INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 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). i i
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). i i
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 i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 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. i
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 i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 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, 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
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 4
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). i i i i i i i i
Figure 2
Bar Graph Depicting Gender of Participants
Figure 3
Bar Graph Depicting Marital Status of Participants i
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 5
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 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
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 6
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.
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
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 7
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. i i i i
i
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY & PERCEIVED STRESS i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 8
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