Abstract
The past three decades have witnessed a surge in research on spirituality and health. This growing body of literature has
linked many aspects of spirituality as well as religion to both positive and negative indices of human functioning. However,
studies have primarily been descriptive, focusing on identifying associations between spirituality and health, rather than
explanatory, focusing on identifying mechanisms underlying observed relationships. Earlier research is also limited by failure
to control for salient covariates, apply prospective design, and use sophisticated measurements with well defined and empirically-validated
factors. Recent research, however, is advancing the study of spirituality and health by examining not only whether religious factors are relevant to human health, but also how spirituality may functionally impact medical and psychological wellbeing and illness. This article introduces a special issue
on Spirituality and Health containing 12 full-length research reports to further this welcomed, emerging trend.
linked many aspects of spirituality as well as religion to both positive and negative indices of human functioning. However,
studies have primarily been descriptive, focusing on identifying associations between spirituality and health, rather than
explanatory, focusing on identifying mechanisms underlying observed relationships. Earlier research is also limited by failure
to control for salient covariates, apply prospective design, and use sophisticated measurements with well defined and empirically-validated
factors. Recent research, however, is advancing the study of spirituality and health by examining not only whether religious factors are relevant to human health, but also how spirituality may functionally impact medical and psychological wellbeing and illness. This article introduces a special issue
on Spirituality and Health containing 12 full-length research reports to further this welcomed, emerging trend.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-5
- DOI 10.1007/s10865-011-9370-4
- Authors
- David H. Rosmarin, Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA
- Amy Wachholtz, UMass Memorial Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Amy Ai, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Journal Journal of Behavioral Medicine
- Online ISSN 1573-3521
- Print ISSN 0160-7715