Psychology Commons^™

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 …

Influences On Father Involvement: Testing For Unique Contributions Of Religion And Spirituality, Mark Lynn

Dissertations (1934 -)

The role of the father in children's development historically has been neglected. Studies examining family processes were primarily limited to mothers, under the assumption that mothers' influences encapsulated what (little) effects could also be attributed to the father. Although theory and research have begun to address fathers' roles in families in earnest, there is still much work to be done, particularly in regard to understanding the determinants of father involvement. One direction that has received attention from researchers is towards a conceptualization of environmental and contextual influences on fathers' interactions with their families. The goal of this study was to …

A Naturalistic Study Of The Associations Between Changes In Alcohol Problems, Spiritual Functioning And Psychiatric Symptoms, Melissa L. Miller, Stephen M. Saunders

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The study evaluated how spiritual and religious functioning (SRF), alcohol-related problems, and psychiatric symptoms change over the course of treatment and follow-up. Problem drinkers (n = 55, including 39 males and 16 females) in outpatient treatment were administered questionnaires at pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow up, which assessed two aspects of SRF (religious well-being and existential well-being), two aspects of alcohol misuse (severity and consequences), and two aspects of psychiatric symptoms (depression and anxiety). Significant improvements in SRF, psychiatric symptoms and alcohol misuse were observed from pretreatment to follow-up. Although SRF scores were significantly correlated with psychiatric symptoms at all three …

Behavioral Activation Of Religious Behaviors: Treating Depressed College Students With A Randomized Controlled Trial, Maria Elizabeth Anne Armento

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Although spiritual or religious behaviors are sometimes targeted within behavioral activation protocols (Hopko & Lejuez, 2007; Hopko, Lejuez, Ruggiero, & Eifert, 2003), the efficacy of a protocol that exclusively develops a religiously-based behavioral repertoire has not been investigated. This randomized controlled study investigated the efficacy of a brief protocol for religious action in behavioral activation (PRA-BA) relative to a no-treatment “support” condition among mild to moderately depressed undergraduate students (n = 50). PRA-BA consisted of an individualized one-session intervention and 2-week activation interval. Clinical outcomes assessed depression, environmental reward, anxiety, and quality of life. Repeated measures ANOVAs indicated …

The Role Of Religion And Spirituality In Counseling, Tiffany Nickles

Psychology and Child Development

While the 20^th century has simultaneously brought about a growth in counseling and a reemergence of secularism, counseling in the 21^st century has focused its attention on interventions that are sensitive to multicultural facets in clients’ lives. As professionals increasingly embrace multicultural competency in counseling and therapy, religion and spirituality arguably stand out as cultural and personal factors that are a salient part of framing one’s experiences, beliefs, values, behavior, and illness patterns. Despite the growing understanding of the pervasiveness and importance of spirituality and religion, most psychologists have little training in dealing with religious and spiritual issues. …

Religion, Spirituality, And School Psychology: A National Survey Of Training Programs, Jessica Marie Bass

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

As school psychologists strive to become culturally competent in our growing diverse society, an important piece that seems to missing from the typically accessed conceptualization of culture is religion and spirituality. The focus of this study was to survey NASP approved training programs to determine how these programs intentionally incorporate knowledge and skills and determine the competence of their graduate students in matters of religion and spirituality. All NASP approved school psychology programs were sent a survey and the program director served as the sole participant. Most programs do not believe that their students have been involved in casework involving …

Spirituality And Physical Health: Identifying Possible Mediators Utilizing The Quadripartite Framework Of Spirituality, Meghanne Reilly Sennott

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to further understand the relationship between spirituality and physical health. Contrary to popular assumption, spirituality and religion do not relate to physical health in the same manner. In this investigation, although religious attendance was significantly related to physical health, spirituality was not significantly associated with physical health. In fact, religious affiliation was found to moderate the relationship between spirituality and physical health. The interaction suggests that there is a positive relationship between spirituality and ill physical health for those with no religious affiliation, but no relationship between spirituality and physical health for those with …

Types Of Prayer And Depressive Symptoms Among Cancer Patients: The Mediating Role Of Rumination And Social Support, John E. Perez, Amy Rex Smith, Rebecca L. Norris, Katia M. Canenguez, Elizabeth F. Tracey, Susan B. Decristofaro

Psychology

We examined the association between different types of prayer and depressive symptoms—with rumination and social support as potential mediators—in a sample of predominantly White, Christian, and female ambulatory cancer patients. In a cross-sectional design, 179 adult cancer outpatients completed measures of prayer, rumination, social support, depressive symptoms, and demographic variables. Type and stage of cancer were collected from electronic medical charts. Depressive symptoms were negatively correlated with adoration prayer (r = −.15), reception prayer (r = −.17), thanksgiving prayer (r = −.29), and prayer for the well-being of others (r = −.26). In the path analysis, …

Resilience Factors Affecting The Readjustment Of National Guard Soldiers Returning From Deployment, D. Patricia Tackett

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Following the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States, there has been increased utilization of the Reserve Components (RC) by the military to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Service members in the National Guard and Reserve (NG/R) represent approximately 40% of the forces involved in these conflicts. Current research indicates that NG/R personnel and their families may be at greater risk to deployment stressors than their Active Component counterparts. Estimates for the development of mental health problems including PTSD among returning RC personnel, range as high as 42%. The focus of this study was to advance the …

Life Experiences That Contributed To The Independence And Success In The Lives Of Foster Care Alumni, Dawn Elizabeth Montgomery

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the factors which helped these foster care alumni to persevere and to succeed. The intent was to provide a framework for equipping youth in foster care more effectively by building on their strengths and the resources available in foster care. The study’s method incorporated the interviewing of ten ethnically diverse individuals who had experienced the foster care system. Based on their insights and the themes which emerged, the WARRIORS Model was created. This acronym represents the key themes derived from the interviews: Wounded, Advocacy, Reality of Belonging, Resources, Inspired to Succeed, …

The Religiosity And Spirituality Scale For Youth: Development And Initial Validation, Brittany C. Hernandez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The literature cites multiple definitions for religiosity and spirituality, with little consensus among researchers. Religiosity/spirituality has been associated with a myriad of positive outcomes in both adults and youth. Despite the importance of these constructs, there are little to no psychometrically sound measures created to assess religiosity or spirituality in youth. Adult measures are psychometrically strong for use with older populations, but none were developed for use with young people. The purpose of the current study was to develop a psychometrically sound measure of religiosity and spirituality for use with diverse samples of youth. A sample of 307 youth, aged …