Islamic religiosity and subjective well-being in the United Arab Emirates: the roles of gender, social contacts, and religious social support

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research uses a sample of Muslim adults (n = 569) living in the United Arab Emirates to investigate the association between Islamic religiosity and subjective well-being (SWB), with a particular focus on how gender, social contacts (both religious and secular), and religious social support affect this relationship. The findings of this research demonstrate that higher Islamic religiosity predicts higher levels of SWB for both men and women equally. Individually, the frequency of social contact (with religious contacts, family, and friends) was associated with higher SWB for both men and women, but only religious and family (but not friends) contact partially mediated the religiosity-SWB association. A mediation analysis showed that the frequency of contact with religious community members was associated with better SWB, in part, because of the religious social support these contacts provide.