Religious–spiritual sources of hope and the meaning of life in alcohol co-dependent subjects receiving support in self-help groups

Abstract

Aim: To determine whether various key aspects of religiousness can be positively related to the meaning of life as well as in having hope. Methods: A sample of 40 subjects was surveyed from a group attending Al-Anon, in Poznan, Poland. Assessments were performed using the following psychometric testing tools; Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORFQ), Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES), Brief RCOPE (RCOPE), one-item question scales on how often prayers were said and holy mass attended, Purpose in Life Test (PIL) and the Herth Hope Index (HHI). Results: It was found that positive aspects of religious coping and frequencies of prayer, attending mass and spiritual experiences were all directly related. The positive ways of religious coping with stress were found to be mediated through frequencies of having spiritual experiences, prayer, going to mass and feelings about the meaning of life. The frequencies of the former were indeed likewise found to be mediated by positive religious coping with stress, how often prayers were said and mass attended as well as the strength of one's hope