External-spiritual locus-of-hope and psychological distress: the mediating effect of spiritual bypassing

Extant literature identifies religion and spirituality as a source of hope. However, research on the association between spirituality and coping shares mixed results among Asian countries. The researchers tested if external-spiritual locus-of-hope, predicted psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we tested the mediating effect of spiritual bypassing in the relationship between the external-spiritual locus-of-hope and psychological distress. Using a sample of 479 respondents, results reveal that the external-spiritual locus-of-hope had a significant positive association with psychological avoidance and spiritualising. However, only avoidance had a significant relationship with distress, negatively predicting stress, anxiety, and depression. Spiritualising did not have a significant effect on any of the three indices of psychological distress. Findings highlight the role of the external-spiritual locus-of-hope as a resource in alleviating psychological distress. The psychological avoidance dimension of spiritual bypassing also explains the relationship between external-spiritual locus-of-hope and psychological distress.