The correlates and effectiveness of partner-focused prayer
A meta-analysis of relational health
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21206773 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeffrey H D Cornelius-White (0000-0003-1994-6827), Yasuko Kanamori (0000-0003-3597-2224) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 71-81 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1943-1562 • E-ISSN: 1941-1022 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/rel0000508 |
| OpenAlex | W4386442741 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
This meta-analysis aimed to assess the relational health correlates and intervention effects of partner-focused prayer. Database, backward, and forward searches yielded 1,932 works, resulting in the inclusion of 20 correlational and 17 experimental studies. Standard meta-analytic methods were employed for data analysis. Correlational results showed a significant, small-to-medium, heterogeneous association of partner-focused prayer with relational health (n = 20, r =.215, 95% CI [.174,.255], p <.001, I2 = 0.50). Metaregression showed that marital status and age moderated this association, with partner-focused prayer having larger association for older married couples. The results of experiments on partner-focused prayer compared with passive controls showed a significant, medium, homogeneous effect on relational health outcomes (n = 6, d =.474, 95% CI [.263,.686], p <.001, I2 = 0.00). Compared with active controls (e.g., thinking positive thoughts about partner or prayer, not specifically for partner), partner-focused prayer showed a significant, medium, homogeneous effect on relational health outcomes (n = 11, d =.582, 95% CI [.405,.759], p <.001, I = 0.00). Of the relational health outcomes, fostering forgiveness (d =.723) and preventing infidelity (d =.742) were the most affected. Overall, partner-focused prayer holds promise as a simple and effective practice to improve relational health outcomes in close relationships. Future research would benefit from focus on partner-focused prayer with adults of all ages, married samples, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and other participants
Alternative medicine · Meta-analysis · Prayer · Psychotherapist · Spirituality · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Clinical Psychology · Community Health and Development · Medicine · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |