Religious Problem-Solving Styles and Life Satisfaction: Exploring God, the Will and the Way

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Religious Studies
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Extensive research links religiosity and health.
• Studies explore religious problem-solving styles (collaborative, self-directing, deferring) and psychological adjustment.
• Few studies investigate mediating variables in this association.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine hope's pathways and agency components as mediators between religious problem-solving styles and psychosocial adjustment.
• Investigate how different religious problem-solving approaches influence life satisfaction.
• Understand the role of goal-directed thinking and motivation in the religiosity-adjustment link.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study design.
• 91 university students completed questionnaires on demographics, religious problem-solving styles, hope, and life satisfaction.
• Mediation analyses were performed to assess indirect effects.

Main Results:

• Collaborative and deferring religious problem-solving styles positively mediated life satisfaction through agency thinking.
• The self-directing religious problem-solving style negatively mediated life satisfaction through agency thinking.
• No significant mediation of life satisfaction was found via pathways thinking for any style.

Conclusions:

• Religious problem-solving styles are associated with psychosocial adjustment.
• Agency thinking (goal-directed motivation and willpower) is a key mediator.
• Different religious problem-solving styles differentially impact adjustment by influencing agency.