Existential Well-Being Mediates the Relationship Between Religious Well-Being and Mental Health as Well as Quality of Life in Polish Chronic Pain Patients: Longitudinal Pilot Study

Chronic pain is a common medical challenge in Poland. Its impact is particularly significant because it affects all dimensions of patients' lives. Interestingly, the psychological and spiritual dimensions of quality of life appear to be closely intertwined. There is a scarcity of research explaining the beneficial or detrimental roles of religious coping on well-being in chronic pain patients. However, research on other populations indicates the importance of the existential factor within the two-dimensional spiritual well-being theory. We hypothesize that religious well-being is indirectly linked to mental health and quality of life through its role in facilitating meaning and purpose in life. We recruited 58 non-cancer chronic pain patients at the Pain Management Clinic of the University Clinical Hospital in Poznań, Poland, and examined them in two waves with a three-month interval between February and July 2025. The statistical analysis indicated that religious well-being significantly reduces depression and anxiety and increases quality of life, indirectly through improving existential well-being. We conclude that while belief in God may offer comfort, the psychological benefits of religiosity are conditional and depend on whether it fosters adaptive meaning-making. Purpose and hope may or may not be rooted in religious frameworks. These findings underscore the need for implementing interventions for patients with chronic pain in Poland, which focus on finding meaning and purpose-such as meaning-centered therapy or spiritually oriented conversations in clinical settings.