Advancing African Psychology: An Exploration of African American College Students’ Definitions and Use of Spirit in Times of Stress

Although religion and spirituality are understood as multidimensional resources in times of stress, less is known about the culturally relevant concept of spirit in African psychology. Eighteen African American college students completed written open-ended questionnaires about how—in relation to religion and spirituality—they define and use spirit in response to stress. Qualitative constant comparison analysis of the data yielded themes defining spirit and its use in response to stress. The definition of spirit was described distinctly as energy, while it overlapped with religion and spirituality as a connection with or a search for God. Spirit also overlapped with religion as faith and spirituality as a feeling/sense/guiding consciousness or inner thought within oneself, and soul. Themes for the use of spirit in response to stress were descriptive of optimal functioning and included (a) thoughts of asking God for help, (b) prayer, (c) positive emotions, (d) self-affirming thoughts, and (e) productive activity. The findings are discussed regarding spirit as a distinct yet overlapping concept with religion and spirituality that has implications for research and practice within African psychology.