Stress, Spiritual Coping, and Bulimia: Feeling Punished by God/Higher Power

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between stress, spiritual coping, and bulimic symptoms in college students (N = 605). Participants who felt punished by God/Higher Power during difficult times reported more symptoms. This spiritual coping strategy also partly mediated the link between stress and bulimic symptoms; the link was partly explained by a coping style that involved beliefs about punishment by God/Higher Power. These findings have implications for mental health counseling in terms of addressing spiritual coping strategies with clients who identify as having faith beliefs and who struggle with bulimic symptoms.