Religiousness, Anxiety, Depression and
Happiness Among Jews:
A Preliminary Investigation

Authors:
David H. Rosmarin, Kenneth I. Pargament & Annette Mahoney

Abstract:
Although social scientists have demonstrated relationships between religious beliefs/practices and mental health in Christian samples, almost none of the empirical findings or related theory apply specifically to Jews. To address this limitation, we investigated the role of Jewish religiousness in anxiety, depression and happiness, in a large Jewish community sample (N = 566).  Jewish religiousness was measured by a global religiousness and a theoretically based religious variable, Trust in God.  We developed a self-report measure of Trust in God. Factor analyses yielded two reliable and valid subscales: Trust in God and Mistrust in God. As expected, higher scores on the Trust in God subscale were associated with less anxiety and depression, and greater personal happiness, whereas inverse associations emerged for the unanticipated but robust Mistrust subscale. Contrary to our hypotheses, global Jewish religiousness was on the whole unrelated to mental health functioning.

Summary of Findings:

1. No significant relationship was found between Jewish religious affiliation (e.g. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform) and any measure of psychological wellbeing in this study. This finding seems to disconfirm the (seemingly) widely held belief that orthodox religiousness is related to increased levels of distress/anxiety among Jews. However, it simultaneously indicates that higher levels of Jewish religious affiliation are not associated with increased psychological wellbeing.
2. On the whole, a series of single items measuring specific Jewish religious observances (frequency of prayer, synagogue attendance, religious study, recitation of Grace after Meals and adherence to the laws of "Shatnez") did not significantly relate to psychological wellbeing in this study. With the exception of frequency of religious study (tied to increased happiness and decreased anxiety/depression), none of these items were significantly related to anxiety, depression or happiness. This result may indicate that general Jewish religious observances are, on the whole, unrelated to mental health (i.e. neither tied to increased nor decreased levels of anxiety, depression or happiness)
3. Trust in God was found to be a significant predictor of anxiety, depression and happiness.  Specifically, Trust in God was found to break down into two parts: (1) Trust in God (positive beliefs about God - e.g. "God is never ignorant of my concerns") and (2) Mistrust in God (negative beliefs about God - e.g. "God disregards my activities").  Trust in God was associated with decreased levels of worry, stress, anxiety and depression, and increased levels of happiness. Mistrust in God was associated with increased levels of worry, stress, anxiety and depression, and decreased happiness.