SPIRITUALITY, RELIGIOSITY AND WELL-BEING RELATIONSHIP IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: TESTING DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECT VIA MEANING IN LIFE

Abstract

The study explored the impact of religiosity and spirituality indicators on the subjective, social and psychological well-being of individuals aged 18 to 45 years both directly and indirectly through meaning in life.  A total of 199 Bulgarians took part in the study (M_age = 27.58; SD = 8.71; 82.4% females). The instruments of the study were: Brief Mental Health Continuum Short, Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiosity and Spirituality, Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Analyses showed that spiritual forgiveness predicted all domains of well-being and religious support predicted subjective well-being, all performing positive small effects. Meaning in life acted as full mediator in the relationship between daily spiritual experiences, religious support, forgiveness and all the domains of well-being. Meaning in life partially mediated the relationships between religious support and subjective well-being as well as between forgiveness and social well-being. The findings address that religiosity-based social support, daily transcendent experiences, and forgiving to oneself and the others promote well-being in early adulthood, and the underlying mechanism can be explained by meaning in life. Practical implications of the findings and directions for future research were discussed.