Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Interfaith Sex Education, Bailey Lewis

Honors College

Sacred Sexuality explores the intersections of religion and sexuality. I worked with Dr. Birthisel, Director of the Wilson Center, and Kate Dawson, co-facilitator of the sex education class, to survey the sex education class participants on how the experience has been for them. I surveyed the sex education class participants after the class to analyze their opinions of the sex education class, interfaith dialogue, and how their spirituality or religious perspectives inform their beliefs around sexuality. Overall, the sex education class was highly recommended and gave an interesting look into how faith and sexuality interact. While the sex education class …

Perspectives Of Choice And Control In Daily Life For People Following Brain Injury: A Qualitative Systematic Review And Meta-Synthesis, Carolyn M. Murray, Scott Weeks, Gisela Van Kessel, Michelle Guerin, Emma Watkins, Shylie Mackintosh, Caroline Fryer, Susan Hillier, Mandy Stanley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background and Objective: Acquired brain injury (ABI) can result in considerable life changes. Having choice and control over daily life is valued by people following ABI. This meta-synthesis will analyse and integrate international research exploring perspectives of choice and control in daily life following ABI. Methods: Databases were searched from 1980 to 13 January 2022 for eligible qualitative studies. After duplicates were removed, 22,768 studies were screened by title and abstract, and 241 studies received full-text assessment with 56 studies included after pearling. Study characteristics and findings were extracted that related to personal perspectives on choice and control by people …

The Origins Of Religious Disbelief: A Dual Inheritance Approach, Will M. Gervais, Maxine B. Najle, Nava Caluori

Psychology Graduate Research

Widespread religious disbelief represents a key testing ground for theories of religion. We evaluated the predictions of three prominent theoretical approaches—secularization, cognitive byproduct, and dual inheritance—in a nationally representative (United States, N = 1,417) data set with preregistered analyses and found considerable support for the dual inheritance perspective. Of key predictors of religious disbelief, witnessing fewer credible cultural cues of religious commitment was the most potent, β = .28, followed distantly by reflective cognitive style, β = .13, and less advanced mentalizing, β = .05. Low cultural exposure predicted about 90% higher odds of atheism than did peak cognitive reflection, …

An Assessment Of Therapist Attitudes Toward Polyamorous People, Chelsea V. Randall

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Polyamorous people can encounter unique negative experiences in psychotherapy. Western culture perpetuates the ideal of romantic and sexual exclusivity between two people through monogamy as the dominant social norm, to the extent that nonmonogamous relationships are considered abnormal or othered. Polyamorous people have reported experiencing such biases from therapists, resulting in being pathologized, inaccurately labeled as infidelitous, and spending excessive treatment time providing education on polyamory. Research on the therapist’s contribution to polyamorous clients’ negative experiences is lacking, which limits suggestions for affirmative practices and the rationale from which to implement them. The current study sought to directly survey therapists’ …

Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Adults’ Experiences With Supportive Religious Groups, Rachel Grossman

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative research study was designed to explore lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults’ views about how being a member of supportive and affirming religious places of worship and social groups influenced their self-acceptance, as well as their ability to integrate their religious and sexual minority identities. In this study, six in-person interviews were completed with participants who (a) were 18-24 years old; (b) identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual; (c) were members of supportive Jewish and Christian religious groups; and (d) identified as cisgender. The data from the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis to tell cohesive stories …

The Religious And Philosophical Characteristics In A Consensually Nonmonogamous Sample, Akhila E. A. Kolesar, Seth T. Pardo

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

Consensual nonmonogamy refers to the variety of ways people partner romantically and/or sexually with multiple others. This study examined the spiritual identities of people who self-identify as consensually and openly partnered with more than one person, as well as if and how these identities changed since childhood. Moreover, to deepen previous transpersonal research that investigated how nonmonogamous paradigms of loving contribute to spiritual development, the study also examined between group differences of whether nonmonogamous sexual behavior and spirituality are emotionally linked. Data were gathered from 484 participants; they were mostly college-educated, Caucasian, bisexual women in their 30s, who were raised …

Consumers, Clergy, And Clinicians In Collaboration: Ongoing Implementation And Evaluation Of A Mental Wellness Program, Glen Milstein, Dennis Middel, Adriana Espinosa

Publications and Research

As a foundation of most cultures, with roots in persons’ early development, religion can be a source of hope as well as denigration. Some religious institutions have made attempts to help persons with mental health problems, and some mental health professionals have sought to engage religion resources. These programs have rarely been sustained. In 2008, the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD) developed a program to assess the utility of religion resources within mental health care. In response to positive feedback, MHCD appointed a director of Faith and Spiritual Wellness who facilitates community outreach to faith communities and spiritual integration …

Religion And Well-Being: Differences By Identity And Practice, Marium H. Ibrahim

Psychology Honors Projects

Religion is often related to greater psychological well-being in college students (Burris et al., 2009). However, across studies, researchers have conceptualized “religion” in different ways. Despite the fact that religious identity and practice tend to be related, these aspects of religion may be differentially related to well-being (Lopez, Huynh & Fuligni, 2011). In addition, the relationship between religion and well-being may differ based on societal factors such as race and gender (Diener, Tay & Myers, 2011). In this study, 157 undergraduate students completed measures of religious identity, religious practice, public regard (the extent to which people feel that their race …

Sexual Minority Stigma And System Justification Theory: How Changing The Status Quo Impacts Marriage And Housing Equality, Jordan A. Blenner

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sexual minorities (i.e. lesbians and gay men) experience systemic discrimination throughout the United States. Prior to the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), in many states, same-sex couples could not marry and sexual minorities were not protected from sexual orientation housing discrimination (Human Rights Campaign, 2015). The current, two-experiment study applied Jost and Banaji’s (1994) System Justification Theory to marriage and housing discrimination. When sexual minorities question dissimilar treatment, thereby threatening the status quo, members of the heterosexual majority rationalize sexual minority discrimination to maintain their dominant status (Alexander, 2001; Brescoll, Uhlmann, & Newman, 2013; Citizens for Equal …

Efficacy Of A Sexual Assault Resistance Program For University Women, Charlene Y. Senn, Misha Eliasziw, Paula C. Barata, Wilfreda E. Thurston, Ian R. Newby-Clark, H. Lorraine Radtke, Karen L. Hobden

Psychology Publications

Background

Young women attending university are at substantial risk for being sexually assaulted, primarily by male acquaintances, but effective strategies to reduce this risk remain elusive.

Methods

We randomly assigned first-year female students at three universities in Canada to the Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance program (resistance group) or to a session providing access to brochures on sexual assault, as was common university practice (control group). The resistance program consists of four 3-hour units in which information is provided and skills are taught and practiced, with the goal of being able to assess risk from acquaintances, overcome emotional …

The Unspoken Truth: A Practical Guide For Pastors, Helping Abusers Break The Cycle Of Sexual Abuse, Teresa Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

For years, men, women and children have suffered silently as a result of sexual abuse. The abuser suffers and the cycle continues. Destroying the silence of sexual abuse is the beginning of breaking the cycle. Research has shown that the abuse goes far beyond the actual act and causes physical, emotional, and psychological damage. This project will investigate and encourage open discussion, address the abuse, and give valuable insight to the causes and consequences of sexual abuse. This project will offer prescriptive and preventative measures to all parties involved, in an effort to heal and stop sexual abuse. Through research …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Koru: A Mindfulness Program For College Students And Other Emerging Adults., Jeffrey M Greeson, Michael K Juberg, Margaret Maytan, Kiera James, Holly Rogers

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of Koru, a mindfulness training program for college students and other emerging adults.

PARTICIPANTS: Ninety students (66% female, 62% white, 71% graduate students) participated between Fall 2012 and Spring 2013.

METHODS: Randomized controlled trial. It was hypothesized that Koru, compared with a wait-list control group, would reduce perceived stress and sleep problems, and increase mindfulness, self-compassion, and gratitude.

RESULTS: As hypothesized, results showed significant Group (Koru, Wait-List)×Time (Pre, Post) interactions for improvements in perceived stress (F[1, 76.40]=4.50, p=.037, d=.45), sleep problems (F [1, 79.49]=4.71, p=.033, d=.52), mindfulness (F [1, 79.09]=26.80, p

CONCLUSIONS: Results support the …

Decreased Symptoms Of Depression After Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: Potential Moderating Effects Of Religiosity, Spirituality, Trait Mindfulness, Sex, And Age, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Moria J. Smoski, Edward C. Suarez, Jeffrey G. Brantley, Andrew G. Ekblad, Thomas R. Lynch, Ruth Quillian Wolever

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Objective: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a secular meditation training program that reduces depressive symptoms. Little is known, however, about the degree to which a participant's spiritual and religious background, or other demographic characteristics associated with risk for depression, may affect the effectiveness of MBSR. Therefore, this study tested whether individual differences in religiosity, spirituality, motivation for spiritual growth, trait mindfulness, sex, and age affect MBSR effectiveness.

Methods: As part of an open trial, multiple regression was used to analyze variation in depressive symptom outcomes among 322 adults who enrolled in an 8-week, community-based MBSR program.

Results: As hypothesized, depressive …

Marriage Equality: Media Coverage And Public Opinion, Amanda Studley

Senior Honors Projects

The struggle for equality is nothing new in this country. Every minority group has faced it’s own hardships when trying to advocate for the advancement of their people. One of the most recent struggles has involved the LGBT community and their pursuit of equal marriage laws nationally. Currently the campaign for marriage equality has had success in nine states and the District of Columbia, each of which now grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. However, thirty states have enacted constitutional bans on same-sex marriage (NCLS 2013). Currently 49% of the population endorses full and equal marriage rights for same sex …

The Relationship Between Essentialism, Religious Beliefs, And Views Of Change, Keshia Porter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this study, the relationship between essentialism, religious beliefs, and views of change was investigated. Participants were given surveys containing three sets of items and a demographic questionnaire. Item sets included the Intrinsic/Extrinsic-Revised Scale of Religiosity, the Essentialist Belief Scales, and the Change Vignettes. Results indicated those with gradualist religious views were not more likely to endorse essentialist views when compared to those with conversionist views. Those who essentialized at high levels were not less likely to endorse the possibility of change in comparison to those who essentialized at lower levels. Participants with high levels of extrinsic religiosity were not …

Sexuality Education, Eva Goldfarb, Norman A. Constantine

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Sexuality education comprises the lifelong intentional processes by which people learn about themselves and others as sexual, gendered beings from biological, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives. It takes place through a potentially wide range of programs and activities in schools, community settings, religious centers, as well as informally within families, among peers, and through electronic and other media. Sexuality education for adolescents occurs in the context of the biological, cognitive, and social-emotional developmental progressions and issues of adolescence. Formal sexuality education falls into two main categories: behavior change approaches, which are represented by abstinence-only and abstinence-plus models, and healthy sexual development …

Changes In Spirituality Partly Explain Health-Related Quality Of Life Outcomes After Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction., Jeffrey M Greeson, Daniel M Webber, Moria J Smoski, Jeffrey G Brantley, Andrew G Ekblad, Edward C Suarez, Ruth Quillian Wolever

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a secular behavioral medicine program that has roots in meditative spiritual practices. Thus, spirituality may partly explain Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction outcomes. Participants (N = 279; M (SD) age = 45(12); 75% women) completed an online survey before and after an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that, following Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, the relationship between enhanced mindfulness and improved health-related quality of life is mediated by increased daily spiritual experiences. Changes in both spirituality and mindfulness were significantly related to improvement in mental health. Although the initial mediation hypothesis …

Religious And Non-Religious Spirituality In Relation To Death Acceptance Or Rejection, Victor G. Cicirelli

Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications

Meanings of religious and non-religious spirituality are explored, with implications for death acceptance, death rejection, and life extension. In the first of two exploratory studies, 16 elders low on intrinsic religiosity were compared with 116 elders high in religiosity; they differed both in qualitative responses and on death attitudes. In the second, 48 elders were assessed on religious and non-religious spirituality, and compared on attitudes toward death rejection, life extension, and death acceptance. Conclusions were that a sizable minority of elders hold non-religious spirituality beliefs, and these beliefs are related to greater acceptance of life extension and death rejection.

Elders’ Attitudes Toward Extending The Healthy Life Span, Victor G. Cicirelli

Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications

Despite continuing debate between anti-aging researchers seeking major life span extension and concerned gerontologists and bioethicists, elders’ views have received little research attention. Study aimed to relate elders’ attitudes toward strong life span extension to psychosocial and background factors. Participants were 109 American elders (65% women) aged 60-99 (M = 77.08, SD = 9.05). Measures included attitudes toward living long and living forever, Desired Age, Death Acceptance, Goal Seeking, Internality, and background variables (age, gender, marital status, education, religion, health). Attitudes were more positive toward an extended life span than living forever (p < .01). In regression analyses, more positive attitudes were related to greater Desired Age, less Death Acceptance, greater Goal Seeking, and greater Internality, and to lower age and non-Christian religious affiliation. Qualitative analyses explored goals for various periods of additional life. Elders’ positive attitudes toward extended life need consideration by experts debating this issue.

Walking In Two Worlds: Living An Animistic Spiritual Worldview In The Western United States, Joanne Dorpat Halverson

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

An abundance of culturally derived ideological influences inform our lives. The dominant culture exerts a powerful influence on understandings of reality. For some people, their spiritual way of being in the world deviates from cultural norms. In this qualitative study I sought to understand the lived experience of people who hold an animistic spiritual worldview and yet function well within society. They walk in two worlds. The research design employed both phenomenological and heuristic methods. To understand the socio-cultural-historical context of the study a lengthy background was provided. Six individuals who self-identified as adhering to animistic spirituality living on the …

Psychological Care For Persons Of Diverse Religions: A Collaborative Continuum, Glen Milstein, Anne Marie Yali

Publications and Research

The purpose of this paper is to describe to psychologists and other clinicians a continuum of mental health care for persons of diverse religions. The continuum delineates boundaries between clinical care provided by mental health professionals and religious care provided by clergy, as well as describes pathways of collaboration across these boundaries. A prevention science based model of Clergy Outreach and Professional Engagement (COPE) is offered to guide this collaboration. The model describes a continuum that moves from the care already present in religious communities, through professional clinical care provided in response to dysfunction and returns persons to their own …

The Importance Of Exercise And Dimension Factors In Assessment Centers: Simultaneous Examinations Of Construct-Related And Criterion-Related Validity, Filip Lievens, Stephan Dilchert, Deniz S. Ones

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study presents a simultaneous examination of multiple evidential bases of the validity of assessment center (AC) ratings. In particular, we combine both construct-related and criterion-related validation strategies in the same sample to determine the relative importance of exercises and dimensions. We examine the underlying structure of ACs in terms of exercise and dimension factors while directly linking these factors to a work-related criterion (salary). Results from an AC (N = 753) showed that exercise factors not only explained more variance in AC ratings than dimension factors but also were more important in predicting salary. Dimension factors explained a smaller …

Interviewing Al-Qaeda-Related Subjects: A Law Enforcement Perspective, Michael Gelles, Robert Mcfadden, Randy Borum, Bryan Vossekuil

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Addressing Religion And Spirituality In Psychotherapy: Clients' Perspectives, Sarah Knox, Lynn A. Catlin, Margaret Casper, Lewis Z. Schlosser

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Twelve adult clients described the role of religion and spirituality in their lives and in therapy as a whole, as well as their specific experiences of discussing religious-spiritual topics in individual outpatient psychotherapy with nonreligiously affiliated therapists. Data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Results indicated that clients were regularly involved in religious-spiritual activities, usually did not know the religious-spiritual orientation of their therapists, but often found them open to such discussions. Specific helpful discussions of religion-spirituality were often begun by clients in the 1st year of therapy, were related to clients' presenting concerns, …

Ethnography In Counseling Psychology Research: Possibilities For Application., Muninder Kaur Ahluwalia, Lisa A. Suzuki, Jacqueline S. Mattis, Cherubim A. Quizon

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

The emphasis placed on prolonged engagement, fieldwork, and participant observation has prevented the wide-scale use of ethnography in counseling psychology. This article provides a discussion of ethnography in terms of definition, process, and potential ethical dilemmas. The authors propose that ethnographically informed methods can enhance counseling psychology research conducted with multicultural communities and provide better avenues toward a contextual understanding of diversity as it relates to professional inquiry. (APA PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Devotion To Tibetan Lamas, Self Psychology, And Healing In The United States, Daniel S. Capper

Faculty Publications

This essay offers an alternative, self psychological model for understanding the possible healing dynamics of the guru-disciple relationship. Previous psychological studies often have interpreted the devotion of Americans to Eastern gurus as inherently enriching pathology for the disciple, yet this understanding does not helpfully explicate much data derived from more than two years of ethnographic fieldwork at a Tibetan Buddhist center in the United States. Instead, re-exploration of the dynamics of the transference and the vicissitudes of Buddhist practice for disciples reveals positive healing processes for some disciples as a result of guru devotion practice.

Factors Affecting Clergy-Psychologist Referral Patterns, Mark R. Mcminn, Steven J. Runner, Jennifer A. Fairchild, Joshua D. Lefler, Rachel P. Suntay

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Recent research on clergy-psychologist collaboration has resulted in helpful principles for clergy and psychologists working together, but very little is known about what specific characteristics in clergy are appealing to psychologists and vice versa. Two experimental survey studies are reported, both exploring characteristics that enhance or hinder collaboration. In Study 1, Southern Baptist pastors rated the likelihood of referring to a counselor who was identified as either a Biblical Counselor or a Christian Psychologist, and was identified as either being excellent in interpersonal skills or as using scripture and prayer in counseling. Pastors demonstrated a preference for counselors using scripture …

Older Lesbian Perspectives On “Marriage” And “Same-Sex Marriage”, Jean Powell

Academic History

No abstract provided.

Humanistic Psychology And Christian Thought: A Comparative Analysis, Doreen J. Dodgen, Mark R. Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

The relationship between psychological humanism and Christian thought is explored and critically evaluated. Three tenets of humanistic psychology are considered from a Christian perspective. Areas of compatibility include emphases on human experience, social justice, personal responsibility, and dignity of humankind. Areas with less compatibility include different assumptions about supernaturalism, and a qualified view of the goodness ofhwnan nature from a Christian perspective.

Internal Versus External Locus Of Control & Religious Preference, Thomas Mcgloshen Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Members of adult Sunday School classes from seven churches in Bowling Green, Kentucky, were administered Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. The seven churches were also ranked by ministers on a continuum of doctrinal closedness-openness. The hypothesis stated that there would be a difference among churches according to mean internal-external control scores. It was also hypothesized that the members of the more doctrinally closed churches would tend to score as more externally controlled. Analysis of covariance indicated that the churches did differ significantly on the internal-external control scale but the doctrinally closed churches tended to be more internal than the …