Relationship Between Spiritual Coping and Survival in Patients with HIV

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Studies of spirituality in initially healthy people have shown a survival advantage, yet there are fewer research studies in the medically ill, despite the widespread use of spirituality/religiousness to cope with serious physical illness. In addition, many studies have used limited measures such as religious service attendance. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine if, independent of medication adherence, the use of spirituality/religiousness to cope with HIV predicts survival over 17 years. DESIGN: This was a longitudinal study, started in 1997. Study materials were administered semi annually. PARTICIPANTS: A diverse sample of 177 HIV patients initially in the mid-stage of disease (150-500 CD4-cells/ mm 3 ; no prior AIDS-defining symptoms) participated in the study. MAIN MEASURES: Participants were administered a battery of psychosocial questionnaires and a blood draw. They completed interviews and essays to assess current stressors. Spiritual coping (overall/strategies) was rated by qualitative content analysis of interviews regarding stress and coping with HIV, and essays. KEY RESULTS: Controlling for medical variables (baseline CD4/viral load) and demographics, Cox regression analyses showed that overall positive spiritual coping significantly predicted greater survival over 17 years (mortality HR = 0.56, p = 0.039). Findings held even after controlling for health behaviors (medication adherence, substance use) and social support. Particular spiritual coping strategies that predicted longer survival included spiritual practices (HR = 0.26, p < 0.001), spiritual reframing (HR = 0.27, p = 0.006), overcoming spiritual guilt (HR = 0.24, p < 0.001), spiritual gratitude (HR = 0.40, p = 0.002), and spiritual empowerment (HR = 0.52, p = 0.024), indicating that people using these strategies were 2-4 times more likely to survive. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge this is the first study showing a prospective relationship of spiritual coping in people who are medically ill with survival over such a long period of time, and also specifically identifies several strategies of spirituality that may be beneficial.

Effect of Spiritual-Religious Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, and Adjustment to Parental Divorce in Female High School Students

“…Safara et al in their study showed that spirituality can improve one's mental health (19). Furthermore, spiritualityand religion-based practices can empower people in the face of adversities and lifethreatening diseases (20). In addition, based on the findings of a study performed by Tuttle and Davis on the effects of spirituality and religion on marital life, spiritual-religious beliefs can enhance marital satisfaction and happiness, and improve couples' relationships (21).…”

The Greek-Orthodox version of the Brief Religious Coping (B-RCOPE) instrument: psychometric properties in three samples and associations with mental disorders, suicidality, illness perceptions, and quality of life

“…Conversely, NRC has been associated with deleterious outcomes [ 18 – 20 ]. Studies have also shown that, in individuals coping with long-term conditions, religious coping may influence mental health, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), treatment adherence, or even survival [ 20 – 23 ].…”

Analysis of resilience and sexual behavior in persons with HIV infection

“…As regards sexual orientation, heterosexual patients scored more highly in spirituality compared with homosexual patients. In recent studies, it can be observed that spirituality has helped PLHIV to cope with HIV (Ironson, Kremer, & Lucette, 2016;Pecoraro et al, 2016). Other studies have indeed shown that spirituality is a resource used to overcome the challenges presented by HIV (Hussen et al, 2014;Szaflarski, 2013).…”