Top

Published in:

01-12-2012 | Original paper

Relationships Among Spirituality, Religious Practices, Personality Factors, and Health for Five Different Faith Traditions

Authors: Brick Johnstone, Dong Pil Yoon, Daniel Cohen, Laura H. Schopp, Guy McCormack, James Campbell, Marian Smith

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 4/2012

Abstract

To determine: (1) differences in spirituality, religiosity, personality, and health for different faith traditions; and (2) the relative degree to which demographic, spiritual, religious, and personality variables simultaneously predict health outcomes for different faith traditions. Cross-sectional analysis of 160 individuals from five different faith traditions including Buddhists (40), Catholics (41), Jews (22), Muslims (26), and Protestants (31). Brief multidimensional measure of religiousness/spirituality (BMMRS; Fetzer in Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/spirituality for use in health research, Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo, 1999); NEO-five factor inventory (NEO-FFI; in Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO PI-R) and the NEO-five factor inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual, Psychological Assessment Resources, Odessa, Costa and McCrae 1992); Medical outcomes scale-short form (SF-36; in SF-36 physical and mental health summary scores: A user’s manual, The Health Institute, New England Medical Center, Boston, Ware et al. 1994). (1) ANOVAs indicated that there were no significant group differences in health status, but that there were group differences in spirituality and religiosity. (2) Pearson’s correlations for the entire sample indicated that better mental health is significantly related to increased spirituality, increased positive personality traits (i.e., extraversion) and decreased personality traits (i.e., neuroticism and conscientiousness). In addition, spirituality is positively correlated with positive personality traits (i.e., extraversion) and negatively with negative personality traits (i.e., neuroticism). (3) Hierarchical regressions indicated that personality predicted a greater proportion of unique variance in health outcomes than spiritual variables. Different faith traditions have similar health status, but differ in terms of spiritual, religious, and personality factors. For all faith traditions, the presence of positive and absence of negative personality traits are primary predictors of positive health (and primarily mental health). Spiritual variables, other than forgiveness, add little to the prediction of unique variance in physical or mental health after considering personality. Spirituality can be conceptualized as a characterological aspect of personality or a distinct construct, but spiritual interventions should continue to be used in clinical practice and investigated in health research.

Baskin, T. W., & Enright, R. D. (2004). Intervention studies on forgiveness: A meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling and Development, 82, 79–90.CrossRef

Berges, I. M., Kuo, Y. F., Markides, K. S., & Ottenbacher, K. (2007). Attendance at religious services and physical functioning after stroke among older Mexican Americans. Experimental Aging Research, 33, 1–11.PubMedCrossRef

Campbell, J., Yoon, D. P., & Johnstone, B. (2010). Determining relationships between physical health and spiritual experience, religious practices, and congregational support in a heterogeneous medical sample. Journal of Religion and Health, 49, 3–17.PubMedCrossRef

Carson, J. W., Keefe, F. J., Goli, V., Fras, A. M., Lynch, T. R., Thorp, S. R., et al. (2005). Forgiveness and chronic low back pain: A preliminary study examining the relationship of forgiveness to pain, anger, and psychological distress. The Journal of Pain, 6, 84–91.PubMedCrossRef

Cloninger, C. R., Przybeck, T. R., Svrakic, D. M., & Wetzel, R. D. (1994). The temperament and character inventory (TCI): A guide to its development and use. St. Louis: Center for Psychobiology of Personality.

Cloninger, C. R., Svrakic, D. M., & Przybeck, T. R. (1993). A psychobiological model of temperament and character. Archives of General Psychiatry, 50, 975–990.PubMedCrossRef

Cohen, A. B., & Hill, P. C. (2007). Religion as culture: Religious individualism and collectivism among American Catholics, Jews, and Protestants. Journal of Personality, 75, 709–742.PubMedCrossRef

Cohen, D., Yoon, D. P., & Johnstone, B. (2009). Differentiating the impact of spiritual experiences, religious practices, and congregational support on the mental health of individuals with heterogeneous medical disorders. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 19, 121–138.CrossRef

Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO PI-R) and the NEO five factor inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Debruin, J. E. (2006). The mediating influence of spirituality on the relationship between personality factors and clinical outcomes of irritable bowel syndrome. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 67(5-B), 2829.

DiBlasio, F. A., & Proctor, J. H. (1993). Therapists and the clinical use of forgiveness. American Journal of Family Therapy, 21, 175–184.CrossRef

Endemann, M., & Zimmermann, F. (2009). Factors associated with health-related quality of life, anxiety, and depression among young adults with epilepsy and mild cognitive impairment. Seizure, 18, 167–175.CrossRef

Fetzer Institute & National Institute on Aging Working Group. (1999). Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/spirituality for use in health research. Kalamazoo, MI: Fetzer Institute.

Giaquinto, S., Spiridigliozzi, C., & Caracciolo, B. (2007). Can faith protect from emotional distress after stroke? Stroke, 38, 993–997.PubMedCrossRef

Goetzmann, L., Scheuer, E., Naef, R., Klaghofer, R., Russi, E. W., Buddenberg, C., et al. (2005). Personality, illness perception, and lung functioning (FEV1) in 50 patients after lung transplantation. GMS Psychosocial Medicine, 2, 1–7.

Gorsuch, R. L. (1984). Measurement: The boon and bane of investigating religion. American Psychologist, 39, 228–236.CrossRef

Halama, P., & Dedova, M. (2007). Meaning in life and hope as predictors of positive mental health. Studia Psychologica, 49, 191–200.

Haley, K. C., Koenig, H. G., & Bruchett, B. M. (2001). Relationship between private religious activity and physical functioning in older adults. Journal of Religion and Health, 40, 305–312.CrossRef

Idler, E. L., & Kasl, S. V. (1997). Religion among disabled and nondisabled persons: II. Attendance at religious services as a predictor of the course of disability. Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 52, S306–S316.CrossRef

Jerant, A., Chapman, B., & Franks, P. (2008). Personality and EQ-SO scores among individuals with chronic conditions. Quality of Life Research, 17, 1195–1204.PubMedCrossRef

Johnstone, B., & Glass, B. A. (2008). Evaluation of a neuropsychological model of spirituality in persons with traumatic brain injury. Zygon, 43, 861–874.CrossRef

Johnstone, B., & Yoon, D. P. (2009). Relationships between the brief multidimensional measure of religiousness/spirituality and health outcomes for a heterogeneous rehabilitation population. Rehabilitation Psychology, 54, 422–431.PubMedCrossRef

Johnstone, B., Yoon, D. P., Franklin, K. L., Schopp, L. H., & Hinkebein, J. (2009). Reconceptualizing the factor structure of the brief multidimensional measure of religiousness/spirituality. Journal of Religion and Health, 48(2), 146–163.PubMedCrossRef

Kabat-Zinn, J., Wheeler, E., Light, T., Skillinos, S., Scharf, M. J., Cropley, T. G., et al. (1998). Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (UVB) and photochemotherapy (PUVA). Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, 625–632.PubMed

King, D. G. (1990). Religion and health relationships: A review. Journal of Religion and Health, 29, 101–112.CrossRef

Koenig, H. G., & Cohen, H. J. (2002). The link between religion and health. New York: Oxford Press.CrossRef

Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of religion and health. New York: Oxford Press.CrossRef

Lockenhoff, C. E., Ironson, G. H., O’Cleirigh, C., & Costa, P. T. (2009). Five-factor model personality traits, spirituality/religiousness, and mental health among people living with HIV. Journal of Personality, 77, 1411–1436.PubMedCrossRef

Maltby, J., Macaskill, A., & Day, L. (2001). Failure to forgive self and others: A replication and extension of the relationship between forgiveness, personality, social desirability and general health. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 881–885.CrossRef

McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (2008). The five-factor theory of personality. In O.P. John, R. W.Robins, L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: theory and research. Vol 3. New York: Guilford.

McIntosh, D. N. (1995). Religion as schema, with implications for the relation between religion and coping. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 5, 1–16.CrossRef

Moberg, D. O. (2002). Assessing and measuring spirituality: Confronting dilemmas of universal and particularly evaluative criteria. Journal of Adult Development, 9, 47–60.CrossRef

Oxman, T. E., Freeman, D. H., & Manheimer, E. D. (1995). Lack of social participation or religious strength and comfort as risk factors for death after cardiac surgery in the elderly. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57, 5–15.PubMed

Pargament, K. I., & Brant, C. R. (1998). Religion and coping. In H. G. Koenig (Ed.), Handbook of religion and mental health (pp. 111–128). New York: Academic Press.CrossRef

Pargament, K. I., Ensing, D. S., Falgout, K., Olsen, H., Reilly, B., Van Haitsma, K., et al. (1990). God help me: (I) Religious coping efforts as predictors of the outcomes to significant negative life events. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 793–823.CrossRef

Pargament, K. I., Ishler, K., Dubow, E., Stanik, P., Rouiller, R., Crowe, P., et al. (1994). Methods of religious coping with the Gulf War: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 33, 347–361.CrossRef

Piedmont, R. L. (1999). Does spirituality represent the sixth factor of personality? Spiritual transcendence and the five-factor model. Journal of Personality, 67, 985–1013.CrossRef

Piedmont, R. L. (2005). The role of personality in understanding religious and spiritual constructs. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 253–273). New York: Guilford Press.

Powell, L. H., Shahabi, L., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Religion and spirituality. American Psychologist, 58(1), 36–52.PubMedCrossRef

Ray, O. (2004). How the mind hurts and heals the body. American Psychologist, 59, 29–40.PubMedCrossRef

Richards, W. A. (2002). Entheogens in the study of mystical and archetypal experiences. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 13, 143–158.

Rye, M., Pargament, K. I., Ali, M. A., Beck, G. L., Dorff, E. N., Hallisey, C., et al. (2001). Religious perspectives on forgiveness. In M. McCullough, K. I. Pargament, & C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Forgiveness: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Guliford.

Smith, T. D. (2000). Spirituality, conscientiousness, and religious orientation predict health behaviors. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 61(2-B), 1125.

Sperry, L., & Shafranske, E. P. (Eds.). (2005). Spiritually oriented psychotherapy. Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Taylor, R. J., & Chatters, L. M. (1988). Church members as a source of informal social support. Review of Religious Research, 30, 193–203.CrossRef

Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S. D. (1994). SF-36 physical and mental health summary scores: A user’s manual. Boston, Massachusetts: The Health Institute, New England Medical Center.

Wink, P., Dillon, M., & Prettyman, A. (2007). Religion as moderator of the sense of control: Health connection: Gender differences. Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging, 19(4), 21–41.CrossRef

Witvliet, C. V. O. (2001). Forgiveness and health: Review and reflections on a matter of faith, feelings, and physiology. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 29, 212–224.

Yamhure Thompson, L., Snyder, C. R., Hoffman, L., Michael, S. T., Rasmussen, H. N., Billings, L. S., et al. (2005). Dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations. Journal of Personality, 73(2), 313–360.CrossRef

Zinnbauer, B. J., & Pargament, K. I. (2005). Religiousness and spirituality. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 21–42). New York: Guilford Press.

Title: Relationships Among Spirituality, Religious Practices, Personality Factors, and Health for Five Different Faith Traditions
Authors: Brick Johnstone
Dong Pil Yoon
Daniel Cohen
Laura H. Schopp
Guy McCormack
James Campbell
Marian Smith
Publication date: 01-12-2012
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 4/2012
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-012-9615-8

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Relationships Among Spirituality, Religious Practices, Personality Factors, and Health for Five Different Faith Traditions

Abstract

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2012

Religion, Contraception, and Method Choice of Married Women in Ghana

Changes in Religious Coping and Relapse to Drug Use Among Opioid-Dependent Patients Following Inpatient Detoxification

Assessment of Religious and Spiritual Capital in African American Communities

The First Church of Christ, Pragmatist: Christian Science and Responsible Optimism

The Evil Eye—An Ancient Superstition

Mevlana Jalāl-ad-Dīn Rumi and Mindfulness