Religiosity and Stigmatization Related to Mental Illness Among African Americans and Black Immigrants Cross-Sectional Observational Study and Moderation Analysis

Stigma about mental illness is a known barrier to engagement in mental health services. We conducted an online cross-sectional study, aiming to estimate the associations between religiosity and mental illness stigma among Black adults (n = 269, ages 18-65 years) in the United States. After adjusting for demographic factors (age, education, and ethnicity), respondents with higher attendance at religious services or greater engagement in religious activities (e.g., prayer, meditation, or Bible study) reported greater proximity to people living with mental health problems (rate ratio [RR], 1.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-2.59 and RR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.18-2.79, respectively). Despite reporting greater past or current social proximity, respondents with higher religiosity indices also reported greater future intended stigmatizing behavior (or lower future intended social proximity) (RR, 0.92-0.98). Focusing specifically on future intended stigmatizing behavior and the respondent's level of religiosity, age, and ethnicity may be critical for designing effective stigma-reducing interventions for Black adults.