Religion and Life Satisfaction: A Correlational Study of Undergraduate Students in Trinidad.

Religious behaviour tends to correlate positively with life satisfaction. The predictive power of this relationship is associated with various socio-demographic factors such as age, gender and religious affiliation. We investigated the relationship between religious involvement and life satisfaction in a multi-religious population of undergraduate medical students of the University of the West Indies. We used a cross-sectional design to assess 228 undergraduates (50 males and 178 females) on religiosity, religious well-being and life satisfaction using the Religious Orientation Test, Religious Well-Being subscale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale, respectively. Respondents also provided socio-demographic information such as age, gender and religious affiliation. "How religious one considers oneself" was the religiosity construct most significantly associated with life satisfaction while "frequency of prayer" was the least. Christians registered higher religiosity and religious well-being but non-Christians reported significantly higher life satisfaction. Muslim and Hindu scores on religiosity, religious well-being and life satisfaction were not statistically different. Females scored higher than males on religiosity (borderline significant, p = .054) and significantly higher on religious well-being (p < .01); however, there was no significant difference between males and females on life satisfaction. The "religious affiliation" group scored significantly higher on religiosity and religious well-being compared with the "no religious affiliation" group but there was no difference between these two groups on life satisfaction. Religiosity and religious well-being were overall significantly and positively associated with life satisfaction. However, in demographic groups where there was higher religiosity, for example females, Christians, people affiliated with a religion and older people, it was not associated with greater life satisfaction.

Evaluation of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale in a Sample of Korean Adults.

This study explored the psychometric qualities and construct validity of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS; Ellison in J Psychol Theol 11:330-340, 1983) using a sample of 470 Korean adults. Two factor analyses, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, were conducted in order to test the validity of the SWBS. The results of the factor analyses supported the original two-dimensional structure of the SWBS-religious well-being (RWB) and existential well-being (EWB) with method effects associated with negatively worded items. By controlling for method effects, the evaluation of the two-factor structure of SWBS is confirmed with clarity. Further, the differential pattern and magnitude of correlations between the SWB subscales and the religious and psychological variables suggested that two factors of the SWBS were valid for Protestant, Catholic, and religiously unaffiliated groups except Buddhists. The Protestant group scored higher in RWB compared to the Buddhist, Catholic, and unaffiliated groups. The Protestant group scored higher in EWB compared to the unaffiliated groups. Future studies may need to include more Buddhist samples to gain solid evidence for validity of the SWBS on a non-Western religious tradition.

Spirituality, Self-Efficacy, and Medication Use in African American Women with Hypertension: Beyond the Prescriptions.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the relationship between spiritual, religious, and existential well-being and self-efficacy for appropriate medication use in African American women with hypertension. Methods: In this study, we conducted cross-sectional correlations using linear regression analysis. An African American sample of women from across the United States with hypertension was chosen through a purposive sampling technique. An online survey was used. Results: There were 186 African American women with hypertension who took part in the study, with an average age of 57.15 (SD = 12.79) years. The study found significant correlations between spiritual (p = .022), religious (p = .033), and existential (p = .021) well-being and self-efficacy for appropriate medication use in African American women with hypertension. The study concluded that no women reported high spiritual, religious, or existential well-being, only moderate. Nor were they very confident that they would take their medications under changing or challenging circumstances. Conclusion: African American women are the most religious aggregate in the United States, and there is evidence that spiritual, religious, and existential well-being affects their self-efficacy for appropriate medication use. Clinicians and researchers must collaborate to enhance medication adherence through continuous education, assessment, and reinforcement while also attuning their practice to spiritual, religious, and existential well-being effects on self-efficacy for appropriate medication use in African American women.

The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-Being and Burnout in Collegiate Athletic Trainers.

CONTEXT: Spiritual well-being is the expression of one's spirituality as measured in the dimensions of existential and religious well-being. The Smith Cognitive Affective Model of Athletic Burnout suggests that personality factors such as spiritual well-being and the use of religious coping methods may affect burnout as well as its causes and outcomes. This has not been examined in collegiate athletic trainers (ATs). OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between spiritual well-being and burnout in collegiate ATs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Web-based survey. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: A total of 783 certified ATs employed full time in the collegiate setting participated. Part-time employees (eg, graduate assistants, interns) were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): A 100-item online questionnaire was created for this study. It used items from previously developed scales, including the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Brief RCOPE, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and substance-use questions from the Monitoring the Future study. Participants were able to complete the survey in approximately 10-15 minutes. Multiple regression analyses were used to analyze survey data. We mapped all independent (existential well-being, religious well-being, positive and negative religious coping) and dependent variables (situational variables, Maslach Burnout Inventory burnout subscales, substance use, and intention to leave) onto the Smith Cognitive-Affective Model of Athletic Burnout to determine which variables altered burnout levels, substance use, and intention to leave. Tests of mediation or moderation were conducted when appropriate. RESULTS: Existential well-being was a significant positive predictor of social support and a significant negative predictor of work-family conflict, decreased sense of personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, intention to leave the profession, and binge drinking. Existential well-being also served as a mediator or moderator in several components of the model. CONCLUSIONS: Existential well-being was a protective factor against burnout as well as some of the causes and effects of burnout in collegiate ATs.

Childhood Maltreatment and PTSD: Spiritual Well-Being and Intimate Partner Violence as Mediators.

Childhood maltreatment places individuals, including African American women who are undereducated and economically disadvantaged, at risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Participants were 192 African American women with a history in the prior year of both a suicide attempt and intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure. They were recruited from a public hospital that provides medical and mental health treatment to mostly low-income patients. A simple mediator model was used to examine if (1) existential well-being (sense of purpose) and/or religious well-being (relationship with God) mediated the link between childhood maltreatment and adult PTSD symptoms. Sequential multiple mediator models determined if physical and nonphysical IPV enhanced our understanding of the mediational association among the aforementioned variables. Findings suggest that existential well-being mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and adult PTSD symptoms in a simple mediator model, and existential well-being and recent nonphysical IPV served as sequential multiple mediators of this link. However, religious well-being and physical IPV were not significant mediators. Findings underscore the importance of enhancing existential well-being in the treatment of suicidal African American women with a history of childhood maltreatment and IPV.

Mediators of the childhood emotional abuse-hopelessness association in African American women.

Although there is an association between experiencing childhood emotional abuse and feeling hopeless as an adult, it is critical to understand the factors that may be protective in this relationship. The goal of this study was to determine if two protective factors, namely spiritual well-being, including both religious and existential well-being, and positive self-esteem, served to mediate the association between childhood emotional abuse and adult hopelessness. The sample for this investigation was low-income African American women suicide attempters who were abused by a partner in the prior year (N=121). A path analysis revealed that in this sample, the childhood emotional abuse-hopelessness link was mediated by existential well-being and positive self-esteem, as well as by the two-mediator path of emotional abuse on existential well-being on self-esteem on hopelessness. Results suggested that existential well-being may be a more salient protective factor for hopelessness than religious well-being among abused, suicidal African American women who experienced childhood emotional abuse. Findings highlight the value of culturally relevant strategies for enhancing existential well-being and self-esteem in this at-risk population to reduce their vulnerability to feelings of hopelessness.

Spiritual well-being of patients with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Spiritual well-being is one of the fundamental concepts in chronic diseases which create meaning and purpose in life and is an important approach in promoting general health and quality of life. This study performed to determine the level of spiritual health and its dimensions in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS: 236 members of Iranian MS Society were volunteered to participate in a descriptive co-relational study. Spiritual well-being was evaluated by The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) questionnaires in two religious and Existential dimensions. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The majority of patients (% 97.9) showed moderate spiritual well-being (mean score = 74.3, SD= 8.90). Although Existential well-being (mean score = 40.3, SD= 5.51) was higher than religious well- being (mean score = 33.9, SD= 4.88). A significant relationship was seen between economic status and the spiritual well-being. CONCLUSIONS: The results emphasize on the necessity of spiritual well-being as an effective factor on different aspects of these patients' life. This key point is useful and even necessary to be considered to design programs of care and cure for these patients in a country (like Iran) with cultural and religious beliefs. On the other hand, patients' economic status should be considered.