RT Journal
A1 Phelps AC, Maciejewski PK, Prigerson HG
T1 REligious coping and life-prolonging care—reply
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 2009
FD July 15
VO 302
IS 3
SP 257
OP 258
DO 10.1001/jama.2009.1005
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.1005
AB 
In Reply: Dr van Laarhoven and colleagues note that the association we reported between positive religious coping and receipt of intensive life-prolonging care may not be generalizable to non-Christian populations. It is true that many items in the RCOPE1 and Brief RCOPE2 questionnaires presuppose faith in a relational God (eg, “I tried to see how God might be trying to strengthen me in this situation.”). It is also correct that these surveys were validated among predominantly Christian patient samples. Because only 11.6% of participants in the Coping with Cancer study did not endorse a Christian religious affiliation, the Brief RCOPE was a well-suited measurement of religious coping in this sample. We agree that patients who adhere to nonpersonal views of God may have differing attitudes toward death and end-of-life care.