The roles of spirituality in the relationship between traumatic life events, mental health, and drug use among African American women from one southern state.
Open accessAbstract
This study examines the role of spirituality as a moderator of the relationship between traumatic life experiences, mental health, and drug use in a sample of African American women. It was hypothesized that there would be an inverse relationship overall between spirituality and mental health and drug use among this sample of African American women. Secondly, was expected that spirituality would moderate the relationship between traumatic life events and mental health and drug use. African American women (n = 206) were recruited from the community and from probation officers in three urban areas of a southern state, and face-to-face interviews were completed. Findings indicated that there was a main effect for spirituality (as measured by existential well-being on the Spiritual Well-Being Scale) and traumatic life events, mental health, and alcohol use. In addition, spirituality was a significant moderator of the relationship between traumatic life events and cocaine use. Discussion and implications for African American women are included.
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The collapse of the balance between use and abuse can lead to profound disruptions in meaning, dignity, and psychological stability.
“The collapse of this balance can lead to profound disruptions in meaning, dignity, and psychological stability (Staton-Tindall et al., 2013).”
From From use to abuse: psychological, neurobiological, and spiritual pathways in relational harm and recovery (2026) · cites this paper as Staton-Tindall et al., 2013
The Results (Multivariate Moderation Analysis; page unavailable) link existential well-being with depression, anxiety, and alcohol and cocaine use. The paper does not establish that a collapse in the balance between use and abuse causes disruptions in meaning or dignity; its findings are associations in a specific sample of African American women. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredHuman beings often experience an existential tension between use (ethical, constructive engagement with self and others) and abuse (exploitative and dehumanizing relational patterns).
“Human beings often experience an existential tension between “use,” characterized by ethical, constructive engagement with the self and others, and “abuse,” which reflects exploitative and dehumanizing relational patterns.”
From From use to abuse: psychological, neurobiological, and spiritual pathways in relational harm and recovery (2026) · cites this paper as Staton-Tindall et al., 2013
The Introduction discusses spirituality, existential well-being, and the health consequences of abuse; the Results examine associations with mental health and substance use. A search for the claimed tension between ethical “use” and exploitative “abuse” found no passage addressing those concepts as relational patterns. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.77)
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Research works printed but not linked: 41
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- Authors
- Staton-Tindall, M., Duvall, J., Stevens-Watkins, D., & Oser, C. B.
- Affiliations
- University of Kentucky (US)
- Venue
- Substance Use & Misuse
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2013-09-16
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1246-1257
- ISSN
- 1082-6084 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-2491
- PMC
- PMC3878434
- OpenAlex
- W2005696598
- Cited by
- 48
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 4.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Substance Use & Misuse (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (K01DA021309, R01DA022967, K08DA032296)
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (L60 MD008240)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Demography › Workplace Spirituality and Leadership
- Keywords
- spirituality, traumatic life events, mental health, drug use, African American women, alcohol consumption, cocaine use, existential well-being, spiritual well-being, moderation, probation officers, community sample
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Attitude to Health, Black or African American, Female, Health Status, Humans, Kentucky, Life Change Events, Mental Health, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Socioeconomic Factors, Women, Behavior, Addictive, Substance-Related Disorders, Spirituality, Drug Users
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