Exploring religious/spiritual pathways between practical wisdom and depression: Testing the importance of the divine relationship in later life

The last several decades have witnessed the topic of wisdom gaining momentum in the field of positive psychology. In this study, we focus on the potentially important role of religion/spirituality, specifically beliefs about God, as a mediating mechanism underlying the relationship between practical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion, spirituality & aging
Authors: Upenieks, Laura (Author) ; Krause, Neal M. 1948- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge 2023
In: Journal of religion, spirituality & aging
Further subjects:B Gratitude
B Wisdom
B trust in god
B god-mediated control
B Depression
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:The last several decades have witnessed the topic of wisdom gaining momentum in the field of positive psychology. In this study, we focus on the potentially important role of religion/spirituality, specifically beliefs about God, as a mediating mechanism underlying the relationship between practical wisdom and depression among older adults. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of older adults from the 2013 wave of the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey (n = 1,497), our results show that practical wisdom is associated with lower depressive symptoms. We also document that three God-related constructs, God-mediated control, trust in God, and gratitude towards God each partially explained the relationship between wisdom and well-being. Taken together, Christian conceptions of God as a personal, divine being, the ultimate attachment figure who is an unconditional source of love and support for believers, may be a target of older adults who have cultivated practical wisdom.
ISSN:1552-8049
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religion, spirituality & aging
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/15528030.2023.2206676