Review of literature
Pro- social Behavior & Spiritual practices
Patricia Snell Herzog, Amy Strohmeier, David P. King, Rafia A. Khader, Andrew L. Williams,
Jamie L. Goodwin, Dana R. H. Doan, and Bhekinkosi Moyo are among the scholars the study
"Religiosity and Generosity: Multi-Level Approaches to Studying the Religiousness of Prosocial
Actions" draws from. Through the use of information interviews, systematic searches, and
discovery research, it aims to comprehend the connection between charity and religion. The
study draws a distinction between generosity and spirituality, which are viewed as more intimate
manifestations of values and beliefs, and philanthropy and religiosity, which are generally
connected to formal, bureaucratic, and politically charged actions. It highlights, in particular, that
spirituality and generosity are more accurate reflections of the values and beliefs of historically
marginalized populations.
Kelly Anderson, K., & Patricia Costello (2009) The present study attempted to replicate
correlations found in past studies as well as develop a model to explain prosocial behavior using
spirituality, narcissism, and satisfaction with life. 100 Gustavus Adolphus College students took
four surveys measuring each of the four constructs. Spirituality was the only variable found to
account for some of the variance of prosocial behavior. Positive correlations were found between
spirituality and satisfaction with life, prosocial behavior and spirituality, satisfaction with life and
narcissism, public prosocial behavior and narcissism, dire prosocial behavior and spirituality, and
altruistic prosocial behavior and spirituality.
Rossano, (2007)
Research has consistently shown positive correlations between spirituality and prosocial
behavior. This finding coincides with Batson (1983) who theorized that humans are biologically
programmed to be altruistic toward their kin, but that social forces such as religious beliefs are
necessary in order for humans to extend this altruism outside of their kinship circle. Further, he
said that humans act altruistically towards their own kin to ensure the survival of their genes, but
acting altruistically towards those who are biologically unrelated produces no such survival
benefit. Therefore, social influences such as religion provide reason for humans to act
altruistically towards others in society.
Patty Van Cappellen ,Vassilis Saroglou & Maria Toth-Gauthier (2015) The current study
investigates the features of Sunday Mass that may be implicated in the activation of religious
prosocial behavior. The social, emotional, and cognitive aspects of the Mass were examined
simultaneously among churchgoers (n = 548) from 20 different parishes. Prosociality was
assessed by examining spontaneous intentions to share a hypothetical lottery prize. The results
revealed that the social aspect of the Mass mediated the favorable relationship established
between religion and prosociality. Additional research found that this social feature elicited the
sensation of love, which increased prosocial behavior.
Sukhamjit Kaur, etal, (2020) The primary goal of this research was to investigate religion and
moral identity internalization as effective predictors of prosocial behavior. The sample
comprised of 400 emerging adults (females) aged 18 to 24. All participants filled out
questionnaires, including the religiosity scale (Bhushan, 1970), the moral identity inventory
(Aquino & Reed, 2002, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1423-1440), and the
prosocial personality battery (Penner, Fritzsche, Craiger, & Friefeld, 1995, Advances in
Personality Assessment, vol. 10, pp. 147-184). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lea). The data underwent
a 2 x 2 analysis of variance. ANOVA results clearly demonstrated that more religious persons
are more responsible socially, have stronger empathic concern, are more able to take others'
perspectives, have higher prosocial moral reasoning capabilities, are more helpful, selfless, and
demonstrate a high level of other oriented empathy. High moral identity internalization leads to
socially responsible behaviour, along with higher empathic concern and perspective-taking
abilities. Individuals with high level of moral identity were found capable to use prosocial moral
reasoning, and they also exhibited higher levels of other oriented empathy. Religiosity and
moral identity internalization interacted with each other to produce a combined effect on mutual
concern moral reasoning.
Samta.P.Pandya, (2017) This stduy describes a two-year experimental research of 3278
children from 15 nations who participated in a spiritual education program (SEP) targeted at
increasing benevolence and pro-social behavior. The findings revealed that the participant
children's post-test scores on the self-report altruism scale and prosocial personality
questionnaire were higher than the comparison group's and their own pre-test scores. Children
from affluent countries who scored high on self-reported religion and spirituality, attended six to
eight rounds of the SEP, and self-practiced on a regular basis had higher post-treatment ratings.
According to hierarchical regression models, self-practice was the strongest post-test predictor of
altruism and prosocial behavior.
Travis, D., Furman, H., & Simkin, H., (2009) This study sought to investigate the relationships
between prosocial behavior, spirituality, religiousness, and life purpose. Participants were
Argentinians aged 18 and above (N = 291; mean age = 38.45 years; standard deviation = 12.09
years; range = 18 to 76). Prosocial conduct was defined and measured as a two-dimensional
construct consisting of aiding and comforting. The findings revealed that prosocial activity in
one of its dimensions, assisting, was connected with religiousness, spirituality, and purpose in
life, whereas its other component, consoling, was associated with spirituality and purpose in life.
Additionally, two aspects of spirituality, universality and prayer satisfaction, were linked to both
dimensions of prosocial conduct. Regression analysis revealed that religiousness predicted
helping, although spirituality and one of its components, universality, predicted both helping and
comforting. In contrast to some of the posited limitations to prosociality among the religious
population, such as religious in-group favoritism, this facet of spirituality could account for some
of the differences with religiousness and appears to be key in promoting prosocial behaviors.
Bonner, Koven, & Patrick (2003) also found that both religiosity and general spirituality are
positively correlated with prosocial behavior. They suggested that this was because people’s
spiritual or religious beliefs may help them feel more personally fulfilled and worthy, leading
them to participate in activities that heighten their levels of self-actualization, including prosocial
behavior. According to them, religiosity involves organizational behaviors such as participation
in religious services. It also involves nonorganizational elements such as prayer and religious
reading. Spirituality, in comparison, is more general and subjective, and may involve feelings of
closeness to a higher power, harmony with others, and a sense of coherence.
Dr. Asad, S., Khalid, S., Rehman, S., & Abdullah, M., (2002) Religious Orientation and
Development of Pro-Social Behavior in Young Female Students was the title . The study used a
correlational research design and a non-probability purposive sampling technique to gather data.
SPSS was used to examine a sample of N=150. The findings showed a strong positive
correlation between pro-social conduct and religious orientation.
The study "Effect of Religiosity and Spirituality on Employees’ Prosocial Behavior with the
Mediatory Role of Humanism and Ethics" was carried out by Aneeqa Wasim, Danish Ahmed,
and Siddiqui using a survey method. According to the research findings, religion significantly
increases prosocial behavior, both directly and through the mediation effects of ethics and
humanism. Furthermore, the study discovered that spirituality is also greatly influenced by
religion.
Through a qualitative analysis, Lluis Oviedo's work, Religious Attitudes and Pro-Social
Behavior: A Systematic Review of Published Research, investigates the relationship between
pro-social behavior and religious attitudes. The study assesses the strength of the data that has
been collected thus far and shows a strong correlation between pro-social conduct and religious
beliefs.
Douglas A. MacDonald and John Thomas Huber II investigated the connections between
spirituality, empathy, and altruism. To find important trends, their study combined regression
analysis with zero-order and partial correlations. The results showed that spiritual experiences
and spiritual cognitions were most closely linked to altruism. Additionally, the findings showed
that the most important determinants of empathy and altruism are spiritual experiences,
underscoring the strong impact of spirituality on these prosocial qualities.
Pro-socialness
"Mediating Roles of Karma and Self-Enhancement in the Effect of Religious and Spiritual
Primes on Bystanders' Reporting Intention," a study by Sidharth Muralidharan, used correlational
analysis and comparison analysis. The results showed that karma mediated the impact of these
characteristics on the desire to report, and that religious ads were more successful than spiritual
ones at priming religiosity and spirituality in Hindus. Spiritual primes were more successful for
Christians, and the association between spirituality and reporting intention was mediated by self-
enhancement. Furthermore, Christians' reporting intentions were directly impacted by religious
primes, which had an effect on both spirituality and religiosity.
Spiritual-wellbeing
Richard J. Fehring, Patricia Flatley Brennan, Mary L. Keller (1987)
Two distinct correlational studies were done to look into the link between spirituality and
psychological mood states in response to life transition. In the first study, 95 freshmen nursing
students completed a spiritual well-being assessment, a spiritual maturity scale, a life-change
index, and a depression scale. The spiritual well-being index consisted of two subscales:
religious well-being and existential well-being. In the second study, 75 randomly selected
college students were given the aforesaid tests along with the Profile of Mood State index and a
spiritual attitude scale. The findings indicated a weak positive connection between life change
and depression. In contrast to a prior study, spiritual well-being, existential well-being, and
spiritual outlook revealed strong inverse associations with bad moods, demonstrating that
spiritual variables have positive influence on mental health of individuals.
Farahaninia Marhamat, F., etal (2015)
The purpose of this study is to determine the association between spiritual well-being and quality
of life among the elderly residents of Kahrizak Senior House in Tehran, Iran. It was an analytical
investigation. Following approval from the ethics committee of the Iran University of Medical
Sciences Research Deputy, the 141 elderly residents of Kahrizak Senior House who signed the
informed consent form were recruited through a census. Ellison and Palutzian used the Spiritual
Well-Being Index and Short Form Quality of Life (SF-36) to collect data. The mean score of
quality of life was (50.36 ± 11.3). The mean score of spiritual well-being was (96.26 ± 17.93).
There was a favorable association between spiritual well-being and quality of life (P = .008).
According to a favorable relationship between spiritual well-being and quality-of-life scores,
awareness of the importance of spiritual wellbeing in caring of these people is required
B.J.Landis, (1996)
The purpose of this study was to evaluate spiritual well-being as an internal coping resource for
mitigating the impact of uncertainty on psychosocial adjustment in 94 people with diabetes. Data
was collected using five instruments, and it was analyzed using descriptive, correlational,
multivariate, and content analysis approaches. The hypothesized negative relationship between
uncertainty and spiritual wellbeing was confirmed, with a larger link between the existential
well-being component of spiritual wellbeing and uncertainty than the religious well-being
component. Uncertainty accounted for 43% of the variance in psychosocial wellbeing, whereas
existential wellbeing contributed an additional 10%, implying that it acts as a buffer between
uncertainty and psychosocial health. The findings show that spiritual well-being may be a
significant internal resource for those who are compelled to adjust to ambiguity regarding
diabetics.
Barth
B. Riley PhD, Robert Perna PhD, Denise Tate PhD, Marty Forchheimer MPP, Cheryl And
erson MA, Gail Luera MS, (1997)
The aim of the study is to create a spiritual well-being classification to improve knowledge of the
relationship between spiritual well-being, quality of life (QOL), and health among those living
with chronic disease or disability. A taxonomy of spiritual well-being was developed using
cluster analyses. The analysis of variance was performed to compare cluster groups on various
aspects of quality of life. Part of a wider quality of life study undertaken at a midwestern medical
center. A convenience sample of 216 inpatients included amputation (n = 74), postpolio (n = 37),
spinal cord injury (n = 34), breast cancer (n = 36), and prostate cancer (n = 35). Minors were
excluded from the study.Main outcome measures include the Spiritual Well-Being Scale
(SWBS), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT), Functional Living Index-Cancer
(FLIC), Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), Medical Outcome Survey-Short Form (SF-36), and
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) .Three categories of spiritual well-being were identified:
religious (n = 146), existential (n = 37), and nonspiritual (n = 30). Significant cluster differences
(p <.03 to p <.001) were found in all QOL variables and life satisfaction. Compared to the other
cluster groups, the nonspiritual group reported considerably lower levels of QOL and life
satisfaction, as well as the highest proportion of health status change (both improvement and
decrease).
Spiritual/ Devotional /Religious Practices
S.K. Srivastava, & (UKIndia) K. C. Barmola, (2013) The current study seeks to learn about
the significance of Hindu rituals in spiritual practice. Spiritual psychology explores how the
spirit, mind, and body interact in the human experience. It bridges the gap between personal and
transpersonal domains, secular and holy, and normal and abnormal. Hinduism refers to India's
various intellectual and religious traditions. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact
of Hindu rituals on spiritual development. This is accomplished by analyzing a variety of papers
and publications about the current study. Finally, this study finds that Hindu rituals lead to
spirituality and can help with ego adjustment and transformation, understanding psychic
phenomena, maintaining health and wellness, the influence of remote prayer, and the relationship
between science and spirituality. It can be used to treat several mental disorders, including
schizophrenia, depression, mania, anxiety, and personality disorder.
Smith, S., & Melinda J. Suto, (2013)
To investigate the significance of religion and/or spiritual practices for those diagnosed with
schizophrenia. Nine individuals with schizophrenia living in the community participated in
interviews concerning the significance of religion and/or spirituality, as well as displayed self-
defined spiritual behaviors. Phenomenology, hermeneutic theory, and a symbolic interactionism
framework provided methodological and analytic support. Findings. Participants used religious
and/or spiritual practices to deal with schizophrenia symptoms and find meaning in their lives.
Individuals described their experiences using diverse meaning systems. Religious and/or spiritual
agency, or an individual's freedom to select among spiritual options, restored their sense of
empowerment.
Carter. T.M., (1998) The effects of spiritual practices on recovery from substance abuse.
This study contrasted two groups of recovered addicts: those who had been sober for a year and
those who had been sober for less than a year but had relapsed before. The spiritual practices
were assessed using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. The study found a positive
correlation between spiritual practices and long-term recovery from substance misuse.
Spiritual practices and Spiritual wellbeing
Jeani C. Thomas, etal, (2010)
This study was meant to provide more information about how women recover from breast
cancer. The specific goal was to describe the link between self-transcendence and spiritual well-
being, as well as to identify the spiritual practices undertaken by older women recuperating from
breast cancer. Reed's self-transcendence theory served as the study's theoretical basis. The study
included 87 women who lived in the community and had been diagnosed with breast cancer
within the previous five years. The results revealed a substantial positive link between self-
transcendence and spiritual well-being. The ladies engaged in an average of 9.72 spiritual
practices, with the most common being exercise, visiting a house of worship, and praying alone.
Salman, A., Yi-Hui Lee, (2019)
Spiritual well-being has been identified as particularly crucial for the general health of older
persons. This study collected data from a convenience sample (N = 150) to investigate the impact
of spiritual well-being on depression and self-perceived health, as well as describe spiritual
practices commonly used by Taiwanese elders. The study found that spiritual well-being was
favorably correlated with self-perceived health, adversely associated with depression, and
significantly moderated the association between depression and self-perceived health. Relaxation
and exercise were the most popular spiritual pursuits among Taiwanese elders. The findings of
this study confirm the importance of spiritual well-being in elders' health and contribute to the
body of information concerning the spiritual activities used by Taiwanese elders.
