Religion and Well-Being: Men and Women in the Middle Years

Willits, Fern K.; Crider, Donald M.

doi:10.2307/3511225

Cited by 62 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] Most of these studies showed an association between religiosity and wellbeing even after controlling for age, gender and socioeconomic status. Some studies have shown that the positive impact of religious involvement on well-being is more robust among the elderly, disabled, and medically ill people.…”

Section: Psychological Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religiousness and mental health: a review

Moreira‐Almeida

Neto

Koenig

2006

Rev. Bras. Psiquiatr.

524

178

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Religiousness and mental health: a review Religiosidade e saúde mental: uma revisão A b s t r a c t Objective: The relationship between religiosity and mental health has been a perennial source of controversy. This paper reviews the scientific evidence available for the relationship between religion and mental health. Method: The authors present the main studies and conclusions of a larger systematic review of 850 studies on the religion-mental health relationship published during the 20 th Century identified through several databases. The present paper also includes an update on the papers published since 2000, including researches performed in Brazil and a brief historical and methodological background. Discussion: The majority of well-conducted studies found that higher levels of religious involvement are positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale) and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug/alcohol use/abuse. Usually the positive impact of religious involvement on mental health is more robust among people under stressful circumstances (the elderly, and those with disability and medical illness). Theoretical pathways of the religiousness-mental health connection and clinical implications of these findings are also discussed. Conclusions: There is evidence that religious involvement is usually associated with better mental health. We need to improve our understanding of the mediating factors of this association and its use in clinical practice.Keywords: Mental health; Religion; Religion and Medicine; Religion and Psychology; Spirituality Resumo Objetivo: A relação entre religiosidade e saúde mental tem sido uma perene fonte de controvérsias. O presente artigo revisa a evidência científica disponível sobre a relação entre religião e saúde mental. Método: Os autores apresentam os principais estudos e as conclusões de uma revisão sistemática abrangente dos estudos sobre a relação religião-saúde mental. Utilizando-se de várias bases de dados, a revisão identificou 850 artigos publicados ao longo do século XX. O presente artigo também inclui uma breve contextualização histórica e metodológica, além de uma atualização com artigos publicados após 2000 e a descrição de pesquisas conduzidas no Brasil. Discussão: A ampla maioria dos estudos de boa qualidade encontrou que maiores níveis de envolvimento religioso estão associados positivamente a indicadores de bem estar psicológico (satisfação com a vida, felicidade, afeto positivo e moral mais elevado) e a menos depressão, pensamentos e comportamentos suicidas, uso/abuso de álcool/drogas. Habitualmente, o impacto positivo do envolvimento religioso na saúde mental é mais intenso entre pessoas sob estresse (idosos, e aqueles com deficiências e doenças clínicas). Mecanismos teóricos da conexão religiosidade-saúde mental e as implicações clínicas destes achados são discutidos. Conclusões: Há evidência suficiente disponível para se afirmar que o envolvimento religioso h...

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Section: Psychological Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religiousness and mental health: a review

Moreira‐Almeida

Neto

Koenig

2006

Rev. Bras. Psiquiatr.

524

178

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In Western societies, a positive association is often found between religiosity and general well-being, particularly for older adults (Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997;Chamberlain & Zika, 1988;Ellison, Boardman, Williams, & Jackson, 2001;Imamoglu, 1999;Willits & Crider, 1988;Witter, Stock, Okun, & Haring, 1985). Studies have shown positive effects of religious involvement on functional ability, health, and life satisfaction and negative effects on depressive symptoms among older people (Cutler, 1976;Guy, 1982;Idler, 1987;Idler & Kasl, 1992;Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001;Levin, 1994;Levin, Chatters, & Taylor, 1995;Markides, 1983;Morris, 1991).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Religion and Purpose in Life on Elders' Subjective Well-Being and Attitudes Toward Death

Ardelt

2003

Journal of Religious Gerontology

113

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ABSTRACT.Although religiosity tends to help older people to cope with physical and social losses, not all studies find a significant association between religious involvement and well-being in old age. It might be that primarily the intrinsic rather than the extrinsic aspect of religiosity is responsible for the positive effect of religiosity on well-being. Using a sample of 103 community dwelling older adults (58+), multivariate regression analyses showed that purpose in life rather than extrinsic or intrinsic religious orientation was positively related to elders' subjective well-being and negatively associated with fear of death and death avoidance. Moreover, extrinsic religious orientation had a positive effect on fear of death and death avoidance. Intrinsic religious orientation was positively related to approach acceptance of death. Frequency of shared spiritual activities and religious affiliation were unrelated to subjective well-being but positively related to death avoidance Monika Ardelt is affiliated with The

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“…Typical findings have included a positive association between religiosity and subjective well-being (Chamberlain & Zika, 1988;Delbridge, Headey, & Wearing, 1994;Willits & Crider, 1988), healthy lifestyles (Cochran, 1992;Wallace Jr & Forman, 1998), and improvements in mental health (Regnerus & Smith, 2005;Smith & Faris, 2005).…”

Section: Abstract: Religiosity Language Uses Kliwc Koreanmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Religion on the Human Mind: Analyses of Language Use and Personality

Kim

Jang

Park

et al. 2011

PSYCHOLOGIA -An International Journal of Psychological Sciences

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Previous research has shown that being religious is beneficial in various ways. Though religion's benefits are well-studied, few investigations have provided quantitative and explorative perspectives on its effects. Most studies concern religion's influence on specific psychological aspects of the human mind. This study investigated whether people's language use reflects the effects of religious training. We analyzed writing samples from 12 new believers in the Catholic Church via a language analysis program and conducted relevant psychological tests. The results showed language patterns changed significantly with religious training, even though these changes did not show any correlations with the psychological scales. These results indicate that religiosity can be reflected in certain language behaviors. Moreover, the results suggest language usage can be a reliable and sensitive index for measuring religiosity. Key words: religiosity, language uses, KLIWC, KoreanThe positive effects of religiosity have been well characterized by previous studies. Typical findings have included a positive association between religiosity and subjective well-being (Chamberlain & Zika, 1988;Delbridge, Headey, & Wearing, 1994;Willits & Crider, 1988), healthy lifestyles (Cochran, 1992;Wallace Jr & Forman, 1998), and improvements in mental health (Regnerus & Smith, 2005;Smith & Faris, 2005).Researchers have proposed several possible mechanisms whereby religion might bring about these beneficial effects. Fredrickson (2002) argued that religion induces people to attribute greater value to ordinary life events and, in so doing, engenders positive emotions, such as gratitude, hope, joy, and serenity. This view emphasized the resulting positive emotions' roles in subjective well-being. On the other hand, Ardelt (2003) argued that religion provides a sense of meaning for life, on a comprehensive level, and the sense of having a purposeful life is more important than emotional stability is. Finally, Spilka and McIntosh (1997) argued that religion enables people to acquire a sense of ultimate control over life, obtainable through prayer or gratitude. Moreover, according to Stromberg (1990), a created sense of self-transformation through the conversion experience brings about such changes.

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Religion and Well-Being: Men and Women in the Middle Years

Cited by 62 publications

References 22 publications

Religiousness and mental health: a review

Religiousness and mental health: a review

Effects of Religion and Purpose in Life on Elders' Subjective Well-Being and Attitudes Toward Death

The Effect of Religion on the Human Mind: Analyses of Language Use and Personality

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