The Impact of a Breast Cancer Diagnosis on Religious/Spiritual Beliefs and Practices in the UK

The use of religious/spiritual resources may increase when dealing with the stress of a cancer diagnosis. However, there has been very little research conducted into changes in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices as a result of a cancer diagnosis outside the USA. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a breast cancer diagnosis on patients’ religious/spiritual beliefs and practices in the UK where religious practice is different. The study used two methods. One compared the religious/spiritual beliefs and practices of 202 patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer with those of a control group of healthy women (n = 110). The other examined patients’ perceived change in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices at the time of surgery with those in the year prior to surgery. The aspects of religiousness/spirituality assessed were: levels of religiosity/spirituality, strength of faith, belief in God as well as private and public practices. Patient’s perceived their belief in God, strength of faith and private religious/spiritual practices to have significantly increased shortly after surgery compared with the year prior to surgery. However, there were no significant differences in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices between patients and healthy participants. Change scores demonstrated both a reduction and an increase in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices. Although belief in God, strength of faith and private religious/spiritual practices were perceived by patients to be significantly higher after their cancer diagnosis, no significant differences in religious/spiritual beliefs and practices were found between the cancer group at the time of surgery and the control group. Different methodologies appear to produce different results and may explain contradictions in past US studies. Limitations of this study are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.     

The Effects of Spiritual/Religious Engagement on College Students' Affective Outcomes: Differences by Gender and Race

This study examines the general and differential effects of spiritual/religious engagement on affective college outcomes (i.e., leadership skills, interpersonal skills, social satisfaction, sense of belonging, and psychological well-being) across different gender and racial groups among undergraduate students at research universities. The study utilized data on 63,528 students who participated in the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES). The findings reveal differential effects of spiritual/religious engagement on college students' affective outcomes depending on their gender and race (i.e., gender- and race-based conditional effects). Implications for college students' spiritual development at public research universities and faith-based institutions are discussed.     

Exploring the Spiritual/Religious Dimension of Patients: A Timely Opportunity for Personal and Professional Reflection for Graduating Medical Students

Teaching about spirituality in medical school training is lacking. Spirituality is a dimension of humanity that can put experiences of health and illness into a meaningful context. Medical students might benefit from understanding how spirituality is an important element in learning to care for patients. Spirituality also provides a context for medical students to explore their own motivations for doctoring. This article describes a longitudinal senior elective course at the end of their medical school training to delve into matters of religion/spirituality surrounding patient care. The authors pose their own perspectives on what both students and faculty gained from the experience.     

Moderating Effects of Religious/Spiritual Coping in the Relation Between Perceived Stress and Psychological Well-Being

Although the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms is well documented, less is known about the role of coping strategies, in particular strategies for coping via religious or spiritual means. To investigate the relationships among these factors, data was collected with questionnaires completed by 127 MSW students at a northeastern university in 2003. Significant Stress×Religious/Spiritual Coping buffer interactions were found in the relationship between stress and depression. EQS 6.1 and hierarchical moderated regression analysis showed that religious/spiritual coping reduced the impact of stress on depression. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Spiritual and Religious Attitudes in Dealing with Illness in Polish Patients with Chronic Diseases: Validation of the Polish Version of the SpREUK Questionnaire

Although providing religious/spiritual (SpR) support to sick has received in Poland growing attention in the scientific literature, little has been written about how to measure whether patients are in search for SpR or may already have trust in such a resource helpful to cope with disease. The Polish version of the SpREUK questionnaire was validated in a sample of 275 patients with chronic diseases. Both explorative and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the already established three subscales, i.e., Search, Trust, and Reflection, with good internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach’s α between .74 and .91). The instrument appears to be a good choice to be used in both secular and religious societies.     

Mean Level Differences in the Vividness,Meaning, and Coherence of Life Story High and Low Points: How Valenced Life Stories Do and Do Not Differ

The current paper examines systematic differences in life story high and low points. Narratives from a young adult sample (n = 145) and a late midlife adult sample (n = 154) were coded for vividness, meaning, and coherence. An automated linguistic coding technique was also used. Mean level comparisons found high and low points had similar levels of vividness and coherence. Among the young adults, but not the late midlife adults, there was greater total meaning making (positive and negative combined) in low points than in high points. Across high and low points, levels of positive meaning were greater than negative meaning, in both samples, suggesting a positivity bias in meaning making in valenced life stories. Moreover, the bias was large in both samples (68% in young adults, 450% in late midlife adults). Preliminary analyses suggested midlife adults, when compared to young adults, had a greater bias towards producing more positive than negative meaning. In both samples, automated linguistic analyses indicated that low points displayed greater word counts and usage of cognitive mechanism words, suggesting greater cognitive processing in low points at the level of word usage. Findings are framed within autobiographical memory and narrative research and socioemotional selectivity theory.     

The Importance of Spiritual Consumption,Religious Expression and Subjective Well-Being among Christians in the US during COVID-19

Journal of Religion and Health - Uncertainty, fear, and distress have become prevalent in the lives of U.S. residents since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unpredictable reality of...     

Psychometric Properties of a Persian Version of the SpREUK-P Questionnaire: An Instrument for Measuring the Importance and Frequency of Spiritual/Religious Practices in Iranian Patients with Chronic Gastrointestinal Diseases

Journal of Religion and Health - Attention to spiritual and religious issues is considered an important therapeutic method for patients with chronic disorders. This study aimed to assess the...     

移动医疗视域下HIV/AIDS患者自我管理体验及需求的质性研究

采用目的抽样选取成都市、绵阳市及西昌市19名HIV/AIDS患者作为研究对象,采用描述性质性研究对研究对象进行半结构式访谈,对访谈结果进行主题分析,共提炼出一级主题5个：（1）患者有基于移动医疗的自我管理需求;（2）基于移动医疗自我管理平台期望载体及形式;（3）基于移动医疗的医疗或行为管理需求;（4）基于移动医疗的角色管理需求;（5）基于移动医疗的情绪管理需求。患者对基于移动医疗的自我管理平台有较高接受度。可设计开发易用性与隐私性强的移动医疗平台,通过提供疾病知识、线上诊疗、疾病监测与心理社会支持等功能,提升患者自我管理能力。

     

中国宗教学会第五次全国会议暨"21世纪的宗教研究"学术研讨会在京召开

２００１年８月工日至３日中国宗教学会第五次全国会议暨“２１世纪的宗教研究”学术研讨会在北京隆重召开,共有来自中央国家机关和各地党政军有关部门、教学科研机构、宗教团体以及一些企事业单位的专业或业余宗教研究人员近２００人参加了本次会议。会议的主要议题是修改学会章程,改革学会领导机制,遴选中国宗教学会第四届理事会,组成新一届的领导成员,以此促进中国宗教学会在新世纪发挥更大的作用,推进中国宗教研究的更大发展。 会议于８月１日上午开幕,中国社会科学院学术委员会委员、中国宗教学会常务副会长戴康生主持开幕式并…     

The Effect of COVID -19 Crisis on Hopelessness,Loneliness and Spiritual Well-Being of Patients with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes in Turkey

Journal of Religion and Health - This study aims to examine the relationship between the levels of hopelessness, loneliness, and spiritual well-being of patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes...     

Cultural Influences in the Aetiological Beliefs of Saudi Arabian Primary Care Patients About Their Symptoms: The Association of Religious and Psychological Beliefs

Objective To develop a self-report questionnaire to measure the beliefs of Arabic primary care patients about the causes of their physical symptoms; to use this to quantify the beliefs of patients consulting their general practitioners (GPs) in Saudi Arabia; and to test whether patients with psychological problems differ from others in their beliefs, particularly religious and supernatural beliefs. Methods Consecutive patients (N = 224) completed a specially developed aetiological beliefs’ questionnaire. Patients were divided into two groups (cases and non-cases of emotional disorder) according to the GHQ-12. Results Religious and supernatural aspects of culture colour patients’ symptom beliefs: that their symptoms were a test or punishment from Allah’ was the most common belief. Even in non-cases, around half the patients also endorsed nerves and stress as a cause of their physical symptoms. Cases were more likely than non-cases to endorse items related to both religious and psychological factors. Conclusion There is no support for the view that Saudi Arabian patients explain symptoms supernaturally as a way of denying psychological factors. GPs and health professionals in Saudi primary care need to understand what patients believe to be the cause of their problems and to appreciate that religious and psychological beliefs are both very common. GPs should address psychological beliefs and concerns even with those patients who present physical symptoms.     

垂体腺瘤诊疗过程中应重视对垂体腺瘤患者生命质量评估

垂体腺瘤是一种常见的颅内神经内分泌肿瘤,约占颅内肿瘤的10%～15%,常伴有不同程度的肿瘤占住效应(头痛、视力受损等)、功能性腺瘤引起的激素水平过高和正常垂体受压破坏引起的垂体功能低下等症状,因此多数患者的生命质量受到影响.随着生物-心理-社会医学模式理念的逐步深入,除了关注患者的内分泌紊乱、肿瘤大小以及肿瘤引起的症状外,患者的生命质量也应该受到密切关注.本文将针对国内外对垂体腺瘤患者生命质量评估的相关进展进行综述.     

垂体腺瘤诊疗过程中应重视对垂体腺瘤患者生命质量评估

垂体腺瘤是一种常见的颅内神经内分泌肿瘤,约占颅内肿瘤的10%~15%,常伴有不同程度的肿瘤占位效应(头痛、视力受损等)、功能性腺瘤引起的激素水平过高和正常垂体受压破坏引起的垂体功能低下等症状,因此多数患者的生命质量受到影响。随着生物-心理-社会医学模式理念的逐步深入,除了关注患者的内分泌紊乱、肿瘤大小以及肿瘤引起的症状外,患者的生命质量也应该受到密切关注。本文将针对国内外对垂体腺瘤患者生命质量评估的相关进展进行综述。