Christian Religious Affiliation Is Associated With Less Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Through Forgiveness but Not Search for Meaning After Hurricane Irma and Maria

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which Christian religious affiliation promoted greater forgiveness and search for meaning and consequently may have mitigated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in the wake of the devastation and loss following two hurricanes in Puerto Rico in 2017. Participants included 511 surviving Puerto Ricans. Most were assigned “female” at birth, educated, Christian, and middle-aged. Participants completed measures of PTSD symptoms, search for meaning, forgiveness, and demographics. Path modeling showed that Christian religious affiliation was negatively associated with PTSD symptoms and was positively associated with forgiveness but not search for meaning. Forgiveness was negatively and search for meaning was positively associated with PTSD symptoms. Christian religious affiliation may stimulate forgiveness, which may be a crucial factor for coping with PTSD symptoms in a natural disaster context such as Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico.