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This paper examines how a group of mosque-practicing Muslim women in Denmark cope with personal discriminating actions and confrontations with stigmatising stereotypical discourses related to their religion and gender. Based on qualitative interviews with 33 mosque-practicing Muslim women, we provide examples of various experiences with discrimination related to their religion and gender. The study demonstrates how mosques support women by providing a strong sense of belonging and a religious language of advocacy. Hence, this study empirically highlights an aspect of the relationship between religious belonging and individuals' mental health and contributes to the knowledge of Muslim minorities by providing insights into women's experiences of victimisation. Additionally, we clarify misconceptions about the meaning of Muslim practices, such as the wearing of a veil and gender division in mosques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the connection between psychological type and personal wellbeing among a sample of 95 Catholic priests serving in Italy. Personal wellbeing was assessed by two measures: the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and the Purpose in Life Scale. Psychological type was assessed by the Francis Psychological Type Scales that draw on the development of Jung's classic model that distinguishes between two orientations (extraversion and introversion), two perceiving functions (sensing and intuition), two judging functions (thinking and feeling), and two attitudes (judging and perceiving). The data demonstrated that lower levels of personal wellbeing were experienced by introverts than by extraverts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the construction of the Athwal-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Sikhism, working in the tradition of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity, the Sahin-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam, the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism, and the Santosh-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Hinduism. Drawing on data provided by 90 self-assigned 13- to 15-year-old Sikh students attending year-nine and year-ten classes in a state-maintained school in England with a Sikh foundation, the 24 items selected from a larger pool of items to comprise the Athwal-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Sikhism displayed good properties of internal consistency reliability and construct validity. No significant difference in mean scale scores was found between male students and female students, or between year-nine students and year-ten students. The instrument is commended for further use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior work on Muslims' mental health help-seeking factors has emphasised their rejection attitudes, religious and cultural beliefs, and familiarity with mental health. However, no research has examined differences in these factors across different Muslim ethnic groups, and particularly among Muslim women. A sample of 1214 Muslim women living in the USA completed online questionnaires. Data was stratified based on history of mental health visits to control for previous service utilisation. MANOVAs assessed ethnic group differences in beliefs, familiarity, and rejection attitudes toward professional mental healthcare. Results revealed significant differences between ethnic groups in all three factors; these differences depended on the women's history of service utilisation. Findings suggest that barriers to accessing professional mental healthcare differ among Muslim ethnic groups. Results are discussed in light of clinical implications and other contributing factors to the underutilisation of professional mental healthcare among ethnically diverse American Muslim women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous literature confirms that older black minority ethnic populations are less likely than white populations to contact dementia services in the UK. However, it is unknown whether this is due to a higher or lower prevalence of dementia or due to different needs or coping strategies within these communities. The aim of this study was to explore the understanding and perceptions of dementia amongst Sikhs living in the UK. Six focus groups were involved with 28 Sikh participants who were recruited from Gurdware (Sikh places of worship). Data were analysed using constant comparative methodology. The themes reported in this paper include “awareness and interpretation of the characteristics of dementia”, “multiple perspectives of the same symptoms” and “causes of dementia”. The findings have been discussed in the context of existing research and provide an introductory insight into informing culturally appropriate interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the occurrence of somatic involvement in spiritual development by exploring transpersonal dimensions of physical illness. Using semi-structured interviews and the qualitative method of heuristic inquiry, the transpersonal experiences of seven people with long-term health conditions are reported. Results expand on current literature by revealing that a spiritual perspective in illness can extend much beyond being a coping mechanism into profound experiences of self-transformation and healing, and by illustrating that the body can be intimately involved in the spiritual process. Participants considered the transpersonal dimension to be central to their experiences and as such understood their physical challenge as a state of potency wherein healing and embodiment of transpersonal influences were inextricably linked. Implications are that the body merits our acknowledgement as an integral part of a greater reality of being, and therefore needs to be fully included in the development of an embodied, holistic, and participatory spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among Asian Americans, particularly within immigrant communities, religious leaders are respected and sought out for support and guidance. There is a need to examine how religious leaders, especially within non-Christian faiths, identify persons and ascribe meaning and attributions to mental health concerns. The aim of this paper was to address this knowledge gap by exploring the perceptions of five Vietnamese American Buddhist leaders in regards to mental illness. Using qualitative analytic techniques we identified appearance, behaviours, and cognitive impairments that leaders interpreted as indicators of a mental health condition. Religious leaders cited messy and overly adorned outer appearance, aggressive and violent behaviours, and abnormal cognitive functioning as indicative of mental health problems. They attributed mental illness to a variety of causes: daily stressors, mind-body imbalance, karma, virtuous deeds, and spiritual possession. Findings inform strategies for faith-based initiatives and mental health service delivery to religiously affiliated Asian Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The relationship between religion and mental health has been the subject of extensive research, particularly in recent years. The issues of coping and suicidality have also been widely studied. Significantly, however, how religious people cope with harsh life situations is an area which has been overlooked. The present study based on 18 semi-structured interviews, analyses have members of the Religious Zionist community in Israel cope with harsh life situations. Although the study confirms the conclusions of previous research – in general religion creates a buffer to suicide – the results showed a relatively low impact of religiosity on coping: in general these religious interviewees found it difficult to access their religiosity during harsh life situations. The paper suggests a range of explanations, for example the complexity of personal and collective identities which characterise this group, or – more significantly – the possibilty that religious coping is not actually absent but is only available in a second, later stage of coping. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we discuss traditional Somali concepts of mental ill health. Qualitative interviews were conducted with some 20 Swedish Somali interviewees about factors causing mental ill health, traditional classification, strategies to deal with mental ill health, and attitudes to the mental health care services in Sweden. Social mobilisation and religious healing are cornerstones of traditional Somali measures to deal with mental suffering. Traditional Somali views of mental ill health stand in stark contrast to classification of mental ill health in the western biomedical model. These views deserve attention since they may have an impact on health-seeking behaviour among Somali immigrants in western countries. Yet a too strong focus on cultural aspects may over-shadow the fact that much mental suffering among Somali migrants must be understood within social, economic, and political contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a focus group study aimed at exploring the difficulties that palliative care healthcare professionals encounter while assessing the spiritual distress of their patients. Three focus groups were conducted in a hospice (n = 15). Participants were all healthcare professionals working in the hospice in-patient unit. Interviews were taped and later transcribed. The data was analysed through content analysis. Emergent themes included: lack of vocabulary around spiritual issues, personal issues surrounding death and dying, training issues, fear of being unable to resolve spiritual problems, time constraints and difficulty separating spiritual and religious needs. Participants provided a number of recommendations for improving care. This pilot study has generated useful data in relation to how spiritual care of patients might be improved. Despite the abundance of academic publications and policies on spirituality, this area is not integrated well into palliative care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homosexuality has become a divisive issue in many religious communities. Partly because of that, individuals growing up in such a community and experiencing same sex attractions need to negotiate the messages about homosexuality with their own experiences. This paper explores the identity strategies of religious communities as the background of individual identity struggles. Following a discussion of Bauman's grammars of identity/alterity, it describes four different discourses employed in conservative protestant and evangelical circles: holiness, subjectivity, obedience, and responsibility and four modes of negotiation: Christian lifestyle, gay lifestyle, commuting (compartmentalisation), and integration. By combining an analysis of discourses on the community level with individual strategies, this narrative research helps to better understand the interactions of (group) culture and individual coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wide literature considers differences in utilisation and attitudes towards mental health treatment among diverse ethno-racial and religious communities. This paper is the first to compare attitudes to mental health-seeking patterns among a cohort of students representing three major religious minorities among Arab communities in Israel: Christians, Druze, and Muslim. Results of a cross-national survey of 195 student respondents indicate significant differences regarding attitudes towards help-seeking behaviour. Compared to Druze and Muslim counterparts, Christian subjects were higher in interpersonal openness, perceived mental health services as less stigmatising, and were less likely to use traditional healing systems. Findings are analysed in relation to cultural, historical, and political differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we systematically review the growing empirically based psychology of Islam. We arrive at 10 conclusions: (l) Islam is a multidimensional religion; Islam might mean different things to different people, and some people might adhere to some of its elements but not to others; (2) Islam is similar to, but is different from, other religions; (3) Islam's role in the lives of Muslims seems mostly positive; (4) Some types of Islamic religiousness are negative; (5) The empirical findings have not been translated yet into clinical applications; (6) Most of studies conducted among Muslims provide only a birds-eye view of Islam; (7) Empirical studies of Muslims are scarce; (8) Empirical research on negative types of religiousness among Muslims is sparse; (9) The majority of research in this field has been restricted to convenient samples; (10) Several important topics with implications for Muslims deserve further consideration, and there is a need for more varied research methods in studies of Muslims. The implications of these findings and the limitations of this review are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests that spirituality and religion are significant variables contributing to mental well-being and that they can also play an important part in the treatment of mental disorders. The present paper reviews studies which show that psychiatrists are less likely than their patients to report religious affiliation. While mental health service users report that they wish spirituality to be addressed during their treatment, psychiatrists appear to be more divided as to whether spiritual or religious matters should be addressed within routine clinical enquiry and treatment planning. However, psychiatric practice itself might be understood as requiring a kind of faith, albeit not religious, within which basic principles of clinical care are accepted by virtually all psychiatrists. It is also clear that explicit religious faith (of the patient and the psychiatrist) does potentially have an important impact on the clinical consultation, whether for good or for ill. There is a need for guidelines to govern the ways in which this impact might most effectively be managed, both ethically and therapeutically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes and discusses the development and empirical properties of the 24-item Likert-type Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism. The scale is designed to facilitate inter-faith comparisons within the psychology of religion alongside the well-established Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity. Data are provided from a sample of 618 Hebrew-speaking undergraduate students attending Bar-Ilan University. The findings confirm the reliability of the scale and commend it for further use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the beliefs and attitudes regarding specific mental disorders in Ghana is limited. A vignette study was conducted to examine the relationship between causal attributions, help-seeking, and stigma towards depression and schizophrenia using lay Ghanaians (N = 410). This adapted questionnaire presented two unlabelled vignettes about a hypothetical person with the above disorders for participants to provide their impressions. Next, participants answered questions on beliefs and attitudes regarding this person. The results showed that causal beliefs about mental disorders related to different treatment options, and stigma. Contrary to previous literature, religious belief did not negatively associate with professional help-seeking for the mental disorders. In conclusion, results suggest that integration of "idioms of distress' into mental health assessment and interventions may benefit Ghanaians. Our findings have implications for mental health literacy and anti-stigma campaigns in Ghana and other developing countries in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perception that one is a recipient of divine grace is a salient spiritual experience and is one that lies at the heart of Christianity. This qualitative study sought to address a gap in the psychological literature regarding how the perceived experience of divine grace enacts internal change. For the sake of this study, grace was defined as God's undeserved gifts to believers. Thirty adult, self-identified evangelical Christians were interviewed to explore the perceived relationship between God's grace and the cultivation of humility. Using grounded theory data analysis, themes emerged to reveal that participants expressed a dynamic relationship between receiving God's grace and three dimensions of humility related to (a) a grounded view of oneself, (b) an orientation toward others, and (c) an overall dependence on God. These findings expand the current body of literature regarding religiosity and humility by highlighting how divine grace acts as a mechanism of transformational growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clergy have an emotionally taxing role and are suggested to experience high rates of distress. Prior research suggests clergy utilise religious coping skills and may underutilise support. This study aimed to explore clergy experiences of role-demands, coping, and support, to supplement previous findings, and guide intervention. Nine clergy members participated in semi-structured interviews; data was analysed using inductive-deductive Thematic Analysis. Three major themes emerged from the data; 'the sacrifice you make', 'help along the way', and 'change that's needed'. Clergy-members' most prevalent and salient reported coping strategy revolved around a stable relationship with God. Clergy discussed barriers to support within, and outside of, the church. Clergies' experiences of challenging demands and distress support previous findings. Clergy preference for religious coping suggest future research, or intervention, should account for spirituality. Finally, clergy-members' varied experiences of support suggest practical/cultural changes within the church could reduce barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to develop and validate the Life-view Scale. In study one, a sample of 182 university students completed the questionnaire. The scale had good internal consistency (alpha =.81). Exploratory factor analysis of the initial scale resulted in five factors (satisfaction, purpose, search, direction, and doubt). Factors were significantly inter-correlated, except the Doubt factor which was not correlated with Search and Direction factors. In study two, a sample of 59 university students participated in answering the questionnaire on two occasions with an interval of 15 days. The test–retest correlation of the questionnaire was good (r =.81). In study three, a sample of 71 university lecturers completed the questionnaire alongside measures of burnout and job satisfaction. The Life-view Scale was found to be positively correlated to job-satisfaction only. In summary, the Life-view Scale was found to possess satisfactory measures of internal reliability, temporal stability, and convergent validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs Jungian psychological type theory, as subsequently developed by various type measures, to interpret and to classify the expectations of cathedral visitors, as assessed by the Visitor Expectations Type Scales 2.0 (VETS 2.0). Data provided by 1,278 visitors to five cathedrals in England and Wales demonstrated the coherence and internal consistency of the eight measures of the VETS 2.0 (designed to access introvert expectations, extravert expectations, sensing expectations, intuitive expectations, feeling expectations, thinking expectations, perceiving expectations, and judging expectations) and drew attention to the particular emphasis placed by cathedral visitors on introvert expectations, feeling expectations, and perceiving expectations. The VETS 2.0 are commended as providing a more valid assessment of the psychographic segmentation of cathedral visitors than could be provided simply by the administration of a recognised measure of psychological type. Such assessment has implications for the marketing and management of cathedrals within the tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study draws on the responses of 1496 Church of England clergy who participated in the Coronavirus, Church & You online survey between 8 May and 23 July 2020 to explore the impact of the lockdown on clergy wellbeing and perceptions of receiving support from their household, the parish, the diocese, and the national church. The data distinguished between five aspects of wellbeing: fatigue, disengagement, positivity, closeness to people, and closeness to God. As a result of lockdown clergy perceived large increases not only in fatigue and disengagement, but also in positivity. While as a consequence of the lockdown clergy felt less close to people, they felt closer to God. The data also showed that, although the perception of being supported by the national church was highly effective in reducing disengagement, this perception was shared by less than a quarter of the clergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilising the Multicultural Assessment-Intervention Process (MAIP) framework, the present study examined the effects of acculturation, ethnic identity, and religiosity on Portuguese Americans' perceptions of their quality of life. Several culturally-sensitive variables were used to predict quality of life attitudes among a convenience sample of 305 Portuguese American adults. A structural model with quality of life as the outcome variable, Portuguese identity as the predictor, and Anglo orientation and religious faith as separate mediators was tested and a simple mediation structure involving religious faith was confirmed. While Portuguese identity predicts quality of life directly, when religious faith was added into the model as a mediator, much of the predictive value of Portuguese identity on quality of life was funnelled through religious faith. Implications for future Portuguese American research were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study (N = 404) used a moderated moderation model to examine how gender, religious commitment, and self-stigma toward seeking psychological help may interact in the prediction of help-seeking attitudes. Bivariate zero-order correlations indicated that help-seeking attitudes was negatively associated with self-stigma of seeking help (r = −.55) and positively associated with religious commitment (r = .14), and self-stigma was not significantly associated with religious commitment. Men reported more negative attitudes than women (ΔM = −.18). Furthermore, multiple regression results revealed a three-way interaction such that the relationship between gender and help-seeking attitudes was moderated by both self-stigma and religious commitment. Specifically, men with high religious commitment and high self-stigma endorsed the most negative help-seeking attitudes, suggesting that religious men's help-seeking attitudes may be particularly susceptible to the influence of self-stigma. Implications for research and the development of targeted interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explored whether intercultural competence was a significant predictor of religious attitudes among Third Culture Kids (TCKs), individuals who had spent their developmental years abroad. It also examined whether growing up as a missionary kid (MK) would predict religious attitudes. Two hundred and seventy-six TCKs from 37 countries and 19 religious affiliations completed the web-based survey that included measures of intercultural competence, religious attitudes and beliefs, and demographic information. Intercultural competence was a significant predictor of participants’ desire for all religions to be treated fairly whereas growing up as an MK was a significant predictor of participants’ desire for their religion to be unchallenged and of less desire for interreligious dialogue. The findings suggest that increasing intercultural competence may be a way to promote religious acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this study, we examined the relationship between religiosity and attitudes towards professional mental health services. We further examined whether internal religious coping and external religious coping mediated both relationships. Results indicated a significant association with religiosity and negative attitudes towards mental health services, as well as external religious coping and internal religious coping. Results also showed a nonsignificant association with both religious coping and negative attitudes towards mental health services. Finally, external religious coping mediated the relationship between religiosity and negative attitudes towards mental health services for men but not for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is a qualitative investigation of the psychological experiences of children of Korean missionaries, through the eyes of Korean missionary kids (MKs) and missionary workers. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 11 MKs and MK workers, and data were analysed using the Consensual Qualitative Research method. Several domains emerged: challenges associated with the MK experience, resiliency of MKs, intrapersonal and interpersonal coping skills, mental health concerns, religion and spirituality, a complex cultural identity, preparation for college transition, and hopes for MKs and their missionary parents. Categories corresponding to the domains are highlighted. The present study addresses a need for more attention paid to the non-American MK experience, and it presents some implications for the church and higher educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It has recently been asserted that the Sahin–Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam is suitable for use in Islamic contexts. The generalisability of this statement is examined in the light of available evidence from previous studies using the Sahin–Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam and the Sahin–Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam Revised. It is proposed that future research within Islamic contexts may wish to employ instruments with no negatively worded items, such as the recently developed Sahin–Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam Revised. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Clergy are a recognised profession for suicide prevention and intervention in the United States. The current objective was to determine if clergy’s suicide prevention training, perceived roles in suicide prevention, and suicide prevention self-efficacy predicted likelihood to inquire about suicidal thoughts and intent. Among 367 Minnesota clergy surveyed, 30% reported a suicide in their congregation in the past year, and about one-third reported adequate training in suicide intervention strategies. The majority (85%) reported it was their role to provide education on suicide and mental health to their congregations, although 32% reported no or low ability to do so. Most (70%) stated, if concerned about a parishioner’s mental health, they would inquire about suicidal thoughts, but fewer (59%) stated they would inquire about suicidal intent. Significant, but weak, predictors of likelihood to inquire about suicide included self-efficacy and perceived role. Clergy could benefit from suicide prevention education, training, and support. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For those who believe in God, tragedy and misfortune often raise internal emotional and religious dissonance. Regardless of one's theological stance, emotional reactions to the Holocaust can be expected to elicit negative feelings towards God, resembling the reactions one would experience towards parents or caretakers who perpetrate or facilitate aggression. Coining the term “theistic object relations” to reflect the maturity level of relationship with God, it is posited that it is predicated on a safe and nurturing environment – paralleling the maturational development of healthy interpersonal interactions. In this context, survivors’ reactions are elaborated using the lens of parental abuse and neglect. Individual beliefs about God's role, while affecting the options for cognitive rationalisations among victims, are posited to have only minimal relevance to the expected negative emotionality. Variations in such reactions are explored from a psychoanalytic perspective within the intersectional context of trauma, divine providence, object relations development, and defence mechanism theory. Unresolved questions about the developmental hallmarks of theistic object relations are outlined insofar as they are relevant to our population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research has been conducted in exploration of the American religious landscape; however, only recently has social science research started to explore nonbelief in any detail. Research on nonbelief has been limited as most research focuses on the popularity of the religious “nones” or the complexities of alternative faith expressions such as spirituality. Through two studies, one qualitative and one quantitative, this research explored how nonbelievers’ self-identify. Study 1 (the qualitative study) discovered that individuals have shared definitional agreement but use different words to describe different types of nonbelief. Through thematic coding, a typology of six different types of nonbelief was observed. Those are Academic Atheists, Activist Atheist/Agnostics, Seeker Agnostics, Antitheists, Non-Theists, and the Ritual Atheists. Study 2 explored the empirical aspects of these types related to the Big Five Domain, Ryff Psychological Well-Being, Narcissistic Personality Inventory, Multidimensional Anger Inventory, Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, and intersections related to religious and spiritual ontology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work the author reflects on the Jewish identity of Sigmund Freud. It is acknowledged that Freud, even though he seemed ambivalent towards Jewishness and even though anti-Semitism was omnipresent, not necessarily perceived his Jewish identity as problematic. Rather, it seems as if Freud had a positive Jewish identity, which was connected to profound knowledge in Jewish religion and tradition, even though he declared himself as a Godless Jew. Both his Jewish identity and his knowledge in Judaism seemed to have contributed to some of his insights into the human psyche. The impact of the traditional Jewish circumcision and the insights connected to the theory of castration anxiety are specifically discussed. The author suggests that Freud's positive Jewish identity, and the significance of circumcision, contributed to his insights into the prerequisites of human development and how we as individuals are shaped both by our interpersonal relationships and by the cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research literature has highlighted unusual phenomena occurring at the end of life. Palliative-care professionals often feel ill-prepared in managing these and in talking to patients and family members about them. This study aimed to explore the meanings and interpretations ascribed to these phenomena by palliative-care professionals. Eight participants were interviewed, and interpretative phenomenological analysis used to identify themes within their accounts. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Who are we to say what's out there?: a connection with something beyond what can be seen; (2) It opened up conversations: the experience of talking about unusual experiences; (3) It knocked me sideways: managing the emotional impact of these experiences; and (4) The fact that she was so accepting made it easier: the value of acceptance in relation to unusual experiences. These findings are discussed within the context of existing literature and implications for palliative-care professionals are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A negative attitude towards suicide is generally assumed to be predominant in low-income countries. In order to understand the negative attitude in general it is necessary to look at how religion and morality influence the attitudes. Our aim in this qualitative interview study was to investigate what attitudes professional mental health workers in Uganda bear towards suicide and suicidal persons. The professionals argue for their attitude by employing religious, communal and medical ethics arguments, which draw both in a negative and positive direction. The professionals are in general unambiguously negative towards suicide and positive towards suicidal people who are mentally ill. In cases other than mental illness non-accepting attitudes surface. This is discussed against previous research showing that effective treatment of suicidal people is to be based on a trusting and accepting relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

American students transitioning to university are at an increased risk for behaviours such as binge drinking, depression and suicidality. Despite the proliferation of prevention and intervention programs, rates remain high. Although religiosity is known to confer a protective effect in this population, it remains largely untapped as a resource because, among other reasons, it is poorly understood, poses ethical challenges, and exposes areas of distrust between the religious and medical establishments. This report describes the findings of a survey that examined possible factors explaining the relationship between religiosity, risky behaviours and emotional extremes in students as they transitioned into their first year of university. This study accounted for the religious diversity of the US by surveying Christian, Jewish, Muslim and religiously unaffiliated students. Findings indicated that religiosity was consistently and negatively correlated to risky behaviours across all faith groups. Interestingly, unique patterns in levels of religiosity emerged among the various faith groups. Similarly, patterns of engagement in risky behaviours demonstrated variation among religious groups. Our findings add to the body of evidence that suggests university-based professionals take into consideration student religiosity when creating prevention intervention programs for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This randomised clinical study assessed the effects of spiritually focused meditation (SpM) and secularly focused meditation on adjustment to illness, relative to a control condition for people in treatment for metastatic melanoma (N = 83). Physical and psychological well-being was assessed at baseline, post-intervention, two, and four months later. Meditation home practice was assessed as an additional predictor. Repeated Measures ANOVA found no interactive effects but there were two group effects. Averaged across time, SpM reduced depression and increased positive affect relative to the other two conditions. Rates of home practice were not associated with adjustment for any condition. Unexpectedly, practicing SpM was associated with a decrease in perceived support. Additionally, program evaluations indicated that most participants preferred programs that included spiritually based material, across all three group conditions. The results highlight the potential importance of providing spiritually based meditation programs to the terminally ill, and the need for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mixed-methods study explored the racism-related experiences of 50 mid-life African-heritage women living in Nova Scotia, Canada, along with their use of spirituality as a coping strategy for dealing with racism-related stress. Four standardised instruments, along with qualitative in-depth interviews, were used to examine women's experiences of racism, depression, stress, and spirituality. Spirituality provided a key coping mechanism for racism-related stress, providing church community, spiritual community, faith, guidance, a personal relationship with God, and a source of meaning-making. For some women, spiritual belief provided a means of cognitive reinterpretation, allowing them to make sense of racism and other life challenges, recasting these as tests and trials which they were capable of surmounting with God's blessing and protection. Implications for mental health practitioners include working with spiritual and religious venues to help lessen stigma against mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I investigate the effect of religious diversity on well-being using the World Values Survey data across 77 countries. Religious diversity is measured as fractionalisation or polarisation. People are unhappy in religiously diverse societies. One explanation is that people have a need to belong and like to live among like-minded individuals. Another explanation is that religion creates bonding social capital as opposed to bridging social capital. Directions for further research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a college and community sample, this study utilised hierarchical multiple regression to examine the relative contributions of demographic variables, psychological treatment experience, religious service attendance, locus of control, and religious problem-solving style in predicting attitudes towards psychological help-seeking. Women, those holding a graduate degree, and those with treatment experience held more positive attitudes towards psychological help-seeking. While neither the locus of control nor religious problem-solving scales alone were related to help-seeking, several significant interaction effects were observed. God-centred locus of control was a positive predictor of psychological help-seeking, but only for older participants. Chance locus of control was a negative predictor, but only for graduate degree holders. Last, self-directing religious problem-solving style was a negative predictor, especially for individuals also endorsing a deferring religious problem-solving style. Perhaps the composition of the sample – largely educated, religious African-American women – gives some insight into the complex nature of these results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study focuses on how converts and their close acquaintances perceive changes in personality characteristics after religious conversion and possible demographic influences of these perceptions. Sixty Slovakian respondents self-defined as having experienced conversions rated themselves twice on measures of Big Five personality traits, self-esteem, and meaningfulness in life. The first rating provided retrospective information concerning pre-conversion conditions and the second rating obtained data reflecting the convert's present self-understanding. In addition, every convert was rated on the same characteristics by someone who knew the person well during both pre- and post-conversion times. The convert and the rater both provided demographic information (age, education, religiosity, relationship to conversions and converts etc.). Analyses showed that the converts perceived several personality changes: neuroticism decreased while self-esteem, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion increased. They also reported a large increase in meaningfulness. Perceived changes were in part related to education level and age for converts, and to religiosity in both converts and close persons, suggesting a retrospective bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Church has always been associated with care of the sick; this continues today many clergy see people with mental health issues. Studies outside the United Kingdom have shown that when people with mental health issues visit clergy for help they often do this before, or instead of, seeing health professionals. This study surveyed Christian clergy and asked about the frequency with which clergy saw people with mental health problems, if they referred onto healthcare professionals, what outcomes they expected and their attitudes to mental health. It was concluded that the clergy did see people with mental health problems but the frequency varied amongst individuals and this was not dependent on denomination. These findings agreed with other studies that a very high percentage of British clergy do refer on, unlike North American clergy and this was not related to denomination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the associations between attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help (ATSPPH), adherence to Asian values, cultural mistrust, and salience of ethnic identity in a sample of South Asian university students in Britain. A total of 148 participants completed a survey consisting of measures of the afore-mentioned variables, and provided their demographic details. Preliminary analyses showed that women held significantly more positive ATSPPH than men ( [image omitted] = 0.51); there were also small differences between participants of Indian, Pakistani, and other South Asian descent. Further analyses revealed that ATSPPH was significantly predicted by ethnic identity, cultural mistrust, and adherence to Asian values, once the effects of participant sex and ethnicity had been partialled out. The implications of these results for promoting mental health care utilisation among South Asian students are discussed in conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore causal attributions about depression and to identify psychosocial factors associated with these beliefs among Latino immigrants. We interviewed 177 primary care patients with instruments to assess causal beliefs, depressive and somatic symptoms, ethnic identity and stigma. An exploratory factor analysis of the Causal Beliefs scale yielded three factors, 'Balance,' 'Psychosocial' and 'Malevolent Spirituality/Transgressions' that were used as dependent variables in multivariate analyses. Depressive symptoms, age, country of origin and religiosity were significantly associated with particular factors of causal beliefs. Those with higher education were most likely to endorse psychosocial causal beliefs. Stigma pertained to causal beliefs related to 'malevolent forces' and 'personal transgressions.' In conclusion, psychosocial and religious explanations of illness were strongly endorsed by these Latino immigrants, indicating a dual system of Western-medicine and traditional beliefs. These results suggest culturally-specific interventions for improving health knowledge and communication with patients about depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated the dating attitudes of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women using a qualitative analysis. Interviews were conducted with eight Ultra-Orthodox Jewish young women. Themes reflected pressures associated with the dating process and the importance of dating for marriage. Additionally, respondents expressed satisfaction with the dating system due to its single-minded focus on finding a marriage partner and due to perceptions of alternative more Western systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late antique world was particularly conscious of malevolent supernatural power constantly laying in wait to attack and enslave humans. Demons incited vices; they could persuade both their unsuspected and suspected victims to venerate them, and to persecute Christians, and to feel an overwhelming attachment to material things. However, what demons seemed to enjoy the most was taking total control by retiring into a human soul. Today our Western civilisation would not easily recognise anti-social behaviour, mental disorder and a strange illness as signs of demon possession, as it was often the case in late antiquity. Christian ascetics and monks were generally considered a very powerful antidote to demonic possession and they managed to enhance their power and to build great reputations, and attract considerable numbers of admirers (even from the upper classes) and converts to Christianity by successfully handling demons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A majority of counsellors and other health professionals who work with former members of charismatic groups appear to give little consideration to pre-involvement variables such as reasons for initially joining the group and corresponding values. This study explores reasons for joining a charismatic group from the perspective of former members through the use of qualitative methods. Seven participants from four different groups were recruited via purposive sampling and modified snowball sampling. In-depth interviews were used to explore the participants' accounts of why they joined a charismatic group. The findings of this study suggest that participants of this study joined charismatic groups because of the ability of such groups to provide 'certainty' and meet needs of friendship, meaning, and belonging. The need for health professionals to consider pre-involvement variables when working with former members is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative studies on religiosity and identity appear to be generally absent. In the present study we investigated this relationship, and predicted that personal identity would be positively associated with church attendance, and mainly intrinsic and quest Christian religious orientations, while social identity would exhibit a positive association with extrinsic orientation. A total of 161 British Christian adults took part in the study and responded to standardized measures of Christian religiosity and identity. The predicted relationship between religiosity and aspects of identity was to an extent supported. As expected, personal identity showed a positive association with quest, while social identity was positively related to extrinsic-personal, and negatively to intrinsic. Counter to our predictions, church attendance had an inverse association with social identity, while it lacked an obvious association with personal identity. It appears that the social expressions of Christians are more likely to be concerned with broad inclusive collective identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Santosh-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Hinduism has been designed to facilitate research concerning the psychological correlates of religiosity among young people growing up within the Hindu tradition, and in a way that allows findings from such research to be compared with similar studies conducted within other religious traditions using the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity, the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism, and the Sahin-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam. Data provided by 330 individuals between the ages of 12 and 35 attending a Hindu youth festival support the reliability and validity of this instrument and commend it for further use in studies conducted within the Hindu community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been argued that an empathically mediated, kin-specific, altruistic impulse is part of the human genetic heritage, and that one of the functions of religion is to extend the range of this impulse beyond the kinship circle. However, it is clear that religion does not always succeed in this. The present study reconsiders the religiosity-empathy relation in a Flemish student sample (n = 375), using the Post-Critical Belief Scale, which allows to distinguish between being religious or not (Exclusion versus Inclusion of Transcendence) from the way in which religious contents are processed (Literal versus Symbolic). It is argued that the religiosity-empathy relation should be understood in terms of how people process religious contents rather than in terms of whether or not people are religious. In line with this reasoning, results show that, whereas empathy is unrelated to being religious, it is positively related to processing religious contents in a symbolic way. Social desirability did not influence these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a lack of economical and reliable instruments to measure religious attitudes in the German language. Therefore, we analyzed a German version of an originally-American, 15-item questionnaire. The German version of the two-scale Systems of Belief Inventory (SBI-15R) by Holland et al. ( 1998 ) was validated in a representative sample (N=1,967). The overall scale and the two subscales were shown to be highly reliable (Cronbach's alpha > 0.94). They discriminate between members and non-members of religious bodies (effect size > 1.14), correlate in the expected direction with respondents' self-description as 'religious' (r > 0.62) and with the importance of religion and/or faith in childhood (r > 0.61). Unlike the original, we found a unifactorial solution for the German version; hence, the overall score for the assessment of general religiosity appears sufficient. Based on these findings, SBI-15R-D represents an economical, practical and reliable instrument for assessing religiosity in persons of German language and cultural background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitudes towards those with mental illness vary amongst different groups in society. These attitudes affect the daily experience of mental health service users. It has been suggested that those from a theologically conservative Christian group might generally have more negative attitudes towards those with mental health difficulties because of the association of mental illness with personal sin and demon possession. The aim here is to test the hypothesis that members of a theologically conservative church congregation would have more negative attitudes than the general population towards people with mental illness. The sample consisted of 68 people from a predominantly white, middle class, evangelical Anglican congregation. Attitudes were measured by means of a questionnaire. Results are compared with those from the general UK population. The results showed that the church group expressed less negative and rejecting attitudes to people with mental illness than the population sample. Both groups could differentiate between types of mental illnesses and had varying expectations of those with each illness. There was no evidence of judgmental attitudes towards those with mental illness. The church group has major concerns about dangerousness and unpredictability and finds service users hard to talk to. Further public education opportunities should aim to alter these damaging negative perceptions of those with mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]