Tucker

Religion, Quality of Life, and Pelvic Pain

Kristina Tucker

Abstract

Chronic pelvic pain has been found to negatively impact quality of life by hindering mood, decreasing sleep, increasing the likelihood of long-term illnesses, and decreasing activities including sex and exercise (Grace & Zondervan, 2006). Pargament (2011) has found that there are both positive and negative religious coping mechanisms; positive religious coping tends to help with stresses, and negative religious coping hinders adjustment. Positive religious coping has been associated with well-being and quality of life (Pargament, 2011).Yet to date, no study has explored the impact of religious coping on the quality of life of those with chronic pelvic disease.

The present study examines the relationship between religious coping and quality of life in women with chronic pelvic pain conditions. Women with chronic pelvic pain participated in an online survey which explored religious coping mechanisms and quality of life. Active religious practice was associated with quality of life, while positive religious coping showed less positive impact. A mediation analysis shows that negative religious coping mediates the relationship that active religious practice has on quality of life. These findings suggest the need for more research understanding how religious practice and religious coping relate with one another and impact quality of life in the population of women with chronic pelvic pain, while suggesting that those working with these women may want to actively address negative religious coping strategies.

Keywords: coping, quality of life, pain, spirituality.