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New York, January 10 (IANS): A new study has found that clerics use some of the same tools psychologists have consistently identified as effective in improving well-being and protecting against distress, anxiety and depression.
Religious seek positive ways of thinking about difficulties, a practice known to psychologists as “cognitive reassessment”.
They also tend to be confident in their ability to cope with difficulties, a trait called “coping self-efficacy”.
Both have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, the team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States said.
“This suggests that science and religion are on the same wavelength when it comes to dealing with hardships,” said Florin Dolcos, professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. .
The research was prompted in part by previous studies showing that people who are religious tend to use a coping strategy that closely resembles cognitive reassessment.
For example, when someone dies, a religious person can say, “OK, now they are with God”, while someone who is not religious can say, “At least they are not suffering anymore.
Either way, the individual finds comfort in framing the situation in a more positive light, Dolcos said in an article in the Journal of Religion and Health.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers recruited 203 participants without a clinical diagnosis of depression or anxiety.
Fifty-seven of the study subjects also answered questions about their level of religiosity or spirituality.
The researchers asked participants to choose from a series of options describing their attitudes and practices.
The researchers also assessed participants’ confidence in their ability to cope and asked them questions designed to measure their symptoms of depression and anxiety.
“If we just look at the relationship between religious adaptation and decreased anxiety, we don’t know exactly what strategy facilitates this positive outcome,” said Sanda Dolco, co-author of the study.
“The analysis of mediation helps us to determine if religious are using reassessment as an effective way to alleviate their distress.”
The study should be of interest to clinical psychologists working with religious clients.
“I hope this is an example where religion and science can work together to maintain and increase well-being,” Florin said.
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