Religious Involvement Measurement Model in a National Sample of African Americans

This study examined the factor structure of a brief measure of religious involvement developed previously in research with African American women. Telephone interview methods were used with a national sample of both African American women and men (N = 2,370). Confirmatory factor analyses supported the distinction between religious beliefs and religious behaviors factors and indicated that the factor loadings were equivalent for women and men. Women reported higher levels of religious involvement than men. These results support the validity of this relatively brief instrument for assessing these two dimensions of religious involvement for both African American women and men.     

A Study of Religiosity and Psychological Well-being Among African Americans: Implications for Counseling and Psychotherapeutic Processes

This study examined whether a relationship exists between religious orientation as a therapy intervention and the degree of depression, coping behavior and self-esteem among African American adults. In addition, the relationship and predictive power of selected religious and socio-demographic variables and religious orientation as a therapy intervention were studied. African American adults were randomly selected to participate in this empirical study. Age had a significant independent effect on intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity and a linear relationship was found between extrinsic religiosity and the seven demographic predictor variables at the .05 level of significance.     

The Impact of Religiosity on Substance Abuse and Obesity in African Americans

Among the African American community, there exist many health disparities which warrant greater examination through the practice of social work. The aim of the present research was to explore the impact of religiosity on substance abuse and obesity among African American populations by employing a systematic review of the current body of literature on this subject. While many of the studies reviewed found at least a weak relationship between religiosity and obesity, such results were not consistent across all materials examined. Among those studies that found a correlation between these factors, many demonstrated that religiosity had a positive impact on substance abuse and obesity. A discussion of the implications of these findings is submitted as a means of illuminating the significance of all research findings that were examined. Limitations such as more standardized criteria for inclusion of research material are identified and discussed. Implications for future research are presented to promote the advancement of future efforts in this area research.     

Religiosity and Self-Rated Health: A Longitudinal Examination of Their Reciprocal Effects

While religiosity tends to be favorably associated with physical health, further research is needed to assess the causal directions between religiosity and health. This study examined reciprocal pathways between them with a three-wave panel dataset (General Social Survey, 2006–2010). Among Christians (N = 585), religious activities were associated with improved self-rated health, while conservative religious beliefs were associated with worsened health over time. Additionally, worse health was associated with increased engagement in religious activities and greater endorsement of conservative religious beliefs over time. Results highlight the need for additional research and theory to map the complexity of the religion–health connection.     

Distressing Relationships,Anger, and Stress Amplification in a Sample of Young Adult African Americans

This study examined the impact of relationship distress in a sample of 637 African American young adults from the Family and Community Health Study. Using data from privately collected, in-depth interviews, we assessed how distress in nonmarital romantic partnerships and best friendships influence anger. While social support researchers have examined the stress buffering influence of supportive relationships, we utilized the principle of negative potency to test the stress amplification effect of relationship distress through an assessment of stressful life events and racial discrimination. Our analysis showed that distress in relationships was associated with anger, while the presence of these relationships was not. Support for the stress amplification hypothesis was found as men and women who experience intense racial discrimination coupled with a more hostile best friend had elevated levels of anger. Gender differences were also evident and discussed.     

Colorism and educational outcomes of Asian Americans: evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

Using a nationally representative longitudinal data set, the current study examines the link between colorism and educational attainment of Asian American young adults. Three levels of educational attainment are used as outcomes: high school diploma, some college and a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Independent variables include skin tone, ethnic origin, parental income and education, family structure, parental involvement, family social support and others. Given the fact that colorism affects genders disparately, the analyses are conducted separately for males and females. The findings suggest that, compared to their co-ethnics with light brown skin tone, Asian American males and females with white skin are more likely to be college educated. Conversely, the odds of getting a Bachelor’s degree or higher are significantly higher for Asian Americans with light skin tone than for their co-ethnics with dark brown skin tone. All in all, the findings point to the pattern of the inverse relationship between educational attainment and the darkness of skin tone.     

Non-organizational Religious Participation,Subjective Religiosity,and Spirituality among Older African Americans and Black Caribbeans

This study utilizes data from the National Survey of American Life to examine the sociodemographic and denominational correlates of religious involvement and spirituality among older African Americans and Black Caribbeans. Eleven measures of non-organizational religious participation, subjective religiosity, and spirituality are utilized. The findings indicate significant gender, income, region, marital status, denominational, and immigration status differences in religiosity and spirituality. Among older Black Caribbeans, income was a consistent correlate of religious participation and spirituality. The findings are discussed in relation to prior work in the area of religious involvement among older adults.     

Religious Resources,Spiritual Struggles,and Mental Health in a Nationwide Sample of PCUSA Clergy

A growing body of research explores patterns and correlates of mental health among clergy and other religious professionals. Our study augments this work by distinguishing between religious resources (i.e., support from church members, positive religious coping practices), and spiritual struggles (i.e., troubled relations with God, negative interactions with members, chronic religious doubts). We also explore several conceptual models of the interplay between these positive and negative religious domains and stressful life events. After reviewing theory and research on religious resources, spiritual struggles, and mental health, we test relevant hypotheses using data on a nationwide sample of ordained clergy members in the Presbyterian Church (USA). At least some support is found for all main effects hypotheses. Religious resources predict well-being more strongly, while spiritual struggles are more closely linked with psychological distress. There is some evidence that stressful life events erode mental health by fostering an elevated sense of spiritual disarray and struggle. We find limited support for the stress-buffering role of religious resources, and limited evidence for a stress-exacerbating effect of spiritual struggle. Study limitations are identified, along with a number of implications and promising directions for future research.     

Psychometric Testing of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale Among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study

This study provided the first examination of the psychometric properties of the 6-item Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) in a large African American sample, the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). The JHS included measures of spiritual (DSES) and religious practices. Internal reliability, dimensionality, fit indices, and correlation were assessed. DSES scores reflected frequent daily spiritual experiences (12.84 ± 4.72) and reliability scores were high (α = 0.85; 95% CI 0.84–0.86). The DSES loaded on a single factor, with significant goodness-of-fit scores (RMSEA = 0.094, P < 0.01). Moderate significant correlations were noted among DSES items. Our findings confirm that the 6-item DSES had excellent psychometric properties in this sample.     

Religiosity,Marital Quality and Couple Generativity in Italian Couples Belonging to a Catholic Spiritual Association: A Quali-Quantitative Study

The current studies aimed, firstly, at exploring the relationship between the level of religiosity and marital outcomes, in terms of relationship quality and couple generativity; secondly, at gaining insight into which strategies the couples use to ensure their marital quality/couple generativity, and understanding if religious practices have a positive influence on the development of such strategies. The studies focused on a specific aspect of religiosity, that is the active involvement in a Catholic association, and compared couples with a high level of religious involvement (HRI) belonging to a Catholic international association (New Families) and couples with a low level of religious involvement (LRI). Study 1 (N = 194) adopted a quantitative approach and analyzed data from questionnaires administered in two phases. Study 2 (N = 32) adopted a qualitative approach (grounded theory) and analyzed data from semi-structured interviews. Results of Study 1 showed that HRI men scored higher in relationship quality and couple generativity than LRI men, while HRI women scored higher in couple generativity than LRI women. In Study 2, no differences were found between HRI and LRI couples with respect to the factors that ensure marital quality and generativity (care of the relationship, dialogue, sharing, maintenance of the centrality of the relationship), but HRI and LRI couples used different strategies to achieve these goals.

     

Spiritual Transcendence and Mental Health of Psychotherapists and Religious Professionals in a Hungarian Adult Sample

In this study we examine whether components of spiritual transcendence can explain individual differences in mental health in a Hungarian adult sample (N = 583), with a special focus on the associations in two subsamples, religious professionals and psychotherapists. Using the Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS), we found that religious professionals presented higher Prayer Fulfillment and Universality than psychotherapists; however, members of both professional groups scored higher than other professionals on these dimensions. By contrast, psychotherapists were superior to religious professionals in Connectedness. Moreover, higher Universality predicted better mental health, even after controlling for gender, age, profession, and basic personality traits. No interaction effects were found between profession and the subscales of the STS. Results suggest that the potential mental health benefits of spirituality, especially in form of a universal view of existence, are equally present in both specific professions and in the general sample, whereas the professions themselves still reflect differences both in spirituality and in well-being.     

The Spiritual Well-Being of Elderly People: A Study of a French Sample

The aim of our research was to identify predictors of the spiritual well-being of elderly people. More specifically, we postulated that subjective well-being and its components would be predictors of spiritual well-being, and more so than age and health status. We invited 133 people aged 60–95 to complete a questionnaire that included the French adaptation (Velasco and Rioux in Revue Canadienne des Sciences du Comportement 41(2):102–128, 2009) of Paloutzian and Ellison’s (Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1982) Spiritual Well-Being Scale, Ryff and Essex’s (Psychol Aging 7:507–517, 1992) Psychological Well-Being Scale (translated by Lapierre and Desrochers 1997), Salamon and Conte’s (Meas Eval Guid 15(3):194–200, 1982) Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale (validated by Rousseau and Dubé in 1993), and the French version (Blais et al. in Can J Behav Sci 21:210–223, 1989) of Diener et al. (J Pers Assess 49:71–75, 1985) Satisfaction with Life Scale. The results only partially confirm our hypothesis, because only satisfaction with life as a whole and two items in “Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale” make it possible to predict the spiritual well-being of elderly people. Moreover, neither health status nor age was found to be a significant predictor of spiritual well-being. This research helps understand better the links between the concept of spiritual well-being and that of subjective well-being of elderly people and could contribute to the development of a tool that could take into account the spiritual well-being of elderly people, whether they be believers, agnostic, or atheist.