Factors influencing the relationship between the level of religiousness and religious care needs: The role of religious comfort, religious strain and the belief that religion plays a role in psychological problems

Abstract

Religion is important to religious individuals and previous research shows beneficial effects of integrating religion in treatment. However, not all religious individuals experience a need to address religious aspects in their treatment. This study was conducted to investigate which variables predict the needs to address religious issues in care. It was hypothesized that the level of religiousness predicts the religious care needs. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that religious comfort, religious strain and the belief that religion plays a role in psychological problems do predict religious care needs. Moreover, it was hypothesized that those three predictors would moderate the relationship between level of religiousness and religious care needs. Participants (N = 117) were recruited in two mental health clinics, i.e., a Christian mental health clinic (N = 77) and a regular mental health care hospital (N = 40). The hypotheses were tested using correlation analysis and three moderation analyses. The results showed that the level of religiousness, religious strain, and the belief that religion plays a role in psychological problems all predict the religious care needs directly. In contrast with the predictions, religious comfort did not predict the religious care needs. Moreover, religious comfort, religious strain and the belief that religion plays a role in psychological problems did not affect the relationship between level of religiousness and religious care needs. For future research, it is recommended to investigate more possible variables that might predict the religious care needs.