Effects of Generational Age on Religious Coping and Psychological Outcomes in Females Exposed to Interpersonal Violence

One in three women 15 years and older will experience interpersonal violence (IpV), including physical or sexual violence, at some point in their life. While the general psychological benefits of religion and spirituality (RS) are well known, research has not thoroughly examined RS coping and psychological outcomes in IpV-exposed women. When evaluating generational differences in RS concepts, literature reveals concepts such as God image vary across generation; however, literature does not address generational differences in RS coping, particularly in IpV-exposed women. Objective: This study seeks to examine the psychological outcomes and religious coping styles of women who are exposed to IpV as it relates to generational differences. Method: A national stratified convenience sample of women in the United States (N = 1,165) was recruited online using the Qualtrics crowdsourcing service. Participants (n = 538) who reported having experienced interpersonal violence (i.e., sexual assault, physical assault, assault with a weapon) were designated as the IpV group. Those (n = 627) who reported no exposure to these events were designated as a no IpV comparison group (Non-IpV). Results: Several two-way analyses of variance revealed that there was a statistically significant interaction between generations and IpV for depression, F(2, 1159) = 3.78, p =.023, anxiety, F(2, 1159) = 4.77, p =.009, stress, F(2, 1159) = 4.10, p =.017, and positive religious coping, F(2, 1,159) = 3.57, p =.028. Conclusions: These results suggest that generational differences may exist in psychological outcomes and RS coping in women who have experienced IpV compared to comparison groups.