Do Religious/Spiritual Resources Moderate the Association Between Suffering and Religious/Spiritual Struggles? A Three‐Wave Longitudinal Study of US Adults with Chronic Illness. Issue 3 (13th November 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kent, Blake Victor; Cowden, Richard G.; Counted, Victor; Davis, Edward B.; Rueger, Sandra Y.; Worthington, Everett L.
• Is Part Of: Journal for the scientific study of religion. Volume 61:Issue 3/4(2022)
• Page Start: 642
• Page End: 662
• Publication Date: 2022-11-13
• Subjects: suffering -- religious and spiritual struggles -- religious coping -- spiritual fortitude -- religious commitment; Religion -- Periodicals; 200
• DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12808
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-8294

Abstract

Abstract: In this prospective study of US adults with chronic illness (n = 302), we examined the associations of subjective suffering and religious/spiritual (R/S) resources (i.e., religious coping, religious commitment, and spiritual fortitude) with the subsequent experience of R/S struggles. Using a rigorous analytic approach that involved adjusting for numerous covariates and prior values of all exposures and the outcome assessed in Wave 1, we found that suffering assessed in Wave 2 was associated with an increase in subsequent R/S struggles assessed 3 months later (Wave 3). There was modest evidence suggesting that religious commitment and spiritual fortitude (but not religious coping) moderated the association between suffering and subsequent R/S struggles, such that there was a stronger positive association between suffering and R/S struggles at higher levels of each moderator. This study provides preliminary evidence that R/S struggles may be commonly experienced by those with high religious engagement in the face of suffering.