TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Spiritual well-being and depressive symptoms in female African American suicide attempters: mediating effects of optimism and pessimism
JO  - Psychology of religion and spirituality
A1  - Hirsch, Jameson K.
A1  - Nsamenang, Sheri A.
A1  - Chang, Edward C.
A1  - Kaslow, Nadine J.
SP  - 276
EP  - 283
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
N2  - 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>
LA  - en
SN  - 1941-1022
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0036723
ID  - ref1
ER  -