Religiosity and death anxiety among cancer patients: the mediating role of religious comfort and struggle.

OBJECTIVES: Religiosity may serve as a personal source of support when people face a life-threatening illness, but it can also elicit stress. The main aim of this study is to show how various religious dimensions interplay in predicting death anxiety in patients diagnosed as having cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical research, 141 Polish patients who were hospitalized due to cancer were selected using sequential convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Centrality of Religiosity Scale, Religious Comfort and Strain Scale, and the Death Anxiety and Dying Distress Scale. RESULTS: The authors' results show that the effect of the centrality of religiosity on death anxiety is non-linear. We can also confirm the mediating role of religious comfort and struggles in the relationship between the centrality of religiosity and death anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, religious struggles appear to weaken the effect of religion on death anxiety, whereas religious comfort (contrary to expectation) does not enhance it. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2023;36(4):450-64.

Polish Validation of a 14-Item Version of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale (RSS-14): Factorial Structure, Psychometric Properties, and Clinical Correlates.

Religious and spiritual (R/S) struggles are defined as the occurrence of tension, conflict, or strain that focus on matters of ultimate significance perceived by people as sacred. The widespread prevalence of R/S struggles and the growing demand for research in this area created the need for a brief tool. Recently, the 14-item form of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale was developed and validated (Exline et al. in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2022a). Given the significance of the empirical research on R/S struggles, we implemented the project of structure verification, internal consistency confirmation, reliability, and nomological validation of the Polish variant of the RSS-14 through three separate studies. With respect to the internal structure of the RSS-14, the CFA from three studies confirmed the good fit of the six-factor model, very similar to the one obtained in the original version of the tool. Moreover, both the total score and the subscales had high reliability and acceptable stability over the three studies. With respect to the nomological analyses, R/S struggles were related negatively to life satisfaction, presence of meaning in life, self-esteem, social desirability, religious centrality, and positively with search for meaning, God's disengagement, poorer health indicators, sleep problems, stress, and cognitive schemas (this category was the new element of our research). Polish 14-item version of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale seems a valuable tool to assess religious strains.

Anxiety and Depression in a Non-Clinical Sample of Young Polish Adults: Presence of Meaning in Life as a Mediator.

Early adulthood, between 18 and 25, is viewed as a decisive period of life for the prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression. Although the topic of their mutual relationship is well-known, little has been uncovered about the mechanism underlying this connection. To understand the indirect pathways between anxiety and depression, we chose the sense of meaning of life as a mediator because people's beliefs that their lives are or can be purposeful may protect against depression. The sample was composed of 277 Polish young adults. A small majority of the participants were women (58.8%). The mean age was M = 22.11 (SD = 1.72). We used in the research the Direct Behavior Rating-Scale Items Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the Brief Screen for Depression. Correlational analysis showed that, consistent with past findings, anxiety correlated positively with depression and searching for meaning. It was also negatively associated with presence of meaning. Moreover, depression was negatively linked to presence of meaning and positively with searching for meaning. Regression-based mediation analyses (PROCESS macro 3.4) proved that the relationship between anxiety and depression was mediated by presence of meaning in life, suggesting that having a sense of meaning may be a pathway by which feelings of tension relative to adverse events protect against depression.

Measuring the quality of life of people with life-threatening illnesses: the internal structure of the Polish adaptation of the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire - Revised.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire has been widely used for people with life-threatening illnesses since 1996. In 2016 Cohen et al. revised the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire and improved its psychometric properties and length. The aim of the present study was to adapt the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire - Revised (MQOL-R) into Polish. The study assessed the factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the Polish adaptation of the MQOL-R. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study had a non-randomised, cross-sectional design. The Polish translation of the MQOL-R was administered to 140 people with life-threatening illnesses. Patients were recruited from acute and palliative care units. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, and correlational and multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: The results provide support for the measurement structure of the Polish adaptation of the MQOL-R. Both the overall scale and four subscales have satisfactory internal consistency and the construct and concurrent validity. CONCLUSIONS: The Polish MQOL-R is psychometrically sound and may serve as a valuable asset in research on quality of life of people with life-threatening illnesses.

The Relationship of Religious Comfort and Struggle with Anxiety and Satisfaction with Life in Roman Catholic Polish Men: The Moderating Effect of Sexual Orientation.

The aim of the research was to analyze the relationships of religious comfort and struggle with state anxiety and satisfaction with life in homosexual and heterosexual samples of men. A hundred and eight men aged between 18 and 43 participated in the research in total, 54 declared themselves as homosexual and 54 as heterosexual. The Religious Comfort and Strain Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were applied to the research. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that sexual orientation moderated the relationships of religious comfort and struggle with state anxiety and satisfaction with life. The highest state anxiety was observed in homosexual participants with high negative social interactions surrounding religion scores. Negative religious social interactions with fellow congregants and religious leaders, including disapproval and criticism, create anxiety among homosexual people. It seems that homosexual participants are engaged in a trade-off between valued and necessary religious engagement and the harassment and persecution they may be forced to endure in order to access that engagement.