In search of an imaginary enemy: Catholic collective narcissism and the endorsement of gender conspiracy beliefs

ABSTRACT

Gender studies have often been criticized for undermining family and religious values. In this paper, we argue that these criticisms exhibit the characteristics of conspiracy theories. We define gender conspiracy beliefs as convictions that gender studies and gender-equality activists represent an ideology secretly designed to harm traditional values and social arrangements. In two studies conducted among Catholics in Poland (Study 1 N= 1019; Study 2 N= 223), we examined the prevalence of gender conspiracy beliefs and their psychological concomitants. We hypothesized that gender conspiracy beliefs should be associated with a defensive identification with one’s religious group, captured by religious collective narcissism. In both studies, Catholic collective narcissism was demonstrated to be a robust predictor of gender conspiracy beliefs. We additionally demonstrated that Catholic collective narcissism predicted outgroup hostility, and this effect was mediated by gender conspiracy beliefs. We discuss the implications for gender-based prejudice.     

Credo Unam Sanctam Ecclesiam: The Relationship between the Catholic and the Protestant Principles in Fundamental Ecclesiology

Abstract

This article treats of characteristically Catholic and Protestant ecclesial principles and reflects on Anglicanism within this context. Where the Catholic ‘principle’ is concerned for the structural unity of the Church, the Protestant ‘principle’ focuses on the Church as a dynamic, Spirit-given reality. In turn, Anglican comprehensiveness is assumed to reflect the concern to achieve a harmonious balance between these principles. Having traced key developments that brought Catholic and Protestant principles into creative relationship in the 20th century and more recent developments, that threaten once again to oppose them, this article argues – through reflection on the unity and holiness of the Church – for their necessary interrelationship and concludes that realising this in practice represents the central ecumenical challenge of our age. En route, attention falls on the relationship between the local and the universal Church, on the importance of keeping communion with the breadth of the tradition and on the doxological dimension of ecumenism.     

Roman Catholic Gay Priests: Internalized Homophobia, Sexual Identity, and Psychological Well-Being

Using convenience sampling, a national sample of 156 actively ministering or retired Roman Catholic priests was obtained. One hundred and five (105) of these priests identified as gay/homosexual (67.3 %), 42 identified as heterosexual (26.9 %), and 9 identified as bisexual (5.8 %). Due to the small number of bisexual participants, the bisexual priests’ responses were excluded, and the whole sample was divided into a gay/homosexual group and a heterosexual comparison group. This confidential study yielded a response rate of 78 %. The priests were mailed self-report survey instruments, including the Scales of Psychological Well-Being, the Internalized Homonegativity Inventory, the Gay Identity Questionnaire, the Depression-Happiness Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, as well as a demographics questionnaire. Results demonstrated that internalized homophobia was negatively correlated with psychological well-being and associated with depression. Internalized homophobia was also found to be related to less integration of sexual identity. There was no significant difference between the gay/homosexual and the heterosexual group in their psychological well-being and depression scores, and both groups emerged as high scorers on the measures of psychological well-being and depression-happiness (high scores on this bipolar instrument indicate happiness). Implications and limitations of the study are reviewed and discussed.     

Improving specific autobiographical memory in older adults: impacts on mood,social problem solving,and functional limitations

Older adults have difficulty recalling specific autobiographical events. This over-general memory style is a vulnerability factor for depression. Two groups receiving interventions that have previously been successful at reducing over-general memory in depressed populations were compared to a control group. Participants were healthy older adults aged ≥70 years: memory specificity training (MEST; n = 22), life review (n = 22), and control group (n = 22). There were significant improvements in autobiographical memory specificity in the MEST and life review groups at post-training, relative to the control group, suggesting that over-general memory can be reduced in older adults. Change in social problem solving ability and functional limitations were related to change in autobiographical memory specificity, supporting the suggested role of specific retrieval in generating solutions to social problems and maintaining independence. Qualitative analysis of participants’ feedback revealed that life review may be more appropriate for older adults, possibly because it involves integrating specific memories into a positive narrative.     

Receptive Ecumenism and Catholic Learning: Establishing the Agenda

Abstract

This article introduces the Receptive Ecumenism and Catholic Learning research project – based in Durham, UK – the key thinking that drives it, and its core theological, ecclesiological and practical implications. The article unfolds in six steps, first laying out the shape and scope of the project and secondly identifying, briefly, its fundamental ecclesial-theological context and presuppositions. The third and fourth sections deal, respectively, with the broader intellectual and ecclesial-historical contexts that have also helped shape the project's thinking and vision, whilst sections five and six give full articulation to the twin key concepts of Receptive Ecumenism and Catholic Learning. The article argues that the contemporary context requires a fresh ecumenical ethic and strategy that moves beyond both post-denominationalism and any over-optimistic aspiration for full agreement in the immediacy. It concludes that this way is to be found in each community asking itself what can be learned (‘received’), with integrity, from its diverse others.     

Neurophysiological characteristics of acts of remembering in the process of positive ageing / Características neurofisiológicas de los actos de recuerdo en el proceso de envejecimiento positivo

Abstract

‘Acts of remembering’ refer to the conscious cognitive process that facilitates recognition of socioculturally relevant events. This study presents an analysis of the differences and similarities between the morphological characteristics and architecture of Event-Related Potentials associated with the visual recognition of cultural events, by comparing a group of older adults (n = 15) with a group of young adults (n = 17). The results show similar modulations in the N1, P2, P300 and N400 components while a differential modulation appears in N200, a component that has been associated with attentional processes. Two ways of interpreting the results are put forward: one suggests that with age come greater difficulties for cognitive processing and the other suggests that older adults have a particular interest in this type of material.     

The Emergence and Development of Protestantism in Macedonia

Abstract

This paper explores the political activity of the Catholic Church in Poland in the years 1990–2009 in terms of categories of political strategies. I argue that the church as an institution applied varied strategies with the aim of influencing the politics of the day. These took on three forms, in which the church acted as (1) a political principal, (2) a creator of political values and (3) an interest group. In the period between 1990 and 1997 the church attempted to exert a direct influence on the political scene by supporting the Catholic national parties. In the period between 1997 and 2004 the church focused on the second of the above-mentioned strategies by supporting the establishment of Christian Democratic parties. In the years 2004–2009 we can observe a more varied strategy consisting of a formal withdrawal from political activity with a simultaneous acceptance of political engagement on the part of the Catholic national Radio Maryja. During the whole period under analysis the church effectively acted as an interest group. This has resulted in a growing dependence of the church on the state, which – in connection with symptoms of institutional crisis – may lead to a particular kind of ‘cartelisation of the church’.     

Called and Formed: Personality Dimensions and Leadership Styles among Catholic Deacons and Men in Formation

Through a national survey, Roman Catholic deacons (n = 1349) and men in spiritual formation for the diaconate, called candidates (n = 205), completed on-line measures of personality dimensions (i.e., HEXACO-60) and transformational leadership, as well as demographic variables. Results indicated that for both candidates and deacons, personality dimensions of agreeableness and conscientiousness were the most important variables for predicting transformational leadership styles. For deacons only, higher levels of honesty/humility, extraversion, and openness to experience also led to higher transformational leadership styles. Adding demographic variables as co-variates (age, years in a parish, number of children, and number of families in a parish) in the models did not seem to affect the predictive models; however, years in formation (for candidates) and years as a deacon did affect servant leadership style. Implications for the personality and leadership attributes of Catholic “married clergy” are discussed.     

Clerical child sex abuse: the response of the Roman Catholic Church

The response of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) to the clergy child sex abuse crisis is examined in the context of six cases in an Irish archdiocese. The RCC was not proactive in engaging with complainants and did not accept organizational responsibility for its personnel. Its statements on the crisis were abstract and sometimes transcendent in tone and its attempts to account for its inaction used apologia rather than apology. The Church's reliance on apologia is similar to that found in secular bureaucracies that believe themselves to be ‘client‐independent’. It is argued the Church needs to implement a ‘client complaint’ procedure similar to that found in ‘client‐dependent’ commercial enterprises and that it must also reconnect with its own core values. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding the Diversity of Catholic Higher Education: A New Empirical Guide for Evaluating the Influence of Catholic Identity

Although scholars have often described faith-based universities in America as “church-related,” we argue this classification tells us virtually nothing about how the Catholic identity influences the mission, rhetoric, curriculum, or policies of Catholic institutions. Although Morey and Piderit (2006, Catholic higher education: A culture in crisis) created a more sophisticated four-part typology of Catholic institutions, we find that students, parents, administrators, and scholars, particularly scholars interested in institutional secularization, need a better means of empirical analysis to determine the degree to which the Catholic identity of an institution influences key administrative decisions of the university. Thus, we propose a method of content analysis that can quantify how the Catholic identity shapes key administrative, curricular, and cocurricular decisions and thereby places Catholic institutions upon a continuum. We then apply our new Operationalizing Faith Identity Guide (OFIG) to Catholic institutions in the United States to demonstrate the helpfulness of its application. Replication : The data needed to duplicate and replicate the findings in the paper will be made available immediately following publication.     

Integrating Diabetes Self-Management Interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic Church Setting

Churches provide an innovative and underutilized setting for diabetes self-management programs for Latinos. This study sought to formulate a conceptual framework for designing church-based programs that are tailored to the needs of the Latino community and that utilize church strengths and resources. To inform this model, we conducted six focus groups with mostly Mexican-American Catholic adults with diabetes and their family members (N = 37) and found that participants were interested in church-based diabetes programs that emphasized information sharing, skills building, and social networking. Our model demonstrates that many of these requested components can be integrated into the current structure and function of the church. However, additional mechanisms to facilitate access to medical care may be necessary to support community members’ diabetes care.     

The frequency of actions and thoughts scale: development and psychometric validation of a measure of adaptive behaviours and cognitions

This paper describes the development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of an instrument that measures the frequency of adaptive behaviours and cognitions related to therapeutic change during cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), for symptoms of anxiety and depression. Two studies were conducted. In study one, 661 participants completed an online survey with 28 items targeting adaptive behaviours and cognitions. Exploratory factor analysis performed on part of the sample (n = 451) revealed that a four-factor solution ‘characterised’ the data. This led to the development of a 12-item instrument, the Frequency of Actions and Thoughts Scale (FATS). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm the factor structure of the FATS using the remaining sample (n = 210), which revealed an acceptable model fit. In study two, 125 participants with clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, depression, or both were recruited to an Internet-delivered CBT (iCBT) treatment course. Participants completed the FATS and other measures throughout treatment, after treatment, and at three-month follow-up. Correlations and residual change scores of the FATS and its subscales with measures of anxiety, depression, behavioural activation, and CBT-related skills usage supported the construct validity of the FATS. A significant increase in FATS scores over treatment was also observed. The findings provide preliminary support for the psychometric properties of the FATS, which appears to have utility in research investigating mechanisms of change in CBT.     

Brain Function Associated with Cooccurring Trauma and Depression Symptoms in College Students

The goal of this pilot study was to determine if functional brain differences are present among individuals with high and low cooccurring trauma and depression symptoms. This pilot study examined how the P300 latency component of event-related potentials (ERPs), measured using electroencephalography (EEG) while participants performed a go/no-go task, might be associated with cooccurring self-report of trauma and depression symptoms in a sample of college students (N = 38). Alpha-corrected independent sample t tests revealed statistically significant differences in ERP P300 peak latencies between those in the high cooccurring trauma and depression symptoms group (n = 12) and those in the low group (n = 26) for all 3 midline electrode sites (Fz, Cz, and Pz). This pilot study provides preliminary evidence of differential brain functioning in individuals experiencing cooccurring trauma and depression symptoms. Accordingly, these findings support future research examining brain functioning in cooccurring symptoms.     

Religious meaning making and attachment in a disaster context: A longitudinal qualitative study of flood survivors

ABSTRACT

The goal of this longitudinal qualitative study was to develop a grounded theory of religious meaning making and attachment in a disaster context. At 1-month (T1; n = 36) and 6-months postdisaster (T2; n = 29), we conducted in-depth interviews with a highly religious sample of adult survivors of the 2016 Louisiana flood, using a disaster-adapted version of the Religious Attachment Interview. We utilized Corbin and Strauss’s grounded-theory approach for data analysis. At both timepoints, results revealed that survivors who were theistic believers engaged in postdisaster religious meaning making in which they drew on benevolent God representations and theodicies to appraise the disaster’s cause, purpose, and religious-attachment effects, thereby contributing to positive religious-attachment outcomes (religious meanings made; e.g. renewed beliefs and experiences of God’s benevolence and providence). Findings are discussed in terms of theories and research on disasters, meaning making, and religious attachment, including implications for research and practice.     

Executive Functioning in Adolescent Depressive Disorders

Previous research on executive functioning within adolescent depression has provided somewhat inconsistent results, although the majority of research has identified at least partial evidence of executive functioning deficits in adolescent depression. The present study attempted to explore adolescent depression, specifically depressive disorder diagnoses and self-reported depressive/anxious symptoms, as well as executive functioning through the retrospective chart review of an inpatient/outpatient adolescent sample. The total sample (N = 155) was divided into four groups. The psychiatric inpatient sample was subdivided into a Major Depression Group (n = 22), Minor Depression Group (n = 28), Inpatient Control Group (n = 73) based on the discharge diagnoses. The Outpatient Control Group (n = 33) consisted of a group of adolescents who received evaluations at a neuropsychological evaluation clinic. Analyses of variance between the four clinical groups and follow-up pairwise comparisons revealed lowered executive functioning performance in major and minor depression groups compared to the outpatient control. Lowered working memory/simple attention was identified in minor and major depression, while lowered cognitive flexibility/set shifting was only identified in major depression, suggesting a continuum of executive dysfunction and depression severity. More generally, the inpatient groups displayed lower executive functioning than the outpatient control, with no identified executive functioning differences between inpatient groups. Additionally, no negative correlations were observed between self-reported depressive/anxious symptoms and executive functioning. These results are consistent with the majority of related research, and highlight the importance of executive functions in adolescent depression, and more broadly in adolescent psychopathology.     

Leisure Satisfaction and Quality of Life in China, Japan, and South Korea: A Comparative Study Using AsiaBarometer 2006

Leisure satisfaction is positively associated with quality of life (QOL), more specifically, subjective QOL, which is often expressed as happiness. Compared to industrial nations in North America and Europe, however, significantly less is known about Asian nations. The purpose of this study is to examine the understudied areas of China, Japan and South Korea, all of which share cultural values and practices (e.g., Confucianism). Internationally representative 2006 AsiaBarometer data from Mainland China (n = 2,000), Japan (n = 1,003) and South Korea (n = 1,023) are employed to examine the concept of QOL, and the association between leisure satisfaction and QOL in these specific Asian populations. Results of confirmatory factor analysis demonstrate the validity of the QOL concept based on a series of satisfaction measures (i.e., leisure, income, health, family, spirituality, and friendship). Subsequently, generalized ordinal logistic regression was used to model QOL as a function of leisure satisfaction and covariates. Results show that leisure satisfaction is independently positively associated with QOL only in South Korea, although other satisfaction measures including income, health and spiritual satisfactions are consistently significant in all three nations. These findings may be useful for developing locally-sensitive policies and services to improve/maintain QOL in each nation. Possible explanations about the diverse relationships between leisure satisfaction and QOL are discussed in view of the different stage of societal development, common Confucian values, as well as each nation’s unique characteristics.     

Testing social-cognitive mediators for objective estimates of physical activity from the Healthy Eating and Active Living for Diabetes in Primary Care Networks (HEALD-PCN) study

Objective: More evidence from prospective studies is needed to determine ‘if’ and ‘how’ social cognitive constructs mediate behaviour change. In a longitudinal study, we aimed to examine potential social cognitive mediators of objectively measured physical activity (PA) behaviour among people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who participated in a six-month PA intervention. Methods: All participants from the proven effective Healthy Eating and Active Living for Diabetes in Primary Care Networks trial were included for this secondary analysis. Change in pedometer-derived daily step counts (baseline to six months) was the outcome of interest. Primary constructs of interest were from Social Cognitive Theory, however constructs from and Theory of Planned Behaviour were also tested in a mediating variable framework using a product-of-coefficients test. Results: The sample (N = 198) had a mean age of 59.5 (SD 8.3) years, haemoglobin A1c 6.8% (SD 1.1), 50% women, BMI 33.6 kg/m² (SD 6.5), systolic pressure 125.6 mmHg (SD 16.2) and average daily steps were 5879 (SD 3130). Daily pedometer-determined steps increased for the intervention group compared to usual care control at six-months (1481 [SD 2631] vs. 336 [SD 2712]; adjusted p = .002). There was a significant action theory test effect for ‘planning’ (A = .21, SE = .10, p = .037), and significant conceptual theory test results for ‘subjective norms’ (B = 657, SE = 312, p = .037) and ‘cons’ (B = ?664, SE = 270, p = .015). None of the constructs satisfied the criteria for mediation. Conclusions: We were unable to account for the effect of a pedometer-based PA intervention for people with T2D through our examination of mediators. Our findings are inconsistent with some literature concerning PA interventions in diabetes; this may be due to variability in measures used or in study populations.     

The Role of Patient Religiosity in the Evaluation and Treatment Outcomes for Chronic HCV Infection

To determine the influence of patient religiosity on the outcome of treatment of hepatitis C infection, a prospective, blinded, cohort study was performed on hepatitis C-infected patients categorized as ‘higher religiosity’ and ‘lower religiosity’ based on responses to a religiosity questionnaire. Comparisons were made between high and low religiosity patients on demographics, pre-treatment laboratory values, and response to treatment. Eighty-seven patients with complete questionnaires were placed in either higher (38) or lower (49) religiosity cohort. The patients (60% female) were ethnically diverse: African-American 39%; Hispanic 31%; white 29%. African-American race (P = 0.001) and female gender (P = 0.026) were associated with higher religiosity. The frequency of being offered treatment, accepting treatment, and completing treatment was similar in both religiosity cohorts (P = 0.234, 0.809, 0.367). Fifty-six patients completed the 24- or 48-week treatment with peginterferon and ribavirin. Depression was more frequent in the low religiosity group (38.2% vs. 4.6%, P = 0.005). Sustained viral response rate at 3–6-month post-therapy was similar in the higher (50%) and lower (57.6%) religiosity cohorts (P = 0.580; n = 55). Logistic regression modeling revealed that males having higher religiosity gave greater odds of SVR than those with lower religiosity (OR 21.3; 95% CI 1.1–403.9). The level of religiosity did not affect the decision to begin treatment for chronic HCV infection and was not associated with a better treatment outcome. A higher level of religiosity was associated with less depression among patients.     

The relationship between attitudes toward suicide and willingness to pay for suicide prevention: a cross-sectional study in Japan

There are gaps in our knowledge of the role attitudes toward suicide play in determining people’s willingness to participate (WTP) for suicide prevention. We conducted a large nationwide cross-sectional study with the aim of clarifying the relationship between WTP for reducing suicide risk and attitudes toward suicide. Ordinal logistic regression analyses (n = 1771) showed that there were significant associations of WTP for suicide prevention with ‘Suicide as a right’ (β = ?.15, 95% CI: ?.25 to ?.04, p = .006), ‘Preventability/readiness to help’ (β = .81, 95% CI: .69–.94, p < .001) and ‘Common occurrence’ (β = .32, 95% CI: .19–.46, p < .001). ‘Incomprehensibility/unpredictability’ did not show an association with WTP. Taxpayer acceptance for suicide prevention is more likely to be achieved through provision of information that increases endorsement of ‘preventability/readiness to help’ and ‘common occurrence’ factors, and decreases ‘suicide as a right’ scores.     

Parental Influences on Elite Aesthetic Athletes’ Body Image Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating

Although different forms of parental influences on adolescents’ body image and eating disturbances have been studied, this relationship is nearly uninvestigated within the population of aesthetic athletes, a risk group for the development of eating disorders. The present study examined the role of specific family variables on the body image dissatisfaction (BID) and disordered eating (DE) of elite aesthetic athletes (n = 85) and controls (n = 142). Adolescents (M = 14.87 years, SD = 2.22) completed measures of direct influences (concern with thinness and weight teasing by parents), perceived quality of relationship with each parent and the overall family environment, BID and DE. Participants’ parents (223 mothers and 198 fathers) also completed measures of BID and DE. In general, parents of athletes do not present higher levels of BID or DE than do controls’ parents. Interesting differences were found between athletes’ and controls’ BID and DE predictors. Among athletes, direct parental influences are the only significant predictive family variable, which can reinforce the pressure to be thin found within elite-aesthetic contexts. The study’s findings highlight not only the importance of critical parental comments in athletes’ expression of BID and DE, but also of maternal modeling among adolescents in the general population. Such parental behavior may be an appropriate target in different prevention efforts.