Journal of Religion & Health最新文献

{"title":"Media Religiosity as a Mental Health Stability Factor in the COVID-19 Crisis in Ukraine.","authors":"Natalia Kostruba, Oksana Fishchuk","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02377-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02377-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID pandemic has set a precedent where social restrictions and alarming news about the spread and mortality of the virus have kept people in constant emotional tension. Scientists around the world have concluded that society needs psychological support and information assistance to overcome the fear, anxiety, and depression that arise from pandemics. In search of peace, many believers turn to religion. The spiritual institution of the church always takes care of people who need support and hope. However, quarantine restrictions significantly narrowed the church influence on the life of the religious community. At that time, the church significantly expanded its presence in the media space. The phenomenon of media religiosity has emerged as the religion practice using media. The question is, does this new kind of religiosity have an impact on psychological well-being and mental health? So, the purpose of the article is to empirically investigate the relationship and influence of the individual media religiosity level on of the mental health stability indicators. Mental health stability refers to the extent to which individuals reported change in levels of common mental health symptoms (curiosity about life, belonging to a social group, satisfaction with one's personality, etc.). To implement the purpose of the study, we used the questionnaire \"Mental health stability-short form\" (MHC-SF-UA) adapted by E. Nosenko, A. Chetveryk-Burchak and the Kostruba Questionnaire for Media Religious Individuals (KQMRI). The research was conducted on a convenience sample which consisted of 685 people (181 male and 504 female), average age 22.7 years, from 16 regions of Ukraine. A statistically significant relationship was revealed between: hedonic well-being and the media religiosity cognitive component (r =  - 0.116; p < 0.01); social well-being as a component of mental health stability and the individual's media religiosity conative component (r = 0.078; p < 0.05); mental health stability and cognitive component of a person's media religiosity (r =  - 0.079; p < 0.05). The implemented regression analysis made it possible to identify only one predictor of media religiosity-hedonic well-being (β =  - 0.14, p < 0.05). The results demonstrate that individuals prone to media religiosity have stable mental health, which is most often manifested and supported by social well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144530440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Effect of Spiritual Gratitude and Religious Coping Levels on Psychological Resilience in Earthquake Survivor Students 1 Year After the Earthquake in Türkiye.","authors":"Yasemin Gümüş Şekerci, Gülşah Ayvazoğlu, Mustafa Çekiç","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02369-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02369-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cultural factors are effective in the emergence of psychological resilience. This study aims to determine the psychological resilience, spiritual gratitude, and religious coping levels of students who experienced the Kahramanmaraş earthquake 1 year after the earthquake, and to examine the effect of spiritual gratitude and religious coping levels on the level of psychological resilience. This is a descriptive and correlational study. A total of 176 Emergency Relief and Disaster Management students who experienced the Kahramanmaraş earthquake in Türkiye were included in the study. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Brief Psychological Resilience Scale, Spiritual Gratitude Scale, and Religious Coping Scale. Statistical evaluations were made using descriptive analyses as well as Independent Sample t-test, One-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis. Psychological resilience was positively associated with spiritual gratitude and positive religious coping levels (p < .05). The findings showed that 1 year after the earthquake, spiritual gratitude and religious coping levels of earthquake survivor students were associated with psychological resilience.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144508873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Religious 'Mature Care' as an Ethical Framework for Pastoral Caregiving: Justification, Adaptation, and Mental Health Benefits.","authors":"Carl Jayson D Hernandez","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02371-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02371-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pastoral caregivers often carry the task of caring for their community's holistic well-being, especially the spiritual dimension. However, religious doctrines and practices often highlight the altruistic understanding of care. An overemphasis on this perspective can lead to a form of solaltrism-the opposite of solipsism. Given this risk, this paper explores and proposes the paradigmatic shift toward mature care as a viable ethical framework for pastoral caregiving. Mature care is an ethical framework that considers the interests of all involved and affected parties in the decision-making process. When applying such an ethical framework, I postulate possible consequent mental health benefits, especially in dispelling inappropriate or misguided religious guilt. This study first utilizes a literature review to investigate this intersection of ethics, pastoral psychology, and mental health studies. After the review, this study theorizes religious mature care ethics as an applied ethical framework. With these approaches in mind, the paper proceeds as follows: first, the paper presents a brief literature review concerning altruism in religious matters, the dynamics in pastoral care settings, and the notion of mature care primarily based on Tove Pettersen. This part establishes the advantages and challenges concerning ethical altruism as an ethical framework for pastoral caregiving. Second, the detailed discussion covers the proposed definition of religious mature care ethics, the perceived challenges in its application, some practical approaches to adapting the ethical framework to one's particular context, and the potential mental health benefits of the ethical framework adaptation. Lastly, the main points of the philosophical exploration are summarized, and suggestions for future research are presented based on the study's limitations.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144508872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors that Facilitate or Hamper Oncology Nurse's Delivery of Spiritual Care in China: A Qualitative Study.","authors":"Xiaohan Hu, Miaorui Jiao, Yanli Hu","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02362-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02362-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To explore the factors that facilitate or hamper the delivery of spiritual care by oncology nurses and advance their ability to deliver spiritual care, a qualitative design using semistructured interviews was used to collect data that were then analyzed using content analysis. Recruitment was purposive. Fifteen nurses at a cancer treatment hospital in a single Chinese province were recruited via voluntary sign-up; nine had received spiritual training and six had not. Digitally audio recorded, semistructured interviews lasting about 30 min were conducted in May 2023. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Ethics committee approval was obtained. All the nurses were women, with ages from 23 to 49 years. Their working tenure ranged from 3 to 30 years, and their weekly working hours ranged from 40 to 48 h. The thematic analysis revealed 3 themes (aspects of nurses, patients, and families) and 7 sub-themes of facilitating factors (the effort that nurses put in, communication skills, solid theoretical foundation, etc.) as well as 4 themes (aspects of nurses, patients, families, and nation) and 11 sub-themes (workload, emotional resonance, the cooperation of family members, etc.) of hampering factors. Providing professional spiritual care to cancer patients is a goal that oncology nurses are trained to achieve, but problematic external factors should be recognized from the perspective of patients and families, while positive factors should be effectively used to promote the development of spiritual care. In nursing, spiritual care is as important as physical care, and thus, the ability to deliver spiritual care should be nurtured.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144498437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Violence in the Name of Faith: How Geopolitical Risk Fuels Religious Extremism Across Diverse Nations.","authors":"Lansheng Cao, Yuanyuan Liu, Sajid Ali, Raima Nazar","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02361-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02361-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Geopolitical risk has become a major driver of instability, intensifying tensions that often escalate into religious violence worldwide. The complex relationship between geopolitical disruptions and the escalation of religious conflicts demands urgent attention to better understand its broader implications for global peace and security. This investigation examines the asymmetric impact of geopolitical risk on religious violence across ten selected countries: USA, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Israel, France, and Brazil. Unlike earlier studies, which mainly employed panel data tools and often neglected the unique economic environments of individual nations, the present work utilizes the advanced quantile-on-quantile tool. This approach allows for the independent assessment of variable changes within each nation, improving precision and offering a more profound comprehension of each country's unique attributes. The findings highlight a strong and significant positive relationship between geopolitical risk and religious violence in most of the selected nations, with each country exhibiting unique patterns and responses to these dynamics. The results highlight the critical role of policymakers in applying rigorous estimations and forming customized policies to navigate the complex interplay between geopolitical risk and religious violence, ensuring more effective and context-specific solutions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144477294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spiritual Care and Trauma REBOOT: An Interview Study of U.S. Course Graduates.","authors":"Leanne K Knobloch, Jenny L Owens, Kirsten Pool","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02351-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-025-02351-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spiritual care is in demand among individuals coping with trauma, but the barriers to seeking and providing spiritual care in traditional clinical settings suggest the need for community interventions. Trauma REBOOT is a 12-week, peer-led, Christian-based spiritual care course offered by trained volunteers in locations around the United States and online. We conducted the first study of the Trauma REBOOT program by interviewing 43 course graduates. Results revealed very positive perceptions of the course. Participants identified two reasons for attendance (seeking a program grounded in spirituality, looking for community), strengths of the program (structure of the curriculum, camaraderie among attendees), and avenues for improvement (preference for in-person format over remote format, more effective discussion leadership). They also described several effects of the course (more peace, transformed view of God, healthier boundaries in relationships, greater compassion for others, finding meaning in suffering). Based on these findings, we consider ways to enhance the delivery of spiritual care for trauma and refine the Trauma REBOOT program.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144340491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Buddhist Practices and Mental Health Outcomes in Thailand.","authors":"Piriya Pholphirul, Kitisak Srijamdee","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02354-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02354-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While research supports a positive link between religious practices and mental health, few studies examine the influence of multidimensional religious practices on diverse mental health outcomes, often focusing on Western, primarily Christian, populations. This study investigates this relationship among Thai Buddhists, addressing limitations of prior research that employed single-item religiosity measures and predominantly Western samples. Using national representative data from over 22,000 Thai Buddhists, we estimated binary probit models to examine the association between Buddhist practices and mental well-being. While age, education, and residence were associated with mental health, Buddhist activities and religious engagement were significantly associated with improved outcomes. Consistent daily practices (e.g., praying, giving alms), occasional practices (e.g., meditation, listening to sermons), and more demanding practices (e.g., ordaining) were all significantly associated with positive mental health, with ordaining demonstrating the strongest association. These findings suggest that integrating Buddhist activities into community health programs, supporting mindfulness initiatives, and training mental health professionals and religious leaders in collaborative holistic care could promote mental health among Thai Buddhists.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144327204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"God's Plan, God's Community? Divine Control, Congregational and Spiritual Support, and the Association with Subjective Well-Being in the United States.","authors":"Rachael Murdock, Laura Upenieks","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02344-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02344-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Divine control, the belief that God exerts authority over the course of a person's life, is an important religious cognition that has shown robust links with mental health and well-being. Despite this empirical basis, few studies have sought to understand why divine control is generally favorable for subjective well-being. This study expands the literature by considering the relationship between divine control and life meaning, optimism, and life satisfaction while integrating perceived congregational and spiritual support from religious communities. Drawing on data from an original survey of congregants (N = 1,556) collected in 2017-2019 from the San Antonio and Washington DC areas, regression results suggest that greater divine control predicted greater meaning in life, optimism, and life satisfaction. Parametric mediation results suggest a consistent pattern of mediation, where both congregational and spiritual support partially explained why divine control was positively associated with greater subjective well-being. We situate our findings within the growing body of research on religious cognitions like divine control in the social psychology of religion and emphasize the importance of the religious community in accounting for at least part of the religion and well-being connection.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144327205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Effect of Religious Coping Levels on Asthma Control in Asthmatic Adults in Türkiye.","authors":"Canan Bozkurt, Hülya Bulut","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02360-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02360-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examines the effect of religious coping on asthma control in asthmatic adults. The sample included 500 adults who visited outpatient clinics in western Türkiye between April 24 and October 30, 2024. The Patient Identification Form, Religious Coping Scale (RCS), and Asthma Control Test (ACT) were used. The mean ACT score was 14.27 ± 3.81, with 81.6% of participants having uncontrolled asthma (ACT score ≤ 19). Multiple regression analysis revealed that positive religious coping was positively associated with better asthma control (B = 0.287, p < 0.001), while negative religious coping was negatively associated with asthma control (B =  - 0.378, p < 0.001). The explanatory power of religious coping on asthma control was 15.4% (Adjusted R² = 0.154, p < 0.001). The indings highlight religious coping as a significant psychosocial support mechanism in asthma management, suggesting its potential to improve patient quality of life. Healthcare providers, especially nurses, should integrate coping support in asthma education.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144310609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spirituality and Pain among Post-treatment Cancer Patients in Poland: Mediation by Meaning in Life and Pain Coping Strategies.","authors":"Dariusz Krok, Ewa Telka, Marcin Moroń","doi":"10.1007/s10943-025-02358-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02358-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spirituality has been found to have some protective effect against pain experiences in cancer patients, but its role in alleviating total pain is not well understood. Intervening factors such as meaning in life and coping with pain also have not been closely examined in cancer patients. This study investigated the serial mediating effects of meaning in life and pain coping on the relationship between spirituality-conceptualized in terms of religious attitudes, ethical sensitivity, and inner harmony-and total pain, which encompasses physical, psychological, social, and spiritual struggles among post-treatment cancer patients. A total of 285 patients (52.8% female) who had completed their treatment filled in self-report measures of spirituality, meaning in life, pain coping strategies, and total pain. Inner harmony was negatively related to physical pain, psychological pain, social pain, and spiritual pain. In contrast, religiosity was not related to any dimensions of total pain. Yet, religiosity was positively related to the use of some pain coping strategies, including diverting attention, reinterpreting pain sensations, ignoring sensations, praying and hoping, and increasing activities. The main indirect effect of spirituality as a latent variable on total pain occurred through presence of meaning, search for meaning, and three pain coping strategies: diverting attention, catastrophizing, and ignoring sensations. The findings indicate a serial mediation model in which the relationship of spirituality as a latent construct with total pain is mediated through two types of mediators (meaning in life and pain coping). Therefore, religiosity, ethical sensitivity and inner harmony taken together as a latent variable could be associated with lower pain due to finding meaning in life, avoiding unreflective coping, and diverting attention from aversive experience of pain.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144295137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}