Do Purpose in Life and Social Support Mediate the Association between Religiousness/Spirituality and Mortality? Evidence from the MIDUS National Sample

Jennifer Morozink Boylan; Christianne Biggane; Jonathan A Shaffer; Caitlyn L Wilson; Kaitlyn M Vagnini; Kevin S Masters

doi:10.3390/ijerph20126112

Do Purpose in Life and Social Support Mediate the Association between Religiousness/Spirituality and Mortality? Evidence from the MIDUS National Sample

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jun 13;20(12):6112. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20126112.

Authors

Jennifer Morozink Boylan¹, Christianne Biggane², Jonathan A Shaffer³, Caitlyn L Wilson³, Kaitlyn M Vagnini³, Kevin S Masters³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO 80217, USA.
² School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO 80217, USA.

Abstract

We examined prospective associations between religiousness/spirituality (R/S; i.e., service attendance, R/S identity, R/S coping, spirituality) and all-cause mortality in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) sample, including whether having a purpose in life and positive social support are indirect pathways through which R/S predicts mortality. We examined service attendance and a composite of R/S identity, R/S coping, and spirituality from the baseline wave (1995-1996; n = 6120 with complete data), purpose in life and positive social support from the second wave (2004-2006), and vital status through 2020 (n = 1711 decedents). Cox regression models showed that attending religious services more than weekly and approximately weekly was associated with a lower mortality risk compared to never attending in the adjusted models (>weekly vs. never, HR (95% CI) = 0.72 (0.61, 0.85); weekly vs. never, HR (95% CI) = 0.76 (0.66, 0.88)). The R/S composite was also associated with lower mortality risk in the adjusted models (HR (95% CI) = 0.92 (0.87, 0.97)). Indirect effects from R/S to mortality via purpose in life and positive social support were significantly different from zero. These findings highlight the importance of multidimensional aspects of R/S for population health and point to purpose in life and positive social support as underlying pathways between R/S and mortality.

Keywords: midlife; mortality; older adults; purpose in life; religion; social support; spirituality.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological
Data Collection
Religion
Spiritual Therapies*
Spirituality*
United States

Grants and funding

This research was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (61460). The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.