RESILIENCE AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL: A QUANTITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS, SPIRITUAL COPING, AND INFLAMMATORY MARKERS OF BIOLOGICAL AGING

Chronic psychological stress accelerates biological aging through inflammatory pathways, contributing to a state of persistent, low-grade inflammation known as inflammaging. While psychoneuroimmunological research has extensively documented the stress-inflammation relationship, limited attention has been given to factors that may buffer these effects at the cellular level. Spiritual coping—the use of religious or spiritual beliefs and practices to manage stress—represents a potentially important but understudied protective factor. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine whether spiritual coping moderates the relationship between perceived psychological stress and inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein [CRP] and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) in a sample of 235 adults aged 30–65 years from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Biomarker Project. Guided by the Quantum Psychoneuroimmunotheology (QPNIT) theoretical framework, this study employed hierarchical moderated regression analyses controlling for age, sex, body mass index, education, and chronic health conditions. Results provided strong support for the stress-inflammation relationship: perceived stress was significantly positively associated with both CRP (r = .367, p < .001) and IL-6 (r = .246, p < .001). The stress-buffering hypothesis received only partial support, as positive spiritual coping showed a marginally significant interaction with stress for CRP (p = .084), though the pattern was contrary to predictions. Negative spiritual coping did not moderate the stress-inflammation relationship. Notably, positive spiritual coping demonstrated a significant direct protective association with lower CRP (β = -.15, p = .009), while negative spiritual coping was directly associated with higher inflammation. These findings advance understanding of the complex interplay between psychological, spiritual, and biological dimensions of health, suggesting that spiritual coping may influence inflammation through direct pathways rather than stress-buffering mechanisms. Implications for integrative health interventions and future research directions are discussed. Keywords: perceived stress, spiritual coping, inflammation, biological aging, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, psychoneuroimmunology, MIDUS