Journal of Psychology and Theology
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2035
(FIVE YEARS 97)

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39
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Published By Sage Publications

2328-1162, 0091-6471

2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110494
Author(s):  
Amanda Edwards-Stewart ◽  
Tim Hoyt ◽  
Sam Rennebohm ◽  
Fiona B. Kurtz ◽  
John S. Charleson ◽  
...  

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) is often utilized to assess the suitability of ordination candidates by a religious organization. Published MMPI-2 scale scores for Roman Catholic priest, Episcopal, Presbyterians, and United Methodist ministry samples exist. However, previous research has not provided MMPI-2 scale scores for Free Methodist ordination candidates and has not provided a statistical comparison of scale scores between religious groups. The this study reports on MMPI-2 scale scores for Free Methodist ordination candidates and compares this group’s scores to Roman Catholic priests, Episcopal and Presbyterian ordination candidates, and a United Methodist sample. We found statistically significant differences between Free Methodist and Catholic Priests, Episcopal, Presbyterian ordination candidates on MMPI-2 Hs, Pd, Pt, and Sc scales and L, Pd, Mf, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Ma differences between Free and United Methodist groups. These results seem to indicate that Free Methodist candidates have fewer non-organic health concerns, less obsessive thoughts, positive social relationships, and more readily submit to authority when contracted with other comparative ordination candidates or ministry sample.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110462
Author(s):  
Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell ◽  
Beth Stringfield ◽  
Jia Yao ◽  
Jessica Choi ◽  
David Eagle ◽  
...  

Work-related stress is experienced at a high level in the United States. Clergy are particularly likely to over-extend themselves to act on their sacred call. Sabbath-keeping may offer a practice that is beneficial for mental health, yet many Protestant clergy do not keep a regular Sabbath. We examined whether United Methodist clergy who attended informative Sabbath-keeping workshops reported changes in spiritual well-being and mental health post-workshop. Compared to baseline, at 3 and 9 months post-workshop, participants reported an increase in Sabbath-keeping. In adjusted random effects and Poisson models, compared to not changing Sabbath-keeping frequency, increasing Sabbath-keeping was related to only one outcome: greater feelings of personal accomplishment at work. Decreasing Sabbath-keeping was related to worse anxiety symptoms, lower spiritual well-being in ministry scores, and a higher probability of having less than flourishing mental health. For four outcomes, there were no significant associations with changes in Sabbath-keeping over time. Although lacking a control group, this study adds to cross-sectional Sabbath-keeping studies by correlating changes in Sabbath-keeping with changes in mental health outcomes over time.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110462
Author(s):  
Jichan Kim ◽  
Lemuel J. C. Ragasajo ◽  
Kolacz L. Rebekah ◽  
Kinsey J. Painter ◽  
John D. Pritchard ◽  
...  

It is conceivable that one’s level of self-forgiveness is likely to be influenced by the extent to which one feels forgiven by God. Also, self-forgiveness, especially when the self-offense involves wronging another, is likely to be influenced by the extent to which one feels forgiven by the victim. Therefore, this study was aimed at simultaneously examining the interplay between divine, victim, and self-forgiveness as well as their effects on psychological outcomes. In Study 1, we examined the relative strength of divine and victim forgiveness as predictors of self-forgiveness and found that divine and victim forgiveness predicted self-forgiveness independently from each other. In Study 2, we examined the unique effects of three types of forgiveness on psychological outcomes and found that while all three types of forgiveness are associated with each other, after controlling for the other two types of forgiveness, self-forgiveness alone predicted anger, anxiety, and depression. A further analysis showed that self-forgiveness mediated the relationship between divine and victim forgiveness and psychological outcomes. In other words, divine and victim forgiveness contribute to self-forgiveness, which in turn lead to better psychological outcomes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110462
Author(s):  
Chun-Fang Kuo ◽  
Tzu-Fen Chang

This study investigated the association between counselors’ Christian beliefs and their counseling. One hundred fifty-eight participants, including 13 counselors and 145 counselors-in-training who were assessed for levels of Christian commitment, were randomly assigned to view one of two versions of a videotape (i.e., a client with or without Christian commitment) and respond in writing to the client’s problem. Two trained raters (i.e., a licensed counselor and an advanced counseling intern) evaluated counselors’ levels of empathy. Counselors with low and high levels of Christian commitment showed similar levels of empathy for non-Christian and Christian clients, while counselors with moderate levels of Christian commitment showed more empathy for Christian clients. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110385
Author(s):  
Angela M. Sabates

To date, research on Christians’ attitudes toward Muslims has generally focused on the cognitive components of these attitudes. Based on Eagly and Chaiken’s conceptualization of the ABC Model of Attitudes, this study extended that research by considering multiple evaluative aspects of attitudes. Relevant questionnaires from a larger study of 209 self-identified Christians were used to predict attitudes toward American Muslims. It was hypothesized that adding a behavioral component beyond the cognitive would significantly increase prediction of attitudes toward Muslims in the United States. Drawing on research on related prejudices, it was also predicted that the often-neglected affect of disgust would significantly increase the prediction of attitudes toward Muslims beyond only combining behavioral and cognitive factors. In this study, behavioral factors included engagement with people of different faiths, while cognitive factors included dogmatism and endorsement of Christian nationalism. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that combining behavioral with cognitive components significantly increased the prediction of American Christians’ attitudes toward American Muslims. Yet, further adding the affective component of physical disgust beyond the cognitive and behavioral components did not significantly increase predictive power. Implications of these findings for the Christian church and American society at large are addressed in the light of the important social implications of understanding attitudes toward Muslims. The need for future research to emphasize the multifaceted nature of anti-Muslim attitudes is also discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110385
Author(s):  
Samuel Davidson

The article analyzes the relationship between sin and addiction in the recent work of Sonia Waters and Kent Dunnington, teasing out an apparently irresolvable tension rooted in their respective understandings of what fuels the addictive process. It is argued that the core divergence lies in their differing interpretations of the good sought in addiction, with Waters emphasizing the immanent good of biological and psychosocial homeostasis and Dunnington foregrounding the transcendent good of ecstatic relation with God. The essay proposes to resolve this tension by rethinking the relationship between immanent and transcendent human goods, with reference to Kierkegaard’s The Sickness Unto Death. In his definition of the human being as a synthesis, Kierkegaard helps resolve the tension between the immanent and transcendent goods sought in addiction, while his conception of sin as the refusal of selfhood allows us to sharpen our understanding of whether and how it makes sense to frame addiction as participating in sin. It is concluded that addiction may be helpfully framed as a means of avoiding the task of becoming a self, and therefore as a means of remaining in the position of sin.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110322
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Crowder ◽  
Hannah E. Acquaye ◽  
Georgeta Boanca ◽  
Norm L. Thiesen

Romantic heartbreak is common, affects all genders, and does not spare the adolescent or adult. While some recover and experience growth beyond their pre-break-up state, others do not fully recover. What are the factors that facilitate or impede recovery? Could there be restoration for heartbreak? These are some questions that this study set out to explore. Using a phenomenological lens, eight Caucasian adult females who self-reported as experiencing heartbreak from heterosexual and same sex relationships were interviewed. Emerging themes from transcribed and coded interviews included relational evolution, decline, end, rumination, and recovery. While each relational phase transitioned to the next, the path of rumination influenced participants’ level of recovery. Results indicated that participants who exhibited productive rumination eventually achieved a state of mental and spiritual renewal. Several implications are discussed, including how counselors may help to facilitate productive client rumination and renewal post heartbreak.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110345
Author(s):  
Jiahe Wang Xu ◽  
Jichan J. Kim ◽  
Naomi Olmstead ◽  
Robert D. Enright

This article explores the development of forgiveness and other-focused love and examines the role of spirituality in the relationship between forgiveness and love: (a) Do forgiveness and love develop together? (b) Does love or forgiveness predict the other at a later time? (c) Does one’s spirituality moderate the relationship between forgiveness and love? A total of 47 participants from a large Christian university in Central Virginia filled out measures of compassionate love, forgiveness, and dedication to God at Time 1 (T1) and measures of love and forgiveness after 4 weeks at Time 2 (T2). Findings showed that those who gained the most in forgiveness began low in both forgiveness and love. While love at T1 did not predict forgiveness at T1 or T2, forgiveness at T1 positively predicted love at T2 ( r = .36, p < .05), indicating that forgiveness temporally preceded love. However, the relationship between the two no longer existed after controlling for love at T1. The participants’ dedication to God at T1 did not moderate the relationship between forgiveness and love but further explained love at T2. It may be worthwhile to examine the effect of forgiveness interventions on increasing other-focused love.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110289
Author(s):  
Amanda Ortiz ◽  
M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall ◽  
Tamara L. Anderson ◽  
Jeremy M. Muehlhoff

Previous research has demonstrated that women experience higher levels of guilt compared with men at first sexual intercourse. Research also indicates that guilt is related to religiosity and to level of relational commitment. However, there has been no research on the correlates of sexual debut in a Christian population. This study compares the experiences of married Christian women who had first intercourse before or after marriage on guilt, sanctification of sex, and marital satisfaction. A total of 210 married Christian women were administered a survey containing measures of guilt at first intercourse, sanctification of sexuality, and marital satisfaction. The results indicate that the premarital group reported significantly higher levels of guilt at first intercourse and significantly lower levels of theistic sanctification and marital satisfaction than the marital group. In addition, there was no significant correlation between relational commitment and guilt for the premarital debut group, suggesting that those who were in a committed relationship at sexual debut experienced similar levels of guilt to those who were not in a committed relationship at debut. This study has meaningful implications for the way sexuality is discussed in Christian culture.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110255
Author(s):  
Ramanda Mallery Pettit ◽  
Joel Jin ◽  
Aaron Rosales ◽  
Winnie Fung ◽  
Joey Fung

The study examined the association between religiosity and generosity, and whether it is mediated by secure attachment to God, among Christian young adults. A total of 154 participants (Mean age = 22.75, SD = 6.12) completed self-report measures on religiosity (religious activities and intrinsic religiosity), attachment to God, and generosity (generous behavior and interpersonal generosity). In terms of direct effects, religious activities were positively associated with secure attachment to God and generous behavior, whereas intrinsic religiosity was associated with higher levels of interpersonal generosity. In terms of indirect effects, secure attachment to God mediated the relations between both types of religiosity (religious activities and intrinsic religiosity) and interpersonal generosity. Secure attachment to God did not mediate the relation between religiosity and generous behavior. The results of the study highlight the role of religiosity and secure attachment to God in cultivating generosity among young adults. Implications of the study findings, especially with regard to the potential roles of clinicians and clergy in cultivating generosity among young adults, will be discussed.


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