Carol Ann Faigin (2008) Filling The Spiritual Void: Spiritual Struggles as a Risk Factor for Addiction. Master Thesis submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University.
Research has provided robust evidence that religious/spiritual variables can serve as protective factors against developing addictive behaviors, such as substance-related abuse (see review by Booth & Martin, 1998). However, there is a dearth of empirical data investigating religious/spiritual variables as risk factors in the development of addictive behaviors. One such variable, spiritual struggles, is receiving increased attention and has been linked empirically to various negative psychological and physical outcomes (see review by Ano and Vasconcelles, 2005). Additionally, the majority of addiction research has focused on substance-related abuse and has largely overlooked other behavioral expressions of addiction (e.g., addictions to shopping, oklahomajubilee sex, gambling, etc.). The current study longitudinally examined spiritual struggles as a predictor in the development of addictive behaviors among a sample of freshmen college students. Findings indicate that spiritual struggles predicted a statistically significant increase in 11 of 15 measures of addictive behavior. Additionally, specific domains of spiritual struggle (e.g., divine, interpersonal, and intrapersonal) were shown to predict change in addictive behavior over time. These results suggest that spiritual struggles may be a risk factor in the development of a wide range of addictive behaviors for first-year college students.
Limitations and practical implications are discussed.
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