Religious Coping and Psychological and Behavioral Adjustment After Hurricane Katrina

ABSTRACT

Positive and negative religious coping are related to positive and negative psychological adjustment, respectively. The current study examined the relation between religious coping and PTSD, major depression, quality of life, and substance use among residents residing in Mississippi at the time of Hurricane Katrina. Results indicated that negative religious coping was positively associated with major depression and poorer quality of life and positive religious coping was negatively associated with PTSD, depression, poorer quality of life, and increased alcohol use. These results suggest that mental health providers should be mindful of the role of religious coping after traumatic events such as natural disasters.

Keywords:

• Hurricane Katrina
• natural disaster
• psychological adjustment
• religious coping

Funding

The writing of this article was supported, in part, by grants from the National Institutes of Health (MH 078152, PI: Galea).