Abstract
As reported in McBride et al., 2020, Seventh-day Adventists are one of the few Churches that prohibit the consumption of alcohol and tobacco as a condition of membership and promote a vegetarian diet. These positions are called the Health Message. This paper examines the relationship between personal adherence to the health message and perceived happiness. The data are from a global survey collected by trained research teams. A multistage sampling approach we used to ensure variance in type and location of Adventist churches. The authors of this study are responsible for the meta-analysis of the global data. The study N was about 54,000. Overall, 85% agreed or strongly agree that the health message was core to the Adventist church and could not be questioned with 81% agreeing or strongly agreeing that the health message has been supported by science. However, over 45% agree or strongly agree that they could chose which parts of the health message to follow. The majority (53%) of those who adhered to the health message a great deal reported being very happy (r=.13 p<.001). However, the next most very happy group, 42%, were those who never adhered to the health message. These data suggest the complex relationship between perception of the Adventist health message and happiness. It was those in the middle of the scale who were the least likely to report being very happy whereas those at the extremes were more likely to report being very happy.
Presenters
Duane McBrideSenior Research Professor, Director, Institute for the Prevention of Addictions, Andrews Univeristy, Michigan, United States Rene Drumm
Professor, Social Work, University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Health Promotion and Education
KEYWORDS
Happiness, Health, Adherence
