Abstract
The current project was designed to examine the contention that written prayers about difficult life events function as self-disclosure to God and are structurally and effectively the same as other forms of written self-disclosure, at least in the short term. Over four writing sessions, 155 participants either wrote about mundane experiences (the control group) or wrote narratives about traumatic or stressful life events that were targeted at no one, targeted at a person of their choice, or construed as prayers to God. The results indicate that written prayers are lexically similar to the other two types of written narratives and distinct from the control group. Furthermore, the immediate effects of trauma writing on mood and physical well-being were similar as well. These findings have potentially important implications for understanding the relationship between personal prayer and a variety of health outcomes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barnes, P. M., Powell-Griner, E., McFann, K., & Nahin, R. L. (2004). Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. Advance data from Vital and Health Statistics; No. 343. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics.
Brown, W. S. (2002). Psychoneuroimmunology and Western religious traditions. In H. G. Koenig & H. J. Cohen (Eds.), The link between religion and health: Psychoneuroimmunology and the faith factor (pp. 262–274). New York: Oxford University Press.
Cameron, L. D., & Nicholls, G. (1998). Expression of stressful experiences through writing: Effects of a self-regulation manipulation for pessimists and optimists. Health Psychology, 17, 84–92.
Christiansen, A. J., & Smith, T. W. (1993). Cynical hostility and cardiovascular reactivity during self-disclosure. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55, 193–202.
Dominguez, B., Valderrama, P., Meza, M., et al. (1995). The roles of disclosure and emotional reversal in clinical practice. In J. W. Pennebaker (Ed.), Emotion, disclosure, and health (pp. 255–270). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Emmons, R. A. (2005). Emotion and religion. In R. Paloutzian & C. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 235–252). New York, NY: Guildford Press.
Esterling, B. A., Antoni, M. H., Fletcher, M., Margulies, S., & Schneiderman, N. (1994). Emotional disclosure through writing or speaking modulates latent Epstein-Barr virus reactivation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 130–140.
Greenberg, M. A., & Stone, A. A. (1992). Writing about disclosed versus undisclosed traumas: Immediate and long-term effects on mood and health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 75–84.
Greenberg, M. A., Wortman, C. B., & Stone, A. A. (1996). Emotional expression and physical health: Revising traumatic memories or fostering self-regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 588–602.
Hughes, C. F., Uhlmann, C., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1994). The body’s response to processing emotional trauma: Linking verbal text with autonomic activity. Journal of Personality, 62, 565–585.
Jouard, S. M. (1971). Self-disclosure: An experimental analysis of the transparent self. New York: Wiley.
Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of religion and health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lowenthal, K. M. (2000). The psychology of religion: A short introduction. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.
Masters, K. S., & Spielmans, G. I. (2007). Prayer and health: Review, meta-analysis, and research agenda. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 30(4), 329–338.
Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Park, C. L., & Blumberg, C. (2002). Disclosing trauma through writing: Testing the meaning-making hypothesis. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 26(5), 597–616.
Pennebaker, J. W. (1982). The psychology of physical symptoms. New York: Springer.
Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Opening up: The healing power of expressing emotions (Rev. ed. ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Pennebaker, J. W., & Beall, S. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 274–281.
Pennebaker, J. W., & Francis, M. E. (1996). Cognitive, emotional, and language processes in disclosure. Cognition and Emotion, 10, 601–626.
Pennebaker, J. W., Hughes, C. F., & O’Heeron, R. C. (1987). The psychophysiology of confession: Linking inhibitory and psychosomatic processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 781–793.
Pennebaker, J. W., & Keough, K. A. (1999). Revealing, organizing, and reorganizing the self in response to stress and emotion. In R. J. Contrada & R. D. Ashmore (Eds.), Self, social identity, and physical health: Interdisciplinary explorations. Rutgers series on self and social identity (Vol. 2, pp. 101–121). New York: Oxford University Press.
Pennebaker, J. W., Mayne, T. J., & Francis, M. E. (1997). Linguistic predictors of adaptive bereavement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 863–871.
Pennebaker, J. W., & O’Heeron, R. C. (1984). Confiding in others and illness rate among spouses of suicide and accidental-death victims. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 473–476.
Pennebaker, J. W., & Susman, J. R. (1988). Disclosure of traumas and psychosomatic processes. Social Science and Medicine, 26, 327–332.
Rimé, B. (1995). Mental rumination, social sharing, and the recovery from emotional exposure. In J. W. Pennebaker (Ed.), Emotion, disclosure, and health (pp. 271–291). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Smyth, J. M. (1998). Written emotional expression: Effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 174–184.
Spera, S. P., Buhrfeind, E. D., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1994). Expressive writing and coping with job loss. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 722–733.
VandeCreek, L., Janus, M., Pennebaker, J. W., & Binau, B. (2002). Praying about difficult experiences as self-disclosure to God. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 12, 29–39.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bennett, P.R., Elliott, M. God Give Me Strength: Exploring Prayer as Self-Disclosure. J Relig Health 52, 128–142 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-011-9460-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-011-9460-1