Church Attendance and Religious Change in Italy, 1968–2010: A Multilevel Analysis of Pooled Datasets

The debate over religious change in Italy is far from having reached unanimous conclusions: some scholars point to an unbroken trend toward a decrease of religiosity, while others highlight the signs of a religious revival, especially in younger generations. Besides difficulties with definitions, different conclusions are also due to a lack of information over a sufficiently long period of time. This problem is tackled here by developing a pooled analysis of repeated cross‐section surveys that span over four decades. Using six different studies, the article analyzes the secularization trend in Italy on the basis of church attendance that, despite well‐founded criticism, continues to be a crucial indicator of this phenomenon. The results, estimated using multilevel models, show that the trend of attendance at Mass in Italy has decreased since the 1960s until today, despite a period of stability at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. The overall trend looks like a “recumbent S” trend (decrease up to the 1970s, stability in the 1980s, decrease afterwards). Thus, the claims of a religious revival in Italy are not supported by our results.     

Religious Attendance and Volunteering: Testing National Culture as a Boundary Condition

Numerous studies have documented the importance of religion, and especially of religious congregational attendance, in regard to volunteering. Most of these studies focus on individual and contextual factors, usually within one country. Recent studies suggest that the association between religious attendance and volunteering varies among countries. We hypothesize that national culture plays an important role in explaining volunteering mainly as a moderator of the relationship between religious attendance and volunteering, especially on volunteering to help people in need. To support this position, we used individual‐level data from the World Values Survey (WVS) coupled with national data on cultural measures. This enabled assessment of these relationships using a multilevel analysis of individuals nested in countries. We used two models of national culture, Hofstede (1984) and WVS to explain the differences between countries. We found direct relationships between national culture constructs (power distance and survival/self‐expression values) and volunteering. We also found that individualism, power distance, and survival/self‐expression values moderated the effect of religion on volunteering, with a stronger relationship between religious attendance and volunteering in nationalities with self‐expression values, high power distance, and low individualism. Theoretical and practical implications of this approach are discussed.     

Learning by Preparing‐to‐Teach and Teaching: A Meta‐Analysis

The present research meta‐analytically examined the effects of preparing‐to‐teach and subsequent teaching (relative to mere studying without teaching expectancy) on the acquisition of domain knowledge. The synthesis of 28 studies indicated that the estimated effect sizes (Hedges' gs) were 0.35 for preparing‐to‐teach and 0.56 for teaching with preparing‐to‐teach. Both preparing‐to‐teach and teaching with preparing‐to‐teach were effective in promoting deep learning (as well as surface learning) and even after a delay. The learning benefits of teaching with preparing‐to‐teach were larger when students expected and engaged in an interactive teaching activity than when they expected and engaged in a non‐interactive teaching activity. The mere expectation of interactive teaching also produced larger learning effects than the expectation of non‐interactive teaching. These results suggest that preparing‐to‐teach and teaching, interactive teaching after preparing to do so in particular, are useful for enhancing learning.     

Gender Differences in Loneliness Across the Lifespan: A Meta‐Analysis

Different theoretical contentions on gender differences in loneliness exist, often including the emergence of gender differences in particular developmental periods. To explain those ideas, the current meta‐analysis synthesizes the available evidence on gender differences in loneliness across the lifespan. Three‐level meta‐analyses were conducted with 751 effect sizes, covering 399,798 individuals (45.56% males). Results showed a close‐to‐zero overall effect (g = 0.07). Most examined moderators were non‐significant, except for age, the scope of the sampling area, and year of publication. Most importantly, all effects were small, suggesting that across the lifespan mean levels of loneliness are similar for males and females.     

Religion and Subjective Well‐Being Across Religious Traditions: Evidence from 1.3 Million Americans

I examine the relationship between religious service attendance and two domains (cognitive and affective) of subjective well‐being using Gallup Daily Poll data, which has a sample size over 1.3 million. I find that religious attendance is positively associated with both domains of subjective well‐being in all religious traditions examined, including non‐Christian traditions and “religious nones.” The strength of the association varies significantly across the traditions: stronger among Christian groups—particularly among the groups that are, on average, more observant—than among non‐Christian religions or “religious nones.” The stronger association among the observant groups is partly due to the lower level of well‐being among nonattendees in those groups than nonattendees in less observant groups. I also find that the association is stronger among individuals who consider religion an important part of life than among those who do not. Finally, my findings suggest that religious service attendance is equally strongly related to both domains of subjective well‐being.     

Resilience: A Meta‐Analytic Approach

This study investigated the relationship between psychological resilience and its relevant variables by using a meta‐analytic method. The results indicated that the largest effect on resilience was found to stem from the protective factors, a medium effect from risk factors, and the smallest effect from demographic factors.     

Cultural and Institutional Determinants of Social Dominance Orientation: A Cross‐Cultural Meta‐Analysis of 27 Societies

We investigate macrocontextual antecedents of national levels of Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). The majority of previous research, in contrast, has tended to focus on individual‐level correlates of SDO. We extend research on Social Dominance Theory by modelling national‐level differences in institutional discrimination, macroeconomic development, and value ideologies as broad situational factors affecting SDO mean levels in previous studies. Our hypotheses were tested in a three‐level meta‐analysis of aggregate data from 50,971 individuals in 95 samples from 27 different societies. Strong effects for hierarchy‐attenuating legitimizing ideologies and gender empowerment were found. Aggregate discrimination against arbitrary‐set groups was less consistently linked to SDO, suggesting that these hierarchies are context‐specific. Using mixed‐effects three‐level modelling, the patterns can be generalized to new contexts and suggest a particular institutional and social climate that fosters high SDO.     

The Efficacy of Interventions Aimed at Reducing Procrastination: A Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

This meta‐analysis investigated the efficacy of interventions aimed at reducing procrastination in randomized controlled trials. Twelve studies, with a total of 646 participants, met inclusion criteria. The significant meta‐analytic effect size, Hedges's g = 1.18, indicates that the interventions had a large positive effect. Three variables significantly moderated effect size: Higher effects were associated with interventions delivered in person, student samples, and a no‐treatment control condition. The results lay a foundation for procrastination treatment and future research.     

Meta‐CART: A tool to identify interactions between moderators in meta‐analysis

In the framework of meta‐analysis, moderator analysis is usually performed only univariately. When several study characteristics are available that may account for treatment effect, standard meta‐regression has difficulties in identifying interactions between them. To overcome this problem, meta‐CART has been proposed: an approach that applies classification and regression trees (CART) to identify interactions, and then subgroup meta‐analysis to test the significance of moderator effects. The previous version of meta‐CART has its shortcomings: when applying CART, the sample sizes of studies are not taken into account, and the effect sizes are dichotomized around the median value. Therefore, this article proposes new meta‐CART extensions, weighting study effect sizes by their accuracy, and using a regression tree to avoid dichotomization. In addition, new pruning rules are proposed. The performance of all versions of meta‐CART was evaluated via a Monte Carlo simulation study. The simulation results revealed that meta‐regression trees with random‐effects weights and a 0.5‐standard‐error pruning rule perform best. The required sample size for meta‐CART to achieve satisfactory performance depends on the number of study characteristics, the magnitude of the interactions, and the residual heterogeneity.     

Building A General Theory of Meta‐Argumentation

This article presents a critical analysis of the main modern approaches to the problem of meta‐argumentation and suggests a method for developing a general conception of meta‐argumentation. A set of theoretical‐methodological difficulties (aporias) along this path is revealed. Overcoming these aporias would constitute the main steps toward developing the body of a theory of meta‐argumentation.     

Meta‐Analysis of Trauma‐Focused Therapies for Treating the Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

This meta‐analysis of 46 between‐groups studies published between 1997 and 2015 detected treatment effects ranging from large to small when comparing trauma‐focused therapies with no treatment (g = ?1.05), supportive interventions (g = ?0.91), other interventions (g = ?0.57), and non‐trauma‐focused cognitive behavior therapies (g = ?0.08) for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The independent random‐effects models detected modest publication bias and a negligible influence of moderating variables on treatment outcomes. Considerations for counselors who treat PTSD and suggestions for researchers are provided.     

Counseling and Guided Self‐Help Outcomes for Clients With Bulimia Nervosa: A Meta‐Analysis of Clinical Trials From 1980 to 2010

This meta‐analysis included 111 clinical trials exploring the effectiveness of counseling/psychotherapy and guided self‐help approaches in the treatment of bulimia nervosa. In general, single‐group studies supported higher efficacy of counseling/psychotherapy, whereas wait‐list, treatment‐as‐usual, and placebo studies indicated both approaches were equally effective at termination (posttest) and follow‐up in altering binging, purging, laxative use, and self‐reported bulimia or body dissatisfaction perceptions in nearly all comparisons.     

A Meta‐Analytic Review of Child‐Centered Play Therapy Approaches

The authors explored the overall effectiveness of child‐centered play therapy (CCPT) approaches through a meta‐analytic review of 52 controlled outcome studies between 1995 and 2010. Hierarchical linear modeling techniques estimated a statistically significant moderate treatment effect size (.47) for CCPT, as well as statistically significant relationships between effect size and study characteristics, including child's age, child's ethnicity, caregiver involvement, treatment integrity, publication status, and presenting issue.     

Church Attendance,Problems of Measurement,and Interpreting Indicators: A Study of Religious Practice in the United States, 1975–2010

Church attendance is usually measured in surveys by asking a direct question about frequency of churchgoing over a preset period of time, which is typically a year. Different studies have cast doubt over the validity of this indicator as it tends to overestimate actual attendance to a significant degree. The aim of this article is to compare data on church attendance provided by two different types of research conducted in the United States between 1975 and 2010: survey data (GSS) and data obtained from time use surveys (ATUS). This comparison has three main objectives: (1) to confirm the hypothesis that survey data tend to overestimate actual attendance; (2) to show that this overestimation is not constant over time and space, but tends to vary in an erratic and unpredictable way; and (3) to demonstrate that data provided by time use surveys are more reliable than the frequencies of churchgoing provided by traditional surveys when the objective is to identify trends in religiosity in a population.     

Meta‐Analysis of Counseling Outcomes for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

This meta‐analysis of 152 published posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) clinical trials from 1990 to 2012 concluded that counseling generally produced a small to large effect of treatment across all comparison conditions at termination (d+ = 0.30 to 0.89). These gains were maintained at longest follow‐up (d+ = 0.58 to 0.86) for the wait‐list, treatment‐as‐usual, and single‐group comparisons, but not for the follow‐up placebo comparison (d+ = 0.15), probably because of the low power (j = 3 placebo studies). Clinical trial findings were synthesized using a random‐effects model. No effects of publication bias or moderating variables were evident. No difference was found between trauma‐focused and non‐trauma‐focused approaches. Implications for counseling practice and future PTSD outcome research are addressed.     

Multidimensional Perfectionism and the Big Five Personality Traits: A Meta‐analysis

Multidimensional perfectionism includes the dimensions perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings. Many studies have investigated the nomological network of multidimensional perfectionism by relating perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings to the Big Five personality traits. Results from these studies were largely inconsistent. In the present study, we meta‐analytically integrated 672 effect sizes from 72 samples (N = 21 573) describing relations between multidimensional perfectionism and the Big Five personality traits. Perfectionistic concerns correlated positively with Neuroticism (r = 0.383) and negatively with Extraversion (r = ?0.198), Agreeableness (r = ?0.198), Conscientiousness (r = ?0.111), and Openness (r = ?0.087). Perfectionistic strivings correlated positively with Conscientiousness (r = 0.368), Openness (r = 0.121), Neuroticism (r = 0.090), and Extraversion (r = 0.067) and were unrelated to Agreeableness (r = 0.002). The measures of perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings moderated most of these relations. Meta‐analytic structural equation modelling allowed controlling each perfectionism dimension for the respective other. This partialling increased all correlations with the exception of the previously positive correlation between perfectionistic strivings and Neuroticism, which ceased to be significant. The findings support the distinction between perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns and demonstrate how multidimensional perfectionism is situated in the context of broader personality traits. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Psychometric Meta‐Analysis of the English Version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory

This meta‐analysis reviewed 192 scholarly works from 1993 to 2013 using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (Beck & Steer, 1993 ). Aggregated internal consistency (coefficient alpha) was .91 (k = 117), and test–retest reliability was .65 (k = 18). Convergent comparisons were robust across 33 different anxiety instruments and the Beck Depression Inventory–II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996 ). Structural validity primarily supported the original 2‐factor solution proposed by Beck and Steer ( 1993 ), and diagnostic accuracy varied according to the sample size and criterion cutoff score.     

Resting Frontal EEG Asymmetry and Personality Traits: A Meta‐analysis

Frontal asymmetry has been widely used as a marker of emotion, motivation, and psychopathology. When assessed during the resting state, it is regarded as an index of trait approach and withdrawal motivation. However, the replicability of these associations with personality is currently unclear. The present meta‐analysis seeks to provide a comprehensive quantitative review of the relationship between personality traits and resting electroencephalographic (EEG) frontal asymmetry. We distinguished five personality clusters: extraversion, neuroticism, impulsivity, anger, and defensiveness. Data from 79 independent samples with overall 5700 participants were included in the meta‐analysis. The results revealed that less than 0.4% of the variance in extraversion and neuroticism could be explained by resting frontal asymmetry. Similarly, a small effect was observed for trait anger, and a small‐sized to medium‐sized effect was observed for defensiveness, although the number of studies was very low. No significant effect emerged for impulsivity. The effects were further reduced after adjustment for publication bias. Given some evidence for heterogeneity, sub‐traits were analysed, and methodological moderators were investigated. Based on the results, we conclude that the validity of resting frontal asymmetry as a marker for personality is not supported. Finally, recommendations are given to increase the replicability of frontal asymmetry research. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

No One Has Ever Seen God: The Use of Religious Archives for Nonreligious Purposes

Abstract

The area of women and religion is a rapidly expanding field of study for which an up-to-date research guide would be a useful tool. This annotated research guide covers traditional resources, such as reference books, general monographs, periodicals, associations, and audiovisual material. It also contains entries which annotate important Internet resources, such as academically oriented Web sites and electronic discussion lists. Resources chosen for inclusion were produced since 1996 in North America and emphasize the study of women and religion with the Judeo-Christian traditions.     

Meta‐Analysis of Counseling Outcomes for Youth With Conduct Disorders

Twenty‐one clinical trials were synthesized using a random‐effects model, which substantiated that counseling generally produces a medium effect in treating conduct disorder in youth at termination (d + = 0.30 to 0.57; k = 28). However, the lasting effects at follow‐up were unclear because few follow‐up studies (k = 13) have been conducted (d + = ?0.53 to 0.58), and only 2 randomized controlled follow‐up studies were located. No effects of moderating variables were evident. Implications for counseling practice and outcome research are addressed.