(RNS) College students with significant religious involvement report better emotional health than those with no involvement, new research from UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute shows.

The results, drawn from a national study of 3,680 college students, indicate that students who are not churchgoers are more than twice as likely to say they have felt depressed, had poorer emotional health or frequently felt more overwhelmed than students who frequently attend religious services.

The survey examined religious involvement such as service attendance, participation in campus religious organizations and reading of sacred texts. It labeled feelings of depression, stress or being overwhelmed as indicators of "psychological distress."

The study also found that religious involvement may decrease the chances that non-drinkers will start drinking in college. For example, of those who abstained from beer before entering college, 74 percent continue to abstain during college if they are very religiously involved. Forty-six percent continue to abstain if they have no or little involvement in religious activities during college.