Cognitive-behavioral-related prayer types and mental health relations among Muslim Samples

• Published in: Cumhuriyet ilahiyat dergisi 2021-06, Vol.25 (1), p.437-454
• Main Author: Güldaş,Fatümetül Zehra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beliefs; bilişsel-davranışçı model; Cognition; cognitive-behavioral model; din psikolojisi; dua türleri; Edebiyat; Felsefe & Psikoloji & Sosyoloji; Medical personnel; Mental health; muslim individuals; Muslims; müslüman bireyler; Prayer; prayer types; Psychology; psychology of religion; Religion; ruh sağlığı; Schemas; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 2528-9861; 2528-987X
• DOI: 10.18505/cuid.888468

Psychological and subjective well-being depends on how an individual feels about his/her life and how he/she responds to life events. Individually, the person may uncon-sciously feel all external events occurring beyond his/her control in his cognitive schemas. Especially considering mental health, the influence of religious beliefs and practices on vari-ous components of mental well-being has emerged as one of the most studied topics in the psychology of religion in recent years. Most studies have focused on the role of religion in seeking answers about individuals' search for meaning and their reactions to life events. There is a prevalent finding that prayer plays a constructive role in the lives of individuals faced with life’s difficulties and exposed to stressors. Thus, for scientists over the past few decades, the possible application of the cognitive behavioral framework within the psychol-ogy of religion has become a key element of both subjective and psychological well-being. In the theoretical applications used on the relationship between religiosity and mental health, it was appeared that various prayer measures are predominantly derived from Christian reli-gious norms and beliefs. However, non-Christian religions have been mostly disregarded in such inquiries. More specifically, the links between religiosity and mental health among Mus-lim individuals have been neglected even though there are several forms of religious behavior in Islam that are of great importance to the daily lives of believers. Therefore, the current research aims to investigate the link between different types of Islamic prayer and indicators of well-being using the cognitive-behavioral mechanism among Muslim individuals. An online link was used to recruit participants from many Islamic student communities and several worship places in different cities/regions of England in this study. The online questionnaire composed of six prayer types (obligatory, necessary, voluntarily, supererogatory, supplica-tion, and invocation prayers), six psychological well-being domains (autonomy, environmen-tal mastery, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, and purpose in life), and two subjective well-being domains (life satisfaction, and positive and negative af-fects). The representative sample consisted of 214 participants (female= 145, male= 69), aged between 18 and 66 (M = 27.01, SD = 8.80). The results of the correlational analysis indicated that obligatory