Is There Anybody Out There? Coping and Belonging Strategies: Correlations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Latinx Undergraduates

Abstract

The study examined the correlational and predictive relationship between religious coping and a sense of belonging on 202 Latinx undergraduates’ depression, anxiety, and stress. Religious coping refers to the reliance on religious beliefs or practices to cope with stressful life situations. A sense of belonging involves the psychological features of social integration and attachment to a community. The results of a multiple regression analysis found that positive and negative religious coping and a sense of belonging predicted 36% of the variance in Latinx students’ depression. A second regression found positive and negative religious coping, a sense of belonging, and the interaction between positive religious coping and a sense of belonging predicted 29% of the variance in anxiety. A third hierarchical regression found that 21% of the variance in stress levels was attributed to religious coping alone. The results demonstrate that students who utilized positive religious coping reported lower depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Conversely, negative religious coping contributed to depression, anxiety, and stress. A sense of belonging predicted lower depression and anxiety. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.