Concurrent Sessions 8 - (NBCC CE Credit: #1 hr and Conference Attendance Credit: #1 hr)

318-01: The Impact of Sanctification of Couple Relationships on Depression through Communal Coping in Married and Cohabiting African American Couples
Andrew H. Rose, Antonius Skipper, TJ Moore, Debra Lavender-Bratcher, Cassandra Chaney

Summary
Multiple studies and reviews of the literature have found an inverse relationship between high levels of religiosity and the prevalence of depression disorders and symptoms (see review by Bonelli, Dew, Koenig, Rosmarin, & Vasegh, 2012). Yet, little is known about the connections between religion and depression within couple relationships. Communal coping is one mechanism whereby this relationship may transpire. Dyadic data for 299 married and 242 cohabiting African American couples was used to explore the role of communal coping as a potential mediator between couple religiosity and depression. In both analyses men’s couple religiosity had a significant impact on depression through communal coping. However, it was only in the married sample that men’s couple religiosity impacted women’s depressive symptoms. Also, only in the married sample did religion have a significant direct impact on depression.

Objectives
-- To explore strengths found within religious African American couples.
-- To demonstrate the relationship between religion, communal coping and depression in couple relationships.
-- To examine different African American couple structures. 

Subject Codes: spirituality, race, relationshipss
Population Codes: African Americans, religious/religiosity, couples/coupled
Method and Approach Codes: applied research, dyadic analysis, multicultural

318-02: Married Religious Leaders' Couple Satisfaction: A Latent Profile Analysis of the Humility-Narcissism Paradox
Chance A. Bell, Steve Sandage, Jason Baker

Summary
Religious leaders' spouses often fill a vital role within a congregation. Prior research has demonstrated the positive effect of humility and differentiation of self in marriages, and the deleterious effects of narcissistic tendencies. Religious leaders regularly encounter situations that challenge their humility and differentiation and encourage narcissistic tendencies. In this study of U.S., married, religious leaders (N = 200), we identified three latent profiles based on humility, differentiation, and narcissistic tendencies. We labeled these profiles low, moderate, and high relational maturity. Low and moderate relational maturity profiles did not significantly differ based on relationship satisfaction or age, however; high relational maturity differed from both low and moderate relational maturity on each. We address the implications of these findings to religious training programs, and therapeutic services.

Objectives
-- To describe the challenges religious leaders and their spouses face.
-- To compare and contrast the differences between the married religious leader relational maturity profiles.
-- To describe the next steps in humility, relationship, and religious leader research.

Subject Codes: strengths, relationship quality, spirituality
Population Codes: non-clinical practitioners, religious/religiosity, U.S.
Method and Approach Codes: latent variable modeling, quantitative methodology

318-03: The Impact of the Sanctification of Couple Relationships on Relational Forgiveness in Married and Cohabiting African American Couples
Andrew Rose, Cassandra Chaney, Richard Wiley, Chelsea Wooten, Tamecia Curry, Debra Lavender-Bratcher, Antonius Skipper, TJ Moore

Summary
Religion has a central role in the lives of African Americans because it traditionally has been a place of refuge against slavery, racial discrimination, chronic unemployment, extraordinary high rates of incarceration, and chronic poverty (Chaney, 2011; Patterson, 1998; Wilson, 1996). However, little is known about how African American couples utilize relational religiosity as a strength. Prior research has demonstrated the complex relationship between religiosity and relational forgiveness (Rose et al., 2018) but more work in diverse contexts are needed. Using relational measures of religiosity and forgiveness direct actor effects were found between sanctification of couple relationships and individual as well as perceived couple forgiveness. Future work should use longitudinal designs to test this relationship in a more robust way.

Objectives
-- To explore strengths found within religious African American couples.
-- To demonstrate the relationship between religion and forgiveness in couple relationships.
-- To examine strengths found in different African American couple structures.

Subject Codes: spirituality, race, relationships
Population Codes: African Americans, religious/religiosity, couples/coupled
Method and Approach Codes: dyadic analysis, multicultural

318-04: The Impact of Sanctification of Couple Relationships on Hope in Married and Cohabiting African American Couples
Andrew Rose, Debra Lavender-Bratcher, Cassandra Chaney, TJ Moore, Antonius Skipper

Summary
Throughout American history, African Americans have endured much, one place that members of this group have found acceptance and solace is in black churches. Thus, religion have a unique and central role in the lives of African Americans even when compared to other racial groups (Skipper, Marks, & Chaney, 2017).Prior research has demonstrated that higher levels of religiosity can be predictive of increases in hope (Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2012). However, little is known about the relations between religion and hope in African American married and cohabiting couples. The more couples felt that God was manifest within their relationships the more hope they individually had. The significant actor effects were larger for males in both married and cohabiting couples when compared to females.

Objectives
-- To explore strengths found within religious African American couples.
-- To demonstrate the relationship between religion and hope in couple relationships.
-- To examine different African American couple structures.

Subject Codes: spirituality, race, relationships
Population Codes: African Americans, religious/religiosity, couples/coupled
Method and Approach Codes: dyadic analysis, multicultural

Summary
Multiple studies and reviews of the literature have found an inverse relationship between high levels of religiosity and the prevalence of depression disorders and symptoms (see review by Bonelli, Dew, Koenig, Rosmarin, & Vasegh, 2012). Yet, little is known about the connections between religion and depression within couple relationships. Communal coping is one mechanism whereby this relationship may transpire. Dyadic data for 299 married and 242 cohabiting African American couples was used to explore the role of communal coping as a potential mediator between couple religiosity and depression. In both analyses men's couple religiosity had a significant impact on depression through communal coping. However, it was only in the married sample that men's couple religiosity impacted women's depressive symptoms. Also, only in the married sample did religion have a significant direct impact on depression.

Objectives
-- To explore strengths found within religious African American couples.
-- To demonstrate the relationship between religion, communal coping and depression in couple relationships.
-- To examine different African American couple structures.

Subject Codes: spirituality, race, relationships
Population Codes: African Americans, religious/religiosity, couples/coupled
Method and Approach Codes: applied research, dyadic analysis, multicultural

Facilitator: Michael Goodman