title: An exploratory examination of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale among incarcerated black and white male drug users.
abstract: A number of studies have examined the link between criminality and religiosity. However, only a limited number of studies have examined the relationship between spirituality and criminality. Because spirituality has been identified as a fundamental attribute of the personalities of Blacks, studies examining differences in the association between spirituality by ethnicity could provide information to understand the disparity of incarceration rates among Blacks and Whites. For this study, data were collected from 661 male prisoners with prior histories of drug use to examine spirituality that was assessed using two factors from a modified version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale: relationship with a higher power and satisfaction with oneself in the world. Analyses revealed that White men reported significantly higher scores on both factors than Black men. The unexpected findings are discussed in light of the existing literature that identifies the significance of spirituality in the personality and coping style of Blacks.
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky, College of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Science, Lexington, KY 40536-0086, USA.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernander
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Staton
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leukefeld
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D029181:Spirituality; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People