Positive Effects of Adversity on Religiosity, Spirituality and Depression: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis

The current study aimed to systematically examine the positive effects of adversity on the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and depression. The search for studies involved 7 databases (via EBSCOhost), involving studies of the past 23 years from the year 2000 to 2022. The general search included keywords such as religion, religiosity, spirituality, adversity, stressful life experiences, and depression. Data was synthesised using a narrative synthesis approach. The extracted data were coded and grouped into themes, revealing relationships between adversity, religiosity, spirituality, and depression. The themes concerning contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes were then synthesised to identify emerging contexts and outcomes. The review found that, despite posing the risk of psychological distress in the short term, adversity could provide differential spiritual receptivity: a long-term morphological advantage for spiritual receptivity, growth and mental resilience. The protective effects of spirituality against depression (by significantly reducing the onset of depression and diminishing the probability of episode relapses) appear more significant in people who experience severe adversity. In contrast, religiosity appears more potent in individuals who experience less severe adversity. The research and clinical practice implications of these findings are also discussed. Keywords: religiosity, spirituality, depression, adversity, suffering, differential spiritual receptivity