A number of studies have examined the link between criminality and religiosity. However, only a limited number of studies have examined the relationship between spirituality and criminality. Because spirituality has been identified as a fundamental attribute of the personalities of Blacks, studies examining differences in the association between spirituality by ethnicity could provide information to understand the disparity of incarceration rates among Blacks and Whites. For this study, data were collected from 661 male prisoners with prior histories of drug use to examine spirituality that was assessed using two factors from a modified version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale: relationship with a higher power and satisfaction with oneself in the world. Analyses revealed that White men reported significantly higher scores on both factors than Black men. The unexpected findings are discussed in light of the existing literature that identifies the significance of spirituality in the personality and coping style of Blacks.
Agnew, R. (2001). Building on the foundation of general strain theory: Specifying the types of strain most likely to lead to crime and delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38(4), 319-361.
2.
Akbar, N. (1991). The evolution of human psychology for African Americans. In R. L. Jones (Ed.), Black psychology (3rd ed., pp. 99-123). Berkeley, CA: Cobb and Henry.
3.
Bachman, J. G., Johnston, L. D., & O’Malley, P. (1987). Monitoring the future: Questionnaire responses from the nation’s high school seniors. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research.
4.
Bartol, C. R. (1999). Criminal behavior: A psychosocial approach (5th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5.
Batson, C. D., & Ventis, W. L. (1982). The religious experience. New York: Oxford Press.
6.
Beeghley, L., Van Velson, E., & Bock, E. W. (1981). The correlates of religiosity among Black and White Americans. Sociological Quarterly, 22, 403-412.
7.
Benda, B. B. (1995). The effect of religion on adolescent delinquency revisited. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 32(4), 446-466.
8.
Bufford, R., Paloutzian, R. F., & Ellison, C. W. (1991). Norms for the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 19(1), 56-70.
9.
Burkett, S. R., & White, M. (1974). Hellfire and delinquency: Another look. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 13, 455-462.
10.
Chatters, L. M., Taylor, R. J., & Lincoln, K. D. (1999). African American religious participation: A multi-sample comparison. Journal for Scientific Study of Religion, 38(1), 132-145.
11.
Cochran, J. K. (1993). The variable effects of religiosity and denomination of adolescent self-reported alcohol use by beverage type. Journal of Drug Issues, 23, 479-491.
12.
Cochran, J. K., & Akers, R. L. (1989). Beyond hellfire: An exploration of the variable effects of religiosity on adolescent marijuana and alcohol use. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 26, 198-225.
13.
Cochran, J., Wood, P., & Arnekley, B. (1994). Is the religiosity-delinquency relationship spurious? Social control theories. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 31, 92-123.
14.
Ellis, L. (1985). Religiosity and criminality: Evidence and explanations of complex relationships. Sociological Perspectives, 28, 501-502.
15.
Ellis, L., & Patterson, J. (1996). Crime and religion: An international comparison among thirteen industrial nations. Minot, ND: Minot State University, Department of Sociology.
16.
Ellison, C. W. (1983). Spiritual well-being: Conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 11(4), 330-340.
17.
Fernquist, R. M. (1995). A research note on the association between religion and delinquency. Deviant Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 16, 169-175.
18.
Freeman, R. B. (1986). Who escapes? The relation of churchgoing and other background factors to the socioeconomic performance of Black male youths from inner-city tracts. In R. B. Freeman & H. J. Holier (Eds.), The Black youth employment crisis (n.p.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
19.
Gallup Report. (1984). Religion in America.
20.
Gorsuch, R. L. (1984). Measurement: The boon and bane of investigating religion. American Psychologist, 39, 228-236.
21.
Greeley, A. M. (1979). Ethnic variations in religious commitment. In R. Wuthnow (Ed.), The religious dimension: New directions in quantitative research (n.p.). New York: Academic Press.
22.
Hill, P. C., Pargament, K. I., Wood, R. W., Jr., McCullough, M. E., Swyers, J. P., Larson, D., et al. (2000). Conceptualizing religion and spirituality: Points of commonality, points of departure. Journal of Theory of Social Behavior, 30, 51-77.
23.
Jacobson, C. I., Heaton, T. B., & Dennis, R. M. (1990). Black-White differences in religiosity: Item analysis and formal structural test. Sociological Analysis, 51, 257-270.
24.
Johnson, R. (1996). Hard time: Understanding and reforming the prison (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
25.
Joseph, M. (1998). The effect of strong religious beliefs on coping with stress. Stress Medicine, 14, 219-224.
26.
Koenig, H. (2001). Religion and medicine II: Religion, mental health, and related health. International Journal Psychiatry in Medicine, 31(1), 97-109.
27.
Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of religion and health. New York: Oxford University Press.
28.
Ledbetter, M. F., Smith, L. A., Vosler-Hunter, W. L., & Fischer, J. D. (1991). An evaluation of research and clinical usefulness of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 19(1), 49-55.
29.
Levin, J. S., Taylor, R. J., & Chatters, L. M. (1994). Race and gender differences in religiosity among older adults: Findings from four national surveys. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 49, S137-S145.
30.
Lincoln, C. E., & Mamiya, L. H. (1990). The Black church in the African American experience. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
31.
McLellan, A. T., Luborsky, L., O’Brien, C. P., & Woody, G. E. (1980). An improved diagnostic evaluation instrument for substance abuse patients: The Addiction Severity Index. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 168, 26-33.
32.
Miller, G., Fleming, W., & Brown, A. F. (1998). Spiritual Well-Being Scale: Ethnic differences between Caucasians and African-Americans. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 26, 358-364.
33.
Moberg, D. (1979). Spiritual well-being: Sociological perspectives. Washington DC: University of America Press.
34.
Myers, L. J. (1988). An Afrocentric world view: Introduction to an optimal psychology. Dubuque, LA: Quintal-Hunt.
35.
Nelsen, H. M., Yokley, R. L., & Nelsen, A. K. (1971). The Black church in America. New York: Basic Books.
36.
Paloutzian, R. F., & Ellison, C. W. (1982). Loneliness, spiritual well-being, and quality of life. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy (n.p.). New York: Wiley Interscience.
37.
Pargament, K. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping. New York: Guilford.
38.
Pargament, K. I., Poloma, M. M., & Tarakeshwar, N. (2001). Methods of coping from the religions of the world: The bar mitzvah, karma, and spiritual healing. In C. R. Snyder (Ed.), Coping with stress: Effective people and processes (pp. 259-284). London: Oxford University Press.
39.
Phillips, F. B. (1990). NTU psychotherapy: An Africentric approach. Journal of Black Psychology, 17, 55-74.
40.
Randolph, S. M., & Banks, H. D. (1993). Making a way out of no way: The promise of Africentric approaches to HIV prevention. Journal of Black Psychology, 19, 406-422.
41.
Scott, E. L., Agresti, A. A., & Firchett, G. (1998). Factor analysis of the “Spiritual Well-Being Scale” and its clinical utility with psychiatric inpatients. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37(2), 314-322.
42.
Sloan, D. M., & Potvin, R. H. (1986). Religion and delinquency: Cutting through the maze. Social Forces, 65, 87-105.
43.
Stark, R., Kent, L., & Doyle, D. P. (1982). Religion and delinquency: The ecology of a “lost” relationship. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 19(10), 4-24.
44.
Staton, M., Webster, J. M., Hiller, M. L., Rostosky, S., & Leukefeld, C. (2003). An exploratory examination of spiritual well-being, religiosity, and drug use among incarcerated men. Unpublished manuscript.
45.
Taylor, R. J., Chatters, L. M., Jayakody, R., & Levin, J. S. (1996). Black and White differences in religious participation: A multi-sample comparison. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 35, 403-410.
46.
Tenant-Clark, C. M., Fritz, J. J., & Beauvais, F. (1989). Occult participation: Its impact on adolescent development. Adolescence, 24(96), 757-772.
47.
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1997). Correctional populations in the United States (NCJ 177613). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs. Available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov.
48.
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1999). Substance abuse and treatment, state and federal prisoners, 1997. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
