The Centrality of Events, Religion, Spirituality, and Subjective Well-Being in Latin American Jewish Immigrants in Israel

Abstract

This study aims to explore the impact of migration as a central event in personal identity, spirituality, and religiousness on subjective well-being (SWB). The sample was composed of 204 Latin American immigrants living in Israel, with ages ranging from 18 to 80 years (M = 48.76; SD = 15.36) across both sexes (Men = 34.8%; Women = 65.2%). The results show that, when analyzing the effects on SWB, Positive and Negative Affect, Centrality of Event, Religious Crisis, and Spiritual Transcendence present as the most relevant explanatory variables within the models. However, contrary to expectation, the present study identifies positive associations between the centrality of migration and SWB. Motivations for emigration should be explored in further studies as they could be mediating the relationship between centrality of events and SWB.

The Importance of Spiritual Consumption, Religious Expression and Subjective Well-Being among Christians in the US during COVID-19

“…Previous findings also indicate that in stressful times, individuals tend to turn to religion for support, as it is considered a positive force for mental health (Simkin, 2020). This positive correlation is consistent across SWB and religiosity studies.…”

“…COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of many, and religion has become a major coping mechanism (Bentzen, 2019(Bentzen, , 2020Simkin, 2020). Using consumer culture theory, we explored whether religiosity improved SWB among the religious during the pandemic.…”

“…The pandemic has had a negative impact on life satisfaction (Rababa et al, 2021;Rigoli, 2021), leaving people searching for meaning and reconnecting with religion and their inner selves, a phenomenon known as "quest culture" (Roof, 2001, p. 46). In particular, religion has become a major coping mechanism (Bentzen, 2019(Bentzen, , 2020Simkin, 2020).…”

A Many-Analysts Approach to the Relation Between Religiosity and Well-being

“…First, the relation between religion and health has been researched for decades with hundreds of qualitative reports, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, and even randomized controlled trials with religious/spiritual interventions for mental health issues (Captari et al, 2018;Harris et al, 2018;Koenig et al, 2020;Rosmarin et al, 2010). Yet new studies keep emerging (e.g., Chang et al, 2021;Luo & Chen, 2021;Simkin, 2020) and the debate seems far from settled (see for instance the recent special issue in the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion; van Elk, 2021). Second, both 'religion' and 'well-being' are broad and multifaceted constructs that are sensitive to different measures and operationalizations, which might result in both quantitatively and qualitatively different conclusions (Hackney & Sanders, 2003;Poloma & Pendleton, 1989).…”

Social belongingness and wellbeing: a review of constructs and evidence as introduction to the special Frontiers in Psychology-Social Psychology issue

“…The study leaves open to understand where positive affect comes from -probably from the support of your community and the rewarding aspects of the migration experience. Simkin (2020) examines the influence of centrality of migration in the case of Latin American jews that migrates to Israel and found that centrality or subjetive importance of migration was positively related to well being -probably because migration satisfy needs for belongingness, competence and to a lower extent autonomy needs, and is congruent with self-transcendent beliefs or spirituality. Oriol et al (2020) examines the role of self-trascendent prosocial communitarian aspirations, related to intrinsic motivation in the Deci & Ryan approach, as well as to self-trascendent emotions like gratitude.…”