Religions

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13 pages, 263 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Religiosity and Depression at Midlife: A Prospective Study

by Micheline R. Anderson, Priya Wickramaratne, Connie Svob and Lisa Miller

Religions 2021, 12(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12010028 - 31 Dec 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2727

Objectives: Previously, authors found high personal importance of religion/spirituality (R/S) in early adulthood to predict a 75% decreased risk of recurrence of major depression in middle adulthood. Here, the authors follow up the original study sample to examine the association between R/S and [...] Read more.

Objectives: Previously, authors found high personal importance of religion/spirituality (R/S) in early adulthood to predict a 75% decreased risk of recurrence of major depression in middle adulthood. Here, the authors follow up the original study sample to examine the association between R/S and major depression from middle adulthood into midlife. Method: Participants were 79 of 114 original adult offspring of depressed and non-depressed parents. Using logistic regression analysis, three measures of R/S from middle adulthood (personal importance, frequency of religious service attendance, and denomination) were used to predict Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in midlife. Results: High R/S importance in middle adulthood was prospectively associated with risk for an initial onset of depression during the period of midlife. Frequency of attendance in middle adulthood was associated with recurrence of depression at midlife in the high-risk group for depression, as compared to the low-risk group. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the relation between R/S and depression may vary across adult development, with risk for depression associated with R/S at midlife potentially revealing a developmental process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spiritual Development over the Lifespan)

14 pages, 467 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spiritual Decline as a Predictor of Posttraumatic Stress

by Abigail Crete, Micheline Anderson, Suza Scalora, Elisabeth Mistur, Olivia Fuller and Lisa Miller

Religions 2020, 11(11), 575; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11110575 - 3 Nov 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2947

Abstract

Many college students in the United States arrive on campus with exposure to both traumatic events and typical negative life events, as well as varying levels of emotional wellness. One way that students may seek out help is through spiritually supportive wellness programming. [...] Read more.

Many college students in the United States arrive on campus with exposure to both traumatic events and typical negative life events, as well as varying levels of emotional wellness. One way that students may seek out help is through spiritually supportive wellness programming. The current study examines the prevalence of and relationship between traumatic life events, typical negative life events, and spiritual growth and decline as predictors of posttraumatic stress in a sample of undergraduates (N = 88) seeking spiritually supportive wellness. Traumatic and typical negative life events and spiritual decline were predictive of posttraumatic stress. Furthermore, a moderation effect was found such that while participants with high trauma exposure and high spiritual decline reported the highest posttraumatic stress, those with high trauma exposure and low spiritual decline reported lower posttraumatic stress, similar to those with low trauma exposure. These results have implications for the role of spiritual decline in the etiology of PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) within emerging adult populations who identify as spiritual that warrant further study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spiritual Development over the Lifespan)

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8 pages, 245 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Spiritual Heart

by Micheline R. Anderson

Religions 2020, 11(10), 506; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100506 - 4 Oct 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4755

Abstract

The heart has been a symbol within ancient philosophy and spiritual practice for personal consciousness, wisdom, intuition and love. In recent decades, scientists with growing interest in spirituality have built a strong case for the beneficial relationship between religiosity/spirituality and physical health. Explanations [...] Read more.

The heart has been a symbol within ancient philosophy and spiritual practice for personal consciousness, wisdom, intuition and love. In recent decades, scientists with growing interest in spirituality have built a strong case for the beneficial relationship between religiosity/spirituality and physical health. Explanations for this connection have included associated health behaviors that negatively impact cardiovascular health but have failed to adequately explain away this consistent association. Here, we suggest a central and bidirectional relationship between the heart, the “Master Organ,” and the phenomenology of spiritual experience. Further, we provide existing evidence for a synergistic, salutogenic relationship between robust cardiac function and spiritual wellbeing that may offer a roadmap to spiritual, psychological and physical recovery and health at the individual, interpersonal and global level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spiritual Development over the Lifespan)

19 pages, 284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Spirituality Mind-Body Wellness Center in a University Setting; A Pilot Service Assessment Study

by Suza Scalora, Micheline Anderson, Abigail Crete, Jennifer Drapkin, Larissa Portnoff, Aurélie Athan and Lisa Miller

Religions 2020, 11(9), 466; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11090466 - 11 Sep 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3711

Abstract

Increasing rates of mental illness among college students over the past 10 years suggest a collective deficit in meaning and purpose unattended to by many university campuses. Psychopathology among young adult college students is associated with developmental tasks such as spiritual individuation, suggesting [...] Read more.

Increasing rates of mental illness among college students over the past 10 years suggest a collective deficit in meaning and purpose unattended to by many university campuses. Psychopathology among young adult college students is associated with developmental tasks such as spiritual individuation, suggesting that interventions aimed at spiritual wellbeing may support the stated need for comprehensive mental health services. The aim of this pilot service assessment study is to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and helpfulness of spiritually integrated programs at a Spirituality Mind Body (SMB) Wellness Center at a graduate-level academic institution. Wellness Center demographic and attendance data of N = 305 adult graduate students (M = 27.7 years, SD = 6.05) were used to assess acceptability and feasibility. To evaluate helpfulness, measures assessing symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress (PTS), spirituality, mindfulness, and psychological inflexibility were completed before and after eight-week programs on a subset of participants (n = 141). SMB users completed a total of 64% of sessions and reported significant pre/post gains in spirituality and mindfulness and decreases in psychological inflexibility, symptoms of depression and PTS. The preliminary findings of this open-trial are encouraging but inherently limited by the design; foremost, the results offer support for future research, which might draw on a larger sample and a study design involving a comparison group. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spiritual Development over the Lifespan)

9 pages, 245 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Review of Spiritual Development and Transformation among College Students from Jesuit Higher Education

by Thomas G. Plante

Religions 2020, 11(7), 333; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11070333 - 4 Jul 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3753

Abstract

The college experience can be a critically important and enriching time for personal as well as academic growth and development. For many students, college is their first foray into a more independent world and lifestyle no longer under the careful, and sometimes critical, [...] Read more.

The college experience can be a critically important and enriching time for personal as well as academic growth and development. For many students, college is their first foray into a more independent world and lifestyle no longer under the careful, and sometimes critical, eyes of their parents, families, and schoolteachers. When students go far away from home to attend college, they need to find ways to live independently, manage their many needs, and attend to the rigors of academic life in higher education. Additionally, the college years offer a unique and important period for spiritual growth, development, and transformation. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the developmental tasks and challenges of the college years and provide examples of how colleges can be intentional and strategic about spiritual growth and development by focusing on strategies offered by Jesuit higher education. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spiritual Development over the Lifespan)

18 pages, 713 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Religious Crisis as an Independent Causal Predictor of Psychological Distress: Understanding the Unique Role of the Numinous for Intrapsychic Functioning

by Jesse Fox and Ralph L. Piedmont

Religions 2020, 11(7), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11070329 - 2 Jul 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2735

Abstract

Religious and spiritual (R/S) struggles are tensions or conflicts one experiences in relationship to what is considered sacred or transcendent. In this study, we tested competing causal models of psychological distress as it relates to personality and R/S struggle using structural equation modeling. [...] Read more.

Religious and spiritual (R/S) struggles are tensions or conflicts one experiences in relationship to what is considered sacred or transcendent. In this study, we tested competing causal models of psychological distress as it relates to personality and R/S struggle using structural equation modeling. The study sample consisted of 226 (72.0%) females and 88 (28.0%) males (n = 314) drawn from the Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) worker population. We found that though the five-factor model (FFM) of personality was a robust predictor of psychological distress, the R/S struggle added significant, incremental predictiveness. SEM analyses supported our contention that R/S struggle may represent a new, causal pathway of psychological distress that is independent from the FFM. Our findings are taken as evidence that R/S struggles require unique ways of conceptualizing their causal impact on clinical impairment and that psychological interventions need to systematically address numinous constructs in order to ensure that all aspects of emotional dysphoria are considered and their influences treated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spiritual Development over the Lifespan)

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27 pages, 5332 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Dynamic Universal Profiles of Spiritual Awareness: A Latent Profile Analysis

by Simon Hanseung Choi, Clayton Hoi-Yun McClintock, Elsa Lau and Lisa Miller

Religions 2020, 11(6), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11060288 - 12 Jun 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5079

Abstract

The aim of the current investigation was to identify universal profiles of lived spirituality. A study on a large sample of participants (N = 5512) across three countries, India, China, and the United States, suggested there are at least five cross-cultural phenotypic [...] Read more.

The aim of the current investigation was to identify universal profiles of lived spirituality. A study on a large sample of participants (N = 5512) across three countries, India, China, and the United States, suggested there are at least five cross-cultural phenotypic dimensions of personal spiritual capacity—spiritual reflection and commitment; contemplative practice; perception of interconnectedness; perception of love; and practice of altruism—that are protective against pathology in a community sample and have been replicated in matched clinical and non-clinical samples. Based on the highest frequency combinations of these five capacities in the same sample, we explored potentially dynamic profiles of spiritual engagement. We inductively derived five profiles using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA): non-seeking; socially disconnected; spiritual emergence; virtuous humanist; and spiritually integrated. We also examined, in this cross-sectional data, covariates external to the LPA model which measure disposition towards meaning across two dimensions: seeking and fulfillment, of which the former necessarily precedes the latter. These meaning covariates, in conjunction with cross-profile age differences, suggest the profiles might represent sequential phases along an emergent path of spiritual development. Subsequent regression analyses conducted to predict depression, anxiety, substance-related disorders, and positive psychology based on spiritual engagement profiles revealed the spiritually integrated profile was most protected against psychopathology, while the spiritual emergence profile was at highest risk. While this developmental process may be riddled with struggle, as evidenced by elevated rates of psychopathology and substance use in the intermediate phases, this period is a transient one that necessarily precedes one of mental wellness and resilience—the spiritual development process is ultimately buoyant and protective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spiritual Development over the Lifespan)

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28 pages, 905 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Content Analysis of Spiritual Life in Contemporary USA, India, and China

by Elsa Lau, Clayton McClintock, Marianna Graziosi, Ashritha Nakkana, Albert Garcia and Lisa Miller

Religions 2020, 11(6), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11060286 - 11 Jun 2020

Viewed by 4394

Abstract

This study investigates the lived-experience of spiritual life in contemporary USA, India, and China. A qualitative coding frame was constructed based on participant responses to open-ended questions regarding spirituality. Qualitative analysis was facilitated by the use of Dedoose, a mixed methods software. The [...] Read more.

This study investigates the lived-experience of spiritual life in contemporary USA, India, and China. A qualitative coding frame was constructed based on participant responses to open-ended questions regarding spirituality. Qualitative analysis was facilitated by the use of Dedoose, a mixed methods software. The exploratory approach of this study takes on a cross-culturally comparative lens, and has two primary questions: (1) What are the universal aspects of lived spirituality across cultures, and (2) How does culture shape spiritual experience (e.g., typology and prevalence)? A total of 6112 participants (41% women, mean age of 29 years, range 18–75 years) were recruited, and analysis was conducted on a subset of 900 participants. The primary thematic categories derived by content analysis included religion (religious traditions, religious conversion, religious professionals, religious figures “theophany,” and religious forces “heirophany”), contemplative practice (meditation, mindful movement, prayer, and rituals), ancestors (ancestral worship, dreams about ancestors, and general mention of ancestors), natural world (animals, and nature), and metaphysical phenomena. Metaphysical categories were further parsed apart to include extrasensory perception (telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, realistic dreams, and intuitive impressions), psychokinesis, survival hypothesis (near death experiences, out of body experiences, and apparitional experiences), and faith and energy healing (recovery/remission of illness, and spiritual practitioners). Explanatory factors for similarities and differences across groups, and the origins of spirituality, are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spiritual Development over the Lifespan)

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