Numinosity and Adaptation to Stress: The Role of Religiosity, Spirituality and Religious Coping in Adaptation to Significant Life Events

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to examine what role the numinous traits of spirituality, religiosity and religious coping play in one’s adaptation to stress associated with divorce, above and beyond the predictive role of the robust construct called personality.  Using scores from instruments measuring the above referenced domains from participants who had recently experienced a separation or divorce (N = 509), this study employed correlational statistics and multiple regression analysis to assess the unique contributions which each domain made to the variance in adaptation to stress. This study elucidates the contributions made by numinous constructs (above that of personality) to one’s adaptation to stress. Results indicated that spirituality, religiosity, and religious coping produced significant contributions to the variance in adaptation to stress over personality. This suggests that these constructs are important considerations for counselors and their clients who are struggling with stressful events like marital separation and divorce.