Does Spirituality Mediate the Relationship between Environmental Stressors and Psychological Wellbeing in Distressed Unemployed People?

Abstract

A sample of 231 unemployed adults was surveyed using scales tapping psychological distress, the latent and manifest benefits of employment, and spirituality (connectedness, universality, prayer fulfillment, attendance at worship). It was hypothesised that the latent and manifest benefits would be associated with wellbeing; spirituality would be associated with wellbeing; spirituality would be associated with the latent and manifest benefits; and spirituality would mediate the relationship between the latent and manifest benefits and psychological distress. The latent and manifest benefits were associated with psychological wellbeing in the expected direction, with the strongest associations existing between wellbeing and financial deprivation; and social support and time structure. One spirituality dimension—prayer fulfilment—was positively associated with wellbeing, and adults reporting higher spirituality also reported greater access to the latent, but not manifest, benefits. Finally, spirituality mediated the relationship between the latent benefits of employment (social support and collective purpose) and wellbeing. Results are discussed in the context of the latent deprivation and agency restriction theories of wellbeing and unemployment. Practical implications are highlighted.