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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

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Garssen, Bert, Visser, Anja, Pool, Grieteke·2021·The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
DOI 10.1080/10508619.2020.1729570
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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.

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Forouhari S., 2019, Iranian Journal of Public Health, 48, 43
  2. 10.1111/jssr.2003.42.issue-1 · DOI
  3. 10.1002/da.2015.32.issue-7 · DOI
  4. 10.1111/jomf.2007.69.issue-3 · DOI
  5. 10.1111/jssr.2001.40.issue-3 · DOI

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Metadata

Authors
Garssen, B., Visser, A., & Pool, G.
Affiliations
  • University Medical Center Groningen (NL)
  • University of Groningen (NL)
Corresponding author
Garssen, Bert
ORCID
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
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

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