Internal Dialogue as a Mediator in the Relationship Between Prayer and Well-Being

Abstract
Prayer, as spiritual communication with God, is a significant part of every major world religion and a frequent religious practice of believers across the globe. When people are praying, they are not only communicating with God (upward prayer), but in the presence of God they are also exploring their relationships with themselves (inward prayer) and with other people (outward prayer). According to Baesler (2012) prayerful communication creates and sustains these relationships, therefore we assume that internal dialogues can be involved in prayer. The aim of this article is to examine whether internal dialogues can be mediators in the relationship between upward, inward and outward prayer and well-being. A total of 223 respondents (160 female and 63 male) participated in the study. The Prayer Thoughts Scale by Ladd and Spilka, the Internal Dialogical Activity Scale by Oleś, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale by Ryff were applied to the research. The results showed that internal dialogue serves as a mediator for the relationship between inward, outward and upward prayer and well-being. Inward prayer increases ruminative and confronting dialogues, which in turn decrease well-being. Upward prayer increases well-being by lowering ruminative dialogues. Outward prayer enhances well-being through its effect on supportive dialogues. Additionally, social simulation dialogues, when affecting outward prayer, have a detrimental effect on well-being.
Description
Pliki zawierają dane uzyskane w badaniach nad związkiem trzech form modlitwy - ukierunkowanej siebie (Inward), Boga (Upward) i innych (Outward) - z dobrostanem, przy uwzględnieniu mediacji przez dialogi wewnętrzne. Dane zostały uzyskane w grupie 223 osób, którzy wypełnili zestaw kwestionariuszy: IDAS, PTS, oraz PWS. Należą do dziedziny nauk społecznych, dyscypliny psychologia.
Keywords
Inward Prayer, Upward Prayer, Outward Prayer, Internal Dialogues, Well-Being
Citation
ISBN