Top

Published in:

01-02-2017 | Original Paper

What Mediates the Relationship Between Religious Service Attendance and Aspects of Well-Being?

Authors: Patrick R. Steffen, Kevin S. Masters, Scott Baldwin

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 1/2017

Abstract

Religious service attendance predicts increased well-being across a number of studies. It is not clear, however, whether this relationship is due to religious factors such as intrinsic religiosity or due to nonreligious factors such as social support or socially desirable responding. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between religious service attendance and well-being while simultaneously examining intrinsic religiosity, social support, and socially desirable responding as potential mediators of the relationship. A sample of 855 participants (71 % female, average age 19.5) completed questionnaires assessing religiosity, social support, socially desirable responding, and well-being. Path models were estimated using maximum likelihood estimation to analyze the data. Intrinsic religiosity was the strongest mediator of the relationship between religious service attendance and depressive and anxiety symptoms. This suggests that the mental health benefits of religious service attendance are not simply the result of increased social support or a certain response style on questionnaires; rather, it appears that the relationship is at least partly the result of people trying to live their religion in their daily lives.

Allport, G. W., & Ross, J. M. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 432–443.CrossRefPubMed

Batson, C. D., Naifeh, S. J., & Pate, S. (1978). Social desirability, religious orientation, and racial prejudice. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 17, 31–41.CrossRef

Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.CrossRef

Bradley, D. E. (1995). Religious involvement and social resources: Evidence from the data set “American’s Changing Lives”. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 34, 259–267.CrossRef

Chida, Y., Steptoe, A., & Powell, L. H. (2009). Religiosity/spirituality and mortality. A systemic quantitative review. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 78, 81–90.CrossRefPubMed

Cohen, S., Mermelstein, R., Kamarck, T., & Hoberman, H. (1985). Measuring the functional components of social support. In I. G. Sarason & B. Sarason (Eds.), Social support: Theory, research and application (pp. 73–94). The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.CrossRef

Donahue, M. J. (1985). Intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness: Review and meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 400–419.CrossRef

Ellison, C. G., & George, L. K. (1994). Religious involvement, social ties, and social support in southeastern community. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 33, 46–61.CrossRef

George, L. K., Ellison, C. W., & Larson, D. B. (2002). Explaining the relationships between religious involvement and health. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 190–200.CrossRef

Gorsuch, R. L., & McPherson, S. E. (1989). Intrinsic/extrinsic measurement: I/E-Revised and single-item scales. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 28, 348–354.CrossRef

Hadaway, C. K., & Marler, P. L. (2005). How many Americans attend worship each week? An alternative approach to measurement. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 44, 307–322.CrossRef

Hadaway, C. K., Marler, P. L., & Chaves, M. (1993). What the polls don’t show: A closer look at U.S. church attendance. American Sociological Review, 58, 741–752.CrossRef

Hadaway, C. K., Marler, P. L., & Chaves, M. (1998). Overreporting church attendance in America: Evidence that demands the same verdict. American Sociological Review, 63, 122–130.CrossRef

Hill, P. C., & Hood, R. W., Jr. (Eds.). (1999). Measures of religiosity. Birmingham, AL: Rerligious Education Press.

Jonas, E., & Fischer, P. (2006). Terror management and religion: Evidence that intrinsic religiousness mitigates worldview defense following mortality salience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 553–567. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.3.553.CrossRefPubMed

Koenig, L. B., & Vaillant, G. E. (2009). A prospective study of church attendance and health over the lifespan. Health Psychology, 28, 117–124.CrossRefPubMed

Krause, N. (2002). Church-based social support and health in old age: Exploring variations by race. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 57B, S332–S347.CrossRef

Krause, N. (2008). The social foundation of religious meaning in life. Research on Aging, 30, 395–427.CrossRef

Laurencelle, R. M., Abell, S. C., & Schwartz, D. J. (2002). The relation between intrinsic faith and psychological well-being. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 5, 177–180.

Leak, G. K., & Fish, S. (1989). Religious orientation, impression management, and self- deception: Toward a clarification of the link between religiosity and social desirability. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 28, 355–359.CrossRef

MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Masters, K. S., & Bergin, A. E. (1992). Religious orientation and mental health. In J. F. Schumaker (Ed.), Religion and mental health (pp. 221–232). New York: Oxford University Press.

Masters, K. S., Hill, R. D., Kircher, J. C., Lensegrav Benson, T. L., & Fallon, J. A. (2004). Religious orientation, aging, and blood pressure reactivity to interpersonal and cognitive stressors. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 28, 171–178.CrossRefPubMed

Masters, K. S., & Hooker, S. A. (2013). Religiousness/spirituality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: Cultural integration for health research and intervention. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81, 206–216.CrossRefPubMed

Masters, K. S., & Knestel, A. (2011). Religious orientation among a random sample of community-dwelling adults: Relations with health status and health-relevant behaviors. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 21, 63–76.CrossRef

McCullough, M. E., Larson, D. B., Hoyt, W. T., Koenig, H. G., & Thoresen, C. (2000). Religious involvement and mortality: A review of the literature. Health Psychology, 19, 211–222.CrossRefPubMed

McCullough, M. E., & Willoughby, B. L. B. (2009). Religion, self-regulation, and self-control: Associations, explanations, and implications. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 69–93.CrossRefPubMed

Morris, R. J., Hood, R. W., & Watson, P. J. (1989). A second look at religious orientation, social desirability, and prejudice. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 27, 81–84.CrossRef

Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Mplus user’s guide (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.

Nooney, J., & Woodrum, E. (2002). Religious coping and church-based social support as predictors of mental health outcomes: Testing a conceptual model. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41, 359–368.CrossRef

Presser, S., & Stinson, L. (1998). Data collection mode and social desirability bias in self-reported religious attendance. American Sociological Review, 63, 137–145.CrossRef

Saroglou, V. (2002). Religion and the five factors of personality: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 15–25.CrossRef

Sloan, R. P., & Bagiella, E. (2002). Claims about religious involvement and health outcomes. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 24, 14–21.CrossRefPubMed

Smith, T. W. (1998). A review of church attendance measures. American Sociological Review, 63, 131–136.CrossRef

Smith, T. B., McCullough, M. E., & Poll, J. (2003). Religiousness and depression: Evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 614–636.CrossRefPubMed

Steffen, P. R., & Masters, K. S. (2005). Does compassion mediate the intrinsic religion–health relationship? Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 30, 217–224.CrossRefPubMed

Strawbridge, W. J., Cohen, R. D., Shema, S. J., & Kaplan, G. A. (1997). Frequent attendance at religious services and mortality over 28 years. American Journal of Public Health, 87, 957–961.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Strawbridge, W. J., Shema, S. J., Cohen, R. D., & Kaplan, G. A. (2001). Religious attendance increases survival by improving and maintaining good health behaviors, mental health, and social relationships. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 68–74.CrossRefPubMed

Trimble, D. E. (1997). The religious orientation scale: Review and meta-analysis of social desirability effects. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57, 970–986.CrossRef

Turvey, C., & Salovey, P. (1994). Measures of repression: Converging on the same construct? Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 13, 279–289.CrossRef

van Olphen, J., Schulz, A., Israel, B., Chatters, L., Klem, L., Parker, E., & Williams, D. (2003). Religious Involvement, social support, and health among African‐American women on the east side of Detroit. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 18, 549–557.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Watson, P. J., Hood, R. W., Jr., Morris, R. J., & Hall, J. R. (1984). Empathy, religious orientation, and social desirability. Journal of Psychology, 117, 211–216.CrossRef

Weinberger, D. A., & Schwartz, G. E. (1990). Distress and restraint as superordinate dimensions of self-reported adjustment: A typological perspective. Journal of Personality, 58, 381–417.CrossRefPubMed

Title: What Mediates the Relationship Between Religious Service Attendance and Aspects of Well-Being?
Authors: Patrick R. Steffen
Kevin S. Masters
Scott Baldwin
Publication date: 01-02-2017
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 1/2017
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0203-1

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

What Mediates the Relationship Between Religious Service Attendance and Aspects of Well-Being?

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

Slowing Down Time: An Exploration of Personal Life Extension Desirability as it Relates to Religiosity and Specific Religious Beliefs

Erratum to: Refusal of Medical Blood Transfusions Among Jehovah’s Witnesses: Emotion Regulation of the Dissonance of Saving and Sacrificing Life

Self-Preservation in Both Sides: Pathology of Spiritual Care in Iran

Effect of a Single Session of a Yogic Meditation Technique on Cognitive Performance in Medical Students: A Randomized Crossover Trial

Younger African American Adults’ Use of Religious Songs to Manage Stressful Life Events

Psychospiritual Resiliency: Enhancing Mental Health and Ecclesiastical Collaboration in Caring for Those Experiencing Dissociative Phenomena