bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biblical Foundationalism and Religious Reflection: Polarization of Faith and Intellect Oriented Epistemologies within a Christian Ideological Surround
Authors: Watson P. J. , Chen Zhuo , Hood Ralph W.
Published: February 2018

Among other things, the Ideological Surround Model (ISM) argues that greater objectivity can be achieved through an empiricism that brings emic religious and etic social scientific perspectives into formal dialog. In this project, 421 undergraduates responded to a Christian Religious Reflection Scale along with an etic Religious Fundamentalism and an emic Biblical Foundationalism scale. Christian Religious Reflection proved to be polarized with Faith and Intellect Oriented factors correlating negatively. Faith Oriented Reflection, Religious Fundamentalism, and Biblical Foundationalism displayed negative linkages with Quest and Openness to Experience. Intellect Oriented Reflection was incompatible with Christian commitments and predicted higher Quest and Openness to Experiences. Statistical controls for the etic language of Religious Fundamentalism demonstrated that the emic language of Biblical Foundationalism could support both Faith and Intellect Oriented epistemologies and was not incompatible with Quest or Openness to Experience. Participants displayed higher scores on Biblical Foundationalism than on Religious Fundamentalism. These data illustrated how a dialogical empiricism can promote objectivity.
Attachment to God: Differentiating the Contributions of Fathers and Mothers Using the Experiences in Parental Relationships Scale
Authors: Limke Alicia , Mayfield Patrick B.
Published: February 2018

Research on attachment to God has suggested that relationships with primary caregivers are reenacted in the type of attachment relationship experienced with God. However, this research is limited by the language used to investigate the constructs of interest as well as a lack of differentiation of the contribution of attachment to fathers and attachment to mothers independently. Thus, the primary purpose of the current study was to investigate the independent contributions of attachment to mother, attachment to father, and attachment to romantic partners on attachment to God. In addition, the study examined the association between attachment to God and spiritual well-being using a sample not chosen for religious characteristics (and thus, more generalizable). Attachment to fathers predicted attachment to God. Moreover, attachment to God predicted both religious and existential well-being.
Resolving Anger toward God: Lament as an avenue toward Attachment
Authors: Snow Kimberly N. , Mcminn Mark R. , Bufford Rodger K. , Brendlinger Irv A.
Published: February 2018

Psychologists have mostly overlooked the topic of anger toward God. The current study tested an intervention based on the biblical psalms of lament, consisting of 20 devotional readings and weekly experiential assignments, delivered electronically over a four-week period. A total of 192 college students at Christian institutions across the United States completed the study, and were randomly assigned to the experimental condition, an attention control condition, or a no-contact condition. The expected findings—that the experimental intervention would cause decreased feelings of anger and complaint toward God, as well as increased intimacy with God over time—were not confirmed. However, those participants who reported maximum compliance with the intervention showed increased ratings on Communion with God. Implications are discussed.
From Prayer Activities to Receptive Prayer: Godly Love and the Knowledge that Surpasses Understanding
Authors: Poloma Margaret M. , Lee Matthew T.
Published: February 2018

Research on prayer, even when using measures beyond simple prayer frequency to create typologies, has ignored the dynamic relationship between God as a “divine other” in interaction with the pray-er. Using statistics from surveys on prayer as a backdrop, qualitative accounts that demonstrate the relational nature of prayer are explored through the lenses of the Godly love model. Based on data collected as part of the Flame of Love project, prayer is conceptualized as integrating active and receptive streams, with tributaries of prophetic and mystical prayer experiences. Taken together these dimensions of prayer play an important role in describing what the Apostle Paul calls “knowing the love that surpasses understanding” and are confirmed by multivariate analysis of new survey data. Although active prayer has received much scholarly attention, our findings suggest that a closer look at the receptive forms would provide a more complete picture of what people actually do when they pray.
Core Assumptions and Values in Community Psychology: A Christian Reflection
Authors: Canning Sally Schwer
Published: February 2018

From the beginning, community psychologists made many of the assumptions behind their theories and methodologies explicit, openly articulating values at the core of their discipline. As a result, community psychology's foundational principles may be readily appraised by any who wish to seriously reflect upon them. This article introduces a set of assumptions and values commonly agreed upon within community psychology: (1) the ecological perspective as a lens for viewing human behavior, (2) adaptation as the means of development and change, (3) wellness as a focus over psychopathology, (4) prevention and promotion as priorities over treatment (5) collaborative, empowering helping relationships, (6) justice as a prominent goal of action, (7) research as wedded to action, and (8) human diversity reflected theories and methods. These core values and assumptions are examined from an integrative perspective and illustrated in practice through an example taken from the author's work as a consultant.
Community Psychology and Liberation Theologies: Commonalities, Collaboration, Dilemmas
Authors: Todd Nathan R.
Published: February 2018

Community psychology and liberation theologies share an emphasis on personal and social transformation through a process of liberation. Emerging in the 1960s in the climate of social change movements, both fields serve to challenge the dominant discourse of how and why to perform the tasks of theology and psychology. My purpose in this article is to put these fields into dialogue, with a focus on commonalities, collaboration, and dilemmas. After presenting an overview of the fields and their commonalities, I posit that liberation theologies can enrich the why and where of liberating structural change, whereas community psychology can enrich the how with conceptual tools such as multiple levels of analysis and social change strategies. I conclude with dilemmas internal to these fields and inherent in collaboration. My goal is to promote theoretical and practical collaboration in the quest for liberatory social change.
Giving Voice to the Voiceless: Collaborative Inquiry in Poor Communities of Mexico City
Authors: Cruz-Ramos Saúl , Cruz-Valdivieso Saúl
Published: February 2018

This article reports on a case study in the context of empowering persons in poor communities through a process of collaborative inquiry. This process began conceptually in the south of Mexico, and continued 28 years later in poor neighborhoods of Mexico City. This process of developing successful answers by communities for their well being was considered from indigenous (Mexican), holistic, Christian, collaborative and transformational perspectives. The communal discernment of members of communities in different contexts is reported as they were able to articulate for themselves the nature of psychological, relational, and spiritual well being. This process of collaborative inquiry dramatically transformed the participants as they continued to cope with extremely difficult living conditions.
Cross-Cultural Comparison of Religious Coping Methods Reported by Native Guatemalan and Kenyan Faith-Based Relief Providers
Authors: Putman Katharine M. , Lea Julia C. , Eriksson Cynthia B.
Published: February 2018

Guatemala and Kenya are both countries that have recently experienced political violence in the context of long histories of colonialization, oppression and poverty. The current study examines focus group responses of indigenous faith-based relief providers in Guatemala and Kenya describing how they utilized religion to cope with their own experience of political violence as well as to cope with stress related to providing relief services to others. In an effort to study both emic and etic dimensions of religious coping, the study also analyzes these responses within the framework of Pargament and colleagues’ (1998; 2000) religious coping constructs to determine responses that are consistent with findings across other cultures (etic) and to identify and describe responses that are culturally specific to Guatemala and Kenya (emic). Guatemalan and Kenyan themes consistent with North American literature were: Religious Helping, Seeking Spiritual Support, Benevolent Religious Reappraisal, Spiritual Connections and Collaborative Religious Coping. Themes unique to Guatemala and Kenya included Acceptance and Engagement of Suffering, Cosmic Balance, Living Better, Prayer, Human Responsibility, Communal Spiritual Traditions, and Finding Solidarity Through Shared Experience. Finally, this article examines emic and etic responses within the context of literature on African and Central American theologies.
Faith-Based Organizations in a System of Behavioral Health Care
Authors: Dekraai Mark B. , Bulling Denise J. , Shank Nancy C. , Tomkins Alan J.
Published: February 2018

Through community service activities, and ministries to members within their congregations, faith communities will encounter individuals with behavioral health needs. This article suggests that faith communities have inherent resources that can enhance the reach and effectiveness of behavioral health systems. A framework is presented that will create a bridge of understanding about how behavioral health can leverage faith organization assets and how faith organizations can actively assist adults, children and families with behavioral health needs within the context of their faith and their community.
Faith-Based Hiv Care and Prevention in Chinese Immigrant Communities: Rhetoric or Reality?
Authors: Kang Ezer , Chin John J. , Behar Elana
Published: February 2018

Ethnic churches attended by first generation Chinese immigrants are uniquely positioned to address emerging HIV prevention and care needs within the Chinese community at-large. Efforts to develop faith-based HIV programs necessitate identifying how HIV intersects with the sinicization of Christianity within Chinese churches. This article will review the process of contextualizing HIV within theological and cultural frameworks that are meaningful for ethnic Chinese church leaders and members. The authors specifically propose two points of integration between public health and ecclesial functions: (1) HIV stigma-mitigation initiatives as informed by Christo-centric teachings of compassion and justice, and (2) HIV prevention and care reframed as social responsibility and informed by the Christian tradition of evangelism. Systems and practices that hinder and promote the involvement of Chinese churches in HIV prevention, care, and stigma-reduction will be discussed.
Because God Said so: Religious Facets of Sexual and Gender Harassment in Christian Academia
Authors: Eliason Kristen , Elizabeth M. , Hall L. , Anderson Tamara L.
Published: February 2018

The present study explored experiences of sexism (sexual and gender harassment) in a Christian university student population. This study assessed the frequency of sexism, documented how sexism is expressed in a Christian context, and evaluated the relationships between sexism and two outcomes, campus climate and college satisfaction. Additionally, it was hypothesized that attribution of gender harassment to the perpetrator's religious belief system would potentiate the negative effects of harassment. 187 female students completed an online questionnaire, including the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire—Short Form (SEQ), the General Campus Climate Scale (GCCS), and the MMPI-2 College Maladjustment Scale (CMS). Results indicated very low rates of sexual harassment. Also, religious attributions for gender harassment had a significantly negative relationship with the outcome variables although they did not moderate these outcomes. Qualitative descriptions of students’ experiences with gender harassment were recorded, shedding light on what gender harassing behaviors look like in Christian academia.
Doing Theology in Dialogue with Psychology
Authors: Watts Fraser
Published: February 2018

The dialogue between theology and psychology is part of the broader dialogue between theology and science, but more two-way. Theology operates with a broader conceptual framework, and points to approaches that psychology may neglect. One of the principal points of intersection between theology and psychology concerns human nature, though there is also a dialogue between theology and psychology about religion itself. Though the claims of the two disciplines are often seen as alternatives, it is argued that they are better seen as complementary perspectives. Issues also arise about the psychological significance of particular religious doctrines. It is argued that psychology is a methodological hybrid, part natural science, part human science, and this facilitates its dialogue with theology. Part of the resistance to psychological approaches to theology is that it is mistakenly thought to undercut the claimed objectivity of the claims made by theology.
Revisiting a Field of Dreams: Looking Back with Appreciation and Forward with Anticipation
Authors: Hill Peter C.
Published: February 2018

Integration is described in terms of paradox, whereby the reality of tensions, though uncomfortable, is celebrated and through which creative solutions are sometimes achieved. It is suggested those interested in integrating psychology and theology have learned to accept and value the paradox that integration entails different, and sometimes competing, perspectives. The integration enterprise will move forward as Christian psychologists both critically evaluate and constructively engage our differences. A number of signs that the integration of psychology and theology is maturing along these lines is offered.
Integration, Multicultural Counseling, and Social Justice
Authors: Hook Joshua N. , Davis Don E.
Published: February 2018

In this article, we explore the integration of psychology and Christianity in the areas of multicultural counseling and social justice. First, we give a brief overview of the multicultural counseling and social justice movements. Second, we explore two aspects of Christianity that we believe make integration in this area difficult. Third, we critically evaluate the multicultural counseling and social justice movements from a Christian perspective. Fourth, we discuss three ideas that we believe will improve dialogue in this area of integration.
Disaster Spiritual and Emotional Care in Professional Psychology: A Christian Integrative Approach
Authors: Aten Jamie D.
Published: February 2018

In this article, I introduce a Christian integrative approach to disaster spiritual and emotional care in professional psychology. I also contextualize the subfield of disaster intervention within my view of how integration overall will develop in the future. Practice guidelines for integrative disaster spiritual and emotional care are offered, as well as a series of diverse examples of faith-based disaster interventions. Theological and integrative implications are also raised, as well as thoughts on how disaster spiritual and emotional care will contribute to the future of integration.
Applied Clinical Integration in Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents: A Look Ahead
Authors: Walker Donald F.
Published: February 2018

In this article, I briefly review the integration movement beginning with the early 1970's. Early integration efforts focused on interdisciplinary integration. Beginning in the mid 1990's, integrative scholarship has moved increasingly from interdisciplinary integration to applied clinical integration. Applied clinical integration with children and adolescents is an area of clinical practice in its infancy. I discuss the future of applied clinical integration with children and teens. In doing so, I advocate for the development of developmentally sensitive measures of religion and spirituality with children and teens. I then discuss promising spiritually oriented interventions with children and suggest areas for research in trauma focused therapy with children. I also suggest areas of research and practice related to training Christian therapists.
Integration of Psychology and Christianity: 2022
Authors: Ripley Jennifer S.
Published: February 2018

This paper forecasts changes to the integration of Psychology and Christianity for the next decade. The focus of the paper is on proposals to address six trends that are seen as hope for the future of the integrationist movement: the healthcare crisis, education, research, application, global networks and technology.
Trauma, Attachment, and Spirituality: A Case Study
Authors: Maltby Lauren E. , Hall Todd W.
Published: February 2018

The goal of this article is to illustrate the interaction between trauma, attachment, and spirituality, and to demonstrate how to address this interaction in long-term attachment-based psychoanalysis. Toward that end, this article briefly summarizes the convergence of attachment theory and psychoanalysis, and then reviews literature on attachment to God and trauma, including complex traumatic stress. We then present an in-depth case study of a patient with symptoms of complex traumatic stress that was treated from a long-term attachment-based psychoanalytic modality. Finally, based on the case that is presented, recommendations are made to practitioners about dealing with trauma and spiritual issues from an attachment-based perspective.
Child Abuse and the Church: A Call for Prevention, Treatment, and Training
Authors: Vieth Victor I. , Tchividjian Basyle J. , Walker Donald F. , Knodel Katlin R.
Published: February 2018

Child abuse is both a sin and a crime. In this article, we present a call to the global Christian church to prevent and treat child abuse, and to train professionals across disciplines to do so. Vieth discusses effective child protection policies in churches. Among other recommendations, he encourages consultation with child protection experts, thorough screening of child workers, and accountable supervision of children in church. Tchvidjian examines cultural aspects of missions organizations that contribute to the abuse of children in the mission field. He suggests that missions organizations who have failed to protect abused children in the past placed their reputation above child protection, failed to treasure children, and believed in God-sanctioned power and control of missions workers. Knodel reviews the efforts of Christian organizations to prevent the trafficking of children worldwide. She finds effective advocacy occurring across the globe but among Christian organizations that are rarely tied to any specific denominational support. Next, Walker reviews evidence-based treatment recommendations for children and adolescents. Trauma-focused CBT is a leading empirically supported treatment for child abuse. Recently, efforts have been made to sensitively integrate faith into TF-CBT. Vieth then discusses effective church responses to allegations of abuse. He suggests suspending the activities of a church worker when allegations are made against him or her in addition to informing the police. Tchivdjian concludes by discussing the mission and vision of the GRACE foundation—a multidisciplinary Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children from child abuse and treating children who have been abused.
“Please Care about Me!” or “I am Pleased to Care about You!” Considering Adaptive and Maladaptive Versions of Unmitigated Communion
Authors: Bassett Rodney L. , Aubé Jennifer
Published: February 2018

Unmitigated communion (UC) refers to the tendency to sacrificially care for others while failing to protect one's own needs within intimate relationships. Two studies were conducted to develop a new measure of UC that differentiated between UC that is self-oriented (motivated by a desire to feel affirmed or valued by others) and other-oriented (motivated by care and concern for the well-being of others). In study one, participants were given a draft of this new measure of UC, an established measure of UC and C, a measure of self-esteem, and a measure of depressive symptoms. Study two further refined the measure and considered possible connections between self- and other-oriented UC and dispositional tendencies toward shame, controlling and critical images of God, and attachment styles. Together, these studies contribute to the literature by demonstrating the importance of considering not only frequency of UC behaviors but also the motivations underlying these behaviors.
Social Personality Traits as Salient Predictors of Religious Doubt Phenomena among Undergraduates
Authors: Puffer Keith A.
Published: February 2018

Twenty-six years ago, Bergin, Masters, and Richards (1987) published results from a correlational study of Allport's two religious orientations with indices of pathology and social personality traits. Curiously, Batson's quest religion, a third religious orientation, was not included. The omission appears to accompany the unremitting uneasiness and confusion with religious doubt in the American Christian church. In contrast, the present study identified a set of mature and adaptive social personality traits related to doubt phenomena. Specifically, multiple regression analyses of questionnaire data from 642 religious undergraduates revealed four personality dispositions predicted quest religious orientation and theological exploration. Implications with and applications of the findings are discussed.
Hope, Religious Behaviors, and Attachment to God: A Trinitarian Perspective
Authors: Houser Melissa E. , Welch Ronald D.
Published: February 2018

Drawing on existing research regarding adult attachment, attachment to God, and Trinitarian theology, the current study investigated the level of attachment security to God (comparing secure, preoccupied, dismissing, and fearful types) and the connection with hope and religious behaviors. Significant, positive relationships were hypothesized among the variables of secure attachment to God, high levels of hope, and high participation in religious behaviors in Christian college students. A cross-section of 268 undergraduate students at a Christian university completed the Attachment to God Inventory (Beck & McDonald, 2004), the Herth Hope Index (Herth, 1992), Relationships Structures Questionnaire (Fraley et al., 2006) and demographic questions regarding their religious behaviors. Results were analyzed utilizing correlation, polynomial logistic regression, multiple regression, and path analyses. Results indicated that the levels of hope and religious behaviors predicted 36.6% of the variance in attachment to God-avoidance. Findings regarding personal versus corporate religious behaviors are discussed. Conclusions and implications regarding attachment to God and Trinitarian theology are discussed.
Humility, Religion, and Spirituality: Introduction to the Special Issue
Authors: Hook Joshua N. , Davis Don E.
Published: February 2018

This issue of the Journal of Psychology and Theology focuses on the intersection between humility, religion, and spirituality. In this introduction to the special issue, we first define humility, religion, and spirituality. Then, we present some initial theory and research that motivated our desire to organize this special issue. Namely, humility is a virtue that is often taught and valued by world religions. However, it may be difficult to hold religious/spiritual convictions with humility, and history is replete with examples in which religion has fueled the fires of conflict and division between individuals and groups. After setting up this tension between humility and religion/spirituality, we summarize the subsequent articles in this issue, which explore this important and timely topic.
Intellectual Arrogance and Intellectual Humility: An Evolutionary-Epistemological Account
Authors: Gregg Aiden P. , Mahadevan Nikhila
Published: February 2018

In this paper, we scrutinize intellectual arrogance and intellectual humility through an evolutionary lens. Our basic thesis might be summarized as follows. Human cognition, though it partly transcends the natural order, remains rooted in it: it is half-emancipated, half-embodied. In particular, it bears the lowly stamp of competitive dynamics that form part of the adaptive behavioral repertoire of all complex animals. Such dynamics, transmuted to the mental realm in human beings, help to explain, in psychological terms, why argumentation and ratiocination can be sometimes motivationally biased, but sometimes dispassionately truth-oriented too. Alongside furnishing our evolutionary-epistemological account of intellectual humility, we embed the construct in a wider nomological net, and report some recent empirical findings illustrating the automaticity of the tendency towards intellectual arrogance. We conclude by considering the role spirituality and religion might play in either helpfully fostering intellectual humility or inadvertently fostering intellectual arrogance.
A Social-Personality Perspective on Humility, Religiousness, and Spirituality
Authors: Rowatt Wade C. , Kang Linda L. , Haggard Megan C. , LaBoufff Jordan P.
Published: February 2018

Two studies were conducted about humility and religiousness-spirituality dimensions of the self. In Study 1, a sample of adults self-reported their religious affiliation, humility, and narcissism. We found Protestant and Catholic adults self-reported being more humble-modest than non-religious adults. In Study 2, college students self-reported humility-modesty, humility-arrogance, and religiousness-spirituality and were rated on these same qualities by a person who knew them well. Positive correlations were found between self and other-rated humility and between self-reported humility, religious values/beliefs, and religious-spiritual coping. Ratings of the participant as humble (relative to arrogant) were positively correlated with several facets of religiousness-spirituality. The magnitude of correlations was relatively unchanged when socially desirable responding was statistically controlled.
A Meaning-Based Approach to Humility: Relationship Affirmation Reduces Worldview Defense
Authors: Van Tongeren Daryl R. , Green Jeffrey D. , Hulsey Timothy L. , Legare Cristine H. , Bromley David G. , Houtman Anne M.
Published: February 2018

Humans are notoriously resistant to changing their longstanding beliefs and often act defensively when they encounter individuals holding divergent beliefs. We introduce a meaning-based approach to humility (e.g., reduced defensiveness) with the claim that the desire for meaning motivates individuals to ardently defend their central beliefs. We propose that affirming meaning prior to encountering attitudinally-dissimilar individuals should reduce defensiveness (e.g., less negative attitudes toward those who challenge their beliefs). Christian undergraduates (N = 79) were randomly assigned to a relationship affirmation, self-affirmation, or neutral priming condition, and then received negative feedback from an ostensibly antireligious individual (i.e., outgroup member) after writing an essay explicating their beliefs about an important social or cultural topic. Relationship affirmation reduced defensiveness via more positive ratings of the individual who derogated their beliefs, providing initial evidence for our theoretical approach. Implications for a meaning-based approach to humility are discussed.
Attachment to God and Humility: Indirect Effect and Conditional Effects Models
Authors: Jankowski Peter J. , Sandage Steven J.
Published: February 2018

The safe haven and secure base functions of attachment to God were examined in proposed indirect and conditional effects models. Support for the safe haven function stemmed from significant specific indirect effects between spiritual instability and dispositional humility through lowered differentiation of self, through increased insecure God attachment, and through both increased insecure attachment and lowered differentiation of self. A nonsignificant direct effect was also found. Partial support for the secure base function was observed as realistic acceptance moderated the association between religious exploration and dispositional humility. A significant negative association between exploration and humility was observed at lower levels of realistic acceptance, and the effect became nonsignificant and positive at highest levels of realistic acceptance. Implications for the conceptualization of humility are discussed, with particular attention to the framing of humility as a virtue of self-regulation.
Teaching Christian Faith Integration in Psychological Assessment Courses
Authors: Adams Wayne , McMinn Mark R. , Thurston Nancy
Published: February 2018

Within the existing literature that emphasizes the integration of faith and psychology, topics related to psychological assessment are rare inclusions. Yet, it is commonly recognized that assessment measures provide useful clinical information. This article highlights the domain of psychological assessment as fertile ground for integrating psychology with spirituality. Three graduate-level faculty members who each teach psychological assessment courses in a clinical training program describe specific ways they integrate Christian faith and psychological assessment in the classroom. Foci for future efforts that would bring the areas of faith and psychological assessment together are described along with some of the benefits such efforts would yield, especially for clinical practice.
Teaching Professional Ethics in a Faith-Based Doctoral Program: Pedagogical Strategies
Authors: Anderson Tamara L.
Published: February 2018

Teaching professional ethics in faith-based doctoral programs is similar to teaching this subject in secular programs, with some exceptions. Defining what is meant by “faith-based program,” this article discusses unique issues relevant to teaching Christian psychologists in training, as well as two specific pedagogical strategies: inviting students to assess their ethical decision-making heritage, and creative use of vignettes.
Comic Books, Mock Trials, and Zombies: Engaging Integrative Biopsychology Themes in the Classroom
Authors: Struthers William M.
Published: February 2018

Several topics in biopsychology can be used to explore the integrative process in the classroom. While many of these can be addressed in a straightforward lecture/discussion format, there are a variety of pedagogical approaches that can be utilized to engage students in a more robust fashion. Three integrative topics relevant to biopsychology courses (embodiment, emergent agency, and enhancement) are addressed, and recommendations for how to incorporate online resources, case studies, novels, cinema, and classroom activities are provided. From contemporary film and television, to comic books and recent medical technologies and drugs, a variety of classroom exercises and atypical pedagogical assignments can offer students the opportunity to investigate and engage in the process of Christian integration.
Teaching Psychological Theories: Integration Tasks and Teaching Strategies
Authors: Watson Terri S. , Eveleigh Elisha
Published: February 2018

Teaching students to integrate Christian faith with psychological theories is a multifaceted responsibility. In this article, we encourage educators to utilize a three-fold integration approach to foster the development of students’ knowledge, skills, and values in counseling and psychology by teaching students to think Christianly, intervene competently, and advocate effectively. Using examples from the integration literature, professional standards, research on effective teaching strategies, and our own experience, we offer resources for course content and provide specific teaching strategies.
Integration of Christianity in Research and Statistics Courses
Authors: Ripley Jennifer S. , Dwiwardani Carissa
Published: February 2018

Teaching pedagogy and praxis on the integration of research skills with Christianity are introduced with practical classroom strategies. The authors discuss the purpose of Christian integration in statistics and research design courses as a spiritual and scientific endeavor. They discuss how they address students’ attitudes towards research with respect for their faith and cultural traditions. The development of research skills and personal virtue character development are a third theme.
Community Sanctification of Forgiveness
Authors: Bell Christopher , Woodruff Elissa , Davis Don E. , Van Tongeren Daryl R. , Hook Joshua N. , Worthington Everett L.
Published: February 2018

Previous research has yielded mixed findings regarding the relationship between religion/spirituality (R/S) and forgiveness. This study examined the degree to which victims view forgiveness as spiritually valuable within their R/S community. We developed the Community Sanctification of Forgiveness (CSF) scale to assess this construct. We divided the sample (N = 307) into two subsamples (n = 157; n = 150, respectively) in order to conduct exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. We then examined whether CSF was related to forgiveness in the combined sample (N = 307). We found that religious commitment moderated the relationship between CSF and forgiveness, such that greater community expectations for forgiveness were positively related to forgiveness only for individuals high on religious commitment. Implications for R/S, forgiveness, and the measurement of these constructs are discussed.
A Theological and Psychological Defense of Self-Forgiveness: Implications for Counseling
Authors: Kim Jichan J. , Enright Robert D.
Published: February 2018

In the burgeoning literature of forgiveness, self-forgiveness is an aspect that has not received as much attention as other areas of research on forgiveness. Self-forgiveness is important in dealing with negative feelings toward the self when one violates the conscience. However, because criticisms have emerged against this construct, we attempt a theological and psychological defense of self-forgiveness by addressing following four questions: (a) Is self-forgiveness the same as or different from divine forgiveness? (b) What is the nature of self-forgiveness? (c) Can we rationally address the criticisms of self-forgiveness? (d) How does self-forgiveness interact with divine and person-to-person forgiveness? After addressing these questions, we delineate four implications for counselors working with clients struggling to forgive themselves. Self-forgiveness, as one form of the virtue of forgiveness, now needs to be opened up more widely and deeply for more clients, and their emotional health may be further enhanced by this experience that frees them from self-condemnation when guided by a counselor who knows the essence of what self-forgiveness is and is not.
Attachment to God, Psychological Need Satisfaction, and Psychological Well-Being among Christians
Authors: Miner Maureen , Dowson Martin , Malone Kim
Published: February 2018

Human attachment relationships are considered to be foundational to psychological well-being (Fonagy, 1999; Warren, Huston, Egeland, & Sroufe, 1997) and, by extension, attachment to God is often considered foundational to psychological well-being amongst Christian believers (Kirkpatrick, 1999; Miner, 2009). However, studies of psychological need satisfaction by different attachment figures (La Guardia, Ryan, Couchman, & Deci, 2000) suggest that experiences in which basic psychological needs are satisfied are conducive to more secure attachment relationships, and thus, to enhanced psychological well-being. This paper tests two contrasting models of attachment to God, need satisfaction, and well-being: the Attachment Security Primacy Model which holds that attachment security facilitates experiences of psychological need satisfaction and thence increased well-being; and the Need Satisfaction Primacy Model which holds that experiences of psychological need satisfaction facilitate attachment security and thence increased well-being. Using self-report data from 225 Australian Christian participants, Structural Equation Modeling indicated that the Need Satisfaction Primacy Model fit the data better than competing models. Implications for augmenting theories of attachment to God and providing contexts in which people can experience God as meeting basic needs are discussed.
Missionary Perspectives on the Effectiveness of Current Member Care Practices
Authors: Camp Claire A. , Bustrum Joy M. , Brokaw David W. , Adams Christopher J.
Published: February 2018

This qualitative study examined current member care practices from the perspective of 13 former missionaries using a semi-structured interview. Seven male and six female missionaries, ranging in age from 46 to 76, were asked to share their experiences of serving on the field as well as their experiences of member care practices throughout their missionary life-cycles. Thus, participants shared their experiences of training to work in the field, of serving in the field, of preparing to return to their home country, and of re-entering their home country. The data was analyzed using a grounded theory qualitative coding process. The results of this study identified several important components of effective member care practices: (a) agency attunement to missionary needs, (b) agency provision for missionary needs, (c) invested church partnership, (d) the impact of relationships, (e) missionaries’ self-care, and (f) consistency of care across the missionary life-cycle. A discussion of these findings is offered as well as recommendations for improving member care practices among mission-sending agencies, organizations, and churches.
What's the “Positive” in Positive Psychology? Teleological Considerations Based on Creation and Imago Doctrines
Authors: King Pamela Ebstyne , Whitney William B.
Published: February 2018

While positive psychology has considered a social science perspective of optimal development and living, a pressing question for the integration of psychology and theology is to consider what Christian theology suggests is essential for humans to thrive. Recognizing that God's purposeful action in creation has a telos, that is, a goal or purpose for humankind, propels Christian psychologists to investigate a theology of thriving in order to more fully grasp what God has intended for humanity. In this essay we argue that the Christian faith uniquely contributes multiple perspectives to our understanding of human thriving and flourishing that are central to psychological inquiry and are unique contributions to positive psychology. Specifically, the doctrines of creation and imago Dei broaden and deepen our understanding of thriving by providing a teleological perspective.
Relational Integration, Part I: Differentiated Relationality between Psychology and Theology
Authors: Sandage Steven J. , Brown Jeannine K.
Published: February 2018

In Part I of a two-part manuscript, we describe the contours of a relational integration approach to the relationship between psychology and theology. This approach builds on the tradition of the integration of psychology and theology but thematizes relationality at the levels of both content and process. We argue that it is persons who seek to integrate (or not); thus, integration is a relational process that inevitably involves the challenges of conflict, power and control stances, and difference. Therefore, relational integration necessitates differentiated capacities for mutual recognition and collaboration across disciplinary differences. We contrast our differentiation-based approach to relational integration with other published views for relating psychology and theology and outline relational integration as (a) embodied and (b) hermeneutical.
Relational Integration, Part II: Relational Integration as Developmental and Intercultural
Authors: Brown Jeannine K. , Sandage Steven J.
Published: February 2018

In Part II of this two-part manuscript, we continue to outline the contours of a relational integration approach to the relationship between psychology and theology. Part I focused on relational integration as embodied and hermeneutical; here, in Part II we describe relational integration as developmental and intercultural. We start with hermeneutical work on Colossians 3:1–11 to probe biblical perspectives on the developmental and intercultural dynamics of Christian spiritual formation in community. Developmental research on attachment and interpersonal neurobiology are utilized to frame the prospects and challenges of interpersonal and interdisciplinary collaboration. Spiritual and psychological dynamics of idealization and disintegration are described in relation to developmental and integrative processes. Finally, we argue for the importance of intercultural, gender, and other diversity factors as valuable dimensions for relational integration within our differentiation-based approach.
The Relationship of Self-Compassion with Perfectionistic Self-Presentation, Perceived Forgiveness, and Perceived Social Support in an Undergraduate Christian Community
Authors: Brodar Kaitlyn E. , Crosskey Laura Barnard , Thompson Robert J.
Published: February 2018

Past research indicates that self-compassion is a unique predictor of variation in clergy burnout. Self-compassion may be a relevant and beneficial construct in Christian communities at large, but as of yet no studies have analyzed self-compassion in non-clergy Christians. This study assesses the relationship of self-compassion with perfectionistic self-presentation, perceived forgiveness, and perceived support from one's Christian community. The study sample (N = 129) was drawn from undergraduates at a mid-sized, private, secular university in the southeastern United States who self-identified as Christians and were actively involved in a Christian campus ministry. Participants completed measures of the variables listed above through an online survey. Results indicated that those with low self-compassion reported more perfectionistic self-presentation, less perceived forgiveness, and lower perceived support from their campus ministry than those with high levels of self-reported compassion. Potential benefits of raising self-compassion among Christians are discussed.
God Images and Resilience: A Study of Vietnamese Immigrants
Authors: Nguyen Thanh Tu , Bellehumeur Christian , Malette Judith
Published: February 2018

This article examines the relationship between resilience and the God images of Vietnamese immigrants living in Canada. In earlier literature, little attention was paid to the way that these immigrants may have used spiritual components as resources in helping them endure struggle and become resilient (i.e., well-adapted, resourceful, and filled with a sense of purpose). In the current study, we examined the above link using an object relations’ perspective on God images and hypothesized that a more positive God image would be related to greater resilience. One hundred twenty-nine participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Questionnaire on God Image (QGI), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Correlation and regression analyses showed that positive God images (e.g., those characterized by love, comfort, protection, and trust) were not only positively associated with a higher degree of resilience but also helped predict resilience among the Vietnamese immigrants we surveyed. We discuss various cultural implications of these findings for theory, research, and practice and make recommendations for future research.
Mental Health of Cross-Cultural Healthcare Missionaries
Authors: Strand Mark A. , Pinkston Lauren M. , Chen Alice I. , Richardson Jarrett W.
Published: February 2018

In this study of career healthcare missionaries (N = 393), 47.9% of female missionaries and 42.1% of male missionaries reported experiencing anxiety, while 32.5% of female missionaries and 27.5% of male missionaries reported experiencing depression. For both females and males, depression severity scores showed a bimodal distribution of more and less severe depression, suggesting a clearer delineation for mild and severe depression. Regression analyses found that low role satisfaction was associated with both anxiety (p = .006) and depression severity (p = .004). A model is proposed describing the relationship between role satisfaction and its correlates: job expectations prior to arriving on the field, receptivity of the host country, gender, and imbalance of work and ministry. This model also describes the bidirectional relationship between role satisfaction and the existence of depression and/or anxiety.
The Transgressor's Response to Denied Forgiveness
Authors: Jennings David J. , Worthington Everett L. , Van Tongeren Daryl R. , Hook Joshua N. , Davis Don E. , Gartner Aubrey L. , Greer Chelsea L. , Mosher David K.
Published: February 2018

The study of forgiveness has flourished in recent years, but little is known about how transgressors respond when their request for forgiveness is denied. Two studies examined how transgressors react to a denied request for forgiveness in romantic relationships. Across both studies, when participants were denied forgiveness or delayed in receiving a forgiving response, they exhibited differences in the degree to which they held unforgiving motivations (e.g., anger and avoidance) and experienced positive emotions (e.g., empathy). The observed effects remained even after controlling for relationship commitment in Study 2. These results expand our knowledge of forgiveness processes by describing in more detail the internal experience and motivations of the transgressor toward the victim when forgiveness is denied, which has implications for relational repair (e.g., transgressor's motivations toward re-engaging and repairing the relationship) after an offense has occurred in romantic relationships.
Is It Really more Blessed to Give than to Receive? A Consideration of Forgiveness and Perceived Health
Authors: Bassett Rodney L. , Carrier Evan , Charleson Katherine , Pak Na Ra , Schwingel Rachael , Majors Alexandra , Pitre Meredith , Sundlof-Stoller Andrea , Bloser Carol
Published: February 2018

There are several aspects to forgiveness. To this point, few studies have simultaneously considered the impact of all these different aspects, and none have considered the impact of all these aspects of forgiveness upon perceived physical health. Participants, ranging in age from 18 to 93, self-reported tendencies toward various types of dispositional forgiveness, well-being, and empathy. These individuals reported they were most inclined to seek forgiveness from others and feel forgiven by God. They were least inclined to self-forgive. A second study was conducted as a conceptual replication of the first study. Across both studies results suggested that the way granting forgiveness was operationalized mattered and that self-forgiveness was the most significant contributor to perceived physical health.