Psychology of Religion and Spirituality © 2011 American Psychological Association

2011, Vol. 3, No. 2, 149 –161 1941-1022/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0021597

How Does Religiosity Enhance Well-Being?

The Role of Perceived Control
Brenda R. Jackson and C. S. Bergeman
University of Notre Dame

Religiousness and spirituality (R/S) are consistently linked with positive indicators of
well-being, but the mechanisms behind these associations remain largely unknown. We
hypothesize that an individual’s level of perceived control (PC) acts as a mediator of
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

this relationship and that this effect is stronger in older adults. Participants were 529
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

adults from the Notre Dame Study of Health and Well-Being (aged 31– 88). Regression
analyses tested both mediating and moderating functions of PC for three different R/S
components (religious practices, daily spiritual experiences, and religious/spiritual
coping); composite variables were used for PC and subjective well-being (SWB) in all
analyses. These effects were tested using the full sample, as well as separately by age
group (early midlife, aged 31– 49; late midlife, aged 50 –59; and later life, aged 60 and
over), in order to discover any age differences that may exist. Results revealed
differences by both R/S dimension and age group: PC partially mediated the religious
practices-SWB relationship in the full sample and in the later life group; the effects of
religious/spiritual coping and spiritual experiences on SWB were partially mediated by
PC in the full sample, the late midlife group, and the later life group; and none of the
R/S-SWB relationships were mediated in the early midlife group. Moderating effects
were indicated by significant interactions between PC and spiritual experiences in the
full sample, PC and religious coping in the full sample, and PC and religious practices
in the later life group.

Keywords: control, religiosity, spirituality, subjective well-being, age effects

Religion and spirituality have a substantial ciated with positive outcomes concerning
presence in the lives of Americans. Births, happiness and well-being (Ellison, 1991;
deaths, and marriages are often marked with Koenig, 1994a; Pargament & Brant, 1998).
religious ceremonies and traditions, and spir- Individuals who are more committed to their
itual ideas and beliefs permeate our culture. religious faith and spiritual convictions are
In 2001, 80.4% of American adults reported happier, healthier, and have more coping re-
an affiliation with some form of religious/ sources at their disposal than those for whom
spiritual group (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). religion and spirituality are less important
That religion and spirituality play such a sub- (Ellison & Fan, 2008; Patrick & Kinney, 2003;
stantial role for so many people makes it Levin & Chatters, 1998; Myers & Diener,
important to investigate the processes at 1995). Religious and spiritual individuals also
work—when and how do religiosity and spir- tend to report higher levels of perceived (inter-
ituality impact people’s lives? Indices of re- nal) control than their less religious peers (Fiori,
ligiousness and spirituality are robustly asso- Brown, Cortina, & Antonucci, 2006; Parga-
ment, 1997). One possible explanation for this
relationship is that those higher in religiousness/
spirituality (R/S) perceive themselves to share
Brenda R. Jackson and C. S. Bergeman, Department of
Psychology, University of Notre Dame.
in the control wielded by the higher power with
The Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being is sup- whom they affiliate (see chapter 1 of Hood, Hill,
ported by a grant from the National Institute of Aging (1 & Spilka, 2009, for discussion). The goals of
R01 AG023571-A1-01) awarded to C. S. Bergeman. the present project are to investigate whether
Correspondence concerning this article should be ad-
dressed to Brenda R. Jackson, 118 Haggar Hall, Department
perceived control mediates the relationship be-
of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN tween R/S and subjective well-being (SWB);
46656. E-mail: [email protected] whether this function differs for different R/S
149
 150 JACKSON AND BERGEMAN

dimensions; and whether age plays a role in the resource provides a buffer against the negative
presence and strength of these effects. impact of a stressor on well-being (Ellison, 1991).
Religiosity and spirituality are difficult con- The current study expands this perspective us-
structs to investigate due to the lack of consis- ing a resiliency framework, which goes beyond
tency among researchers in how they are de- the specific context of coping with a stressor
fined and measured—the terms comprise a and emphasizes the building of adaptive re-
number of subdimensions (e.g., religious prac- sources that are available in times of need (Mas-
tices, religious beliefs, spiritual experience) and ten, 2001). Resiliency theory concerns the pres-
are often used interchangeably (John E. Fetzer ence of risk factors (e.g., low income, trauma or
Institute, 1999; Idler et al., 2003). A report by a abuse, chronic stress) and resilience resources
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

working group of the John E. Fetzer Institute (e.g., social support, a hardy personality, a
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

and the National Institute on Aging (1999) set strong faith), and how the negative outcomes
out to address this issue by explicitly differen- generally associated with vulnerabilities can be
tiating the constructs of religiosity and spiritu- ameliorated or even eliminated by the presence
ality so that religiosity is conceptualized as of these protective factors (Masten, 2001). Al-
having more organizational and behavioral con- though both religiousness/spirituality and per-
notations, whereas spirituality is considered to ceived control can be conceptualized as either
be oriented around personal experiences of the resiliency or coping resources, we consider
transcendent/divine. This same report also em- them to be resiliency resources in the present
phasized the multidimensional nature of reli- context, because we are primarily interested in
giousness and spirituality, identifying 12 “key how these factors enhance well-being on a more
domains” of religiousness and spirituality that global level, not just within the context of stress.
may operate independently on well-being, in- As stated previously, indices of R/S have
cluding religious activities, religious beliefs, re- consistently strong associations with positive
ligious coping, and spiritual experiences. outcomes, particularly indices of subjective
Despite progress in definition and operation- well-being such as positive affect, happiness,
alization, it is still uncommon to find studies and life satisfaction (Ellison & Fan, 2008; Pat-
that simultaneously examine multiple dimen- rick & Kinney, 2003; Koenig, 1994a; Levin &
sions of religiosity and spirituality with the goal Chatters, 1998). Myers and Diener (1995) re-
of investigating their differential effects and ported that highly religious people—those who
processes. Many researchers look at a single consistently endorse statements such as “my
dimension (Fitchett & Powell, 2009; Park, religious faith is the most important influence in
2005) or combine multiple dimensions into a my life”—are twice as likely as those lowest in
single “religiousness” construct (Fiori et al., spiritual commitment to consider themselves
2006; McCullough, Friedman, Enders, & Mar- “very happy.” Some have suggested that these
tin, 2009); this makes it difficult to compare the positive well-being effects are a factor of the
functions and associations of individual R/S resources that religion makes available to the
dimensions across studies. Examining a given faithful, which serve to boost overall resiliency
process or mechanism for multiple R/S dimen- as well as to provide strategies for coping with
sions within a single study makes it possible to specific life stressors Such resources include a
compare across domains more easily and to broad social support network (Ellison, 1991), a
better understand how religiosity and spiritual- sense of meaning and purpose (Park, 2005), a
ity operate as separate and multidimensional sense of hope and optimism (Koenig, 1994b),
constructs. and enhanced perceptions of control (Fiori et
Typically, previous researchers have investi- al., 2006). The focus of the present project
gated the impact of religiosity and spirituality concerns the final resource—perceived con-
on well-being within a stress and coping frame- trol— and, specifically, whether it serves as a
work, which concerns the use of coping re- mediator of the positive relationship between
sources (e.g., social support network or belief in R/S and subjective well-being. In light of the
a higher power) in order to maintain functioning multidimensionality of religiousness and spiri-
in the face of a stressor (e.g., losing a spouse or tuality discussed herein, we will also investigate
experiencing an illness; see Pargament, 1997, for whether the impact of perceived control varies
discussion). In this context, the religious/spiritual for different dimensions of R/S.
 ROLE OF PERCEIVED CONTROL 151

According to the control and competence the- (2007) put it, it seems that “religion can provide
ory outlined by Skinner (1995), perceived con- at least the illusion of control in the face of
trol (PC) encompasses beliefs about the self, uncontrollable circumstances” (p.124), thereby
and about the world in general, that determine saving individuals from the hopelessness and
the extent to which individuals feel that they discouragement that tends to accompany losses
have the opportunity, capacity, and efficacy to in control (Skinner, 1995).
produce or prevent a given outcome. These per- Although secondary to the primary question,
ceptions of control have a strong and consistent the effect of age will also be investigated be-
positive relationship with subjective well-being cause the subjective well-being benefits of both
across demographic variables (Bourque, Push- R/S and PC are more pronounced for older
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

kar, Bonneville, & Beland, 2005; Lang & Heck- adults, even when health and other nonreligious
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

hausen, 2001; Skinner, 1995). Additionally, well-being indicators are accounted for (Blazer
perceived control beliefs are nested within the & Palmore, 1976; Ellison, 1991; Markides,
broader context of social structures and world- Levin, & Ray, 1987; McFadden, 1996; Myers &
views—including religion and spirituality— Diener, 1995). Some have suggested that psy-
which impact PC by providing an interpretive chological resources such as PC and R/S in-
framework through which individuals under- crease in salience with age because they are less
stand their day-to-day experiences (Skinner, affected by the physical declines associated
1995). Because highly religious/spiritual indi- with aging than are assets more contingent on
viduals view the world through the lens of their physical health and activity (Hood et al., 2009,
faith, their perceived control beliefs tend to re- chapter 7); indeed, older adults report religion
flect their beliefs about the divine such as “all to be more integral to their lives than do
things are possible with God” and “God is in younger adults (Pew Research Center, 2009).
control” (Newton & McIntosh, 2009). As a result, religious older adults should use
Hood, Hill, and Spilka (2009, chapter 1) re-
their faith to enhance their sense of control,
viewed findings suggesting that aligning oneself
which produces more positive well-being out-
with a higher power through religion and spir-
comes. It follows, then, that the mediating role
ituality creates the perception that one has a
of perceived control on the R/S-SWB relation-
share in that higher power’s control, allowing
the faithful to view themselves as having a ship will be stronger for older, compared with
greater degree of control over their circum- younger, adults. In support of this contention,
stances than they may actually have. Although empirical research shows that control is a stron-
this is just one explanation of the association ger mediator of the relationship between religi-
between R/S and PC, there is substantial evi- osity and life satisfaction for older adults (aged
dence to support this idea. Fiori et al. (2006) 60 –96) than for younger adults (aged 24 –33;
found that both internal and external forms of Fiori et al., 2006).
control mediate the relationship between religi- Our goal is to investigate the mediating func-
osity (measured with one item each for impor- tion of perceived control on the R/S-SWB rela-
tance of spiritual beliefs, spiritual coping, reli- tionship, taking into account the multidimen-
gious attendance, and religious reading) and life sional nature of religiousness and spirituality.
satisfaction, and suggested that R/S may pro- This process will therefore be examined sepa-
vide opportunities for “people to be agents in rately for three different indices of R/S: reli-
their own lives when things are otherwise out gious practices, religious coping, and spiritual
of their control” (p. 261), which, in turn, helps experiences. The perceived control variable
them to maintain higher levels of life satisfac- used is a composite comprised of three scales
tion than those who are less religious. Qualita- intended to assess different aspects of PC (con-
tive studies have found similar themes— trol of oneself, control of social interactions,
interviews with African American elders (Wal- and control over the environment), in order to
lace & Bergeman, 2002) and hospitalized capture a broad perceived control construct
veterans (Koenig, 1994a) frequently contain rather than a single domain. In accordance with
phrases like “Things I can’t control, I give over Diener’s (1984) conceptualization, subjective
to God” and “I know everything will be all right well-being is comprised of positive affect, neg-
because God is in control.” So, as Aldwin ative affect, and life satisfaction; this operation-
 152 JACKSON AND BERGEMAN

alization is commonly used in both religiosity ing effects to be least substantial in the early
and control research (Eid & Larsen, 2008). midlife group and most pronounced in the later
We expect that the direct relationship be- life group.
tween each of the R/S dimensions and SWB
will be at least partially mediated by perceived
control; we base this on the theory that higher Methods
degrees of religious practices, spiritual experi-
ences, and religious coping lead to greater per- Participants
ceived control, which, in turn, serves to enhance Data for this study comes from the larger
subjective well-being. We do not, however, ex- Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-Being
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

pect the mediating effect of PC to be identical

(Bergeman et al., 2010). Participants were re-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

for all three R/S dimensions being examined;

cruited from a list of middle-aged and older
thus, we tentatively hypothesize that the dimen-
adults in the northern Indiana area based on
sions of religious practices and religious coping,
multiple information sources, including census
which are more behavioral and thus more di-
data and the Survey of Residential Households,
rectly under the control of the individual, will
supplied by a market research firm. Participants
be more strongly mediated by perceived control
received a questionnaire packet in the mail that
than spiritual experience, which tends to be
more internal and perhaps less associated with they completed and returned, at their conve-
control. nience, in a postage-paid return envelope sup-
Along with the primary mediational analysis, plied by the researchers. Participants received a
perceived control is tested as a moderator for $20 gift card to an establishment of their choice
each R/S domain in order to get a more com- for completing the 55-page questionnaire.
plete picture of the role of perceived control. The sample used in the present project consists
Although we have not developed formal hy- of 529 adults aged 31 to 88 years (mean
potheses concerning the moderating effects due age ⫽ 58.6, SD ⫽ 9.7), of whom 56% are women,
to their exploratory nature, one may expect that 87% are Caucasian, 8% are African American,
based on the rationale presented above, people 2% are Hispanic, 1% are Asian American or Pa-
high on both the R/S dimension and perceived cific Islander, 0.5% are Native American,
control will have the highest subjective well- and 1.5% marked “other.” Respondents are rela-
being, whereas those low in both dimensions tively well educated, with 97% having a high
will have the lowest subjective well-being; what school diploma and 36% having a college degree.
is less clear, and what the results from the The income distribution of participants was as
moderation tests will reveal, is whether the two follows: 4% reported an annual income of less
interact and whether this effect differs based on than $7,500; 11% between $7,500 and $14,999;
the R/S dimension in question. 14% between $15,000 and 24,999; 22% be-
Because these associations may differ by age tween $25,000 and $39,999; 32% between
as well, we also examine them in three separate $40,000 and $74,999; and 17% $75,000 or
age groups: early midlife (aged 31– 49), late higher. As far as living situations, 53% of par-
midlife (aged 50 –59), and later life (aged 60 ticipants were married, 24% were divorced or
and older). The split of the midlife participants separated, 10% were widowed, and 13% were
at age 50 is based on the recommendation of single.
Staudinger and Bluck (2001), who cite evidence One-way ANOVAs (for categorical vari-
that life’s triumphs and challenges typically ables) and t tests (for continuous variables)
change in nature at this point in the life span. showed no differences for gender, race, or mar-
Specifically, those in their 40s are likely to be at ital status between the participants used in the
the peak of their careers, have primary identifi- present study (N ⫽ 529) and those excluded
cations as parents, and still be physically based on incomplete data (N ⫽ 249); the sam-
healthy, whereas those in their 50s are likely to ples did differ on age ( p ⫽ .006), education
begin experiencing the challenges of failing ( p ⫽ .0004), and income ( p ⫽ .016), so that the
health, the “emptying of the nest,” and ap- participants included in the present analyses
proaching retirement (Staudinger & Bluck, tend to be slightly younger (mean age 58.6
2001). We expect both mediating and moderat- vs. 60.8 for those excluded), better educated,
 ROLE OF PERCEIVED CONTROL 153

and better off financially than those who were (␣ ⫽ .83) consists of seven items on a 4-point
excluded. scale (never to always), including “I look to
God for strength, support, and guidance” and “I
Measures wonder whether God has abandoned me.”
Perceived control. Three scales were used
Religiosity/spirituality. All three R/S to index Perceived Control: the control subscale
measures come from the Brief Multidimen- of the Dispositional Resilience measure (Bar-
sional Measure of Religiousness and Spiritual- tone, Ursano, Wright, & Ingraham, 1989); the
ity (BMMRS; John E. Fetzer Institute, 1999). Environmental Mastery subscale of the Psycho-
The BMMRS was altered to enhance the ease of logical Well-Being measure (Ryff & Keyes,
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

administration. First, the items covering private 1995); and the Perceived Social Control scale
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

religious practices and organizational religious- (Reid & Ziegler, 1981). The Perceived Control
ness originally included 5-point, 6-point, and subscale of the Dispositional Resilience mea-
8-point response formats. To make it easier to sure consists of 15 items, including “planning
combine these items into a single “religious ahead can help me avoid most future problems”
practices” scale, they were converted to the and “I cannot do much to prevent it if someone
most comprehensive 8-point scale (never to wants to harm me,” rated on a 4-point scale (not
more than once a day). Second, the 4-point at all true to completely true); 10 of the 15 items
response format for the religious/spiritual cop- are reverse scored, so that a higher score indi-
ing subscale was altered from its original a cates greater control, ␣ ⫽ .67. The Environmen-
great deal, quite a bit, somewhat, and not at all tal Mastery scale consists of 15 items on a
to the more general always, often, seldom, and 4-point scale (strongly disagree to strongly
never so that it could be integrated with other agree); statements include “In general, I feel I
measures in the larger questionnaire. Finally, am in charge of the situation in which I live”
one of the religious/spiritual coping items and “I often feel overwhelmed by my responsi-
phrased as a question in the original measure— bilities.” Six items are reversed scored so that
“To what extent is your religion involved in higher scores indicate a higher degree of control
understanding or dealing with stressful situa- over one’s environment, ␣ ⫽ .91. The Per-
tions in any way?”—was converted to the state- ceived Social Control scale assess the extent to
ment “I feel that my faith impacts my under- which participants feel that they have control
standing or dealings with stressful situations.” over the social encounters in their lives. The
The BMMRS subscales used in the present scale consists of 12 items (6 of which are re-
study are Private Religious Practices, Organiza- versed scored) such as “People tend to ignore
tional Religiousness, Daily Spiritual Experi- my advice” and “I find that if I ask my family
ences, and Religious/Spiritual Coping. The Pri- (or friends) to visit me, they come,” rated on a
vate Religious Practices subscale consists of 4-point scale (strongly disagree to strongly
five questions assessing the frequency of vari- agree); higher scores indicate higher perceived
ous activities, such as private prayer and Bible social control, ␣ ⫽ .80. Scores on the three
reading, on an 8-point scale (never to more than scales were standardized (M ⫽ 0, SD ⫽ 1) and
once a day). The Organizational Religiousness summed to form the composite PC variable, for
subscale (short form) consists of two items, also which higher scores indicate higher perceived
on an 8-point scale, indexing the frequency of control (␣ ⫽ .88).
religious service attendance and organized reli- Subjective well-being. Scales measuring
gious activities. The items for Private Religious life satisfaction, positive affect (PA), and neg-
Practices and Organizational Religiousness ative affect (NA) were used to operationalize
were combined to form the Religious Practices Subjective Well-Being (Diener, 1984). The Life
measure (␣ ⫽ .88) used in the analyses. The Satisfaction Index A (LSI-A; Neugarten, Havi-
Daily Spiritual Experiences subscale (␣ ⫽ .93) ghurst, & Tobin, 1961) includes items such as
is made up of six items with a 6-point response “My life could be happier than it is now” and “I
format (never or almost never to many times a have gotten pretty much what I expected out of
day); items include “I feel God’s presence” and life,” rated on a 4-point scale (strongly agree to
“I find strength and comfort in my religion.” strongly disagree); 5 of the 18 items are reverse
Finally, the Religious/Spiritual Coping subscale scored, and higher scores indicate higher life
 154 JACKSON AND BERGEMAN

satisfaction, ␣ ⫽ .87. Positive and negative af- ables in the full sample are presented in Table 1.
fect were measured using the Positive and Neg- In order to investigate age effects, we divided
ative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, the overall sample into an early midlife group
& Tellegen, 1988). The scale consists of a list (109 participants aged 31– 49; mean
of 10 NA descriptors (e.g., afraid, ashamed) age ⫽ 44.76, SD ⫽ 3.25), a late midlife group
and 10 PA descriptors (e.g., active, inspired), (162 participants aged 50 –59; mean
and the individual rates the extent to which they age ⫽ 54.82, SD ⫽ 2.81), and a later life group
feel each emotion in general on a 5-point scale (258 participants aged 60 – 88; mean age ⫽ 66.92,
(not at all to extremely); ␣ ⫽ .89 for PA and .88 SD ⫽ 4.94), and ran the mediation and modera-
for NA. In the original scoring, higher scores on tion models separately for each age group. Lev-
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each scale indicate higher PA or NA, respec- ene’s test for homogeneity of variance showed
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

tively; but for the purposes of this study, the NA that variance among the groups differed on the
measure was reverse scored so that higher composite Control variable (F ⫽ 30.61, p ⬍
scores indicate lower NA. In this way, all three .0001), with the later life group having substan-
scales used to create the SWB composite vari- tially more variance than the two younger age
able (LSI-A, PA, and NA) are scored in the groups (SDearly midlife ⫽ 1.23; SDlate midlife ⫽ 1.20;
same direction, with higher scores indicating SDlater life ⫽ 2.32); variances on the SWB com-
positive outcomes. Scores on the three scales posite and the R/S variables were not significantly
were standardized (M ⫽ 0, SD ⫽ 1) and different.
summed to form the composite SWB variable
(␣ ⫽ .90). Analytic Procedure

Results Prior to testing the mediating and moderating

models using regression analyses, all scale
Descriptive Statistics scores were standardized (M ⫽ 0, SD ⫽ 1), and
the control and well-being scales were summed
The means, standard deviations, and correla- to form composite variables for PC and SWB,
tions for each of the scales and composite vari- as described above. Because income and age

Table 1
Descriptive Statistics and Correlations of the Composite Variables and Their Component Scales for the
Full Sample (N ⫽ 527)
Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1. Religious practices 26.90 12.30 —
2. Religious coping 22.01 4.11 .71 —
3. Daily spiritual
experiences 23.51 8.45 .72 .82 —
4. Perceived control
composite — 2.25 .13 .29 .24 —
5. Environmental
mastery 38.50 4.97 .10 .22 .19 .87 —
6. Dispositional
control 37.15 10.03 .13 .16 .14 .75 .65 —
7. Perceived social
control 36.57 4.50 .07 .27 .21 .62 .31 .05 —
8. Subjective well-
being composite ⫺0.05 2.39 .17 .37 .30 .56 .40 .21 .63 —
9. Positive affect 35.73 6.36 .18 .27 .33 .54 .41 .25 .54 .79 —
10. Negative affectⴱⴱ 41.40 6.40 .05 .22 .14 .37 .25 .13 .43 .79 .41 —
11. Life satisfaction 47.92 4.87 .19 .32 .27 .45 .32 .13 .56 .83 .53 .49 —
12. Age .10 .13 .11 .56 .47 .73 .07 .16 .14 .15 .11 —
Note. Composite variables reflect the sum of three standardized scores, as described in text. All correlations except
those that are underlined were significant at the .05 level. Negative Affect is reversed scored, so that higher scores
reflect lower NA.
 ROLE OF PERCEIVED CONTROL 155

were significant predictors of both PC and SWB religious practices, spiritual experiences, or re-
(younger individuals with higher income tended to ligious coping— depending on the analysis
have higher levels of PC and greater SWB), both being conducted.
were included in the analyses as covariates. The The section below presents the mediating and
mediating and moderating functions of PC were moderating effects for the religious practices,
tested separately for religious practices, spiritual daily spiritual experiences, and spiritual/
experiences, and religious coping, both in the full religious coping scales separately. Within each
sample and separately by age group. set of results, the findings for the full sample are
The 3-step regression procedure outlined by presented first, followed by the findings broken
Baron and Kenny (1986) was used to test for the down by age group (early midlife, late midlife,
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

hypothesized mediating effects. The general re- and later life). A summary of the mediating and
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

gression models used in all of our analyses are moderating effects across samples and R/S di-
presented below, in which b10, b20, and b30 mensions is presented in Table 2.
reflect the respective intercepts; b11, b21, and b31
control for age effects; b12, b22, and b32 control Mediating and Moderating Effects
for income effects; b13 is the slope of the R/S
dimension on SWB controlling for age and in- Religious practices. The test for the me-
come; b23 is the slope of the R/S dimension on diating effect of PC on the relationship between
Control controlling for age and income; and b33 Religious Practices and SWB in the full sample
is the slope of the R/S dimension on SWB with (N ⫽ 539) was significant (Sobel ⫽ 2.36, p ⫽
the effect of Control on SWB (b34) accounted .018): the parameter estimate for Religious
for. In all models, the eij term reflects the error Practices on SWB in Model 1 was .39, p ⬍
(residual) left over in the DV after accounting .0001, decreasing to .26, p ⫽ .0015 when PC
for the effects of the IV’s in the model: was included as a mediator (Model 3). PC did
not mediate the impact of Religious Practices on
Model 1: SWBij ⫽ b10 ⫹ b11age ⫹ b12income ⫹
b13religiosity ⫹ eij
SWB in either midlife sample, but there was a
significant mediating effect in the later life
Model 2: Controlij ⫽ b20 ⫹ b21age ⫹ b22income ⫹ group, with the parameter estimate for Reli-
b23religiosity ⫹ eij gious Practices on SWB decreasing from .50
Model 3: SWBij ⫽ b30 ⫹ b31age ⫹ b32income ⫹ to .25 when PC is included as a mediator
b33religiosity ⫹ b34control ⫹ eij (Sobel ⫽ 2.57, p ⫽ .01). The moderating effect
of PC on the Religious Practices-SWB relation-
Significant mediation was indicated by a signif- ship was not significant for the full sample or
icant Sobel statistic (Preacher & Hayes, 2004), either of the midlife samples; however, the in-
calculated using the online tool developed for the teraction term was significant in the later life
purpose by Preacher and Leonardelli (2006). sample, indicating a moderating effect
The moderating model was tested using the (b3RelPrac ⫽ .358, p ⫽ .001; b4control ⫽ .696,
regression procedure recommended by Baron p ⬍ .0001; b5RelPrac ⫻ control ⫽ ⫺.087, p ⫽
and Kenny (1986) to test for a linear moderator, .043), so that older adults lower on PC experi-
so that a moderating effect is indicated by a ence greater SWB benefits from performing re-
statistically significant interaction term between ligious practices than do older adults with
the predictor variable and the moderator. We higher PC.
therefore used the following regression equa- Daily spiritual experiences. PC signifi-
tion to test for moderating effects, in which the cantly mediated the relationship between Daily
significance of the “religiosity ⫻ control” inter- Spiritual Experiences (DSE) and SWB in the
action term was of primary interest: full sample—the parameter estimate for DSE on
SWB changed from .75 in Model 1 to .48 in
SWBij ⫽ b0 ⫹ b1age ⫹ b2income ⫹ b3religiosity ⫹
b4control ⫹ b4religiosity ⫻control ⫹ eij Model 3 (Sobel ⫽ 5.20, p ⬍ .0001). When
analyzed separately by age group, PC was only
In all regression models, the “SWB” and a significant mediator of DSE on SWB in the two
“control” terms reflect their respective compos- older age groups: in the late midlife group, the
ite variables, whereas the “religiosity” term rep- parameter estimate decreased from .78 to .62
resents the individual R/S dimensions— when PC was added as a mediator (Sobel ⫽ 2.43,
 156 JACKSON AND BERGEMAN

p ⫽ .015), and in the later life group, the esti-

Yes, p ⬍ .001
mate decreased from .75 (Model 1) to .28

RelCop
(Model 3; Sobel ⫽ 4.96, p ⬍ .0001). PC sig-
nificantly moderated the DSE-SWB relation-

No
No
No
ship in the full sample (b3DSE ⫽ .455, p ⬍
.0001; b4control ⫽ .639, p ⬍ .0001; b5DSE ⫻
Significant moderation?

control ⫽ ⫺.076, p ⫽ .035), so that individuals

Yes, p ⬍ .001 lower on perceived control experience more
SpirExp

pronounced SWB benefits from DSE than those

higher on perceived control. The moderating
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

No
No
No
effect was not significant for any of the separate
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

age group models.

Religious/spiritual coping. PC signifi-
cantly mediated the relationship between Reli-
Yes, p ⫽ .043

gious/Spiritual Coping (RSC) and SWB in the

RelPrac

full sample, with the parameter estimate for

RSC on SWB decreasing from .84 in Model 1 to
No
No
No

.54 in Model 3 (Sobel ⫽ 5.87, p ⬍ .0001). By

age group, PC was only a significant mediator
in the older two age groups: the parameter es-
Yes, p ⬍ .001

Yes, p ⫽ .008
Yes, p ⬍ .001

timate for RSC on SWB went from .87 to .70 in

RelCop

Note. RelPrac ⫽ Religious Practices; SpirExp ⫽ Spiritual Experiences; and RelCop ⫽ Religious Coping.

the late midlife sample (Sobel ⫽ 2.65, p ⫽

.008); in the later life sample, it decreased from
.84 to .35 (Sobel ⫽ 5.32, p ⬍ .0001). In the full
No

sample, PC significantly moderated the relation-

ship between RSC and SWB (b3RSC ⫽ .509,
Significant mediation?

p ⬍ .0001; b4control ⫽ .618, p ⬍ .0001;

Yes, p ⬍ .001

Yes, p ⫽ .015
Yes, p ⬍ .001

b5RSC ⫻ control ⫽ ⫺.086, p ⫽ .017), so that

SpirExp

the lower an individual is on perceived control,

the more pronounced the benefits of religious
No

coping on SWB will be. The moderating effect

was not significant for any of the separate age
group models.
Yes, p ⫽ .018

Yes, p ⫽ .01
RelPrac

Discussion
No
No

Life for middle-aged and older adults is nat-

Summary of Mediation and Moderation Results

urally full of challenges: those in early midlife

struggle to balance career, parenthood, and per-
haps care of elderly parents; those in later
Young midlife sample, N ⫽ 109, aged 31–49
Late midlife sample, N ⫽ 162, aged 50–59

midlife face empty nests and impending retire-

Later life sample, N ⫽ 529, aged 60–88

ment; and those in later life are more likely to

experience losses of loved ones and declines in
Full sample, N ⫽ 529, aged 31–88

physical health (Staudinger & Bluck, 2001).

Despite facing a similar pattern of stresses over
Sample

the course of adult development, some individ-

uals are able to maintain high levels of well-
being throughout, whereas others experience
hopelessness or depression. The current study
focused on the role that religiousness and spir-
ituality play as resiliency resources, and, spe-
Table 2

cifically, how R/S may impact these differential

well-being outcomes through enhanced percep-
 ROLE OF PERCEIVED CONTROL 157

tions of control. The significant mediating ef- gious practices and religious/spiritual coping,
fects (1) supported the hypothesis that enhanced which were considered to be more behavioral,
control beliefs partially explain the positive re- would be more strongly mediated by perceived
lationship between indices of R/S and well- control than spiritual experience. In fact, reli-
being, and (2) revealed distinct patterns of ef- gious/spiritual coping, rather than aligning with
fects for each of the R/S dimensions examined. religious practices, showed a pattern of effects
The hypothesis regarding age effects was also nearly identical to that of spiritual experience.
supported: perceived control was a stronger me- In light of the theoretical and/or semantic dif-
diator of the R/S-SWB relationship for those in ferentiation of religiosity and spirituality dis-
the later life group than in the late midlife cussed previously—in which “religiosity” is
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

group, and did not mediate at all for those in the conceptualized as a more organizational, behav-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

young midlife group. Finally, the significant ior-oriented construct, and “spirituality” is char-
moderating effects revealed that dimensions of
acterized as a construct defined by more subjec-
R/S have a more substantial positive impact on
tive experiences and beliefs (Neff, 2006)—it
well-being when individuals rate lower on per-
ceived control. may be that the Religious Practices scale is
tapping “Religiosity” whereas the Daily Spiri-
tual Experience and Religious/Spiritual Coping
Mediating Effects: R/S Dimensions
scales are more appropriate indices of “Spiritu-
In line with results from previous studies ality,” and that dimensions of religiosity and
(Ellison & Fan, 2008; Patrick & Kinney, 2003; spirituality may impact well-being differently
Levin & Chatters, 1998; Myers & Diener, and through different processes.
1995), all three R/S dimensions examined here It is important to note that, although religious
(religious practices, spiritual experiences, and coping has been discussed alongside religious
religious coping) were positively related to practices and spiritual experiences throughout
SWB; the exception to this was the young this paper, it is somewhat different in nature
midlife group (⬍50 years), in which religious from most other dimensions of religiousness
practices did not significantly impact subjective and spirituality because it explicitly implies a
well-being. The youngest group was also the coping function. Whereas most R/S scales ask
only group for whom the R/S indices were not individuals to describe their experiences, be-
positively related to perceived control. Fiori and liefs, or practices in general, religious coping
colleagues (2006) found similar results when scales ask participants to think about times of
their “religiosity” variable significantly pre- challenge or struggle when responding to items.
dicted internal control for older adults but not Referring back to the coping and resiliency the-
for young adults, and they suggested that older ories discussed in the introduction, dimensions
adults are more likely to interpret the relinquish- of religiousness and spirituality such as reli-
ment of control to a higher power as “a pur- gious practices and spiritual experiences can
poseful, control-inducing act” (p. 258) than are thus be seen as resiliency resources contributing
younger adults, who tend to favor more tangible
to well-being in a general, protective manner,
ways of demonstrating their control. This trend
whereas the religious/spiritual coping scale in-
of direct relationships resulted in a similar pat-
tern for the mediation results: none of the R/S dexes whether, and to what extent, these re-
indicators were mediated by perceived control sources are utilized and effective as coping re-
in the young midlife group, whereas they were sources in the face of stress. In light of this, the
mediated in the two older age cohorts (with the finding that religious/spiritual coping and spiri-
exception of religious practices in the late tual experiences have almost identical patterns
midlife cohort) and in the full sample. of results indicates that the coping function of
The distinct pattern of results obtained for faith is more closely affiliated with an individ-
each of the R/S dimensions examined lends ual’s degree of “Spirituality” than his or her
further support to the multidimensional concep- level of “Religiosity”; religious/spiritual coping
tualization of religiosity and spirituality (John is apparently less tied to religious behaviors and
E. Fetzer Institute, 1999). The findings, how- more contingent on subjective beliefs and expe-
ever, did not support the hypothesis that reli- riences concerning the transcendent.
 158 JACKSON AND BERGEMAN

Age Differences spirituality in the lives of adults under 50

years of age than is perceived control.
As mentioned above, perceived control was a It should be noted that because this analysis
significant mediator of the relationship between was cross-sectional rather than longitudinal—
all three R/S variables and SWB for the later life testing differences rather than change—these
group (aged 60 and over), and two of the three age differences may reflect cohort effects (fac-
(spiritual experiences and religious coping) for tors associated with certain cultural, religious,
the late midlife group (aged 50 –59), but was not and social climates of the generations) rather
a significant mediator at all in the youngest than aging per se. Religiousness in America has
group (aged 31– 49). It therefore seems that, for declined consistently over the past several de-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

the more “spiritual” R/S indices (spiritual expe- cades, and those stating no religious preference
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

riences and religious coping), perceived control climbed from 8.2% to 15% between 1990 and
mediates the relationship with SWB beginning 2008 alone (Kosmin & Keysar, 2009). This
around age 50, whereas, for the more “reli- cultural trend has likely impacted the degree to
gious” R/S indices (religious practices), per- which different generations consider them-
ceived control does not become a salient medi- selves to be “religious” and “spiritual,” which
ator until later in life (age 60 or over). Before could explain why those born earlier (when
age 50, perceived control is not a significant America was generally more religious) are
player in the R/S-SWB relationship regardless higher on R/S indices than those born later. It is
of the dimension in question. therefore important to recognize the results of
This pattern of age effects supports the hy- the current study as denoting differences be-
pothesis that perceived control is a more rele- tween age groups rather than reflecting devel-
vant mediator of the R/S-SWB relationship for opmental change.
older adults. Because adults aged 50 to 59 years
are still relatively healthy and active, they may Moderating Effects
not be as reliant on the more behavioral “reli-
gious” R/S dimensions (e.g., religious practices) The question of whether perceived control
to enhance control as are those 60 and over; moderates the effect of R/S on well-being pro-
however, these individuals in later midlife are vides a counterpoint to the mediation question,
also likely to be facing social and emotional as it presents a different framework through
challenges such as the empty nest, loss of par- which to understand how R/S and perceived
ents and mentors, and impending retirement, control relate to one another in their impact on
which may make “spiritual” R/S dimensions, well-being. Specifically, mediation focuses on
such as spiritual experiences and religious cop- the process by which the benefits of R/S are
ing, more salient than they were when they were conferred on SWB (R/S3 PC3 SWB), whereas
younger (Staudinger & Bluck, 2001). Adults moderation assesses a buffering effect (e.g., the
under the age of 50, on the other hand, are still strength of the R/S effect on SWB depends on
likely to be healthy and at the peak of their the level of PC). In the current study, the results
professional and family life, and therefore tend of the moderation analyses supported the logi-
to experience a universally high level of per- cal hypothesis that individuals lower on both
ceived control. This means that younger the R/S variable and perceived control have the
adults— even those who are highly religious lowest SWB, whereas those higher on both have
or spiritual—are less likely to turn to religion the highest levels of SWB. The significant mod-
or spirituality when they are seeking control, erating effects found for spiritual experiences
instead favoring outlets that utilize their pro- and religious/spiritual coping in the full sample
fessional skills and/or physical prowess. It is demonstrate that, although R/S indicators posi-
therefore necessary to investigate other poten- tively impact subjective well-being for all indi-
tial mediators of the R/S-SWB relationship viduals, those lower on perceived control expe-
that may be more relevant for adults under 50 rience more pronounced well-being benefits
years of age; perhaps the additional mecha- from spiritual experiences and religious coping
nisms mentioned in the introduction (social than those higher on perceived control. The lack
support, meaning/purpose, hope/optimism) of significant moderation within the individual
are more relevant to the role of religion and age groups is likely due to the loss of power that
 ROLE OF PERCEIVED CONTROL 159

results when the full sample is split into sub- A study conducted by an institution not affili-
samples by age. The only significant moderat- ated with a religious tradition would be less
ing effect found within a specific age group was likely to encounter this issue.
for religious practices in the later life group; the
direction of the interaction indicates that older Conclusions and Implications
adults perceiving themselves to have less con-
trol experience greater well-being benefits from The many dimensions of religiousness and
religious practices than do those who perceive spirituality have robust associations with posi-
themselves to have higher levels of control. tive well-being outcomes (Ellison & Fan, 2008;
These results support the theory that the ex- Patrick & Kinney, 2003; Koenig, 1994a; Levin
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

ercise of religious practices is more salient for & Chatters, 1998), but there is still much to be
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

maintaining and enhancing perceived control learned when it comes to the mechanisms at
for older adults who tend have fewer stable work behind this relationship. One finding that
sources of control (e.g., physical ability, cog- contributes to the understanding of the R/S as
nitive prowess, career) than younger adults multidimensional is that religious coping aligns
(Hood et al., 2009, chapter 7; Skinner, 1995), more with “Spirituality” (as indexed by spiritual
and point to the increased salience of PC to experiences) than with “Religiosity” (as in-
the relationship between R/S and SWB that dexed by religious practices), which also in-
comes with age. forms which R/S dimensions are most tapped
when it comes to coping with stress. Concern-
Limitations ing R/S more broadly, the partial mediation
effects found for adults aged 50 and older indi-
There are a few limitations that should be taken cate that perceived control is not the only mech-
into account when considering the implications of anism at work when it comes to the impact of
this study, all of which present opportunities for religiousness and spirituality on well-being in
future investigation. First, although the media- these older adults; and the fact that there were
tional models represent directional effects in the- no significant mediating effects for those un-
ory, we cannot determine causality with data col- der 50 indicates that perceived control does not
lected at a single point in time; as additional serve this function at all for the early midlife
waves of data become available, longitudinal group. This combination of findings necessarily
analyses should alleviate this issue. Second, as implies that there are additional factors in-
mentioned previously, the cross-sectional na- volved in this process at all ages, which future
ture of the data makes it impossible to differen- studies can investigate. Although much is still
tiate age from cohort effects; the cross- to be learned about the beneficial effects of
sequential design of the larger Notre Dame religiosity and spirituality in mid- and later life,
Health & Well-Being should eventually permit the current study provides a strong foundation
us to address this issue as well. Third, because for considering the multidimensional underpin-
the majority of our results were robust, we nings of these constructs and the complex ways
chose not to perform a correction (e.g., Bonfer- in which these attributes interrelate with control
roni) to control for Type I error; were such a in understanding well-being across much of the
correction made, the moderating effect between adult life span.
religious practices and perceived control in the
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