Although religion and spirituality are understood as multidimensional resources in times of stress, less is known about the culturally relevant concept of spirit in African psychology. Eighteen African American college students completed written open-ended questionnaires about how—in relation to religion and spirituality—they define and use spirit in response to stress. Qualitative constant comparison analysis of the data yielded themes defining spirit and its responses to stress. The definition of spirit can be described distinctly as energy, while it overlaps with religion and spirituality as a connection with or a search for God. Spirit also overlaps with religion as faith and spirituality as a feeling/sense/guiding consciousness or inner thought within oneself, and soul. Themes for the use of spirit in response to stress were supportive of optimal functioning and include (a) thoughts of asking God for help, (b) prayer, (c) positive emotions, (d) self-affirming thoughts, and (e) productive activity. The findings are discussed regarding spirit as a distinct yet overlapping concept with religion and spirituality that has implications for research and practice within African psychology.

尽管宗教和灵性在压力时期被理解为多维资源，但对非洲心理学中与文化相关的精神概念知之甚少。十八名非裔美国大学生完成了关于宗教和灵性方面的书面开放式问卷调查，他们如何定义和使用精神来应对压力。数据的定性不断比较分析产生了定义精神及其对压力反应的主题。精神的定义可以明确地描述为能量，而它与宗教和灵性重叠，作为与上帝的联系或寻求。精神也与作为信仰和灵性的宗教重叠自我内心的感觉/感觉/指导意识或内在思想和灵魂。使用精神应对压力的主题支持最佳功能，包括 (a) 寻求上帝帮助的想法，(b) 祈祷，(c) 积极情绪，(d) 自我肯定的想法，以及 (e)生产活动。讨论的发现将精神视为与宗教和灵性截然不同但又重叠的概念，对非洲心理学的研究和实践产生了影响。