Intrinsic religiousness as a stress-moderator for adult Protestant churchgoers

Author(s): Cohen, L. H.

Journal/Book: J Community Psychol. 1998; 26: 605 Third Ave, New York, NY 10158-0012. John Wiley & Sons Inc. 597-609.

Abstract: In this study we examined the stress-buffering effect of an intrinsic religious orientation for a community sample of adult Protestant churchgoers. At time 1, participants completed measures of intrinsic religiousness, religious activity, and dysphoria. At lime 2 8 months later, they completed measures of negative life events and dysphoria. For participants from liberal Protestant churches (e.g., Methodist), intrinsic religiousness served as a stress-buffer in the prediction of time I-time 2 residual change in dysphoria. This effect was nonsignificant for participants from more conservative Protestant churches (e.g., Baptist). Similarly, single;item measures of religion's importance, frequency of prayer, and frequency of church attendance served as stress-buffers for liberal participants, but not for conservative participants. The nonsignificant effects for the latter participants are attributable to their restricted range on the religion variables. The results for the former participants suggest that religious ''commitment'' is an individual difference variable that influences adjustment to negative life events.

Note: Article Cohen LH, Univ Delaware, Dept Psychol, 220 Wolf Hall, Newark,DE 19716 USA

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