Ethnicity,culture, and social resources

Assessed social integration (existence or quantity of relationships) and social (specifically, emotional) support in Mexican Americans (MAs) and non-Hispanic whites (NHWs). Ethnic differences were seen as arising from (a) demographic differences between ethnic groups that account for ethnic differences; (b) demographic attributes that have different associations with social resources for each ethnic group; (c) ethnic differences independent of these explanations. Study participants were 538 U.S.-born MA, 706 Mexico-born MA, and 1,149 NHW randomly selected community residents. Immigrants were more often married, and MAs and immigrants reported fewer friends and less emotional support, regardless of demographic attributes. Ethnic differences in demographic attributes accounted for MAs' and immigrants' smaller kin networks. Ethnic differences in demographic correlates of working accounted for MAs' lower employment rates.     

Life stressors, social resources, and late-life problem drinking

Life stressors and social resources among late-middle-aged problem and nonproblem drinkers were studied. Problem drinkers (n = 501) reported more negative life events, chronic stressors, and social resource deficits than did nonproblem drinkers (n = 609). In a comparison of problem drinkers, men reported more ongoing stressors involving finances and friends, and fewer resources from children, extended-family members, and friends than did women. Women who are problem drinkers reported more negative life events, more ongoing difficulties with spouses and extended-family members, and fewer resources from spouses. Among both the problem and nonproblem drinkers, more stressors were associated with fewer social resources, but only within certain life domains. Late-middle-aged adults' chronic stressors and social resources helped explain their drinking behavior, depression, and self-confidence even after sex, marital status, and negative life events were considered.     

Religious Fundamentalism,Religious Coping,and Preference for Psychological and Religious Treatment

Religion may not be simply another variable in the assessment of treatment-seeking but an alternative worldview about the nature of suffering and its appropriate treatment. This study examines the relation of religious fundamentalism and religious coping on relative preference for psychological or religious help-seeking in 142 undergraduate students. Higher levels of religious fundamentalism and deferred religious coping were found to be associated with greater preference for religious rather than psychological help-seeking. The results suggest that religious issues need to be included in the investigation of help-seeking.     

Metaphor,Religious Language,and Religious Experience

Is it possible to talk about God without either misrepresentation or failing to assert anything of significance? The article begins by reviewing how, in attempting to answer this question, traditional theories of religious language have failed to sidestep both potential pitfalls adequately. After arguing that recently developed theories of metaphor seem better able to shed light on the nature of religious language, it considers the claim that huge areas of our language and, consequently, of our experience are shaped by metaphors. Finally, it considers some of the more significant implications of this claim for our understanding of both religious language and religious experience.     

Coping, stress, and social resources among adults with unipolar depression

We used a stress and coping paradigm to guide the development of indices of coping responses and to explore the roles of stress, social resources, and coping among 424 men and women entering treatment for depression. We also used an expanded concept of multiple domains of life stress to develop several indices of ongoing life strains. Although most prior studies have focused on acute life events, we found that chronic strains were somewhat more strongly and consistently related to the severity of dysfunction. The coping indices generally showed acceptable conceptual and psychometric characteristics and only moderate relationships to respondents' sociodemographic characteristics or to the severity of the stressful event for which coping was sampled. Coping responses directed toward problem solving and affective regulation were associated with less severe dysfunction, whereas emotional-discharge responses, more frequently used by women, were linked to greater dysfunction. Stressors, social resources, and coping were additively predictive of patient's functioning, but coping and social resources did not have stress-attenuation or buffering effects.     

Ethnic differences in adolescents' mental distress, social stress, and resources

Limited data on ethnic group differences among young adolescents exist regarding the prevalence of mental distress, social stress, and resources. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine ethnic differences among African American (AA), European American (EA), Hispanic American (HA), and Asian American adolescents in mental distress, social stress, and resources. A total of 316 adolescents completed the self-administered questionnaire: The DSD, Somatic Symptom Scale, SAFE-C, FES, Coping, and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale. The findings revealed that (1) Asian Americans and HAs reported significantly higher scores on social stress and mental distress and lower scores on resources than EAs; (2) Compared to EAs, AAs and HAs were more likely to experience social stress (2.2 < or = OR < or = 4.3), and HAs are more likely to have suicidal ideation (OR = 2.04; 95% CI = 1.04-3.98). Findings highlighted the importance of understanding the role of social stress in the development of adolescents' mental distress. Identified ethnic minority adolescents are vulnerable groups who require additional research and attention from health care providers.     

Correlates of social support: Personal characteristics and social resources

This study attempted to identify potential determinants of receiving support using multivariate analysis. A community probability sample of 581 adults were surveyed. In addition to recording demographic variables and social support receipt, extraversion and locus of control were measured as personal characteristics; being married and numbers of confidants were recorded as social resources indicators. We found that (1) gender, education, extraversion, locus of control and social resources had direct effects on social support receipt; (2) education also had an indirect effect through locus of control, whereas extraversion had indirect effects through both locus of control and sod resources. Roles of personal characteristics and social resources in determining social support receipt were discussed.     

Religious Affiliation,Religious Service Attendance,and Mortality

Very few studies have examined the effects of both religious affiliation and religiosity on mortality at the same time, and studies employing multiple dimensions of religiosity other than religious attendance are rare. Using the newly created General Social Survey-National Death Index data, our report contributes to the religion and mortality literature by examining religious affiliation and religiosity at the same time. Compared to Mainline Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and other religious groups have lower risk of death, but Black Protestants, Evangelical Protestants, and even those with no religious affiliation are not different from Mainline Protestants. While our study is consistent with previous findings that religious attendance leads to a reduction in mortality, we did not find other religious measures, such as strength of religious affiliation, frequency of praying, belief in an afterlife, and belief in God to be associated with mortality. We also find interaction effects between religious affiliation and attendance. The lowest mortality of Jews and other religious groups is more apparent for those with lower religious attendance. Thus, our result may emphasize the need for other research to focus on the effects of religious group and religious attendance on mortality at the same time.     

Religious Experience,Religious Worldviews,and Near-Death Studies

The tense relation prevailing between representatives of conservative religion and other near-death researchers may be illumined by a look at the different functions religion has fulfilled in the past. Religion may be seen as centering on the meaningfulness of the world, on spiritual experience, or on salvation. In this essay, I sketch the place of these themes in the Great Religions. These themes have inherent mutual tensions that in the case of Christianity cannot necessarily be settled by appeal to the Bible, because different Christian groups have somewhat differing views of the source of authority. Furthermore, the Bible's authority is challenged by the results of modern scholarship. In light of these reflections, I see Michael Sabom's Light & Death (1998) as showing valuable data and insights but failing to respond to significant challenges.     

Religious Activities, Religious Orientation, and Aggressive Behavior

Theorists and clinicians have long believed that religious practice may reduce aggression and other destructive behaviors. To date, most evidence for a relationship between religiosity and aggression comes from nonexperimental studies. The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. First, to examine experimentally whether two religious practices reduce aggressive behavior; second, to determine if specific aspects of religious orientation and spiritual transcendence are related to level of aggression, expressed under controlled laboratory conditions. Sixty-two participants assigned to one of three experimental groups (memorize Bible passages, prayer/meditation, or control group) completed a laboratory task of aggression. Participants also completed religious and spirituality instruments, along with self-ratings of aggressive disposition. Results indicated that neither memorization of biblical passages nor meditation reduced aggression. Intrinsic-oriented religiosity participants self-reported lower aggression than extrinsic-oriented participants, but no differences were found on the laboratory task of aggression. Spiritual transcendence showed no behavioral aggression differences .     

Personality and social resources in stress resistance

This study examined personality, social assets, and perceived social support as moderators of the effects of stressful life events on illness onset. In a group of 170 middle and upper level executives, personality hardiness and stressful life events consistently influenced illness scores, the former serving to lower symptomatology, the latter to increase it. Perceived boss support had its predicted positive effect. Executives under high stress who perceived support from their supervisors had lower illness scores than those without support. Perceived family support, on the other hand, showed a negative effect on health when reported by those low in hardiness. Finally, social assets made no significant impact on health status. These results underscore the value of differentiating between kinds of social resources, and of monitoring the effects of two or more stress-resistance resources in a single study.     

Religious youth cults: Alternative healing social networks

The motivation of youth to join esoteric religious cults considered as psychopathology is a limited and reductionistic interpretation. Youthful devotees do demonstrate symptoms of psychic distress, which appear to be significantly ameliorated through participation in religious youth cults. Two major trends in social history reveal the sources of youth cults: loss of faith in the rationalistic Western cosmology and loss of the extended family system. The religious youth cult possesses many of the properties of the normal psychosocial system, which is a critical social structure for healthful coping in the world. As a normative social system, the religious youth cult is an alternative healing system for the existential crises of contemporary youth.     

Religious Beliefs,Religious Contexts,and Perceived Interactions with Ex-Offenders

Religious institutions can provide a means of support and resources for many people, particularly, individuals who have criminal histories, specifically parolees, sex offenders, and insanity acquittees. When these individuals are released into the community, they often face difficulties in acquiring shelter, work, and social support. Out of their own volition or as a result of faith-based prison programs, they might turn to religious institutions for help reintegrating into the community. However, whether congregation members are more or less accepting of these individuals is unaddressed in the current literature. Two studies assess the relationship between religious beliefs, religious contexts, legal attitudes, and perceived social interactions with parolees, sex offenders, and insanity acquittees. Results suggest that religious beliefs, legal attitudes, and religious contexts play an important role in individuals’ perceived interactions with these individuals. Religious contexts, specifically, might facilitate more positive social interactions with parolees. Implications are discussed.     

The Ismaili sect in London: Religious institutions and social change

The Ismailis in London are a community attempting to adapt the stock of Ismaili theoretical concepts to the explanation and control of events in a changed and changing social situation. This article is concerned with assessing the role of Ismaili religious institutions in this process of adaptation. It will be argued that because the Ismaili belief system emphasizes the irrelevant and transitory nature of Ismaili religious institutions, the true role, paradoxically, of these religious institutions is preserved, and as a consequence they remain relevant to Ismailis.