Resource loss, positive religious coping, and suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective cohort study of US adults with chronic illness

Using data from a prospective cohort of US adults living with chronic illness (n = 184), we examined longitudinal associations between domains of resource loss assessed one month into the COVID-19 pandemic and suffering two months later. We also explored the role of positive religious coping in modifying relations between each type of resource loss and suffering, adjusting for a number of sociodemographics, chronic health conditions, religious/spiritual factors, psychological characteristics, and prior values of positive religious coping and suffering. Pandemic-related economic, interpersonal, and psychological (but not physical) resource loss were each associated with higher levels of subsequent suffering. Positive religious coping moderated the associations of physical, interpersonal, and psychological (but not economic) resource loss on suffering, such that domains of resource loss evidenced a stronger positive association with suffering at higher levels of positive religious coping. Implications of the findings for supporting people dealing with disaster-related resource loss are discussed.