Title

Predictors of God concept and God control after Hurricane Katrina

School/Department

Rosemead School of Psychology

Publication Date

8-2012

Abstract

his study examined demographic and hurricane-related resource loss predictors on God concepts and God control among Hurricane Katrina survivors (N = 142) from Mississippi Gulf Coast communities approximately five months after the storm. The findings from this study of Katrina survivors suggest that significant loss from natural disasters has an impact on one's conception of and beliefs about God. It was found that increased levels of resource loss predicted a more negative conceptual portrayal of God. Greater object resource loss predicted perceptions of less God control over the outcome of events. Further, it was found that the strongest individual predictor of a God concept that was more negative and in less control of event outcomes was the loss of food and water, suggesting the importance of critical resource loss on how one conceives of God. Overall, the findings suggest that, for many people who self-identify as spiritual and /or religious, spiritual resources may be the one explanatory system that is uniquely capable of helping disaster survivors to understand traumatic events, to have a sense of control of such events, and, in the process, to still maintain a healthy picture of one's self.

Keywords

God; Hurrican Katrina; Natural disasters

Publication Title

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

Volume

4

Issue

3

First Page

182

Last Page

192

DOI of Published Version

10.1037/a0027541

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