Date of Submission

Spring 2024

Academic Program

Psychology

Project Advisor 1

Thomas Hutcheon

Project Advisor 2

Elena Kim

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Although there is a sufficient amount of literature that suggests that religiosity and spirituality are related to wellbeing, the mechanisms that mediate such a correlation are not entirely understood. Thus, this study explores two possible variables (positive emotions and perceived control) that might mediate the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and wellbeing. Moreover, most studies use the concepts of religiosity and spirituality interchangeably, even though there are several distinctions in how those two terms are conceived. Therefore, this study will evaluate these two constructs as different variables, and explore whether that has an impact on how they are related to wellbeing. A total of 135 participants took part in the study. Participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 40, (M= 30 years, SD=6.33). Moreover, 42% of the participants considered themselves religious (n=57) and 58% nonreligious (n=79); whereas 63% of the participants considered themselves spiritual (n=86) and 37% nonspiritual (n=50). Participants completed five measures online (one per variable). Results revealed that positive emotions (more specifically awe, love, and compassion) mediate the association between religiosity and wellbeing; and spirituality and wellbeing. Whereas, perceived control only mediates the association between spirituality and well being. Finally, a strong correlation was found between religiosity and spirituality, suggesting a strong overlap between the variables.

Open Access Agreement

Open Access

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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