Religious Identity, Mystical Experience, and Psychopathology: A Study among Secular, Christian, and Muslim Youth in England and Wales
Leslie J. Francis, M. Robbins
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,058 |
| Population | Adolescents aged 14 to 18 in England and Wales: 203 Muslims, 477 Christians, and 378 religiously unaffiliated |
| Topics | Mystical experience |
| Key findings | Religiously unaffiliated adolescents report lower levels of mystical experience than Christians or Muslims, and no association was found between mystical experience and psychopathology across all three groups. |
Abstract
This study addressed two research questions among three samples of 14- to 18-year-old adolescents: 203 Muslims, 477 Christians, and 378 religiously unaffiliated young people in England and Wales. The first question examined the comparative extent to which the religiously unaffiliated reported mystical experience. The second question examined the association between mystical experience and psychopathology as defined by the psychoticism and neuroticisim scales within Eysenck’s dimensional model of personality. The data found a lower level of reported mystical experience among the religiously unaffiliated, although such experiences were reported by between a quarter and a third of this group. The data found no association between reported mystical experience and psychopathology among the Christians, the Muslims, or the religiously unaffiliated.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neural correlates of a mystical experience in Carmelite nuns Carmelite nuns | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| EEG activity in Carmelite nuns during a mystical experience Carmelite nuns | 2008 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
| Neural correlates of mystical experience Vietnam veterans with penetrating traumatic brain injury and matched healthy controls | 2015 | Observational cohort | n = 148 |
| The Peak Experience Variable in DPT-Assisted Psychotherapy with Cancer Patients Cancer patients | 1977 | Observational study | n = 128 |
| Psilocybin-Induced Mystical-Type Experiences are Related to Persisting Positive Effects: A Quantitative and Qualitative Report Healthy volunteers | 2022 | Observational cohort | n = 28 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Self, Other, and Higher Power: A “Relational Triad” Moderates Associations Between Mystical Experience and Mental Health International Journal for the Psychology of Religion October 1, 2024
- Spontaneous mystical experience among atheists: meaning-making, psychological distress, and wellbeing October 20, 2020
- Mystical experience and emotional wellbeing: a study among Australian church leaders Journal of Beliefs and Values May 13, 2020
Cites 4
- RESEARCH: "A Motivational Systems Theory Approach to the Relation Between Religious Experiences and Religious Motives" International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 2005
- RESEARCH: "Responses to the Mystical Scale by Religious Jewish Persons: A Comparison of Structural Models of Mystical Experience" 2005
- Religiosity and personality: are mystics introverted, neurotic, or psychotic? The British journal of social psychology December 1987
- Mystical Experience as Related to Present and Anticipated Future Church Participation Psychological Reports December 1, 1976