Sexual Health in Relation to Religiosity and Spirituality (original) (raw)

Spirituality, religion, and health

American Psychologist, 2003

The investigation of spiritual/religious factors in health is clearly warranted and clinically relevant. This special section explores the persistent predictive relationship between religious variables and health, and its implications for future research and practice. The section reviews epidemiological evidence linking religiousness to morbidity and mortality, possible biological pathways linking spirituality/ religiousness to health, and advances in the assessment of spiritual/religious variables in research and practice. This introduction provides an overview of this field of research and addresses 3 related methodological issues: definitions of terms, approaches to statistical control, and criteria used to judge the level of supporting evidence for specific hypotheses. The study of spirituality and health is a true frontier for psychology and one with high public interest.

Spirituality, Religion, and Health An Emerging Research Field

The investigation of spiritual/religious factors in health is clearly warranted and clinically relevant. This special section explores the persistent predictive relationship between religious variables and health, and its implications for future research and practice. The section reviews epidemiological evidence linking religiousness to morbidity and mortality, possible biological pathways linking spirituality/ religiousness to health, and advances in the assessment of spiritual/religious variables in research and practice. This introduction provides an overview of this field of research and addresses 3 related methodological issues: definitions of terms, approaches to statistical control, and criteria used to judge the level of supporting evidence for specific hypotheses. The study of spirituality and health is a true frontier for psychology and one with high public interest.

Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research

American Psychologist, 2003

Empirical studies have identified significant links between religion and spirituality and health. The reasons for these associations, however, are unclear. Typically, religion and spirituality have been measured by global indices (e.g., frequency of church attendance, self-rated religiousness and spirituality) that do not specify how or why religion and spirituality affect health. The authors highlight recent advances in the delineation of religion and spirituality concepts and measures theoretically and functionally connected to health. They also point to areas for growth in religion and spirituality conceptualization and measurement. Through measures of religion and spirituality more conceptually related to physical and mental health (e.g., closeness to God, religious orientation and motivation, religious support, religious struggle), psychologists are discovering more about the distinctive contributions of religiousness and spirituality to health and well-being.

Trends in the Scientific Study of Religion, Spirituality, and Health: 1965–2000

Journal of Religion and Health, 2006

The present study examined the degree to which interest in religion, spirituality, and health has changed in psychology and the behavioral sciences over the past few decades. To accomplish this, searches were conducted on the PsycINFO database between the years 1965 and 2000. Three basic searches were conducted combining the word ''health'' with the following search terms: 1. (religion OR religious OR religiosity) NOT (spiritual OR spirituality); 2. (spiritual OR spirituality) NOT (religion OR religious OR religiosity); and 3. (religion OR religious OR religiosity) AND (spiritual OR spirituality). The rate per 100,000 articles was then calculated for each of the three search-terms: religion, spirituality, religion and spirituality. A significant upward trend across years was found for the rate of articles dealing with spirituality, r(34) = .95, p < .001, and religion and spirituality, r(34) = .86, p < .001. A significant downward trend was found for articles that only addressed religion, r(34) =).64, p < .001. The consequences of these trends are discussed.

Understanding Religious Variations in Sexuality and Sexual Health

In this chapter, we provide an overview and critical examination of published research concerning the impact of religious involvement on the outcomes of sexuality and sexual health across the life course. We take a broad approach, focusing on a variety of important topics, including sexual behavior, sexual health education, abortion attitudes and behavior, HIV/AIDS, attitudes toward gays and lesbians, and the lived experiences of sexual minorities. In the future, researchers should (1) employ more comprehensive measures of religious involvement, (2) investigate understudied outcomes related to sexuality and sexual health, (3) explore mechanisms linking religion, sexuality, and sexual health, (4) establish subgroup variations in the impact of religious involvement, and (5) formally test alternative explanations like personality selection and social desirability. Research along these lines would certainly contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of religious variations in sexuality and sexual health across the life course.

Religion, Spirituality and Mental Health: Current Trends in Research and Practice

2019

A young woman of 35 years walks into the Parish Priest’s office for consultation. When she leaves, the priest is left mesmerized by the issues that this parishioner brought up. While he has prayed with her, suggested some scripture and spiritual reading, and promised to continue to pray for her, he cannot quite wrap his mind and heart around the complexity of issues that she presented. He detects that she has a mental health issue which remains to him indeterminate. Similarly, after the same woman consults with a medical professional, she receives a prescription and is offered a follow-up visit. Like the priest, the medical doctor remains puzzled. He detects that she has an underlying religious or spiritual issue somehow interacting with her physical and mental health concerns. Many religious practitioners encounter people with mental health issues which require clinical intervention beyond their pastoral ministry. Likewise, many medical professionals encounter individuals with reli...

Lassiter & Parsons 2016 A&B spirituality and syndemics review.pdf

This paper presents a systematic review of the quantitative HIV research that assessed the relationships between religion, spirituality, HIV syndemics, and individual HIV syndemics-related health conditions (e.g. depression, substance abuse, HIV risk) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States. No quantitative studies were found that assessed the relationships between HIV syndemics, religion, and spirituality. Nine studies, with 13 statistical analyses, were found that examined the relationships between individual HIV syndemics-related health conditions, religion, and spirituality. Among the 13 analyses, religion and spirituality were found to have mixed relationships with HIV syndemicsrelated health conditions (6 nonsignificant associations; 5 negative associations; 2 positive associations). Given the overall lack of inclusion of religion and spirituality in HIV syndemics research, a conceptual model that hypothesizes the potential interactions of religion and spirituality with HIV syndemics-related health conditions is presented. The implications of the model for MSM's health are outlined.

The association between spirituality and religiousness and mental health

Scientific Reports

The present study aims to investigate how different levels of spirituality and religiousness (high spirituality and high religiousness-S/R, high spirituality and low religiousness-S/r, low spirituality and high religiousness s/R and low spirituality and low religiousness-s/r) are associated with quality of life, depressive symptoms, anxiety, optimism and happiness among adults. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 1,046 Brazilian adults. Concerning the different levels of spirituality and religiousness, 49.

Spirituality and Religion-Relevance and Assessment in the Clinical Setting

Current Psychiatry Research and Reviews, 2019

Background:There has been an increasing interest in the past several decades to study the relationship between spirituality and religion with physical and mental health as well as the various quality of life measures. This trend has led to the creation of an area of study called epidemiology of religion and spirituality. The policy shifts at various levels, in the mental health field, has occurred as well to educate healthcare providers, and address patients’ spiritual /religious needs in clinical settings. Despite these advances in research and policy shift, there is still some resistance in the health care community to assess and address the spiritual needs of patients in clinical settings.Objective:The objective is to review the published articles on spirituality/religion and its relationship with mental and physical wellbeing and discuss limitations of such research. The review articles on assessment and interventions to address spiritual or religious needs in clinical settings ...