Spiritual Growth or Decline and Meaning-Making as Mediators of Anxiety and Satisfaction with Life During Religious Struggle

Beata Zarzycka,Beata Zarzycka,Pawel Zietek

doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0598-y

Beata Zarzycka, Beata Zarzycka + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0598-y

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Abstract

A number of studies have demonstrated links between spiritual struggles and health problems. As yet, however, only a few studies have investigated what makes religious struggle a source of mental problems or a source of well-being. We determined whether spiritual growth, spiritual decline, and meaning-making mediated the relationship between religious struggle and anxiety and satisfaction with life. Of the 180 respondents, 92 were women, and mean (SD) age was 24 (8.2) years. Each respondent completed the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale, the Meaning-Making Scale, the Spiritual Transformation Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Religious struggle correlated positively with anxiety and negatively with satisfaction with life. Spiritual growth mediated the relationship between moral and demonic struggle with satisfaction with life, and spiritual decline mediated the relationship between demonic, moral, and interpersonal struggle with anxiety. Finally, meaning-making mediated the relationship between religious doubt and satisfaction with life.

Highlights

We determined whether spiritual growth, spiritual decline, and meaning-making mediated the relationship between religious struggle and anxiety and satisfaction with life
The average score in spiritual growth and decline was below 4 which shows a low level of spiritual transformation
The coefficients of skewness and the K–S normality test indicate that the mean scores in the Religious Struggle Scale as well as in spiritual decline are slightly positively skewed, whereas the mean scores in other subscales are slightly negatively skewed

Summary

Introduction

Religion is an important part of life They turn to religion to receive consolation, to bond with others, to provide meaning to life experiences (Park 2005a, b), and to cope with adversity (Pargament 1997, 2007). There are individuals who try to live in accordance with their religious beliefs but who cannot live up to the rules imposed by that religion and, as a result, feel guilty and are afraid that God will not forgive their failings. Such experiences generate strains and are a source of internal struggle (Wilt et al 2016)

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