A majority of the population in North America endorses religious/spiritual beliefs, with the highest levels of endorsement occurring among ethnic minority groups. Despite this important cultural trend, previous psychological research looking at religion and psychological well-being has been focused on White (European American) populations. There is a growing need to further understand the psychological effects of religiosity among minority groups. Given that ethnic minorities are also at an elevated risk of suffering from mental illness, it is in the best interest of both patients and providers to note any factors that may serve as therapeutic support. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to assess the relationship between religious or spiritual beliefs and psychological well-being. We also hypothesized that a number of moderating factors will be revealed through our data analysis. Through our intensive literature review we extracted data from 120 research studies which reported 42,972 individuals’ psychological well-being as a function of their self-reported religiosity/spirituality. Inclusion criteria were studies from 1980 to 2008 that reported correlational data on constructs of religiosity (religious activities and spiritual beliefs) with constructs of mental health, conducted in North America, with populations that self-identified as being racial, ethnic, or cultural minorities. Retrieved studies were coded twice and verified for accuracy. The modal study involved cross-sectional (correlational) data obtained by convenience sampling from community samples of middle-aged adults. All age groups except children were adequately represented in the literature. Notably, most studies (78%) reported African American participants. On average, across all types of measures of well-being, the random effects weighted correlation with participant religiosity/spirituality was .14 (se = .01, 95% CI = .12 to .16, p < .0001). These results show low to moderate correlations between religion/spirituality and mental health among ethnic minority groups. The range of correlations was from -.11 to .55. These associations held up across racial groups. The association was stronger among older populations and samples with greater percentages of female participants. Mental health professionals need to consider client beliefs when providing treatment. Research may need to further assess the degree to which religion and spirituality affect positive psychological functions rather than distress. Likewise, the nature of psychopathology may be such that it alters the very construct of religion that we were attempting to assess. Formulating an empirical basis for these relationships constitutes a major step forward in the implementation of validated spiritually adapted interventions in mental health care for ethnic minorities.
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