Toward a meaningful spirituality for people of color: lessons for the counseling practitioner

This article attempts to capture a significant aspect of the counseling process for people of color: the spiritual dimension. It is argued that spirit and spirituality are relevant dimensions that should be integrated in counseling because spirituality is a key ingredient in the cultural upbringing and socialization of many people of color. Further, religious and spiritual beliefs are affected by experiences of racism and oppression, which then affects psychological coping. Reflective guidelines are offered to understand the essence of spirituality and cultural diversity, and lessons for the practitioner are recommended.     

Psychological testing for Hispanic Americans

The need for culturally responsive mental health services for Hispanic Americans has never been greater. This population will soon become the largest of all U.S. ethnic minority groups, and recent epidemiologic studies suggest that Hispanics have rates of mental health need that are similar to those found in the general population. Developing culturally relevant mental health services, including diagnostic and assessment procedures, for this population is essential. A synthesis of extant literature pertaining to psychological testing for Hispanics is presented. It is limited to the adult literature and discusses issues related to personality, neuropsychological, and intellectual assessment. The importance of language as it influences the assessment process has also been discussed. Based on clinical and research experiences and the results of the literature review, a set of general guidelines is proposed for those working with this population.     

The Protestant Reformation and Social Justice in Latin America

The political effects of the 16th‐century religious reformations have never been in doubt. What is debatable, however, is how these effects have been felt in different contexts. In what is now Latin America, their influence was kept at a distance to avoid the changes in Europe from taking place on the other side of the Atlantic. This article examines Latin American writers to demonstrate how, in the different cultural and geographical contexts of the sub‐continent, the social and political imprint of the Reformation and its emancipating and libertarian emphasis has been perceived.     

Understanding Gender and Culture Within the Context of Spirituality: Implications for Counselors

This article examines roles that gender, culture, and spirituality play in elements of therapeutic process. It presents an initial literature review of gender, culture, and spirituality as these factors relate to shaping identities and defining one's behavior. Discussions on how these 3 dimensions influence the level of understanding and effective responsiveness that competent counseling professionals should consider in a culturally and spiritually diverse society are presented. Three case studies provide a framework to illuminate the complexity that professionals face when counseling issues are viewed through unique gender, cultural, and spiritual worldviews. Implications for counselors and the counseling profession are provided.     

Social information processing and job characteristics.

This study simultaneously tested 2 theories that attempt to explain differences in job satisfaction: job characteristics theory (Hackman & Oldham, 1976) and social information processing theory (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978). The theories were tested using data collected from the civilian employees of the public works division at a U.S. military base. The results indicated that individuals' social environments had significant effects upon their attitudes. Multiple social networks were used to operationalize individuals' social environments. The results also suggested that job characteristics had an independent main effect upon job satisfaction, in addition to the effects of the social environment. Based on prior research, employees' past experience and self‐monitoring were tested as moderators of the effects of the social environment, and growth need strength was tested as a moderator of the effects of job characteristics upon job satisfaction. Only self‐monitoring was found to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between information from the social environment and job satisfaction, and growth need strength had no significant moderating effect.     

LATINAS WITHOUT WORK

This study examines stressors in family, occupational, and economic domains among 114 Latinas following job loss. These women had been displaced from their jobs for at least 18 months at the time of the initial survey. Stressors from the occupational stress domain were the greatest source of stress for these women. Despite the passage of over 18 months since job loss, 75% of these women remained unemployed. Women who valued the job they lost and who were older reported the highest level of occupational stress. In the economic stress domain, Latinas with greater involvement in the mainstream U.S. economy and its obligations, who also had less seniority, and less disposable income, reported the greatest levels of stress. An imbalance between demands imposed by financial obligations and inadequate financial resources appeared to be a major factor in the stress levels experienced in the economic stress domain. Although the present study is limited by a small sample size, the findings challenge the myth of "benign stress" associated with female unemployment in general, and with Latina unemployment in particular.