Causal inference and longitudinal data: a case study of religion and mental health
Abstract
Purpose We provide an introduction to causal inference with longitudinal data and discuss the complexities of analysis and interpretation when exposures can vary over time. Methods We consider what types of causal questions can be addressed with the standard regression-based analyses and what types of covariate control and control for the prior values of outcome and exposure must be made to reason about causal effects. We also consider newer classes of causal models, including marginal structural models, that can assess questions of the joint effects of time-varying exposures and can take into account feedback between the exposure and outcome over time. Such feedback renders cross-sectional data ineffective for drawing inferences about causation. Results The challenges are illustrated by analyses concerning potential effects of religious service attendance on depression, in which there may in fact be effects in both directions with service attendance preventing the subsequent depression, but depression itself leading to lower levels of the subsequent religious service attendance. Conclusions Longitudinal designs, with careful control for prior exposures, outcomes, and confounders, and suitable methodology, will strengthen research on mental health, religion and health, and in the biomedical and social sciences generally.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The analyses adjusted for mental health problems measured before the exposure, which reduces the influence of reverse causality.
“Unlike a prior study, 16 we adjusted for mental health problems measured before the exposure, which is critical for reducing the influence of reverse causality.”
From Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth. (2019) · cites this paper as [16]
Cites
The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects
ROSENBAUM, P. R., & RUBIN, D. B. (1983) · Biometrika · doi:10.1093/biomet/70.1.41 · Cited by 31,241 · see citing works
Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference
Pearl, J. (2009) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511803161 · Cited by 11,653 · see citing works
Marginal Structural Models and Causal Inference in Epidemiology
Robins, J. M., Hernán, M. Á., & Brumback, B. (2000) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/00001648-200009000-00011 · Cited by 5,581 · see citing works
A generalization of sampling without replacement from a finite universe
Horvitz, D. G., & Thompson, D. J. (1952) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.1080/01621459.1952.10483446 · Cited by 4,293 · see citing works
Causal Inference for Statistics, Social, and Biomedical Sciences: An Introduction
Imbens, G. W., & Rubin, D. B. (2015) · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139025751 · Cited by 4,210 · see citing works
Handbook of Religion and Health
Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2004) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00019442-200405000-00015 · Cited by 3,262 · see citing works
Constructing Inverse Probability Weights for Marginal Structural Models
Cole, S. R., & Hernan, M. A. (2008) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwn164 · Cited by 2,796 · see citing works
Robins, J. (1986) · Mathematical Modelling · doi:10.1016/0270-0255(86)90088-6 · Cited by 2,451 · see citing works
Rosenbaum, P. R. (2002) · Springer series in statistics · doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-3692-2 · Cited by 2,414 · see citing works
Hernán, M. Á., Brumback, B., & Robins, J. M. (2000) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/00001648-200009000-00012 · Cited by 1,772 · see citing works
Modern Epidemiology 3rd edition
Rothman, K. J., Lash, T. L., & Greenland, S. (1986) · Cited by 1,736 · see citing works
Explanation in Causal Inference: Methods for Mediation and Interaction
VanderWeele, T. J. (2015) · Cited by 1,540 · see citing works
Self-citationReducing bias through directed acyclic graphs
Shrier, I., & Platt, R. W. (2008) · BMC Medical Research Methodology · doi:10.1186/1471-2288-8-70 · Cited by 1,394 · see citing works
Handbook of Religion and Health
Koenig, H. G., VanderWeele, T. J., & Peteet, J. R. (2023) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190088859.001.0001 · Cited by 1,150 · see citing works
Self-citationReligion, Social Networks, and Life Satisfaction
Lim, C., & Putnam, R. D. (2010) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.1177/0003122410386686 · Cited by 1,123 · see citing works
Counterfactuals and Causal Inference: Methods and Principles for Social Research
Morgan, S. L., & Winship, C. (2014) · Cambridge University Press · doi:10.1017/cbo9781107587991 · Cited by 1,037 · see citing works
Glymour, M. M., Weuve, J., Berkman, L. F., Kawachi, I. I., & Robins, J. M. (2005) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwi187 · Cited by 706 · see citing works
Rothman, K. J. (1988) · Cited by 677 · see citing works
Strawbridge, W. J., Shema, S. J., Cohen, R. D., & Kaplan, G. A. (2001) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1207/s15324796abm2301_10 · Cited by 618 · see citing works
Sensitivity Analysis Without Assumptions
Ding, P., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2016) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/ede.0000000000000457 · Cited by 576 · see citing works
Self-citationMarginal Structural Models versus Structural nested Models as Tools for Causal inference
Robins, J. M. (2000) · The IMA volumes in mathematics and its applications · doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-1284-3_2 · Cited by 557 · see citing works
Statistical Models in Epidemiology, the Environment, and Clinical Trials
Halloran, M. E., & Berry, D. A. (2000) · The IMA volumes in mathematics and its applications · doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-1284-3 · Cited by 547 · see citing works
Southern, D. A., Norris, C. M., Quan, H., Shrive, F. M., Galbraith, P. D., Humphries, K. H., Gao, M., Knudtson, M. L., Ghali, W. A., & the APPROACH Investigators (2008) · BMC Medical Research Methodology · doi:10.1186/1471-2288-8-1 · Cited by 503 · see citing works
Association, Causation, And Marginal Structural Models
Robins, J. M. (1999) · Synthese · doi:10.1023/a:1005285815569 · Cited by 404 · see citing works
Association of Religious Service Attendance With Mortality Among Women
Li, S., Stampfer, M. J., Williams, D. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2016) · JAMA Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.1615 · Cited by 366 · see citing works
Self-citationHernán, M. Á., Brumback, B., & Robins, J. M. (2002) · Statistics in Medicine · doi:10.1002/sim.1144 · Cited by 335 · see citing works
Estimation of the causal effects of time-varying exposures
Robins, J. M., & Hernán, M. Á. (2008) · Chapman & Hall/CRC interdisciplinary statistics series/Interdisciplinary statistics · doi:10.1201/9781420011579.ch23 · Cited by 330 · see citing works
Danaei, G., Tavakkoli, M., & Hernán, M. Á. (2012) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwr301 · Cited by 265 · see citing works
Van Voorhees, B. W., Paunesku, D., Kuwabara, S. A., Basu, A., Gollan, J., Hankin, B. L., Melkonian, S., & Reinecke, M. (2008) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.11.135 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
Religious Service Attendance and Lower Depression Among Women—a Prospective Cohort Study
Li, S., Okereke, O. I., Chang, S., Kawachi, I. I., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2016) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12160-016-9813-9 · Cited by 205 · see citing works
Self-citationFormalizing the role of agent-based modeling in causal inference and epidemiology
Marshall, B. D. L., & Galea, S. (2015) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwu274 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
On the reciprocal association between loneliness and subjective well-being
VanderWeele, T. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2012) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kws173 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
Self-citationInvited Commentary: Structural Equation Models and Epidemiologic Analysis
VanderWeele, T. J. (2012) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kws213 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Self-citationEstimating Direct Effects in Cohort and Case–Control Studies
Vansteelandt, S. (2009) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/ede.0b013e3181b6f4c9 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Shepherd, B. E., Jarrett, R. T., & Fu, L. (2016) · Biometrics · doi:10.1111/biom.12615 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Schnall, E., Wassertheil-Smoller, S., Swencionis, C., Zemon, V., Tinker, L., O'Sullivan, M. J., Van Horn, L., & Goodwin, M. (2010) · Psychology & Health · doi:10.1080/08870440802311322 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Religious Attendance, Spirituality, and Major Depression in Canada: A 14-Year Follow-up Study
Balbuena, L., Baetz, M., & Bowen, R. (2013) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/070674371305800408 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Religious Service Attendance and Major Depression: A Case of Reverse Causality?
Maselko, J., Hayward, R. D., Hanlon, A., Buka, S. L., & Meador, K. G. (2012) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwr349 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Norton, M. C., Singh, A., Skoog, I. G., Corcoran, C. M., Tschanz, J. T., Zandi, P. P., Breitner, J. C. S., Welsh-Bohmer, K. A., Steffens, D. C., & for the Cache County Investigators (2008) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/63.3.p129 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Keogh, R. H., Daniel, R., VanderWeele, T. J., & Vansteelandt, S. (2017) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwx311 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Self-citationRevisiting g-estimation of the Effect of a Time-varying Exposure Subject to Time-varying Confounding
Vansteelandt, S., & Sjölander, A. (2016) · Epidemiologic Methods · doi:10.1515/em-2015-0005 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Counterpoint: Epidemiology to Guide Decision-Making: Moving Away From Practice-Free Research
Hernán, M. Á. (2015) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwv215 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Re: "Religious Service Attendance and Major Depression: A Case of Reverse Causality?"
VanderWeele, T. J. (2013) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kws415 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Self-citationEstimation of the causal effects of time-varying exposures
(2008) · Chapman & Hall/CRC eBooks · doi:10.1201/9781420011579-35 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
4. Adjusting for Time-Varying Confounding in Survival Analysis
Barber, J. S., Murphy, S. A., & Verbitsky, N. (2004) · Sociological Methodology · doi:10.1111/j.0081-1750.2004.00151.x · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Assessing the Total Effect of Time-Varying Predictors in Prevention Research
Bray, B. C., Almirall, D., Zimmerman, R. S., Lynam, D. R., & Murphy, S. A. (2006) · Prevention Science · doi:10.1007/s11121-005-0023-0 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Diagnostics for Confounding of Time-varying and Other Joint Exposures
Jackson, J. W. (2016) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/ede.0000000000000547 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Self-citationMoerkerke, B., Loeys, T., & Vansteelandt, S. (2015) · Psychological Methods · doi:10.1037/a0036368 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Principles of confounder selection
VanderWeele, T. J. (2019) · European Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s10654-019-00494-6 · Cited by 1,535 · see citing works
Self-citationOn the promotion of human flourishing
VanderWeele, T. J. (2017) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1702996114 · Cited by 1,387 · see citing works
Self-citationHandbook of Religion and Health
Koenig, H. G., VanderWeele, T. J., & Peteet, J. R. (2023) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190088859.001.0001 · Cited by 1,150 · see citing works
Self-citationRiehm, K. E., Feder, K. A., Tormohlen, K. N., Crum, R. M., Young, A. S., Green, K. M., Pacek, L. R., La Flair, L. N., & Mojtabai, R. (2019) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2325 · Cited by 511 · see citing works
Does Spirituality or Religion Positively Affect Mental Health? Meta-analysis of Longitudinal Studies
Garssen, B., Visser, A., & Pool, G. (2021) · The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2020.1729570 · Cited by 418 · see citing works
Religion, spirituality and depression in prospective studies: A systematic review
Braam, A. W., & Koenig, H. G. (2019) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2019.06.063 · Cited by 340 · see citing works
Outcome-Wide Longitudinal Designs for Causal Inference: A New Template for Empirical Studies
VanderWeele, T. J., Mathur, M. B., & Chen, Y. (2020) · Statistical Science · doi:10.1214/19-sts728 · Cited by 311 · see citing works
Self-citationReligious Communities and Human Flourishing
VanderWeele, T. J. (2017) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721417721526 · Cited by 271 · see citing works
Self-citationLife Satisfaction and Subsequent Physical, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Health in Older Adults
Kim, E. S., Delaney, S., Tay, L., Chen, Y., Diener, E., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2021) · Milbank Quarterly · doi:10.1111/1468-0009.12497 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
Self-citationVanderWeele, T. J. (2017) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/ede.0000000000000641 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
Self-citationChen, Y., Kim, E. S., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyaa120 · Cited by 190 · see citing works
Self-citationWang, A., Tian, X., Zuo, Y., Chen, S., Meng, X., Wu, S., & Wang, Y. (2021) · Cardiovascular Diabetology · doi:10.1186/s12933-021-01305-7 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Kim, E. S., Whillans, A. V., Lee, M. T., Chen, Y., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2020.03.004 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
Self-citationA Critique of the Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel ModelPreprint
Lüdtke, O., & Robitzsch, A. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/6f85c · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Lüdtke, O., & Robitzsch, A. (2022) · Structural Equation Modeling A Multidisciplinary Journal · doi:10.1080/10705511.2022.2065278 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Long, K. N. G., Kim, E. S., Chen, Y., Wilson, M. F., Worthington, E. L., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · Global Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.gloepi.2020.100018 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Self-citationSense of Purpose in Life and Cardiovascular Disease: Underlying Mechanisms and Future Directions
Kim, E. S., Delaney, S. W., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2019) · Current Cardiology Reports · doi:10.1007/s11886-019-1222-9 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Religiousness and health in Europe
Ahrenfeldt, L. J., Möller, S., Andersen‐Ranberg, K., Vitved, A. R., Lindahl‐Jacobsen, R., & Hvidt, N. C. (2017) · European Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s10654-017-0296-1 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Kim, E. S., Chen, Y., Nakamura, J., Ryff, C., & VanderWeele, T. (2021) · American Journal of Health Promotion · doi:10.1177/08901171211038545 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Self-citationMeasures of Community Well-Being: a Template
VanderWeele, T. J. (2019) · International Journal of Community Well-Being · doi:10.1007/s42413-019-00036-8 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Self-citationJohansson, F., Rozental, A., Edlund, K., Côté, P., Sundberg, T., Onell, C., Rudman, A., & Skillgate, E. (2023) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.49346 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Kim, E. S., Chen, Y., Kawachi, I. I., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102420 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Self-citationReligion and psychiatry: recent developments in research
Koenig, H. G., Al‐Zaben, F., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · BJPsych Advances · doi:10.1192/bja.2019.81 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Self-citationTime spent playing video games is unlikely to impact well-being
Vuorre, M., Johannes, N., Magnusson, K., & Przybylski, A. K. (2022) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.220411 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Suffering and Response: Directions in Empirical Research
VanderWeele, T. J. (2018) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.01.041 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Self-citationInternet use and subsequent health and well-being in older adults: An outcome-wide analysis
Nakagomi, A., Shiba, K., Kawachi, I. I., Ide, K., Nagamine, Y., Kondo, N., Hanazato, M., & Kondo, K. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.107156 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Hong, J. H., Nakamura, J. S., Berkman, L. F., Chen, F. S., Shiba, K., Chen, Y., Kim, E. S., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2023) · SSM - Population Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101459 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Self-citationPredicting continuance intention to fintech chatbot
Huang, S. Y. B., & Lee, C.-J. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.107027 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Marsh, H. W., Pekrun, R. H., & Lüdtke, O. (2022) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-022-09662-9 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Lorenz, L., Doherty, A. M., & Casey, P. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16071238 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Religiousness and lifestyle among Europeans in SHARE
Ahrenfeldt, L. J., Möller, S., Hvidt, N. C., & Lindahl‐Jacobsen, R. (2018) · Public Health · doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2018.09.009 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Liu, D., Yang, K., Gu, H., Li, Z., Wang, Y., & Wang, Y. (2022) · Cardiovascular Diabetology · doi:10.1186/s12933-022-01704-4 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Disadvantaged neighborhoods and racial disparity in breast cancer outcomes: the biological link
Saini, G., Ogden, A., McCullough, L. E., Torres, M. A., Rida, P. C. G., & Aneja, R. (2019) · Cancer Causes & Control · doi:10.1007/s10552-019-01180-4 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Longitudinal meta-analysis of job crafting shows positive association with work engagement
Frederick, D. E., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · Cogent Psychology · doi:10.1080/23311908.2020.1746733 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Self-citationPsychometric Properties of Flourishing Scales From a Comprehensive Well-Being Assessment
Węziak‐Białowolska, D., Białowolski, P., Lee, M. T., Chen, Y., VanderWeele, T. J., & McNeely, E. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.652209 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Self-citationAssociation of Routine Preoperative Frailty Assessment With 1-Year Postoperative Mortality
Varley, P. R., Buchanan, D., Bilderback, A. L., Wisniewski, M. K., Johanning, J. M., Nelson, J. B., Johnson, J. T., Minnier, T. E., & Hall, D. E. (2023) · JAMA Surgery · doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2022.8341 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Long, K. N. G., Worthington, E. L., VanderWeele, T. J., & Chen, Y. (2020) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-020-00470-w · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Self-citationYemiscigil, A., & Vlaev, I. (2021) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-021-00220-2 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Religion and health in Europe: cultures, countries, context
VanderWeele, T. J. (2017) · European Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s10654-017-0310-7 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Self-citationMediators of the Association Between Religious Service Attendance and Mortality
Kim, E. S., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2018) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwy211 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Self-citationPropensity Scores in Pharmacoepidemiology: Beyond the Horizon
Jackson, J. W., Schmid, I. T., & Stuart, E. A. (2017) · Current Epidemiology Reports · doi:10.1007/s40471-017-0131-y · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Self-citationAssociation of Parent and Offspring Religiosity With Offspring Suicide Ideation and Attempts
Svob, C., WICKRAMARATNE, P. J., Reich, L., Zhao, R., Talati, A., Gameroff, M. J., Saeed, R., & Weissman, M. M. (2018) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.2060 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Chen, Y., Harris, S. K., Worthington, E. L., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2018) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2018.1519591 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationVanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2020.1748932 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Self-citationSense of Mission and Subsequent Health and Well-Being Among Young Adults: An Outcome-Wide Analysis
Chen, Y., Kim, E. S., Koh, H. K., Frazier, A. L., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2019) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwz009 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Role of Financial Fragility and Financial Control for Well-Being
Białowolski, P., Węziak‐Białowolska, D., & McNeely, E. (2021) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-021-02627-5 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Social integration and healthy aging among U.S. women
Li, S., Hagan, K. A., Grodstein, F., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2018) · Preventive Medicine Reports · doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.01.013 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Self-citationIntensive longitudinal mediation in Mplus.
McNeish, D., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2022) · Psychological Methods · doi:10.1037/met0000536 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Religiousness and Diseases in Europe: Findings from SHARE
Ahrenfeldt, L. J., Hvidt, N. C., Kjøller, S. T., Möller, S., & Lindahl‐Jacobsen, R. (2018) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0664-5 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
VanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · PubMed Central · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2007.00520 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Self-citationFrom Personalized Medicine to Population Health: A Survey of mHealth Sensing Techniques
Wang, Z., Xiong, H., Zhang, J., Yang, S., Boukhechba, M., Zhang, D., Barnes, L. E., & Dou, D. (2022) · IEEE Internet of Things Journal · doi:10.1109/jiot.2022.3161046 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
The impact of workplace harassment and domestic violence on work outcomes in the developing world
Węziak‐Białowolska, D., Białowolski, P., & McNeely, E. (2019) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104732 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Constructed Measures and Causal Inference
VanderWeele, T. J. (2021) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/ede.0000000000001434 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Self-citationOman, D., & Syme, S. L. (2018) · Religion, spirituality and health: a social scientific approach · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-73966-3_15 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Commentary on “Does Spirituality or Religion Positively Affect Mental Health?”
Koenig, H. G., Hill, T. D., Pirutinsky, S., & Rosmarin, D. H. (2020) · International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2020.1766868 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
McCormick, E. M., Byrne, M. L., Flournoy, J. C., Mills, K. L., & Pfeifer, J. H. (2023) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101281 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Riehm, K. E., Mojtabai, R., Adams, L. B., Krueger, E. A., Mattingly, D. T., Nestadt, P. S., & Leventhal, A. M. (2021) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.32131 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Zheng, X., Han, W., Li, Y., Jiang, M., Ren, X., Yang, P., Jia, Y., Sun, L., Wang, R., Shi, M., et al. (2024) · Cardiovascular Diabetology · doi:10.1186/s12933-024-02485-8 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Rojo‐Wissar, D. M., Sosnowski, D. W., Ingram, M. M., Jackson, C. L., Maher, B. S., Alfano, C. A., Meltzer, L. J., & Spira, A. P. (2021) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2021.10.019 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Religiosity and telomere length: One step forward, one step back
VanderWeele, T. J., & Shields, A. E. (2016) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.06.038 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Self-citationYu, G., Yang, L., Liu, M., Wang, C., Shen, X., Fan, L., & Zhang, J. (2023) · Environmental Health Perspectives · doi:10.1289/ehp10831 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Nakamura, J. S., Hong, J. H., Smith, J., Chopik, W. J., Chen, Y., VanderWeele, T. J., & Kim, E. S. (2022) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.47797 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Self-citationFarrell, C., & Zimmerman, G. M. (2018) · Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency · doi:10.1177/0022427818785207 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Kim, K., Lee, S., Park, S.-C., Kim, N.-E., Shin, C., Lee, S. K., Jung, Y., Yoon, D., Kim, H.-J., Kim, S., et al. (2022) · Experimental & Molecular Medicine · doi:10.1038/s12276-022-00816-x · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Analysis of Intensive Longitudinal Data: Putting Psychological Processes in Perspective
Hamaker, E. L. (2025) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-081423-022947 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Moral Injury and Religiosity in US Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
Koenig, H. G., Youssef, N. A., Ames, D., Oliver, J. P., Teng, E. J., Haynes, K., Erickson, Z. D., Arnold, I. Y., Currier, J. M., O’Garo, K., et al. (2018) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000000798 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
No effect of different types of media on well-being
Johannes, N., Dienlin, T., Bakhshi, H., & Przybylski, A. K. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-03218-7 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Loh, W. W., & Ren, D. (2023) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916221134573 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Li, S., & Felson, D. T. (2018) · Arthritis Care & Research · doi:10.1002/acr.23698 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Self-citationANCOVA versus Change Score for the Analysis of Two-Wave Data
Lüdtke, O., & Robitzsch, A. (2023) · The Journal of Experimental Education · doi:10.1080/00220973.2023.2246187 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Tao, S., Yu, L., Li, J., Wu, J., Huang, X., Xie, Z., Xue, T., Li, Y., & Su, L. (2025) · Cardiovascular Diabetology · doi:10.1186/s12933-025-02672-1 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Cross-sectional studies: strengths, limitations, and methodological considerations
Baumeister, S., Kocher, T., Papapanou, P. N., Holtfreter, B., & Demmer, R. T. (2026) · Journal of Periodontal Research · doi:10.1111/jre.70063 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Sleep Disturbances Are Mediators Between Socioeconomic Status and Health: a Scoping Review
Papadopoulos, D., Sosso, F. A. E., Khoury, T., & Surani, S. (2020) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00378-x · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Kent, B. V., Henderson, W. M., Bradshaw, M., Ellison, C. G., & Wright, B. R. E. (2020) · International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2020.1777766 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Węziak‐Białowolska, D., Białowolski, P., Lee, M. T., Chen, Y., VanderWeele, T. J., & McNeely, E. (2022) · International Journal of Public Health · doi:10.3389/ijph.2022.1604710 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Self-citationVanderWeele, T. J., Balboni, T. A., & Koh, H. K. (2021) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwab134 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Self-citationBoers, E., Afzali, M. H., & Conrod, P. (2020) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.105992 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Ide, K., Nakagomi, A., Tsuji, T., Yamamoto, T., Watanabe, R., Yokoyama, M., Shirai, K., Kondo, K., & Shiba, K. (2023) · Innovation in Aging · doi:10.1093/geroni/igad084 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Benjet, C. L., Orozco, R., Albor, Y., Contreras, E. V., Velasco, I. R. M., Uribe, P. C. H., Mansur, P. M. B., Couder, M. A. C. D., Chávez, G. E. Q., Gutiérrez–García, R. A., et al. (2023) · American Journal on Addictions · doi:10.1111/ajad.13386 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Long, K. N. G., Chen, Y., Potts, M., Hanson, J., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01337 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Self-citationLindner, C., Zitzmann, S., Klusmann, U., & Zimmermann, F. (2023) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2023.102373 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Park, C. L., & Lee, S. Y. (2019) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-019-00101-9 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Psychological Climate for Caring and Work Outcomes: A Virtuous Cycle
Węziak-Białowolska, D., Białowolski, P., Leon, C., Koosed, T., & McNeely, E. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17197035 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Høj, S. B., Paquet, C., Caron, J., & Daniel, M. (2021) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102501 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Jacobi, C. J., Cowden, R. G., & Vaidyanathan, B. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.805785 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Nolde, M., Holtfreter, B., Kocher, T., Alayash, Z., Reckelkamm, S. L., Ehmke, B., Baurecht, H., & Baumeister, S. (2022) · Frontiers in Immunology · doi:10.3389/fimmu.2022.918404 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Hofbauer, L. M., & Rodriguez, F. S. (2023) · Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences · doi:10.1017/s2045796023000033 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Zipple, M. N., Vogt, C. C., & Sheehan, M. J. (2023) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105238 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
A multiverse analysis of the associations between internet use and well-being.
Vuorre, M., & Przybylski, A. K. (2024) · Technology Mind and Behavior · doi:10.1037/tmb0000127 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
War, traumatic health shocks, and religiosity
Cesur, R., Freidman, T., & Sabia, J. J. (2020) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2020.08.016 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Why has personality psychology played an outsized role in the credibility revolution?
Atherton, O. E., Chung, J. M., Harris, K., Rohrer, J. M., Condon, D. M., Cheung, F., Vazire, S., Lucas, R. E., Donnellan, M. B., Mroczek, D. K., et al. (2021) · Personality Science · doi:10.5964/ps.6001 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Prayer frequency and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among older adults in Europe
Wester, C. T., Scheel-Hincke, L. L., Bovil, T., Andersen‐Ranberg, K., Ahrenfeldt, L. J., & Hvidt, N. C. (2022) · Vaccine · doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.09.044 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
How should we investigate variation in the relation between social media and well-being?Preprint
Johannes, N., Masur, P. K., Vuorre, M., & Przybylski, A. (2021) · Meta-Psychology · doi:10.31234/osf.io/xahbg · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Lee, G. B., Kim, H. C., Jeon, Y. J., & Jung, S. J. (2021) · SLEEP · doi:10.1093/sleep/zsab044 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Opsahl, T., Ahrenfeldt, L. J., Möller, S., & Hvidt, N. C. (2019) · Public Health · doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2019.07.011 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Multi-omics in stress and health research: study designs that will drive the field forward
Mengelkoch, S., Gassen, J., Lev‐Ari, S., Alley, J. C., Rose, S. M. S., Snyder, M. P., & Slavich, G. M. (2024) · Stress · doi:10.1080/10253890.2024.2321610 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Alessy, S. A., Davies, E., Rawlinson, J., Baker, M. J., & Lüchtenborg, M. (2022) · BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care · doi:10.1136/bmjspcare-2021-003445 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Yang, Y., Xu, Y., Chen, W.-C., Zhu, J.-H., Lü, J., & Zhong, B. (2017) · Oncotarget · doi:10.18632/oncotarget.19565 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Li, S., Cui, L., Jin, C., Shu, R., Chen, S., Nguyen, U., Misra, D., Wu, S., & Gao, X. (2020) · Arthritis Research & Therapy · doi:10.1186/s13075-020-02173-4 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citationCausal effects of religious service attendance?
VanderWeele, T. J. (2017) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-017-1434-5 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- VanderWeele, T. J., Jackson, J. W., & Li, S.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- VanderWeele, Tyler J.
- Venue
- Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
- Published
- 2016-09-08
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1457-1466
- ISSN
- 0933-7954 (ISSN-L)
- 1433-9285
- OpenAlex
- W2510473071
- Cited by
- 322
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 80 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 2.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- John Templeton Foundation (52125)
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES017876)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Advanced Causal Inference Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Keywords
- causal inference, longitudinal data, time-varying exposure, marginal structural models, religious service attendance, depression, religion and mental health, confounding adjustment, causal effects
- MeSH terms
- Cross-Sectional Studies, Depressive Disorder, Humans, Mental Health, Religion, Research Design
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
