D.Z. Philips (ed.), Religion and Morality

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

Correlates of the objective and subjective experiences of sexual harassment in high school

The present study used retrospective reports of primarily white female university students to examine a number of issues related to sexual harassment in high school. Results indicate that underperception of sexual harassment in high school exists in that reports of objective experiences appear to be quite high and exceed the actual labelling of these experiences as sexual harassment. Those who reported having an overprotective mother, observing fewer positive behaviors between their parents, and experiencing unwanted sexual contact during childhood experienced a greater number of objectively-defined incidents of sexual harassment, than those who did not. Underperception of sexual harassment was associated with a greater frequency of negative behaviors directed toward the father by the mother, but was not related to experiencing unwanted sexual contact during childhood.We would like to thank W. A. Fisher, D. Hazlewood, J. Olson, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.     

Type A behavior in employed women: relation to work, marital, and leisure variables, social support, stress, tension, and health

Ninety-one women employed full-time were administered the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS; Jenkins, Rosenman, & Zyzanski; 1974) and the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS; Haynes, Levine, Scotch, Feinleib, & Kennel, 1978). Information concerning various work and nonwork-related variables was obtained via questionnaire or interview. Type A women had higher occupational levels and reported more demanding jobs and higher stress and tension than Type B women. Type A and B women did not differ in their reports of marital adjustment or in total hours spent in leisure activities. Type A behavior was related to both self-reported stress and tension--and for married women only, poorer self-reported physical health. Social support from various sources was not found to be related to Type A or Type B. Curiously, Type A was related to more reported stress and tension for women who felt they had many sources of support but not for women who did not perceive their having many sources of support.     

The framingham Type A Scale: Cardiovascular and cognitive-behavioral responses to interpersonal challenge

Most of the primary measures of Type A behavior have been found to be associated with physiological reactivity to stressors, as well as coronary heart disease (CHD). While it does predict CHD, the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS) has not been conclusively linked to physiological reactivity. Similarly, in contrast to other Type A measures, little is known concerning the cognitive behaviors associated with the FTAS in stressful situations. The present study was conducted to evaluate the cardiovascular and cognitive-behavioral responses to interpersonal challenge of Type A versus Type B subjects, as classified by the FTAS. Type A's evidenced increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity and a greater degree of negatively toned cognitive activity than did Type B's. The SBP findings are consistent with those obtained with other measures of Type A behavior, and with the hypothesis that neuroendocrine reactivity mediates the link between the behavior pattern and CHD. The somewhat unique cognitive-behavior findings, however, may reflect important psychological differences among the various Type A measures.Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Philadelphia, 1984.     

Stanley L. Jaki,Means to Message: A Treatise on Truth. Grand Rapids and Cambridge 1999

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

Thwarted agency and the strange afterlife of Islamism in militant laicism in Turkey

This article critically engages with recent theoretical writing on the anthropology of secularism by way of studying the perceptions and consciousness of those whom I name ‘militant laic actors’ in Turkey. Beginning with their key conviction that the present Government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) possesses a hidden mission to Islamize the country, I argue that rather than relating to the actual policies of the AKP, such a conviction reflects the mood and emotions of laic actors. This perception is not without a social context. It relates to both the enlarged political power of the AKP and to the relative thwarting of social agency experienced by militant laic actors. The paper concludes by noting certain insufficiencies in both Charles Taylor’s and Talal Asad’s work as frameworks for explaining the dynamics of secularism while making a case for the significance of the Turkish situation in contributing to wider debates in the anthropology of secularism.     

Exploring Perceived Social Support from Peer Facilitators in an HIV Treatment Adherence Intervention for African American Patients: A Content Analysis of Participant Perspectives

HIV treatment adherence interventions increasingly rely on peer facilitators to promote treatment adherence and improve patient retention, yet little is known about how participants perceive the role performed by peer facilitators. The present study examined participant perceptions in terms of the social support from peer facilitators in a hospital‐based intervention in Chicago. Content analysis was conducted with reference to four types of social support (instrumental, informational, emotional and affiliational) on exit interviews with 11 participants enrolled in the intervention that targeted African‐American patients living with HIV/AIDS. We examined how the type of social support perceived by participants was related to their self‐reported behaviours in three domains: adherence, sexual safety and general coping. Our analysis revealed that most participants perceived informational and emotional support from their peer facilitators, followed by instrumental support. Affiliational support was the least frequently perceived type of social support. We found that perceived informational support from peer facilitators with regard to adherence had greater impact and credibility amongst participants than the same type of support from medical providers. Informational support was cited most frequently with regard to influencing adherence and sexual safety behaviours, whereas perceived emotional support was cited primarily with helping participants cope with HIV. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.