Religiosity and Family Functioning as Predictors of Hope and Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic among African American and Latinx College Students with Asthma

Abstract

Being resilient and hopeful in the face of adversity can promote health and academic outcomes. We sought to determine whether religiosity and family functioning pre-pandemic predicted resilience and hope during the pandemic in a sample of 105 African American and Latinx college students with asthma (Mage = 19.09 years, SD = 1.01). Participants completed an online survey prior to the pandemic and one during the pandemic. In simple regressions, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, gender, and asthma control, greater religious commitment, better family functioning, and less COVID-19 impact were associated with higher resilience scores. Only greater religious commitment was associated with higher hope scores. In a hierarchical regression predicting resilience from all variables, religiosity and family functioning were associated with resilience above and beyond COVID-19 impact and covariates. Findings highlight the importance of family functioning and religiosity—two cultural factors that are salient in African American and Latinx communities—in resiliency and hope.