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Belief in God and Psychological Distress

Is It the Belief or Certainty of the Belief

Bibliographic Data

ID3270921
AuthorsZachary E Magin (0000-0001-6637-0010, University of Connecticut), Adam B David (0000-0001-8151-0157, University of Connecticut), Lauren M Carney, Lauren Carney (0000-0003-4632-1515, University of Connecticut), Crystal L Park (0000-0001-6572-7321, University of Connecticut, corresponding author), I A Gutierrez (0000-0002-4880-7570, University of Connecticut), Login S George (0000-0001-6270-7755, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey)
Year2021
Volume12
Issue9
Pages757
Publication date2021-09-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel12090757
OpenAlexW3199687468
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited48

Research on the relationship between belief in God and mental health is scarce and often limited to comparing group differences in mental health across various self-reported religious identities (e.g., atheists, agnostics, believers). To advance this work, we focused on how the extent of belief in God related to three indices of psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress) in a sample of undergraduate students (N = 632) with a variety of religious identities. We used a model comparison approach to evaluate both linear and curvilinear relationships between belief in God and psychological distress and tested potential mediating pathways for linear relationships. The findings revealed that belief in God was negatively linearly related to depression; this relationship was fully mediated by meaning in life, feeling comforted by God, positive religious coping, positive reappraisal, and substance use coping. In contrast, belief in God was curvilinearly related to anxiety but unrelated to stress. These results suggest that both strength and certainty of the belief in God may be important in understanding religion's relationship with psychological distress

Anxiety · Belief in God · Certainty · Distress · Epistemology · Feeling · Mental health · Psychiatry · Psychological distress · Psychotherapist · Religious belief · Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research · Clinical Psychology · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology

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Unique citing works6
Citations per year2
Citation span2023 - 2026 (4)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 5
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