The association between spirituality and religiousness and mental health

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate how different levels of spirituality and religiousness (high spirituality and high religiousness –S/R, high spirituality and low religiousness –S/r, low spirituality and high religiousness s/R and low spirituality and low religiousness – s/r) are associated with quality of life, depressive symptoms, anxiety, optimism and happiness among adults. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 1,046 Brazilian adults. Concerning the different levels of spirituality and religiousness, 49.2% had s/r, 26.5% S/R, 17.2% S/r and 7.1% s/R. Participants with S/R had better outcomes as compared to those with s/r and those with S/r in WHOQOL Psychological, Social Relationship and Environment, Optimism and happiness. Participants with s/R had better outcomes as compared to those with s/r in WHOQOL Psychological and Social Relationship, Optimism and happiness. Participants with S/r were different from those with s/r, with higher levels of WHOQOL Environment and happiness but also anxiety. The results revealed that, having higher levels of both spirituality and religiousness were more correlated to better outcomes than having just one of them or none of them. Likewise, having higher levels of religiousness in detriment of higher levels of spirituality was also associated with better outcomes in comparison to others.

Association Between Spirituality/religiousness and Quality of Life Among Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review 

“…Note that there is a clear overlap between psychological QoL and mental disorders and four of the studies included in this review found positive associations between S/R and depression and stress [28,38,40,41]. In this line, other studies addressing mixed samples of adults and elderly individuals, healthy and unhealthy people, also report a relationship between higher levels of S/R with improved psychological QoL and decreased stress and depression, according to the in uence of facets such as peace, meaning, optimism and happiness [5,48].…”

“…Among the QoL components most frequently associated with S/R, the psychological component was the most important. The most signi cant evidence available in the S/R eld is related to mental health [5,19,25,48]. Nine of the studies in this review report positive associations between S/R and some mental health parameters.…”

“…QoL. This has been discussed by some authors, especially those addressing individuals under complicating health conditions, outlining clinical applications of these strategies with patients [10,19,26,48] based on robust data from observational studies and clinical trials including cancer patients, individuals with HIV, heart conditions, or trauma, among others [10,45,49].…”

Implementing health-related quality of life assessment in clinical practice

“…The World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment group defined QoL as the individual's perceptions of their position in life in the context of the culture and value system in which they live, and regarding their goals, expectations, patterns, and concerns 3 . Several factors are said to influence QoL [3][4][5] , such as sociodemographic status (gender, age, education level, and marital status), physical health (such as energy, fatigue, pain, sleep quality), and a person's psychological status (physical appearance, positive/negative feelings, selfesteem). People also occupy social and physical spaces.…”

“…Thus, the relationships in terms of social support and sexual activity, and aspects of the surrounding physical and home environment (financial situation, freedom, safe environment, recreation, transportation, climate, pollution), can affect one's QoL. Religious/spiritual status also refers to social and physical spaces, as one believes in and seeks support from members of one's religious community, attends in places of worship, receives support, provide religious attendance, meaning in life, peace, optimism, faith [3][4][5] .…”