Context: Results of meta-analyses show weak associations between religiosity and well-being, but are based on divergent definitions of religiosity. Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis was to... Show moreContext: Results of meta-analyses show weak associations between religiosity and well-being, but are based on divergent definitions of religiosity. Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the magnitude of the associations between God representations and aspects of psychological functioning. Based on object-relations and attachment theory, the study discerns six dimensions of God representations: Two positive affective God representations, three negative affective God representations, and God control. Associations with well-being and distress and with self-concept, relationships with others and neuroticism were examined. Methods: The meta-analysis was based on 123 samples out of 112 primary studies with 348 effect sizes from in total 29,963 adolescent and adult participants, with a vast majority adherent of a theistic religion. Results: The analyses, based on the random-effects model, yielded mostly medium effect sizes (r = .25 to r = .30) for the associations of positive God representations with well-being, and for the associations of two out of three negative God representations with distress. Associations of God representations with self-concept, relationships with others and neuroticism were of the same magnitude. Various moderator variables could not explain the relatively high amount of heterogeneity. The authors found no indications of publication bias. Conclusion: The observed effect sizes are significantly stronger than those generally found in meta-analyses of associations between religiousness and well-being/mental health. Results demonstrate the importance of focusing on God representations instead of on behavioral or rather global aspects of religiosity. Several implications with respect to assessment, clinical practice, and future research are discussed. Show less
Social anxiety disorder (SAD), an impairing and often chronic psychiatric disorder (1), has a lifetime prevalence between 6 and 13% (2–5) and is prevailing worldwide (6). At present, treatment for... Show moreSocial anxiety disorder (SAD), an impairing and often chronic psychiatric disorder (1), has a lifetime prevalence between 6 and 13% (2–5) and is prevailing worldwide (6). At present, treatment for SAD is often suboptimal (7–10). Insight in the neurobiological changes underlying the socially-anxious brain is of utmost importance to improve preventive and therapeutic interventions.Until now, several studies have examined alterations in brain structure associated with SAD, by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This method enables investigating changes in gray matter (GM) (11). Results of MRI studies on GM characteristics related to SAD show, however, little consistency and have small effect sizes (12–14).Recently, Wang et al. (15) described a voxel-based meta-analysis on GM volume (GMV) differences between SAD-patients and healthy participants. Such a meta-analytic review is very welcome in order to quantitatively summarize the results of previously published studies and to further increase our understanding of SAD-related GMV alterations. Unfortunately, the paper did not live up to its promise. Wang et al. state that SAD is associated with increased cortical and decreased subcortical GMVs, but these conclusions cannot be deduced from their data. Here, we want to point out several shortcomings that seriously affect this work. Show less
