Religiosity and Mental Health

Definitions

One of the chief obstacles to studying religiosity, in both physical and mental health research, has been the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality (Hill & Pargament, 2003). Hill and Hood (1999) reviewed 125 measures of religion and spirituality and identified a range of complex cognitive, emotional, behavioral, interpersonal, and physiological dimensions that compose these constructs. This complexity has made it difficult for researchers to agree on common definitions and tools to operationalize religion and spirituality.

Recently, however, researchers have made significant advances in delineating religion and spirituality concepts and functionally relating them to health outcomes (Hill & Pargament, 2003). For example, defining religiosity from an attachment perspective as a self-reported closer connection to God has enabled researchers to identify empirical associations between religiosity and less depression and higher self-esteem, less loneliness, greater relational maturity, and greater psychosocial competence. Another promising path to defining religion and spirituality is as an existential, intrinsically motivating force in the life of an individual. Emmons (1999) reports that when people in diverse samples were asked to describe what they were striving for in their lives, those who indicated a higher number of spiritual strivings also indicated greater purpose in life, better life satisfaction, and higher levels of well-being. Yet another useful way to understand religiosity is as a means of support, a coping strategy, or a stress buffer. Religious support has emerged as a significant predictor of psychological adjustment, after controlling for the effects of general social support.

Mental Health Outcomes

Religiosity has been empirically associated with a range of mental health outcomes, including subjective well-being, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and schizophrenia (Plante & Sharma, 2001).

With respect to well-being, religious faith as a perceived sense of closeness to God has been associated with healthy emotionality and psychosocial adjustment, especially among people in stressful situations (Hill & Pargament, 2003). As an existential striving, intrinsic religiosity that is based on internal beliefs rather than environmental benefits has also been associated with increased self-esteem and positive meaning in life. In addition, religious coping mechanisms such as prayer and church attendance have been associated with prosocial behaviors, positive mood enhancement, and decreasing levels of distress (Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001).

Concerning depressive symptomatology, people who report a close connection to God report lessdepression and loneliness (Hill & Pargament, 2003). Intrinsic religiosity and positive religious coping mechanisms such as church attendance and healthy religious appraisals have been associated with lower levels of depression among bereaved individuals, care-givers, and the terminally ill (Plante & Sharma, 2001).

While religious faith has been shown both to contribute to anxiety (e.g., in the case of those raised in a strict religious household and those diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder) and to inhibit the incidence of anxiety symptoms, intrinsic religiosity has been associated with low levels of general anxiety and neurotic guilt across various populations (Richards & Bergin, 2000). Religious and spiritual support and coping, including participation in religious ritual, is also significantly associated with lower levels of anxiety (Plante & Sharma, 2001).

...