The Relationship Between Spirituality and Religiosity on Psychological Outcomes in Adolescents and Emerging Adults: a Meta-analytic Review

The present study used meta-analytic techniques to examine the association between spirituality and religiosity (S/R) and psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults. The outcome measures of risk behavior, depression, well-being, self-esteem, and personality were examined with respect to the influence of S/R across 75 independent studies encompassing 66,273 adolescents and emerging adults extracted from electronic databases between 1990 and 2010. Results showed significant main effect sizes of S/R with several outcomes: risk behavior, -.17; depression, -.11; well-being, .16; self-esteem, .11; and the personality measures of Conscientiousness, .19; Agreeableness, .18; Openness, .14. Moderating effects were found for age, race, and type of S/R measure. Results show that S/R has a positive effect on psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults. Possible explanations and implications of these results are discussed.