The Influence of Headteachers' Backgrounds,Experiences and Beliefs on their Perceptions of the Nature of Children's Spirituality

The purpose of this article is to examine headteachers' perceptions of a range of issues relating to pupils' spiritual development as revealed in a survey undertaken in schools in 1998 and 2000. In particular, it seeks to examine their views regarding three major issues: (1) the meaning of the term spiritual development; (2) the areas of school life which contribute to pupils' spirituality; and (3) who should have responsibility for promoting spiritual development. A preliminary study of headteachers' perceptions of these issues was conducted in three education authorities in 1998 and documented in the International Journal of Children's Spirituality (Davies, 1998). The present study has increased the database to include headteachers from three additional authorities and has further analysed the results to take into account factors in headteachers' backgrounds which might influence their perceptions in this area.     

The Influence of Early Experiences and Adult Attachment on the Exhibition of the Sexual Double Standard

The sexual double standard is the phenomenon whereby men and women are judged differently for the same sexual behavior. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the potential relationship between life history theory, attachment theory and the sexual double standard. Life history theory posits that one’s upbringing (e.g., quality of early relationship with one’s parents) may have implications for one’s future mating strategies, especially for women. Furthermore, adult attachment orientation often influences individuals’ feelings toward sexual behavior. To address the relationship between these variables, we had participants complete questionnaires regarding their early relationships with their parents and their current attachment regarding romantic partners. Participants then evaluated a target individual who reported having 1 or 12 sexual partners (N = 154). Results showed that female participants’ early relationships with their parents and their current attachment avoidance predicted their exhibition of the double standard. Results are discussed in the context of theoretical and empirical implications.     

The Personal Significance of Religiousness and Spirituality in Patients With Schizophrenia

Religiousness and spirituality were examined in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Features and subjective significance are described, and associations with psychopathological phenomena are analyzed. The majority of the patients reported that religiousness and spirituality serve a vital positive influence in their ability to cope with their disorder. This positive influence was observed less among those patients with more negative symptoms. The spiritual experience of a divine presence was a common part of spirituality for our respondents, independent of psychopathology, whereas more extraordinary spiritual experiences were associated with certain psychopathological symptoms. Religious patients ruminated less than nonreligious patients did on existential issues, especially regarding the meaning of life, which, together with self-acceptance, was among the key existential issues for these patients.     

Religious Involvement and Depression: The Mediating Effect of Relational Spirituality

Journal of Religion and Health - Multiple studies have examined the relationship between religious involvement and depression. Many of these investigations reveal a negative correlation between...     

The Church Confronting Adult Depression: A Challenge

Local Protestant church leaders can confront the problem of depression by providing parishioners with information in three related areas: symptoms of and reasons for depression; distorted understandings and uses of biblical ideas about perfection, self-denial, surrender, and expression of anger and grief; and principles of parenting that encourage children's self-esteem, problem-solving abilities, and faith development—strong deterrents to depression.     

广告语言与产品卷入度对广告卷入度的影响研究

从产品角度对地方语广告进行研究。本研究将语言熟练度和地域文化认同这两个因素作为控制变量,选取产品卷入度作为调节变量,分别在语音和文本广告两种不同的广告媒介中,研究广告语言（普通话VS粤语）对广告卷入度（认知卷入度VS情感卷入度）的影响机制。结果表明：对于高卷入度产品广告,普通话比粤语产生的广告认知卷入度和情感卷入度都更高;对于低卷入度产品广告,无论广告使用普通话抑或粤语,消费者对广告的认知卷入度都没有显著差异,但粤语比普通话能带来更高的广告情感卷入度。     

REVIEW: "Spirituality and Adult Development"

Greeley's (1975) measure of mystical experience-conceived as having either 2 or 4 levels-was presented to 227 psychology undergraduates along with Bradburn's (1969) 3 Affect Scales, the Magical Ideation Scale, the Manic-Depressiveness Scale, and an independently constructed 22-item Rasch Mystical Experience Scale (MES). These students reported significantly more mystical experience than did Greeley's sample. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient between the MES and the 2-level measure was .18 (p = .014), and with the 4-level measure it was = .54 (p < .001). The 2-level measure failed to replicate Greeley's finding of a relationship with Balance Affect (i.e., happiness). Though small, the correlations between both the 4-level Greeley measure and the MES with Balance Affect and Positive Affect were positive and significant. At the same time, the 4-level Greeley measure correlated moderately with the Magical Ideation Scale (both paranormal and nonparapsychological subscales). The MES correlated moderately and somewhat higher with these same variables. The results, apparently contradictory, were reconciled in part by considering the concept of the happy schizotype and of positive outcomes of mental illness.     

The Influence of Spirituality on Community Participation and Belonging: Christina's Story

This article presents the case study of an individual with a significant psychiatric disability who identified spirituality as the primary facilitator of her community integration. Recommendations are made for human service practice.     

Wittgenstein on Public Language About Personal Experiences

Philosophia - In this paper, we would like to discuss Wittgenstein’s critique of the idea that a person’s experiences are necessarily private, and these experiences can only be...     

Dysfunctional Personal Experiences and Existential Dilemmas

This article presents a theoretical discussion of the results from the research, “An Existential Understanding of Anxiety: An Integration of the Ideas of May, Yalom, and Schneider.” It focuses on the development of dysfunctional experiences according to the theoretical perspectives of Rollo May, Irvin Yalom, and Kirk Schneider. Dysfunctional experiences emerge when human beings experience (implicitly or consciously) different existential dilemmas and are unable to make consistent decisions and confront the experience of anxiety that results from such contact. In this sense, dysfunctional experiences are not developed simply from the consciousness of existential givens, as suggested by Yalom (1980 Yalom , I. ( 1980 ). Existential psychotherapy . New York , NY : Basic Books . [Google Scholar]), but by the dialectical and paradoxical relationship with the following human dilemmas: life versus death, freedom versus determinisms, isolation versus intersubjectivity, meaning versus insignificancy, individuation versus adaptation, and sense of power versus impotence. This idea implies that anxiety and dysfunctional experiences could emerge, in daily life, from the need to take concrete decisions when faced with several possibilities or dilemmas, and not only from the awareness of those possibilities.     

Shaping Teachers' Interpretation of Spirituality: The Contribution of Anglican and Free Church Colleges in England and Wales

A sample of 298 primary-school teachers working within the state-maintained sector in England completed a 150-item questionnaire to assess their understanding of the term “spirituality.” The data demonstrate that after controlling for sex, age, personality, and current religiosity, teachers trained in an Anglican or Free Church College were more likely than teachers trained in secular institutions to interpret the educational construct of spirituality in terms of traditional features of Christianity. There is some evidence for the distinctive religious contribution of Church Colleges to teacher education.     

The Role of Personal Spirituality and Religious Social Activity on the Life Satisfaction of Older Widowed Women

We examined the impact of personal spiritualityand religious social activity on the life satisfactionof older widowed women. Fifty-one White, femaleretirement community residents completed measures of personal spirituality, religious socialactivities, and life satisfaction. Ten residents werealso interviewed about their religious beliefs andactivities. Although the interviews revealed bothpersonal spirituality and religious social activity tobe central to the life satisfaction of these women,quantitative results suggested only involvement withreligious social activities was related to lifesatisfaction. Interviews revealed thatchurch activitiesprovided the women a loving family and a supportivecommunity. Religious activities helped these older womenovercome hardships, gave them a chance to sustainfriendships, and provided a vehicle through which they couldcontribute to their community.     

Introduction: Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, Part III

This paper reviews the purpose of the three-part Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, described in the Introduction to Special Issue Parts I and II (J. D. Sinnott, 2001, in press). It also outlines the contents of Part III. Developing adults express their belief that spirituality plays a key role in their development, and humanistic psychology supports this view, yet developmental psychologists have given comparatively little attention to this factor. Also the concept of spirituality seldom has been considered separately from that of religion. The purpose of this Special Issue is to begin to remedy this neglect and to begin to examine the meanings spirituality has for the developing adult. How might spirituality be adaptive? How might it relate to our connections with others and our society? This introduction is a summary of the five empirical and theoretical papers that form Part III of the Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development.     

Introduction: Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, Part I

This article describes the purpose of the 3-part Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, and the contents of Part I. Developing individuals express their belief that spirituality plays a key role in their development, yet developmental psychologists have given comparatively little attention to this factor. The concept of spirituality is seldom considered separately from that of religion. The purpose of this Special Issue is to begin to remedy this neglect. This introduction is a summary of the 6 empirical and theoretical articles that form Part I.     

Introduction: Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, Part II

This article reviews the purpose of the 3-part Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development, described in the Introduction to Special Issue Part I (J. D. Sinnott, 2000). It also outlines the contents of Part II. Developing adults express their belief that spirituality plays a key role in their development, yet developmental psychologists have given comparatively little attention to this factor. Also the concept of spirituality has seldom been considered separately from that of religion. The purpose of this special issue is to begin to remedy this neglect. This introduction is a summary of the 7 empirical and theoretical articles that form Part II of the Special Issue on Spirituality and Adult Development.     

Religious Market Share and Intensity of Church Involvement in Five Denominations

Proponents of the supply side approach to religion theorize that religious market share—the proportion of people in a geographical area who belong to a given denomination—is inversely related to religious commitment in that denomination. They argue that a small market share motivates religious leaders to compete harder in the religious market place, increasing the participation of members. Another perspective, often associated with secularization theory, make the opposite prediction. It argues that people find it difficult to remain religiously committed in social environments where they are numerical minoritiesbecause other people do not reinforce their beliefs and practices. We use data from a large study of financial giving to analyze the relationship between market share and commitment for five denominations in the United States. We find that market share has a negative effect on church financial giving within all five denominations and a weaker negative effect on attendance in threeof the denominations. We explore whether these effects are the spurious byproducts of pro-religious cultural norms associated with either the South or the presence of conservative Protestants in local areas. In models pooling all denominations, the negative effect of market share on financial giving and attendance cannot be explained away by either of these factors. However, the effect on attendance can be accounted for by congregational size.     

Differential Effects of Family Structure on Religion and Spirituality of Emerging Adult Males and Females

This study examined measures of religion and spirituality in a sample of male and female emerging adult college students whose parents were either divorced or intact using the Personal Religious Inventory, the Duke University Religion Index, the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, the Spiritual Transcendence Scale, and the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale. Data were collected online, and 66% of participants received extra credit for participating. A main effect of sex was found, as females reported significantly higher scores than men on all but one measure of religion and spirituality, and the dataset was separated by sex. No differences were found between males from divorced and intact families. However, females from intact families scored significantly higher on all religion and spirituality measures than females from divorced families. This study suggests that females may respond differently than males to their parents’ divorce in the context of religion and spirituality, and discusses possible reasons.