Exploring the relationships between psychological wellbeing, religiosity and religious coping amongst adolescents at Senior Cycle level in Irish post-primary schools: an empirical enquiry

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed an increase in the discourse surrounding mental health and wellbeing worldwide (Chandra & Chand, 2018), while mental health-related issues amongst adolescents have risen steadily in prevalence (OECD, 2021). International research purports the potential of religion to influence student wellbeing, positively or negatively (Wong, Rew & Slaikeu, 2006); however, the relationship between religion and wellbeing amongst students attending post-primary schools in Ireland has not previously been investigated. The current study aims to address this gap in the literature, by empirically exploring the relationships between psychological wellbeing (PWB), religiosity and religious coping amongst students at Senior Cycle level in Irish post-primary schools. This research employed a cross-sectional design and a mixed-methods approach to data collection. Convenience sampling was used to recruit a sample of post-primary school students (N=110) aged between 15 and 19 years for the quantitative aspect of the study. Participants completed online questionnaires measuring their PWB, religiosity and religious coping. Additionally, some participants (N=7) completed online, semi-structured interviews on their perceptions regarding the relationship between mental wellbeing and religion. Correlation, comparative and regression analyses were used to analyse the quantitative data, while reflexive thematic analysis from the critical realist perspective was employed to analyse the qualitative data. The results revealed a complex relationship between PWB and religion. Religiosity was not significantly correlated with PWB; however, religious beliefs were a predictor of enhanced PWB amongst theist participants only. Notably, the use of positive religious coping methods were associated with a range of benefits for students’ PWB. Conversely, greater adoption of negative religious coping mechanisms were linked to lower levels of overall PWB. A number of potential implications for policy, practice and future research within the fields of education and psychology arise from the results of this study.