Thai Buddhism and well-being: an application of stress process theory

The purpose of this study was to explore how Buddhism is associated with well-being among Thai Buddhists via an application of stress process theory. Survey data were collected in 2012 from 314 Thai citizens and analysed with structural equation modelling to assess how the association between socio-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mental health, religion & culture
Main Author: Elliott, Marta (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis 2014
In: Mental health, religion & culture
Further subjects:B Buddhism
B Well-being
B sense of divine control
B Resources
B Sense of control
B stressors
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:The purpose of this study was to explore how Buddhism is associated with well-being among Thai Buddhists via an application of stress process theory. Survey data were collected in 2012 from 314 Thai citizens and analysed with structural equation modelling to assess how the association between socio-economic status (SES) and well-being is mediated by stressors and resources, in particular, religious resources. The results reveal that low SES is associated with greater financial hardship and household crowding and lower sense of control, which in turn are associated with worse well-being. Furthermore, income is associated with happiness via belief in Dharma control, whereas education is associated with unhappiness via its negative association with public religiosity. Lastly, the positive influence of religious beliefs on well-being is contingent upon having a relatively high sense of control, whereas the positive influence of religious behaviours is contingent upon having a relatively low sense of control.
ISSN:1469-9737
Contains:Enthalten in: Mental health, religion & culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13674676.2014.951920