Page 76 - JCBP-3-2

Journal of Clinical and

Basic Psychosomatics

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Coping with a crisis: The intersection between

spirituality and social media

Karen M. Skemp *, Michele L. Pettit , and Patrick J. Barlow 2
1
1
1 Department of Public Health and Community Health Education, College of Science and Health,
University Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States of America
2 Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning, University Wisconsin-La Crosse, La
Crosse, Wisconsin, United States of America

Abstract

This study examined the role of spiritual coping strategies and the impact of social
media on stress, depression, anxiety, and resilience in a campus community during
the COVID-19 pandemic. Spirituality, a sense of connection beyond oneself, often
emerges during stress, illness, or confronting mortality, while resilience is the ability
to adapt to challenges. Participants, including faculty, staff, and students, completed
an online survey using various scales: the Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale; a revised
Facebook Intensity Scale; the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21; and the
Brief Resilience Scale. Findings showed that spiritual coping correlated with lower
*Corresponding author: depression (r = −0.28, P < 0.01), anxiety (r = −0.12, P < 0.05), and stress (r = −0.18,
Karen M. Skemp P < 0.01) scores and higher resilience (r = 0.29, P < 0.01). Social media use, however,
(kskemp@uwlax.edu) was associated with increased anxiety (r = 0.41, P < 0.01), depression (r = 0.26, P < 0.01),
Citation: Skemp KM, Pettit ML, and stress (r = 0.31, P < 0.05) and decreased resilience (r = −0.28, P < 0.01). Age was
Barlow PJ. Coping with a crisis: positively associated with resilience (r = 0.20, P < 0.01) and less social media use
The intersection between spirituality
and social media. J Clin Basic (r = −0.46, P < 0.01). Gender differences were noted: females reported higher spiritual
Psychosom. 2025;3(2):70-80. coping, non-religious coping and anxiety, and a trend toward lower resilience than
doi: 10.36922/jcbp.4563 males. Fostering resilience depends largely on having a strong spiritual connection
Received: August 18, 2024 or social network consisting of supportive family and friends. Promoting alternative
1st revised: November 4, 2024 ways to build meaningful connections may enhance mental health for students,
faculty, and staff in a university setting.
2nd revised: November 22, 2024
3rd revised: December 4, 2024
Keywords: Spiritual coping; Resilience; Social media; Anxiety; Depression; Stress
Accepted: December 17, 2024
Published online: December 31,
2024
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). 1. Introduction
This is an Open-Access article Spirituality represents a broad term and one that means different things to different
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution people. For some, it is primarily about a belief in God and active participation in
License, permitting distribution, organized religion. For others, it is about non-religious experiences that help them get in
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is touch with their spiritual selves through quiet reflection, time in nature, private prayer,
properly cited. yoga, or meditation. According to the Fetzer Institute, “Spirituality is a complex, diverse,
1
Publisher’s Note: AccScience and nuanced phenomenon that people of all spiritual and religious self-identifications
Publishing remains neutral with experience.” 2,p.6 Despite the many definitions of spirituality, at its basic core, spirituality
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional involves a sense of relationship or connectedness to something bigger than oneself
affiliations. (e.g., the source of life, love, and energy that sustains us).

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 70 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.4563