Terry Lynn Gall

Integrating Religious Resources Within a General Model of Stress and Coping: Long-Term Adjustment to Breast Cancer

The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to explore the role of religious resources in long-term adjustment to breast cancer. A sample of fifty-two survivors was assessed on indices of religious resources (e.g., image of God), nonreligious resources (e.g., cognitive appraisal) and emotional and spiritual well-being. Results indicated that both relationship with God/God image and religious coping behaviour were related to the nonreligious mediator variables of cognitive appraisal and coping in response to the current cancer situation. Various experiences of relationship with God (e.g., Presence) were related to more positive appraisals of the current cancer situation as well as to the greater use of the nonreligious coping behaviour of focusing on the positive. In contrast, religious coping behaviours demonstrated more complex associations with cognitive appraisal and nonreligious coping factors. The same coping behaviour, for example religious avoidance, could be related to both positive and negative appraisals of the cancer situation. Finally, religious resources, but not nonreligious resources predicted emotional and spiritual well-being for these long-term breast cancer survivors.

Relationship with God and the Quality of Life of Prostate Cancer Survivors

This study explored the role of relationship with God with respect to the quality of life of men with prostate cancer. Thirty-four men with prostate cancer completed questionnaires on demographic and illness factors, aspects of relationship with God (e.g., God image), nonreligious resources (e.g., optimism) and physical, social and emotion functioning. Results showed that relationship with God was a significant factor in the prediction of role, emotional and social functioning for these men after controlling for age, reported severity of treatment reactions and nonreligious resources. Notably, different aspects of relationship with God (e.g., causal attribution) evidenced different associations with functioning and the nonreligious resource of perceived health control. Such results suggest that relationship with God may function in a complex manner as a resource in coping with prostate cancer. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify the role of religious/spiritual resources in the short- and long-term quality of life of men with prostate cancer.

The trajectory of religious coping across time in response to the diagnosis of breast cancer

Objectives: This study investigates the mobilization of religious coping in womens response to breast cancer.

The relationship between religious/spiritual factors and perceived growth following a diagnosis of breast cancer

This study investigates the role of religious salience, God image and religious coping in relation to perceived growth following a diagnosis of breast cancer. Eighty-seven breast cancer patients were followed from pre-diagnosis up to 24 months post-surgery. The findings of this study provided limited support for the role of positive aspects of spirituality in relation to perceived growth. Religious involvement at pre-diagnosis was predictive of less growth at 24 months post-surgery while a positive image of God had no association with growth. While some forms of positive religious coping demonstrated positive associations, others evidenced no relationship or negative relationships with growth. Negative aspects of spirituality were more consistently related to growth with the nature of the association again depending on the type of negative spirituality being assessed. For example, passive deferral coping was related to less growth while spiritual discontent coping was related to greater growth across time. Such findings underscore the need to attend to negative aspects of spirituality from early on in the process of cancer adjustment as such expressions may have implications for womens ability to develop and maintain a positive perspective in their coping over the long-term.

The role of religious coping in adjustment to prostate cancer.

This study explored the role of religious coping in mens long-term adjustment to prostate cancer. Thirty-four men with prostate cancer completed questionnaires on demographic and illness factors, religious and general coping, and physical, social, and emotional functioning. Results showed that religious coping was related to poorer role, social, and emotional functioning for these cancer survivors. In contrast, religious coping was related to positive aspects of cognitive appraisal and to both active and avoidance forms of general coping. Notably, religious coping may be used to help cancer survivers “block out” their everyday experience of the prostate cancer and its related complications. Such results suggest that religious coping functions in a complex manner within the context of long-term prostate cancer survival.

Two Perspectives on the Needs of Individuals Bereaved by Suicide

To qualitatively explore the needs of suicidally bereaved individuals, researchers interviewed 11 suicide bereaved individuals and 4 mental health workers. Common themes of bereaved persons included the suicide grief experience, coping, interpersonal domain, struggle with meaning, self-reflection, and moving forward. Mental health workers emphasized the nature of the helping relationship, the need to emotionally process the grief, the centrality of meaning making, importance of support groups, and the role of individual counseling. These 2 perspectives informed “best practices” for postvention (e.g., understanding the need for meaning-making while recognizing when to move on).

Assessing Reverence in Contexts: A Positive Emotion Related to Psychological Functioning

Deeply rooted in Western and Eastern civilization, reverence is a cardinal virtue that embraces meaning and purpose in life. It is also a self-transcending positive emotion, associated with specific worldviews that may determine the context in which an individual senses it. To date, few psychological studies have addressed this concept. To address the gap, we drew two different study samples to validate a contextualized Sense of Reverence scale (SOR). Capitalizing on the cardiac data of older patients, Study I extended the validation of the twofold scale, reverence in religious and secular contexts (R- and S-reverence), by correlating it with measures of general religiousness and positive attitudes. Study II confirmed the structure and further validated the scale in healthy Canadian and U.S. students. Using structural equation modeling, Study II evaluated differential associations of R- and S- reverence. S-reverence was related to spiritual support from nontraditional sources, a belief in death as a natural end, and psychological functioning connected with growth, as indicated by openness, creativity, and personal growth. R-reverence was associated with spiritual support from traditional sources, a belief in a rewarding afterlife, and psychological functioning connected with adjustment, as indicated by agreeableness, conscientiousness, and personal adjustment. Both forms of reverence were positively related to self-transcendence.

Shame and the X-rated Addiction: The Role of Spirituality in Treating Male Pornography Addiction

As the internet expands, so does the availability of pornography. With greater access and its relative anonymity comes the potential for an increase in the excessive use of pornographic material. Research has demonstrated that the excessive use of pornography has negative effects on psychological, emotional, and social well-being. Thus, from a clinical standpoint, it bears closer examination. First, this article will propose a double-spiral model of the role of shame and negative spirituality in the fostering and exacerbation of a pornography addiction based on the empirical literature. Second, spiritually integrated therapy will be put forth as an alternative treatment modality to address pornography addiction.

Spiritual Beliefs and Meaning-Making within the Context of Suicide Bereavement

This qualitative study explored the salience of spirituality in the lives of suicidally-bereaved individuals. Eleven bereaved individuals and four mental health workers were interviewed in depth on their subjective experience of suicide bereavement and on their experience of working with suicide bereavement, respectively. The suicide of a loved one had a significant impact on their spirituality. Bereaved individuals experienced difficulty reconciling the suffering and death of their loved one with specific religious views and a spiritual belief in a loving God. Spiritual struggles could lead to the loss of faith but more often led to the abandonment of a specific religious belief and a move towards a more personally-defined spirituality. Beliefs in an afterlife and continued bonds with loved ones hold promise in terms of helping bereaved individuals to find meaning in the suicide. Findings have implications for when and how mental health workers might address spirituality in the process of suicide bereave...

The Impact of Breast Cancer on the Mother–Daughter Relationship: Implications of Relationship With God on Attachment

This study focused on the impact of breast cancer on the mother−daughter bond and the role of spirituality in adjustment. Two mother−daughter dyads were interviewed about their experience of maternal breast cancer. Breast cancer triggered a fear of relational loss in both dyads, however each dyad evidenced a different pathway in adjustment. Analysis revealed themes of intrapersonal reactions (e.g., emotions) of mothers and daughters as individuals, interpersonal dynamics (e.g., avoidance coping) of the mother−daughter dyad, and the role of relationship with God in the relational adjustment process. Relationship with God can serve as a compensatory resource or a source of stress for daughters coping with maternal breast cancer.