Our Publications

Our publications showcase the breadth and depth of our commitment to studying human flourishing across Christian cultures and contexts.

Counted, V., Long, K., Cowden, R., Witvliet, C. V., Cortright, A., Gibson, C., Walsh, J., Hathaway, W., Fernando, G., Johnson, B.R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025). Seeds of Hope: A Cross-National Analysis of Childhood Predictors of Hope in 22 Countries. Applied Quality of Life Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-025-10450-0  

Bradshaw, M., Counted, V., Lomas, T., Woodberry, R. D., VanderWeele, T. J., & Johnson, B. R. (2025, April 21). Cross-National and Demographic Variations in Daily Prayer or Meditation: Insights from the Global Flourishing Study. Scientific Reports. Advanced Online Publication.  https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/2x5jm_v1

VanderWeele, T. J., Johnson, B. R., Bialowolski, P. T., Bonhag, R., Bradshaw, M., Breedlove, T., Case, B., Chen, Y., Chen, Z. J., Counted, V., Cowden, R. G., de la Rosa, P. A., Felton, C., Fogleman, A., Gibson, C., Grigoropoulou, N., Gundersen, C., Jang, S. J., Johnson, K. A., Kent, B. V., Kim, E. S., Kim, Y. I., Koga, H. K., Lee, M. T., Le Pertel, N., Lomas, T., Long, K. N. G., Macchia, L., Makridis, C. A., Markham, L., Nakamura, J. S., Norman-Krause, N., Okafor, C. N., Okuzono, S. S., Ouyang, S., Padgett, R. N., Paltzer, J., Ritchie-Dunham, J. L., Ritter, Z., Shiba, K., Srinivasan, R., Ssozi, J., Weziak-Bialowolska, D., Wilkinson, R., Woodberry, R. D., Wortham, J., & Yancey, G. (2025). The Global Flourishing Study: Study profile and initial results on flourishing. Nature Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-025-00423-5 

Counted, V., Long, K., Johnson, B., Lee, M.T., Worthington Jr., E., Fogleman, A., Johnson, E., Garzon, F., Hathaway, W.L., VanderWeele, T., (2025). The Individual Domain of Christian Flourishing: Conceptual Foundations and Measurement Template. Journal of Psychology and Christianity 44(1), 15-38

Counted, V. (2025). An Introduction to the Science of Christian Flourishing: A Domain-Based Approach. Journal of Psychology and Christianity 44(1), 4-14

Counted, V., Purcell, E., Netz, D., Waldheim, D., Baum, L., Stephens, R., Gilbert, L., Cheong, W. T., Douglass, C., Harris, J., McQuade, G., Reasy, H., Schultz, L., Sheets, A., Smith, R., Sutherland, S., Williams, S., Garzon, F., & Fogleman, A. (2025). Holy Spirit Attachment: Theologizing and Operationalizing the Third Person of the Trinity as the Immediate Divine Attachment Figure. Journal of Psychology and Theology https://doi.org/10.1177/00916471251356982 

Long, K. N. G., Nakamura, J. S., Long, P. M., Gregg, R. J., Abraham, F., Counted, V., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025). Flourishing communities: The role of faith communities in the promotion of flourishing and the common good. Journal of Psychology and Christianity 44(1), 84-107.

Counted, V. (2025). The Will to Flourish: Reframing Suffering and Volition in Missional Therapy. Christian Psychology Around the World. The EMCAPP Journal 

Bradshaw, M., Counted, V., Lomas, T., Woodberry, R.D., VanderWeele, T.J., & Johnson, B.R. (2025). Childhood experiences and adult prayer or meditation in 22 countries around the world. Scientific Reports 15, 15083 [supplementary files]. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99796-x

Counted, V., Baum, L., Smith, R., Kane, A., Williams, S., Joynt, S., & Garzon, F. (2024). Do Daily Spiritual Experiences Moderate Relations Between Subjective Suffering and Psychological Distress Among Christians? Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evidence from a Sample of South African Adults. Journal of Psychology and Christianity 43(2), 152-170. 

Counted, V., Garzon, F., Hathaway, W.L., McKinzie, G., Stephens, R., Francis, L.J. (2024). Missional Psychotherapy: A Hermeneutic of Mental Health Care in Christian Counseling. Journal of Psychology and Christianity 43(2), 190-204. 

Long, K., Counted, V., Fogleman, A., Lee, M.T., Johnson, B.R., VanderWeele, T.J., (2024). Flourishing & the Church: Studying and Promoting the Flourishing of the Church in the 21st Century. Human Flourishing Program, Abundant Life Flourishing Program, Institute for Studies of Religion, ISR Special Report

Counted, V., Ramkissoon, H., Captari, L. E., & Cowden, R. G. (Eds.). (2023). Place, Spirituality, and Well-Being: A Global and Multidisciplinary Approach (Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach Vol. 7). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39582-6

Case, B., Counted, V., Ritchie-Dunham, J., Cowden, R., Gibson, C. Koga, H., Lomas, T., & Padgett, N. (2023). Beyond a single story: The hetrogeneity of human flourishing in 22 countries. International Journal of Wellbeing, 13(4), 3555, 1-35. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v13i4.3555

Counted, V., Ramkissoon, H., Captari, L. E., & Cowden, R. G. (2023). Toward a Global and Multidisciplinary Understanding of Place, Religion/Spirituality, and Well-Being. In Counted, V., Ramkissoon, H., Captari, L. E., & Cowden, R. G. (eds.), Place, Spirituality, and Well-Being: A Global and Multidisciplinary Approach (pp. 1-18). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39582-6_1 

Counted, V., Ramkissoon, H., Captari, L. E., & Cowden, R. G. (2023). Healing Systems of Well-Being and People-Place Interactions: Complexity, Context, and Connections. In Counted, V., Ramkissoon, H., Captari, L. E., & Cowden, R. G. (eds.), Place, Spirituality, and Well-Being: A Global and Multidisciplinary Approach (pp. 273-286). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39582-6_16

Counted, V. & Newheiser, D. (2023). How Place Shapes the Aspirations of Hope: The Allegory of the Privileged and the Underprivileged. The Journal of Positive Psychology. Online publication ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2023.2257654 

Counted, V., Meagher, B., & Cowden, R. (2023). The Nature of Spiritual Ties to Place: A Conceptual Overview and Research Agenda. Ecopsychology. Ahead of print https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2022.0078

Kent, B. V., Cowden, R. G., Counted, V., Davis, E. B., Rueger, S. Y., & Worthington Jr, E. L. (2022). Do Religious/Spiritual Resources Moderate the Association Between Suffering and Religious/Spiritual Struggles? A Three‐Wave Longitudinal Study of US Adults with Chronic Illness. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 61(3-4)642-662 https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12808 

Captari, L. E., Cowden, R. G., Sandage, S. J., Davis, E. B., Bechara, A. O., Joynt, S., & Counted, V. (2022). Religious/spiritual struggles and depression during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in the Global South: Evidence of moderation by positive religious coping and hope. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality 14(3), 325–337. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000474 

Cowden, R. G., Rueger, S. Y., Davis, E. B., Counted, V., Kent, B. V., Chen, Y., VanderWeele, T. J., Rim, M., Lemke, A. W., & Worthington, E. L.(2022). Resource loss, positive religious coping, and suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective cohort study of US adults with chronic illness. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 25(3), 288-304. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2021.1948000

Counted, V., Pargament, K. I., Bechara, A. O., Joynt, S., & Cowden, R. G. (2022). Hope and well-being in vulnerable contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic: Does religious coping matter? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 17(1), 70-81. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1832247