Existential beliefs, social satisfaction, and well-being among catholic, Jewish, and protestant older adults

Adam Cohen, Daniel E. Hall

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

Religiousness, spirituality, and existential beliefs are important sources of well-being yet neither their specific effects nor group variation in them is well understood. In a sample of more than 1,000 older adults, we found that certain existential beliefs or concerns (fear of God, death anxiety, belief in life after death, concerns about being mourned) are correlates of well-being in older adults and differed across religious groups. Protestants reported better well-being than Catholics and Jews. Differences in social satisfaction and existential concerns partially explained these differences, which were not explained by demographics. These results suggest the importance of studying well-being and religion in a way that appreciates the differences among religious groups and further of looking at the specific beliefs of different groups.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)39-54
Number of pages16
JournalInternational Journal for the Psychology of Religion
Volume19
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Religious studies
  • General Psychology

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