The Role of Self-Worth, Social Support, and Family Religious Environment in Children and Adolescents' Religious Coping following Residential Fires

The present study examined the role of religious coping efforts of children and adolescents, ages 8 to 18, following residential fire. Two types of children's religious coping, spiritually based coping and religious discontent, were examined in response to loss of resources in residential fires. The study further examined the influence and potential moderating effects of internal resources including global self-worth, as well as external resources including social support received from parents, teachers, and friends, and the family religious environment. Consistent with the general coping literature, these resources were expected to beneficially influence and predict spiritually based coping. Contrarily, the lack of these resources was expected to predict religious discontent. Children and adolescents' post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were also assessed and compared to their coping responses. Religious discontent was found to be positively associated with greater levels of loss, PTSD symptoms and negatively associated with global self-worth and low socio-economic status. It was also significantly predicted by loss and an interaction between loss and social support, where higher social support predicted lower levels of religious discontent under high levels of loss. Post hoc analyses revealed peer social support to interact significantly with loss to buffer religious discontent. Spiritually based coping was found to be significantly predicted by loss, race, age, and family religious environment, where African Americans, and children reported greater spiritually based coping than European Americans, and adolescents. Lastly, loss was significantly and negatively associated with global self-worth and positively associated with PTSD symptoms.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Department dc:contributor.department

Psychology

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Parelkar, Monica Subhash

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Jones, Russell T.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Harrison, David W.
• Ollendick, Thomas H.

• Religious coping
• Self- worth
• Adolescents
• Peer social support
• Children
• Loss
• PTSD
• Resources
• Social support
• Environment

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-06142005-164228

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/33571