Religion and coping with trauma

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One of the most common ways that people cope with trauma is through the comfort found in religious or spiritual practices. [1] Psychologists of religion have performed multiple studies to measure the positive and negative effects of this coping style. [2] Leading researchers have split religious coping into two categories: positive religious coping and negative religious coping. Individuals who use positive religious coping are likely to seek spiritual support and look for meaning in a traumatic situation. Negative religious coping (or spiritual struggles) expresses conflict, question, and doubt regarding issues of God and faith.

Contents

The effects of religious coping are measured in many different circumstances, each with different outcomes. Some common experiences where people use religious coping are fear-inflicting events such as 9/11 or the Holocaust, death and sickness, and near death experiences. Research also shows that people also use religious coping to deal with everyday stressors in addition to life-changing traumas. The underlying assumption of the ability of religion to influence the coping process lies in the hypothesis that religion is more than a defence mechanism as it was viewed by Sigmund Freud. Rather than inspiring denial, religion stimulates reinterpretations of negative events through the sacred lens. [3]

Styles of religious coping

Kenneth Pargament is the author of the book Psychology of Religion and Coping and a leading researcher in religious coping. Along with developing the "RCOPE" questionnaire to measure religious coping strategies, [4] Pargament and his colleagues designated three basic styles of coping with stress. [5] In Pargament's article "Religion and the Problem-Solving Process: Three Styles of Coping", he identifies the collaborative, self-directed, and deferring coping styles. The collaborative style of religious coping involves an active and internalized personal exchange with God. The deferring coping style is when individuals rely heavily on God and delegate their stress without taking personal responsibility for the situation. The self-directed style of religious coping emphasizes the free will given by God that allows for the individual to solve the problem on their own. The collaborative style of coping has been found to produce the most advantages in clinical settings. [6]

In a meta-analysis of 49 studies reviewing religion as a coping method, several mechanisms of positive coping were identified. Several are listed below.

In the same study, negative coping strategies were also pinpointed. Some of them are listed below.

The study then identified forms of positive psychological adjustment, like those listed below.

A similar list of negative psychological adjustments was compiled.

Positive religious coping methods correlated more strongly with positive psychological adjustment than negative psychological adjustment. Similarly, negative religious coping methods correlated with negative psychological adjustment. [7]

Specific traumatic events

September 11 attacks

The September 11 attacks have been widely studied among psychologists. Research has shown that 90% of Americans coped with the stress of September 11 (2001) by "turning to religion". [8] Sixty-two percent of a sample of undergraduate and graduate students reported praying to cope with the stress that followed the attacks. [9] Further analysis showed that searching for spiritual meaning was associated with less anxiety and depression. [10] Psychologists also examined the types of coping used and how they affected mental health outcomes. Research shows that people who used positive religious coping displayed greater optimism, less anxiety, and higher levels of positive emotion three months after the attacks. [11] Individuals who used positive religious coping were found to have significantly more positive outcomes (closeness with God, relationships with family and friends) than those who used negative religious coping. [12] American Muslims were another highly studied group after the attacks. Results in this area align with previous research, showing that positive religious coping is associated with posttraumatic growth, while negative religious coping predicted higher levels of depression and anxiety. [13]

Death of a loved one

Individuals deal with the death of significant people in their lives in a variety of ways. One of the most common ways that Americans deal with the death of a loved one is by turning to religion. Although most psychologists would argue that religious coping leads to positive outcomes, some research identifies that coping using religious can lead to greater amounts of distress, especially in dealing with the loss of a family member due to homicide. [14] Further research recognized that the role of attachment to God is very important in determining how successful religious coping will be. [15] Research shows that secure attachment to God and a positive religious coping style is positively correlated with stress related growth, positive religious outcomes, and a developed sense of meaning. Anxious and avoidant attachments to God and negative religious coping styles were positively correlated with depression, traumatic distress, and separation distress. Furthermore, attachment to God was strongly more correlated to positive outcomes than attachment to others. [16]

Near-death experiences

Near-death experiences (NDEs) provide a unique opportunity for psychologists to study the way in which people cope with their own death. NDEs generally trigger an out-of-body experience into a realm populated with spiritual beings and have the potential to shape American attitudes toward death in general. [17] Surveys show that five percent of Americans have a NDE, which presents a limited field to study. [18] In general, people who have NDEs report positive outcomes including reduced anxiety, increased capacity to love, and a higher sense of meaning and purpose in life. [19] Individuals who have NDEs often fall into Pargament's category of transformative coping. In these cases, the person is transformed into a whole new way of life and way of thinking by one supernatural experience. [20]

Using religious coping in school and work

MindUP Initiative

Twelve years ago Goldie Hawn founded MindUP: a mindfulness based initiative to help students in schools deal with stress. [21] The program has since been implemented in schools in 28 states, and has locations in Canada, China, Serbia, Australia, and Venezuela. The program invites students to participate in 15 lessons based on neuroscience. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl an employee of MindsUP and of the University of British Columbia evaluated the effectiveness of MindUP on students grades 4 through 5. Her findings are shown below:

Even though MindUP has had very positive effects skeptics call it religion in disguise. They claim that the mindfulness exercises such as "belly breaths" are Buddhist practices as a different name. In some states MindUP has been removed from schools because schools are supposed to be secular and non-religious.

Religion as buffer in the workplace

A study was conducted by Dr Roxane Gervais, a senior psychologist at the Health and Safety Laboratory in Stockport. [22] She found that people who were more actively religious were more likely to report low levels of anxiety, depression and fatigue and also felt a higher presence of meaning in life. These people also took less sick days. She concluded that employers should accommodate time for employees to engage in religious beliefs while at work in order to improve performance.

Religious coping in clinical settings

Despite the problems encountered when studying religion as a coping mechanism, much research suggests that using it in intervention settings when applicable may be beneficial. For example, according to a study be Wachholtz and Pargament, when identified religious people suffering from splitting migraines were exposed to meditations with religious or non-religious content, they reported less pain after the religious meditations. Such "psychospiritual" methods have been utilized for a while, although their applications are limited and specific from person to person. [23]

Religion vs. spirituality

Research in the psychology of religion often reveals different outcomes between religion and spirituality. A person's religion is a collection of belief systems and moral values, often established by a governing institution. Religion is generally more traditional, organized, and sociological. Religion is considered to be more formal and upheld than spirituality. [24] Spirituality, on the other hand, is a measure of one's intrinsic relationship with their God. Spirituality is viewed and studied as being more free-formed and psychological. Also, spirituality is considered to be a private experience that promotes a process of growing. [24] In the psychology of coping with trauma, religion and spirituality can play very different roles. Some research shows that religion, but not spirituality can help with coping, [25] whereas other shows that intrinsic spirituality can be a very effective style of coping. [26] The differences found between religious and spiritual coping may be further evidence of the role of attachment styles and types of coping used. Through religious and spiritual coping, individuals can derive support from a divine being, from other members of a religious congregation, and from making meaning of distressing events, which can lead to the promotion of resilience, healing, and well-being. [27]

Problems with studying religious coping

Studying religion as a coping mechanism has proved a difficult task for psychologists. Religion seems to be an integral part of some people's lives but not of others, so specialists cannot be certain whether religion is the variable to study or if there is something about religious people that makes them religious that is worth studying. Many studies only measure the frequency of certain "religious" activities including prayer or religious service attendance; however, just because a person exhibits religious behavior does not mean that he or she uses his or her religion to cope or even adheres to the set of beliefs that constitutes a religion. [28]

Much of the research done on religion and coping has been isolated to Christianity. Studies are being conducted to accommodate for the diversity of religions and their differences among cultures.

Many studies on the subject show contrary results. For example, some psychologists conclude that religiosity has no positive or negative outcomes at all and others cite that any form of religious coping has ultimately negative effects. These results may be a product of the inconsistencies in the ways that religion is studied as a coping mechanism or could reflect biases of researchers toward a certain religion. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

Psychology of religion consists of the application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of religious traditions as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. The various methods and frameworks can be summarized according to the classic distinction between the natural-scientific and human-scientific approaches. The first cluster amounts to objective, quantitative, and preferably experimental procedures for testing hypotheses about causal connections among the objects of one's study. In contrast, the human-scientific approach accesses the human world of experience using qualitative, phenomenological, and interpretive methods. This approach aims to discern meaningful, rather than causal, connections among the phenomena one seeks to understand.

Coping refers to conscious or unconscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviors and can be individual or social. To cope is to deal with struggles and difficulties in life. It is a way for people to maintain their mental and emotional well-being. Everybody has ways of handling difficult events that occur in life, and that is what it means to cope. Coping can be healthy and productive, or destructive and unhealthy. It is recommended that an individual cope in ways that will be beneficial and healthy. "Managing your stress well can help you feel better physically and psychologically and it can impact your ability to perform your best."

Psychological resilience is the ability to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis, or to return to pre-crisis status quickly.

Childhood trauma is often described as serious adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Children may go through a range of experiences that classify as psychological trauma; these might include neglect, abandonment, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse, witnessing abuse of a sibling or parent, or having a mentally ill parent. These events have profound psychological, physiological, and sociological impacts and can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being such as unsocial behaviors, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and sleep disturbances. Similarly, children whose mothers have experienced traumatic or stressful events during pregnancy have an increased risk of mental health disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Kenneth I. Pargament is an emeritus professor of psychology at Bowling Green State University.

In psychology, posttraumatic growth (PTG) is positive psychological change experienced as a result of struggling with highly challenging, highly stressful life circumstances. These circumstances represent significant challenges to the adaptive resources of the individual, and pose significant challenges to the individual's way of understanding the world and their place in it. Posttraumatic growth involves "life-changing" psychological shifts in thinking and relating to the world and the self, that contribute to a personal process of change, that is deeply meaningful.

Spiritual crisis is a form of identity crisis where an individual experiences drastic changes to their meaning system typically because of a spontaneous spiritual experience. A spiritual crisis may cause significant disruption in psychological, social, and occupational functioning. Among the spiritual experiences thought to lead to episodes of spiritual crisis or spiritual emergency are psychiatric complications related to existential crisis, mystical experience, near-death experiences, Kundalini syndrome, paranormal experiences, religious ecstasy, or other spiritual practices.

Psychology encompasses a vast domain, and includes many different approaches to the study of mental processes and behavior. Below are the major areas of inquiry that taken together constitute psychology. A comprehensive list of the sub-fields and areas within psychology can be found at the list of psychology topics and list of psychology disciplines.

<i>The Psychology of Religion and Coping</i> 1997 book by Kenneth Pargament

The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice by Kenneth Pargament was published in the United States in 1997. It is addressed to professional psychologists and researchers, and has been reviewed in many professional journals. Originally hardbound, it was republished as a paperback in 2001. By 2010, it had been cited more than 450 times in the psychology literature.

<i>Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality for Use in Health Research</i>

Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality for Use in Health Research is a report, originally published in 1999, by a Fetzer Institute / National Institute on Aging working group on the measurement of religion and spirituality. A revised version with a new preface was published in 2003. The book presents a series of 12 self-report questionnaire measures, each focused on a particular aspect of religiousness or spirituality, along with reviews of underlying theory and supporting research. The book's purpose is to provide validated measures of spiritual and religious factors in health research. The book includes the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS), a practical measure with selected items from the 12 previous chapters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death anxiety</span> Anxiety caused by thoughts of death

Death anxiety is anxiety caused by thoughts of one's own death, and is also known as thanatophobia. Individuals affected by this kind of anxiety experience challenges and adversities in many aspects of their lives. Death anxiety is different from necrophobia, which refers to an irrational or disproportionate fear of dead bodies or of anything associated with death. Death anxiety has been found to affect people of differing demographic groups as well, such as men versus women, young versus old, etc. Different cultures can manifest aspects of death anxiety in differing degrees.

Scholarly studies have investigated the effects of religion on health. The World Health Organization (WHO) discerns four dimensions of health, namely physical, social, mental, and spiritual health. Having a religious belief may have both positive and negative impacts on health and morbidity.

Most scientists agree that religiosity is not an independent personality trait, despite there being some commonality between their characteristics. Religiosity and personality traits both relate to one's feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. However, unlike for personality, one's level of religiosity is often measured by the presence or lack of belief in and relationship with a higher power, certain lifestyles or behaviors adopted for a higher power, and a sense of belonging with other followers of one's religion. Additionally, personality traits tend to follow a normal distribution, such that the majority of individuals' scores for a personality trait will be concentrated towards the middle, rather than being extremely high or low. Distributions for religiosity, however, follow a non-normal distribution, such that there are more individuals who score particularly high or low on religiosity scales.

Everett L. Worthington Jr. is a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). His research interests include forgiveness and other virtues, religion and spirituality in clinical practice, and the hope-focused approach to counseling couples. He has written over 30 books on topics including forgiveness of others, self-forgiveness, character strength, religion and psychology, and couples' therapy, and he has published over 350 scholarly articles and chapters. Worthington has been frequently cited as an expert on his topics of interest in the scientific literature and public media.

Spirituality affects both mental and physical health outcomes in the general United States population across different ethnic groups. Because of the nuanced definitions of spirituality and religiosity, the literature on spirituality is not consistent in definitions or measures resulting in a lack of coherence. However, taken as a whole, research tends to show that the effect of spirituality is positive, associated with better health outcomes. For those who engage in spirituality, it may serve as a buffer from negative life events, often moderating the relationship between negative life experiences and levels of anxiety or depression. The exception is when negative spiritual coping is practiced. This type of coping has negative health implications.

In social psychology, shattered assumptions theory proposes that experiencing traumatic events can change how victims and survivors view themselves and the world. Specifically, the theory – published by Ronnie Janoff-Bulman in 1992 – concerns the effect that negative events have on three inherent assumptions: overall benevolence of the world, meaningfulness of the world, and self worth. These fundamental beliefs are the bedrock of our conceptual system and are the assumptions we are least aware of and least likely to challenge. They constitute our "assumptive world," defined as "a strongly held set of assumptions about the world and the self which is confidently maintained and used as a means of recognizing, planning, and acting" by C. M. Parkes. According to Janoff-Bulman, traumatic life events shatter these core assumptions, and coping involves rebuilding a viable assumptive world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optimism</span> Positive mental attitude

Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled with water to the halfway point: an optimist is said to see the glass as half full, while a pessimist sees the glass as half empty.

Emotional approach coping is a psychological construct that involves the use of emotional processing and emotional expression in response to a stressful situation. As opposed to emotional avoidance, in which emotions are experienced as a negative, undesired reaction to a stressful situation, emotional approach coping involves the conscious use of emotional expression and processing to better deal with a stressful situation. The construct was developed to explain an inconsistency in the stress and coping literature: emotion-focused coping was associated with largely maladaptive outcomes while emotional processing and expression was demonstrated to be beneficial.

Well-being is a multifaceted topic studied in psychology, especially positive psychology. Biologically, well-being is highly influenced by endogenous molecules that impact happiness and euphoria in organisms, often referred to as "well-being related markers". Related concepts are eudaimonia, happiness, flourishing, quality of life, contentment, and meaningful life.

Roxane Cohen Silver is a social, health psychologist known for her work on personal, national, and international traumas and how people cope with these traumas. She holds the position of Vice Provost for Academic Planning & Institutional Research and Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science, Public Health, and Medicine at the University of California, Irvine.

References

  1. ↑ Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. New York: Guilford Press.
  2. ↑ Trevino, K. M.; Pargament, K. I. (2007). "Religious coping with terrorism and natural disaster". Southern Medical Journal. 100 (9): 946–947. doi:10.1097/smj.0b013e3181454660. PMID   17902314.
  3. ↑ Krok, D. "The mediating role of coping in the relationships between religiousness and mental health (2014)". Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. ↑ Pargament, Kenneth I.; Koenig, Harold G.; Perez, Lisa M. (2000). "The many methods of religious coping: Development and initial validation of the RCOPE". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 56 (4): 519–543. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(200004)56:4<519::AID-JCLP6>3.0.CO;2-1. PMID   10775045.
  5. ↑ Kenneth I. Pargament, Joseph Kennell, William Hathaway, Nancy Grevengoed, Jon Newman & Wendy Jones (1988). Religion and the problem-solving process: Three styles of coping. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, v27 n1, pp90-104. ISSN 0021-8294
  6. ↑ Phillips, III; Lynn, Q. K.; Crossley, C. D.; Pargament, K. I. (2004). "Self-Directing Religious Coping: A Deistic God, Abandoning God, or No God at All?". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 43 (3): 409–418. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2004.00243.x.
  7. ↑ Ano, Gene; Vasconcelles, Erin (2005). "Religious Coping and Psychological Adjustment to Stress: A Meta-Analysis". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 61 (4): 461–80. doi:10.1002/jclp.20049. PMID   15503316.
  8. ↑ Koenig, Harold G (2009). "Research on Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health: A Review". The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 54 (5): 283–291. doi: 10.1177/070674370905400502 . PMID   19497160.
  9. ↑ Stein, BD; Elliott, MN; Jaycox, LH; et al. (2004). "A national longitudinal study of the psychological consequences of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: reactions, impairment, and help-seeking". Psychiatry. 67 (2): 105–117. doi:10.1521/psyc.67.2.105.35964. PMID   15262576.
  10. ↑ Ai, AL; Cascio, T; Santangelo, LK; et al. (2005). "Hope, meaning, and growth following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks". J Interpers Violence. 20 (5): 523–548. doi:10.1177/0886260504272896. PMID   15788553.
  11. ↑ Ai, AL; Tice, TN; Peterson, C; et al. (2005). "Prayers, spiritual support, and positive attitudes in coping with the September 11 national crisis". J Pers. 73 (3): 763–791. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00328.x. PMID   15854013.
  12. ↑ Pargament, KI; Ishler, K; Dubow, EF; et al. (1994). "Methods of religious coping with the Gulf War: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses". J Sci Study Relig. 33 (4): 347–361. doi:10.2307/1386494. JSTOR   1386494.
  13. ↑ Abu-Raiya, H.; Pargament, K. I.; Mahoney, A. (2010). "Examining coping methods with stressful interpersonal events experienced by Muslims living in the United States following the 9/11 attacks". Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. 3: 1–14. doi:10.1037/a0020034.
  14. ↑ Thompson, M. P.; Vardaman, P. J. (1997). "The role of religion in coping with the loss of a family member to homicide". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 36 (1): 44–51. doi:10.2307/1387881. JSTOR   1387881.
  15. ↑ Ungureanu, I.; Sandberg, J. G. (2010). "Broken together": Spirituality and religion as coping strategies for couples dealing with the death of a child: A literature review with clinical implications". Contemporary Family Therapy. 32 (3): 302–319. doi:10.1007/s10591-010-9120-8.
  16. ↑ Kelley, M. M. (2003, April). Bereavement and grief related to a significant death: A psychological and theological study of attachment styles and religious coping. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A, 63,
  17. ↑ Kwilecki, S (2004). "Religion and Coping: A Contribution from Religious Studies". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 43 (4): 477–489. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2004.00250.x.
  18. ↑ Bailey, L. W. and J. Yates. (1996.) Introduction. In the near-death experience: A reader, edited by L. W. Bailey and J. Yates, pp. 1–23. New York: Routledge.
  19. ↑ Atwater, P. M. H. (1994). Beyond the light: The mysteries and revelations of near-death experiences. New York: Avon Books.
  20. ↑ Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. New York: Guilford Press.
  21. ↑ Holland, E. (2015, Feb 17). Can 'mindfulness' help students do better in school? advocates say the meditation technique raises focus and lowers stress. critics see religion in disguise. Wall Street Journal (Online)
  22. ↑ Religion forms buffer against work stress. (2014, Jan 09). Telegraph.Co.Uk
  23. ↑ Gall, Terry Lynn; Guirguis-Younger, Manal (2013). Religious and Spiritual Coping: Current Theory and Research. American Psychological Association. pp. 356–357.
  24. 1 2 Bryant-Davis, T.; Wong, E. C. "Faith to move mountains: Religious coping, spirituality, and interpersonal trauma recovery (2013)". American Psychologist.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  25. ↑ Rees, Tomas. (2012). Religion, but not spirituality, helps protect against post-earthquake trauma. Epiphenom.
  26. ↑ Vespa, A.; Jacobsen, P. B.; Spazzafumo, L.; Balducci, L. (2011). "Evaluation of intrapsychic factors, coping styles, and spirituality of patients affected by tumors". Psycho-Oncology. 20 (1): 5–11. doi:10.1002/pon.1719. PMID   20336646.
  27. ↑ Bryant-Davis, T.; Wong, E. C. "Faith to move mountains: Religious coping, spirituality, and interpersonal trauma recovery (2013)". American Psychologist.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  28. ↑ Ano, Gene; Vasconcelles, Erin (2005). "Religious Coping and Psychological Adjustment to Stress: A Meta-Analysis". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 61 (4): 461–480. doi:10.1002/jclp.20049. PMID   15503316.
  29. ↑ Gall, Terry Lynn; Guirguis-Younger, Manal (2013). Religious and Spiritual Coping: Current Theory and Research. American Psychological Association. p. 351.
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