The relationship between attachment, primary emotions and positive/negative spirituality: a path analysis.

Objective: The present study investigates what may influence individuals to experience their religiosity/spirituality as either subjectively positive [religious or spiritual (r/s) wellbeing] or as negative (r/s struggles). Drawing on existing literature attachment insecurity and the seven primary emotions as outlined by Jaak Panksepp in Affective Neuroscience are identified as likely influences. Methods: The final sample consisted of 340 participants (age: M = 36, SD = 14.2; 68.5% = female), among which 65% self-identified as religious/spiritual. A path analysis was conducted to test a proposed mediation model in which the expected effects of primary emotions (B-ANPS) on r/s wellbeing (MI-RSWB) and r/s struggles (RSSS) were mediated through attachment insecurity (ECR-RD8). Results: The data indicated that attachment insecurity fully mediated the relationships between the primary emotions SADNESS and LUST with r/s struggles. Furthermore, the primary emotions FEAR and ANGER displayed small direct effects on both r/s struggles and r/s wellbeing. Overall, the model, which demonstrated excellent model fit, was able to explain 30% of the variance of r/s struggles, 24% of attachment insecurity and 5% of r/s wellbeing. Conclusions: The findings suggest that primary emotions such as SADNESS and LUST substantially explain r/s struggles and that these relationships seem to be mediated through attachment. Moreover, r/s struggles seem to be qualitatively distinct from r/s wellbeing. Finally, a moderate link between LUST and attachment suggests that sexuality plays a significant role in (adult) attachment processes.

Neural Hyperresponsivity During the Anticipation of Tangible Social and Nonsocial Rewards in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Concurrent Neuroimaging and Facial Electromyography Study.

BACKGROUND: Atypical anticipation of social reward has been shown to lie at the core of the social challenges faced by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, previous research has yielded inconsistent results and has often overlooked crucial characteristics of stimuli. Here, we investigated ASD reward processing using social and nonsocial tangible stimuli, carefully matched on several key dimensions. METHODS: We examined the anticipation and consumption of social (interpersonal touch) and nonsocial (flavored milk) rewards in 25 high-functioning individuals with ASD and 25 neurotypical adult individuals. In addition to subjective ratings of wanting and liking, we measured physical energetic expenditure to obtain the rewards, brain activity with neuroimaging, and facial reactions through electromyography on a trial-by-trial basis. RESULTS: Participants with ASD did not exhibit reduced motivation for social or nonsocial rewards; their subjective ratings, motivated efforts, and facial reactions were comparable to those of neurotypical participants. However, anticipation of higher-value rewards increased neural activation in lateral parietal cortices, sensorimotor regions, and the orbitofrontal cortex. Moreover, participants with ASD exhibited hyperconnectivity between frontal medial regions and occipital regions and the thalamus. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with ASD who experienced rewards with tangible characteristics, whether social or nonsocial, displayed typical subjective and objective motivational and hedonic responses. Notably, the observed hyperactivations in sensory and attentional nodes during anticipation suggest atypical sensory overprocessing of forthcoming rewards rather than decreased reward value. While these atypicalities may not have manifested in observable behavior here, they could impact real-life social interactions that require nuanced predictions, potentially leading to the misperception of reduced interest in rewarding social stimuli in ASD.

Effects of dopamine and opioid receptor antagonism on the neural processing of social and nonsocial rewards.

Rewards are a broad category of stimuli inducing approach behavior to aid survival. Extensive evidence from animal research has shown that wanting (the motivation to pursue a reward) and liking (the pleasure associated with its consumption) are mostly regulated by dopaminergic and opioidergic activity in dedicated brain areas. However, less is known about the neuroanatomy of dopaminergic and opioidergic regulation of reward processing in humans, especially when considering different types of rewards (i.e., social and nonsocial). To fill this gap of knowledge, we combined dopaminergic and opioidergic antagonism (via amisulpride and naltrexone administration) with functional neuroimaging to investigate the neurochemical and neuroanatomical bases of wanting and liking of matched nonsocial (food) and social (interpersonal touch) rewards, using a randomized, between-subject, placebo-controlled, double-blind design. While no drug effect was observed at the behavioral level, brain activity was modulated by the administered compounds. In particular, opioid antagonism, compared to placebo, reduced activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex during consumption of the most valued social and nonsocial rewards. Dopamine antagonism, however, had no clear effects on brain activity in response to reward anticipation. These findings provide insights into the neurobiology of human reward processing and suggest a similar opioidergic regulation of the neural responses to social and nonsocial reward consumption.

The effect of intranasal oxytocin on social reward processing in humans: a systematic review.

Understanding the neurobiology of social reward processing is fundamental, holding promises for reducing maladaptive/dysfunctional social behaviors and boosting the benefits associated with a healthy social life. Current research shows that processing of social (vs. non-social) rewards may be driven by oxytocinergic signaling. However, studies in humans often led to mixed results. This review aimed to systematically summarize available experimental results that assessed the modulation of social reward processing by intranasal oxytocin (IN-OXY) administration in humans. The literature search yielded 385 results, of which 19 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. The effects of IN-OXY on subjective, behavioral, and (neuro)physiological output variables are discussed in relation to moderating variables-reward phase, reward type, onset and dosage, participants' sex/gender, and clinical condition. Results indicate that IN-OXY is mostly effective during the consumption ("liking") of social rewards. These effects are likely exerted by modulating the activity of the prefrontal cortex, insula, precuneus, anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, and striatum. Finally, we provide suggestions for designing future oxytocin studies. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021278945, identifier CRD42021278945.

Music for autism: a protocol for an international randomized crossover trial on music therapy for children with autism.

The notion of a connection between autism and music is as old as the first reported cases of autism, and music has been used as a therapeutic tool for many decades. Music therapy holds promise as an intervention for individuals with autism, harnessing their strengths in music processing to enhance communication and expression. While previous randomized controlled trials have demonstrated positive outcomes in terms of global improvement and quality of life, their reliance on psychological outcomes restricts our understanding of underlying mechanisms. This paper introduces the protocol for the Music for Autism study, a randomized crossover trial designed to investigate the effects of a 12-week music therapy intervention on a range of psychometric, neuroimaging, and biological outcomes in school-aged children with autism. The protocol builds upon previous research and aims to both replicate and expand upon findings that demonstrated improvements in social communication and functional brain connectivity following a music intervention. The primary objective of this trial is to determine whether music therapy leads to improvements in social communication and functional brain connectivity as compared to play-based therapy. In addition, secondary aims include exploring various relevant psychometric, neuroimaging, and biological outcomes. To achieve these objectives, we will enroll 80 participants aged 6-12 years in this international, assessor-blinded, crossover randomized controlled trial. Each participant will be randomly assigned to receive either music therapy or play-based therapy for a period of 12 weeks, followed by a 12-week washout period, after which they will receive the alternate intervention. Assessments will be conducted four times, before and after each intervention period. The protocol of the Music for Autism trial provides a comprehensive framework for studying the effects of music therapy on a range of multidimensional outcomes in children with autism. The findings from this trial have the potential to contribute to the development of evidence-based interventions that leverage strengths in music processing to address the complex challenges faced by individuals with autism. Clinical Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT04936048.

Facial mimicry is not modulated by dopamine D2/3 and opioid receptor antagonism.

RATIONALE: According to theories of embodied cognition, facial mimicry - the spontaneous, low-intensity imitation of a perceived emotional facial expression - is first an automatic motor response, whose accompanying proprioceptive feedback contributes to emotion recognition. Alternative theoretical accounts, however, view facial mimicry as an emotional response to a rewarding stimulus, and/or an affiliative signal, and thus reject the view of an automatic motor copy. OBJECTIVES: To contribute to this debate and further investigate the neural basis of facial mimicry, as well as its relation to reward processing, we measured facial reactions to dynamic happy and angry faces after pharmacologically manipulating the opioid and dopamine systems - respectively, thought to subserve 'liking' and 'wanting' of rewards. METHODS: In a placebo-controlled, double-blind experiment, 130 volunteers received in a between-subjects design 50 mg of the opioidergic antagonist naltrexone, 400 mg of the dopaminergic antagonist amisulpride, or placebo. RESULTS: Clear occurrence of facial mimicry, measured 4 h after drug intake with electromyography (EMG) of the zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii muscles, was found. However, facial mimicry was not affected by either compound, as shown with both frequentist statistics, and a Bayesian asymptotic regression model. CONCLUSIONS: This null finding does not support the hypothesis that facial mimicry (of happiness) reflects an emotional response to a rewarding stimulus, leaving open the possibility of facial mimicry being an automatic motor copy. The results are relevant to the discussion about the psychological nature and the neural basis of facial mimicry, although they should be considered preliminary, given the challenges of interpreting null findings when targeting a novel effect of unknown size.

Age-related differences in interference control in the context of a finger-lifting task: an fMRI study.

Humans tend to automatically imitate others and their actions while also being able to control such imitative tendencies. Interference control, necessary to suppress own imitative tendencies, develops rapidly in childhood and adolescence, plateaus in adulthood and slowly declines with advancing age. It remains to be shown though which neural processes underpin these differences across the lifespan. In a cross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imaging study with three age groups (adolescents (ADs) 14-17 years, young adults (YAs) 21-31, older adults (OAs) 56-76, N = 91 healthy female participants), we investigated the behavioral and neural correlates of interference control in the context of automatic imitation using the finger-lifting task. ADs showed the most efficient interference control, while no significant differences emerged between YAs and OAs, despite OAs showing longer reaction times. On the neural level, all age groups showed engagement of the right temporoparietal junction, right supramarginal gyrus and bilateral insula, aligning well with studies previously using this task. However, our analyses did not reveal any age-related differences in brain activation, neither in these nor in other areas. This suggests that ADs might have a more efficient use of the engaged brain networks and, on the other hand, OAs' capacity for interference control and the associated brain functions might be largely preserved.

Homeostatic Regulation of Energetic Arousal During Acute Social Isolation: Evidence From the Lab and the Field.

Recent evidence suggests that social contact is a basic need governed by a social homeostatic system. Little is known, however, about how conditions of altered social homeostasis affect human psychology and physiology. Here, we investigated the effects of 8 hr of social isolation on psychological and physiological variables and compared this with 8 hr of food deprivation in a lab experiment (N = 30 adult women). Social isolation led to lowered self-reported energetic arousal and heightened fatigue, comparable with food deprivation. To test whether these findings would extend to a real-life setting, we conducted a preregistered field study during a COVID-19 lockdown (N = 87 adults; 47 women). The drop in energetic arousal after social isolation observed in the lab replicated in the field study for participants who lived alone or reported high sociability, suggesting that lowered energy could be part of a homeostatic response to the lack of social contact.

Perceptions of Stress and Mood Associated With Listening to Music in Daily Life During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

Importance: Music listening is a universal human experience. People of all ages and cultures often use music to reduce stress and improve mood, particularly in times of crisis. However, ecologically valid research examining the real-time association of music listening with stress and mood during the COVID-19 pandemic is scarce. Objective: To explore the associations between listening to music and the perceptions of stress and mood using ecological momentary assessment during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cohort study conducted between April 1 and May 8, 2020, adults from the general population residing in Austria and Italy were prompted by an app on their smartphone to report data 5 times per day across 7 consecutive days. Participants provided data on their real-time and real-life experiences in their natural environment while strict lockdown measures were in place. Data analysis was performed from March 2021 to February 2022. Exposures: Data on self-reported music listening were recorded by means of mobile-based assessments. Perceived chronic stress was assessed once at the end of the study. Main Outcomes and Measures: Perceptions of momentary stress and mood were measured using visual analog scales (score range, 0-100, where 0 indicates not at all and 100 indicates very much) by means of mobile app-based assessments. Results: The final sample comprised 711 participants (497 women [69.9%]; median age, 27.0 years [IQR, 24.0-36.0 years]). Participants provided a total of 19 641 data points, including 4677 music listening reports. Music listening was prospectively associated with lower momentary stress levels (ß, -0.92; 95% CI, -1.80 to -0.04; P = .04) and improvements in mood valence (ß, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.17-2.63; P < .001), especially if the music was perceived as happy. Individuals with higher levels of chronic stress reported improved mood valence after music listening (ß, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.02-0.22; P = .02). Conclusions and Relevance: The present findings suggest that music listening may be a means to modulate stress and mood during psychologically demanding periods. Individuals experiencing heightened momentary and/or chronic stress because of the challenges brought about by COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions might consider music as an easily accessible tool for the management of stress and mood in daily life.

The effects of social interactions on momentary stress and mood during COVID-19 lockdowns.

OBJECTIVE: Social interactions are vital for our well-being, particularly during times of stress. However, previous studies linking social interactions to psychological outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic have largely been retrospective and/or cross-sectional. Thus, we tested four preregistered hypotheses (H1-H4) concerning the real-time effect of social interactions on momentary changes in stress and mood during two COVID-19 lockdowns. DESIGN: We used an ecological momentary assessment approach in 732 participants in spring 2020 (burst 1) and in a subsample of these participants (n = 281) during a further lockdown in autumn/winter 2020 (burst 2). METHODS: Participants reported their stress and mood in a smartphone app five times per day for 7 days and indicated the nature and frequency of their recent social interactions. RESULTS: Social interactions (H1) and their frequency (H2) improved momentary affect (e.g., social interactions increased mood valence: estimate = 2.605, p < .001 for burst 1). This was particularly the case for face-to-face interactions which, compared with other types of interactions, reduced momentary stress (e.g., estimate = -2.285, p < .001 for burst 1) and boosted mood (e.g., estimate = 1.759, p < .001 for burst 1) across both lockdowns, even when controlling for the pleasantness of the interaction and the closeness of the interaction partner (H3). We also show that individual differences in people's responsiveness to different social rewards modulated the impact of social interactions on momentary mood (H4). CONCLUSIONS: This study extends findings from cross-sectional and retrospective studies by highlighting the real-time affective benefits of social interactions during COVID-19 lockdown. The results have important implications for the (self-) management of stress and mood during psychologically demanding periods.

Effects of dopamine D2/3 and opioid receptor antagonism on the trade-off between model-based and model-free behaviour in healthy volunteers.

Human behaviour requires flexible arbitration between actions we do out of habit and actions that are directed towards a specific goal. Drugs that target opioid and dopamine receptors are notorious for inducing maladaptive habitual drug consumption; yet, how the opioidergic and dopaminergic neurotransmitter systems contribute to the arbitration between habitual and goal-directed behaviour is poorly understood. By combining pharmacological challenges with a well-established decision-making task and a novel computational model, we show that the administration of the dopamine D2/3 receptor antagonist amisulpride led to an increase in goal-directed or 'model-based' relative to habitual or 'model-free' behaviour, whereas the non-selective opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone had no appreciable effect. The effect of amisulpride on model-based/model-free behaviour did not scale with drug serum levels in the blood. Furthermore, participants with higher amisulpride serum levels showed higher explorative behaviour. These findings highlight the distinct functional contributions of dopamine and opioid receptors to goal-directed and habitual behaviour and support the notion that even small doses of amisulpride promote flexible application of cognitive control.

The Swedish version of the multidimensional inventory for religious/spiritual well-being - Part II: Development of a four-field typology.

Background: In the field of mental health, religiosity and spirituality have gained particular attention in recent decades. However, only a few studies to date have investigated the effects of different types of religiosity and spirituality. In association with the recent introduction of a Swedish version of the multidimensional inventory of religious/spiritual well-being (MI-RSWB-S), the present study aimed to identify possible types of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being by using cluster analyses and to examine the extracted groups for differences in the sense of coherence (SOC), the Big Five personality factors, and central aspects of religiosity. Additionally, the study design was intended to further contribute to the validation of the MI-RSWB-S. Methods: Based on a convenience sample of Swedish students (N = 1,011), initially obtained for the development of the MI-RSWB-S, the study included the MI-RSWB-S, the 13-items sense of coherence scale, the 10-item personality inventory, and the centrality of religiosity scale. For the statistical analysis, cluster analyses and one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted. Results: The cluster analyses yielded the following four groups: Religiosity and spirituality high (n = 124), religiously oriented (n = 200), spiritually oriented (n = 149), and religiosity and spirituality low (n = 538). The groups differed in most aspects of well-being, in the personality dimensions agreeableness and openness to experience, as well as in central aspects of religiosity. In contrast, no differences were found for SOC, extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional instability. Conclusion: Our results suggest that different types of religious/spiritual well-being are associated with mental health and personality dimensions in substantially different ways, thus offering an interesting potential for future research.

Diurnal dynamics of stress and mood during COVID-19 lockdown: a large multinational ecological momentary assessment study.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe disruption to people's lives as governments imposed national 'lockdowns'. Several large surveys have underlined the detrimental short- and long-term mental health consequences resulting from this disruption, but survey findings are only informative of individuals' retrospectively reported psychological states. Furthermore, knowledge on psychobiological responses to lockdown restrictions is scarce. We used smartphone-based real-time assessments in 731 participants for 7 days and investigated how individuals' self-reported stress and mood fluctuated diurnally during lockdown in spring 2020. We found that age, gender, financial security, depressive symptoms and trait loneliness modulated the diurnal dynamics of participants' momentary stress and mood. For example, younger and less financially secure individuals showed an attenuated decline in stress as the day progressed, and similarly, more lonely individuals showed a diminished increase in calmness throughout the day. Hair collected from a subsample (n = 140) indicated a decrease in cortisol concentrations following lockdown, but these changes were not related to any of the assessed person-related characteristics. Our findings provide novel insights into the psychobiological impact of lockdown and have implications for how, when and which individuals might benefit most from interventions during psychologically demanding periods.

Effects of the mu-opioid receptor agonist morphine on facial mimicry and emotion recognition.

Facial mimicry and emotion recognition are two socio-cognitive abilities involved in adaptive socio-emotional behavior, promoting affiliation and the establishment of social bonds. The mu-opioid receptor (MOR) system plays a key role in affiliation and social bonding. However, it remains unclear whether MORs are involved in the categorization and spontaneous mimicry of emotional facial expressions. Using a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, between-subjects design, we investigated in 82 healthy female volunteers the effects of the specific MOR agonist morphine on the recognition accuracy of emotional faces (happiness, anger, fear), and on their facial mimicry (measured with electromyography). Frequentist statistics did not reveal any significant effects of drug administration on facial mimicry or emotion recognition abilities. However, post hoc Bayesian analyses provided support for an effect of morphine on facial mimicry of fearful facial expressions. Specifically, compared to placebo, morphine reduced mimicry of fear, as shown by lower activity of the frontalis muscle. Bayesian analyses also provided support for the absence of a drug effect on mimicry of happy and angry facial expressions, which were assessed with the zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii muscles, as well as on emotion recognition accuracy. These findings suggest that MOR activity is involved in automatic facial responses to fearful stimuli, but not in their identification. Overall, the current results, together with the previously reported small effects of opioid compounds, suggest a relatively marginal role of the MOR system in emotion simulation and perception.

Emotional Ego- and Altercentric Biases in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Behavioral and Neurophysiological Evidence.

Self-other distinction is a crucial aspect of social cognition, as it allows us to differentiate our own mental and emotional states from those of others. Research suggests that this ability might be impaired in individuals on the autism spectrum, but convincing evidence of self-other distinction difficulties in the emotional domain is lacking. Here we aimed at evaluating emotional self-other distinction abilities in autistic and non-autistic adults, in two behavioral pilot studies and one fMRI study. By using a newly developed virtual ball-tossing game that induced simultaneous positive and negative emotional states in each participant and another person, we were able to measure emotional egocentric and altercentric biases (namely the tendency to ascribe self-/other-related emotions to others/ourselves, respectively). Despite no behavioral differences, individuals on the autism spectrum showed decreased activation (1) in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) during active overcoming of the emotional egocentric bias vs. passive game viewing, and (2) in the right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG) during ego- vs. altercentric biases, compared to neurotypical participants. These results suggest a different recruitment of these two regions in autistic individuals when dealing with conflicting emotional states of oneself and another person. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of considering different control conditions when interpreting the involvement of rTPJ and rSMG during self-other distinction processes.

Anticipatory and Consummatory Responses to Touch and Food Rewards: A Protocol for Human Research.

Understanding the neural basis of reward processing is a major concern, as it holds the key to alleviating symptoms of addiction and poor mental health. However, this goal seems difficult to attain as long as research on reward processing cannot easily be compared across species and reward types, due to methodological differences and the presence of confounding factors. We recently developed an experimental paradigm that allows monitoring anticipatory and consummatory responses to matched social (touch) and nonsocial (food) rewards in adult humans. The following protocol describes in detail the materials and the paradigm, which measures reward wanting and liking with a real effort task and subjective ratings. It can also be used in combination with facial electromyography (EMG), brain imaging (e.g., fMRI), and pharmacological interventions. It is our firm belief that the field will profit greatly from more research being conducted on reward processing using this and similarly controlled paradigms, which allow for cross-species comparison.

Opioid-blunted cortisol response to stress is associated with increased negative mood and wanting of social reward.

Animal research suggests a central role of the µ-opioid receptor (MOR) system in regulating affiliative behaviors and in mediating the stress-buffering function of social contact. However, the neurochemistry of stress-related social contact seeking in humans is still poorly understood. In a randomized, double-blind, between-subjects design, healthy female volunteers (N = 80) received either 10 mg of the µ-opioid agonist morphine sulfate, or a placebo. Following a standardized psychosocial stress induction, participants engaged in a social reward task, in which the motivation to obtain skin-to-skin social touch and the hedonic reactions elicited by such touch were assessed. Morphine prevented the increase of salivary cortisol typically observed following acute stress exposure. Notably, this altered HPA axis responsivity was associated with increased negative affect in response to psychosocial stress, and with enhanced subjective wanting of highly rewarding social contact. These findings provide novel evidence on the effect of exogenous opioids administration on the reactions to psychosocial stress and point to a state-dependent regulation of social motivation.

The role of right supra-marginal gyrus and secondary somatosensory cortex in age-related differences in human emotional egocentricity.

Emotional egocentric bias (EEB) occurs when, due to a partial failure in self-other distinction, empathy for another's emotion is influenced by our own emotional state. Recent studies have revealed a higher EEB in children, adolescents and older adults compared to young adults, but the neural correlates of this finding are largely unknown. We asked female participants (N = 95) from three different age groups (adolescents, young and older adults) to perform a well-validated EEB task in an MRI scanner. We assessed task-based changes in activity and effective connectivity as well as morphometric changes in regions of interest to pinpoint functional and structural age-related differences. Results revealed higher EEB in older compared to young adults and adolescents. Connectivity between right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG) and somatosensory cortices acted as a partial mediator between age and EEB. The findings suggest that an intact connectivity of rSMG, rather than its regional activity, with sensory-perceptual brain areas is crucial for overcoming egocentric biases of empathic judgments.

Emotion perception bias associated with the hijab in Austrian and Turkish participants.

In a cross-cultural study, we investigated the link between explicit attitudes towards the hijab and implicit measures of cultural and religious bias during the recognition of emotions. Participants tested in Austria (N = 71) and in Turkey (N = 70) reported their attitude towards the hijab, and categorised in a mousetracker task happy and sad faces of women, shown with five levels of intensity, and framed either by a hijab or by an oval-shaped mask. The two samples did not differ in their explicit attitudes towards the hijab. However, negative attitude towards the hijab predicted greater sadness attribution to happy faces with the hijab in Austrian participants. Unrelated to their explicit attitudes, Turkish participants attributed more sadness to happy faces with than without the hijab. Results suggest that the sight of the hijab activated, in both Austrian and Turkish participants, implicit biases resulting in associations with sadness and negative emotions.

The Swedish Version of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being: First Results From Swedish Students.

Background: Studies investigating the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and mental health have suggested both positive and negative associations, highlighting the importance of multifaceted assessment of these rather broad constructs. The present study aims at contributing to this field of research by providing a validated Swedish version of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB-S) and further examining how this instrument relates to Big Five personality factors, Sense of Coherence (SOC), and religiosity. Methods: Data were collected from a total of 1,011 Swedish students (747 females; age range 18-40) via completion of an online survey, including a new Swedish Version of the MI-RSWB-S, the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13), and the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS-5). Results: Results revealed adequate estimates of internal consistency and substantial evidence for the postulated six-dimensional structure. However, confirmatory factor analysis yielded poor fit indices, resulting in the development and validation of a revised measure of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (RSWB), comprising the subscales General Religiosity and Connectedness. Most of the MI-RSWB-S dimensions were positively correlated with the personality domains Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness and negatively related to Neuroticism. SOC was positively linked to Hope Immanent, Forgiveness, Hope Transcendent, and Experiences of Sense of Meaning, whereas CRS exhibited positive correlations with all MI-RSWB-S subscales except Hope Transcendent. Conclusion: The findings of the current study support the validity and reliability of the Swedish adoption of the MI-RSWB and confirm previously reported associations with the Big Five personality traits, SOC, and CRS. More in general, our results underline the putative substantial link between RSWB dimensions and mental health. Further research especially in clinical surroundings as well as by employing more representative samples is now warranted.