George Fitchett, DMin, PhD

Comfort and Anguish: The Complex Role of Religion in Coping with Illness

Alcorn SR, Balboni MJ, Prigerson HG, Reynolds A, Phelps AC, Wright AA, Block SD, Peteet JR, Kachnic LA, Balboni TA. "If God wanted me yesterday, I wouldn't be here today": religious and spiritual themes in patients' experiences of advanced cancer. J Palliat Med. 2010 May;13(5):581-8.

Balboni TA, Vanderwerker LC, Block SD, et al. Religiousness and spiritual support among advanced cancer patients and associations with end-of-life treatment preferences and quality of life. J Clin Oncol. 2007;25(5):555-560.

Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL. (2004). Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. Adv Data, 27;(343):1-19.

Boscaglia N, Clarke DM, Jobling TW, Quinn MA. The contribution of spirituality and spiritual coping to anxiety and depression in women with a recent diagnosis of gynecological cancer. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2005;15(5):755–761.

Brady MJ, Peterman AH, Fitchett G, Mo M, and Cella D. 1999. A case for including spirituality in quality of life measurement in oncology. Psychooncology 8: 417-428.

Canada AL, Parker PA, de Moor JS, Basen-Engquist K, Ramondetta LM, Cohen L. Active coping mediates the association between religion/spirituality and quality of life in ovarian cancer. Gynecol Oncol. 2006;101(1):102-107.

Chida Y, Steptoe A, Powell LH. Religiosity/spirituality and mortality. A systematic quantitative review. Psychother Psychosom. 2009;78(2):81-90.

Cotton SP, Levine EG, Fitzpatrick CM, Dold KH, Targ E. Exploring the relationship among spiritual well-being, quality of life, and psychological adjustment in women with breast cancer. Psychooncology. 1999;8(5):429-438.

Cotton S, Pargament K, Weekes J, McGrady ME, Grossoehme D, & Fitchett G (2011). Spiritual struggles and health-related quality of life in urban adolescents with asthma. Annual meeting Society for Pediatric Psychology, April 15, 2011. San Antonio, TX.

Dapueto JJ, Servente L, Francolino C, Hahn EA. Determinants of quality of life in patients with cancer: a South American study. Cancer. 2005;103(5):1072-1081.

Daugherty, CK, Fitchett, G, Murphy, PE, Peterman, AH, Banik, DM, Hlubocky, F and Tartaro J (2005). Trusting God and Medicine: Spirituality in Advanced Cancer Patients Volunteering for Clinical Trials of Experimental Agents. Psycho-Oncology 14:135-146.

Fitchett, G., Murphy, PE, Kim, J, Gibbons, JL, Cameron, JR, and Davis JA. Religious Struggle: Prevalence, Correlates and Mental Health Risks in Diabetic, Congestive Heart Failure, and Oncology Patients. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine 2004;34(2):179-196.

Fitchett, G., & Risk, J. 2009 Aug 19. Screening for Spiritual Struggle. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling. [Online] 63:1,2

Fitchett, G and Roberts PA. In the Garden with Andrea: Spiritual Assessment in End of Life Care. In Puchalski CM (Ed.) Walking Together: Physicians, Chaplains and Clergy Caring for the Sick (Washington, DC: The George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, 2003), pp. 23-31.

Fitchett, G., Rybarczyk, BD, DeMarco, GA, Nicholas, JJ. The Role of Religion in Medical Rehabilitation Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study. Rehabilitation Psychology 1999;44(4):333-353.

Grossoehme DH, Ragsdale J, Wooldridge JL, Cotton S, Seid M. We can handle this: parents' use of religion in the first year following their child's diagnosis with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy. 2010 Jul;16(3-4):95-108.

Hebert R, Zdaniuk B, Schulz R, Scheier M. Positive and negative religious coping and well-being in women with breast cancer. J Palliat Med. 2009 Jun;12(6):537-45.

Mako C, Galek M, Poppito SR. Spiritual pain among patients with advanced cancer in palliative care. J Palliat Med. 2006;9(5):1106-1113.

Mother Teresa. Kolodiejchuk B (ed.), Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the “Saint of Calcutta.” New York: Doubleday, 2007.

Pargament, KI. The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice. (New York: The Guilford Press, 1997).

Pargament KI. Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy: Understanding and Addressing the Sacred, Guilford Press, New York:NY, 2007.

Pargament, K.I., Desai, K.M., McConnell, K.M. (2006). Spirituality: A pathway to posttraumatic growth or decline. In L.G. Calhoun, R.G. Tedeschi (Eds.) Handbook of posttraumatic growth: Research and practice. (New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), pp. 121-137.

Pargament, KI, Koenig, HG, Tarakeshwar, N, and Hahn, J. Religious Struggle as a Predictor of Mortality among Medically Ill Elderly Patients: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study. Archives of Internal Medicine 2001;161:1881-1885.

Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., Tarakeshwar, N. and Hahn, J. Religious coping methods as predictors of psychological, physical and spiritual outcomes among medically ill elderly patients: a two-year longitudinal study. Journal of Health Psychology 2004;9(6): 713-730.

Pargament, KI, Smith, BW, Koenig, HG, Perez, L. Patterns of Positive and Negative Religious Coping with Major Life Stressors. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 1998;37:710-724.

Park, C. L., Moehl, B., Fenster, J. R., Suresh, D. P. & Bliss, D. (2008). Religiousness and Treatment Adherence in Congestive Heart Failure Patients. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 20(4): 249-266.

Park CL, Wortmann JH, Edmondson D. Religious struggle as a predictor of subsequent mental and physical well-being in advanced heart failure patients. J Behav Med 2011; Dec; 34(6): 426-36.

Rosmarin DH, Krumrei EJ, Andersson G. Religion as a predictor of psychological distress in two religious communities. Cogn Behav Ther. 2009;38(1):54-64.

Sherman AC, Plante TG, Simonton S, Latif U, Anaissie EJ. Prospective study of religious coping among patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation. J Behav Med 2009; 32: 118-28.

Steinhauser KE, Voils CI, Clipp EC, Bosworth HB, Christakis NA, Tulsky JA. "Are you at peace?": one item to probe spiritual concerns at the end of life. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2006 Jan 9;166(1):101-5.

Thuné-Boyle IC, Stygall J, Keshtgar MR, Davidson TI, Newman SP. Religious coping strategies in patients diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK. Psychooncology. 2011 Jul;20(7):771-82.