ArticlePloS one2025
"Which comes first": Religious/spiritual engagement or health? Initial observations from longitudinal analyses.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Cross-Lagged Associations Between Spiritual-Religious Support and Subjective Health Across 23 Societies: Cross-Level Moderation by Healthcare Access and Quality.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveReligious and spiritual (R/S) engagement is generally associated with better health. However, it is not known which comes first between R/S engagement and health due to a lack of longitudinal studies. We examined this issue in a sample assessed six years apart.
methodsUsing a large nationwide sample (N = 3,010 at Wave 1; n = 607 at Wave 2) and structural equation modeling (SEM), we developed composite latent measures of R/S engagement and self-rated physical health (SRH). R/S engagement included identity, prayer, commitment, attendance, and coping. SRH included two subjective ratings of health alongside number of chronic illnesses. We examined the measurement invariance and reciprocal relationships of R/S engagement and SRH at two timepoints (six years apart), and controlled for multiple demographic variables (age, sex, education, income, race/ethnicity) as well as R/S engagement or SRH at Wave 1. We then assessed whether the strength of their relationships with each other differed.
resultsHigher R/S engagement at Wave 1 significantly predicted better SRH at Wave 2 (β =.07, b = 0.09, SE = 0.04, p =.026), whereas higher SRH at Wave 1 did not significantly predict higher R/S engagement at Wave 2 (β =.02, b = 0.03, SE = 0.03, p =.224); however, such associations were not significantly different. Post-hoc weighted analyses indicated the findings were driven by older participants.
conclusionOur findings demonstrate that R/S engagement predicts better SRH six years later, whereas better SRH does not significantly predict future R/S engagement. Future areas of growth in the R/S and health research field include addressing heterogeneity in the measurement of both constructs, increasing sample diversity/representation, and considering contextual nuances. Experimental methods or multiple-timepoint data, with a focus on mediators (e.g., inflammation), may help further disentangle the longitudinal relationships between R/S engagement and self-rated health.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.