Research report Does negative religious coping accompany, precede, or follow depression among Orthodox Jews? Steven Pirutinsky a, ⁎, David H. Rosmarin b,c , Kenneth I. Pargament d , Elizabeth Midlarsky a a Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States b McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States c Harvard Medical School, United States d Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, United States article info abstract Article history: Received 7 December 2010 Received in revised form 9 February 2011 Accepted 2 March 2011 Available online 24 March 2011 Background: Cross sectional research suggests that negative religious coping (e.g., anger at God and religious disengagement) strongly correlates with depression and anxiety. However, causality is difficult to establish as negative coping can accompany, cause, or result from distress. Among Orthodox Jews, some studies have found correlations between negative religious coping and anxiety and depression, while others found that high levels of negative coping related with decreased distress. We therefore examined longitudinal relationships between negative coping and depressive symptoms among Orthodox Jews. Methods: Participants (80 Orthodox Jews) completed the Jewish Religious Coping Scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies' Depression Scale at two times. Using Structural Equation Modeling, we compared four models describing possible causal patterns. Results: Negative religious coping and depressive symptoms were linearly related. Furthermore, a model including negative coping as a predictor of future depression fit the data best and did not significantly differ from a saturated model. Limitations: This research was limited by reliance on self-report measures, an internet sample, and examination of only negative religious coping. Conclusions: Consistent with a “primary spiritual struggles” conceptualization, negative religious coping appears to precede and perhaps cause future depression among Orthodox Jews. Clinical interventions should target spiritual struggles, and more research integrating this construct into theory and practice is warranted. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Spirituality Religion Spiritual struggles Jewish Religion is important to many Americans (Spilka et al., 2003), and the relationship between religion and mental health has generated considerable interest. The majority of this research has focused on positive domains, and suggests that religiousness and spirituality are associated with greater physical and mental health (Koenig et al., 2001; Smith et al., 2003), including reduced suicidality (Colucci and Martin, 2008). Religion, however, can also have negative effects, particularly in the context of spiritual struggles. The term spiritual struggles encompasses several interrelated dimensions of tension including difficulty relating to the Divine, intrapersonal religious doubts, and interpersonal religious conflicts (Exline and Rose, 2005; Pargament et al., 2005). The current study focused on a widely studied aspect of spiritual struggles — negative religious coping. For many, a personal connection with God provides comfort, support, and hope in times of distress. For some, however, this connection can be troubled and distressing. In response to negative life events, individuals may get angry at God, question if God cares about them, and doubt if God can do anything (Pargament, 1997). Multiple meta-analyses have established that negative forms of religious coping correlate Journal of Affective Disorders 132 (2011) 401–405 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Clinical and Counseling Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, Box 303, 525 West 120th St., New York, NY 10027, United States. Tel.: +1 845 323 6443. E-mail address: sp2813@columbia.edu (S. Pirutinsky). 0165-0327/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2011.03.015 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Affective Disorders journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jad