Do Mind-Body Practices Moderate the Link Between Childhood Abuse and Spiritual Struggle? Results from the Study on Stress, Spirituality and Health

Childhood abuse is associated with adverse psychological outcomes, including spiritual struggle. As such, it is important to identify factors that modify the link between childhood abuse and spiritual struggle. The aim of this study is to test whether regular yoga or meditation practice buffers the impact of childhood abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional) on spiritual struggle in adulthood across three racially/ethnically distinct cohorts sampled in the Study on Stress, Spirituality, and Health (SSSH). This analysis includes 827 South Asian participants recruited to the SSSH from the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America Study, 914 Hispanic/Latino participants recruited from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, and 3683 White participants recruited to the SSSH from the Nurses’ Health Study II. Generalized linear regressions were used to test whether regular engagement in yoga or meditation moderated associations between childhood abuse and spiritual struggle in adulthood in each of the three racial/ethnic groups. Regular yoga practice significantly moderated associations between emotional abuse and spiritual struggle in Hispanic/Latino participants, and physical abuse and spiritual struggle in White participants (ps < .05). Regular yoga practice did not have a moderating effect among South Asian participants. No moderations were observed for regular meditation practice. Overall, our results suggest that regular yoga, but not meditation, holds promise for mitigating the impact of childhood abuse on spiritual struggle. Future trials are needed to rigorously test whether, how, for whom, and in what context yoga interventions may help to mitigate spiritual struggle.