René Gallardo-Vergara
Universidad Austral de Chile, Puerto Montt, Chile
Patricio Silva-Maragaño
Hospital Félix Bulnes Cerda, Santiago, Chile
Yasna Castro-Aburto
Colegio San Miguel, Calbuco, Chile
Abstract
Although currently there is evidence of the positive effects of religiousness and spirituality on mental health, reports also account for mixed effects, and even adverse effects have been reported on people’s mental health. In this sense, the present paper aimed to review literature about the negative effects that religiousness and/or spirituality can have on mental health and to identify the main facets or dimensions associated with these effects, according to the evidence. For this, the EBSCO, AnnualReview, PubMed, MedLine, PsycINFO, SciELO, LILACS, and PEPSIC databases were researched for the years between 2010 and 2019. As the main conclusion, the present discoveries confirm that certain religious and / or spiritual aspects negatively influence a person’s mental health. Finally, the main results garnered from the review, its limitations, and future research projections are discussed.
Keywords: Religiousness, Spirituality, Negative Psychological Effects, Mental Health
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