Perspective: What 18 Years of Research Tells Us About the Mental Health of Latter-day Saints

Abstract

Reviewing 18 years of research, Justin Dyer reports that practicing Latter-day Saints show lower substance abuse, lower rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, better body image, and — contrary to common assumptions — better mental health outcomes for LGBTQ Latter-day Saints in many measures.

Findings for Latter-day Saints

• Practicing Latter-day Saints show lower substance abuse than non-LDS peers.
• Lower rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among active members.
• Better body image outcomes than national averages.
• LGBTQ Latter-day Saints show better mental health outcomes on many measures than commonly assumed.

Limitations in methodology

Opinion/perspective piece summarizing 18 years of research; not itself peer-reviewed. Findings depend on cited underlying studies.

Related studies

• 2016lgbtqmental-health

  Mental Health Among LGB Latter-day Saint Youth (PubMed 27633316)

• mental-health

  Religion and Mental Health Research

• mental-health

  PubMed 11867352 — Religion and Health Research

Cite this study

Dyer, J. (2023). Perspective: What 18 Years of Research Tells Us About the Mental Health of Latter-day Saints. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/2023/6/20/23759342/latter-day-saint-mental-health-research/

Justin Dyer. "Perspective: What 18 Years of Research Tells Us About the Mental Health of Latter-day Saints." Deseret News, 2023. https://www.deseret.com/2023/6/20/23759342/latter-day-saint-mental-health-research/.

@article{dyer_18_years_lds_mental_health_2023,
  title = {Perspective: What 18 Years of Research Tells Us About the Mental Health of Latter-day Saints},
  author = {Justin Dyer},
  year = {2023},
  journal = {Deseret News},
  url = {https://www.deseret.com/2023/6/20/23759342/latter-day-saint-mental-health-research/},
}