WHY WORRY? IMPACTS ON THE QUANTITIES AND QUALITIES OF WORRY: AN EXAMINATION OF FAITH, MEANING, AND NEED SATISFACTION

Abstract

Pathological worry is a primary component of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and a routine concern treated in most modern-day counseling offices and clinics. The intended purpose of the current study was to seek out evidence of possible antidotes or protective factors to pathological worry. The primary focus began with the concept of faith as a correlate to meaning in life, meaning being understood as the antithesis of despair (despairing being synonymous with worrying at pathological levels). As an attempt at providing an explanation for what comprises the differing levels of faith development, the constructs of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and spiritual transcendence were included in the study.

It was hypothesized that basic psychological needs would vary according to faith stage and that these differing combinations of need satisfaction would predict the content and quantity of one’s worries. It was also hypothesized that meaning in life and spiritual transcendence would be uniquely represented by faith development stage and that these constructs would also contribute to the quantity and content of one’s worry. It was found that some, but not all, psychological needs significantly predicted worry. Surprisingly, faith development, according to scores on the current scale used, negatively correlated to worry, such that higher levels of worry were found at lower levels of faith development. Presence of meaning in life was also found to negatively correlate with worry.