Skip to main content
Book cover

Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults across Cultures pp 19–33Cite as

The Contribution of Religiosity and Optimism on Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults in Italy

Part of the Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology book series (CAPP,volume 12)

Abstract

In line with the Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework positing that religion provides youth with resources to thrive, this chapter presents a contribution analyzing associations between religiosity and well-being among middle and late adolescents and emerging adults in Italy. Italy is a unique context to study this topic due to societal relevance and historical presence of Catholicism. We conceptualized religiosity as religious commitment and well-being as life satisfaction and focused on the mediating role of optimism between these two constructs. A multiple-group path model revealed a direct invariant link between religious commitment and life satisfaction as well as a significant mediating role of optimism in middle adolescents and emerging adults, but not in late adolescents. Conclusions afford implications about why and how religiosity and optimism contribute to PYD in cultural contexts like Italy.

Keywords

  • Religious commitment
  • Optimism
  • Life satisfaction
  • Adolescents
  • Emerging adults
  • Italy

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2012). Subjective well-being and religiosity: A cross-sectional study with adolescents, young, and middle-age adults. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 15, 39–52.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2014). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the Twenties (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J., & Jensen, L. A. (2002). A congregation of one: Individualized religious beliefs among emerging adults. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17, 451–467.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Bader, C. D., Baker, J. O., & Molle, A. (2012). Countervailing forces: Religiosity and paranormal beliefs in Italy. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51, 705–720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry, C. M., & Abo-Zena, M. M. (2014). Emerging adults’ religious and spiritual development. In C. M. Barry & M. M. Abo-Zena (Eds.), Emerging adults’ religiousness and spirituality. Meaning-Making in an Age of Transition (pp. 21–38). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry, C. M., Nelson, L., Davarya, S., & Urry, S. (2010). Religiosity and spirituality during the transition to adulthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 34, 311–324.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2014). Dispositional optimism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18, 293–299.

    CrossRef  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, M., Tsai, K. M., & Fuligni, A. J. (2015). Changes in religiosity across the transition to young adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 1555–1566.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 464–504.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Cotton, S., Larkin, E., Hoopes, A., Cromer, B. A., & Rosenthal, S. L. (2005). The impact of spirituality on depressive symptoms and health risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 529, 7–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crocetti, E., Rabaglietti, E., & Sica, L. L. (2012). Personal identity in Italy. In S. J. Schwartz (Ed.), Identity around the world: New directions for child and adolescent development (pp. 87–102). New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, R. E. (2004). Adolescent brain development: A period of vulnerabilities and opportunities. Keynote address. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 1021, 1–22.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Tay, L., & Myers, D. G. (2011). The religion paradox: If religion makes people happy, why are so many dropping out? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 1278–1290.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doxa (2014). Indagine demoscopica sui temi della religiosità e dell’ateismo [Opinion poll on religiosity and atheism]. Retrieved from, http://www.doxa.it/news/religiosita-e-ateismo-in-italia-nel-2014/

  • Ek, E., Remes, J., & Sovio, U. (2004). Social and developmental predictors of optimism from infancy to early adulthood. Social Indicators Research, 69, 219–242.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Exline, J. J., Yali, A. M., & Sanderson, W. C. (2000). Guilt, discord, and alienation: The role of religious strain in depression and suicidality. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56, 1481–1496.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faraci, P., & Musso, P. (2013). La valutazione dei modelli di equazioni strutturali [The evaluation of structural equation models]. In C. Barbaranelli & S. Ingoglia (Eds.), I modelli di equazioni strutturali: Temi e prospettive (pp. 111–150). Milano, Italy: LED.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, S. J., & Goodwin, A. D. (2010). Optimism and well-being in older adults: The mediating role of social support and perceived control. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 71, 43–68.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fowler, J. W., & Dell, M. L. (2006). Stages of faith from infancy through adolescence: Reflections on three decades of faith development theory. In E. C. Roehlkepartain, P. E. King, L. Wagener, & P. L. Benson (Eds.), The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence (pp. 34–45). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Furrow, J. L., King, P. E., & White, K. (2004). Religion and positive youth development: Identity, meaning, and prosocial concerns. Applied Developmental Science, 8, 17–26.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Garelli, F. (2007). Research note between religion and spirituality: New perspectives in the Italian religious landscape. Review of Religious Research, 48, 318–326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garelli, F. (2013). Flexible catholicism, religion, and the church: The Italian case. Religions, 4, 1–13.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Giannini, M., Schuldberg, D., Di Fabio, A., & Gargaro, D. (2008). Misurare l’ottimismo: proprietà psicometriche della versione italiana del Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) [Measuring optimism: psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R)]. Counseling, 1, 73–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldwurm, G. F., Baruffi, M., & Colombo, F. (2004). Qualità della Vita e Benessere Psicologico. Aspetti comportamentali e cognitivi del vivere felice [Quality of life and psychological well-being. Behavioral and cognitive aspects of happy life]. Milano, Italy: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, C., & Crown, S. (2014). Religion and well-being around the world: Social purpose, social time, or social insurance? International Journal of Wellbeing, 4, 1–27.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy, S. A., Walker, L. J., Rackham, D. D., & Olsen, J. A. (2012). Religiosity and adolescent empathy and aggression: The mediating role of moral identity. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 4, 237–248.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Hayward, R. D., & Krause, N. (2014). Religion, mental health, and well-being: Social aspects. In V. Saroglou (Ed.), Religion, personality, and social behavior (pp. 255–280). New York, NY: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, P. C., Pargament, K. I., Hood, R. W., Jr., McCullough, M. E., Swyers, J. P., Larson, D. B., et al. (2000). Conceptualizing religion and spirituality: Points of commonality, points of departure. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 30, 51–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirsch, J. K., Nsamenang, S. A., Chang, E. C., & Kaslow, N. J. (2014). Spiritual well-being and depressive symptoms in female African American suicide attempters: Mediating effect of optimism and pessimism. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 6, 276–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ho, M. Y., Cheung, F. M., & Cheung, S. F. (2010). The role of meaning in life and optimism in promoting well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 658–663.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • International Test Commission. (2005). International Test Commission guidelines for translating and adapting tests. Retrieved from, https://www.intestcom.org/files/guideline_test_adaptation.pdf

  • Italian Association of Psychology. (2015). Codice etico per la ricerca in psicologia [Ethical code for psychological research]. Retrieved from, http://aipass.org/node/11560

  • Jankowski, P. J., Hardy, S. A., Zamboanga, B. L., & Ham, L. S. (2013). Religiousness and hazardous alcohol use: A conditional indirect effects model. Journal of Adolescence, 36, 747–758.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, B. R., Jang, S. J., Larson, D. B., & Li, S. D. (2001). Does adolescent religious commitment matter: A re-examination of the effects of religiosity on delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38, 22–43.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Karaś, D., Cieciuch, J., Negru, O., & Crocetti, E. (2015). Relationships between identity and well-being in Italian, Polish, and Romanian emerging adults. Social Indicators Research, 121, 727–743.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, B. S., & Miller, L. (2007). Life satisfaction and spirituality in adolescents. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 18, 233–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S., Miles-Mason, E., Kim, C. Y., & Esquivel, G. B. (2013). Religiosity/spirituality and life satisfaction in Korean American adolescents. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5, 33–40.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • King, P. E. (2003). Religion and identity: The role of ideological, social and spiritual contexts. Applied Developmental Science, 7, 197–204.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • King, P. E., & Boyatzis, C. (2015). Religious and spiritual development. In M. E. Lamb & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Socioemotional processes (7th ed., Vol. 3, pp. 975-1021). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, P. E., & Roeser, R. W. (2009). Religion and spirituality in adolescent development. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology: Individual bases of adolescent development (Vol. 1, 3rd ed., pp. 435–478). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, P. E., Furrow, J. L., & Roth, N. (2002). The influence of family and peers on adolescent religiousness. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 21, 109–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, C. M., & Lewis, R. K. (2013). The impact of religious behaviors on the health and well-being of emerging adults. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 16, 1030–1043.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Krause, N. (2002). Church-based social support and health in old age: Exploring variations by race. Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57B, 332–347.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Laudadio, A., & D’Alessio, M. (2010). Il percorso di validazione della Religious Attitude Scale (RAS) [The validation process of the Religious Attitude Scale (RAS)]. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 37, 465–486.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M., Alberts, E. A., Anderson, P. M., & Dowling, E. M. (2006). On making humans human: spirituality and the promotion of positive youth development. In E. C. Roehlkepartain, P. E. King, L. Wagener, & P. L. Benson (Eds.), The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence (pp. 60–72). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., von Eye, A., Bowers, E. P., & Bizan-Lewin, S. (2011). Individual and contextual bases of thriving in adolescence: A view of the issues. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 1107–1114.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Loewenthal, K. M., MacLeod, A. K., & Cinnirella, M. (2002). Are women more religious than men? Gender differences in religious activity among different religious groups in the UK. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 133–139.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Magyar-Russel, G., Deal, P. J., & Brown, I. T. (2014). Potential benefits and detriments or religiousness and spirituality to emerging adults. In C. M. Barry & M. M. Abo-Zena (Eds.), Emerging adults’ religiousness and spirituality. Meaning-making in an age of transition (pp. 39–55). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maselko, J., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2006). Gender differences in religious practices, spiritual experiences and health: Results from the US General Social Survey. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 2848–2860.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Mishra, K. K. (2013). Optimism and well-being. Social Science International, 29, 75–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychological Assessment, 5, 164–172.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, M. J., Little, T. D., & Perez, J. E. (2003). Religiousness and depressive symptoms among adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 267–276.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sabatier, C., Mayer, B., Friedlmeier, M., Lubiewska, K., & Trommsdorff, G. (2011). Religiosity, family orientation, and life satisfaction of adolescents in four countries. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42, 1375–1393.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Salas-Wright, C. P., Vaughn, M. G., & Maynard, B. R. (2014). Religiosity and violence among adolescents in the United States: Findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2006–2010. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29, 1178–1200.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salsman, J. M., Brown, T. L., Brechting, E. H., & Carlson, C. R. (2005). The link between religion and spirituality and psychological adjustment: The mediating role of optimism and social support. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 522–535.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A re-evaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steger, M. F., & Frazier, P. (2005). Meaning in life: One link in the chain from religiousness to well-being. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 574–582.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L. (1999). Adolescence (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Cappellen, P., Toth-Gauthier, M., Saroglou, V., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2016). Religion and well-being: The mediating role of positive emotions. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17, 485–505.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Worthington, E. L., Wade, N. G., Hight, T. L., Ripley, J. S., McCullough, M. E., Berry, J. W., et al. (2003). The Religious Commitment Inventory – 10: Development, refinement, and validation of a brief scale for research and counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50, 84–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yonker, J. E., Schnabelrauch, A., & DeHaan, L. G. (2012). The relationship between spirituality and religiosity on psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 299–314.

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zarrett, N., & Eccles, J. (2006). The passage to adulthood: Challenges of late adolescents. New Directions for Youth Development, 111, 13–28.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Zeb, R., Riaz, M. N., & Jahangir, F. (2015). Religiosity and optimism as predictors of psychopathology and mental health. Journal of Asian Development Studies, 4, 67–75.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Cristiano Inguglia, Pasquale Musso, Nicolò Maria Iannello & Alida Lo Coco

Authors
  1. Cristiano Inguglia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pasquale Musso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nicolò Maria Iannello
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alida Lo Coco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristiano Inguglia .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Radosveta Dimitrova

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Inguglia, C., Musso, P., Iannello, N.M., Lo Coco, A. (2017). The Contribution of Religiosity and Optimism on Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults in Italy. In: Dimitrova, R. (eds) Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults across Cultures . Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68363-8_2

Download citation