RELIGIOSITY/SPIRITUALITY AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR FOR POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS AT JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY Öffentlichkeit

Weiss, Danielle Hill (2011)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/xw42n849s?locale=de
Published

Abstract

Background: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects approximately 20-40% of
those who experience a potentially traumatic event (PTE). Because African Americans
are, on average, are affected by the negative impact of trauma more frequently than
Whites; they are at increased risk of developing PTSD. Religiosity/Spirituality (R/S) has
been found to be inversely associated with an array of mental and physical illnesses,
including anxiety disorders. Compared to Whites, African Americans - particularly those
in the Southern United States - report higher levels of R/S. These findings guide the
current study: to investigate the association between R/S and PTSD among African
American undergraduate students at a large, urban University in the Southern United
States.
Methods: The main R/S exposure variable was the first 14 items (FIRST14) of the Daily
Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES), summed. Sociodemographic and drug use variables
were secondary exposures. Other R/S indicators included church attendance,
denomination, and the 15th item of the DSES ("In general, how close do you feel to
God?"). The main outcome variables were PTSD (Y/N) and PTSD (full vs. partial).
Results: The odds of students with strong R/S beliefs (FIRST14) meeting full PTSD
diagnosis (vs. no PTSD) was 12.21 times greater than the odds of students with moderate
or low R/S beliefs (CI: 2.93-50.98). Alcohol consumption also predicted PTSD diagnosis
(OR=5.38, CI: 1.35-21.15), while item 15 of the DSES was a protective factor (OR=0.36,
CI: 0.03-0.54). Regarding full vs. partial PTSD as the dependent variable; FIRST14
(OR=10.12, CI: 2.06-49.67) and age group 22-25 (OR=4.07, CI: 1.46-11.32) were risk
factors and ITEM15 was a protective factor (OR=0.05, CI: 0.01-0.28).
Discussion: Subjective R/S (i.e. "In general, how close do you feel to God?") may be
more relevant to African American college students in the South than other R/S dynamics
presented in the DSES. While this is the first study to investigate the relationship between
R/S and PTSD among Southern, African American students; there were several
limitations including small sample size and lack of diversity.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables....................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction and Background............................................................................................. 2

Misclassification....................................................................................................... 5

Growth and Resiliency............................................................................................. 6

Religiosity/Spirituality.............................................................................................. 7

The Role of Religiosity/Spirituality in Public Health.............................................. 10

Health and Religiosity/Spirituality among African Americans............................... 13

Potential Mechanisms of Religiosity/Spirituality.................................................... 14

Religiosity/Spirituality Measurement...................................................................... 15

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Measurement......................................................... 20

Rationale for Thesis............................................................................................... 21

Methods.................................................................................................................. 23

Purpose.................................................................................................................. 23

Hypotheses............................................................................................................. 23

Study Design.......................................................................................................... 24

Study Participants.................................................................................................. 24

Variable Selection.................................................................................................. 25

Potential Confounding Variables........................................................................... 27

Statistical Analysis.................................................................................................. 28

Results............................................................................................................................... 30

Discussion.......................................................................................................................... 34

Weaknesses............................................................................................................ 37

Strengths................................................................................................................ 39

Conclusion............................................................................................................. 39

References......................................................................................................................... 47










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