Religiosity and Meditation Practice: Exploring Their Explanatory Power on Psychological Adjustment.
Jesus Montero-Marin, Maria C Perez-Yus, Ausiàs Cebolla, Joaquim Soler, Marcelo Demarzo, Javier García-campayo
Frontiers in Psychology 2019 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00630 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 210 |
| Population | Spanish participants |
| Interventions | Compassion meditation Prayer |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Compassion meditation Focused attention Open monitoring Practice variables Prayer Psychological adjustment Religious beliefs |
| Key findings | Focused attention meditation session length was related to all five psychological adjustment outcomes, while religious beliefs and prayer were less relevant than meditation practices. |
Abstract
There has been increased interest in the relationships between religiosity, meditation practice and well-being, but there is lack of understanding as to how specific religious components and distinct meditation practices could influence different positive and negative psychological adjustment outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the explanatory power of religious beliefs and the practice of prayer, focused attention (FA), open monitoring (OM), and compassion meditation (CM) on psychological adjustment, taking into consideration a number of practice-related variables such as session length, frequency of practice and lifetime practice. Psychological adjustment was assessed by means of happiness, positive affect, depression, negative affect, and emotional overproduction. A cross-sectional design was used, with a final sample comprising 210 Spanish participants who completed an online assessment protocol. Hierarchical regressions were performed, including age, sex and psychotropic medication use in the first step as possible confounders, with the addition of religious beliefs and the practice of prayer, FA, OM, and CM in the second step. FA session length was related to all psychological adjustment outcomes: happiness (ΔR 2 = 0.09, p = 0.002; β = 0.25, p = 0.001), positive affect (ΔR 2 = 0.09, p = 0.002; β = 0.18, p = 0.014), depression (ΔR2 = 0.07, p = 0.004; β = -0.27, p < 0.001), negative affect (ΔR 2 = 0.08, p = 0.007; β = -0.27, p < 0.001) and emotional overproduction (ΔR 2 = 0.07, p = 0.013; β = -0.23, p = 0.001). CM session length was related to positive affect (β = 0.18, p = 0.011). CM practice frequency was associated with happiness (ΔR 2 = 0.06, p = 0.038; β = 0.16, p = 0.041). Lifetime practice of FA was related to happiness (ΔR 2 = 0.08, p = 0.007; β = 0.21, p = 0.030) and OM to emotional overproduction (ΔR 2 = 0.08, p = 0.037; β = -0.19, p = 0.047). Religious beliefs and prayer seemed to be less relevant than meditation practices such as FA, OM, and CM in explaining psychological adjustment. The distinct meditation practices might be differentially related to distinct psychological adjustment outcomes through different practice-related variables. However, research into other forms of institutional religiosity integrating social aspects of religion is required.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- Spiritual Fitness: A New Dimension in Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Journal of Alzheimer's Disease February 2, 2021
- Commentary: Rethinking pathways to well-being: the function of faith practice in distress alleviation among displaced Muslim women affected by war Frontiers in Psychiatry December 1, 2025
- Global landscape and hotspot analysis of meditation research in cancer: a bibliometric study. Journal of Cancer Survivorship April 5, 2025
- Centering and flourishing: an online intervention study assessing the effects of a Christian contemplative practice on stress-reduction and human flourishing. BMC Psychology July 1, 2024
- Different facets of religiosity and their longitudinal associations with psychotic-like experiences in the general population. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology February 1, 2026
and 4 more in the library
Cites 28
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin May 14, 2012
- Standardised Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Healthcare: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of RCTs PLoS One April 16, 2015
and 23 more in the library