The Relationship Between Spirituality and Happiness: A Review of Literature

The Definition of Happiness and Its Influence

Task:

Happiness is often seen as a subjective trait that describes one’s overall wellbeing in life.  Happiness can be influenced by various aspects of life such as, activities one engages in, relationships, job satisfaction, being a part of organizations, and spirituality.  Happiness is self-reported and it is described as an active state (Eaude, 2009).  Happiness is not a permanent emotional state, its levels fluctuate.  People will execute certain actions in order to provoke and obtain happiness, like going shopping.  There are also other factors within one’s environment that can affect happiness, such as socioeconomic status.  Issues like these make happiness harder to feel and obtain.

Spirituality can play a vital role for some in determining their happiness.  Spirituality is defined many ways but the central understanding and meaning is concrete enough to separate it from the practice of religion.  Martinez & Scott (2014) define spirituality as being in tune with one’s center self and transcending the visual planes of life and having a connection with the universe or a sense of a higher being.  While there are many in the United States who consider themselves a part of some religious group, 37% say they are spiritual but not religious.  Spirituality and religion has become separated over time and is accepted as being two independent entities.  Many use spirituality as a way to find their place in life and to define their purpose.

Several studies over time have investigated the idea that spirituality influences happiness in a positive way that increases one’s overall quality of life.  There are also studies that found that those who are highly spiritual have better health outcomes, such as low anxiety levels, lower substance abuse rates, and fewer prevalence of mental disorders.  Martinez & Scott (2014) and Victorino, Lucchetti, Leao, Vallada & Peres (2018) both investigated the relationship between happiness and spirituality.  Eaude (2009) and Battle & DeFreece (2014) specifically looked at two particular populations, children and African American lesbians respectfully, and their overall levels of happiness in relation to their spirituality.  When looking at children’s happiness and spirituality, Euade (2009) discussed how children are learning from the adults around them.  What spirituality means to them is not a self-defined journey, they are observing and repeating what they see the adults in their lives do. Meanwhile, Battle & DeFreece (2014) discuss how African American are more spiritual and religious than any other racial group.  A survey conducted in 2007 by a Religion and Public Life forum found that 76% of African Americans pray daily while 64% pray multiple times a day, evidenced by a survey complete by Baylor Religion (Battle & DeFreece, 2014).

Spirituality and Happiness

The relevant research available suggests that there some significant contributions to happiness levels due to spirituality.  It is even given credit for the increase in one’s overall psychological status (Martinez & Scott, 2014).  Looking at specific populations, such as children and or African Americans, can provide insight on how a group may utilize their sense of spirituality to improve their life.  Investigating these particular groups may also describe the differences that may be present in their happiness levels.  For example, white people are generally happier than African American people (Battle & DeFreece, 2014).  There are environmental factors like socioeconomic status, marital status, and perceived discrimination that negatively affect the overall levels of happiness that African Americans may feel.  The research provided also provides a solid foundation for the claims that spirituality is a contributing factor to happiness.  There are several studies available for review that assesses the role of spirituality in someone’s happiness.

The aim of this lab project study to investigate if spirituality has an impact on self-reported happiness.

Dependent variable. This lab project is interested in investigating variables that have an impact on self-reported happiness.  The happiness measure is a composite variable of the of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale – 21 items (DASS-21).  Specifically, the depression questions and scale will be used to assess the self-reports of happiness using the following questions: (1) “I couldn’t seem to experience any positive feeling at all”, (2) I found it difficult to work up to the initiative to do things, (3) I felt that I had nothing to look forward to, (4) I felt down-hearted and blue, (5) I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything, (6) I felt I wasn’t worth much as a person, and (7) I felt that life was meaningless” (Lovingbond & Lovingbond, 1995).  These questions are assessed on an interval/scale of zero to three, multiplied by two and then applied to a scoring table to measure levels of depression.

Independent variable. While looking at the happiness levels, using a depression scale to self-report, the consideration of a person being spiritual will be used to compare to with happiness levels to see if spirituality has an impact on one’s happiness.  This is assessed by using The Intrinsic Spirituality Scale (Hodge, 2003).  It is a six item scale with the answers ranging from zero to ten for each question, with zero being an individual who does not use spirituality as a motivational factor and ten being a person who is very motivated by their spirituality.  The questions on the scale are, (1) “In terms of the questions I have about my life, my spirituality answers no/absolutely all of my questions, (2) Growing spirituality is more important/ of no importance, (3) When I am faced with an important decision, my spirituality plays no role/ is always the overriding consideration, (4) Spirituality is the master motive/not a part of my life, (5) When I think of the things that help me grow and mature as a person, my spirituality  has no effect/ is the most important factor, and (6) My spiritual beliefs affect every aspect of my life/ no aspect” (Hodge, 2003).  The demographic variable collected here is ethnicity.  There may be a significance in the ethnic group one is a part of and their spirituality and happiness factors, as evidenced by previous research findings.