Cognitive Developmental Theory and Spiritual Development

Traditional conceptions of cognitive development have failed to account for changes in adult cognition as well as more subjective and intuitive features of human experience. This paper reviews recent theories and research in cognitive development and spirituality with the aim of providing connections between the two domains. Neo-Piagetian and postformal theories of cognitive development suggest that advances in cognition are domain-specific, dependent on individual experience, and can occur at any point in the lifespan. However, theories of spiritual development have not adequately addressed these points. Thus, a novel account of spiritual development is presented that addresses these features with respect to individuals' changing conceptions of their relation to an External Power.     

Ageing Health Care and the Spiritual Imperative: A View from Scotland

SUMMARY

This paper, given as a keynote presentation at the third international conference on Ageing and Spirituality 2004 in Adelaide, Australia, offers a perspective on ageing that makes central and fundamental the spiritual journey. Ageing is not confined to the old. We are all ageing all the time and whilst the imperative of ego integration (Erikson, 1986, 1982) is more pressing in old age, the march of time makes no exceptions. The paper starts with a consideration of the Scottish context and the current interest in Scotland in spirituality and health. Borrowing from the human developmental ideas of Frankl, Jung, Erikson, and Klein, the paper takes the view that we are all spiritual beings, and we are all trying to be successful, integrated reconciled and mature individuals. Ageing and spirituality is relevant to every individual. Successful ageing is fundamentally concerned with the successful self. The spiritual journey is bound up with the search for meaning. Ageing is part of the task of being human and it involves decline and loss. The spiritual journey–search for meaning–is unique to each one of us. The spiritual journey is made evident in the search for the ultimate destination of giving up self, transcending self. Remembrance and routine are methods by which the ageing and the spiritual journey can be facilitated. A successful ageing, according to this perspective, is therefore one that embraces and self-consciously embarks upon a spiritual journey. To take it further–the spiritual journey is bound up with ageing–and further still–ageing is a spiritual journey (Bianchi, 1984). The primary task of ageing is spiritual development. Spiritual development is helped by an appropriate societal context in which ageing as spiritual journey can flourish. This has implications for health and social care services.     

A Jewish Spiritual Perspective on Psychopathology and Psychotherapy: A Clinician's View

This paper will present a Jewish Spiritual Perspective on clinical work by examining key underlying values and attitudes in Judaism that relate to human behavior, mental health and illness. Common symptom presentations and family issues that have roots in culture will be explored. Contemporary and ancient spiritual coping tools will be suggested for use in clinical work and personal growth.     

Spiritual Need One: Spiritual Development: The Aging Process: A Journey of Lifelong Spiritual Formation

SUMMARY

To grow old is but one chapter in a lifelong journey of spiritual formation. Spirituality can be defined most easily by what it is not. Aging is a process of discovery and pondering, reminiscing, and acting, integrating and meaning making, even surrendering to Life as it is, not as we will it to be. Spiritual insights are gained from James Fowler, Viktor Frankl, Thomas Merton, Paul Tournier, Adrian Van Kamm, and Rachel Remen.     

Beyond the Biomedical Paradigm: Generating a Spiritual Vision of Ageing

SUMMARY

The time has come to enlarge our understanding of what an ageing older person truly is. What is called for is an approach to ageing and its multiple processes that moves beyond an empirical research model, which is limited to a positivistic focus on the bio-medical and social conditions of ageing. The spiritual dimension of the individual as well as the physical and social need to be acknowledged and valued in any definition of human existence. A segmental approach to the ageing process can only result on a reductionistic, one-dimensional caricature of the older person. There is an imperative need for the inclusion of the spiritual dimension in the study of ageing and its meaning. By issuing a call for a new wholistic paradigm that moves beyond the bio-medical model, and understanding the personhood is affirmed which includes a person's capacity to find meaning in life, indeed, even in ageing, suffering and dying.     

The Spiritual Dimension of Caring: Applying a Model for Spiritual Tasks of Ageing

SUMMARY

This chapter describes a spiritual dimension of ageing using themes and a model for spiritual tasks of ageing, developed as a part of doctoral studies that examined spirituality amongst a group of independent-living older adults in Canberra and NSW. This model has been tested further and the model was confirmed through in-depth interviews of residents of nursing homes in the ACT. The first study identified six major spiritual themes from participant interviews. These were: ultimate meaning in life for each person, the way they responded to meaning, self-sufficiency versus despair, moving from provisional to final life meanings, relationship versus isolation in ageing and hope versus despair.     

Understanding and Counseling Gay Men: A Developmental Perspective

The author reviews current concepts and research concerning homosexuality with emphasis on understanding gay men and their relationship behaviors. Because the current focus is on homosexuality as a developmental process, counseling considerations are presented from a developmental perspective and a case example is included.     

Children as Mystics, Activists, Sages, and Holy Fools: Understanding the Spirituality of Children and Its Significance for Clinical Work

This article explores children's spirituality and its significance for health care providers seeking to provide “spiritually competent care” of children amidst religious and spiritual diversity. Four metaphors of different spiritualities evidenced among children are explored: mystics, activists, sages, and holy fools. The article addresses issues clinicians face such as the problem of defining spirituality in relation to religion, and countertransference around religious and spiritual matters. Current research shows that spiritual and religious involvements constitute positive factors promoting resiliency and health in children. James W. Fowler's theory of faith development facilitates an exploration of questions concerning how children develop a belief system, leading to a view of children's spirituality as multidimensional. This article preserves the less formal conversational style of an earlier version's presentation in Grand Rounds at the UCLA Medical Center's Neuropsychiatric Hospital on December 10, 2003.     

Gender and Group Process: A Developmental Perspective

Until recently, the study of gender development has focused mainly on sex typing as an attribute of the individual. Although this perspective continues to be enlightening, recent work has focused increasingly on children's tendency to congregate in same-sex groups. This self-segregation of the two sexes implies that much of childhood gender enactment occurs in the context of same-sex dyads or larger groups. There are emergent properties of such groups, so that certain sex-distinctive qualities occur at the level of the group rather than at the level of the individual. There is increasing research interest in the distinctive nature of the group structures, activities, and interactions that typify all-male as compared with all-female groups, and in the socialization that occurs within these groups. Next steps in research will surely call for the integration of the individual and group perspectives.     

Spiritual Maturity and Meaning-Filled Relationships: A Sociological Perspective

SUMMARY

The process of self-development, spiritual maturity and the construction of new meaning-filled relationships in late life are analyzed through the actions and interactions observed in the biographical case history of Sarah-Patton Boyle. Atchley's four stages in the process of retirement applied to the case of Sarah-Patton Boyle identifies the changes in her social roles and relationships and the struggle to maintain a positive self-view in the midst of socio-environmental changes. The struggle to continue “spiritual self” identity and ties with the church are discussed.     

The Web and the Quilt: Alternatives to the Heroic Journey Toward Spiritual Development

This paper poses a feminist challenge to stage models of spiritual development and suggests alternative metaphors to the common image of a heroic journey. Women's spirituality is typically more intuitive and relational than rational and individualistic and to express this, we employ metaphors of the web and the quilt. Support for the relevance of these metaphors comes from the spiritual autobiography of Jane Goodall, an anthology of African American women's writings about spirituality, and two qualitative research investigations of older women's spirituality. We conclude with an autobiographical account of our own spiritual development and engage in a dialogue-on-the-page in which we respond to each other's narratives.     

Appropriate Spiritual Care by Physicians: A Theological Perspective

It is argued that when spiritual care by physicians is linked to the empirical research indicating the salutary effect on health of religious beliefs and practices an unintended degradation of religion is involved. It is contended that it is much more desirable to see support for the patient’s spirituality as part of holistic care. A proposal for appropriate spiritual care by physicians is offered.

“Using New Eyes”: Photography as a Spiritual Practice for Faith Formation and Worship

This article presents three cases of how Lutheran groups used photography as a spiritual practice in processes that led to group spiritual reflection for faith formation and worship: a photography club; a Photography as a Spiritual Practice mini‐course in a parish; and a six‐month parish project of communal art‐making of liturgical media art for one church's Easter Vigil readings.     

Reflections on Spiritual Maturity and Gerotranscendence: Dialogues with Two Sufis

ABSTRACT

Late life development-from the perspectives of spiritual development and gerotranscendence-has been studied using the Life History Approach followed up by thematic semi-structured interviews with Iranian Sufis residing in Sweden. On the basis of this study and proceeding from the theory of gerotranscendence, this article illustrates the distinct role of aging in the development toward wisdom and maturity when mystical ideas are already integrated into individuals' ways of thinking. This is achieved by contrasting, in terms of certain gero-transcendent dimensions, an aged Sufi's view of her/his Self and the surrounding world with that of a middle-aged Sufi.     

Modeling Children's Understanding of Quantitative Relations in Texts: A Developmental Perspective

This article describes developmental models of word problem solving that are grounded in the notion of general developmental constraints of the mind. These models were constructed based on the assumption that differences in children's word problem-solving performance are due, at least in part, to developmental differences in their conceptual structures in the quantitative domain. Three levels of knowledge were identified and modeled. The simplest model represents quantitative relations as an ordered array of mental objects. The next level of the model represents numbers as objects of manipulations open two mental number lines that are coordinated in a tentative fashion. The most complex model represents numerical operations as objects of manipulations on two mental number lines that are well-coordinated with explicit, functional rules. These models were implemented as production systems. The accuracy of the predictions resulting from the simulations of the models was tested in an empirical study. Global tests of the models found a good fit of the data to the models. The results wee consistent with the theoretical analysis that the three levels of knowledge were internally coherent and qualitatively different from each other, and that the models could predict children's performance differences to a satisfactory degree.     

Understanding and Combating School‐Based Bullying From an Individual‐Level Perspective: A Review

Bullying is an ongoing problem in our schools with a significant psychological impact on young people. Despite evidence that school‐based bullying is related to a range of individual, social and environmental factors, the majority of interventions are focused on a “whole of school” approach. Whole‐school interventions have been shown to be successful in reducing rates of bullying, but it is argued that a focus on individual factors, specifically those that are amenable to change, will add to these “whole of school” effects. It is argued that interventions that target factors such as internalising symptoms, externalising behaviours, friendship quality and self‐esteem will help children to build resilience against the bullying behaviours of their peers, and further reduce the incidence of bullying, when applied both at a preventative and treatment intervention level.     

The General Factor of Psychosocial Development and its relation to the General Factor of Personality and Life History strategy

It was hypothesized that the eight Eriksonian psychosocial stages form a single latent variable or General Factor of Psychosocial Development (GFPD) and that this latent factor is associated with the General Factor of Personality (GFP) and Life History (LH) strategy to the extent that the variables form a higher order Super-K factor. Correlational analyses and confirmatory factor analyses each supported the hypothesized GFPD. Additionally, correlational and confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothesis that the three variables form a single Super-K factor. The results of Study 3 suggest that the relationship between the psychosocial stages and between the GFPD, GFP, and LH strategy remained after controlling for social desirable response biases.     

Dwelling and Seeking in Late Adulthood: The Psychosocial Implications of Two Types of Religious Orientation

SUMMARY

This article summarizes quantitative findings and presents two illustrative case studies showing how religious dwelling and spiritual seeking evolve over the adult life course and relate to psychosocial functioning in late adulthood. The data come from the Institute of Human Development (IHD) longitudinal study of men and women. Religious dwellers tend to emphasize traditional forms of religious behavior whereas spiritual seekers emphasize innovative religious practices. In the IHD study, the religious involvement of the dwellers tended to be highly stable over the life course whereas spirituality gained in salience in the second half of adulthood. In late adulthood, religious dwelling was associated with maintaining close and warm relations with others and communal involvement, and during times of adversity, religiousness served as a buffer against the loss of life satisfaction. Spiritual seeking was associated with an emphasis on personal growth, creativity, and acquiring new knowledge. Spiritual growth was particularly characteristic of introspective individuals who in early adulthood experienced stressful life events.