Measures Of Religious Coping Research Articles

"Religious Coping Fosters Mental Health": Does Psychological Capital Enable Pakistani Engineers to Translate Religious Coping into Mental Wellbeing?

Turning toward religion to make sense of and cope with challenging circumstances is an area of interest for many recent researchers working on wellbeing and mental health. The present study extends this interest by assessing whether psychological capital explains the association between religious coping and mental wellbeing in Pakistani engineers. Psychological capital was assessed from four factors, namely optimism, resilience, hope, and self-efficacy. A sample of 501 Muslim engineers from Pakistan (M age = 33.41, SD = 6.37years) was assessed on measures of religious coping, psychological capital, and mental wellbeing. Results from correlation and a multimediation model showed that positive religious coping was positively predictive of mental wellbeing and psychological capital; however, negative religious coping remained insignificant for mental wellbeing. Further analysis showed that of four psychological capital factors, only self-efficacy explained the positive association between positive religious coping and mental wellbeing. Implications of the findings along with future directions have been discussed.

Religious coping and levels of posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology after the Beirut explosion.

Religious coping has implications for the development of psychopathology in the aftermath of traumatic events. This study explored the relationship between religious coping (positive and negative) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology among survivors of a large industrial explosion that devastated parts of Beirut in August of 2020. Three months after the disaster, 996 residents of Beirut and Lebanon completed validated measures of religious coping (RCOPE) and PTSD symptomatology (Impact of Events Scale-Revised) in either English or Arabic. The majority of participants were young adults aged between 18 and 25 years. Results indicated that higher levels of negative religious coping were a significant predictor of higher levels of PTSD symptomatology and were associated with a two-fold risk of meeting the criteria for probable PTSD. Other significant predictors included female gender, being a resident of Beirut at the time of the explosion, having personally sustained an injury, or knowing a person injured in the explosion. Effects sizes ranged from .34 to .68. Higher scores on measures of negative religious coping were associated with higher levels of PTSD symptomatology. However, negative religious coping may be better construed as a set of religious-based appraisals of event causality and may represent a form of peritraumatic appraisal in the wake of traumatic events. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Suffering with Christ: Emic christian coping and relation to well-being

Current measures of religious coping are generally etic in nature, measuring constructs across religions. Emic variables (i.e., those specific to particular religions) are often left out, which limits our ability to assess religious/spiritual coping during times of stress and adversity. Here we provide findings from three studies we conducted to develop and test an emic Christian meaning-making coping method: identifying with Christ in his suffering. We ground this construct in Christian theology, the psychology of religious/spiritual coping literature, and existing qualitative research. In the first study, we developed items and tested the items for clarity and generalizability to diverse Christian groups using expert review and cognitive interviewing with participants from five distinct Christian groups. In the second study, we conducted exploratory factor analysis using data from MTurk (N ​= ​335), which revealed a two-factor structure consistent with our theoretical formulation. In the third study, we established factor stability and construct validity using data from Prolific (N ​= ​355). Because we conceptualize identification with Christ in his suffering as a form of meaning-making coping, in this third study we also explored the relationship of the measure to well-being using incremental validity analyses. We found that identification with Christ in suffering predicted measures of well-being above and beyond the variance explained by etic religious coping measures. Collectively, these results highlight the value of emic religious measures of coping with suffering.

Muslim Americans' Views on Making Organ Donation Decisions in the Department of Motor Vehicles Setting.

Introduction: Organ donation-related education is offered, and decisions are made at state Department of Motor Vehicles; however, little is known about Muslim Americans' attitudes toward these common practices. Research Questions: Are participants comfortable learning about deceased organ donation in the Department of Motor Vehicles setting? Are participants prepared to make deceased organ donation-related decisions at the Department of Motor Vehicles? Design: A survey of Muslim Americans attending an educational workshop at 4 mosques in two US cities. Primary study outcomes were self-reported (a) preparedness to make deceased donation-related decisions and (b) comfort with receiving organ donation education in the license renewal setting. We calculated Pearson product-moment correlations between these primary outcomes and participant characteristics including sociodemographic descriptors, religiosity and religious coping measures, and discrimination measures. Results: Most respondents indicated they were not prepared to make organ donation-related decisions at the Department of Motor Vehicles (79.6%). Preparedness did not vary by age, gender, country of origin or US residency duration, nor by religiosity, negative religious coping, or experiences of discrimination. However, higher scores on positive religious coping were associated with lower ratings of preparedness. A slight majority (58.9%) of respondents were comfortable receiving organ donation education. Conclusions: Muslim Americans are comfortable with learning about organ donation while at the Department of Motor Vehicles but are ill-prepared to make deceased donation-related decisions in the same setting. Further research is required to understand whether changes to the license renewal setting would improve decision-making outcomes in this population.

Religiosity and Resilience: Cognitive Reappraisal and Coping Self-Efficacy Mediate the Link between Religious Coping and Well-Being.

Qualitative evidence points to the engagement of religious coping strategies when facing adversity, and evidence also highlights the effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal in reducing the impact of distressing emotions on well-being. It has been suggested that religious practices could facilitate the use of reappraisal, by promoting reframing of negative cognitions to alter emotional states. However, the link between religiosity and reappraisal in influencing resilience against symptoms of distress is not known. The current study (N = 203) examined connections among these aspects, using self-reported measures of religious coping, habitual use of specific coping strategies (positive reappraisal) and perceived confidence in using coping strategies, as well as questionnaires assessing symptoms of distress (anxiety and depression). Results point to a mediating role of reappraisal and coping self-efficacy as part of mechanisms that provide a protecting role of religious coping against emotional distress. These results provide novel scientific evidence further validating millennia-old traditional coping practices and shed light on psychological factors influencing adaptive behaviors that promote increased resilience, reduce symptoms of distress, and maintain emotional well-being. These findings inform general counseling practices and counseling of religious clients alike.

Religious Coping and Health and Well-Being among Jews and Muslims in Israel

ABSTRACT This cross-sectional study used data from 486 Israeli Jews and Muslims to examine the phenomenon of religious coping among an Israeli sample. Participants were recruited in the context of two research projects on coping methods, one examining the stress of the Gaza war of 2014, and the other examining the stress of aging. Participants provided demographic information and completed measures of religious coping, satisfaction with life, and depressive symptoms. Findings revealed that: (1) with relatively minor modifications, the Brief RCOPE, through which religious coping was assessed in this study, has the same 2-factor structure among Israelis, both Jews and Muslims; (2) positive and negative religious coping correlated moderately, but their association varied according to religious affiliation (i.e., Muslims vs. Jews) and religious self-definition (secular vs. traditional vs. religious); (3) negative religious coping was related to lower life satisfaction and higher depressive symptoms, whereas positive religious coping was related to none of the outcome measures; (4) religious affiliation and religious self-definition appeared as moderators of the link between positive religious coping and life satisfaction, and religious self-definition as a moderator between negative religious coping and life satisfaction, and; (5) neither religious affiliation nor religious self-definition moderated the links between both types of religious coping and depressive symptoms.

Psychometric Properties of the Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief-RCOPE) in Chilean Adults Exposed to Stressful Events

Among the different ways of coping with stress, religious coping has shown particularly the promising results; nonetheless, there are few validated instruments to assess it in non-English language. This article presents the psychometric properties of the Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief-RCOPE) in Chilean adults exposed to stressful events. The scale shows a reliability, test-retest stability, and confirmatory factor analysis support structural validity. The scale also shows concurrent validity with another measure of religious coping. Finally, confirming predictive criterion validity, negative religious coping predicts posttraumatic stress symptoms 6months after, but not posttraumatic growth. Positive religious coping was associated with posttraumatic growth enhancement. This study shows Brief-RCOPE as a valid and reliable instrument for measuring religious coping in this population.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GLOBAL AND DAILY LEVELS OF PAIN AND RELIGIOUS COPING

Objective: This research examines associations between global and daily levels of pain and the use of religious coping strategies among African American (AA) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) older adults with physician-confirmed knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: As part of a larger study of racial/ethnic differences in everyday quality of life with OA, 125 persons over the age of 50 completed a global measure of religious coping using the Brief RCOPE. Daily variability in pain and coping was assessed using a daily diary methodology consisting of 4 daily phone calls over 7 days. Hypotheses: Demographic characteristics (sex, race) were expected to predict religious coping at both the global and daily levels. Specifically, we expected women and AAs would use more religious coping than their male and NHW counterparts. Further, daily levels of pain were predicted to correlate with daily levels of coping. Results: AAs were found to engage in significantly more religious coping behaviors than NHWs at the global, but not daily, level. An intraclass correlation coefficient of .316 indicated sufficient within-person variability for the use of multi-level modeling to determine the association of daily pain and religious coping. Within individuals, pain was significantly lower on days when religious coping was not used. Implications: Results contribute to a growing understanding of how individuals use their religious beliefs to cope with daily pain and perhaps, to the formulation of more targeted therapies for individuals living with chronic illness. (Supported by R01-AG041655 D. Smith and P. Parmelee, PIs.)

1608P - Spirituality and religious coping for cancer patients and providers: An ‘Almighty’ belief for palliative care

BackgroundSpiritual distress is prevalent in advanced disease, but often neglected, resulting in unnecessary suffering. Religion and/or spirituality have increasingly been recognized as key elements in patients’ experience of advanced illness. This study aims to explore spiritual care needs, experiences, preferences and examine the association between religious coping and quality of life among patients with advanced cancer. MethodsStructured interviews were conducted with 135 patients in advanced cancer patients and their primary informal caregivers. Patients completed measures of QOL (McGill QOL questionnaire), religious coping (Brief Measure of Religious Coping [RCOPE] and Multidimensional Measure of Religion/ Spirituality), self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale), and sociodemographic variables. Both positive and negative religious coping and multiple dimensions of QOL (physical, physical symptom, psychological, existential, and support) were studied. ResultsThe median age of the population was 60.2 years and majority of the subjects were Hindus. The study revealed greater use of positive religious coping was associated with better overall QOL as well as higher scores on the existential and support QOL dimensions and was also related to more physical symptoms. However, greater use of negative religious coping was related to poorer overall QOL. Most patients believed it was important for health care professionals to consider patient spiritual concerns within the medical setting. Spiritual care was reportedly lacking, primarily due to staff members’ de-prioritisation and lack of time. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that spiritual concerns are common among advanced cancer patients, and that they are associated with poorer psychological well-being. Spiritual care is an essential but neglected component of care, according to patients and their caregivers across a range of countries. The findings of the present study support the relationship between spirituality and health outcomes. Legal entity responsible for the studyVibhay Pareek. FundingHas not received any funding. DisclosureAll authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

The links between religious coping and subjective well-being among Israeli-Muslims who lost a beloved person through death

This study examined the relationships between religious coping and indices of subjective well-being among 132 Israeli-Muslims who lost a beloved person through death. Participants provided demographic and death-related information, and completed measures of religious coping, satisfaction with life, positive/negative affect. Positive correlations were observed between positive religious coping and both satisfaction with life and positive affect, and between negative religious coping and negative affect. Further, the type of death (expected vs. sudden) was found to be a significant moderator between religious coping and subjective well-being. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Against the Stream: religion and mental health - the case for the inclusion of religion and spirituality into psychiatric care.

This paper argues for the inclusion of religion and spirituality in psychiatric care. After discussing the antagonism of psychiatrists and psychologists to religion, I present a critical overview of studies examining the relationships between spirituality, religion and diverse aspects of mental health: depression, suicide, anxiety, delinquency, drug abuse and schizophrenia. The need to assesses the impact of religion in different faith groups is discussed. Measures of religious coping, both positive and negative, may provide a more accurate portrayal as to how individuals deploy religion in their lives than global measures such as belief and attendance. I highlight the fact that there is a dearth of research on ritual, prayer and other aspects of religious experience. While many studies demonstrate positive effects of religion on mental health, others find detrimental effects. Finally I examine the clinical implications of these findings.Declaration of interestNone.

The relationships between religious coping and mental and physical health among female survivors of intimate partner violence in Israel.

This study is one of the first studies to examine the relationships between religious coping and indices of mental and physical health among female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). This investigation utilized a cross-sectional design and a sample of 140 Israeli female survivors of IPV, from different religious backgrounds. Participants were asked to provide demographic information and complete measures of religious coping, depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety, loneliness, and perceived poor physical health. As expected, positive correlations were observed between negative religious coping and all outcome measures. Contrary to expectations, positive religious coping was related to none of the outcome measures. The findings suggest that overall religious ways of coping constitute more of a burden than a helpful resource in the coping process of female survivors of IPV. Yet additional studies that test the intricate relationships between religious coping and health and well-being among this population are needed to reach clear-cut conclusions in this regard. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) Language: en

Religious Coping Style and Cultural Worldview are Associated with Suicide Ideation Among African American Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine whether specific religious coping styles and cultural worldview would be associated with thoughts of suicide given higher levels of stress in a community-based sample of African American adults. African American men and women (n = 134) completed measures of religious coping, cultural worldview, stressful life events, depression symptoms, and suicide ideation. Higher ratings of suicide ideation were observed for African Americans who endorsed a more self-directing religious coping style. The self-directing religious coping was more frequently endorsed by participants who identified with a more Eurocentric cultural worldview that espouses an individualist philosophy. Together, these findings provide some insight to how religious coping and culture are related to suicide vulnerability for African Americans who are not in clinical care.

Differences in Religiousness in Opposite-Sex and Same-Sex Twins in a Secular Society

Sex differences in religion are well known, with females generally being more religious than males, and shared environmental factors have been suggested to have a large influence on religiousness. Twins from opposite-sex (OS) and same-sex (SS) pairs may differ because of a dissimilar psycho-social rearing environment and/or because of different exposures to hormones in utero. We hypothesized that OS females may display more masculine patterns of religiousness and, vice versa, that OS males may display more feminine patterns. We used a web-based survey conducted in Denmark, which is a secular society. The survey included 2,997 twins aged 20-40 years, identified through the population-based Danish Twin Registry. We applied la Cour and Hvidt's adaptation of Fishman's three conceptual dimensions of meaning: Cognition, Practice, and Importance, and we used Pargament's measure of religious coping (RCOPE) for the assessment of positive and negative religious coping patterns. Differences between OS and SS twins were investigated using logistic regression for each sex. The analyses were adjusted for dependence within twin pairs. No significant differences in religiousness and religious coping were found for OS and SS twins except that more OS than SS females were members of the Danish National Evangelical Lutheran Church and fewer OS than SS females were Catholic, Muslim, or belonged to other religious denominations. Moreover, OS males at age 12 had higher rates of church attendance than did SS males. This study did not provide evidence for masculinization of female twins with male co-twins with regard to religiousness. Nor did it show any significant differences between OS and SS males except from higher rates of church attendance in childhood among males with female co-twins.

Development of a Short-Form of the RCOPE for Use with Bereaved College Students.

Bereavement is being increasingly recognized as a key issue in college populations (Balk in Mortality 2:207-220, 1997; Balk et al. in Death Stud 34:459-468, 2010). However, there is currently a dearth of research on the impact that the loss of a loved one has on college students and the ways that college students cope during the grieving process. This lack of research, particularly among younger groups, is problematic as researchers have shown that emerging adults experience a surprisingly high number of losses and are an at-risk group for poor post-loss outcomes (Servaty-Seib and Taub 2010; Servaty-Seib and Hamilton 2006; Arnett in Am Psychol 55(5):469, 2000). Religion is a common way that individuals cope with bereavement (Frantz et al. in Pastor Psychol 44(3):151-163, 1996) and may also be commonly used by college students to manage everyday stress (Merrill et al. 2009). The RCOPE (Pargament et al. in J Clin Psychol 56(4):519-543, 2000; J Health Psychol 9:713-730, 2004) is a frequently used measure of religious coping that has recently been evaluated for use with a bereaved undergraduate population. Lord and Gramling (2014) examined the factor structure of the RCOPE and concluded that overlap between the positive and negative religious coping subscales when used with a bereaved undergraduate sample detracted from the predictive utility of the instrument. The researchers provided evidence for the use of a new 2-factor, 39-item version of the RCOPE with the bereaved college student population. The current study replicated Lord and Gramling (2014) with a large follow-up sample of bereaved undergraduates. Participants (N = 677) consisted of individuals who had lost a loved one within the past 2 years, had a mean age of 19.1, and were predominantly female (62%) underclassmen (84% freshman or sophomore status). A majority of participants (68%) were identified as Christian. Exploratory factor analyses closely mimicked the results of the previous study, and the number of items was further reduced in order to provide a briefer version of the scale for use in future research. Hierarchical regression models demonstrated discriminate, convergent, and predictive validity of the instrument.

Religious Coping Among Rural Clergy: Measuring Ways in Which Rural Clergy Draw on Coping Strategies Informed by Their Theological Beliefs

Following the recent decline in stipendiary clergy numbers in the Church of England and the consequent amalgamation of numerous rural benefices, enormous demands have been placed on many rural clergy. Potential stressors include ‘overextension’ and ‘inadequate resources’, which can cause poor work-related psychological health. Folkman and Lazarus (1988), whose work is firmly rooted in the ‘secular’ psychological tradition, contend that in order to survive in times of stress, people need to employ coping practices whereby they can ‘manage’ the personal and/or environmental stressors which ‘tax’ or ‘exceed’ their personal resources. Pargament (1997), however, believes that religious beliefs and religious experience are also important, and he suggests that the psychology of religion and coping ‘bridges a deep psychological tradition of helping people take care of what they can in times of stress with a rich religious tradition of helping people accept their limitations and look beyond themselves for assistance in troubling times’ (p. 9). The present study examines the coping strategies of a sample of 722 Church of England rural clergy who are responsible for three or more rural churches, following their completion of the ‘RCOPE Measure of Religious Coping’ (Pargament, Koenig and Perez, 2000). The data produced suggest that the religious coping strategies most frequently used by rural clergy in multi-church benefices, are ‘benevolent religious reappraisal’ (to find ‘meaning’), ‘collaborative religious coping’ and ‘active religious surrender’ (to gain ‘control’), ‘religious purification/forgiveness’, ‘spiritual connection’ and ‘marking religious boundaries’ (to gain comfort and closeness to God) and ‘seeking support from clergy and church members’ and ‘religious helping’ (to gain ‘intimacy with others and closeness to God’). The data demonstrate that rural clergy certainly draw on images of God that may promote healthy responses to significant stressors, but that they also employ those that may be detrimental to effective coping, and it is suggested that the provision by the church, of educational programmes focusing on religious coping strategies, might lead to the enhancement of work-related psychological health among rural clergy.

Extension of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory to Middle‐Aged and Older Wives

Limited research has explored the measurement of forgiveness among middle-aged and older wives. Recall of past trangressions can lead to “damaging ruminations” that jeopardize one's spiritual peace (Callaby, Coleman, & Mills, 2012) and emotional well-being, making forgiveness more important. This online study examined the utility of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI) (Subkoviak et al., 1995) within a sample of 67 women. Participants completed the EFI, measures of religious coping, depression, anger, anxiety, and marital satisfaction. The EFI demonstrated sound psychometric properties. Forgiveness scores were inversely related to all constructs except religious coping, with which there was no significant relationship. Implications for future research are discussed.

Religious Coping, Spirituality, and Substance Use and Abuse Among Youth in High-Risk Communities in San Salvador, El Salvador

Little is known about the relationship between religious coping, spirituality, and substance use in developing nations such as El Salvador. Collected in 2011, the sample consists of 290 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents (11–17 years) and young adults (18–25 years) in San Salvador, El Salvador. Structural equation modeling and logistic regression are employed to examine the associations between the Measure of Religious Coping (RCOPE), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and substance use and abuse. Results suggest that spirituality and, to a far lesser degree, religious coping may serve to protect for substance use and abuse among this high-risk population of Salvadoran youth.

Associations among Religious Coping, Daily Hassles, and Resilience

The purpose of this study is to examine relationships among religious coping styles, the experience of daily hassles, and resiliency. Through the use of a set of questionnaires, positive and negative religious coping styles (Brief RCOPE) are identified and analyzed in relation to a direct measure of resiliency (CD-RISC), level of psychological distress (BSI), and level of daily hassles (BCSHS). Negative religious coping is positively related to psychological distress, while individuals who experience more daily hassles but use higher levels of positive religious coping have greater resiliency than individuals who use higher levels of negative religious coping. Additionally, the combination of daily hassles, major life stressors, level of positive religious coping, and resiliency accounted for a significant proportion of the variability in psychological distress. Post hoc analyses removed questions of spirituality from the resiliency scale that could possibly overlap with the measure of religious coping. These exploratory analyses indicate that negative religious coping is negatively correlated with non-spiritual resiliency. Exploratory analyses also indicate that individuals who experience more daily hassles but use higher levels of positive religious coping do not have greater levels of non-spiritual resiliency than individuals who use negative religious coping.

Religious Participation and DSM IV Major Depressive Disorder Among Black Caribbeans in the United States

This study examines the relationship between religious involvement and 12-month and lifetime DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD) within a nationally representative sample of Black Caribbean adults. MDD was assessed using the DSM-IV World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI). Religious involvement included measures of religious coping, organizational and nonorganizational involvement, and subjective religiosity. Study findings indicate that religious involvement is associated with 12-month and lifetime prevalence of MDD. Multivariate relationships between religious involvement and MDD indicate lower prevalence of 12-month and lifetime MDD among persons who use religious coping and characterize themselves as being religious (for lifetime prevalence only); persons who frequently listen to religious radio programs report higher lifetime MDD. Lower rates of 12-month and lifetime MDD are noted for persons who attend religious services at least once a week (as compared to both higher and lower levels of attendance), indicating a curvilinear relationship. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research on religion and mental health concerns, conceptual models of the role of religion in mental health (e.g., prevention, resource mobilization) that specify multiple and often divergent pathways and mechanisms of religious effects on health outcomes, and the role of religion among Caribbean Blacks.