Robust Links Between Religious/Spiritual Struggles, Psychological Distress, and Well-Being in a National Sample of American Adults

This study is one of the first attempts to examine the relationships between religious and spiritual struggles (r/s struggles) measured comprehensively and indicators of psychological distress (i.e., depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety) and well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life, happiness) u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of orthopsychiatry 2015-11, Vol.85 (6), p.565-575
Main Authors: Abu-Raiya, Hisham, Pargament, Kenneth I., Krause, Neal, Ironson, Gail
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety
Anxiety - ethnology
Correlation analysis
Depression (Emotion)
Depression - ethnology
Distress
Ethics
Female
Happiness
Human
Humans
Life satisfaction
Male
Mental depression
Mental Health
Middle Aged
Neuroticism
Personal Satisfaction
Psychological distress
Quality of life
Religion and Psychology
Religious Beliefs
Satisfaction
Social isolation
Spirituality
Stress
Stress, Psychological - ethnology
Symptoms
United States - ethnology
Well Being
Young Adult
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Summary:This study is one of the first attempts to examine the relationships between religious and spiritual struggles (r/s struggles) measured comprehensively and indicators of psychological distress (i.e., depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety) and well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life, happiness) using a nationally representative sample of American adults (N = 2,208) dealing with a wide range of major life stressors. In addition, it examines the key question of whether these relationships persist after controlling for potentially confounding psychosocial/religious influences. Correlational analyses revealed that all 5 types of the r/s struggles assessed (i.e., divine, demonic, interpersonal, moral, ultimate-meaning) correlated significantly positively with both depressive symptoms and generalized anxiety, and significantly negatively with both satisfaction with life and happiness. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that even after controlling for the effects of demographics and other potentially confounding variables (i.e., neuroticism, social isolation, religious commitment) the r/s struggle subscales added unique variance to the prediction of all 4 criterion measures. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are offered, and the limitations of the study are discussed.
ISSN:0002-9432
1939-0025
DOI:10.1037/ort0000084