Cited by 432Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologyPsychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionReligion and Society Interactions

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 51 of the 55 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Does Spirituality or Religion Positively Affect Mental Health? Meta-analysis of Longitudinal Studies

Open access

Garssen, Bert, Visser, Anja, Pool, Grieteke·2021·The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion

DOI 10.1080/10508619.2020.1729570

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

The objective of this meta-analysis was to determine the longitudinal positive effect of religion or spirituality (R/S) on mental health. We summarized 48 longitudinal studies (59 independent samples) using a random effects model. Mental health was operationalized as a continuous and a dichotomous distress measure, life satisfaction, well-being, and quality of life. R/S included participation in public and private religious activities, support from church members, importance of religion, intrinsic religiousness, positive religious coping, meaningfulness, and composite measures. The meta-analysis yielded a significant, but small overall effect size of r = .08 (95% CI: 0.06 to 0.10). Of eight R/S predictors that were distinguished, only participation in public religious activities and importance of religion were significantly related to mental health (r = .08 and r = .09, respectively; 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.11 and 0.05 to 0.12, respectively). In conclusion, there is evidence for a positive effect of R/S on mental health, but this effect is small.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1080/10508619.2020.1729570

Cites

51 of 51 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so the self-check wasn’t run.

Introduction to Meta‐Analysis
Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P. T., & Rothstein, H. R. (2009) · doi:10.1002/9780470743386 · Cited by 14,225
Untitled work
Rudd (2006) · doi:10.1002/(issn)1097-4679 · Cited by 2,635
The consequences of perceived discrimination for psychological well-being: A meta-analytic review.
Schmitt, M. T., Branscombe, N. R., Postmes, T., & Garcia, A. (2014) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0035754 · Cited by 1,804 · cited 2×
“In a meta-analysis of 14 studies on the effect of perceived discrimination on well-being an overall effect size of r = − .15 was found (Schmitt et al., 2014).”
BackgroundMethod
Happiness Is a Stochastic Phenomenon
Lykken, D., & Tellegen, A. (1996) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00355.x · Cited by 1,719
On the Use of Beta Coefficients in Meta-Analysis.
Peterson, R. A., & Brown, S. P. (2005) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.1.175 · Cited by 1,643
Religiousness and depression: Evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events.
Smith, T. B., McCullough, M. E., & Poll, J. (2003) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.4.614 · Cited by 1,150
Concerns about measuring spirituality in research
Koenig, H. G. (2008) · Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0b013e31816ff796 · Cited by 730
Religion and mental health: evidence for an association
Koenig, H. G., & Larson, D. B. (2001) · International Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/09540260124661 · Cited by 606
Religiosity and mental health: A critical reevaluation and meta-analysis.
Bergin, A. E. (1983) · Professional Psychology Research and Practice · doi:10.1037/0735-7028.14.2.170 · Cited by 501
The relationship between spirituality and religiosity on psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults: A meta‐analytic review
Yonker, J. E., Schnabelrauch, C. A., & DeHaan, L. G. (2011) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.08.010 · Cited by 431

Show all 55 references

Research works printed but not linked: 5

Forouhari S., 2019, Iranian Journal of Public Health, 48, 43
10.1111/jssr.2003.42.issue-1 · DOI
10.1002/da.2015.32.issue-7 · DOI
10.1111/jomf.2007.69.issue-3 · DOI
10.1111/jssr.2001.40.issue-3 · DOI

Sorted by citations

Handbook of Religion and Health
Koenig, H. G., VanderWeele, T. J., & Peteet, J. R. (2023) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190088859.001.0001 · Cited by 1,160
Spirituality in Serious Illness and Health
Balboni, T. A., VanderWeele, T. J., Doan, S., Long, K. N. G., FERRELL, B. R., Fitchett, G. A., Koenig, H. G., Bain, P. A., Puchalski, C. M., Steinhauser, K. E., et al. (2022) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2022.11086 · Cited by 579
A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being
Hoogeveen, S., Sarafoglou, A., Aczél, B., Aditya, Y., Alayan, A. J., Allen, P., Altay, S., Alzahawi, S., Amir, Y., Anthony, F.-V., et al. (2022) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2022.2070255 · Cited by 147
A Meta-Analysis of Religion/Spirituality and Life Satisfaction
Yaden, D. B., Batz-Barbarich, C. L., Ng, V., Vaziri, H., Gladstone, J. N., Pawelski, J. O., & Tay, L. (2022) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-022-00558-7 · Cited by 127
Flourishing in critical dialogue
VanderWeele, T. J., Case, B. W., Chen, Y., Cowden, R. G., Johnson, B. R., Lee, M. T., Lomas, T., & Long, K. N. G. (2022) · SSM - Mental Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100172 · Cited by 90
Effects of Religious Service Attendance and Religious Importance on Depression: Examining the Meta-analytic Evidence
VanderWeele, T. J. (2020) · International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2020.1748932 · Cited by 80
Decoding the Dynamics of Cultural Change: A Cultural Evolution Approach to the Psychology of Acculturation
Kunst, J. R., & Mesoudi, A. (2024) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/10888683241258406 · Cited by 58
Being as Having, Loving, and Doing: A Theory of Human Well-Being
Martela, F. (2024) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/10888683241263634 · Cited by 82
Set and setting predict psychopathology, wellbeing and meaningfulness of psychedelic experiences: a correlational study
Borkel, L. F., Rojas‐Hernández, J., Henríquez‐Hernández, L. A., Santana, Á., & Hernández, D. J. Q. (2023) · Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology · doi:10.1080/17512433.2023.2295997 · Cited by 50
The neuroscience of spirituality, religion, and mental health: A systematic review and synthesis
Rosmarin, D. H., Kaufman, C. C., Ford, S. F., Keshava, P., Drury, M. J., Minns, S. A., Marmarosh, C. L., Chowdhury, A., & Sacchet, M. D. (2022) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.10.003 · Cited by 46
Social movements and collective behavior: an integration of meta-analysis and systematic review of social psychology studies
da Costa, S., Páez, D., Martí-González, M., Díaz, V., & Bouchat, P. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1096877 · Cited by 40
Invited Commentary: Religious Service Attendance and Implications for Clinical Care, Community Participation, and Public Health
VanderWeele, T. J., Balboni, T. A., & Koh, H. K. (2021) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwab134 · Cited by 40
Sense of coherence and religion/spirituality: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on a methodical classification of instruments measuring religion/spirituality
Jeserich, F., Klein, C., Brinkhaus, B., & Teut, M. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0289203 · Cited by 47
Spiritual Well-Being, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Indonesian Muslim Communities During COVID-19
Hamka, H., Suen, M., Ramadhan, Y. A., Yusuf, M., & Wang, J.-H. (2022) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s381926 · Cited by 33
Prevalence and correlates of disability in older adults, Ghana: evidence from the Ghana 2021 Population and Housing Census
Agyekum, M. W., Afrifa-Anane, G. F., & Kyei‐Arthur, F. (2024) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-023-04587-6 · Cited by 30
Prevalences of mental distress and its associated factors in unaccompanied refugee minors in Germany
Hoehne, E., Banaschewski, T., Bajbouj, M., Böge, K., Sukale, T., & Kamp‐Becker, I. (2021) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-021-01926-z · Cited by 28
Virtues as protective factors for adolescent mental health
McLoughlin, S., & Kristjansson, K. R. (2024) · Journal of Research on Adolescence · doi:10.1111/jora.13004 · Cited by 34
The pursuit of happiness within Islam: a systematic review of two decades of research on religiosity and happiness in Islamic groups
Shahama, A., Patel, A., Carson, J. F., & Abdel‐Khalek, A. M. (2022) · Mental Health Religion & Culture · doi:10.1080/13674676.2022.2028748 · Cited by 25
Trust in God: an evaluative review of the literature and research proposal
Hook, J. N., Tongeren, D. R. V., Davis, D. E., Hill, P. C., Hall, M. E. L., McKaughan, D. J., & Howard‐Snyder, D. (2021) · Mental Health Religion & Culture · doi:10.1080/13674676.2021.1939291 · Cited by 24
Effects of counselling and spiritual care program on anxiety in patients with chronic diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Salari, N., Kazeminia, M., Abdi, A., Abdolmaleki, A., Abdoli, N., Mohammadi, M., & Shohaimi, S. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02263-9 · Cited by 24
Measures of Daily Activities Associated With Mental Health (Things You Do Questionnaire): Development of a Preliminary Psychometric Study and Replication Study
Titov, N., Dear, B. F., Bisby, M. A., Nielssen, O. B., Staples, L., Kayrouz, R., Cross, S. P. M., & Karin, E. (2022) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/38837 · Cited by 28
Spiritual Well-Being, Social Support, and Financial Distress in Determining Depression: The Mediating Role of Impact of Event During COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran
Nia, H. S., Görgülü, Ö., Naghavi, N., Bello, M. A. R., Sánchez‐Teruel, D., Fomani, F. K., She, L., Rahmatpour, P., Allen, K., Arslan, G., et al. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.754831 · Cited by 29
The Value of Adapting Counseling to Client’s Spirituality and Religion: Evidence-Based Relationship Factors
Evans, A. L., & Nelson, J. K. (2021) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel12110951 · Cited by 22
Religion Matters (And Doesn't Go Away When Sociologists Ignore It)
Perry, S. L. (2023) · Sociological Forum · doi:10.1111/socf.12960 · Cited by 20
Coping and Life Satisfaction in Colombian Older Adults
Reyes, M. F., Satorres, E., Delhom, I., Bueno-Pacheco, A., & Meléndez, J. C. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph182010584 · Cited by 20
Virtues as Mediators of the associations between Religious/Spiritual Commitment and Well-being
Jankowski, P. J., Sandage, S. J., Wang, D., & Crabtree, S. A. (2022) · Applied Research in Quality of Life · doi:10.1007/s11482-022-10046-y · Cited by 22
The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Individuals With and Without Mental Health Disorders
Campos, J. Á. D. B., Campos, L. A., Martins, B. G., Dias, F. V., Ruano, R., & Marôco, J. P. (2021) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941211026850 · Cited by 19
Pandemics and consumers' mental well‐being
Minton, E. A. (2022) · Journal of Consumer Affairs · doi:10.1111/joca.12444 · Cited by 19
Religiosity, Identity Confusion, and Psychological Well-Being in Turkish University Students: The Moderating Role of Religious Orientation
Sözer, Ö. T., & Eskin, M. (2022) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-022-01625-2 · Cited by 18
The Scientific Study of Life Satisfaction and Religion/Spirituality
Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J., & Lorona, R. T. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-10274-5_19 · Cited by 18
Utilization of internet for religious purposes and psychosocial outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic
Kretzler, B., König, H., & Hajek, A. (2022) · Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics · doi:10.1016/j.archger.2022.104900 · Cited by 18
Self-Consciousness and Self-Awareness: Associations between Stable and Transitory Levels of Evidence
Majolo, M., Gomes, W. B., & de Castro, T. G. (2023) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs13020117 · Cited by 18
Spirituality in the Context of Well-being. Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties and Added Value of the Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List Short Form (SAIL-SF)
Bohlmeijer, E. T., Frielingsdorf, L., Kraiss, J. T., Meezenbroek, E. D. J., Visser, A., & ten Klooster, P. M. (2023) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-023-00640-8 · Cited by 20
Self-citation
Spirituality in social entrepreneurship: an ethical approach to sustainability
Singh, D., & Awasthy, R. (2024) · Social enterprise journal · doi:10.1108/sej-05-2024-0083 · Cited by 17
Individual, Familial and Social Environment Factors associated with Religiosity among Urban High School Students
Sârbu, E. A., Lazăr, F., & Popovici, A.-F. (2021) · Review of Religious Research · doi:10.1007/s13644-021-00466-x · Cited by 16
Correlates of Positivity Among a Sample of Lebanese University Students
Moussa, S., Malaeb, D. N., Obeïd, S., & Hallit, S. R. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.880437 · Cited by 16
Is religion beneficial for mental health? A 9-year longitudinal study
Prati, G. (2024) · International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100491 · Cited by 16
Religion and Mental Health: Is the Relationship Causal?
VanderWeele, T. J., & Ouyang, S. T. (2025) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-025-02266-x · Cited by 16
Within-person relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction: A 20-year study
Joshanloo, M. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110933 · Cited by 16
Religiosity & mental health seeking behaviors among U.S. adults
Boateng, A. C. O., Sebu, J., Lekwauwa, R., Britt, K. C., Oh, H., & Doolittle, B. (2024) · The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine · doi:10.1177/00912174231187841 · Cited by 15
Religiosity, Psychological Distress, and Well-Being: Evaluating Familial Confounding With Multicohort Sibling Data
Jokela, M. M. (2021) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwab276 · Cited by 15
Understanding the association between spirituality and mental health outcomes in adolescents in two non-Western countries: Exploring self-control as a potential mediator
Shroff, D. M., Breaux, R., & von Suchodoletz, A. (2021) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579421001334 · Cited by 19
“If You Prayed More, You Would Feel Better”: The Dual Nature of Religion and Spirituality on Black Youths’ Mental Health and Access to Care in Canada
Fante-Coleman, T., Allen, K., Booker, M., Craigg, A., & Jackson-Best, F. (2023) · Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal · doi:10.1007/s10560-023-00932-1 · Cited by 15
İlahiyat Fakültesi Öğrencilerinde Psikolojik İyi Oluş ve Dindarlık
Karslı, N. (2021) · Dokuz Eylül Ünivesitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi · doi:10.21054/deuifd.895059 · Cited by 14
Religion, spirituality, and risk for incident posttraumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation, and hazardous drinking in U.S. military veterans: A 7-year, nationally representative, prospective cohort study
Rubenstein, A., Koenig, H. G., Marin, D. B., Sharma, V., Harpaz‐Rotem, I., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2021) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.128 · Cited by 18
The Influence of Experiential Avoidance, Humility and Patience on the Association Between Religious/Spiritual Exploration and Well-Being
Jankowski, P. J., Murphy, S., Johnson, J., Sandage, S. J., Wang, D., & Tomlinson, J. (2022) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-021-00488-w · Cited by 14
Differential Adaptation to Adversity: A Latent Profile Analysis of Youth Engagement With Resilience-Enabling Cultural Resources and Mental Health Outcomes in a Stressed Canadian and South African Community
Theron, L. C., Rothmann, S., Höltge, J., & Ungar, M. T. (2022) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/00220221221077353 · Cited by 15
Religiosity, Spirituality and Mental Health: Meta-analysis of Studies from the German-Speaking Area
Zwingmann, C. (2025) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-025-02406-3 · Cited by 14
Are Religious Practices Indirectly Related to Stress at Work Through the Tendency to Forgive? A Sample of Polish Employees
Wnuk, M. (2022) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-022-01710-6 · Cited by 16
The Multidimensional Measurement of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being: Recent Developments in Scale Validation and Clinical Applications
Unterrainer, . (2023) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel14070882 · Cited by 13
Online posting effects: Unveiling the non-linear journeys of users in depression communities on Reddit
Morini, V., Citraro, S., Sajno, E., Sansoni, M., Riva, G., Stella, M., & Rossetti, G. (2024) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100542 · Cited by 16
Music therapists’ empathic experiences of shared and differing orientations to religion and spirituality in the client-therapist relationship
dos Santos, A., & Brown, T. (2021) · The Arts in Psychotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.aip.2021.101786 · Cited by 13
A Path Model for Subjective Well-Being during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Study among Polish and Ukrainian University Students
Rogowska, A. M., Kuśnierz, C., Павлова, Ю., & Chilicka, K. (2022) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm11164726 · Cited by 15
Religiosity, Spirituality, Healthcare, and Aphasia Rehabilitation
Laures-Gore, J. S., & Griffey, H. W. (2023) · Seminars in Speech and Language · doi:10.1055/s-0043-1776308 · Cited by 12
Peran Religious Coping terhadap Psychological Distress pada Mahasiswa: Scooping Review
Ayun, Q., Taufik, T., & Ruhaena, L. (2024) · Psikobuletin Buletin Ilmiah Psikologi · doi:10.24014/pib.v5i2.26954 · Cited by 12
What Do We Know About the Influence of Believers’ Religiosity on Happiness and Gratitude? – A Perspective for Clinical Practice
Huynh, V.-S., Tran-Thien, G.-P., Nguyen, T.-B., Nguyen, X., Nguyen, V. H. A., & Tran-Chi, V.-L. (2024) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s465729 · Cited by 13
Explaining US Adolescent Depressive Symptom Trends Through Declines in Religious Beliefs and Service Attendance
Kreski, N. T., Chen, Q., Olfson, M., Cerdá, M., Hasin, D. S., Martins, S. S., & Keyes, K. M. (2021) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-021-01390-8 · Cited by 12
Perceived God support as a mediator of the relationship between religiosity and psychological distress
Lloyd, C. E. M., & Reid, G. (2022) · Mental Health Religion & Culture · doi:10.1080/13674676.2022.2116633 · Cited by 12
Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Manevi İyi Oluşlarının Açıklanmasında Psikolojik Esneklik ve Çeşitli Demografik Değişkenlerin Rolü
Karataş, Z., & Selçuk, O. (2023) · Üniversite Araştırmaları Dergisi · doi:10.32329/uad.1112809 · Cited by 15
The Role of Spirituality and Social Support in Iranian Elderly Happiness: A Cross-sectional Study
Ezati, E., Koukamari, P. H., Karimy, M., Rawlins, J., Akbartabar, F., & Khalvandi, P. (2023) · Journal of Education and Community Health · doi:10.34172/jech.2023.1856 · Cited by 12
Positive adult experiences as turning points for better adult mental health after childhood adversity
Crandall, A., Magnusson, B. M., Barlow, M. J., Randall, H., Policky, A. L., & Hanson, C. L. (2023) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1223953 · Cited by 13
The Scientific Study of Positive Psychology, Religion/Spirituality, and Mental Health
Shafranske, E. P. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-10274-5_22 · Cited by 13
Spirituality, religiosity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
de Souza, A. V., Anunciação, L., & Landeira-Fernández, J. (2023) · Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas) · doi:10.1590/1982-0275202340e210206 · Cited by 11
Religious and spiritual experiences from a neuroscientific and complex systems perspective
Jedlička, P., & Havenith, M. N. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106319 · Cited by 15
Throw BABE Out With the Bathwater? Canadian Atheists are No Less Healthy than the Religious
Speed, D. (2022) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-022-01558-w · Cited by 11
Spirituality and the Quality of Life of Individuals with Intellectual Disability
Sango, P. N., & Forrester‐Jones, R. (2022) · Journal of Long-Term Care · doi:10.31389/jltc.139 · Cited by 11
Exploring spirituality and quality of life in individuals who are deaf and have intellectual disabilities
Fellinger, M., Holzinger, D., Fogler, J., & Fellinger, J. (2023) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-023-02451-x · Cited by 11
General and COVID19-specific emotional stress: Religious practice as a potential coping strategy
Blázquez, M., & Sánchez-Mangas, R. (2023) · Economics & Human Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101284 · Cited by 11
The experiences of faith and church community among Christian adults with mental illness: A qualitative metasynthesis.
Lloyd, C. E. M., Cathcart, J., Panagopoulos, M. C., & Reid, G. (2023) · Psychology of Religion and Spirituality · doi:10.1037/rel0000511 · Cited by 17
Psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the shortest version of the Central Religiosity Scale (CRS-5) in a sample of young adults
Fekih‐Romdhane, F., Tawil, N. E., Zouki, C.-J. E., Jaalouk, K., Obeïd, S., & Hallit, S. R. (2023) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-023-01431-9 · Cited by 11
Definitions
Koenig, H. G., VanderWeele, T. J., & Peteet, J. R. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190088859.003.0001 · Cited by 12
Take Me to (the Empty) Church? Social Networks, Loneliness and Religious Attendance in Young Polish Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Okruszek, Ł., Piejka, A., & Żurek, K. (2022) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-021-01486-1 · Cited by 14
Associations of religious and existential variables with psychosocial factors and biomarkers of cardiovascular risk in bereavement
Palitsky, R., Chen, Z. J., Rentscher, K. E., Friedman, S. E., Wilson, D. D. M., Ruiz, J. M., Sullivan, D., Grant, G. H., & O'Connor, M. (2023) · Aging Cell · doi:10.1111/acel.14014 · Cited by 10
Beyond religious tourism: revolutionizing Templestay as a mental health intervention through wellness tourism
Chu, H. C., Lee, J., & Roh, H. (2025) · Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing · doi:10.1080/10548408.2025.2556128 · Cited by 10
Psychosocial and Functional Predictors of Mental Disorder among Prostate Cancer Survivors: Informing Survivorship Care Programs with Evidence-Based Knowledge
Massoeurs, L., Ilie, G., Lawen, T., MacDonald, C., Bradley, C., Vo, J. D. C.-T., & Rutledge, R. D. H. (2021) · Current Oncology · doi:10.3390/curroncol28050334 · Cited by 10
Religiosity, Impulsivity, and Compulsivity in University Students
Grant, J., Blum, A. W., Chamberlain, S., & Lust, K. A. (2022) · CNS Spectrums · doi:10.1017/s1092852922000815 · Cited by 5
Religiosity/spirituality and mental health: Evidence of curvilinear relationships in a sample of religious people, spirituals, atheists, and agnostics
Gontijo, D. F., Silva, D. M. R., & Damásio, B. F. (2022) · Archive for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1177/00846724221102195 · Cited by 10
Toward a translational epidemiology of religion: Challenges and applications
Levin, J. (2022) · Annals of Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2022.08.053 · Cited by 10
Proximate and ultimate causes of supernatural beliefs
van Elk, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.949131 · Cited by 11
Corelation of Spiritual Well-Being and Stress Level in College Students: A Correlational Study
Arfianto, M. A., Haqqiyah, S. N., Widowati, S., & ‘Ibad, M. R. (2023) · IJNP (Indonesian Journal of Nursing Practices) · doi:10.18196/ijnp.v7i1.17914 · Cited by 10
Forgotten Variables and Older Men in Custody: Negative Childhood Events, Forgiveness, and Religiosity
Randall, G. K., & Bishop, A. J. (2021) · The International Journal of Aging and Human Development · doi:10.1177/00914150211031892 · Cited by 10
Religious attendance and global cognitive function: A fixed-effects cross-lagged panel modeling study of older U.S. adults
Das, A. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114580 · Cited by 11
Religion and Mental Health
Iyer, S., & Rosso, G. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_237-1 · Cited by 10
A pilot study examining whether restricting and resuming specific actions systematically changes symptoms of depression and anxiety. A series of N-of-1 trials.
Titov, N., Dear, B. F., Nielssen, O. B., Barrett, V., Kayrouz, R., & Staples, L. (2024) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2024.104536 · Cited by 9
Relationship between a history of child abuse and feelings of entrapment in Lebanese adults: the co-moderating effect of social support and religiosity
Zouki, C.-J. E., Chahine, A., Tawil, N. E., Jaalouk, K., Hallit, S. R., & Obeïd, S. (2024) · Middle East Current Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s43045-024-00424-7 · Cited by 9
Demographic variation in symptoms of depression and anxiety across 22 Global Flourishing Study countries
Bradshaw, M., Shiba, K., Jang, S. J., Kent, B. V., Bonhag, R., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2026) · Communications Medicine · doi:10.1038/s43856-025-01366-9 · Cited by 9
Temporal Associations between Religiosity and Subjective Well-Being in a Nationally Representative Australian Sample
Joshanloo, M. (2022) · International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2022.2108257 · Cited by 9
Coping and Protective Factors of Mental Health: An Examination of African American and US Caribbean Black Women Exposed to IPV from a Nationally Representative Sample
Parnell, R. N., Lacey, K. K., & Wood, M. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph192215343 · Cited by 11
The effectiveness of spiritual care training on medical students’ self-reported competencies: A quasi-experimental study
Vitorino, L. M., Teixeira, P. H. M., Dominato, P. C., de Azevedo, M. P. C., Resende, M. M., & Lucchetti, G. (2023) · Palliative & Supportive Care · doi:10.1017/s1478951523000408 · Cited by 11
HEALTH PROFESSIONS STUDENTS' MENTAL WELL-BEING AND PERCEIVED HEALTH - ТHE IMPACT OF OPTIMISM, RESILIENCE, RELIGIOSITY AND STRESS
Miteva, K. (2023) · Psychological Thought · doi:10.37708/psyct.v16i1.701 · Cited by 9
Spirituality as a Predictor of Well-Being, Mental Distress or Both: A Four-Week Follow-Up Study in a Sample of Dutch and Belgian Adults
Huijs, T., Braam, A. W., Kruizinga, R., Jacobs, N., Reijnders, J. S. A. M., & Simons, M. (2024) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel15020179 · Cited by 10
Religious attitude and sense of citizenship effect on organ donation in nursing students: A cross-sectional study
Damar, H. T., Ordin, Y. S., & Erki̇n, Ö. (2024) · Nurse Education in Practice · doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2024.103937 · Cited by 9
Health Workers’ Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Resilience During COVID-19 Pandemic
Ma, H., Chiang, N., Kao, R., & Lee, C.-Y. (2024) · Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare · doi:10.2147/jmdh.s464285 · Cited by 9
Religiosity of baby-boomers in young adulthood: Associations with psychological well-being over the life course
Hwang, W., Cheng, K. J. G., Brown, M. T., & Silverstein, M. D. (2022) · Advances in Life Course Research · doi:10.1016/j.alcr.2022.100477 · Cited by 10
The Moderating Influence of Religiousness/Spirituality on COVID-19 Impact and Change in Psychotherapy
Jankowski, P. J., Sandage, S. J., & Crabtree, S. A. (2022) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel13060488 · Cited by 9
The role of intrinsic spirituality, emotion dysregulation, and resilience on post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in university students who survived earthquake
Güleç, S. (2025) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104755 · Cited by 8
The Study of Religion, Spirituality and Wellbeing: Research Trends
Oviedo, L. (2024) · Journal of Management Spirituality & Religion · doi:10.51327/vosx9867 · Cited by 8
Ethno-Religious Engagement, Minority Experiences, and Strengthening American Jewish Identity
Fulton, C. L., Melamed, L., & Lambert, A. (2024) · Journal of Mental Health Counseling · doi:10.17744/mehc.46.3.03 · Cited by 8
The Confluence Between Spiritual and Mental Health: A Phenomenological Approach to the Study of Healthcare Professionals’ Experiences
López-Tarrida, Á. C., Suárez-Reina, P., & de Diego‐Cordero, R. (2024) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare13010035 · Cited by 9
Health professionals’ attitudes toward religiosity and spirituality: a NERSH Data Pool based on 23 surveys from six continents
Kørup, A. K., Søndergaard, J., Alyousefi, N. A., Lucchetti, G., Baumann, K., Lee, E., Karimah, A., Ramakrishnan, P., Frick, E., Büssing, A., et al. (2021) · F1000Research · doi:10.12688/f1000research.52512.1 · Cited by 8

Authors: Garssen, B., Visser, A., & Pool, G.
Affiliations: University Medical Center Groningen (NL)
University of Groningen (NL)
Corresponding author: Garssen, Bert
ORCID: Garssen, Bert
Visser, Anja
Pool, Grieteke
Venue: The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Published: 2020-02-27
Volume: 31
Issue: 1
Pages: 4-20
ISSN: 1050-8619 (ISSN-L)
1532-7582
DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2020.1729570
OpenAlex: W3008244037
Cited by: 418
References: 55
Citations by year: 2026: 65 · 2025: 73 · 2024: 76 · 2023: 106 · 2022: 57 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 5
FWCI: 8.01
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
research.rug.nl
Licence: other-oa
Locations: International Journal for the Psychology of Religion (publishedVersion)
University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders: Dutch Cancer Society (HDI 2010 – 4871)
Topics: Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion and Society Interactions
Keywords: religion, spirituality, mental health, religious participation, church support, intrinsic religiosity, positive religious coping, meaningfulness, life satisfaction, well-being, quality of life, psychological distress

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Does Spirituality or Religion Positively Affect Mental Health? Meta-analysis of Longitudinal Studies

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Self-check

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks