COVID-19, Mental Health, and Religious Coping Among American Orthodox Jews
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COVID‑19, Mental Health, and Religious Coping Among American Orthodox Jews Steven Pirutinsky1 · Aaron D. Cherniak2,3 · David H. Rosmarin4
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic presents potential mental health challenges, and the American Orthodox Jewish population has been particularly affected by the virus. The current study assessed the impact of the pandemic and explored the relationships between exposure, religiosity, and distress in a sample of n = 419 American Orthodox Jews. Results indicated high levels of exposure, concern, and compliance with medical guidelines; however stress was generally low and we found evidence for positive impact. Direct exposure correlated with higher religiosity. Positive religious coping, intrinsic religiosity and trust in God strongly correlated with less stress and more positive impact, while negative religious coping and mistrust in God correlated with the inverse. While the study is limited by its design, findings highlight that for some, faith may promote resilience especially during crisis. Keywords Jewish · Mental health · Crisis · Trauma · Coping
Introduction Since its December 2019 outbreak, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (or, colloquially, COVID-19) has spread rapidly into a deadly global pandemic. In addition to the severe threat it poses to people’s physical health and lives, COVID-19 has overwhelmed governments and public health systems prompting them to adopt extraordinary measures including restricting people to their homes and closing the majority of business. Both the illness and its fallout present tremendous challenges to mental * Steven Pirutinsky [email protected] 1
Graduate School of Social Work, Touro College, 27 West 23rd Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10010, USA
2
Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
3
Mental Health Department, Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Center, Bnei Brak, Israel
4
Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Journal of Religion and Health
health such as rising levels of symptoms of panic disorder, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress (e.g., Qiu et al. 2020; Wang et al. 2020; McBride et al. 2020). Elevated risk has been reported among those with more direct exposure such as those who were infected, have family members who were infected, and health care workers (Simione and Gnagnarella 2020). In addition, groups considered at higher risk for severe illness due to COVID-19, including the elderly and individuals with serious underlying medical conditions, have shown increased risk for psychological difficulties (e.g., Vahia et al. 2020). The immediate access to mass media and social media reports regarding COVID-19 appear to exacerbate distress through vicarious traumatization (Li et al. 2020). Amplifying these challenges are psychosocial factors such as substantial economic hardship, lockdown-type measures, and extended social isolation associated with the pandemic (Armitage an
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