J. Irene Harris

Approaches to religiosity related to anxiety among college students

To date, the literature on religiosity and anxiety has yielded mixed results. Available results suggest that constellations of religious attitudes, commitment and denominational subcultures have diverse relationships with types of anxiety. A sample of college students from a predominantly conservative Christian area responded to the Prayer Functions Scale, the Religious Commitment Inventory, the Scriptural Literalism Scale, the Fowler Religious Attitudes Scale, the Anxiety Control Questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. A principal components analysis suggests that a constellation of religious variables—which involves religious commitment; aspects of ones prayer life, and relating to others in the religious reference group—has a significant negative relationship with trait anxiety. Although further confirmatory studies are necessary, at this point available data suggest that a committed, related approach to religiosity may be associated with lower levels of general anxiety.

Coping functions of prayer and posttraumatic growth

Research on prayer and posttraumatic growth (PTG) indicates that those who pray report more PTG. Research is beginning to identify which types of prayer may be operating in this relationship. We sought to identify specific prayer functions related to PTG while considering differences due to the types of trauma experienced. Participants were trauma survivors from diverse, Midwestern Christian churches (N = 327). Participants completed questionnaires assessing trauma history, prayer coping functions, and PTG. Multiple linear regression analyses found that praying for calm and focus was independently related to higher levels of PTG. When considering all variables in the model, the relationship between prayer for calm and focus and PTG was not significant for those whose most significant trauma was interpersonal in nature, but significant for those with noninterpersonal trauma.

Preferred Prayer Styles and Anxiety Control

To date, the literature on prayer and anxiety has yielded mixed results. Recent development of a new instrument has improved our ability to measure individuals’ prayer activities, which may be a promising means of clarifying this literature. This correlational study examined preferred prayer styles and associated scores on measures of anxiety control and trait anxiety in a sample of 85 college students. Results suggested that individuals whose prayer styles were characterized by active rather than avoidant coping were likely to evidence greater perceived control of anxiety and lower levels of trait anxiety.

Religious distress and coping with stressful life events: A longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE(S) HYPOTHESIS Religious strain would mediate the relationship between stress symptoms at baseline and stress symptoms 1 year later. METHOD Seventy-nine people with a history of stressful life events (55 women, 23 men, one unknown gender, average age 58 years) from community churches reported stressful life events, spiritual adjustment, and posttraumatic stress symptoms at initial assessment and 1-year follow-up. RESULTS Religious strain mediated the relationship between baseline and follow-up posttraumatic stress symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Because religious distress contributed to prediction of stress symptoms over time, it appears that religious distress is related to adjustment to stressful life events.

Prediction of Changes in Self-Stigma Among Veterans Participating in Partial Psychiatric Hospitalization: The Role of Disability Status and Military Cohort

OBJECTIVE Interventions addressing internalized stigma are a new area of research, and it is important to identify the types of clientele who derive benefit from existing interventions. METHOD Information was provided by 235 veterans attending a partial psychiatric hospitalization program, regarding their levels of internalized stigma on admission and discharge from a 3-week program that included interventions targeting internalized stigma. RESULTS Upon discharge, veterans receiving disability benefits demonstrated less reduction in internalized stigma than those not receiving disability benefits. Time of service moderated the relationship between disability status and change in internalized stigma, such that veterans serving in the more recent Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) cohort who received disability benefits had a more difficult time resolving internalized stigma. Further analyses suggested that OEF/OIF/OND cohort veterans receiving disability benefits have more difficulty developing effective stigma resistance, and more difficulty resolving stigma-related alienation, than other veterans. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Based on this research, particular attention should be devoted to internalized stigma among OEF/OIF/OND veterans.

Prayer Coping, Disclosure of Trauma, and Mental Health Symptoms Among Recently Deployed United States Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts

U.S. military veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are at risk for developing adverse mental health symptoms. This study was conducted to examine the associations between prayer coping, attitudes toward trauma disclosure, and mental health symptoms (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and depression) among 110 U.S. veterans who had returned from deployments in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom within the previous 6 months. Bivariate analyses revealed that prayer coping was positively correlated with an urge to talk about potentially traumatic experiences. When controlling for combat exposure, social support, and disclosure attitudes, multivariate regression analyses indicated that two of the prayer functions—praying for assistance and for calm and focus—were each uniquely linked with less PTSD and depressive symptomatology. In addition, a reliance on avoidant prayer was uniquely correlated with greater depressive symptomatology. These findings support emerging ideas about prayer as a form of trauma disclosure and highlight the relevance of this approach to coping for veterans as they readjust to civilian life.

Inpatient utilization before and after implementation of psychosocial rehabilitation programs: Analysis of cost reductions

Research on psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) interventions generally indicates that these approaches are effective in facilitating improved functioning for persons with serious mental illness (SMI; schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and other psychotic disorders). In this quasi-experimental study, we assessed the effectiveness of PSR interventions through a records review of 311 veterans who received outpatient services for SMI. From 2002 to 2008, a midwestern VA Medical Center implemented a number of PSR interventions. By 2008, veterans who used PSR interventions demonstrated reductions in their use of inpatient psychiatric care, whereas veterans who did not access PSR interventions showed no change in inpatient psychiatric care use. Analyses revealed that the provision of PSR services to veterans with SMI who had been hospitalized was associated with decreased duration of hospitalizations and costs savings of

The Revised Faith Development Scale: An Option for a More Reliable Self-Report Measurement of Postconventional Religious Reasoning

17,739 per veteran per year in total mental health care. Findings are consistent with implementation of PSR programs within VA Medical Centers yielding the greatest cost savings through creation of effective outpatient services that reduce inpatient service needs for veterans with SMI.

Measures of morally injurious experiences: A quantitative comparison

The study of spiritual development has been challenged by difficulties with definitions and measurement. Different faith traditions place different values on various aspects of spiritual development, yielding different definitions with implications for the easurement of the construct. This chapter focuses on measurement of postconventional religious reasoning, which is a specific, measurable aspect of spiritual development with clear parallels in cognitive development. It deals with the Revised Faith Development Scale (RFDS), a 16-item Likert instrument that is easier to administer than previous interview measures of postconventional religious reasoning and more reliable than a previously developed self-report measure. Preliminary assessment of convergent validity indicators supports the use of the RFDS. Keywords:postconventional religious reasoning; revised faith development scale (RFDS); spiritual development

Longitudinal relationship between Forgiveness of Self and Forgiveness of Others among individuals with alcohol use disorders

A recent body of literature has examined the psychological effects of perpetrating or failing to prevent acts that violate ones sense of right and wrong. The objective of this study was to examine and compare correlations between the two most widely used instruments measuring this construct in a sample of military veterans and relevant psychosocial variables. Individuals (N = 182) who reported military combat experience completed the Moral Injury Events Scale and the Moral Injury Questionnaire-Military Version, along with measures of combat exposure, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol concerns, anger, guilt, and shame. Results indicate similar correlations between the morally injurious experiences instruments and negative psychosocial variables, but different correlations with combat exposure. Implications for further research in the conceptualization and treatment of morally injurious experiences are discussed.