Loading...
The role of religiosity and spirituality on cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress
Citations
Altmetric:
Date
2025-12
Abstract
Introduction: The present thesis is the first to examine the distinct influences of religiosity and spirituality on cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress. It addresses a long-standing gap in the literature concerning operationalisation and measurement of these constructs within psychophysiological research. By clearly distinguishing between religiosity and spirituality, and demonstrating how each is defined and measured, the thesis aimed to resolve several conceptual and methodological issues. This clarity is crucial for a more accurate understanding of how religiosity and spirituality influence cardiovascular reactivity to stress.
Methods: One review and four observational/cross-sectional empirical papers are reported. Study 1 presents a systematic review that synthesizes existing research on the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and cardiovascular reactivity. Study 2 examines the associations between private religious practices, daily spiritual experiences, and cardiovascular reactivity in a sample of middle-aged adults in the United States (U.S.). Study 3 explores the independent influence of religious identification and daily spiritual experiences on cardiovascular responses to acute psychological stress among young adults in Ireland. Study 4 measures the relationships between negative coping styles, self-reported task stressfulness, and cardiovascular reactivity in a sample of young adults attending a private Christian university, in the U.S. Finally, Study 5 replicates the design of Study 4, with young adults attending a secular Irish university, extending the examination of religious coping, self-reported task stressfulness, and cardiovascular reactivity. Cardiovascular parameters, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR), were assessed using a Finometer Pro, an automatic sphygmomanometer, or via electrocardiography (ECG) for assessment of cardiovascular reactivity.
Results: Study 1 revealed that individuals with higher levels of religiosity or spirituality had lower reactivity, particularly when measures emphasized intrinsic religiosity and internalised spiritual beliefs. Study 2 demonstrated that greater engagement in private religious practices was associated with lower SBP reactivity and remained significant after controlling for daily spiritual experiences. Study 3 revealed that daily spiritual experiences, but not religious identification, were positively associated with HR reactivity. Study 4 showed that higher levels of negative religious coping were linked to lower DBP reactivity and greater self-reported task stressfulness. Study 5, however, did not replicate these findings of Study 4, as it found no significant associations between negative religious coping and either physiological or psychological stress responses.
Conclusion: The present thesis advances methodological approaches for investigating the independent associations between religiosity and spirituality on cardiovascular reactivity. The findings underscore the importance of examining these constructs separately, as their relationships with cardiovascular stress responses are distinct and appear to be context dependent. Taken together, the studies contribute to a more nuanced and cross-cultural understanding of the ways in which religiosity and spirituality influence cardiovascular responses to psychological stress.
Supervisor
Description
Publisher
University of Limerick
Citation
Collections
Files
Loading...
Dempsey_2025_Role.pdf
Adobe PDF, 1.88 MB
ULRR Identifiers
Funding code
Funding Information
Sustainable Development Goals
External Link
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International