Although religious practice is well recognised in the American literature as related to positive health, very little research has been carried out in the UK.

I deliberately asked Ursula King to develop questions on religious belief and practice to be administered to the parents in pregnancy (D and PB files) with the aim of assessing how well religious belief related to the ability to look at resilence when major life events had occurred.

This project therefore will compare those with and without religious beliefs in regard to their response to major life events that have occurred subsequent to the religious belief questions being administered. The current suggestion is that this should be the 8 months major life events scale, which considers life events after the birth of the child.

The outcomes to be considered will be those measured between 8 months and 5 years and will include:

1. Maternal depression and anxiety subsequent to 8 months (allowing for prenatal depression and anxiety).

2. Parenting activities and strategies (allowing for prenatal attitudes to parenting).

3. Behaviour of the parent with the child (e.g. the frequency with which the mother is irritated and or loses their temper).

4. Relationship between the parents (allowing for prenatal relationships)

5. Use of alcohol and illicit drugs (compared with prepregnancy and prenatal assessments).

6. Later religious belief (as measured at 61 months).

There are a variety of factors that will be taken into account in the logistic and multiple regression analyses: these will include parental ages, number of other children in the household, social network and social support, parental personality, parental education levels, childhood life events,life events prior to the birth of the child, and other factors that distinguish those who have a belief system from those who do not at the time of pregnancy.