This thesis is a scholarly account of my personal journey as a single mother to find my place in the world both spiritually and professionally. Deep personal and universalizable issues are covered including the transition from childhood to adulthood, parenting, birth, death, significant life changing events and the dramatic effect that changing spiritual, gender and religious views have on facing life challenges. Special emphasis is centered on the importance of my feminine spirituality and the pursuit of religious/spiritual experiences within traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities up to and including the present day and my hopeful vision for the future. My writing is heavily laced with spirituality, personal insights, stories as illustration for key points and a few surprising revelations. Surprises included the nature of growing up in Generation X with a healthy understanding and disrespect for organizations of all types, especially religious, and the effect this had on nurturing my atheist Millennial children; the actual impact of my travels in Tibet and China versus what I had expected from going; and how everything I have learned up to this point makes me more convinced than ever that pursuing further studies in Women’s Spirituality is absolutely the route for me at this time and my way of making life a little bit better for those who come after me. My hope for this thesis is to further the understanding of the general interested public of the challenges facing single mothers and their children, to show the helpful effects of a spiritual connection or search in getting through life’s difficult moments, the power of writing as a means of spiritual and personal connection and to reinforce the notion that there is a still a long way to go in making our society a just place to be a woman in.

This thesis is an exploration of the concepts of what the spirituality of consciousness means in several key areas of the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual self. Many students and professionals walk through their educational and professional careers filled with confusion, lack of self-understanding, a yearning for something more but never discovering it in the places we find ourselves for most of our day-to-day interactions. My hope is that this thesis will give insight to how students can overcome obstacles and fears in their lives in order to move forward, and, when necessary, to move past themselves. As a young, Black, immigrant woman who is a first-generation college student and student affairs professional, the methodology of Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN) appeals to me the most in exploring the spirituality of consciousness. Therefore, I will be using SPN to highlight a portion of my journey through three lenses: mindfulness counseling, religo-spirituality, and understanding what it means to unlock our minds and its complexities through a spiritually-enriched education. I will also highlight how we can disseminate the knowledge of self-awareness and self-awakening as life teachers, educators, and learners to those who come after us--the next generation. The holistic preservation of self and mind is a vital stage in our human existence. As higher education administrators and teachers, we should be able to take the risk and accept the challenge to delve deeper within ourselves to be able to move beyond the curriculum and see the full humanity of our students, hopefully leading to more joyful, productive, loving, creative and brilliant minds. How do we do this? How do we awaken to life, to learning, to each other, in the midst of chaos? This thesis attempts to point the way.

Large numbers of couples seek treatment from religious counselors who integrate religion and spirituality (R/S) into counseling. The present dissertation reviewed the literature examining the effectiveness of R/S counseling. Several R/S treatments were helpful in treating psychological problems. There was little evidence that R/S treatments outperformed secular treatments. In Study 1, a nationwide survey was conducted that examined the beliefs of Christian counselors about integrating R/S into couple counseling. Christian counselors (N = 630) completed measures of religious commitment, experience in couple counseling, attitudes toward using religious techniques in couple counseling, and the use of theory in couple counseling. Counselors were highly religious, and religious commitment was a positive predictor of viewing religious techniques as appropriate. Christian couple counseling was popular and widely practiced, although there was wide variation in the number of couples seen per counselor. Counselors were influenced by both secular and Christian theories of couple counseling. There were several differences between professional, pastoral, and lay counselors, indicating that each subgroup be treated separately rather than grouped together. In Study 2, the nature of Christian couple counseling was described and the effectiveness of Christian couple counseling was examined using a longitudinal study. Counselors (N = 20) completed a measure of religious commitment, and clients (N = 60) completed measures of religious commitment, the use of religious and secular techniques in counseling, relationship satisfaction, working alliance with the counselor, and satisfaction with counseling at three time points during counseling. Religious techniques were common in couple counseling, and most were used in about 50% of the sessions. The religious commitment of counselors was a positive predictor of the number of religious techniques used in counseling. Clients attending Christian couple counseling reported increases in relationship satisfaction and working alliance with the counselor over time, and reported high levels of satisfaction with counseling. Working alliance with the counselor was a positive predictor of both relationship satisfaction and satisfaction with counseling. A close match in religious commitment between counselor and client did not predict greater improvement in relationship satisfaction, but it did predict a stronger working alliance throughout counseling.

The beginning of life is an intense experience for both mother and baby and sets the foundation for future interactions. Researchers have theorized that maternal infant bonding begins prenatally and continues on through the postnatal period. Mṻller (1996) examined that process to determine if prenatal bonding was related to postnatal bonding and discovered that there was only a modest correlation between the two. This led to speculation as to what variables, besides prenatal bonding, could influence postnatal bonding. Klaus & Kennell (1976) noted the detrimental effects of a lack of bonding in terms of abuse and attachment disorders and emphasized the urgency of understanding the process. Thus, an examination of factors that influence the initial attachment after birth is important in order to facilitate the experience for optimal outcomes. The purpose of this study was threefold: 1. Examine the relationship between a woman’s perceived birth experience and maternal infant bonding; 2. Examine the relationship between spirituality and maternal infant bonding; 3. Examine the relationship between perceived birth experience and maternal infant bonding. Women were recruited for an internet survey through various childbirth websites, nurses’ associations, and perinatal listserv communications. A total of 402 women responded to the survey, which consisted of 67 items in three instruments: Perception of Birth Scale; Spirituality; and Maternal Attachment Inventory. Of these respondents approximately 300 finished the survey completely and were used in the analyses. Slightly more than 190 left extensive comments regarding their experiences. Predictive Analytical Software (PASW 18) was used to analyze data and correlations were run on the measurements of the three instruments as well as a regression analysis. Perceived birth experience had the strongest correlation to maternal infant bonding and was found to have a stronger influence on bonding as well.

The study of humility has progressed slowly due to lack of theory and measurement issues. In the present dissertation, I review the literature on humility and propose a theory of relational humility. The model conceptualizes humility as a personality judgment, aligning its study with a large literature that spans social and personality psychology. Then, in four studies, I examined initial evidence for the theoretical model. In Study 1 (N=300), I created the Relational Humility Scale (RHS) and evaluated its items using exploratory factor analysis. The RHS was found to have 3 subscales: Global Humility, Superiority, and Accurate View of Self. In Study 2, its structure was replicated on an independent sample (N = 196). In Study 3, I conducted a longitudinal study of undergraduate students (N =84) in forming groups. As predicated, trait humility was related to acceptance and status in the group, as well as other personality traits related to humility such as narcissism and agreeableness; however, self-enhancement of humility (i.e., overestimating one’s humility) was not related to other correlates of low humility. In Study 4 (N=123), I examined humility in the context of conflict and forgiveness. As predicated, humility judgments were related to changes in forgiveness over time, as well as viewing an offender as spiritually similar. I then discuss implications of these findings for the study of humility from a relational perspective.

Problem: The United States of America has one of the highest number of HIV infections in the world; approximately 1.3 million people in North America were living with HIV in 2007. Factors influencing HIV survival are essential to disease management and care. Research findings suggest religion and spirituality may be essential components to health and well-being in individuals with HIV-Disease. Purpose: This study was designed to determine how well spirituality predicted health status in a convenience sample of 39 adults diagnosed with HIV-Disease. Procedure: A model building approach was used to explore relationships among the five variables of the Neuman Systems model. The following were used to collect data: (physiological) 1993 Revised CDC Classification System for HIV Infection, Revised HIV Center Medical Staging Scale (rHMCSS), lowest ever CD4+T-lymphocyte count, current CD4+T-lymphocyte count, AIDS status, and viral load; (spiritual) Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), Brief Religious Coping Scale (RCOPE), Religious Commitment Index—10, and religious affiliation; (psychological) Sense of Coherence—13 Scale (SOC) and mental health history; (sociocultural) ethnicity, income, and relationship status; (developmental) date of birth.Results: Income, the Meaningfulness subscale of the SOC-13 scale, age, and the Existential Well-Being subscale of the SWBS had significant relationships with the current rHCMSS score and explained 28.3% (p = .027) of the variance. The model that included EWB, Negative RCOPE, and the interaction of Negative RCOPE and EWB, in which an adjustment for income had been made, explained 32.9% (p = .011) of the variance in health status.Conclusions: The five variables of the NSM provided a well supported, holistic framework for investigating how much spirituality contributed to health status in PLWHA. The best explanatory model included: EWB, Negative RCOPE, income, and the interaction between EWB and Negative RCOPE. The existential component of spirituality, and especially the element of meaning, modified by negative religious coping, is an essential contributor to the health status of people living with HIV-Disease.Software: This document was created in Microsoft Word 2000. Power analysis was done using nQuery 6.0 Software and SPSS 15.0 © Statistical Software program was used for other statistical analyses.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Sonya Britt / The purpose of this research study was to investigate the determinants that explain and predict Christian’s intentions to make lifetime gifts to charities. The research was guided by the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) utilizing an expanded model that anticipated Christians who have (a) a favorable attitude toward giving, (b) a perceived pressure from social norms, (c) high levels of perceived behavioral control in their ability to make gifts, (d) a positive moral responsibility toward charitable giving, (e) a history of charitable giving, and (f) a faith based spiritual desire to pursue the Christian way of life would be more inclined to have giving intentions. Survey data were obtained through two pilot studies and a main study (N = 250). The pilot study participants were recruited through the researcher’s social network. The main study participants were enlisted through a contract with Qualtrics, an online survey organization that maintains panels of likely research subjects. Hierarchical linear regression identified support for traditional and expanded models of the theory of planned behavior. In the traditional model, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, all predicted donative intent. In the expanded model, not moral norms, past behavior, and the Christian way of life predicted donating intentions; however, perceived behavioral control a significant predictor in the traditional model, did not predict donative intent. The traditional theory of planned behavior accounted for 65%, and expanded predictors added 11% to the explanation of intention to donate to non-profit organizations in the coming year. The current research has both theoretical and applied implications. Consistent with Fishbein and Ajzen’s (2010) encouragement to improve the traditional model, the expanded model enhanced the predictive ability of the theory of planned behavior with a new determinant, the Christian way of life. The current research also reaffirms the predictive ability of the previously tested factor past behavior and not moral norms. Non-profit organizations may apply these findings by targeting the salient beliefs that are foundational to all predictors of intentions. The current research has identified beliefs associated with attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioral control, moral norms, past behavior, and the Christian way of life that offer non-profit organizations educational opportunities to intervene with donors to improve charitable behavior.

Background: Healthy Spirituality helps to find identity, she led to inner harmony and also harmonizes the relationship to the world and external activity. Four dimensions act of faith - an autonomous source present grace, free response and social framework - will appear in therapeutic practice and may contribute to the development of a mature personality and eliminate substance abuse during adolescence and the next life. We can talk about that in difference from other religious direction Christianity has the personality of addictological terms of psychotherapeutic influence. The main aim of my thesis is an overview of the situation of substance use among adolescents from Christian oriented schools of Prague aged 13 to 16 years. Another objective is to compare the results with the results from the ESPAD study in 2011. Method of making data: For these purposes, we used a short questionnaire ESPAD (2007), Prague spirituality questionnaire (PSQ 30) and a standard questionnaire on religious attitudes M. Duda and Smely I. (2013). Participants: The research sample consisted of 96 students from Christian schools aged 13 to 16 years. Data analysis methods: The data were processed at the level of descriptive and mathematical and analytical statistics (chi-square) and the results reported in the tables and...

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs / Doris Carroll / Hall and Chandler argued that one of the deepest forms of satisfaction or psychological success can occur when the person experiences work as more than a job or career – when it is a calling (2005, p. 160). They defined calling as work that a person perceives as his purpose in life. Adams (2012) said “there has been a recent awareness of the need to find ways to incorporate meaning into people’s work (p. 66).” Steger defined meaning as “the extent to which people comprehend, make sense of, or see significance in their lives, accompanied by the degree to which they perceive themselves to have a purpose, mission, or over-arching aim in life” (Steger, 2009, p. 680). Historically, an individual received an external calling from God but today another type of calling is being discussed: that of an internal calling. The Student Volunteer Movement or SVM was the name of one of history’s most impactful Christian missionary movements to ever take place, and it originated in collegiate America (Ahrend, 2010). More missionaries were sent out in the first year of the Student Volunteer Movement than had been sent from the United States in the previous century. From 1890 to 1930 the SVM was comprised of 100,000 volunteers who committed to give their lives to the employment of Christian missions. Of those, 20,000 actually left America to live in other countries while 80,000 stayed behind in America. Those who stayed behind formed the Laymen's Missionary Movement to financially support the goers (Ahrend, 2010). During these forty years, this mobilization effort was able to recruit one out of every thirty-seven university students in the United States (Ahrend, 2010). Undoubtedly, there are important implications for understanding the Student Volunteer Movement if you are affiliated with a Christian campus ministry. However, if the Student Volunteer Movement were seen as only religious individuals, then one would have misunderstood the developmental excellence of the SVM. The lessons learned from the Student Volunteer Movement, transcend religious boundaries. Examining the Student Volunteer Movement helps student development educators create new ways to support students as they discover their calling. Additionally, it has implications for how faculty and professionals advise students who have calling. This paper provides an example of the relationship between student affairs professionals and spiritual development among students. This comprehensive analysis of the Student Volunteer Movement informs student affairs professionals how best to support a student’s holistic development.

This study examined the relationship between principals' spiritual attitudes and transformational leaders and investigated if the combination of spirituality and demographic variables, such as gender, predicted transformational leadership. It was important to conduct this study utilizing the framework of transformational leadership since it has been identified as an effective type of leadership in educational settings (Leithwood & Jantzi, 1998; Ogawa & Hart, 1985). Piedmont's (1999) Spiritual Transcendence Scale was the instrument used to measure the participants' spiritual perspective and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire measured the type of leadership of each principal. The sample that was used in this study was 105 principals from Jefferson, Terrebone, and Plaquemines Parish School Systems in Southeastern Louisiana, in addition to principals involved in the School Leadership Center of Greater New Orleans. This correlational research design utilizing surveys was conducted via mail. The study determined that there is a relationship between transformational leadership, spiritual transcendence, and gender This study supports the position that there is a significant relationship between the predictor variable of principals' spirituality, as defined by the Spiritual Transcendence Scale, and transformational leadership, as defined on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Additional findings showed gender as another predictor of transformational leadership, and further implications suggest that principals' sense of prayer fulfillment in their lives can also be a predictor of transformational leadership. These findings present major implications for leaders in education, education policy makers, and researchers and support the need for spirituality to be taught in the educating of future principals.