Linking Basic Beliefs and Spiritual Well-Being: Evidence From Russia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2026.10.1.380

Abstract

Well-being and mental health are considered to be fundamentally influenced by implicit, global, and stable beliefs about the world and oneself. These beliefs shape a person’s perception of certain life situations, their attitudes toward these situations, and the behavioral strategies they choose. This study aims to ascertain the precise nature of the relationship between spiritual well-being and its components and basic beliefs. A total of 959 Russian-speaking respondents aged 14 to 72 were included in the study sample. Spiritual well-being that includes two subscales—religious and existential well-being—was assessed using the Spiritual Well-Being Scale by Paloutzian and Ellison, as adapted by Bakushkin and Ershova (2025). Basic beliefs—Benevolence of the World, Luck, Justice, Beliefs about Control, Self-Worth—were assessed using the World Assumptions Scale by Janoff-Bulman, as adapted by Padun and Kotelnikova (2008). Along with these scales, mathematical and statistical data processing methods were employed. For religious well-being, Luck showed the greatest predictive power. In the multivariate model, the negative influence of Beliefs about Control increased. For existential well-being, the Luck, Benevolence of the World, and Justice subscales served as positive predictors, explaining 51.9% of the variance in the dependent variable. For spiritual well-being, these same predictors explained 42.4% of the variance. Results showed that the Beliefs about Control subscale was a negative predictor of spiritual well-being. Meanwhile, the Self-Worth scale tended to be negatively associated with spiritual well-being. The models demonstrated the greatest explanatory power for existential (29.2%) and spiritual (26.9%) well-being, while the contribution to religious well-being (19.2%) was less pronounced. These findings could inform the development of spiritually integrated counselling and meaning-centered interventions for Russian-speaking clients.

Author Biographies

Ivan A. Bakushkin, Department for Missionary Work and Youth Affairs of the Kolomna Diocese, Kolomna

Ivan A. Bakushkin is the Chairman of the Department of Missionary Work and Youth Affairs of the Kolomna Diocese of the Moscow Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church. Rector of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in Kolomna. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the organization for orphans and adults with mental health disorders (Dobryi dom “Kolomenskii”). In 2021, he graduated from the Family Psychology program at RUDN University and completed the postgraduate course, "Researcher. Teacher-Researcher of Psychological Sciences." In 2022, he completed the Clinical (Medical) Psychology program at Lomonosov Moscow State University. In 2023, he underwent professional retraining at Moscow State University's Faculty of Law, specializing in forensic examinations. At the invitation of the faculty, he became a member of the International Association of Experts in Psychology and Law.

Regina V. Ershova, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow

Regina V. Ershova, Dr. Sci. (Psychology), Professor, Full Professor of Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Faculty of Philology, RUDN University. Research area: psychology of health and well-being, cognitive psychology, cyber psychology, educational psychology. She graduated from Voronezh State University in 1988 and earned her PhD in psychology in 1998. In 2010, she successfully defended her Doctoral dissertation, which examined orderliness as a systemic property of personality. She is the author of more than 200 works, including articles and chapters in monographs. She hosts international conferences on Stanley Milgram's obedience paradigm; she also participated in an international study of time perspective (Philip Zimbardo). Her current research interests include digital transformation in psychological processes, personality traits, and well-being.

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Published
2026-04-17
How to Cite
Bakushkin, I., & Ershova, R. (2026). Linking Basic Beliefs and Spiritual Well-Being: Evidence From Russia. Changing Societies & Personalities, 10(1), 193-210. doi:10.15826/csp.2026.10.1.380
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Vol. 10, No. 1 (2026)
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