Do People Who Believe in God Report More Meaning in Their Lives? The Existential Effects of Belief

Meaning in Life among Older Adults: An Integrative Model

Meaning in life (MIL) among older adults has a significant physical and mental health impact. This study aimed to present an integrative model of factors that contribute to variability in MIL among older adults, including background characteristics (gender, age, employment status, religiosity), personality characteristics (locus of control, self-efficacy, optimism), and psycho-social factors (psychological distress and loneliness). Participants (751 older adults, M_age = 72.27, SD = 6.28; 446 female, 305 male) responded to a questionnaire in-person or online. Measures included: demographic variables, Short Scale for the Assessment of Locus of Control, New General Self-Efficacy Scale, Life Orientation Test-Revised, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and Hughes Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness. Hierarchical regression revealed that younger and religious older adults reported higher MIL levels than older and non-religious older adults. Internal locus of control, higher self-efficacy, and higher optimism were linked to higher MIL levels. Higher psychological distress and loneliness were associated with lower MIL levels, with psychological distress contributing the most of all variables in the study model to explain the variance in MIL among older adults. Employed older old adults reported lower MIL levels than those unemployed. The study emphasizes the importance of an integrative approach in the examination of MIL among older adults.

The Relationship Between Religious/Spiritual Beliefs and Subjective Well-Being: A Case-Based Comparative Cross-National Study

The most unique aspect of religiosity/spirituality (R/S), supernatural beliefs, and their relationship with SWB has hardly been examined. This study explores the relationship between six R/S supernatural beliefs and SWB, in a case-based comparative cross-national design including two religious and two secular nations. Data were obtained from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) Religion IV module from the religious countries of the USA (n = 1060) and Turkey (n = 1353) and the secular countries of Denmark (n = 1281) and Czech Republic (n = 1112). SWB was measured as happiness and self-rated health. Statistical analyses were performed using binary logistic regression models replicated across countries. Results indicated that the American sample showed no evidence of relationships between R/S and SWB outcomes capable of improving the model over demographic and service attendance covariates. In Turkey, some R/S beliefs were found to be statistically significantly related to SWB, with positive and negative associations with happiness. No associations were found in the secular countries. Findings were discussed in the light of previous research and interpreted from a terror management theory perspective.

Spirituality and subjective well-being among Ghanaian older adults: optimism and meaning in life as mediators

OBJECTIVE

This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between spirituality and subjective well-being (positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction), and whether this relationship is mediated by optimism and meaning in life.

METHOD

Participants were 235 older adults (≥60 years) conveniently sampled from Ghanaian communities. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the direct and indirect relationships. Sobel test was also used to test specific mediating effects of optimism and meaning in life.

RESULTS

Spirituality was positively related with positive affect and life satisfaction, but negatively related with negative affect. The SEM results revealed that the relationship between spirituality and subjective well-being was indirect. Sobel test showed that the mediating effect of optimism was only statistically significant for negative affect but not positive affect and life satisfaction. In contrast, the mediating effect of meaning in life was statistically significant for the three components of subjective well-being.

CONCLUSION

The study has demonstrated that spirituality indirectly influences subjective well-being through optimism and meaning in life. It also showed the relative importance of meaning in life over optimism as a mediator. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings have been discussed.

Happiness among second year MBBS students and its correlates using Oxford Happiness Questionnaire

Objectives

Inner happiness and the ability to fully receive joy is the utmost necessity to be healthy, to mature in professional life and eventually serving the mankind. Medical students are less ecstatic compared to other students in university because of concrete inculcation and work conditions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate happiness among medical students& its correlates.

Materials and methodology

The study was conducted among 115 medical students of MBBS (2nd year) of Subharti Medical College, Meerut. The information was gathered by using the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire which was distributed among the MBBS second year students present during the study at Subharti Medical College, Meerut. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used for the analysis.

Results

The happiness distribution in regards to baseline characteristic showed that 60.8% of the selected medical students were in happy group. It was found that male students (51.4%) were happier than females (48.6%). It was seen that 85.7% of medical students who were happy, had never consumed drugs and this association was found to be statistically significant. It was observed that comparatively younger siblings were happier. Those who believed in higher power or universal consciousness were found to be more contented and happier.

Conclusion

Overall the medical students were found to be happy. To make a conducive environment for internal happiness, a belief in superpower was very helpful. All kind of drugs (alcohol and tobacco) should be discouraged as these may cause a temporary feeling of elation but not internal happiness.