Aesthetic Truth and Pastoral Theology: A Proposal for a New Method of Reflection and Practice

Pastoral theology needs to clarify its identity as an autonomous theological discipline by developing its own knowledge base, body of research, and practice methods. It needs to broaden its scope to include not only a concern for personal issues, but also larger sociocultural and anthropological ones as well. Additionally, there is a pressing need for moving beyond the confines of traditional methods of correlation. This essay offers a new method for pastoral theological reflection and practice that is grounded in Hans-Georg Gadamer's understanding of aesthetic truth and hermeneutics. It offers a new way of conceptualizing the relationship of pastoral theology to such conversation partners as the Bible and theological tradition, the social sciences, and practical wisdom, demonstrating how these can contribute to the pastoral theological task.     

Subtypes of severe psychological distress among US Air Force remote warriors: A latent class analysis

US Air Force remote warrior personnel include a range of military personnel composed of remotely piloted aircraft aircrew, intelligence operators, and cyber warfare operators. Job duties in these professions entail long work hours, rotating shifts, and regular engagement in combat operations. Although research has identified a number of factors correlated with elevated burnout and emotional distress in this population, little is known about the unique needs of discrete subgroups of distressed personnel. In a sample of 7,550 US Air Force remote warriors, results of latent class analysis yielded four distinct classes. Three of the four reported moderately elevated burnout and job dissatisfaction but differed with respect to demographics and development career stage. The fourth group reported significantly higher levels of emotional distress, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and problems in living. This latter group was comparable to the mid-career group with respect to demographics, although this group had much lower levels of responsibility and indicators of career advancement. Results suggest that, among remote warrior personnel, there are several subtypes of elevated emotional distress. Prevention and intervention strategies that are matched to each subtype may yield better occupational and mental health outcomes than universal, “one size fits all” strategies.     

Professional Counseling in Kenya: History,Current Status,and Future Trends

The authors examine the history and development of the counseling profession in Kenya. This profession is deeply rooted in responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the emergence of mental health needs created by the impact of political and community‐based violence, increasing student unrest in public institutions, and government efforts to provide social–emotional support for students in public schools and universities. The authors also examine the challenges for the profession and make recommendations for the future.     

The Personality Psychopathology-Five (PSY-5): recent constructive replication and assessment literature review

The Personality Psychopathology-Five (PSY-5; Harkness & McNulty, 1994) is a model of individual differences relevant to adaptive functioning in both clinical and non-clinical populations. In this article, we review the development of the PSY-5 model (Harkness, 1992; Harkness & McNulty, 1994) and discuss the ways in which the PSY-5 model is related to and distinct from other 5-factor models. Using different methods and measures, the dimensions of the PSY-5 model have been constructively replicated (Lykken, 1968) by Tackett, Silberschmidt, Krueger, and Sponheim (2008) and by Watson, Clark, and Chmielewski (2008), and dimensions congruent with the PSY-5 have even been suggested for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; Krueger et al., 2011). PSY-5 Scales can be scored from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher et al., 2001), the MMPI-Adolescent version (MMPI-A; Butcher et al., 1992), and the Restructured Form of the MMPI-2 (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008). Because the largest body of research exists for the MMPI-2-based scales, we focus our review of the literature on the MMPI-2-based PSY-5 scales (Harkness, McNulty, & Ben-Porath, 1995), but we briefly cover the small, but growing, body of MMPI-A and MMPI-2-RF PSY-5 scales research. We show that the PSY-5 research literature includes a wide variety of psychometric methodologies as well as diverse samples and clinical problems. An integrative summary reprises the theory behind each PSY-5 construct and links it to the reviewed literature. Advantages and limitations of MMPI-2-based PSY-5 scales are discussed.     

The design and analysis of state-trace experiments

State-trace analysis (Bamber, 1979) addresses a question of interest in many areas of psychological research: Does 1 or more than 1 latent (i.e., not directly observed) variable mediate an interaction between 2 experimental manipulations? There is little guidance available on how to design an experiment suited to state-trace analysis, despite its increasing use, and existing statistical methods for state-trace analysis are problematic. We provide a framework for designing and refining a state-trace experiment and statistical procedures for the analysis of accuracy data using Klugkist, Kato, and Hoijtink's (2005) method of estimating Bayes factors. The statistical procedures provide estimates of the evidence favoring 1 versus more than 1 latent variable, as well as evidence that can be used to refine experimental methodology.     

Perceiving a calling, living a calling, and job satisfaction: testing a moderated, multiple mediator model

The current study examined the relation between perceiving a calling, living a calling, and job satisfaction among a diverse group of employed adults who completed an online survey (N = 201). Perceiving a calling and living a calling were positively correlated with career commitment, work meaning, and job satisfaction. Living a calling moderated the relations of perceiving a calling with career commitment and work meaning, such that these relations were more robust for those with a stronger sense they were living their calling. Additionally, a moderated, multiple mediator model was run to examine the mediating role of career commitment and work meaning in the relation of perceiving a calling and job satisfaction, while accounting for the moderating role of living a calling. Results indicated that work meaning and career commitment fully mediated the relation between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. However, the indirect effects of work meaning and career commitment were only significant for individuals with high levels of living a calling, indicating the importance of living a calling in the link between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

The Evil Eye—An Ancient Superstition

This paper describes and discusses the ancient superstition of the Evil Eye. The author describes his own personal childhood introduction to the subject of the Evil Eye which years later instigated his scholarly inquiry. The history of this very geographically widespread folk belief is elaborated upon, along with common manifestations as they appear in a number of different countries and cultures. Some of the methods used to thwart the negative effects of the Evil Eye are enumerated. Relevant psychodynamics and common expressions of the Evil Eye superstition are elucidated upon.     

Effects of electromyostimulation on knee extensors and flexors strength and steadiness in older adults

It is known that electromyostimulation (EMS) alone or superimposed over voluntary contraction (EV) can effectively improve muscle strength. However, the effect of this type of training on the ability to control force production at submaximal levels is unknown. The authors examined the effects of EV training on steadiness in force production of knee extensors and flexors in older adults. Forty participants, including 20 men and 20 women, 60-77 years of age, were randomly allocated into a control group (CG) and an electromyostimulation superimposed over voluntary contraction (EVG) group. The EVG performed 30 bilateral isometric knee extension and flexion contractions per session, 3 training sessions per week, for 6 weeks. The variations in force production, expressed in absolute (standard deviation [SD]) and relative (coefficient of variation [CV]) terms, were assessed in isometric contractions at 5%, 15% and 25% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) levels. Results indicated that MVC increased in knee extension and flexion in EVG (p < .05) after the training; steadiness CV also improved at 15% MVC in knee flexion (p < .05) but no significant changes were found in knee extension and steadiness SD. The training-induced changes in MVC were not correlated to steadiness CV that might indicate different mechanisms underlying these adaptations.