Spiritual but not religious

2021 ◽  
pp. 293-306
Author(s):  
Bruno Paz Mosqueiro
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Spiritual But Not Religious ◽  
Therapeutic Engagement ◽  
Religiosity And Spirituality

In the past few decades, there has been a substantial increase in interest in scientific publications about the impact of religiosity/spirituality on health in general but also on mental health and well-being of patients. It would appear that some individuals are moving away from organized religion to a more spiritual dimension as reflected in so-called Western countries where people are increasingly describing themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious’ (SBNR), thereby differentiating their beliefs and faiths from those proposed by religious organizations and from those people without religious beliefs. More pluralistic and opened views of religiosity and spirituality are understood as a sign of personality maturity and mental health. Otherwise, available evidence supports that religious affiliation and religious attendance seems to be a protective factor to mental health. Indeed, SBNR represents a very heterogeneous group of people and more research from different cultural backgrounds is required to recognize and understand SBNR individuals. An open-minded, interested, and respectful approach to SBNR individuals is essential for addressing their religiosity/spirituality needs in mental health practice, thereby increasing therapeutic engagement and adherence.

scholarly journals A Faith to Move Mountains? Childhood Abuse, Religious Change, and Mental Health at Midlife

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 461-461
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Childhood Maltreatment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Religious Importance ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Of all the various forms of adversity experienced during childhood, childhood maltreatment (emotional and physical abuse) is shown to have the largest impacts on mental health and well-being. Yet we still have a limited understanding of why some victims of early maltreatment suffer immense mental health consequences later on in the life course, while others are able to cushion the blow of these early insults. Using two waves of data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), this study considers change in religiosity as a buffer across three dimensions for victims of childhood abuse: religious importance, attendance, and the specific act of seeking comfort through religion. Results suggest that increases in religious comfort during adulthood are positively associated with adult mental health for victims of abuse, while decreases in religious comfort over time were associated with worse mental health. Changes in religious attendance and religious importance were not significant associated with mental health for victims of abuse. Taken together, my results show that the stress-moderating effects of religion for victims of childhood maltreatment are contingent on the stability or increases or decreases in religiosity over the life course, which has been overlooked in previous work.

Aspiring to Do All Things Through Him Who Strengthens? Quixotic Hope, Religiosity, and Mental Health in Emerging Adulthood

2021 ◽  
pp. 215686932110085
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Educational Expectations ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
National Study ◽  
Health Consequences

Beliefs about the probability of educational success tend to be very optimistic in the United States. However, scholars are beginning to uncover mental health consequences associated with quixotic hope—the unrealistic outstripping of expectation by aspiration. Using longitudinal data from Waves 1 and 3 of the National Study of Youth and Religion, this study asks, (1) does religiosity promote or diminish the likelihood of quixotic hope? and (2) does religious attendance and closeness to God mitigate long-term mental health consequences of quixotic hope? Results show that weekly religious attendance had a modest negative relationship with the likelihood of experiencing quixotic hope, while increasing religious attendance over time attenuated the negative mental health consequences of quixotic hope on increases in depression. Closeness to God neither predicted quixotic hope nor played a moderating role for depression. As educational expectations rise, regular religious practice may help protect the emotional well-being of youth.

scholarly journals Spiritual Well-Being and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Coppola ◽  
Nadia Rania ◽  
Rosa Parisi ◽  
Francesca Lagomarsino
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Great Difficulty ◽  
Coping Resources ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Spiritual Well Being

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, people and families experienced a new and sudden situation that forced them to stay in their homes for a long period (February 25- May 26). In this context, many people found themselves in great difficulty, not only because of the fear of contagion or the economic problems deriving from the closure of production activities but also because the virus profoundly changed the way of life in society. The “Social distancing” concept became central in all personal relationships, including close family relationships. In this situation, our paper seeks to understand the role of spirituality and religiosity in reacting to this difficult situation and in particular on the physical and psychological health of the people involved. The data we present here are part of a multidisciplinary research with a quantitative theoretical framework. As the data was collected during the first Italian lockdown, a total of 1,250 adults from all over Italy participated in the on-line questionnaire. Among the main results it emerged that the participants perceived lower levels of spiritual well-being and mental health than the pre-pandemic situation with a significant gender difference; in fact, women perceived lower mental health than men. At the same time, it is evident that spirituality and religious practices are a protective factor connected not only with psychological and mental but also physical health. Finally, it appears evident that the family is a protective factor with respect to mental health, even in a period so full of stress factors, those who did not live alone and especially those who had to take care of small children reported higher perceived mental health and a greater ability to activate coping resources.

scholarly journals Spirituality, religiosity and the mental health consequences of social isolation during Covid-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402097099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giancarlo Lucchetti ◽  
Leonardo Garcia Góes ◽  
Stefani Garbulio Amaral ◽  
Gabriela Terzian Ganadjian ◽  
Isabelle Andrade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Spiritual Growth ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Health Consequences ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Religiosity And Spirituality

Background: Evidence shows that religiosity and spirituality (R/S) are highly used in critical moments of life and that these beliefs are associated with clinical outcomes. However, further studies are needed to assess these beliefs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims: To evaluate the use of R/S during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and to investigate the association between R/S and the mental health consequences of social isolation. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in May 2020. Online surveys were carried out assessing sociodemographics, R/S measures, and social isolation characteristics and mental health consequences (hopefulness, fear, worrying and sadness). Adjusted regression models were used. Results: A total of 485 participants were included from all regions of Brazil. There was a high use of religious and spiritual beliefs during the pandemic and this use was associated with better mental health outcomes. Lower levels of worrying were associated with greater private religious activities (OR = 0.466, CI 95%: 0.307–0.706), religious attendance (OR = 0.587, CI 95%: 0.395–0.871), spiritual growth (OR = 0.667, CI 95%: 0.448–0.993) and with an increase in religious activities (OR = 0.660, CI 95%: 0.442–0.986); lower levels of fear were associated with greater private religious activities (OR = 0.632, CI 95%: 0.422–0.949) and spiritual growth (OR = 0.588, CI 95%: 0.392–0.882) and, lower levels of sadness (OR = 0.646, CI 95%: 0.418–0.997) were associated with spiritual growth. Finally, hope was associated with all R/S variables in different degrees (ranging from OR = 1.706 to 3.615). Conclusions: R/S seem to have an important role on the relief of suffering, having an influence on health outcomes and minimizing the consequences of social isolation. These results highlight the importance of public health measures that ensure the continuity of R/S activities during the pandemic and the training of healthcare professionals to address these issues.

scholarly journals Spirituality, Religious Attendance and Health Complaints in Czech Adolescents

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 2339
Author(s):  
Radka Zidkova ◽  
Petr Glogar ◽  
Iva Polackova Solcova ◽  
Jitse P. van Dijk ◽  
Michal Kalman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Health Complaints ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
Hbsc Study ◽  
Reported Health ◽  
Religiosity And Spirituality

Research in some religious countries shows that religiosity and spirituality positively affect adolescent health. We studied whether religiosity and spirituality also have positive associations with adolescent health in a secular country. We tested the associations between religious attendance and spirituality and self-reported health and health complaints using a representative sample of Czech adolescents (n = 4182, 14.4 ± 1.1 years, 48.6% boys) from the 2014 health behavior in school-aged children (HBSC) study. We used religious attendance, the adjusted shortened version of the spiritual well-being scale (SWBS), and its two components—religious well-being (RWB) and existential well-being (EWB)—as independent variables and the eight item “HBSC symptom checklist” and self-reported overall health as dependent variables. A higher level of spirituality was associated with lower chances of health complaints and self-reported health, ranging from a 9% to 30% decrease in odd ratios (OR). Religious attendance was not associated with any of the observed variables. The EWB showed a negative association with all of the observed variables, with associations ranging from a 19% to 47% decrease. The RWB was associated with a higher risk of nervousness (OR = 1.12), while other associations were not significant. Non-spiritual but attending respondents were more likely to report a higher occurrence of stomachache (OR = 2.20) and had significantly worse overall health (OR = 2.38). In a largely secular country, we found that spirituality and the EWB (unlike religious attendance and the RWB) could have a significant influence on adolescent health.

scholarly journals Treatment Regret, Mental and Physical Health Indicators of Psychosocial Well-Being among Prostate Cancer Survivors

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 3900-3917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassidy Bradley ◽  
Gabriela Ilie ◽  
Cody MacDonald ◽  
Lia Massoeurs ◽  
Jasmine Dang Cam-Tu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Prostate Cancer Survivors ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Prostate cancer (PCa) patients and survivors are at high risk of mental health illness. Here, we examined the contribution of treatment regret, mental and physical health indicators to the social/family, emotional, functional and spiritual well-being of PCa survivors. The study assessed 367 men with a history of PCa residing in the Maritimes Canada who were surveyed between 2017 and 2021. The outcomes were social/family, emotional, functional and spiritual well-being (FACT-P,FACIT-Sp). Predictor variables included urinary, bowel and sexual function (UCLA-PCI), physical and mental health (SF-12), and treatment regret. Logistic regression analyses were controlled for age, income, and survivorship time. Poor social/family, emotional, functional and spiritual well-being was identified among 54.4%, 26.5%, 49.9% and 63.8% of the men in the sample. Men who reported treatment regret had 3.62, 5.58, or 4.63 higher odds of poor social/family, emotional, and functional well-being, respectively. Men with low household income had 3.77 times higher odds for poor social/ well-being. Good mental health was a protective factor for poor social/family, emotional, functional, or spiritual well-being. Better physical and sexual health were protective factors for poor functional well-being. Seeking to promote PCa patients’ autonomy in treatment decisions and recognizing this process’ vulnerability in health care contexts is warranted.

scholarly journals Resilience, mood, and mental health outcomes during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Psederska ◽  
Georgi Vasilev ◽  
Briana DeAngelis ◽  
Kiril Bozgunov ◽  
Dimitar Nedelchev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Face ◽  
Low Prevalence

Background: The fundamental challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic may have lasting negative effects on the quality of mental health worldwide. Resilience is considered an important protective factor in reducing the risk of psychopathology in the face of various adverse events, such as the ongoing health crisis. The aims of the current study were to: (1) evaluate the predictive utility of resilience in accounting for positive and negative moods, substance use, depression and anxiety; and (2) compare negative and positive moods experienced before the pandemic to emotions reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria, when the country still had low prevalence of infections and fatalities. Methods: 179 Bulgarian participants completed the international online Minnesota Global Survey on Stress and Resilience in the Face of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), which included measures of resilience, depression and anxiety, substance use, positive and negative moods experienced both before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Results: Resilience predicted higher levels of positive affect and lower anxiety, depression, and negative mood during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bulgaria. A significant increase was found in negative mood and a corresponding decrease in positive mood in the time since COVID-19 began spreading compared to before the pandemic.Conclusions: Results suggest that the initial wave of the COVID-19 crisis impacted individuals’ well-being, even in countries with relatively low prevalence of COVID-19 and associated fatalities. In this challenging global setting, resilience may serve as a buffer against negative emotional states and psychological distress.

scholarly journals A rapid review of Irish Traveller mental health and suicide: a psychosocial and anthropological perspective

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
S. McKey ◽  
B. Quirke ◽  
P. Fitzpatrick ◽  
C. C. Kelleher ◽  
K. M. Malone
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Anthropological Perspective ◽  
Scientific Review ◽  
Male Suicide ◽  
Self Harm

Abstract Introduction: Irish Travellers are an indigenous ethnic minority (IEM) with poor health outcomes. Whilst they constitute less than 1% of the Irish population, they account for 10% of national young adult male suicide statistics. Methods: A rapid review of scientific publications related to mental health and suicide in Irish Travellers was undertaken following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Searches of PubMed, PsycINFO and Google Scholar were performed. Eligibility criteria included: (i) Irish Travellers/Gypsy Travellers; (ii) information on mental health/suicide/self-harm; (iii) psychosocial anthropological perspectives of mental health; (iv) publications in english. Data on studies including design, methods, participants and key findings were extracted using a spreadsheet template. Results: From 5160 scientific references over the past 20 years, 19 papers made reference to Traveller mental health, and only 5 papers made specific data-based reference to suicide in Travellers. It was only when we qualified Travellers as being ‘Irish Travellers’ in our scientific review did we detect meaningful references to their existence as an IEM, and their health and well-being. Due to sample sizes and heterogeneity in design, results were synthesised narratively. Discussion: This paper draws together strands from the disciplines of psycho/socio/anthropological perspectives to gain deeper insights into mental health and suicide in Irish Travellers. In a knowledge vacuum, it behoves the scientific community to explain the value of scientific research and rigour to both policymakers as well as Travellers, shifting the existing discourse towards new knowledge and understanding around mental health and suicide in Travellers.

Parents' Psychological Factors Promoting Children's Mental Health and Emotional Regulation During the COVID-19 Lockdown

2021 ◽  
pp. 47-63
Author(s):  
Mara Morelli ◽  
Elena Cattelino ◽  
Roberto Baiocco ◽  
Emiddia Longobardi ◽  
Carmen Trumello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Children’S Mental Health ◽  
Children's Mental Health

On March 9th, 2020 Italy went into lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies showed how the pandemic had a negative impact on children's psychologi-cal well-being. The present research studied how parents can promote their children's psy-chological well-being, in order to understand how to help parents in managing this unprec-edented situation. A total of 277 parents of children aged 6 to 13 years old completed an online survey. MANCOVA analyses showed that children with more anxiety and depres-sion, more lability/negativity and less emotional regulation had parents with more psycho-logical distress, less regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and less parenting self-efficacy (all p .01). Parents were important protective factor for their children's mental health during the lockdown.

scholarly journals Religiosity and Mental Health: A Contribution to Understanding the Heterogeneity of Research Findings

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klara Malinakova ◽  
Peter Tavel ◽  
Zdenek Meier ◽  
Jitse P. van Dijk ◽  
Sijmen A. Reijneveld
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Religious Attitudes ◽  
Conversion Experience ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Religiosity And Spirituality ◽  
The Stability

Most studies report positive associations between religiosity and spirituality and aspects of mental health, while a small proportion report mixed or fully negative associations. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of religiosity measured more specifically, with mental health in a secular environment, using a nationally representative sample of Czech adults (n = 1795). We measured religious affiliation, conversion experience, non-religious attitudes and the stability of these attitudes, mental health problems, and anxiety levels. Compared to stable non-religious respondents, unstable non-religious and converted respondents who perceived God as distant were more likely to experience anxiety in close relationships, and had higher risks of worse mental health. Our findings support the idea that the heterogeneity of findings in associations between religiosity/spirituality and mental health could be due to measurement problems and variation in the degree of secularity. A shift towards religiosity could be expected to be seen in a substantial part of non-religious respondents in problematic times.

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