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Religiosity, Psychological Resources, and Physical Health
Author(s) -
Son Joonmo,
Wilson John
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal for the scientific study of religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1468-5906
pISSN - 0021-8294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2011.01588.x
Subject(s) - religiosity , operationalization , psychology , physical health , psychological health , association (psychology) , clinical psychology , gerontology , social psychology , medicine , mental health , psychiatry , psychotherapist , philosophy , epistemology
Various explanations have been given for the positive association between religiosity and physical health. Using data from two waves of the National Survey of Midlife in the United States (1995, 2005) and retrospective data on the importance of religion in the home in which respondents were raised we find that psychological resources, operationalized by measures of emotional and psychological well‐being, mediate the effect of this early exposure to religion but only on self‐rated health and physical symptomatology; chronic illnesses and health limitations on activities of daily living are unaffected.