Abstract
Many people use religious beliefs and practices to cope with stressful life events and derive peace of mind and purpose in life. The goal of this paper was to systematically review the recent psychological literature to assess the role of religion in mental health outcomes. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using medical and psychological databases on the relationship between religiosity and mental health. Seventy-four articles in the English and Arabic languages published between January 2000 and March 2012 were chosen. Despite the controversial relationship between religion and psychiatry, psychology, and medical care, there has been an increasing interest in the role which spirituality and religion play in mental health. The findings of past research showed that religion could play an important role in many situations, as religious convictions and rules influence the believer’s life and health care. Most of the past literature in this area reported that there is a significant connection between religious beliefs and practices and mental health.
References
Abudabbeh, N., & Aseel, H. A. (1999). Transcultural counseling and Arab Americans. In J. McFadden & J. McFadden (Eds.), Transcultural counseling (2nd ed., pp. 283–296). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Armbruster, C. A., Chibnall, J. T., & Legett, S. (2003). Pediatrician beliefs about spirituality and religion in medicine: Associations with clinical practice. Pediatrics journal, 111, 227–235.
Armento, M. E. A., McNulty, J. K., & Hopko, D. R. (2011). Behavioral activation of religious behaviors: Randomized trial with depressed college students. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. doi:10.1037/a0026405.
Baetz, M. R. (2011). Suicidal ideation, affective lability, and religion in depressed adults. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 14(7), 633–641. doi:10.1080/13674676.2010.504202.
Bjorck, J. P., & Thurman, J. W. (2007). Negative life events, patterns of positive and negative religious coping, and psychological functioning. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 46(2), 159–167. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2007.00348.x.
Bowie, J., Barbara, C., Thomas, L., Sheila, F., & Kenneth, P. (2001). The relationship between religious coping style and anxiety over breast cancer in African American women. Journal of Religion and Health, 40, 411–422.
Bush, A. L., Jameson, J. P., Barrera, T., Phillips, L. L., Lachner, N., Evans, G., et al. (2012). An evaluation of the brief multidimensional measure of religiousness/spirituality in older patients with prior depression or anxiety. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 15(2), 191–203. doi:10.1080/13674676.2011.566263.
Carothers, S. S., Borkowski, J. G., Lefever, J. B., & Whitman, T. L. (2005). Religiosity and the socioemotional adjustment of adolescent mothers and their children. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 263–275.
Carpenter, T. P., Laney, T., & Mezulis, A. (2012). Religious coping, stress, and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A prospective study. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 4(1), 19–30. doi:10.1037/a0023155.
Chang-Ho, C., & Clarke-Pine, D. (2011). Considering personal religiosity in adolescent delinquency: The role of depression, suicidal ideation, and church guideline. Journal of Psychology & Christianity, 30(1), 3–15.
Clark, D. A., Beck, T., & Alford, B. A. (2009). Scientific foundations of cognitive theory and therapy. Canada: Wiley.
Cokley, K., Garcia, D., Hall-Clark, B., Tran, K., & Rangel, A. R. (2012). The moderating role of ethnicity in the relation between religiousness and mental health among ethnically diverse college students. Journal of Religion and Health, 51(3), 890–907. doi:10.1007/s10943-010-9406-z.
Dew, R. E., Daniel, S. S., Goldston, D. B., & Koenig, H. G. (2008). Religion, spirituality, and depression in adolescent psychiatric outpatients. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 196, 247–251.
Evans, E., Hawton, K., & Rodham, K. (2004). Factors associated with suicidal phenomena in adolescents: A systematic review of population-based studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 24, 957–979.
Fife, J., Bond, S., & Byars-Winston, A. (2011). Correlates and predictors of academic self efficacy among African American students. Journal of Education, 132(1), 141–148.
Gesler, W., Thomas, A. A., & Harold, G. K. (2000). An introduction to three studies of rural elderly people: Effects of religion and culture on health. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 15, 1–12.
Gonza-Torres, Xavier, M., King, M., Leurent, B., Nazareth, I., Bellón-Saamen, J., et al. (2003). Spiritual and religious beliefs as risk factors for the onset of major depression. An International Cohort Study, 43, 2109–2120. doi:10.1017/S0033291712003066.
Harold, K. G., Linda, K., & Bercedis, L. (1998). Religion and depression in older medical inpatients. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 542(4), 536.
Hummer, R. A., Rogers, R. G., Nam, C. B., & Ellison, C. G. (1999). Religious involvement and U.S. adult mortality. Demography, 36(2), 273–285.
Ibn Aljawzeeh, A. (1997) Al Muslim. Alshefa, Tripoli, Libya.
Ironson, G., Stuetzle, R., & Fletcher, M. A. (2006). An increase in religiousness/spirituality occurs after HIV diagnosis and predicts slower disease progression over 4 years in people with HIV. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21(5), S62–S68. doi:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00648.x.
Jansen, K. L., Motley, R., & Hovey, J. (2010). Anxiety, depression and students’ religiosity. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 13(3), 267–271. doi:10.1080/13674670903352837.
Kasen, S., Wickramaratne, P., Gameroff, M. J., & Weissman, M. M. (2011). Religiosity and resilience in persons at high risk for major depression. Psychological Medicine: A Journal of Research in Psychiatry and the Allied Sciences, 42(3), 509–519. doi:10.1017/s0033291711001516.
Kodzi, I. A., Obeng, G. S., Emina, J., & Chika, E. A. (2010). Religious involvement, social engagement, and subjective health status of older residents of informal neighborhoods of Nairobi. Journal Urban Health, 88(2), 370–380. doi:10.1007/s11524-010-9482-0.
Koenig, H. G. (2006). Religion and remission of depression in medical inpatients with heart failure/pulmonary disease. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195(5), 389–395.
Koenig, H. G. (2009). Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: A review. Résumé: Recherche sur la religion, la spiritualité et la santé mentale: une revue, 54(5), 283–291.
Lewis, P. E., Sheng, M., Rhodes, M. M., Jackson, K. E., & Schover, L. R. (2012). Psychosocial concerns of young African American breast cancer survivors. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 30(2), 168–184. doi:10.1080/07347332.2011.651259.
Maria, I. V., Ronald, C. K., Jane, S., Roger, B. D., David, F. F., Sonja, A., et al. (2001). The use of complementary and alternative therapies to treat anxiety and depression in the United States. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 289–294. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.158.2.289.
Marks, L. (2005). Religion and bio-psycho-social health: A review and conceptual model. Journal of Religion and Health, 40(2). doi:10.1007/s10943-005-2775-z.
Marsiglia, F., Ayers, S., & Hoffman, S. (2012). Religiosity and adolescent substance use in central Mexico: Exploring the influence of internal and external religiosity on cigarette and alcohol use. American Journal of Community Psychology, 49(1/2), 87–97. doi:10.1007/s10464-011-9439-9.
Peter, H. C., & Pargament, K. I. (2003). Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research. American Psychologist Journal, 58(1), 64–74.
Pössel, P., Martin, N. C., Garber, J., Banister, A. W., Pickering, N. K., Hautzinger, M. (2011). Bidirectional relations of religious orientation and depressive symptoms in adolescents: A short-term longitudinal study. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 3(1), 24–38.
Rasic, D., Kisely, S., & Langille, D. B. (2011). Protective associations of importance of religion and frequency of service attendance with depression risk, suicidal behaviours and substance use in adolescents in Nova Scotia, Canada. Journal of Affective Disorders, 132(3), 389–395. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2011.03.007.
Sabrina, W. (2011). Religiosity in relation to depression and well-being among adolescents—A comparison of findings among the Anglo-Saxon population and findings among Austrian high school students. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 14(6), 515–529. doi:10.1080/13674676.2010.487481.
Shreve-Neiger, A., & Barry, A. E. (2004). Religion and anxiety: A critical review of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 24(4), 379–397. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2004.02.003.
Smith, T. B., McCullough, M. E., & Poll, J. (2003). Religiousness and depression: Evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 614–636. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.4.614.
Soonhee, R., Yeon-Shim, L., Kyoung, H., Tazuko, S., & Grace, J. (2011). Depressive symptoms and life satisfaction among older Korean Americans. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 32(5), 354–394.
Stephen, M., Williams, A. C., & Stephanie, B. (2002). A confirmatory factor analysis of the Beck Depression Inventory in chronic pain. International Association for the Study of Pain, 99, 289–298.
Sternthal, M. J., Williams, D. R., Musick, M. A., & Buck, A. C. (2010). Depression, anxiety, and religious life: A search for mediators. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(3), 343–359. doi:10.1177/0022146510378237.
Sue, S., & Zane, N. (2009). The role of culture and cultural techniques in psychotherapy: A critique and reformulation. Asian American Journal of psychologist, 1, 3–14. doi:10.1037/1948-1985.S.1.3.
Taiebeh, Y., & Hassan, S. (2008). Role of religious orientation in predicting marital adjustment and psychological well-being. Scientific Research, 56(5), 521–532. doi:10.1007/s11089-008-0125-2.
Toussaint, L. (2009). Associations of religiousness with 12-month prevalence of drug use and drug-related sex. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 7(2), 311–323. doi:10.1007/s11469-008-9171-3.
Watlington, C. G., & Murphy, C. M. (2006). The roles of religion and spirituality among African American survivors of domestic violence. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 837–856.
Yarhouse, M. A., & Kreeft, T. E. (2003). Depression, creativity, and religion: A pilot study of Christians in the visual arts. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 31(4), 348–355.
Zittel-Palamara, K. S. (2009). Spiritual support for women with postpartum depression. Journal of Psychology & Christianity, 28(3), 213–223.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
AbdAleati, N.S., Mohd Zaharim, N. & Mydin, Y.O. Religiousness and Mental Health: Systematic Review Study. J Relig Health 55, 1929–1937 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9896-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9896-1