Title

Posttraumatic Mental and Physical Health Correlates of Forgiveness and Religious Coping in Military Veterans

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Publication Source

Journal of Traumatic Stress

Volume Number

17

Issue Number

3

First Page

269

Last Page

273

Publisher

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies

ISSN

0894-9867

Abstract

This study assessed mental and physical health correlates of dispositional forgiveness and religious coping responses in 213 help-seeking veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Controlling for age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, combat exposure, and hostility, the results indicated that difficulty forgiving oneself and negative religious coping were related to depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptom severity. Difficulty forgiving others was associated with depression and PTSD symptom severity, but not anxiety. Positive religious coping was associated with PTSD symptom severity in this sample. Further investigations that delineate the relevance of forgiveness and religious coping in PTSD may enhance current clinical assessment and treatment approaches.

Keywords

PTSD, Forgiveness, Religious Coping, Mental Health, Physical Health

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