Muslim Experiential Religiousness in Pakistan: Meaning in Life,General Well-Being and gender differences

This study examined relationships of Muslim spirituality with positive psychology in Pakistan. In a sample of 200 university students and community members, the spirituality of Muslim Experiential Religiousness displayed direct linkages with Meaning in Life and General Well-Being subscales. Muslim Experiential Religiousness also correlated positively with single-item assessments of the Intrinsic, Extrinsic Personal, and Extrinsic Social Religious Orientations and explained the relationships of these religious motivations with General Life Satisfaction. Women scored higher than men on Muslim Experiential Religiousness, but at least some linkages of Muslim spirituality with positive psychology were more robust in men. As in other recent investigations, these data confirmed Muslim Experiential Religiousness as a valid index of Muslim spirituality beyond the Iranian cultural context in which it was developed.     

Delay Discounting as a Function of Intrinsic/Extrinsic Religiousness,Religious Fundamentalism,and Regular Church Attendance

Delay discounting occurs when the subjective value of an outcome decreases because its delivery is delayed. Previous research has suggested that the rate at which some, but not all, outcomes are discounted varies as a function of regular church attendance. In the present study, 509 participants completed measures of intrinsic religiousness, extrinsic religiousness, religious fundamentalism, and whether they regularly attended church services. They then completed a delay-discounting task involving five outcomes. Although religiousness was not a significant predictor of discounting for all outcomes, participants scoring high in intrinsic religiousness tended to display less delay discounting than participants scoring low. Likewise, participants scoring high in religious fundamentalism tended to display more delay discounting than participants scoring low. These results partially replicate previous ones in showing that the process of discounting may vary as a function of religiousness. The results also provide some direction for those interested in altering how individuals discount.     

Predictors of Relational Aggression and the Moderating Role of Religiousness

Predictors of relational aggression and the moderating role of religiousness on associations between relevant predictors and relational aggression were examined in a sample of 244 university students. Increased childhood relational aggression, increased adult relational victimization, lower agreeableness, and lower emotional stability significantly predicted increased adult relational aggression. Prayer moderated the relationship between agreeableness and adult relational aggression and the association between relational victimization and aggression, and religious service attendance moderated the relationship between emotional stability and relational aggression. Results are discussed in terms of the higher level latent personality constructs of self-regulation and communion, which suggest a potential protective function for religiousness in association with relational aggression.     

Associations of general religiousness and specific religious beliefs with coping appraisals in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

An emerging scientific literature is investigating the construct of “compassionate love,” love that is “centered on the good of the other,” a construct empirically linked to physical and mental health. We evaluated effects of an 8-week, 16-hour programme for physicians, nurses, chaplains, and other health professionals, using nonsectarian, spiritually based, self-management tools. Participants were randomised to intervention (n = 30) or wait-list (n = 31). Pretest, post-test, 8- and 19-week follow-up data were gathered on six measures of prosocial qualities. Favorable treatment effects (p<0.05) were found for compassionate love (d = 0.49), altruistic actions (d = 0.33), perspective-taking (d = 0.42), and forgiveness (d = 0.61). Treatment adherence fully mediated effects on compassionate love. Furthermore, stress reduction mediated treatment effects on compassionate love, perspective-taking, and forgiveness; each also mediated gains in caregiving self-efficacy. This encouraging evidence suggests that nonlaboratory psychospiritual interventions can boost compassionate love to benefit the recipients and the larger society.     

Empirically based psychology of Islam: summary and critique of the literature

In this paper, we systematically review the growing empirically based psychology of Islam. We arrive at 10 conclusions: (l) Islam is a multidimensional religion; Islam might mean different things to different people, and some people might adhere to some of its elements but not to others; (2) Islam is similar to, but is different from, other religions; (3) Islam's role in the lives of Muslims seems mostly positive; (4) Some types of Islamic religiousness are negative; (5) The empirical findings have not been translated yet into clinical applications; (6) Most of studies conducted among Muslims provide only a birds-eye view of Islam; (7) Empirical studies of Muslims are scarce; (8) Empirical research on negative types of religiousness among Muslims is sparse; (9) The majority of research in this field has been restricted to convenient samples; (10) Several important topics with implications for Muslims deserve further consideration, and there is a need for more varied research methods in studies of Muslims. The implications of these findings and the limitations of this review are discussed.     

Toward a Psychology of Religion, Spirituality, Meaning-Search, and Aging: Past Research and a Practical Application

The current work is a combined review of several major theoretical issues in religious gerontology and of related research findings. It is intended to briefly inform, rather than to serve as a comprehensive review of the literature. The current author's primary goals are to put-forth points of information about contemporary terminology, to conceptualize motives for meaning-search at any age, to synthesize a few major findings and associated flaws in the research, and to describe a practical approach to the psychology of religion and spirituality (i.e., coping outcomes research). Within the current work, the reader is directed to sources of extensive reviews of data and of broader theoretical debates.     

Towards a multidisciplinary guideline religiousness,spirituality, and psychiatry: what do we need?

ABSTRACT

A multidisciplinary guideline on religion, spirituality (R/S), and psychiatry aims to address: (1) organising R/S consultation in mental health care, (2) categorising research findings, and (3) professionalism and education with respect to R/S. Contents are derived from brainstorm sessions with key participants in the field of R/S and psychiatry in the Netherlands, and from the position statements on R/S and psychiatry in the UK and by the World Psychiatric Association. The following chapters are proposed: (1) ethical and existential themes and R/S, (2) R/S in stages of mental health care practice, (3) R/S counselling, (4) collaboration, and (5) relationship to other guidelines. The core themes need verification by specialists in the field, nurses, therapists, counsellors, patient-practitioners, and psychiatrists. The author recommends to approach R/S in an easy way, to listen to matters of personal meaning, and to leave the task to others in case of a lack of affinity.     

Does Funding Impact Our Research? Causality,Normativity, and Diversity in 40 Years of U.S. Sociology of Religion

In this article we use a sample of 40 years of sociology journal articles (N = 1,024) on religion to ask what role funding plays in some of the leading trends in the subdiscipline. Our analysis reveals a considerable increase in the number of published articles on religion with funding over the past 40 years as well as a shift away from public funding as the primary source of funding. Engaging our findings in previous analyses of this database, we surprisingly find a positive correlation between public funding and positive socio‐evaluative findings in articles on religion, but not between private funding and positive socio‐evaluative findings. We also find a positive correlation between funding from religious organizations and research on religion in the United States and a weak, but negative, correlation between funding from religious organizations and research on non‐Christian religious traditions. We do not find a relationship between funding and causal order.     

Applying the concept of lifestyle in association with aggression and violence in Greek cohabitating couples

The current study investigated the role of lifestyle as a significant factor related to the aggression and violence between cohabitating partners. Based on previous research, lifestyle was defined as a special reflection of socialization into society and working life, where different lifestyles should also be able to produce different patterns of socialization into people's roles as partners. It was found that gender and years of cohabitating were significantly related to Emotional aggression and Sexual violence; lifestyle patterns were associated with specific forms of violence. More specifically, the lifestyles of Pleasure & Elegance and the one of Culture-Intellectualism were found to promote Emotional aggression. Also, the lifestyle of Yuppies/Workaholic and that of Physical activities stimulated the appearance of Sexual violence between partners. Moreover, individuals with Tradition-Religiousness lifestyle were more likely to show lower levels of Physical & Sexual violence while the adherents of the Substance abuse lifestyle pattern appeared to have an inclination towards Physical & Sexual Violence. Finally, the occurrence of one form of violent behaviour was likely to be related to the other forms of violent behaviour.     

The Varieties of Forgiveness Experience: Working toward a Comprehensive Definition of Forgiveness

The definition of forgiveness was explored in a group of 270 young adults, and the underlying dimensions of their definitions compared with those of philosophers, theologians and psychological researchers. Three dimensions were identified: orientation (self, other), direction (passive letting go of negative experiences, active enhancement of positive experiences) and form (emotion, cognition and behavior). Definitions employing a passive letting go of negative experiences were associated with more state forgiveness. Gender differences were found in state forgiveness and in the employment of passive vs. active dimensions of forgiveness. Dr. Kathleen A. Lawler-Row is Professor of Psychology at East Carolina University. Her work focuses on the physiological and health correlates of forgiveness. Correspondence to Dr. K. A. Lawler-Row, e-mail: rowk@ecu.edu. Cynthia Scott and Meirav Edlis-Matityahou are graduate students in the Experimental and Counseling (respectively) programs at the University of Tennessee. Rachel Raines and Erin Moore are undergraduate students working with Dr. Lawler-Row in the department of psychology.