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Chronic Pain and Praying to a Higher Power: Useful or Useless?

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Abstract

In the present study a Swedish sample of 118 persons with chronic pain completed online tests on two occasions in association with treatment trials. A three item subscale measuring praying as a coping strategy was derived from the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ), but adapted to refer to “a higher power” instead of “God”. Measures of pain and anxiety/depression were also included. Results revealed significant associations between praying and pain interference and impairment. Praying was also associated with anxiety and depression scores. Results also showed that prayer predicted depression scores at follow-up, and that follow-up prayer was predicted by pain interference at first measurement occasion. Overall, if prayer had any relation with the other variables it was in the negative direction of more distress being associated with more praying both concurrently and prospectively.

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Acknowledgment

This study was partly funded by a grant from the Swedish council for working and life research. Monica Buhrman and Lars Ström are acknowledged for their assitance in the data collection process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linkoping, Sweden

    Gerhard Andersson

  2. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Gerhard Andersson

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  1. Gerhard Andersson
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Correspondence to Gerhard Andersson.

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Andersson, G. Chronic Pain and Praying to a Higher Power: Useful or Useless?. J Relig Health 47, 176–187 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-007-9148-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-007-9148-8

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