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Religious Involvement, Psychosocial Resourcefulness, and Health

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Abstract

A stratified randomized sample of 525 middle age (35–64 years old) men was used to study the relationships between self-reported level of church attendance (CA), self-reported religious faith (SRRF), religious well-being (RWB), existential well-being (EWB), self-actualization (SA), health, lifestyle, and participation in physical activity (PA). Religious measures (RWB, CA, and SRRF) were found to be dependent on psychosocial variables in terms of their relationships with PA, lifestyle, and health. On the other hand, psychosocial resourcefulness (SA, EWB, social support, and stress management) showed independent relationships with lifestyle, PA, and health. These findings indicate that the positive associations of psychological and sociological constructs with health are not related to or dependent upon ego syntonic religious identity.

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Correspondence to Lukas I. Dreyer.

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Dreyer, L.I., Dreyer, S. Religious Involvement, Psychosocial Resourcefulness, and Health. J Relig Health 51, 1172–1187 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-010-9423-y

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