The Role of Spirituality in Psychological Well-Being: An Integrative Review

Abstract

Psychological well-being has been increasingly conceptualized as a multidimensional construct encompassing emotional, cognitive, and existential dimensions of human functioning. Within this framework, spirituality has emerged as a central determinant of well-being, particularly through its role in meaning-making, resilience, and adaptive coping processes. In recent years, growing empirical attention has been directed toward understanding how spiritual beliefs, practices, and experiences contribute to individuals’ psychological adjustment across both clinical and non-clinical populations. This review synthesizes recent empirical and clinical findings examining the relationship between spirituality and psychological well-being across diverse populations and contexts. Evidence consistently demonstrates that spiritual well-being is positively associated with resilience, life satisfaction, and psychological adjustment, while inversely related to hopelessness, psychological distress, and maladaptive outcomes such as suicidal behavior (Kuang et al., 2026; Saedi et al., 2024; Hojatitabar et al., 2025). Moreover, spirituality appears to function as a protective resource in individuals facing chronic illness by enhancing coping strategies, emotional regulation, and perceived social support (Gkountinaki et al., 2025; Çakmak et al., 2024). However, the literature also highlights the complexity and multidimensionality of spirituality, as negative spiritual experiences—such as spiritual struggle or conflict—may increase vulnerability to psychological distress and poorer mental health outcomes (Hojatitabar et al., 2025). Overall, spirituality is best understood as an integrative system operating across personal, relational, and transcendental domains, contributing significantly to psychological well-being and offering important implications for future research and clinical practice.