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.     

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,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.     

The relationships between subjective well-being,health, and religiosity among young adults from Qatar

Introduction: The aims of this study were to explore the associations between, and the factors of, subjective well-being, health, and religiosity among Qatari undergraduates. A sample of 113 male and 133 female college students from University of Qatar responded to the Oxford Happiness Inventory, Satisfaction With Life Scale, and Love of Life Scale, as well as to five self-rating scales to assess happiness, satisfaction with life, mental health, physical health, and religiosity. Men obtained a significantly higher mean score on self-rating of mental health than did their female counterparts. All the correlations between the scales were significant and positive. Principal components analysis yielded one factor in both the sexes and labelled “Well-being, health and religiosity.” The only predictor of religiosity was the self-rating scale of satisfaction in men and women. It was concluded that those who consider themselves as religious in the present study reported higher subjective well-being and good health.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

The Interconnection Between Islamic Religiosity and Deviancy Among Australian Muslim Youth: A Partial Mediation Role of Life Satisfaction

The aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which life satisfaction mediates the relationship between Islamic religiosity and deviancy amongst Muslim youth. A sample of 200 Australian Muslims aged between 18 and 25 years (M_age = 21.18; SD = 1.89) participated in this study. An existing attitude toward Islam measure and Islamic religious practice measure developed for the current study purposes were used. Controlling for demographic variables and social desirability, the study findings revealed a negative association between Islamic religious practice and deviancy, and a positive association with life satisfaction. Participants’ life satisfaction was negatively associated with deviancy and partially mediated the association between participants’ Islamic religious practice and deviancy. Attitudes toward Islam scores were not associated with either deviancy or life satisfaction. Our findings suggest that strategies to encourage and support young Muslim’s life satisfaction hold the potential to protect them against deviancy.     

Personality dimensions and religiosity among Kuwaiti Muslim college students

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between Eysenck’s personality dimensions and religiosity. A sample of 227 Kuwaiti Muslim undergraduates completed the Arabic versions of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Muslim Attitude towards Religiosity Scale. Men obtained significantly higher mean scores on psychoticism than did their female counterparts and the effect size was medium. Religiosity significantly correlated with psychoticism (negative) and lie (positive) among men and women. In addition, religiosity significantly correlated with extraversion (positive) and neuroticism (negative) in women. The only predictor of religiosity was low psychoticism in men and women. The results were discussed in the light of religion of Islam. Most results of the present study reflect previous findings using participants from other religions.     

Mental well-being in the religious and the non-religious: evidence for a curvilinear relationship

Previous studies demonstrating a positive relationship between religiosity and mental health have sampled from a highly religious general population with little differentiation between weak religiosity and non-religiosity. Church members are typically compared with non-religious unaffiliated individuals, thus confounding belief with group effects (e.g. social support). The present study examined mental well-being, utilising the full range of certainty of belief or non-belief in God. In the first study, we compared church and secular group members on measures of life satisfaction and emotional stability. The second study used a large survey of the non-religious. A curvilinear relationship was found such that those with higher belief certainty (both confidently religious and atheists) have greater well-being relative to those with low certainty (unsure and agnostics). Multiple regressions controlling for social and demographic variables reduced, but did not eliminate this curvilinear relationship. Mechanisms of well-being may involve a confident worldview rather than religious beliefs themselves.     

Religiosity, Religious Doubt, and the Need for Cognition: Their Interactive Relationship with Life Satisfaction

Previous research has found a consistent, negative relationship between holding religious doubts and mental well-being, and a small positive relationship between religiosity and mental well-being. To assess the interrelationship between religious doubt, religiosity, and need for cognition on life satisfaction, a survey was administered to an almost exclusively Christian sample of 192 Americans drawn from undergraduates and alumni of a small mid-western college, undergraduates from a small south-eastern college, and several churches from the metro-Detroit area. Zero-order correlations revealed relationships between religiosity and life satisfaction, as well as religious doubt and life satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that the three-way interaction of religiosity, religious doubt, and the need for cognition was predictive of life satisfaction. Significant two-way interactions also emerged for both gender and religiosity, and gender and religious doubt as predictors of life satisfaction. Based upon these findings, counseling applications are discussed, and the importance of probing for interactions in research on religious influences on well-being is espoused. Portions of this research were presented at the 2004 Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, HI.     

Religiosity, health, and well-being among Kuwaiti personnel

In a sample of 424 Kuwaiti personnel (219 men, 205 women; M age = 37.6 yr., SD = 8.9; M age = 33.4 yr., SD = 7.9, respectively), self-ratings of religiosity were significantly and positively correlated with the self-ratings of physical health, mental health, and happiness, as well as the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Love of Life Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale among men and women. Principal components analysis of the correlation matrix yielded only one salient factor labeled "Well-being, health and religiosity" that explained 52.7% and 56.5% of the variance for men and women, respectively. Religiosity is an important element in the lives of the majority of the present sample of Kuwaiti Muslim employees.     

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.     

Does thinking about the meaning of life make you happy in a religious and globalised world? A 75-nation study

This paper reports on a multilevel study of 75 nations, which tests two hypotheses that arose from considering Tolstoy's experience of thinking about the meaning and purpose of life. The globalisation-as-exacerbator hypothesis predicts that as globalisation increases, the relationship between thinking about the meaning and purpose of life and life satisfaction becomes more negative. The religiosity-as-buffer hypothesis predicts that as religiosity increases, the relationship between thinking about the meaning and purpose of life and life satisfaction becomes more positive. The results presented here support both hypotheses. We also found that it is religious attendance (not religious belief) that functions as a buffer in the relationship between thinking about the meaning and purpose of life and life satisfaction.     

Religiosity and psychological well-being

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being in a sample of Greek Orthodox Christians. Previous research has documented that personal devotion, participation in religious activities, and religious salience are positively associated with different criteria of psychological well-being. The sample (83 men and 280 women) with an age range from 18 to 48 years, was strongly skewed with respect to sex (77% female) and education level (95% were university students or university graduates). Religiosity was operationalized as church attendance, frequency of prayer and belief salience. In addition, a single item referring to beliefs about God was used. Depression, anxiety, loneliness, and general life satisfaction were selected as dependent variables because they reflect important dimensions of psychological well-being. Preliminary analyses showed that sex was significantly related to the three religiosity variables (church attendance, frequency of prayer, belief salience), with women being more religious than men. Consistent with previous research, correlations suggested that church attendance and belief salience were associated with better life satisfaction. The results of hierarchical regression analysis showed a significant positive association between anxiety and frequency of personal prayer. Finally, personal beliefs about God did not seem to relate to any of the psychological well-being measures. The results of the present study partially support the hypothesized association between religiosity and psychological well-being.     

The Importance of Spirituality in Well-Being for Jews and Christians

There is a well-known association between religion and happiness, although it is not known which particular aspects of religiosity correlate with life satisfaction, or if the correlates are different for people of different religions. In three studies, the correlations of different facets of religiosity with happiness or life satisfaction were explored. In different samples and with different measures, congregational support and public practice of religion appear to correlate similarly with measures of life satisfaction for members of different religions. However, spirituality, religious coping, and religious belief were better predictors of happiness and quality of life for Protestants and Catholics than for Jews. It is therefore contended that religion should be an important consideration, along with religiosity, in study of satisfaction with life, and that the link between spirituality and life satisfaction be followed up, particularly among Christians.     

Religious coping,stress, and quality of life of Muslim university students in New Zealand

Most of the research on religious coping has been conducted with Christian participants from Western cultures, although in recent years increasingly more studies have been conducted with Muslim participants. For university students in Muslim countries, religiosity is positively correlated with a variety of indices of mental health and psychological well-being, but only a small number of studies investigated coping in Muslims living and studying in a non-Muslim country. The present study thus explored the relationship between perceived stress, quality of life (QOL), and religious coping in a sample of 114 Muslim university students in New Zealand. International Muslim students had higher levels of spirituality/religiousness than domestic Muslim students, and used more positive and negative religious coping methods. For international students, positive religious coping was positively related to QOL and lack of stress, while, for domestic students, negative religious coping was negatively related to the QOL and increased stress. This different pattern may relate to the ethnic background of the participants, and the results of the present study thus highlight that Muslims studying at universities overseas can certainly not be considered as a homogenous group.     

The relationships between religiosity,stress, and mental health for Muslim immigrant youth

Acculturation, or the process of change that takes place as a result of intercultural contact, can cause a range of stressors. The task of managing this acculturative stress is particularly difficult for Muslim immigrants in Western contexts due to the global rise of Islamophobia. Research investigating the experiences of young migrant Muslims has found inconsistent results regarding the moderating influences of religious identity and religious practices on the relationship between stress and mental health. The current study examined whether levels of religiosity interacted with distinct forms of acculturative stress in the prediction of depression and well-being for Muslim youth in New Zealand. Results painted a complex picture of the relationships between religiosity and mental health, finding that greater religiosity is generally positive for youth outcomes, but it also carries the risk lowering levels of mental health through its interactions with acculturative stress.     

Are Muslims a Distinctive Minority? An Empirical Analysis of Religiosity,Social Attitudes,and Islam

Scholarly and public discourses on Muslim immigrants in Europe have questioned if Islam is an impediment to sociocultural adaptation and whether Muslims are a distinctive group in their religiosity and social values. We use a new survey of 480 British Muslims in conjunction with the British Social Attitudes Survey to examine differences between Muslim and non‐Muslim Britons on religiosity (practice, belief, salience) and moral and social issues regarding gender, abortion, and homosexuality. Muslims are more religious than other Britons, including both British Christians and religious “nones.” Muslims also are more conservative than other Britons across the range of social and moral attitudes. Multivariate analysis shows, however, that much of the difference on moral issues is due to socioeconomic disadvantage and high religiosity among Muslims. Although being a highly religious group in an otherwise secular country renders Muslims distinctive, factors that predict social conservatism among all Britons—high religiosity and low SES—apply similarly to Muslims.