Relational processes in prayer : a reflection of the effects of culture on religious experience.

This study explores the mediating effect of one’s perceived relationship with God on the relationship between prayer and mental health in a cultural context. As an interpersonal activity, prayer may operate along relational constructs. Research supports a theoretical mechanism of prayer that aligns with the benefits of supportive interpersonal relationships. It is possible, then, that as relational processes change across dimensions of individualism and collectivism, prayer may mirror these same changes. A model for collectivistic and individualistic approaches to prayer is proposed and placed within a relational model for prayer’s effects on mental health. However, due to instrument failure, the hypotheses were not testable. The construct validity of the Inward, Outward, Upward Prayer scale is called into question and further research into taxonomies of prayer is encouraged

Disclosure during private prayer as a mediator between prayer type and mental health in an adult Christian sample.

According to Poloma and Pendleton’s (1991) prayer model there are four prayer types (colloquial, meditative, petitionary, and ritual), all of which have varying associations with mental health. However, few studies have examined what mechanisms explain these associations. The literature demonstrates that disclosing distressing information can improve mental health. Thus, the current study examined self-disclosure as a mediating variable between Poloma and Pendleton’s (1991) prayer types and mental health. It was hypothesized that self-disclosure would mediate the association between prayer types involving meaningful communication with God (colloquial and meditative prayer types) and mental health and would not mediate associations between petitionary and ritual prayer types and mental health. This cross-sectional, online study analyzed data from praying Christian adults (N = 296) to test the hypotheses. As predicted, self-disclosure mediated the positive associations between colloquial and meditative prayer types and mental health. Self-disclosure was not associated with petitionary or ritual prayer and therefore did not mediate the relationships of these prayer types with mental health, as expected. Petitionary prayer had a negative relationship to mental health, while ritual prayer had a positive relationship to mental health. The results indicate that self-disclosure is an important mediator to consider when investigating the associations between private prayer and mental health

Do trust-based beliefs mediate the associations of frequency of private prayer with mental health? : a cross-sectional study.

Significant associations of private prayer with mental health have been found, while mechanisms underlying these associations are largely unknown. This cross-sectional online study (N = 325, age: 35.74, SD: 18.50, 77.5% female) used path modeling to test if trust-based beliefs (whether, when, and how prayers are answered) mediated the associations of prayer frequency with the Anxiety, Confusion, and Depression Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS) scales. The association of prayer and Depression was fully mediated by trust-based beliefs; associations with Anxiety and Confusion were partially mediated. Further the interaction of prayer frequency by stress was association with Anxiety