TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond the Socially Desirable
T2 - Longitudinal Evidence on Individual Prayer-Wellbeing Associations
AU - Møller, Anne Buch
AU - Pedersen, Heidi Frølund
AU - Ørnbøl, Eva
AU - Jensen, Jens Søndergaard
AU - Purzycki, Benjamin Grant
AU - Schjødt, Uffe
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - The often touted positive association between religion and wellbeing is mainly based on evidence from cross-sectional studies. This is problematic because such studies tend to draw conclusions at the individual level despite reporting associations at the group level. In addition to this fallacy, inferences at the group level are also likely to be inflated by the social desirability effect, which may further exacerbate misrepresentations of the individual level. To avoid these pitfalls, we examined prayer-wellbeing (P-WB) associations and social desirability effects at both levels, using single-level and multilevel regression analysis on a longitudinal dataset. Weekly reports of prayer and wellbeing from 282 frequently praying Danish Christians, totaling 4254 complete responses, were combined with a comprehensive background questionnaire featuring a social desirability measure targeting the religious domain. A typical weak positive P-WB association was observed at the group level, which disappeared when controlling for social desirability. At the individual level, the average association across individuals was positive after controlling for social desirability. This overall relationship, however, conceals considerable individual variance with almost a fourth of the estimated individual P-WB associations going in the negative direction, emphasizing the need to be cautious when extrapolating group-level data to the individual level. These findings suggest that cross-sectional studies may oversimplify the P-WB relationship, especially, if the social desirability effect is ignored.
AB - The often touted positive association between religion and wellbeing is mainly based on evidence from cross-sectional studies. This is problematic because such studies tend to draw conclusions at the individual level despite reporting associations at the group level. In addition to this fallacy, inferences at the group level are also likely to be inflated by the social desirability effect, which may further exacerbate misrepresentations of the individual level. To avoid these pitfalls, we examined prayer-wellbeing (P-WB) associations and social desirability effects at both levels, using single-level and multilevel regression analysis on a longitudinal dataset. Weekly reports of prayer and wellbeing from 282 frequently praying Danish Christians, totaling 4254 complete responses, were combined with a comprehensive background questionnaire featuring a social desirability measure targeting the religious domain. A typical weak positive P-WB association was observed at the group level, which disappeared when controlling for social desirability. At the individual level, the average association across individuals was positive after controlling for social desirability. This overall relationship, however, conceals considerable individual variance with almost a fourth of the estimated individual P-WB associations going in the negative direction, emphasizing the need to be cautious when extrapolating group-level data to the individual level. These findings suggest that cross-sectional studies may oversimplify the P-WB relationship, especially, if the social desirability effect is ignored.
KW - ABSORPTION
KW - DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS
KW - EXPERIENCES
KW - MENTAL-HEALTH
KW - OUTCOMES
KW - RELIGIOUS INVOLVEMENT
KW - SAMPLE
KW - SPIRITUALITY
KW - THERAPY
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086339538&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10508619.2020.1753330
DO - 10.1080/10508619.2020.1753330
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1050-8619
VL - 30
SP - 275
EP - 287
JO - International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
JF - International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
IS - 4
ER -