INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa a aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa 1
Results
The total sample size of this study was 78, with individuals ranging in age from 19
to 73 (M=41.91; S=11.61972); 91% of the participants identified as female; 9% identified as
male; 0% of the sample identified as other, although that was an option on the survey. The
majority of the participants were married (79.5%), followed by never married (11.5%),
widowed (3%), and, finally, separated or divorced (2.6% each). aa aa
The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not an inverse relationship
exists between intrinsic spirituality and perceived stress. As shown in Table 1, a Pearson’s r
correlation revealed a non-significant relationship r (76) = -0.122, p = 0.144, R2 = 0.01 (one-
tailed). The null hypothesis is retained. Higher degrees of intrinsic spirituality are not
associated with lower levels of perceived stress (see Figure 1). aa
Table 1
Correlation of Intrinsic Spirituality and Perceived Stress
Intrinsic
Spirituality
Perceived
Stress
Intrinsic
Spirituality
Pearson
Correlation
1
-.122
Sig. (1-tailed)
.144
N
78
78
Perceived Stress
Pearson
Correlation
-.122
1
Sig. (1-tailed)
.144
N
78
78
Figure 1
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa a aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa 2
Scatterplot Depicting the Correlation Between Intrinsic Spirituality and Perceived Stress
Note. Intrinsic spirituality (M=7.4060, S=2.25896) was scored 0-10 and perceived stress
(M=26.5769, S=8.77647) was scored 0-56, with higher scores indicating a greater degree of
each variable.
Discussion
The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between intrinsic spirituality
and perceived stress. By operationally defining intrinsic spirituality as a unique construct, the
objective was to distinguish spirituality from religiosity, assessing it as an isolated variable.
The sample population was intended to be representative of the general American public. It
was proposed that intrinsic spirituality and perceived stress are negatively correlated, which
would support the idea of intrinsic spirituality as a possible protective factor against high
levels of perceived stress. However, the findings did not support the hypothesis. Higher
intrinsic spirituality scores were not associated with lower perceived stress scores.
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa a aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa 3
There were numerous limitations in this study, including the sampling method,
characteristics of the sample, and the testing instruments used. The sampling method
precluded certain people from participating in the study. The survey was distributed via
social media, limiting participation to those with both internet access and social media
accounts (Facebook or Instagram). Furthermore, the survey link was only active for one
weekday, from the hours of 10:00am to 10:00pm, excluding participation by those whose
weekday obligations (e.g., work, family, or school) prevented them from accessing or
completing the survey during that time period. Although the survey was made available to
the public through the adjustment of privacy settings, because it was posted on a personal
social media account, it is likely that the majority of participants were friends or followers of
the researcher, possibly resulting in an overrepresentation of certain demographics (i.e.,
residents of the southeastern United States, Caucasians, or Christians) and an
underrepresentation of others (i.e., residents of northern and western regions of the United
States, people of color, or individuals from diverse religious backgrounds). This demographic
information was not collected and, therefore, represents a potential limitation in the sampling
method. However, the demographic data that was collected suggests a limitation in the
characteristics of the sample population.
Women represented an overwhelming majority of the sample (91%), as did married
participants (79.5%). For the purposes of our study, married included common law marriage.
The United States Census Bureau (USCB) estimates that 50% of Americans are married, with
an additional 8% cohabitating with a partner; data indicates that 50.8% of Americans identify
as female (USCB, 2022). Chi Square Goodness of Fit tests were used to examine whether
the gender and marital status of participants in this study were similar to nationally reported
rates. They differed significantly x2(1, N=78)=50.843, p <.001, 𝜙=0.81 (gender) and x2(1,
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa a aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa aa 4
N=78)=14.783, p<.001, 𝜙=0.44 (marital status). As shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3, the
sample consisted of significantly more women and more married individuals than the
nationally reported rates, suggesting that the sample is not an accurate representation of the
general American public. In addition, the scores for intrinsic spirituality are skewed (-1.374).
With a mean of 7.40, a median of 8, and a mode of 9, individuals with little to no intrinsic
spirituality are not adequately represented in this sample. Likewise, although the perceived
stress scores are relatively symmetrical (0.043), individuals with high levels and low levels of
perceived stress are underrepresented (M=26.58, MED=26, MODE=19). aa aa aa aa aa aa aa
Figure 2
Bar Graph Depicting Gender of Participants
Figure 3
Bar Graph Depicting Marital Status of Participants aa
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Finally, there are limitations related to the testing instruments themselves. Both the
Intrinsic Spirituality Scale (Hodge, 2003) and the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen &
Mermelstein, 1983) are instruments that rely on the subjectivity of self-assessment, as well
as participants’ interpretation of abstract constructs and questions. Furthermore, they each
utilize Likert scale responses, which have been challenged in terms of reliability and validity
(Louangrath, 2018).
The findings of this study partially contradict those of Reutter and Bigatti (2014), who
found that higher levels of intrinsic spirituality were associated with lower levels of perceived
stress, as well as more favorable psychological outcomes. Though the Perceived Stress Scale
(Hodge, 2003) was used in the aforementioned study, a different instrument was used to
evaluate intrinsic spirituality, the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (Underwood, 2011), which
could account for the incongruous results. While the current study did not explore the
relationship between intrinsic spirituality and psychological outcomes, a similar study of 348
psychiatric patients suggests that intrinsic spirituality serves as a moderating factor over the
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course of time, as opposed to being associated with one’s perception of stress at the onset
of the stressor (Lorenz, Doherty, & Casey, 2019). Although these results were obtained in a
different sample population, they are supported by the current findings, as are the results of
a recent study of pharmacology students, which found that intrinsic spirituality and perceived
stress are not significantly correlated (Aftab et al., 2018). Finally, Werdel et al. (2014) found
that individuals with both low levels of perceived stress and high degrees of intrinsic
spirituality were more likely to experience growth following a highly stressful experience. The
Faith Maturity Scale (Benson et al., 1993) was used to evaluate intrinsic spirituality and the
instrument used to measure stress was the same (Hodge, 2003). The Werdel et al. (2014)
study does not contradict the current findings outright, because the relationship between
intrinsic spirituality and perceived stress was not explicitly examined, but, unlike the current
study, these findings do suggest that intrinsic spiritualty does impact stress in some manner.
Stress is an undeniable part of life and the way that it is handled can have
immediate and long term repercussions, biologically, psychologically, and behaviorally (Boyce &
Ellis, 2005; Lupien et al., 2009). One’s perception of stress, to some degree, affects his or
her ability to cope with it favorably (Ruetter & Bigatti, 2014). In the field of mental health,
understanding the variables that influence perceived stress has important implications for
practitioners seeking to promote resiliency in the populations with whom they work. Given
that intrinsic spirituality is generally associated with positive outcomes (Schwalm et al., 2021),
the current study aimed to demonstrate a relationship between high levels of intrinsic
spirituality and low levels of perceived stress. Because the analysis did not reveal a
significant relationship, further investigation is needed to understand both the role of intrinsic
spirituality in coping with stress and the factors that contribute to one’s perception of stress.
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The current study provides ample implications for future studies that could build on
these results. Including participants with more extreme perceived stress scores (>40 and <10),
as well as participants with lower intrinsic spirituality scores (<5), both of which this study
lacked, could yield a more informative set of data. Furthermore, the addition of a valid and
reliable assessment used to measure general psychological health and well-being, at the onset
of the study, with follow-up testing at 3, 6, and 12 months, could offer insight into the role
of intrinsic spirituality throughout the life of a stressor, from onset to resolution. The
findings of such a study could better equip practitioners to support their clients in
leveraging, developing, and strengthening their resources, including spirituality, to more
effectively cope with stress. aa aa aa
aa
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