AbstractsPsychology

Transgression has been a focus within the psychological community for many years, with special focus on moral transgressions as a type of spiritual struggle. Recent research has placed an emphasis on another spiritual struggle, anger toward God, which appears is often associated with blaming God for a negative life event. The present study explored the relationship between these two struggles. In the context of a web-based survey, undergraduates (N=138) reflected upon an instance of personal moral transgression and then completed a series of questionnaires assessing attitudes and beliefs in the context of transgression. Consistent with hypotheses, the extent to which individuals viewed their transgressions as arising from dispositional or trait-like qualities robustly predicted negative evaluations of God. This association demonstrates a previously unexplored link between two forms of spiritual struggle and provides insight into the manner in which spiritual struggles interact.