Resilience in siblings of children with sickle cell disease

This pilot study was conducted to identify factors responsible for promoting resilience in siblings of children with sickle cell disease. Twenty siblings (10–17 years of age) of children (5–13 years) with sickle cell disease were selected from the Pediatric Clinic of Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease. The siblings responded to questionnaires, and the data obtained was analyzed by chi-square for association. The results indicated that age, birth order, and gender had no effect on resilience in the siblings. However, family size, number of parents in the home, sibling's knowledge of the illness, degree of morbidity of the illness, socioeconomic status of the family, and parents' attitudes and childrearing practices were all found to affect resilience. These findings provide additional insight into the psychosocial aspects of, and genetic counseling for sickle cell disease, as well as for other chronic genetic disorders.     

Changes in Attitudes Toward Religion Among Those with Mental Illness

Despite the increased attention given to the religious experiences of those with mental illness, the specific nature of the changes in religious attitudes that occur within this population remain yet unknown. In this study, 406 individuals with persistent mental illness who attended one of 13 Los Angeles County Mental Health facilities completed a demographic questionnaire, an adapted version of the Religious Coping Index, and the Symptom Checklist 90-R. Over 54% of the participants reported a change in their religious beliefs such that their faith became stronger or weaker as a result, and 66% perceived these changes to be positive in nature. Qualitative codings suggest that a constructive or destructive use of religion and the quality of one's self-image and relationship with God are the primary themes underlying these changes. Those changes that were predominantly positive were associated with less severe symptomatology and more religious coping when compared to predominantly negative changes. These findings suggest that religious attitudes may be an ongoing and dynamic part of the experience of mental illness that should be considered in the treatment and research afforded by mental health professionals.     

Treatment Adherence in Children with Sickle Cell Disease: Disease-Related Risk and Psychosocial Resistance Factors

To identify disease-related risk factors and psychosocial resistance factors that impact adherence to prescribed treatment in the context of admission to a Hematology Acute Care Unit (HACU) designed to provide acute care for children with sickle cell disease (SCD) presenting with pain or fever. A total of 73 primary caregivers and 24 children (if age 8 or older) completed standardized forms during the HACU admission. Treatment adherence variables (medical staff rating, SCD-related care activities, percentage of agreement between treatment recommendations made and care activities, and attendance at hematology clinic) indicated moderate-to-high adherence. Based on regression analyses, the risk variable of disease-related stress and the resistance variables of family flexibility and less reliance on passive coping accounted for significant portions of the variance in treatment adherence. Empirical evaluation of interventions designed to improve communication regarding expectations for the care of children with SCD and to support active family problem solving during times of SCD-related stress must be ongoing.     

Utilizing Religious Schemas to Cope with Mental Illness

Recent Gallup Polls suggest that 96% of Americans polled believe in God or a universal supreme being (Gallup, 1995). In addition, large percentages of Americans polled report that they pray or believe in miracles. It appears then that religious belief might be a useful coping strategy for those experiencing significant distress or illness. Although much of the research regarding religious coping and illness has focused on physical illness, it seems likely that religious coping would also be useful to those who are experiencing a mental illness. Existing data regarding the use of religious coping and mental illness is discussed, and Daniel McIntosh's theory of religion as a cognitive schema is applied to those suffering severe mental illness.     

The Association Between Strength of Religious Faith and Coping with Daily Stress

Recent research has examined the positive relationship between religious faith and both physical and mental health. The current study investigated the association between strength of religious faith and the ability to cope with daily stress over a 7-day period. The participants consisted of 68 students and 64 faculty or staff from a Catholic, liberal arts university. Measures included the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, the Symptom Check List-90-Revised, the Weinberger Low Self Esteem Scale, and a 10-point daily stress, coping, and strength of faith scale. Results suggest that religious faith was not associated with coping with daily stress.     

Predictors of Social Anxiety in Children and Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease

The aim of this study was to examine the potential moderating effect of age on the child-reported pain–social anxiety relationship in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD). Participants were children and adolescents (ages 8–17; 33 girls, 25 boys) diagnosed with SCD who completed measures of social anxiety and severity of usual pain. Caregivers provided demographic information, and mean hemoglobin levels were computed as a measure of objective disease severity. Ratings of more severe pain were associated with greater social anxiety, including fear of negative evaluation, for older children and adolescents only, revealing a moderating effect of age. Increased relevancy of peer relationships in adolescence, limited social contacts due to SCD complications, and misreading of social cues (e.g., maladaptive coping response to pain) may explain why older children and adolescents reported greater social anxiety in the presence of a stressor such as pain.     

Nonreligious coping and religious coping as predictors of expressed emotion in relatives of patients with schizophrenia

Expressed emotion (EE) is a measure of the amount of criticism and emotional over involvement expressed by a key relative towards a relative with a disorder or illness. Research has established that living in a high EE environment, which is characterised by increased levels of critical and emotionally exaggerated communication, leads to a poorer prognosis for patients with a mental illness when compared to low EE environments. Despite evidence that EE is a strong predictor of the course of the illness, there continue to be questions concerning why some family members express excessive levels of high EE attitudes about their mentally ill relatives while others do not. Based on indirect evidence from previous research, the current study tested whether religious and nonreligious coping serve as predictors of EE. A sample of 72 family members of patients with schizophrenia completed an EE interview, along with questionnaires assessing situational nonreligious coping and religious coping. In line with the hypotheses, results indicated that nonreligious coping predicted EE. Specifically, less use of adaptive emotion-focused coping predicted high EE. Also consistent with predictions, maladaptive religious coping predicted high EE above and beyond nonreligious coping.     

“I want to pray and I don’t want to pray”: expressive individualism and prayer

This article reports on a study of the relationship between expressive individualism, an important characteristic of individualistic cultures, and different varieties of prayer. Four dimensions of expressive individualism (autonomy, setting oneself apart from others, personal development, and the expression of emotions) and four types of prayer (petitionary, religious, meditative, and psychological) were distinguished. Data were collected from participants in internet forums on Christian religiosity (N?=?158); they were asked to complete questionnaires about expressive individualism and prayer. The relationship between expressive individualism and prayer was found to be an ambivalent one, and one that is negatively dominated by autonomy. After eliminating the effect of autonomy, two patterns remain visible, both of them characterised by a positive connection to religiosity. Setting oneself apart from others is associated with petitionary and religious prayer; personal development with meditative and psychological prayer. The explanation of this concealed longing for religion is sought in the pressure resulting from expressive individualism as a way of life.     

Religious Coping,Body Dissatisfaction,and Bulimic Symptomatology

The authors explored the association among body dissatisfaction, religious coping, and bulimic symptomatology. The results suggest that spiritual discontent religious coping was detrimental for the college female participants (N= 398) when considered in relationship to bulimic symptomatology. Implications of the findings for theory refinement, future research, and clinical practice are discussed.     

Spontaneous Reports of Religious Coping by Patients with Chronic Physical Illness

Individuals undergoing the stress of physical illness often report the use of religious coping activities. This study compared the frequency of spontaneous reports of religious coping in three groups of patients including those with cancer preparing for a bone marrow transplant (n = 22), chronic pain (n = 36), and cardiovascular disease (n = 53). Participants were asked to respond to a written, open-ended question asking how they were coping with the challenges involved in their medical condition. The question asked them to list the resources, strategies, strengths, or behaviors that they found most helpful. No mention of religion or religious coping was included with the question. Of the 111 participants surveyed, 26.1% included religious coping in their responses. The relative percentage of religious coping was calculated by dividing the total number of coping responses by number of religious responses. Mean percentage of religious coping was highest in participants preparing for a bone marrow transplant (22.9%), followed by the cardiac group (5.7%), and the chronic pain group (3.8%).