The Correlates of Spiritual Struggle during the College Years

Bryant, Alyssa N.; Astin, Helen S.

doi:10.1080/00221546.2008.11772084

Cited by 82 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…College is an important transition in which many students live away from their family for the first time. They are exposed to diverse worldviews, which may unsettle the religious/spiritual identity of religious/spiritual clients (Bryant & Astin, ). Some students’ faith may thrive in this context, whereas other students’ faith may temporarily or even chronically falter, which can be very distressing for these students.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Coping, Coping Resources, and Depressive Symptoms: Test of a Mediation Model

Davis

Ashby

McElroy

et al. 2014

Counseling and Values

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This study examined the relationships between religious coping, coping resources, and depressive symptoms. The authors tested whether coping resources explained the link between religious coping and depressive symptoms in a sample of 349 college students. Results indicated that coping resources partially mediated the relationship between negative religious coping and depressive symptoms, primarily through decreased social ease. The results offered no evidence that coping resources mediated the relationship between positive religious coping and depressive symptoms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Coping, Coping Resources, and Depressive Symptoms: Test of a Mediation Model

Davis

Ashby

McElroy

et al. 2014

Counseling and Values

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The same groups of students and institutions that have greater religious growth also have greater gains in religious struggle. As Bryant and Astin (2008) have described, the literature on whether religious struggle is "good" or "bad" is mixed, with a majority of studies (including their own) finding that it is generally related to negative outcomes (e.g., increased psychological distress and diminished physical health and self-esteem). The current finding cannot simply be explained by differing levels of religiosity across groups because religious struggle is virtually uncorrelated with religious engagement, religious commitment, and religious skepticism (Astin, Astin, and Lindhom in press).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Commitment, Skepticism, and Struggle Among U.S. College Students: The Impact of Majority/Minority Religious Affiliation and Institutional Type

Small¹,

Bowman

2011

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

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Using a longitudinal sample of over 14,000 undergraduate students, this study explores whether and how students' religious transformations during the college years are associated with their religious affiliation, religious experiences, and the institutional characteristics of their college or university. Hierarchical linear modeling reveals that students from religious majority groups (i.e., mainline and evangelical Protestants) generally experience increased religious commitment and decreased religious skepticism as compared with students from religious minority groups. Interestingly, though, students from these majority groups also report greater levels of religious struggle compared to minority group students. Moreover, institutional religious affiliation and an inclusive campus religious climate often attenuate the relationship between students' religious affiliation and their religious transformation. Environments at both the macro (campus) and micro (friendship groups) levels contribute critically to young adults' religious commitment.

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“…The hypothesized sources of religious change outlined above operate within an institutional context, and this context can be expected to heighten or temper the impact of the social processes. Recent work on religion and higher education has confirmed that institutional identity is an important factor in understanding religion among college students (Bryant and Astin 2008;Cherry, DeBerg, and Porterfield 2001;Freitas 2008;Hill 2009). Religiously affiliated institutions (particularly evangelical Protestant colleges) are more deliberate in their incorporation of religious practice and belief into the curriculum and social activities of students (Kuh 2000;Kuh and Umbach 2004;Wolfe 2006).…”

Section: Religiously Affiliated Colleges and Universitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faith and Understanding: Specifying the Impact of Higher Education on Religious Belief

Hill¹

2011

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

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This study examines the impact of educational enrollment and attainment on several measures of religious belief using nationally representative panel data. Although college does not appear to substantially alter the religious beliefs of most emerging adults, findings do reveal a modest increase in skepticism toward super-empirical religious beliefs among college students and graduates compared to those who have never attended any form of postsecondary education. This effect is dependent on college type, with students attending elite universities exhibiting the greatest increase in skepticism. Apart from changes in super-empirical belief, graduating from college modestly increases preferences for institutionalized religion while simultaneously reducing adherence to exclusivist religious belief. Faculty commitment to secularism, the degree of student academic engagement, and developing social identities may play a role in religious belief change, particularly at elite universities.

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The Correlates of Spiritual Struggle during the College Years

Cited by 82 publications

References 21 publications

Religious Coping, Coping Resources, and Depressive Symptoms: Test of a Mediation Model

Religious Coping, Coping Resources, and Depressive Symptoms: Test of a Mediation Model

Religious Commitment, Skepticism, and Struggle Among U.S. College Students: The Impact of Majority/Minority Religious Affiliation and Institutional Type

Faith and Understanding: Specifying the Impact of Higher Education on Religious Belief

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