Religious spiritual well-being: results from Muslim Iranian clinical and non-clinical samples by age, sex and group

Spiritual Health, Anxiety and Fear of Childbirth in Iran: Is there Any Relationship?

The most common reason for mothers' request for a cesarean section is fear of childbirth. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between spiritual health and anxiety and fear of childbirth in pregnant women. This correlational cross-sectional study was performed on 426 pregnant women who were referred to Yahyanejad Hospital in Babol, Iran, during 2018-2021. These pregnant women were hospitalized in the maternity ward for vaginal delivery. Convenience sampling bases on inclusion criteria were done to select the subjects. The questionnaires used in this study included Demographic and Obstetric Questionnaire, Anxiety and Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire by Pirdel et al., and Palutzian & Ellison Spiritual Well-being Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 using descriptive and analytical indicators and linear and multiple correlation tests. The results of the study showed that all pregnant women experienced moderate (23.1) or severe (76.9) fear and anxiety, and none of the women had low fear and anxiety. Moreover, all women in this study had moderate (50.5) or high (49.5) spiritual health. The results of linear regression test showed that there is a significant and inverse relationship between spiritual health and anxiety and fear of childbirth (R: - 0.12, CI - 0.14, - 0.019, P = 0.011). Furthermore, the results of multivariate linear regression test after adjustments for intervening demographic and midwifery variables showed a significant relationship between spiritual health (R: - 0.12, CI - 0.14, - 0.02, P = 0.009), education level and number of pregnancies, and anxiety and fear of childbirth. The results of the study showed that with the increase in spiritual health, anxiety and fear of childbirth decreases. Therefore, it can be inferred that women need spiritual care in addition to medical care to deal with fear and anxiety during pregnancy and childbirth.

Spiritual Well-Being and Death Anxiety: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Iranian Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients experience a tremendous psychological burden, typically in the form of death worry due to acute medical conditions and the possibility of mortality. The unfavourable conditions of ACS patients cause them to reconsider the meaning of life and their spiritual well-being. This study evaluated the association between death anxiety and spiritual well-being in a total of 241 ACS patients in Shahroud, northeast of Iran. The data were collected using the Templer Death Anxiety Scale, and the Spiritual Well-being Scale by convenience sampling method. All patients indicated a high degree of death anxiety, and roughly half reported a moderate level of spiritual well-being. There was a significant and direct correlation between death anxiety and spiritual well-being levels. Older age, single status, and non-smoking were other predictors of good spiritual well-being. A multidisciplinary health team should identify and implement approaches to promote spiritual well-being and reduce mental suffering.

Effect of Yoga involvement on mental health in times of crisis: A cross-sectional study

Background

Yoga involvement can be understood as a degree of immersion in the philosophical/spiritual teachings of Yoga. Previous research has shown a positive association between Yoga involvement and mental health. This study further investigates the effect of Yoga involvement on several parameters of psychological well-being and distress amidst a global crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A total sample of 246 participants (216 females; 118 Yoga versus 128 age-matched Pilates practitioners) were included in the study. Via an online-survey the following questionnaires were completed: the WHO-Five Well-Being Index, the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being short version, the Leipzig Short Scale of Sense of Coherence, the Brief Symptom Inventory and the Yoga Immersion Scale which was adapted for the control group to Pilates Immersion Scale.

Results

When controlling for occupation and psychiatric disorder, involvement in general was higher for Yoga practitioners than for Pilates controls. Furthermore, Yoga practice was associated with increased religious/spiritual well-being and decreased sense of coherence, but neither with psychological well-being nor with psychological distress. Involvement, in general, positively predicted psychological well-being, religious/spiritual well-being and sense of coherence, but there was no connection with psychological distress. Lastly, involvement mediated the positive relationship between Yoga practice and religious/spiritual well-being and suppressed the negative effect of Yoga practice on sense of coherence.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that involvement in a certain relaxation practice has a positive impact and might be a key component in understanding Yoga's influence on mental health. Further randomized controlled research, including clinical groups, is necessary to explain how involvement changes and how it effects well-being more specifically.

Polish Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Long- and Short-Form Interfaith Spirituality Scale

Spirituality is widely believed to play an important role in securing health, and modern health care is increasingly being combined with spiritual care. This state of affairs is generating widespread interest in the construct from practitioners and researchers, resulting in the need to develop accurate and comprehensive measures of spirituality. The purpose of this study was to adapt the Polish version of the Interfaith Spirituality Scale (IFS), which consists of twenty-two statements, as well as its short version, including four statements. The IFS is not limited to any one religious denomination, making it possible to conduct research across diverse communities. The analyses were conducted on a sample of 642 Poles aged 18-68, 48% of whom were women. The Polish version of the scale showed high internal consistency (α = 0.96 for the IFS and α = 0.81 for the short version). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the structure of the IFS consists of a unitary second-order factor with four first-order factors (direct connection with the creator, asceticism, meditation, and divine love). On the other hand, the structure of the short version is unifactorial. There were positive correlations of the IFS with another measure of spirituality, post-traumatic growth severity, mental well-being, and ecological behaviour, as well as negative correlations with post-traumatic stress disorder symptom severity and depressiveness; these confirmed the high validity of the tool. The results suggest that the IFS may be useful in the study of spirituality on Polish soil.

Relationships between Spirituality, Religious Fundamentalism and Environmentalism: The Mediating Role of Right-Wing Authoritarianism

According to past research, religious attitudes can strongly influence individuals' beliefs and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships between spirituality (the Scale of Spirituality; dimensions include religious spirituality, expanding consciousness, searching for meaning, sensitivity to art, doing good, and sensitivity to inner beauty), religious fundamentalism (the Religious Fundamentalism Scale), support for right-wing authoritarianism (the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale), climate concerns (the Environmental Concern Scale), and pro-environmental behavior (the Pro-Environmental Behavior Scale). The cross-sectional study involved 512 Poles aged 18-63 (M = 34.63, SD = 5.96; Mdn = 33), including 51% females. Multiple regression analysis revealed that two dimensions of spirituality (sensitivity to art and doing good) and religious fundamentalism are significant and opposite predictors of climate concern and pro-environmental behavior. Spirituality appeared to foster increased climate concern and caring behavior, while religious fundamentalism negatively predicted the same variables. Mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between religion and environmentalism could be explained in part by differences in support for right-wing authoritarianism (authoritarianism itself was negatively related to environmental outcomes). In addition, analysis of variance revealed that believers (70% of participants in the study were Catholic) showed significantly lower scores regarding climate concerns and pro-environmental behavior than non-believers, yet the inclusion of support for right-wing authoritarianism as a covariate in the equation reduced intergroup differences to statistical insignificance. The data obtained suggest that religious attitudes and socio-political views may play important roles in solving environmental problems.

An analysis of age-standardized suicide rates in Muslim-majority countries in 2000-2019

BACKGROUND

This study examines the 20-year trend of suicide in 46 Muslim-majority countries throughout the world and compares their suicide rates and trends with the global average. Ecological-level associations between the proportion of the Muslim population, the age-standardized suicide rates, male-to-female suicide rate ratio, and the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2019 were examined.

METHODS

Age-standardized suicide rates were extracted from the WHO Global Health Estimates database for the period between 2000 and 2019. The rates in each country were compared with the age-standardized global average during the past 20 years. The countries were further grouped according to their regions/sub-regions to calculate the regional and sub-regional weighted age-standardized suicide rates involving Muslim-majority countries. Correlation analyses were conducted between the proportion of Muslims, age-standardized suicide rate, male: female suicide rate ratio, and the HDI in all countries. Joinpoint regression was used to analyze the age-standardized suicide rates in 2000-2019.

RESULTS

The 46 countries retained for analysis included an estimated 1.39 billion Muslims from a total worldwide Muslim population of 1.57 billion. Of these countries, eleven (23.9%) had an age-standardized suicide rate above the global average in 2019. In terms of regional/sub-regional suicide rates, Muslim-majority countries in the Sub-Saharan region recorded the highest weighted average age-standardized suicide rate of 10.02/100,000 population, and Southeastern Asia recorded the lowest rate (2.58/100,000 population). There were significant correlations between the Muslim population proportion and male-to-female rate ratios (r=-0.324, p=0.028), HDI index and age-standardized suicide rates (r=-0.506, p<0.001), and HDI index and male-to-female rate ratios (r=0.503, p<0.001) in 2019. Joinpoint analysis revealed that seven Muslim-majority countries (15.2%) recorded an increase in the average annual percentage change regarding age-standardized suicide rates during 2000-2019.

CONCLUSIONS

Most Muslim-majority countries had lower age-standardized suicide rates than the global average, which might reflect religious belief and practice or due to Muslim laws in their judicial and social structure which may lead to underreporting. This finding needs further in-depth country and region-specific study with regard to its implication for public policy.