Religious and Spiritual Practices Used by Children and Adolescents to Cope with Cancer

Journal of Religion and Health - This study consists of an integrative review of the scientific literature that aimed to know the religious and spiritual practices used by children and adolescents...     

The Effect of Training Children to Consider Intentions When Making Moral Judgments

Summary

Prekindergarten children were trained to consider intentions when making moral judgments. Children were read pairs of stories that described an act producing damage. They were then asked to identify the worst act. In a verbal discrimination group, children were reinforced when they selected the act where the doer intended damage. The discussion group was also asked to identify the more negative act, but then participated in a discussion of their choices. The control group was given stories that did not contain acts producing damage. The results indicated that both types of training were instrumental in aiding children to consider the intentions of an agent when making moral judgments.     

Correction to: Religious and Spiritual Practices Used by Children and Adolescents to Cope with Cancer

Journal of Religion and Health -     

儿童青少年的亲社会行为及其培养

儿童青少年认同的亲社会行为具有利他性、社交性、群体制约性等特点;其亲社会行为概念表征更接近于原型表征方式,特质型亲社会行为处于亲社会行为概念的中心位置;儿童青少年的亲社会行为决策受其社会信息加工特点影响,不同类型的儿童和不同种类的情境对SIP过程产生交互影响;通过提高儿童青少年解决同伴冲突的技能和情绪胜任力等方面的团体干预活动,能有效促进儿童青少年亲社会行为的发展.     

The Moral and Political Status of Children

Book Information The Moral and Political Status of Children. The Moral and Political Status of Children David Archard, Colin M. Macleod, eds., Oxford and New York : Oxford University Press, 2002, viii + 296, US$60 (cloth). Edited by David Archard;, Colin M. Macleod;, eds.. Oxford University Press. Oxford and New York. Pp. viii + 296. US$60 (cloth).,     

Theorizing Religious Effects Among American Adolescents

A large body of empirical studies shows that religion often serves as a factor promoting positive, healthy outcomes in the lives of American adolescents. Yet existing theoretical explanations for these religious effects remain largely disjointed and fragmented. This article attempts to formulate a more systematic, integrated, and coherent account of religion's constructive influence in the lives of American youth, suggesting nine key factors (moral directives, spiritual experiences, role models, community and leadership skills, coping skills, cultural capital, social capital, network closure, and extra–community links) that cluster around three key dimensions of influence (moral order, learned competencies, and social and organizational ties).     

The Assessment of Normal Fear in Children and Adolescents

Published research into normal fear now spans more than one century. During this time, a large number of papers have been published in the area. The resulting literature has led to a detailed understanding of normal fear experiences and, in particular, the ways in which they change with maturation. Of central importance, when evaluating the documented outcomes of this work, is the soundness of the methods and tools used in assessment. It is not surprising given the large number of researchers that have been involved in this area, that the assessment methods used have varied substantially. These have ranged from the methodologically problematic technique of obtaining retrospective adult reports to the administration of psychometrically validated fear survey schedules. An extensive review of this literature reveals that, for the last two decades, the fear survey schedule has been the most widely used technique for the fear assessment. The preference that has and is being demonstrated for the fear survey schedule as an assessment tool is most likely due to its many advantages including ease of use, objectivity in scoring, and provision of a substantial amount of information in a short period. However, despite its advantages, researchers and clinicians need to be cognizant of its potential limitations and, depending on the questions being asked, may need to consider using it in combination with alternative assessment strategies.     

Religious Participation and Network Closure Among American Adolescents

A large body of empirical studies shows that religion often serves as a factor promoting positive, healthy outcomes in the lives of American adolescents. This research note reports findings of one test of a "network closure" explanation of these religious effects. It uses the national Survey of Parents and Youth (1998–1999) data to examine the relationship between religious participation and five measures of network closure. The findings support the hypothesis that participation in American religious congregations increases network closure between the parents of youth and their children's friends, their children's friends' parents, and their children's teachers.     

The Effects of Psychological Trauma on Children and Adolescents

In this review the authors examine the cognitive, affective, behavioral, and somatic-physiological effects documented in the literature as sequelae of overwhelming life events in children and adolescents. Findings from the literature are compared with the current formulations of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third edition, revised (DSM-III-R, American Psychiatric Association, 1987) as this diagnostic category applies to children. Responses likely to be observed in children and adolescents who have been exposed to traumatic events are discussed. Suggestions for future research and counseling practice are presented     

青少年道德自我认同问卷的修订

本研究以青少年群体为样本,在Aquino和Reed的道德自我认同问卷（Moral Identity Measure,MIM）基础上,进行问卷的修订。方法：对935名青少年进行原始问卷的测量,采用探索性因素分析。结果：与MIM原问卷相比,修订后的问卷包含了16个项目。因素分析表明,二个维度能够解释总方差41．68％的变异,各个项目的载荷在0．57～0．71之间,分半信度为0．69,同质信度达到了0．85。结论：经修订后,青少年道德同一性问卷具有较为满意的心理学测量指标,可以在青少年中推广使用。     

Children as Religious Resources: The Role of Children in the Social Re-Formation of Class, Culture, and Religious Identity

Based on observations and interviews in two churches representing two different strands of American Protestantism, I assess the ways in which children contribute to the social construction of class, culture, and religious identity for adults. Evidence comes from observing how congregations incorporate children into adult worship services and talk about them in texts and programs, and from the ways in which newer and long-term congregation members describe valuing and understanding children's ministries. These styles and their meanings reflect the history, heritage, and theological distinctives of these two strands of American Protestantism. Religion, I suggest, is not just good for children; children themselves are a religious resource whose presence in worship, service, and discourse helps to create and maintain a sense of identity, place, and meaning in the lives of worshipping adults.     

青少年网络"道德失范"问题略论

网络的普及与青少年道德问题的爆发存在着必然关联,但所谓青少年网络"道德失范"问题,其实是无"范"可循,其症结不在网络普及,不在教育,也不在网络的监控和管理的不完善等方面,而是属于整个现代社会的一个基本问题,需要对其提出具有针对性的应对措施.     

Establishing Treatment Fidelity in Evidence-Based Parent Training Programs for Externalizing Disorders in Children and Adolescents

The current review evaluates the use of treatment fidelity strategies in evidence-based parent training programs for treating externalizing disorders. We used a broad framework for evaluating treatment fidelity developed by the National Institutes of Health Treatment Fidelity Workgroup that includes the aspects of treatment design, treatment delivery, training providers, and assessment of participant receipt of treatment and enactment of treatment skills. Sixty-five articles reporting outcome trials of evidence-based parent training programs met inclusion criteria and were coded for treatment fidelity strategies. The mean adherence to fidelity strategies was .73, which was higher than two previous review studies employing this framework in the health literature. Strategies related to treatment design showed the highest mean adherence (.83), whereas training of providers and enactment of treatment skills had the lowest (.58). In light of an increasing emphasis on effectiveness and dissemination trials, the broader treatment fidelity framework as applied in this review focuses needed attention on areas often overlooked in fidelity practices, such as training providers and generalization of treatment skills. We discuss the strengths and limitations of fidelity practices in parent training studies, implications of these findings, and areas for future research.     

Self-Concept and Moral Reasoning among Batswana Adolescents

Abstract

On the basis of Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman's (1959) motivatorhygiene theory, it was hypothesized that intrinsic but not extrinsic work values would be inversely related to stress. Also investigated was the question of which work values provide the most relief from stress. Elementary school teachers and administrators (N = 607) from nine school boards in southern Ontario completed a survey that included Pines, Aronson, and Kafry's (1981) stress scale and Elizur's (1984) work values scale. Almost all of the 12 intrinsic work values investigated were negatively correlated with stress, but the 4 extrinsic work values studied were not consistently related to stress. Five work values explained 11% of the variance in physical stress, 9 work values explained 22% of the variance in emotional stress, and 6 work values explained 26% of the variance in mental stress. Four work values emerged as meaningful predictors of all three types of stress: being esteemed by others, achieving through work, doing meaningful work, and being able to use one's knowledge and abilities.     

Being Young and Strictly Religious: A Review of the Literature on the Religious Identity Development of Strictly Religious Adolescents

Strictly religious adolescents grow up in highly religious contexts with orthodox beliefs and practices that usually contrast with those of pluralist and secularized societies that can be perceived as promoting unhealthy religious identity development. For these adolescents, religious identity development may be a challenge; however, there seems to be a lack of theoretical and empirical understanding of how these adolescents develop their religious identities. To address this, a literature review was conducted, and 15 studies were selected after the application of selection criteria. This review focuses on the characteristics of these studies to understand the religious identity development of strictly religious adolescents. Implications for theory development and further empirical research are discussed.     

Perceptions of Religious Hypocrisy: When Moral Claims Exceed Moral Action

In this study, we investigated perceptions of hypocrisy among Christian and non-Christian individuals. Specifically, participants (N = 121) were asked to evaluate people of different religious orientations in terms of perceptions of both claimed morality, actual behavior, and general hypocrisy. Across all designations, perceptions of moral hypocrisy were determined to be greater to the extent that moral claims exceeded actual behavior. Among non-Christian participants, perceptions of hypocrisy were highest with respect to “devout” and “evangelical” Christian targets. In contrast, among Christian participants, the highest ratings of hypocrisy were reserved for “casual” Christians (i.e., Christians who do not incorporate their faith into their daily life). Our findings have both theoretical implications regarding the nature of religious hypocrisy perceptions, as well as real-world implications for understanding inter-faith perceptions and interactions.