Citation

Weaver AJ, Flannelly LT, Garbarino J, Figley CR, Flannelly KJ. Ment. Health Relig. Cult. 2003; 6(3): 215-228.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/1367467031000088123

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Surveys reveal that religion and spirituality are highly valuable to many people in times of crisis, trauma, and grief. The relationship between coping with trauma and the use of various spiritual beliefs is well established. The importance of clergy in trauma recovery is also well documented. A review of the 469 research and non-research articles published between 1990 and 1999 in the Journal of Traumatic Stress revealed that 8.7% (6/69) of non-research articles, 4.1% (15/366) of quantitative research articles and 2.9% (1/34) of qualitative research articles considered religion or spirituality in their work. Analysis of variance found a significant overall increase in the percentage of articles that mentioned religion/spirituality between the first half (1990–1994) and the second half (1995–1999) of the study period. The results are discussed in the context of the trauma research and in comparison to related disciplines. Recommendations for future research and clinical application are suggested for both traumatologists and religious scholars.