Religious Coping in the Process of Counseling / Psychotherapy (original) (raw)
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Journal of Religion and …, 2011
Results from empirical studies on the role of religiosity and spirituality in dealing with stress are frequently at odds, and the present study investigated whether level of religiosity and spirituality is related to the way in which religious coping is used relative to other coping strategies. A sample of 616 university undergraduate students completed the Brief COPE (Carver in Int J Behav Med 4:92-100, 1997) questionnaire and was classified into groups of participants with lower and higher levels of religiosity and spirituality, as measured by the WHOQOL-SRPB (WHOQOL-SRPB Group in Soc Sci Med 62: [1486][1487][1488][1489][1490][1491][1492][1493][1494][1495][1496][1497] 2006) instrument. For participants with lower levels, religious coping tended to be associated with maladaptive or avoidant coping strategies, compared to participants with higher levels, where religious coping was more closely related to problem-focused coping, which was also supported by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. The results of the present study thus illustrate that investigating the role of religious coping requires more complex approaches than attempting to assign it to one higher order factor, such as problem-or emotion-focused coping, and that the variability of findings reported by previous studies on the function of religious coping may partly be due to variability in religiosity and spirituality across samples.
The role of religious coping in dealing with stressful events
In this study we investigated the use of problem-focused, emotion-based, and religious coping strategies among a sample of 154 respondents with respect to various situations. Participants completed the RCOPE-Revised and the Deakin Coping Scale as well as nominating an event which they variously rated as a loss, a threat and a challenge using an 11-point Likert scale. Analyses revealed that spiritual support was used as a positive coping strategy in situations that were described as a loss and as a challenge but not in situations described as a threat. Use of appraisal (what can I do about it) was negatively related to loss and positively related to challenge events, but independent in threat events. For threat events, only avoidance and rejection of social support were significant, suggesting complete avoidance or denial of the situation. The results are discussed.
Trouble won't last always": Religious coping and meaning in the stress process
2013
As people grow older they experience an increased risk of developing an advanced, chronic illness or a combination of chronic illnesses. A substantial proportion of people who provide care to individuals with an advanced, chronic illness in the community are family members (Arno, Levine, & Memmott, 1999; Family Caregiver Alliance, 2006). Providing care to an elderly family member with a chronic illness is often associated with psychological distress (Aneshensel, Pearlin, Mullan, Zarit, & Whitlach, 1995; Family Caregiver Alliance). For example, family caregivers of individuals approaching the end of life are at risk for stress, depression, and health problems (
Religious Coping Among the Religious The Relations
This study examined whether the relationships between religious coping and well-being are moderated by the salience of religion to the individual's identity and social roles. As part of a national survey of Presbyterians, 1,260 clergy, 823 elders, and 735 members completed measures of demographic variables, global religiousness, life stressors, positive and negative religious coping, and well-being (positive affect, depressive affect, religious satisfaction). Our predictions were largely confirmed. First, clergy reported higher levels of positive religious coping than elders, who, in turn, indicated more positive religious coping than members. Second, positive and negative religious coping were associated with higher and lower levels of well-being respectively. Finally, positive and negative religious coping were more strongly related to well-being for clergy than for members. Furthermore, the drawbacks of negative religious coping for the clergy were not offset completely by the benefits of positive religious coping. Longitudinal studies of the longer term implications of positive and negative religious coping are clearly warranted. The results also suggest the need for supportive and educational services to help clergy draw on their religious coping resources and come to terms with their spiritual struggles.
The Brief RCOPE: Current Psychometric Status of a Short Measure of Religious Coping
Religions, 2011
The Brief RCOPE is a 14-item measure of religious coping with major life stressors. As the most commonly used measure of religious coping in the literature, it has helped contribute to the growth of knowledge about the roles religion serves in the process of dealing with crisis, trauma, and transition. This paper reports on the development of the Brief RCOPE and its psychometric status. The scale developed out of Pargament's (1997) program of theory and research on religious coping. The items themselves were generated through interviews with people experiencing major life stressors. Two overarching forms of religious coping, positive and negative, were articulated through factor analysis of the full RCOPE. Positive religious coping methods reflect a secure relationship with a transcendent force, a sense of spiritual connectedness with others, and a benevolent world view. Negative religious coping methods reflect underlying spiritual tensions and struggles within oneself, with others, and with the divine. Empirical studies document the internal consistency of the positive and negative subscales of the Brief RCOPE. Moreover, empirical studies provide support for the construct validity, predictive validity, and incremental validity of the subscales. The Negative Religious Coping subscale, in particular, has emerged as a robust predictor of health-related outcomes. Initial evidence suggests that the Brief RCOPE may be useful as an evaluative tool that is sensitive to the effects of psychological interventions. In short, the Brief RCOPE has demonstrated its utility as an instrument for research and practice in the psychology of religion and spirituality.