Life Stress, Depression, and Religious Coping Among Low-Income African American Women

Religious coping is fundamental among African Americans, and it can influence psychiatric symptoms. This study examines if positive and negative religious coping mediate the relation between cumulative stress and recent life stressors and depressive symptoms among African American women with past histories of intimate partner violence and suicidality. Mediation analysis that employed bootstrapping was performed in a sample of 68 low-income African American women. Findings revealed that negative but not positive religious coping mediated the links between cumulative stress and recent life stressors and depressive symptoms, suggesting that women exposed to stressors struggle more with their religious faith, which related to increased depressive symptoms. Conclusions pertaining to the benefits of culturally-responsive interventions that address negative religious coping are discussed.