Advisory Committee Chair
Sylvie Mrug
Advisory Committee Members
Daniel Grossoehme
David Schwebel
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2017
Degree Name by School
Master of Arts (MA) College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
Adolescents with chronic health conditions and their parents typically utilize various coping strategies, including religious/spiritual coping, to manage the stress associated with a chronic health condition, yet few studies have examined how parent and adolescent religious/spiritual coping relate to other cognitive factors, such as attributional styles. Additionally, it is important to investigate how parent and adolescent coping and attributional styles influence each other. Better understanding of the temporal dynamics between adolescents’ and parents’ attributions and religious/spiritual coping has important implications for whom and what to target in interventions to help families cope with the challenges of a chronic health condition. Therefore, the objectives of the current study are: 1) to examine possible reciprocal effects between attributional style and religious/spiritual coping among adolescents with chronic health conditions and their parents; and 2) to evaluate the reciprocal relationships between parent and adolescent religious/spiritual coping and attributions. In order to investigate these reciprocal relationships, we utilized a longitudinal design with two time points approximately 21 months apart. Results indicate that adolescents may be modeling their religious/spiritual coping strategies and attributional styles after those of their parents. Additionally, adolescent attributional styles may be influencing adolescent religious/spiritual coping. These findings suggest multiple targets for interventions aiming to improve religious/spiritual coping in adolescents with chronic health conditions, including attributions and religious/spiritual coping in both adolescents and their parents.
Recommended Citation
D'Angelo, Christina Marie, "Religious/Spiritual Coping and Attributional Styles among Adolescents with Chronic Health Conditions and their Parents: Reciprocal Relationships Over Time" (2017). All ETDs from UAB. 1466.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/1466