Introduction
The Beliefs, Behaviours & Health Research Programme is based at the University of Bristol.
The overall programme of research is aimed at understanding whether different aspects of beliefs and associated behaviours are associated with health and well-being. The primary data source for this research is the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), also known as “Children of the 90s”.
Background
It is funded by two grants from the John Templeton Foundation (JTF). Many other grant-giving bodies have funded ALSPAC research including core support from the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council, and the University of Bristol. The funders have no role in planning the research questions to be asked, nor opinions expressed in this blog and opinions in all publications are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of any funder.
Executive Summary of the JTF grant
There is controversy among the public and academia as to whether religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviours (RSBB) influence any aspects of health, positively or negatively. Many studies are cross-sectional and therefore cannot assess causality, and a major large longitudinal study has long been needed to answer the question. We will use the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) which has followed parents and their offspring for over 30 years, with information on changes over time including of their RSBB and health. A previous grant from JTF for Phase I has ensured that the participants answered questions about their current RSBB in 2020. This research programme will address a number of major questions including whether any aspect of the RSBB of parents influences their own mental or physical health or that of their offspring, either by preventing or moderating ill health. In parallel we will determine the associations between the RSBB of the offspring themselves on their own health. The results will be used to inform the public of any advantages (or disadvantages) of RSBB to health. Information on the parents and offspring will be combined with relevant new data to be collected in this project. Statistical analyses will pay attention to identification of confounders, moderators and mediators, as well as to sex differences, and attempt to determine biological mechanisms such as inflammation as well as genetic and epigenetic associations. Especial attention will be paid to determining whether individuals with RSBB are more resilient to stress, adversity and illness than those without. The study benefits by being multidisciplinary covering a variety of fields involved with different research questions, analyses and interpretation of results. The research programme will provide robust evidence to the Big Question as to whether and how different aspects of RSBB influence a wide range of health outcomes.
The Aims of the Programme
This project asks a number of major research questions concerning RSBB and their impact on health and well-being which include the following:
(a) Is there any evidence that the RSBB of adults is associated with health benefits or disadvantages in the short or long-term?
(b) Is the RSBB of one or both parents associated with the health of their offspring?
(c) Which factors mediate or moderate the health associations in (a) or (b)?
(d) If an individual has a particular disorder (e.g. asthma) or impairment (e.g. impaired hearing), or lives in an adverse environment (e.g. a violent household), is there any evidence that RSBB result in a less or more serious health outcome?
In addition, there are a number of more specific questions that this project will answer including:
(e) Almost a third of the study children attended a faith primary school. Does this influence their subsequent mental or physical health, or their RSBB?
(f) Are any health consequences of RSBB ‘explained’ by biomarkers indicating chronic inflammation or DNA methylation, or moderated by specific genes such as those related to oxytocin or serotonin?
(g) Is there evidence that individuals exposed to a traumatic childhood will be more resilient than their non-traumatised peers to long-term mental health consequences according to their own RSBB or that of their parents?
(h) Is there evidence that acute or chronic illness changes an individual’s RSBB, and is this associated with a difference in their well-being?
(i) Is there evidence that aspects of RSBB influence the health behaviours and/or parenting behaviours of the individual and, if so, whether this mediates any associations found with health outcomes?
The contribution of ALSPAC
The overall aim of ALSPAC is to determine the ways in which different aspects of the environment influence health and development, and how these may be influenced by genetics. The study has resulted in a highly detailed dataset concerning the children (G1 generation) born in
part of the Avon area in 1991 and 1992, their parents (G0 generation) and, as time has gone on, their own children (G2 generation). ALSPAC continues to record biological, psychological, social, environmental, and medical information of these groups across the lifespan. The dataset includes information from interviews, questionnaires, biological samples, hands-on testing, and linkage to educational and other records. Data is being used for epidemiological, genetic, and epigenetic 
research worldwide, and by 2019, over 2000 peer-reviewed papers based on this resource had been published.