Relationship of Muslim Religiosity and Death Anxiety with the Mediating Effect of Optimism and Depression Among Cancer Patients in Pakistan

Journal of Religion and Health - Optimism and the practice of any religion are known to reduce depression and anxiety in cancer patients. In the present study, the specific role of Muslim...     

Examining the Internal Consistency Reliability and Construct Validity of the Authentic Happiness Inventory (AHI) among Iranian EFL Learners

Unlike other measures of happiness that have tended to capture current levels of happiness, the Authentic Happiness Inventory (AHI) (Peterson, 2005; Seligman et al. in The American Psychologist 60:410–421, 2005) assesses changes in happiness based on the creation of positive emotions (the pleasant life), engagement in activities that facilitate the utilization of one’s strengths (the engaged life), and serving a more worthwhile purpose than merely the self’s pleasures (the meaningful life). Nonetheless, there is little published data regarding the construct validation of the AHI. The present study, which is part of a larger research project in assessing the effectiveness of integrating happiness intervention programs in the foreign language teaching curriculum at private English institutes and universities in Iran, attempts an examination of the psychometric quality and the construct validation of the Persian version of AHI (hereafter AHI-PV) using data collected from 234 Iranian learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), mainly through employing the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The AHI was translated into Persian to ensure item comprehension by the Iranian participants. The results show that the AHI-PV enjoys a high internal consistency (alpha?=?.93). Further, having determined a ‘marvelous’ factorability of the present sample through the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test of Sampling Adequacy (.94) and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (p?Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Scree test indicated that, in contrast to earlier findings, a four-factor solution provides a more parsimonious grouping of the items in the inventory. Having analyzed the items on the scale, we labeled the four factors as ‘Meaningful and Purposeful Life’, ‘Pleasures and Positive Emotions’, ‘Engagement in Life Activities’, and ‘Interpersonal Connectedness’, hence the alignment of these new factors to Seligman’s (2002) conceptualization of authentic happiness.     

Academic Dishonesty at Universities: The Case of Plagiarism Among Iranian Language Students

This study investigated Iranian language students’ perception of and familiarity with plagiarism, their attitudes toward their professors regarding this issue, and their reasons for doing so. The participants were 122 undergraduate and graduate language students in Translation, Literature, TEFL, and Linguistics who filled out a validated and piloted questionnaire. Overall, the results indicated that students had different views about the definition of plagiarism and plagiarism was mostly perceived by students as using someone else’s words as if they were their own rather than taking someone’s ideas without permission. It was also found that in their academic career, students mostly consider copying a completed assignment of their friend as an act of academic dishonesty. In addition, they mostly argued that professors at universities guess about who might have done plagiarism instead of checking it themselves and they used different strategies to detect plagiarism. The study also indicated that Iranian students had different reasons for plagiarism but they mostly plagiarize because of easiness of plagiarism. Finally, the results of the survey showed that the majority learned about plagiarism from their university professors.     

The Relationship between Religious Coping and Self-Care Behaviors in Iranian Medical Students

In recent years, researchers have identified that coping strategies are an important contributor to an individual’s life satisfaction and ability to manage stress. The positive relationship between religious copings, specifically, with physical and mental health has also been identified in some studies. Spirituality and religion have been discussed rigorously in research, but very few studies exist on religious coping. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between religious coping methods (i.e., positive and negative religious coping) and self-care behaviors in Iranian medical students. This study used a cross-sectional design of 335 randomly selected students from Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. A data collection tool comprised of the standard questionnaire of religious coping methods and questionnaire of self-care behaviors assessment was utilized. Data were analyzed using a two-sample t test assuming equal variances. Adjusted linear regression was used to evaluate the independent association of religious copings with self-care. Adjusted linear regression model indicated an independent significant association between positive (b = 4.616, 95% CI 4.234–4.999) and negative (b = ?3.726, 95% CI ?4.311 to ?3.141) religious coping with self-care behaviors. Findings showed a linear relationship between religious coping and self-care behaviors. Further research with larger sample sizes in diverse populations is recommended.     

Neuroticism and Close Relationships: How Negative Affect is Linked with Relationship Disaffection in Couples

Dispositional vulnerability afforded by personality can lead to adverse relationship outcomes. Neuroticism personality is bundled with a disadvantageous temperament that makes people high in neuroticism more sensitive to negativity. Consequently, neuroticism signifies negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, and sadness. Neuroticism is also inversely related to marital satisfaction. The present study examined the relationship between relationship disaffection (emotional indifference) and negative affect in the context of neuroticism. The present study included 819 participants (511 females, 308 males) between the ages of 18 years to 74 years (M = 27.16, SD = 10.58) who were in a committed or married heterosexual relationship. Our mediation model explored the relationship between neuroticism and relationship disaffection with negative affect acting as a mediator. We found a modest indirect relationship between neuroticism and relationship disaffection via negative affect. Acknowledging that individuals high in neuroticism are temperamentally sensitive to negative stimuli, therapists can assist partners in learning ways to curb negative mood to combat relationship disaffection. Future studies can build on these findings and design research addressing the limitation of the present study.     

Combined effect of strontium modifier and antimony refiner on texture and growth mode of eutectic phase in an Al-11Si-2Cu-0.8Zn-0.6Fe cast alloy

Results of electron back-scattered diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies reveal that the orientation of aluminium in the eutectic phase is different from the surrounding aluminium dendrites and that twin spacing of eutectic silicon increased significantly due to the interaction between strontium and antimony. In addition, the formation of ternary Mg₂Sb₂Sr intermetallic compound that precedes the eutectic reaction was proposed to be responsible for interaction.     

Comparative Mysticism and the Problem of Interpretation: Rumi and Meister Eckhart

Since the second half of the nineteenth century, modern comparative studies of mysticism have generally adopted one of two divergent approaches. One group, generally labeled as essentialist or phenomenologist, has used comparative methodology in order to highlight the commonalities between different mystics or mystical traditions, hence establishing universal structures and essential meanings from what seem to be overlapping aspects. The other group has been termed, inter alia, constructivist, particularly since the last third of the twentieth century, and it has used comparison as a tool for accentuating the distinctions between mystical systems and demonstrating how dissimilar backgrounds lead to the construction of differing mystical constructs. Avoiding overemphasis on either affinities or distinctions, this article suggests an alternative methodology, which utilizes comparison in highlighting the specific characters, central themes and focal points of its object of study. Applying this method to the practical mysticism of Jalal al-Din Rumi vis-à-vis that of Meister Eckhart demonstrates how comparison can be appropriately used as an apparatus of clarification and comprehension rather than as a device for imposition or reduction – as a “mirror” rather than as a “mold.”     

The Factor Structure of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale in Veterans Experienced Chemical Weapon Exposure

This study aimed to determine the factor structure of the spiritual well-being among a sample of the Iranian veterans. In this methodological research, 211 male veterans of Iran–Iraq warfare completed the Paloutzian and Ellison spiritual well-being scale. Maximum likelihood (ML) with oblique rotation was used to assess domain structure of the spiritual well-being. The construct validity of the scale was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Reliability was evaluated with Cronbach’s alpha, Theta (θ), and McDonald Omega (Ω) coefficients, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), and construct reliability (CR). Results of ML and CFA suggested three factors which were labeled “relationship with God,” “belief in fate and destiny,” and “life optimism.” The ICC, coefficients of the internal consistency, and CR were >.7 for the factors of the scale. Convergent validity and discriminant validity did not fulfill the requirements. The Persian version of spiritual well-being scale demonstrated suitable validity and reliability among the veterans of Iran–Iraq warfare.     

Book reviews

Abstract

Eldercare by James Kenny&;Stephen Spicer. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1988, 152 pages, $11.95 paper

Lonely All the Time: Recognizing, Understanding and Overcoming Sex Addiction, for Addicts and Co-dependents by Ralph Earle&;Gregory Crow with Kevin Osborn. New York: Pocket Books, 1989, 337 pages, $19.95

The Imperfect Therapist: Learning from Failure in Therapeutic Practice by Jeffrey A. Kotter&;Diane S. Blau. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1989, 188 pages, $19.95

Families with a Difference: Varieties of Surrogate Parenthood by Michael Humphreys&;Heather Humphreys. New York: Routledge, 1988, 177 pages, $45.00

Between Husbands and Wives: Communication in Marriage by Mary Anne Fitzpatrick. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1988, 283 pages, $35.00 hardbound, $16.50 paperback