Cognitive-Behavioral-Related Prayer Types and Mental Health Relations among Muslim Samples

Abstract

Psychological and subjective well-being depends on how an individual feels about his/her life and how he/she responds to life events. Individually, the person may unconsciously feel all external events occurring beyond his/her control in his cognitive schemas. Especially considering mental health, the influence of religious beliefs and practices on various components of mental well-being has emerged as one of the most studied topics in the psychology of religion in recent years. Most studies have focused on the role of religion in seeking answers about individuals' search for meaning and their reactions to life events. There is a prevalent finding that prayer plays a constructive role in the lives of individuals faced with life’s difficulties and exposed to stressors. Thus, for scientists over the past few decades, the possible application of the cognitive behavioral framework within the psychology of religion has become a key element of both subjective and psychological well-being. Using theoretical applications as to the relationship between religiosity and mental health, it was appeared that various prayer measures are predominantly derived from Christian religious norms and beliefs. However, non-Christian religions have been mostly disregarded in such inquiries. More specifically, the links between religiosity and mental health among Muslim individuals have been neglected even though there are several forms of religious behavior in Islam that are of great importance to the daily lives of believers. Therefore, the current research aims to investigate the link between different types of Islamic prayer and indicators of well-being using the cognitive-behavioral mechanism among Muslim individuals. An online link was used to recruit participants from many Islamic student communities and several worship places in different cities/regions of England in this study. The online questionnaire composed of six prayer types (obligatory, necessary, voluntarily, supererogatory, supplication, and invocation prayers), six psychological well-being domains (autonomy, environmental mastery, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, and purpose in life), and two subjective well-being domains (life satisfaction, and positive and negative affects). The representative sample consisted of 214 participants (female= 145, male= 69), aged between 18 and 66 (M = 27.01, SD = 8.80). The results of the correlational analysis indicated that obligatory (fard) prayer, voluntarily (sunna) prayer, supplication (duʿāʾ) prayer and invocation (dhikr/remembrance of God) prayer have positive relationship with the well-being variables, while no correlation of necessary (wājib) prayer and supererogatory (nawāfil) prayer with any of the well-being variables is appeared. The results of the multiple regression analysis showed that obligatory, voluntarily, and necessary prayers were not predictors of psychological or subjective well-being variables. Although only the type of supererogatory prayer was found to be predictive, the relationship was in the opposite direction. In addition, the supplication prayer accounted for the unique variance in predicting the psychological well-being scores, while the invocation prayer accounted for the unique variance in predicting subjective well-being. In light of James and Wells’ cognitive and behavioral models, the present study has identified only the types of supplication and invocation prayer as important factors that have a positive effect for individuals in providing psychological support for them. Therefore, the presented data suggest that people are more like to have better psychological and subjective well-being when their prayers take the form of a supplication prayer and invocation prayer in which they rely on God for guidance and support and refresh their thinking through feeling God’s presence. As can be seen from the present findings, it is important to consider the applicability of belief structures in specific community settings. Here, both the theoretical framework and practical direction can contribute to an understanding being held as to the relationship between Muslim prayer types and mental well-being and provides guidance for health practitioners regarding how different prayer models can lead individuals to have better well-being.

Keywords

• Psychology of Religion
• Mental Health
• Cognitive-Behavioral Model
• Prayer Types
• Muslim Individuals

Müslüman Örneklemler Arasında Bilişsel-Davranışla İlişkili Dua Türleri ve Ruh Sağlığı İlişkisi

Öz

Psikolojik ve öznel iyi oluş, bireyin yaşamı hakkında nasıl hissettiğine ve yaşam olaylarına nasıl tepki verdiğine bağlıdır. Bireysel olarak kişi, kontrolü dışında gerçekleşen tüm dış olayları bilişsel şemalarında istemsizce hissedebilir. Özellikle ruh sağlığı göz önüne alındığında, son yıllarda dini inanç ve uygulamaların ruh sağlığının çeşitli bileşenleri üzerindeki etkisi, din psikolojisinde en çok çalışılan konulardan biri olarak ortaya çıkmaktadır. Çoğu çalışma, bireylerin anlam arayışları ve yaşam olaylarına tepkileri hakkında cevaplar ararken dinin rolüne odaklanmıştır. Hayatın zorluklarıyla karşılaşan ve strese maruz kalan bireylerin yaşamlarında ibadetlerin onarıcı bir rol oynadığına dair yaygın bir kanı vardır. Bu nedenle, son birkaç yılda bilim adamları için, bilişsel davranışçı çerçevenin din psikolojisi içindeki olası uygulaması hem öznel hem de psikolojik iyi oluşun kilit bir unsuru haline gelmiştir. Dindarlık ve ruh sağlığı arasındaki ilişkiye ilişkin teorik uygulamalar kullanılarak, çeşitli dua biçimlerinin ağırlıklı olarak Hıristiyan dini norm ve inançlarından türetildiği ortaya çıkmaktadır. Ancak, bu tür araştırmalarda Hıristiyan olmayan dinler çoğunlukla göz ardı edilmiştir. Daha spesifik olarak, İslam'da inananların günlük yaşamlarında büyük önem taşıyan çeşitli dini davranış biçimleri olmasına rağmen, Müslüman bireyler arasında dindarlık ve ruh sağlığı arasındaki bağlantılar ihmal edilmiştir. Bu nedenle, mevcut araştırma, Müslüman bireyler arasında bilişsel-davranışçı mekanizmayı kullanarak farklı İslami dua türleri ile iyi oluş hali göstergeleri arasındaki bağlantıyı araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu çalışmada İngiltere'nin farklı şehirlerinde/bölgelerinde birçok İslami öğrenci topluluğundan ve çeşitli ibadet yerlerinden katılımcı toplamak için çevrimiçi bir anket linki kullanılmıştır. Online anket altı dua türünden (farz, vacip, sünnet, nafile, dua ve zikir formlarından), altı psikolojik iyi bileşenlerinden (özerklik, çevresel hakimiyet, başkalarıyla olumlu ilişkiler, kişisel gelişim, kendini kabul ve yaşamda amaç) ve iki öznel iyi oluş bileşeninden (hayat memnuniyeti ve olumlu ve olumsuz etkiler) oluşmaktadır. Temsili örneklem, yaşları 18 ile 66 arasında (Ort. = 27.01, SS = 8.80) olan 214 katılımcıdan (Kadın= 145, Erkek= 69) oluşmaktadır. Korelasyon analizi sonuçları, farz namaz, sünnet namaz, sözlü dua ve zikir/Allah'ı anmanın iyi oluş hali değişkenleri ile pozitif bir ilişkiye sahip olduğunu, ancak vacip ve nafile namazların iyi oluş hali değişkenleriyle herhangi bir korelasyon göstermediğini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Çoklu regresyon analizi sonuçları, farz, sünnet ve vacip namazların psikolojik veya öznel iyi oluş değişkenlerinin yordayıcıları olmadığını göstermiştir. Sadece nafile namazın türü yordayıcı bulunsa da bu ilişki tam tersi yöndedir. Ek olarak, dua ibadeti psikolojik iyi oluş puanlarını tahmin etmedeki benzersiz varyansı açıklarken, zikir ibadeti ise öznel iyi oluşu tahmin etmedeki benzersiz değişkenliği açıklamaktadır. James ve Wells'in bilişsel ve davranışçı modelleri ışığında, bu çalışma sadece dua ve zikir ibadetlerini, bireylere psikolojik destek sağlamada olumlu etkisi olan önemli faktörler olarak belirlemiştir. Dolayısıyla sunulan veriler, kişilerin ibadetleri, rehberlik ve destek için Tanrı'ya güvendikleri ve Tanrı'nın varlığını hissederek düşüncelerini tazeledikleri bir dua ve zikir modelini aldığında daha iyi psikolojik ve öznel iyi oluşa sahip olma olasılıklarının daha yüksek olduğunu göstermektedir. Mevcut bulgulardan görülebileceği gibi, inanç yapılarının belirli topluluk ortamlarında uygulanabilirliğini göz önünde bulundurmak önemlidir. Burada hem teorik çerçeve hem de pratik yön, Müslüman dua türleri ile zihinsel iyi oluş arasındaki ilişkiye ilişkin bir anlayışa katkıda bulunabilir ve sağlık uygulayıcılarına farklı dua modellerinin bireyleri daha iyi bir iyi oluşa nasıl yönlendirebileceği konusunda rehberlik edebilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Din Psikolojisi
• Ruh Sağlığı
• Bilişsel-Davranışçı Model
• Dua Türleri
• Müslüman Bireyler.

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