Abstract
To break the cycle of poverty, a success mindset is critical, especially for the young generation of low-income groups. Mindset is an element in developing goals toward a prosperous life, and it is related to religion and cultural beliefs. However, studies that investigate the influence of religiosity on mindset development and subjective well-being are scarce. As a result, the purpose of this study is to investigate how religiosity influences mindsets and emotions among Malaysian youth from low-income families. The study included 396 low-income Muslim youths (aged 15–25) from low-income families. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to test the reliability and validity of the measurement model. The relationship between three (3) variables has been analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling. The findings revealed that the fixed mindset has a significant direct impact on positive affect, whereas the growth mindset has a significant direct impact on the religious struggle. Religious struggle and negative religious coping have a direct impact on negative affect. Additionally, religious practices are strongly linked to positive rather than negative affect. Based on the results obtained, multiple dimensions of religion show different influences on the relationship between mindset and emotion. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the extent of multiple dimensions in Islam, which could lead to different results in future studies.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data contains sensitive information and permission is needed to review data.
Abbreviations
- B40:
-
Bottom 40%
- GFI:
-
Goodness of fit index
- AGFI:
-
Adjusted goodness of fit index
- CFI:
-
Comparative fit index
- IFI:
-
Incremental fit index
- NFI:
-
Normed fit index
- TLI:
-
Tucker lewis index
- RMSEA:
-
Root means square error of approximation
- RCOP:
-
Religious coping
- AVE:
-
Average varians extracted
- CR:
-
Composite reliability
- S.E:
-
Standard error
- C.R:
-
Critical ratio
References
Abdul, Ghoni. (2016). Konsep Tawakal dan Relevansinya dengan Tujuan Pendidikan Islam. An-Nuha, 3(1). https://ejournal.staimadiun.ac.id/index.php/annuha/article/download/103/66.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
Braam, A. W., & Koenig, H. G. (2019). Religion, spirituality and depression in prospective studies: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 1, 428–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.06.063
Brown, T. A. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. Guilford Press.
Carpenter, T. P., Laney, T., & Mezulis, A. (2012). Religious coping, stress, and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A prospective study. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 4(1), 19.
Cherry, K. (2021). What Is a Mindset and Why It Matters. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-mindset-2795025.
Chin, W. W. (1998) The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. Modern Methods for Business Research, 295, 295–336.
Daaleman, T. P. (2004). The spirituality index of well-being: A new instrument for health-related quality-of-life research. The Annals of Family Medicine, 2(5), 499–503. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.89
Dasti, R., & Sitwat, A. (2014). Development of a multidimensional measure of islamic spirituality (MMIS). Journal of Muslim Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.3998/jmmh.10381607.0008.204
Davis III, R. F., & Kiang, L. (2015). Religious identity, religious participation, and psychological well-being in Asian American Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(3), 532–546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0350-9
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House Inc.
Dweck, C. S. (2015). Growth. British Journal of Education Psychology, 85(2), 242–245. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12072
Dweck, C. S., Chiu, C.-Y., & Hong, Y.-Y. (2009). Implicit theories and their role in judgments and reactions: A word from two perspectives. Psychological Inquiry, 6(4), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0604_1
Dweck, C. S., & Master, A. (2009). Self-theories and motivation: Students’ beliefs about intelligence. In K. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of Motivation at School (pp. 171–195). NY: Taylor Francis.
Dweck, C. S., & Yeager, D. S. (2019). Mindsets: A view from two eras. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(3), 481–496. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618804166
Emmons, R. A. (2005). Emotion and religion. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of Religion and Spirituality (pp. 235–252). New York, NY: Guilford Press. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-00771-013
Eryilmaz, A. (2015). Investigation of the relations between religious activities and subjective well-being of high school. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice 15 (2). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1060167.pdf.
Exline, J. J. (2013). Religious and spiritual struggles. In K. I. Pargament, J. J. Exline, & J. W. Jones (Eds.), APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol 1): Context, theory, and research (pp. 459–475). Washington: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14045-025
Fitchett, G. (1999). Selected resources for screening for spiritual risk. Chaplaincy Today, 15(1), 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999183.1999.10767103
Fitchett, G., Murphy, P. E., Kim, Jo., Gibsons, J. L., Cameron, J. R., & Davis, J. A. (2004). Religious struggle: Prevalence, correlates and mental health risks in diabetic, congestive heart failure, and oncology patients. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 34(2), 179–196. https://doi.org/10.2190/UCJ9-DP4M-9C0X-835M
Foa, E. B., & Kozak, M. J. (1986). Emotional processing of fear: Exposure to corrective information. Psychological Bulletin, 99(1), 20–35. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.99.1.20
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312
Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affective, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
Hisham, Abu Raiya. (2008). A Psychological measure of islamic religiousness: Evidence for relevance, reliability and validity. (Doctoral dissertation. Bowling Green State University). https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1158091753&disposition=inline.
Keech, J. J., Hagger, M. S., O’Callaghan, F. V., & Hamilton, K. (2018). The influence of university students’ stress mindsets on health and performance outcomes. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 52(12), 1046–1059. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kay008
Knapp, M., & Shields, P. (1990). Reconceving academic instructions for the children poverty. Phi Delta Kappan, 71, 753–758.
Krauss, S. E., Hamzah, A., Suandi, T., Mohd, S., Noah, K. A., Mastor, R. J., Kassan, H., Mahmoud, A., & Manap, J. (2005). The muslim religiosity-personality measurement inventory (MRPI)’s religiosity measurement model: Towards filling the gaps in religiosity research on muslims. Pertanika Journal of Social Science & Humanities, 13(2), 131–145.
Levin, J. (2013). Religious behavior, health, and well-being among Israeli jews: Findings from the European social survey. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(4), 272–282. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032601
Li, P., Wang, W., Fan, C., Zhu, C., Li, S., Zhang, Z., Qi, Z., & Luo, W. (2017). Distraction and expressive suppression strategies in regulation of high- and low-intensity negative emotions. Science and Reports, 7, 13062. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12983-3
Luebke, K. (2019). Religiosity, Mindset, and Math Achievement (Thesis, Concordia University, St. Paul). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/cup_commons_grad_edd/320
Lun, V. M. C., & Bond, M. H. (2013). Examining the relation of religion and spirituality to subjective well-being across national cultures. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(4), 304–315. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033641
Malaysia Department of Statistic. (2016). Penyiasatan Pendapatan & Kemudahan Asas dan Perbelanjaan Isi Rumah (HIS/HES) 2016.
Mcculers, C.T. (2020). The relation between religiosity and growth mindset and the moderating factor of locus of control. Barret, the Honors College. https://repository.asu.edu/items/56261.
Mental Health Foundation (2006). Fundamental Facts: London, Mental Health Foundation. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-06/The-Fundamental-facts-about-mental-health-2016.pdf.
Moeini, M., Sharifi, S., & Kajbaf, M. B. (2016). Effect of Islam-based religious program on spiritual wellbeing in elderly with hypertension. Iranian Journal of Nursing Midwifery Research, 21, 566–571.
Mohd Shaifulbahri, Abdullah., Syed Hadzrullathfi, Syed Omar. (2017). Proceeding of International Conference of Empowering Islamic Civilization. https://www.unisza.edu.my/icic2017/images/64_Mohd_Shaifulbahri_7_Syed_Hadzrullathfi_Konsep_Ilmu_dan_Amal_dalam_Tasawuf.pdfMosanya.
Mosanya, M. (2021). Buffering academic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic related social isolation: Grit and growth mindset as protective factors against the impact of loneliness. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 6(2), 159–174.
Pargament, K. I. (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy: Understanding and addressing the sacred. New York: Guilford Press. https://www.scirp.org/(S(lz5mqp453edsnp55rrgjct55.))/reference/referencespapers.aspx?referenceid=2132857.
Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., & Perez, L. M. (2000). The many methods of religious coping: Development and initial validation of the RCOPE. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(4), 519–543.
Rice, F.P. (1996). The Adolescent: Development, Relationships, & Culture (8th Ed.). United States: Allyn & Bacon. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/adolescent-development-relationships-culture-8th/docview/195936801/se-2.
Rozmi, Ismail., Norizan, Hassan., Mustazar, Mansur., Siti, Jamiaah., Abdul, Jalil. (2019). Pola Pemikiran Golongan B40 Terhadap Kemiskinan dan Kesejahteraan Hidup: Satu Dapatan Awal. In Norizan, Abdul Razak., Jalaludin, Abdul Malek., Suzana, Sahar. (Ed.) Memperkasakan B40: Isu dan Strategi Sains Sosial. (pp. 20–38). Bangi: UKM Press.
Schroder, H. S., Dawood, S., Yalch, M. M., Donnellan, M. B., & Moser, J. S. (2015). The role of implicit theories in mental health symptoms, emotion regulation, and hypothetical treatment choices in college students. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 39(120), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-014-9652-6
Schroder, H. S., Yalch, M. M., Dawood, S., Callahan, C. P., Donnellan, M. B., & Moser, J. (2017). Growth mindset of anxiety buffers the link between stressful life events and psychological distress and coping strategies. Personality and Individual Differences, 110, 23–26.
Spencer, N., Madden, G., Purtill, C., & Ewing, J. (2016). Religion and Well-Being: Assessing the Evidence. Theos. https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/cmsfiles/archive/files/Reports/Executive%20Religion%20and%20well-being%20combined%201.pdf.
Vishkin, A., Bigman, Y.E., Tamir, M. (2014). Religion, emotion, regulation and well-being. In Chu. Kim-Prieto (Ed.), Religion and Spirituality across Cultures (pp. 247–269) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8950-9_13
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063.
Zarzycka, B., Tychmanowicz, A., & Krok, D. (2020). Religious struggle and psychological well-being: The mediating role of religious support and meaning making. Religions, 11(3), 149. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11030149
Zeenat, I., Soha, D. (2012). Religiosity and psychological well-being. Paper presented at 30th International Congress of Psychology (ICP), Cape Town, South Africa, 27 Julai. http://www.ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_3_No_11_June_2012/3.pdf.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, (UKM) for funding this study under the Dana Cabaran Perdana-DCP-2017-014/2. We also thank the team for their commitment and tireless efforts in ensuring that manuscript was well executed.
Funding
Financial support for this study was obtained from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Under the Dana Cabaran Perdana-DCP-2017-014/2. Under the Dana Cabaran Perdana-DCP-2017-014/2. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
The first draft was written by NH. RI was focused on editing, revising and improve the manuscript. SN focused on editing and commenting. We confirm that all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors (NH, RI and SN) declare that they have no conflict of interest relevant to this work.
Ethical approval
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Secretariat of Research Ethics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur (Reference no. UKMPPI/111/8/JEP-2018-339174(2).
Consent to participate
Informed consent was obtained to maintain the confidentiality of all respondents.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Hassan, N., Ismail, R. & Nen, S. Relationship of mindset, religiosity and subjective well-being of low-income youth in Malaysia. Psychol Stud 68, 582–591 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-023-00742-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-023-00742-6