Links between religious and spiritual coping and adjustment among fathers and mothers during first pregnancy

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Abstract
Objective: This study examines the relationship between religious and spiritual coping with pregnancy and individual and marital adjustment of married first-time parents. Background: Pregnancy can be a time of heightened stress for fathers and mothers. To cope with these stressors, parents can turn to positive and negative forms of religious and spiritual coping. Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight married individuals who were experiencing the third trimester of pregnancy with both spouses’ first biological child were recruited for this study. Participants were administered self-report measures to assess religious and spiritual coping with pregnancy and individual and marital adjustment. Results: After controlling for demographic variables, global religious variables and pregnancy intention, Ordinary Least Squares regressions revealed that positive religious and spiritual coping predicted greater stress-related growth while negative religious and spiritual coping predicted greater depression and anxiety, and less marital commitment for both mothers and fathers. Mothers’ negative religious and spiritual coping predicted less satisfaction with the pregnancy. Additionally, for fathers, positive religious and spiritual coping was tied to increased anxiety while negative religious and spiritual coping predicted greater labour fears, stress-related growth and less love in marriage. Conclusions: This study expanded on the existing literature by examining positive and negative religious and spiritual coping with pregnancy stressors by both mothers and fathers.

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