@article{ref1,
title="Spiritual well-being and depressive symptoms in female African American suicide attempters: mediating effects of optimism and pessimism",
journal="Psychology of religion and spirituality",
year="2014",
author="Hirsch, Jameson K. and Nsamenang, Sheri A. and Chang, Edward C. and Kaslow, Nadine J.",
volume="6",
number="4",
pages="276-283",
abstract="Spiritual well-being is a well-established predictor of mental health, yet the potential mechanisms of this association are relatively unexplored. We examined the influence of spirituality, including religious and existential well-being, on depressive symptoms, and the potential mediating effect of optimism and pessimism, in a sample of 66 African American female suicide attempters. Participants were recruited from a large, urban hospital and completed the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, Life Orientation Test - Revised, and the Beck Depression Inventory - II. The association between spiritual well-being and depressive symptoms was mediated indirectly through both optimism and pessimism; greater religious and existential well-being was related to more optimism, and less pessimism and, in turn, to fewer depressive symptoms. Historically, spiritual well-being has been important to the African American community, and its beneficial effects on mental health might be explained, in part, by their effect on cognitive-emotional functioning.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1941-1022",
doi="10.1037/a0036723",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0036723"
}