This study examined associations among romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance, positive and negative religious coping, and marital adjustment in a community sample of 81 heterosexual couples. Both spouses completed the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), a brief measure of religious coping (Brief RCOPE), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and a demographic questionnaire as part of a larger study. Multilevel modeling (MLM) for the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) was used. Attachment avoidance was inversely related to positive religious coping. In contrast, attachment anxiety was directly related to negative religious coping. Positive religious coping buffered the relationship between attachment avoidance and marital adjustment. In contrast, attachment anxiety was detrimental to marital adjustment regardless of positive religious coping, and positive religious coping was related to higher marital adjustment only in the context of low attachment anxiety. Surprisingly, the spouse's attachment anxiety was inversely related to the respondent's marital adjustment only when the respondent reported low levels of negative religious coping, whereas in the context of high negative religious coping, the partner's attachment anxiety was related to higher marital adjustment. Results support using attachment theory to conceptualize religious coping and the consideration of both attachment and religious coping constructs in counseling.

The central purpose of this study was to use structural equation modeling techniques on a newly developed measure of religious coping, the Assessment of Beliefs and Behaviors in Coping (ABC), in order to confirm the factor structure previously established through exploratory factor analysis. The ABC is a two-part, 40-item measure (each part containing 20 items) that measures attitudes about the helpfulness of religious coping as well as use of religious coping behaviors. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine whether the established factor structure is the same across religious groups. Participants were 885 undergraduate students from the Department of Educational Psychology subject pool. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess the fit of the hypothesized structure as well as explore the fit of competing models. The factor structure of the attitude portion of the measure was confirmed independently of the behavior portion of the measure. Both scales demonstrated the initially theorized four-factor model. Multi-group analyses were then conducted on each portion of the ABC, again, independently. Partial scalar invariance was demonstrated for the ABC – Attitudes (across three groups, Christians, Non-Christians, and Non-Believers). Partial scalar invariance was also demonstrated for the ABC – Behaviors, but only for the Christian and Non-Christian groups. Finally, participants’ scores on the ABC were compared to their scores on existing measures of similar constructs to assess for convergent validity. Reliability of the instrument was also evaluated. By better understanding the role religion plays in coping with stressful life events, the objective is to aid mental health professionals in addressing religion, when applicable, with their clients. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for counseling psychology are also discussed. / text

The purpose of the proposed study is to examine the relationships among the strength of college students’ religious faith and positive coping behaviors (religious and non-religious) and their subsequent effects on physical and psychological well-being, perceived stress, and life satisfaction. Research has shown strength of faith to be positively associated with both mental health and life satisfaction, which in turn, are often related to better health (Larson et al., 1992; Ellison, 1991). Positive religious and non-religious coping behaviors have also been shown to have similar relationships with the aforementioned outcomes (Koenig et al., 2001). The potential mediating relationships between the variables will be tested with the multiple regression methods outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986). / text

This study examined whether religious coping moderated the effects of thin-ideal images on body satisfaction among college women. Religious (N = 178) participants met for a pre-test to complete religiosity measures. A week later, the participants reconvened and were assigned to one of two conditions: before (n = 83) or after (n = 95). Within each of these two groups, participants were randomly assigned to read a list of statements: positive religious statements, positive nonreligious statements, negative religious statements, positive body neutral religious statements, and neutral statements. Each participant was exposed to a task that included 10 images of thin-ideal models, read her list of statements, and completed the Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the EDI-3. The results revealed no significant main effect of placement, type of statement and no significant Placement X Statement Type interaction. However, when religious statements were collapsed and a subsequent 2 (Placement) X 3 (Statement type) analysis was conducted the results indicated a significant main effect for type of statement. Reading religious statements resulted in less body dissatisfaction than non-religious statements. There was no main effect for placement and no Placement X Statement Type interaction. Ethnic differences in religiosity were noted (all p’s <.05). Implications and future directions in research are discussed.

Recent advancements in the general child disaster literature underscore the important role of coping in children's postdisaster adjustment. Religious coping in children, a potentially important category of coping strategies, has received little attention until recent years. Moreover, its role in the context of post fire adjustment has not been studied. The present study examined the psychometric soundness of the Religious Coping Activities Scale (RCAS; Pargament et al., 1990) in children and adolescents and explored its utility in predicting children's religious coping over time: moreover, the study evaluated its role in predicting PTSD symptomatology over an extended period of time. This investigation included 140 children and adolescents (ages 8-18). Factor analyses of the RCAS revealed a 6-factor solution very similar to the factor structure in the original study. This finding suggests that the RCAS is a promising instrument to measure children's religious coping efforts. Hypotheses concerning the prediction of children's religious coping were only partially supported. Regression analyses indicated mixed findings in terms of the contributions of selected variables to the prediction of children's Spiritually Based Coping and Religious Discontent. Overall, the regression model predicted Religious Discontent better than Spiritually Based Coping. A mixed-effects regression model and hierarchical regression analyses were both employed to examine the role of children's religious coping in predicting short-term and long-term PTSD symptomatology following the residential fires. Results from the mixed-effects regression indicated that loss, time since the fire, child's age, race, and race by age interaction significantly predicted children's PTSD symptoms over time. However, time specific regression analyses revealed different predictive power of the variables across the three assessment waves. Specifically, analyses with Time 1 data revealed the same findings as did the mixed-effects model, except that time since the fire was not a significant predictor in this analysis. General coping strategies appeared to be the only salient predictors for PTSD at Time 2. Finally, Religious Discontent appeared to be negatively related to PTSD at a later time. / Ph. D.

A significant body of research has identified the deleterious effects of stress on psychological well-being (e.g., Tataro, Luecken, & Gunn, 2004). Religiosity and religious coping have been identified as variables that may impact a person’s experience with stress (Ano & Vasconcelles, 2005). Aukst-Margetic and Margetic (2005) suggest that the connection between stress, religious variables, and well-being can be understood through the frame of psychoimmunodocrinological research, which examines the relationship between neurohormonal functioning (e.g., cortisol level) with psychological factors that may impact health. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether acute stress reactivity, as measured by changes in cortisol levels in response to a laboratory stressor, is related to religiosity, religious coping, and psychological well-being such as depression and anxiety. Another purpose of this study was to attempt to replicate and extend Tataro, Luecken, & Gunn (2005), which found evidence that higher religiosity and composite religiosity/spirituality was associated with lower cortisol level after exposure to acute stress. Results indicated that cortisol level was not significantly related to gender, self-rated religiousness, spirituality, frequency of prayer, or forgiveness. In addition, cortisol reactivity was not significantly related to measures of psychological well-being, although negative religious coping significantly predicted depression, and state and trait forms of anxiety. Limitations, practical implications, as well suggestions for future research are discussed.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso entre crianças. A investigação teve como base dois estudos realizados a partir de uma única coleta de dados. O primeiro estudo refere-se à tradução, adaptação e validação da escala Children´s Religious Coping (CRC) e foi dividido em duas fases: (1) tradução, adaptação e teste piloto (N = 74) e (2) Aplicação e Validação da Escala CRC. Participaram da pesquisa 1612 crianças entre 08 e 13 anos (M = 10,2; DP = 1,47), sendo 54,7% meninas, matriculadas em escolas públicas (54,6%) e particulares (45,4%) do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram realizadas Análises Fatoriais Exploratórias e Confirmatórias para verificar a estrutura fatorial da escala, além de análise da consistência interna. Os resultados indicaram uma composição da CRC com duas dimensões: Coping Religioso Positivo (CRP), formada por 19 itens em três fatores, e Coping Religioso Negativo (CRN), formada por 12 itens em três fatores. Os índices de consistência interna apresentaram bons níveis tanto para a escala geral ( = 0,90), como para as duas dimensões ( = 0,92 para CRP; e = 0,81 para CRN). Pode-se afirmar que a escala apresentou bons indicadores de funcionamento para essa amostra, mostrando-se um instrumento promissor para futuras pesquisas. O segundo estudo teve como objetivo principal avaliar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso pelas crianças. Foram utilizados como instrumentos a escala CRC adaptada e o Índice de Bem-estar Pessoal para Crianças (PWISC). Através de análises descritivas foram avaliados o índice de bem-estar pessoal e a satisfação com diferentes domínios da vida. Também foram descritas a frequência do uso de estratégias de coping religioso, e as situações de estresse relatadas pelas crianças. ANOVAs indicaram que o índice de bem-estar é maior entre meninos, bem como entre as crianças menores. Em relação ao uso de estratégias de coping, foram encontradas diferenças significativas por idade no uso das estratégias de CRP, indicando que à medida que a idade aumenta, diminui o uso dessas estratégias. As análises de regressão múltipla identificaram a dimensão CRP, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à crença no apoio e proteção de Deus, como preditor de maior bem-estar, e a dimensão CRN, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à reavaliação do estressor como uma punição, como preditor de menor bemestar. Conclui-se que as crianças fazem uso de diferentes estratégias de coping religioso ao lidarem com situações de estresse e que esse engajamento parece estar relacionado ao seu bem-estar pessoal. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies of children. The investigation was based upon two studies made from a single data collection. The first study concerns the translation, adaptation and validation of the Children’s Religious Coping Scale (CRC) and it was divided in two phases: (1) Translation, Adaptation and Pilot Test (N = 74) and (2) Application and Validation of the CRC Scale. A number of 1612 children between 08 and 13 years old (M = 10.2, SD = 1.47), of which 54.7% girls, enrolled in public (54.6%) and private (45.4%) schools of the State of Rio Grande do Sul participated in the research. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factorial Analyses were performed to verify the scale’s factor structure, besides the analysis of the internal consistency. Results indicated the CRC was composed by two dimensions: Positive Religious Coping (PRC), with 19 items in three factors, and Negative Religious Coping (NRC), consisting of 12 items in three factors. The internal consistency indices showed good levels both for the overall scale ( = .90), as well as for the two dimensions ( = .92 for PRC; and = .81 for NRC). It can be stated that the scale showed good indicators of functioning for this sample, demonstrating that it can be a promising instrument for future research. The second study aimed mainly at evaluating the relationship between personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies by children. The instruments used were the adapted CRC scale and the Personal Wellbeing Index - School Children (PWI-SC). Personal well-being and satisfaction with different life domains were evaluated through descriptive analyzes. The frequency of the use of religious coping strategies and stressful situations reported by children were also described. ANOVAs indicated that the well-being index is higher among boys and between younger children. Regarding the use of coping strategies, significant age differences were found in the use of the PRC strategies, indicating that as age increases, the use of these strategies decreases. The multiple regression analysis identified the PRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the belief in the support and protection of God, as a predictor of greater well-being, and the NRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the revaluation of the stressor as a punishment, as a predictor of lower well-being. Our conclusion is that children make use of different religious coping strategies to deal with stressful situations and that this engagement seems to be related to their personal well-being.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso entre crianças. A investigação teve como base dois estudos realizados a partir de uma única coleta de dados. O primeiro estudo refere-se à tradução, adaptação e validação da escala Children´s Religious Coping (CRC) e foi dividido em duas fases: (1) tradução, adaptação e teste piloto (N = 74) e (2) Aplicação e Validação da Escala CRC. Participaram da pesquisa 1612 crianças entre 08 e 13 anos (M = 10,2; DP = 1,47), sendo 54,7% meninas, matriculadas em escolas públicas (54,6%) e particulares (45,4%) do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram realizadas Análises Fatoriais Exploratórias e Confirmatórias para verificar a estrutura fatorial da escala, além de análise da consistência interna. Os resultados indicaram uma composição da CRC com duas dimensões: Coping Religioso Positivo (CRP), formada por 19 itens em três fatores, e Coping Religioso Negativo (CRN), formada por 12 itens em três fatores. Os índices de consistência interna apresentaram bons níveis tanto para a escala geral ( = 0,90), como para as duas dimensões ( = 0,92 para CRP; e = 0,81 para CRN). Pode-se afirmar que a escala apresentou bons indicadores de funcionamento para essa amostra, mostrando-se um instrumento promissor para futuras pesquisas. O segundo estudo teve como objetivo principal avaliar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso pelas crianças. Foram utilizados como instrumentos a escala CRC adaptada e o Índice de Bem-estar Pessoal para Crianças (PWISC). Através de análises descritivas foram avaliados o índice de bem-estar pessoal e a satisfação com diferentes domínios da vida. Também foram descritas a frequência do uso de estratégias de coping religioso, e as situações de estresse relatadas pelas crianças. ANOVAs indicaram que o índice de bem-estar é maior entre meninos, bem como entre as crianças menores. Em relação ao uso de estratégias de coping, foram encontradas diferenças significativas por idade no uso das estratégias de CRP, indicando que à medida que a idade aumenta, diminui o uso dessas estratégias. As análises de regressão múltipla identificaram a dimensão CRP, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à crença no apoio e proteção de Deus, como preditor de maior bem-estar, e a dimensão CRN, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à reavaliação do estressor como uma punição, como preditor de menor bemestar. Conclui-se que as crianças fazem uso de diferentes estratégias de coping religioso ao lidarem com situações de estresse e que esse engajamento parece estar relacionado ao seu bem-estar pessoal. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies of children. The investigation was based upon two studies made from a single data collection. The first study concerns the translation, adaptation and validation of the Children’s Religious Coping Scale (CRC) and it was divided in two phases: (1) Translation, Adaptation and Pilot Test (N = 74) and (2) Application and Validation of the CRC Scale. A number of 1612 children between 08 and 13 years old (M = 10.2, SD = 1.47), of which 54.7% girls, enrolled in public (54.6%) and private (45.4%) schools of the State of Rio Grande do Sul participated in the research. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factorial Analyses were performed to verify the scale’s factor structure, besides the analysis of the internal consistency. Results indicated the CRC was composed by two dimensions: Positive Religious Coping (PRC), with 19 items in three factors, and Negative Religious Coping (NRC), consisting of 12 items in three factors. The internal consistency indices showed good levels both for the overall scale ( = .90), as well as for the two dimensions ( = .92 for PRC; and = .81 for NRC). It can be stated that the scale showed good indicators of functioning for this sample, demonstrating that it can be a promising instrument for future research. The second study aimed mainly at evaluating the relationship between personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies by children. The instruments used were the adapted CRC scale and the Personal Wellbeing Index - School Children (PWI-SC). Personal well-being and satisfaction with different life domains were evaluated through descriptive analyzes. The frequency of the use of religious coping strategies and stressful situations reported by children were also described. ANOVAs indicated that the well-being index is higher among boys and between younger children. Regarding the use of coping strategies, significant age differences were found in the use of the PRC strategies, indicating that as age increases, the use of these strategies decreases. The multiple regression analysis identified the PRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the belief in the support and protection of God, as a predictor of greater well-being, and the NRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the revaluation of the stressor as a punishment, as a predictor of lower well-being. Our conclusion is that children make use of different religious coping strategies to deal with stressful situations and that this engagement seems to be related to their personal well-being.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso entre crianças. A investigação teve como base dois estudos realizados a partir de uma única coleta de dados. O primeiro estudo refere-se à tradução, adaptação e validação da escala Children´s Religious Coping (CRC) e foi dividido em duas fases: (1) tradução, adaptação e teste piloto (N = 74) e (2) Aplicação e Validação da Escala CRC. Participaram da pesquisa 1612 crianças entre 08 e 13 anos (M = 10,2; DP = 1,47), sendo 54,7% meninas, matriculadas em escolas públicas (54,6%) e particulares (45,4%) do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram realizadas Análises Fatoriais Exploratórias e Confirmatórias para verificar a estrutura fatorial da escala, além de análise da consistência interna. Os resultados indicaram uma composição da CRC com duas dimensões: Coping Religioso Positivo (CRP), formada por 19 itens em três fatores, e Coping Religioso Negativo (CRN), formada por 12 itens em três fatores. Os índices de consistência interna apresentaram bons níveis tanto para a escala geral ( = 0,90), como para as duas dimensões ( = 0,92 para CRP; e = 0,81 para CRN). Pode-se afirmar que a escala apresentou bons indicadores de funcionamento para essa amostra, mostrando-se um instrumento promissor para futuras pesquisas. O segundo estudo teve como objetivo principal avaliar a relação entre o bem-estar pessoal e o uso de estratégias de coping religioso pelas crianças. Foram utilizados como instrumentos a escala CRC adaptada e o Índice de Bem-estar Pessoal para Crianças (PWISC). Através de análises descritivas foram avaliados o índice de bem-estar pessoal e a satisfação com diferentes domínios da vida. Também foram descritas a frequência do uso de estratégias de coping religioso, e as situações de estresse relatadas pelas crianças. ANOVAs indicaram que o índice de bem-estar é maior entre meninos, bem como entre as crianças menores. Em relação ao uso de estratégias de coping, foram encontradas diferenças significativas por idade no uso das estratégias de CRP, indicando que à medida que a idade aumenta, diminui o uso dessas estratégias. As análises de regressão múltipla identificaram a dimensão CRP, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à crença no apoio e proteção de Deus, como preditor de maior bem-estar, e a dimensão CRN, especificamente as estratégias relacionadas à reavaliação do estressor como uma punição, como preditor de menor bemestar. Conclui-se que as crianças fazem uso de diferentes estratégias de coping religioso ao lidarem com situações de estresse e que esse engajamento parece estar relacionado ao seu bem-estar pessoal. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies of children. The investigation was based upon two studies made from a single data collection. The first study concerns the translation, adaptation and validation of the Children’s Religious Coping Scale (CRC) and it was divided in two phases: (1) Translation, Adaptation and Pilot Test (N = 74) and (2) Application and Validation of the CRC Scale. A number of 1612 children between 08 and 13 years old (M = 10.2, SD = 1.47), of which 54.7% girls, enrolled in public (54.6%) and private (45.4%) schools of the State of Rio Grande do Sul participated in the research. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factorial Analyses were performed to verify the scale’s factor structure, besides the analysis of the internal consistency. Results indicated the CRC was composed by two dimensions: Positive Religious Coping (PRC), with 19 items in three factors, and Negative Religious Coping (NRC), consisting of 12 items in three factors. The internal consistency indices showed good levels both for the overall scale ( = .90), as well as for the two dimensions ( = .92 for PRC; and = .81 for NRC). It can be stated that the scale showed good indicators of functioning for this sample, demonstrating that it can be a promising instrument for future research. The second study aimed mainly at evaluating the relationship between personal well-being and the use of religious coping strategies by children. The instruments used were the adapted CRC scale and the Personal Wellbeing Index - School Children (PWI-SC). Personal well-being and satisfaction with different life domains were evaluated through descriptive analyzes. The frequency of the use of religious coping strategies and stressful situations reported by children were also described. ANOVAs indicated that the well-being index is higher among boys and between younger children. Regarding the use of coping strategies, significant age differences were found in the use of the PRC strategies, indicating that as age increases, the use of these strategies decreases. The multiple regression analysis identified the PRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the belief in the support and protection of God, as a predictor of greater well-being, and the NRC dimension, more specifically the strategies related to the revaluation of the stressor as a punishment, as a predictor of lower well-being. Our conclusion is that children make use of different religious coping strategies to deal with stressful situations and that this engagement seems to be related to their personal well-being.

Although numerous studies have shown that discrimination contributes to poorer mental health, the precise mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. In this paper, we consider the possibility that the association between day-to-day discrimination (being disrespected, insulted, and harassed) and depressive symptoms is partially mediated by religious struggles (religious doubts and negative religious coping). To test our mediation model, we use data collected from the 2011 Miami-Dade Health Survey (n = 444) to estimate a series of multiple regression models assessing associations among day-to-day discrimination, religious struggles, and depressive symptoms. We find that day-to-day discrimination is positively associated with religious struggles and depressive symptoms, net of adjustments for general religious involvement, age, gender, race, ethnicity, immigrant status, interview language, education, employment, household income, financial strain, and marital status. We also observe that religious struggles are positively associated with depressive symptoms. Our mediation analyses confirm that day-to-day discrimination can contribute to depressive symptoms by stirring religious struggles. Our key finding is that religious struggles may serve as a maladaptive coping response to discrimination. Our analyses extend previous work by bridging research in the areas of discrimination, religious struggles, and mental health.