Bereavement, Religion, and Posttraumatic Growth: A Matched Control Group Investigation Joseph M. Currier, Jesse Mallot, Tiffany E. Martinez, and Charlotte Sandy Fuller Theological Seminary Robert A. Neimeyer University of Memphis This study examined the intersection between bereavement, religion, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). A total of 369 young adults completed the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (Fetzer Institute/NIA, 1999) and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996), divided equally into three groups: one bereaved by a violent loss (accident, suicide, or homicide) in the prior two years, one bereaved by a nonviolent death in the prior two years, and a third, nonbereaved group that experienced a general life stressor in the two years preceding the study. Individuals in the two bereaved groups generally endorsed greater religiousness when compared with persons in the non- bereaved group (as assessed by daily spiritual experiences, organizational religiousness, religious coping, forgiveness, and religious support). In addition, survivors who had lost loved ones to a violent death had higher scores across all domains of PTG and reported more distress symptomatology. When controlling for demographics and other study variables, bereavement status and religion factors significantly increased the explained variance in participants’ perceptions of PTG and psychological distress. Al- though the study design restricts the ability to draw any causal conclusions, these findings highlight the possible spiritual impact of bereavement and how specific dimensions of religion can contribute to growth and healing in the adjustment process. Keywords: bereavement, religion, spirituality, posttraumatic growth, meaning making Religion has long provided a framework for coping with the possible challenges of bereavement (Park, 2005; Wortmann & Park, 2008, 2009). An important teaching of many religious and philosophical traditions is that while grieving might entail a painful state of psychological disequilibrium, such confronta- tions with suffering can also foster positive changes in one’s life (Bemporad, 1987; Linley, 2003). Although people tend to respond to bereavement in a resilient manner or regain preloss levels of functioning after a protracted period of distress (Bo- nanno et al., 2002), research has also documented that the nature of an individual’s grief response can increase the risk for serious decrements in mental and physical health (see Priger- son, Vanderwerker, & Maciejewski, 2008 for review). How- ever, alongside evidence of the negative consequences of be- reavement, recognition has also increased that a loved one’s death can serve as a catalyst for posttraumatic growth (PTG; for review, see Calhoun, Tedeschi, Cann, & Hanks, 2010). In keeping with spiritual teachings on the possible redemptive power of suffering, the concept of PTG holds that even the most traumatic loss experiences can foster positive changes in the quality of one’s relationships, view of the future, self- perception of strength, appreciation of life, and depth of reli- gious beliefs and commitment (Calhoun et al., 2010; Taku, Cann, Calhoun, & Tedeschi, 2008; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). The goals of the present study were to (1) examine the contri- butions of violent and nonviolent losses on key dimensions of religiousness, PTG, and distress, and (2) explore the associa- tions of these latter variables with one another after bereave- ment. Several empirical investigations have demonstrated that death of another can indeed trigger life-altering, constructive changes (Armstrong & Shakespeare-Finch, 2011; Cadell, Regehr, & Hem- sworth, 2003; Engelkemeyer & Marwit, 2008; Shakespeare-Finch & Armstrong, 2010). In a study of 174 bereaved HIV/AIDS caregivers, Cadell and colleagues (2003) found that a substantial portion indicated growing personally amid their loss experiences. Focusing on a group of 111 bereaved parents, Engelkemeyer and Marwit (2008) similarly reported a mean level of PTG reflecting transformative changes for many grievers in the sample. In addi- tion, when compared with other types of life stressors (i.e., sexual abuse, motor vehicle accident), Shakespeare-Finch and Armstrong (2010) found that bereavement was associated with higher levels of PTG. Notwithstanding the important evidence that these studies provide, design limitations reduced the ability to test the possible impact of bereavement on PTG. Although the present investigation was also limited by the absence of prospective information, we attempted to expand the knowledge base by using a matched control group approach with individ- uals bereaved by both violent and nonviolent causes, as well as a group who had not experienced a significant bereavement in the previous two years. This article was published Online First March 26, 2012. Joseph M. Currier, Jesse Mallot, Tiffany E. Martinez, and Charlotte Sandy, Department of Clinical Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary; Robert A. Neimeyer, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Memphis. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Joseph M. Currier, Department of Clinical Psychology, Fuller Theological Semi- nary, 180 N. Oakland, Pasadena, CA 91101. E-mail: jcurrier@fuller.edu This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality © 2012 American Psychological Association 2013, Vol. 5, No. 2, 69 –77 1941-1022/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0027708 69