Religious experience,religious orientation and schizotypy

The present study examined the relationship between religious orientation and schizotypy, with the prediction that intrinsic religiosity would be negatively associated with schizotypy, and religious experience and extrinsic religiosity would be positively associated with schizotypy. A total of 308 UK adults (132 men; 176 women) completed measures of religious experience, intrinsic orientation towards religion, extrinsic orientation towards religion, schizotypal personality traits and borderline personality. Though the present findings also suggest that the significant relationships between religiosity and schizotypy traits are fragmented, particularly by sex, the findings are consistent with theory that an intrinsic orientation towards religion is associated with lower levels of schizotypy, and religious experience and an extrinsic orientation towards religion is associated with higher levels of schizotypy.     

Does Masculinity Thwart Being Religious? An Examination of Older Men’sReligiousness

Previous work shows a significant relationship between gender orientation and being religious in samples of college–age and adult men. Before entering later life, men with a feminine orientation have greater religious involvement than other men. In a sample of older men from three Massachusetts counties, this study assessed the bearing of men'sgender orientation and gender ideology on their religious involvement. Gender orientation more than masculinity ideology was found to be a reliable predictor of older men'sreligiousness. Similar to studies of younger men, a feminine orientation was a significant determinant of the older men's religious participation, commitment, and intrinsic orientation. Older men who define self in very masculine terms, however, engaged in a quest religiosity. When the masculinity ideology contains norms that prescribe the virtues of a traditional masculinity and acquiring status, men's religious orientation was extrinsic (or means) oriented. These important findings are discussed in terms of how masculinity is at times a barrier to men's private devotion and at other times can be a trigger to questing.     

Social Group and Moral Orientation Factors as Mediators of Religiosity and Multiple Attitude Targets

Although there is a tradition of examining generalized discrimination against multiple targets, recent studies have tended to consider race and homosexuality as separate targets without considering their relationship with each other. Recent studies have also argued for a moral dimension in attitudes to homosexuality, but this has not yet been explicitly modeled as an explanation for patterns of social attitudes. In a questionnaire study of practicing Australian Christians (N= 143), we examined the relationship of religious orientation and ideology (intrinsic, extrinsic, fundamentalism, orthodoxy, and quest) with four attitude targets (Aboriginal Australians, women, homosexual persons, and abortion). Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we develop a two‐factor model, incorporating group and moral orientation factors, which completely mediates the relationships between the religiosity variables and the social attitudes. Religiosity variables exhibit different patterns of correlation with the two factors. The two‐factor model provides a useful framework for further exploration of socially and politically contested attitudes.     

The empirical relationships of the religious orientations to personality

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between the religious orientations and the psychoanalytic character types, as assessed by the Basic Character Inventory (BCI). A person with an intrinsic religious orientation is sincere and integrated in his religiousness. A person with an extrinsic religious orientation uses his religion to promote his personal, social and economic goals. A person with a quest religious orientation is seeking, doubting and changeable in his religiousness. In a sample of 471 subjects, 168 men and 303 women, the level of intrinsic religious orientation was not related to the BCI scores. The levels of extrinsic and quest religious orientations were positively related to the BCI Oral score. Since the oral persons are dependent and craving, it seems likely that they may be extrinsically oriented. And as they also may be insecure, vague and indecisive, it is not unexpected that they also are quest oriented. The changeable quest orientation was also positively related to the changeable BCI Hysterical character.     

Perfectionism and Life Aspirations in Intrinsically and Extrinsically Religious Individuals

Religiosity is related to positive health and life satisfaction but the pathways through which this occurs have not been clearly delineated. The purpose of this study was to examine potential mediators of the relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and negative affect and life satisfaction. Perfectionism and life aspirations are two possible pathways through which religious orientation is related to outcome. It was hypothesized that adaptive perfectionism and intrinsic life aspirations would act as mediators between intrinsic religiosity and negative affect and life satisfaction, and that maladaptive perfectionism and extrinsic life aspirations would act as mediators between the extrinsic religiosity and negative affect and life satisfaction. Two consecutive samples of religious college students (N = 540 and N = 485) completed measures of the Age Universal Religious Orientation Index, the Frost Multi-Dimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Aspiration Index, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Intrinsic religiosity had a direct negative relationship with negative affect and positive relationship with life satisfaction. Contrary to the hypotheses, intrinsic religiosity had its strongest indirect effect via maladaptive perfectionism such that increased intrinsic religiosity was related to decreased maladaptive perfectionism which in turn lead to better negative affect and life satisfaction. Extrinsic religiosity was related to increased maladaptive perfectionism and thereby indirectly contributed to worse negative affect and life satisfaction. Interestingly, when the effects of maladaptive perfectionism were controlled, the direct effects of extrinsic religiosity were related to reduced negative affect and increased life satisfaction. Overall, the strongest mediator in this study of both intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity was maladaptive perfectionism, with intrinsic religiosity related to decreased maladaptive perfectionism and extrinsic religiosity related to increased maladaptive perfectionism.     

Self-concept clarity and religious orientations: prediction of purpose in life and self-esteem

The present study concerns the relationship between self-concept clarity, religiosity, and well-being, as well as the mediating influence of religiosity on the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of meaning in life and self-esteem. Self-concept clarity was found to be a significant predictor of sense of meaning in life and self-esteem; intrinsic religious orientation was found to be a predictor of sense of meaning in life, while the quest religious orientation was a predictor for self-esteem. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and intrinsic religious orientation were found to be related to the sense of purpose in life, which would point to religiosity being a mediator of the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of purpose in life. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and quest religious orientation were found to be a predictor of self-esteem, which indicates a mediating effect of this religious orientation in the relationship of self-concept clarity and self-esteem.     

Extrinsic Religious Orientation and Well-Being: Is Their Negative Association Real or Spurious?

Turning to religion to seek its social benefits has been associated with poor psychological well-being. Researchers have concluded that endorsing this extrinsic and social orientation toward religion is inauthentic and unhealthy. However, few studies have focused on extrinsic-social religious orientation’s negative relationship with well-being, leaving open the possibility that their relationship is spurious. The present study argues that people endorsing an extrinsic-social religious orientation also perceive lower levels of social support in their lives, thus their turning to religion to fill this social void. As social support is important for healthy psychological functioning, perceived social support may be the critical third variable explaining why extrinsic-social religious orientation appears to have psychological costs. This study supported our expectations among undergraduates in two countries: the United States (N = 156) and the Republic of Ireland (N = 255). There were negative bivariate associations between extrinsic-social religious orientation and both perceived social support and emotional well-being. Accounting for the effects of perceived social support, however, reduced the association between the extrinsic-social religious orientation and well-being to non-significance. Thus, people endorsing an extrinsic and social orientation toward religion tend to have poor well-being because they perceive less supportive relationships in their lives.     

Religiosity and social support: A mediational model of adjustment in emerging adults

The goal of the current study was to examine the association between intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and psychological well-being and determine the mediating effects of social support on the relationship between the religious predictor and well-being outcomes. Participants included 432 first-year college students (166 men and 266 women) from a mid-size state university in Pennsylvania, USA. Religious activity, religious importance, and social support were found to correlate with the well-being indices. Religious importance was found to be a significant predictor of self-esteem and life-satisfaction. Additionally, social support was found to be a significant predictor of self-esteem and life-satisfaction. Finally, social support was found to mediate the relationship between religious importance and life-satisfaction. Results are discussed in developmental and clinical context.     

Widows' Spiritual Journeys: Do They Quest?

SUMMARY

Two studies examined the spiritual experiences of older women shortly after their husbands' deaths. The central question was, in the process of becoming and being a widow, do the older women begin a reflective dialogue with existential questions and initiate spiritual journeys as recent widows? One study is based on the widows within a random sample of older adults. The second study involved in-depth interviews with 15 recent widows. Both studies included Batson's measures of means, ends, and quest religious orientations. There was more evidence of an “ends” (intrinsic) orientation among the widows than “means” (extrinsic) for religious involvement; there was also no change over time in these orientations. Their quest orientation, however, became significantly less prevalent in the follow-up. It seems that women indeed quested, and by follow-up engaged their faith for religious consolation. Data from Study 2 revealed two themes: religious involvement provided a sense of continuity and direction, and through faith and prayer the women were able to (re)find meaning and purpose to life.     

Disordered eating and self-objectification in college women: clarifying the roles of spirituality and purpose in life

Spirituality and purpose in life have been associated with positive mental health outcomes. This study examined the effects of spirituality, religiousness, and purpose in life on self-objectification and disordered eating. An ethnically diverse sample of college women (N?=?161), aged 18–25, who were enrolled in the undergraduate level psychology courses, participated by completing a survey assessing relational spirituality, intrinsic religiousness, and purpose in life, as well as self-objectification and disordered eating. Results supported a relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating. Intrinsic religiousness was also associated with self-objectification after controlling for religious affiliation. In addition, women who had less purpose in their lives displayed more disordered eating. These findings suggest that a sense of purpose in life may be a key dimension of spirituality that is associated with eating disturbance.     

Lay Understanding of Happiness and the Experience of Well-Being: Are Some Conceptions of Happiness More Beneficial than Others?

The aim of the study was to understand aspects of life that men and women associate with happiness and to explore the connections between these associations and well-being (measured as positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction) in different periods of life. Participants were 785 people who were asked to list associations that came to mind on hearing the word ‘happiness’. The moderating roles of gender and period of life (adolescence/adulthood, transition/no transition) were analysed. Participants associated happiness mostly with health and relationships. Other categories included knowledge, work, material goods and freedom. Those who associated happiness with work had higher levels of positive affect. Associating happiness with relationships predicted greater life satisfaction, whereas associating it with material goods predicted lower satisfaction. Gender moderated the relationship between associations and positive affect: associating happiness with material goods decreased positive affect among men but no such effect was observed among women; associating happiness with relationships was beneficial for women but unbeneficial for men. Additionally, associations with material goods predicted lower positive affect, especially in times of transition. Associating happiness with knowledge decreased positive affect in adolescents and increased it in adults. Some ways of understanding happiness improved life satisfaction but none were related to negative affect. The relationship between concepts of happiness and positive affect is complex; some concepts are unbeneficial only for some people and during certain periods of life.     

The Importance of Religious Orientation and Purpose in Life for Dying Well: Evidence from Three Case Studies

ABSTRACT

As older adults approach the end of their lives, it is not uncommon to find a decrease in subjective well-being. However, a number of studies have indicated that elders with an intrinsic rather than extrinsic religious orientation often are able to keep a high level of subjective well-being even if they are close to death. In a previous quantitative study, only intrinsic religiosity was indirectly and positively related to subjective well-being in a sample of 103 relatively healthy older adults and 19 hospice patients (aged 61 +), mediated by shared spiritual activities and purpose in life. Extrinsic religiosity, by contrast, was indirectly and negatively related to subjective well-being. To explore in greater depth how religious orientation might influence subjective well-being at the end of life, we used the method of objective hermeneutics to examine semi-structured qualitative interviews with three older male hospice patients (aged 79, 80, and 98) on religion/spirituality and attitudes about death and dying. Results of the analyses revealed that the intrinsically religious respondent maintained his sense of cosmic purpose in life, which continued to be a source of satisfaction for him, unaffected by his terminal illness. The two extrinsically religious respondents, however, did not find solace in their religion and, hence, were unable to cope with their physical and emotional dependence and vulnerability. The findings suggest that an intrinsic religious orientation is most likely to be related to a cosmic sense of purpose in life, which facilitates subjective well-being even in the face of death.     

Aspirations and wellbeing in Romanian and US undergraduates

Updating cross-cultural research of the past decade on the relationship between life aspirations and wellbeing, we compared Romanian (N=69) and US (N=64) undergraduates on the contribution of the importance and likelihood of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations to psychological maladjustment and life satisfaction, and on the qualitative meaning they assign to financial success. Similarly to prior studies, we found that extrinsic and intrinsic aspirations tended to be either negatively or positively correlated with life satisfaction, respectively; however, wealth predicted life satisfaction for Romanian students. Unlike previous research, we found generally negative relationships between intrinsic aspirations and psychological maladjustment. Although there were no differences between Romanian and US undergraduates on extrinsic and intrinsic orientation, on the overall importance of attaining aspirations, or on specific extrinsic and intrinsic aspirations, Romanian students expressed weaker expectations of fulfilling intrinsic aspirations than did US students. Finally, the groups produced similar rankings of aspirations and assigned similar meaning to financial success. The results favored a social cognitive rather than a self-determination model of psychological wellbeing in that expectations for attaining aspirations were more often predictive of life satisfaction than were their content. We interpret these findings and their convergence and departure from earlier research in terms of political economic, demographic, and cultural factors. We encourage future cross-cultural investigations of the social construction of aspirations, subsidiation of seemingly contradictory aspirations to each other, and cognitive and ecological mediation of the complex relationship of aspirations to psychological functioning.     

Religiosity and Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men: A Meta-Analysis

Meta-analysis was used to examine the relationships between seven forms of religiosity (fundamentalism; frequency of attendance at religious services; endorsement of Christian orthodoxy; self-ratings of religiosity; and intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest orientations) and attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. All forms of religiosity except quest and extrinsic orientation had at least small negative relationships with these attitudes. Higher quest orientation was related to positive attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and extrinsic orientation had no relationship to these attitudes. In contrast, most forms of religiosity had small relationships with positive racial/ethnic attitudes; the exceptions were fundamentalism and extrinsic orientation, which had small negative relationships with racial/ethnic attitudes. A number of moderator variables of the relationship between religiosity and attitudes toward lesbians and gay men were identified.     

Assessing gender differences in the relationship between religious coping responses and alcohol consumption

The purpose of this study is to see if the use of religious coping responses is associated with alcohol intake. In addition, tests are conducted to see if the relationship between religion and alcohol use varies by gender. Data from a recent nationwide survey (N?=?2173) indicate that greater use of religious coping responses is associated with less alcohol consumption. The findings further reveal that even though women use religious coping responses more often than men, the relationship between the use of religious coping responses and alcohol consumption is stronger for men than for women. This suggests that, with respect to alcohol consumption, men may benefit more from using religious coping responses than women. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Motivation for and commitment to social values: The roles of age and gender

The primary aim of this study was to examine how motives and commitment to social values influence well-being in men and women of different ages. College students and older adults in the community reported on their motivational orientation (intrinsic vs. extrinsic), behavioral commitment to idiographic social values, and their current well-being (satisfaction with life, positive and negative affect). We tested a series of path models with motivational orientation mediating the relationship between commitment to values and well-being. Consistent with self-determination theory, we found that behavioral commitment to intrinsically motivating social values was related to greater life satisfaction and positive affect, whereas being committed to extrinsically motivating values was related to greater negative affect. While age and gender did not moderate these relationships, meaningful age and gender differences emerged across value-based motivations, commitment, and indices of well-being. This work adds to our understanding of how values are a guiding influence for successful navigation of one’s social world.     

Is intrinsic religious orientation a culturally specific American Protestant concept? The fusion of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation among non‐Protestants

The relationship between intrinsic and personal extrinsic religious orientation as suggested by Gorsuch and McPherson is studied within four denominational samples of university students in four different cultural environments. Results show that intrinsic and extrinsic personal religious orientation form two separate dimensions only within the American Protestant sample. In three different European religious environments (one Eastern Orthodox, one Islamic, and one Roman Catholic), all extrinsic personal and intrinsic items can be combined into a single dimension. It is speculated that the intrinsic orientation may be culturally tied to Protestantism. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Body Image in Older Adults: Links with Religion and Gender

Research has confirmed a healthy link between young adults’ religiosity and body image. This study explored this relationship in 127 older men and women (mean = 74 years) who completed measures on two dimensions of body image (body satisfaction and anxiety about an aging appearance) and on different indices of religiosity. Men reported higher body satisfaction and lower anxiety about an aging appearance than women. For men, body satisfaction correlated with many religiosity variables and was predicted by religious well-being, existential well-being, and manifestation of God in their body; aging-appearance anxiety was unrelated to religiosity. For women, body satisfaction was weakly related to religiosity but aging-appearance anxiety was predicted by intrinsic orientation, religious well-being, and existential well-being; in all cases higher religiosity predicted lower anxiety about an aging appearance. Results are discussed in the context of differing cultural standards of aging and attractiveness for men and women.     

Explicit Sexual Movie Viewing in the United States According to Selected Marriage and Lifestyle,Work and Financial,Religion and Political Factors

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate explicit sexual movie use among men and women in the United States according to relationship, lifestyle, work, financial, religious, and political factors. Analyses involved 11,372 adults who responded to questions about demographics and explicitly sexual movie use in the General Social Survey (GSS) from 2000 to 2014. Viewing of an explicit sexual movie in the previous year was significantly greater in men than women (35 vs. 16%); Blacks than Whites (33 vs. 22%); and never married (41 vs. 18% married, 31% separated, and 24% divorced). It also decreased with older age, higher education, and more children in the household. After model adjustment for these variables, viewing an explicit sexual movie was associated with a number of relationship, lifestyle, financial, religious, political, and other variables. For example, viewing such movies was related to less happiness in marriage, multiple sex partners in past year, less satisfaction with one’s financial situation, no religious preference, and a more liberal political orientation. The effect of some variables on pornography viewing differed between men and women. For example, out of men and women who consider themselves to be “not spiritual”, men were more likely to view pornography than women. Explicit sexual movie viewing is associated with factors from diverse domains, including poorer relationship quality, more liberal sexual views and practices, poorer economic conditions, lower religious orientation or commitment, and more liberal political views.     

Understanding Religious Conversion (Book)

This study investigated diverse measures of religiosity (i.e., religious orientation, coping, and problem solving) and healthy dependency as correlates and predictors of spiritual well-being. Results from an undergraduate sample (84 women and 52 men) indicated a pattern of inverse associations between religiosity and unhealthy dependency. Moreover, both religiosity (positive and negative coping for men, extrinsic motivation and a less self-directed problem-solving style for women)and healthy dependency(for women)predicted spiritual well-being. These findings provide preliminary support for the study of spiritual well-being as an outcome and for the inclusion of both religious and personality variables as predictors. Implications for future research are presented.