This study arose out of a search for a suitable scale to measure religion and spirituality. The literature suggests that religion and spirituality are potentially powerful explanatory variables in health and social research, but there do not appear to be any instruments that are generally accepted as measures of an individual's religious or spiritual characteristics. While a lack of consensus in such a complex area is probably to be expected, it is the lack of accepted measures or instruments that drives this study. The literature review describes the historical influence of religion on public health practices, and the most recently reported associations between religion and both physical and mental health. This establishes religion as a potentially useful construct to include in any health study. However, the reported association between religion and health is often unclear, and the measures used differ widely between studies. This study goes beyond the health context and explores the reasons why existing methods have not resulted in broadly accepted measures of religion and spirituality.

Despite their relevance to multicultural issues in counseling psychology, religion and spirituality (R/S) issues have been largely neglected in counseling and psychology training programs (Brawer, Handal, Fabricatore, Roberts, & Wajda-Johnston, 2002; Russel & Yarhouse, 2006; Schulte, Skinner & Clairborn, 2002). This study presents the initial validity and reliability estimates of the Scale of Comfort with Integrating Religion/Spirituality in Counseling (SCIRSC), a self-reported measure to assess the comfort level of counselors-in-training with integrating R/S in their clinical practices. Three hundred participants from clinical and counseling graduate psychology training programs participated in this study. The exploratory factor analysis resulted in 5 factors: R/S Self-Disclosure, R/S Interventions, R/S Reflection, R/S Supervision and Consultation, and R/S Exploration. The SCIRSC was positively correlated with measures of R/S training (RSTS; Wang et al., 2008), R/S competency (Wang et al., 2008), and R/S practice habits in counseling (PHP; Wang et al., 2008), and was not correlated with a measure of impression management (BIDR; Paulhus, 1991). High internal consistency was also found in the total SCIRSC scale and its five subscales. A discussion of how this scale can add to the research and practice regarding the incorporation of R/S in counseling is provided.

Despite the prediction that religion would wane in the 21st century, evidence suggests otherwise. It is important therefore for mental health professionals to understand the role of religion in the lives of their clients and to appreciate its impact on mental health. Research suggests a moderate inverse relationship between religion and depression and anxiety with some cross-cultural support. The relationship is however complex and context needs to be taken into account. The effect of culture and the importance of intrinsic religiosity are discussed. Much research is conducted in the US in the field of psychiatry, suggesting a gap in the British psychological literature. Some implications for clinical practice are discussed. The interplay between religion, culture and wellbeing is discussed

Background: The mental health of prisoners is of growing global health importance as prison populations increase exponentially. Though additional risks of mental disorder and poor mental wellbeing of prisoners are now better understood, women, especially those in low and middle income countries, and in regions outside North America and Europe are underrepresented in prison mental health studies. There is strong evidence of associations between religion and spirituality (RS) and mental health in the general population in North America and Europe. This thesis aims to measure and explain any associations between RS and depression and mental wellbeing among female prisoners in Chile. Methods: An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach comprised an initial quantitative study linked to a subsequent qualitative study. In the quantitative phase, 94 randomly sampled female prisoners in Chile participated in a pooled two-stage cross-sectional survey which collected data on background, mental health and RS variables. Mental wellbeing was measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). Self-report depression data were collected and 40 prisoners were also administered the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). RS variables included: affiliation, personal importance, involvement (frequency of attending services), benefits and beliefs. The design of the qualitative phase was informed by quantitative study findings. Six prisoners who had participated in the cross-sectional survey attended one of two focus groups. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 3 prison chaplains and 2 health professionals from the prison health centre. Topic guides for focus groups and interviews were used to facilitate discussions on the mental health and RS of female prisoners and to elicit views on selected findings from the quantitative study. Logistical regression techniques were used to statistically test the hypothesis of no association between RS and depression and mental wellbeing. Audio-recorded qualitative data were transcribed in Spanish and analysed thematically in English. Results: Of the 94 women, 11 (11.7%) reported a current professional diagnosis of depression, while major depression was confirmed in 13 (32.5%) of the 40 women assessed using the MINI. The women had a median WEMWBS score of 55 (IQR 43-61) out of 70. Religiosity was high among the sample with 86 (91.5%) women affiliated to mainstream Christianity and 69 (73.4%) who considered RS to be personally very important. In a sample of 40 women, frequency of attendance at RS services was significantly higher in prison than during the year prior to incarceration (Wilcoxon Sign Ranks Test Z=3.1; p < 0.002). No significant associations were found between depression and mental wellbeing, and the key RS variables. However, 61 (89.7%) women believed there was a connection between their mental health and spirituality. The qualitative data revealed differences within and between participant groups in understandings of mental health and RS terminology and concepts. Themes emerged around the prison determinants of mental health and the mental health effects of the female gender. Prisoners identified RS variables that influenced mental health which had not been measured in the survey. Explanations were found for the divergent survey results of the association between RS and mental health. The data showed how RS shapes prisoners' help-seeking behaviour and attitudes to mental health care. Conclusion: The association between RS and mental health among prisoners in Chile remains unclear but may differ from established patterns reported in non-prisoner populations. This a challenging area of study with an additional layer of complexity present in prison populations where there are high levels of religiosity and spirituality. Larger studies are needed to confirm the quantitative findings, while qualitative findings should lead to raised awareness of RS in the development of prison mental health strategies in accordance with the needs of a given population.

This study will examine how religion impacts adolescents in a group home setting, and how they perceive its importance in their lives. The data was gathered using a qualitative method, and included interviews with a sample of staff members (all adults) who work with adolescents in a group home setting.The helping professionals were interviewed and asked 15 questions pertaining to their knowledge regarding the ways in which their subject residents embraced religion and spirituality. This included their observations as to frequency of prayer or meditation, reading or studying of sacred texts, meetings such as prayer meetings or other ritual activities, and a number of other questions regarding the ways in which religion and spirituality are manifested among residents in a group home setting. The study also inquired of the helping professionals whether adolescent residents had ever expressed to them a belief in God or a higher power, and if they had, their reflections and feelings verbally expressed. This research focuses on the impact of religion on the outlook of adolescent group home residents, including what it means to them and whether or not it is important, and if so to what degree. Helping professionals were interviewed rather than the residents themselves to avoid any possible conflicts or legalities in questioning subjects under the age of 18 years old. The responses to the questions by the staff members will help to provide answers as to how adolescents in a group of setting feel about religion and spirituality. This research also explores whether adolescents who embrace religion or spirituality display positive or negative behaviors or whether there is any change at all in their perceptions and reactions to external circumstances surrounding them. Further research needs to be conducted in other group homes with either higher or lower functioning surroundings to see if religion is important to other adolescents, or have no effect in the way they live or think.

Religiousness and spirituality are important to most Americans, and evidence suggests that they may contribute to both addiction and recovery. Forgiveness is a specific dimension of religiousness and spirituality that may enhance recovery, but the mechanism(s) through which it operates is unknown. We hypothesized that higher levels of forgiveness would be associated with higher levels of mental health and social support, which, in turn, would be associated with improved alcohol-related outcomes. Baseline and 6-month longitudinal data from a sample of 149 individuals with alcohol use disorders seeking outpatient substance abuse treatment were analyzed through multiple-mediation statistical techniques. While previous research has shown direct associations among forgiveness, alcohol-related outcomes, mental health, and social support, this study found that the direct associations between forgiveness and alcohol-related outcomes were no longer significant when mental health and social support were analyzed as mediator variables. At baseline, for each alcohol-related outcome measured (alcohol-related problems, percent heavy drinking days, percent days abstinent, and drinks per drinking day), mental health individually played a role in the relationship with both forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others, fully mediating or operating through an indirect-only pathway. For alcohol-related problems only, mental health fully mediated the relationship with forgiveness of self at follow-up and operated through an indirect-only pathway with forgiveness of others longitudinally. Social support and feeling forgiven by God were nonsignificant variables at baseline, follow-up, and longitudinally.

No description available.

Changes in religious and spiritual trends over the past few decades are contradicting previously held assumptions in academia pertaining to personal religious and spiritual definitions, identities and how these religious and spiritual identities are affected by higher educational attainment. In addition, there is limited research on how students may resolve cognitive dissonance if it develops due to discrepancies between their college experiences and their personal spiritual or religious convictions. The intent of this thesis is to explore the effects of college experience and higher educational attainment on students' religious and spiritual identities; to explore the growing trend to identify as 'spiritual, but not religious;' and to explore whether any changes in their religious and spiritual identity are as a result of adjustments spurred by cognitive dissonance. This study helps fill in gaps in current literature about the effects of higher education on religious and spiritual identity and their resolutions of cognitive dissonance.

Thesis advisor: Stephen Pfohl / This work inquires about the subjectivity construction individuals perform in our contemporary media culture. It examines the structure of believing that can be inferred from the narrative elaboration of beliefs exerted in social conversations when pop-media related to spirituality or transcendency are used as inputs for conversation. For this purpose, I investigate the consumption of three films that triggered for their audiences intense controversies that included topics belonging to the blurry crossroad where spirituality, science, and religion intersect: What The Bleep do We (k)now!? (USA 2004), The Da Vinci Code (USA 2006), and The Passion of the Christ (USA 2004). My approach departs from the sociology of spirituality perspective, and draws on some insights developed by ritual studies, sociology of religion, social psychoanalysis, consumer studies, and visual studies. Based on a multi-method strategy of inquiry, formal film analysis, focus and discussion groups, and interview data collected from the audience, this dissertation finds that the burgeoning of a media driven popular culture spirituality in Mexico is creating a wave of Pop-Esotericism. As a rational narrative with consumption and conversational drives, Pop-Esotericism is not only a resonant media-reference, but also constitutes a pre-text in the construction of ephemeral and collective conversational spaces wherein the belief system is engaged and refurnished. To give a full account on the pop-esoteric phenomenon and on overall contemporary belief systems, I propose a theoretical model aimed to uncover the dynamics and strategies we engage to articulate spirituality, identity, and reality in our current global media context. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

The present study focused on the social workers perspectives regarding the integration of religion and spirituality in therapy. Understanding these components will expand the knowledge of social workers and it will enhance the therapeutic relationship among clients and clinicians. It also allows social workers to provide a comprehensive service to a multicultural and diverse population. In order to provide a holistic approach, social workers need to address the issues of clients through a biopsychosocial perspective that includes religion and spirituality. For the most part, religious and spiritual people use these components in their daily lives to cope with unanswerable questions of life. Then, social workers may utilize these concepts as coping mechanisms when treating clients. Eight participants provided their professional experiences regarding the integration of religion and spirituality in therapy and its effectiveness. Participants for this study average 17.6 years of experience. Participants have extensive experience in providing individual counseling and group therapy. Participants are from various educational background, ethnicity, age and gender.