Title

Stressful events and religious/spiritual struggle: Moderating effects of the general orienting system.

School/Department

Rosemead School of Psychology

Publication Date

2019

Abstract

Religious/spiritual struggle (R/S struggle) often occurs in the context of stressful life events and is consistently associated with higher levels of psychological distress. However, little is known about the factors that cushion or exacerbate the effects of stressful life events on R/S struggle. The orienting system is an individual’s general way of viewing and dealing with the world and includes resources and burdens for handling stressful events. This study examines the moderating effect of emotional, social, spiritual, behavioral, and cognitive domains of the orienting system on the relationship between stressful life events and R/S struggle in a cross-sectional study of a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. Multiple indicators of each domain were examined. The results indicated that emotional (anger, death anxiety), social (social isolation), behavioral (smoking status), and spiritual (insecure relationship with God) burdens moderated the relationship between stressful life events and R/S struggle. Cognitive (self-esteem, optimism), social (emotional support), and spiritual (religious hope) resources did not moderate this relationship. These results indicate that multiple components of the orienting system function as burdens that magnify the relationship between stressful life events and R/S struggle. Further, these findings point to potential clinical targets for reducing the intensity of R/S struggle in the context of stressful life events.

Keywords

Life change events; Stress;

Publication Title

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

Volume

11

Issue

3

First Page

214

Last Page

223

DOI of Published Version

10.1037/rel0000149

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