The Mediating Effect of Religious Attitude on the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Covid-19 Fear

Abstract

The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, which has significantly affected the entire globe for the past three years, has also influenced daily life and mental well-being in various ways. Many studies have emphasized that the use of religion as a coping mechanism can be an effective factor in improving mental health. Therefore, this study examines the cross-sectional relationship between religious attitude, mindfulness, and Covid-19 fear besides the Covid-19 anxiety levels that individuals are exposed to and evaluates the mediating role of religiosity in this relationship. A survey of 440 participants with most were female (80.2%) and single (68.2%) were obtained online by random sampling. The demographic results indicated that women exhibited a higher level of Covid-19 fear compared to men, showing a significant difference. In religious attitude and mindfulness scores, there was no significant difference observed by gender. The correlational analysis demonstrated that a higher fear of Covid-19 was significantly linked to lower levels of mindfulness and religious attitude, but it did not show any significant association with religious coping. The mediational analysis indicated that religious attitude acts as a partial mediator in the association between trait mindfulness and fear of Covid-19, implying that the impact of mindfulness on fear of Covid-19 was explained by the influence of religious attitude. While limitations of the study design exist, the findings suggest that belief-based behaviors may play an active role in mental health management during crises, and strategies that promote religious attitudes and mindfulness during times of life crises requires further investigations.