Picked up from an article in today’s ScienceDaily at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150810071029.htm.
“Religion and spirituality, as well as each of its dimensions, had modest but reliable links with social health. ‘When we took a closer look, we found that patients with stronger spiritual well-being, more benign images of God (such as perceptions of a benevolent rather than an angry or distant God), or stronger beliefs (such as convictions that a personal God can be called upon for assistance) reported better social health,’ said lead author Allen Sherman, PhD, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. ‘In contrast, those who struggled with their faith fared more poorly.’”
(Bear in mind, of course, where this study was done and the nature of the culture there. Even so, the bold-faced call-out seems significant given how often we see excessive moral perfectionism and hyper-religiosity in the families – as well as the minds – of sx pts. “Social proof” from the surrounding culture can be useful if it doesn’t get in the way of seeing and understanding realities that need to be seen and understood for the pt’s health to improve.)
Journal References:
Heather S. L. Jim, James E. Pustejovsky, Crystal L. Park, Suzanne C. Danhauer, Allen C. Sherman, George Fitchett, Thomas V. Merluzzi, Alexis R. Munoz, Login George, Mallory A. Snyder, John M. Salsman. Religion, spirituality, and physical health in cancer patients: A meta-analysis. Cancer, 2015; DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29353
Allen C. Sherman, Thomas V. Merluzzi, James E. Pustejovsky, Crystal L. Park, Login George, George Fitchett, Heather S. L. Jim, Alexis R. Munoz, Suzanne C. Danhauer, Mallory A. Snyder, John M. Salsman. A meta-analytic review of religious or spiritual involvement and social health among cancer patients. Cancer, 2015; DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29352
John M. Salsman, James E. Pustejovsky, Heather S. L. Jim, Alexis R. Munoz, Thomas V. Merluzzi, Login George, Crystal L. Park, Suzanne C. Danhauer, Allen C. Sherman, Mallory A. Snyder, George Fitchett. A meta-analytic approach to examining the correlation between religion/spirituality and mental health in cancer. Cancer, 2015; DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29350