Religion in the face of trauma: active duty women and spiritual health

Abstract

Active duty women in United States military face unique challenges compared to active duty men and the civilian population. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between spirituality and mental health outcomes for female service members. Specifically, this study investigated the association between spirituality, traumatic stressors and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Biopsychosocial-spiritual data were collected through self-report questionnaires from 43 active duty women with an average age of 31.67 (SD = 7.17). Post-traumatic stress symptoms showed an interaction effect between traumatic stress and spirituality. Specifically, participants who endorsed low levels of spirituality were found to have higher levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms as they experienced higher traumatic stress. The study confirmed the potential moderating effects of spirituality for traumatic stress, highlighting the need for increased resources and support targeting spirituality and religiousness for active duty women before, during, and after military service.

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