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Religious coping and hospital admissions among adults with sickle cell disease

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Abstract

Although a well-established literature implicates religiosity as a central element of the African American experience, little is known about how individuals from this group utilize religion to cope with specific health-related stressors. The present study examined the relation between religious coping and hospital admissions among a cohort of 95 adults with sickle cell disease—a genetic blood disorder that, in the United States, primarily affects people of African ancestry. Multiple regression analyses indicated that positive religious coping uniquely accounted for variance in hospital admissions after adjusting for other demographic and diagnostic variables. Specifically, greater endorsement of positive religious coping was associated with significantly fewer hospital admissions (β = −.29, P < .05). These results indicate a need for further investigation of the roles that religion and spirituality play in adjustment to sickle cell disease and their influence on health care utilization patterns and health outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD, 21250, USA

    Shawn M. Bediako

  2. The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street, Tower 110, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Lakshmi Lattimer

  3. Division of Hematology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 624 N. Broadway, Hampton House, Room 355, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Carlton Haywood Jr

  4. Center for Vulnerable Populations, University of California, 1001 Potrero Avenue, Ward 13, Building 10, Third Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94110, USA

    Neda Ratanawongsa

  5. Division of Hematology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 1830 East Monument Street, Suite 7300, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Sophie Lanzkron

  6. Division of General Internal Medicine, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 2024 East Monument Street, Room 2-511, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Mary Catherine Beach

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  1. Shawn M. Bediako
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  2. Lakshmi Lattimer
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  3. Carlton Haywood Jr
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  4. Neda Ratanawongsa
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  5. Sophie Lanzkron
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  6. Mary Catherine Beach
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Correspondence to Shawn M. Bediako.

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Bediako, S.M., Lattimer, L., Haywood, C. et al. Religious coping and hospital admissions among adults with sickle cell disease. J Behav Med 34, 120–127 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-010-9290-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-010-9290-8

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