Guilt, discord, and alienation: the role of religious strain in depression and suicidality.

Although religion is usually portrayed as a source of comfort, individuals may also experience strain in their religious lives. Associations between religious variables and psychological distress were examined within two groups: a nonclinical sample of 200 college students and a clinical sample of 54 persons seeking outpatient psychotherapy. Participants reported more comfort than strain associated with religion. Religious strain was associated with greater depression and suicidality, regardless of religiosity levels or the degree of comfort found in religion. Depression was associated with feelings of alienation from God and, among students, with interpersonal conflicts on religious domains. Suicidality was associated with religious fear and guilt, particularly with belief in having committed an unforgivable sin. Religious strain, along with religiosity, was associated with greater interest in addressing religious issues in psychotherapy. These results highlight the role of religious strain as a potentially important indicator of psychological distress.

Coping and distress in pregnancy: an investigation of medically high risk women.

The association between coping and pregnancy-specific distress was examined in 167 pregnant women at high medical risk. A population-appropriate coping inventory and prenatal distress measure were administered in mid-pregnancy (mean of 24 weeks gestation). Subjects experienced moderately high levels of distress about preterm delivery, physical symptoms, labor and delivery, weight gain, and having an unhealthy baby. They most frequently coped with the demands and challenges of pregnancy through prayer and positive appraisal. Sociodemographic variables including age, income, education, and parity were significantly associated with ways of coping. Coping by avoidance, preparation for motherhood, and substance use were associated with greater distress, whereas coping by positive appraisal was associated with less distress. These effects differed somewhat when levels of global, non-specific distress were controlled. Findings underscore the unique nature of high-risk pregnancy as a stressful life event.

Socioeconomic status and chronic stress. Does stress account for SES effects on health?

Socioeconomic status (SES) is an important predictor of a range of health and illness outcomes. Research seeking to identify the extent to which this often-reported effect is due to protective benefits of higher SES or to toxic elements of lower social status has not yielded consistent or conclusive findings. A relatively novel hypothesis is that these effects are due to chronic stress that is associated with SES; lower SES is reliably associated with a number of important social and environmental conditions that contribute to chronic stress burden, including crowding, crime, noise pollution, discrimination, and other hazards or stressors. In other words, chronic stress may capture much of the variance in health and social outcomes associated with harmful aspects of lower social status. Low SES is generally associated with distress, prevalence of mental health problems, and with health-impairing behaviors that are also related to stress. Research targeting this hypothesis is needed to determine the extent to which stress is a pathway linking SES and health.

When god disappoints: difficulty forgiving god and its role in negative emotion.

In light of growing empirical interest in the links between forgiveness, religious belief, and well-being, a study was designed to examine the emotional impact of a specific problem with forgiveness: difficulty forgiving God. Difficulty forgiving God was found to predict anxious and depressed mood within a college student sample (N 5 200), and its contribution was independent of difficulties forgiving the self and others. Two psychological factors emerged as central in explaining the link between difficulty forgiving God and negative emotion: an angry disposition and feelings of alienation from God. Also, among those who currently believed in God, forgiving God for a specific, powerful incident predicted lower levels of anxious and depressed mood. These findings suggest that an unforgiving attitude toward God is a distinct type of problem with forgiveness, one that serves as a potent predictor of negative emotion.