华人的真实自我

真实自我意指个人在日常生活中,能将自己真实的想法和价值观顺畅地表达、展现出来.本文综述了西方关于真实自我的内涵、测量及其对自尊、适应和幸福感的影响.由于华人的双元自我、社会取向的自我实现和关系取向等方面与西方人不同,华人真实自我的面貌、意涵及其运作方式等方面应与西方有不同之处.未来应在华人自我对正负讯息的接受和行为表现上开展研究.     

Authenticity and Constructivism in Education

This paper examines the concept of authenticity and its relevance in education, from a philosophical perspective. Under the heading of educational authenticity (EA), I critique Fred Newmann’s views on authentic pedagogy and intellectual work. I argue against the notion that authentic engagement is usefully analyzed in terms of a relationship between school work and: “real” work. I also seek to clarify the increasingly problematic concept of constructivism, arguing that there are two distinct constructivist theses, only one of which deserves serious attention. I explain that the correspondence view of authenticity pays insufficient attention to the reality that the presence of “real world” connections does not guarantee that teaching and learning will be truly authentic. As a bridge to a philosophically acceptable understanding of authenticity, I reflect on John Dewey, who famously strove to base his views on education on the experience of the child, while rejecting that such experience requires validation from the “real” world. And Jean Jacques Rousseau offers several clues as to how the search for an authentic self might proceed beyond the Romanticist vision of an inner essence. These include the idea of the self as constructed inter-subjectively, which I capture by the term “one among others” and which, in turn, reveals persons as dialogically engaged in working out who they are and what they stand for (an idea found in the work of Charles Taylor). There is a clear affinity here with the imperative proposed by Newmann. I embrace the idea that the cultivation of dialogue should be a key priority in classrooms, because dialogue drives each individual to seek meaning in the context of seeing her/himself as one among others. I highlight the role of the classroom community of inquiry as an environment which has the dual function of cultivating disciplined inquiry and facilitating the kind of personal development that can, most properly, be termed “authentic”.

Authenticity and subjective well-being: The mediating role of mindfulness

Authenticity is generally indicated to be an important predictor to subjective well-being. However, remarkably few empirical researches investigated possible psychological mechanism underlying the process. The purpose of the current research is to explore whether mindfulness can explain one pathway between authenticity and subjective well-being. By conducting a cross-sectional study and a time-lagged study, we verified that higher authenticity associated higher subjective well-being via higher mindfulness. Furthermore, the effect of authenticity on subjective well-being was specifically through two facets of mindfulness–describing and acting-with-awareness. These results contribute to a better understanding of the association of authenticity and subjective well-being. Moreover, these findings suggest that mindfulness training may be a useful technique to accelerate the transformation from being thyself to being happy.     

A Spiritual Screening Tool for Older Adults

Objective The purpose of this non-experimental study was to investigate the reliability and validity of a self-administered screening tool for spiritual distress in older adults. The tool was unique in that items were consistent with a conceptual definition of spirituality presented in the professional literature and supported by theories of behavioral development for older adults. Methods Questionnaires were distributed to residents of a continuing care retirement community participating in a class on spirituality. Results The split-half reliability coefficient was found to be 0.776. Construct validity was established and a cutoff value for spiritual distress was determined. Discussion Tests for reliability and validity demonstrated confidence in use of the tool to screen for spiritual distress in older adults.     

Authenticity in relationships and depressive symptoms: A gender analysis

The current study examined authenticity in relationships, defined as the ability to be open and honest in meaningful relationships, in multiple contexts (i.e., with parents, peers). The goal of the study was to examine and compare the relation between authenticity in relationships and depressive symptoms in a sample of 435 14-year-old adolescent girls and boys. Structural equation modeling results indicated that the model predicted approximately one-third of the variance in depressive symptoms for girls, and almost half of the variance in depressive symptoms for boys. In addition, the strength of the relation between authenticity with parents and depressive symptoms was statistically equivalent for boys and girls. These results indicate the importance of authenticity with parents in predicting depressive symptoms, for both boys and girls.     

Domains of spiritual well-being and development and validation of the Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire

Fisher (1998) proposed a spiritual well-being model, comprising the domains of personal, communal, environmental and transcendental well-being, and a single global spiritual well-being dimension. This paper reports on four studies aimed at testing Fisher’s theoretical model, and establishing the validity and reliability of a new self-rating questionnaire (Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire; SWBQ), developed to reflect this model. All four studies supported Fisher’s model. The SWBQ showed good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability and variance extracted), and validity (construct, concurrent, discriminant, predictive and factorial independence from personality). The SWBQ has the advantage over other existing spiritual well-being measures in that it is based on a broader and more empirically based conceptualization of spiritual well-being, and has well established psychometric properties.     

The Spiritual Trauma Experienced by Victims of Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy

Most of the published literature on clergy abuse of children has addressed the emotional and psychological effects of sexual abuse common to all victims. The literature published by Church-related sources has consistently addressed the impact of clergy abuse on the Church as an institution as well as the problems and treatment needs of the clergy abusers. Little has been written or even explored about the spiritual trauma suffered by clergy victims. This article examines some of the symptoms and possible recovery from the spiritual dimension of post abuse trauma.     

Authenticity attenuates the negative effects of interpersonal conflict on daily well-being

Prior research has established a consistent relationship between felt authenticity and greater psychological and physical well-being. Nevertheless, a number of important questions remain regarding the role of authenticity in shaping individuals’ responses to stressful events in daily life. Interpersonal conflict in particular, has been established as one of the strongest contributors to daily stress, and a number of prior studies suggest that the negative effects of interpersonal conflict may be moderated by personality factors. The present work used a diary design to examine the role of trait authenticity in buffering individuals from the negative effects of interpersonal conflict. More importantly, we show that the protective role of trait authenticity functions independently from the previously established effects of agreeableness and neuroticism.     

Practice Makes Perfect: Meditation and the Exchange of Spiritual Capital

Despite its ubiquity, the term ‘spiritual capital’ continues to lack a sufficient level of empirical scrutiny to merit categorical independence from its religious variant. To remedy this gap, this article presents an ethnographic study of a meditation group called the Dhyana Centre, situated at the heart of London, and offers a bottom-up account of the ways in which spiritual capital is recognized, exchanged, and adopted in the absence of institutional mechanisms of legitimacy. Building on Bradford Verter’s conceptualisation of spiritual capital as originally derived from Bourdieu’s theory of practice, this study argues that the distinct configuration between knowledgeable and practical mastery in the dynamics of spiritual capital exchange marks a modus operandi which is not fully accounted for by conventional notions of religious capital. This study of spiritual capital thus allows for the translation of a notoriously slippery phenomenon into a much more tangible object of study without having to resort to essentialist readings of spirituality.     

Authentic Humor as an Expression of Spiritual Maturity

SUMMARY

Erikson's understanding of ego integrity and Fowler's depiction of conjunctive faith provide theoretical insights into the holistic nature of spiritual maturity. In order to ground the theory in the actual experience of aging persons, this paper demonstrates, how authentic humor represents an expression of spiritual maturity. Authentic humor can articulate the trust, hope and the faith of elders who maintain a sense of meaning and wholeness despite the changes, losses and suffering which often accompany the aging process. Persons who possess the resource of authentic humor experience the paradoxicalities of aging without yielding to despair.     

Authenticity,presence of meaning,and struggle with ultimate meaning: Nuanced between-and within-person associations

Authenticity predicts greater presence of meaning in life, in general (between-persons) and in the moment (within-persons). However, little is known about whether authenticity predicts negative aspects of life meaning, such as struggles with ultimate meaning. Across three studies (total N = 719), two of which used daily diaries (daily reports = 1,980), correlations, confirmatory factor analyses, and multilevel path models together showed that higher levels of authenticity related positively to presence of meaning and negatively to struggle with ultimate meaning at the between- and within-person levels. These findings are consistent with humanistic, existential, and positive psychology theories of authenticity and meaning and raise the possibility that increasing authenticity states over time may predict sustained improvement in multiple aspects of meaning.     

Barbados Spiritual Baptists: Social acceptance enhances opportunities for supporting public health

The Spiritual Baptist faith has been present in the Caribbean from about the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. However, the movement only extended to Barbados in 1957 when a Spiritual Baptist preacher, a Barbadian by birth, returned to his native island from Trinidad, where he had been living for several years. The Reverend Granville Williams established the first Spiritual Baptist Church in Barbados and has continued to oversee the church's development since its inception. This article describes the evolution of the church's status over the past 50 years, as seen by both members and non-members of the group, from a marginalized religious group into a settled and accepted denomination. Explication of this transformation phenomenon is also explored through qualitative interviews with Barbadian clergy non-members of the group. The implications of this transformation for the interplay of religion, mental health, and social services in the Caribbean are then discussed.     

Vanishing Boundaries: When Teaching About Religion Becomes Spiritual Guidance in the Classroom

Abstract. This article revisits the pedagogical dilemma of maintaining neutrality in the religious studies/theology classroom. I argue that if the boundary between teaching about religion and actually teaching spirituality seems to be vanishing, it is because the boundary was inappropriately constructed in the first place. To the extent that the religious concepts, even when compressed into religious studies categories, inherently inspire personal transformation, how can a boundary exist between the ideas students encounter and the power of those ideas to transform? Spiritual guidance emerges naturally in the academic study of religion, and those of us who teach in the field might as well get used to it. In explaining my position, I draw on my experience as a teaching assistant in Professor Walter Capps's course, “Religion and the Impact of the Vietnam War.” I, then, develop a pragmatic teaching strategy, neutral enthusiasm, which preserves the important neutrality of classroom presentation in religious studies courses, yet recognizes the unavoidable evocative power present in the intellectual territory that is religion. Neutral enthusiasm allows the content to do the work.     

'Dancing cannot start too soon': Spiritual education in the thought of Jean Paul Friedrich Richter

Johann Paul Friedrich Richter (1763-1825) adopted the pen-name 'Jean Paul' in honour of Jean Jaques Rousseau. His Levana or the doctrine of education (Levana oder Erziehlehre) was once a standard text and required reading in teacher education. Outside Germany the name of Jean Paul is now little known and the seminal educational text for which he was famous is rarely read. This neglect of Jean Paul is undeserved. What Jean Paul owed to Rousseau is apparent, but his work is rich in insight of his own. Three principles undergird Jean Paul's understanding of spiritual education (geistige Erziehung). Jean Paul insisted that spiritual education is essentially counter-cultural, that it is promoted by play and that it is grounded in love. Such education can never be at home in a curriculum which, however lofty are its stated objectives, is ultimately politically controlled. Jean Paul's insistence that play is constitutive of education needs to be heeded in an educational culture in which the playful is always at risk of displacement by what the government of the day deems to be of greater consequence. The heart of Jean Paul's understanding of education can be expressed succinctly, 'We love to teach and we teach to love'.     

Development of the Greek version of the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory-24 (KAPN): factor structure and validation

ABSTRACT

The Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory 24 (SISRI-24) is widely used to assess spiritual intelligence (SI) in general population samples. The current study explored the Greek version SISRI-24 factor structure in a convenience sample of 1777 adults. A translation of the original scale was performed in different stages, so as to obtain a fully comprehensible and accurate equivalent. Psychometric properties were analyzed at the level of item. The four-factor solution proposed in the original SISRI-24 was not confirmed. Instead, an alternative model, in which the SISRI-24 structure was revised and trimmed to a final three-factor, 17-item short-form version (KAPN), produced an instrument of sound construct validity [fit indices: CFI?=?.92, TLI?=?.91, RMSEA?=?.06, SRMR?=?.06] and robust internal consistency. The results are sufficient for endorsing the suitability of KAPN in Greek speaking populations, and extend cross-cultural support for the SI model. Implications and recommendations for future directions of research are discussed.     

Spiritual resources as antecedents of clergy well-being: The importance of occupationally specific variables

This study tests the job demands–resources model's proposal that the prediction of well-being at work is improved by identifying the most salient cohort-specific resources. Spiritual resources, conceptualized as a subcategory of personal resources, are identified as a salient resource for clergy, and their longitudinal influence on the occupational well-being of clergy (n = 399) is examined in three waves of data collection over an 18-month period. Results supported the antecedent role of spiritual resources in relation to well-being at work. Spiritual resources positively predicted future work engagement, which in turn predicted reduced turnover intention. The negative indirect effect of spiritual resources on turnover intention was fully mediated by work engagement. The findings support the need to identify relevant resources for specific work cohorts. For clergy, spiritual resources are important for motivation and vocational longevity, suggesting the need for spiritual interventions among this at-risk and under-researched population.     

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.     

Pastoral Burnout and the Impact of Personal Spiritual Renewal,Rest-taking,and Support System Practices

Pastors risk burnout because of inordinate ministerial demands, which may drain their emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and physical energy reserves and impair their overall effectiveness. Burnout advances across three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced accomplishment. The debilitating effects of pastoral burnout were examined through a survey of 270 pastors. Relationships between burnout and three potentially preventative or mitigating factors, spiritual renewal, rest-taking, and support system practices, were explored. The results identified spiritual dryness as the primary predictor of emotional exhaustion, the stress dimension of burnout. In the published literature, no other work to date has empirically substantiated a link between pastors’ spirituality and burnout. These findings expand the burnout construct and promote leader self-care practices that foster resilience, vitality, and well-being.     

Czech version of Spiritual Health Questionnaire development: a research note

ABSTRACT

The Czech Republic is one of the most secularised societies, while atheistic and spiritual values are increasingly acknowledged and practiced. This research note has two objectives. First, we provide cultural and societal background of a development of the Spiritual Health Questionnaire. Second, the paper discusses empirical approach to the development of a battery of scales designed to systematically assess spiritual health for future spirituality research aimed at the Czech population and beyond.