Spirituality Among Older African Americans

Recent changes in gerontology have drawn attention to the role of spirituality among older adults. Demographic trends suggest that the number of African Americans over the age of 65 is increasing, with the largest shift to occur in persons 85 years of age and older. Given the paucity of information available regarding the relationship between spirituality and aging along with the increase in the number of older African Americans, a literature review of these concepts is sorely needed. This paper provides a thorough profile of older African Americans, with a review of historical and cultural factors that have informed the spiritual development of this population. Additionally, attention is given to methodological issues such as definitions, measures, sampling, and research designs at the interface of development and spirituality in this population. The paper also reviews findings to date about the effects of spirituality on physical and mental health among older African Americans.     

Counseling African Americans: Integrating Spirituality in Therapy

African American culture is rich with religious and spiritual traditions and practices that largely have been ignored in traditional approaches to counseling with this population. The purpose of this article is to describe the religious and spiritual dimensions of African American culture and to offer strategies for incorporating them into counseling African American clients.     

Knowledge About Genetics Among African Americans

Although knowledge about genetic concepts is important for individuals to be active participants in medical technologies that use genetic science, limited information is available on knowledge about basic genetic concepts and terminology in African Americans. The purpose of this study was to evaluate knowledge about general genetic concepts and medical genetics terminology among African Americans and to identify factors having independent associations with knowledge. Participants were 109 adult African Americans enrolled in a study on attitudes about race, genetics, and smoking. The majority of respondents were knowledgeable about general genetic concepts, but were less knowledgeable about medical genetics terminology. Education was the only factor independently associated with knowledge about sporadic disorders in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Respondents with at least some college education were most likely to be knowledgeable about sporadic disorders (OR=2.70, 95% CI=1.10, 6.67, p=.03). The results of this study suggest that genetics education targeted to African Americans may need to focus on increasing understanding about technical concepts related to genetics.     

Racial Discrimination,Coping, Life Satisfaction,and Self‐Esteem Among African Americans

This article reports the results of a study that examined the coping strategies used by African Americans in managing the stressful effects of racism. A total of 213 participants (women, n = 137; men, n = 76) completed the Index of Race‐Related Stress (S. O. Utsey & J. G. Ponterotto, 1996), the Coping Strategy Indicator (J. H. Amirkhan, 1990), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (E. Diener, R. A. Emmons, R. J. Larsen, & S. Griffin, 1985), and the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (M. Rosenberg, 1965). Results indicated that women preferred avoidance coping for racism experienced on a personal level. For African Americans in general, seeking social support and racism condition were the best predictors of racism‐related stress. Life satisfaction and self‐esteem were best predicted by avoidance coping. Implications for the provision of counseling services to African Americans are discussed.     

Spirituality and Coping Among Grieving Children: A Preliminary Study

The death of a family member can have a significant effect on children, depending on their level of development and the kinds of supports available to them. Spirituality has been linked to effective coping with loss by adults. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how meaning making, linking objects, and containment, themes that have been explored in the literature on adults' use of spirituality as a way of coping, might be used by grieving children. The major difference between children and adults appears to be in how and when children make meaning after loss. The major similarity between adults and children is the essential role of relationships in facilitating grieving. Implications for further research, counselor education, and practicing counselors conclude the article.     

Judgement Accuracy in Body Preferences Among African Americans

Perceptions of body size vary by gender and ethnicity. Women are more dissatisfied with their bodies than are men and Caucasian women are more dissatisfied with their bodies than are African American women. The purpose of this study was to examine if African American men and women accurately estimate the level of thinness preferred by the opposite gender. We predicted that African American women would correctly estimate the level of thinness found attractive by African American men, thereby providing support for the explanation that African American women are partially protected from experiencing similar levels of body dissatisfaction as Caucasian women do because they correctly estimate that African American men like larger women. Participants were 68 African American women and 34 African American men. The results supported our prediction, African American women accurately estimate the level of thinness preferred by African American men.     

Variables Affecting Racial-Identity Salience Among African Americans

Abstract

The author clarified the African American racial-group identification process by addressing the issue of salience and its relationship to racial-group attitudes. A sample of 409 African American adults responded to surveys pertaining to their racial-group salience, racial-group attitudes, racial socialization, racial-group interaction, political activism, experiences of discrimination, and demographic data (e.g., sex, age, and income). The author tested 3 hypotheses: (a) Racial socialization and interaction with other African Americans are predictive of African American racial-identity salience; (b) discriminatory experiences are predictive of African American racial-identity salience; and (c) racial-identity salience is a stronger predictor of African American racial-group identification than are previously identified predictive variables (D. H. Demo & M. Hughes, 1990; V. L. Thompson Sanders, 1991, 1995). The results supported the 1st and 3rd hypotheses.     

Evaluation of Religious Coping in Tunisian Muslim Women with Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer

Journal of Religion and Health - Studies evaluating religious coping in Arab-Muslim populations are few. We aimed to evaluate religiosity and religious coping in a sample of breast cancer women,...     

Explaining Religious Effects on Distress Among African Americans

This study applies Smith's (2003a) theory of religious effects to account for the link between religiosity and distress. Using a latent-variable structural equation modeling approach, we analyze survey data from a nationally representative sample of African-American adults and find empirical support for our hypotheses. In terms of anger, depression, and anxiety, religiously committed African Americans exhibit lower levels of distress than their less religious or nonreligious counterparts. Highly religious African Americans report higher levels of sense of control and social support, which consequently reduces distress. We also find that the indirect and salutary effects of religiosity via social support are due to support from family and friends as well as from other religious people.     

Ethnicity,Coping, and Distress Among Korean Americans,Filipino Americans,and Caucasian Americans

Abstract

The authors examined appraisal, coping, and distress among Korean American, Filipino American, and Caucasian American Protestants. No interaction effects emerged among ethnic groups, but there were significant ethnic main effects for appraisal and coping. Compared with the Caucasian Americans, both Asian American groups appraised stressors as more challenging, and the Korean Americans appraised them also as greater losses. Both Asian American groups reported using more strategies of accepting responsibility, religious coping, distancing, and escape-avoidance than the Caucasian Americans did; the Filipino Americans also reported more problem-solving strategies than the Caucasian Americans. For all participants, challenge appraisals predicted adaptive coping (problem solving and positive reappraisal) and less distress. Problem solving, seeking social support, and positive reappraisal predicted less distress; self-control, accepting responsibility, and escape-avoidance predicted greater distress. The authors stressed the value of assessing ethnicity in coping research.     

Role of Religion and Spirituality in Stress Management Among Nurses

Religion and spirituality play a significant role as coping resources under stressful circumstances. Nursing professionals confront with a variety of stressors repeatedly and are found to employ religious/spiritual coping techniques in managing the negative impact of work stress. The present review explores different religious and spiritual coping strategies utilized by nurses of different socio-cultural and religious backgrounds and highlights the importance of treating religion and spirituality as two separate entities in studying their stress-buffering effect. The MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PsycArticles databases and Google Scholar were searched from 2006 to 2017 with the key words nursing, stress, religious coping, religiosity and spirituality. Various notions of the divine/transcendent aspect of life have led to lack of consensus over a functional definition of religion as well as spirituality. This is found to be the core element of methodological inadequacy in studying individuals’ reliance on religion and spirituality during stress. Further, most of the existing measures do not adequately explore spirituality as a construct independent of religion. Measures should be more culture sensitive to discover culturally enriched religious practices and rituals adopted by individuals belonging to different socio-cultural milieu to overcome stress. The role of religion and spirituality in stress resilience, emotion regulation and burnout among nurses around the globe needs further empirical support. Multiple levels at which religious and spiritual coping may moderate/mediate the relationship between work stress and behavioral/emotional outcomes among human service personnel who face high emotional labor demands should be more comprehensively analyzed.     

Distress and Coping Strategies Among Patients with Skin Cancer

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common cancer world-wide, yet few studies have investigated the psychosocial implications of this disease. The current study provides an account of the distress experienced by patients with NMSC and the coping strategies they use to deal with the NMSC diagnosis. The results demonstrate that 19 % of the patients experience significant levels of psychological distress. Furthermore, those who engaged in avoidant coping strategies (specifically behavioural avoidance) were more likely to experience distress. These findings highlight the importance of further investigating this patient population, since patients report difficulties adjusting to this disease and its treatment.     

Assessing Psychometric Properties of the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale (SRES) with African Americans

The Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale (SRES) is an instrument reported to be both reliable and valid. SRES was normed primarily on a Caucasian population, and there is little research on its psychometric properties with other ethnic groups. SRES' abbreviated version (BB) was administered to 148 African American men and women. There were no significant differences found between the norming sample and the study's sample. However, significant differences were found between African American men and women at the .01 level with African American women having a more egalitarian attitude. Further research should administer the SRES to a larger, more heterogenous African American sample to further support the psychometric findings of this study. The SRES should also be studied with other ethnic groups.     

Exploring the Role of Religiosity and Spirituality in Amniocentesis Decision-Making Among Latinas

Given the complex array of emotional and medical issues that may arise when making a decision about amniocentesis, women may find that their spiritual and/or religious beliefs can comfort and assist their decision-making process. Prior research has suggested that Latinas’ spiritual and/or religious beliefs directly influence their amniocentesis decision. A more intimate look into whether Latinas utilize their beliefs during amniocentesis decision-making may provide an opportunity to better understand their experience. The overall goal of this study was to describe the role structured religion and spirituality plays in Latinas’ daily lives and to evaluate how religiosity and spirituality influences health care decisions, specifically in prenatal diagnosis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven women who were invited to describe their religious beliefs and thoughts while considering the option of amniocentesis. All participants acknowledged the influence of religious and/or spiritual beliefs in their everyday lives. Although the women sought comfort and found validation in their beliefs and in their faith in God’s will during their amniocentesis decision-making process, results suggest the risk of procedure-related complications played more of a concrete role than their beliefs.     

Spirituality and Subjective Religiosity among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites

Patterns and correlates of self-perceptions of spirituality and subjective religiosity are examined using data from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative study of African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites. Demographic and denominational correlates of patterns of subjective religiosity and spirituality (i.e., religious only, spiritual only, both religious/spiritual and neither religious/spiritual) are examined. In addition, the study of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks permits the investigation of possible ethnic variation in the meaning and conceptual significance of these constructs within the U.S. Black population. African Americans and Caribbean Blacks are more likely than Non-Hispanic Whites to indicate that they are "both religious and spiritual" and less likely to indicate that they are "spiritual only" or "neither spiritual nor religious." Demographic and denominational differences in the patterns of spirituality and subjective religiosity are also indicated. Study findings are discussed in relation to prior research in this field and noted conceptual and methodological issues deserving further study.     

Religion and Spirituality in Coping with Advanced Breast Cancer: Perspectives from Malaysian Muslim Women

This article is part of a larger study on the role of spirituality in coping with breast cancer among Malaysian Muslim women. The study seeks to reveal the meaning of the experience through the stories of three Muslim women surviving advanced breast cancer, to better understand the deep meanings that inform their experiences with spirituality and transformation as they cope with the challenges of breast cancer. Data were gathered using in-depth interview. Qualitative methods were used in identifying two themes—illness as an awakening and hope and freedom comes from surrendering to God. The themes were discussed in the context of two broad areas: (1) what are the new meanings these women discovered in their experiences with cancer; and (2) how did the new meanings change their lives? The study suggests that cancer survivors’ experiences with cancer and their learning processes must be understood within the appropriate cultural context. This is especially so for spirituality. The common emphasis of spirituality on relationship with God, self and others, may significantly influence how people learn to live with cancer.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Religious Coping and Spirituality Among Three Types of Collegiate Substance Abuse

Religion and spirituality are protective factors against collegiate substance abuse; however, considering the variance among different types of drug abuse is important. We investigated religious coping and spirituality in relation to hazardous drinking, marijuana use, and psychostimulant use. Results indicated that positive religious coping and several dimensions of spirituality protect against hazardous drinking and marijuana use. Furthermore, differences in religious coping and spirituality may not exist between groups of psychostimulant users.     

The Relationship Between Spirituality and Hopelessness Among Cancer Patients in Turkey

Journal of Religion and Health - The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between spirituality and hopelessness in cancer patients. The study used a cross-sectional and correlational...