<p> Standards for integration of spirituality and religion within mental health training continue to be ambiguous. Although increased attention has incorporated such diversity into multiculturalism, proficiency remains inadequate among non-religiously affiliated individuals and institutions. This study examined competence levels utilizing the Revised Spiritual Competence Scale II (SCS-R-II) and the Spiritual and Religious Competency Assessment (SARCA). Participants were 125 students attending accredited counseling, psychology, and social work schools in the United States. Counselor trainees scored highest on both measures as did students with very strong personal religious affiliation and attendees of Christian affiliated schools. Implications and future recommendations are discussed.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2005. / "A dissertation in counseling psychology." Advisor: Nancy L. Murdock. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed June 27, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-205). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (M. Div.)--International School of Theology, 1989. / "A ministry tool ..." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-50).

<p> This research study aimed to examine Orthodox Jewish couples in context of attributions and marital attributions to address gaps in the literature regarding Orthodox Jews as a multicultural group in general, and their experiences of marriage in particular. A cross sectional design was utilized to consider the impact of both an individual's and his or her partner's cognitions on relationship satisfaction among marrieds. It was hypothesized that religiosity has a positive influence on optimism, marital attributions, and marital satisfaction, and that both actor and partner effects will be present for optimism and marital attributions. Specifically, marital satisfaction would be influenced positively by an individual's higher optimism scores and positive marital attributions as well as his or her partner's optimism and marital attributions, respectively. A total of 70 couples (<i>N</i> = 140) completed the survey and were included in analysis. Regression data indicated that religiosity was related to optimism, marital attributions, and marital satisfaction together, <i> R²</i> = .081, <i>F</i>(3, 130) = 3.82, <i> p</i> = .012, but pathways did not indicate statistical significance for individual predictors. The data did not indicate a statistically significant actor or partner effects of optimism on marital satisfaction for husbands or wives. Actor effects for marital attributions on marital satisfaction were found for Orthodox Jewish husbands (&beta; = &ndash;0.10, <i>SE</i> = 0.02, <i>p</i> &lt; .01) and wives (&beta; = &ndash;0.07, <i> SE</i> = 0.03, <i>p</i> &lt; .01) but no partner effects were found, perhaps indicating a proximity effect.</p><p>