Social Factors in the Church and Positive Religious Coping Responses: Assessing Differences Among Older Whites, Older Blacks, and Older Mexican Americans

Findings from a growing number of studies point to the social basis of a wide range of religious beliefs and behaviors. This study has two main goals. The first is to see whether four social aspects of congregational life (church attendance, attendance at Bible study groups, attendance at prayer groups, and informal spiritual support) are associated with greater use of positive religious coping responses. The second goal is to determine if the relationships between these social aspects of the church and religious coping vary across older whites, older blacks, and older Mexican Americans. The data suggest that more frequent church attendance is associated with greater use of religious coping responses in all three groups. However, the findings further reveal that the relationship between informal spiritual support and religious coping is especially stronger among older whites. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Evangelical group membership,depression, and well-being among older Mexican Americans: a comparison with older non-Hispanic Whites

This study assesses denominational differences in well-being among older Mexican Americans and examines differences between this group and older non-Hispanic Whites. Data came from two representative surveys of the US older adult population, focusing on each of these ethnic groups (N?=?996 and N?=?612, respectively). Evangelical Mexican Americans reported fewer symptoms of depression and greater life satisfaction than their Catholic counterparts, but there were no such differences among non-Hispanic Whites. Potential explanatory mechanisms examined included differences in frequency of attendance at religious services, use of positive and negative religious coping, and social support or conflict in the congregation. Among these, only the relationship of attendance and denomination varied by ethnicity, but this factor did not appear to explain differences in well-being. We propose that aspects of conflict between Catholic and Mexican-American identities contribute to making Evangelical affiliation more strongly related to well-being in this group.     

Relationship Between Religious Coping and Suicidal Behaviors Among African American Adolescents

This study investigated whether hopelessness and depression were risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in African American adolescents and looked at whether religious participation and religious coping protected these students from suicidality. Participants were 212 African American high school students (133 females, 79 males). The results of multiple and logistic regression analyses found that hopelessness and depression were risk factors for suicidal ideation and attempts. Religious coping style was significantly related to suicidal behaviors: Self-directed coping was related to increased hopelessness, depression, and suicide attempts, and collaborative coping was related to increased reasons for living. Gender differences were found in symptoms of depression, religious coping style and religious participation. Results provide additional support for suicide interventions to target hopelessness and depressive symptoms and highlight the importance of examining the role of culturally salient variables, such as religious participation and religious coping style, when developing intervention programs for suicide.     

Personality Dysfunction, Coping Styles, and Clinical Symptoms in Younger and Older Adults

This study examined age-related differences in personality disorders, dispositional coping strategies, and clinical symptoms between younger (n = 79; age range = 18–29; M age = 21.2 years) and older (n = 79; age range = 55–89; M age = 65.5 years) persons (matched on gender and ethnicity). Participants completed the Coolidge Axis II Inventory (CATI), Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced Scale (COPE), and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Personality results (t tests) based on the CATI revealed that older persons were significantly more obsessive–compulsive and schizoid than younger adults but significantly lower on 7 scales, including antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and sadistic. As assessed by the COPE, older adults reported lower levels of dysfunctional coping strategies than younger adults. Specifically, older persons were less likely to use mental disengagement, venting of emotions, and alcohol/drugs to cope with problems. BSI results for clinical symptoms revealed that younger adults were significantly higher on 5 of 9 scales, including anxiety, depression, and hostility. Results suggest that younger adults experience higher levels of personality and clinical symptoms and use more dysfunctional coping strategies than older adults, dispelling the myth that old age is associated with inevitable psychological impairment. Theoretical considerations, clinical implications, and future research ideas are discussed.     

Depression in Homebound Older Adults: Problem-Solving Therapy and Personal and Social Resourcefulness

The goal of problem-solving therapy is to teach patients systematic coping skills. For many homebound older adults, coping skills must also include both personal and social (help-seeking) resourcefulness. This study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived resourcefulness and depressive symptoms at postintervention and potential mediating effect of the resourcefulness among 121 low-income homebound older adults who participated in a pilot randomized controlled trial testing feasibility and preliminary efficacy of telehealth-PST. Resourcefulness Scale for Older Adults was used to measure personal and social resourcefulness. Only personal resourcefulness scores were significantly associated with depression outcomes at postintervention, and neither resourcefulness scores were significantly associated with group assignment. Analysis found no mediation effect of resourcefulness. The findings call for further research on potential mediators for the potentially effective depression treatment that could be sustained in the real world for low-income homebound older adults who have limited access to psychotherapy as a treatment modality.     

Predicting the psychological health of older adults: Interaction of age-based rejection sensitivity and discriminative facility

We hypothesize that older adults who anxiously expect, readily perceive, and intensely react to social rejection because of their old age (i.e., have high age-based rejection sensitivity) are vulnerable to depression and poor social functioning. We further hypothesize that the association between age-based rejection sensitivity and poor psychological health would be attenuated among older adults who possess adequate cognitive coping ability—they can discern and respond discriminatively to subtle variations in situational demands (i.e., have high discriminative facility). Based on the results of a focus group study, we constructed an age-based rejection sensitivity measure, which predicts greater depression, poorer social functioning, greater loneliness, and lower life satisfaction among individuals in late adulthood. As hypothesized, the relationship between age-based rejection sensitivity and poor psychological health was weaker among older adults with high (vs. low) discriminative facility.     

The role of religious resources for older adults coping with illness

The present study investigated the role of religious/spiritual appraisal and coping among a community sample of older adults with illness. In particular this study explored the relationship between these religious resources and nonreligious cognitive appraisals (e.g., threat) and coping behavior in response to illness. These religious resources were related to more adaptive forms of general appraisal and coping. For example, meaning-making related to God (e.g., God's will) was linked to more positive appraisals of the illness and its potential to lead to growth. As well, various forms of religious coping behavior were associated with older adults' use of positive reframing and active forms of general coping. Such findings have implications for counselors and health care providers in their work with older adults adjusting to illness.     

Age Differences in Coping Resources and Satisfaction With Life Among Middle-Aged,Young-Old,and Oldest-Old Adults

The authors examined age differences in perceived coping resources and satisfaction with life across 3 older-adult age groups (45-64, 65-74, and 75 years and older). The 98 participants represented healthy, socially active, community-residing adults. Group comparisons were made on 12 individual coping scales, and an overall coping resource effectiveness score was computed. No significant differences were found for 11 of the coping resources or for overall coping resource effectiveness. Similar consistencies in life satisfaction were found across the 3 age groups. The findings indicate that (a) for healthy adults, the oldest old cope at least as effectively as their younger counterparts, despite their likelihood of encountering increased levels of stress; and (b) psychologically, old age may be viewed as a time of resilience and fortitude.     

Age differences in coping resources and satisfaction with life among middle-aged,young-old,and oldest-old adults

The authors examined age differences in perceived coping resources and satisfaction with life across 3 older-adult age groups (45-64, 65-74, and 75 years and older). The 98 participants represented healthy, socially active, community-residing adults. Group comparisons were made on 12 individual coping scales, and an overall coping resource effectiveness score was computed. No significant differences were found for 11 of the coping resources or for overall coping resource effectiveness. Similar consistencies in life satisfaction were found across the 3 age groups. The findings indicate that (a) for healthy adults, the oldest old cope at least as effectively as their younger counterparts, despite their likelihood of encountering increased levels of stress; and (b) psychologically, old age may be viewed as a time of resilience and fortitude.     

Free will perceptions,religious coping,and other mental health outcomes in caregivers of individuals with dementia

Caring for a person with dementia often results in depression, anxiety, and reduced quality of life (QoL). Pinpointing beliefs and practices that reduce this distress is imperative. The current study tested the hypotheses that greater free will perceptions and religious coping would be associated with greater QoL and other mental health indicators in a sample of 107 dementia caregivers. The results of regression and content analyses supported the expectation that free will and religious coping would be associated with greater QoL. Relationships also emerged among free will perceptions, religious coping, anxiety, and depression. Clinical implications are discussed.     

The Moderating Effect of the Negative Impact of Recent Life Events on the Relation between Intrinsic Religiosity and Death Ideation in Older Adults

Researchers tested the hypothesis that the negative impact of recent life events would moderate the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and death ideation in older adults. Participants (n = 272) completed assessments of death ideation, intrinsic religiosity, and negative impact of recent life events. We confirmed the presence of concurrent moderation and found that older adults with greater negative impact of recent life events and high intrinsic religiosity reported greater death ideation. These relatively surprising findings may be due to reduced fear of death in intrinsically religious older adults, an explanation consistent with previous research.     

Sacrilege: A Study of Sacred Loss and Desecration and Their Implications for Health and Well-Being in a Community Sample

In this study, we proposed that people understand major life events in terms of spiritual as well as psychological, social, and physical dimensions. Specifically, we examined the possibility that life events that are perceived to be sacred losses or violations of the sacred (i.e., desecrations) have significant implications for the health and well-being of the individual. A total of 117 adults, randomly selected from a community, identified the most negative life event they had experienced in the past two years. They then completed measures of the degree to which they appraised this event as a sacred loss and as a desecration, as well as measures of religious coping, the impact of the event, and four sets of criteria: traumatic impact, physical health, emotional distress, and growth. These hypotheses were largely supported. Sacred loss and desecration were unrelated to physical health. However, they were tied to higher levels, though somewhat differential patterns, of emotional distress. While sacred loss was predictive of intrusive thoughts and depression, desecration was tied to more intrusive thoughts and greater anger. Furthermore, sacred loss was linked to greater posttraumatic growth and positive spiritual change; in contrast, desecration was associated with less posttraumatic growth. The links between the spiritual appraisals and outcomes were partially mediated by positive and negative methods of religious coping. These findings underscore the importance and multidimensionality of the spiritual meanings people attribute to major life stressors.     

Coping Strategies and Psychological Outcomes: The Moderating Effects of Personal Resiliency

Certain coping strategies alleviate stress and promote positive psychological outcomes, whereas others exacerbate stress and promote negative psychological outcomes. However, the efficacy of any given coping strategy may also depend on personal resiliency. This study examined whether personal resiliency moderated the effects of task-oriented, avoidance-oriented, and emotion-oriented coping strategies on measures of depression, anxiety, stress, positive affect, negative affect, and satisfaction with life. Results (N = 424 undergraduates) showed higher personal resiliency was associated with greater use of task-oriented coping strategies, which were in turn associated with more adaptive outcomes, and less reliance on nonconstructive emotion-oriented strategies, which in turn were associated with poorer psychological outcomes. In addition, individual differences in personal resiliency moderated the effects of task-oriented coping on negative affect and of emotion-oriented coping on negative affect and depression. Specifically, proactive task-oriented coping was associated with greater negative affect for people lower in personal resiliency. Moreover, high personal resiliency attenuated the negative effects of emotion-oriented coping on depression and negative affect. The effects of avoidance-oriented coping were mixed and were not associated with or dependent on levels of personal resiliency.     

Spiritual,Religious, Nonspiritual,and Nonreligious Narratives in Marginalized Older Adults: A Typology of Coping Styles

SUMMARY

Narrative therapy is an important tool in the phenomenological framing of life events with older clients. Seventy-nine older adults who lived independently in four subsidized high-rise housing facilities in Chicago were interviewed in a research project about managing life challenges. Cases represent four types in a spiritual-religious typology: religious and spiritual, religious only, spiritual only, and neither religious nor spiritual (Zinnbauer, 1997). This article explores how older adults managed adversity and maintained a sense of self-efficacy. Findings indicate that older adults use many references to religion and spirituality in their narratives, either embracing these domains or defining themselves in contrast to them. Narrative therapy suggests that the implications of religious and spiritual resources addressed in client stories may reinforce coping capacity and promote aging well.     

Criminal Victimization,Depressive Symptoms,and Behavioral Avoidance Coping in Late Adulthood: The Conditioning Role of Strong Familial Ties

This study examined the association criminal victimization has with two mental health outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms and behavioral avoidance coping) among older adults. This study also tested whether strong familial ties condition the harmful results of victimization. This study used cross-sectional survey data from interviews conducted in Arizona and Florida with individuals 60 years and older (N?=?2000). Linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. Victims reported higher depressive symptoms and greater behavioral avoidance coping. The link between victimization and depression was weaker among participants with strong attachments to their spouse and to their children. Strong spousal ties also diminished the link between criminal victimization and behavioral avoidance coping. These findings are consistent with research conducted at earlier stages of the life course. Practitioners should work with older crime victims to identify interventions that provide the types of support found in strong familial relationships.     

Moderating effects of age and context on the relationship between gender,sex role differences,and coping

We examined age, gender, sex role, and context differences in type of coping among adolescents through older adults. They were given measures of coping and sex role orientation for both relationship and achievement contexts. Emotion-focused coping decreased with age, with high-femininity individuals reporting higher levels of coping. Older low-feminine adults reported greater use of emotion-focused coping than all other subjects except adolescents. Problem-focused coping showed an upward trend with age for low-feminine subjects. High-feminine subjects followed a similar trend until adulthood and then showed a decrease. Achievement and relationship contexts moderated the relationship between age, gender, sex role orientation, and problem-focused coping. Results are discussed in terms of sex roles and adult development.     

Religious Involvement and Health Over Time: Predictive Effects in a National Sample of African Americans

In this study, two telephone interviews that assessed both religious involvement and health‐related quality of life were conducted approximately 2.5 years apart in a national sample of 290 African Americans. Religious involvement was assessed with an instrument that measured both personal religious beliefs (e.g., having a personal relationship with God) and more public religious behaviors (e.g., attending church services). Health‐related quality of life was measured with version 2 of the Medical Outcomes Study 12‐item short form (SF‐12v2). Structural equation models indicated that higher religious beliefs at baseline predicted better physical and mental health 2.5 years later. Higher religious behaviors at baseline contributed smaller, complementary suppression effects. Physical and mental health indicators from the SF‐12v2 at baseline did not predict changes in either religious beliefs or religious behaviors over time. These findings indicate that, for African Americans, personal religious beliefs lead to beneficial health effects over time, whereas individual differences in health do not appear to predict changes in religious involvement.     

Subjective Religiosity and Depression in the Transition to Adulthood

Does being more religious make one less susceptible to depression? We consider the association between subjective religiosity (religious self‐perception and coping) and depression in the context of social support (from family and friends) and stress exposure (recent negative life events, chronic stress, lifetime trauma, and discrimination). Data come from a sample of 1,803 Miami‐Dade County young adults interviewed between 1997 and 2000. We find higher levels of depression among the moderately religious than among either very religious or nonreligious respondents. Interestingly, when observations are made within gender, this relationship applies only to females. Controlling for socioeconomic status and social support largely accounts for the link between religiosity and depression. However, controlling for stress exposure reveals a suppressor effect wherein religiosity once again emerges as significant. Our interpretation is that, while established patterns of religious coping can routinely mitigate distress, heightened stress exposure may elicit increased prayer among the less religious.     

Young and older adults' beliefs about effective ways to mitigate age-related memory decline

This study investigated whether young and older adults vary in their beliefs about the impact of various mitigating factors on age-related memory decline. Eighty young (ages 18-23) and 80 older (ages 60-82) participants reported their beliefs about their own memory abilities and the strategies that they use in their everyday lives to attempt to control their memory. Participants also reported their beliefs about memory change with age for hypothetical target individuals who were described as using (or not using) various means to mitigate memory decline. There were no age differences in personal beliefs about control over current or future memory ability. However, the two age groups differed in the types of strategies they used in their everyday life to control their memory. Young adults were more likely to use internal memory strategies, whereas older adults were more likely to focus on cognitive exercise and maintaining physical health as ways to optimize their memory ability. There were no age differences in rated memory change across the life span in hypothetical individuals. Both young and older adults perceived strategies related to improving physical and cognitive health as effective means of mitigating memory loss with age, whereas internal memory strategies were perceived as less effective means for controlling age-related memory decline.     

Suicide and African American teenagers: risk factors and coping mechanisms

In this study we investigated whether locus of control, hopelessness, and depression were primary risk factors for suicide ideation and attempts in African American youth, and whether congruency between locus of control and religious coping style reduced suicide risk. The sample consisted of 176 African American high school students (115 females; 61 males). Multiple and logistic regression were used to determine relationships among study variables. Depression was found to mediate the relationship between hopelessness and suicidal behaviors. External locus of control led to greater risk for hopelessness and depression, with a trend in the predicted direction for suicide attempts. Religious coping style alone was not always associated with reduction of risk of suicidal behaviors, yet some evidence suggests that congruency between locus of control and religious coping style reduces risk. Results provide additional support for suicide interventions to target depressive symptoms. Results also highlight the importance of examining the role of culturally salient variables such as fatalism and religious coping style when developing intervention programs for suicide.