincluding service attendance, prayer, meditation, religious coping strategies, congregational support
systems, and relations with God, among otherswith positive mental health outcomes
among older U.S. adults. This study examines a neglected dimension of religious life:
listening to religious music.
Design and Methods: Two waves of nationally representative data on older U.S.adults
were analyzed (n=1,024).
Results: Findings suggest that the frequency of listening to religious music is associated with a decrease in death anxiety and increases in life satisfaction, self-esteem, and
a sense of control across the 2 waves of data. In addition, the frequency of listening to
gospel music (a specific type of religious music) is associated with a decrease in death
anxiety and an increase in a sense of control. These associations are similar for blacks
and whites, women and men, and low- and high-socioeconomic status individuals.
Implications: Religion is an important socioemotional resource that has been linked with
desirable mental health outcomes among older U.S. adults. This study shows that listening to religious music may promote psychological well-being in later life. Given that
religious music is available to most individualseven those with health problems or
physical limitations that might preclude participation in more formal aspects of religious
lifeit might be a valuable resource for promoting mental health later in the life course.
Key Words: Religion, Psychological well-being, Aging, Coping, Resilience

There is a complex relationship between age and psychological well-being. Some older adults report better mental health than their working-age counterparts, whereas
others experience declines in psychological well-being in
later life (Wu, Schimmele, & Chappell, 2012; Yang, 2007).

These disparate outcomes are the result of individual differences in (a) biological and environmental risk factors that
undermine mental health and (b) psychosocial resources
that either directly enhance psychological well-being or
buffer against risk factors (Blazer & Hybels, 2005). This

The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved.
For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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Background
Research has shown that listening to music is associated with lower levels of anxiety (Evans & Rubio, 1994),
greater satisfaction with life and feelings of escape from the
hardships of life (Hayes & Minichiello, 2005), lower levels
of anger and antisocial orientations (Baker & Bor, 2008;
Krahe & Bieneck, 2012), and reduced depressive symptoms
and other forms of psychopathology (Chan, Wong, Onishi,
& Thayala, 2011; Erkkila etal., 2011). Research on physiological processesincluding neuroimaging studies (e.g.,
functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography)shows that listening to music is associated with the activation of pleasure and reward circuits in
the brain (Blood & Zatorre, 2001; Koelsch, Fritz, Yves v.
Cramon, Muller, & Friederici, 2006). Other research has

linked listening to music with the dopaminergic system

(Salimpoor, Benovoy, Larcher, Dagher, & Zatorre, 2011;
Sutoo & Akiyama, 2004), which has been implicated in
the initiation, regulation, and termination of emotions.
Considerable research has even examined music as a form
of therapy for dealing with stress and pain (Aldridge, 1995;
Bailey, 1984).
Most of this research has focused on secular music, but
there are reasons to expect religious music to be associated with mental health. To begin with, religious music is
an important avenue for the expression ofand connection withones spirituality and, thus, its health benefits
(Lipe, 2002; Miller & Strongman, 2002). Many religious
teachings in the Christian tradition emphasize hope, optimism, love, and peace, and to the extent that religious
music contains these themes, it could help promote psychological well-being (Aldridge, 1995; Bailey, 1984). The
literature also shows that music is capable of altering
emotional states in health-promoting ways (Chafin, Roy,
Gerin, & Christenfeld, 2004; McCraty, Atkinson, & Rein,
1996). Religious music might serve this function, in part,
by shifting thoughts and energy away from the undesirable and painful aspects of life and toward more desirable
and healthy ones (Trauger-Querry & Haghighi, 1999) (For
example, Gregorian chanting may promote serenity, set
a somber spiritual mood, or trigger certain types of religious thoughts or emotional responses.). Research in this
area also suggests that religious music serves as a source
of strength and meaning in the face of suffering and that
it also promotes a closer relationship with God (Jones,
1993; Viladesau, 2000) (For example, upbeat black gospel or bluegrass gospel may inspire relief and reassurance
about ones ultimate fate.). We also know that music may
facilitate relaxation and promote a sense of calm (Chlan,
1998; Krout, 2007), and this may be particularly true for
religiousmusic.
Listening to religious music may be particularly important among older adults because they may have difficulty
participating in more traditional aspects of religion (e.g.,
religious services) because of physical limitations or other
health problems (Lipe, 2002). Religious music can be
accessed from most locations, including ones home, and
from a variety of sources including the Internet, recorded
CDs, television, and radio. Religious music is also available
to most individuals, young and old, and it is generally free
of charge. Given that older adults tend to be more religious
than working-age adults (Dillon & Wink, 2007), listening
to religious music may be relatively common among this
segment of the population. Further, although the experiences of adults in late life are heterogeneous and broad generalizations are difficult (George, 1993), many older adults
may face declines in physical health, social resources (e.g.,

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study examines whether listening to religious musicfor

example, genres of music such as gospel, contemporary
Christian, and some forms of bluegrass, among others,
that are composed for religious purposes or are focused on
religious or sacred topicsfunctions as a mental healthpromoting resource among older U.S.adults.
Considerable research has examined the connection
between religion and mental health (Krause, 2008; Smith,
McCullough, & Poll, 2003). Much of this research has
focused on organization-based activities such as service
attendance, private practices including prayer, and various
beliefs such as life after death (Bradshaw & Ellison, 2010).
Some attention has also been devoted to religious coping
strategies (Pargament, 1997), congregational support systems (Krause, 2008), and attachments to God (Bradshaw
et al., 2010; Kirkpatrick, 2005). Relatively little work,
however, has examined the relationship between listening
to religious music and mental health in later life (Hamilton,
Sandelowski, Moore, Agarwal, & Koenig, 2013; Lipe,
2002). Despite this neglect, the role of religious music
fits nicely with research on complementary and alternative medicine, which includes both music and spirituality
(Ellison, Bradshaw, & Roberts, 2012; Lipe, 2002). It is also
consistent with a holistic approach to health (Micozzi,
2010), which emphasizes wellness and disease prevention,
and focuses on the integration of physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of well-being.
In this study, the relationship between listening to religious music and mental health in later life will be examined by initially reviewing the literature in this area. Several
hypotheses will then be formulated and tested using
two waves of data from a large national sample of older
U.S.adults. The findings will then be summarized, and their
implications for future research on religious music and
mental health will be discussed.

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Hypotheses
HI: Listening to religious music will be associated with
improvements in mental health over time among older
U.S.adults.

H2: The relationship between listening to religious

music and mental health will be stronger among blacks
compared with whites.
H3: The relationship between listening to religious
music and mental health will be stronger among women
compared with men.
H4: The relationship between listening to religious
music and mental health will be stronger among lowSES individuals compared with high-SES individuals.

Design and Methods

Sample
Data for this study come from two waves of the nationwide Religion, Aging, and Health Survey (2001, 2004)of
older black and white U.S.adults (Krause, 2002). The study
population was defined as all household residents who
were either black or white, noninstitutionalized, English
speaking, and at least 65years of age. Geographically, the
study population was restricted to eligible persons residing
in the coterminous United States (i.e., residents of Alaska
and Hawaii were excluded). Because it is difficult to devise
a comprehensive set of religion measures for a large-scale
study of religious life that are suitable for persons of all
faiths, the researchers who designed the Religion, Aging,
and Health Survey decided to only collect data from individuals who were (a) currently practicing Christians, (b)
Christians in the past but no longer practice any religion,
and (c) not affiliated with any faith at any point in their
lifetime. Individuals who practice a religion other than
Christianity (e.g., Jews or Muslims) were not included in
the study design or sample. The final sample had the following characteristics: 91.8% Christian, 3% declined to
answer the question about religious preference, 0.2% said
they were not sure about their religious preference, and
5% said other (but not Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu,
Scientology, Bahai, or no religious preference).
The sampling frame consisted of all eligible persons
contained in the Health Care Financing Administration
(HCFA) Medicare Beneficiary Eligibility List (HCFA is now
called the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
CMS). This list contained the name of everyone in the
United States who has a Social Security number. The study
design and survey instrument were constructed by Krause
(2002), and the data collection was conducted by Louis
Harris and Associates (now Harris Interactive). Baseline
interviews were conducted face-to-face in the homes of the
study participants in MarchAugust 2001. Initial contact
with study participants was made by sending a letter that
outlined the purpose and nature of the study. The response
rate for the baseline study was 62%. Atotal of 1,500 interviews were completed at baseline, and respondents were

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secular friendship ties), and opportunities for stimulation.

For some persons, enjoying religious music may, therefore,
fill an important void. Religious music might be one of
the most valuable and easily accessible religious resources
available to older adults.
The connection between religious music and mental
health may work in distinctive ways for specific subgroups
within the elderly population. For example, prior research
has established that music holds a special place in the
religious lives of African Americans (Frame & Williams,
1996; Jones, 1993). According to Hamilton and colleagues
(2013, p. 27), who have reviewed this topic in detail:
Religious music, in particular, is an important part of
African American culture and therefore a source of knowledge relevant to social and personal issues confronted by
that population. In addition, several studies have reported
gender differences in the association between various facets of religiosity and mental health although the direction of these patterns has been inconsistent (Maselko &
Kubzansky, 2006; McFarland, 2010). Further, researchers
have reported that some dimensions of religiosity may be
more salient for mental health among individuals who are
socioeconomically deprived compared with those who are
relatively or objectively privileged (Bradshaw & Ellison,
2010; Ellison, 1991). Overall, these findings raise the possibility that the association between listening to religious
music and mental health may vary by race, gender, and
socioeconomic status (SES).
To summarize, this study will examine the relationship
between listening to religious music and mental health
using two waves of data on older U.S. adults. Relatively
little work has been done on this topic, and the small literature that does exist suffers from three major limitations
(Hamilton etal., 2013; Lipe, 2002). First, most studies on
this topic are narrative descriptions or small case studies that may not be generalizable to a larger population.
Second, most published studies were conducted in clinical contexts (i.e., there are no previously published studies based on community or national samples), so we do
not currently know how the relationship between listening
to religious music and mental health works in the broader
population that includes healthy individuals. Third, no
longitudinal studies have been conducted to date, so the
causal order between listening to religious music and mental health is not known. This study will address each of
these weaknesses.

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Dependent Variables
Psychological distress at both baseline and follow-up was
measured with an index composed of the mean value from
the following eight items (Cronbachs =.869 at baseline
and .880 at follow-up), which were taken from the Center
for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D; see
Hertzog, Van Alstine, Usala, Hultsch, & Dixon, 1990;
Krause & Ellison, 2003): (1) I felt Icould not shake off
the blues even with the help of my family and friends. (2)
I felt depressed. (3) I had crying spells. (4) I felt sad.
(5) I did not feel like eating, my appetite was poor. (6) I
felt that everything Idid was an effort. (7) My sleep was
restless. and (8) I could not get going. Each item was
coded 1=rarely or none of the time to 4=most or all of the
time. These eight items were the only ones available in the
data that could be used to measure psychological distress.
Death anxiety was measured with a mean index
(Cronbachs = .849 at baseline and .895 at follow-up)
of four items taken from scales in the literature (Krause
& Ellison, 2003; Neimeyer, 1994): (1) I find it hard to
face up to the fact that I will die. (2) Thinking about
death makes me feel uneasy. (3) I do not feel prepared to
face my own death. and (4) I am disturbed by the shortness of life. Each item was coded 1=strongly disagree to
4=strongly agree. No other items on death anxiety were
available in thedata.
Life satisfaction was tapped with a mean index
(Cronbachs =.735 at baseline and .731 at follow-up) of
four items that were available at both waves of the data:
(1) These are the best years of my life. (2) As I look
back on my life, I am fairly well satisfied. (3) I would

not change the past even if Icould. and (4) Now please
think about your life as a whole. How satisfied are you
with it. The first three items are from the Life Satisfaction
Index A(Neugarten, Havighurst, & Tobin, 1961); response
categories ranged from 1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly
agree. The fourth item assessed satisfaction with life as a
whole, and response categories ranged from 1=not satisfied at all to 5 =completely satisfied. Because these three
items did not have identical response categories, they were
converted to equivalent z-scores prior to the construction
of the composite measure.
Self-esteem was measured with a three-item mean index
using questions developed by Rosenberg (1965). Specific
items included (1) I feel Iam a person of worth, or at least
on an equal plane with others. (2) I feel Ihave a number
of good qualities. and (3) I take a positive attitude toward
myself. Response categories ranged from 1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree. The Cronbachs for this index
was .903 at baseline and .904 at follow-up. These three
items were the only ones available in the data that could be
used to measure self-esteem.
A sense of control was measured with a mean index
(Cronbachs = .848 at baseline and .862 at follow-up)
composed of the following four items, which are similar to
those developed by Rotter (1966) and Mirowsky and Ross
(1991): (1) I have a lot of influence over most things that
happen in my life. (2) I can do just about anything Ireally
set my mind to. (3) When Imake plans, Im almost certain to make them work. and (4) When Iencounter problems, Idont give up until Isolve them. Each item is coded
1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree. No other measures of personal control were available in the data.

Independent Variables
Frequency of listening to religious music at baseline was
measured with the following question: How often do you
listen to religious music outside churchlike when you
are home or driving in your car? This variable was coded
1=never to 8=several times a day. In addition, a measure of frequency of listening to gospel music at baseline
was examined using the following item: Now Ihave some
questions about gospel music only. How often do you listen
to gospel music? This variable was also coded 1=never to
8=several times a day. Religious music is a broad category
that includes, but is not limited to, gospel music. It may
also include Gregorian chanting, contemporary Christian,
and even some forms of bluegrass music, among others. For
both of these variables, a series of categories was also constructed to check for nonlinear relationships with mental
health. No clear nonlinear patterns were observed, so each
was treated as a continuous variable in the models. Both

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paid $30 for participation. Older blacks were oversampled.

The sample consisted of 752 older blacks and 748 older
whites. Data from the Current Population Survey was used
to weight the sample by age, gender, education, and region
of the country within each racial group at the time the sample was collected. Sampling weights were also included to
adjust for the oversampling of older blacks.
Three years later, a follow-up survey was conducted.
Because the sample focused on older adults, there was
some attrition across the two waves of data. The effective
n for this study was 1,024, which represents the number
of respondents who participated in the follow-up survey.
Attrition across the two waves of data was caused by several factors: mortality (208 cases), inability to locate the
respondent at the second wave (112 cases), the respondent
refused to participate at the second wave (75 cases), the
respondent was ineligible to participate at the second wave
due to institutionalization, and so on (81 cases). Atotal of
476 cases were lost between the two waves of data.

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of these questions were only asked at baseline, so it is not

possible to examine changes in the frequency of listening to
religious or gospel music in this study.

Covariates

InteractionTerms
To test for race, gender, and SES differences in the relationship between listening to religious music and mental health,
interaction terms were constructed for listening to religious
(and gospel) music times: (1) black, (2) women, (3) education, and (4) financial strain. To reduce multicollinearity,
all continuous variables were zero centered prior to constructing the interaction terms (Aiken & West, 1991), and
all interaction terms were entered into the models one at a
time. Variance Inflation Factor statistics indicated that multicollinearity was not a problem in the models.

MissingData
Missing data on all variables were dealt with using multiple
imputation techniques in SAS 9.3. The number of missing
cases was less than 5% for most measures. The results presented subsequently are based on five imputed data sets.

Analytic Strategy
Data analysis was conducted in three steps. First, descriptive statistics were calculated. Second, bivariate correlations between key dependent and independent variables

Results
Descriptive Statistics
Table 1 presents descriptive statistics. On scales of 14,
mean levels of the dependent variables for Waves 1 and 2,
respectively, were 1.565 and 1.465 for psychological distress, 2.042 and 1.994 for death anxiety, 2.891 and 2.830
for life satisfaction, 3.444 and 3.495 for self-esteem, and
3.020 and 2.988 for a sense of control. The differences
in means across the two waves of data were small for all
measures but were statistically significant at p < .05 or less
for each measure except for death anxiety. The sample was
equally split between blacks and whites. Nearly 62% of
the respondents were women, 47.3% were married, and
43.1% reported that their health was fair or poor (compared with good or excellent). The average respondent was
around 75 years old, with roughly 11.3 years of formal
education. Levels of financial strain, as measured at baseline, were relatively low (M=1.769 on a 14 scale). The
average respondent reported attending religious services
roughly two to three times a month and praying approximately daily. Of particular importance to this study, the
average respondent reported listening to religious music
outside of church about once a week (M=4.947). This variable had a range of 1 (never) to 8 (several times a day), and
its distribution had a slight negative skew. The frequency
of listening to gospel music was slightly lower, averaging a
few times a month (M=4.277), and it had a similar distribution to religiousmusic.
Ancillary analyses (not shown) revealed that listening to religious music was more common among blacks
than whites (M = 6.201 and 3.920, respectively), women
compared with men (M=5.215 and 4.643, respectively),
individuals with a below average level of education compared with their better-educated counterparts (M=5.663
and 4.580, respectively), and individuals who experienced
above average levels of financial hardship compared with
those who experienced below average levels (M = 5.631
and 4.547, respectively). All differences were statistically
significant at p < .05 or less. Differences in the frequency
of listening to gospel music by race, gender, and SES were
similar to the patterns reported for listening to religious
music in general.

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Age was a continuous measure with a range of 65101.

Race (1=black compared with 0=white), marital status
(1 = married compared with 0 = not currently married),
and gender (1=women compared with 0=men) were all
dichotomous variables. Education was measured in total
years of schooling, whereas perceived financial strain was
tapped with the following two items: (1) How much difficulty do you have in meeting the monthly payments on
(your / your familys) bills? (response categories ranged
from 1=none to 4=a great deal) and (2) In general, how
do (your / your familys) finances work out at the end of the
month? (response categories ranged from 1=money left
over to 3=not enough to make ends meet). Because these
two items do not have identical response categories, they
were converted to equivalent z-scores prior to the construction of the composite measure ( = .760). Self-rated fair
or poor health, which was coded 1 = fair or poor health
and 0=excellent or good, was controlled because it is an
important predictor of mental health. Religious attendance
was coded 1=never to 9 =more than once a week, and
prayer was coded 1=never to 8=daily.

were estimated. Third, a series of ordinary least squares

(OLS) regression models were fitted to the data. The main
effects of listening to religious and gospel music at baseline on mental health at follow-up were examined controlling for baseline mental health. Differences by race, gender,
and SES were examined by introducing interaction terms
between listening to religious and gospel music, and these
variables, into the models one at a time.

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Table1. Descriptive Statistics

Mean/proportiona

SD

Range

Psychological distress T1/T2

Death anxiety T1/T2
Life satisfaction T1/T2
Self-esteem T1/T2
Sense of control T1/T2
Black (%)
Female (%)
Age
Education
Financial strain
Married (%)
Fair or poor health (%)
Religious attendance
Prayer
Listening to religious music
Listening to Gospel music

1.565/1.465b
2.042/1.994
2.891/2.830b
3.444/3.495b
3.020/2.988b
49
62
75.139
11.281
1.769
47
43
5.729
6.774
4.947
4.277

0.619/0.598
0.595/0.670
0.592/0.570
0.494/0.515
0.509/0.559

6.670
3.484
0.993

2.723
1.877
2.468
2.582

14
14
14
14
14

65101
125
14

19
18
18
18

Notes: T1=time 1; T2=time 2.n=1,024.

a
Means are reported for continuous measures and proportions for dichotomous measures.
b
Two-tailed t test indicates that the difference between these two means is statistically significant at p < .05.

Bivariate Correlations
Table2 shows bivariate correlations for key dependent and
independent variables. The correlations between baseline
and follow-up levels of the dependent variables were .265
for psychological distress, .256 for death anxiety, .290 for
life satisfaction, .193 for self-esteem, and .197 for a sense
of control (all are statistically significant at p < .001 or
less). The correlations between the frequency of listening
to religious music and four of the five mental health variables (death anxiety, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and sense
of control) were salutary and statistically significant, but
relatively weak, at both waves; correlations ranged from
.076 to .171 in magnitude. The correlations between listening to religious music and the remaining mental health outcomepsychological distressmeasured at baseline and at
follow-up were negligible and not statistically significant.
The findings for gospel music were similar with one exception: this variable was associated with psychological distress as well, especially at Wave 2.Overall, these bivariate
patterns suggested that listening to religious and/or gospel
music had a statistically significant, yet weak, relationship
with several different aspects of mental health in latelife.

Regression Analyses
Table 3 shows OLS parameter estimates from the regression of follow-up (Wave 2)mental health on baseline (Wave
1)mental health, covariates, and the frequency of listening to
religious music. These models tested H1, which stated that listening to religious music would be associated with decreases

in psychological distress and death anxiety and increases in

life satisfaction, self-esteem, and a sense of control among
older U.S.adults. Findings provided support for this hypothesis. The frequency of listening to religious music was inversely
associated with levels of death anxiety at Wave 2 (b=.035;
p < .001) controlling for death anxiety at baseline. This means
that listening to religious music was associated with a decline
in death anxiety across the two waves of data. The frequency
of listening to religious music was also associated with
increases in life satisfaction (b = .019; p < .05), self-esteem
(b=.015; p < .05), and a sense of control (b=.021; p < .01). It
was not associated with psychological distress, however.
The literature suggests that religious music is central in
the lives of African Americans, so the analyses were conducted separately for blacks and whites. Contrary to H2, no
significant differences were found between these two groups
in the relationship between the frequency of listening to religious music and mental health. Similarly, there was no evidence of meaningful gender differences in these patterns, so
H3 was not supported. Finally, the effects of listening to religious music were examined across levels of SES. Contrary to
H4, findings did not reveal any differences in the relationship between religious music and mental health by education or financial hardship. Overall, the results suggested that
the listening to religious music functioned in broadly similar
ways for blacks and whites, women and men, and individuals with different levels ofSES.
Finally, the data also contained a measure of the frequency of listening to gospel music (a more specific type
of religious music), and the analyses described earlier were

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Variable

1.000***
0.265***
0.131***
0.085***
0.298***
0.106***
0.186***
0.132***
0.348***
0.115***
0.015 ns
0.025+

1.000***
0.099***
0.185***
0.141***
0.276***
0.103***
0.205***
0.134***
0.202***
0.022 ns
0.042**

1.000***
0.256***
0.158***
0.127***
0.296***
0.113***
0.137***
0.027+
0.117***
0.071***

1.000***
0.096***
0.249***
0.077***
0.257***
0.034**
0.155***
0.024+
0.043**

1.000***
0.290***
0.343***
0.140***
0.437***
0.157***
0.137***
0.091***

1.000***
0.124***
0.377***
0.122***
0.377***
0.171***
0.184***

1.000***
0.193***
0.355***
0.160***
0.091***
0.066***

1.000***
0.137***
0.406***
0.119***
0.159***

10

1.000***
0.119***
0.139***

1.000***
0.197***
0.076***
0.073***

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1.000***
0.742***

11

1.000***

12

Notes: 1=psychological distress T2; 2=psychological distress T1; 3=death anxiety T2; 4=death anxiety T1; 5=life satisfaction T2; 6=life satisfaction T1; 7=self-esteem T2; 8=self-esteem T1; 9=sense of control T2;
10=sense of control T1; 11=listening to religious music; 12=listening to Gospel music. n=1,024; ns = not statistically significant at p < .05.
***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05; +p < .10.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Table2. Bivariate Correlations

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Table3. OLS Parameter Estimates (Standard Errors in Parentheses) From the Regression of Follow-Up (Wave 2)Mental
Health Variables on Baseline (Wave 1)Mental Health Variables, Covariates, and Frequency of Listening to Religious Music
Psychological distress
1.072 (0.078)***
0.209*** (0.033)
0.069 (0.044)
0.090* (0.040)
0.005+ (0.003)
0.013* (0.006)
0.041* (0.021)
0.034 (0.040)
0.114*** (0.039)
0.014+ (0.008)
0.011 (0.012)
0.000 (0.009)
0.101

Life satisfaction

1.613 (0.098)*** 2.004*** (0.105)

0.267*** (0.035)
0.225*** (0.031)
0.011 (0.050)
0.005 (0.045)
0.010*** (0.003)
0.022 (0.007)
0.021 (0.023)
0.011 (0.044)
0.057 (0.043)
0.006 (0.009)
0.022+ (0.013)
0.035*** (0.010)
0.106

0.070+ (0.041)
0.042 (0.038)
0.004 (0.003)
0.008 (0.006)
0.042* (0.019)
0.092** (0.037)
0.111*** (0.037)
0.008 (0.007)
0.008 (0.011)
0.019* (0.008)
0.116

Self-esteem

Sense of control

2.822*** (0.124)
0.168*** (0.033)

2.345*** (0.123)
0.186*** (0.036)

0.007 (0.039)
0.023 (0.035)
0.004+ (0.003)
0.008 (0.005)
0.041* (0.018)
0.032 (0.035)
0.051 (0.034)
0.000 (0.007)
0.019+ (0.011)
0.015* (0.007)

0.047 (0.042)
0.035 (0.038)
0.007** (0.003)
0.004 (0.006)
0.040* (0.019)
0.039 (0.037)
0.043 (0.037)
0.020** (0.007)
0.011 (0.012)
0.021** (0.008)

0.053

0.057

Notes: n=1,024.
***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05; +p < .10.

Table4. OLS Parameter Estimates (Standard Errors in Parentheses) From the Regression of Follow-Up (Wave 2)Mental
Health Variables on Baseline (Wave 1)Mental Health Variables, Covariates, and Frequency of Listening to Gospel Music
Psychological distress
Intercept
Mental health
variable T1
Black
Female
Age
Education
Financial strain
Married
Fair or poor health
Religious attendance
Prayer
Listening to
Gospel music
Adjusted R2

Death anxiety

Life satisfaction

Self-esteem

Sense of control

1.063*** (0.074)
0.209*** (0.032)

1.556*** (0.094)
0.258*** (0.034)

2.057*** (0.102)
0.231*** (0.031)

2.863*** (0.121)
0.167*** (0.033)

2.362*** (0.121)
0.186*** (0.036)

0.080 (0.046)
0.090* (0.040)
0.005+ (0.003)
0.015** (0.006)
0.036+ (0.020)
0.032 (0.039)
0.112*** (0.039)
0.015* (0.008)
0.011 (0.011)
0.004 (0.009)

0.001 (0.052)
0.005 (0.045)
0.011*** (0.003)
0.022*** (0.007)
0.019 (0.023)
0.014 (0.044)
0.057 (0.043)
0.004 (0.009)
0.029* (0.013)
0.022* (0.010)

0.093+ (0.044)
0.042 (0.038)
0.004 (0.003)
0.007 (0.006)
0.042* (0.019)
0.095** (0.037)
0.108*** (0.037)
0.008 (0.007)
0.015 (0.011)
0.003 (0.008)

0.016 (0.040)
0.022 (0.035)
0.004+ (0.003)
0.008 (0.005)
0.042* (0.018)
0.033 (0.035)
0.050 (0.034)
0.000 (0.007)
0.024+ (0.010)
0.008 (0.007)

0.058 (0.044)
0.034 (0.038)
0.007** (0.003)
0.005 (0.006)
0.043* (0.019)
0.039 (0.037)
0.043 (0.037)
0.019** (0.007)
0.011 (0.011)
0.021** (0.009)

0.096

0.089

0.110

0.053

0.068

Notes: n=1,024.
***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05; +p < .10.

conducted using this measure as well. The results for this

variable (shown in Table 4) revealed significant relationships between this variable and two of the five mental health
outcomes examined here: death anxiety (b=.022; p < .05)
and a sense of control (b=.021; p < .01). Once again, none
of these patterns was found to vary by race, gender, orSES.

Discussion
There is growing interest in the connection between religion and mental health (Smith et al., 2003). Scholars

have linked many different facets of religious lifefor

example, organizational involvement, prayer, belief in an
afterlife, religious coping, congregational support, and
attachments to God, among otherswith mental health
(Bradshaw etal., 2010; Krause, 2008; Pargament, 1997).
This study has augmented that list to include listening
to religious music (Hamilton et al., 2013; Lipe, 2002).
A large literature has linked listening to secular music
with emotional and physiological processes (Chan etal.,
2011; Erkkila et al., 2011; Hayes & Minichiello, 2005;
Krahe & Bieneck, 2012), and this work strengthens the

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Intercept
Mental health
variable T1
Black
Female
Age
Education
Financial strain
Married
Fair or poor health
Religious attendance
Prayer
Listening to religious
music
Adjusted R2

Death anxiety

Page 9 of 12

findings reported here also underscore the fact that religion

is a multifaceted phenomenon that affects mental health in a
variety of ways. Numerous prior studies have reported that
religion is associated with mental health in part because it
promotes social support networks, provides positive coping resources, offers messages of hope and optimism, and
allows individuals to develop close intimate relationships
with a divine other. Listening to religious music also appears
to matter for mental health, either by facilitating one or
more of these well-established mechanisms or by conferring
additional benefits through other (e.g., physiological) processes. Clarifying the underlying nature of the associations
between listening to religious music and desirable mental
health outcomes should be a priority for future research.
This study is also characterized by several limitations.
First, it is unclear how or whether the context in which one
listens to religious music matters. The survey item asked
how frequently individuals listened to religious music outside of worship services. Although this is useful for isolating the effects of religious music from those of service
attendance and prayer, it cannot reveal whether listening
to religious music is more helpful in certain circumstances
(e.g., in a quiet room at home) than in others (e.g., in traffic
or other stressful settings). Second, due to data limitations,
it is not feasible to compare the effects of religious versus
secular music on mental health. It is possible that persons
who listen to religious music also enjoy other types of
music and, thus, we cannot definitively establish that religious music carries distinctive benefits. Third, some degree
of confounding could result due to the effects of singing
or physical movement that may occur when some individuals listen to religious music. However, data limitations
preclude exploration of this issue. Fourth, some mental
health outcomes were examined using nonstandard measures, and it would be desirable to replicate these findings
using additional measures of psychological well-being and
psychopathology. Fifth, the focus on a single faith group
(i.e., Christians) clearly limits the generalizability of the
findings to other religious traditions, and future research
should attempt to address this weakness. Sixth, the changing characteristics of the sample over time could have
affected the results. The follow-up rate of 68% is relatively
low and could have conceivably biased the findings, especially given that older participants and those with health
problems were less likely to participate in the follow-up
survey: 55.35% of the respondents who did not participate
in the follow-up survey reported having fair or poor health
(compared with good or excellent) at baseline compared
with 37.63% for those who participated in both waves.
These processes caused the sample to become more healthy
over time (43.28% and 37.63% of the sample, respectively,
reported fair or poor health at baseline and follow-up),

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basis for expecting that religious music may be associated

with mental health.
Our analysis of two waves of data from a nationwide
survey of older U.S. adults showed that the frequency of
listening to religious music at baseline was associated with
mental health 3years later at Wave 2, controlling for baseline mental health, religious service attendance, prayer,
self-rated health, and sociodemographic variables. More
specifically, listening to religious music was associated with
modest, yet statistically significant, declines in death anxiety (effect size = 0.012) and increases in life satisfaction
(effect size=0.008), self-esteem (effect size=0.005), and
a sense of control (effect size = 0.010) across two waves
of data that spanned a 3-year period. Listening to gospel
music, a specific type of religious music, was associated
with two mental health outcomes: death anxiety (effect
size = 0.060) and a sense of control (effect size = 0.050).
These effect sizes were small, but given that many individuals in later life are exposed to a variety of biological and
socialenvironmental risk factors that undermine mental
health (Blazer & Hybels, 2005), the fact that listening to
religious or gospel music was associated with improvements in mental health (not simply with a slower rate of
decline) is noteworthy. These findings were net of two other
important aspects of religious life: service attendance and
prayer. Also, the relationship between religious music and
mental health did not vary for blacks versus whites, women
and men, and low- versus high-SES individuals.
The fact that the findings were stronger and more consistent across mental health outcomes for religious music in
general suggests that, although some of the salutary effects
of listening to religious music may reflect benefits associated with gospel music specifically, other types of religious
music may also have implications for mental health. Gospel
music is itself a very diverse music genre, ranging from
bluegrass gospel to upbeat Black gospel and many other
types as well. However, religious music is an even broader
and more inclusive label, extending to Gregorian chanting,
religious classical and chamber music, and numerous other
types of musical expression.
These findings contribute to the literature on religion and
mental health in several ways. They indicate that the mental health consequences of religious activities are not simply
about social interaction or connectedness; indeed, these patterns persisted with controls for individual-level variations
in religious service attendance. The findings reported here
point to the significance of private aspects of religious life
that cannot simply be reduced to social integration. These
findings are particularly important for this study population
because many older adults experience illnesses or disabilities that prevent them from attending religious services or
participating in congregational life on a regular basis. The

The Gerontologist, 2014, Vol. 00, No. 00

The Gerontologist, 2014, Vol. 00, No. 00

the United States, future research should also examine the

effects of religious music among other faith traditions.
Many scholars and health practitioners have emphasized the need for holistic approaches to health and personalized forms of medicine that seek to care for the entire
individual, mentally, physically, and spiritually. The findings reported here have implications for disease prevention
and treatment. Agrowing literature suggests that meditation and relaxation techniques (e.g., mindfulness) have
health-promoting effects (Szanton, Wenzel, Connolly, &
Piferi, 2011). Listening to religious music may help promote feelings of calm, which subsequently enhance psychological well-being. Listening to religious music may serve as
a form of self-care or self-comforting (Hamilton etal.,
2013), which could be used profitably in a complementary
fashion with more traditional forms of healthcare.
To conclude, listening to religious music appears to be
associated with declines in death anxiety and increases in life
satisfaction, self-esteem, and a sense of control among older
U.S. adults. These findings contribute to research showing
the effects of listening to music on mental health, as well as
a growing literature on the religionmental health connection. Much work remains to be done in this area, and future
research should seek to understand exactly how and why
religious music is associated with mental health in later life.

Acknowledgments
A previous version of this paper was presented at the 2012 Meeting
of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, Denver, CO. The lead
author would like to thank Baylor University for providing start-up
funds that contributed to this research. The authors would like to
thank Neal Krause and Interuniversity Consortium for Political and
Social Research (http://www.icpsr.umich.edu) for providing access to
the data used in this study.

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