Religious faith and spirituality in substance abuse recovery. Determining the mental health benefits

FRANÇAIS :
Cette étude explore la relation entre foi religieuse, spiritualité et santé mentale chez 236 individus en phase de guérison dun abus de drogue. Ces patients avaient tendance à témoigner dune forte foi religieuse et de laffiliation à une religion bien quils se disent plus croyants que véritablement religieux. Les résultats indiquent également que chez ces personnes en phase de guérison, la foi et la spiritualité étaient associées avec une orientation plus optimiste dans la vie, une meilleure perception des soutiens sociaux, une meilleure résistance au stress et une moindre anxiété. Cette étude représente le plus large recueil de témoignages accompli à ce jour sur ce thème.
ENGLISH :
Recently, mental health professionals have began examining the potential value of religious faith and spirituality in the lives of individuals suffering from a variety of acute and chronic illnesses. This study explored the relation between religious faith, spirituality, and mental health outcomes in 236 individuals recovering from substance abuse. We found that recovering individuals tend to report high levels of religious faith and religious affiliation, but choose to rate themselves as being more spiritual than religious. Results also indicate that among recovering individuals, higher levels of religious faith and spirituality were associated with a more optimistic life orientation, greater perceived social support, higher resilience to stress, and lower levels of anxiety. This represents the largest self- report study to date examining the relation between religious faith, spirituality, and mental health outcomes among individuals recovering from substance abuse. (Editor's abstract.)