Religiosity and Subjective Well-Being among Middle-Aged Korean Women: History
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Kyung-Hyun Suh
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,
Sung-Jin Chung

Existential consciousness and savoring beliefs were positively correlated with the subjective well-being of middle-aged women, whereas their intrinsic religiosity was not significantly correlated with subjective well-being because it was positively correlated with negative emotions, as well as with life satisfaction and positive emotions. In middle-aged women, the direct effect of intrinsic religiosity on savoring beliefs was negatively significant after adjusting for indirect effects through existential consciousness. The sequential indirect effect of existential consciousness and savoring beliefs on the intrinsic religiosity and subjective well-being of middle-aged women was significant.

  • religiosity
  • subjective well-being
  • existential consciousness

1. Religiosity and Well-Being

Frankl (1967) emphasized that religiosity plays an important role in adapting to human life. It is not yet clear how religion positively influences individual adaptation or well-being; however, several researchers have argued that religion and religiosity have positive effects on individual life (Batson et al. 1993; Donahue 1985; Pargament 1977). Chatters et al. (2008) found that people who are religious or regularly attend religious services are mentally healthier than those who do not. Earlier studies have provided evidences that religiosity relieves anxiety and depression (Lea 1982; Peterson and Roy 1985). These findings suggest that religiosity has a positive effect on quality of life.
Religiosity, which can be defined as a religious orientation with a commitment to religious beliefs and activities, may improve an individual’s psychological well-being (Hathaway and Pargament 1990); however, this is not its only effect because there can also be psychopathological elements in religiosity (Rosenstiel and Keefe 1983). This may be related to “the double-edged sword of religion (Ben-Nun Bloom and Arikan 2012). In Bergin’s meta-analysis, studies on the relationship between religiosity and mental health appeared in two opposite ways (Bergin 1983). In his study, this relationship was divided into adaptive and maladaptive groups among people with high religiosity. In one quarter of the 24 studies, religiosity was negatively correlated with mental health, whereas it was positively correlated with mental health in half of the studies. The effect size of religiosity on mental health in these 24 studies ranged from −0.32 to +0.82. Bergin’s study clearly showed that there are factors of religion that positively affect mental health as well as factors that negatively affect mental health.
Religiosity may have elements that can positively influence subjective well-being (Villani et al. 2019). However, it seems that this influence is less than that of mental health. The results of Witter et al.’s meta-analysis of the relationship between religiosity and subjective well-being indicated that the correlation coefficient between religiosity and subjective well-being in 56 studies ranged from 0.14 to 0.25 (Witter et al. 1984), meaning that religiosity accounted for only between 2% and 6% of subjective well-being. The lower degree of influence of religiosity on subjective well-being in previous studies may be due to measurement-related limitations or the complexity of these two concepts (Koenig 2012). Some argue that specific types of religiosities are related to subjective well-being, whereas others are not. For example, Argyle and Hills (2000) believed that only the pursuit of transcendence or spirituality—that is, intrinsic religiosity not related to social interests—was significantly correlated with people’s subjective well-being. This may be because there are variables that mediate the relationship between religion and subjective well-being or mental health, such as spiritual experiences, image of God, optimism, self-esteem, religious coping, social support, etc. (Cheadle and Dunkel Schetter 2018; Fabricatore et al. 2004; Nooney and Woodrum 2002; Testoni et al. 2016; Wnuk 2021). However, factors within one’s religiosity or specific recognition created by religiosity may improve one’s subjective well-being.

2. Roles of Existential Consciousness and Savoring Beliefs in Person’s Life

Researchers chose existential consciousness—that is, the sense of existence referring to a present state of recognizing the meaning, purpose, and fullness in one’s life (Ownsworth and Nash 2015)—as such a variable. It is assumed that subjective well-being can be improved when religiosity induces existential consciousness. Frankl, who emphasized the importance of religiosity, also illuminated the value of existentialism included in religiosity (Frankl 1967). It is common sense that religion should meet the needs of believers for a sense of existence (Royce 1962). Therefore, existentialism is a major topic in theology (Jansen 1966). The existential function of intrinsic religiosity can reduce anxiety related to the afterlife and provide psychological tolerance (Van Tongeren et al. 2013). Because discovering meaning in life can act as an important factor in well-being (Steger 2018), researchers believe that existential consciousness may play an important role in people’s subjective well-being. In addition, Wnuk and Marcinkowski (2014) found that existential variables, such as hope and the meaning of life, mediate the relationship between religious or spiritual functions and psychological well-being. Thus, existential consciousness mediates the relationship between religiosity and subjective well-being.
People’s existential senses, such as mindfulness, can help them savor life and allow them to experience joy and happiness (Robbins 2021). Thus, researchers assumed that savoring beliefs created by existential consciousness increases subjective well-being. Bryant et al. (2005) conceptualized savoring beliefs as thoughts that enhance the appreciation of positive experiences and emotions through reminiscence. They consist of (1) anticipation, that is, the enjoyment of expected positive events; (2) being in the moment, that is, expanding the present positive experience; and (3) reminiscing, that is, recalling memories to re-experience and savor positive emotions again (Bryant et al. 2005). Bryant et al. (2005) suggested that savoring beliefs inevitably increase subjective well-being, and a study empirically found that they can increase people’s feelings of happiness (Jose et al. 2012). Because a recent study found that a state of elevated existential consciousness, such as a flow of consciousness, can create an optimal state in which to enjoy life (Burt and Gonzalez 2021), existential consciousness may influence people’s subjective well-being through savoring beliefs.

3. Subjective Well-Being of Middle-Aged Korean Women

Researchers focused on subjective well-being as represented by overall life satisfaction or happiness rather than by psychological well-being, which emphasizes value, meaning, and functional aspects (Diener 1984; Ryan and Deci 2001). Traditionally, subjective well-being comprises frequent positive emotions, infrequent negative emotions, high life satisfaction, and high levels of subjective happiness (Ryan and Deci 2001). Life satisfaction is distinguished from emotional appraisal because it is more cognitively driven than emotionally driven (Diener et al. 1985). Moreover, emotions reflect the frequency or the degree to which they are experienced; thus, the level of subjective well-being is high if people experience fewer negative emotions, experience more positive emotions, and are more satisfied with their lives.
Because middle-aged women in Korea experience various changes in the transition period of life, and it is important to maintain their quality of life due to the complex manifestation of problems during that period (Lee et al. 2014), Research was conducted with middle-aged women. In addition, middle-aged women in Korea experience extensive life-related stress, as well as fear of loss and loneliness, because they are bound by their families as wives, mothers, housewives, and daughters-in-law (Seo and Jeong 2020). There are also reasons why women are more religious than men (de Vaus and McAllister 1987), but the relationship between religiosity and the well-being of middle-aged women has long been of interest to researchers (Genia and Cooke 1998). It was found that middle-aged women’s sense of existence, such as discovering the meaning of life, was positively correlated with their well-being (Cho and Jeong 2017).

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/rel13050402

References

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