Race and religion: differential prediction of anxiety symptoms by religious coping in African American and European American young adults

Abstract

Psychosocial factors, including religious coping, consistently have been implicated in the expression of anxiety disorders. This study sought to investigate the relationship between religious coping on anxiety symptoms among a nonclinical sample of African American and European American young adults. One hundred twenty-one European American and 100 African American young adults completed measures of anxiety and religious coping. As predicted, results differed according to race. African Americans reported significantly more positive religious coping, less negative religious coping, and experienced fewer anxiety symptoms than European Americans. European Americans demonstrated a significant, positive relationship between negative religious coping and anxiety symptoms, and an opposite trend related to anxiety and positive religious coping. However, no such relationships emerged among the African American sample. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.