Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41919678›Full record

ArticleJournal of advanced nursing2026

Discovering the Self: A Grounded Theory of Women's Recovery From Gender-Based Religious Harm.

Beth K Schwartz, Pamela H Cone

Abstract read
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Article in Journal of advanced nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Beth K SchwartzSchool of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3132-3610
Pamela H ConeSchool of Nursing, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4127-289X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

AIM(S): This study defines adverse religious experiences (AREs), describes how these gendered harms affect women and develops a Classical Grounded Theory (CGT) model of women's recovery and inform trauma- and gender-responsive nursing practice.

designUsing the CGT design, the study explores women's lived experiences with AREs, focusing on their primary concern and the strategies they used to address it.

methodsFifteen North American women participated in open-ended, semi-structured interviews conducted between May and June 2023. Data collection and analysis occurred concurrently by using constant comparison. Theoretical saturation was reached by approximately 12 interviews and was confirmed through three additional interviews. Theoretical coding was guided by Glaser's Six Cs.

resultsThe central issue was Loss of Self, with limited agency, embodiment and autonomy due to internalised religious control. This study conceptualises AREs as a gendered determinant of health and introduces a nursing-generated explanatory model of women's recovery from religious harm. The Basic Social Process, Discovering Self, includes six cyclical phases: Living with Toxicity, Loss of Self, Recognizing Woundedness, Leaving Negativity, Seeking Restoration and Awakening to Wholeness. Analytic integration with the Six Cs showed that doctrinal rigidity, gendered hierarchies, conditional belonging, turning points and psychological, spiritual and relational consequences shaped individual recovery paths. Recovery proved a nonlinear, whole-person process spanning spiritual, physical, sexual and relational domains.

conclusionDiscovering Self offers the first explanatory model of women's recovery from religious harm, identifying mechanisms of oppression and pathways for reclaiming agency, embodiment and voice. IMPACT: This study provides a roadmap for trauma- and gender-responsive nursing care, education and policy. The findings align with global priorities in health and gender equality. REPORTING

methodThis study followed the SRQR guidelines and used CGT methodology. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patients or the public were not involved in the study.

Indexed as

ReligionAdultAgedFemaleGrounded TheoryHumansMiddle Agedadverse religious experiencesembodimentgender equitygrounded theoryhealingnursingreligious traumasocial determinants of healthtraumawomen's health

Identifiers

PMID41919678
PMCPMC13661772

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