Excerpt:To the Editor: Recently, the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education published a research brief entitled, “Spirituality and Religiosity of Pharmacy Students” by Purnell and colleagues.1 The authors describe their recent survey assessing the presence and impact of religiosity/spirituality on various facets of student life and students’ opinions. In three separate instances, the authors advocate for greater support to be provided by pharmacy schools for student religiosity/spirituality.

Women who have experienced sexual trauma may have an increased risk of psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and increased alcohol use (e.g., Resnick, Acierno, & Kilpatrick, 1997). Religiosity has been shown to be a possible mechanism of coping with traumatic life events (Ano & Vasconcelles, 2005; Chang et al., 2001). The current study hypothesized that sexual trauma would predict higher levels of anxiety, depression, and alcohol use, and religiosity would mediate this relationship. An international sample of 736 women were recruited via social media. The overall model was significant R2= .01, (F(1, 734) = 4.06, p < .044); regression analyses in SPSS using PROCESS revealed that sexual trauma was a significant predictor of both anxiety (b = 2.62, SE =.46, p < .001), and religiosity (b = -.71, SE =.35 , p < .044), and religiosity also predicted lower levels of anxiety (b = -.10, SE = .05, p < .037). Religiosity was found to significantly mediate the relationship between sexual trauma and anxiety, b = .071, SE = .05, 95% CI [-.002, .182], but not between depression or alcohol use. Findings confirm the relationship between sexual trauma and anxiety and further identify religiosity as an important mediator of this relationship. Future interventions should consider implementing religiosity as a way to buffer the relationship between trauma and anxiety.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic and stressful events during a person’s early life that can influence their later mental health, physical health, and wellbeing. Internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression are common mental health outcomes associated with ACEs. Two factors, religiosity/spirituality (R/S) and mindfulness, are possible protective factors that may help lessen the effects of ACEs on later mental health. This study hopes to examine whether R/S and mindfulness are protective factors in the relationship between ACEs from childhood and internalizing symptoms in adulthood. Further, this study examines whether the protective impact of R/S is further strengthened by an individual’s mindfulness (moderated moderation). Participants (N = 769, age M = 20.43, SD = 4.51) for this study were recruited through the SONA research platform at East Tennessee State University as a part of the REACH (Religion, Emotions, and Current Health) self-report survey. We used a retrospective measure, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire, to assess childhood adversity. We used the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiosity and Spirituality (BMMRS) to assess current religiosity/spirituality of participants and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) to assess current overall mindfulness of participants. To examine internalizing symptoms of the sample, we used the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire to assess anxiety symptoms, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESD-R-20) to assess depression symptoms. The analyses for this project were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Bivariate analyses for this project will be conducted using Pearson’s correlations and the moderated moderation model will be tested using the Hayes Process Macro (version 3.0, Model 3). We predict that ACEs will be related to internalizing symptoms as is commonly demonstrated in the literature, such that more ACES are associated with more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Further, we expect that both R/S and mindfulness will weaken (i.e. moderate) this relationship. Additionally, we propose that mindfulness will impact the moderating (protective) effect of R/S on this relationship, such that the protective effect of R/S is greatest for those with high levels of mindfulness.

This study examines how family socialization and religiosity are associated with young men's intention to someday become a father. Data from the National Survey of Families and Households are used to measure the influence of family connection, family regulation, family psychological autonomy and public and private religiosity on young men's fatherhood intentions. Family connection and private religiosity are associated with young men's fatherhood plans.

A growing body of research has addressed the relationship between religiousness and spirituality. In addition, recent research focuses on the variations in definition and operationalization of the two concepts. Most of this literature examines spirituality as a construct under religion. Conceptualizing those who are spiritual but non-religious has received far less attention. This study uses recent data from the General Social Surveys to assess the relationship of those who are spiritual but not religious with education and a number of socio-demographic variables. The analysis shows that there is a positive relationship between one identifying as someone who is spiritual but secular and educational attainment. Directions for future research are discussed.

Apocalypticism is the belief in an impending large-scale catastrophic event that would threaten the survival of the human race. Despite the high level of apocalypticism among American adults, there has been little empirical research conducted to determine whether this proclivity is socially consequential. Conspiracism, a related factor, is widely studied empirically and is associated with many negative societal effects. Though research suggests a possible correlation between these variables, empirical research has not examined whether apocalypticism is a robust predictor of conspiracism. I hypothesize and test whether apocalypticism is predictive of belief in conspiracy theories using data from the 2018 Chapman Survey of American Fears, a nationally representative sample of American adults. From this data a multi-item conspiracism index was created and analyzed in relation with a measure of belief in apocalypticism. Regression analyses show that apocalyptic belief is the strongest predictor of conspiracism within the model, surpassing sociodemographic, political and religious characteristics. These results demonstrate that apocalypticism is an important factor to consider when studying conspiracism, and suggests that future researchers should further investigate apocalypticism using a variety of social scientific methods.

Although there has been increased interest in the scientific study of religiousness and spirituality, there is relatively little research on religion's effect on identity development (Gebelt & Leak, 2009). This research investigates the relationship between religiosity and identity development in adult congregants. Participants were 51 congregants (ages 18- 85) recruited from one of three churches (Baptist, Catholic, and Methodist) in a rural area of North Central Florida. Relatively high rates of diffusion and identity distress were noted. Religious identity exploration, religious existential questioning, and religious identity commitment were found to be related to overall levels of identity distress, but not to other psychological symptoms (anxiety, distress, and somatization). Religiosity variables were a better predictor of overall identity distress than more global indicators of identity development

The current study compared two measures of religiosity and compared the relationship between religiosity and marital satisfaction. Religiosity was measured using two methods: monthly church attendance and The Shepherd Scale (Bassett et al., 1981). Participants consisted of at 158 married individuals selected from four Christian churches in Burlington County, New Jersey. Results confirm that a relationship exists between Christian religious beliefs and marital satisfaction: a person who has strong, conservative Christian beliefs also has high marital satisfaction. Results also show a correlation between a single-item subjective measure of marital satisfaction and the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised Edition (Snyder, 1997). Beliefs and practices of the Christian faith did not better predict marital satisfaction than attendance at religious functions. Religious beliefs, religious behaviors, or number of times at church each month did not predict marital satisfaction when the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised Edition (Snyder, 1997) was used to assess marital satisfaction but religious behavior predicted marital satisfaction when a single-item, subjective measure of marital satisfaction was used instead. A final finding revealed that personal prayer and time spent in joint prayer are able to predict marital satisfaction regardless of the method used to assess marital satisfaction. / Counseling Psychology

Despite the critical role that religion plays in the lives of many clients, therapists often do not ask about or address religious issues in therapy. Argument is given for why religious issues should not be excluded from therapy as well as why religion has historically been avoided by many therapists. To understand what clients' views are on this issue, eight couples who had participated in marital therapy were interviewed. The stratified sample included two Catholic, two Protestant, and two Latter-day Saint couples, as well as two couples in which spouses differed in their religious affiliation. Most couples were interviewed in their home for the initial interview, and then by phone for a brief follow-up interview. Qualitative analysis revealed themes centered around the therapist's role, assessment and joining, tapping into religious resources, and addressing problems associated with religion. Findings revealed that all sixteen participants believed that therapists should routinely inquire about religious issues. Beyond assessment, therapists should give permission for couples to explore religious issues in therapy. Numerous examples are given for how religious issues may be related to or serve as a resource in overcoming presenting concerns. Participants provide numerous suggestions for how therapists might respectfully work with religious issues. Moreover, including religious leaders in the marital therapy sessions was generally seen as uncomfortable and unhelpful to the participants. Issues associated with the therapist's religious affiliation are also addressed. Clinical and theoretical implications as well as suggestions for future research are highlighted. / Ph. D.

Few countries can boast of having the culture of volunteering seen in the United States. In explaining this phenomenon, many empirical studies have found religiosity significant in predicting volunteering behaviors among young adults, adults, and the elderly. However, teens (13 – 17 years) have not attracted much attention from researchers, though they possess the time and resources most needed to volunteer. Using data from the National Study on Youth and Religion (NSYR) Wave 1, this study examines the relationship between volunteering and teens’ private (religious salience and religious experience) and collective religiosity (religious tradition, church attendance, and youth group participation). Parental variables and teen demographics are also tested using a three-stage ordinal logistic regression. Regarding individual religiosity, the results suggested a significant relationship between teens’ religious experiences and volunteering. In addition, parents can induce volunteering by encouraging their teens to volunteer and participate in religious youth groups.