A DECADE OF RESEARCH ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION AND COPING: Things we assumed and lessons we learned

Recently, the field of psychology has begun to display a growing interest in religious coping methods and their implications for health and well-being. Empirical studies have yielded an interesting picture of the relationship between religious coping and physical and mental health. In this paper, we review some of the foundational assumptions on which the theory of religion and coping rests. Then, we summarize recent advances in research in the area of religion and coping. We conclude by highlighting some of the exciting new directions for research in the psychology of religion and coping

Religious socialization among Malaysian Muslim adolescents: a family structure comparison

Despite the plethora of research on correlates of adolescent religiosity, few studies have examined the contribution of socialization factors to adolescent religiosity in the context of non-Western Muslim samples from different family contexts. To address this gap, the current study explored the contribution of parenting (direct socialization) and community engagement (indirect socialization) factors on religiosity among 895 Malaysian Muslim high school students from single-/non-parent and two-parent families. T-test results showed that religiosity was higher for students from two-parent families than single-/non-parent parent homes. After controlling for (a) social desirability, (b) gender and (c) school type, the hypothesized factors of: parental attachment, parental religious socialization, parental supervision, youth organization involvement, school attachment, and mosque involvement significantly predicted religiosity for the full sample of students from both types of families. Hierarchical regression results further revealed that while both indirect and direct parental socialization factors were stronger predictors of religiosity for two-parent families than single-/non-parent families, direct parental socialization effects were more robust. Implications of the findings are discussed

A Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness: Evidence for Relevance, Reliability and Validity

The purpose of the current investigation was to further develop the Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness (PMIR) that was constructed based on previous research and to assess its relevance, reliability and validity as a scientific tool for the study of the psychology of Islam. The sample consisted of 340 Muslim participants from all over the world who completed the online survey of the study. Overall, the results were noteworthy in several respects. First, the PMIR was relevant to Muslim participants and suggested that Muslims adhere to different Islamic beliefs, adopt various Islamic religious attitudes, and observe a diverse array of Islamic religious practices. Second, Islam is multidimensional; factor analysis of the PMIR resulted in 6 factors (Islamic Beliefs, Islamic Ethical Principles & Universality, Islamic Religious Struggle, Islamic Religious Duty, Obligation & Exclusivism, Islamic Positive Religious Coping & Identification, and Punishing Allah Reappraisal) that possessed good to high internal consistency. The Islamic Religious Conversion subscale that was not subjected to factor analysis had a high internal consistency too. Finally, the subscales of the PMIR demonstrated discriminant, convergent, concurrent, and incremental validity. These findings highlight the fact that Islam plays a central role in the well-being of Muslims and stress the need for paying more attention to the Islamic religion when dealing with Muslim populations. Other implications of these findings for theory, practice, and research, the limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed

A Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness: Evidence for Relevance, Reliability and Validity

The purpose of the current investigation was to further develop the Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness (PMIR) that was constructed based on previous research and to assess its relevance, reliability and validity as a scientific tool for the study of the psychology of Islam. The sample consisted of 340 Muslim participants from all over the world who completed the online survey of the study. Overall, the results were noteworthy in several respects. First, the PMIR was relevant to Muslim participants and suggested that Muslims adhere to different Islamic beliefs, adopt various Islamic religious attitudes, and observe a diverse array of Islamic religious practices. Second, Islam is multidimensional; factor analysis of the PMIR resulted in 6 factors (Islamic Beliefs, Islamic Ethical Principles & Universality, Islamic Religious Struggle, Islamic Religious Duty, Obligation & Exclusivism, Islamic Positive Religious Coping & Identification, and Punishing Allah Reappraisal) that possessed good to high internal consistency. The Islamic Religious Conversion subscale that was not subjected to factor analysis had a high internal consistency too. Finally, the subscales of the PMIR demonstrated discriminant, convergent, concurrent, and incremental validity. These findings highlight the fact that Islam plays a central role in the well-being of Muslims and stress the need for paying more attention to the Islamic religion when dealing with Muslim populations. Other implications of these findings for theory, practice, and research, the limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed

Negative Affect, Fatalism, and Perceived Institutional Betrayal in Times of the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Control Beliefs

Background: A growing number of studies report that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in diverse aversive psychological reactions and created a global mental health crisis. However, the specific mechanisms underlying the negative emotional reactions as well as the differences between countries are only beginning to be explored. The present study examined the association of COVID-19-related fear and negative affect in Israel and Switzerland. The mediating roles of three control beliefs were explored, namely, fatalism, locus of control, and perceived institutional betrayal. Method: General population samples of 595 Swiss and 639 Israeli participants were recruited and completed an online self-report survey. Moderated Mediation using multigroup path analysis models for the two samples were conducted and compared using AMOS. Results: The multigroup path model had excellent fit for both samples. The different paths were moderated by country affiliation. Higher levels of COVID-19-related fear were associated with negative affect to an equal extent in both samples. COVID-19-related fear was associated with higher reports of institutional betrayal and a lower locus of control in both samples. Higher COVID-19-related fear was associated with lower fatalism in the Swiss sample only. In both samples, institutional betrayal mediated the association between COVID-19-related fear and negative affect, however, locus of control was a mediator in the Israeli sample only. Conclusion: The current results suggest that the reaction of the government was of crucial importance with regard to the emotional state of the two populations. Interestingly, while in the context of adversity fatalism is generally considered a risk factor for mental health, during the time of the pandemic it seems to have had protective qualities among the Swiss population. Interventions that strengthen the personal locus of control have the potential to mitigate the negative affect in Israel but not in Switzerland. Despite the fact that COVID-19 is a global phenomenon, prevention and intervention strategies should be adjusted to local contexts

Relationships between Religious Struggles and Well-Being among a Multinational Muslim Sample: A Comparative Analysis

Tekke, Mustafa/0000-0003-0412-4353; TEKKE, MUSTAFA/0000-0003-0412-4353WOS: 000456690100007PubMed: 30085296This investigation applied a cross-sectional comparative methodology to examine the levels, predictors, and consequences of religious struggles among a multinational sample of 706 Muslims recruited in three universities in Israel/Palestine, Turkey, and Malaysia. Participants were asked to provide demographics and complete measures of religious struggles, satisfaction with life, and generalized anxiety. Three main findings emerged from the study: (1) In general, participants reported low levels of religious struggles; (2) Turks scored significantly higher than both Palestinians and Malaysians on religious struggles; (3) higher levels of generalized anxiety were predicted by higher levels of religious struggles among Malaysians only, and lower levels of satisfaction with life were predicted by higher levels of religious struggles among Palestinians and Turks only. These findings suggest that the links between religious struggles and health and well-being among Muslims are complex, and call for a nuanced detailed analysis of the religious struggles phenomenon among this population

Robust links between religious/spiritual struggles, psychological distress, and well-being in a national sample of American adults

This study is one of the first attempts to examine the relationships between religious and spiritual struggles (r/s struggles) measured comprehensively and indicators of psychological distress (i.e., depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety) and well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life, happiness) using a nationally representative sample of American adults (N = 2,208) dealing with a wide range of major life stressors. In addition, it examines the key question of whether these relationships persist after controlling for potentially confounding psychosocial/religious influences. Correlational analyses revealed that all 5 types of the r/s struggles assessed (i.e., divine, demonic, interpersonal, moral, ultimate-meaning) correlated significantly positively with both depressive symptoms and generalized anxiety, and significantly negatively with both satisfaction with life and happiness. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that even after controlling for the effects of demographics and other potentially confounding variables (i.e., neuroticism, social isolation, religious commitment) the r/s struggle subscales added unique variance to the prediction of all 4 criterion measures. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are offered, and the limitations of the study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Recor