Religious/spiritual struggles and psychological distress: A test of three models in a longitudinal study of adults with chronic health conditions

Cowden, Richard G.; Pargäment, Kenneth I.; Chen, Zhuo Job; Davis, Edward B.; Lemke, Austin W.; Glowiak, Kevin J.; Rueger, Sandra Yu; Worthington, Everett L.

doi:10.1002/jclp.23232

Cited by 29 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Over the past several decades, hundreds of studies have shown that r/s struggles are widespread and have links to mental and physical health (see Pargament & Exline, 2021, 2022, for recent reviews). For example, results from a nationally representative sample in the U.S. (Abu-Raiya et al, 2015) showed many associations between r/s struggles and indicators of emotional distress, and longitudinal studies have clarified that r/s struggles can predict increases in distress over time (e.g., Cowden et al, 2022; see Bockrath et al, 2021, for a review). Other studies have shown links with faster disease progression among HIV patients (Ironson et al, 2011), greater odds of future hospitalizations among patients with heart failure (Park et al, 2011), higher mortality rates among hospitalized older adults (Pargament et al, 2001), and suicidality among veterans (Currier et al, 2020; Raines et al, 2017).…”

Section: Religious and Spiritual Strugglesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The RSS-14: Development and preliminary validation of a 14-item form of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale.

Exline¹,

Pargäment²,

Grubbs³

et al. 2023

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

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The Religious and Spiritual Struggles (RSS) Scale (Exline, Pargament, Grubbs, & Yali, 2014) is a 26-item measure assessing six types of religious/spiritual (r/s) struggles: divine, demonic, interpersonal (IP), moral, ultimate meaning (Ult. mean.), and doubt. A need has emerged for shorter measures when administration of the full RSS is not practical. The Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale-14 (RSS-14) uses 14 items drawn directly from the full RSS, with subscales of two or three items each (vs. 4 or 5 items each on the RSS). Following preregistered hypotheses and analysis plans, our aim here was to gather initial data on the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the RSS-14 drawing from a longitudinal, Internet sample of U.S. adults who had reported some r/s struggle on an initial six-item screener (N = 2,889). Structural analyses at the 2-week (N = 1,911; Wave 1) and 4-week (N = 1,003; Wave 2) timepoints suggested a good fit for the sixfactor model, although this structure emerged only in confirmatory analyses, not in exploratory analyses. Wave 1 analyses suggested reasonable evidence of reliability and validity (emphasizing convergent validity), using preregistered hypotheses with measures similar to those from the original RSS validation study (e.g., anger toward God, attributions for a specific struggle, depression, anxiety, other distress, and struggle indicators). RSS-14 scores correlated positively with religious participation (Rlg. partic.) and negatively with social desirability, as expected, suggesting that it may be wise to control these variables when doing analyses with the RSS-14. Taken together, these findings provide preliminary support for the RSS-14 as a relatively brief measure of r/s struggles.

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Section: Religious and Spiritual Strugglesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The RSS-14: Development and preliminary validation of a 14-item form of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale.

Exline¹,

Pargäment²,

Grubbs³

et al. 2023

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This idea is related to the negative association that certain R/S variables have with physical health, mentioned above. Likewise, much research has been devoted to analyzing the relationships between variables of this type, such as R/S struggles [ 81 , 82 ] or mistrust in God [ 83 ] in relation to mental health. Therefore, we consider it necessary to further explore the effect on the physical health of oncology patients of R/S variables that imply a conflicting relationship with the divine or spiritual or a doubt about one’s own beliefs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Aspects of Religion and Spirituality Affect the Physical Health of Cancer Patients? A Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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In recent years, the literature on the relationship between religion and spirituality (R/S) and the health of cancer patients has been flourishing. Although most studies focus on mental health, many study the physical health of these individuals. In order to summarize the findings of these studies, we reviewed the most recent research on this subject using the PubMed and PsycInfo databases. The objective of this systematic review was to recognize the primary R/S variables studied in research on physical health in cancer contexts. We found that spiritual well-being was the most-researched variable in studies of these characteristics, followed by R/S struggles and other variables such as religious coping; religious commitment or practice; or self-rated R/S. In general, R/S seems to have a positive association with the physical health of cancer patients, although the results are quite heterogeneous, and occasionally there are no relationships or the association is negative. Our results may assist in improving interventions that include spirituality in clinical settings as well as the development of holistic approaches, which may have a positive impact on the quality of life and well-being of cancer patients.

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“…As an aside, inverse relationships have also been found between trust in God and spiritual struggles with God [ 32 ]. Be that as it may, spiritual struggles are associated with severe anxiety and depression [ 87 ], psychological distress [ 88 ] and less positive mental health [ 89 ], which could explain, in turn, the serious consequences of mistrust in God. Even in the specific case of cancer, the religious/spiritual struggle was associated with greater symptom burden and poorer quality of life [ 90 ], as well as greater depression [ 91 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religiosity, Emotions and Health: The Role of Trust/Mistrust in God in People Affected by Cancer

et al. 2022

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Trust in God implies the conviction that God looks after a person’s own interests. The first evidence of a relationship between this construct and people’s psychological and emotional health dates back several centuries. However, the literature on this is limited, especially for people with physical health conditions, such as cancer. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to test the relationships between trust/mistrust in God, social support and emotions in people affected by cancer. The sample consisted of 177 women and men in Spain diagnosed with cancer. The instruments used were the Trust/Mistrust in God Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were performed to compare several explanatory models for the dependent variables: positive and negative emotions. The results show significant relationships between all variables. It was observed that, when trust/mistrust in God is included in the model, only mistrust in God predicts both types of emotions. In addition, both social support and some sociodemographic variables help to predict the dependent variables. This study shows that valuing the religiosity and spirituality of oncology patients in healthcare settings can have a significant positive impact on the health of these individuals. Moreover, it represents an important approach to the study of trust/mistrust in God in the context of a traditionally Catholic country.

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Religious/spiritual struggles and psychological distress: A test of three models in a longitudinal study of adults with chronic health conditions

Cited by 29 publications

References 57 publications

The RSS-14: Development and preliminary validation of a 14-item form of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale.

The RSS-14: Development and preliminary validation of a 14-item form of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale.

What Aspects of Religion and Spirituality Affect the Physical Health of Cancer Patients? A Systematic Review

Religiosity, Emotions and Health: The Role of Trust/Mistrust in God in People Affected by Cancer

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