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Religious motivation and cardiovascular reactivity among middle aged adults: is being pro-religious really that good for you?

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Abstract

Religiousness has been observed to have a beneficial relationship with blood pressure, however, specific aspects of religiousness that interact with physiological mechanisms to influence this relationship are not known. This study explored laboratory cardiovascular reactivity (blood pressure, heart rate) to psychological stress among middle aged community dwelling individuals grouped by religious motivation (Intrinsic, Pro-religious, Non-religious). Measures of personality, cynical hostility, aggression, sense of coherence, and compassion were administered. Results indicated that the Pro-religious group demonstrated dampened reactivity compared to the other research groups. However, the Pro-religious also demonstrated a less positive psychological profile (e.g., greater cynicism, aggression, and neuroticism; less compassion and sense of coherence) and poorer self-reported health compared with the Intrinsic group and behavioral observations demonstrated that the Pro-religious were unreliable in keeping appointments and appeared rushed during the experiment. These findings indicate a complicated interface between personality, coping, and religious motivation in response to stressors and emphasize the need for naturalistic and longitudinal investigations of individuals who vary in terms of religious motivation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Ralph W. Emerson IV and Stephanie A. Hooker for their assistance on this project. This research was supported by funding from the College of Arts and Sciences, Syracuse University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, 1200 Larimer Street, Campus Box 173, Denver, CO, 80217, USA

    Kevin S. Masters

  2. Counseling and Career Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA

    Andrea Knestel

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  1. Kevin S. Masters
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  2. Andrea Knestel
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Correspondence to Kevin S. Masters.

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Masters, K.S., Knestel, A. Religious motivation and cardiovascular reactivity among middle aged adults: is being pro-religious really that good for you?. J Behav Med 34, 449–461 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-011-9352-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-011-9352-6

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