Richard G Cowden
Biographic Data
| ID | 291987 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Richard G Cowden |
| GIVEN NAMES | Richard G |
| FAMILY NAME | Cowden |
| SIGNATURE | COWDEN R G |
| AFFILIATIONS | Harvard University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9027-4253 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 88 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 15 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 87 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
A comparative “report card” wellbeing assessment of 22 countries in the Global Flourishing Study
When evaluating how countries are faring, there is a widespread tendency to rely on single metrics or indices, whether objective (e.g., GDP) or subjective (e.g., life evaluation). However, flourishing is multidimensional, and societies invariably do better in some ways and less so in others (even if some places get more things “right” than others), so any comprehensive assessment must be multifaceted. We demonstrate this by evaluating 22 countrie…
Temporal dynamics of experiencing reconciliation with god after personal wrongdoing: An incident-anchored longitudinal study of U.S. Christian adults.
Where Hope Thrives: Demographic Variation in Hope across 22 Countries
202,898) and employing random effects meta-analysis, we explore the cross-national variations in self-rated hope across various sociodemographic factors, including age, gender, marital status, employment, religious service attendance, education, and immigration status. Our findings reveal considerable variations in levels of hope across countries, and some notable differences across demographic groups, highlighting unique individual and societal …
Adolescent screen use in the pre-internet era and subsequent health and well-being: An outcome-wide longitudinal study
This study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health, N = 11,054) to assess whether increases in screen-based leisure during adolescence (Wave II, from 1996) predicted adult well-being (Wave IV, from 2008-09), adjusting for a wide range of covariates (Wave I, from 1995). Using an outcome-wide analytic approach, we examined associations between screen time and 38 adult outcomes, adjusting for prior sc…
Experiences of reconciliation with god: A multinational qualitative exploration of the christian-sensitive relational spirituality model of personal sin in eight countries
Divine forgiveness is central to Christian faith yet remains understudied psychologically.This study examined incident-specific experiences of reconciling with God among Christians from culturally and religiously diverse contexts, guided by the Relational Spirituality Model of Personal Sin, which conceptualizes reconciliation as emerging from cognitive-emotional appraisals involving the self, personal sin, God, and other people.Participants were …
Causal estimates of multidimensional well-being under hypothetical forgiveness shift scenarios: Longitudinal evidence from a national panel in New Zealand
Forgiveness has been identified as a potential public health resource, but how might average well-being change if forgiveness were higher across the population? In this three-wave longitudinal study (Wave 1: 2018/2019 [T0], Wave 2: 2019/2020 [T1], Wave 3: 2020/2021 [T2]) with a nationally representative sample of New Zealanders ( N = 47928), we explore this question by investigating the potential causal effects of two hypothetical forgiveness shi…
Forgiveness as a potential public health resource: Reflections on complexities and possibilities in dialogue with Lemon (2026) and Tsai (2026)
In this commentary, we bring together an interdisciplinary group of voices to engage reflections by Lemon (2026) and Tsai (2026) on Cowden, Fung, et al.’s (2026) article estimating potential causal effects of hypothetical forgiveness shift scenarios on multidimensional well-being. We explore some of the conceptual, methodological, and practical tensions that arise when a psychosocial exposure (such as forgiveness) is viewed through a public healt…
Identifying predictors of housing distress in later life: A lagged exposure-wide approach in a national sample of older U.S. adults
Objectives Housing insecurity is increasingly prevalent among older adults in the US, yet the factors that contribute to housing-related distress in this population remain inadequately understood. This study examined how changes in a comprehensive set of physical health, health behaviors, psychosocial, and economic factors are associated with subsequent housing distress, and explored differences by military veteran status. Methods We analyzed thr…
Mapping Religious and Spiritual Comfort Worldwide: Demographic Patterns Across 22 Countries
Prior research highlights the role of religious and spiritual (R/S) comfort in coping with adversity, particularly in Global North contexts. This study examined R/S comfort across 22 countries and various demographics, using representative data from 202,898 individuals participating in the Global Flourishing Study. For each demographic category country-specific proportions of R/S comfort were estimated by country and then pooled using random-effe…
Beyond Religious Narcissistic Identification: Agnostic and Atheistic Narcissism
Agnosticism and atheism are often grouped simply as nonreligious identities, yet emerging research highlights their distinct psychological profiles and social implications. Among these distinctions, collective narcissism – characterized by strong attachment to one’s group, exceptionalism, and grievance for recognition – offers a framework for understanding identity processes in both nonreligious groups. We examined whether agnostics and atheists …
Religious Reading across Borders and Demographics: A Study of 22 Countries
Previous research on religiosity mainly focuses on religious service attendance and prayer. Less is known about reading and listening to sacred texts (RLST) across cultures. This study examines RLST habits across 22 countries and key demographic groups, using data from 202,898 individuals. The country-specific results are pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis. The prevalence of RLST varied substantially, from 4% in Japan to 70% in Tanzania,…
Associations of Childhood Experiences With Adulthood Religious and Relational Outcomes Among Protestants and Catholics in the United States
In a United States sample of 32 Protestant and Catholic congregations ( N = 16,548), we evaluated associations between seven childhood religious and family experiences (e.g., conversations with parents about faith, childhood religious service attendance [RSA]) and five religious and relational outcomes in adulthood (e.g., RSA, conversations with one's own children about faith). We used multilevel models that incorporated childhood predictors simu…
Acceptance as a Response to Suffering: Insights from World Religious and Philosophical Traditions
Housing distress and subsequent health and well-being among older adults: An outcome-wide longitudinal approach
Housing insecurity is increasing among older adults in the U.S., yet the impact of housing-related distress on health and well-being in this population is understudied. This study uses three waves of prospective data from a national sample of U.S. adults aged 50+ years (Health and Retirement Study, N = 12,998) to examine associations between housing distress and 35 indicators of physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health and well-being four ye…
Spiritually significant places as adaptive psycho-spatial resources: Mattering struggles, spiritual ties to place, and mental well-being in US adults
This study explores how mattering struggles and spiritual ties to place relate to mental well-being in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used cross-sectional data from a nationally representative sample of US adults ( n = 3640) who reported their experiences of mattering struggles, perceived increase in spiritual ties to place, and perceived change in mental well-being since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mattering struggles were asso…
Psychosocial and behavioral factors associated with HIV among adolescent girls and young women in DREAMS districts in South Africa: Cross-sectional survey
Background High HIV prevalence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa is driven by multiple interacting psychosocial risks. Some of these risks include socioeconomic deprivation, poor educational outcomes, poor mental health, alcohol and drug use which are associated with HIV-infection and sexual risk behavior. This article seeks to deepen our understanding of the role of psychosocial and behavioral factors in the HIV epide…
Families served during the first decade of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program: A descriptive analysis
Homelessness impacts entire families, with potential intergenerational consequences. Addressing family homelessness provides both immediate relief and long-term societal benefits. While various programs exist to mitigate homelessness, the United States (US) Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program offers a distinctive model for combating homelessness among veterans by supporting their families a…
Religious/Spiritual Connection and Subjective Well-Being Across Religious and Nonreligious Individuals in 121 Countries
Prior research suggests a positive association between some religious/spiritual variables and well-being. However, many measures of religious/spiritual constructs are often within explicitly religious contexts, limiting the conceptualization of links between spiritual connection and well-being among nonreligious individuals. The present study employs a novel, versatile measure assessing how frequently individuals feel connected to a religion or f…
Measuring wellbeing in the Global Flourishing Study: Insights from a cross-national analysis of cognitive interviews from 22 countries
Prior research suggests that cross-national cognitive interviewing can provide preliminarily insights into the extent to which survey items that will be employed in large-scale global research might be understood similarly or differently across countries. Against the backdrop of the recently launched Global Flourishing Study, we used multinational cognitive interview data from 116 individuals ( M = 41.4 years, SD = 14.9, female = 50.9%) in 22 cou…
Longitudinal associations of spousal support and strain with health and well‐being: An outcome‐wide study of married older U.S. Adults
In the present study, we examined the prospective associations of both spousal support and spousal strain with a wide range of health and well‐being outcomes in married older adults. Applying the analytic template for outcome‐wide designs, three waves of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study ( n = 7788, M age = 64.2 years) were analyzed using linear regression, logistic regression, and generalized linear models. A set of models w…
The varieties of spiritual ties to place: A latent class analysis
Religious/Spiritual Connection and Subjective Wellbeing Around the World: A Cross-Sectional Analysis with Nationally Representative Samples from 121 Countries
Can religion decrease distress and increase flourishing in times of pandemic? A three-wave longitudinal study of religious commitment in Indonesia
Promoting the wellbeing of the whole person: A within-subjects mixed-methods study exploring the effects of the flourishing intervention among individuals with depressive symptoms
https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-776skr9, identifier RBR-776skr9
Divine struggles and whole person functioning: A 9-year longitudinal study of middle-aged U.S. adults
OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study examined the associations of divine struggles with 25 psychological distress, psychological well-being, social well-being, prosociality, physical health, and health behavior outcomes assessed approximately nine years later. METHODS: = 4041): M1 (1995-1996), M2 (2004-2006), and M3 (2013-2014). Following the analytic template for outcome-wide longitudinal designs, our primary analysis employed a series of regressi…
The psychology of forgiveness and its importance in South Africa
The purpose of this qualitative review is to stimulate empirical research on forgiveness within South Africa (and other portions of Africa). The article explores a Western understanding of the psychology of forgiveness, including its definition as distinct from reconciliation, its sequelae, and its predictors. Findings are examined with particular emphasis on differences between research in more Westernised societies (i.e., United States and West…
Associations of orientation to promote good in challenging situations with distress and well‐being: Multi‐study evidence from three non‐Western Longitudinal samples
We examine whether an orientation to promote good serves as a potential buffer against distress and facilitator of well‐being outcomes in three non‐Western samples with a recent history of conflict (Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico) and across three different time frames (1, 4 and 12 months). Longitudinal surveys provided data for cross‐lagged panel modelling. A series of sensitivity analyses provided evidence for the robustness of results. Persons wi…
Hope in adolescence and subsequent health and well-being in adulthood: An outcome-wide longitudinal study
Enriching the Common Core of Mystical Experience: A Qualitative Analysis of Interviews with Daoist Monks and Nuns
The scientific study of psychedelic, religious, spiritual, and mystical (PRSM) experiences can be advanced by applying culturally inclusive qualitative methodologies that illuminate the breadth and depth of individual experiences in a variety of contexts. To enrich the common core thesis of mysticism and offer insights that could contribute more generally to bridging the gap between psychedelic and religious experiences, the current study used a …
Culturally Relevant Resilience: A Psychometric Meta‐Analysis of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (Cyrm)
Measuring key components of resilience is vital for understanding cross-cultural dynamics among youth and the environment. The Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28) was developed as a cross-cultural measure of resilience and has been used globally. To examine the cross-cultural utility of the CYRM-28, we conducted a systematic review of the literature reporting on the psychometric properties of the measure. Using data representing six coun…
Connected communities: Perceived neighborhood social cohesion during adolescence and subsequent health and well‐being in young adulthood—An outcome‐wide longitudinal approach
Does higher perceived neighborhood social cohesion in adolescence lead to better health and well‐being 10–12 years later? We evaluated this question using data from a large, prospective, and nationally representative sample of US adolescents (Add Health; N = 10,963), and an outcome‐wide approach. Across 38 outcomes, perceived neighborhood social cohesion was associated with some: mental health outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms, suicidal ideatio…
Do Religious/Spiritual Resources Moderate the Association Between Suffering and Religious/Spiritual Struggles? A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study of US Adults with Chronic Illness
In this prospective study of US adults with chronic illness (n = 302), we examined the associations of subjective suffering and religious/spiritual (R/S) resources (i.e., religious coping, religious commitment, and spiritual fortitude) with the subsequent experience of R/S struggles. Using a rigorous analytic approach that involved adjusting for numerous covariates and prior values of all exposures and the outcome assessed in Wave 1, we found tha…
Self-reflection and Self-insight Predict Resilience and Stress in Competitive Tennis
We investigated the relationships among the self-reflection and self-insight components of self-awareness, and resilience and stress in competitive South African tennis players. A sample of 175 male and 158 female athletes ( M age = 29.09 years, SD = 14.00) completed the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale, the Resilience Scale for Adults, and the stress items from the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes. The results indicated that both self…
Measuring resilience in competitive tennis players: Psychometric properties of the Resilience Scale for Adults
The Resilience Scale for Adults is considered a valid and reliable measure of resilience resources and has received validation support across several populations. This study attempted to validate and examine the psychometric properties of the instrument in a sample of competitive tennis players to prospectively appropriate the inventory for use among athletes. The tennis athletes ( n = 365) completed the Resilience Scale for Adults, the Sports Me…
Mental Toughness in South African Youth: Relationships With Forgivingness and Attitudes Towards Risk
Young people are particularly vulnerable to health risk behaviors and interpersonal violence, stimulating scholars' attention towards identifying factors that may reduce the likelihood that these actions will occur. Associated with positive outcomes in a variety of domains, mental toughness in young people might protect them from engaging in potentially deleterious interpersonal or health-risk behaviors, while potentially promoting positive psych…
The psychology of forgiveness and its importance in South Africa
The purpose of this qualitative review is to stimulate empirical research on forgiveness within South Africa (and other portions of Africa). The article explores a Western understanding of the psychology of forgiveness, including its definition as distinct from reconciliation, its sequelae, and its predictors. Findings are examined with particular emphasis on differences between research in more Westernised societies (i.e., United States and West…
Do congruent apologies facilitate forgiveness
Research largely supports the apology–forgiveness cycle, a process in which perpetrators’ post-transgression apologies are reciprocated with victims’ forgiveness. This cycle is often facilitated by the mere provision of an apology. Yet, there are times in which apologies may be rejected. We hypothesised that when apologies matched victims’ apology preferences (i.e., congruent apologies), victims would be more likely to accept them and self-report…
Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (Hale), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2019: A comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global …
BACKGROUND: Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, migration, and population for 204 countries and territories and selected sub…
Five insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
BACKGROUND: Rigorous analysis of levels and trends in exposure to leading risk factors and quantification of their effect on human health are important to identify where public health is making progress and in which cases current efforts are inadequate. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a standardised and comprehensive assessment of the magnitude of risk factor exposure, relative risk, and attribu…
Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
BACKGROUND: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive…
Beyond the Disease: Contextualized Implications of the Covid-19 Pandemic for Children and Young People Living in Eastern and Southern Africa
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created extraordinary challenges and prompted remarkable social changes around the world. The effects of COVID-19 and the public health control measures that have been implemented to mitigate its impact are likely to be accompanied by a unique set of consequences for specific subpopulations living in low-income countries that have fragile health systems and pervasive social-structural vulnerabi…
Profiles of moral distress and associated outcomes among student veterans
Objective Military veterans who interpret their own or others' actions as moral transgressions are theorized to experience moral distress. The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of moral distress and associated psychological, social, and religious or spiritual problems among student veterans. Method Student veterans (N = 498) retrospectively reported experiences of moral distress associated with deployment-related events in which they …
Additive, Curvilinear, and Interactive Relations of Anxiety and Depression With Indicators of Psychosocial Functioning
This study examines additive, curvilinear, and interactive relations of anxiety and depression with several subjective indicators of intrapersonal (i.e., hope, self-compassion, shame) and interpersonal (i.e., social connectedness, quality of social relationships) functioning in a sample of adults ( N = 547, M age = 43.37 ± 12.02, female = 56.88%) seeking treatment for psychological difficulties. Results of complementary analyses were largely cons…
Culturally Relevant Resilience: A Psychometric Meta‐Analysis of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (Cyrm)
Measuring key components of resilience is vital for understanding cross-cultural dynamics among youth and the environment. The Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28) was developed as a cross-cultural measure of resilience and has been used globally. To examine the cross-cultural utility of the CYRM-28, we conducted a systematic review of the literature reporting on the psychometric properties of the measure. Using data representing six coun…
Trait tendencies to forgive, punish, and exonerate oneself: A multi-study investigation
Self-Forgiveness Among Incarcerated Individuals in Ghana: Relations With Shame- and Guilt-Proneness
Research on the forgiveness of self has largely focused on less severe, more common types of offenses among samples within developed westernized nations. In this brief report of a study within a developing nation in Africa, applications of self-forgiveness are extended to incarcerated people. The sample comprised N = 310 males (83.87%) and females (16.13%) who were incarcerated in a medium-security Ghanaian prison ( M age = 39.35, SD age = 13.28)…
Investigating the Interrelations Between Systems of Support in 13- to 18-Year-Old Adolescents: A Network Analysis of Resilience Promoting Systems in a High and Middle-Income Country
Adolescents’ ability to function well under adversity relies on a network of interrelated support systems. This study investigated how consecutive age groups differ in the interactions between their support systems. A secondary data analysis of cross-sectional studies that assessed individual, caregiver, and contextual resources using the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (Ungar & Liebenberg, 2005) in 13- to 18-year-olds in Canada (N = 2,311) an…
Suffering, Mental Health, and Psychological Well-being During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of U.S. Adults With Chronic Health Conditions
Suffering has been a topic of considerable discussion in the fields of medicine and palliative care, yet few studies have reported causal evidence linking the experience of suffering to health and well-being. In this three-wave prospective cohort study, we explore the potential psychological implications of suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining relations among suffering, mental health, and psychological well-being in a sample of U.S…
Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020
BACKGROUND: The health risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption continue to be debated. Small amounts of alcohol might lower the risk of some health outcomes but increase the risk of others, suggesting that the overall risk depends, in part, on background disease rates, which vary by region, age, sex, and year. METHODS: For this analysis, we constructed burden-weighted dose-response relative risk curves across 22 health outcomes to esti…
Hope and well-being in vulnerable contexts during the Covid-19 pandemic: Does religious coping matter?
To identify potential protective mechanisms that might buffer the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being, the current set of studies (NStudy 1 = 1172, NStudy 2 = 451) examined the roles of hope and religious coping (positive and negative) in promoting well-being during periods when stringent stay-at-home orders were implemented in Colombia and South Africa to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2. After controlling for relevant sociodemographi…
Global Trends of Mean and Inequality in Multidimensional Wellbeing: Analysis of 1.2 Million Individuals From 162 Countries, 2009–2019
INTRODUCTION: Human flourishing is a multidimensional concept characterized by a state of complete wellbeing. However, much of the prior research on wellbeing has principally focused on population averages assessed using a single item of wellbeing. This study examined trends in population averages and inequalities for a multidimensional index of wellbeing and compared emergent patterns with those found for Cantril's ladder, a measure of life sati…
Covid-19 vaccines for children and adolescents in Africa: Aligning our priorities to situational realities
The evolving COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global public health crisis that continues to have a major impact on the African continent. Most countries within Africa are facing significant challenges vaccinating their populations for COVID-19. Inadequate COVID-19 vaccine supply, weaknesses in health system infrastructure, COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation, and ineffective health risk communication are contributing to low adult vacc…
Religion, Migration and the New African Diaspora: A Psychological Perspective
The new African diaspora has emerged from the recent migratory movements of Africans. This population is tasked with finding effective methods of adjusting to new environments. Through the psychoanalytic lens of object relations, this article explores the role of religion in shaping migration experiences of the new African diaspora. It considers the psychological processes that intersect with religion to influence migrant adjustment. First, drawi…
Religious/spiritual struggles and depression during Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns in the global south: Evidence of moderation by positive religious coping and hope
The pain and gain of religious/spiritual struggles: A longitudinal study of South African adults
We used two waves of longitudinal data from a sample of South Africans (n = 274) to examine whether religious/spiritual (R/S) struggles following an interpersonal transgression might lead to both pain (i.e., depression) and gain (i.e., perceived posttraumatic growth) six months later. We also explored the role of positive R/S coping in modifying each of these associations. After adjusting for a variety of covariates and prior values of the respec…
Resource loss, positive religious coping, and suffering during the Covid-19 pandemic: A prospective cohort study of US adults with chronic illness
Using data from a prospective cohort of US adults living with chronic illness (n = 184), we examined longitudinal associations between domains of resource loss assessed one month into the COVID-19 pandemic and suffering two months later. We also explored the role of positive religious coping in modifying relations between each type of resource loss and suffering, adjusting for a number of sociodemographics, chronic health conditions, religious/sp…
Psychology (56 works) · Social Psychology (47 works) · Medicine (46 works) · Clinical Psychology (34 works) · Sociology (23 works) · Developmental psychology (22 works) · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology (20 works) · Psychiatry (19 works) · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction (18 works) · Demography (16 works)