Page 116 - Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience

The Psychospiritual Impact of Disaster 85

of religious coping strategies emerged with better mental and spiritual
health. These effective religious coping practices include viewing the Deity
as benevolent, collaborating with the Deity in problem solving, seeking
spiritual support, providing spiritual support to others, attempting to stay
true to one’s faith, seeking new spiritual direction, practicing forgiveness,
and trying to develop a stronger relationship with the Divine (Pargament,
et al., 2000; Pargament et al., 1998). On the other hand, another set of
religious coping strategies were associated with reduced coping effective-
ness. These strategies included viewing the Deity as punishing, attributing
the stressor to the work of the devil, and viewing the community of faith
as unsatisfactory (Pargament et al., 1998, 2000). Numerous other studies
confirm these conclusions (Ano & Vasconcelles, 2005; Harris et al., 2008;
Pargament, Koenig, Tarakeshwar, & Hahn, 2001; Pargament et al., 2004a).
More importantly, they add the finding that those who experience chronic
struggle or conflict in their relationship with the Divine experience poorer
outcomes (Pargament et al., 2001).
Harris et al. (2008) identified two distinct religious responses to trauma.
One type of response, called “Seeking Spiritual Support” was associated
with higher levels of posttraumatic growth. Seeking spiritual support was
characterized by the effective religious coping strategies noted above, as
well as engaging in prayer to stay calm, to accept the situation, and to ask
for help with coping tasks (Harris et al., 2008). The other response, called
“Religious Strain,” was characterized by the ineffective religious coping
strategies detailed above, as well as high levels of religious fear and guilt,
and feelings of alienation from the Deity. Religious Strain was associated
with post-traumatic stress disorder (Harris et al., 2008). In short, research
in mental health, spirituality, and disaster indicates that individuals’ ways
of viewing the Deity and making meaning of disaster account for different
perceptions of the helpfulness of spiritual coping. This suggests that clergy,
faith group leaders, and mental health professionals can effectively col-
laborate to assist individuals and communities in mitigating the negative
psychological consequences of disaster and maximizing potential for post-
traumatic growth by facilitating healthy spiritual responses to and inter-
pretations of the event. There are many opportunities for clergy and mental
health professionals to work together productively in the five essential ele-
ments of mental health disaster response: reestablishing safety, reducing
emotional arousal, developing a positive perception of both individual and
community capacity for coping and recovery, constructive social support,
and fostering hope (Hobfoll et al., 2007).