Object relations development and temperament as predictors of spiritual coping

Stephen Keller, Pace University

Abstract

This doctoral project examines object relations development and temperament constructs as predictors of later positive and negative spiritual coping technique use. The sample of 124 participants from the Facebook online social network was asked to complete an online questionnaire that included a demographics sheet, the Bell Object Relations Scale, the Adult Temperament Questionnaire, and the Brief RCOPE. Temperament factors, including Negative Affect, Effortful Control, Extraversion, and Orienting Sensitivity, as well as the Object Relations factors of Alienation, Insecure Attachment, Egocentricity, and Social Incompetence were regressed on level of positive and negative spiritual coping technique use. Multiple regressions were run to explore the predictive ability of a Temperament Model, Object Relations Model, and Combined Temperament and Object Relations Model on positive and negative spiritual coping. Linear regressions were also run to assess the predictive ability of each individual factor of temperament and object relations development on positive and negative spiritual coping. The combined Temperament and Object Relations Model was a significant predictor of both positive and negative spiritual coping use, accounting for a higher percentage of variance (23.5% and 22.8%, respectively) than the other proposed positive and negative spiritual coping models. The Temperament Model was a significant predictor of positive spiritual coping technique use. The Object Relations Model was a significant predictor of negative spiritual coping technique use. The hypothesis that early developmental constructs can influence and predict later spiritual coping use is supported by the results of this study.

Subject Area

Developmental psychology|Psychotherapy

Recommended Citation

Keller, Stephen, "Object relations development and temperament as predictors of spiritual coping" (2008). ETD Collection for Pace University. AAI3289977.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/dissertations/AAI3289977

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