Abstract
The relationships of spirituality and religion to acute cardiovascular responses, physical symptoms of illness, stress and psychological mood were assessed in a community sample of adults. Nineteen men and 61 women participated in a betrayal interview, while their blood pressure and heart rate were monitored. Religious affiliation, frequency of attendance at worship and religiousness were associated with resting diastolic and mean arterial pressure. Spirituality, especially as assessed by the existential scale of the Spiritual Well-being Scale, was related to symptoms of illness, medication use, stress and negative mood states. Spirituality and involvement in organized religion may represent a means to increase the sense of purpose and meaning in life, which is related to greater resiliency and resistance to stress-related illness.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unraveling the Mystery of Health. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Antonovsky, A. (1994). The sense of coherence: An historical and future perspective. In H. I. McCubbin, E. A. Thompson, & J. E. Fromer, (Eds.), Sense of Coherence and Resiliency. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 3–20.
Batson, C. D., & Schoenrade, P. A. (1991). Measuring religion as Quest: Reliability concerns. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 30, 430–447.
Cohen, S. & Hoberman, H. M. (1983). Positive events and social supports as buffers of life change stress. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 13, 99–125.
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385–396.
Comstock, G. W., & Partridge, K. B. (1972). Church attendance and health. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 25, 665–672.
Drinnon, J. R., & Jones, W. H. (1999). Measuring an act of forgiveness. Paper presented at SEPA, Mobile, AL.
Ellison, C. W., & Smith, J. (1991). Toward an integrative measure of health and well-being. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 19, 35–48.
Fabricatore, A. N., Handal, P. J., & Fenzel, L. M. (2000). Personal spirituality as a moderator of the relationship between stressors and subjective well-being. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 28, 221–228.
Frankl, V. E. (1963). Man's Search for Meaning. Boston: Beacon Press.
Genia, V. (1991). The spiritual experience index: A measure of spiritual maturity. Journal of Religion and Health, 30, 337–347.
Graham, T. W., Kaplan, B. H., Cornoni-Huntley, J. C., James, S. A., Becker, C., Hames, C. G., & Heyden, S. (1978). Frequency of church attendance and blood pressure elevation. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 1, 37–43.
Harris, R. C., Dew, M. A., Lee, A., Amaya, M., Bruches, L. D. R., & Coleman, G. (1995). The role of religion in heart-transplant recipients' long-term health and well-being. Journal of Religion and Health, 34, 17–32.
Kallus, K. W. (1995). Der Erholungs-Belastungs-Fragebogen (EBF) (The Recovery-Stress-Questionnaire). Swets & Zeitlinger, Frankfurt.
Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of Religion and Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., & Kaplan, B. H., Greenberg, R. S., Logue, E., & Tyroler, H. A. (1989). The impact of religion on men's blood pressure. Journal of Religion and Health, 28, 265–278.
Leventhal, H., & Patrick-Miller, L. (2000). Emotions and physical illness: Causes and indicators of vulnerability. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland (Eds.), Handbook of Emotions. New York: Guilford Press, 523–537.
Levin, J. S., & Vanderpool, H. Y. (1989). Is religion therapeutically significant for hypertension? Social Science and Medicine, 29, 69–78.
McCullough, M. E., Hoyt, W. T., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., & Thoresen, C. E. (2000). Religious involvement and mortality: A meta-analytic review. Health Psychology, 19, 211–222.
McFadden, S. H., & Levin, J. S. (1996). Religion, emotion and health. In C. Magai & S. H. McFadden, (Eds.), Handbook of emotion, adult development, and aging. New York: Academic Press, 349–365.
McNair, D. M., Lorr, M., & Droppleman, L. F. (1992) Manual for the Profile of Mood States. San Diego, CA: EdITS/Educational and Industrial Testing Service.
Ouellette, S. C., & DiPlacido, J. (2001). Personality's role in the protection and enhancement of health. In A. Baum, T. A. Revenson, & J. E. Singer, (Eds.), Handbook of Health Psychology, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 175–193.
Paloutzian, R. F., & Ellison, C. W. (1982). Loneliness, spiritual well-being and the quality of life. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman, (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy. New York: Wiley.
Pargament, K. I. (1997). The Psychology of Religion and Coping. New York: Guilford Press.
Piferi, R. L., Billington, E., & Lawler, K. A. (2000). The tendency to give social support scale: reliability, validity, and relationsihp to health. Paper presented at American Psychosomatic Society, Savannah, GA.
Piferi, R. L., Kline, K. A., Younger, J. W., & Lawler, K. A. (2000). An alternative approach for achieving cardiovascular baseline: Viewing an aquatic video. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 37, 207–217.
Plante, T. G., & Sherman, A. C. (2001). Research on faith and health: New approaches to old questions. In T. G. Plante & A. C. Sherman, (Eds.), Faith and Health. New York: Guilford Press, 1–12.
Rabkin, J. G., & Struening, E. L. (1976). Life events, stress and illness. Science, 194, 1013–1020.
Rayburn, C. A. (2001). Theobiology, spirituality, religiousness, and the Wizard of Oz. Psychology of Religion Newsletter, 26, 1–11.
Seybold, K. S., & Hill, P. C. (2001). The role of religion and spirituality in mental and physical health. Current Directions, 10, 21–24.
Thoresen, C. E. (2000, personal communication).
Thoresen, C. E., Harris, A. H. S., & Oman, D. (2001). Spirituality, religion, and health. In T. G. Plante & A. C. Sherman (Eds.), Faith and Health. New York: Guilford Press, 15–52.
Walsh, A. (1998). Religion and hypertension: Testing alternative explanations among immigrants. Behavioral Medicine, 24, 122–130.
Yates, J. W., Chalmers, B. J., St. James, P., Follansbee, M., & McKegney, F. P. (1981). Religion in patients with advanced cancer. Medical and Pediatric Oncology, 9, 121–128.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lawler, K.A., Younger, J.W. Theobiology: An Analysis of Spirituality, Cardiovascular Responses, Stress, Mood, and Physical Health. Journal of Religion and Health 41, 347–362 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021126510680
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021126510680