Religiosity and mental health of adolescents and young adults: a review

This article is a review of the literature on the relationship between religiosity and the mental health of adolescents and young adults. Religiosity - which includes the term spirituality - in adolescents and young adults has been shown to act as a potential protective factor against psychopathology like depression, anxiety, stress and drug use but also as an enhancer of normal psychological characteristics (e.g., resilience, self-control, personality traits). Also, religiosity is positively associated with life satisfaction. Greek literature, though limited, has highlighted the positive effects of religiosity on mental health, similar to the international literature, both in the general and clinical population. Even if most studies have reported positive associations between religiosity and mental health, a minority of other studies report mixed or fully negative associations. The difference of findings in associations between religiosity and mental health could be due to assessment problems of religiosity. Many factors have been used to evaluate religiosity, but the three-factor model (organizational, non-organizational or private, and intrinsic or subjective religiosity) is the most comprehensive model for investigating religiosity. Parents play an important role in the development of religiosity in adolescents and young adults, as they influence their psycho- emotional development. This effect is related to the degree, type and harmony of the religiosity of the parents t...
Source: Psychiatriki - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research