Negative Religious Coping Research Articles

Dyadic positive and negative religious coping among older Singaporean couples and marital satisfaction.

Difficulties faced in life can affect marital relationships and such troubles may be dealt with in a multitude of ways, including coping religiously. The present study examined how religious coping, either in a positive or negative manner, may have an impact on marital satisfaction. Importantly, this association was studied dyadically in a sample of religiously diverse (Buddhists, 32.3%; Taoists, 17.6%; protestant Christians, 14.1%; and others who did not identify with a specific religion, 19.1%), married older Singaporean adults (N = 1928; 964 couples). Using actor-partner interdependence modeling, we found significant actor, partner, and combined actor-partner effects for positive and negative religious coping on marital satisfaction. Specifically, marital satisfaction was highest when both spouses reported high levels of positive religious coping and low levels of negative religious coping. Taken together, these findings suggest that it is the simultaneous act of either greater positive or lower negative religious coping by both spouses that is related to higher marital satisfaction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of spirituality and religiosity on the suicidal ideation of medical students.

There is solid evidence that spirituality and religiousness may reduce the suicidal ideation of individuals. However, studies are scarce on medical students. To investigate the relationship between spirituality, religiousness, and suicidal ideation among Brazilian medical students. This is a cross-sectional study including Brazilian medical students. Sociodemographic and health variables, suicidal ideation (item 9 of the Beck Depression Inventory - BDI), spiritual and religious Coping (Brief SRC), religiousness (Duke Religion Index), spiritual well-being - Meaning, Peace and Faith (FACIT SP-12), and depressive (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) symptoms were assessed. A total of 353 medical students were included, 62.0% presented significant depressive symptoms, 44.2% presented significant anxiety symptoms, and 14.2% presented suicidal ideation. In the adjusted Logistic Regression models, meaning (OR = 0.90, p = .035) and faith (OR = 0.91, p = .042) were associated with lower suicidal ideation, while negative spiritual and religious coping was associated with greater suicidal ideation (OR = 1.08; p = .006). There was a high prevalence of suicidal ideation among Brazilian medical students. Spirituality and religiousness were associated with suicidal ideation in two different directions. These findings could help educators and health professionals to understand suicidal ideation among medical students, helping in the development of preventive strategies to mitigate such problem.

A Death in the Family: Links between Religion, Parenting, and Family Communication about Death

The present study assessed the frequency and nature of parent–child communication about death and identified predictors of such communication. The sample comprised 24 families who had recently lost a family member. Parents completed survey measures of global parenting dimensions (warmth/acceptance, psychological control, behavioral control), parental coping (religious and secular coping), parental religiosity, and parent–child communication about death. Almost 80% of parent–child dyads discussed death at least once a week, and children initiated approximately half of these conversations. Parental warmth/acceptance was positively associated with the frequency of parent–child communication about death, whereas psychological control, negative religious coping, private religious practices, and religious focus were negatively associated with the frequency of parent–child communication about death. Results from hierarchical linear regression analyses suggest that even when controlling for parental warmth/acceptance and psychological control, parents’ private religious practices and religious focus negatively predicted the frequency of parent–child communication about death.

Relationship Between Attachment and Fear of Death: The Mediating Role of Religious Coping.

In this research, the link between attachment, religious coping, and fear of death were examined in a sample of 224 Turkish Muslim adults. Data were gathered by Experiences in Close Relationship Scale, Religious Coping Scale, and Multidimensional Mortality Awareness Measure. Positive religious coping was adversely related to avoidant and anxious attachments. When compared to anxious attachment, which was positively related to both negative religious coping and fear of death, avoidant attachment was not correlated with any of these variables. Fear of death correlated positively with negative religious coping. Furthermore, the link between anxious attachment and fear of death was partially mediated by negative religious coping. Findings imply that negative religious coping is important in the relationship between fear of death and anxious attachment.

The Role of Religious Coping in Moderating the Relationship between Stress and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)

The cross-sectional research aimed to examine the relationship between stress, positive and negative religious coping, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) severity. It was a global health issue with a high and increasing prevalence among emerging adults. Various factors’ roles in influencing the severity of NSSI had been explored, including stress and religious coping. Data were gathered from 311 emerging adult (age 18-29 years old) participants in Indonesia using an online questionnaire, which included measures of stress (the Perceived Stress Scale-10), positive and negative religious coping (the Brief RCOPE), and NSSI severity (the Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Function Scale). The research reveals that 40,2% of participants have engaged in NSSI. Analysis using simple regression indicates that an increase in stress predicted with statistical significance an increase in NSSI severity. Meanwhile, analysis using moderation demonstrates that negative religious coping has a statistically significant moderation effect on the relationship between stress and NSSI severity. However, moderation analysis indicates that positive religious coping does not have a statistically significant moderation effect on the relationship between stress and NSSI severity. Thus, stress and negative religious coping play important roles in exacerbating NSSI. The research illustrates the importance of prevention and intervention programs for NSSI targeting stress and negative religious coping.

Is There Anybody Out There? Coping and Belonging Strategies: Correlations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Latinx Undergraduates

The study examined the correlational and predictive relationship between religious coping and a sense of belonging on 202 Latinx undergraduates’ depression, anxiety, and stress. Religious coping refers to the reliance on religious beliefs or practices to cope with stressful life situations. A sense of belonging involves the psychological features of social integration and attachment to a community. The results of a multiple regression analysis found that positive and negative religious coping and a sense of belonging predicted 36% of the variance in Latinx students’ depression. A second regression found positive and negative religious coping, a sense of belonging, and the interaction between positive religious coping and a sense of belonging predicted 29% of the variance in anxiety. A third hierarchical regression found that 21% of the variance in stress levels was attributed to religious coping alone. The results demonstrate that students who utilized positive religious coping reported lower depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Conversely, negative religious coping contributed to depression, anxiety, and stress. A sense of belonging predicted lower depression and anxiety. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Reproducibility of the brief religious coping inventory with African athletes' sample using ordinal factor analytical approach.

Previous studies have revealed that religious coping strategy is common among athletes due to the stressful experiences before and during competitions as part of the mental preparations they go through, the uncertainty of sporting outcomes, and other organizational issues they encounter. This research assessed the reproducibility of the Brief Religious Coping (RCOPE) instrument in an African setting using athletes' samples from different countries. Particularly, the research sought to assess the (1) factor structure of Brief RCOPE with an African sample, (2) construct validity of the RCOPE measure, and (3) measurement invariance of the RCOPE instrument based on gender and nationality. The study surveyed a convenient sample of 300 athletes, including 164 male and 136 female athletes, from 3 African countries (Benin, Ghana, and Nigeria) who participated in the 2018 West African University Games. The Brief RCOPE instrument was administered to the athletes for validation purposes before the competition. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using the ordinal factor analytic approach. This validation study confirmed the two-factor dimension (positive and negative religious coping) of the Brief RCOPE measure. Further, all items for each of the dimensions of the inventory contributed significantly to the measure of the Brief RCOPE domains. The positive and negative religious coping dimensions contributed more than half of the variance of their respective indicators. Measurement invariance across gender and nationality was confirmed. Sufficient evidence was gathered to support the interpretation and use of the Brief RCOPE measure. Coaches and sports psychologists could adopt the Brief RCOPE measure to understand the mental or thought patterns of religious athletes based on existential concerns or stress accrued from impending competitions to inform appropriate religious coping interventions. This notwithstanding, the Minimum Clinical Important Difference (MCID) of the Brief RCOPE should be further investigated to enhance the utility of the instrument for use in intervention-based studies.

Association between Experiences in Life and Quality of Life among Lebanese University Students in a Collapsing Country: The Moderating Role of Religious Coping and Positivity.

(1) Background: No goal can be more important than optimal individual quality of life (QOL); life experiences, religious coping, and positivity play pivotal roles in achieving this goal. The aim is to assess the correlation between positive/negative experiences in life and QOL, taking into consideration the moderating role of positivity and positive/negative religious coping among a sample of Lebanese university students. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out between November and December 2021, and enrolled 333 university students, aged between 18 and 30 years, from various areas in Lebanon's governorates. The 12-item Short Form Health Survey, the brief religious coping methods scale, and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience were included in the questionnaire. Forward linear regressions were conducted to check for correlates associated with physical and mental QOL scores. All variables that showed a correlation or effect size > |0.24| were entered in the multivariable and moderation models as independent ones. Significance was set at a p < 0.05. (3) Results: A linear regression, taking the physical QOL score as the dependent variable, showed that living in rural areas compared to urban and more positivity were significantly associated with a better physical QOL, whereas more negative religious coping was significantly associated with a lower physical QOL. More positivity and more positive religious coping were significantly associated with a better mental QOL. The moderation analysis showed that in people with high positive experiences, those with higher negative religious coping had lower mental QOL. (4) Conclusions: In a society as deeply religious as Lebanon, it is crucial to organize awareness programs to help in discriminating between religious coping mechanisms. Across order to stop further detrimental effects on QOL, our findings may serve as a solid foundation for future studies of QOL with additional variables, in other groups and nations.

Religious coping and depressive symptoms in people living with HIV in Ghana

ABSTRACT People living with HIV (PLHIV) experience adverse psychological outcomes including depressive symptoms. This study examined the association between religious coping (Brief RCOPE) and depressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS-D]) among 138 PLHIV in Ghana. The results indicated that 125 (90.6%) and 50 (36.2%) respondents reported using positive religious coping and experienced depressive symptoms respectively. A negative relationship (r = −.209, n = 138, p<.05) between positive religious coping and depressive symptoms was observed. Negative religious coping was found to positively associate (r = .025, n = 138, p>.05) with depressive symptoms. Thus, positive religious coping was associated with less depressive symptoms compared to negative religious coping. The study highlights the putative contributions of religious coping to the mental health outcomes of PLHIV in Ghana. Additionally, this study accentuates the clinical relevance of assessing depressive symptoms, promoting positive religious coping strategies, and designing culturally targeted interventions for PLHIV.

Turning to Religion During COVID-19 (Part I): A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis and Meta-regression of Studies on the Relationship Between Religious Coping and Mental Health Throughout COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic and the many associated socio-economic changes constitute a stressful event that required adaptation to new, dynamic, and often threatening conditions. According to the literature, coping strategies are one of the factors that determine a person’s degree of adaptation to stressful situations. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on the relationship between religious coping and selected indicators of mental health. Due to the large amount of data, this work has been divided into two parts: this first part discusses positive mental health indicators, while the second discusses negative mental health indicators (Pankowski & Wytrychiewicz-Pankowska, 2023). A systematic review of PubMed, Science Direct, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, the Database of s of Reviews of Effects, and Google Scholar databases was carried out. In addition to the synthesis of information obtained from the research, a meta-analysis of correlation was also performed to determine the strengths of the relationships between the analysed variables, and selected moderators were assessed using meta-regression. Quality of life, well-being, satisfaction with life, happiness, and post-traumatic growth were the positive mental health indicators considered. Meta-analyses indicated a statistically significant relationship between positive religious coping and flourishing (well-being) with overall correlation values of 0.35 [0.30; 0.40]. Further calculations also indicated a relationship between negative religious coping and flourishing − 0.25 [− 0.34; − 0.15]. Data synthesis shows associations between religious coping and such indicators as satisfaction with life and post-traumatic growth, but these issues require further investigation.

Call for Faith: Religiousness, Religious Coping and Psychological Disturbance of Chinese Christians During COVID-19.

This study is aimed at investigating the relationships between religious practice, religious coping strategies, and mental health among Chinese Christians in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 915 participants from several cities in China completed online questionnaires, including sociodemographic data, mental disorder history, and years as a Christian, as well as frequency of weekly religious practice, Religious Coping Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). The result of multivariate analysis indicated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, among Chinese Christians without a history of mental disorder, negative religious coping were associated with depression, and anxiety symptoms. Among Chinese Christians with a history of mental disorders, comorbidity with 1 mental disorder, comorbidity with 2 or more mental disorders, negative religious coping, and positive religious coping were associated with depression symptoms. Comorbidity with 2 or more mental disorders, negative religious coping, and positive religious coping were associated with anxiety symptoms. Christians with a previous history of mental illness are more likely to experience anxiety during the epidemic. In the future, mental health services during disasters may put more attention on certain religious groups and provide more spiritual care to maintain their well-being accordingly.

THE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE DISTRESS THERMOMETER IN FAMILY SURROGATES OF ICU PATIENTS

Abstract Brief, reliable assessment tools are highly valued in both research and clinical settings. The single-item Distress Thermometer (DT) asks participants to rank their overall level of distress from zero to ten. Similar measures of distress perform well in oncology populations, but the validity of the DT has not been well tested with other populations. To determine its validity and reliability, we analyzed data from family surrogates (n=188) of critically ill ICU patients. Surrogates were asked to rate their distress during the first four days of the patient’s ICU stay and 6-8 weeks after discharge (n=127). Data were analyzed using Spearman non-parametric correlation due to the distributions of the data. DT scores at both baseline and follow-up were significantly correlated with anxiety (GAD-7: correlation coefficient (ρ)=.527, p&amp;lt;.0001; ρ=.543, p&amp;lt;.0001, respectively), depression (PHQ-9: ρ=.480, p&amp;lt;.0001; ρ=.399, p=.0002), distress (Kessler-6: ρ=.477, p&amp;lt;.0001; ρ=.528, p&amp;lt;.0001), and negative religious coping (ρ=.149, p=.0426; ρ=.238, p=.0074). Results also indicated that spiritual well-being at baseline and follow-up (FACIT: ρ=-.391, p&amp;lt;.0001, ρ=-.443, p&amp;lt;.0001) and positive religious coping at baseline (RCOPE: ρ=-.164, p=.0253) have an inverse relationship with overall distress. At baseline, surrogates with better positive religious coping and/or more involvement in organizational religious activity (ρ=-.189, p=.0106) were more likely to report lower distress. The DT could be an efficient, single item predictor of outcomes that impact patient and family care. Future research could confirm its validity as a measure of distress, in a variety of clinical populations and environments that could inform clinical care for patients and families.

FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE: UNDERSTANDING RELIGIOSITY AND HOPE AMONG OLDER AFRICAN AMERICAN COUPLES

Abstract Older African Americans frequently turn to their religion or spiritual faith as a source of coping and resilience. Disproportionately burdened by numerous disparities and stressors, many African American utilize religion as a source hope for the future. Existing studies suggest that higher levels of positive religious coping are associated with higher levels of hope, and more frequent experiences with negative religious coping are associated with lower levels of hope. However, the relationship between religious coping and hope is underexamined among one of the most religious dyads in the U.S., older African American couples. This study utilizes data from 194 older African American couples (146 married and 48 cohabiting), with each partner between the age of 50 and 86 years, to examine the dyadic relationship between religious coping and hope. Actor Partner Interdependence Models revealed that men’s religious coping was associated with their own hope, and women’s religious coping was associated with their own hope. One unexpected partner effect was identified and found that women’s positive religious coping was negatively associated with men’s hope. Given the dearth of research on older African American couples, along with the need to better understand religious significance in psychosocial dyadic outcomes, this study offers several implications for engaging African American couples in relational counseling and therapy across the life course.

Negative situation appraisal and mental well‐being among refugees in Germany: Serial mediation by religious coping and sense of coherence

AbstractIt has been widely demonstrated that pre‐ and post‐migration experiences can be highly traumatic for refugees. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating effects of religious coping and sense of coherence on the association of negative dysfunctional situation appraisal and mental well‐being among refugees. Paper surveys were completed by 600 people representing various refugee groups (mostly from Mashreq Countries) in German Bavaria, aged 18–65. Mediation analysis revealed that negative religious coping and sense of coherence singly and serially mediated the relationship between negative dysfunctional situation appraisal and well‐being, whereas positive religious coping did not have statistically significant relationships with these variables. The data obtained suggest that the negative religious coping style and sense of coherence are two important targets for future experimental studies, and interventions on them may bring the synergistic effect on improving mental well‐being in refugees.

Examining Perceptions Of Religious Coping, Health-Related Quality Of Life, And Healthcare Support Of ALS Caregivers

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> This cross-sectional study (N=8) built on a prior longitudinal case study (N=1) with a similar aim; that of understanding ALS caregiver experiences by exploring declines in swallowing and communication in ALS patients based on the results of one qualitative and two quantitative measurements. <h3>Design</h3> A mixed method cross-sectional design. <h3>Setting</h3> The interviews were conducted over the phone, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) social distancing guidelines. <h3>Participants</h3> Eight informal (non-compensated) family caregivers of ALS patients. <h3>Interventions</h3> Not applicable. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> 1) Qualitative interviews, 2) the Brief RCOPE (a 14-item measure of positive and negative religious coping with major life stressors), and 3) a health-related quality of life survey instrument (SF12v2). <h3>Results</h3> Interview data revealed anxiety related to anticipated losses and capacity to meet progressive unrelenting needs of care receivers. In addition, caregivers reported an increased burden as the disease progressed, perceiving a lack of medical personnel training necessary to meet their needs. Caregivers' religious coping ratings attested to feelings of less connectedness with God as the disease progressed. Health quality of life measures suggested emerging issues based on health status, energy levels, pain, and available time for responsibilities. <h3>Conclusions</h3> The unique challenges of ALS caregiver experiences and burdens consist of complex emotional, clinical, financial, secondary supportive care needs, and environmental issues. These perceived experiences and burdens have clinical implications for improved communication in working with caregivers to better meet their needs. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> Nothing to disclose.

Religious Coping, Experiential Avoidance, Self-Compassion, and Post-Traumatic Stress by COVID-19: a Serial Mediation Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought consequences to mental health, with religiosity being a relevant coping factor in reducing the negative impact of the health crisis. Based on a convenience sample of Chilean adults, this study sought to explore the relationship between religious coping and post-traumatic stress due to COVID-19, hypothesizing that this relationship would be mediated by experiential avoidance and self-compassion. A non-experimental cross-sectional design was used, applying an online survey to 300 adults who lived in Chile. The results show that all variables are related and that experiential avoidance (EA) and self-compassion play a serial mediating role in the relationship between negative religious coping (NRC) and post-traumatic stress. Furthermore, the results showed that religious coping, experiential avoidance, self-compassion, and COVID-19 post-traumatic stress are significantly interrelated. Moreover, a serial mediation was found among the variables: higher experiential avoidance and lower level of self-compassion mediate the impact of COVID-19 post-traumatic stress in people with negative religious coping. At the end of the article, the implications of the results and how these variables interact in a serial mediation mechanism that sheds further light on the relationships between negative religious coping, mental health, and adverse situations such as COVID-19 are discussed.

The virtue of religious faith and its relationship to posttraumatic stress disorder in victims of torture: the unique outcomes of men and women

ABSTRACT Three aspects of religious faith: faith-as-faithfulness; faith-as-trust; and faith-as-experience were examined in the lives of torture survivors with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Fetzer Scale items: Positive and Negative Religious Coping (PRC & NRC), Religious Practices (RP), and Daily Spiritual Experiences (DSE) were applied to a sample of 111 asylees. While none of the correlational hypotheses from the total sample showed a significant association between the variables of PRC, RP, and DSE to PTSD, a post hoc gender analyses revealed significant posttraumatic responses between women and men. Men showed a positive and significant association between PTSD, PRC and NRC, and women, a significant, negative association between Religious Social Support and PTSD. A multiple regression analysis investigated whether NRC, RP and DSE would predict significant variance with PTSD. Only NRC was shown to be a unique, significant predictor of PTSD above and beyond any beneficial effects of Religious Social Support (RSS).

Psychological distress, coping, and barriers to help-seeking in Christian clergy

ABSTRACT Clergy have an emotionally taxing role and experience high rates of distress. Clergy are an under-represented group in research, with studies suggesting clergy utilise religious coping skills, and underutilise social support. The aims of this study were to assess psychological distress, coping, and help-seeking in UK clergy, and determine whether religious coping mediates the relationship between role demands and distress. One hundred and sixty one clergy-members completed measures of demands, distress, coping, and help-seeking. Mediation analyses were used to test hypotheses. Clergy reported higher rates of distress than community samples, reported more adaptive coping, and favoured help-seeking from informal sources. Negative religious coping and avoidant coping partially mediated the relationship between demands and distress. Clergy reported similar rates of distress to those in other emotionally demanding roles. Religious coping partially mediated the impact of negative demands, suggesting any intervention should include consideration of religious coping in this group.

Effect of Positive and Negative Religious Coping Styles on Perceived Stress of Teachers

The current study primarily aimed at investigating religious coping styles' effect on teachers’ perceived stress. This article also enlightened the difference in scores of male and female educators in the use of positive religious coping styles. Correlational design was employed and data of (N=350) was taken through convenience sampling comprising both males (n=168) and females (n=182) around the Malakand division of Khyber Phuktoonkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Collected data was then analyzed via statistical tools; Linear regression, correlation, and t-test, through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Firstly, Regression analysis revealed that religious coping led to reduced perceived stress in teachers. Pearson correlational analysis showed a positive significant association between negative religious coping and perceived stress among educators while positive religious coping has a negative relationship with perceived stress among them. The comparative analysis demonstrated that female educators scored higher on positive religious coping than male educators. Further data comparison disclosed that males showed higher negative religious coping than females. These findings proved to be helpful for teachers, policymakers, researchers, and mental health professionals better understand and cater to educators’ religious coping styles and initiate a series of multiple workshops and projects focusing on their mental health in the Muslim world.

Asian Hate, Minority Stress, and Religious Coping: A Study of Asian and Asian American Adults in the USA During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Despite long being the target of racism, Asians and Asian Americans remain an understudied group regarding the mental health implications of racism. Even less is known about how Asians and Asian Americans may use religion to cope with racism and the resulting mental health implications. In this study, 330 Asian and Asian American adults from various regions of the USA were surveyed. The study results suggest that negative religious coping was associated with worsening depression, anxiety, and stress, particularly among Asian Indians, Asian Hindus, and Asian Muslims. In addition, negative religious coping may have exacerbated the deleterious effects of racism on mental health. Surprisingly, positive religious coping failed to provide any protection against racism-related mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.