Examining the proximal relationship between religious coping and depression among trauma-exposed adults

Abstract

ABSTRACT Depression is a common consequence of sexual victimisation. Although religious coping has been previously studied within the context of sexual victimisation, there is a dearth of research examining the potential reciprocal relationships between religious coping and depression among adults with a history of sexual victimisation at the daily level. The current study addresses this important gap by leveraging an intensive longitudinal design and data analysis to explore bidirectional daily relations between religious coping and depression symptoms in a community sample of adults with a history of sexual victimisation. Participants were 84 individuals with a history of sexual assault who self-identified as religious (M age = 37.43, 67.5% women, 83.1% White). Cross-lagged models showed that prior-day religious coping positively predicted next-day depression symptoms, whereas prior-day depression did not predict next-day religious coping. Findings underscore the potential utility of religious coping in the detection and treatment of depression in this population.