30 Sep Belief In A Punishing God May Not Be Good For Your Health

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Brick Johnstone, Ph.D., ABPP
Professor
MU Department of Health Psychology
DC116.88
Columbia, MO 65212 

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Johnstone:  We are interested in identifying the specific religious/spiritual factors associated with health.  In general it is known that positive spirituality is associated with better health, and for a small population, negative spiritual beliefs are associated with worse health.  We wanted to see about such relationships for individuals who had any degree of negative spirituality (i.e., belief they were being punished, abandoned).

The main finding is that even a minor degree of negative spiritual beliefs is associated with worse health.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Johnstone: A primary take away from the study is that beliefs in a punishing/abandoning God is not good for your health. It makes sense, as if you believe God does not love you or is punishing you, it is hard to be positive about your health and/or your future.  This suggests that health care providers should be aware of such concerns, and that persons with various health conditions and such beliefs should seek appropriate support (whether it be religious leaders, fellow congregants, mental health care providers). It also suggests the need for mental health and religious service providers to provide supportive services to people with such negative beliefs.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Johnstone: Future research can focus on identifying the specific causes of such negative beliefs (e.g., upbringing, current personal and religious environment, personality style), as well as interventions to improve such negative beliefs.

Citation:

Angela Jones, Daniel Cohen, Brick Johnstone, Dong Pil Yoon, Laura H. Schopp, Guy McCormack, James Campbell. Relationships Between Negative Spiritual Beliefs and Health Outcomes for Individuals With Heterogeneous Medical Conditions. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 2015; 17 (2): 135 DOI: 10.1080/19349637.2015.1023679

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Brick Johnstone, Ph.D., ABPP (2015). Belief In A Punishing God May Not Be Good For Your Health 

Last Updated on September 30, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD