The role of religious coping, superego anxiety, social cognition and object relations on recovery from substance abuse and depression

This study aimed to contribute to the literature by arguing that the various outcomes associated with religion depended on the type of religious coping adopted---positive or negative. It hypothesized that negative religious coping is associated with more severe depression, shorter periods of recovery from substance abuse, a harsher superego as well as lower social cognition and object relations scores. It also hypothesized that positive religious coping is associated with longer periods of recovery from substance abuse and depression, a milder superego and a higher social cognition and object relations scores. One hundred and four (104) subjects participated in the study. The participants were drawn from the inpatient substance abuse program in Creedmoor psychiatric center, New York. Each participant completed a demography form, Beck depressive inventory (BDI-II) (Beck, Brown, & Steer, 1989), religious coping scale (Rcope) (Pargament et al., 2000), Josephs' Superego anxiety measure (Josephs et al., 2004), early memory test (Mayman and Faris, 1960), and four thematic apperception test (TAT) cards.; The correlations were small. The study found that (i) subjects who relied on a higher power or God to cater for their problems also reported benevolent relationships. (ii) They also reported reduced understanding of social causality. (iii) Those who expected God to take control of their stressful situation reported that their depression worsened after a twelve-month period. (iv) Self-esteem was dependent on the strength of the belief rather the direction of the belief (positive or negative). (v) Subjects who took proactive approaches (more or less) in dealing with their substance abuse problems reported improvement after twelve months. (vi) Subjects who took proactive approaches in dealing with their substance abuse problems experienced relief from their depression in contrast to those who expected God to lead while they follow. (vii) Twelve and six month self-reports of depression were significantly correlated with Beck depressive inventory (BDI-II).