Role of religiosity or spirituality in experiencing posttraumatic growth among sexual assault survivors: a systematic review

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe study aims to systematically review the relationship between religiosity and posttraumatic growth among the survivors of sexual assaults. A search of the published literature identified 05 empirical studies that reported links between religiosity and posttraumatic growth among sexual assault survivors. This review identified three main findings: an association between religiosity and PTG among sexual assault survivors. Second, religious and spiritual coping was found to be associated with the development of posttraumatic growth. Third, the traumatic experiences from sexual assault can lead to the deepening of religiosity/spirituality. Despite limited evidence, individual’s beliefs can impact posttrauma thriving.KEYWORDS: Sexual assaultsTraumaPTGreligiosityspirituality AcknowledgmentsThis is to acknowledge no financial interest or benefit arising from this research’s direct applications.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).