Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41044844›Full record

ArticleStress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress2025

Between Vulnerability and Connection: Longitudinal Evidence on the Impact of Transformative Religious/Spiritual Experiences.

Zhuo Job Chen, Renae Wilkinson, Richard G Cowden

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Between Vulnerability and Connection: Longitudinal Evidence on the Impact of Transformative Religious/Spiritual Experiences.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Zhuo Job ChenSchool of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0839-1627
Renae WilkinsonHuman Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Richard G CowdenHuman Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9027-4253

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Transformative religious/spiritual experiences (RSE) represent a subset of extraordinary experiences that are both self-destabilizing and relational in nature. This double-edged quality positions transformative RSE as both a potential source of psychological vulnerability and a catalyst for enhanced social connectedness. This study investigates the antecedents and outcomes of transformative RSE using a nationally representative longitudinal sample of 10,529 young adults from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health T0 (1994-1995), T1 (2001-2002), and T2 (2008). We examined associations of reporting a transformative RSE at T1 (late adolescence) on a broad range of physical, mental, behavioural, and social health and wellbeing indicators assessed at T2 (early adulthood). Primary analyses controlled for an extensive set of covariates assessed at T0 (early adolescence), with sensitivity analyses employing both liberal (T0 sociodemographic characteristics only) and conservative (contemporaneous covariates taken from T1) adjustment strategies. Antecedents (T0 correlates) of transformative RSE included adverse childhood environments, negative parental dynamics, and heightened religious involvement. Consistent T2 outcomes of transformative RSE involved some markers of mental and social vulnerability (i.e., PTSD diagnosis and loneliness), as well as increased prosocial engagement (i.e., volunteering and voting). These findings support the theorized double-edged sword effect of transformative RSE and suggest the potential role of meaning-making and integration in shaping long-term psychological and social outcomes.

Indexed as

Religion and PsychologySocial VulnerabilitySpiritualityAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleYoung Adultadd health datasetconnectednessprosocialtransformative religious/spiritual experiencesvolunteering

Identifiers

PMID41044844
PMCPMC12495122

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.