Exploring the Role of Spirituality in the Context of the Five Factor Model of Personality in a South African Sample

The study explored the relationship between the Five Factor Model of personality and spirituality by using the NEO PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 1992) and the Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS) (Piedmont, 1999) respectively. Participants were 94 psychology undergraduate students at a large South African university (mean age = 19.1 years; SD =1.43, males =19, females=75). Data were analyzed using both correlations as well as principal components analysis with varimax rotation. Evidence from both correlations and factor analysis suggest separate domains within the FFM as well as a separate factor for spirituality. These results provide support for claims that aspects of spirituality are not accounted for by the FFM as operationalised by the NEO-PI-R and by implication the FFM may not be a complete taxonomy of personality.     

‘Mundus imago Dei est’: The Spirituality of the Emblematist of the French Renaissance

Abstract

This study explores the constitutive principle of Mundus imago Dei est in the work of emblematists representative of both Catholic and Protestant traditions in France in the late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-centuries. Examples selected have been militant (Georgette de Montenay), philosophical (Jean-Baptiste Chassignet), and devotional (Jean de La Ceppède). The aim is to discover common rhetorical strategies of an aesthetic in the service of faith. Qualities and features derived from the Augustinian tradition are demonstrated. Further, apparent disharmony of images is shown to yield to harmony of thought.     

Dibs: In search of self

Abstract

Some ten years ago, while I was training towards ordination as a minister in the Church of England, close friends in the village where I lived took me to a talk given by Michael Jacobs to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of CCC, the Cambridgeshire Consultancy in Counselling, on whose training course my friends, Jenny and David, were then studying.     

Couple Therapy and Spirituality and Religion

Abstract

The current state of the art of the integration of couple therapy with spirituality and religion is presented. Each of three waves of this integration identified in this article have seen an increase in the literature in this area, although only a limited amount in each wave has addressed couple therapy specifically. In the first wave, from 1990–1994, articles set forth arguments for why spirituality should be integrated in therapy. During the second wave, 1995–1999, publications focused on the ways that including spirituality in therapy can enhance as well as harm the therapeutic process. In the third wave, 2000-present, attention has shifted away from whether to include spirituality to how it should be included, and the literature of this period features many practical interventions and suggested guidelines for integrating spirituality and religion into therapy and training. The article concludes with recommendations for further developing the integration of spirituality and religion into couple therapy models, research, and training.     

The ‘Connection’ Health Care Providers Make with Dying Patients

SUMMARY

The literature confirms illness and hospitalisation can become spiritual encounters for patients and their families. Further, it has been established that both patients and their families are better equipped to deal with loss and change if they have a healthily developed spiritual sense of self. The aim of the study sought to determine the benefit or otherwise of a previous model of spiritual care. It asked ‘from the perspective of the nurse and other health care providers, what constitutes spiritual care giving?’ An ethnography was undertaken where data consisted of field notes, interviews, records, and diary entries. This paper reports on interview data, from which themes were derived. The major theme titled their space is expressed via a new model of spiritual care. It was shown that when caring for patients and their relatives, nurses and other health care professionals enter the world of the other to determine the other's needs. In so doing they typify agapé (altruistic love), where the individual cares for a complete stranger as if that stranger were family. This connection with the patient and their family is the foundation for spiritual care.     

Joy in the Midst of Suffering: Clowning as Care of the Spirit in Palliative Care

SUMMARY

We find joy in the midst of suffering at Daw House, a palliative care unit. Stories, ranging from moments of gentle tenderness to wild hilarity, speak of profound joy and of the courage of those who participate. We articulate some of the why and how of caring clowning. Clown Doctors aim to affirm people as people with richly storied lives, to give permission for both laughter and tears, and to bring consolation to the spirit. The art of clowning means that we seek to elevate people, to sensitively tailor music, touch, and colour to the interests of those we encounter, to invite a sense of wonder and spontaneity and to work to transform situations through the imagination.     

"Involving the Elderly in Mission" -A Service Project

As one church grew from a small immigrant church to a conglomerate of 1,200 members, the natural social networks were no longer adequate to support the population of older persons. Networks had to be made intentional through programming. A needs assessment of the senior population identified specific subgroups and their needs. Recognizing the diversity of the senior population, a broad spectrum of programs was established. An effort was made to maintain a balance between traditional and innovative. The senior program has strengthened the networking among seniors, increased their integration with the other age groups in the church, and provided an entry level for those new to the church. The program has also become known in the community, which has resulted in cooperation with other senior service organizations who provide education and training. The Area Agency on Aging, realizing the importance of the church to the senior population, has selected a member of the church community to serve on its Advisory Board.     

Spiritual Development in the Fourth Quarter of Life

SUMMARY

Spirit, the activating or essential principle influencing a person, and body interpenetrate each other but do not dominate each other in predictable ways. Normal aging is neither a failure of the human spirit nor a failure in the body's Biology. The spirit becomes more apparent as a result of spiritual development.

The fourth quarter of life covers age 75 to 100 years. Prior to age 75, the human spirit undergoes significant developmental events: a crisis of meaning which may result in conversion or more commonly stripping or shedding; transitions, including loss of clearly defined roles and loss of the sense that the individual's life makes a difference.

One motif applied by our culture to old age is the “iconic illusion”; however, it is evident that in some respects this motif has limited application to the fourth quarter of life. “Meaning making” is, in fact, enhanced in the fourth quarter of life, given reasonable levels of cognitive health. The desire and ability to make sense out of existence, to draw together an understanding of a meaningful life trajectory, is best done in the fourth quarter of life. The dominant sense of time in the fourth quarter of life particularly facilitates spiritual development.     

The Defiant Power of the Human Spirit: Mental Health in Later Life

SUMMARY

This paper sets forth a wholistic perspective on the aging process, that clearly acknowledges the struggles and tensions between both the positive and decremental aspects of aging encountered in this journey. It speaks eloquently of the overarching tapestry of our lives balanced against the precariousness and brevity of life's experience. It speaks of challenges of later life that are experienced as physical decrements progress. Against these are balanced the need for rituals and transcendent symbols to enable the person to move into the spiritual and find meaning in the journey. In presenting this picture of aging, Kimble moves beyond the biomedical paradigm and applying Frankl's material he clearly demonstrates the defiant power and potential of the human spirit in adjusting to and moving through and beyond suffering.     

Dwelling and Seeking in Late Adulthood: The Psychosocial Implications of Two Types of Religious Orientation

SUMMARY

This article summarizes quantitative findings and presents two illustrative case studies showing how religious dwelling and spiritual seeking evolve over the adult life course and relate to psychosocial functioning in late adulthood. The data come from the Institute of Human Development (IHD) longitudinal study of men and women. Religious dwellers tend to emphasize traditional forms of religious behavior whereas spiritual seekers emphasize innovative religious practices. In the IHD study, the religious involvement of the dwellers tended to be highly stable over the life course whereas spirituality gained in salience in the second half of adulthood. In late adulthood, religious dwelling was associated with maintaining close and warm relations with others and communal involvement, and during times of adversity, religiousness served as a buffer against the loss of life satisfaction. Spiritual seeking was associated with an emphasis on personal growth, creativity, and acquiring new knowledge. Spiritual growth was particularly characteristic of introspective individuals who in early adulthood experienced stressful life events.