This article examines research into cultural differences in people’s experience of and response to stress. 11.9 What are the psychological benefits of exercise? Create your account. Religious and spiritual factors are increasingly being examined in psychiatric research. WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT RELIGION? Mental Health, Religion, & Culture, 22 (9), 892-909. One factor that enables patients and their caregivers to cope better is having a religion, faith, or some form of spirituality, 25 which encourages a more positive outlook on how cancer affects their lives. It can help you: Feel a sense of purpose. However, Watlington and Murphy (2006) found that religious coping did not mediate the relationship between spirituality, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The study, titled “Religiosity and Resilience: Cognitive Reappraisal and Coping Self-Efficacy Mediate the Link between Religious Coping and Well-Being,” was published Jan. 7. Third, that positive religious coping, religious openness, readiness to face existential questions, religious participation, and intrinsic religiousness are typically associated with improved post-traumatic recovery. Every culture has its own set of beliefs that describe how the world works and people’s roles in the world Anglo-American and Japanese samples responded to a questionnaire, and engaged in subsequent interviews as a means of measuring how they would attribute the cause of stress and successful coping. NK: The findings from the Part 1 paper were striking. The data suggest that compared to people in the other three groups, people who were "religious" went to church less often, prayed less frequently, and did not read the Bible as often. Constant stress can result in: A) Personal and... [{Blank}] is a productive stress that gives you... Methods for Training Employees: Mentoring, On-The-Job & Job Rotation, Four Functions of Management: Planning, Organizing, Leading & Controlling, Environmental Stressors: Examples, Definition & Types, What is the Limbic System in the Brain? While coping with intercultural contact can be a stressful experience for minority ethnic, cultural, and religious groups in culturally plural societies, it presents particular challenges for Muslims living in Western countries in a post-9/11 world (Ward, Bochner, & Furnham, 2001; Jasperse, Ward, & Jose, 2012). Religion and spirituality play a significant role as coping resources under stressful circumstances. Stressful times tend to try one’s faith—they can make people question their beliefs as well as the efficacy of their faith. - Definition, Uses & Examples, How Internal and External Factors Drive Organizational Change, General Adaptation Syndrome: Stages, Definition & Examples, Correlational Research: Definition, Purpose & Examples, Cause and Effect Relationship: Definition & Examples, Hypertonic Solution: Definition, Effect & Example, Distribution Channels in Marketing: Definition, Types & Examples, Lewin's 3-Stage Model of Change: Unfreezing, Changing & Refreezing, Major Elements in Biological Molecules: Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Carbohydrates & Lipids, What Are Cultural Barriers to Communication in the Workplace? Religious coping and psychological adjustment to stress: a meta-analysis. The "religious" group stood far apart from the participants in the other groups. China's National College Entrance Examination. A religion is a codified set of beliefs and practices shared by a group of individuals regarding their relationship with a Higher Power (or powers). We asked study participants whether they consider themselves to be "religious," "spiritual," "religious and spiritual," or "neither religious nor spiritual." culture, emotions and avoidance are tied to mental health. That said, recent scientific studies suggest that religious-accommodating approaches yield equal (Paukert et al., 2011) if not improved outcomes to counseling that places no focus to the religious identity of the client (Ripley et al., 2014). Religious coping appears to affect the outcomes to negative life events. Coping with Cultural Differences. However, recent studies have identified another side of religion that may serve as a psychological and social resource for coping with stress. stress and health 439 11.8 How is coping with stress affected by culture and religion? Maybe That’s Why You Ate That KitKat, Building Relationships to Promote Resilience During COVID-19, The Mental Health of Atheists and the "Nones", The Health Benefits of Congregational Life, African American Churches and Their Responses to Coronavirus. Faith is one way many people cope with difficult events to promote mental well-being. Some- times it is helpful and other times it may be harmful. Become a Study.com member to unlock this I want to color way outside the lines in this volume. After hearing these spontaneous comments time and time again, I realized I could no longer ignore religious issues in understanding how older people cope with stress. Cultivating your spirituality may help uncover what's most meaningful in … Throughout these studies, many participants indicated that they relied on their faith during difficult times. This means, for example, that without the core experiential aspects of spirituality, engaging in religious rituals becomes little more than a sterile and impersonal exercise. PROJECT DESIGN JA: How can readers use what you found to help others? JA: How did you first get interested in this topic? social support, religious coping, ... Yew et al. NK: We entered into two studies without any expectations of what might emerge. The present study focused on investigating spiritual wellbeing and coping strategies of patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. We focused on three health outcomes: how people rate their own health (i.e., as excellent, good, fair, or poor), symptoms of depression, and levels of alcohol consumption. Thus, religious coping may be helpful as a stress buffer or as a stress deterrent in different ways for particular groups faced with different events. Neal has written extensively about the relationship between religion and health among older adults. A new study from the University of Illinois reveals that religious people rely on coping strategies used by psychologists when working through stressful life situations. Based on these findings, the Part 1 paper was designed to see if the four religious/spirituality categories were associated with physical and mental health outcomes. Thousands of different religionspresent in the world give us thousands of different ways of livingsubsequently. 6 minutes read. Culture and religion provide effective measures for coping with stress, though they can also be sources of stress as well. And it didn’t seem to matter what measure we used to assess these differences. NK: I am slowly writing a new book that summarizes what I have learned in over 25 years of research on religion and health. JA: What are you currently working on that you might like to share about? Jamie Aten, Ph.D. is founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College. Aspects of faith enable tangible reductions in, and protection from stress. For example, religion influences one'sview and understanding of life. To the extent this is true, our findings speak directly to those who elect to become involved in religion: do not overlook the deep subjective and emotional side of religious practices. Similarly, religious support can also help LGBT individuals dealing with minority stress. Some Prayers To Help With Stress Faith and spirituality are much more than just comforting rituals to religious individuals. The Japanese subjects were found more likely than Anglo-Americans to attribute successful coping to … So far, my new studies have been great fun. He has received numerous awards for his research, including the 2017 Kleimeier Award from the Gerontological Society of America. If they feel it is appropriate, pastoral counselors may wish to encourage these individuals to cultivate the emotional and experiential side of their faith. Stress is something everyone feels in different ways throughout life, especially as we age. Similarly, the evidence exploring spirituality with schizophrenia is also relatively scarce. The findings from the Part 2 paper were equally compelling. Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. - Definition & Examples, SAT Subject Test Chemistry: Practice and Study Guide, NY Regents Exam - Chemistry: Test Prep & Practice, NY Regents Exam - Earth Science: Test Prep & Practice, Discover Health Occupations Readiness Test: Practice & Study Guide, UExcel Anatomy and Physiology II: Study Guide & Test Prep, CSET Science Subtest II Life Sciences (217): Practice & Study Guide, CSET Science Subtest I - General Science (215): Practice & Study Guide, ILTS Science - Environmental Science (112): Test Practice and Study Guide, ILTS Science - Chemistry (106): Test Practice and Study Guide, SAT Subject Test Biology: Practice and Study Guide, NY Regents Exam - Physics: Test Prep & Practice, UExcel Microbiology: Study Guide & Test Prep, High School Biology: Homework Help Resource, UExcel Pathophysiology: Study Guide & Test Prep, Biological and Biomedical Some cultures promote a head-on approach to stress and provide comforting environments for managing stressful situations, while others encourage independence and self-sufficiency when it comes to coping with stress. deepening of religion or spirituality. In the study, depression was found to be lowest among spouses who used religious coping in moderation. In contrast, no other differences emerged among the study participants in the other groups. 27 These differences require a deeper understanding in order for a person to learn how he responds to stress, and whether his stress response is still healthy or not. On the other hand, in a collectivistic culture, coping is done through “social support networks, familial ties, indigenous healers, religious and spiritual outlets” (Ibid). However, faith can be a complicated part of a person's identity. Dreams have been described as dress rehearsals for real life, opportunities to gratify wishes, and a form of nocturnal therapy. It is important for helping professionals to be comfortable asking about how spirituality has been affected by trauma, and to what role spirituality is playing within the recovery process following trauma. NK: When I began my research career, my primary focus was on how older adults cope with the stressful events that arise in their lives, including things like the death of a loved one and financial difficulties. They have the ability to have a positive impact on mood and mental health. - Definition, Functions & Parts, What is Writing Style? [58] argued that perceiving and the management of stress could be affected by the cultural environment to which the person belongs. Given my interest in stress, we wanted to focus on how members in each group coped with major stressful events. NK: Research indicates that a significant number of people turn to the clergy when they encounter stressful experiences. Posted Feb 13, 2020 Exploring religious and/or spiritual identities: Part 1 - Assessing relationships with health. I realized that in order to accomplish this goal, I needed formal training in religious studies. Those who said they were "religious" experienced more health-related problems than individuals who said they were "spiritual," "religious and spiritual," and "neither religious nor spiritual.". I have enrolled in a Bachelor of General Studies degree program to take courses from a religious studies department as well as courses on religion including comparative literature on religion and the study of the supernatural from the folklore department. A vast literature suggests that people who are more deeply involved in religion tend to enjoy better physical and mental health. Differences in gender and culture are found to have significant influences in how humans respond to stressors and stressful situations. Other types of coping that may be valuable for spouses include comfort from family and friends, support groups or literature. References. 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