Religious/Spiritual Coping, Emotion Regulation, Psychological Well-Being, and Life Satisfaction among University Students

Abstract

Previous research has found that religious/spiritual coping, which is generally understood as the use of cognitive and behavioral strategies based on an individual’s beliefs and values to deal with stress, benefits individuals’ well-being, and life satisfaction. The current study examined this link in a sample of Portuguese university students and explored the mediating role of emotion regulation (ER; in terms of strategies and overall abilities) on the relation between religious/spiritual coping and psychological well-being and life satisfaction. A total of 109 Portuguese university students (69.7% female; Mage = 32.05; SD = 13.16) were included in this cross-sectional study. Data were analyzed using PROCESS macro. Results indicated that both negative and positive religious/spiritual coping were linked to lower life satisfaction and diminished psychological well-being. These effects appear to be explained by an increase in difficulties related to ER but not by the use of specific ER strategies, such as expressive suppression or cognitive reappraisal. These findings suggest that religious/spiritual coping and ER could be significant factors in promoting the psychological functioning of university students, especially in terms of psychological well-being.