Work(i)ngs of the spirit: Spirituality, meaning construction and coping in the lives of Black women.

Abstract

Despite theoretical and anecdotal evidence that spirituality and religiosity are distinct constructs, these words have been used as synonyms in psychology research. This two-part, multi-method study explored Black women's definitions of spirituality, their ideas about the distinctions between spirituality and religiosity, and their perceptions about the role(s) of spirituality in helping them to cope with adversity. In the first part of the study, 130 Black women (ages 16-69 years) completed the Lazarus and Folkman Ways of Coping Questionnaire, and the Black Women's Spirituality-Religiosity Measure (BWSM) which was developed for use in this research. Women's narrative responses to two open-ended BWSM questions about the definition and functions of spirituality were content analyzed. Participants defined spirituality as one's subjective beliefs about the transcendent nature of life. Religiosity was defined as an adherence to prescribed doctrines and traditions of a religion. Spirituality was primarily identified as crucial in the construction of meaning (i.e., in identifying one's life purpose, and in explaining experience). Factor analyses of close-ended items of the BWSM yielded empirically reliable indices of spirituality and religiosity. These indices were used to investigate the relationship between religiosity, spirituality and coping in the lives of Black women. Spirituality and religiosity were associated with the use of positive reappraisal and planful problem-solving scales of the WOC. Post-hoc analyses indicated that within these scales spirituality and religiosity were correlated with different strategies of coping. These findings confirm the assertion that these constructs name distinct though related experiences. In part two of this study twenty-three participants were interviewed. Content analysis of the narratives revealed that Black women's coping efforts are shaped by the meanings which they construct about adverse events. Spiritual and religious perspectives played a significant role in determining the meanings which women assigned to experiences. For these women, personal growth--achieved, in part, through learning and internalizing life lessons (i.e., meanings)--was a primary point of focus in the process of coping. This work points to the need to include both spirituality and religiosity in studies of the lived-experiences of Black women. A meaning-centered model of coping which includes spirituality and religiosity was proposed.