Conversations With God

Abstract

The role of religiosity and spirituality in the process of adjustment to disability is of increasing interest to rehabilitation professionals. Beginning with the Kubler-Ross models of grief and adjustment to disability and terminal illness, a number of stage models have included spiritual and religious interactions as a part of the adjustment process. These models, and even more recent models, point to a stage of bargaining with God for improvement or a cure through contingent prayerful interactions. However, little empirical evidence exists to support this stage as a part of adjustment to disability. Eighty-one current and previous consumers of state–federal vocational rehabilitation (VR) services in a southwestern state participated in an online survey to examine prayer content and explore the extent of bargaining with God. Research findings revealed that although prayer requests related to disability are frequent, bargaining is not applicable to many individuals with acquired disabilities. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed significant findings relevant to practitioners, researchers, and educators within the field of VR.