The Role of Religious Comfort and Religious Struggles in Shaping the Meaning in Life in Polish Women after Stillbirth
Abstract
Objective of the study: Religion often plays a positive role when a person goes through difficult experiences. The study aimed to show the role of religious comfort and religious struggles in shaping the presence and search for meaning in life in the lives of believing and practicing women after stillbirth. Method: The study was conducted in Poland. Sixty-four women who experienced the loss of a child as a result of a stillbirth that occurred after the 22nd week of pregnancy participated in the study. The following measurement instruments were used: The Religious Comfort and Strain Scale (RCSS) and The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ). Results: The analysis shows that women after stillbirth manifest a high level of religious comfort, a medium level of fear-guilt, negative emotions towards God, and a low level of negative social interaction around religion. They present a higher level of the presence of meaning in life than the search for meaning in life. In addition, in women’s lives, religious comfort has a significant and strong positive relationship with fear-guilt and a negative relationship with negative emotions toward God. Regression analysis shows that religious comfort, negative emotions toward God, and negative social interactions around religion have a stronger, more significant relationship with the search for meaning in life than with the presence of meaning in life. Moreover, as the model indicates, religious comfort has a direct, positive, and stronger relationship with the presence of meaning in life than with the search for it. Furthermore, religious comfort is positively related only to negative social interactions related to religion, which play a mediating role and are positively related more strongly to the search for meaning in life than to the presence of meaning in life. Conclusions: The knowledge gained can help women understand the specifics of child loss. It can foster a better understanding of their emotional states and experiences, especially in seeking psychological and spiritual help. It can be useful for psychotherapists, psychiatrists, and even pastoral workers, as well as others involved in providing support in situations after pregnancy loss.
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