Religious Coping and Locus of Control in Normal Pregnancy: Moderating Effects Between Pregnancy Worries and Mental Health

Abstract

Most studies about coping in pregnancy focus on risk pregnancies where it has generally been found that the use of religious coping has a positive effect, although to our knowledge there are no studies that associate religious coping to locus of control. We analyzed, in a sample of 285 Spanish women with normal pregnancies, the effect of both variables on psychiatric symptoms and on the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and pregnancy worries. The results show no association between locus of control and religious coping. Locus of control has a significant influence on the pregnant women's mental health, while religious coping just adds an additional influence.

Association of spiritual/religious coping with depressive symptoms in high‐ and low‐risk pregnant women

“…Pregnancy is considered a normal event in the life of a woman, but it is also a period marked with transformations; this period requires physical and psychological adjustments for a pregnant woman, her partner and members of her family (Berkowitz et al., ; Puente, Morales, & Monge, ). These adjustments can influence the outcomes of pregnancy, depending on how those involved deal with them (Puente et al., ).…”

“…Numerous studies determined the most remarkable strategies for minimising stressors during pregnancy (Lucero, Pargament, Mahoney, & DeMaris, ; Price et al., ; Puente et al., ). One such strategy, which is rarely investigated in the field of obstetrics, is the use of spirituality and religion (SR) as coping mechanisms for the difficulties experienced during this phase of life (Lucero et al., ).…”

“…SRC encompasses a broad array of cognitive and behavioural strategies influenced with internal and external determinants (Pargament et al., , ), which can play a key role during pregnancy (Cowchock et al., ) due to the psychological, physical and emotional changes (Lucero et al., ). However, even without comparative data, SRC strategies are prevalent among high‐risk pregnant women (Cowchock et al., ; Puente et al., ) because pregnant women are largely exposed to risk factors for psychological disorders (Clements & Ermakova, ). SRC is often used, and it can influence the mental health and satisfaction of pregnant women in a range of situations, particularly during their first pregnancy (Cowchock et al., ; Lucero et al., ) and in both high‐risk (Clements & Ermakova, ) and low‐risk pregnancies (Puente et al., ).…”

“…However, even without comparative data, SRC strategies are prevalent among high‐risk pregnant women (Cowchock et al., ; Puente et al., ) because pregnant women are largely exposed to risk factors for psychological disorders (Clements & Ermakova, ). SRC is often used, and it can influence the mental health and satisfaction of pregnant women in a range of situations, particularly during their first pregnancy (Cowchock et al., ; Lucero et al., ) and in both high‐risk (Clements & Ermakova, ) and low‐risk pregnancies (Puente et al., ). Nevertheless, little information is available regarding the association between SRC and mental health of pregnant women (Clements & Ermakova, ).…”

Perceived Clinician Competence to Work with Spiritual Issues in Supervision

“…Olson et al (2012) defined religious coping as "the use of religious behaviors and practices to adapt to or deal with difficult and stressful situations" (p. 174). The hypothesis of religious coping has been associated with increased mental health in pregnant women (Puente, Morales, & Monge, 2015), survivors of intimate partner violence (Abu-Raiya, Sasson, Plachy, Mozes, & Tourgeman, 2016), the elderly (Heydari-Fard, Bagheri-Nesami, Shirvani, & Mohammadpour, 2014) and caregiver wellbeing (Pearce, Medoff, Lawrence, & Dixon, 2016).…”