Give Thanks in All Circumstances? Gratitude Toward God and Health in Later Life after Major Life Stressors

Do Religion and Spirituality Buffer the Effect of Childhood Trauma on Depressive Symptoms? Examination of a South Asian Cohort from the USA

Asian Americans have been identified as a racial group that is disproportionately affected by childhood trauma. The goal of this study was  to assess if religion/spirituality moderate the effects of childhood trauma on adult depressive symptoms among a sample of South Asians in the USA. Our analysis drew from the study on stress, spirituality, and health (SSSH) questionnaire fielded in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study (n = 990) during 2016-2018. A series of regression models with multiplicative interaction terms were conducted. Emotional neglect, emotional abuse, and physical neglect were associated with higher depressive symptoms. Higher religious attendance and negative religious coping techniques were found to exacerbate this relationship. There were two findings conditional on gender. Among men, gratitude and positive religious coping also exacerbated the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms. Negative religious coping also exacerbated the association between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms for women. This is the first community-based study of US South Asians to consider the association between various forms of childhood trauma and depressive symptom outcomes. South Asians remain an understudied group in the religion and health literature, and this study sheds light on the important differences in the function and effectiveness of religion/spirituality for those faced with early life trauma.

Exploring Religious/Spiritual Pathways between Practical Wisdom and Depression: Testing the Importance of The Divine Relationship in Later Life

The last several decades have witnessed the topic of wisdom gaining momentum in the field of positive psychology. In this study, we focus on the potentially important role of religion/spirituality, specifically beliefs about God, as a mediating mechanism underlying the relationship between practical wisdom and depression among older adults. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of older adults from the 2013 wave of the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey (n = 1,497), our results show that practical wisdom is associated with lower depressive symptoms. We also document that three God-related constructs, God-mediated control, trust in God, and gratitude towards God each partially explained the relationship between wisdom and well-being. Taken together, Christian conceptions of God as a personal, divine being, the ultimate attachment figure who is an unconditional source of love and support for believers, may be a target of older adults who have cultivated practical wisdom.

Transcendental Awe of God and Dimensions of Well-Being: Exploring the Mediating Role of Meaning in Life

Scholars have long speculated that experiencing awe-an emotional state where people believe they are in the presence of something grand-might be beneficial for well-being. We explore a manifestation of awe that is unique to religion-awe of God. Drawing on a national sample from the United States, being in awe of God was associated with lower depression, higher life satisfaction, and better self-rated health, associations partially mediated by the sense of meaning in life. Awe of God may bolster well-being by allowing people to view their life according to the vastness and complexity of a divine plan.