This report is one of a series designed to support Air Force leaders in promoting resilience among its Airmen, civilian employees, and Air Force families. It examines the relationship between spiritual fitness and resilience, using key constructs found in the scientific literature: a spiritual worldview, personal religious or spiritual practices, support from a spiritual community, and spiritual coping. The literature shows that possessing a sense of meaning and purpose in life is strongly positively related to quality of life and improved health and functioning. The authors find that diverse types of spiritual interventions are linked to improved resilience and well-being. These interventions focus mainly on the individual, but some address the military unit, the family, and the community.

"RR-100-AF"--Page 4 of cover. "Prepared for the United States Air Force."

1. The context of this report -- 2. Spiritual fitness definition and key constructs -- Definition -- Key constructs and metrics of spiritual fitness -- Prominent metrics of spiritual fitness related to key constructs -- Spiritual worldview -- Personal religious or spiritual practices and rituals -- Support from a spiritual community -- Spiritual coping -- Evidence suggests that spiritual fitness may protect against suicide, although not in all situations -- 3. Interventions to promote spiritual fitness -- Spiritual interventions generally focus on individuals; fewer interventions address the unit, family, and community levels -- Individual-level interventions -- Unit-level interventions -- Family-level interventions -- Community-level interventions -- Diversity of religious and spiritual beliefs suggests that resilience efforts should consider culturally appropriate interventions -- 4. Concluding thoughts -- Recommendation 1 : expand support for diverse spiritual needs within the air force community -- Recommendation 2 : leverage existing evidence-based guidance on implementing spiritual interventions -- Recommendation 3 : explore alternative approaches to enhancing spiritual fitness -- Recommendation 4 : consider non-spirituality-specific interventions.