The Use of Religion and Other Emotion-Regulating Coping Strategies Among Older Adults

Abstract

A stratified random sample of 100 older participants in the Second Duke Longitudinal Study was interviewed. Responses to open-ended coping questions were commonly religious in nature. For at least 1 of the 3 stressful periods inquired about, 45% of the sample mentioned a religious coping behavior. Because of the socio-demographic characteristics of participants, these results provided evidence against the generally held view that religion is relevant only to the poor or uneducated. This coping strategy's effectiveness is supported by studies that have revealed a positive relationship between religious behaviors and well-being.