Posttraumatic mental and physical health correlates of forgiveness and religious coping in military veterans.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

This study assessed mental and physical health correlates of dispositional forgiveness and religious coping responses in 213 help-seeking veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Controlling for age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, combat exposure, and hostility, the results indicated that difficulty forgiving oneself and negative religious coping were related to depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptom severity. Difficulty forgiving others was associated with depression and PTSD symptom severity, but not anxiety. Positive religious coping was associated with PTSD symptom severity in this sample. Further investigations that delineate the relevance of forgiveness and religious coping in PTSD may enhance current clinical assessment and treatment approaches.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Witvliet, CVO; Phipps, KA; Feldman, ME; Beckham, JC

Published Date

  • June 2004

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 17 / 3

Start / End Page

  • 269 - 273

PubMed ID

  • 15253099

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0894-9867

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1023/B:JOTS.0000029270.47848.e5

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • United States