The Link Between Religion and Spirituality and Psychological Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Optimism and Social Support

Abstract

Although optimism, social support, religiousness, and spirituality are important predictors of adjustment, rarely have studies examined these variables simultaneously. This study investigated whether optimism and social support mediated the relationship between religiousness and adjustment (distress and life satisfaction) and between spirituality and adjustment. Findings indicate that the relationship between intrinsic religiousness and life satisfaction and between prayer fulfillment and life satisfaction was mediated by optimism and social support. Furthermore, the relationship between religiousness and adjustment varied depending on how religiousness was operationalized and whether positive versus negative adjustment indicators were used. That is, intrinsic religiousness and prayer fulfillment were associated with greater life satisfaction, but extrinsic religiousness was not associated with life satisfaction. These findings were significant even after accounting for covariates (age, gender, ethnicity, social desirability). Results suggest religiousness and spirituality are related but distinct constructs and are associated with adjustment through factors such as social support and optimism.

The natural history of male mental health: Health and religious involvement

“…Indeed, several pioneering studies have shown that social supports and other positive psychological variables, such as altruism and optimism, may mediate the association between religious involvement and health (Krause, 2005;Salsman, Brown, Brechting & Carlson, 2005;Steffen & Masters, 2005). However, such findings have been limited by lack of objective measures of physical health, as well as by crosssectional and retrospective research designs.…”

Religiousness and mental health: a review

“…As will be discussed later, these may be some of the mediating factors between religiousness and well-being. 50 In a high-quality research study involving a US national sample of 1126 non-institutionalized older people, the feeling of closeness with God was related to optimism after controlling for sociodemographic variables. This optimism, in turn, had a strong influence on their self-rated health status.…”

The Mediating Role of Optimism and Pessimism on the Relationship between Spirituality and Depression among Elderly Cancer Patients

“…Despite the full mediating effects of optimism constructs, spirituality presented significant indirect effects on depression through optimism and pessimism, whereas Salsman et al 17) 's study reported a non-significant indirect effect of spirituality on depression through optimism. The significant results may be because of using a clinical sample that may be more psychologically distressful sample than college students used in the Salsman et al's 17) study.…”

“…The significant results may be because of using a clinical sample that may be more psychologically distressful sample than college students used in the Salsman et al's 17) study.…”

“…To date, only one known study examines the mediating role of optimism in the relationship between spirituality and depression. 17) The authors obtained an unexpected result of the non-significant indirect effect of spirituality on depression through optimism. They imposed the inability to accept the study hypothesis (i.e., indirect effect of spirituality on depression through optimism) on a non-clinical sample of college students with relatively low depression scores, suggesting a replication study was needed with a population experiencing more depression.…”