LIFESTYLE RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH

1999

Journal of Religion & Health, 1987

This paper reviews epidemiologic studies employing religion as an independent construct, and finds that most epidemiologists have an extremely limited appreciation of religion. After a historical overview of empirical religion and health research, some theoretical considerations are offered, followed by clarification of several operational and methodological issues. Next, well over 200 studies are reviewed from nine health-related areas: cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, colitis and enteritis, general health status, general mortality, cancer of the uterine corpus and cervix, all other non-uterine cancers, morbidity and mortality in the clergy, and cancer in India. Finally, an agenda for further research is proposed.

Journal of Health Psychology, 2017

For many people, the influence of believing in a higher power can elicit powerful effects. This study examined the relationship between God control, health locus of control, and frequency of religious attendance within 838 college students through online surveys. Regression analysis showed that chance and external locus of control and frequency of religious attendance were significant and positive predictors of God Locus of Health Control. The association of powerful others external locus of control and God Locus of Health Control differed by race (stronger in non-Whites than Whites) and somewhat by gender (stronger in women than men). For some people, the role of a supreme being, or God, should be considered when designing programs for improving health behaviors.

American Psychologist, 2003

The investigation of spiritual/religious factors in health is clearly warranted and clinically relevant. This special section explores the persistent predictive relationship between religious variables and health, and its implications for future research and practice. The section reviews epidemiological evidence linking religiousness to morbidity and mortality, possible biological pathways linking spirituality/ religiousness to health, and advances in the assessment of spiritual/religious variables in research and practice. This introduction provides an overview of this field of research and addresses 3 related methodological issues: definitions of terms, approaches to statistical control, and criteria used to judge the level of supporting evidence for specific hypotheses. The study of spirituality and health is a true frontier for psychology and one with high public interest.

2002

Zygon�, 2005

The study of the relationship between religion and health has grown substantially in the past decade. There is little doubt that religion plays an important role in many people's lives and that this has an impact on their health. The question is how researchers and clinicians can best evaluate the available information and how we can improve upon the current findings. In this essay we review the current knowledge regarding religion and health and also critically review issues pertaining to methodology, findings, and interpretation of these studies. It is important to maintain a rigorous perspective with regard to such studies and also to recognize inherent limitations and suggest constructive ways in which to advance this field of study. In the end, such an approach can provide new information that will improve our understanding of the overall relationship between religion and health.

Religion and its effects on morbidity and mortality (with particular emphasis on mortality) are reviewed as are special issues which have in the past made the study of religion and death difficult. The morbidity and mortality experience of various religious groups is portrayed, including Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, the clergy, Seventh-day Adventists, Latter-day Saints, Parsis, Jehovah's Witnesses and Hutterites. Studies of religious effects on morbidity and mortality have broadened in focus from the study of specific health practices, or health-related behaviors, to include the study of social support, religious participation and health-related attitudes. Gaps in the literature are identified and a preliminary model of religion's effect on morbidity and mortality is discussed.

Journal of Religion & Health, 2002

This study extended current research linking spirituality to health by investigating the relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic spirituality and cardiovascular risk factors. Participants included 111 healthy males and females, ages 28 to 63. Measurements consisted of the Lifestyle Assessment Questionnaire (LAQ), a version of Kelly's Repertory Grid, hematological analysis, and blood pressure. A greater sense of spirituality was associated with lower cholesterol risk ratios (total cholesterol/HDL) and triglyceride levels. In addition, the structural or organizational characteristics of intrinsic spirituality were associated with several other hematological measures. Further research will help clarify the association between mechanisms underlying spirituality and health, including susceptibility to cardiovascular disorders.

2013

In the last few decades, largely due to a growing body of robust empirical evidence, there has been an increasing recognition of the interconnections between religiousness and health. These data have challenged previous views, mostly based on theoretical perspectives, that religiousness is a vestige of a primitive psychological development, usually associated with immature defenses and psychiatric symptoms.

International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2010

The purpose of this study was to see if feelings of God-mediated control are associated with change in self-rated health over time. In the process, an effort was made to see if a sense of meaning in life and optimism mediated the relationship between God-mediated control and change in health. The following hypothesized relationships were contained in the conceptual model that was developed to evaluate these issues: (1) people who go to church more often tend to have stronger God-mediated control beliefs than individuals who do not attend worship services as often; (2) people with a strong sense of God-mediated control are more likely to find a sense of meaning in life and be more optimistic than individuals who do not have a strong sense of God-mediated control; (3) people who are optimistic and who have a strong sense of meaning in life will rate their health more favorably over time than individuals who are not optimistic, as well as individuals who have not found a sense of meaning in life. Data from a longitudinal nationwide survey of older adults provided support for each of these hypotheses. Keywords God-mediated control; meaning in life; optimism; health A convincing body of research suggests that people who are more involved in religion tend to have better physical and mental health than individuals who are less involved in religion (Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001). However, explaining how these potentially beneficial effects arise has proven to be a significant challenge. The problem arises primarily because religion is a complex multidimensional phenomenon (Fetzer Institute/National Institute on Aging Working Group, 1999) and, as a result, it is difficult to determine which facets of religion may be at work. For example, some investigators have suggested that use of religious coping responses may be an important factor (Pargament, 1997), others have pointed to the social relationships that people maintain in religious settings (Krause, 2008), while yet other investigators have maintained that religiously motivated forgiveness is especially noteworthy in this respect (McCullough, Pargament, & Thoresen, 2000). A persistent problem in research on religion and health involves how to integrate religious beliefs into conceptual models of a manageable size (Krause, 2008). This is an important task because researchers have maintained for decades that beliefs may be the most important dimension of religion. For example, in the process of identifying the key dimensions of religion, Stark and Glock (1968) turned first to religious beliefs. The difficulty in studying religious beliefs in research on religion and health arises from the fact that there are so many of them. One way to deal with this challenge is to begin with a particular religious behavior (e.g., church attendance) and identify the specific religious beliefs that are associated with it.