Subjective well-being and religiosity in Egyptian college students

A sample of 224 Egyptian college students (101 men, 123 women) was recruited. Their ages ranged from 17 to 29 years (M = 18.9, SD = 1.5). They responded to the Arabic versions of the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Love of Life Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale, as well as five separate single-item self-rating scales assessing physical health, mental health, happiness, satisfaction, and religiosity. All correlations between the measures and rating scales of subjective well-being and religiosity were statistically significant and positive, the largest between satisfaction and religiosity. Only one factor was retained in principal components factor analysis of the correlation matrix and labeled "Well-being and religiosity." It was concluded that religious persons in the present sample reported higher subjective well-being.     

Happiness,health, and religiosity: significant associations among Lebanese adolescents

The present study sought to test for an association between, and sex-related differences in, happiness, health, and religiosity. A sample (N?=?239) of Lebanese adolescents was recruited (111 boys and 128 girls). They responded to the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Love of Life Scale as well as five self-rating scales to assess happiness, satisfaction, mental health, physical health, and religiosity. Boys obtained a higher mean score on mental health than did their female counterparts. All the Pearson correlations between the study scales were significant and positive but two. Principal components analysis yielded two salient components in boys and labelled “Happiness”, and “Religiosity and health”. In girls, only one component was retained, and labelled “Happiness, health, and religiosity”. It was concluded that those consider themselves as enjoying happiness, experienced good mental and physical health and more religious.     

Religiosity,happiness, health,and psychopathology in a probability sample of Muslim adolescents

The aim of the present study was to explore the religiosity associations with the self-rating scales of happiness, mental health, physical health, anxiety, and depression. A sample (N?=?6,339) of Muslim Kuwaiti adolescents was recruited. Their ages ranged from 15 to 18. They responded to four self-rating scales to assess religiosity, happiness, mental health, and physical health, as well as the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. Boys had higher mean scores on happiness, mental health, and physical health than did girls, whereas girls had higher mean scores on religiosity, anxiety, and depression. All the correlations were significant in both sexes. They were positive between each of the self-rating scales of religiosity, happiness, mental health, and physical health, and negative between these four rating scales and both anxiety and depression. A high-loaded and bipolar factor was disclosed and labelled “Religiosity and well-being vs. psychopathology.” In the stepwise regression, the main predictor of religiosity was happiness in both sexes.     

Religiosity,subjective well-being,and neuroticism

The objective of the current research was to estimate the relation between religiosity and both subjective well-being (SW-B) and neuroticism (N). A sample (N = 487) of Muslim Kuwaiti undergraduates took part in the study. Their age ranged between 18 and 31 years. They responded to six self-rating scales to assess religiosity, religious belief, physical health, mental health, happiness, and satisfaction with life, as well as the Factorial Arabic Neuroticism Scale (FANS) and the N subscale of the revised NEO. It was found that all the correlations between the six self-rating scales were significant and positive, whereas these rating scales were significantly and negatively correlated with both the FANS and N (NEO) scale. In applying the principle components analysis to the correlation matrix (8 × 8), a high-loaded and bipolar factor was extracted and labelled “Well-being and religiosity versus neuroticism.” The main predictor of religiosity in the stepwise regression was religious belief and satisfaction with life. The present findings are comparable with the wider literature on the association between religion and SW-B among English-speaking participants as well as a Kuwaiti Muslim context. By and large, those who consider themselves as religious were healthier, enjoying SW-B, and obtained lower scores on neuroticism.     

Religiosity and its association with subjective well-being and depression among Kuwaiti and Palestinian Muslim children and adolescents

The present study sought to investigate the association of religiosity and the self-ratings of happiness, satisfaction with life, mental health, physical health, and depression among Kuwaiti (N?=?1937) and Palestinian (N?=?1009) Muslim children and adolescents (M _age?=?14.1, SD?=?1.4). They responded to five self-rating scales and the Multidimensional Child and Adolescent Depression Scale. It was found that Palestinian males were significantly less religious than all other groups, while Kuwaiti males and females had significantly higher mean scores on happiness and satisfaction than Palestinians. Kuwaiti males had significantly higher mental health and less depression than all other groups. Among all the four groups, the correlations between religiosity and well-being rating scales were positively significant, but negatively significant with depression. The principal components analysis yielded a single salient factor for all groups and labelled “Religiosity and well-being vs. depression.” It was concluded that clinicians treating depression will probably make use of its negative association with religiosity mainly among Muslim clients.     

Religiosity,subjective well-being,and depression in Saudi children and adolescents

To explore the associations between religiosity and both subjective well-being (SW-B) and depression, a sample of 7211 Saudi school children and adolescents was recruited (2159 boys, 5052 girls). Their ages ranged from 11 to 18 years (M _age = 16.1, SD = 1.5 for boys; M _age = 15.6, SD = 1.9 for girls). They responded to five self-rating-scales of religiosity and SW-B, that is, happiness, satisfaction, mental health, and physical health, as well as the Multidimensional Child and Adolescent Depression Scale. It was found that males obtained significantly higher mean scores than their female counterparts on the religiosity and the SW-B self-rating-scales, whereas females obtained a significantly higher mean score on depression than their male peers. All the correlations among males and female were significant between religiosity and both SW-B rating scales (positive) and depression (negative). A principle components analysis was conducted. A high-loaded and bipolar factor was disclosed and labelled “Religiosity and well-being vs. depression.” In the stepwise multiple regression, the main predictor of religiosity in both sexes was satisfaction. In the light of the high mean score on religiosity, it was concluded that religiosity is an important element in the lives of the present sample of Saudi Muslim children and adolescents. Based on the correlations and factor analysis, it was also concluded that religious persons (in this sample) are happier, healthier, and less depressed.     

Religiosity and its association with positive and negative emotions among college students from Algeria

To explore the associations between religiosity and both positive and negative emotions and traits, a sample of 244 volunteer Muslim college students from Algeria was recruited. The students responded to five self-rating scales to assess religiosity, physical health, mental health, happiness, and satisfaction with life, in addition to the Arabic Scale of Optimism and Pessimism, and the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale. Religiosity and satisfaction with life were higher among women than men. Among men, religiosity was significantly correlated only with mental health. However, in women, religiosity was significantly and positively correlated with physical health, mental health, happiness, satisfaction with life, and optimism, whereas religiosity correlated negatively with both anxiety and pessimism. Factor analysis yielded a single bipolar factor labelled positive emotions and religiosity vs. neurotic tendency (anxiety and pessimism) in women. Two orthogonal factors were extracted in men: positive vs. negative traits of mental health, and religiosity. The present results are compatible with the wider literature on the association between religion and positive variables among a Muslim context.     

Relations among religiosity, health, happiness, and anxiety for Kuwaiti adolescents

The present study investigated correlations among religiosity, health, happiness, and anxiety for 941 Kuwaiti adolescents. A convenience sample of male (n=408) and female (n=533) students (M age = 16.5, SD = 1.2 yr.) was randomly selected from secondary school students of different districts of the State of Kuwait. The Intrinsic Religious Motivation scale, the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale, and six self-rating scales assessing religiosity, strength of religious belief, physical health, mental health, happiness, and life satisfaction were applied to assess correlations among Kuwaiti adolescents. Analysis showed boys had significantly higher mean scores than girls on all measures except anxiety, on which girls scored significantly higher than boys. There also were significant and positive correlations among the variables, except for anxiety, which was significant and negative.     

Hope,religiosity, and subjective well-being

This study explored the relationship between religiosity, hope, and subjective well-being among 430 South African university students (n = 324) and their family members (n = 104) (70.2% female; 88.4% black; 8.4% white). Data were gathered utilising measures of religiosity, hope, satisfaction with life, and affect balance. We applied structural equation modelling to examine both the direct effects of religiosity on hope, as well as the indirect effects of religiosity on life satisfaction and positive and negative affect via hope as mediator. Findings suggest pathway and agency hope to mediate the relationships between religiosity and life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Specifically, religiosity predicted higher levels of life satisfaction and positive affect, and lower levels of negative affect via agency hope. The results suggest agency hope to mediate the relationship between religiosity and subjective well-being.     

Positive illusions: positively correlated with subjective well-being, negatively correlated with a measure of personal growth

Psychologists have long debated the benefits and costs of self-deceptive enhancement or positive illusions. Accurate perception of reality is central to the definitions of mental health proposed by many personality and clinical psychologists, but Taylor and Brown have suggested that having positive illusions is associated with increased happiness and satisfaction with life. One explanation for the conflicting assertions is that mental health, broadly defined, includes both subjective well-being and personal growth, distinguishable factors which are differentially related to positive illusions. For this study, 81 college students completed measures of positive illusions (Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding Self-deceptive Positivity and How I See Myself Questionnaire), subjective well-being (Satisfaction With Life Scale and Existential Anxiety Scale), and moral reasoning (Defining Issues Test) as an index of personal growth. As predicted, positive illusion composite scores were positively correlated with scores on the subjective well-being composite (r=.40) but negatively correlated with Defining Issues Test scores (r=-.25). The quadratic relationship between these measures of positive illusion and subjective well-being composites was not significant, indicating no support for an "optimal margin of illusion."     

The experience of stuttering among Ultra-Orthodox and Secular/Traditional Jews

PurposeThis groundbreaking research compares the experience of stuttering among adult male People Who Stutter (PWS) from the ultra-Orthodox (UO) Jewish community in Israel to those from Secular/Traditional (ST) backgrounds.MethodsParticipants were 32 UO and 31 ST PWS, aged 18–67 years. Self-report questionnaires utilized: Perceived Stuttering Severity (PSS); Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES-A); Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS); Situation Avoidance Behavior Checklist (SABC). Demographic, religious, and stuttering information was collected. Groups were compared on scales, and correlations between scales and the PSS.ResultsSubjective stuttering severity ratings were significantly higher among the UO. A significant group effect was found for the OASES-A quality of life subscale, but not other subscales. Significant positive correlations were found between: 1) PSS and OASES-A Total Impact; 2) PSS and 3 OASES subscales; and 3) PSS and SABC (indicating increased avoidance with increased stuttering severity rating). A significant negative correlation was found between the PSS and SLSS, indicating lower life satisfaction with higher rates of stuttering severity among the ST. Interestingly, when tested by group, significant correlations between the PSS and all other study measures were observed only among the ST.ConclusionUO participants showed higher subjective stuttering severity ratings, yet less impact on quality of life, and no correlation between subjective stuttering and other measures of stuttering experience. These novel findings may result from the combined protective effect of religiosity and socio-cultural characteristics on UO PWS’ well-being, despite heightened concern about social consequences of stuttering within UO society.     

The Imagination of Images and Images of Imagination: How the Imagination Relates to Aging,Health, and Spirituality

ABSTRACT

Psychological literature suggests that religion and spirituality increase in late adulthood. Yet, operational definitions of spirituality and religiosity remain widely debated and inadequate for the concepts they are designed to measure. The empirical studies of religion and spirituality as one ages are of poor design and often measure only limited aspects of religion or spirituality. Few empirical studies exist which have been conceived to only study religiosity and spirituality in late adulthood. The purpose of this study was to determine the defining aspects of religiosity and spirituality using the Allport, Ross Intrinsic, Extrinsic Religiosity Scale, Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and Neugarten's Life Satisfaction Instrument. Using a principal component factor analysis, the study examined the factor structure using an older adult sample of 320 individuals 65 years of age and older. Having a purpose in life combines with intrinsic religious questions for the first factor. Life satisfaction questions group together on two factors and extrinsic religiosity is clearly one factor. The scales used hold together well when combined. A new, shortened scale to measure aspects of religiosity and spirituality is proposed.     

Effect of Islamic psycho-spiritual therapy in managing craving,withdrawal symptoms,and mental health problems among cannabis users

ABSTRACT

The present study is an examination of Islamic psycho-spiritual therapy in managing craving, withdrawal symptoms, and mental health problems among cannabis users. Homogeneous purposive sampling was used in the selection of the sample. The therapy and administration of three scales (Marijuana Craving Scale Short Form; Cannabis Withdrawal Scale; Mental Health Inventory) were undertaken among 40 Muslim male cannabis users whose age ranged between 14 and 37 years on pre- and post-test analysis. The results highlighted the significant differences in the respective dimensions of the Craving and Withdrawal Scales and the Mental Health Inventory such as compulsivity, emotionality, expectancy and purposefulness, withdrawal intensity and negative impact of withdrawal symptoms, anxiety, depression, loss of behavioural/emotional control, emotional ties, life satisfaction, psychological distress, psychological well-being, and mental health index.     

Pilgrimage and devotion to the divine mother: mental well-being of devotees of Mata Vaishno Devi

Based on a study of 10,354 devotees of Mata Vaishno Devi, a popular shrine in North India, this article focuses on how devotion to the Mata, and undertaking the arduous pilgrimage regularly, contributes to the happiness and mental well-being of her followers. Their scores on the Mature Religiosity Scale (MRS) were high. Analyses of variance showed that religiosity scores, duration of being a devotee, education and pilgrimage frequency influenced their subjective happiness and mental well-being. Logistic regression models showed that those who had better education, belonged to the higher economic class, were devotees of the Mata since a long time, undertook the pilgrimage annually, had higher MRS and Gratitude Questionnaire scores were more likely to have higher scores on Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, and hence better mental well-being. This in general corroborates the positive relationship between religiosity, devotion and well-being, and specifically, the literature on well-being promoting potential of pilgrimage.     

Peer violence in the School Environment and Its Relationship with Subjective Well-Being and Perceived Social Support Among Children and Adolescents in Northeastern Brazil

The general aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between peer violence in the school environment (bullying), subjective well-being and perceived social support from the perspective of 910 children and adolescents in Years 6 and 7 of primary school (M = 11.90 years old; SD = 1.21). The participants were taken from 27 primary schools—both state-run and private, urban and rural—in Cearà state (Brazil). The following instruments were used: the Peer Victimization and Aggression Scale (EVAP); the Social Support from Family and Friends Scale (SSA); an index of satisfaction with different developmental contexts (home, school, neighbourhood); and as indicators of subjective well-being, three scales (Single item on Overall Life Satisfaction, Personal Well-Being Index School Children, Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale). Results indicated that aggression and victimization behaviours correlated negatively with the three well-being indicators used, while social support and satisfaction with different developmental contexts correlated positively. When considering type of involvement in bullying, victims, perpetrators and perpetrator–victims all scored lower on subjective well-being than those not involved in bullying. A model is also presented that explains 42 % of well-being. Understanding how bullying relates to well-being and how social support and favourable developmental contexts can act as protective factors are particularly important when designing public policies aimed at intervening in violence prevention and promoting well-being in childhood and adolescence.     

Well-Being’s Relation to Religiosity and Spirituality in Children and Adolescents in Zambia

The relations among dimensions of subjective well-being (i.e., happiness and life satisfaction), spirituality and religiousness were assessed in children (aged 7–12, n = 391) and adolescents (aged 13–19, n = 902) in Zambia. These participants were sampled from schools in both urban and rural regions that represented a relatively wide range of affluence. Participants self-reported their happiness using the Faces Scale and the Subjective Happiness Scale, and their life satisfaction using the Student Life Satisfaction Scale. The surveys were available in English as well as two local languages, and were delivered in classroom settings. To assess religiosity, participants were asked about the frequency that they attended church and about the importance of religion in their life. To assess spirituality, participants were asked about whether they considered themselves to be a spiritual person and about the nature domain of spirituality (e.g., “I feel connected to nature”). Results indicated that age, gender, grade and religiosity were not strong predictors of children’s well-being. However, spirituality accounted for 21 % of the variance in life satisfaction beyond these demographic variables and religiosity, but did not account for additional variance in happiness. The results were similar for adolescents except that the demographic variables were weakly predictive of their life satisfaction, and religiosity was a modest predictor of their happiness. Spirituality predicted variance in happiness and life satisfaction more so among adolescents than among children. These results confirm earlier work showing that spirituality, but not necessarily religiosity, is associated with children’s and adolescents’ well-being.     

The relationships between religiosity,prosociality, satisfaction with life and generalised anxiety: a study on Turkish Muslims

ABSTRACT

The reason for research on Muslim samples is the perceived weakness in existing measures of prosocial behaviours. The current study's three aims are: Developing a suitable prosociality scale, examining the links between religiosity, prosociality, anxiety, and satisfaction with life, and investigating the mediating roles of anxiety and prosociality on the link between religiosity and satisfaction with life. The sample consists of 678 Turkish Muslims, 428 females and 250 males, ranged from 14 to 56, with mean age of 31 (SD?=?8,973). In the current study, the Individual Religion Inventory, the Turkish Prosociality Scale (TPS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Generalised Anxiety Scale are applied to the sample. Findings of the correlation matrix indicated positive correlations between religiosity, prosociality and satisfaction with life, and demonstrated that anxiety is related negatively to religiosity and life satisfaction. According to the path analysis, prosociality and anxiety mediate the link between religiosity and satisfaction with life.     

Social Contact,Academic Satisfaction,COVID-19 Knowledge,and Subjective Well-being Among Students at Turkish Universities: a Nine-University Sample

Adverse effects of COVID-19 are seen not only on the physical health of infected individuals but also on their subjective well-being. Sudden changes in social lives, lockdowns, and shifts towards online education have had a negative impact on many people, especially university students. As part of an international study, the current study focused on the well-being of students at Turkish universities in relation to social contact, academic satisfaction, and COVID-19 knowledge. A total of 7363 students from nine universities (86.6% from state universities, 71.04% female, and 73.52% at bachelor’s level) participated in an online survey. Results revealed that females had lower levels of subjective well-being and academic satisfaction. According to a mediation model in the study, the relationship between social contact and well-being was mediated by academic satisfaction and COVID-19 knowledge. Our findings can guide future researchers, mental health professionals, universities, and policymakers to understand and improve subjective well-being of university students.

     

初中生主观幸福感与生活事件的关系研究

使用自编的中学生主观幸福感量表和刘贤臣的青少年生活事件量表对294名初中生进行了问卷调查,初步探讨了初中生主观幸福感状况及其与生活事件之间的关系。结果表明：（1）自编的中学生主观幸福感量表经检验具有较高的信度和效度。（2）初中生的主观幸福感水平在中等程度以上,体验到的正性情感较多,对家庭、自我、学习、同伴交往、教师及生活条件各方面比较满意。男女生在总体幸福感、家庭满意感、自我满意感、同伴交往满意感和生活条件满意感上存在显著的差异,女生得分均高于男生。（3）初中生总体幸福感与生活事件总分呈显著负相关,与不喜欢上学、学习负担重、与老师关系紧张、遭父母打骂这四项生活事件显著负相关。不喜欢上学和与老师关系紧张对初中生总体幸福感具有较好的预测作用。     

Dimensions of religious/spiritual well-being and schizotypal personality

Dimensions of religious/spiritual well being (RSWB; such as hope, forgiveness, or general religiosity) have been examined comprehensively, and its positive relation to subjective well-being has been confirmed. However, there also might be facets of RSWB linked to mental illness (e.g. delusional ideas). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between different dimensions of RSWB, magical thinking as an indicator of schizotypy and Eysenck´s three personality factors (psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism), as there might be facets of RSWB also linked to mental illness (e.g. delusional ideas). One hundred and two undergraduate students (53 female, 49 male) completed the Multidimensional Inventory of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire in short version (EPQ-RK) together with the Magical Ideation Scale. Results indicate that facets of RSWB based on magical thinking could also be understood as neurotic symptoms. This underlines the hypothesis, that there might be pathogenetic as well as salutogenetic aspects of religiosity/spirituality associated with personality and subjective well-being.