What Do We Know About the Influence of Believers’ Religiosity on Happiness and Gratitude? – A Perspective for Clinical Practice

Abstract

Van-Son Huynh,1,* Gia-Phuoc Tran-Thien,1 Tri-Bao Nguyen,1,* Xuan Thanh Kieu Nguyen,2 Vu Hoang Anh Nguyen,3 Vinh-Long Tran-Chi1 1Faculty of Psychology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam; 2Faculty of Social Sciences and Public Relations, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH), Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam; 3Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Thu Duc City Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Tri-Bao Nguyen; Gia-Phuoc Tran-Thien, Faculty of Psychology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: The recognition of religion’s significance in mental health has led to several scientific advances in diagnosis or treatment. In contrast, Vietnam is a multi-religious Southeast Asian country with a large number of believers, but there is almost no research addressing the impact of religiosity among Vietnamese believers on mental health concerns such as depression, happiness, and gratitude.Participants and Methods: Our cross-sectional study was focused on Vietnamese believers (N = 374), surveyed directly at different religious facilities in Vietnam. The present study was evaluated utilizing the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) methodology.Results: The primary findings of the study indicate that (i) age was found to positively moderate the association between intrinsic religiosity and gratitude (β = 0.191, 95% CI [0.116, 0.277], p < 0.001); (ii) Intrinsic religiosity has a positive influence on depression-happiness scale (β = 0.276, 95% CI [0.168, 0.373], p < 0.001) and gratitude (β = 0.337, 95% CI [0.205, 0.466], p < 0.001); Moreover, (iii) gratitude has a positive influence on depression-happiness scale (β = 0.381, 95% CI [0.280, 0.491], p < 0.001); Finally, (iv) the study revealed that gratitude mediates the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and depression-happiness scale (β = 0.128, 95% CI [0.071, 0.197], p < 0.001).Discussion: The findings of this study suggest that gratitude could potentially play a significant role in comprehending the association between religiosity and the levels of depression and happiness experienced by religious individuals in Vietnam.Keywords: religiosity, intrinsic religiosity, depression, happiness, gratitude, Vietnam

Keywords

• religiosity
• intrinsic religiosity
• depression
• happiness
• gratitude
• vietnam.