Abstract
Muslims generally prefer religious and spiritual (R/S) forms of coping, with researchers typically distinguishing between positive and negative R/S coping. One process that may be disrupting Muslim mental health is a tendency to privilege spiritual experiences and practices to avoid dealing with psychological difficulties. This R/S coping style, sometimes referred to as spiritual bypass, has been examined in Christians and other populations but not in Muslims living in the United States (MLUS), an at-risk group. We recruited a representative sample of 350 MLUS (50% female, 33% immigrant) via Qualtrics. Using a cross-sectional design in a latent moderated structural equation modeling (LMS) framework, we assessed whether spiritual bypass (measured via Spiritual Bypass Scale-13 [SBS-13]) moderated the relationships between positive and negative R/S coping (via subscales of Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness [PMIR]) and psychological distress (via Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales-21 [DASS-21]). At low levels of spiritual bypass, positive R/S coping was associated with lower depression and anxiety, but this relationship was not observed at high levels of spiritual bypass. The correlations between negative R/S coping and depression, anxiety, and stress were also stronger at average and high levels of spiritual bypass, compared to low levels of spiritual bypass. Findings suggest that exaggerating spiritual explanations for one's difficulties and engaging in psychological avoidance using spirituality may not be conducive to better mental health among Muslims who are engaging in R/S coping. Overall, spiritual bypass shows potential for explaining how R/S coping affects mental health in Muslims, and it has notable clinical implications for religious and spiritually integrated therapy.
