Search Results (18)

The Brief Religious Coping Scale (B-RCOPE) is a widely recognized instrument for assessing how individuals draw upon religious coping strategies in response to life stressors. Religious coping is particularly salient among many in the Latinx community; however, shifting settlement patterns and increasing sociodemographic diversity among Latinx immigrants in the United States (U.S.) necessitate a more nuanced approach to its measurement; (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the religious coping of a growing but understudied population—Latinx emerging adults (ages 18–29; N = 150)—and conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the English-language B-RCOPE within this group; (3) Results: Findings revealed that participants in our sample made only modest use of religious coping to manage life challenges. Analyses supported the original two-dimensional factor structure (i.e., positive and negative religious coping) of the English B-RCOPE, while also indicating that a more parsimonious 12-item version performs comparably to the full 14 items; (4) Conclusions: This study documents the usability and appropriateness of the abbreviated version and offers practitioners a culturally relevant and efficient tool for examining religious coping practices and trends among Latinx emerging adults. Full article

This study explored the relationship between Perceived Stress and Religious Coping levels among Muslim emerging adults of Pakistani origin living in Pakistan and Muslim emerging adults of Pakistani origin living in the United States (US). Participants (Pakistani Origin Muslims Living in Pakistan, n = 103; and Pakistani Origin Muslims Living in the US, n = 50) were between 18–25 years old. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Brief R-Cope scale were administered using an online format. Results indicated that negative religious coping strategies were associated with higher perceived stress in both groups while positive religious coping strategies showed a weaker association with lower perceived stress levels, and this finding appeared only in the US sample. Marital status was also an important predictor of perceived stress. These findings demonstrate that Muslim emerging adults, irrespective of culture, show moderately similar patterns in their perception of stress and their utilization of religious coping strategies. Full article

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious issue and a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Caregivers of TBI patients experience psychological distress and a variety of social and financial issues. The present study aims to investigate the caregiver’s burden and the factors that influence this burden. Furthermore, the present study will find out the association of religious practice, religious coping relations and psychological distress among caregivers of children affected with TBI. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 302 caregivers of children with TBI using Duke University Religion Index (DURL) for religious practice. General Health Questionaire-12 (GHQ-12) was used for anxiety and depression and Brief Religious Coping Scale (RCOPE) was used for coping strategies. The caregivers were conveniently chosen from different regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and data was collected from different tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar. Results: Forty-nine (49) % of caregivers score ≥ 3 on GHQ suffer from psychological distress with a Mean of 20.957 ± 4.175). Positive coping methods were mostly used by caregivers than negative coping have a low level of distress with a Mean Positive Coping (P-COPE ) of 6.93 ± 0.41, Mean of Negative Coping (N-COPE) 0.486 ± 1.023. In religious practice, caregivers mostly participate in Organized Reliogious Activities (ORA) or some Non-Organized Reliogious Activities (NORA) with a Mean ORA of 4.20 ± 1.27, and NORA Mean of 4.17 ± 1.37 used by the caregivers. Coping methods were related to Caregiver psychological distress (GHQ-12 and P-COPE co-relation scores are (ρ −0.022, p b 0.05); GHQ-12 scores and N-COPE (ρ + 0.221=, p b 0.001). There is a negative correlation between GHQ 12 and PCOPE, while GHQ12 is positively correlated with NCOPE. Conclusion: According to this study, there is a significant association between religious coping methods, religious practice, and psychological distress among caregivers of children with traumatic brain injury. Full article

Background: Coping is a multifactorial and individual process related to responding to stressful situations, such as being a caregiver of a relative with health conditions. Spiritual/religious coping is an important internal resource used by individuals enduring stressful situations. The 14-item Brief RCOPE is a widely used instrument but not available in European Portuguese. Objective: To translate, adapt and validate the 14-item Brief RCOPE in Portuguese caregivers of an adult relative with a health condition. Method: The methodological guideline provided by Sousa and Rojjanasrirat was used to examine the psychometric properties of the Brief RCOPE. Results: The linguistic and conceptual equivalence of the scale was determined. The internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s α = 0.86). The Principal Axis Factor (PAF) analysis with varimax rotation identified two factors made up of 13 items, and one item was excluded from the scale. Conclusion: The European Portuguese version of the Brief RCOPE is a reliable and valid measure for assessing religious coping of family caregivers of adults with health conditions. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed that changed the teaching and learning activities may add a psychological impact to the existing academic stress faced by university students. Past studies have associated low levels of psychological disorder with high religiosity and positive religious coping (RC). This study aimed to determine the level of psychological disorder among university students in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic and measure their association with religiosity and religious coping (RC). An online cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and June 2020 involving 450 students. The survey instruments consisted of sociodemographic proforma, Duke University Religious Index (DUREL) for religiosity, Brief RCOPE Scale for RC and General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) for psychological disorder; 36% of the participants experienced psychological disorder. Younger age, being a Muslim, living in the Green/Yellow zone and higher negative RC were significantly associated with psychological disorder. Higher positive RC was found to be protective against psychological disorder. However, the level of religiosity had no significant association with psychological disorder. In conclusion, the level of psychological disorder among university students has been high during the pandemic. Measures and interventions focusing on positive RC and reducing negative RC are recommended to improve the psychological well-being. Full article

Religious commitment is a significant factor for the development of strengths of character. Previous studies have confirmed that for religious people, it is not religious affiliation but religious orientation that has influenced positive outcomes. The purpose of the research was to verify whether religious commitment moderates the relationship between faith and strengths of character in a sample of religious students from Poland. A cross-sectional investigation of 393 Polish students was performed with using following measures: the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORFQ), the Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations (TRIM) scale, the Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6), the Purpose in Life Test (PIL) test, the Herth Hope Index (HHI), the Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE), and two one-item tools measuring religious practices such as frequency of prayer and attendance at Mass. The obtained results confirmed the moderating role of prayer, mass attendance, and positive religious coping on faith and meaning in life as well as hope. Additionally, positive religious coping moderated the relationships between faith and gratitude as well as between faith and motivation to avoid transgressors. The research has proven that faith without religious commitment is not a strong enough factor to improve strengths of character, and being a believer but not practicing religion is not sufficient to lead a person to finding meaning in life, having enhanced hope, or being able to forgive. Full article

Religion is an important factor of life satisfaction for adolescents. This relationship is complex and depends on religiousness indicators used, religious affiliation, sex, age, and some cultural aspects. The aim of the study was to examine whether positive religious coping moderates the relationships between religious practices, as well as God’s support and life satisfaction. Additionally, the mediating role of religious commitment between faith and life satisfaction was tested. Methods: The sample in this study consisted of 315 Polish Roman Catholic female students. The following tools were used: the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORFQ), the Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE), the Religious Support Scale (RSS), and two one-item measures regarding frequency of prayer and Mass attendance. Results: The moderating role of positive religious coping between prayer, as well as God’s support and life satisfaction, was confirmed. Additionally, positive religious coping, God’s support, prayer, and Mass attendance mediated between faith and life satisfaction. Conclusion: The research has proven that faith negatively influenced adolescents’ life satisfaction both directly and directly through positive religious coping and Mass attendance. A beneficial indirect effect of faith on life satisfaction through God’s support and prayer was confirmed. It was also found that using positive religious coping with an above-average frequency of religious practices improved the life satisfaction among female students. Full article

Till the early 2000s, the Russian “religious renaissance” caused by the collapse of the USSR had been characterized by the rapid growth of religiosity. However, these spiritual changes had been occurring within the Russian Orthodox church and among Evangelical Christians in different manners. Evangelical communities are still relatively small; however their members are highly devoted to their traditions. Meanwhile, Orthodox religiosity is primarily characterized by the nominal self-identification of believers and relatively low level of religious practices’ intensity. The article presents the study results (2017–2019) of the spiritual well-being of Orthodox and Evangelical Christians and its basic confessional and social determinants. The results demonstrate a strong correlation between the enchurchment level and the spiritual well-being level. The authors place particular emphasis on the role of religious coping that determines subjective well-being. The analysis confirmed that the positive ways of religious coping are determined by the regularity of religious practices and the believers’ social capital. We interpret the peculiarities of Orthodox and Evangelicals’ spiritual well-being in the light of differences between their church life’s arrangements which are defined by the believers’ practical religiosity and social capital. Full article

Given that elite athletes experience a wide range of different emotions (e.g., anxiety, anger, dejection, excitement) toward upcoming sporting environments, it is surprising that researchers have given limited attention to the linkages between varied emotional experiences and diverse coping (unaccustomed) among athletes from diverse backgrounds. This study investigated the impact of religious coping, as opposed to conventional psychological skills, to ascertain whether these coping options influence elite student-athletes’ emotional reactions across gender, competitive status, and religion. Using a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, self-reported discrete emotions and religious coping were measured with the Sport Emotion Questionnaire (SEQ) and Brief-Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE) after 300 selected athletes were conveniently chosen. A factorial multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) after controlling for age revealed no significant interactions for between-subject factors (gender, status, religion) across all the discrete emotions and religious coping dimensions. However, significant main effects were realized for competitive status and religion on only anger, anxiety, dejection, and negative religious coping. A follow-up multiple regression analysis identified religion as the most significant predictor of anger, anxiety, and dejection, whereas competitive status was the most associated variable for negative religious coping. Current findings suggest that athletes’ unpleasant or negative emotions were linked to negative religious coping, a maladaptive coping mechanism that may hinder attaining optimal emotional state prior to competition. Therefore, these athletes need purposeful strategies (e.g., positive religious coping, motivational strategies) that may improve weakened beliefs based on their struggles before competition. The development of appropriate psychological intervention framework that maintains respect for athletes’ religious identities for improved psychological well-being is also warranted. Full article

Anxiety and depression have been prevalent among Healthcare Workers (HCWs) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among HCWs amid the pandemic and their association with religious coping. A cross-sectional study design was applied. The scales utilized were Malay versions of the Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE M) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS M). In total, 200 HCWs were recruited. HCWs scored higher in positive religious coping (mean: 21.33) than negative religious coping (mean: 10.52). The prevalence of anxiety and depression was 36.5% and 29.5%. Both positive and negative religious coping were significantly associated with anxiety (p < 0.01) and depression (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). Positive coping predicted reduction in anxiety (adjusted b = −0.15, p = 0.001) and log-transformed depression score (adjusted b = −0.019, p = 0.025). Negative coping predicted increment of anxiety (adjusted b = 0.289, p < 0.001) and log-transformed depression score (adjusted b = 0.052, p < 0.001). Positive religious coping is vital in reducing anxiety and depression among HCWs amid the pandemic. Strategies which increase positive religious coping and reduce negative religious coping must be emphasized to boost mental health among HCWs. Full article

Background. This study aimed to evaluate the potential relationships between religious coping, hopelessness, and suicide ideation in adult outpatients with the first episode of major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods. Ninety-four adult outpatients with MDD were assessed through the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the Scale of Suicide Ideation (SSI). Religious coping was assessed with the Italian version of the Brief RCOPE scale, consisting of seven positive coping items (PosCop) and seven negative coping items (NegCop). Results. The results showed that the Brief RCOPE PosCop scale exhibited a strong inverse correlation with HAM-D, BHS, and SSI, whereas HAM-D and BHS were positively correlated with SSI. Brief RCOPE NegCop scores were positively correlated only with SSI. Regression analysis with SSI as the dependent variable showed that higher Brief RCOPE PosCop scores were associated with lower suicide ideation, whereas higher HAM-D and BHS scores were associated with higher suicide ideation. Conclusion. Positive religious coping may be a protective factor against the development of suicide ideation, perhaps counteracting the severity of depressive symptoms and hopelessness. The evaluation of religious coping should be performed in all subjects with MDD in everyday clinical practice. However, this study was preliminary, and limitations must be considered. Full article

This study determined the reliability and validity of the Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE) outside the Western Christian context. After construct and measurement equivalence, the Brief RCOPE was used to ascertain and illuminate the religious coping of selected Catholic youth in the Philippines. A group of students studying in Catholic universities (n = 335) completed the research measures. The findings of this study showed that the Brief RCOPE has good internal consistency and construct validity. However, the scale has two orthogonal factors. The results indicated that many Filipino Catholic youth used positive religious coping methods more frequently than negative strategies. In addition, the results suggest that Brief RCOPE may be useful to researchers interested in the religious coping of youth. Full article

Religion as a coping strategy is mostly connected with positive health outcomes. Yet, negative religious coping (NRC) has been associated with rather negative outcomes that affect one’s health. The aim of this study was to explore whether insecure adult attachment and childhood trauma are associated with higher NRC. A sample of Czech adults (n = 531, 51.1 ± 17.2 years; 43.5% men) participated in a survey. As measures, the NRC subscale of the Brief RCOPE, the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) were used. From the whole sample, 23.7% respondents reported higher NRC. Respondents with higher anxiety in close relationships were more likely to use negative coping strategies, with an odds ratios (OR) of 1.27 (95% confidence interval 1.01–1.59). Similarly, avoidance was associated with negative coping OR = 1.41 (1.13–1.75). Moreover, each subscale of the CTQ-SF revealed a significant association with high summary NRC. Respondents who reported physical neglect scored highest on summary NRC with OR = 1.50 (1.23–1.83) after controlling for sociodemographic variables, but also for anxiety and depression. Our findings support the idea that childhood trauma experience and adult attachment style are associated with higher use of NRC strategies. Full article

Medical students are vulnerable to depression and anxiety due to the nature of their academic life. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms among medical students and the association between religious coping, religiosity and socio-demographic factors with anxiety and depressive symptoms. A cross sectional design was used for this study. Scales used were the Malay version of the Duke Religious Index (DUREL-M), the Malay version of the Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE) and the Malay version Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS-M). 622 students participated in this study. They scored moderately on the organized (mean: 3.51) and non-organized religious (mean: 3.85) subscales of the DUREL, but had high intrinsic religiosity (mean: 12.18). The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms were 4.7% and 17.4% respectively, which is lower than local as well as international data. Islam, negative religious coping and the presence of depressive symptoms were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms. Only the presence of anxiety symptoms was significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Negative religious coping, rather than positive religious coping, has significant association with depressive and anxiety symptoms. Redirecting focus towards negative religious coping is imperative to boost mental health outcomes among medical students. Full article

The concept of spiritual-religious coping gained attention in Brazil with the adaptation and validation of the RCOPE Scale (Panzini 2004; long version: 87 items and brief version: 49 items). The Brief RCOPE still contains a large number of items, so attempts to further reduce the size of the measure are relevant. This study presents the validation process of the Brief SRCOPE scale (14 items) for use in the Brazilian context. Data were collected from the general population (N = 525) and subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 249) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 276). The EFA resulted in a two-factor solution: Positive Religious Coping (PRC) and Negative Religious Coping (NRC). All 14 items of the original scale were retained and correlated with the same factor as the original scale (KMO = 0.852; 58.15% of total variance explained; PRC Cronbach’s alpha = 0.884 and NRC Cronbach’s alpha = 0.845). The model tested through CFA showed adequate adjustment indices (χ² = 146.809, DF = 70, χ²/DF = 2.097, NFI = 0.93, CFI = 0.962, GFI = 0.930, AGFI = 0.895, RMSEA = 0.063, PCLOSE = 0.065 and SRMR = 0.0735). The Brief SRCOPE Scale-14 has shown reliability for the studied sample and might be applicable to other contexts. It may ultimately prove useful to professionals and researchers interested in better knowing how people make use of religious coping to face stress and suffering. Full article