Relationships Between Childhood Interpersonal Trauma, Religious Coping, Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms, and Resilience

Abstract

Positive and negative religious coping strategies have been linked to symptom trajectories following adult interpersonal trauma. However, the interactions between childhood interpersonal trauma, religious coping, and psychological outcomes are less clear. This study examined whether aspects of religious coping moderated the associations between cumulative childhood interpersonal trauma and mental health outcomes, such as post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and resilience. Participants included 525 undergraduates from two universities ( Mage = 20.04, SD = 1.71; range = 18–24; 57.7% White; 82.1% female). In both the positive and negative religious coping models, cumulative childhood interpersonal trauma was related to PTSS ( b = 6.66; b = 6.10, respectively). While positive religious coping was not associated with PTSS ( b = .01), it was linked to resilience ( b = .69). Negative religious coping was significantly related to PTSS ( b = .75) but not resilience ( b = –.20). No significant interactions were identified between aspects of religious coping and cumulative childhood interpersonal trauma. While religious coping was directly related to both positive and negative mental health outcomes, it may not be associated with the relationships between childhood interpersonal trauma exposure and clinical outcomes. Such findings offer valuable information on malleable factors that may contribute to adaptive and maladaptive functioning following childhood adversity.

From Looking for Reason to Finding Meaning: A Spiritual Journey of Recovery From Sexual Trauma

“…By redefining the traumatic event as part of God's plan or as something that could be spiritually beneficial, survivors can utilize their spiritual beliefs to construct an explanatory narrative (Pargament et al, 2000;Park, 2020). On the other hand, in a study which examined the moderation of positive religious coping on posttraumatic stress symptoms, Walker et al (2022) noted that when spiritual beliefs cannot help survivors make meaning from their traumatic experiences, they doubt God of their understanding, adding further challenges to an already difficult recovery process. Frazier et al (2017) attributed sexual trauma survivors' struggle with the question "why?"…”

“…Among those implications are a sense of powerlessness (Ronel, 2008), self-blame and guilt (Peter-Hagene & Ullman, 2018), anger and frustration (Allen et al, 2017), loss of trust (Lahav et al, 2020), tendency to revictimization (Brenner et al, 2021), and lack of social recognition (Kirkner & Ullman, 2020). Beyond disrupting psychosocial functioning, sexual trauma has all kinds of devastating implications on survivors’ spirituality, such as negative spiritual coping (i.e., spiritual discontent, fear of punishment, or blaming God for not being a protector), alienation from God, and loss of faith and meaning (Bryant-Davis & Wong, 2013; Walker et al, 2022). Subsequent to these multifaceted implications, survivors experience startling ruptures in their unique identity, values, and beliefs (Gall et al, 2007; Kick & McNitt, 2016), causing them to question their entire meaning system (Park & Gutierrez, 2013).…”

“…Subsequent to these multifaceted implications, survivors experience startling ruptures in their unique identity, values, and beliefs (Gall et al, 2007; Kick & McNitt, 2016), causing them to question their entire meaning system (Park & Gutierrez, 2013). Research shows that finding meaning is one of the most valuable positive spiritual coping strategies for survivors (Ahrens et al, 2010; Bowland et al, 2011; Sinko et al, 2022; Walker et al, 2022). Accordingly, this study seeks to describe the recovery process of sexual violence survivors’ spiritual journey as manifested in the transformation from looking for reasons to finding meaning.…”

“…Still, there is an oversight in the existing literature on the significance of spirituality in survivors during their recovery process. Most of the existing literature on spiritual recovery is religion-based, and specifically Christianity-based (e.g., Allen et al, 2017; Bowland et al, 2011; Harris et al, 2008; Walker et al, 2022). Moreover, relatively little research has focused on meaning-making processes following sexual trauma, and even less has examined the subject phenomenologically.…”

Learning a Lesson: Spiritual Attributions of Sexual Trauma and Revictimization

“…Still, most literature on sexual trauma and revictimization is explored from a secular view, and focuses on behavioral and mental (i.e., emotional and cognitive) aspects (Brenner et al, 2021; Culatta et al, 2020); the spiritual aspects of sexual trauma have received little empirical attention to date (Miller et al, 2021). Studies that do explore sexual trauma and spirituality refer to spiritual struggles and spiritual coping (Ahrens et al, 2010; Levy & Eckhaus, 2020; Walker et al, 2021). Either way, the literature overlooks spiritual explanations and attributions of the causes of sexual trauma and revictimization.…”