Advisory Committee Chair
Sylvie Mrug
Advisory Committee Members
Kevin J Leon
Zina Trost
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2018
Degree Name by School
Master of Arts (MA) College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a degenerative chronic illness that results in pulmonary and gastrointestinal impairment. Because health-related behaviors, such as substance use, impact health outcomes in this population, it is important to understand factors that predict substance use in patients with CF. Thus, this study aimed to examine the unique roles of spirituality and religiosity in alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. Higher religiosity was expected to predict lower substance use directly, reflecting a direct regulation of health behavior. Higher spirituality was expected to predict less substance use through lower depression, reflecting an indirect regulation of health behavior through emotion regulation. A longitudinal sample of adult CF patients (N = 123; age 19-67) was used to test these hypotheses using a cross-lagged longitudinal model, including demographic variables and health indicators as covariates. Among the three substances, only alcohol had sufficient rates of use to be analyzed. Religiosity and spirituality did not predict alcohol use in the model. Although spirituality predicted lower depressive symptoms, depressive symptoms did not predict changes in alcohol use. The results did not support the proposed relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and substance use in patients with CF, which may be partly due to low rates of substance use in this population.
Recommended Citation
Burgess, Benjamin Edwin, "Religiosity And Spirituality As Predictors Of Substance Use In Patients With Cystic Fibrosis" (2018). All ETDs from UAB. 1294.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/1294