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Religion, Psychological Well-Being, and Health

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Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research

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Synonyms

Religiosity and well-being; Well-being, subjective

Definition

Religiosity refers to a broad set of beliefs and behaviors centering on the sacred.

Description

Introduction

Over the past several decades, social scientists have had an increased interest in documenting the relationship between religion and health, including both psychological and physical health outcomes. This entry provides an overview of the field with particular attention to theory and evidence regarding specific mechanisms that explain why religion tends to be associated with better mental and physical health but is sometimes related to worse well-being. The bulk of this entry will be based on research conducted in the USA but will also include a small body of cross-national studies that compare the nature of the religion/health association between countries. Although the list of potential mediators is extensive, this entry will focus on religion as a source of social identity, of social support, and of attitudes...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA

    Marta Elliott

  2. Boston, MA, USA

    Michael J. Doane

  3. Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Social Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA

    Jordan C. Reuter

Authors
  1. Marta Elliott
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  2. Michael J. Doane
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  3. Jordan C. Reuter
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Correspondence to Marta Elliott .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy

    Filomena Maggino

Section Editor information

  1. Univeristy of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Antonino Galati

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Elliott, M., Doane, M.J., Reuter, J.C. (2022). Religion, Psychological Well-Being, and Health. In: Maggino, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_4128-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_4128-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69909-7

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