Religious Spiritual Well-being Research Articles

The relationship between religious/spiritual well-being, psychiatric symptoms and addictive behaviors among young adults during the COVID-19-pandemic.

BackgroundIt is becoming increasingly apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic not only poses risks to physical health, but that it also might lead to a global mental health crisis, making the exploration of protective factors for mental well-being highly relevant. The present study seeks to investigate religious/spiritual well-being (RSWB) as a potential protective factor with regard to psychiatric symptom burden and addictive behavior.Materials and MethodsThe data was collected by conducting an online survey in the interim period between two national lockdowns with young adults (N = 306; age: 18–35) in Austria. The primary study variables were assessed through the Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18; psychiatric symptom load), the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST; addictive behavior/addiction risk) and the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being short version (MI-RSWB 12), with its sub-dimensions Hope (HO), Forgiveness (FO), General Religiosity (GR), and Connectedness (CO).ResultsWe observed HO and FO as substantial negative predictors of psychiatric symptom burden. With regard to addictive behavior, HO in particular but also GR seem to have a protective function. Furthermore, we found positive connections between CO, psychiatric symptom burden, and addictive behavior.ConclusionIn line with our assumptions, HO, FO and to a minor extent GR were confirmed as negative predictors regarding psychiatric symptom burden or addictive behavior in young adults, coping with the psychological threat of COVID-19 pandemic. These dimensions might be further considered as potential resources in clinical treatment. However, the positive prediction of mental illness parameters by increased feelings of CO could also be interpreted as an expression of exhaustion and alienation from the real world.

The Swedish Version of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being: First Results From Swedish Students.

Background: Studies investigating the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and mental health have suggested both positive and negative associations, highlighting the importance of multifaceted assessment of these rather broad constructs. The present study aims at contributing to this field of research by providing a validated Swedish version of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB-S) and further examining how this instrument relates to Big Five personality factors, Sense of Coherence (SOC), and religiosity.Methods: Data were collected from a total of 1,011 Swedish students (747 females; age range 18–40) via completion of an online survey, including a new Swedish Version of the MI-RSWB-S, the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13), and the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS-5).Results: Results revealed adequate estimates of internal consistency and substantial evidence for the postulated six-dimensional structure. However, confirmatory factor analysis yielded poor fit indices, resulting in the development and validation of a revised measure of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (RSWB), comprising the subscales General Religiosity and Connectedness. Most of the MI-RSWB-S dimensions were positively correlated with the personality domains Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness and negatively related to Neuroticism. SOC was positively linked to Hope Immanent, Forgiveness, Hope Transcendent, and Experiences of Sense of Meaning, whereas CRS exhibited positive correlations with all MI-RSWB-S subscales except Hope Transcendent.Conclusion: The findings of the current study support the validity and reliability of the Swedish adoption of the MI-RSWB and confirm previously reported associations with the Big Five personality traits, SOC, and CRS. More in general, our results underline the putative substantial link between RSWB dimensions and mental health. Further research especially in clinical surroundings as well as by employing more representative samples is now warranted.

Development and application of a self-transcendence enhancement program for the well-being of elderly women living alone in Korea.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to develop a self-transcendence enhancement program and examine its effect on self-transcendence, spiritual well-being, and psychological well-being in elderly women who live alone. MethodsA self-transcendence enhancement program was developed through theory, literature review, and in-depth interviews. The theoretical framework came from the Psychoeducational Approach to Transcendence and Health intervention model based on Reed’s middle-range theory of self-transcendence. The program consisted of multiple modalities in a structured, theory-based program lasting for eight weekly sessions. Using a single-group pretest-posttest design, the program was tested on a group of 40 elderly women aged 75 to 84 years living alone in Daejeon, South Korea. Participants completed self-reported study questionnaires before and after the program at the elderly welfare center. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0, with significance level set at .05. Paired t-test was used to compare mean differences before and after the program. ResultsThe mean age of the study participants was 79.1 years. After completing the program, the participants showed higher levels of self-transcendence (t=8.78, p<.001), overall spiritual well-being (t=8.30, p=.002), religious spiritual well-being (t=1.79, p=.040), existential spiritual well-being (t=6.75, p=.002), and positive affect (t=3.77, p=.001) than they did before the program. They also reported lower levels of depression (t=–7.59, p<.001) and negative affect (t=–6.15, p<.001). Conclusion The self-transcendence enhancement program developed in this study may be effective for improving the level of self-transcendence in elderly women living alone and helping them to attain spiritual and psychological well-being.

Prediction of hope, physical health, and mental health by mediating variable of religious spiritual well-being in elderly

ABSTRACT The Religious Spiritual Well-being (RSWB) is a new concept relevant to healthcare systems. Hope has an important role in coping with psychosocial problems in aging. Physical problems are common in aging and threaten mental health in this age group. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between RSWB with hope, physical health, and mental health in the elderly. The scales included the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious Spiritual Well-Being (MI RSWB 48), Adult Hope Scale (AHS), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), and General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and were administered to 100 elderly people. Hope Immanent (HI) and Experiences of Sense and Meaning (SM) subscales and MI RSWB 48 total scores were positively correlated with hope and mental health; HI subscale and MI RSWB 48 total scores were negative correlated with physical health. The RSWB dimensions predicted hope (36%), physical health (32%), and mental health (53%), respectively. Psycho-educational programs would be useful to increase RSWB in order to enhance hope, physical health, and mental health in the elderly.

Religious spiritual well-being: results from Muslim Iranian clinical and non-clinical samples by age, sex and group

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to compare religious spiritual well-being between three Muslim Iranian samples: old and middle-aged adults, university students and psychiatric outpatients. The sample was a convenience sample of 561 individuals in Tehran, Iran, who completed the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB 48). The psychiatric outpatients had lower General Religiosity (GR), Hope Transcendent (HT), Transcendent component and total scores than the community residents, but higher Forgiveness (FO) scores. For the non-clinical females, the community residents had lower Hope Immanent (HI), GR, Connectedness (CO), Immanent component, Transcendent component and total scores and higher HT scores. We conclude that religious spiritual well-being differs between Muslim Iranian clinical and non-clinical samples, and also by age.

The Influence Death Anxiety Has on Solitary Seniors’ Mental Health : Focusing on the Regulating Effect of Spiritual Comfort

본 연구는 독거노인의 죽음불안이 우울과 생활만족도를 하위요인으로 하는 정신건강에 미치는 영향력과 이들 간의 영향관계에서 영적 안녕감의 조절효과를 검증하고자 수행되었다. 이를 위해 서울특별시 노원구에 거주하는 독거노인 236명을 표본으로 하여 분석을 수행하였으며, 방법론은 SPSS 22.0을 활용하여 중다회귀분석을 수행하였다. 분석결과, 첫째, 죽음과정의 불안은 우울에 정적(+)인 영향을 보였으며, 존재상실의 불안과 죽음과정의 불안은 생활만족도에 부적(-)인 영향으로 나타났다. 둘째, 실존적 영적 안녕감은 우울에 부적(-)인 영향으로 나타났으며, 생활만족도에도 정적(+)인 영향을 보였다. 셋째, 종교적 영적 안녕감과 실존적 영적 안녕감은 존재상실의 불안과 사후결과의 불안과의 상호작용을 통해 우울을 조절하는 효과가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 종교적 영적 안녕감과 실존적 영적 안녕감은 죽음과정의 불안과의 상호작용을 통해 생활만족도를 조절하는 효과가 있음을 검증하였다. 이를 토대로 종교적 영적 안녕감과 실존적 영적 안녕감의 높임을 통해 독거노인의 정신건강을 증진시킬 수 있는 논의와 제언을 하였다.The purpose of this study is to examine the death anxiety that influences the mental health of elderly people who live all spiritual Well done. The sub factors of mental health are depression, life satisfaction, being, and the maintenance of relationships. The study has been conducted with 236 elderly people who live alone in the district of Nowongu, Seoul, South Korea as a sample group using multiple regression analyses of SPSS 22.0 to examine the data. According to the results of analyses, the first outcome shows that death anxiety in the process of death reveals a positive(+) effect on depression levels, and it indicates a negative(-) effect on life satisfaction levels, based on anxiety over the death process and the loss of existence. Second, it displays that existential spiritual wellbeing shows negative(-) satisfaction levels. results on depression levels and positive(+) outcomes on life Third, religious spiritual wellbeing and existential spiritual wellbeing are revealed to have moderating effects on controlling depression levels through the interaction between the anxiety over the loss of existence and the anxiety wellbeing and existential spiritual welfare postmortem results. Furthermore, the religious spiritual being of a subject are verified to have moderating effects on life satisfaction levels through interactions of the anxieties concerning the process of death. Based on the foregoing discussions, it is suggested that improving the mental health of elderly people living alone can be done by enhancing their religious spiritual well spiritual wellbeing.

Belief in the miracles of Lourdes: A voxel-based morphometry study.

BackgroundIt has been shown that particular religious beliefs and practices are associated with brain function and structure. The present voxel‐based morphometry study investigated the correlation between the belief in the miracles of Lourdes (a major Catholic pilgrimage site) and gray matter volume in specific brain regions associated with theory of mind (ToM).MethodStructural brain data from 84 women (mean age: 25 years; no current somatic illness; 80% Roman‐Catholic) were correlated with self‐report measures on belief in miracles, religious–spiritual well‐being, and psychological problems. Selected brain regions of the ToM network included the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC).ResultsThe belief in the miracles of Lourdes was positively correlated with general religiousness and with feelings of connectedness; there was no association with psychological problems. Belief in miracles of Lourdes correlated positively with TPJ volume and negatively with MPFC volume.ConclusionBelief in the miracles was associated with brain volume in regions involved in mentalizing and self‐control.

Multidimensional Inventory for Religious Spiritual Well-Being (MI RSWB 48): Validation with Iranian psychiatric outpatients

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to investigate the validation of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious Spiritual Well-Being (MI RSWB 48) in a convenience sample of 250 Iranian psychiatric outpatients. In addition to the MI RSWB 48, the patients completed the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWS), the WHO-5, the PHQ-9, and the PHQ-15. Cronbach’s α for the MI RSWB 48 was .84, and for its subscales ranged from .33 (Hope Transcendent [HT] Subscale) to .89 (General Religiosity [GR] Subscale). The SWS score had the highest positive correlation with the MI RSWB 48 score. Two factors identified for the scale. The religiosity spirituality score of female patients was significantly higher than the score of the male patients. The MI RSWB 48 can be considered as a suitable tool for evaluating different aspects of religiosity and spirituality in Iranian society. The HT Subscale may need modification to improve its internal consistency.

Validation of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious Spiritual Well-being with Iranian samples

ABSTRACTThis study was designed to investigate the validation of a Farsi version of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious Spiritual Well-being (MI RSWB 48) in a convenience sample of 442 Iranian people. Respondents completed a series of demographic questions and the MI RSWB 48. The Cronbach's α coefficient was .82. The MI RSWB 48 items identified two factors, but these factors did not match the two dimensions for which the scale was devised. The Hope Immanent (HI), and Experiences of Sense and Meaning (SM) subscales loaded on Factor 1, but General Religiosity (GR) was loaded on this factor rather than Forgiveness (FO). The Factor 2 had loadings from the FO and Hope Transcendent (HT) subscales. Furthermore, the FO subscale scores had weak associations with the scores for Transcendent dimension. This study suggests that the subscale scores on the MI RSWB 48 may have different implications for Christian and Muslim respondents.

Spirituality in pain medicine: A randomized experiment of pain perception, heart rate and religious spiritual well-being by using a single session meditation methodology

The aim of this study is to investigate different effects on pain perception among randomly assigned volunteers practicing meditation compared to a relaxation condition. The study examines whether participants of the experimental conditions (meditation versus relaxation) differ in the change of pain perception and heart rate measurement and in religious and spiritual well-being after an intervention. Method: 147 volunteers (long-term practitioners and novices) were randomly assigned to the experimental conditions with a headphone guided 20-minute single session intervention. The change in their pre- and post-intervention pain perception was measured using Quantitative Sensory Testing and Cold Pressor Testing (CPTest), their stress-level was compared by monitoring heart rate, and their religious and spiritual well-being by using the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSB48). Additionally, dimensions of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) measured the psychological resilience of the participants; pain and stress experience, and the state of relaxation and spirituality experience were assessed. Five persons were excluded due to failure in measuring the heart rate and 29 participants had to be excluded because of high values on the BSI. Results: The meditation group showed an increase in their pain tolerance on the CPTest and a decrease in their pain intensity for heat after the experimental condition, in contrast to the relaxation group. Futhermore, the meditation group showed a higher level of religious spiritual well-being (MI-RSB48 Total score) as well as in the sub-dimensions General Religiosity, Forgiveness, and Connectedness after the experimental condition, compared to the relaxation group. Our data is consistent with the hypothesis that meditation increases pain tolerance and reduces pain intensity, however, further work is required to determine whether meditation contains similar implications for pain patients.

The Relation between Stress of Clinical Practice and Burnout among Nursing Students: The Mediation Effect of Spiritual Well-being

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence the clinical practice of nursing students and to identify the mediating effects of spiritual well-being in the relation between stress of clinical practice and burnout caused by clinical practice. Methods: Data were collected by self-report questionnaires targeting 420 nursing students in three nursing colleges located in Gyeonggi and Chungnam province. Results: Burnout of clinical practice according to general characteristics of the study subjects showed significant difference in religion (t=1.895, p=.049). Stress of clinical practice and burnout of clinical practice showed positive correlation (r=.42, p&lt;.001), existential spiritual well-being showed negative correlation between stress of clinical practice (r=-.17, p&lt;.001) and burnout of clinical practice (r=-.47, p&lt;.001). In addition, religious spiritual well-being in spiritual well-being showed no mediating effects and existential spiritual well-being showed mediating effects between burnout in clinical practice stress. Conclusion: In order to alleviate the stress of clinical practice for burnout of clinical practice prevention of nursing students, solutions to improve the existential spiritual well-being will be required in the future.

The Analysis of Spiritual Well-Being and Sexual Attitude of Female High School Students

Background/Objectives: This research aims to find out how the spiritual well-being of adolescents, especially female high school students, affect the establishment of proper sexual attitude. Methods/Statistical Analysis: Spiritual well-being is for measuring the subjective state of spiritual well-being, and is made up of two lower measures: the measure that gauges religious spiritual well-being, the state of well-being within the relationship with god, and existential spiritual well-being, the state of well-being focused on the meaning and goal of life. Sexual attitude is characteristics of puberty, knowledge about sex (pregnancy, contraception, and STD), dating, sexual awareness and ethics. Findings: The total of spiritual wellbeing was 3.42±0.56, religious spiritual well-being, which is the sense of well-being within the relationship with god, stood at 3.12±0.77, and existential spiritual well-being, which is the state of well-being focused on the meaning and goal of life, was 3.73±0.55. The total score of sexual attitude stood at 3.61±0.33, and as for the sub-measures, characteristics of puberty at 3.89±0.59, knowledge about sex (pregnancy, contraception, and STD) at 3.51±0.50, dating at 4.08±0.69, and sexual awareness and ethics at 3.42±0.37. Spiritual well-being has a positive relationship with the characteristics of puberty, and a negative relationship with dating. Among subcategories of spiritual well-being, religious well-being and dating had a negative relationship and existential well-being had a positive relationship with sexual attitude, characteristics of puberty, knowledge about sex, and sexual awareness and ethics. Application/Improvements: This study is expected to serve as base data for program development, when finding out the correlation between the level of adolescents’ spiritual well-being and sexual attitude.

Dimensions of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being in Relation to Personality and Stress Coping: Initial Results From Bosnian Young Adults

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to examine possible relationships between religious/spiritual well-being (RSWB), the Big Five personality factors, and stress coping strategies among Bosnian young adults. Therefore, a first Bosnian translation of the Multidimensional Inventory of Religious/Spiritual Well-being was applied on a sample of 290 (181 females) Bosnian undergraduate students. RSWB dimensions such as hope, forgiveness, or general religiosity were found to be substantially related with more favorable personality dimensions as well as with more adequate stress coping. As a conclusion RSWB dimensions were confirmed as being an important resource for mental health for this sample of Bosnian adolescents.

간호대학생의 자아탄력성과 영적안녕이 대학생활 적응에 미치는 영향

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ego-resilience and Spiritual well-being on college adjustment in nursing students. The sample for this study consisted of Nursing students from 2 university of nursing in C Provinces. The data were collected from November 10 to 17, 2014. The data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation and multiple regression with SPSS 18.0. A positive correlation was found for college adjustment with Ego-resilience and Spiritual well-being. In addition Ego-resilience, Religious spiritual well-being, Existential spiritual well-being accounted for 39% of variance in college adjustment. The results of this study suggest that development of Ego-resilience and Spiritual well-being in nursing students is important to college adjustment. Further research in improving Ego-resilience and Spiritual well-being is warranted. Key Words : Ego-Resilience, Spiritual well-being, College adjustment, Nursing Students Received 24 September 2014, Revised 22 November 2014Accepted 20 December 2014Corresponding Author: Shin-Hong Min(Baekseok University) Email: shmin@bu.ac.krⒸ The Society of Digital Policy & Management. All rights reserved. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is ISSN: 1738-1916 properly cited.

Dimensions of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being and the Dark Triad of Personality

Background: In general, religious/spiritual dimensions are found to be negatively correlated with all kinds of psychiatric disorders such as depression, suicidal ideation and substance abuse. Contrary to these findings, the goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between dimensions of religious/spiritual well-being (RSWB) and less favorable aspects of personality - the so-called ‘dark triad' of personality traits, i.e. narcissism, machiavellianism and psychopathy - together with general deficits in personality structure. Sampling and Methods: A total of 312 college students (220 females) completed the Multidimensional Inventory for RSWB, the revised Narcissistic Personality Inventory, the Machiavellianism Inventory and the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale along with the 16-item Inventory of Personality Organization. Results: RSWB was confirmed to be negatively correlated with these negative aspects of personality, in particular with subclinical psychopathy. More specifically, there were several notable overlaps; narcissism, for instance, was found to be significantly positively associated with some RSWB subdimensions such as ‘hope' or ‘connectedness'. Conclusions: First deductions can be made from these data concerning an ambivalent role of spirituality in impaired personality structure. These associations might be further investigated especially in psychiatric patients diagnosed with personality disorders in order to describe potential psychopathological facets of religion and spirituality more adequately.

Religiös/Spirituelles Befinden bei psychisch Kranken: Ängstlich/Depressive und Suchtkranke im Vergleich zu gesunden Kontrollpersonen

The aim of this study is to investigate different dimensions of religiosity and spirituality among psychiatric in-patients. The study examines differences between addictive (ICD 10: F1x) and anxious/depressive (ICD 10: F3x/F4x) patients and considers the main implications for treatment. Differences in dimensions of religious/spiritual well-being (RSWB) between addictive (n = 389) and anxious/depressive patients (n = 200) are investigated, also by comparison to a control group (n = 1,500). Furthermore dimensions of RSWB are related to personality factors and different psychiatric parameters within the psychiatric groups. The psychiatric groups show a lower amount of overall RSWB (p < 0.001) than the healthy controls. Furthermore, dimensions of RSWB turned out to be negatively correlated with several psychiatric symptoms. Based on these results we emphasize religious/spiritual issues within psychiatric treatment. Moreover, there may be a strong potential of the RSWB dimensions such as "Hope" or "Forgiveness" as positive therapeutic factors in psychiatric treatment.

Different Types of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being in Relation to Personality and Subjective Well-Being

In this study the authors attempt to present different types of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (RSWB) and discuss their relation to personality and psychological well-being. The Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being 48 is employed for this study, which consists of 6 subscales. To find different types of RSWB, an agglomerative cluster analysis on these subscales was performed based on the responses obtained in a nonclinical adult sample (n = 463). A 4-cluster solution was accepted. The clusters were labeled as Religious/Spiritual High, Religiously Oriented, Existentially Oriented, and Religious/Spiritual Low, and were found to be substantially related to Sense of Coherence (n = 263) and Six Factors of Personality (n = 200) in two different subsamples. By presenting a first empirical model for a 4-field typology of RSWB, we hope to further contribute to the ongoing discussion on how to deal with religious/spiritual issues in personality research.