Psychology Commons^™

Sexual Attitudes & Shame: Catholic Women’S Perspectives, Colleen Conklin

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Guilt, particularly around sexuality, is a concept commonly associated with those who practice Catholicism. Additionally, women in the United States (US) often navigate many mixed messages surrounding sexuality. Women who are raised in religious traditions that hold strong messages about the importance of one’s sexuality and its expression may have a particularly complicated relationship with their body and sexual experiences. Nonconsensual sexual experiences also further complicate one’s self image and self-esteem. The purpose of this study is to examine the potential correlations between one’s level of religiosity, shame, and sexual attitudes. These themes were investigated through the implementation of a …

Program Evaluation Of Integration Training, Megan Anna Neff

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

This paper provides a brief historical overview of the integration of psychology and Christianity while highlighting some of the growing tensions within the movement. Integration of psychology and Christianity has been heavily influenced by training that occurs at APAaccredited programs which explicitly integrate psychology and Christianity as part of their training, making integrative training a salient component to evaluate when considering the future development of the integration movement. An overview of the current research on the effectiveness of learning integration among undergraduate and graduate populations is offered followed by exploratory questions addressing how these inputs may relate to students’ experiences …

Religion And Spirituality In Clinical Practice: An Exploration Of Reluctance Among Practitioners., David Drew, Jessica Banks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Across the United States, an overwhelming majority of the population claim that religion and spirituality beliefs shape their worldview and assist in coping with life stressors. Yet, the literature has shown that mental health practitioners reported discomfort integrating religion and spiritually in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to explore whether license-holding mental health professionals in Southern California develop reluctance toward addressing religion/spirituality with their clients. Through snowball sampling, 52 clinicians composed of social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists were recruited across Southern California (N =52). The participants were measured descriptively based on …

Dmt And “The Man Box:” Provoking Change And Encouraging Authentic Living, An Arts-Based Project, Steven Reynolds

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the mind-body experience through an arts-based research approach to examine, and redefine the emotional capacity and usefulness of males through societal determinants that limits and hinders men from living their authentic selves. Through the lens of a metaphoric “Man Box” 112 men participated in a workshop recreating their personal narratives of socialization through, style of dress, coping mechanisms, belief systems and who they should be as men through society's standards. In the “Man Box,” male bonding, and emotional feelings are discouraged, while the objectification of women, material property and physical/emotional strength are encouraged. This research investigates the …

Transformational Relationships: Re-Framing Impact In Faith-Based Social Service Organizations, Sonja E. Schappert

Master's Projects and Capstones

Theories of change and logic models are the industry standard foundation for impact evaluation. However, half of all nonprofits do not use these models due to resource constraints or the perception that their work does not fit into a model. This is especially true in relationship-based programs, such as those in faith-based social services. This Capstone examines the influence of relationship theory on a faith-based organization’s impact. The research methodology included deductive, action-based research with a foundational literature review focused on nonprofit planning and evaluation theory and social science theory. Then a total of 6 expert interviews were conducted, 3 …

Psychopathic Personality Traits In Students Entering Helping Professions, Sarah E. Gallup

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Psychopathy is often misrepresented as a sign of criminality and deviance. However, current literature suggests that psychopaths make up approximately one-fifth of the general population. Some people use these characterological traits to their benefit in positions of leadership. In this study, students from a Christian university in the Pacific Northwest were selected to participate in a survey, based upon their chosen major (Business, Psychology, and Religion). It was hypothesized that Business students would have the highest total levels of psychopathy and religion majors would show the lowest levels of psychopathy. Since religion often serves as a protective factor, it is …

The Relationship Between Religious Background Of Those Who Disaffiliate From Religion And Presence Of Anxiety, Timothy B. Sellers

Honors College Theses

Religion plays a significant role in the personality and worldview of a many individuals. It can provide one with personal benefits such as coping mechanisms, a framework for meaning-making, and a source of motivation, while also providing social support through connections with others having the same religious beliefs. The removal of said benefits through disaffiliation from a religious identity may lead to distress or anxiety. While much research has been done sociologically regarding the increasing number of people who do not affiliate with a religious group, much less has been done to analyze the individual experience of religious disaffiliation and …

Engaging Sacred Space And Experiencing God In The Mountains: A Study Of The Non-Traditional Worship Environment Of Mountain Cathedrals, An Ecumenical Meetup Group Based In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Brendan Isaiah Nixon

Geography ETDs

This paper focuses on the non-traditional Christian worship site of Mountain Cathedrals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I argue that affectual and emotional responses are elicited from the congregants of Mountain Cathedrals through the process of sacralization. It is shown that Christian worship in a non-traditional outdoor setting affects the ways in which the congregants engage with, participate in, and create sacred space. I survey current literatures of sacred space, the contemporary Christian church, and non-traditional worships spaces. Using the literature as a backdrop, I utilize Mountain Cathedrals as a case study for understanding the ways in which sacred space is …

The Connection Between Lead Pastors' Enneagram Personality Type And Congregational Size, Jeremy David Johnson

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This study examines the relationship between the Enneagram profile of a lead pastor and the size of congregation. This study is motivated by the research question, “Do lead pastors of Protestant

megachurches in the United States tend to share commonalities in their Enneagram personality types?” Previous research indicates that personality plays a role in the impact of a pastor, but to date, no systematic investigation has explored the connection between the Enneagram profile of the leader and the size of the congregation. Using a sample of 58 megachurch pastors and 56 non-megachurch pastors, the Enneagram type of each pastor was …

The Relationship Between Self-Compassion, Religion, Gender, And Objectified Body Consciousness In Christian Nazarene Women, Arielle R. A. Marston

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Body shame and objectification of the female body are well known contributing factors in physical and mental health issues including high stress, eating disorder symptomatology, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Religion plays a role in body shame and female objectification through both scripture and theological writings although this relationship remains inconclusive. Self-Compassion has been found to be a mitigating factor with regard to body shame in college and caregiver contexts. The Church of the Nazarene promotes itself as supporting female leadership and roles within the church. Since religion and gender roles seem to play a role in body shame and …

The Obstacles To Receiving Grace In A Substance Abuse Population, Bradley Johnson

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Grace has been important throughout the history of Christianity, and it is also relevant in the contemporary positive psychology movement. Nonetheless, the construct of grace has been left relatively unexplored through theoretical or empirical investigation in the social sciences. The few psychological explorations of grace found in the current literature can be roughly divided into four categories: advocating for grace, theoretical development, measuring grace, and empirical studies of grace. The current study examined the obstacles to grace experienced by patients in a substance abuse recovery program. Seven obstacles were first identified by a group of 25 participants through the use …

Lowering The Anxiety Level Of The Participants Of The First Baptist Church, Morganton, Nc, Tyler P. Roach

Doctor of Ministry Projects

This project was developed for the purpose of lowering the anxiety level of the participants of the First Baptist Church, Morganton, NC. It will be accomplished by providing a baseline awareness of their anxiety level and introducing tools to bring their baseline down. The tools used were Bible stories, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Family Systems Theory, and centering prayer. The tools were presented in the form of a Friday night and Saturday morning retreat. Data was collected in three different ways. The Beck Anxiety Inventory was used during the retreat to track baseline anxiety. An essay questionnaire was given a month …

Relationship Between Spirituality And Perceived Social Support With Success In Alcoholics Anonymous, Mala Sita Hosmane

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure in treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) leads to continued addiction, but practitioners need to learn which factors predict better outcomes in AA to make better referrals. Here, the predictive relationship between spirituality and perceived social support with success in AA was examined based on Frankl's theory on meaning in life. A quantitative, correlational design was used to determine whether there was a statistically significant predictive relationship between spirituality, as measured by the Assessment of Spirituality and Religious Sentiments, and perceived social support, as measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, with success in AA, as measured by …

Millennials Leaving Religion: A Transcendental Phenomenological Research Study On Religious Disaffiliation, Elizabeth Ann Rainwater

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Religious disaffiliation among Millennials has increased significantly in the past decade alongside rapidly changing social relationships amplified by social media applications. In the United States, many Millennials claim no religious identity with many leaving their religion for a variety of reasons. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of religiously disaffiliated Millennials regarding their psychological health and well-being. Self-determination theory fulfilled the theoretical framework for examining the lived experiences of young adults regarding their well-being after religious disaffiliation. A purposive sample of 12 male and female religiously disaffiliated Millennials was recruited for semistructured interviews. …

African American Christian Senior Pastor's Beliefs About Mental Health Treatment, Trinaa L. Copeland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the African American community, the Black Church and its clergy have served as gatekeepers to formal mental health treatment. Little is known about the beliefs of African American Christian senior pastors about mental health treatment and their personal views influencing their counsel to congregants seeking support through the church. This transcendental phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of African American Christian senior pastors in relation to how they understand mental health treatment and provide it to their congregants. The research questions explored three areas: (a) the senior pastors' experiences in rendering mental health treatment, (b) the senior pastors' personal …

The Influence Of Spiritual And Emotional Intelligence On Romantic Relationships Of African Americans, Wanda Raquel Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of religion-based spirituality was examined as a factor in strengthening and increasing emotional intelligence and regulation, facilitating relationship choices and maintenance, and as a key factor in the decision-making process of dating and partner selection among African Americans. The theoretical framework for this study included Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, on which both theories of spiritual and emotional intelligence stand, and Bowlby's theory of attachment. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyze relationships between spiritual and emotional intelligences and attachment styles among African American adults. In a criterion-based purposeful sample of 98 African American participants aged 27 …

Strong Black Women, Depression, And The Pentecostal Church, Dawn E. Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Depression is a global health concern and among the top two causes of disability

and disease. African-Americans often seek help from the Black church, but

Pentecostal churches may fail to provide effective support due to doctrinal beliefs.

African-American women with depression struggle due to psychosocial implications

of the diagnosis. This research study used social constructionism and the

biopsychosocial model of health to explore the lived experiences of African-

American women suffering from self-reported depression while attending

Pentecostal churches in the Northeast United States. Fourteen women, ages

20 to 76, participated in this qualitative, phenomenological study. Data obtained

from the semistructured, …

The Relationship Of Spirituality, Religiosity And Attitudes Toward Lesbians And Gay Men Among Students At A Faith-Based Institution, Megan C. Cormier Castaneda

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Research indicates heterosexual students at faith-based universities often hold negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. The factors that can influence these attitudes are complex. This study examines the relationship between attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women, religiosity and spirituality in students who are enrolled in a faith-based institution. A correlation was run to examine the relationship between these variables along with further statistical analyses to gather more information. There is a small positive relationship between higher levels of spirituality and positive attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. There is a medium positive relationship between high levels of …

Beneficial Mourning By Inmates Who Have Lost A Significant Person, James Bradley Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Incarceration is already replete with loss before someone of significance to an inmate dies. The prison environment challenges every aspect of grieving, and failing to effectively mourn pathologizes grief, reduces quality of living, and results in behaviours that cause recidivism. It is a poignant interaction between this researcher in his role as a chaplain and a particular inmate that provides the impetus for this study. This study begins with a qualitative meta-synthesis that examined 10 qualitative articles and dissertations published over the last 30 years to explore how some inmates manage to effectively grieve the loss of a significant person. …

The Quest Of Vision: Visual Culture, Sacred Space, Ritual, And The Documentation Of Lived Experience Through Rock Imagery, Aaron Robert Atencio

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This document will approach the multifaceted concepts that arise through the study of rock art and the cultivation of culture and belief through vision. Through this document the audience will encounter conceptual ideas regarding belief systems, ritual, experience, cognition, sacredness, and space/landscape — and how these are all essential dynamics that take place in the processes that cultivate the Shoshone visual culture. This document will employ an anthropological lens on the mentioned subject matters, while also approaching these concepts with an interdisciplinary curiosity of how they intermingle; creating a cohesive experience that focuses on these processes which empowered these people[s] …