Spirituality but not Religiosity Is Associated with Better Health and Higher Life Satisfaction among Adolescents

Perception matters: How air pollution influences life satisfaction in China

Academic studies on environmental pollution have convincingly acknowledged the salient relevance of ambient pollutant emissions on individual life satisfaction. However, an understanding of how the different dimensions of air pollution influence public self-assessment of their living condition is required. This research investigates whether objective pollutant emissions and subjective evaluation influence individual life satisfaction. The findings were based on data from the China Environment Yearbook and China Social Survey in 2019. The multi-level linear regression model found that air pollutants emissions, including particulate matter (PM) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), failed to explain the variations in public life satisfaction because of the lag effect of public perception. A significant nexus between perceived air pollution and public life satisfaction was observed at a significance level of 0.01. Specially, as the perceived air pollution by the public increased by one-point, life satisfaction decreased by 0.22 on a scale of 1-10, on average. Heterogeneous analysis based on income further suggested the salient negative effect of PM emissions on life satisfaction only occurred in the high-income group. The findings were robust after various methodological analyses. This study has theoretical implications for understanding the effects of air pollution on public subjective perception and provides guidance for how the government can manage the relationship between environmental governance and life satisfaction.

Life satisfaction in emerging adults: The role of emotional and spiritual intelligences

Objectives. The present research had two main objectives. The first was to examine the impact of emotional intelligence and aspects of spiritual intelligence on life satisfaction among emerging adults in high-income countries. The second objective was to study the interactions between the variables. Methods. First, we used predictive analysis to examine the impact of emotional and spiritual intelligences on life satisfaction beyond that accounted for by gender and by anxiety and depression. Second, we studied the interactions between the variables measured by means of decision-tree analysis. Results. Personal meaning production emerged as the primary determining factor of life satisfaction. In addition, the participants with both personal meaning production and emotional intelligence above a certain threshold had the highest average scores on life satisfaction. Conclusions. The results suggest that further research on emerging adults should investigate the critical issue of identity development, specifically regarding the impact of spiritual and emotional intelligence.

Acceptance of HPV vaccination in boys among mothers from selected churches in Accra, Ghana

BACKGROUND

Almost all cases of cervical and anal cancer have been linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV). However, in addition to women who develop HPV-related cervical cancer, both men and women can also develop cancers of the anus, oral cavity, and oropharynx that are attributed to HPV. However, literature on HPV vaccination among boys globally, in Africa, and most especially in Ghana is scarce. Thus, the main objective of this study was to explore the acceptance of HPV vaccination in boys among mothers from selected churches in Accra, Ghana.

METHODS

In this study, a qualitative exploratory design was utilized to enlist 30 mothers who have male children aged between 9 and 12 years from the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The recruitment of participants was carried out using a purposive sampling technique, and they were subsequently interviewed in-depth in a face-to-face setting, with the entire conversation being recorded for reference. After transcription, the recorded data were analyzed through content analysis.

FINDINGS

Upon analyzing the data, two (2) primary themes and 11 sub-themes emerged. The research showed that although the majority of the mothers were unaware of HPV in boys, they perceived it as a positive initiative and expressed a willingness to allow their sons to receive the vaccine. However, some participants mentioned certain factors that they believed could hinder the acceptance of HPV vaccination in boys among mothers. These included concerns about injection-related pain, high cost, and fears that the vaccine could make men immoral or infertile.

CONCLUSION

The study revealed poor awareness of HPV vaccination in boys among mothers, and hence, suggested the need to increase the awareness on HPV vaccination in boys among mothers as well as the public to increase its acceptance.

What Can Help Students Cope with COVID-19? The Contribution of Psychological Capital, Selfcompassion, and Spirituality to Subjective Well-being

Objectives: In this research, we examined the academic and psychological coping of post-secondary students during the early stages of COVID-19. The main goal was to investigate correlations involving self- compassion, spirituality, psychological capital, and subjective well-being, and evaluate the mediating role of self-compassion and spirituality in the relationship between psychological capital and subjective well-being.Methods: We had 257 participants (ages 19-59) complete 5 questionnaires: demographic and academic information, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Subjective Well-Being Index, Spiritual Intelligence Self- Assessment Inventory, and Self-Compassion Index. Results: We found a strong positive correlation between psychological capital, self-compassion, and subjective well-being. However, spirituality failed to show statistically significant correlations with self-compassion and subjective well-being, with only weak correlations with psychological capital. Self-compassion positively mediated the relationship between psychological capital and subjective well-being, but not spirituality. Conclusion: These findings indicate the role of positive psychological resources of post-secondary students in coping with a difficult situation like COVID-19.

Attachment style, religiosity, and well-being among Indonesian Christians

This study examines attachment styles, religiosity as measured by religious coping, and church activities, for their possible impact on feelings of well-being in an Indonesian Christian community. This cross-sectional study was conducted on both purposive and snowball samples of 264 Christians from Bandung and Semarang, Indonesia. The study hypothesized that a more positive Self-Other Model of attachment, greater positive religious coping, and higher church involvement would predict greater well-being as measured by flourishing/eudaimonic, affective, and subjective well-being scales. Pearson correlation and multiple regression methods were used to analyze data. Results indicated that 15% of the total variance in affective well-being is attributable to positive self-model attachment, positive religious coping, and higher subjective religiosity/spirituality. The study also found that 9.9% of the total variance in flourishing or eudaimonic well-being is counted for the self-model. However, neither predictor was correlated to hedonistic or subjective well-being. Greater religiosity, as measured through the church activities, was also not correlated with greater measures in the three types of well-being. This study concluded that the predictive power of religiosity such as church activities and attachment to well-being may depend on the characteristics of the culture.

Religious and secular spirituality: Methodological implications of definitions for health research

The importance of spirituality as a research topic has been increasingly recognized, which has led to several studies on the topic. Areas including psychology, medicine, and nursing have produced studies on spirituality under a plurality of definitions and methods, which reveals the complexity of the theme. However, this has resulted in a range of potential problems, including: (1) the use of overlapping and contradictory terms between studies, or even within the same study, (2) research methodologies that do not fit the definitions (sometimes unreflectively) assumed by the authors, (3) difficulties, or even the impossibility, of comparing the results of studies, (4) controversies in respect of the inclusion/exclusion of secular groups in research on spirituality, and (5) ambiguous measurements, often being exclusively dependent on each participant's individual interpretation of what spirituality means. This article discusses these problems, recommends theoretical and methodological alternatives and presents taxonomy of definitions of spirituality.

The Associations of Experiencing the COVID-19 Pandemic With Religiosity and Spirituality: A Cross-Sectional Study in Czech Adults

Objectives: We investigated the associations between religiosity/spirituality and respondents’ changes in their relationships, feelings, thinking, and behaviour during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic.

Methods: A sample of Czech adults (n = 1,434; 48.3 ± 16.4 years; 49.65% women) participated in the online survey. We measured spirituality, religiosity, self-reported changes in relationships, disrupted feelings, and changes in behaviour during the pandemic.

Results: Spiritual respondents were more likely to report increased physical activity, sex, reading and self-education, with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 1.26 (95% confidence interval 1.09–1.46) to 1.56 (1.31–1.86). The combination of spirituality and religiosity led to an increase in the range of ORs to 1.57–2.69. Spiritual and religious participants were less likely to feel the decrease of hope by 70%, while mere spirituality significantly reduced the decrease of hope by only 30%. Religiosity itself led to a lower risk of reporting a disrupted day structure with an OR = 0.74 (0.58–0.95).

Conclusion: Religiosity and spirituality separately help people during a pandemic in some areas. Especially their combination has a more positive impact on relationships, feelings, and behaviour.

Psychometric Analysis of the Shortened Version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale on the Slovak Population (SWBS-Sk)

This study was focused on verifying the factor structure of the shortened version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) on a representative sample of adult Slovak citizens (N = 1018, 49% men, age 18-85 years, and mean age 46.2). The shortened version of the SWBS consists of 10 items divided into two subscales: religious well-being (RWB) and existential well-being (EWB). Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed insufficient parameters of the full two-factor model due to three negatively formulated items. After their exclusion, the two-factor model was found to be valid in the Slovakian population (χ (13) = 53.1, p < 0.001, χ2/df = 4.1, CFI = 0.999, TLI = 0.999, RMSEA = 0.055, and SRMR = 0.028). The reliability of the final version of the SWBS-Sk, consisting of seven positively worded items, is high, with α = 0.86 and ω = 0.94. Religious respondents and women scored significantly higher on the whole scale (p = 0.001) as well as on the two subscales (p < 0.05). A higher age was associated with a higher RWB score (p = 0.001) and a lower EWB score (p = 0.002). The shortened version of the SWBS-Sk consisting of positively worded items was found to be valid and reliable for further use in the Slovak environment.

The Relationship Between Spirituality and the Developing Brain: A Framework for Pediatric Oncology

Development, whether motor, language, social, or spiritual, is the functional expression of complex brain processes throughout one's life span, the foundations of which are laid in childhood. The effects of cancer, chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical procedures on early brain development have been measured using neuroimaging and developmental assessment tools. We propose that spiritual development may be substantially affected in children with oncological diseases that impact underlying brain processes. By drawing connections between science, spirituality, and medicine, we can better address the spiritual needs of children as they cope with oncological diseases, by mitigating emotional, cognitive, and physical symptoms and improving outcomes.

A bio-ecological framing of evidence on the determinants of adolescent mental health - A scoping review of the international Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study 1983-2020

This paper extracts, organises and summarises findings on adolescent mental health from a major international population study of young people using a scoping review methodology and applying a bio-ecological framework. Population data has been collected from more than 1.5 million adolescents over 37 years by the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children: WHO Cross-National (HBSC) Study. The paper reviews the contribution that this long standing study has made to our understanding of the individual, developmental, social, economic, cultural determinants of adolescent mental health by organising the findings of 104 empirical papers that met inclusion criteria, into individual, microsystem, mesosystem and macrosystem levels of the framework. Of these selected papers, 68 were based on national data and the other 36 were based on international data, from varying numbers of countries. Each paper was allocated to a system level in the bio-ecological framework according to the level of its primary focus. The majority (51 papers) investigate individual level determinants. A further 28 concentrate primarily on the microsystem level, 6 on the mesosystem level, and 29 on the macrosystem level. The paper identifies where there is evidence on the determinants of mental health, summarises what we have learned, and highlights research gaps. Implications for the future development of this population health study are discussed in terms of how it may continue to illuminate our understanding of adolescent mental health in a changing world and where new directions are required.

Connections between Family Assets and Positive Youth Development: The Association between Parental Monitoring and Affection with Leisure-Time Activities and Substance Use

This study aimed to determine the associations between parental monitoring and affection and three adolescent lifestyle aspects: constructive leisure, non-constructive leisure and substance use. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four countries (Chile, Mexico, Spain and Peru). Adolescents aged 12-15 self-completed a multi-purpose questionnaire. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to analyse the association between the parental monitoring and affection variables and the outcomes in terms of the children's lifestyles. The results indicate that parental monitoring is conducive to more constructive leisure and less non-constructive leisure and seems to be conducive to the prevention of substance use. Furthermore, parental affection is conducive to constructive leisure and the prevention of substance use. The discussion focuses on the fact that the family can be a protective resource associated with positive adolescent development.

Is Belonging to a Religious Organization Enough? Differences in Religious Affiliation Versus Self-ratings of Spirituality on Behavioral and Psychological Variables in Individuals with Heart Failure

In the United States, heart failure (HF) affects approximately 6.5 million adults. While studies show that individuals with HF often suffer from adverse symptoms such as depression and anxiety, studies also show that these symptoms can be at least partially offset by the presence of spiritual wellbeing. In a sample of 327 men and women with AHA/ACC classification Stage B HF, we found that more spirituality in patients was associated with better clinically-related symptoms such as depressed mood and anxiety, emotional variables (affect, anger), well-being (optimism, satisfaction with life), and physical health-related outcomes (fatigue, sleep quality). These patients also showed better self-efficacy to maintain cardiac function. Simply belonging to a religious organization independent of spiritualty, however, was not a reliable predictor of health-related benefits. In fact, we observed instances of belonging to a religious organization unaccompanied by parallel spiritual ratings, which appeared counterproductive.

The Effects of Performance of Public Sector Health System on Quality of Life in China: Evidence from the CGSS2015

The determinants of quality of life can be social, economic, cultural, and governmental, to name a few. Prior research has shown that demographic factors and social support can have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life. This research attempts to examine the effects of public sector health system performance on individuals’ quality of life in China, measured by (1) self-reported health, (2) depressed mood, and (3) happiness. The targeted population was individuals aged 18 and above. The primary data was collected from the CGSS2015 (Chinese General Social Survey 2015), and the National Statistical Yearbook was also used. Using various statistical models, this study finds that the correlation coefficients of government performance in providing healthcare for patients on quality of life are 0.144, 0.167, and 0.328, respectively. The more satisfied with medical care and public health delivered by the government, the higher the level of quality of life. In addition, the relationship between government expenditure on public health service and quality of life is positively significant. These findings are robust after weighting methods are used. The performance of the Public Sector Health System has a significantly positive association with quality of life in China.

Childhood Trauma Is Associated with the Spirituality of Non-Religious Respondents

Childhood trauma experience (CT) is negatively associated with many aspects of adult life. Religiosity/spirituality (R/S) are often studied as positive coping strategies and could help in the therapeutic process. Evidence on this is lacking for a non-religious environment. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of different types of CT with R/S in the secular conditions of the Czech Republic. A nationally representative sample (n = 1800, mean age = 46.4, SD = 17.4; 48.7% male) of adults participated in the survey. We measured childhood trauma, spirituality, religiosity and conversion experience. We found that four kinds of CT were associated with increased levels of spirituality, with odds ratios (OR) ranging from 1.17 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.34) to 1.31 (1.18-1.46). Non-religious respondents were more likely to report associations of CT with spirituality. After measuring for different combinations of R/S, each CT was associated with increased chances of being "spiritual but non-religious", with OR from 1.55 (1.17-2.06) to 2.10 (1.63-2.70). Moreover, converts were more likely to report emotional abuse OR = 1.46 (1.17-1.82) or emotional neglect with OR = 1.42 (1.11-1.82). Our findings show CT is associated with higher levels of spirituality in non-religious respondents. Addressing spiritual needs may contribute to the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatment of the victims.

Physical Activity for Lent: Changes in and Associations Between Religiosity, Enjoyment, Motivation, and Physical Activity

Purpose: Given the unequal distribution of physical activity (PA) opportunities across middle schools, alternative options for promoting it should be explored. Faith-based schools are positioned to offer religious-themed PA interventions, yet few have been reported. We replicated previous research by investigating the effects of the Physical Activity for Lent (PAL) program on change in step count (ΔPA) and its associations with religiosity, enjoyment, and motivation (four subscales). Method: Over the 6-week Lenten season, three Catholic middle schools' students (n = 128) participated in a randomly allocated controlled crossover trial of a pedometer-based virtual journey that followed Jesus's life path. We used the Reliable Change Index (RCI), general linear mixed models, and logistic regression to identify changes (pre- to post-Lent) in the independent variables, and their association with ΔPA overall and of being in the highest ΔPA tertile. Results: Between 11.6% (religiosity) and 34.7% (external regulation) of participants' scores changed. School (School 3 > Schools 1 and 2 by ~2,400 steps/day, p < .001) and grade (6th grade > 7th and 8th grades by ~2,500 steps/day, p < .001) - but not religiosity, enjoyment, or motivation - were significant predictors of ΔPA. As RCI for intrinsic motivation and identified regulation increased, students were more (OR = 2.49) and less (OR = 0.74) likely, respectively, to be in the high ΔPA tertile. Conclusion: Desirable ΔPA was situational (i.e., school, grade) and highest ΔPA tertile was associated with autonomous motivation. Faith-based PA interventions may need to include additional components to realize even greater gains.

Does Physical Activity during Alpine Vacations increase Tourists' Well-Being?

Physical activities have been proven to have an impact on general well-being in everyday life; however, literature lacks an analysis of the effects of physical activities in vacation settings. Thus, the study aimed at assessing the impacts of physical activity on well-being during vacation by taking a longitudinal approach. We utilized a pre-post within-subject design (n = 101) by testing vacationers prior to, during, and after their vacation in an alpine environment. Therefore, a series of eight linear mixed model analyses of co-variance was performed. The results suggested that the duration of a vacation and the amount of physical activity have a positive impact on the components of well-being, which was expressed by changes in the activation, elation, excitement, and calmness subscales of the Mood Survey Scale. Demographic patterns did not reveal any influences. Physical activity might be a marker for well-being, which influences people's everyday life and leisure time behavior by motivating them to engage in more physical activity. This research extends the existing literature by (1) proving the effects of vacations on well-being, (2) pointing out the effects of demographic predeterminations, and (3) gathering in-depth knowledge about the role of physical activity in changes to well-being.