Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in major stressors such as unemployment, financial insecurity, sickness, separation from family members, and isolation for much of the world population. These stressors have been linked to mental health difficulties for parents and caregivers. Religion and spirituality (R/S), on the other hand, is often viewed as promotive of mental health. However, the mechanisms by which R/S might promote mental health for parents during the pandemic remain unclear. Thus, this longitudinal study explores how R/S is associated with better caregiver mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic through higher levels of positive coping skills. A sample of N = 549 caregivers (parents and other adults in childrearing roles) across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia were recruited through the Prolific® research panel [67.8% female; age M = 41.33 years (SD = 6.33), 72.3% White/European]. Participants were assessed on measures of psychological distress, coping, R/S, and COVID-19 disruption at three time points between May and November 2020. Cross-lagged panel analysis revealed that caregiver coping mediated the relationship between caregiver R/S and caregiver mental health. Findings highlight a mechanism through which R/S naturally conveys a mental health benefit during periods of social disruption, which may provide an important target for public health promotion and clinical intervention.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented social disruption, including prolonged isolation and loss of physical contact, financial insecurity, marked change in routines, and a fundamental shift to family life for billions around the world
Religion and spirituality should be studied as a factor that relates to mental health during disasters due to (a) the overwhelming presence of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices around the world and (b) the capacity for religious and spiritual beliefs to provide a powerful lens through which individuals and families can make meaning of the events that occur in their lives (Cherry et al, 2015; Aten et al, 2019; Walsh, 2020)
There was a directional relationship where religion and spirituality (R/S) in May predicted coping in September, which predicted mental health in November 2020, all in the hypothesized directions
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented social disruption, including prolonged isolation and loss of physical contact, financial insecurity, marked change in routines, and a fundamental shift to family life for billions around the world. Religion and spirituality should be studied as a factor that relates to mental health during disasters due to (a) the overwhelming presence of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices around the world and (b) the capacity for religious and spiritual beliefs to provide a powerful lens through which individuals and families can make meaning of the events that occur in their lives (Cherry et al, 2015; Aten et al, 2019; Walsh, 2020). In the developmental and family literature, resilience is most often defined as a process through which individuals or families experience adaptation despite adversity, usually through the presence of a protective factor that offsets this risk (Luthar et al, 2000), such as positive coping ability (Walsh, 2016a,b) This terminology is valuable as it reflects an understanding of resilience as a process that results in well-being and mental health. Individual differences in R/S were expected to instantiate a directional pathway which led to better coping and mental health outcomes as the pandemic unfolded
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