Religious doubts and mental health in adolescence and young adulthood: The association with religious attitudes

Abstract

Religious doubts seem to be a part of identity and faith development in adolescence and young adulthood. Such doubts, however, are often linked with psychological distress, though the results in the field are not consistent. It seems important therefore to explore further the relationship between religious doubts and mental health. This study investigated the moderating role of religious attitudes (strength of religious belief, and literal vs. symbolic approach to religion) on this relationship in a sample of 403 Hungarian high school and university students aged 15–25 years in a cross‐sectional survey. Results provided support for a three‐way moderation: the positive correlation between doubts and anxiety/depression was stronger the higher the level of religious belief, but was strongest when religious beliefs and symbolic approach were both high. These associations were found to be stable across gender and educational level. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Religious Coping Styles, General Health, and Psychological Well-Being Among Mothers of Mentally Disabled Children

“…Moreover, the results of regression analysis indicated that negative religious feelings had the most significant impact on the mothers' general health. The obtained findings are consistent with the results of several studies which demonstrated that the mothers of mentally disabled children had low general health and experienced high levels of anxiety and depression [4,16,35].…”

“…Kezday [16], Olsson [4], and Abbotts [17] indicated that external religion and negative religious coping (negative feelings towards God and passive religious coping) were correlated with depression and anxiety, fatigue, somatic complaints, and social dysfunctions. In contrary, being religious was associated with high levels of mental health and self-esteem and low aggression.…”

Examining the Relationship between Religiosity with Anxiety of Mothers and Number of Children

“…From the results achieved it can be understood that the people with high religiosity experience less anxiety that this result is consistent with those of previous researches, including Kézdy et al (2010) that found that having religious doubt positively correlated with anxiety and depression, while having religious faith negatively correlated with anxiety and depression.…”

Prayer Attendance and General Health in the Iranian Adult Urban Population

“…Francis et al (2004) showed that there was a strong and positive association between attitudes and prayers, reading the Bible (the Gospel), and general health among high school students. Kézdy et al (2011) also indicated a positive relationship between the degree of religious beliefs and the decrease in anxiety and depression. Nooney and Woodrum (2002) demonstrated a positive relationship between performing religious ceremony in church and mental health.…”