Prayer Type,Disclosure, and Mental Health Across Religious Groups

Researchers have found that disclosure to God partially explains associations between certain prayer types and mental health in a Christian sample. Although researchers have discovered several mediators explaining associations between prayer types and mental health, the use of predominantly Christian samples limits generalizability. In this study, the authors tested disclosure to God as a mediator in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian subsamples. Analyses indicated several differences among the groups; disclosure to God mediated associations between prayer type and mental health only among Christians.     

Event Centrality as Mediator Between Attributions and Mental Health Outcomes

Consistent with the Reformulated Model of Learned Helplessness, attributions that are more internal, stable, and global have been shown to be associated with greater posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms. Even though the Reformulated Model of Learned Helplessness has been revised to clarify that attributions are most likely to lead to adverse outcomes when the event is considered to be important to the person and the outcomes very negative (Hopelessness Model of Depression), most attribution studies do not account for the importance of the event to the individual. The current study examined whether perceptions of event importance mediated the relationship between attributions and posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms in a sample of 313 college students who reported about their worst life event. Consistent with the Hopelessness Model of Depression, results supported the mediational role of event significance. Findings suggest that maladaptive attributions may contribute to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression both directly and through the event’s importance to a person’s sense of identity.     

Closeness and Control: Exploring the Relationship Between Prayer and Mental Health

This study explored closeness to God and God‐mediated control as mediators in the relationship between prayer and mental health. The authors tested 3 models for mediation using structural equation modeling to assess the separate and combined effects in an online sample of 330 praying adults from predominantly Christian backgrounds. Although both mediators were relevant when entered separately, closeness to God proved to be a superior mediator when both variables were entered in 1 model. Counselors should consider prayer behaviors when culturally relevant and encourage meditative and colloquial prayer for clients where increased sources of perceived social support would be beneficial.     

Composite Trauma and Mental Health Diagnosis as Predictors of Lifetime Nonsuicidal Self-Injury History in an Adult Online Sample

Some research indicates that trauma history might be related to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), but the exact nature of this relationship is unknown. Therefore, we created and tested a structural equation model for the relationships between composite trauma, NSSI, mental health diagnosis, and gender in a community sample of 296 U.S. adults recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Composite trauma and mental health diagnosis were significantly predictive of an NSSI history. The pathway between NSSI and gender was not significant. It is important to consider multiple domains of trauma, in the form of composite lifetime trauma, as risk factors for NSSI.     

Sleep Symptoms as a Partial Mediator Between Combat Stressors and Other Mental Health Symptoms in Iraq War Veterans

Sleep symptoms are a prominent feature of mental health disorders like PTSD and depression. However, it is unknown whether sleep symptoms mediate the relationship between combat stress and these disorders. We examined the mediating role of sleep symptoms on the relationship between combat stress and PTSD; and the relationship between combat stress and depression using data from 576 Army veterans of the Iraq War surveyed in 2004. Correlational analyses revealed that when insomnia was included in the model, the correlation between combat stressors and other depression symptoms decreased by 65%; and when nightmares were included in the model, the correlation between combat stressors and other PTSD symptoms decreased by 69%. We replicated these analyses using individual items assessing PTSD and depression and found that the insomnia and nightmare items had the largest and second largest mediation effect between combat stressors and PTSD and depression symptoms. Our result support the theory that sleep symptoms contribute to the development and/or maintenance of other mental health symptoms and that early treatment of sleep symptoms may mitigate the other mental health consequences of combat stress.     

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.     

Occupational Distress and Health among a Sample of Christian Clergy

Pastoral Psychology - To examine the association between occupational distress, physical and mental health, and health behaviors among clergy, a convenience sample of full-time Christian clergy...     

Intimacy Motivation and Subjective Mental Health in a Nationwide Sample

Over 1,200 adults in a representative nationwide sample were administered the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and an unstructured interview which produced 25 measures of subjective mental health and ultimately six factor scores: unhappiness, lack of gratification, strain, feelings of vulnerability, lack of self-confidence, and uncertainty. The TATs were scored for intimacy motivation (McAdams, 1980)--a recurrent preference or readiness for experiences of warm, close, and communicative interaction with others. Controlling for age, education, and their interaction, high intimacy motivation in women was associated with greater happiness and gratification, whereas in men it was associated with lack of strain and lack of uncertainty. Women high in intimacy motivation who were living alone reported lower levels of gratification and more uncertainty in their lives than other women. Intimacy motivation also declined significantly over the life span for women, but not for men. Finally, demographic effects on intimacy motivation were examined. Controlling for age, education, and their interaction, professional men (e.g., doctors, lawyers, and teachers) scored higher on intimacy motivation than did men in other occupational categories, while among women the occupational groups with highest intimacy motivation were service workers and craftspersons.     

The Relationship Between Psychological Well-Being and Christian Faith and Practice in an Australian Population Sample

A random sample of 989 adults in an Australian community survey completed the Bradburn Balanced Affect Scale together with three measures of Christian faith and practice: belief in God, personal prayer, and church attendance. The data demonstrated a positive association between all three religious measures and psychological well-being. The analysis helps to account for discrepant findings in previous research.     

The Need for Absolute Truth and Self-Rumination as Basic Suppressors in the Relationship Between Private Self-Consciousness and Mental Health

Self-reflection has not so far been shown to have any specific benefits for mental health except for self-knowledge. Recent research showed that the controversy concerning the relationship between self-reflection and mental health could completely be eliminated if self-rumination and the need for absolute truth, especially the need for absolute truth, were considered as suppressor variables. This research replicated these findings in a different sample and expanded these findings by showing that the same is true for private self-consciousness. The need for absolute truth as a new variable was shown to be highly important in understanding the effects of self-consciousness on mental health.     

Adolescent Religiosity as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Parental Religiosity and Adolescent Health Outcomes

Studies have demonstrated the positive impacts of both parent and adolescent religiosity on adolescent outcomes; however, the relationships among these variable have not been studied. Our study was conducted to assess whether adolescent religiosity mediates the relationship between parent religiosity and adolescent emotional and behavioral health outcomes. A sample of 491 late adolescents ages 18–22 completed surveys that assessed their parents’ religious practices, their own religious practices, deviant behaviors, and internalizing behaviors. Findings suggest that adolescent religiosity mediates the relationship between parents’ religiosity and adolescent health outcomes such as drug and alcohol use and depression.     

清晰度对自信预测效应的影响

清晰度是自我概念的一个重要特点。本研究采用自信心清晰度问卷、总体自信问卷、GHQ-20为工具,对自信水平、自信清晰度在自信对心理健康的预测效应中所起的作用进行了探讨。研究发现,自信水平、自信清晰度对心理健康均具有显著的预测作用;考虑清晰度后,自信水平对GHQ-焦虑、抑郁、自我肯定的回归效应被清晰度部分解;表明清晰度是自信预测效应的调节因素。     

Prayer Coping,Disclosure of Trauma,and Mental Health Symptoms Among Recently Deployed United States Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts

U.S. military veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are at risk for developing adverse mental health symptoms. This study was conducted to examine the associations between prayer coping, attitudes toward trauma disclosure, and mental health symptoms (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and depression) among 110 U.S. veterans who had returned from deployments in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom within the previous 6 months. Bivariate analyses revealed that prayer coping was positively correlated with an urge to talk about potentially traumatic experiences. When controlling for combat exposure, social support, and disclosure attitudes, multivariate regression analyses indicated that two of the prayer functions—praying for assistance and for calm and focus—were each uniquely linked with less PTSD and depressive symptomatology. In addition, a reliance on avoidant prayer was uniquely correlated with greater depressive symptomatology. These findings support emerging ideas about prayer as a form of trauma disclosure and highlight the relevance of this approach to coping for veterans as they readjust to civilian life.     

Self-Construal as a Mediator Between Identity Structure and Subjective Well-Being

An examination of the assumptions underlying identity conceptualizations in psychology of self indicates the assumptions are based on an independent, individualistic view of self. If self is constructed as interdependent with others, such identity characteristic as a sense of uniqueness, separateness, and continuity may be less important in promoting well-being. The results of the conducted study (N?=?226) indicated that there were weaker relations between various features of identity structure and subjective well-being for individuals with a highly interdependent self-construal than for those with a highly independent self-construal. The results also showed that specificity, separateness, and stability of identity content influenced positive and negative affect through the mediating agency of independent and interdependent self-construals. These findings emphasize the importance of applying a self-construal perspective in considering adaptive functions of identity.     

Patience as a Mediator Between the Dark Triad and Meaning in Life

Recently, researchers have shed light on the link between personality and meaning in life. The present study was designed to explore this association by investigating the relationships between the Dark Triad personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism), meaning in life, and patience. Notably, patience is a construct derived from the Buddhist six perfections theory. It is composed of (1) the patience to endure suffering willingly (PES), (2) the patience to not retaliate against harm (PNH), and (3) the patience to thoroughly scrutinize phenomena (PSP). We also examined the potentail mediating role of patience in the links between the Dark Triad personality traits and meaning in life. Participants in the present study were 434 company employees in China. A battery of questionnaires measuring the Dark Triad personality traits, patience, and meaning in life was admininstered to the participants. The results showed that the Dark Triad personality traits were negatively correlated with patience and meaning in life. Results also indicated that patience fully mediated the relationships between the Dark Triad personality traits and meaning in life. Taken as a whole, the findings suggest that the lack of meaning in life among the working population in China might be associated with inadequate patience. The present study reveals the possible mechanism governing the associations between the Dark Triad personality traits and meaning in life and contributes to the process of bridging Buddhism and psychology.

     

Inconsistent Discipline as a Mediator Between Maternal Distress and Aggression in Boys

The current study examines inconsistent discipline as a mediator in the association between maternal distress and child aggression and attention problems. Participants were 215 boys, ranging in age from 9 to 12 years, and their mothers. Mothers provided self-report data on socioeconomic status (SES), parenting stress, maternal distress (depression and anxiety/somatization), and use of parenting practices. They also rated their sons' levels of aggression and attention problems. Of five parenting practices measured, inconsistent discipline was most clearly related to the maternal and child variables of interest. Regression analyses indicated that inconsistent discipline partially mediated the relation between maternal distress and child aggression, when controlling for SES and stress, whereas the mediating role of inconsistent discipline in the association between maternal distress and attention problems was not supported. The different pattern for attention problems, which also includes nondisruptive behaviors, suggests that this mediation may be specific to certain types of child behavior. Given that aggressive behaviors in childhood often lead to more serious delinquency in adolescence, these findings are important for informing prevention and intervention efforts. The need for future research to examine other mediators also is discussed.     

Social Support and Subjective Health in Fibromyalgia: Self-Compassion as a Mediator

Individuals with fibromyalgia report lower levels of health-related quality of life (HRQL) compared to other chronically ill populations and interpersonal factors (i.e., social support) may influence risk. What is less understood is how intrapersonal factors (i.e., self-compassion) may impact the social support-HRQL linkage. We examined the association between social support and HRQL in a sample of persons with fibromyalgia and tested the potential mediating role of self-compassion. Self-identified adults in the United States with fibromyalgia (N?=?508) were recruited from state, regional, and national organizations and support groups and completed an online battery of self-report questionnaires including: Multidimensional Health Profile—Psychosocial Functioning Index, Short-Form 36 Health Survey, and Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form. Individuals with greater subjective social support reported higher levels of self-compassion and, in turn, higher mental HRQL. These findings provide greater information about psychosocial constructs and HRQL and extend our understanding of self-compassion among individuals living with fibromyalgia.

     

Access to Categories of Experience and Mental Health in a Sample of Managers

This study of 28 managers investigated the importance for mental health of Jahoda's (1982) five categories of experience, measured for both work and leisure. Each of the categories of experience of time structure, social contact, collective purpose, status, and activity correlated with at least one measure of mental health. Multiple regression analysis showed that collective purpose and status, in both work and leisure, had moderate to large β coefficients, indicative of their potential influence, for a range of measures of mental health, covering positive mental health and freedom from negative mental health. Analyses of Warr's (1987) nine "principal environmental influences" (PEI) also supported the importance of collective purpose and status. This showed that the PEI "valued social position," which includes these two categories of experience, remained significantly associated with several measures of mental health. Analysis of the PEIs also showed that opportunity for use of existing skills in leisure, and variety in leisure, were significantly associated with several measures of mental health. The importance of valued social position and active leisure for the well-being of managers is discussed.