Behavioral Medicine Division, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
J Affect Disord. 2021 Oct 1;293:245-253. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.06.045. Epub 2021 Jun 24.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to pervasive social and economic disruptions. This cross-sectional investigation aimed to evaluate associations between religious/spiritual factors and mental health symptoms among community residents in a southern US state. In particular, we focused on perceptions of God's distance, a salient aspect of religious/spiritual struggle that has received little scrutiny in health research.
Participants included 551 respondents assessed during a period of gradual reopening but rising infection rates. Mental health outcomes were assessed using standardized measures of generalized anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms. Perceptions of an affirming relationship with God, anger at God, and disappointment at God's distance were evaluated using an adapted version of the Attitudes-Toward-God Scale-9.
In multivariate analyses that accounted for pandemic-related and demographic factors, positive relationships with God were related to diminished symptoms on all three mental heatlh indices (all p's ≤.003), whereas disappointment with God's distance was associated with more pronounced difficulties (all p's ≤.014).
The cross-sectional design precludes causal conclusions.
Findings suggest that perceived relationships with God are tied to clinically relevant mental health outcomes during periods of major upheaval. Disappointment with God's distance may be an important, understudied dimension of religious/spiritual struggle meriting further investigation.
COVID-19 大流行导致了广泛的社会和经济混乱。本横断面研究旨在评估美国南部一个州的社区居民中宗教/精神因素与心理健康症状之间的关联。特别是，我们关注的是对上帝距离的感知，这是宗教/精神斗争的一个显著方面，但在健康研究中很少受到关注。
参与者包括在逐渐重新开放但感染率上升期间评估的 551 名受访者。使用标准化的广泛性焦虑、抑郁和创伤症状量表评估心理健康结果。使用经过改编的《上帝态度量表-9》评估与上帝的肯定关系、对上帝的愤怒和对上帝距离的失望感。
在考虑到与大流行相关的和人口统计学因素的多变量分析中，与上帝的积极关系与所有三种心理健康指标上的症状减轻有关（所有 p 值均≤.003），而对上帝距离的失望与更明显的困难有关（所有 p 值均≤.014）。
横断面设计排除了因果关系的结论。
研究结果表明，在重大动荡时期，与上帝的感知关系与具有临床相关性的心理健康结果有关。对上帝距离的失望可能是宗教/精神斗争的一个重要但研究不足的方面，值得进一步研究。
