title: Do patients with chronic pain diseases believe in guardian angels: even in a secular society? A cross-sectional study among German patients with chronic diseases.
abstract: We intended to analyze whether patients with chronic diseases believe in guardian angels (GdA) as a coping resource. In a cross-sectional survey, we analyzed data from 576 German patients with chronic diseases (mean age 51.3 ± 15.4 years). We found that 56 % of the patients often or even regularly believed in GdA, with significantly more women than men believing. Particularly interesting was the fact that 38 % of patients who were identified as neither religious nor spiritual (R-S-) believed in GdAs. This belief may indicate that patients are interested in bridging the gap between the concrete struggle to manage illness and non-rational/transcendent realms.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4, 58313, Herdecke, Germany, arndt.buessing@uni-wh.de.
authors.forename: Arndt
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Büssing
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Reiser
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michalsen
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zahn
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baumann
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D065026:Hope; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012067:Religion; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D035621:Secularism; D012737:Sex Factors; D029181:Spirituality