Kept in His Care: The Role of Perceived Divine Control in Positive Reappraisal Coping

Abstract

A formidable body of literature suggests that numerous dimensions of religious involvement can facilitate productive coping. One common assumption in this field is that religious worldviews provide overarching frameworks of meaning by which to positively reinterpret stressors. The current study explicitly tests this assumption by examining whether perceived divine control-i.e., the notion that God controls the course and direction of one's life-buffers the adverse effects of recent traumatic life events on one's capacity for positive reappraisal coping. We analyze cross-sectional survey data from Vanderbilt University's Nashville Stress and Health Study (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014), a probability sample of non-Hispanic black and white adults aged 22 to 69 living in Davidson County, Tennessee (n = 1252). Findings from multivariate regression models confirm: (1) there was an inverse association between past-year traumatic life events and positive reappraisals; but (2) perceived divine control significantly attenuated this inverse association. Substantively, our findings suggest that people who believe God controls their life outcomes are better suited for positively reinterpreting traumatic experiences. Implications, limitations, and avenues for future research are discussed.

Does Religious Involvement Mitigate the Effects of Major Discrimination on the Mental Health of African Americans? Findings from the Nashville Stress and Health Study

“…This may facilitate bonding and solidarity with others who have undergone similar experiences, affirming that negative treatment stems from the ignorance of perpetrators, and does not reflect on the character or worth of victims. Such a process would be broadly consistent with recent literature linking religious factors with tendencies to cope by adopting benign reappraisals of stressful events and conditions (DeAngelis and Ellison 2017;Vishkin et al 2016).…”

Examining religious/spiritual change among women with metastatic breast cancer

“…Giving up control to God is one of five coping methods suggested by Pargament, Koenig, and Perez (2000). Furthermore, belief in divine control helps some people cope with traumatic life events and serious illness (DeAngelis and Ellison 2017). However, people like Kay question divine control and experience more religious doubt than comfort from God.…”

“…Several aspects of congregational life, such as receiving church‐based support and attending religious services, are also sometimes used as coping tools (Krause and Hayward 2012; Rainville 2018). Furthermore, belief in divine control (DeAngelis and Ellison 2017), attachment to God (Cassibba et al. 2014), and reading the Bible (Krause and Pargament 2018) helps some people cope with traumatic life events and serious illness.…”

“…We know aCoping Resources, Loneliness, and Depressive Symptoms of Older Women With Chronic Illness great deal about religion and trauma, including how religion is used to positively and negatively cope with personal misfortune, death of a loved one, serious illness, and nonterminal cancer (Cassibba et al. 2014; Cummings and Pargament 2010; DeAngelis and Ellison 2017; Hayward and Krause 2016; Krause and Hayward 2012; Krause and Pargament 2018; Oates 2013; Rainville 2018; Zuckerman 2012). We do not know much about how religiosity and religious coping changes after a terminal health diagnosis that overwhelmingly affects women and has a relatively short life span, such as metastatic breast cancer (MBC).…”

Centrality of Religiosity and Dyadic Coping in Close Romantic Relationships: Actor Partner Interdependence Model

“…Partners might be entrusting their problems to God but are simultaneously neglecting their partner and the problems in their relationship. Spirituality can serve as an individual coping strategy (DeAngelis and Ellison 2017;Howell et al 2018;Manning et al 2019) that allows one partner to better manage their own stress. Religious women, who hold the conviction that marriage is indissoluble and that there is a sense of obligation to remain in it, may paradoxically aim less to express their emotions and needs and to solve problems together with their partners; instead, they try more to deal with emerging difficulties on their own as they see this as their duty.…”