Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Negative Religious Coping Predicts Disordered Eating Pathology Among Orthodox Jewish Adolescent Girls

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Recent research suggests the importance of exploring religious and spiritual factors in relation to the continuum of disordered eating. This continuum ranges from mild disordered eating behaviors and attitudes to moderate levels of disordered eating pathology (DEP) through full-blown clinical levels of eating disorders (EDs). The current study is the first to explore the role that religious coping (both positive and negative) plays in the development DEP, which is considered a risk factor for the development of EDs. In addition, the study aims to describe levels of DEP among a non-clinical sample of 102 Orthodox Jewish adolescent females. Participants completed a questionnaire measuring religious coping strategies, DEP and self-esteem. Results indicated that greater use of negative religious coping was associated with higher levels of DEP. Mediation analyses suggested that greater negative religious coping is related to lower levels of self-esteem, which accounts for higher levels of DEP. Furthermore, findings revealed relatively lower overall levels of DEP among this sample, compared to similar populations in Israel and the USA. These results suggest that a strong religious and spiritual identity may serve as a protective factor against DEP.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

  • Abusch-Magder, R. A. (2005). Kashrut: The possibility and limits of women’s domestic power. In L. J. Greenspoon, R. A. Simkins, & G. Shapiro (Eds.), Food and judaism (pp. 169–172). Omaha, N.E.: Creighton Univeristy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyatzis, C. J., Kline, S., & Backof, S. (2007). Experimental evidence that theistic-religious body affirmations improve women’s body image. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 46(4), 553–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant-Davis, T., & Wong, E. C. (2013). Faith to move mountains: Religious coping, spirituality, and interpersonal trauma recovery. American Psychologist, 68(8), 675–684. doi:10.1037/a0034380.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, T. P., Laney, T., & Mezulis, A. (2012). Religious coping, stress, and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A prospective study. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 4(1), 19–30. doi:10.1037/a0023155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corning, A. F., Krumm, A. J., & Smitham, L. A. (2006). Differential social comparison processes in women with and without eating disorder symptoms. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(3), 338–349. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.53.3.338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairburn, C. G., & Harrison, P. J. (2003). Eating disorders. The Lancet, 361, 407–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gall, T. L., & Guirguis-Younger, M. (2013). Religious and spiritual coping: Current theory and research. In K. I. Pargament, J. J. Exline, & J. W. Jones (Eds.), APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol 1): Context, theory, and research (pp. 349–364). Washington, DC US: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Garner, D. M., & Garfinkel, P. E. (1979). The Eating Attitudes Test: An index of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine, 9(2), 273–279. doi:10.1017/s0033291700030762.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garner, D. M., Olmstead, M. P., & Polivy, J. (1983). Development and validation of a multidimensional eating disorder inventory for anorexia nervosa and bulimia. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2(2), 15–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garner, D. M., Olmsted, M. P., Bohr, Y., & Garfinkel, P. E. (1982). The eating attitudes test: Psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychological Medicine, 12(4), 871–878. doi:10.1017/S0033291700049163.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glazer, T. (2013). The relationship between identity and disordered eating: The role of volunteering among national-orthodox female adolescents in Israel. (M.A.), University of Haifa: Haifa, Israel.

  • Gluck, M. E., & Geliebter, A. (2002). Body image and eating behaviors in Orthodox and secular Jewish women. Journal of Gender Specific Medicine, 5, 19–24.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harel, Y., Ellenbogen-Frankovits, S., Molcho, M., Abu-Ashas, K., & Habib, J. (2002). Youth in Israel. Jerusalem, Israel: Brookdale Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, N., Richards, P. S., Granley, H. M., & Stein, D. M. (2004). The Impact of Exposure to the Thin-Ideal Media Image on Women. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention, 12(1), 35–50. doi:10.1080/10640260490267751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, J. I., Hiripi, E., Pope, H. G., & Kessler, R. C. (2007). The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication. Biological Psychiatry, 61, 348–358.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E., Schmidt, N. B., & Wonderlich, S. A. (1997). Global self-esteem as contingent on body satisfaction among patients with bulimia nervosa: Lack of diagnostic specificity? International Journal of Eating Disorders, 21(1), 67–76. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-108X(199701)21:1<67:AID-EAT8>3.0.CO;2-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keel, P. K., & Klump, K. L. (2003). Are eating disorders culture bound syndromes? Implications for conceptualizing their etiology. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 747–769.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, K. H. (2007). Religion, weight perception, and weight control behavior. Eating Behaviors, 8, 121–131.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • King, P. E., Ramos, J. S., & Clardy, C. E. (2013). Searching for the sacred: Religion, spirituality, and adolescent development. In K. I. Pargament, J. J. Exline, & J. W. Jones (Eds.), APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol 1): Context, theory, and research (pp. 513–528). Washington, DC US: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Latzer, Y., Orna, T., & Gefen, S. (2007). Level of religiosity and disordered eating psychopathology among modern-orthodox Jewish adolescent girls in Israel. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 19(4), 511–521.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Latzer, Y., & Tzischinsky, O. (2003). Weight concern, dieting and eating behaviors. A survey of Israeli high school girls. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 15(4), 295–305.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Latzer, Y., Vander, S., & Gilat, I. (2008a). Socio-demographic characteristics of eating disorder patients in an outpatient clinic: A descriptive epidemiological study. European Eating Disorders Review, 16(2), 139–146. doi:10.1002/erv.841.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Latzer, Y., Witztum, E., & Stein, D. (2008b). Eating disorders and disordered eating in Israel: An updated review. European Eating Disorders Review, 16(5), 361–374. doi:10.1002/erv.875.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, P., Karagianni, E., & Morgan, J. F. (2007). Spirituality and clinical care in eating disorders: A qualitative study. [Article]. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40(1), 7–12. doi:10.1002/eat.20333.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, D. A., McCullough, M. E., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., Swyers, J. P., & Milano, M. G. (1998). Religious commitment and health status: a review of the research and implications for family medicine. Archives of Family Medicine, 7(2), 118–124.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McConnell, K. M., Pargament, K. I., Ellison, C. G., & Flannelly, K. J. (2006). Examining the links between spiritual struggles and symptoms of psychopathology in a national sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(12), 1469–1484. doi:10.1002/jclp.20325.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mensinger, J. L., Bonifazi, D. Z., & LaRosa, J. (2007). Perceived gender role prescriptions in schools, the superwoman ideal, and disordered eating among adolescent girls. Sex Roles, 57(7–8), 557–568. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9281-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumark-Sztainer, D., Levine, M. P., Paxton, S. J., Smolak, L., Piran, N., & Wertheim, E. H. (2006). Prevention of Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating: What Next? Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention, 14(4), 265–285. doi:10.1080/10640260600796184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I. (1997). The Psychology of Religion and Coping. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., Falb, M. D., Ano, G. G., & Wachholtz, A. B. (2013). The religious dimension of coping: Advances in theory, research, and practice. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (2nd ed., pp. 560–579). New York, NY US: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., & Perez, L. M. (2000). The many methods of religious coping: Development and initial validation of the RCOPE. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(4), 519–543. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(200004)56:4<519:AID-JCLP6>3.0.CO;2-1.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., Smith, B. W., Koenig, H. G., & Perez, L. (1998). Patterns of positive and negative religious coping with major life stressors. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37(4), 710–724. doi:10.2307/1388152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinhas, L., Heinmaa, M., Bryden, P., Bradley, S., & Toner, B. (2008). Disordered eating in Jewish adolescent girls. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 53(9), 601–608.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pirutinsky, S., Rosmarin, D. H., & Holt, C. L. (2012). Religious coping moderates the relationship between emotional functioning and obesity. Health Psychology, 31(3), 394–397. doi:10.1037/a0026665.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Polivy, J., & Herman, C. P. (2002). Causes of eating disorders. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 187–213. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135103.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, P. S., Hardman, R. K., & Berrett, M. E. (2007). Spiritual approaches in the treatment of women with eating disorders. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, P. S., Smith, M. H., Berrett, M. E., O’Grady, K. A., & Bartz, J. D. (2009). A theistic spiritual treatment for women with eating disorders. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(2), 172–184. doi:10.1002/jclp.20564.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, P. S., Weinberger-Litman, S. L., Susov, S., & Berrett, M. E. (2013). Religiousness and spirituality in the etiology and treatment of eating disorders. In K. I. Pargament, A. Mahoney, & E. P. Shafranske (Eds.), APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol 2): An applied psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 319–333). Washington, DC US: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosmarin, D. H., Pargament, K. I., & Flannelly, K. J. (2009). Do spiritual struggles predict poorer physical/mental health among Jews? International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 19(4), 244–258. doi:10.1080/10508610903143503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shore, R. A., & Porter, J. E. (1990). Normative and reliability data for 11 to 18 year olds on the eating disorder inventory. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 9(2), 201–207. doi:10.1002/1098-108X(199003)9:2<201:AID-EAT2260090209>3.0.CO;2-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smink, F. R., van Hoeken, D., & Hoek, H. W. (2012). Epidemiology of eating disorders: Incidence, prevalence and mortality rates. Current psychiatry reports, 14(4), 406–414.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L. (2013). Adolescence. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E. (2002). Risk and maintenance factors for eating pathology: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 128(5), 825–848. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.5.825.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., Marti, C. N., Rohde, P., & Shaw, H. (2011). Testing mediators hypothesized to account for the effects of a dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program over longer term follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(3), 398–405. doi:10.1037/a0023321.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Treasure, J., Claudino, A. M., & Zucker, N. (2010). Eating disorders. The Lancet, 375(9714), 583–593. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(09)61748-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weinberger-Litman, S. L. (2007). The influence of religious orienation, spiritual well-being, educational setting, and social comparison on body image and eating disturbance in Jewish women. (Doctoral Dissertation, The City University of New York, 2007). Dissertation Abstracts International, 68(10-B), 7008.

  • Weinberger-Litman, S. L., Latzer, Y., & Stein, D. (2011). A historical, cultural and empirical look at eating disorders and religiosity among Jewish women. In Y. Latzer, J. Merrick, & D. Stein (Eds.), Understanding eating disorders: Integrating culture, psychology, biology (pp. 105–117). New York: Nova Science Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinberger-Litman, S. L., Rabin, L. A., Fogel, J., & Mensinger, J. L. (2008a). Educational setting and eating disorder risk factors among young Jewish women: A comparison between single gender and coed schools. Counselling and Spirituality, 27(2), 131–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinberger-Litman, S. L., Rabin, L. A., Fogel, J., & Mensinger, J. L. (2008b). The influence of religious orientation and spiritual well-being on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in a sample of Jewish women. International Journal of Child and Adolescent Health, 1(4), 373–387.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Emilie Maurer, for her help in preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Yael Latzer

  2. Psychiatric Division, Eating Disorders Clinic, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel

    Yael Latzer

  3. Department of Psychology, Marymount Manhattan College, 221 E71st St., New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Sarah L. Weinberger-Litman

  4. Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Barbara Gerson, Anna Rosch, Rebecca Mischel, Talia Hinden, Jeffrey Kilstein & Judith Silver

Authors
  1. Yael Latzer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sarah L. Weinberger-Litman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Barbara Gerson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Anna Rosch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rebecca Mischel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Talia Hinden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jeffrey Kilstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Judith Silver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah L. Weinberger-Litman.

Additional information

Yael Latzer and Sarah L. Weinberger-Litman have contributed equally to this paper.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Latzer, Y., Weinberger-Litman, S.L., Gerson, B. et al. Negative Religious Coping Predicts Disordered Eating Pathology Among Orthodox Jewish Adolescent Girls. J Relig Health 54, 1760–1771 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9927-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9927-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation