RELIGIOSITY/SPIRITUALITY AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR FOR POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS AT JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY Pubblico
Weiss, Danielle Hill (2011)
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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