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<p> Problem: The literature suggests that religious orientation and ethnic identity inform the religious coping process, which is better understood in the context of a particular stressor. However, research on this topic is limited, particularly among ethnic minorities. </p><p> Method: A survey was used to collect data on religious orientation, ethnic identity, and religious coping from a sample of 319 adults who had lost a significant other within 36 months of the study. A total of 11 variables were measured using The Means-Ends Spirituality Questionnaire, the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised, and the Brief RCOPE. </p><p> Results: A canonical variate labeled "religious engagement" was a predictor for religious coping. Further analyses using multiple regression found that variables associated with traditional religious expressions (Devotional Spiritual Means), spiritual ends with a transcendental focus (Approach-unseen-autonomous Ends, Avoidance-unseen-external Ends), and Ethnic Identity were relevant predictors of Positive Religious Coping while Transcendental Means was a relevant predictor of Negative Religious Coping. </p><p> A stepwise discriminant analysis found that "ethnic identity and conservative religious orientation" discriminated between ethnic groups. Cases with higher levels of ethnic identity and conservative religious orientation were more likely to be classified as Black/African American or Hispanic/Latino/a, while those with lower levels were more likely to be classified as White. </p><p> Conclusions: When coping with bereavement, individuals who engage in traditional expressions of spiritual worship and strive to achieve ordinary and transcendental spiritual goals are more likely to rely on a secure relationship with the sacred, a belief that life has meaning, and a sense of connectedness with their religious community. Also, individuals who place greater value and emotional significance in their sense of belonging to their ethnic group are more likely to engage in positive religious coping. Thus, counseling psychologists should strengthen their multicultural and spiritual competencies in order to provide ethical and effective services to a population that is increasingly diverse.</p>

<p> Annually, a significant number of clergy burn out, are forced out, or take on the leadership of a congregation that burned out or forced out the previous leader (Beebe, 2007; LaRue, 1996). Previous research has identified congregation types that can lead to conflict (Becker, 1999), congregational characteristics that can lead to congregants' conflict-related exit (Chou, 2008), and the impact of clergy's conflict management style on role termination (Works, 2008), emotional intelligence (Gambill, 2008), and interpersonal conflict (McKown, 2001). The aim of this mixed-method study was to determine (a) if correlations exist among five conflict management styles as exhibited by clergy and the constructs of life satisfaction and religious commitment, (b) if there are negative relationships between clergy who exhibit an avoidant conflict management style and their life satisfaction and religious commitment, and (c) if interviews with clergy who experience congregational conflict will suggest themes that potentially predict conflict between clergy and congregations. North American, Protestant clergy were solicited as the study population (N = 48) with a subsample participating (n = 9) in the qualitative interview. Five hypotheses were developed and investigated. Hypothesis 1 investigated the relationship between clergy's conflict management style and their life satisfaction and could not be supported. Hypothesis 2 investigated the relationship between clergy's conflict management style and their religious commitment and was partially supported. Hypothesis 3 investigated whether clergy who exhibit the avoidant conflict management style will experience lower levels of life satisfaction than clergy who exhibit other styles and was partially supported. Hypothesis 4 investigated whether clergy who exhibit the avoidant conflict style will experience lower levels of religious commitment than clergy who exhibit other styles and could not be supported. Hypothesis 5 investigated whether themes would emerge during interviews with clergy that might act as predictors for future congregational conflict and was supported.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research was to further elucidate two related factors about recovery from addiction to alcohol and/or other drugs. The lived experiences of participants gave texture to this qualitative phenomenological study and focused on gaining an appreciation of the characteristics of long-term sobriety. There has been a gap in the literature regarding what transpires over time for those who remain sober/clean for five years or more. One particular aspect was the role that spirituality played in long-term recovery. While spirituality has been studied, it has not often been addressed from a different perspective than that offered through the prevalent 12-Step model. For this study, members of the Bah&aacute;'&iacute; Faith from across the United States were recruited through a Bah&aacute;'&iacute; listserve to obtain the broadest possible demographics within this target group. The significance of spirituality and/or aspects of their faith were an integral part of the participants' lives and provided a framework that encouraged them to be of service to others and help others in community-building initiatives. Key themes were identified as education, self-determination, spirituality, and transformation. The length of sobriety of the participants ranged from five to 40 years and participants were between 25 and 73 years of age. A shift has gradually taken place in substance abuse treatment from a paradigm of relapse prevention into a process of community recovery and "wellbriety." This most recent approach is in keeping with the Bah&aacute;'&iacute; principles leading to the acquisition and practice of virtues or strengths of character. Character strengths in turn helped the participants effectively navigate the challenges of "living life on life's terms." Living by these principles led participants to develop a new sense of self brought about through self-determination and self-efficacy. Together, self-determination and self-efficacy also formed the research's theoretical framework. Insights shared by the participants can inform and help those with less time in recovery, in addition to those who may still struggle with active addiction, early recovery, and new understanding of "spirituality" in this context. As such, implications from this research address recommended improvements in education, research, and practice, as well as potential policy changes.</p>

<p> This theoretical dissertation uses a hermeneutic methodology to weave together three strands--ecopsychology, narcissism, and death denial--to explore ecological narcissism, defined as the tendency of humans in technologically advanced cultures to be so self-absorbed as to be unable to see anything in nature except objects that might satisfy their own needs. The study responds to 3 research questions: How is ecological narcissism related to the denial of death? Does ecological narcissism, with its denial of death, play a role in our destruction of the environment? And, how might we mitigate ecological narcissism and renew a more life-sustaining attitude towards death? It posits that beneath the confident, manic fa&ccedil;ade of modern cultures lurks fear of death masquerading as death denial. Ecological narcissism co-arises with this fear as the offspring of human belief in separation from nature. The study examines the theories developed by Berman, Hillman, and Shepard to account for how humanity has come to feel separate from nature. It proposes that ecological narcissism and death denial support us in perceiving nonhuman created environments as a collection of objects devoid of the sentience and subjectivity credited to humans. Such a perceptual orientation is interested in the answer to only one question: Do these objects (which might include elephants, oaks, and oceans) help further human life? If so, we feel free to use them, and if not, we feel free to destroy them. A final conclusion of this study is that one way in which humans might move towards a more life-sustaining attitude towards nature and death is through an increase in direct experience of wilderness "out there" and "in here" (within one's psyche). Practitioners of depth psychotherapy therefore have an opportunity to support a welcoming attitude towards wild forces within and beyond us, which in turn may support a cultural transition from the prevailing attitude of narcissistic entitlement to a maturity recognizing human relationship with all nature.</p>

<p> Loss of a child is the most complex death a person can experience. This event is multifaceted, containing intricate layers of mourning woven throughout the bereaved parent&rsquo;s lifetime. Despite considerable attention emphasizing grief reactions of the bereaved, relatively few studies have recognized the unique mourning of bereaved parents, including dreams related to their child. This hermeneutic phenomenological study investigated the lived experience of six bereaved parents who have encountered significant dreams of their child. The study utilized a depth psychological lens based on Jung&rsquo;s concept of the numinous&mdash;perceived as the mystery, the inexpressible, and that which pertains to the Divine. Data analysis yielded four supraordinate themes: Deepened Relationship with Self, Extended Relationship with Others, Intensified Relationship with It, and Heightened Relationship with God/Higher Power. This research sought to depathologize bereaved parents&rsquo; mourning and to cultivate awareness of the effects of dream encounters in order to foster hope and healing for the bereft parent. Results revealed that numinous dreams hold infinite potential, create a sense of meaning, and guide the bereaved parent toward psychological and spiritual transformation.</p>

<p> For more than fifty years, the <i>Meditationes Vitae Christi (MVC) </i> and the most famous of its illustrated manuscripts (Paris, Biblioth&egrave;que nationale, Ms. ital. 115) have been employed by scholars to exemplify late medieval female spirituality. The mid-fourteenth century ilhuminated manuscript of the <i>Meditationes</i> in the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame that is the subject of this dissertation provides valuable evidence of the popularity of the famous text originally written for a woman religious and its appropriation by urban laity. As an example of the shorter text, in Italian, with 43 chapters plus prologue, its 48 large colored miniatures and the decorated initials that begin each chapter, point to a wealthy patron quite unlike the Poor Clare to whom the <i>MVC</i> text was initially directed. The style of the miniatures indicates that the manuscript was illuminated ca. 1350 in Bologna, site of the pre-eminent European university for the study of law.</p><p> The dissertation explores how the <i>Meditationes Vitae Christi </i> was adapted for an educated and prosperous husband and wife. While written in the vernacular, the Snite <i>MVC</i> illuminations bear a strong resemblance to the illustrations in fourteenth-century Bolognese legal manuscripts. Despite the vivid and often unconventional imagery of the text that is designed to stimulate the reader's affective response to its re-telling of the story of the life of Christ, the miniatures tend to preserve traditional iconographies. The superficially conventional Snite miniatures, which often seem indifferent to the visual specifics of the text, serve to align it with orthodox doctrine and underscore the veracity of its contents. </p><p> An analysis of the illuminations of the Snite <i>MVC</i> reveals a particular attentiveness by the illuminator to the representation of male exemplars that would appeal to an elite educated patron, who might have been a judge or lawyer, or law professor. The Infancy miniatures in particular depict St. Joseph in a prominent role and dressed as a late medieval professional man The dignified representation of St. Joseph is consistent with his scriptural appellation as a "just man " By attending to the themes of justice and wisdom in both the <i>MVC</i> text and in its scriptural sources, the Snite miniatures prove to be much richer in meaning than first glance would suggest, and their affinity with legal manuscript illumination hardly accidental.</p><p> The iconographic analysis of the Snite miniatures is complemented by the study of the social and intellectual context in which the manuscript was produced. Despite the seeming simplicity of the miniatures, the illuminator and his advisor prove to be theologically sophisticated and scripturally literate. By means of the illuminations, the <i>MVC</i> is made compatible with the religious and professional concerns of the elite laity, providing access for men wielding worldly authority into the life of Christ in which powerful and learned men play largely negative roles. The Snite manuscript responds to the lay patron's desire to see in the example of Christ and the events of his life confirmation of late medieval social, juridical, and political structures. In its miniatures, it provides saintly models for the educated laity desirous of reconciling their Christian commitments with the demands of an active, urban, professional life.</p>

<p> Participatory Action Research (PAR) was utilized as the primary research methodology in conducting a program evaluation and development of a mythopoetic men&rsquo;s retreat. Over the course of a two-year exploratory process, a variety of qualitative and quantitative measures were used to plan, conduct, and respond to research studying Victories of the Heart&rsquo;s Breakthrough Weekend retreats. This research sought to understand the weekend&rsquo;s effect on the levels of gender role conflict, perceived social support and psychological wellbeing in men who attended the retreat. Changes in these variables were measured using the Gender Role Conflict Scale &ndash; Short Form, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Flourishing Scale through use of an independent measures pretest posttest design. Qualitative interviews were conducted in order to better understand the research and programmatic needs of Victories of the Heart as an organization, the lived experiences of the men who attended these retreats as well as future directions for research and program development. Although no statistically significant changes were found in the quantitative data, the Breakthrough Weekend participants described their retreat experiences as &ldquo;life changing&rdquo; during qualitative interviews.</p>

<p> Performance-based identity and sexual scripts play a critical role in shaping the masculine identity of young adult Christian males, undermining their spiritual formation. Young men&rsquo;s perceptions of, and interactions with, family culture, non-Christian peers, and society at large further intensify the impact of these scripts. The negative results of these influences include a license for premarital sex, the delay of marriage, and a view of manhood inconsistent with the good news of salvation by grace through Christ Jesus. Through interviews with eleven young adult men these scripts were identified and labeled to capture the characteristics of these sexual narratives. Eight scripts were discovered and named such as Stud, Venus, C.R.E.A.M, and Bachelor Pad among others. For instance, the Stud script is a young man who has achieved experiential wisdom and self-confidence from having lost his virginity. Most Studs typically experience a time of high sexual activity before moving into monogamous sexual relationships. The benefit of being initiated into the script removes any regrets from having engaged in premarital sex even though most were only teenagers. Ironically entry into the status of Stud occurred through the initiation of a Venus. Venus describes the assertive young lady, for most a fellow teenager, who was the co-initiator in the loss of virginity. Venus however was not a one-time sexual relationship but also the description of the sexual desires and expectations of their female counterparts.</p>

This collection of creative non-fiction essays is written from the perspective of a Protestant Christian church leader’s daughter emerging into adulthood and independence. She labors to define her relationship with God, family, and friends and to determine the complicated, but pervasive role of faith in her life while coping with depression and anxiety; a brain aneurysm and malformation among other health problems; working in an all-male environment in the Houston Chronicle Sports department; the death of her grandparents; the death of a Muslim friend in a murder-suicide shooting; and her troubled relationship with an agnostic friend. Although she expresses her doubts in each scenario, she identifies purpose in the trials and accepts the challenges that accompany being the child of the priest.