The experience of race-based discrimination may place African American youth at risk for substance use initiation and substance use disorders. This article examines the potential of parental racial socialization—a process by which parents convey messages to their children about race—to protect against the impact of racial discrimination on substance use outcomes. Focusing on stress as a major precipitating factor in substance use, the article postulates several possible mechanisms by which racial socialization might reduce stress and the subsequent risk for substance use. It discusses future research directions with the goal of realizing the promise of racial socialization as a resilience factor in African American and ethnic minority youth mental health.

In light of a growing body of longitudinal research on religious and spiritual (r/s) struggles and adjustment, a meta-analysis was conducted in order to synthesize literature on whether r/s struggles predict decrements in psychological adjustment over time. Multiple databases were searched for journal articles and dissertations reporting on studies that met inclusion criteria. For each study, necessary statistical information was extracted to calculate or estimate the standardized regression coefficient predicting follow-up psychological adjustment from baseline r/s struggles, controlling only for autoregressive effects. The search and screening process yielded 32 studies meeting inclusion criteria for which the necessary statistics were able to be extracted or obtained from study authors. Results indicated that r/s struggles significantly predicted increases in negative psychological adjustment (32 studies), Z r = 0.08, 95% CI [0.04, 0.10]. Results for positive psychological adjustment were non-significant (12 studies), Z r = −0.04, 95% CI [−0.11, 0.03]. These findings are consistent with a primary r/s struggles model in which r/s struggles lead to worsening psychological adjustment. This study underscores the importance of attending to spiritual struggles within clinical practice. Future studies on this topic could add to our understanding by examining longer time frames and testing secondary and complex models of the longitudinal relationship between r/s struggles and psychological adjustment.

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When coping with challenges in life, including religiousϪspiritual (R-S) struggles, those who believe in a relational deity (referred to here as God) may see themselves and God as active partners in engaging with the problem. We examined whether (a) attempts to engage with God via religious coping and (b) perceptions of receiving help from God were related to R-S struggle resolution and spiritual transformation in the wake of such struggles. Adults from the United States (N ϭ 3,142; 59% women) experiencing R-S struggles completed an initial online survey, and random subsamples of participants completed follow-up surveys 2 weeks and 4 weeks later. Latent autoregressive models showed that, among methods of God-focused religious coping, collaborative religious coping related to positive struggle-related outcome variables (spiritual growth and struggle resolution) most consistently and strongly, followed by active religious surrender and then by passive religious deferral, which related to both spiritual growth and spiritual decline. Perceptions of divine intervention also predicted spiritual growth and struggle resolution independently of self-initiated engagement with God. It is important to note that then, both self-initiated religious coping efforts and perceptions of divine action explained unique variance. Results held when controlling for extraversion and emotional stability. These findings suggest that when people who believe in a relational God experience R-S struggles, they may benefit from fostering a sense of partnership with God-one in which they strive to engage with God, work together with God as collaborators, and consider ways in which God may be actively intervening to help solve the problem.

Does God listen and respond to prayers? This project provided initial validation for a brief measure of perceived divine engagement and disengagement in response to prayer. As part of a larger project on religious/spiritual struggles among U.S. undergraduates, we used Sample 1 (n = 400) for exploratory factor analysis and Sample 2 (n = 413) for confirmatory factor analysis and initial validity testing. A two-factor model with four items per factor provided acceptable fit. On average, participants reported more divine engagement than disengagement. They endorsed items about God listening more than those about God responding. Divine engagement showed strong positive associations with religiousness and positive-valence variables involving God. Divine disengagement showed strong positive associations with variables suggesting divine struggle or distance. Importantly, both subscales also showed evidence of incremental validity: Divine engagement predicted positive-valence God variables (e.g., secure attachment, collaborative religious coping, gratitude to God, and awareness of God) even when controlling for religiousness and positive God concepts and attitudes. Divine disengagement predicted more spiritual struggles and more negative-valence and distance-related God variables (divine struggle, anxious and distant attachment, and self-directing religious coping) even when controlling for doubt about God’s existence, negative God images, anger/disappointment toward God, and concern about God’s disapproval. In short, this brief new measure shows promise as a tool to assess beliefs about God’s responsiveness to prayer.

Beliefs in supernatural evil have been widespread throughout human history, and they remain so today. Yet conversations about demonic struggles-tensions and conflicts involving beliefs and experiences regarding the devil, demons, or evil spirits or forcesmay make many people uneasy, including therapists. Still, demonic struggles have clinical relevance: Not only do many people experience these spiritual struggles, but they are linked with emotional distress. Demonizing others also introduces risks of serious interpersonal conflict and harm. This article uses a hypothetical case example to explore how therapists might view demonic struggles through three lenses: mental illness, psychological, and supernatural. Each lens has strengths and limitations and will lead to different emphases in assessment and treatment. The mental illness lens can uncover serious psychological or medical conditions but runs the risk of pathologizing demonic struggles. The psychological lens, which emphasizes normal psychological processes, can identify background and situational factors that set the stage for demonic struggles. Psychological approaches may encourage clients to consider effects of demonic attributions and struggles, perhaps revising or supplementing their coping strategies when demonic beliefs are causing problems. The supernatural lens, which focuses on the possibility of actual demonic activity, is likely to be much less familiar for most therapists; we thus devote extra attention to it here. Some clinicians may feel comfortable integrating this lens (e.g., prayer; spiritual warfare tactics) in therapy or pursuing clergy collaboration. Here we highlight some serious risks and cautions around this lens, especially around the controversial practices of exorcism and deliverance.

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