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Are Spirituality and Religiosity Resources for Patients with Chronic Pain Conditions?

Büssing, Arndt, Michalsen, Andreas, Balzat, Hans-Joachim, Grünther, Ralf-Achim, Ostermann, Thomas, Neugebauer, Edmund A. M., Matthiessen, Peter F.·2009·Pain Medicine
DOI 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00572.x
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We studied whether or not spirituality/religiosity is a relevant resource for patients with chronic pain conditions, and to analyze interrelations between spirituality/religiosity (SpREUK Questionnaire; SpREUK is an acronym of the German translation of "Spiritual and Religious Attitudes in Dealing with Illness"), adaptive coping styles that refer to the concept of locus of disease control (AKU Questionnaire; AKU is an acronym of the German translation of "Adaptive Coping with Disease"), life satisfaction, and appraisal dimensions. PATIENTS: In a multicenter cross-sectional study, 580 patients with chronic pain conditions were enrolled. RESULTS: We found that the patients relied on both external powerful sources of disease control and on internal powers and virtues, while Trust in Higher Source (intrinsic religiosity) or Illness as Chance (reappraisal) were valued moderately; Search for Meaningful Support/Access (spiritual quest orientation) was of minor relevance. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that the internal sources of disease control, such as Conscious and Healthy Way of Living and Positive Attitudes, were (apart from the religious denomination) the strongest predictors of patients' reliance on spirituality/religiosity. Both behavioral styles were rated significantly lower in patients who regarded themselves as neither religious nor spiritual. Positive disease interpretations such as Challenge and Value were clearly associated with a spiritual quest orientation and intrinsic religiosity. CONCLUSION: The associations between spirituality/religiosity, positive appraisals. and internal adaptive coping strategies indicate that the utilization of spirituality/religiosity goes far beyond fatalistic acceptance, but can be regarded as an active coping process. The findings support the need for further research concerning the contributions of spiritual coping in adjustment to chronic pain.

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  • In the first edition of the Handbook, 110 studies published prior to 2000 and 344 studies published between 2000 and 2010 were identified for a total of 454 studies on coping with adversity.

    “In the first edition of the Handbook [27], we identified 110 studies published prior to the year 2000 and 344 studies published between 2000 and 2010 for a total of 454 studies.”

    From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [27]

    The Patients section (page unavailable) describes a cross-sectional study of 580 patients with chronic pain, not a count of studies in a Handbook. Searches for the stated counts and for a Handbook on coping with adversity found no passage in our copy addressing the claim. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Koenig HG, Larson DB, Larson SS. Religion and coping with serious medical illness. Ann Pharmaco- ther 2001;35:352-9.
  2. Sloan RP, Bagiella E, Powell T. Religion, spiritual- ity, and medicine. Lancet 1999;353:664-7.
  3. McIllmurray MB, Francis B, Harman JC, et al. Psy- chosocial needs in cancer patients related to reli- gious belief. Palliat Med 2003;17:49-54.
  4. Koenig HG. Integrating spirituality into medical practice: A new era in medicine. In: Büssing A, Ostermann T, Glöckler M, Matthiessen PF, eds. Spiritualität, Krankheit und Heilung-Bedeutung und Ausdrucksformen der Spiritualität in der Medizin. Frankfurt: VAS-Verlag für Akademische Schriften; 2006:232-41.
  5. Kotur PF. Pain management by psychosocial and spiritual methods. Indian J Anaesth 2006;50:327- 30.

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Authors
Büssing, A., Michalsen, A., Balzat, H.-J., Grünther, R.-A., Ostermann, T., Neugebauer, E. A. M., & Matthiessen, P. F.
Affiliations
  • Witten/Herdecke University (DE)
  • University of Duisburg-Essen (DE)
  • Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Herdecke (DE)
  • Athens Orthopedic Clinic (US)
ORCID
Venue
Pain Medicine
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2009-03
Volume
10
Issue
2
Pages
327-339
ISSN
  • 1526-2375 (ISSN-L)
  • 1526-4637
DOI
10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00572.x
OpenAlex
W2076332949
Cited by
227
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 38 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 12
FWCI
12.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1 (tdm, 2375 d)
Locations
  • Pain Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Workplace Spirituality and Leadership
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion, Ecology, and Ethics
Keywords
spirituality, religiosity, chronic pain, adaptive coping, locus of control, illness appraisal, spiritual coping, life satisfaction, intrinsic religiosity, coping with illness
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Attitude to Health, Chronic Disease, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pain, Surveys and Questionnaires, Spiritualism, Spirituality

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