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Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Experiences Of Divine Grace Among Christian Friends, Kyle T. Webster
Experiences Of Divine Grace Among Christian Friends, Kyle T. Webster
Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Though topics of prayer, forgiveness, and gratitude have received attention in the psychology of religion, there is sparse literature regarding the concept of grace. This study explored how Christians who identify as Friends (Quakers) experience grace from God. Thirty interviews were conducted with Friends in the Pacific Northwest, using a standardized semistructured interview developed for a larger study of how Christians from various denominations experience grace. Four organizing themes were derived from the interview questions and then grounded theory was used to uncover associated sub-themes within each organizing theme. The organizing themes include the nature of God, the nature of …
Experiences Of Grace As Told By The Lgbtq Community, Nicholas A. Schollars
Experiences Of Grace As Told By The Lgbtq Community, Nicholas A. Schollars
Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Positive psychology has yielded rich insights about the nature of forgiveness and gratitude, but it is just beginning to broach the topic of grace. Theoretical evidence suggests grace is a crucial therapeutic factor in helping patients overcome shame, but empirical evidence is wanting. Because of the central role grace plays in Christianity, a qualitative exploration was conducted with a sample of participants identifying as either lesbian, gay, or bisexual, as well as Christian. Transcripts from 26 semi-structured interviews were coded and analyzed. Participants reported that their experiences of Divine Grace were related to their views about God’s nature. They reported …
The Obstacles To Receiving Grace In A Substance Abuse Population, Bradley Johnson
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 …
The Effects Of Grace Interventions In Church Communities, Rodger K. Bufford, Mark R. Mcminn, Jeff A. Moody, Laura Geczy-Haskins
The Effects Of Grace Interventions In Church Communities, Rodger K. Bufford, Mark R. Mcminn, Jeff A. Moody, Laura Geczy-Haskins
Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program
Grace remains little studied though several recent studies have developed promising ways to measure grace. Here we report two studies involving grace interventions as part of an ongoing investigation of positive psychology in the context of Christian church communities, Study One used a crossover design in which two congregations were measured on grace and other variables at the outset, and again after phases one and two. One congregation received a grace intervention during phase one and the second during phase two. Results showed increased scores on grace but not an expected increase in marital satisfaction among married participants. Study Two …
Dimensions Of Grace: Factor Analysis Of Three Grace Scales, Rodger K. Bufford, Timothy A. Sisemore, Amanda M. Blackburn
Dimensions Of Grace: Factor Analysis Of Three Grace Scales, Rodger K. Bufford, Timothy A. Sisemore, Amanda M. Blackburn
Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program
Measuring grace is challenging. Prior research found the Grace Scale (GS), Richmont Grace Scale (RGS), and The Amazing Grace Scale (TAGS) to be reliable, have promising convergent and divergent validity, and to inter-correlate strongly. However, they may tap different constructs, or grace may be multidimensional (Bufford, Blackburn, Sisemore, & Bassett, 2015). Here two exploratory factor analyses of the combined items showed five factors: experiencing God’s grace, costly grace, grace to self, grace from others, and grace to others, partially paralleling Watson, Chen and Sisemore (2011). Items from all three scales loaded on Factor 1, only items from the RGS loaded …