Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Positive and negative religious coping, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in people with HIV

  • Published:
Journal of Behavioral Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study examined the relationships of positive and negative types of religious coping with depression and quality of life, and the mediating role of benefit finding in the link between religious coping and psychological outcomes among 198 individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The results of multiple hierarchical analyses revealed that negative religious coping was significantly associated with a high level of depressive symptoms and a low level of quality of life, controlling for demographic and clinical variables. On the other hand, positive religious coping was significantly associated with positive domains of outcome measures such as positive affect and life satisfaction, but not with overall depressive symptoms or quality of life. Tests of mediation analyses showed that benefit finding fully mediated the relationship between positive religious coping and the positive sub-domains of psychological outcomes. The importance of investigating both positive and negative types of religious coping in their relationships with psychological adaptation in people with HIV was discussed, as well as the significance of benefit finding in understanding the link between religious coping and psychological outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ai, A. L., Park, C. L., Huang, B., Rodgers, W., & Tice, T. N. (2007). Psychosocial mediation of religious coping styles: A study of short-term psychological distress following cardiac surgery. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 867–882.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Amuzie, R., & Jones, M. (2012). A systematic review: the role of spirituality in reducing depression in people living with HIV/AIDS. British Journal of General Practice, 62, 68.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Antoni, M. H., Lehman, J. M., Klibourn, K. M., Boyers, A. E., Culver, J. L., Alferi, S. M., et al. (2001). Cognitive-behavioral stress management intervention decreases the prevalence of depression and enhances benefit finding among women under treatment for early-stage breast cancer. Health Psychology, 20, 20–32.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bluthenthal, R. N., Palar, K., Mendel, P., Kanouse, D. E., Corbin, D. E., & Derose, K. P. (2012). Attitudes and beliefs related to HIV/AIDS in urban religious congregations: barriers and opportunities for HIV-related interventions. Social Science and Medicine, 74, 1520–1527.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carrico, A. W., Ironson, G., Antoni, M. H., Lechner, S. C., Duran, R. E., Kumar, M., et al. (2006). A path model of the effects of spirituality on depressive symptoms and 24-h urinary-free cortisol in HIV-positive persons. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 61, 51–58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cotton, S., Puchalski, C. M., Sherman, S. N., Mrus, J. M., Peterman, A. H., Feinberg, J., et al. (2006). Spirituality and religion in patients with HIV/AIDS. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21, S5–S13.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farber, E. W., Bhaju, J., Campos, P. E., Hodari, K. E., Motley, V. J., Dennany, B. E., et al. (2010). Psychological well-being in persons receiving HIV-related mental health services: The role of personal meaning in a stress and coping model. General Hospital Psychiatry, 32, 73–79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Helgeson, V. S., Reynolds, K. A., & Tomich, P. L. (2006). A meta-analytic review of benefit finding and growth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 797–816.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hickman, E. E., Glass, C. R., Arnkoff, D. B., & Fallot, R. D. (2013). Religious coping, stigma, and psychological functioning among HIV-positive African American women. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 16, 832–851.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll, S. E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6, 307–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, W. C., & Shea, J. A. (1998). A new HIV/AIDS-targeted quality of life (HAT-QoL) instrument: Development, reliability, and validity. Medical Care, 36, 138–154.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G., Pargament, K. I., & Nielsen, J. (1998). Religious coping and health status in medically ill hospitalized older adults. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 186, 513–521.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz, K. A., Hays, R. D., Shapiro, M. F., Cleary, P. D., Asch, S. M., & Wenger, N. S. (2005). Religiousness and spirituality among HIV-infected Americans. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 8, 774–781.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., & Fairchild, A. J. (2009). Current directions in mediation analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 16.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Krull, J. L., & Lockwood, C. M. (2000). Equivalence of the mediation, confounding and suppression effect. Prevention Science, 1, 173–181.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McIntosh, R. C., & Rosselli, M. (2012). Stress and coping in women living with HIV: A meta-analytic review. AIDS and Behavior, 16, 2144–2159.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moskowitz, J. T. (2003). Positive affect predicts lower risk of AIDS mortality. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 620–626.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., Tarakeshwar, N., & Hahn, J. (2004). Religious coping methods as predictors of psychological, physical and spiritual outcomes among medically ill elderly patients: A two-year longitudinal study. Journal of Health Psychology, 9, 713–730.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., Smith, B., Koenig, H., & Perez, L. (1998). Patterns of positive and negative religious coping with major life stressors. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37, 710–724.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, C. L. (2007). Religiousness/spirituality and health: a meaning systems perspective. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 30, 319–328.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Park, C. L., & Folkman, S. (1997). Meaning in the context of stress and coping. General Review of Psychology, 1, 115–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paxton, S. (2002). The paradox of public HIV disclosure. AIDS Care, 14, 559–567.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, M. J., Singer, J. L., & Prigerson, H. G. (2006). Religious coping among caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients: Main effects and psychosocial mediators. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 743–759.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pence, B. W., Shirey, K., Whetten, K., Agala, B., Itemba, D., Adams, J., et al. (2012). Prevalence of psychological trauma and association with current health and functioning in a sample of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected Tanzanian adults. PLoS One, 7, e36304.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, J. A., & Barrett, L. F. (1999). Core affect, prototypical emotional episodes, and other things called emotion: dissecting the elephant. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 805–819.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schnall, E., Kalkstein, S., Fitchett, G., Salmoirago-Blotcher, E., Ockene, J., Tindle, H. A., et al. (2012). Psychological and social characteristics associated with religiosity in women’s health initiative participants. Journal of Religion and Health, 51, 20–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, A. C., Simonton, S., Latif, U., Spohn, R., & Tricot, G. (2005). Religious struggle and religious comfort in response to illness: Health outcomes among stem cell transplant patients. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 28, 359–367.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sherr, L., Clucas, C., Harding, R., Sibley, E., & Catalan, J. (2011). HIV and depression—A systematic review of interventions. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 16, 493–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, K., & Schrimshaw, E. W. (2000). Perceiving benefits in adversity: Stress-related growth in women living with HIV/AIDS. Social Science and Medicine, 51, 1543–1554.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, K., & Schrimshaw, E. W. (2002). The perceived benefits of religious and spiritual coping among older adults living with HIV/AIDS. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41, 91–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sobel, M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models. Sociology Methodology, 13, 290–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarakeshwar, N., Khan, N., & Sikkema, K. J. (2006). A relationship-based framework of spirituality for individuals with HIV. AIDS and Behavior, 10, 59–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tarakeshwar, N., Pearce, M. J., & Sikkema, K. J. (2005). Development and implementation of a spiritual coping group intervention for adults living with HIV/AIDS: A pilot study. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 8, 179–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E. (1983). Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation. American Psychologist, 38, 1161–1173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193–210.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tennen, H., & Affleck, G. (2002). Benefit-finding and benefit-reminding. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 584–597). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tix, A. P., & Frazier, P. A. (1998). The use of religious coping during stressful life events: Main effects, moderation, and mediation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 411–422.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tourangeau, R., Rips, L. J., & Rasinski, K. (2000). The psychology of survey response. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, K. M., Pargament, K. I., Cotton, S., Leonard, A. C., Hahn, J., Caprini-Faigin, C. A., et al. (2010). Religious coping and physiological, psychological, social, and spiritual outcomes in patients with HIV/AIDS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings. AIDS and Behavior, 14, 379–389.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yi, M. S., Mrus, J. M., Wade, T. J., Ho, M. L., Hornung, R. W., Cotton, S., et al. (2006). Religion, spirituality, and depressive symptoms in patients with HIV/AIDS. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21, S21–S27.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

Authors Minsun Lee, Arthur M. Nezu and Christine Maguth Nezu declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Minsun Lee.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lee, M., Nezu, A.M. & Nezu, C.M. Positive and negative religious coping, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in people with HIV. J Behav Med 37, 921–930 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-014-9552-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-014-9552-y

Keywords

Navigation