Different Perspectives Regarding Quality of Life in Chronically ill and Healthy Individuals

The areas that were suggested as most important with regard to Quality of Life (QoL) were examined in groups of individuals who were healthy, and those with a chronic condition. An electronic survey was completed by 892 participants (261 healthy and 631 with a chronic condition). They answered three questions relating to QoL: what is most important to you; what areas most impact your QoL; and an open question what does QoL mean to you. Across the three questions both groups highlighted physical functioning, independence and mobility as key areas for QoL. However, the group with a chronic condition tended to find issues of functioning such as pain, fatigue, and sleep as more important to their QoL than the healthy participants. In contrast, the healthy participants tended to note the importance of relationships and family as more important than the group with a chronic condition. That there were such differences between the groups might suggest that different aspects of QoL could be rated as more important when examining this issue with samples with a chronic condition and those without such a condition.     

The working life of a medium: a qualitative examination of mediumship as a support service for the bereaved

Despite widespread scepticism, it has been estimated that around 10% of the UK adult population regularly visit a medium and television programmes showing mediumship demonstrations draw in millions of viewers. While many assume mediumship to be purely for entertainment, an alternative discourse presents it as being a service offered to comfort and support the bereaved. In this qualitative study, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine working mediums and examined with an interpretative phenomenological analysis which aims to understand the lived experiences of participants. Three key superordinate themes emerged, Responsibility and Ethics, Passion to Help and Therapeutic Value. These themes are discussed in terms of mediums’ perception of their work as a helping profession and an ethical framework which illustrates awareness of the vulnerability of sitters. We also consider whether mediums may be equipped to deal with sitters experiencing complicated grief.     

Why are women more religious than men? Testing the explanatory power of personality theory among undergraduate students in Wales

This study tests the explanatory power of personality-based psychologically grounded theories to account for the well-established finding within the psychology of religion that within Christian and post-Christian contexts women are more religious than men. A sample of 1682 undergraduate students in Wales completed the short form of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised together with the adult form of the Francis Scale of Attitude towards Christianity and measures of frequency of church attendance, and frequency of personal prayer. These data confirm that women record higher levels of religiosity and lower levels of psychoticism, and demonstrate that psychoticism is the strongest predictor of individual differences in religiosity. Multiple-regression analyses show that, when individual differences in personality are taken into account, biological sex adds no further impact on religiosity. This finding suggests that higher levels of religiosity among women may be interpreted as a function of basic psychological differences in levels of psychoticism rather than as a sociological function of being female.     

Chapter Five of Evangelii Gaudium: Spirit‐Filled Evangelizers

This contribution examines the opening section of Chapter Five of Evangelii Gaudium, arguing that in it Francis sheds light on the mystagogy of discipleship in contemporary times. After providing a brief synopsis of these reasons for a renewed missionary impulse using the idea of the “why, who, and how” of mission as a framework, the author argues that the contribution of the section to the church's mission is its eloquent articulation of a deep spirituality of mission arising from the human condition, both at the personal and communal level. Positing that three features of this spirituality of mission – holistic, anthropological, and Christological – constitute some of the most important points of this section, the article concludes that Evangelii Gaudium is a passionate exhortation toward imbibing a keen sensibility of the humanum to deepen and open Christian faith in proclaiming a gospel of joy and hope and, in the process, bring wholeness to people and the world. It is about missio homini that is rooted in missio Christi and, therefore, leads to missio Dei.     

The Interactive Influence of Prosocial Places,Youth Population,and Poverty on Incidents of Violent Assault

The article builds on previous work by Roman and colleagues in order to specify the potential causes for increased incidents of violent assault in areas featuring a high number of prosocial institutions (i.e., schools, recreation centers). Utilizing aspects of routine activity theory and crime pattern theory, the argument is presented that both poverty and youth population will have a conditioning impact on the relationship between the presence of prosocial places and incidence of violent assault. Least squares regression was utilized in order to show that such institutions can serve as generators for offending and/or victimization, and that their location in lower income areas may magnify the problem.     

Illness Perception and Well-Being Among Persons with Multiple Sclerosis and Their Caregivers

This study jointly examined illness beliefs held by persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and caregivers in relation to well-being. A group of 68 PwMS and their caregivers completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire, Psychological Well-being Scales, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule. Findings revealed that PwMS’ well-being was primarily predicted by their own illness beliefs, and that also caregivers’ well-being was primarily predicted by their own beliefs. Across the two groups, well-being was positively associated with their belief that they understood the disease, and inversely associated with their representations of negative emotions. In addition, among PwMS, well-being was inversely associated with the number of symptoms they specifically attributed to their illness, while among caregivers, well-being was positively associated with beliefs that treatment could control the disease. Based on the study findings, psychoeducational and cognitive-behavioral strategies are suggested to promote well-being among PwMS and caregivers.     

Perceived Humanization by Intimate Partners during Pregnancy Is Associated with fewer Depressive Symptoms,Less Body Dissatisfaction,and Greater Sexual Satisfaction through Reduced Self-Objectification

Sex Roles - Consistent with objectification theory, the primary goal of the present study was to investigate the role of perceived humanization from one’s intimate partner as a predictor of...     

“What do we epistemically owe to each other? A reply to Basu”

Philosophical Studies - What, if anything, do we epistemically owe to each other? Various “traditional” views of epistemology might hold either that we don’t epistemically owe...     

The Protective Effect of Neighbourhood Collective Efficacy On Family Violence and Youth Antisocial Behaviour in Two South Korean Prospective Longitudinal Cohorts

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Neighbourhood collective efficacy has been proposed as a protective factor against family violence and youth antisocial behaviour. However, little...