Religiosity and joint activities of husbands and wives in enduring marriages.

Abstract

Understanding ways to strengthen marriage in middle age and beyond is increasingly important as the population of older adults rises. Using couple-level growth curve modeling in a sample of 371 middle-aged husbands and wives in long-term, enduring relationships, we examined the association between "joint activities," an index of couple connectedness, and "couple religiosity," an index focused on active participation in organized religious activities, across a 10-year period, using data from the years of 1991, 1992, 1994, and 2001. Confirming expectations there was a bidirectional and positive relationship between couples' religiosity and joint activities. Follow-up analyses indicated that greater religiosity at baseline or greater levels of joint activities at baseline produced particularly strong cross-lagged effects when the other construct was initially low, suggesting that these constructs are mutually protective in long-term marital dyads and become more tightly connected across later middle age. Exploratory comparisons of separate models for husbands and wives indicated that effects were stronger among wives.

Religion/Spirituality, Stress, and Resilience Among Sexual and Gender Minorities: The Religious/Spiritual Stress and Resilience Model

“…Similarly, experiencing high degrees of distress may lead SGMs to engage with RS as a way to cope (see Abu-Raiya et al, 2015;Pargament, 1997). Theoretical, correlational, and longitudinal research have all supported claims of bidirectionality between RS and health in heterosexual and cisgender populations (Davis et al, 2021;Dew et al, 2020;Hardy et al, 2020;Kim-Spoon et al, 2014;King et al, 2020;Sallquist et al, 2010).…”

Religiosity and Physical Health of Middle–Old Aged African Americans: The Linking Role of Self-Control

“…Although social and behavioral mechanisms were not investigated in the present study, these processes may coexist or intervene with the investigated psychological processes. For example, the association between religious participation and sense of control may be mediated by social processes, such as social integration, reduced loneliness, or better marital functioning (King et al, 2022; Olson et al, 2015; Wallace & Forman, 1998). Similarly, sense of control and health associations may be mediated by health-promoting behaviors, such as participation in regular exercises and eating balanced diets (O’Neal et al, 2014; Wickrama et al, 2012).…”

Searching for a Common Language to Talk About the Rorschach Within and Outside the International Society of the Rorschach and Projective Methods

“…The Christian saying, “A couple that prays together stays together,” suggests that when couples pray together, they open a dialogue with a third entity (God) that allows the partners to increase their mutual understanding and intimacy. King and colleagues (2022) recently provided empirical support for this saying. In a 10-year longitudinal study with 371 families, they found that couples with higher levels of religiosity engaged in more joint activities over time.…”