Religious Coping and Life Satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Polish Catholics. The Mediating Effect of Coronavirus Anxiety

Konaszewski²,

Toussaint³

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

Previous studies indicate that perceptions of nature and thought-provoking silence can have positive consequences for individual functioning. The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationships between religious coping (assessed with the Brief RCOPE), perceptions of nature and silence (a subscale of the Perception of Change Questionnaire), well-being (the World Health Organization's five-item Well-Being Index) and life satisfaction (the Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale). An online questionnaire was completed between 2021–2022 by 1,010 Polish Catholics ages 18 to 73, 61% of whom were women. Structural equation modeling showed that positive religious coping was positively related to well-being (β = 0.08, p = 0.011) and life satisfaction (β = 0.22, p < 0.001). In contrast, negative religious coping was related to reduced well-being (β = −0.07, p = 0.040) and life satisfaction (β = −0.25). In addition, more frequent perceptions of nature and reflective times of silence partially mediated the associations of positive religious coping with well-being (β = 0.04, p = 0.011) and life satisfaction (β = 0.04, p = 0.008). The data might suggest that interventions that help people develop an ability or awareness for nature as an exceptional encounter and may help to strengthen the ways they can utilize their religiosity as a resource and thus contribute to well-being and life satisfaction among Catholics.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Positive religious coping acts through perception of nature and silence in its association with well-being and life satisfaction among Polish Catholics

Konaszewski²,

Toussaint³

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

“…Anxiety, a sense of being burdened, and stress are common responses to perceived or real threats, and also when faced with uncertainty or the unknown. So, it is understandable that people feel such tension in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic [1][2][3][4]. In addition to the fear of contracting the virus, there are significant changes in everyday life, as individuals are restricted in their functioning as part of efforts to contain and slow down the spread of the virus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience and Mental Health in the Polish Population during the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Mediation Analysis

Surżykiewicz

Konaszewski

et al. 2021

JCM

Self Cite

The aim of this paper was to assess the state of resilience and well-being in the Polish population during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also assessed the relationship between resilience and mental health. Finally, we tested the mediating role of COVID-19 anxiety, persistent thinking, and the stress burden in the relationship between mental health and resilience. This research perspective can provide important insights into how individuals can become mentally stronger during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study included 1758 people (73% women) aged 18–80 years. The procedure consisted of completing a questionnaire measuring well-being, COVID-19 anxiety, obsession with COVID-19, stress over COVID-19, and resilience. Results: Bootstrap sampling analysis showed significant partial mediators for the relationship between resilience and well-being. Important mediators were coronavirus anxiety, persistent thinking, and perceived stress. Conclusions: The results of the present study clearly indicate that resilience as a protective factor is associated with reduced anxiety about COVID-19, perceived stress burden, obsessive thoughts about the pandemic, and increased well-being of individuals. Resilience plays an important role in minimizing negative and enhancing positive health indicators in the face of challenging life events.

“…Before making broader generalizations, though, it is important to consider some limitations in the analyses conducted. First, the sample consisted primarily of Catholics (according to the Central Statistical Office—GUS—in Poland, approximately 85% of the population is Catholic; [ 55 ]). In such a situation, the effect of the influence of religion (not significant in our study) may be underestimated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between Spirituality, Religious Fundamentalism and Environmentalism: The Mediating Role of Right-Wing Authoritarianism

Loichen

Toussaint

et al. 2022

IJERPH

According to past research, religious attitudes can strongly influence individuals’ beliefs and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships between spirituality (the Scale of Spirituality; dimensions include religious spirituality, expanding consciousness, searching for meaning, sensitivity to art, doing good, and sensitivity to inner beauty), religious fundamentalism (the Religious Fundamentalism Scale), support for right-wing authoritarianism (the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale), climate concerns (the Environmental Concern Scale), and pro-environmental behavior (the Pro-Environmental Behavior Scale). The cross-sectional study involved 512 Poles aged 18–63 (M = 34.63, SD = 5.96; Mdn = 33), including 51% females. Multiple regression analysis revealed that two dimensions of spirituality (sensitivity to art and doing good) and religious fundamentalism are significant and opposite predictors of climate concern and pro-environmental behavior. Spirituality appeared to foster increased climate concern and caring behavior, while religious fundamentalism negatively predicted the same variables. Mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between religion and environmentalism could be explained in part by differences in support for right-wing authoritarianism (authoritarianism itself was negatively related to environmental outcomes). In addition, analysis of variance revealed that believers (70% of participants in the study were Catholic) showed significantly lower scores regarding climate concerns and pro-environmental behavior than non-believers, yet the inclusion of support for right-wing authoritarianism as a covariate in the equation reduced intergroup differences to statistical insignificance. The data obtained suggest that religious attitudes and socio-political views may play important roles in solving environmental problems.