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PubMed1994

Integration of one's religion and homosexuality: a weapon against internalized homophobia?

Internalized homophobia as a psychological phenomenon has attracted little systematic research despite its destructive impact on the mental health of the gay community. This study looks at the relationship between internalized homophobia and the process of integrating one's religious faith and homosexuality by comparing levels of internalized homophobia among male participants of Dignity, an organization of Catholic gay men and lesbians, with a community sample of gay men with Catholic backgrounds. While many gay men believe they must abandon their religious faith (nearly 50% of this community sample no longer endorse a "formal religion") in order to accept their sexuality, Dignity members are actively integrating their religion and homosexuality--a process which we hypothesized would result in the Dignity participants being less homophobic than the community sample. While results showed no significant differences between the groups with regard to level of internalized homophobia, there are suggestions that involvement in Dignity does foster positive attitudes towards one's homosexuality by helping to overcome a delay in the development of a gay orientation. We also examined how other variables such as HIV status, psychological distress, conservative versus liberal ideology, and integration into the gay community would be associated with internalized homophobia.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Research in spirituality, religion and aging.

Research on the concept of "spirituality" demonstrates its overlap with "religion," so for many purposes they need to be considered together as "spirituality/religion." Investigations of age differences point to the likelihood that spirituality tends to increase during later adulthood. It has important positive relationships with various measures of life satisfaction, psychosocial well-being, and both physical and mental health. It benefits therapy for recovery from illness and is a source of meaning and purpose in life. Spiritual interventions help to relieve psychological distress and death anxiety, as well as the stresses of caregiving. Because of its therapeutic value, prayer is an important resource for coping with problems experienced during the life course. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale and many other instruments have been developed to measure spirituality and related concepts. As in all other domains of research on people, they all have limits and must be applied with caution for both technical and ethical reasons. Nevertheless, applications of the research findings, which overwhelmingly demonstrate the importance of spirituality to human well-being, already are improving the effectiveness of clinical work and social services in all of the health and human service professions. As scientific knowledge of spirituality expands, so does awareness of the need for further research, including the refinement of methodological procedures, expansion to new topics, and extension to international cultures and diverse religions. The outlook for research on spirituality and the consequent practical applications to benefit humanity is very promising.

Aging↗
PubMed2005

Religion and coping in older adults: a social work perspective.

Religion is an important coping resource for many older adults. This paper briefly describes social work's religious roots, makes a distinction between religion and spirituality for older adults, and presents empirical data showing how older adults employ religious strategies to cope with life challenge. The study reports on religious coping in an available sample of 79 European American and African American older adults residing in urban community dwellings. Implications suggest how social workers and others may support religious coping.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Religion and coping with serious medical illness.

OBJECTIVE: To review and discuss some of the research published in the last several decades that has addressed the role that religion plays in helping patients cope with serious medical illness. DATA SOURCES: Although this is not a systematic review of the literature, it provides a sampling of the studies that have examined the relationship between religious involvement, coping with illness, and health outcomes. This sampling of studies reflects the findings of a much larger systematic review of research (MEDLINE, Current Contents, Psychlit, Soclit, HealthStar, Cancerlit, CINAHL, and others) during the past century that was recently completed by the authors. DATA EXTRACTION: Epidemiologic studies published in the English-language literature were reviewed and discussed. DATA SYNTHESIS: A number of well-designed cross-sectional and prospective studies have examined the relationship between religious beliefs and activities and adaptation to physical illness in patients with general medical conditions, neurologic disorders, heart disease, renal failure, AIDS, and a host of other physical disorders. This review demonstrates the widespread use of religion in coping with medical illness and provides circumstantial evidence for the possible benefits of this lifestyle factor. CONCLUSIONS: When people become physically ill, many rely heavily on religious beliefs and practices to relieve stress, retain a sense of control, and maintain hope and their sense of meaning and purpose in life. Religious involvement appears to enable the sick, particularly those with serious and disabling medical illness, to cope better and experience psychological growth from their negative health experiences, rather than be defeated or overcome by them.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

The relevance of spirituality, religion and personal beliefs to health-related quality of life: themes from focus groups in Britain.

BACKGROUND: Generic health-related quality of life (QoL) instruments have not routinely assessed spirituality, religion, and personal beliefs (SRPB) in their measurement. This research addresses the perceived importance of 18 facets (dimensions) of SRPB, for example, inner peace, to QoL that are not specific to a religion, but address the experience of having this belief, in relation to health. METHOD: Adult focus groups were structured according to beliefs from UK surveys. Quotas targeted gender and health status. Nine focus groups (N = 55, age 51, 47% male) contained sick and well people who were religious, Christians, Buddhists, Quakers (50.1%), agnostic (27.4%), or atheist (21.8%) participants. RESULTS: Qualitative and quantitative analysis showed considerable variability in the importance attributed to some concepts, although spiritual strength, meaning in life and inner peace were relevant to all groups. Spiritual strength (4.42), the meaning of life (4.09), wholeness/integration (4.06), and inner peace (4.02) were most important. Divine love, freedom to practice beliefs, and attachment/detachment were less relevant, conceptually confusing or had religious bias; atheists rated them as unimportant and as less important (p < .04) than agnostics or religious people. CONCLUSIONS: SRPB is relevant to health-related QoL and consensually important facets should be included in generic health care assessments. Their inclusion permits a more holistic assessment and improves the case for a biopsychosociospiritual model of health.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Role of religion in the lives of Latino families of young children with developmental delays.

We interviewed 250 parents of Mexican and Puerto Rican origin living in the United States who had young children with developmental delays to determine the role of religion in their lives. Quantitative results indicate that parents largely viewed themselves as religious, were affiliated with a formal religion, and participated in religious activities. Most parents viewed both church and faith as supportive, but faith was shown to provide more support. Repeated measures a analysis of variance found some intragroup variations in religious support and changes in support after learning of the child's condition. Thematic analysis revealed specific religious beliefs and practices parents viewed as supportive, and content and cultural models analyses indicated the religious frameworks by which parents interpreted their child's disability.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

[Religion and drug use by adolescents].

INTRODUCTION: Many international studies show that religion is an important dimension modulating the use of alcohol and drugs by adolescents. OBJECTIVES: to determine which religious variables are associated to frequent or heavy use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs among adolescents in intermediate and high schools in Campinas, Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using a self-report anonymous questionnaire was administered to 2,287 students from a convenience sample of seven schools: five from central areas (two public and three private schools) and two public schools from the outskirts of the city, in 1998. The study analyzes data regarding the use of alcohol, tobacco, medicines, solvents, marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy. The religious variables included in the regression analysis were: religious affiliation, church attendance, self-assessed religiousness, and religious education in childhood. For the substances, nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and "abuse of medicines" a logistic regression analysis for dicotomic answer was applied. RESULTS: The heavy use of at least one drug during the last month was more frequent among students that did not have a religious education during childhood. The use in the last month of cocaine, ecstasy and (abuse of) medicines was more frequent among those students that had no religion (cocaine and medicines) and that did not have a religious education during childhood (ecstasy and medicines). CONCLUSIONS: this study is consistent with previous investigations demonstrating a strong influence of religious variables over the use of drugs among adolescents. Interesting, it was found that no or weaker religious education during childhood was markedly associated with significant more use of drugs during adolescence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Religion and mental health among women veterans with sexual assault experience.

OBJECTIVE: Religion has been shown to have a positive impact on well-being and to play an important role in coping with stressful life events. However, the buffering effect of religiosity on mental health, after a particularly stressful life event such as sexual assault, has not been studied. In this study we examined the buffering effect of religion on mental health and depression for women who report experiencing sexual assault while in the military. METHOD: The sample includes a nationally representative sample of 3,543 women veterans who use VA ambulatory care. Two dimensions of religiosity were used: organizational (frequency of religious service attendance) and subjective (the extent religious beliefs are a source of strength/comfort). Mental health was measured by the mental component summary (MCS) from the SF36 and depressive symptoms were measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. RESULTS: Women veterans who reported experiencing sexual assault while in the military had lower mental health scores and higher levels of depression. Linear regression analysis indicated that these negative impacts diminished with increased frequency of religious service attendance, supporting the buffering effect of organizational religiosity on mental health and depression. Although the buffering effect of subjective religiosity was not evident, subjective religiosity was shown to be positively associated with better mental health in both groups of women with and without sexual assault experience in the military. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent religious service attendance buffers the negative impacts of sexual assault on mental health and depression of women veterans. The potential of integrating religiosity in designing interventions is discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Religion and medicine III: developing a theoretical model.

In this third of a four-article series on religion and medicine, I describe a theoretical model to illustrate the complex pathways by which religion may influence physical health. Genetic factors, childhood training, psychological and social influences, health behaviors, and healthcare practices are discussed as part of this model. Considerable space is given to recent advances in psychoneuroimmunology and to stress-induced cardiovascular changes that demonstrate physiological pathways by which cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes may influence susceptibility to disease and disease course. I also discuss research illustrating the important role that social support plays in moderating the physiological effects of stress and improving health outcomes. If religious beliefs and practices improve coping, reduce stress, prevent or facilitate the resolution of depression, improve social support, promote healthy behaviors, and prevent alcohol and drug abuse, then a plausible mechanism exists by which physical health may be affected.

Down-Regulation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Amazing grace: religion and identity among elderly black individuals.

A sample of forty-three "life stories" collected from elderly African-Americans residing in Southwestern Virginia is analyzed from the perspective of Continuity Theory. The focus is on the "theme" which religion plays as a bulwark of continuity in the lives of the respondents. The data reveal that religion serves at least seven significant and positive functions in the normal aging process of Black-Americans. As is customary, all names of respondents have been changed to protect their anonymity.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1995

Relationship of eight basic emotions with age, sex, education, satisfaction of life needs, and religion.

Personality scores of Croatian men and women by age, occupation, education, satisfaction of life needs, and religion were examined. 842 men and 242 women whose mean age was 42 yr. (SD, 8) represented manual labor, clerical work, and management. Employees were administered the Emotions Profile Index and a test of Life Needs Satisfaction. The Croatian women scored lower on Distrustful and Dyscontrol than the Croatian men and higher on Depression and Gregarious. Scores on Aggression, Depression, and Gregarious varied across age groups. The Reproduction scores of sociable and affectionate were significantly higher for managers and persons with university education. The religious employees scored higher on Depression than nonreligious persons. The Reproduction scores were significantly positively associated with all needs satisfaction scores. The Destruction scores (Aggression, Depression) were significantly negatively associated with most life needs satisfactions. The present analysis suggests men and women from Croatian groups have different personality profiles. Correlations of emotional scores with ages, occupations, education, life needs satisfaction, and religion could help in modification toward positive emotional dimensions.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Association of scores for Type A behavior with age, sex, occupation, education, life needs satisfaction, smoking, and religion in 1084 employees.

The associations of Type A or B behavior with age, sex, occupation, education, life needs satisfaction, smoking, and religion were studied. 242 women and 842 men, ages 21 to 64 years, (M age 42 +/- 8 yr.), completed the Bortner scale and rated on a 5-point scale their life needs satisfaction. Information on age, occupation, education, cigarette smoking, and religion were obtained from each subject. Scores for Type A and Type B behavior patterns in different age groups were very similar. Scores on Type A behavior were significantly more common in women than men. Type A behavior scores were identified in a larger proportion of managers, clerks, and in persons with university education than in manual workers and persons with only primary and secondary education. There was no difference between smokers and non-smokers and religious and nonreligious scorers. There was no difference in ratings for life needs satisfaction between persons identified as having scores on Type A and Type B behavior. The present analyses enhance our understanding of Type A behavior as related to age, sex, occupation, education, and life needs satisfaction in a Croatian sample.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Religion and suicidal ideation in a sample of Latin American immigrants.

The present study explored the association of measures of religious activities and suicidal ideation in a sample of adult Latin American immigrants (145 women, 56 men). No relationship was found between religious affiliation and suicidal ideation. Self-perception of religiosity, influence of religion, and church attendance were significantly negatively associated with suicidal ideation. A multiple regression analysis showed that influence of religion was a significant predictor of suicidal ideation. The present findings lend empirical support to the notion that high religiosity may play a protective role against suicide.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

On perceived conflicts between religion and science: the role of fundamentalism and right-wing authoritarianism.

Volunteers from fundamentalist churches and a Psychology of Religion class (N = 77) completed Altemeyer and Hunsberger's 1992 Fundamentalism Scale, Altemeyer's 1988 Right-wing Authoritarianism Scale, and answered questions about science, religion, and their relationship. Scores on the scales were highly positively correlated. Neither orientation correlated with seeing science as improving life, and both correlated with being troubled by newer developments in science such as organ transplants or genetic engineering. Partial correlations showed that both orientations favored religious beliefs over scientific data when there was a perceived conflict. Three subscales of right-wing authoritarianism clarified how authoritarianism correlated with other measures, thereby supporting a multidimensional conceptualization of right-wing authoritarianism.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Age, sex, education, religion, and perception of tattoos.

Tattooing has become more acceptable in the mainstream American culture in recent years. Based on a survey with face-to-face interviews of 335 nontattooed adults randomly selected from a city with a population of 444,000, this study explored the relationship of individuals' demographic variables, attitudes toward religion, and their perceptions of tattoos. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that age and attitude toward religion were associated with individuals' perception of tattoos.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Two-week test-retest reliability of the Duke Religion Index.

The present study investigated 2-wk. test-retest reliability of the Duke Religion Index, a 5-item self-report questionnaire that assesses organizational, nonorganizational, and intrinsic religiosity. The sample consisted of 20 undergraduate college students (11 women) whose mean age was 24.7 yr. (SD=5.0 yr.). Findings supported the 2-wk. test-retest reliability of the Duke Religion Index with an intraclass correlation coefficient of .91.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Religion and adult mental health: state of the science in nursing.

As a part of human spirituality, religion has been theorized to influence the health of the individual, both positively and negatively. Although the nursing literature has focused recently on broad aspects of spirituality, the specifics of religious influences on health have been examined cursorily or have been ignored. This article reviews the major empirical data on religion and mental health that are pertinent to nursing. Three areas covered are mental health impact, coping, and aging. Suggestions for future research on the subject are presented.

Adaptation, Psychological↗