Religiosity and mental health: A further exploration of the relative importance of religious behaviors vs. religious attitudes

The Current and Retrospective Cognitive Reserve (2CR) survey and its relationship with cognitive and mood measures

Cognitive Reserve (CR) is often assessed with surveys spanning demographic, lifestyle, and socio-behavioral variables. The role of both past and current life experiences on CR has, however, rarely been examined. We developed the Current and Retrospective Cognitive Reserve (2CR) survey to assess classical CR proxies (socio-economic status, engagement in leisure and social activities) and other dimensions of potential importance (family engagement, religious/spiritual activity) both currently (CRc; in later adulthood) and retrospectively (CRr; as recalled from younger adulthood). We administered the 2CR, measures of general cognitive functioning, working memory (WM), crystallized-vocabulary- and fluid-reasoning-intelligence, and depressive symptoms (DS) to 235 community-dwelling Italian adults (ages 55-90 years). We used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to examine the 2CR latent structure, and we estimated correlations of its dimensions with cognitive abilities and DS. Analyses confirmed a three-level factor structure with two global CR factors (CRc and CRr) at the top level, dimensional CR factors (socio-economic status, family engagement, leisure activity, social engagement, and religious/spiritual activity) at mid-level and observed items at the lowest level. Item-factor representations partially differed across CRc and CRr. Both CRc and CRr were positively correlated with measures of intelligence, WM and DS, but associations of measures of intelligence were stronger for CRr, whereas associations of WM and DS were slightly stronger for CRc. The 2CR can be considered a reliable survey for assessing CR proxies within a multidimensional, "life stage-dependent" framework insofar as CRc are CRr closely related but also differently associated with intelligence, WM, and DS.

Godless owls, devout larks: Religiosity and conscientiousness are associated with morning preference and (partly) explain its effects on life satisfaction

The associations between morningness-eveningness, conscientiousness, and religiosity have not been investigated to date. The aim of the present research was to provide evidence for the relationships between these dimensions. Moreover, we tested whether the well-established link between morningness and life satisfaction could be explained by elevated religiosity of morning-oriented individuals and whether this relationship may be mediated by conscientiousness. The investigation was conducted on two independent samples of Polish adults (N = 500 and N = 728). Our results corroborated earlier findings that morningness was positively associated with both conscientiousness and satisfaction with life. We also found evidence for a significant positive association between morningness and religiosity. Moreover, controlling for age and gender, we obtained significant mediation effects showing that the association between morningness-eveningness and satisfaction with life might stem, at least in part, from the higher religiosity among morning-oriented individuals, also when conscientiousness was included in the model. It means that more morning-oriented individuals may benefit from higher psychological well-being thanks to both personality characteristics and attitudes towards religion.

Explaining an Influential Model of the Significant Relationship Between Religion, Spirituality, and Environmental Peace in Mosque Interior Architecture

Investigating the components of environmental peace in an architectural work, especially Islamic mosques, requires a detailed understanding of this concept and its influential factors. In the architecture of the mosques of the past, certain patterns have always followed a continuous trend that made a logical relationship with the time before and after, but this continuity and trend are not seen today. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of environmental peace from two aspects of religion and spirituality. Religion means comprehensive instructions and complete guidelines that, on the one hand, show the goal and teaches the human being how to achieve it, and on the other hand, help the human being on problems that are difficult to understand by universal means of understanding (reason, experience, and intuition). Therefore, the identification of the true ultimate goal in human life as well as the determination of the intermediate goals that indicate the path to the ultimate goal is possible only through the recognition and adherence to the right religion, and this fact shows the close relationship between religion and spirituality. The research method investigates the relationship between variables through a correlation method and then through structural equations. The statistical population was selected based on the Cochran formula including 120 professors and postgraduate students in architecture and Islamic architecture of Tehran Universities. The research tool was a web-based questionnaire and its link was made available to the statistical community online. The structural equation method was used in SPSS and Amos software to test the regression and fitting test model. Pearson correlation test was also used to determine the relationship between research variables. The results show that the model of the influence of "religion" factors in enhancing "environmental peace" through the mediating variable of "spirituality" explains these relationships; in other words, in this indirect causal relation, enhancement of semantic factors mediated by "spirituality" factors enhances environmental peace in architecture.

Religion, Health, and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Australia

In this article, we examine the influence of religion on health and life satisfaction while controlling for an extensive range of demographic characteristics and life conditions-marital satisfaction, job satisfaction, financial stress, and social resources-using data drawn from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Our findings suggest that, on average, high levels of faith and attendance at religious services are associated with lower health. In contrast, however, we find no relationship between high levels of faith, attendance, and life satisfaction. Further research is required to unravel how faith and attendance influence health and life satisfaction.

Religiosity and mental health of pre-adolescents with psychiatric problems and their parents: The TRAILS study

Background:

This study investigated the association between the religiosity of parents and pre-adolescents, and pre-adolescents’ psychiatric problems.

Method:

In a clinic-referred cohort of 543 pre-adolescents at least once referred to a mental health outpatient clinic mental health problems were assessed using self-reports (Youth Self-Report; YSR), parent reports (Child Behavior Checklist; CBCL), and teacher reports (Teacher's Report Form; TRF) of child behavioral and emotional problems. Paternal, maternal, and pre-adolescent religiosity were assessed by self-report. MANCOVAs were performed for internalizing and externalizing problems as dependent variables, with maternal religiosity, paternal religiosity, pre-adolescent religiosity, parental religious harmony, and gender as independent variables, and socioeconomic status and divorce as covariates.

Results:

Internalizing problems. Pre-adolescents of actively religious mothers had more internalizing symptoms than pre-adolescents of nonreligious mothers. Harmony and gender did not significantly affect the association between maternal religiosity and internalizing problems. Externalizing problems. No associations between religiosity of pre-adolescents, religiosity of mothers, religiosity of fathers and/or harmony of parents and externalizing problem behavior have been found.

Discussion and conclusions:

Overall, associations between mental health and religiosity were modest to absent. Results are discussed in the context of a clinic-referred cohort, the quest phase of internalizing religious beliefs and role modeling of parents.

The impact of religious beliefs on the health of the residents-Evidence from China

This study conducted empirical research on Chinese residents to explore the relationship between religious beliefs and health based on the China General Social Survey (CGSS) data for 2015. Considering the reciprocal correlations between religion and health, this paper uses an instrumental variable to recognize religion's influence on health. The instrumental variable was the number of religious sites per 10 000 residents in every province (including autonomous regions and municipalities) in 2004. The results indicate that religion had different impacts on the health of different groups in China. It was found that religion significantly improved the health of those aged 60 or older; however, for those younger than 60 years old, their health was not affected by following a religion. Second, after classifying the samples according to urban and rural areas, it was found that religion significantly improved the health of urban residents, while rural residents were not affected by this factor.

Marital Adjustment and Its Relationship with Religious Orientations Among Iranian Infertile and Fertile Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to determine the status of marital adjustment and its relationship with religious orientations in fertile and infertile women. This study was conducted on 160 infertile and 320 fertile Muslim Iranian women. There was significant difference in terms of marital adjustment in two groups. There was significant relationship between marital adjustments with intrinsic religious orientation in two groups; however, there was no significant relationship between marital adjustments with extrinsic religious orientation. The results suggest that intrinsic religious orientation is likely to increase marital adjustment in fertile and infertile women. However, further studies should be performed to assess the association of religious orientations with marital adjustment in other communities and religions.

Examining the Relationship Between Religious and Spiritual Motivation and Worry About Alzheimer's Disease in Later Life

As awareness of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders and diagnosis rates rise, concern about developing such conditions may also increase, referred to here as dementia worry (DW). Few studies have examined DW and potential protective factors. Religiosity provides diverse psychological benefits and may be associated with lower DW; however, intrinsic/extrinsic motivations were expected to differentially relate to DW. Among 83 older adults (M = 69.48 years), both greater intrinsic and extrinsic-social religious motivation were associated with lower DW. Results suggest internalizing one's religious beliefs and building a social network within a religious community may provide a psychological buffer against DW.

Religious Integration and Psychological Distress: Different Patterns in Emerging Adult Males and Females

This study examined differences between male and female emerging adults on low, moderate, and high levels of religious integration in relation to psychological distress. Participants were recruited from undergraduate courses at a religiously affiliated, Midwestern university and completed the integration scale of the Personal Religious Inventory and the Langner Symptom Survey. Due to significantly higher reports of religious integration in female participants, the sample was separated by sex. A significant, negative correlation between religious integration and psychological distress was found only for females. Similarly, females in the low religious integration group reported significantly higher levels of psychological distress than females high in religious integration, while no differences were found among males. This study corroborates previous research suggesting a general link between religion and mental health, but further suggests religious integration and psychological distress are uniquely related for males and females. Possible reasons and future areas of study are noted.

Religiosity and depressive symptoms in older adults compared to younger adults: Moderation by age

BACKGROUND

Previous research has suggested that individuals tend to become more religious with age. Research has also shown that as individuals become more religious, they report decreases in depressive symptoms, suggesting that increased levels of religiosity might help to improve one's mental health. The following study aimed to examine the effect of age on the relation between religiosity and depressive symptoms.

METHODS

Data was gathered using a religiosity questionnaire and depression questionnaire. The sample consisted of 201 adults, ranging from 21-67 years of age, recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTURK) marketplace.

RESULTS

Hays' PROCESS model for SPSS (Hayes, 2013) was used to test age as a moderator between depressive symptoms and religiosity. Correlations showed that religiosity was positively correlated with age and negatively correlated with depressive symptoms. Further analysis of the data suggested that age serves as a moderator in the relation between religiosity and depressive symptoms for both middle-aged and younger adults.

LIMITATIONS

Participants included in the study were limited in age, further studies should consider including individuals >67 years of age to better test proposed relations.

CONCLUSIONS

High levels of religiosity were related to lower levels of depression in middle-aged and younger adults. Though further research on the development of such evidence-based programs is needed, involvement in religious activities may have a preventative role in both the development and duration of depressive symptoms in middle and older aged adults.

Obsessive-Compulsive Symptomatology, Religiosity Levels and the Illusion-of-Control Paradigm in a Non-Clinical Undergraduate Sample

The present research employed the illusion-of-control paradigm to investigate the relationships between Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, religiosity levels, and illusory sense of control (SC). An opportunistic sample of 60 undergraduate students was presented with a pre-programmed series of neutral visual stimuli (i.e. lines) and was expected to try to control the sequence through the use of keyboard presses. Participants assessed their perceived level of control twice throughout the computerised task. In addition, the study was interested at examining the relationship between religiosity and OC behaviour and the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSRF) was employed. In proportion to predictions, OCD symptoms were correlated with higher illusory SC; furthermore, religiosity levels were related to some degree to OCD symptoms. The essential role of mental control in OCD is discussed, particularly the significant clinical implications of such an association. Furthermore, the possible contribution of religious affiliations to the maintenance of OC behaviour is further discussed.

Religious affiliation, quality of life and academic performance: New Zealand medical students

The present study investigated the connections between religious affiliation, quality of life (QOL) and measures of academic performance. Participants (n = 275) were recruited from the School of Medicine within a New Zealand university. Religious affiliation was classified according to three subcategories: Christian (n = 104), Eastern religion (n = 34) and non-religious (n = 117). The participants completed the World Health Organisation quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) and the World Health Organisation Spiritual, Religiousness, and Personal Beliefs questionnaire immediately before their lecture time. The main findings of the study indicated that participants from different religious affiliations expressed different spiritual QOL perceptions. However, these different expressions did not translate into their perceptions related to hours of study and academic achievement. In addition, the QOL measures did not relate to academic achievement estimation but did predict hours of study. Greater hours of study were related to greater physical health but lower psychological health and poorer engagement in developing social relationships. Data from a small focus group (n = 4) revealed that these students believed that having a belief system assisted them when coping with the academic learning environment, although little difference could be found between external religious orientations and internal belief systems.

Do People Who Believe in God Report More Meaning in Their Lives? The Existential Effects of Belief

I conduct the first large-N study explicitly exploring the association between belief in God and sense of purpose in life. This relationship, while often discussed informally, has received little empirical attention. Here I use the General Social Survey to investigate how form of and confidence in belief in God is related to sense of purpose in life, as measured by a Likert item level of agreement with the statement "In my opinion, life does not serve any purpose." Using logistic regression analysis, I find that those who indicate that they are confident in God's existence report a higher sense of purpose compared to nonbelievers, believers in a higher power, and those who believe but occasionally doubt.

Religiosity and psychological well-being

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being in a sample of Greek Orthodox Christians. Previous research has documented that personal devotion, participation in religious activities, and religious salience are positively associated with different criteria of psychological well-being. The sample (83 men and 280 women) with an age range from 18 to 48 years, was strongly skewed with respect to sex (77% female) and education level (95% were university students or university graduates). Religiosity was operationalized as church attendance, frequency of prayer and belief salience. In addition, a single item referring to beliefs about God was used. Depression, anxiety, loneliness, and general life satisfaction were selected as dependent variables because they reflect important dimensions of psychological well-being. Preliminary analyses showed that sex was significantly related to the three religiosity variables (church attendance, frequency of prayer, belief salience), with women being more religious than men. Consistent with previous research, correlations suggested that church attendance and belief salience were associated with better life satisfaction. The results of hierarchical regression analysis showed a significant positive association between anxiety and frequency of personal prayer. Finally, personal beliefs about God did not seem to relate to any of the psychological well-being measures. The results of the present study partially support the hypothesized association between religiosity and psychological well-being.

The role of religious orientations in youth's posttraumatic symptoms after exposure to terror

This study examined the effect of religiosity on youth's posttraumatic symptoms resulting from exposure to terror. Participants consisted of 1,973 Israeli high school students. Objective and subjective exposure (fear) to terror were positively associated with posttraumatic symptoms. Intrinsic religiosity was negatively associated with posttraumatic symptoms and found to decrease the effects of objective exposure. Personal extrinsic orientation and social extrinsic orientation were positively associated with posttraumatic symptoms, having no mediating effect. Theoretical implications regarding religiosity as a coping mechanism in light of exposure to terror are discussed.

Religion, health, and psychological well-being

This study compares the effects of religiosity on health and well-being, controlling for work and family. With 2006 GSS data, we assess the effects of religiosity on health and well-being, net of job satisfaction, marital happiness, and financial status. The results indicate that people who identify as religious tend to report better health and happiness, regardless of religious affiliation, religious activities, work and family, social support, or financial status. People with liberal religious beliefs tend to be healthier but less happy than people with fundamentalist beliefs. Future research should probe how religious identity and beliefs impact health and well-being.

Exploring the link between religious attitudes and subjective well-being in chronic pain patients

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to explore the relations between religious attitudes and subjective well-being in a sample of chronic pain (CP) patients and to investigate whether these associations would differ from those obtained with healthy controls.

METHOD

A total of 155 CP patients (72% women) and 166 healthy controls (72% women) completed questionnaires on pain, religious attitudes, and subjective well-being. The religious attitudes focused both on religiosity as such (Inclusion vs Exclusion of Transcendence) as on the cognitive approach of religious contents (Symbolic vs Literal).

RESULTS

Mean-level analyses showed significant differences between the CP and control samples on subjective well-being and Literal Exclusion. Mediation analyses found a direct influence of sample (CP vs control) on subjective well-being as well as an indirect effect via Literal Exclusion. Correlation analyses revealed that Literal Exclusion correlated negatively with well-being in both samples, whereas Literal Inclusion did not. The differential variable between the two samples was the symbolic approach of religion (Symbolic Inclusion and Exclusion), which was significantly associated with higher levels of well-being only in the CP sample.

CONCLUSION

A literal approach toward religion in combination with a rejection of religion (Literal Exclusion) was, in general-both for CP patients as for healthy controls-associated with lower levels of well-being. In CP patients (but not in healthy controls), a symbolic approach toward religion (regardless of Inclusion or Exclusion of religion) was significantly associated with higher levels of subjective well-being.

The role of religion in death attitudes: distinguishing between religious belief and style of processing religious contents

Although it is widely assumed that religiosity plays an important role in individuals' attitudes about death, research to date has failed to reveal consistent associations between religiosity and death attitudes. Drawing from D. M. Wulff's (1991) multidimensional model of religiosity, the authors examined associations between religious attitudes as measured by the Post-Critical Belief Scale and death attitudes as assessed by the Death Attitude Profile--Revised. In total, 471 Dutch-speaking Belgian adults completed both questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to asses the unique contribution of the religious attitudes in the prediction of the death attitudes. First, results show that religious people are more likely to endorse an approach acceptance attitude toward death, indicating that religiosity as such is related to belief in an afterlife. Second, people holding a literal attitude toward religion report more death anxiety, indicating that the processing of religious contents is related to defensiveness toward death. Finally, the specific combination of the two dimensions seems important in the prediction of a neutral acceptance attitude. The relevance of our findings for future research on religiosity and death attitudes is discussed.