Religious Coping with Chronic Pain

This study examined the role of religious and nonreligious cognitive-behavioral coping in a sample of 61 chronic pain patients from a midwestern pain clinic. Participants described their chronic pain and indicated their use of religious and nonreligious cognitive-behavioral coping strategies. Results supported a multidimensional conceptualization of religious coping that includes both positive and negative strategies. Positive religious coping strategies were associated significantly with positive affect and religious outcome after statistically controlling for demographic variables. In contrast, measures of negative religious coping strategies were not associated significantly with outcome variables. Several significant associations also were found between nonreligious cognitive-behavioral coping strategies and outcome variables. The results underscore the need for further research concerning the contributions of religious coping in adjustment to chronic pain. Practitioners of applied psychophysiology should assess their chronic pain patients' religious appraisals and religious coping as another important stress management strategy.

[1]  K. Pargament,et al.  Cognitive appraisals in cancer patients. , 1988, Social science & medicine.

[2]  K. Pargament,et al.  Family coping with chronic pain. , 1997 .

[3]  D. Watson,et al.  Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[4]  M. Jensen,et al.  Coping with chronic pain: a critical review of the literature , 1991, Pain.

[5]  J. Moskowitz,et al.  Positive Meaningful Events and Coping in the Context of HIV/AIDS , 1997 .

[6]  C. Wortman,et al.  Attributions of blame and coping in the "real world": severe accident victims react to their lot. , 1977, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[7]  D. R. Hoge.  Religion in America: The demographics of belief and affiliation. , 1996 .

[8]  A. Favazza.  The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice , 1998 .

[9]  Francis J. Keefe,et al.  The use of coping strategies in chronic low back pain patients: Relationship to patient characteristics and current adjustment , 1983, Pain.

[10]  Carolyn M. Aldwin,et al.  Stress, Coping, and Development: An Integrative Perspective , 1994 .

[11]  S. Folkman,et al.  Stress, appraisal, and coping , 1974 .

[12]  F. Keefe,et al.  Pain behavior and pain coping strategies in low back pain and myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome patients , 1986, Pain.

[13]  T. W. Smith,et al.  Cognitive distortion and depression in chronic pain: association with diagnosed disorders. , 1994, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[14]  S. Folkman,et al.  Appraisal, coping, health status, and psychological symptoms. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[15]  J. Nunley,et al.  Pain coping strategies in osteoarthritis patients. , 1987, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[16]  G. Gallup,et al.  Varieties of Prayer: A Survey Report , 1991 .

[17]  E. Dubow,et al.  Methods of Religious Coping with the Gulf War: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analyses , 1994 .

[18]  J. Turner,et al.  Strategies for coping with chronic low back pain: Relationship to pain and disability , 1986, Pain.

[19]  P. Frazier,et al.  The use of religious coping during stressful life events: main effects, moderation, and mediation. , 1998, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[20]  Kimberly Van Haitsma,et al.  God help me: (I): Religious coping efforts as predictors of the outcomes to significant negative life events , 1990 .

[21]  F. Keefe,et al.  Sickle cell disease pain: relation of coping strategies to adjustment. , 1989, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.