• The difficulties assessing spiritual distress in palliative care patients: a qualitative study.

    Type Journal Article
    Author S. Q. Abbas
    Author S. Dein
    Abstract This paper reports on a focus group study aimed at exploring the difficulties that palliative care healthcare professionals encounter while assessing the spiritual distress of their patients. Three focus groups were conducted in a hospice (n = 15). Participants were all healthcare professionals working in the hospice in-patient unit. Interviews were taped and later transcribed. The data was analysed through content analysis. Emergent themes included: lack of vocabulary around spiritual issues, personal issues surrounding death and dying, training issues, fear of being unable to resolve spiritual problems, time constraints and difficulty separating spiritual and religious needs. Participants provided a number of recommendations for improving care. This pilot study has generated useful data in relation to how spiritual care of patients might be improved. Despite the abundance of academic publications and policies on spirituality, this area is not integrated well into palliative care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 4
    Pages 341-352
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674671003716780
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title The difficulties assessing spiritual distress in palliative care patients
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM

    Tags:

    • ATTITUDE (Psychology)
    • CONFIDENCE
    • death attitudes
    • England
    • Focus Groups
    • JUDGMENT sampling
    • MEDICAL personnel
    • MEDICAL personnel & patient
    • PALLIATIVE treatment
    • PERSONNEL management
    • Pilot Projects
    • Qualitative Research
    • RURAL conditions
    • Rural Health
    • SOUND recordings
    • spirituality
    • STRESS (Psychology) -- Diagnosis
    • THEMATIC analysis
    • Time
    • VOCABULARY
  • Religious fundamentalism and mental illness: A group analytic exploration.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Roselyn M. Abbott
    Abstract This article applies group analytic thinking to the relationship between religious fundamentalism and mental illness. Religion is explored as a means of social cohesion, and religious fundamentalism as a regressive response to globalization. Extrinsic and intrinsic religious attitudes are compared, with evidence of mental health within the latter. Clinical examples are offered to explore the potential heightening of mental distress for those presenting with culturally liminal attitudes within fundamentalist communities. Within contemporary society, it is proposed that the inclusion of psychoanalytic thinking within religious practice and the secular acceptance of the religious function could enable the emergence of a self-reflexive, and therefore more humane, spirituality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Group Analysis
    Volume 42
    Issue 1
    Pages 47-61
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1177/0533316408100932
    ISSN 0533-3164
    Short Title Religious fundamentalism and mental illness
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • attitudes
    • Distress
    • globalization
    • group analytic exploration
    • Group Psychotherapy
    • Mental Disorders
    • mental distress
    • mental health
    • MENTAL illness
    • psychoanalytic thinking
    • religion
    • Religious attitudes
    • RELIGIOUS fundamentalism
    • social cohesion

    Notes:

    • The present study investigated the acute effects of the ritual of reciting the Rosary on the level of anxiety. Methods: We studied 30 students in a Catholic college divided into two intervention groups. Results: A significant reduction in anxiety was observed in subjects reciting the Rosary compared to the group of subjects watching the video. Ritual itself may be a significant contributor to the effects of religious practices on psychologic well-being.

  • Subjective well-being and religiosity in Egyptian college students

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ahmed M Abdel-Khalek
    Abstract A sample of 224 Egyptian college students (101 men, 123 women) was recruited. Their ages ranged from 17 to 29 years (M = 18.9, SD = 1.5). They responded to the Arabic versions of the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Love of Life Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale, as well as five separate single-item self-rating scales assessing physical health, mental health, happiness, satisfaction, and religiosity. All correlations between the measures and rating scales of subjective well-being and religiosity were statistically significant and positive, the largest between satisfaction and religiosity. Only one factor was retained in principal components factor analysis of the correlation matrix and labeled "Well-being and religiosity." It was concluded that religious persons in the present sample reported higher subjective well-being.
    Publication Psychological Reports
    Volume 108
    Issue 1
    Pages 54-58
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Psychol Rep
    ISSN 0033-2941
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21526591
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:56:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21526591
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Egypt
    • Female
    • Humans
    • ISLAM
    • Male
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Students
    • Young Adult
  • Religiosity, subjective well-being, self-esteem, and anxiety among Kuwaiti Muslim adolescents.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the association between religiosity, subjective well-being (SWB), self-esteem, and anxiety among a sample of 499 Muslim Kuwaiti adolescents (Mages = 16.87, SD = 1.49). It is expected that there will be significant correlations between religiosity and SWB, self-esteem (positive), and anxiety (negative). Six self-rating scales were used to assess religiosity, religious belief, physical health, mental health, happiness, and satisfaction with life, along with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale. No significant sex-related differences were detected on all the scales. All the correlations were significant between religiosity and SWB rating scales, self-esteem (positive) and anxiety (negative). A principal components analysis yielded a high loaded, bipolar factor labelled 'Religiosity and well-being versus anxiety.' Results suggest that religiosity is associated with high levels of self-rating of SWB, self-esteem and low levels of anxiety. The present findings provide further evidence for a probable mollifying role of religiosity in providing a buffering effect on anxiety in the current sample of Muslim adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 2
    Pages 129-140
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903456463
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anxiety
    • Computer Software
    • CORRELATION (Statistics)
    • DATA analysis
    • factor analysis
    • Happiness
    • Health Status Indicators
    • high school students
    • ISLAM
    • mental health
    • RESEARCH methodology evaluation
    • SAMPLING (Statistics)
    • SELF-esteem -- Testing
    • SELF-evaluation
    • SELF-perception
    • T-test (Statistics)
  • Religiosity, subjective well-being, and neuroticism

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek
    Abstract The objective of the current research was to estimate the relation between religiosity and both subjective well-being (SW-B) and neuroticism (N). A sample (N = 487) of Muslim Kuwaiti undergraduates took part in the study. Their age ranged between 18 and 31 years. They responded to six self-rating scales to assess religiosity, religious belief, physical health, mental health, happiness, and satisfaction with life, as well as the Factorial Arabic Neuroticism Scale (FANS) and the N subscale of the revised NEO. It was found that all the correlations between the six self-rating scales were significant and positive, whereas these rating scales were significantly and negatively correlated with both the FANS and N (NEO) scale. In applying the principle components analysis to the correlation matrix (8 times 8), a high-loaded and bipolar factor was extracted and labelled “Well-being and religiosity versus neuroticism.” The main predictor of religiosity in the stepwise regression was religious belief and satisfaction with life. The present findings are comparable with the wider literature on the association between religion and SW-B among English-speaking participants as well as a Kuwaiti Muslim context. By and large, those who consider themselves as religious were healthier, enjoying SW-B, and obtained lower scores on neuroticism.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 67
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903154167
    ISSN 1367-4676
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/13674670903154167
    Accessed Monday, January 11, 2010 3:25:03 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Religiosity, subjective well-being, and depression in Saudi children and adolescents.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek
    Abstract To explore the associations between religiosity and both subjective well-being (SW-B) and depression, a sample of 7211 Saudi school children and adolescents was recruited (2159 boys, 5052 girls). Their ages ranged from 11 to 18 years (Mage = 16.1, SD = 1.5 for boys; Mage = 15.6, SD = 1.9 for girls). They responded to five self-rating-scales of religiosity and SW-B, that is, happiness, satisfaction, mental health, and physical health, as well as the Multidimensional Child and Adolescent Depression Scale. It was found that males obtained significantly higher mean scores than their female counterparts on the religiosity and the SW-B self-rating-scales, whereas females obtained a significantly higher mean score on depression than their male peers. All the correlations among males and female were significant between religiosity and both SW-B rating scales (positive) and depression (negative). A principle components analysis was conducted. A high-loaded and bipolar factor was disclosed and labelled “Religiosity and well-being vs. depression.” In the stepwise multiple regression, the main predictor of religiosity in both sexes was satisfaction. In the light of the high mean score on religiosity, it was concluded that religiosity is an important element in the lives of the present sample of Saudi Muslim children and adolescents. Based on the correlations and factor analysis, it was also concluded that religious persons (in this sample) are happier, healthier, and less depressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 8
    Pages 803-815
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903006755
    ISSN 13674676
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45427286&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:27:14 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • CHILD mental health
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • Religiousness
    • SAUDI Arabia
    • WOMEN
  • Religiosity and its association with subjective well-being and depression among Kuwaiti and Palestinian Muslim children and adolescents.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek
    Author Ghada K. Eid
    Abstract The present study sought to investigate the association of religiosity and the self-ratings of happiness, satisfaction with life, mental health, physical health, and depression among Kuwaiti (N = 1937) and Palestinian (N = 1009) Muslim children and adolescents (Mage = 14.1, SD = 1.4). They responded to five self-rating scales and the Multidimensional Child and Adolescent Depression Scale. It was found that Palestinian males were significantly less religious than all other groups, while Kuwaiti males and females had significantly higher mean scores on happiness and satisfaction than Palestinians. Kuwaiti males had significantly higher mental health and less depression than all other groups. Among all the four groups, the correlations between religiosity and well-being rating scales were positively significant, but negatively significant with depression. The principal components analysis yielded a single salient factor for all groups and labelled 'Religiosity and well-being vs. depression.' It was concluded that clinicians treating depression will probably make use of its negative association with religiosity mainly among Muslim clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 2
    Pages 117-127
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903540951
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • DATA analysis
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • Happiness
    • Health Status Indicators
    • ISLAM
    • Israel
    • Kuwait
    • mental health
    • POPULATION geography
    • SAMPLING (Statistics)
    • SEX distribution (Demography)
    • STATISTICS
    • Well-Being
  • Religiosity and death anxiety: no association in Kuwait

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ahmed Abdel-Khalek
    Author David Lester
    Abstract In a sample of 162 Kuwaiti college students (33 men, 129 women; M age = 20.1 yr., SD = 1.9), the mean scores on the death anxiety scales by Templer, Abdel-Khalek, and the Collett-Lester were higher than that in an American sample, except for one subscale of the Collett-Lester Scale, i.e., Dying of Self. Based on the relatively collectivistic culture, it seems that the present participants did not differentiate between the "self" and the "other" in death anxiety, in which all scales were rated high in general. The scores on these scales were not significantly correlated with those on the Hoge Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale, or single-item self-rating measures of religiosity and strength of religious belief.
    Publication Psychological Reports
    Volume 104
    Issue 3
    Pages 770-772
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Rep
    ISSN 0033-2941
    Short Title Religiosity and death anxiety
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:40:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19708403
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Attitude to Death
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Culture
    • Ethnic Groups
    • Female
    • Humans
    • ISLAM
    • Kuwait
    • Male
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychometrics
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Students
    • United States
  • A significant association between religiosity and happiness in a sample of Kuwaiti students

    Type Journal Article
    Author AM Abdel-Khalek
    Author D Lester
    Abstract In a sample of 162 Kuwaiti undergraduates (33 men, 129 women; M age=20.1 yr., SD=1.9), self-ratings of happiness were significantly and positively correlated with self-ratings of religiosity and strength of religious belief as well as scores on Hoge's Scale of Intrinsic Religious Motivation (1972). The present data provide evidence that, among a sample of Kuwaiti Muslim undergraduates, religious people are happier.
    Publication Psychological Reports
    Volume 105
    Issue 2
    Pages 381-382
    Date OCT 2009
    DOI 10.2466/PR0.105.2.381-382
    ISSN 0033-2941
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&…
    Accessed Friday, December 04, 2009 4:30:03 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Religiousness and prostate cancer screening in African American men

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alexis D Abernethy
    Author Tina R Houston
    Author Jeffrey P Bjorck
    Author Richard L Gorsuch
    Author Harold L Arnold
    Abstract This study was designed to examine the relationship between religiousness (organized, nonorganized, and intrinsic) and religious problem solving (collaborative, deferring, and self-directing) in prostate cancer screening (PCS) attitudes and behavior. Men (N = 481) of African descent between the ages of 40 and 70 participated. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that religiousness and self-directed problem solving were associated with PCS attitudes. Intrinsic religiousness was associated with PCS attitudes after controlling for health and organized religiousness. Religiousness was not associated with PCS behavior. Intrinsic religiousness may be an important dimension of religiousness to be considered in tailoring cancer interventions for individuals from faith-based communities.
    Publication Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
    Volume 27
    Issue 3
    Pages 316-331
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Psychosoc Oncol
    DOI 10.1080/07347330902979036
    ISSN 1540-7586
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:51:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19544179
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Biopsy
    • Digital Rectal Examination
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Intention
    • Los Angeles
    • Male
    • Mass Screening
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasm Staging
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Problem Solving
    • Prostate
    • Prostate-Specific Antigen
    • Prostatic Neoplasms
    • Self Efficacy
    • Ultrasonography
  • Islamic religious leaders' knowledge and attitudes towards AIDS and their perception of people living with HIV/AIDS: a qualitative study F. A. Abu-Moghli et al. Islamic religious leaders' knowledge and attitudes towards AIDS.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Fathieh Abu-Moghli
    Author Manar Nabolsi
    Author Inaam Khalaf
    Author Wafika Suliman
    Abstract This qualitative descriptive study explored Muslim religious leaders' perception, knowledge and attitudes towards AIDS, AIDS prevention and their attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Twenty Islamic religious leaders (males and females) participated in two audio-taped focus group discussions. A content analysis approach was used to analyse the data as appropriate for descriptive qualitative inquiry. The study results showed that Muslim religious leaders do not perceive AIDS as a major health problem in Jordan, and that following the Islamic values lowers the risky behaviours. The religious leaders reflected varied responses to PLWHA but they agreed that they have responsibilities towards the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and that sex education contributes to healthy behaviours, and consequently to the prevention of HIV transmission. The findings of this study provided an insight into Muslim religious leaders' perception of PLWHA and highlighted the importance of their role in the prevention of AIDS. The study recommended that health care professionals, including nurses and health policy makers, should involve religious leaders in all efforts directed at planning and setting policies aimed at the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the treatment of infected people. Nurses should be responsible for conducting HIV/AIDS prevention programs in different settings utilizing relevant religious guidelines and teachings, in addition to providing holistic care to AIDS patients with emphasis on the spiritual dimension.
    Publication Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences
    Volume 24
    Issue 4
    Pages 655-662
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2009.00757.x
    ISSN 02839318
    Short Title Islamic religious leaders' knowledge and attitudes towards AIDS and their perception of people living with HIV/AIDS
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM

    Tags:

    • AIDS (Disease)
    • AIDS (Disease) -- Prevention
    • ATTITUDE (Psychology)
    • CONTENT analysis (Communication)
    • empirical research
    • Focus Groups
    • HEALTH literacy
    • INTERVIEWING
    • ISLAM
    • JORDAN
    • LEADERS
    • PSYCHOLOGICAL factors
    • Qualitative Research
    • religion
    • RESEARCH -- Methodology
    • SOUND recordings
    • SPIRITUAL care (Medical care)

    Notes:

    •  This study explored   twenty Islamic religious leaders' (males and females) perception, knowledge and attitudes towards AIDS, AIDS prevention and attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).  Results showed that Muslim religious leaders do not perceive AIDS as a major health problem in Jordan, and that following the Islamic values lowers the risky behaviours. The religious leaders reflected varied responses to PLWHA but they agreed that they have responsibilities towards the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and that sex education contributes to healthy behaviours, and consequently to the prevention of HIV transmission.


  • Examining Coping Methods With Stressful Interpersonal Events Experienced by Muslims Living in the United States Following the 9/11 Attacks

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hisham Abu-Raiya
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author Annette Mahoney
    Abstract Pargament's (1997) religious coping theory was used to examine the methods of coping with stressful interpersonal events experienced by 138 Muslims living in the United States following the 9/11 attacks. The large majority of participants reported experiencing at least one stressful interpersonal event after the 9/11 attacks related to being Muslim; the most common incidents were hearing anti-Muslim comments, undergoing special security checks in airports, facing discriminatory acts, and being verbally harassed. Participants used both religious (i.e., positive religious coping, negative religious coping) and nonreligious (i.e., reaching out, isolation) methods to deal with these stressful interpersonal events. Positive religious coping and reaching out were related to posttraumatic growth; negative religious coping was associated with depression; and isolation was tied to both depression and angry feelings. The large majority of participants did not view the negative interpersonal events they experienced after the 9/11 attacks as a sacred loss, but a significant percentage did consider these events as a desecration. Further, viewing these incidents as a desecration was tied to posttraumatic growth, but this link was partially mediated by positive coping methods.
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 3
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-14
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0020034
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:50:37 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • desecration
    • MUSLIMS
    • religious coping theory
    • sacred loss
    • September 11 attacks
  • Ethnic identification, religious identity, and psychological well-being among Muslim and Christian Palestinians in Israel.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maram Hussien Abu-Rayya
    Author Hisham Motkal Abu-Rayya
    Abstract This study examined relationships between ethnic identification, religious identity, and psychological well-being. The participants were 854 indigenous Israeli Palestinians, of whom 520 (36% males and 64% females) were Muslim and 334 (39% males and 61% females) Christian students, respectively. The sample ranged in age between 17 and 38 years, with a mean of 24.31 (SD = 4.43). Measures of Palestinian ethnic identity, religious identity, and psychological well-being were administered to study participants. The analysis revealed that, for each of the Muslim and Christian samples, Palestinian ethnic identity and religious identity were weakly positively correlated, a finding indicating a possible relative independence between these constructs. After partialling out the effect of age and religious identity, increased degrees of Palestinian ethnic identification linked to higher degrees of positive indicators of well-being and to lower degrees of negative indicators of well-being within each of the samples. These findings held, and were even more pronounced, in the case of religious identity, after controlling for age and Palestinian ethnic identity. The study concludes that religious identity may equal or exceed ethnic identity in importance as a feature of minority individuals' self-concept informing their well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 2
    Pages 147-155
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802387330
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Christians
    • ETHNICITY -- Psychological aspects
    • IDENTIFICATION (Religion)
    • Israel
    • MUSLIMS
    • PALESTINIAN Arabs -- Israel
    • SELF-perception -- Religious aspects
    • WELL-being -- Psychological aspects
  • Language, mysticism, and hypnotizability: a brief communication

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter J Adams
    Abstract People attempting to communicate religious and mystical experiences tend to use the same language strategies employed in inducing hypnotic trance. Both incorporate vague language that provides receptive listeners the opportunity to insert their own content. This study examines whether people who have had mystical or religious experiences are also more likely to respond to the language of hypnosis. Eighty-one participants completed the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A and the Hood Mysticism Scale. Participants were divided into 3 equal groups based on "high," "ambiguous," and "low" mysticism scale scores. The high group scored significantly higher on hypnotizability compared to the low group. The relationship between openness to mystical and religious experience and susceptibility to hypnotic suggestion warrants further investigation.
    Publication The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
    Volume 56
    Issue 1
    Pages 73-82
    Date Jan 2008
    Journal Abbr Int J Clin Exp Hypn
    DOI 10.1080/00207140701673100
    ISSN 0020-7144
    Short Title Language, mysticism, and hypnotizability
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18058488
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:14:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18058488
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Language
    • Male
    • Mysticism
    • Suggestion

    Notes:

    • People attempting to communicate religious and mystical experiences tend to use the same language strategies employed in inducing hypnotic trance. Both incorporate vague language that provides receptive listeners the opportunity to insert their own content. This study examines whether people who have had mystical or religious experiences are also more likely to respond to the language of hypnosis. Eighty-one participants completed the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A and the Hood Mysticism Scale. Participants were divided into 3 equal groups based on “high,” “ambiguous,” and “low” mysticism scale scores. The high group scored significantly higher on hypnotizability compared to the low group. The relationship between openness to mystical and religious experience and susceptibility to hypnotic suggestion warrants further investigation.

  • Using a Mindfulness-Based Procedure in the Community: Translating Research to Practice.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Angela Adkins
    Author Ashvind Singh
    Author Alan Winton
    Author Gerald McKeegan
    Author Judy Singh
    Abstract Maladaptive behaviors, such as aggressive and disruptive behaviors, are a significant risk factor for maintaining community placement by individuals with intellectual disabilities. When experienced researchers provide training to individuals with intellectual disabilities on a mindfulness-based strategy, Meditation on the Soles of the Feet, the individuals are able to effectively self-manage their maladaptive behaviors. We investigated whether similar effectiveness would be found if community-based therapists provided the training to similar individuals living in the community. Three adults with mild intellectual disabilities and mental illness living in the community were taught by a community-based therapist to use this strategy to control maladaptive behaviors that included verbal aggression, disruptive behavior and physical aggression. They were taught to shift the focus of their attention from the negative emotions that triggered their maladaptive behavior to a neutral stimulus, the soles of their feet. All three individuals were able to reduce their maladaptive behaviors to near-zero levels and maintain their community placement that they had been at risk for losing, due to their maladaptive behavior. Subjective measures of various psychological symptoms showed a reduction in two of the individuals. Our study suggests that the demonstrated effectiveness of Meditation on the Soles of the Feet can be achieved by a community-based therapist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Child & Family Studies
    Volume 19
    Issue 2
    Pages 175-183
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10826-009-9348-9
    ISSN 10621024
    Short Title Using a Mindfulness-Based Procedure in the Community
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:25:39 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • AGGRESSIVENESS
    • Meditation
    • PEOPLE with disabilities -- Psychology
    • PEOPLE with disabilities -- Research
    • PEOPLE with mental disabilities
    • SELF-perception
  • Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use among Women with Breast Cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shelley R. Adler
    Abstract The legacy of 19th-century social theories applied to the study of non-mainstream treatment use continues to affect contemporary research into complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Quantitatively based studies of CAM use have been hindered by the lack of an adequate lexicon, inaccurate characterizations of the people who use CAM, and underestimates of the prevalence of usage. Results from a qualitative prospective cohort study challenge previous stereotypes by indicating that CAM usage does not increase dramatically with the initial diagnosis of cancer and that younger women are more likely to use CAM than older women. Qualitative research methods are uniquely appropriate for obtaining accurate information about health practices that, despite growing acceptance in some areas of society, are still viewed as outside of the mainstream.
    Publication Medical Anthropology Quarterly
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 214-222
    Date Jun., 1999
    Series New Series
    ISSN 07455194
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/649645
    Accessed Monday, October 12, 2009 11:56:49 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1999 / Copyright © 1999 American Anthropological Association
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Results from a qualitative prospective cohort study challenge previous stereotypes by indicating that CAM usage does not increase dramatically with the initial diagnosis of cancer and that younger women are more likely to use CAM than older women.

  • Comparing brief stress management courses in a community sample: mindfulness skills and progressive muscle relaxation

    Type Journal Article
    Author John D Agee
    Author Sharon Danoff-Burg
    Author Christoffer A Grant
    Abstract This study sought to compare a five-week mindfulness meditation (MM) course to a five-week course that taught progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). Forty-three adults from the community were randomly assigned to either MM (n = 19) or PMR (n = 24) courses after responding to flyers and other advertisements for a free stress management course. Mindfulness meditation participants practiced meditation significantly more often than PMR participants practiced relaxation during the intervention period (F[1, 43] = 7.42; P < .05). Interestingly, the two conditions did not differ significantly in their posttreatment levels of relaxation or mindfulness. Although there were no differences between groups on any of the primary outcome measures, across both treatment conditions there were statistically significant reductions from pretreatment to posttreatment in general psychological distress. Thus, although MM did not emerge as clearly superior to PMR, results of this study suggest that a brief mindfulness skills course may be effective for stress management.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 5
    Issue 2
    Pages 104-109
    Date 2009 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2008.12.004
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title Comparing brief stress management courses in a community sample
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19272581
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:22:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19272581
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Muscle Relaxation
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Pilot Projects
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Self Care
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This study sought to compare a five-week mindfulness meditation (MM) course to a five-week course that taught progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). Forty-three adults from the community were randomly assigned to either MM (n = 19) or PMR (n = 24) courses after responding to flyers and other advertisements for a free stress management course. Mindfulness meditation participants practiced meditation significantly more often than PMR participants practiced relaxation during the intervention period (F[1, 43] = 7.42; P < .05). Interestingly, the two conditions did not differ significantly in their posttreatment levels of relaxation or mindfulness. Although there were no differences between groups on any of the primary outcome measures, across both treatment conditions there were statistically significant reductions from pretreatment to posttreatment in general psychological distress. Thus, although MM did not emerge as clearly superior to PMR, results of this study suggest that a brief mindfulness skills course may be effective for stress management.

  • Spiritual crisis: a concept analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laurie B Agrimson
    Author Lois B Taft
    Abstract AIM This paper is a report of an analysis of the concept of spiritual crisis. BACKGROUND The term spiritual crisis has been used ambiguously in the literature, resulting in lack of clarity. A holistic approach includes spirituality in nursing care of the whole person. DATA SOURCES Papers available online between 1998 and 2007 in the CINAHL, Medline and PsycInfo databases were retrieved for analysis. The search engine Google was also used to examine additional references to 'spiritual crisis'. REVIEW METHODS Spiritual crisis, spiritual emergency and life crisis were the terms initially used to search each database. The search was expanded to include spirituality to draw more literature into the review. FINDINGS Using Walker and Avant's method of concept analysis, a definition of spiritual crisis was identified. Spiritual crisis can be described as a unique form of grieving or loss, marked by a profound questioning of or lack of meaning in life, in which an individual or community reaches a turning point, leading to a significant alteration in the way life is viewed. Possible antecedents include sudden acute illness and loss of important relationships. Potential consequences may include physical and emotional responses. CONCLUSION People with terminal illness, depression, and those who are grieving losses may be at special risk of spiritual crisis. The literature suggests an interdisciplinary approach, nurses' self-exploration of spirituality, and refraining from defining spirituality by religious affiliation as part of improving practice.
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 454-461
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04869.x
    ISSN 1365-2648
    Short Title Spiritual crisis
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19040691
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:23:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19040691
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Female
    • Holistic Health
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
  • Religion and spirituality in coping with advanced breast cancer: perspectives from Malaysian Muslim women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Farizah Ahmad
    Author Mazanah binti Muhammad
    Author Amini Amir Abdullah
    Abstract This article is part of a larger study on the role of spirituality in coping with breast cancer among Malaysian Muslim women. The study seeks to reveal the meaning of the experience through the stories of three Muslim women surviving advanced breast cancer, to better understand the deep meanings that inform their experiences with spirituality and transformation as they cope with the challenges of breast cancer. Data were gathered using in-depth interview. Qualitative methods were used in identifying two themes--illness as an awakening and hope and freedom comes from surrendering to God. The themes were discussed in the context of two broad areas: (1) what are the new meanings these women discovered in their experiences with cancer; and (2) how did the new meanings change their lives? The study suggests that cancer survivors' experiences with cancer and their learning processes must be understood within the appropriate cultural context. This is especially so for spirituality. The common emphasis of spirituality on relationship with God, self and others, may significantly influence how people learn to live with cancer.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 50
    Issue 1
    Pages 36-45
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-010-9401-4
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Religion and spirituality in coping with advanced breast cancer
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20924683
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20924683
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM

    Notes:

    • This article is part of a larger study on the role of spirituality in coping with breast cancer among Malaysian Muslim women. The study seeks to reveal the meaning of the experience through the stories of three Muslim women surviving advanced breast cancer, to better understand the deep meanings that inform their experiences with spirituality and transformation as they cope with the challenges of breast cancer. Data were gathered using in-depth interview. Qualitative methods were used in identifying two themes--illness as an awakening and hope and freedom comes from surrendering to God. The themes were discussed in the context of two broad areas: (1) what are the new meanings these women discovered in their experiences with cancer; and (2) how did the new meanings change their lives? The study suggests that cancer survivors' experiences with cancer and their learning processes must be understood within the appropriate cultural context. This is especially so for spirituality. The common emphasis of spirituality on relationship with God, self and others, may significantly influence how people learn to live with cancer.

  • Family, public and private religiousness and psychological well-being over time in at-risk adolescents.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sawssan R. Ahmed
    Author Patrick J. Fowler
    Author Paul A. Toro
    Abstract Positive effects of different dimensions of religiousness (including private, public and familial) on well-being as well as the stress buffering effects of religiousness have been documented. However, relatively little research has explored how these different facets of religiousness are related to psychological well-being in at-risk adolescents. This study examined family, public and private religiousness and their protective influence on psychological adjustment in adolescents at risk for poor psychological and behavioural outcomes. Participants include 186 urban teens divided between African Americans and European Americans. Structured interviews assessed religiousness, stress, as well as change in emotional distress and substance abuse problems over a one-year period. Greater private religiousness protects adolescents exposed to higher levels of stress from emotional and behavioural problems. In contrast, higher levels of family religiousness exacerbate emotional problems over time in adolescents exposed to greater stress. Findings demonstrate the complex influence of religiousness on psychological well-being in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 4
    Pages 393-408
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674671003762685
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM

    Tags:

    • Alcoholism
    • AT-risk people
    • Blacks
    • CHI-square test
    • DISTRESS (Psychology)
    • factor analysis
    • FAMILIES
    • Family Relations
    • INTERVIEWING
    • LONGITUDINAL method
    • MULTIPLE regression analysis
    • Psychological Tests
    • religion
    • RESEARCH -- Methodology
    • SAMPLING (Statistics)
    • social support
    • STRESS (Psychology)
    • Well-Being
    • Whites
  • Spirituality and Well-Being: The Relationship Between Religious Coping and Recovery From Sexual Assault

    Type Journal Article
    Author C.E. Ahrens
    Author S. Abeling
    Author S. Ahmad
    Author J. Hinman
    Abstract Despite a growing body of literature documenting beneficial outcomes of religious coping, there are virtually no studies examining sexual assault survivors' use of religious coping. To fill this gap in the literature, the current study examines predictors and outcomes of positive and negative religious coping among 100 sexual assault survivors who believed in God. Results suggested that African American survivors were more likely to use both forms of religious coping than survivors from other ethnicities. Yet, results also suggest that positive religious coping is related to higher levels of psychological well-being and lower levels of depression, whereas negative religious coping is related to higher levels of depression, regardless of ethnicity. The only outcome where ethnicity makes a difference is posttraumatic growth with a stronger relationship between positive religious coping and posttraumatic growth among Caucasian survivors space. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Interpersonal Violence
    Volume 25
    Issue 7
    Pages 1242-1263
    Date JUL 2010
    DOI 10.1177/0886260509340533
    ISSN 0886-2605
    Short Title Spirituality and Well-Being
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 6:29:28 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • Contradiction in the Contemporary Study of Faith Matters: Negation and Affirmation via a Historical Perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy L. Ai
    Author Monika Ardelt
    Abstract We agree with Dr. Glicksman that faith matters cannot be studied in the same way as other universal aspects of the human existence, and that we cannot assume that certain faith measures are applicable across all faiths. Despite its limitations, empirical faith research is valuable in understanding the role of religion/spirituality for the human condition. We propose the following remedies: develop cultural sensitive faith measures with psychometric properties in different beliefs; examine multifaceted, positive, null, and negative effects of different faith factors; and combine historical/phenomenological approaches to the faith study with quantitative and qualitative research. Finally, scientific investigators should collaborate with scholars in the humanities.
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 4
    Pages 287-296
    Date 2009 October
    DOI 10.1080/15528030902865128
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title Contradiction in the Contemporary Study of Faith Matters
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/15528030902865128
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:30:12 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Divine love and deep connections: a long-term followup of patients surviving cardiac surgery

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy L Ai
    Author Daniel E Hall
    Abstract We examined experiencing divine love as an indicator of affective spiritual growth in a prospective cohort of 200 patients surviving cardiac surgery. These patients previously completed two-wave preoperative interviews when standardized cardiac surgery data were also collected. The information included left ventricular ejection fraction, New York Heart Association Classification, baseline health (physical and mental), optimism, hope, religiousness, prayer coping, religious/spiritual coping, and demographics. We then measured divine love at 900 days postoperatively. Hierarchical linear regression indicated the direct effect of positive religious coping on experiences of divine love, controlling for other key variables. Postoperatively perceived spiritual support was entered at the final step as an explanatory factor, which appeared to mediate the coping effect. None of the other faith factors predicted divine love. Further research regarding divine love and spiritual support may eventually guide clinical attempts to support patients' spiritual growth as an independently relevant outcome of cardiac surgery.
    Publication Journal of Aging Research
    Volume 2011
    Pages 841061
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr J Aging Res
    DOI 10.4061/2011/841061
    ISSN 2090-2212
    Short Title Divine love and deep connections
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21748012
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21748012
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Notes:

    • The authors examined experiencing divine love as an indicator of affective spiritual growth in a prospective cohort of 200 patients surviving cardiac surgery. These patients previously completed two-wave preoperative interviews when standardized cardiac surgery data were also collected. The information included left ventricular ejection fraction, New York Heart Association Classification, baseline health (physical and mental), optimism, hope, religiousness, prayer coping, religious/spiritual coping, and demographics. The authors then measured divine love at 900 days postoperatively. Hierarchical linear regression indicated the direct effect of positive religious coping on experiences of divine love, controlling for other key variables. Postoperatively perceived spiritual support was entered at the final step as an explanatory factor, which appeared to mediate the coping effect. None of the other faith factors predicted divine love. Further research regarding divine love and spiritual support may eventually guide clinical attempts to support patients' spiritual growth as an independently relevant outcome of cardiac surgery.

  • Spiritual struggle related to plasma interleukin-6 prior to cardiac surgery.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy L. Ai
    Author E Mitchell Seymour
    Author Terrence N. Tice
    Author Ziad Kronfol
    Author Steven F. Bolling
    Abstract Spiritual struggle appeared consistently to predict poor health outcomes, including mortality. Despite surging interest in the health benefits of religion and spirituality, the health hassle of existential conflicts and proinflammatory cytokines as a potential physiological mechanism has been overlooked. Based on psychological and theological assumptions, we argue for the universal nature of spiritual struggle, a crisis-related existential conflict, and for investigating its physiological influence as essential to understanding human nature. Increased levels of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) have been linked with adverse health outcomes and negative emotions. This study thus examined spiritual struggle related to plasma IL-6 in 235 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery, along with positive religious coping, general coping, and optimism, controlling for standardized clinical medical indicators. Multiple regression analysis, following a preplanned sequence, showed that spiritual struggle (p = .011), behavioral coping (p = .013) were positively associated with excess plasma IL-6, controlling for medical correlates (e.g., left ventricular ejection fraction). We conclude that spiritual struggle, indicating the crisis in an existential relation, and behavioral coping strategies are associated with elevated pre-operative plasma IL-6. The interdisciplinary implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 1
    Issue 2
    Pages 112-128
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1037/a0015775
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • cardiac diseases & cardiac surgery
    • Coping Behavior
    • coping with stress
    • Heart Disorders
    • Heart Surgery
    • immune-inflammatory marker interleukin-6
    • Interleukins
    • religion
    • spiritual struggle
    • spirituality
    • Stress

    Notes:

    • Spiritual struggle appeared consistently to predict poor health outcomes, including mortality. Despite surging interest in the health benefits of religion and spirituality, the health hassle of existential conflicts and proinflammatory cytokines as a potential physiological mechanism has been overlooked. Based on psychological and theological assumptions, we argue for the universal nature of spiritual struggle, a crisis-related existential conflict, and for investigating its physiological influence as essential to understanding human nature. Increased levels of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) have been linked with adverse health outcomes and negative emotions. This study thus examined spiritual struggle related to plasma IL-6 in 235 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery, along with positive religious coping, general coping, and optimism, controlling for standardized clinical medical indicators. Multiple regression analysis, following a preplanned sequence, showed that spiritual struggle (p = .011), behavioral coping (p = .013) were positively associated with excess plasma IL-6, controlling for medical correlates (e.g., left ventricular ejection fraction). We conclude that spiritual struggle, indicating the crisis in an existential relation, and behavioral coping strategies are associated with elevated pre-operative plasma IL-6. The interdisciplinary implications are discussed.

  • Private prayer and quality of life in cardiac patients: Pathways of cognitive coping and social support.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy L. Ai
    Author Connie S. Corley
    Author Christopher Peterson
    Author Bu Huang
    Author Terrence N. Tice
    Abstract Despite the growing evidence linking faith with health and well-being, national leaders noted the need to explore the mechanism underlying these linkages. The goal of this prospective study was to investigate the psychosocial mechanisms involved in the preoperative use of private prayer for coping and the effects of such act on short-term quality of life (SPQOL) in 294 patients following open-heart surgery. Using established instruments, three interviews were conducted with middle-aged and older patients (average age 62) at two weeks and two days preoperatively, then 36 days postoperatively. The endpoints were assessed with levels of distress (e.g., depression and anxiety) and fatigue symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical model. The final model showed the indirect influence of using prayer for coping on SPQOL through the mediation of cognitive coping and perceived social support. However, this mediation was not observed for behavioral, anger, and avoidant coping. Psychosocial factors may explain the potential role of using prayer for coping on short-term postoperative quality of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Social Work in Health Care
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 471-494
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1080/00981380802589829
    ISSN 0098-1389
    Short Title Private prayer and quality of life in cardiac patients
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • cardiac patients
    • Coping
    • Coping Behavior
    • Heart Surgery
    • prayer
    • private prayer
    • Quality of Life
    • short term quality of life

    Notes:

    • Despite the growing evidence linking faith with health and well-being, national leaders noted the need to explore the mechanism underlying these linkages. The goal of this prospective study was to investigate the psychosocial mechanisms involved in the preoperative use of private prayer for coping and the effects of such act on short-term quality of life (SPQOL) in 294 patients following open-heart surgery. Using established instruments, three interviews were conducted with middle-aged and older patients (average age 62) at two weeks and two days preoperatively, then 36 days postoperatively. The endpoints were assessed with levels of distress (e.g., depression and anxiety) and fatigue symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical model. The final model showed the indirect influence of using prayer for coping on SPQOL through the mediation of cognitive coping and perceived social support. However, this mediation was not observed for behavioral, anger, and avoidant coping. Psychosocial factors may explain the potential role of using prayer for coping on short-term postoperative quality of life.

  • Pathways to postoperative hostility in cardiac patients: mediation of coping, spiritual struggle and interleukin-6

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy Lee Ai
    Author Kenneth Pargament
    Author Ziad Kronfol
    Author Terrence N. Tice
    Author Hoa Appel
    Abstract Using structural equation modeling, we estimated major pathways from preoperative distress, indicated by anxiety and other factors, to postoperative hostility in cardiac patients. Sequential interviews were conducted before and after surgery. Standardized medical and surgical indices were selected from a national database. Results showed that preoperative spiritual struggle mediated indirect effects of anxiety and anger coping on Interleukin-6 (IL-6) immediately before surgery. The link between spiritual struggle and IL-6 further mediated the indirect effects of anxiety and anger coping on postoperative hostility. Anger coping mediated the harmful influence of anxiety and counteracted the protection of positive religious coping on adjustment.
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 186-195
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Health Psychol
    DOI 10.1177/1359105309345556
    ISSN 1461-7277
    Short Title Pathways to postoperative hostility in cardiac patients
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:11:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20207662
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • Using structural equation modeling, we estimated major pathways from preoperative distress, indicated by anxiety and other factors, to postoperative hostility in cardiac patients. Sequential interviews were conducted before and after surgery. Standardized medical and surgical indices were selected from a national database. Results showed that preoperative spiritual struggle mediated indirect effects of anxiety and anger coping on Interleukin-6 (IL-6) immediately before surgery. The link between spiritual struggle and IL-6 further mediated the indirect effects of anxiety and anger coping on postoperative hostility. Anger coping mediated the harmful influence of anxiety and counteracted the protection of positive religious coping on adjustment.

  • Prayer and reverence in naturalistic, aesthetic, and socio-moral contexts predicted fewer complications following coronary artery bypass.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy L. Ai
    Author Paul Wink
    Author Terrence N. Tice
    Author Steven F. Bolling
    Author Marshall Shearer
    Abstract This prospective study explores prayer, reverence, and other aspects of faith in postoperative complications and hospital length of stay of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Alongside traditional religiousness measures, we examined sense of reverence in religious and secular contexts. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 177 patients 2 weeks before surgery at a medical center. Medical variables were retrieved from the national Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ Database. Logistic and multiple regression models were performed to predict outcomes. Prayer frequencies were associated with reduced complications but not hospitalization. Sense of reverence in secular contexts predicted fewer complications and shorter hospitalization. Controlling for complications reduced the initial influence of reverence on hospitalization, suggesting the potential mediation of complications. No interaction between demographics and faith factors was evident. The role of faith in medicine is complex and context-dependent. Future studies are needed on mediating factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 32
    Issue 6
    Pages 570-581
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-009-9228-1
    ISSN 01607715
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45362477&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:20:45 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Tags:

    • CORONARY artery bypass
    • DISEASES -- Religious aspects
    • HEART -- Blood-vessels
    • PATIENTS
    • SURGERY -- Complications

    Notes:

    • This prospective study explores prayer, reverence, and other aspects of faith in postoperative complications and hospital length of stay of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Alongside traditional religiousness measures, we examined sense of reverence in religious and secular contexts. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 177 patients 2 weeks before surgery at a medical center. Medical variables were retrieved from the national Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ Database. Logistic and multiple regression models were performed to predict outcomes. Prayer frequencies were associated with reduced complications but not hospitalization. Sense of reverence in secular contexts predicted fewer complications and shorter hospitalization. Controlling for complications reduced the initial influence of reverence on hospitalization, suggesting the potential mediation of complications. No interaction between demographics and faith factors was evident. The role of faith in medicine is complex and context-dependent. Future studies are needed on mediating factors

  • Long-term Adjustment After Surviving Open Heart Surgery: The Effect of Using Prayer for Coping Replicated in a Prospective Design

    Type Journal Article
    Author A L Ai
    Author K L Ladd
    Author C Peterson
    Author C A Cook
    Author M Shearer
    Author H G Koenig
    Abstract PURPOSE: despite the growing evidence for effects of religious factors on cardiac health in general populations, findings are not always consistent in sicker and older populations. We previously demonstrated that short-term negative outcomes (depression and anxiety) among older adults following open heart surgery are partially alleviated when patients employ prayer as part of their coping strategy. The present study examines multifaceted effects of religious factors on long-term postoperative adjustment, extending our previous findings concerning prayer and coping with cardiac disease. DESIGN AND METHODS: analyses capitalized on a preoperative survey and medical variables from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons' National Database of patients undergoing open heart surgery. The current participants completed a mailed survey 30 months after surgery. Two hierarchical regressions were performed to evaluate the extent to which religious factors predicted depression and anxiety, after controlling for key demographics, medical indices, and mental health. RESULTS: predicting lower levels of depression at the follow-up were preoperative use of prayer for coping, optimism, and hope. Predicting lower levels of anxiety at the follow-up were subjective religiousness, marital status, and hope. Predicting poorer adjustment were reverence in religious contexts, preoperative mental health symptoms, and medical comorbidity. Including optimism and hope in the model did not eliminate effects of religious factors. Several other religious factors had no long-term influences. IMPLICATIONS: the influence of religious factors on the long-term postoperative adjustment is independent and complex, with mediating factors yet to be determined. Future research should investigate mechanisms underlying religion-health relations.
    Publication The Gerontologist
    Volume 50
    Issue 6
    Pages 798-809
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    DOI 10.1093/geront/gnq046
    ISSN 1758-5341
    Short Title Long-term Adjustment After Surviving Open Heart Surgery
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20634280
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:59:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20634280
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Notes:

    • A study examines multifaceted effects of religious factors on long-term postoperative adjustment, extending author's previous findings concerning prayer and coping with cardiac disease.

  • Private prayer and optimism in middle-aged and older patients awaiting cardiac surgery

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy L Ai
    Author Christopher Peterson
    Author Steven F Bolling
    Author Harold Koenig
    Abstract PURPOSE: This study investigated the use of private prayer among middle-aged and older patients as a way of coping with cardiac surgery and prayer's relationship to optimism. DESIGN AND METHODS: The measure of prayer included three aspects: (a) belief in the importance of private prayer, (b) faith in the efficacy of prayer on the basis of previous experiences, and (c) intention to use prayer to cope with the distress associated with surgery. The sample was 246 patients awaiting cardiac surgery. The first in-person interview was administered 2 weeks before surgery and optimism was measured the day before surgery by telephone. RESULTS: Private prayer predicted optimism, along with older age, better socioeconomic resources, and healthier affect. Neither measures of general religiosity nor any type of prayers used by patients were associated with optimism. IMPLICATIONS: Suggestions were made for clinicians to improve spiritual assessment and care, and for researchers to address spiritual coping in clinical situations.
    Publication The Gerontologist
    Volume 42
    Issue 1
    Pages 70-81
    Date Feb 2002
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    ISSN 0016-9013
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11815701
    Accessed Tuesday, October 27, 2009 11:07:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11815701
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Cardiac Surgical Procedures
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • @font-face { font-family: "Garamond"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.BibEntryAnnotation, li.BibEntryAnnotation, div.BibEntryAnnotation { margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

      Purpose: This study investigated the use of private prayer among middle-aged and older patients as a way of coping with cardiac surgery and prayer’s relationship to optimism. Results: Private prayer predicted optimism, along with older age, better socioeconomic resources, and healthier affect. Neither measures of general religiosity nor any type of prayers used by patients were associated with optimism.

       

  • The role of private prayer in psychological recovery among midlife and aged patients following cardiac surgery

    Type Journal Article
    Author A L Ai
    Author R E Dunkle
    Author C Peterson
    Author S F Bolling
    Abstract Issues related to psychological recovery following coronary bypass surgeries (CABG) have emerged in recent years. Other research has shown the effects of spiritual or religious activities on health and aging. However, little is known about the relationship of spiritual coping, including religious coping, to post-CABG adjustment. This study addressed multifactorial determinants of postoperative psychological recovery and the effects of private prayer, a form of spiritual coping, on the recovery of 151 older patients. Results show that most patients pray about their postoperative problems and that private prayer appears to significantly decrease depression and general distress one year post-CABG.
    Publication The Gerontologist
    Volume 38
    Issue 5
    Pages 591-601
    Date Oct 1998
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    ISSN 0016-9013
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/9803647
    Accessed Tuesday, October 27, 2009 11:06:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9803647
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Aging
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Convalescence
    • CORONARY artery bypass
    • depression
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • This study addressed multifactorial determinants of postoperative psychological recovery and the effects of private prayer, a form of spiritual coping, on the recovery of 151 older patients. Results show that most patients pray about their postoperative problems and that private prayer appears to significantly decrease depression and general distress one year post-CABG.

  • Spiritual and religious involvement relate to end-of-life decision-making in patients undergoing coronary bypass graft surgery

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy L Ai
    Author Crystal L Park
    Author Marshall Shearer
    Abstract Settling one's end-of-life affairs in the face of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) can be both distressing and beneficial for individuals who are facing imminent threat of death. Religious thoughts, common in this context, may offer some comfort and support for facing this process. However, few empirical studies have addressed the role of religious or spiritual involvement in the settling of one's end-of-life affairs in cardiac patients. This prospective study investigated the effect of religious and spiritual factors on whether decisions regarding end-of-life had been made in a sample of middle-aged and older patients undergoing CABG. In particular, we expected faith factors of an intrinsic nature would promote this decision. Two weeks pre-operatively, patients (mean age = 65 years) were recruited for interviews. One hundred seventy-seven CABG patients completed the pre-operative and post-operative follow-up one month after surgery, while 96 offered information regarding their engagement in settling end-of-life affairs. Cardiac indicators were obtained from the computerized Society of Thoracic Surgeons' Adult Cardiac Database (STS). Multiple regression analyses revealed that private religiousness increased the likelihood of having engaged in end-of-life decision planning by nearly half again (OR = .1.47, 95% CI = 1.10, 1.96, p < .05) and that experiencing reverence in secular contexts nearly doubled the likelihood (OR = .1.99, 95% CI = 1.16, 3.44, p < .05). The reduced likelihood of having made plans was observed among those who scored higher on experiencing reverence in religious contexts (OR = .44, 95% CI = .23, .87, p < .05) and among patients using petitionary prayer (OR = .21, 95% CI = .04, .98,p < .05). These effects manifested after controlling for age, impacted functioning, and number of diseased arteries. Therefore, faith factors appear to have independent but complex effects on end-of-life decision making in middle-aged and older cardiac patients.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 38
    Issue 1
    Pages 113-132
    Date 2008
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18624023
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:04:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18624023
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Advance Care Planning
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Death
    • Attitude to Health
    • Comorbidity
    • CORONARY artery bypass
    • Coronary Disease
    • Decision Making
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Prospective Studies
    • Quality of Life
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This prospective study investigated the effect of religious and spiritual factors on whether decisions regarding end-of-life had been made in a sample of middle-aged and older patients undergoing CABG. In particular, we expected faith factors of an intrinsic nature would promote this decision.

  • Aging and Religious Participation: Reconsidering the Effects of Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stephen C. Ainlay
    Author Royce Singleton
    Author Victoria L. Swigert
    Abstract This study examined the relationship between aging and religious participation, focusing on changes in older people's formal participation in church life, informal or private religious practices, and attitudes towards participation in the church. Survey data from a random sample of older persons in a medium-sized northeastern city included both objective and subjective measures of health. Contrary to earlier studies which relied on subjective health as the sole indicator of health status, multiple regression analyses showed that health, especially as measured by health-related, functional limitations, serves an important mediating role. Older people experience greater functional limitations and, in turn, are less likely to engage in various church activities. These findings have important implications for the activity-disengagement debate within social gerontology and also for the concern in the sociology of religion with the role of religion in older people's lives.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 31
    Issue 2
    Pages 175-188
    Date Jun., 1992
    DOI 10.2307/1387007
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Aging and Religious Participation
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/1387007
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:48:21 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1992 / Copyright © 1992 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study examined the relationship between aging and religious participation, focusing on changes in older people’s formal participation in church life, informal or private religious practices, and attitudes towards participation in the church. Contrary to earlier studies which relied on subjective health as the sole indicator of health status, multiple regression analyses showed that health, especially as measured by health-related, functional limitations, serves an important mediating role. Older people experience greater functional limitations and, in turn, are less likely to engage in various church activities.

  • Is the New Age phenomenon connected to delusion-like experiences? Analysis of survey data from Australia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rosemary L. Aird
    Author James G. Scott
    Author John McGrath
    Author Jake M. Najman
    Author Abdullah Al Mamun
    Abstract Recent studies have shown that delusion-like experiences (DLEs) are common among general populations. This study investigates whether the prevalence of these experiences are linked to the embracing of New Age thought. Logistic regression analyses were performed using data derived from a large community sample of young adults (N = 3777). Belief in a spiritual or higher power other than God was found to be significantly associated with endorsement of 16 of 19 items from Peters et al. (1999b) Delusional Inventory following adjustment for a range of potential confounders, while belief in God was associated with endorsement of four items. A New Age conception of the divine appears to be strongly associated with a wide range of DLEs. Further research is needed to determine a causal link between New Age philosophy and DLEs (e.g. thought disturbance, suspiciousness, and delusions of grandeur).
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 37
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903131843
    ISSN 1367-4676
    Short Title Is the New Age phenomenon connected to delusion-like experiences?
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/13674670903131843
    Accessed Monday, January 11, 2010 3:24:57 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • The Subtle Energies of Spirit: Explorations in Metaphysical and New Age Spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine L. Albanese
    Publication Journal of the American Academy of Religion
    Volume 67
    Issue 2
    Pages 305-325
    Date Jun., 1999
    ISSN 00027189
    Short Title The Subtle Energies of Spirit
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1465739
    Accessed Sunday, November 08, 2009 11:39:13 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1999 / Copyright © 1999 American Academy of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Notes:

    • This is a very interesting article about the history of spirituality, or spirit, as a term and a practice. The author explores H. Emilie Cady's Lessons in Truth throughout the article to discuss her points.

  • Content and Spiritual Items of Quality-of-Life Instruments Appropriate for Use in Palliative Care: A Review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gwenda Albers
    Author Michael A. Echteld
    Author Henrica C.W. de Vet
    Author Bregje D. Onwuteaka-Philipsen
    Author Mecheline H.M. van der Linden
    Author Luc Deliens
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 40
    Issue 2
    Pages 290-300
    Date August 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.12.012
    ISSN 0885-3924
    Short Title Content and Spiritual Items of Quality-of-Life Instruments Appropriate for Use in Palliative Care
    Accessed Monday, September 13, 2010 8:46:53 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM

    Tags:

    • end of life
    • instruments
    • Palliative Care
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality
  • "If God wanted me yesterday, I wouldn't be here today": religious and spiritual themes in patients' experiences of advanced cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sara R Alcorn
    Author Michael J Balboni
    Author Holly G Prigerson
    Author Amy Reynolds
    Author Andrea C Phelps
    Author Alexi A Wright
    Author Susan D Block
    Author John R Peteet
    Author Lisa A Kachnic
    Author Tracy A Balboni
    Abstract BACKGROUND: This study sought to inductively derive core themes of religion and/or spirituality (R/S) active in patients' experiences of advanced cancer to inform the development of spiritual care interventions in the terminally ill cancer setting. METHODS: This is a multisite, cross-sectional, mixed-methods study of randomly-selected patients with advanced cancer (n = 68). Scripted interviews assessed the role of R/S and R/S concerns encountered in the advanced cancer experience. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed. Theme extraction was performed with interdisciplinary input (sociology of religion, medicine, theology), utilizing grounded theory. Spearman correlations determined the degree of association between R/S themes. Predictors of R/S concerns were assessed using linear regression and analysis of variance. RESULTS: Most participants (n = 53, 78%) stated that R/S had been important to the cancer experience. In descriptions of how R/S was related to the cancer experience, five primary R/S themes emerged: coping, practices, beliefs, transformation, and community. Most interviews (75%) contained two or more R/S themes, with 45% mentioning three or more R/S themes. Multiple significant subtheme interrelationships were noted between the primary R/S themes. Most participants (85%) identified 1 or more R/S concerns, with types of R/S concerns spanning the five R/S themes. Younger, more religious, and more spiritual patients identified R/S concerns more frequently (beta = -0.11, p < 0.001; beta = 0.83, p = 0.03; and beta = 0.89, p = 0.04, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: R/S plays a variety of important and inter-related roles for most advanced cancer patients. Future research is needed to determine how spiritual care can incorporate these five themes and address R/S concerns.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 13
    Issue 5
    Pages 581-588
    Date May 2010
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2009.0343
    ISSN 1557-7740
    Short Title "If God wanted me yesterday, I wouldn't be here today"
    Accessed Friday, June 04, 2010 9:28:33 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20408763
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • This study sought to inductively derive core themes of religion and/or spirituality (R/S) active in patients' experiences of advanced cancer to inform the development of spiritual care interventions in the terminally ill cancer setting. The authors concluded that R/S plays a variety of important and inter-related roles for most advanced cancer patients. Future research is needed to determine how spiritual care can incorporate these five themes and address R/S concerns.

  • Coping with thoughts of suicide: techniques used by consumers of mental health services

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Jane Alexander
    Author Gary Haugland
    Author Peter Ashenden
    Author Ed Knight
    Author Isaac Brown
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Suicide is a devastating public health problem, and research indicates that people with prior attempts are at the greatest risk of completing suicide, followed by persons with depression and other major mental and substance use conditions. Because there has been little direct input from individuals with serious mental illness and a history of suicidal behavior concerning suicide prevention efforts, this study examined how this population copes with suicidal thoughts. METHODS: Participants in 14 regional consumer-run Hope Dialogues in New York State (N=198) wrote up to five strategies they use to deal with suicidal thoughts. Strategies were classified according to grounded theory. RESULTS: First responses included spirituality, talking to someone, positive thinking, using the mental health system, considering consequences of suicide to family and friends, using peer supports, and doing something pleasurable. Although a majority reported that more formal therapeutic supports were available, only 12% indicated that they considered the mental health system a frontline strategy. Instead, respondents more frequently relied on family, friends, peers, and faith as sources of hope and support. CONCLUSIONS: Consumers' reliance on formal therapeutic supports and support from peers and family suggests that education and support for dealing with individuals in despair and crisis should be targeted to the social networks of this high-risk population. The disparity between availability of formal mental health services and reliance on them when consumers are suicidal suggests that suicide prevention efforts should evaluate whether they are effectively engaging high-risk populations as they struggle to cope with despair.
    Publication Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.)
    Volume 60
    Issue 9
    Pages 1214-1221
    Date September 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychiatr Serv
    DOI 10.1176/appi.ps.60.9.1214
    ISSN 1557-9700
    Short Title Coping with thoughts of suicide
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19723736
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:58:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19723736
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
  • Perception among medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, regarding alcohol and substance abuse in the community: a cross-sectional survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ali AlHaqwi
    Abstract BACKGROUND:This study was conducted to examine the perception and views of medical students regarding the extent of alcohol and substance abuse in the community and the possible predisposing factors for this problem.METHODS:It is a cross-sectional study involving samples from two medical colleges in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The students who decided to participate in the study without the offer of any incentives filled an anonymous, self administered questionnaire which had been designed to meet the purpose of the study. RESULTS:Two hundred and fifteen out of three hundred and thirty students (65% response rate) participated in this study. About 75% of them believe that alcohol and substance abuse is a common problem in the community. Students' views also correspond with the reported view that the problem is mainly present in young adult males. Married males and senior students perceived the problem as more serious than their other colleagues. Students perceived that alcohol was the most commonly abused drug in the community, followed by amphetamines, heroin, cannabis and cocaine. They believe that influence of friends, life stressors, tobacco smoking and curiosity are the most important predisposing factors for abuse of alcohol and other substances. According to the students' perception, the main beneficial effect of alcohol and substance abuse was stress alleviation. About 3% of the students have also indicated that they may use alcohol or some other substance in the future.CONCLUSION:Despite scarce information on the subject and a strong religious belief in Saudi Arabia against the use of alcohol and other addictive substances, a significant majority of the medical students in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, perceived that alcohol and substance abuse is a common problem in the community. Some students appear to perceive the seriousness of the problem less than others. Efforts are needed to educate young men and women at an early stage of their academic life, as a medical student about the existence of this problem in the community, its consequences and predisposing factors. Teaching teenagers and young adults about stress coping strategies may be of special importance in reducing the risk of alcohol and substance abuse.
    Publication Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
    Volume 5
    Issue 1
    Pages 2
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1186/1747-597X-5-2
    ISSN 1747-597X
    Short Title Perception among medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, regarding alcohol and substance abuse in the community
    URL http://www.substanceabusepolicy.com/content/5/1/2
    Accessed Tuesday, February 23, 2010 6:48:18 AM
    Library Catalog BioMed Central and More
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Islam
  • Mental health help-seeking among Arab university students in Israel, differentiated by religion.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alean Al-Krenawi
    Author John R. Graham
    Abstract A wide literature considers differences in utilisation and attitudes towards mental health treatment among diverse ethno-racial and religious communities. This paper is the first to compare attitudes to mental health-seeking patterns among a cohort of students representing three major religious minorities among Arab communities in Israel: Christians, Druze, and Muslim. Results of a cross-national survey of 195 student respondents indicate significant differences regarding attitudes towards help-seeking behaviour. Compared to Druze and Muslim counterparts, Christian subjects were higher in interpersonal openness, perceived mental health services as less stigmatising, and were less likely to use traditional healing systems. Findings are analysed in relation to cultural, historical, and political differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 2
    Pages 157-167
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903454229
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • AGE distribution (Demography)
    • Analysis of Variance
    • ATTITUDE (Psychology)
    • Christianity
    • COLLEGE students
    • COMPARATIVE studies
    • CROSS-sectional method
    • DATA analysis
    • HELP-seeking behavior
    • ISLAM
    • Israel
    • LONGITUDINAL method
    • MEDICAL care -- Utilization
    • mental health
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • religion
    • SAMPLING (Statistics)
    • SCALE analysis (Psychology)
    • STATISTICS
    • STIGMA (Social psychology)
    • UNIVERSITIES & colleges
  • Evidence-based cognitive hypnotherapy for depression.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Assen Alladin
    Abstract Clinical depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders treated by psychiatrists and psychotherapists. It also poses special problems to therapists as it is a complex disorder that affects the whole person – emotions, bodily functions, behaviours and thoughts. Although depression is treated successfully with antidepressant medication and psychotherapy, a significant number of depressives do not respond to either medication or existing psychotherapies. It is thus important for clinicians to continue to develop more effective treatments for depression. This article describes Cognitive Hypnotherapy (CH), an evidence-based multimodal treatment for depression, which can be applied to a wide range of patients with depression. The components of CH are described in sufficient detail to allow for their replication and validation. Moreover, CH for depression provides a template for studying the additive effect of hypnosis as an adjunctive treatment with other medical and psychological disorders. Although this article emphasizes evidence-based practice, this approach should not limit the scope of therapists' creativity in the application of hypnosis to the management of depression. Copyright © 2009 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Contemporary Hypnosis
    Volume 26
    Issue 4
    Pages 245-262
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1002/ch.391
    ISSN 09605290
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45516183&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 4:37:58 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • ANTIDEPRESSANTS
    • COMBINED modality therapy
    • DEPRESSION in children -- Prevention
    • DEPRESSION, Mental -- Treatment
    • HYPNOTISM -- Therapeutic use
    • MENTAL illness -- Treatment -- Research
    • Psychotherapy
  • Evidence-based hypnotherapy for depression.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Assen Alladin
    Abstract Cognitive hypnotherapy (CH) is a comprehensive evidence-based hypnotherapy for clinical depression. This article describes the major components of CH, which integrate hypnosis with cognitive-behavior therapy as the latter provides an effective host theory for the assimilation of empirically supported treatment techniques derived from various theoretical models of psychotherapy and psychopathology. CH meets criteria for an assimilative model of psychotherapy, which is considered to be an efficacious model of psychotherapy integration. The major components of CH for depression are described in sufficient detail to allow replication, verification, and validation of the techniques delineated. CH for depression provides a template that clinicians and investigators can utilize to study the additive effects of hypnosis in the management of other psychological or medical disorders. Evidence-based hypnotherapy and research are encouraged; such a movement is necessary if clinical hypnosis is to integrate into mainstream psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
    Volume 58
    Issue 2
    Pages 165-185
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/00207140903523194
    ISSN 0020-7144
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:30:12 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive Behavior Therapy
    • cognitive hypnotherapy
    • cognitive-behavior therapy
    • depression
    • Evidence Based Practice
    • evidence-based hypnotherapy
    • Hypnotherapy
    • Major Depression
    • psychopathology
    • Psychotherapy
  • Effectiveness of skill-based substance abuse intervention among male adolescents in an Islamic country: case of the Islamic Republic of Iran

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hamid Allahverdipour
    Author Mohsen Bazargan
    Author Abdollah Farhadinasab
    Author Alireza Hidarnia
    Author Saeed Bashirian
    Abstract The prevalence of substance abuse among adolescents from low- and middle-income countries is increasing drastically and requires immediate intervention. The objective of this longitudinal quasi-experimental panel study was to design and implement a skill-based intervention to prevent and reduce substance use among urban adolescents who attended 2 randomly selected high-schools in Tehran, Iran. One-year post intervention data show that substance abuse, knowledge, attitudes, peer resistance skills, level of self-control, self-efficacy, and perceived susceptibility among intervention group were significantly improved, whereas level of self control and attitudes against substance abuse among the control group deteriorated. To efficiently prevent substance abuse among youth primary preventive interventions should be implemented before onset of substance abuse to improve resistance skills and provide adolescents with information and skills needed to develop anti-drug norms.
    Publication Journal of Drug Education
    Volume 39
    Issue 2
    Pages 211-222
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Drug Educ
    ISSN 0047-2379
    Short Title Effectiveness of skill-based substance abuse intervention among male adolescents in an Islamic country
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 11:01:12 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19999706
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Behavior
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Iran
    • ISLAM
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Primary Prevention
    • Smoking
    • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Religion and culture: potential undercurrents influencing hand hygiene promotion in health care

    Type Journal Article
    Author Benedetta Allegranzi
    Author Ziad A Memish
    Author Liam Donaldson
    Author Didier Pittet
    Abstract BACKGROUND Health care-associated infections affect hundreds of millions of patients worldwide each year. The World Health Organization's (WHO) First Global Patient Safety Challenge, "Clean Care is Safer Care," is tackling this major patient safety problem, with the promotion of hand hygiene in health care as the project's cornerstone. WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Healthcare have been prepared by a large group of international experts and are currently in a pilot-test phase to assess feasibility and acceptability in different health care settings worldwide. METHODS An extensive literature search was conducted and experts and religious authorities were consulted to investigate religiocultural factors that may potentially influence hand hygiene promotion, offer possible solutions, and suggest areas for future research. RESULTS Religious faith and culture can strongly influence hand hygiene behavior in health care workers and potentially affect compliance with best practices. Interesting data were retrieved on specific indications for hand cleansing according to the 7 main religions worldwide, interpretation of hand gestures, the concept of "visibly dirty" hands, and the use of alcohol-based hand rubs and prohibition of alcohol use by some religions. CONCLUSIONS The impact of religious faith and cultural specificities must be taken into consideration when implementing a multimodal strategy to promote hand hygiene on a global scale.
    Publication American Journal of Infection Control
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 28-34
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Infect Control
    DOI 10.1016/j.ajic.2008.01.014
    ISSN 1527-3296
    Short Title Religion and culture
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18834738
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18834738
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Cross Infection
    • Culture
    • Guideline Adherence
    • Guidelines as Topic
    • Handwashing
    • Humans
    • Infection Control
    • religion
  • Religiosity, coping, and psychological well-being among Latter-Day Saint Polynesians in the U.S.

    Type Journal Article
    Author G. E. Kawika Allen
    Author P. Paul Heppner
    Abstract There is limited knowledge about coping and psychological adjustment in Latter-Day Saint (LDS) Polynesians. This study examined religiosity, collectivistic coping, and psychological well-being among 94 LDS Polynesians residing in the Midwest. As hypothesized, religiously committed LDS Polynesians were more likely to have a healthy psychological well-being and were also likely to use collectivistic coping styles, such that high helpfulness ratings on family support and religion-spirituality coping styles were significantly correlated with a positive psychological well-being. Family support also moderated the relationship between LDS Polynesians' religious commitment and psychological well-being. Implications are discussed in terms of religiosity, culture, coping, and psychological well-being.
    Publication Asian American Journal of Psychology
    Volume 2
    Issue 1
    Pages 13-24
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0023266
    ISSN 1948-1985
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • Coping
    • Coping Behavior
    • Distress
    • Latter-Day Saint Polynesians
    • MORMONS
    • Pacific Islanders
    • Psychological well-being
    • religiosity
    • well being
  • Participants' experiences of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: "It changed me in just about every way possible"

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark Allen
    Author Andrew Bromley
    Author Willem Kuyken
    Author Stefanie J Sonnenberg
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a promising approach to help people who suffer recurrent depression prevent depressive relapse. However, little is known about how MBCT works. Moreover, participants' subjective experiences of MBCT as a relapse prevention treatment remain largely unstudied. AIM: This study examines participants' representations of their experience of MBCT and its value as a relapse-prevention program for recurrent depression. METHOD: Twenty people who had participated in MBCT classes for recurrent depression within a primary care setting were interviewed 12 months after treatment. The focus of the interview was on participants' reflections on what they found helpful, meaningful and difficult about MBCT as a relapse prevention program. Thematic analysis was used to identify the key patterns and elements in participants' accounts. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Four overarching themes were extracted: control, acceptance, relationships and struggle. The theoretical, clinical and research implications are discussed.
    Publication Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 37
    Issue 4
    Pages 413-430
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Behav Cogn Psychother
    DOI 10.1017/S135246580999004X
    ISSN 1469-1833
    Short Title Participants' experiences of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:55:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19508744
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • Depressive Disorder, Major
    • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Learning
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Primary Health Care
    • Program Development
    • Recurrence
    • Rural Population
    • Self Efficacy
    • Semantics
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Urban Population
  • Religiousness/spirituality and mental health among older male inmates

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rebecca S Allen
    Author Laura Lee Phillips
    Author Lucinda Lee Roff
    Author Ronald Cavanaugh
    Author Laura Day
    Abstract PURPOSE: With the rapid growth in the older inmate population, emerging issues regarding physical and mental health require greater research and clinical attention. We examined the relation of religiousness/spirituality; demographic characteristics such as age, race, and type of crime; and physical and mental health among 73 older male inmates in the state of Alabama. DESIGN AND METHODS: Inmates older than age 50 who passed a cognitive screening completed face-to-face interviews lasting between 30 and 60 min. Due to the low literacy rates of the participants, we administered all measures orally with response cards to facilitate understanding. RESULTS: Nearly 70% of the inmates were incarcerated for murder or sexual crimes. There were no racial/ethnic differences in reported religiousness/spirituality, demographic characteristics, or mental health. We found an association between self-reported years of incarceration and experienced forgiveness. Three regression models examined whether inmates' self-reported religiousness/spirituality influenced anxiety, depression, and desire for hastened death. We found that having a greater number of daily spiritual experiences and not feeling abandoned by God were associated with better emotional health. IMPLICATIONS: Future studies, perhaps using longitudinal or case-control methodology, should examine whether increased daily spiritual experiences and decreased feelings of abandonment by God foster better mental health among older inmates.
    Publication The Gerontologist
    Volume 48
    Issue 5
    Pages 692-697
    Date Oct 2008
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    ISSN 0016-9013
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18981285
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:32:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18981285
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Alabama
    • Anxiety
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • prisoners
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • We examined the relation of religiousness/spirituality; demographic characteristics such as age, race, and type of crime; and physical and mental health among 73 older male inmates in the state of Alabama. Nearly 70% of the inmates were incarcerated for murder or sexual crimes. There were no racial/ethnic differences in reported religiousness/spirituality, demographic characteristics, or mental health. We found an association between self-reported years of incarceration and experienced forgiveness.

  • Adaptive regression and intense religious experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author J Allison
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 145
    Issue 6
    Pages 452-463
    Date Dec 1967
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/6082138
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:50:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 6082138
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Ego
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Regression (Psychology)
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Rorschach Test
    • Thinking
  • The development of the Short Muslim Practice and Belief Scale

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tayyiba AlMarri
    Author Tian Oei
    Author Samir Al-Adawi
    Abstract The authors developed a measure of religious practices and beliefs for Muslims, the “Short Muslim Practice and Belief Scale,” and tested its validity with surveys of Arab Muslims living the United Arab Emirates and Oman (N = 611) and Asian Muslims living in Malaysia and Indonesia (N = 303). Analysis of the results indicates that the data fit the model well, with good internal consistency and validity.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 5
    Pages 415-426
    Date 7/2009
    Journal Abbr Mental Hlth., Religion & Culture
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802637643
    ISSN 1367-4676
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?
    genre=article&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Religion and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among young Muslim women in Saudi Arabia.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lamis Al-Solaim
    Author Kate Miriam Loewenthal
    Abstract Fifteen young women suffering from OCD in Saudi Arabia were interviewed about their experience of the illness and the roles played by religion. Religion was not perceived as a cause of the illness, but the illness can show itself in religious symptoms - notably with respect to prayer, and in a phase in which the young women were very strict and literal-minded with themselves and their families, with respect to religious observance. Religious symptoms were reported as more upsetting than other symptoms - being seen as damaging to the sufferer's piety. Other facets of the importance of religion in the experience of OCD were shown in help-seeking, in choosing to go first to religious healers for treatment, and only when these were unsuccessful were mental health professionals consulted. At this point, it was very important that the professional should be seen as trustworthy, and the criterion of trustworthiness was religiosity, specifically the use of pious, Qura'anic quotations, and a covered face (for a woman)/long beard (for a man). The accounts of the roles of religion in the experiences of the young women interviewed suggest that religion is an arena - but not the sole arena - for the expression of OCD symptoms. Religion plays an important role in determining the acceptability of treatments and treatment providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 2
    Pages 169-182
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674676.2010.544868
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • GROUNDED theory
    • HELP-seeking behavior
    • INTERVIEWING
    • ISLAM
    • MEDICAL personnel & patient
    • OBSESSIVE-compulsive disorder
    • RESEARCH -- Methodology
    • SAUDI Arabia
    • SELF-perception
    • THEMATIC analysis
    • WOMEN
  • Addiction treatment intervention: an uncontrolled prospective pilot study of spiritual self-schema therapy with latina women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hortensia Amaro
    Author Cielo Magno-Gatmaytan
    Author Michael Meléndez
    Author Dharma E Cortés
    Author Sandra Arevalo
    Author Arthur Margolin
    Abstract Spiritual Self-Schema (3-S) is a weekly 8-session, mindfulness-based, manual-guided, individual intervention targeting addiction and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors that integrates cognitive behavioral strategies with Buddhist principles and clients' religious/spiritual beliefs. 3-S is efficacious for reducing drug use and HIV risk behaviors among mixed-gender, methadone-maintained outpatients. The study goal was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of 3-S therapy among urban, low-income Latinas (n = 13) in residential addiction treatment. Data gathered via in-person interviews (baseline, 8 and 20 weeks postentry) showed high rates of 3-S acceptability and positive changes in a number of outcomes relevant to recovery from addiction and to HIV prevention, including impulsivity, spirituality, motivation for change, and HIV prevention knowledge. The study findings are promising; however, a controlled study with longer follow-up is needed to rigorously assess the efficacy of 3-S therapy with Latinas in substance abuse treatment.
    Publication Substance Abuse: Official Publication of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse
    Volume 31
    Issue 2
    Pages 117-125
    Date Apr 2010
    Journal Abbr Subst Abus
    DOI 10.1080/08897071003641602
    ISSN 1547-0164
    Short Title Addiction treatment intervention
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 5:27:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20408063
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Effect of yoga-nidra on blood glucose level in diabetic patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author S Amita
    Author S Prabhakar
    Author I Manoj
    Author S Harminder
    Author T Pavan
    Abstract Diabetes is a metabolic disorder, which has become a major health challenge worldwide. South East Asian countries have a highest burden of diabetes. In India the prevalence of diabetes is rising rapidly especially in the urban population because of increasing obesity and reduced physical activity. An objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of Yoga-Nidra on blood glucose level in diabetic patients. This study was conducted on 41, middle aged, type-2 diabetic patients, who were on oral hypoglycaemic. These patients were divided in to two groups: (a) 20 patients on oral hypoglycaemic with yoga-nidra, and (b) 21 were on oral hypoglycaemic alone. Yoga-nidra practiced for 30 minutes daily up to 90 days, parameters were recorded every. 30th day. Results of this study showed that most of the symptoms were subsided (P < 0.004, significant), and fall of mean blood glucose level was significant after 3-month of Yoga-nidra. This fall was 21.3 mg/dl, P < 0.0007, (from 159 +/- 12.27 to 137.7 +/- 23.15,) in fasting and 17.95 mg/dl, P = 0.02, (from 255.45 +/- 16.85 to 237.5 +/- 30.54) in post prandial glucose level. Results of this study suggest that subjects on Yoga-nidra with drug regimen had better control in their fluctuating blood glucose and symptoms associated with diabetes, compared to those were on oral hypoglycaemics alone.
    Publication Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
    Volume 53
    Issue 1
    Pages 97-101
    Date 2009 Jan-Mar
    Journal Abbr Indian J. Physiol. Pharmacol
    ISSN 0019-5499
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:37:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19810584
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Blood Glucose
    • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hypoglycemic Agents
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • yoga
  • A preliminary study of the acute effects of religious ritual on anxiety

    Type Journal Article
    Author Matthew W Anastasi
    Author Andrew B Newberg
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Various rituals have been shown to have both psychologic as well as physical effects. However, many rituals have multiple components that can account for such effects. Few studies have distinguished between the effects of ritual and those related specifically to religious content and teachings. OBJECTIVES: The present study investigated the acute effects of the ritual of reciting the Rosary, which contains relatively little specific religious content compared to receiving specific teaching of religious concepts, on the level of anxiety. METHODS: We studied 30 students in a Catholic college divided into two intervention groups. Twelve (12) students participated in recitation of the Rosary, whereas 18 students viewed a religiously oriented video. Both groups were measured for anxiety pre- and postintervention through the use of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. RESULTS: A significant reduction in anxiety was observed in subjects reciting the Rosary compared to the group of subjects watching the video. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results suggest that ritual itself may be a significant contributor to the effects of religious practices on psychologic well-being.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 14
    Issue 2
    Pages 163-165
    Date Mar 2008
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2007.0675
    ISSN 1075-5535
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18307389
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:44:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18307389
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Catholicism
    • Ceremonial Behavior
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Humans
    • Internal-External Control
    • Male
    • spirituality
    • Students
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • A comparative investigation of the affects of reciting the Rosary versus receiving doctrinal instructions or watching religious education films. Ritual practice demonstrated significant reduction in anxiety over other forms of religious involvement.

  • Religious traditions and prenatal genetic counseling

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rebecca Rae Anderson
    Abstract Members of organized religious groups may look to their faith traditions for guidance regarding the moral implications of prenatal diagnosis and intervention. Many denominations have doctrinal statements relevant to these deliberations. In this article, common spiritual issues arising in the genetic counseling encounter are described. Representative doctrinal positions, derived from the responses of 31 U.S. religious denominations to a survey relating to prenatal genetic counseling, are given. Because the long-term adjustment of patients may be dependent in part on their ability to reconcile their actions with their faith traditions, genetic counselors best serve their patients when they invite discussion of matters of faith. Unless invited, patients may assume these topics are "off limits" or that care providers are indifferent to their beliefs. Although genetics professionals ought not assume the role of spiritual advisor, a working knowledge of doctrinal approaches should help counselors frame the issues, and avoid missteps.
    Publication American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part C, Seminars in Medical Genetics
    Volume 151C
    Issue 1
    Pages 52-61
    Date Feb 15, 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet
    DOI 10.1002/ajmg.c.30203
    ISSN 1552-4876
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:57:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19170093
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Genetic Counseling
    • Humans
    • Prenatal Diagnosis
    • religion
    • United States
  • Value of religious care for relief of psycho-existential suffering in Japanese terminally ill cancer patients: the perspective of bereaved family members

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michiyo Ando
    Author Ryo Kawamura
    Author Tatsuya Morita
    Author Kei Hirai
    Author Mitsunori Miyashita
    Author Takuya Okamoto
    Author Yasuo Shima
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to clarify the experience of bereaved family members of cancer patients regarding the usefulness of religious care (perceived usefulness). The value of this care to palliate psycho-existential suffering in future patients was also examined (predicted usefulness). METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 592 bereaved family members of cancer patients who were admitted to certified palliative care units in Japan. Responses were obtained from 378 families, indicating whether the patient received religious care, the perceived usefulness of the care, and its predicted usefulness for palliation of psycho-existential suffering. RESULTS: About 25% (N=83) indicated that the patient had received religious care, whereas 75% (N=255) had not received it. Families of patients who had received religious care evaluated pastoral care workers (86%), religious services (82%), and religious music (80%) as 'very useful' or 'useful'. Families predicted usefulness of religious care for future patients: attending a religious service (very useful or useful, 56%; not useful or harmful, 44%), a religious atmosphere (48%, 52%), meeting with a pastoral care worker (50%, 50%), and religious care by physicians (26%, 74%), and nurses (27%, 73%). Families with a religion were significantly more likely to rate religious care as useful for future patients. CONCLUSIONS: Families of patients who received religious care generally evaluated this care to be very useful or useful. For future patients, some families felt that religious care would be useful, but some did not. In Japan, religious care is more likely to provide benefits to patients who have a religion.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 19
    Issue 7
    Pages 750-755
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1625
    ISSN 1099-1611
    Short Title Value of religious care for relief of psycho-existential suffering in Japanese terminally ill cancer patients
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:26:51 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19780204
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • Efficacy of short-term life-review interviews on the spiritual well-being of terminally ill cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michiyo Ando
    Author Tatsuya Morita
    Author Tatsuo Akechi
    Author Takuya Okamoto
    Abstract CONTEXT: There is a little information about effective psychotherapies to enhance the spiritual well-being of terminally ill cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of the study was to examine the efficacy of a one-week Short-Term Life Review for the enhancement of spiritual well-being, using a randomized controlled trial. The secondary aim was to assess the effect of this therapy on anxiety and depression, suffering, and elements of a good death. METHODS: The subjects were 68 terminally ill cancer patients randomly allocated to a Short-Term Life-Review interview group or a control group. The patients completed questionnaires pre- and post-treatment, including the meaning of life domain from the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual (FACIT-Sp) scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), a numeric scale for psychological suffering, and items from the Good Death Inventory (Hope, Burden, Life Completion, and Preparation). RESULTS: The FACIT-Sp, Hope, Life Completion, and Preparation scores in the intervention group showed significantly greater improvement compared with those of the control group (FACIT-Sp, P<0.001; Hope, P<0.001; Life Completion, P<0.001; and Preparation, P<0.001). HADS, Burden, and Suffering scores in the intervention group also had suggested greater alleviation of suffering compared with the control group (HADS, P<0.001; Burden, P<0.007; Suffering, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: We conclude that the Short-Term Life Review is effective in improving the spiritual well-being of terminally ill cancer patients, and alleviating psychosocial distress and promoting a good death.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 39
    Issue 6
    Pages 993-1002
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.11.320
    ISSN 1873-6513
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 10:19:26 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20538183
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • The primary aim of the study was to examine the efficacy of a one-week Short-Term Life Review for the enhancement of spiritual well-being, using a randomized controlled trial. The secondary aim was to assess the effect of this therapy on anxiety and depression, suffering, and elements of a good death.

  • Effects of Bereavement Life Review on Spiritual Well-Being and Depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michiyo Ando
    Author Tatsuya Morita
    Author Mitsunori Miyashita
    Author Makiko Sanjo
    Author Haruko Kira
    Author Yasuo Shima
    Abstract Context Some bereaved families experience low spiritual well-being, such as lack of meaning of life or purpose and psychological distress like severe depression. Objectives The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Bereavement Life Review on the spiritual well-being of bereaved family members. The secondary aim was to investigate the effects of this therapy on depression. Methods Participants were 21 bereaved family members who lost loved ones in various palliative care units in Japan. They received the Bereavement Life Review, which consisted of two sessions for about 60 minutes each. In the first session, a bereaved family member reviewed memories with a clinical psychologist and answered some question. After the first session, the clinical psychologist made an album. In the second session, the family member and the clinical psychologist confirmed the accuracy of the contents of the album. The duration of the therapy was two weeks. The family member was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp) scale and the Beck Depression Inventory®-II (BDI-II) pre- and postintervention. Results FACIT-Sp scores increased from 19.9 +/- 5.8 to 22.8 +/- 5.1 (Z = -2.2, P = 0.028 by Wilcoxon signed-rank test) and BDI scores decreased from 10.8 +/- 7.7 to 6.8 +/- 5.8 (Z = -3.0, P = 0.003). Conclusions The Bereavement Life Review has the potential to improve spiritual well-being and decrease depression of bereaved family members. A further study with more participants is required to confirm the present findings.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 40
    Issue 3
    Pages 453-459
    Date September 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.12.028
    ISSN 0885-3924
    Accessed Monday, October 11, 2010 10:35:10 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM

    Tags:

    • Bereavement
    • Cancer patients
    • life review
    • Psychotherapy
    • spiritual well-being
  • The efficacy of mindfulness-based meditation therapy on anxiety, depression, and spirituality in Japanese patients with cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michiyo Ando
    Author Tatsuya Morita
    Author Tatsuo Akechi
    Author Sayoko Ito
    Author Masaya Tanaka
    Author Yuka Ifuku
    Author Toshimichi Nakayama
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The primary goal of the study was to assess the efficacy of mindfulness-based meditation therapy on anxiety, depression, and spiritual well-being of Japanese patients undergoing anticancer treatment. A secondary goal was to assess the relationships among anxiety, depression, spiritual well-being, growth, appreciation, pain, and symptoms. METHODS: The subjects were 28 patients who were receiving anticancer treatment. The subjects participated in two sessions of mindfulness-based meditation therapy, including breathing, yoga movement and meditation. Each patient was taught the program in the first session, then exercised at home with a CD, and subsequently met the interviewer in a second session after 2 weeks. Primary physicians recruited the patients and interviews were conducted individually by nurses or psychologists with training in the program. Patients completed preintervention and postintervention questionnaires on anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]), spiritual well-being (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual [FACIT-Sp]), and appreciation, growth, pain, and symptoms. RESULTS: HADS scores significantly decreased from 12 +/- 5.3 to 8.6 +/- 6.3 (p = 0.004) after the intervention, and FACIT-Sp increased from 32 +/- 6.5 to 33 +/- 6.9 (p = 0.69), but the change was not significant. There were significant associations between FACIT-Sp and HADS (r = -0.78, p = 000), FACIT-Sp and growth (r = -0.35, p = 0.04), FACIT-Sp and pain (r = -0.41, p = 0.02), and growth and appreciation (r = 0.45, p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness-based meditation therapy may be effective for anxiety and depression in Japanese cancer patients, and spiritual well-being is related to anxiety and depression, growth, and pain. The negative correlation of spirituality with growth differs from the results of previous studies and the mechanism of this effect needs to be investigated further.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 12
    Issue 12
    Pages 1091-1094
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2009.0143
    ISSN 1557-7740
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19715397
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 2:38:29 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19715397
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Meditation Therapy on Anxiety, Depression, and Spirituality in Japanese Patients with Cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michiyo Ando
    Author Tatsuya Morita
    Author Tatsuo Akechi
    Author Sayoko Ito
    Author Masaya Tanaka
    Author Yuka Ifuku
    Author Toshimichi Nakayama
    Abstract Abstract Objective: The primary goal of the study was to assess the efficacy of mindfulness-based meditation therapy on anxiety, depression, and spiritual well-being of Japanese patients undergoing anticancer treatment. A secondary goal was to assess the relationships among anxiety, depression, spiritual well-being, growth, appreciation, pain, and symptoms. Methods: The subjects were 28 patients who were receiving anticancer treatment. The subjects participated in two sessions of mindfulness-based meditation therapy, including breathing, yoga movement and meditation. Each patient was taught the program in the first session, then exercised at home with a CD, and subsequently met the interviewer in a second session after 2 weeks. Primary physicians recruited the patients and interviews were conducted individually by nurses or psychologists with training in the program. Patients completed preintervention and postintervention questionnaires on anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]), spiritual well-being (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual [FACIT-Sp]), and appreciation, growth, pain, and symptoms. Results: HADS scores significantly decreased from 12 +/- 5.3 to 8.6 +/- 6.3 (p = 0.004) after the intervention, and FACIT-Sp increased from 32 +/- 6.5 to 33 +/- 6.9 (p = 0.69), but the change was not significant. There were significant associations between FACIT-Sp and HADS (r = -0.78, p = 000), FACIT-Sp and growth (r = -0.35, p = 0.04), FACIT-Sp and pain (r = -0.41, p = 0.02), and growth and appreciation (r = 0.45, p = 0.009). Conclusions: Mindfulness-based meditation therapy may be effective for anxiety and depression in Japanese cancer patients, and spiritual well-being is related to anxiety and depression, growth, and pain. The negative correlation of spirituality with growth differs from the results of previous studies and the mechanism of this effect needs to be investigated further.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Date Aug 28, 2009
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2009.0143
    ISSN 1557-7740
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19715397
    Accessed Friday, September 18, 2009 6:31:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19715397
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • prepub

    Notes:

    • The primary goal of the study was to assess the efficacy of mindfulness-based meditation therapy on anxiety, depression, and spiritual well-being of Japanese patients undergoing anticancer treatment. Conclusions: Mindfulness-based meditation therapy may be effective for anxiety and depression in Japanese cancer patients, and spiritual well-being is related to anxiety and depression, growth, and pain.

  • Prayer and healing: A medical and scientific perspective on randomized controlled trials

    Type Journal Article
    Author Chittaranjan Andrade
    Author Rajiv Radhakrishnan
    Abstract Religious traditions across the world display beliefs in healing through prayer. The healing powers of prayer have been examined in triple-blind, randomized controlled trials. We illustrate randomized controlled trials on prayer and healing, with one study in each of different categories of outcome. We provide a critical analysis of the scientific and philosophical dimensions of such research. Prayer has been reported to improve outcomes in human as well as nonhuman species, to have no effect on outcomes, to worsen outcomes and to have retrospective healing effects. For a multitude of reasons, research on the healing effects of prayer is riddled with assumptions, challenges and contradictions that make the subject a scientific and religious minefield. We believe that the research has led nowhere, and that future research, if any, will forever be constrained by the scientific limitations that we outline.
    Publication Indian Journal of Psychiatry
    Volume 51
    Issue 4
    Pages 247-253
    Date 2009 Oct-Dec
    Journal Abbr Indian J Psychiatry
    DOI 10.4103/0019-5545.58288
    ISSN 1998-3794
    Short Title Prayer and healing
    Accessed Saturday, January 23, 2010 1:03:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20048448
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • This article provides a critical analysis of three types of prayer studies on scientific (methodological) and philosophical grounds and concludes that any future research into the effectiveness of prayer in healing will inevitably run up against these problems.

  • Spiritual well-being in individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome: relationships with symptom pattern variability, uncertainty, and psychosocial adaptation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cheryl Anema
    Author Mary Johnson
    Author Janice M Zeller
    Author Louis Fogg
    Author Joan Zetterlund
    Abstract This study examined relationships among symptom pattern variability, uncertainty, spiritual well-being, and psychosocial adaptation in individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). A survey design was used with 58 individuals with FMS. The Fibromyalgia Symptom Pattern Questionnaire, Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale--Community Form, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self Report were used to collect data. Positive relationships were found between symptom pattern variability and uncertainty and between uncertainty and poor psychosocial adaptation; spiritual well-being moderated the relationship between uncertainty and psychosocial adaptation. A positive sense of well-being aided adaptation to symptoms and uncertainties of FMS. Spiritual well-being had a greater effect on the relationship between symptom pattern variability and uncertainty than expected.
    Publication Research and Theory for Nursing Practice
    Volume 23
    Issue 1
    Pages 8-22
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Res Theory Nurs Pract
    ISSN 1541-6577
    Short Title Spiritual well-being in individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:12:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19418885
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Humans
    • Internet
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Models, Psychological
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Care
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Uncertainty
  • Spiritual well-being in individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome: relationships with symptom pattern variability, uncertainty, and psychosocial adaptation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cheryl Anema
    Author Mary Johnson
    Author Janice M Zeller
    Author Louis Fogg
    Author Joan Zetterlund
    Abstract This study examined relationships among symptom pattern variability, uncertainty, spiritual well-being, and psychosocial adaptation in individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). A survey design was used with 58 individuals with FMS. The Fibromyalgia Symptom Pattern Questionnaire, Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale--Community Form, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self Report were used to collect data. Positive relationships were found between symptom pattern variability and uncertainty and between uncertainty and poor psychosocial adaptation; spiritual well-being moderated the relationship between uncertainty and psychosocial adaptation. A positive sense of well-being aided adaptation to symptoms and uncertainties of FMS. Spiritual well-being had a greater effect on the relationship between symptom pattern variability and uncertainty than expected.
    Publication Research and Theory for Nursing Practice
    Volume 23
    Issue 1
    Pages 8-22
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Res Theory Nurs Pract
    ISSN 1541-6577
    Short Title Spiritual well-being in individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19418885
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:02:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19418885
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Humans
    • Internet
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Models, Psychological
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Care
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Uncertainty

    Notes:

    • This study examined relationships among symptom pattern variability, uncertainty, spiritual well-being, and psychosocial adaptation in individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). A survey design was used with 58 individuals with FMS. The Fibromyalgia Symptom Pattern Questionnaire, Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale--Community Form, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self Report were used to collect data. Positive relationships were found between symptom pattern variability and uncertainty and between uncertainty and poor psychosocial adaptation; spiritual well-being moderated the relationship between uncertainty and psychosocial adaptation. A positive sense of well-being aided adaptation to symptoms and uncertainties of FMS. Spiritual well-being had a greater effect on the relationship between symptom pattern variability and uncertainty than expected.

  • The disconnected values (intervention) model for promoting healthy habits in religious institutions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark H Anshel
    Abstract The purpose of this article is to provide an intervention model that can be used by religious leaders for changing health behavior among practicing members of religious communities. The intervention does not require extensive training or licensure in counseling psychology. At the heart of this model is the acknowledgement that a person's negative habits (e.g., lack of exercise, poor nutrition) and his or her deepest values and beliefs (e.g., faith, health, family) are often misaligned, or disconnected. In addition, the unhealthy outcomes from these habits are contrary to the scriptural traditions of the world religions and thus are especially relevant to individuals who practice their religious beliefs. The Sacred Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity, for example, are replete with teachings that extol the virtues of practicing habits that promote good health and energy. In addition, evidence is mounting in the existing health intervention literature that adopting permanent and desirable changes in health behavior have not been successful, and that adherence to desirable habits such as exercise and proper nutrition is short-lived. The Disconnected Values Model (DVM) provides a novel approach for enhancing health behavior change within the context of the mission of most religious institutions. The model is compatible with skills presented by religious leaders, who possess more credibility and influence in changing the behavior of members and service attendees of their respective religious institutions. The religious leader's role is to provide the client with faith-based incentives to initiate and maintain changes in their health behaviors, and perhaps to provide resources for the individual to pursue an action plan. A case study is described in which the DVM intervention was used successfully with an individual of strong faith.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 1
    Pages 32-49
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9230-x
    ISSN 1573-6571
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19127434
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:09:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19127434
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Exercise
    • Habits
    • Health Behavior
    • Health promotion
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Religion and Psychology
    • social support
    • Social Values
  • Faith and child survival: the role of religion in childhood immunization in Nigeria

    Type Journal Article
    Author Diddy Antai
    Abstract This study assessed the role of mother's religious affiliation in child immunization status of surviving children 12 months of age and older in Nigeria, using data from the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). Guided by two competing hypotheses--the 'characteristics hypothesis' and the 'particularized theology hypothesis'--variations in the risks of child immunization in Nigeria were examined using logistic regression analysis. The results indicate that religion plays a role in the risk of non-immunization; religion was not associated with the risk of partial immunization; however, religion was significantly associated with the reduced risk of full immunization.
    Publication Journal of Biosocial Science
    Volume 41
    Issue 1
    Pages 57-76
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr J Biosoc Sci
    DOI 10.1017/S0021932008002861
    ISSN 1469-7599
    Short Title Faith and child survival
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18471339
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18471339
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Child
    • Child Mortality
    • Child Welfare
    • Child, Preschool
    • DEMOGRAPHY
    • Female
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Immunization
    • Infant
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Mothers
    • Nigeria
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • religion
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This study assessed the role of mother's religious affiliation in child immunization status of surviving children 12 months of age and older in Nigeria, using data from the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The results indicate that religion plays a role in the risk of non-immunization; religion was not associated with the risk of partial immunization; however, religion was significantly associated with the reduced risk of full immunization.

  • Neurotheology: What Can We Expect from a (Future) Catholic Version?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Wilfried Apfalter
    Abstract In this short article I argue that neurotheology should be conceived and practiced within a theological framework. Taking the case of Catholic theology as an example, five proposals are provided that offer a glimpse and, in my estimation, a realistic account of a (future) Catholic neurotheology. I identify two possible modes of how to practice Catholic neurotheology and conclude that any Catholic neurotheology that attempts to be practiced in accordance with these five proposals will be extremely challenging for Catholic theology.
    Publication Theology and Science
    Volume 7
    Issue 2
    Pages 163-174
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1080/14746700902796528
    ISSN 1474-6700
    Short Title Neurotheology
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/14746700902796528
    Accessed Saturday, September 12, 2009 7:21:13 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • In this short article I argue that neurotheology should be conceived and practiced within a theological framework. Taking the case of Catholic theology as an example, five proposals are provided that offer a glimpse and, in my estimation, a realistic account of a (future) Catholic neurotheology. I identify two possible modes of how to practice Catholic neurotheology and conclude that any Catholic neurotheology that attempts to be practiced in accordance with these five proposals will be extremely challenging for Catholic theology.

  • Laboratory stressors in clinically anxious and non-anxious individuals: The moderating role of mindfulness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joanna J. Arch
    Author Michelle G. Craske
    Abstract Objective Mindfulness forms the basis for multiple clinical interventions and has been induced in laboratory settings. However, few studies have examined the effects of dispositional or trait mindfulness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of trait mindfulness to laboratory stressor responding across fear-based anxiety disorder and non-anxious samples. We hypothesized that trait mindfulness would be associated with diminished stressor responding above and beyond the contribution of anxiety and depression-related variables, and to a greater extent in high anxiety than low anxiety individuals.Methods 90 participants, including 46 with anxiety disorders and 44 non-anxious controls, were assessed on hyperventilation and relaxation stressors. The relationship of trait mindfulness to stressor-related anxiety, negative affect, and duration was investigated in a hierarchical multiple regression model.Results Trait mindfulness predicted stressor responding in over 80% of measured outcomes, and predicted to a greater extent among high anxiety individuals in 50% of outcomes.Conclusions Trait mindfulness was associated with diminished responses to laboratory stressors in clinically anxious and non-anxious samples. Implications for emotion regulation and clinical interventions are discussed.
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 48
    Issue 6
    Pages 495-505
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2010.02.005
    ISSN 0005-7967
    Short Title Laboratory stressors in clinically anxious and non-anxious individuals
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 2:04:17 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • anxiety sensitivity
    • emotion regulation
    • hyperventilation
    • Mindfulness
    • Relaxation
  • Spirituality, sense of coherence, and coping responses in women receiving treatment for alcohol and drug addiction

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sandra Arévalo
    Author Guillermo Prado
    Author Hortensia Amaro
    Abstract PURPOSE: To examine the role of spirituality, sense of coherence, and coping responses in relation to stress and trauma symptoms among women in substance abuse treatment. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Data for the present analyses were obtained from baseline interviews of 393 women in an urban area of Massachusetts. Interviews were conducted from April 2003 to September 2006. Participants came from four substance abuse treatment programs (three residential and one outpatient) participating in the Mother's Hope, Mind and Spirit Study, an evaluation of an intervention funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Stress was significantly associated with drug addiction severity and trauma symptoms were significantly related to alcohol addiction severity. Spirituality, sense of coherence, and coping responses did not mediate the relationship between perceived stress, and posttraumatic stress, and alcohol and drug addiction severity. However, negative and significant associations were found between perceived stress and spirituality, sense of coherence and coping responses, and between posttraumatic stress symptomatology and sense of coherence. CONCLUSION: Enhanced substance abuse treatments that increase spirituality, sense of coherence, and coping responses may be beneficial in helping women in substance abuse treatment to manage stress and posttraumatic stress symptoms. However, further research is needed to identify the pathways through which spirituality, sense of coherence and coping responses may mediate the effects of stress and posttraumatic stress symptoms on alcohol and drug addiction severity.
    Publication Evaluation and Program Planning
    Volume 31
    Issue 1
    Pages 113-123
    Date Feb 2008
    Journal Abbr Eval Program Plann
    DOI 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2007.05.009
    ISSN 1873-7870
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17825910
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:55:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17825910
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Age Factors
    • Alcoholism
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • Massachusetts
    • Patient Compliance
    • Patient Dropouts
    • Poverty
    • Probability
    • Registries
    • Retrospective Studies
    • Risk Factors
    • Sick Role
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Urban Population

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To examine the role of spirituality, sense of coherence, and coping responses in relation to stress and trauma symptoms among women in substance abuse treatment. PRINCIPAL Findings: Stress was significantly associated with drug addiction severity and trauma symptoms were significantly related to alcohol addiction severity. Spirituality, sense of coherence, and coping responses did not mediate the relationship between perceived stress, and posttraumatic stress, and alcohol and drug addiction severity.

  • Multimodal analgesia for chronic pain: rationale and future directions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Charles E Argoff
    Author Phillip Albrecht
    Author Gordon Irving
    Author Frank Rice
    Abstract Chronic pain is a multifaceted disease requiring multimodal treatment. Clinicians routinely employ various combinations of pharmacologic, interventional, cognitive-behavioral, rehabilitative, and other nonmedical therapies despite the paucity of robust evidence in support of such an approach. Therapies are selected consistent with the biopsychosocial model of chronic pain, reflecting the subjective nature of the pain complaint, and the myriad stressors that shape it. Elucidating mechanisms that govern normal sensation in the periphery has provided insights into the biochemical, molecular, and neuroanatomic correlates of chronic pain, an understanding of which is leading increasingly to mechanism-specific multidrug therapies. Peripheral and central neuroplastic reorganization underlying the disease of chronic pain is influenced by patient-specific emotions, cognition, and memories, further impairing function and idiosyncratically defining the illness of chronic pain. Clinical perceptions of these and related subjective elements associated with the suffering of chronic pain drive psychosocial treatments, including, among other options, relaxation therapies, coping skills development, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Treatment selection is thus guided by comprehensive assessment of the phenomenology and inferred pathophysiology of the pain syndrome; patient goals, preferences, and expectations; behavioral, cognitive, and physical function; and level of risk. Experiential, practice-based evidence may be necessary for improving patient care, but it is insufficient; certainly, well-designed studies are needed to support therapeutic decision making. This review will discuss the biochemical basis of pain, factors that govern its severity and chronicity, and foundational elements for current and emerging multimodal treatment strategies.
    Publication Pain Medicine
    Volume 10
    Issue Suppl 2
    Pages S53-66
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Pain Med
    DOI 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00669.x
    ISSN 1526-4637
    Short Title Multimodal analgesia for chronic pain
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19691685
    Accessed Sunday, November 01, 2009 10:26:37 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19691685
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Notes:

    • Chronic pain is a multifaceted disease requiring multimodal treatment. Clinicians routinely employ various combinations of pharmacologic, interventional, cognitive-behavioral, rehabilitative, and other nonmedical therapies despite the paucity of robust evidence in support of such an approach. Therapies are selected consistent with the biopsychosocial model of chronic pain, reflecting the subjective nature of the pain complaint, and the myriad stressors that shape it. Elucidating mechanisms that govern normal sensation in the periphery has provided insights into the biochemical, molecular, and neuroanatomic correlates of chronic pain, an understanding of which is leading increasingly to mechanism-specific multidrug therapies. Peripheral and central neuroplastic reorganization underlying the disease of chronic pain is influenced by patient-specific emotions, cognition, and memories, further impairing function and idiosyncratically defining the illness of chronic pain. Clinical perceptions of these and related subjective elements associated with the suffering of chronic pain drive psychosocial treatments, including, among other options, relaxation therapies, coping skills development, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Treatment selection is thus guided by comprehensive assessment of the phenomenology and inferred pathophysiology of the pain syndrome; patient goals, preferences, and expectations; behavioral, cognitive, and physical function; and level of risk. Experiential, practice-based evidence may be necessary for improving patient care, but it is insufficient; certainly, well-designed studies are needed to support therapeutic decision making. This review will discuss the biochemical basis of pain, factors that govern its severity and chronicity, and foundational elements for current and emerging multimodal treatment strategies.

  • Systematic review of the efficacy of meditation techniques as treatments for medical illness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Albert J Arias
    Author Karen Steinberg
    Author Alok Banga
    Author Robert L Trestman
    Abstract Meditative techniques are sought frequently by patients coping with medical and psychological problems. Because of their increasingly widespread appeal and use, and the potential for use as medical therapies, a concise and thorough review of the current state of scientific knowledge of these practices as medical interventions was conducted. PURPOSE: To systematically review the evidence supporting efficacy and safety of meditative practices in treating illnesses, and examine areas warranting further study. Studies on normal healthy populations are not included. METHODS: Searches were performed using PubMed, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Database. Keywords were Meditation, Meditative Prayer, Yoga, Relaxation Response. Qualifying studies were reviewed and independently rated based on quality by two reviewers. Mid-to-high-quality studies (those scoring above 0.65 or 65% on a validated research quality scale) were included. RESULTS: From a total of 82 identified studies, 20 randomized controlled trials met our criteria. The studies included 958 subjects total (397 experimentally treated, 561 controls). No serious adverse events were reported in any of the included or excluded clinical trials. Serious adverse events are reported in the medical literature, though rare. The strongest evidence for efficacy was found for epilepsy, symptoms of the premenstrual syndrome and menopausal symptoms. Benefit was also demonstrated for mood and anxiety disorders, autoimmune illness, and emotional disturbance in neoplastic disease. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the safety and potential efficacy of meditative practices for treating certain illnesses, particularly in nonpsychotic mood and anxiety disorders. Clear and reproducible evidence supporting efficacy from large, methodologically sound studies is lacking.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 12
    Issue 8
    Pages 817-832
    Date Oct 2006
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2006.12.817
    ISSN 1075-5535
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17034289
    Accessed Saturday, September 05, 2009 1:03:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17034289
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Chronic Disease
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Mental Healing
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Research Design

    Notes:

    • Meditative techniques are sought frequently by patients coping with medical and psychological problems. Because of their increasingly widespread appeal and use, and the potential for use as medical therapies, a concise and thorough review of the current state of scientific knowledge of these practices as medical interventions was conducted. Purpose: To systematically review the evidence supporting efficacy and safety of meditative practices in treating illnesses, and examine areas warranting further study. Studies on normal healthy populations are not included. Methods: Searches were performed using PubMed, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Database. Keywords were Meditation, Meditative Prayer, Yoga, Relaxation Response. Qualifying studies were reviewed and independently rated based on quality by two reviewers. Mid-to-high-quality studies (those scoring above 0.65 or 65% on a validated research quality scale) were included. Results: From a total of 82 identified studies, 20 randomized controlled trials met our criteria. The studies included 958 subjects total (397 experimentally treated, 561 controls). No serious adverse events were reported in any of the included or excluded clinical trials. Serious adverse events are reported in the medical literature, though rare. The strongest evidence for efficacy was found for epilepsy, symptoms of the premenstrual syndrome and menopausal symptoms. Benefit was also demonstrated for mood and anxiety disorders, autoimmune illness, and emotional disturbance in neoplastic disease. Conclusions: The results support the safety and potential efficacy of meditative practices for treating certain illnesses, particularly in nonpsychotic mood and anxiety disorders. Clear and reproducible evidence supporting efficacy from large, methodologically sound studies is lacking.

  • Patient attitudes concerning the inclusion of spirituality into addiction treatment

    Type Journal Article
    Author RuthM Arnold
    Author S Kelly Avants
    Author Arthur Margolin
    Author David Marcotte
    Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was 3-fold: (a) to determine how 'spirituality' is defined by inner-city HIV-positive drug users; (b) to determine perceived relationships between spirituality and abstinence, harm reduction, and health promotion; and (c) to assess interest in a spirituality-based intervention. Opioid-dependent patients enrolled in an inner-city methadone maintenance program participated in the study; 21 participated in focus groups and 47 completed a questionnaire. In the focus groups, two predominant themes emerged: spirituality as a source of strength/protection of self, and spirituality as a source of altruism/protection of others. A large majority of the larger sample expressed an interest in receiving spirituality-focused treatment, reporting that such an intervention would be helpful for reducing craving and HIV risk behavior, following medical recommendations, and increasing hopefulness. African American women perceived spirituality as more helpful in their recovery than did African American men.
    Publication Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
    Volume 23
    Issue 4
    Pages 319-326
    Date Dec 2002
    Journal Abbr J Subst Abuse Treat
    ISSN 0740-5472
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12495793
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:03:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12495793
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude
    • Connecticut
    • Female
    • Focus Groups
    • Harm Reduction
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Patient Compliance
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Urban Population

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this exploratory study was 3-fold: (a) to determine how ‘spirituality’ is defined by inner-city HIV-positive drug users; (b) to determine perceived relationships between spirituality and abstinence, harm reduction, and health promotion; and (c) to assess interest in a spirituality-based intervention.

  • Imagination and the Meaningful Brain

    Type Book
    Author Arnold H. Modell
    Place Cambridge
    Publisher MIT Books
    Date 2003
    Date Added Tuesday, October 11, 2011 9:18:50 PM
    Modified Tuesday, October 11, 2011 9:18:50 PM
  • Why revelations have occurred on mountains? Linking mystical experiences and cognitive neuroscience

    Type Journal Article
    Author S Arzy
    Author M Idel
    Author T Landis
    Author O Blanke
    Publication Medical Hypotheses
    Volume 65
    Issue 5
    Pages 841-845
    Date 2005
    Journal Abbr Medical Hypotheses
    DOI 10.1016/j.mehy.2005.04.044
    ISSN 03069877
    Short Title Why revelations have occurred on mountains?
    URL http://www.medical-hypotheses.com/article/S0306-9877(05)00295-1/abstract
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:26:55 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • The relationship between religiosity and subjective well-being: A case of Kuwaiti car accident victims.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hadi Ridha Ashkanani
    Abstract Researchers have long recognized the influence of religion on a person’s health and well-being. This study explores the influence of religion on the wellbeing of traumatized people. The study population included people who had experienced significant trauma in their lives from a severe car accident. The study sample included individuals who had been traumatized through severe injury in car accidents, families of those who have been badly injured, and families of those who were killed in car accidents. Demographic and socioeconomic variables served as independent factors in measuring subjective well-being. Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple regression analyses were used to measure the relationship between religiosity and subjective well-being of a traumatized person. Results showed that there was a positive relationship between religiosity and well-being, that income of the traumatized affected well-being positively, and that age of the traumatized affected well-being negatively. There was no effect of group difference (severely injured, family of severely injured, and family of a killed one) on well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Traumatology
    Volume 15
    Issue 1
    Pages 23-28
    Date March 2009
    Series Culture and international contributions
    DOI 10.1177/1534765608323500
    ISSN 1534-7656
    Short Title The relationship between religiosity and subjective well-being
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • car accident victims
    • Emotional Trauma
    • Health
    • Motor Traffic Accidents
    • religion
    • religiosity
    • subjective well being
    • Trauma
    • Victimization
    • well being
  • Religiosity and its relation to quality of life in Christian Orthodox cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Konstantinos Assimakopoulos
    Author Katerina Karaivazoglou
    Author Amalia A Ifanti
    Author Miltiadis K Gerolymos
    Author Haralabos P Kalofonos
    Author Gregoris Iconomou
    Abstract OBJECTIVES The first objective of the current observational study was to assess the levels of religiosity in Greek Christian Orthodox cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The second objective was to evaluate the associations between religiosity and quality of life (QoL), an endpoint of considerable importance in clinical cancer research and practice. METHOD One hundred eighteen adult outpatients with solid tumors, who consented to participate, were administered the Systems of Belief Inventory (SBI-15R) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC QLQ-C30) questionnaire. RESULTS The analysis revealed high scores on religiosity, especially among female patients, who reported significantly higher levels of religious beliefs and practices as well as perceived social support provided by the religious community than did their male counterparts. Of all EORTC QOL-C30 subscales, only global QoL was found to be significantly associated with the SBI-15R religious beliefs subscale. The analysis revealed no significant correlations between the SBI-15R social support subscale and all QoL subscales. CONCLUSIONS The current study reported high levels of religiosity among Greek Christian Orthodox cancer patients. However, levels of religiosity were only weakly associated with patients' QoL. The SBI-15R appeared to be a well-accepted and reliable tool, potentially useful for future research in Greek settings. Wide-scale studies from the same and diverse religious and cultural backgrounds are needed to clarify further the connections between religiosity, QoL, coping, and other health outcomes with the aim to devise appropriate multicomponent interventions to enhance patients' QoL.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 3
    Pages 284-289
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1402
    ISSN 1099-1611
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18702046
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18702046
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols
    • Christianity
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • religion

    Notes:

    • The first objective of the current observational study was to assess the levels of religiosity in Greek Christian Orthodox cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The second objective was to evaluate the associations between religiosity and quality of life (QoL), an endpoint of considerable importance in clinical cancer research and practice.

  • Next steps for clinicians in religious and spiritual therapy: an endpiece

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jamie D Aten
    Author Everett L, Jr Worthington
    Abstract To conclude this issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, the authors identify several next steps for clinicians interested in religious and spiritual therapy. They call for more clinically useful definitions of religion and spirituality and suggest that new methods of clinical practice that employ both Western and Eastern religion and spirituality need to be developed and tested. The need for more clinically focused religious and spiritual assessments is highlighted. They recommend greater clergy-psychotherapist collaboration and propose that clinicians lead and collaborate with researchers to further meaningful research on religion and spirituality. Finally, the authors identify areas of graduate training that require strengthening and provide corresponding guidelines.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 224-229
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20562
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title Next steps for clinicians in religious and spiritual therapy
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19132640
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:09:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19132640
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Clergy
    • Cooperative Behavior
    • Humans
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
  • Psychotherapy with rural religious fundamentalist clients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jamie D. Aten
    Author Michael W. Mangis
    Author Clark Campbell
    Abstract Successful psychotherapy with rural fundamentalist Christians requires psychologists to understand the clients' culture and worldview. They often rely heavily on religious authorities, interpret Scriptures literally, adhere to strict moral codes of behavior, and believe that they should evangelize those around them. Common therapeutic challenges include: spiritualizing problems, relational conflicts related to gender role expectations, addiction problems, and the religious agendas of family and clergy. We recommend that psychotherapists evaluate their own attitudes, collaborate with community gatekeepers, sensitively address clients' rigid beliefs, address religious differences, and take a holistic approach to treatment. A case example illustrates this approach. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 66:1-11, 2010.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 66
    Issue 5
    Pages 513-523
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20677
    Accessed Saturday, May 08, 2010 4:27:03 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Do prevailing societal models influence reports of near-death experiences?: a comparison of accounts reported before and after 1975

    Type Journal Article
    Author Geena K Athappilly
    Author Bruce Greyson
    Author Ian Stevenson
    Abstract Transcendental near-death experiences show some cross-cultural variation that suggests they may be influenced by societal beliefs. The prevailing Western model of near-death experiences was defined by Moody's description of the phenomenon in 1975. To explore the influence of this cultural model, we compared near-death experience accounts collected before and after 1975. We compared the frequency of 15 phenomenological features Moody defined as characteristic of near-death experiences in 24 accounts collected before 1975 and in 24 more recent accounts matched on relevant demographic and situational variables. Near-death experience accounts collected after 1975 differed from those collected earlier only in increased frequency of tunnel phenomena, which other research has suggested may not be integral to the experience, and not in any of the remaining 14 features defined by Moody as characteristic of near-death experiences. These data challenge the hypothesis that near-death experience accounts are substantially influenced by prevailing cultural models.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 194
    Issue 3
    Pages 218-222
    Date Mar 2006
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/01.nmd.0000202513.65079.1e
    ISSN 0022-3018
    Short Title Do prevailing societal models influence reports of near-death experiences?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/16534440
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:33:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16534440
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Cultural Characteristics
    • Death
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Models, Psychological
    • Narration
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • Research Design
    • Retrospective Studies
    • Terminology as Topic

    Notes:

    • Transcendental near-death experiences show some cross-cultural variation that suggests they may be influenced by societal beliefs. The prevailing Western model of near-death experiences was defined by Moody’s description of the phenomenon in 1975. To explore the influence of this cultural model, we compared near-death experience accounts collected before and after 1975. We compared the frequency of 15 phenomenological features Moody defined as characteristic of near-death experiences in 24 accounts collected before 1975 and in 24 more recent accounts matched on relevant demographic and situational variables. Near-death experience accounts collected after 1975 differed from those collected earlier only in increased frequency of tunnel phenomena, which other research has suggested may not be integral to the experience, and not in any of the remaining 14 features defined by Moody as characteristic of near-death experiences. These data challenge the hypothesis that near-death experience accounts are substantially influenced by prevailing cultural models.

  • Religiosity and participation in mutual-aid support groups for addiction

    Type Journal Article
    Author Randolph G Atkins
    Author James E Hawdon
    Abstract Mutual-aid support groups play a vital role in substance abuse treatment in the United States. A national survey of mutual-aid support groups for addiction was conducted to identify key differences between participants in recovery groups. Survey data indicate that active involvement in support groups significantly improves one's chances of remaining clean and sober, regardless of the group in which one participates. Respondents whose individual beliefs better matched those of their primary support groups showed greater levels of group participation, resulting in better outcomes as measured by increased number of days clean and sober. Religious respondents were more likely to participate in 12-step groups and Women for Sobriety. Nonreligious respondents were significantly less likely to participate in 12-step groups. Religiosity had little impact on SMART Recovery participation but actually decreased participation in Secular Organizations for Sobriety. These results have important implications for treatment planning and matching individuals to appropriate support groups.
    Publication Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
    Volume 33
    Issue 3
    Pages 321-331
    Date Oct 2007
    Journal Abbr J Subst Abuse Treat
    DOI 10.1016/j.jsat.2007.07.001
    ISSN 0740-5472
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17889302
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:57:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17889302
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Alcoholism
    • Behavior, Addictive
    • Female
    • Health Care Surveys
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Recurrence
    • Self-Help Groups
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Temperance
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • A national survey of mutual-aid support groups for addiction was conducted to identify key differences between participants in recovery groups. Survey data indicate that active involvement in support groups significantly improves one’s chances of remaining clean and sober, regardless of the group in which one participates. Respondents whose individual beliefs better matched those of their primary support groups showed greater levels of group participation.

  • The Self-Perception and Relationships Tool (S-PRT): a novel approach to the measurement of subjective health-related quality of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark J Atkinson
    Author Paul M Wishart
    Author Bushra I Wasil
    Author John W Robinson
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The Self-Perception and Relationships Tool (S-PRT) is intended to be a clinically responsive and holistic assessment of patients' experience of illness and subjective Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL). METHODS: A diversity of patients were involved in two phases of this study. Patient samples included individuals involved with renal, cardiology, psychiatric, cancer, chronic pelvic pain, and sleep services. In Phase I, five patient focus groups generated 128 perceptual rating scales. These scales described important characteristics of illness-related experience within six life domains (i.e., Physical, Mental-Emotional, Interpersonal Receptiveness, Interpersonal Contribution, Transpersonal Receptiveness and Transpersonal Orientation). Item reduction was accomplished using Importance Q-sort and Importance Checklist methodologies with 150 patients across the participating services. In Phase II, a refined item pool (88 items) was administered along with measures of health status (SF-36) and spiritual beliefs (Spiritual Involvements and Beliefs Scale--SIBS) to 160 patients, of these 136 patients returned complete response sets. RESULTS: Factor analysis of S-PRT results produced a surprisingly clean five-factor solution (Eigen values> 2.0 explaining 73.5% of the pooled variance). Items with weaker or split loadings were removed leaving 36 items to form the final S-PRT rating scales; Intrapersonal Well-being (physical, mental & emotional items), Interpersonal Receptivity, Interpersonal Contribution, Transpersonal Receptivity and Transpersonal Orientation (Eigen values> 5.4 explaining 83.5% of the pooled variance). The internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha) of these scales was very high (0.82-0.97). Good convergent correlations (0.40 to 0.67) were observed between the S-PRT scales and the Mental Health scales of the SF-36. Correlations between the S-PRT Intrapersonal Well-being scale and three of SF-36 Physical Health scales were moderate (0.30 to 0.46). The criterion-related validity of the S-PRT spiritual scales was supported by moderate convergence (0.40-0.49) with three SIBS scales. CONCLUSION: Evidence supports the validity of the S-PRT as a generally applicable measure of perceived health status and HRQL. The test-retest reliability was found to be adequate for most scales, and there is some preliminary evidence that the S-PRT is responsive to patient-reported changes in determinants of their HRQL. Clinical uses and directions for future research are discussed.
    Publication Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
    Volume 2
    Pages 36
    Date Jul 16, 2004
    Journal Abbr Health Qual Life Outcomes
    DOI 10.1186/1477-7525-2-36
    ISSN 1477-7525
    Short Title The Self-Perception and Relationships Tool (S-PRT)
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15257754
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:57:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15257754
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Focus Groups
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • Semantics
    • Sickness Impact Profile
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The Self-Perception and Relationships Tool (S-PRT) is intended to be a clinically responsive assessment of patients’ subjective Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL). Methods: Patient samples included individuals involved with renal, cardiology, psychiatric, cancer, chronic pelvic pain, and sleep services. In Phase I, five patient focus groups generated 128 perceptual rating scales. In Phase II, a refined item pool (88 items) was administered along with measures of health status (SF-36) and spiritual beliefs (Spiritual Involvements and Beliefs Scale--SIBS) to 160 patients. Results: Factor analysis of S-PRT results produced a surprisingly clean five-factor solution (Eigen values> 2.0 explaining 73.5% of the pooled variance). Conclusion: Evidence supports the validity of the S-PRT as a generally applicable measure of perceived health status and HRQL.

  • In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion

    Type Book
    Author Scott Atran
    Series Evolution and Cognition Series
    Publisher Oxford University Press
    Date 2002-11-12
    ISBN 0195178033
    Short Title In Gods We Trust
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This ambitious, interdisciplinary book seeks to explain the origins of religion using our knowledge of the evolution of cognition. A cognitive anthropologist and psychologist, Scott Atran argues that religion is a by-product of human evolution just as the cognitive intervention, cultural selection, and historical survival of religion is an accommodation of certain existential and moral elements that have evolved in the human condition.

  • Religiosity and quality of life in breast cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Branka Aukst-Margetić
    Author Miro Jakovljević
    Author Dragutin Ivanec
    Author Branimir Margetić
    Author Duliano Ljubicić
    Author Mirko Samija
    Abstract Our aim was to assess relations between the quality of life and religiosity in breast cancer patients. The participants were 115 consecutively admitted female in-patients with breast cancer in the radiotherapy unit in the course of six months. The measures used were Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORF), World Health Organisation Well-Being Index Five (WHO-WBI 5) and International Breast Cancer Study Group Quality of Life (IBCSG-QL) Questionnaire. The participants responded on three statements relating to religious coping with cancer. Moderate religiosity was associated with perception of worse physical health. The statement "the illness decreased my faith" was associated with worse quality of life (QOL) domains: less well-being, more pain, poor physical health, more effort to cope, worse fatigue and less general satisfaction. The statement "the faith helps me in illness" was associated with higher social support.
    Publication Collegium Antropologicum
    Volume 33
    Issue 4
    Pages 1265-1271
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Coll Antropol
    ISSN 0350-6134
    Accessed Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:14:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20102080
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Neural correlates of religious experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author N P Azari
    Author J Nickel
    Author G Wunderlich
    Author M Niedeggen
    Author H Hefter
    Author L Tellmann
    Author H Herzog
    Author P Stoerig
    Author D Birnbacher
    Author R J Seitz
    Abstract The commonsense view of religious experience is that it is a preconceptual, immediate affective event. Work in philosophy and psychology, however, suggest that religious experience is an attributional cognitive phenomenon. Here the neural correlates of a religious experience are investigated using functional neuroimaging. During religious recitation, self-identified religious subjects activated a frontal-parietal circuit, composed of the dorsolateral prefrontal, dorsomedial frontal and medial parietal cortex. Prior studies indicate that these areas play a profound role in sustaining reflexive evaluation of thought. Thus, religious experience may be a cognitive process which, nonetheless, feels immediate.
    Publication The European Journal of Neuroscience
    Volume 13
    Issue 8
    Pages 1649-1652
    Date Apr 2001
    Journal Abbr Eur. J. Neurosci
    ISSN 0953-816X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11328359
    Accessed Tuesday, November 03, 2009 7:53:53 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11328359
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Brain
    • Brain Mapping
    • Female
    • Frontal Lobe
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Parietal Lobe
    • religion
    • Tomography, Emission-Computed

    Notes:

    • The commonsense view of religious experience is that it is a preconceptual, immediate affective event. Work in philosophy and psychology, however, suggest that religious experience is an attributional cognitive phenomenon. Here the neural correlates of a religious experience are investigated using functional neuroimaging. During religious recitation, self-identified religious subjects activated a frontal-parietal circuit, composed of the dorsolateral prefrontal, dorsomedial frontal and medial parietal cortex. Prior studies indicate that these areas play a profound role in sustaining reflexive evaluation of thought. Thus, religious experience may be a cognitive process which, nonetheless, feels immediate.

  • Fear of Death, Mortality Communication, and Psychological Distress Among Secular and Religiously Observant Family Caregivers of Terminal Cancer Patients.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yaacov G. Bachner
    Author Norm O'Rourke
    Author Sara Carmel
    Abstract Previous research suggests that caregivers and terminally ill patients face substantial difficulties discussing illness and death. Existing research, however, has focused primarily on the experience of patients. The current study compared responses as well as the relative strength of association between mortality communication, fear of death, and psychological distress (i.e., depressive symptomatology, emotional exhaustion) among secular and religiously observant family caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients. A total of 236 participants were recruited over 18 months within the first year of caregiver bereavement. Retrospectively reported mortality communication was statistically greater among secular caregivers; in contrast, both fear of death and depressive symptoms were greater among the religiously observant. Path analyses subsequently revealed notable differences between groups. Among secular caregivers, a significant inverse relationship between mortality communication and the two indices of caregiver distress emerged. In contrast, the association between mortality communication and psychological distress among the religious was moderated by these caregivers' fear of death. The results of this study suggest that fear of death is a significant predictor of psychological distress among religiously observant caregivers of terminal cancer patients (i.e., fear of their own death as elicited by the caregiving role). Fostering morality communication between secular caregivers and patients would appear to be one means of reducing the likelihood of clinically significant psychological distress. This may be insufficient among religiously observant caregivers, however, for whom fear of death may first need to be redressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Death Studies
    Volume 35
    Issue 2
    Pages 163-187
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1080/07481187.2010.535390
    ISSN 07481187
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • CANCER -- Patients -- Psychological aspects
    • CAREGIVERS -- Psychological aspects
    • CHI-square test
    • death attitudes
    • INTERVIEWS
    • Israel
    • PATH analysis (Statistics)
    • PATIENT-family relations
    • PROBABILITIES
    • Retrospective Studies
    • spirituality
    • STRESS (Psychology)
  • The benefits of yoga for rheumatoid arthritis: results of a preliminary, structured 8-week program

    Type Journal Article
    Author Humeira Badsha
    Author Vishwas Chhabra
    Author Cathy Leibman
    Author Ayman Mofti
    Author Kok Ooi Kong
    Abstract The aim of this study was to measure the effects of a bi-weekly Raj yoga program on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity. Subjects were recruited from among RA patients in Dubai, United Arab Emirates by email invitations of the RA database. Demographic data, disease activity indices, health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), and quality of life (QOL) by SF-36 were documented at enrollment and after completion of 12 sessions of Raj yoga. A total of 47 patients were enrolled: 26 yoga and 21 controls. Baseline demographics were similar in both groups. Patients who underwent yoga had statistically significant improvements in DAS28 and HAQ, but not QOL. Our pilot study of 12 sessions of yoga for RA was able to demonstrate statistically significant improvements in RA disease parameters. We believe that a longer duration of treatment could result in more significant improvements.
    Publication Rheumatology International
    Volume 29
    Issue 12
    Pages 1417-1421
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Rheumatol. Int
    DOI 10.1007/s00296-009-0871-1
    ISSN 1437-160X
    Short Title The benefits of yoga for rheumatoid arthritis
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19184028
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 9:17:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19184028
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Assessing mindfulness & acceptance processes in clients : illuminating the theory & practice of change

    Type Book
    Author Ruth Baer
    Place Oakland CA
    Publisher Context Press
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9781572246942
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Chronic pain and fatigue: Associations with religion and spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Baetz
    Author R Bowen
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Conditions with chronic, non-life-threatening pain and fatigue remain a challenge to treat, and are associated with high health care use. Understanding psychological and psychosocial contributing and coping factors, and working with patients to modify them, is one goal of management. An individual's spirituality and/or religion may be one such factor that can influence the experience of chronic pain or fatigue. METHODS: The Canadian Community Health Survey (2002) obtained data from 37,000 individuals 15 years of age or older. From these data, four conditions with chronic pain and fatigue were analyzed together -- fibromyalgia, back pain, migraine headaches and chronic fatigue syndrome. Additional data from the survey were used to determine how religion and spirituality affect psychological well-being, as well as the use of various coping methods. RESULTS: Religious persons were less likely to have chronic pain and fatigue, while those who were spiritual but not affiliated with regular worship attendance were more likely to have those conditions. Individuals with chronic pain and fatigue were more likely to use prayer and seek spiritual support as a coping method than the general population. Furthermore, chronic pain and fatigue sufferers who were both religious and spiritual were more likely to have better psychological well-being and use positive coping strategies. INTERPRETATION: Consideration of an individual's spirituality and/or religion, and how it may be used in coping may be an additional component to the overall management of chronic pain and fatigue.
    Publication Pain Research & Management: The Journal of the Canadian Pain Society = Journal De La Société Canadienne Pour Le Traitement De La Douleur
    Volume 13
    Issue 5
    Pages 383-388
    Date 2008 Sep-Oct
    Journal Abbr Pain Res Manag
    ISSN 1203-6765
    Short Title Chronic pain and fatigue
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18958309
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:31:10 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18958309
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Canada
    • Chronic Disease
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic
    • Female
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Linear Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • religion
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • The Canadian Community Health Survey (2002) obtained data from 37,000 individuals 15 years of age or older. From these data, four conditions with chronic pain and fatigue were analyzed together -- fibromyalgia, back pain, migraine headaches and chronic fatigue syndrome. Additional data from the survey were used to determine how religion and spirituality affect psychological well-being, as well as the use of various coping methods.

  • Clinical implications of research on religion, spirituality, and mental health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marilyn Baetz
    Author John Toews
    Abstract The relation between religion and (or) spirituality (RS), and mental health has shown generally positive associations; however, it is a complex and often emotion-laden field of study. We attempt to examine potential mechanisms that have been proposed as mediators for the RS and mental health relation. We also examine more philosophical areas including patient and physician opinions about inclusion of RS in patient care, and ethical issues that may arise. We review suggested guidelines for sensitive patient inquiry, and opportunities and challenges for education of psychiatrists and trainees. We also study practical ways to incorporate psychospiritual interventions into patient treatment, with specific reference to more common spiritual issues such as forgiveness, gratitude, and altruism.
    Publication Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie
    Volume 54
    Issue 5
    Pages 292-301
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Can J Psychiatry
    ISSN 0706-7437
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:58:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19497161
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Curriculum
    • Humans
    • Internship and Residency
    • Mental Disorders
    • mental health
    • Psychiatry
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Religious Philosophies
    • Research
    • Social Values
    • spirituality
  • The association between spiritual and religious involvement and depressive symptoms in a Canadian population

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marilyn Baetz
    Author Ronald Griffin
    Author Rudy Bowen
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Author Eugene Marcoux
    Abstract Data from a large epidemiologic survey were examined to determine the relationship of religious practice (worship service attendance), spiritual and religious self-perception, and importance (salience) to depressive symptoms. Data were obtained from 70,884 respondents older than 15 years from the Canadian National Population Health Survey (Wave II, 1996-1997). Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship of the religious/spiritual variables to depressive symptoms while controlling for demographic, social, and health variables. More frequent worship service attendees had significantly fewer depressive symptoms. In contrast, those who stated spiritual values or faith were important or perceived themselves to be spiritual/religious had higher levels of depressive symptoms, even after controlling for potential mediating and confounding factors. It is evident that spirituality/religion has an important effect on depressive symptoms, but this study underscores the complexity of this relationship. Longitudinal studies are needed to help elucidate mechanisms and the order and direction of effects.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 192
    Issue 12
    Pages 818-822
    Date Dec 2004
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15583502
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:15:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15583502
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Canada
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Life Style
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • social support
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Data from a large epidemiologic survey were examined to determine the relationship of religious practice (worship service attendance), spiritual and religious self-perception, and importance (salience) to depressive symptoms. More frequent worship service attendees had significantly fewer depressive symptoms. In contrast, those who stated spiritual values or faith were important or perceived themselves to be spiritual/religious had higher levels of depressive symptoms.

  • Parenting style, religiosity, peers, and adolescent heavy drinking

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stephen J. Bahr
    Author John P. Hoffmann
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to examine whether authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful parenting styles were associated with adolescent alcohol use and heavy drinking, after controlling for peer use, religiosity, and other relevant variables. METHOD: Structural equation modeling was used to estimate direct and indirect associations of parenting style with alcohol use and heavy drinking among 4,983 adolescents in Grades 7-12. RESULTS: Adolescents whose parents were authoritative were less likely to drink heavily than adolescents from the other three parenting styles, and they were less likely to have close friends who used alcohol. In addition, religiosity was negatively associated with heavy drinking after controlling for other relevant variables. CONCLUSIONS: Authoritative parenting appears to have both direct and indirect associations with the risk of heavy drinking among adolescents. Authoritative parenting, where monitoring and support are above average, might help deter adolescents from heavy alcohol use, even when adolescents have friends who drink. In addition, the data suggest that the adolescent's choice of friends may be an intervening variable that helps explain the negative association between authoritative parenting and adolescent heavy drinking.
    Publication Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
    Volume 71
    Issue 4
    Pages 539-543
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Stud Alcohol Drugs
    ISSN 1938-4114
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:54:06 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20553662
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES): Validation of the Short Form in an Elderly French Population

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nathalie Bailly
    Author Nicolas Roussiau
    Abstract ABSTRACTThe study's purpose was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the short form of the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) in an elderly French population. Two studies were conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the DSES. Results of factor analysis (studies 1-2) and confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2) indicated that the DSES can be conceptualized on a single general factor. The reliability of the DSES appeared to be satisfactory with good internal consistency (studies 1-2) and good temporal stability (Study 2). As expected, higher scores were correlated with good life satisfaction and good self-evaluation of health, but no correlation was found with depression. Study results provided preliminary evidence of the psychometric properties of the French translation of the DSES short version. This short version indicates the potential benefit of encouraging the spiritual aspects of life and could be used in a variety of health-related research.
    Publication Canadian Journal on Aging
    Volume 29
    Issue 2
    Pages 223-231
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Can J Aging
    DOI 10.1017/S0714980810000152
    ISSN 0714-9808
    Short Title The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES)
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:31:46 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20465862
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Studies of the Inner Life: The Impact of Spirituality on Quality of Life

    Type Journal Article
    Author David C. Baker
    Abstract This article defines spirituality and relates the importance of spirituality to understanding quality of life. Spirituality is examined through organizational religious activities, non-organizational activities and/or as an expression of faith. Spirituality as a variable in the study of quality of life is not a new concept; however, it has returned to the scene during recent years, and has gone through an evolutionary process.
    Publication Quality of Life Research
    Volume 12
    Pages 51-57
    Date 2003
    ISSN 09629343
    Short Title Studies of the Inner Life
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/4038230
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:43:05 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Issue Title: Supplement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Health-Related Quality of Life / Full publication date: 2003 / Copyright © 2003 Springer
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article defines spirituality and relates the importance of spirituality to understanding quality of life. Spirituality is examined through organizational religious activities, non-organizational activities and/or as an expression of faith. Spirituality as a variable in the study of quality of life is not a new concept; however, it has returned to the scene during recent years, and has gone through an evolutionary process.

  • I am happy in my faith: the influence of religious affiliation, saliency, and practice on depressive symptoms and treatment preference.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Baker
    Author James Cruickshank
    Abstract Religion is thought to significantly impact numerous areas of mental health, including depression. Using a 63-item questionnaire, the influence of religious affiliation, saliency, and practice on levels of depressive symptoms and treatment preference in a non-clinical sample of Christians, Muslims, Atheists, and Agnostics (N = 471) was investigated. No significant differences in depressive symptoms were found between affiliations. Saliency and frequency of practice had a weak negative correlation with depressive symptoms for Christians, but were not significant for Muslim participants. No significant differences of preference were found between affiliations for social, cognitive, and medical treatments. Treatment preference of religious-based treatments differed significantly between affiliations. Findings suggest that affiliation is not significantly related to depressive symptoms or treatment preference, and the influence of saliency and practice differs between religions. Limitations and implications of the current study are discussed, and directions for further research are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 4
    Pages 339-357
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902725108
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title I am happy in my faith
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • AGNOSTICS
    • ATHEISTS
    • Christians
    • DEPRESSED persons
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • FAITH (Christianity)
    • MEDICINE -- Religious aspects
    • mental health
    • MUSLIMS
    • Religiousness
  • "It depends": viewpoints of patients, physicians, and nurses on patient-practitioner prayer in the setting of advanced cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael J Balboni
    Author Amenah Babar
    Author Jennifer Dillinger
    Author Andrea C Phelps
    Author Emily George
    Author Susan D Block
    Author Lisa Kachnic
    Author Jessica Hunt
    Author John Peteet
    Author Holly G Prigerson
    Author Tyler J Vanderweele
    Author Tracy A Balboni
    Abstract CONTEXT Although prayer potentially serves as an important practice in offering religious/spiritual support, its role in the clinical setting remains disputed. Few data exist to guide the role of patient-practitioner prayer in the setting of advanced illness. OBJECTIVES To inform the role of prayer in the setting of life-threatening illness, this study used mixed quantitative-qualitative methods to describe the viewpoints expressed by patients with advanced cancer, oncology nurses, and oncology physicians concerning the appropriateness of clinician prayer. METHODS This is a cross-sectional, multisite, mixed-methods study of advanced cancer patients (n=70), oncology physicians (n=206), and oncology nurses (n=115). Semistructured interviews were used to assess respondents' attitudes toward the appropriate role of prayer in the context of advanced cancer. Theme extraction was performed based on interdisciplinary input using grounded theory. RESULTS Most advanced cancer patients (71%), nurses (83%), and physicians (65%) reported that patient-initiated patient-practitioner prayer was at least occasionally appropriate. Furthermore, clinician prayer was viewed as at least occasionally appropriate by the majority of patients (64%), nurses (76%), and physicians (59%). Of those patients who could envision themselves asking their physician or nurse for prayer (61%), 86% would find this form of prayer spiritually supportive. Most patients (80%) viewed practitioner-initiated prayer as spiritually supportive. Open-ended responses regarding the appropriateness of patient-practitioner prayer in the advanced cancer setting revealed six themes shaping respondents' viewpoints: necessary conditions for prayer, potential benefits of prayer, critical attitudes toward prayer, positive attitudes toward prayer, potential negative consequences of prayer, and prayer alternatives. CONCLUSION Most patients and practitioners view patient-practitioner prayer as at least occasionally appropriate in the advanced cancer setting, and most patients view prayer as spiritually supportive. However, the appropriateness of patient-practitioner prayer is case specific, requiring consideration of multiple factors.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 41
    Issue 5
    Pages 836-847
    Date May 2011
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.07.008
    ISSN 1873-6513
    Short Title "It depends"
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21276700
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:32:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21276700
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM

    Notes:

    • Although prayer potentially serves as an important practice in offering religious/spiritual support, its role in the clinical setting remains disputed. Few data exist to guide the role of patient-practitioner prayer in the setting of advanced illness. The aim of the study was to inform the role of prayer in the setting of life-threatening illness, this study used mixed quantitative-qualitative methods to describe the viewpoints expressed by patients with advanced cancer, oncology nurses, and oncology physicians concerning the appropriateness of clinician prayer.

  • Provision of spiritual care to patients with advanced cancer: associations with medical care and quality of life near death

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tracy Anne Balboni
    Author Mary Elizabeth Paulk
    Author Michael J Balboni
    Author Andrea C Phelps
    Author Elizabeth Trice Loggers
    Author Alexi A Wright
    Author Susan D Block
    Author Eldrin F Lewis
    Author John R Peteet
    Author Holly Gwen Prigerson
    Abstract PURPOSE: To determine whether spiritual care from the medical team impacts medical care received and quality of life (QoL) at the end of life (EoL) and to examine these relationships according to patient religious coping. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective, multisite study of patients with advanced cancer from September 2002 through August 2008. We interviewed 343 patients at baseline and observed them (median, 116 days) until death. Spiritual care was defined by patient-rated support of spiritual needs by the medical team and receipt of pastoral care services. The Brief Religious Coping Scale (RCOPE) assessed positive religious coping. EoL outcomes included patient QoL and receipt of hospice and any aggressive care (eg, resuscitation). Analyses were adjusted for potential confounders and repeated according to median-split religious coping. RESULTS: Patients whose spiritual needs were largely or completely supported by the medical team received more hospice care in comparison with those not supported (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.53; 95% CI, 1.53 to 8.12, P = .003). High religious coping patients whose spiritual needs were largely or completely supported were more likely to receive hospice (AOR = 4.93; 95% CI, 1.64 to 14.80; P = .004) and less likely to receive aggressive care (AOR = 0.18; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.79; P = .02) in comparison with those not supported. Spiritual support from the medical team and pastoral care visits were associated with higher QOL scores near death (20.0 [95% CI, 18.9 to 21.1] v 17.3 [95% CI, 15.9 to 18.8], P = .007; and 20.4 [95% CI, 19.2 to 21.1] v 17.7 [95% CI, 16.5 to 18.9], P = .003, respectively). CONCLUSION: Support of terminally ill patients' spiritual needs by the medical team is associated with greater hospice utilization and, among high religious copers, less aggressive care at EoL. Spiritual care is associated with better patient QoL near death.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Oncology: Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
    Volume 28
    Issue 3
    Pages 445-452
    Date Jan 20, 2010
    Journal Abbr J. Clin. Oncol
    DOI 10.1200/JCO.2009.24.8005
    ISSN 1527-7755
    Short Title Provision of spiritual care to patients with advanced cancer
    Accessed Saturday, January 23, 2010 10:42:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20008625
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • To determine whether spiritual care from the medical team impacts medical care received and quality of life (QoL) at the end of life (EoL) and to examine these relationships according to patient religious coping.

  • Support of Cancer Patients' Spiritual Needs and Associations with Medical Care Costs at the End of Life (419-C)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tracy Balboni
    Author Michael Balboni
    Author M. Elizabeth Paulk
    Author Andrea Phelps
    Author Alexi Wright
    Author John Peteet
    Author Susan Block
    Author Chris Lathan
    Author Tyler VanderWeele
    Author Holly Prigerson
    Abstract Objectives 1. Recognize spiritual care as a key domain of palliative care with known implications for patient well-being and medical care intensity at the end of life. 2. Recognize the association of spiritual care with medical care costs at the end of life. 3. Discuss the study design and limitations, and future study directions implicated by the study findings. Background. Spiritual care is associated with better patient well-being and less intensive end-of-life (EOL) medical care. It remains unclear if spiritual care is associated with lower EOL costs, particularly among groups predisposed to receive aggressive care. Research objectives. Determine the relationship of spiritual care to EOL costs. Methods. Prospective, multi-site study of 339 terminal cancer patients accrued September 2002–August 2008 and followed until death. Spiritual care was measured by patients’ reports that the healthcare team supported their religious/spiritual needs. EOL care and costs in the last week were compared among patients whose spiritual needs were well-supported versus those not. Analyses were adjusted for confounders and repeated among racial/ethnic minority and high religious coping patients. Results. In comparison to patients receiving less spiritual care, patients whose religious/spiritual needs were well-supported by clinic staff were more likely to receive a week or more of hospice (54% versus 72.8%; p = 0.01) and less likely to die in an ICU (5.1% versus 1.0%, p = 0.03). Among racial/ethnic minorities and high religious coping patients, those with well-supported R/S needs received less ICU care (11.3% versus 1.2%, p = 0.03 and 13.1% versus 1.6%, p = 0.02), more hospice care (43% versus 75.3%, p = 0.01 and 45.3% versus 73.1%, p = 0.007) and had fewer ICU deaths (11.2% versus 1.2%, p = .03 and 7.7% versus 0.6%, p = .009). EOL costs were lower when clinicians supported patients’ spiritual needs ($4,947 versus $2,833, p = 0.03), particularly among racial/ethnic minorities ($6,533 versus $2,276, p = 0.02) and high religious coping patients ($6,344 versus $,2431, p = 0.005). Conclusion. Cancer patients whose spiritual needs are well-supported by the healthcare team have lower EOL costs, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities and high religious coping patients. Implications for research, policy, or practice. Further research to define spiritual care and spiritual care education are required.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 41
    Issue 1
    Pages 243-244
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.10.131
    ISSN 0885-3924
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 7:00:24 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Notes:

    • Determine the relationship of spiritual care to end of life costs.

  • Teaching on spiritual care: The perceived impact on qualified nurses

    Type Journal Article
    Author Donia R. Baldacchino
    Abstract This study unit as part of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme aimed at reviving the spiritual dimension in nursing care. This paper discusses the perceived impact of the study unit Spiritual Coping in Illness and Care on qualified nurses. The paucity of literature demonstrates some benefits perceived by the learners namely, clarification of the concepts of spirituality and spiritual care, self-awareness of personal spirituality and their current clinical practice which neglects the spiritual dimension. The ASSET model [Narayanasamy, A., 1999. ASSET: a model for actioning spirituality and spiritual care education and training in nursing. Nurse Education Today 19, 274-285] guided the teaching of this study unit. The nature of this study unit demanded an exploratory method of teaching to encourage the nurses to be active participants. Qualitative data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire from the three cohort groups of qualified nurses who undertook this study unit in 2003-2004 (A: n = 33), 2004-2005 (B: n = 35) and 2006-2007 (C: n = 35). Learners found the study unit as a resource for updating their knowledge on spirituality in care and increased self-awareness of their own spirituality and nursing care. They acknowledged their role as change agents in order to implement holistic care in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team. Recommendations were proposed to integrate the spiritual dimension in education and patient care.
    Publication Nurse Education in Practice
    Volume 11
    Issue 1
    Pages 47-53
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.nepr.2010.06.008
    ISSN 1471-5953
    Short Title Teaching on spiritual care
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 7:04:39 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
    • Education
    • Impact
    • Post-graduate learners
    • Spiritual care
    • Spiritual coping
    • spirituality
    • Teaching
  • Influence of intestinal stoma on spiritual quality of life of U.S. veterans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carol M Baldwin
    Author Marcia Grant
    Author Christopher Wendel
    Author Susan Rawl
    Author C Max Schmidt
    Author Clifford Ko
    Author Robert S Krouse
    Abstract Purpose: To examine spiritual quality of life (QOL) of veterans with intestinal ostomies. Design: Mixed-method cross-sectional. Methods: Male veterans with total scores in the upper (n = 59) and lower (n = 61) quartiles of the City of Hope Quality-of-Life-Ostomy survey provided spiritual QOL data. Analyses included chi-square and analysis of variance with significance set at p < .05. Content analysis was used to explicate narratives and focus groups. Results: The high spiritual QOL group was more likely to be married, older, and report more years since surgery (each p < .0001). Upper quartile participants had more favorable scores for several spiritual QOL domains (all p < .0001). Qualitative comments reflected high or low total QOL scores. Conclusions: Spiritual QOL is influenced by an intestinal stoma. Qualitative comments lend insight into the meaning of spirituality items. Findings can assist in the provision of holistic care in this population.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 26
    Issue 3
    Pages 185-194; discussion 195-196; quiz 197-199
    Date Sep 2008
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0898010108315185
    ISSN 0898-0101
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18664602
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:06:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18664602
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Age Distribution
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Health
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Enterostomy
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Male
    • Men's Health
    • Middle Aged
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • United States
    • Veterans

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To examine spiritual quality of life (QOL) of veterans with intestinal ostomies. Design: Mixed-method cross-sectional. Conclusions: Spiritual QOL is influenced by an intestinal stoma. Qualitative comments lend insight into the meaning of spirituality items.

  • Effect of Iyengar yoga practice on fatigue and diurnal salivary cortisol concentration in breast cancer survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jacquelyn Banasik
    Author Holly Williams
    Author Mel Haberman
    Author Sally E Blank
    Author Robert Bendel
    Abstract In this study of the effect of regular Iyengar yoga practice on measures of self-perceived psychosocial function and diurnal salivary cortisol secretion in stage II-IV breast cancer survivors, women were randomly assigned to attend yoga practice for 90 min twice weekly for 8 weeks (n = 9) or to a wait-listed, noninterventional control group (n = 9). Traditional Iyengar yoga routines that progressively increased in difficulty as participants gained strength and flexibility were used. After 8 weeks, the yoga group had lower morning and 5 p.m. salivary cortisol and improved emotional well-being and fatigue scores.
    Publication Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
    Volume 23
    Issue 3
    Pages 135-142
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Nurse Pract
    DOI 10.1111/j.1745-7599.2010.00573.x
    ISSN 1745-7599
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21355946
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21355946
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM

    Notes:

    • This study examines the effect of regular lyengar yoga practice on measures of self-perceived psychosocial function and diurnal salivary cortisol secretion in stage II-IV breast cancer survivors.

  • Efficacy of Hypnosis in the Treatment of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in Women: Rural and Urban Samples

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arreed Barabasz
    Author Linda Higley
    Author Ciara Christensen
    Author Marianne Barabasz
    Abstract This article investigates the effect of hypnosis on immunity and whether this is the key mechanism in the hypnotic treatment of the genital infection caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease and can lead to cervical and other cancers. Current medical treatments are aimed at tissue assault (acids, freezing, surgery). Medical wart clearance rates are only 30% to 70% and reoccurrence is common. Our research contrasted hypnosis-only with medical-only therapies, using both urban hospital and rural community samples. Both hypnosis and medical therapy resulted in a statistically significant (p < .04) reduction in areas and numbers of lesions. Yet, at the 12-week follow-up, complete clearance rates were 5 to 1 in favor of hypnosis.
    Publication International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
    Volume 58
    Issue 1
    Pages 102-121
    Date 1/2010
    Journal Abbr Int. J. of Clinical & Expt. Hypnosis
    DOI 10.1080/00207140903310899
    ISSN 0020-7144
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?
    genre=article&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Qualitative systemic review of randomized controlled trials on complementary and alternative medicine treatments in fibromyalgia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Julia Baranowsky
    Author Petra Klose
    Author Frauke Musial
    Author Winfried Haeuser
    Author Gustav Dobos
    Author Jost Langhorst
    Abstract Abstract The objectives of the study were identification, quality evaluation and summary of RCTs on complementary and alternative medicine as defined by the National Institute of Health with the exception of dietary and nutritional supplements. A computerized search of databases from 1990 (year of publication of the ACR criteria for fibromyalgia) to July 2007 was performed. The RCTs were assessed by a methodological quality score. A total of 23 RCTs issued from 1992 to 2007 on acupuncture, balneotherapy, thermotherapy, magnetic therapy, homeopathy, manual manipulation, mind–body medicine, diet therapy and music therapy were identified. The RCTs had an average group size of 25 with the number of groups ranging from two to four. The quality score assessment of the RCTs yielded a mean score of 51 out of 100. The average methodological quality of the identified studies was fairly low. Best evidence was found for balneotherapy/hydrotherapy in multiple studies. Positive results were also noted for homeopathy and mild infrared hyperthermia in 1 RCT in each field. Mindfulness meditation showed mostly positive results in two trials and acupuncture mixed results in multiple trials with a tendency toward positive results. Tendencies for improvement were furthermore noted in single trials of the Mesendieck system, connective tissue massage and to some degree for osteopathy and magnet therapy. No positive evidence could be identified for Qi Gong, biofeedback, and body awareness therapy.
    Publication Rheumatology International
    Date 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s00296-009-0977-5
    URL http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1007/s00296-009-0977-5
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:09:08 PM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • prepub

    Notes:

    • This study investigates the effects of alternative therapies on fibromyalgia. Mindfulness meditation was found to have generally beneficial results, while acupuncture had mixed results that tended positive. No effects were found for Qi Gong, biofeedback, or body awareness therapy.

  • Religious Attendance and Subjective Well-Being among Older Americans: Evidence from the General Social Survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steven E. Barkan
    Author Susan F. Greenwood
    Abstract A growing body of research addresses religion and well-being among older adults. In investigating these significant aspects of older adults' lives, many studies find that religious attendance is positively associated with psychological well-being. However, this conclusion bears further scrutiny for several reasons, including a shortage of national data, the possibility that the effect found in some studies is due to the relationship of religious attendance with physical health, and lack of clarity on the reasons for this effect. This study addresses these gaps in prior research with data from pooled samples of the General Social Survey. Net of controls, we find among other results that religious attendance is positively associated with two measures of subjective well-being among adults age 65 and older. Final remarks address the theoretical implications of the findings and discuss directions for future research.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 45
    Issue 2
    Pages 116-129
    Date Dec., 2003
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Religious Attendance and Subjective Well-Being among Older Americans
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3512578
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:06:59 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 2003 / Copyright © 2003 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A growing body of research addresses religion and well-being among older adults. In investigating these significant aspects of older adults’ lives, many studies find that religious attendance is positively associated with psychological well-being. Net of controls, we find among other results that religious attendance is positively associated with two measures of subjective well-being among adults age 65 and older.

  • Teaching Religion and Healing

    Type Book
    Author Linda L Barnes
    Author Inés Talamantez
    Contributor American Academy of Religion
    Place Oxford
    Publisher Oxford University Press
    Date 2006
    ISBN 019517643X
    Library Catalog library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog
    Call Number BL41 .T43 2006
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Tags:

    • Medicine
    • religion
    • Religious aspects
    • Spiritual healing
    • Study and teaching

    Notes:

    • This book, a collection of essays by experts in various disciplines who address the role of healing in many different religious traditions and cultural communities, is designed to help instructors incorporate discussion of healing into their courses.  The authors aim to facilitate the development of courses focused on religion and healing.  An invaluable resource for faculty in anthropology, religious studies, American studies, sociology, and ethnic studies, it also addresses the needs of educators training physicians, health care professionals, and chaplains, particularly in relation to what is referred to as "cultural competence" - the ability to work with multicultural and religiously diverse patient populations.

  • Acute effects of transcendental meditation on hemodynamic functioning in middle-aged adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author V A Barnes
    Author F A Treiber
    Author J R Turner
    Author H Davis
    Author W B Strong
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Increased peripheral vasoconstriction (ie, total peripheral resistance, or TPR) has been implicated as playing an important role in the early development of essential hypertension. Some studies have demonstrated that Transcendental Meditation (TM) reduces high blood pressure, but the hemodynamic adjustments behind these blood pressure reductions have not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to provide a preliminary investigation of the acute effects of TM on TPR. METHODS: Subjects were 32 healthy adults (16 women and 16 men; 30 white and two African American; mean age, 46.4 +/- 3.9 years). Subjects were divided into a TM group of long-term TM practitioners (eight white women, nine white men, and one African American man; mean years of twice-daily TM practice, 22.4 +/- 6.7) and a control group (eight white women, five white men, and one African American man). Hemodynamic functioning was assessed immediately before and during three conditions: 20 minutes of rest with eyes open (all subjects), 20 minutes of TM (TM group), and 20 minutes of eyes-closed relaxation (control group). RESULTS: During eyes-open rest, the TM group had decreases in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and TPR, compared with increases in the control group (SBP: -2.5 vs. +2.4 mm Hg, p < .01; TPR: -0.7 vs. +0.5 mm Hg/liter per minute, p < .004). During TM, there was a greater decrease in SBP due to a concomitantly greater decrease in TPR compared with the control group during eyes-closed relaxation (SBP: -3.0 vs. +2.1 mm Hg, p < .04; TPR: -1.0 vs. +0.3 mm Hg/liter per minute, p < .03). CONCLUSIONS: TPR decreased significantly during TM. Decreases in vasoconstrictive tone during TM may be the hemodynamic mechanism responsible for reduction of high blood pressure over time. The results of this study provide a preliminary contribution to the understanding of the underlying hemodynamic mechanisms responsible for the beneficial influence of TM on cardiovascular risk factors.
    Publication Psychosomatic Medicine
    Volume 61
    Issue 4
    Pages 525-531
    Date 1999 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Psychosom Med
    ISSN 0033-3174
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/10443761
    Accessed Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:45:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10443761
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Blood Pressure
    • Female
    • Heart Rate
    • Hemodynamics
    • Hypertension
    • Life Style
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Vascular Resistance

    Notes:

    • Some studies have demonstrated that Transcendental Meditation (TM) reduces high blood pressure, but the hemodynamic adjustments behind these blood pressure reductions have not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to provide a preliminary investigation of the acute effects of TM on TPR. Conclusions: TPR decreased significantly during TM.

  • Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression: A preliminary study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thorsten Barnhofer
    Author Catherine Crane
    Author Emily Hargus
    Author Myanthi Amarasinghe
    Author Rosie Winder
    Author J Mark G Williams
    Abstract This pilot study investigated the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), a treatment combining mindfulness meditation and interventions taken from cognitive therapy, in patients suffering from chronic-recurrent depression. Currently symptomatic patients with at least three previous episodes of depression and a history of suicidal ideation were randomly allocated to receive either MBCT delivered in addition to treatment-as-usual (TAU; N=14 completers) or TAU alone (N=14 completers). Depressive symptoms and diagnostic status were assessed before and after treatment phase. Self-reported symptoms of depression decreased from severe to mild levels in the MBCT group while there was no significant change in the TAU group. Similarly, numbers of patients meeting full criteria for depression decreased significantly more in the MBCT group than in the TAU group. Results are consistent with previous uncontrolled studies. Although based on a small sample and, therefore, limited in their generalizability, they provide further preliminary evidence that MBCT can be used to successfully reduce current symptoms in patients suffering from a protracted course of the disorder.
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 47
    Issue 5
    Pages 366-373
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Behav Res Ther
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2009.01.019
    ISSN 1873-622X
    Short Title Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:43:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19249017
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Notes:

    • This pilot study investigated the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), a treatment combining mindfulness meditation and interventions taken from cognitive therapy, in patients suffering from chronic-recurrent depression. Self-reported symptoms of depression decreased from severe to mild levels in the MBCT group while there was no significant change in the TAU group.

  • Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression: A preliminary study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thorsten Barnhofer
    Author Catherine Crane
    Author Emily Hargus
    Author Myanthi Amarasinghe
    Author Rosie Winder
    Author J Mark G Williams
    Abstract This pilot study investigated the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), a treatment combining mindfulness meditation and interventions taken from cognitive therapy, in patients suffering from chronic-recurrent depression. Currently symptomatic patients with at least three previous episodes of depression and a history of suicidal ideation were randomly allocated to receive either MBCT delivered in addition to treatment-as-usual (TAU; N=14 completers) or TAU alone (N=14 completers). Depressive symptoms and diagnostic status were assessed before and after treatment phase. Self-reported symptoms of depression decreased from severe to mild levels in the MBCT group while there was no significant change in the TAU group. Similarly, numbers of patients meeting full criteria for depression decreased significantly more in the MBCT group than in the TAU group. Results are consistent with previous uncontrolled studies. Although based on a small sample and, therefore, limited in their generalizability, they provide further preliminary evidence that MBCT can be used to successfully reduce current symptoms in patients suffering from a protracted course of the disorder.
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 47
    Issue 5
    Pages 366-373
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Behav Res Ther
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2009.01.019
    ISSN 1873-622X
    Short Title Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19249017
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:21:53 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19249017
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Exploring the natural foundations of religion

    Type Journal Article
    Author Justin L. Barrett
    Abstract A new cognitive approach to religion is bringing fresh insights to our understanding of how religious concepts are maintained, acquired and used to motivate and direct actions. This approach suggests that seemingly extraordinary thoughts and behaviours can be supported by quite ordinary cognition and may thus be termed [`]natural'. Simultaneously, this research is expanding the domain of concepts and causal reasoning in general. This review examines recent research into religious rituals, communication and transmission of religious knowledge, the development of god-concepts in children, and the origins and character of religious concepts in adults. Together, these studies consistently emphasize and support the notion that the cultural phenomena typically labeled as [`]religion' may be understood as the product of aggregated ordinary cognition. The new cognitive science of religion should eventually provide a fuller account of the distinctive and apparently extraordinary properties of religion.
    Publication Trends in Cognitive Sciences
    Volume 4
    Issue 1
    Pages 29-34
    Date January 1, 2000
    DOI 10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01419-9
    ISSN 1364-6613
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VH9-3YF3BY5-C/2/033587de04eedbcf5e8f56fd8725df71
    Accessed Wednesday, November 04, 2009 9:14:45 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Concepts
    • Culture
    • Memory
    • religion
    • Ritual
    • Transmission

    Notes:

    • A new cognitive approach to religion is bringing fresh insights to our understanding of how religious concepts are maintained, acquired and used to motivate and direct actions. This approach suggests that seemingly extraordinary thoughts and behaviours can be supported by quite ordinary cognition and may thus be termed [`]natural’. Simultaneously, this research is expanding the domain of concepts and causal reasoning in general. This review examines recent research into religious rituals, communication and transmission of religious knowledge, the development of god-concepts in children, and the origins and character of religious concepts in adults. Together, these studies consistently emphasize and support the notion that the cultural phenomena typically labeled as [`]religion’ may be understood as the product of aggregated ordinary cognition. The new cognitive science of religion should eventually provide a fuller account of the distinctive and apparently extraordinary properties of religion.

  • Why Would Anyone Believe in God?

    Type Book
    Author Justin L. Barrett
    Series Cognitive Science of Religion Series
    Publisher AltaMira Press
    Date 2004-05-28
    ISBN 0759106673
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Because of the design of our minds. That is Justin Barrett’s simple answer to the question of his title. With rich evidence from cognitive science but without technical language, psychologist Barrett shows that belief in God is an almost inevitable consequence of the kind of minds we have. Most of what we believe comes from mental tools working below our conscious awareness. And what we believe consciously is in large part driven by these unconscious beliefs. Barrett demonstrates that beliefs in gods match up well with these automatic assumptions; beliefs in an all-knowing, all-powerful God match up even better. Barrett goes on to explain why beliefs like religious beliefs are so widespread and why it is very difficult for our minds to think without them. Anyone who wants a concise, clear, and scientific explanation of why anyone would believe in God should pick up Barrett’s book. Visit our website for sample chapters!

  • God and genes in the caring professions: clinician and clergy perceptions of religion and genetics

    Type Journal Article
    Author Virginia L Bartlett
    Author Rolanda L Johnson
    Abstract Little is known about how care providers' perceptions of religion and genetics affect interactions with patients/parishioners. This study investigates clinicians' and clergy's perceptions of and experiences with religion and genetics in their clinical and pastoral interactions. This is an exploratory qualitative study designed to elicit care providers' descriptions of experiences with religion and genetics in clinical or pastoral interactions. Thirteen focus groups were conducted with members of the caring professions: physicians, nurses, and genetics counselors (clinicians), ministers and chaplains (clergy). Preliminary analysis of qualitative data is presented here. Preliminary analysis highlights four positions in professional perceptions of the relationship between science and faith. Further, differences among professional perceptions appear to influence perceptions of needed or available resources for interactions with religion and genetics. Clinicians' and clergy's perceptions of how religion and genetics relate are not defined solely by professional affiliation. These non-role-defined perceptions may affect clinical and pastoral interactions, especially regarding resources for patients and parishioners.
    Publication American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part C, Seminars in Medical Genetics
    Volume 151C
    Issue 1
    Pages 41-51
    Date Feb 15, 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet
    DOI 10.1002/ajmg.c.30201
    ISSN 1552-4876
    Short Title God and genes in the caring professions
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:57:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19170091
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Clergy
    • Female
    • Genetics, Medical
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
  • Spirituality, well-being, and quality of life in people with rheumatoid arthritis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Susan J Bartlett
    Author Ralph Piedmont
    Author Andrew Bilderback
    Author Alan K Matsumoto
    Author Joan M Bathon
    Publication Arthritis and Rheumatism
    Volume 49
    Issue 6
    Pages 778-783
    Date Dec 15, 2003
    Journal Abbr Arthritis Rheum
    DOI 10.1002/art.11456
    ISSN 0004-3591
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14673963
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:39:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14673963
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Arthritis, Rheumatoid
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Sickness Impact Profile
    • spirituality
  • Theistic Existential Psychotherapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeremy D. Bartz
    Abstract Recently, the dichotomy between psychotherapy and spirituality has weakened as scholars and practitioners have begun to acknowledge the value of spiritual factors in clients' lives. This article integrates I. D. Yalom's (1980) existential psychotherapy with the theistic worldview and with the assumptions and ideas of theistic scholars such as Kierkegaard. The philosophical foundations of Yalom's existential psychotherapy are contrasted with those of theism. A theistic reconceptualization of existential personality theory is presented, and the existential approach to treatment is reconsidered in light of theism. Finally, a case vignette involving fear of love loss is presented to illustrate how a theistic perspective can enhance the practice of existential psychotherapy
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 1
    Issue 2
    Pages 69-80
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1037/a0014895
    ISSN 1941-1022
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B9846-4WKH6C3-1/2/7799566366032a43d78c1c9d42501ab6
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:14:19 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • existential therapy
    • existentialism
    • Psychotherapy
    • spirituality
    • theistic
  • A 17-year longitudinal study of religion and mental health in a Mormon sample.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeremy D. Bartz
    Author P. Scott Richards
    Author Timothy B. Smith
    Author Lane Fischer
    Abstract In 1984, 1987, and 2001, data were collected on a religiously devout group of college students (N = 53) in an effort to better understand the process of religious development and the relationship between religiosity and mental health. This study analyzes those data by examining the relationship between devoutness and psychopathology over time, the correlations between intrinsic religiosity and indices of psychopathology, the stability of religious motivations over the course of adulthood, and the stability of two different religious development styles that were identified in 1984. This study found that (1) these religiously devout individuals have consistently fallen within the normal range on the clinical scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and have demonstrated continual reduction in their scores on those scales; (2) there were no correlations between scores of intrinsic religiosity and psychopathology; (3) these participants' religious motivations remained stable over the course of adulthood; and (4) most of the participants eventually manifested a continuous style of religious development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 683-695
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670801944966
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Notes:

    • Assesses data collected between 1984-2001 on the mental health of religious Mormons. Examines the relationship between devoutness and psychopathology and the stability of specific beliefs and practices.

  • Cognitive Process: A Buddhist explanation of information process and its congruent reactions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ven. Sreemat Swapan Kumar Barua
    Abstract The author presents a Buddhist understanding of the cognitive process of incoming information, its circulation and its congruent reactions based on the Buddhist spiritual meditative tradition of South and Southeast Asia. He asserts that Buddha can be credited as the first cognitive psychologist who propounded one of the most comprehensive analytic systems of cognitive process with an ultimate aim of achieving an altered psychological state of positive change and equilibrium reaction. Abstract from a paper given at the Epilepsy, Brain and Mind conference in March 2010, in Prague, Czech Republic.
    Publication Epilepsy & Behavior
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 598
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.01.090
    ISSN 1525-5050
    Short Title 65. Cognitive process
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 2:59:14 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Wednesday, November 30, 2011 7:40:03 PM

    Notes:

    • Applies Buddhist philosophy to cognitive processes; positions BUddha as a cognitive psychologist meditation The author presents a Buddhist understanding of the cognitive process of incoming information, its circulation and its congruent reactions based on the Buddhist spiritual meditative tradition of South and Southeast Asia. He asserts that Buddha can be credited as the first cognitive psychologist who propounded one of the most comprehensive analytic systems of cognitive process with an ultimate aim of achieving an altered psychological state of positive change and equilibrium reaction. Abstract from a paper given at the Epilepsy, Brain and Mind conference in March 2010, in Prague, Czech Republic.

  • Perceived Environmental Church Support Is Associated with Dietary Practices among African-American Adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Meghan Baruth
    Author Sara Wilcox
    Author Margaret D. Condrasky
    Abstract <p><br/>A unique strength of the African-American community is the importance of church and faith. Interventions promoting health might want to build on these strengths by developing faith-based interventions that encourage churches to create an environment that supports behavior change. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between perceived environmental church support for healthy eating and intake of fruit and vegetables and fat- and fiber-related behaviors, and to examine whether these relationships differ by sex. The design was a cross-sectional study in which participants completed self-report dietary and perceived church support measures before initiation of an intervention. Relationships between fruit and vegetable consumption, fat- and fiber-related behaviors, and perceived church support (eg, total, written informational, spoken informational, instrumental [fruit and vegetable consumption only]), along with Support×Sex interactions were examined. Participants were 1,136 African-American church members from four geographically defined districts in South Carolina. Statistical analyses included regression models controlling for sex, age, years of education, health rating, and body mass index using SAS PROC MIXED. A separate model was conducted for each measure of perceived church support and each type of healthy eating index. Perceived total church support and perceived written and spoken informational church support were associated with considerably higher fruit and vegetable intake and more favorable fiber-related behaviors, whereas only perceived total and perceived written informational support were associated with more low-fat dietary behaviors. Perceived instrumental church support was not associated with fruit and vegetable consumption. No sex differences were found. The social and physical church environment can be an important factor influencing the dietary habits of its members. Future faith-based interventions should further explore the role of the church environment in improving the dietary practices of its members.</p>
    Publication Journal of the American Dietetic Association
    Volume 111
    Issue 6
    Pages 889-893
    Date June 2011
    DOI 16/j.jada.2011.03.014
    ISSN 0002-8223
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000282231100277X
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 7:04:22 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
  • Spirituality and support for family presence during invasive procedures and resuscitations in adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nancy Baumhover
    Author Linda Hughes
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Many health care professionals believe that they provide holistic care. The role of spirituality, a known variable of holism, has not been explored in relation to the support among health care professionals for family presence during invasive procedures and resuscitative efforts in adults. OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between spirituality of health care professionals and their support for family presence during invasive procedures and resuscitative efforts in adults. METHODS: In this descriptive correlational study, 108 participants (physicians, physician assistants, and nurses) completed the Howden Spirituality Assessment Scale and a survey to measure their support for family presence. RESULTS: A significant positive relationship was found between spirituality and support for family presence during resuscitative efforts in adults (r = 0.24, P = .05) and a significant negative correlation was found between support for family presence and the age of the health care professional (r = - 0.27, P = .01). No significant correlations were found between any of the study variables and invasive procedures in adults. CONCLUSIONS: Adopting a more holistic perspective may support family presence, especially during resuscitative efforts in adults. Allowing the option for patients' families to remain present promotes holistic family-centered care.
    Publication American Journal of Critical Care: An Official Publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
    Volume 18
    Issue 4
    Pages 357-366
    Date July 2009
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Crit. Care
    DOI 10.4037/ajcc2009759
    ISSN 1062-3264
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19556414
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 4:13:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19556414
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
  • Psychosocial factors, quality of life, and psychological distress: ethnic differences in patients with heart failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melanie K Bean
    Author Douglas Gibson
    Author Maureen Flattery
    Author Angela Duncan
    Author Michael Hess
    Abstract Advances in treatment have prolonged life in heart failure (HF) patients, leading to increased attention to quality of life (QOL) and psychological functioning. It is not clear if ethnic differences exist in factors associated with psychological well-being. We examined psychosocial factors associated with depression and anxiety in 97 HF patients. Medical records were reviewed and patients (M age 53, 50% African American) completed surveys examining social support, coping, spirituality, and QOL for their association with depression and anxiety. Multiple regressions suggested that psychosocial factors were associated with psychological health. Patients with lower social support, lower meaning/peace and more negative coping reported greater depression; positive coping, and lower meaning/peace were associated with higher anxiety. Ethnicity stratified models suggested that spiritual well-being was associated with depression only among African Americans and QOL partially mediated this relationship. Findings suggest the importance of considering the unique psychosocial needs of diverse populations to appropriately target clinical interventions.
    Publication Progress in Cardiovascular Nursing
    Volume 24
    Issue 4
    Pages 131-140
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Prog Cardiovasc Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1751-7117.2009.00051.x
    ISSN 1751-7117
    Short Title Psychosocial factors, quality of life, and psychological distress
    Accessed Sunday, January 24, 2010 5:24:05 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20002337
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • Advances in treatment have prolonged life in heart failure (HF) patients, leading to increased attention to quality of life (QOL) and psychological functioning. It is not clear if ethnic differences exist in factors associated with psychological well-being. We examined psychosocial factors associated with depression and anxiety in 97 HF patients. Medical records were reviewed and patients (M age 53, 50% African American) completed surveys examining social support, coping, spirituality, and QOL for their association with depression and anxiety. Multiple regressions suggested that psychosocial factors were associated with psychological health. Patients with lower social support, lower meaning/peace and more negative coping reported greater depression; positive coping, and lower meaning/peace were associated with higher anxiety. Ethnicity stratified models suggested that spiritual well-being was associated with depression only among African Americans and QOL partially mediated this relationship. Findings suggest the importance of considering the unique psychosocial needs of diverse populations to appropriately target clinical interventions.

  • Effects of mindful yoga on sleep in pregnant women: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy E Beddoe
    Author Kathryn A Lee
    Author Sandra J Weiss
    Author Holly Powell Kennedy
    Author Chin-Po Paul Yang
    Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this experimental pilot study was to measure the effects of a mindfulness-based yoga intervention on sleep in pregnant women. Methods: Fifteen healthy, nulliparous women in their second or third trimesters with singleton pregnancies attended weekly mindfulness meditation and prenatal Hatha yoga classes in the community for 7 weeks. Sleep variables, as estimated by 72 hr of continuous wrist actigraphy and the General Sleep Disturbance Scale (GSDS), were recorded at baseline (Time 1) and postintervention (Time 2). Control data were obtained by evaluating sleep in the third-trimester group at Time 1. Due to small sample size, data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric statistics. Results: Women who began the intervention in the second trimester had significantly fewer awakenings, less wake time during the night, and less perceived sleep disturbance at Time 2 than at baseline. Those who began during the third trimester had poorer sleep over time in spite of the intervention. Women who began the intervention in their second trimester had less awake time at Time 2 compared to third-trimester controls at Time 1. Conclusions: Mindful yoga shows promise for women in their second trimester of pregnancy to diminish total number of awakenings at night and improve sleep efficiency and merits further exploration. Results from this pilot study provide the data to estimate sample size and design and implement powered and more controlled studies in the future.
    Publication Biological Research for Nursing
    Volume 11
    Issue 4
    Pages 363-370
    Date Apr 2010
    Journal Abbr Biol Res Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/1099800409356320
    ISSN 1552-4175
    Short Title Effects of mindful yoga on sleep in pregnant women
    Accessed Monday, March 29, 2010 3:38:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20338897
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • This study explores the effects of yoga practice on sleep patterns among women in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy.  "Mindful yoga shows promise for women in their second trimester of pregnancy to diminish total number of awakenings at night and improve sleep efficiency and merits further exploration. Results from this pilot study provide the data to estimate sample size and design and implement powered and more controlled studies in the future."

  • The effects of mindfulness-based yoga during pregnancy on maternal psychological and physical distress

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy E Beddoe
    Author Chin-Po Paul Yang
    Author Holly Powell Kennedy
    Author Sandra J Weiss
    Author Kathryn A Lee
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility and level of acceptability of a mindful yoga intervention provided during pregnancy and to gather preliminary data on the efficacy of the intervention in reducing distress. DESIGN: Baseline and post-treatment measures examined state and trait anxiety, perceived stress, pain, and morning salivary cortisol in a single treatment group. Postintervention data also included participant evaluation of the intervention. SETTING: The 7 weeks mindfulness-based yoga group intervention combined elements of Iyengar yoga and mindfulness-based stress reduction. PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen healthy pregnant nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies between 12 and 32 weeks gestation at the time of enrollment. METHODS: Outcomes were evaluated from pre- to postintervention and between second and third trimesters with repeated measures analysis of variance and post hoc nonparametric tests. RESULTS: Women practicing mindful yoga in their second trimester reported significant reductions in physical pain from baseline to postintervention compared with women in the third trimester whose pain increased. Women in their third trimester showed greater reductions in perceived stress and trait anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary evidence supports yoga's potential efficacy in these areas, particularly if started early in the pregnancy.
    Publication Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing: JOGNN / NAACOG
    Volume 38
    Issue 3
    Pages 310-319
    Date 2009 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2009.01023.x
    ISSN 1552-6909
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:52:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19538619
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hydrocortisone
    • Pain
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Pilot Projects
    • Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Complications
    • Pregnancy Trimester, Second
    • Pregnancy Trimester, Third
    • Prenatal Care
    • Saliva
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome
    • yoga
  • Religious coping and hospital admissions among adults with sickle cell disease

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shawn M. Bediako
    Author Lakshmi Lattimer
    Author Carlton, Jr. Haywood
    Author Neda Ratanawongsa
    Author Sophie Lanzkron
    Author Mary Catherine Beach
    Abstract Although a well-established literature implicates religiosity as a central element of the African American experience, little is known about how individuals from this group utilize religion to cope with specific health-related stressors. The present study examined the relation between religious coping and hospital admissions among a cohort of 95 adults with sickle cell disease-a genetic blood disorder that, in the United States, primarily affects people of African ancestry. Multiple regression analyses indicated that positive religious coping uniquely accounted for variance in hospital admissions after adjusting for other demographic and diagnostic variables. Specifically, greater endorsement of positive religious coping was associated with significantly fewer hospital admissions (β = -.29, P < .05). These results indicate a need for further investigation of the roles that religion and spirituality play in adjustment to sickle cell disease and their influence on health care utilization patterns and health outcomes.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 34
    Issue 2
    Pages 120-127
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-010-9290-8
    ISSN 1573-3521
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20812027
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:02:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20812027
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
  • Spirituality in persons with heart failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author Theresa A Beery
    Author Linda S Baas
    Author Christopher Fowler
    Author Gordon Allen
    Abstract Spiritual expression has been proposed as a dimension of quality of life. Persons with chronic diseases such as AIDS or cancer have described the value of spiritual expression in living with their illnesses. The authors examined the role spirituality plays in the lives of 58 people with heart failure being treated medically or by transplant. Instruments used included the Medical Outcome Survey Short Form 36 and Index of Well-Being measures of quality of life, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and the Relative Importance Scale. Combined spirituality scores predicted 24% of the variance in global quality of life. There were no significant gender differences in spiritual well-being or quality of life.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 20
    Issue 1
    Pages 5-25; quiz 26-30
    Date Mar 2002
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    ISSN 0898-0101
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11898688
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:16:10 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11898688
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Faith Healing
    • Female
    • Heart Failure
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Time Factors

    Notes:

    • The authors examined the role spirituality plays in the lives of 58 people with heart failure being treated medically or by transplant. Instruments used included the Medical Outcome Survey Short Form 36 and Index of Well-Being measures of quality of life, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and the Relative Importance Scale. Combined spirituality scores predicted 24% of the variance in global quality of life. There were no significant gender differences in spiritual well-being or quality of life.

  • Effect of yoga therapy on facial emotion recognition deficits, symptoms and functioning in patients with schizophrenia.

    Type Journal Article
    Author R. V. Behere
    Author R. Arasappa
    Author A. Jagannathan
    Author S. Varambally
    Author G. Venkatasubramanian
    Author J. Thirthalli
    Author D. K. Subbakrishna
    Author H. R. Nagendra
    Author B. N. Gangadhar
    Abstract Effect of yoga therapy on facial emotion recognition deficits, symptoms and functioning in patients with schizophrenia. Facial emotion recognition deficits have been consistently demonstrated in schizophrenia and can impair socio-occupational functioning in these patients. Treatments to improve these deficits in antipsychotic-stabilized patients have not been well studied. Yoga therapy has been described to improve functioning in various domains in schizophrenia; however, its effect on FERD is not known. Antipsychotic-stabilized patients randomized to receive Yoga ( n = 27), Exercise ( n = 17) or Waitlist group ( n = 22) were assessed at baseline, 2nd month, and 4th month of follow-up by raters blind to group status. Assessments included Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Socio-Occupational Functioning Scale (SOFS), and Tool for Recognition of Emotions in Neuropsychiatric DisorderS (TRENDS). There was a significant positive correlation between baseline FERD and socio-occupational functioning ( r = 0.3, P = 0.01). Paired samples t test showed significant improvement in positive and negative symptoms, socio-occupational functioning and performance on TRENDS ( P < 0.05) in the Yoga group, but not in the other two groups. Maximum improvement occurred at the end of 2 months, and improvement in positive and negative symptoms persisted at the end of 4 months. Yoga therapy can be a useful add-on treatment to improve psychopathology, FERD, and socio-occupational functioning in antipsychotic-stabilized patients with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
    Volume 123
    Issue 2
    Pages 147-153
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2010.01605.x
    ISSN 0001690X
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • PSYCHOLOGY, Pathological
    • SCHIZOPHRENIA -- Treatment
    • THEOSOPHY
    • THERAPEUTICS
    • yoga
  • Reflections by inner-city drug users on a Buddhist-based spirituality-focused therapy: a qualitative study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark Beitel
    Author Marla Genova
    Author Zev Schuman-Olivier
    Author Ruth Arnold
    Author S Kelly Avants
    Author Arthur Margolin
    Abstract A manual-guided, spirituality-focused intervention--spiritual self-schema (3-S) therapy--for the treatment of addiction and HIV-risk behavior was developed as part of a Stage I behavioral therapies development project. It is theoretically grounded in cognitive and Buddhist psychologies and may be suitable for individuals of diverse faiths. The therapy development process began with focus groups to assess addicted clients' perceived need for a spirituality-focused intervention. The therapy was then codified in manual format, and a controlled clinical trial was conducted. Here the authors report on inner-city, methadone-maintained clients' personal experiences that were recorded in semistructured interviews following completion of the therapy. Findings from this qualitative study support the value of integrating spirituality-focused interventions into addiction treatment for the purpose of increasing motivation for drug abstinence and HIV prevention.
    Publication The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
    Volume 77
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-9
    Date Jan 2007
    Journal Abbr Am J Orthopsychiatry
    DOI 10.1037/0002-9432.77.1.1
    ISSN 0002-9432
    Short Title Reflections by inner-city drug users on a Buddhist-based spirituality-focused therapy
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17352579
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:28:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17352579
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Buddhism
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Risk-Taking
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Urban Population

    Notes:

    • A manual-guided, spirituality-focused intervention--spiritual self-schema (3-S) therapy--for the treatment of addiction and HIV-risk behavior was developed as part of a Stage I behavioral therapies development project. It is theoretically grounded in cognitive and Buddhist psychologies and may be suitable for individuals of diverse faiths. THere the authors report on inner-city, methadone-maintained clients’ personal experiences that were recorded in semistructured interviews following completion of the therapy.

  • Psychoanalysis and theism : critical reflections on the Grünbaum thesis

    Type Book
    Author Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi
    Place Lanham
    Publisher Jason Aronson
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780765707222
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
  • Integrative psychiatry

    Type Book
    Author Bernard D. Beitman
    Author Daniel A. Monti
    Place New York
    Publisher Oxford University Press
    Date August 2009
    ISBN 9780195388374
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM
  • A Comparison of Two Spirituality Instruments and Their Relationship With Depression and Quality of Life in Chronic Heart Failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author David B. Bekelman
    Author Carla Parry
    Author Farr A. Curlin
    Author Traci E. Yamashita
    Author Diane L. Fairclough
    Author Frederick S. Wamboldt
    Abstract Spirituality is a multifaceted construct related to health outcomes that remains ill defined and difficult to measure. Spirituality in patients with advanced chronic illnesses, such as chronic heart failure, has received limited attention. We compared two widely used spirituality instruments, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy--Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp) and the Ironson-Woods Spirituality/Religiousness Index (IW), to better understand what they measure in 60 outpatients with chronic heart failure. We examined how these instruments related to each other and to measures of depression and quality of life using correlations and principal component analyses. The FACIT-Sp measured aspects of spirituality related to feelings of peace and coping, whereas the IW measured beliefs, coping, and relational aspects of spirituality. Only the FACIT-Sp Meaning/Peace subscale consistently correlated with depression (r = -0.50, P < 0.0001) and quality of life (r = 0.41, P = 0.001). Three items from the depression measure loaded onto the same factor as the FACIT-Sp Meaning/Peace subscale (r = 0.43, -0.43, and 0.71), whereas the remaining 12 items formed a separate factor (Cronbach's alpha = 0.82) when combined with the spirituality instruments in a principal component analysis. The results demonstrate several clinically useful constructs of spirituality in patients with heart failure and suggest that psychological and spiritual well-being, despite some overlap, remain distinct phenomena.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 515-526
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.08.005
    ISSN 0885-3924
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 9:06:36 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • depression
    • Heart Failure
    • Measurement
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
  • Symptom burden, depression, and spiritual well-being: a comparison of heart failure and advanced cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author David B Bekelman
    Author John S Rumsfeld
    Author Edward P Havranek
    Author Traci E Yamashita
    Author Evelyn Hutt
    Author Sheldon H Gottlieb
    Author Sydney M Dy
    Author Jean S Kutner
    Abstract BACKGROUND: A lower proportion of patients with chronic heart failure receive palliative care compared to patients with advanced cancer. OBJECTIVE: We examined the relative need for palliative care in the two conditions by comparing symptom burden, psychological well-being, and spiritual well-being in heart failure and cancer patients. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty outpatients with symptomatic heart failure and 30 outpatients with advanced lung or pancreatic cancer. MEASUREMENTS: Symptom burden (Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale-Short Form), depression symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form), and spiritual well-being (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being scale). MAIN RESULTS: Overall, the heart failure patients and the cancer patients had similar numbers of physical symptoms (9.1 vs. 8.6, p = 0.79), depression scores (3.9 vs. 3.2, p = 0.53), and spiritual well-being (35.9 vs. 39.0, p = 0.31) after adjustment for age, gender, marital status, education, and income. Symptom burden, depression symptoms, and spiritual well-being were also similar among heart failure patients with ejection fraction < or =30, ejection fraction >30, and cancer patients. Heart failure patients with worse heart failure-related health status had a greater number of physical symptoms (13.2 vs. 8.6, p = 0.03), higher depression scores (6.7 vs. 3.2, p = 0.001), and lower spiritual well-being (29.0 vs. 38.9, p < 0.01) than patients with advanced cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with symptomatic heart failure and advanced cancer have similar needs for palliative care as assessed by symptom burden, depression, and spiritual well-being. This implies that heart failure patients, particularly those with more severe heart failure, need the option of palliative care just as cancer patients do.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 24
    Issue 5
    Pages 592-598
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    DOI 10.1007/s11606-009-0931-y
    ISSN 1525-1497
    Short Title Symptom burden, depression, and spiritual well-being
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:38:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19288160
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • depression
    • Female
    • Heart Failure
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Palliative Care
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality
  • Spiritual well-being and depression in patients with heart failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author David B Bekelman
    Author Sydney M Dy
    Author Diane M Becker
    Author Ilan S Wittstein
    Author Danetta E Hendricks
    Author Traci E Yamashita
    Author Sheldon H Gottlieb
    Abstract BACKGROUND: In patients with chronic heart failure, depression is common and associated with poor quality of life, more frequent hospitalizations, and higher mortality. Spiritual well-being is an important, modifiable coping resource in patients with terminal cancer and is associated with less depression, but little is known about the role of spiritual well-being in patients with heart failure. OBJECTIVE: To identify the relationship between spiritual well-being and depression in patients with heart failure. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty patients aged 60 years or older with New York Heart Association class II-IV heart failure. MEASUREMENTS: Spiritual well-being was measured using the total scale and 2 subscales (meaning/peace, faith) of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being scale, depression using the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF). RESULTS: The median age of participants was 75 years. Nineteen participants (32%) had clinically significant depression (GDS-SF > 4). Greater spiritual well-being was strongly inversely correlated with depression (Spearman's correlation -0.55, 95% confidence interval -0.70 to -0.35). In particular, greater meaning/peace was strongly associated with less depression (r = -.60, P < .0001), while faith was only modestly associated (r = -.38, P < .01). In a regression analysis accounting for gender, income, and other risk factors for depression (social support, physical symptoms, and health status), greater spiritual well-being continued to be significantly associated with less depression (P = .05). Between the 2 spiritual well-being subscales, only meaning/peace contributed significantly to this effect (P = .02) and accounted for 7% of the variance in depression. CONCLUSIONS: Among outpatients with heart failure, greater spiritual well-being, particularly meaning/peace, was strongly associated with less depression. Enhancement of patients' sense of spiritual well-being might reduce or prevent depression and thus improve quality of life and other outcomes in this population.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 22
    Issue 4
    Pages 470-477
    Date Apr 2007
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    DOI 10.1007/s11606-006-0044-9
    ISSN 1525-1497
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17372795
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:31:19 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17372795
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Heart Failure
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Quality of Life
    • Sickness Impact Profile
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Objective: To identify the relationship between spiritual well-being and depression in patients with heart failure. Conclusions: Among outpatients with heart failure, greater spiritual well-being, particularly meaning/peace, was strongly associated with less depression.

  • Phenomenology of near-death experiences: a cross-cultural perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author John Belanti
    Author Mahendra Perera
    Author Karuppiah Jagadheesan
    Abstract Near-death experiences (NDEs) include a set of subjective experiences encountered by people who were close to death or were faced with life-threatening situations. Reports have suggested that the phenomenology of NDE might differ across cultures. This article is aimed at providing an updated phenomenological perspective by comparing NDEs in a cross-cultural context. We compared the various descriptions of NDEs from a phenomenological perspective. There were similarities between particular cultures, which differed from typical western European experiences. This article concludes that although there are common themes, there are also reported differences in NDEs. The variability across cultures is most likely to be due to our interpretation and verbalizing of such esoteric events through the filters of language, cultural experiences, religion, education and their influence on our belief systems either shedding influence as an individual variable or more often perhaps by their rich interplay between these factors.
    Publication Transcultural Psychiatry
    Volume 45
    Issue 1
    Pages 121-133
    Date Mar 2008
    Journal Abbr Transcult Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1177/1363461507088001
    ISSN 1363-4615
    Short Title Phenomenology of near-death experiences
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18344255
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:28:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18344255
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Culture
    • Death
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged

    Notes:

    • Near-death experiences (NDEs) include a set of subjective experiences encountered by people who were close to death or were faced with life-threatening situations. Reports have suggested that the phenomenology of NDE might differ across cultures. This article is aimed at providing an updated phenomenological perspective by comparing NDEs in a cross-cultural context. We compared the various descriptions of NDEs from a phenomenological perspective. There were similarities between particular cultures, which differed from typical western European experiences. This article concludes that although there are common themes, there are also reported differences in NDEs. The variability across cultures is most likely to be due to our interpretation and verbalizing of such esoteric events through the filters of language, cultural experiences, religion, education and their influence on our belief systems either shedding influence as an individual variable or more often perhaps by their rich interplay between these factors.

  • Social buffering by God: prayer and measures of stress

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jennifer N Belding
    Author Malcolm G Howard
    Author Anne M McGuire
    Author Amanda C Schwartz
    Author Janie H Wilson
    Abstract Social buffering is characterized by attenuation of stress in the presence of others, with supportive individuals providing superior buffering. We were interested in learning if the implied presence of a supportive entity, God, would reduce acute stress. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: prayer, encouraging self-talk, and control. They were subsequently placed in a stressful situation. Self ratings of stress were lower among the prayer and self-talk conditions relative to controls. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures only among those who prayed were lower than controls; however, prayer and self-talk did not differ. Prayer alone did not significantly reduce stress, perhaps because the majority of students in the prayer condition did not consider reading a prayer to constitute praying.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 2
    Pages 179-187
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9256-8
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Social buffering by God
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:06:15 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19462239
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Faith Healing
    • Female
    • Humans
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Social Behavior
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Young Adult
  • Social buffering by God: prayer and measures of stress

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jennifer N. Belding
    Author Malcolm G. Howard
    Author Anne M. McGuire
    Author Amanda C. Schwartz
    Author Janie H. Wilson
    Abstract Social buffering is characterized by attenuation of stress in the presence of others, with supportive individuals providing superior buffering. We were interested in learning if the implied presence of a supportive entity, God, would reduce acute stress. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: prayer, encouraging self-talk, and control. They were subsequently placed in a stressful situation. Self ratings of stress were lower among the prayer and self-talk conditions relative to controls. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures only among those who prayed were lower than controls; however, prayer and self-talk did not differ. Prayer alone did not significantly reduce stress, perhaps because the majority of students in the prayer condition did not consider reading a prayer to constitute praying.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 2
    Pages 179-187
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9256-8
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Social buffering by God
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:37:32 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19462239
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Studying the specificity of spirituality: lessons from the psychology of religion.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jacob A. Belzen
    Abstract Psychological research on spirituality need not start from scratch: the psychology of religion provides substantial knowledge and experience that can be drawn on when psychologists want to do research on spirituality. Spirituality, while certainly not identical with religion or religiosity, is a human phenomenon to which many methodological insights from the study of religion may be applied, although it is also a domain where many mistakes from the history of the psychology of religion are likely to be repeated. After presenting some thoughts on the conceptualization of spirituality, and reflecting on the type of psychology required to do research on spirituality, the paper points out some hidden agenda's in the psychologies of religion and spirituality. Focusing on and keeping in mind the specificity of spiritual conduct, the paper discusses a number of practical aspects of empirical research on spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 3
    Pages 205-222
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802456606
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Studying the specificity of spirituality
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • CONDUCT of life
    • empirical research
    • PSYCHOLOGY -- Research
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Religious
    • RELIGIOUS life
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • spirituality
  • Mourning Religion? Celebrating Transformation! From Loss to Gain, from Depression to Melancholia.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jacob A. Belzen
    Abstract The article raises some questions about issues in the recently published volume Mourning religion, edited by Parsons et al. (). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 3
    Pages 347-353
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0266-y
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title Mourning Religion?
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 5:32:12 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • BEREAVEMENT -- Psychological aspects
    • DEATH -- Psychological aspects
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • MELANCHOLY
    • PUBLISHERS & publishing
  • Complementary medicine in the primary care setting: Results of a survey of gender and cultural patterns in Israel

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eran Ben-Arye
    Author Sonia Karkabi
    Author Chen Shapira
    Author Elad Schiff
    Author Ofer Lavie
    Author Yael Keshet
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a primary care practice in Israel to determine prevalence and patterns of use. METHODS: Trained research assistants invited all patients attending the administrative, medical, pharmaceutical, or nursing services of 7 clinics in urban and rural areas of northern Israel over a 16-month period, from April 1, 2005, through August 1, 2006, to complete a 13-item written questionnaire about CAM use and beliefs about CAM safety and efficacy. CAM was defined as therapies often referred to as alternative, complementary, natural, or folk/traditional medicine, and which are not usually offered as part of the medical treatment in the clinic, including herbal medicine, Chinese medicine (including acupuncture), homeopathy, folk and traditional remedies, dietary/nutritional therapy (including nutritional supplements), chiropractic, movement/manual healing therapies (including massage, reflexology, yoga, and Alexander and Feldenkrais techniques), mind-body techniques (including meditation, guided imagery, and relaxation), energy and healing therapies, and other naturopathic therapies. The Pearson chi(2) test and multivariate logistic regression were used to assess univariate associations with the odds ratios of CAM use among Arab and Jewish women. A t test was performed to determine whether there were any differences in the continuous variables between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Of 3972 consecutive patients who received the questionnaire, 3447 responded; 2139 respondents (62%) were women. Of the female respondents, 2121 reported their religion (1238 respondents [58%] self-identified as being Arab, and 883 [41.6%] as being Jewish). Compared with men, more women used CAM during the previous year (46.4% vs 39.4%; P < 0.001). Women were more likely to use CAM and to be interested in receiving CAM at primary care clinics. Arab women reported less CAM use than Jewish women but were more interested in experiencing CAM, had a higher degree of confidence in CAM efficacy and safety, and more frequently supported the integration of CAM practitioners in primary care clinics. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, women visiting primary care clinics in northern Israel used CAM more often than men did. Arab women reported less use of CAM than did Jewish women but also reported greater confidence in CAM efficacy and safety.
    Publication Gender Medicine: Official Journal of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University
    Volume 6
    Issue 2
    Pages 384-397
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Gend Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.genm.2009.07.002
    ISSN 1550-8579
    Short Title Complementary medicine in the primary care setting
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19682666
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:47:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19682666
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a primary care practice in Israel to determine prevalence and patterns of use. Conclusions: In this study, women visiting primary care clinics in northern Israel used CAM more often than men did. Arab women reported less use of CAM than did Jewish women but also reported greater confidence in CAM efficacy and safety.

  • Ashtanga yoga for children and adolescents for weight management and psychological well being: an uncontrolled open pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sandra Benavides
    Author Joshua Caballero
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The objective of this pilot study was to determine the effect of yoga on weight in youth at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Secondarily, the impact of participation in yoga on self-concept and psychiatric symptoms was measured. METHODS: A 12-week prospective pilot Ashtanga yoga program enrolled twenty children and adolescents. Weight was measured before and after the program. All participants completed self-concept, anxiety, and depression inventories at the initiation and completion of the program. RESULTS: Fourteen predominately Hispanic children, ages 8-15, completed the program. The average weight loss was 2kg. Weight decreased from 61.2+/-20.2kg to 59.2+/-19.2kg (p=0.01). Four of five children with low self-esteem improved, although two had decreases in self-esteem. Anxiety symptoms improved in the study. CONCLUSION: Ashtanga yoga may be beneficial as a weight loss strategy in a predominately Hispanic population.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 110-114
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Clin Pract
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2008.12.004
    ISSN 1873-6947
    Short Title Ashtanga yoga for children and adolescents for weight management and psychological well being
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:27:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19341991
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Anxiety
    • Body Weight
    • Child
    • depression
    • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mexican Americans
    • Pilot Projects
    • Prospective Studies
    • Risk Factors
    • Self Concept
    • yoga
  • Clericalism, Religious Duress and its Psychological Impact on Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marianne Benkert
    Author Thomas Doyle
    Abstract Religious duress is a unique kind of threat and constraint involuntarily experienced by some members of the Roman Catholic Church as a result of religious indoctrination and training. Fear, awe and respect for the clergy foster the development and actualization of religious duress. This phenomenon can seriously impede a person’s capacity to accurately perceive and evaluate abusive actions perpetrated on them by clergy. This constraint poses an impediment to emotional and spiritual development. Internalized religious duress confuses and psychologically overwhelms such individuals and renders them incapable of absorbing their sexual trauma. The consequent feelings of numbness and immobility distort the perception of reality. It then becomes impossible for the individual to act in a manner that would protect and promote emotional growth and spiritual well being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 58
    Issue 3
    Pages 223-238
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-008-0188-0
    ISSN 00312789
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • CATHOLIC Church
    • Clergy
    • CLERICALISM
    • INDOCTRINATION
    • PSYCHIC trauma
    • SEX crimes
    • WELL-being -- Religious aspects
  • God Image as a Function of Self-Esteem and Locus of Control

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Benson
    Author Bernard Spilka
    Abstract A cognitive consistency framework was adopted to predict that a believer's level of self-esteem and his location on the locus of control dimension influence his description and definition of God. On a sample of 128 Catholic subjects with approximately identical religious backgrounds, self-esteem was positively related to loving-accepting God-images and negatively to rejecting images. Locus of control was unrelated to controlling beliefs. Statistical and methodological controls were utilized to offer an interpretation that self-esteem may be a major determinant of God-images. It was proposed that these findings have important implications for understanding the dynamics of personal religion.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 12
    Issue 3
    Pages 297-310
    Date Sep., 1973
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1384430
    Accessed Thursday, October 22, 2009 10:39:03 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1973 / Copyright © 1973 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A cognitive consistency framework was adopted to predict that a believer’s level of self-esteem and his location on the locus of control dimension influence his description and definition of God. On a sample of 128 Catholic subjects with approximately identical religious backgrounds, self-esteem was positively related to loving-accepting God-images and negatively to rejecting images. Locus of control was unrelated to controlling beliefs.

  • Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: A multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer

    Type Journal Article
    Author H Benson
    Author J Dusek
    Author J Sherwood
    Author P Lam
    Author C Bethea
    Author W Carpenter
    Author S Levitsky
    Author P Hill
    Author D Clemjr
    Author M Jain
    Publication American Heart Journal
    Volume 151
    Issue 4
    Pages 934-942
    Date April 2006
    Journal Abbr American Heart Journal
    DOI 10.1016/j.ahj.2005.05.028
    ISSN 00028703
    Short Title Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients
    URL http://www.ahjonline.com/article/S0002-8703(05)00649-6/abstract
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 9:59:27 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Intercessory prayer itself had no effect on complication-free recovery from CABG, but certainty of receiving intercessory prayer was associated with a higher incidence of complications.

  • The roles of parenting, church attendance, and depression in adolescent smoking

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carla Berg
    Author Won S Choi
    Author Harsohena Kaur
    Author Nicole Nollen
    Author Jasjit S Ahluwalia
    Abstract The aim of the present study was to identify contextual factors related to smoking among urban African-American and White adolescents. We administered a survey assessing demographic and psychosocial variables to 299 adolescents in an urban pediatric clinic in the Midwest. Results indicated that being female, older age, lower academic performance, depressive symptoms, less frequent church attendance, parental smoking, and parental attitudes toward smoking were related to adolescent smoking. After controlling for demographics, the multivariate model predicting adolescent smoking included depressive symptoms, less frequent church attendance, and parental disapproval of smoking. Given these findings, efforts to decrease adolescent smoking may be enhanced by attending to depressive symptoms demonstrated by adolescents as well as contextual factors including parental attitudes and church attendance.
    Publication Journal of Community Health
    Volume 34
    Issue 1
    Pages 56-63
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr J Community Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10900-008-9118-4
    ISSN 0094-5145
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18830691
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18830691
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Behavior
    • African Americans
    • Attitude to Health
    • Culture
    • depression
    • Educational Status
    • European Continental Ancestry Group
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Humans
    • Kansas
    • Male
    • PARENTING
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • Risk-Taking
    • Sex Factors
    • Smoking
  • Trends in Publication of Spirituality/Religiosity Articles in Critical Care Populations

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gina M. Berg
    Author Robin E. Crowe
    Author Bryant Wong
    Author Jane Siebert
    Abstract Research on spirituality and religion (S/R) is receiving more attention as healthcare staff recognize the importance of treating the whole person. This is especially pertinent in critical care, where patients and families deal with a multitude of issues. As not all research comes exclusively from theologically educated authors, this study explored publication trends of S/R articles in critical care. Findings indicated medically credentialed professionals, not chaplains and/or pastoral care staff, constituted the majority of authors in S/R articles.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 333-336
    Date 6/2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9266-6
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:56:20 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM

    Notes:

    • Research on spirituality and religion (S/R) is receiving more attention as healthcare staff recognize the importance of treating the whole person. This is especially pertinent in critical care, where patients and families deal with a multitude of issues. As not all research comes exclusively from theologically educated authors, this study explored publication trends of S/R articles in critical care. Findings indicated medically credentialed professionals, not chaplains and/or pastoral care staff, constituted the majority of authors in S/R articles.

  • Effects of yoga on inner-city children's well-being: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Deborah L Berger
    Author Ellen Johnson Silver
    Author Ruth E K Stein
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To examine yoga's effects on inner-city children's well-being. METHODS: This pilot study compared fourth- and fifth-grade students at 2 after-school programs in Bronx, New York. One program offered yoga 1 hour per week for 12 weeks (yoga) and the other program (non-yoga) did not. Preintervention and postintervention emotional well-being was assessed by Harter's Global Self-Worth and Physical Appearance subscales, which were the study's primary outcome measures. Secondary outcomes included other measures of emotional well-being assessed by 2 new scales: Perceptions of Physical Health and Yoga Teachings (including Negative Behaviors, Positive Behaviors, and Focusing/relaxation subscales). Preintervention and postintervention, physical wellbeing was assessed by measures of flexibility and balance. Subjective ratings ofyoga's effects on well-being were evaluated by an additional questionnaire completed by the yoga group only. RESULTS: Data were collected from 78% (n=39) and 86.5% (n=32) of potential yoga and non-yoga study enrollees. No differences in baseline demographics were found. Controlling for preintervention well-being differences using analysis of covariance, we found that children in the yoga group had better postintervention Negative Behaviors scores and balance than the non-yoga group (P < .05). The majority of children participating in yoga reported enhanced wellbeing, as reflected by perceived improvements in behaviors directly targeted by yoga (e.g., strength, flexibility, balance). CONCLUSIONS: Although no significant differences were found in the study's primary outcomes (global self-worth and perceptions of physical well-being), children participating in yoga reported using fewer negative behaviors in response to stress and had better balance than a comparison group. Improvements in wellbeing, specifically in behaviors directly targeted by yoga, were reported. These results suggest a possible role of yoga as a preventive intervention as well as a means of improving children's perceived well-being.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 15
    Issue 5
    Pages 36-42
    Date 2009 Sep-Oct
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    Short Title Effects of yoga on inner-city children's well-being
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19771929
    Accessed Wednesday, October 28, 2009 10:22:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19771929
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Spirituality and end-of-life care in disadvantaged men dying of prostate cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jonathan Bergman
    Author Arlene Fink
    Author Lorna Kwan
    Author Sally Maliski
    Author Mark S Litwin
    Abstract Despite the positive influence of spiritual coping on the acceptance of a cancer diagnosis, higher spirituality is associated with receipt of more high intensity care at the end of life. The purpose of our study was to assess the association between spirituality and type of end-of-life care received by disadvantaged men with prostate cancer. We studied low-income, uninsured men in IMPACT, a state-funded public assistance program, who had died since its inception in 2001. Of the 60 men who died, we included the 35 who completed a spirituality questionnaire at program enrollment. We abstracted sociodemographic and clinical information as well as treatment within IMPACT, including zolendroic acid, chemotherapy, hospice use, and palliative radiation therapy. We measured spirituality with the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being questionnaire (FACIT-Sp) and compared end-of-life care received between subjects with low and high FACIT-Sp scores using chi-squared analyses. A higher proportion of men with high (33%) versus low (13%) spirituality scores enrolled in hospice, although our analysis was not adequately powered to demonstrate statistical significance. Likewise, we saw a trend toward increased receipt of palliative radiation among those with higher spirituality (37% vs. 25%, P=0.69). The differences in end-of-life care received among those with low and high spirituality varied little by the FACIT-Sp peace and faith subscales. Conclusions: End-of-life care was similar between men with lower and higher spirituality. Men with higher spirituality trended toward greater hospice use, suggesting that they redirected the focus of their care from curative to palliative goals.
    Publication World Journal of Urology
    Volume 29
    Issue 1
    Pages 43-49
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr World J Urol
    DOI 10.1007/s00345-010-0610-y
    ISSN 1433-8726
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:29:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21170717
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM

    Tags:

    • End of Life
    • Prostate cancer
    • spirituality
  • Mindfulness training: Specific intervention or psychological panacea?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anders Bergmark
    Abstract In this article, the author discusses the effects of practicing meditation technique mindfulness training (MT) for depressed people and substance use disorders. Based on neurobiological perspectives, it found that the depression of treatment as usual (TAU) groups has no improvement due to extremely broad spectrum of health and behavioral problems. According to neurologists, the brain activation maps cannot do straightforward tasks in the brain because of complex neuronal interconnection.
    Publication Addiction
    Volume 105
    Issue 10
    Pages 1708-1709
    Date October 2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03044.x
    ISSN 09652140
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Compulsive Behavior
    • DEPRESSED persons
    • MEDITATION -- Therapeutic use
    • NEUROBIOLOGY -- Study & teaching
    • NEUROLOGISTS
    • SUBSTANCE abuse
  • Taking It to the Pews: a CBPR-guided HIV awareness and screening project with black churches

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jannette Berkley-Patton
    Author Carole Bowe-Thompson
    Author Andrea Bradley-Ewing
    Author Starlyn Hawes
    Author Erin Moore
    Author Eric Williams
    Author David Martinez
    Author Kathy Goggin
    Abstract Utilizing a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach is a potentially effective strategy for exploring the development, implementation, and evaluation of HIV interventions in African American churches. This CBPR-guided study describes a church-based HIV awareness and screening intervention (Taking It to the Pews [TIPS]) that fully involved African American church leaders in all phases of the research project. Findings from the implementation and evaluation phases indicated that church leaders delivered TIPS Tool Kit activities on an ongoing basis (about twice a month) over a 9-month period. TIPS church members were highly exposed to TIPS activities (e.g., 91% reported receiving HIV educational brochures, 84% heard a sermon about HIV). Most (87%) believed that the church should talk about HIV, and 77% believed that the church should offer HIV screening. These findings suggest that implementing an HIV intervention in Black church settings is achievable, particularly when a CBPR approach is used.
    Publication AIDS Education and Prevention: Official Publication of the International Society for AIDS Education
    Volume 22
    Issue 3
    Pages 218-237
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr AIDS Educ Prev
    DOI 10.1521/aeap.2010.22.3.218
    ISSN 1943-2755
    Short Title Taking It to the Pews
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 10:24:01 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20528130
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Community-Based Participatory Research
    • Female
    • Focus Groups
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Kansas
    • Male
    • Mass Screening
    • Missouri
    • Patient Education as Topic
    • religion

    Notes:

    • <div> <div>This community-based participatory research (CBPR) guided study describes a church-based HIV awareness and screening intervention that fully involved African American church leaders in all phases of the research project. Findings presented in the article suggest that implementing an HIV intervention in Black church settings is achievable, particularly when a CBPR approach is used.<br /><span><br /><a href="../../../../zotero.jar%21/content/zotero/tinymce/note.html"></a></span></div> </div>

  • Religiosity in a hemodialysis population and its relationship to satisfaction with medical care, satisfaction with life, and adherence

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elisheva Berman
    Author Jon F Merz
    Author Michael Rudnick
    Author Richard W Snyder
    Author Katherine K Rogers
    Author James Lee
    Author David Johnson
    Author Ari Mosenkis
    Author Ajay Israni
    Author Paul R Wolpe
    Author Joshua H Lipschutz
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The religious beliefs and spirituality of patients on hemodialysis (HD) therapy have not been studied extensively. Studies of the dialysis population seem to indicate that religion may be associated with increased patient satisfaction with life and increased levels of social support. METHODS: Using multiple religiosity scales and scales to assess patient satisfaction with life and social support, we studied the relationship between religiosity and medical and/or social factors and adherence to treatment in 74 HD patients. RESULTS: High scores on the Intrinsic Religiosity Scale were associated strongly with high scores on the Satisfaction With Life Scale, whereas age and high Organizational Religious Activity Scale scores were associated strongly with high scores on the Satisfaction With Medical Care Scale. Older age was associated strongly with increased adherence. No relationship existed between religiosity and adherence in our population. CONCLUSION: Religious beliefs are related strongly to measures of satisfaction with life, whereas religious behaviors are related to satisfaction with medical care. Age is the single most important demographic factor associated with adherence. Because of the complex nature of religiosity, additional investigation is in order.
    Publication American Journal of Kidney Diseases: The Official Journal of the National Kidney Foundation
    Volume 44
    Issue 3
    Pages 488-497
    Date Sep 2004
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Kidney Dis
    ISSN 1523-6838
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15332222
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 1:00:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15332222
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Linear Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Patient Compliance
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Quality of Life
    • religion
    • Renal Dialysis

    Notes:

    • The religious beliefs and spirituality of patients on hemodialysis (HD) therapy have not been studied extensively. Studies of the dialysis population seem to indicate that religion may be associated with increased patient satisfaction with life and increased levels of social support. Using multiple religiosity scales and scales to assess patient satisfaction with life and social support, we studied the relationship between religiosity and medical and/or social factors and adherence to treatment in 74 HD patients.

  • Reflections on aging, psychotherapy, and spiritual practice.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arlene Bermann
    Abstract This article, written by a therapist in midlife, considers the intersection of aging, psychotherapy, and spiritual practice. It includes professional and personal reflections as well as clinical examples explored through the complementary lenses of intersubjectivity theory, which describes the co-creation of experience by therapist and patient, and Zen Buddhsim, which explores the illusory nature of some of our most basic assumptions. The author discusses the nuances of listening to and attempting to understand others, especially in the transference and countertransference. The author reflects on her personal experience of the processes of aging and maturing, both emotionally and physically, and on ways in which life has changed for her, over time, as a result of aging, meditation, and psychotherapy practice. Concepts explored include co-creation of relationship, emptiness and impermanence, and existential anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Women & Therapy
    Volume 32
    Issue 2-3
    Pages 267-274
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1080/02703140902851849
    ISSN 0270-3149
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Aging
    • countertransference
    • Psychotherapeutic Processes
    • Psychotherapy
    • spiritual practice
    • spirituality
    • Therapist Characteristics
    • Therapists

    Notes:

    • In this article, a therapist in midlife considers the intersection of aging, psychotherapy, and spiritual practice. It includes professional and personal reflections as well as clinical examples explored through the complementary lenses of intersubjectivity theory, which describes the co-creation of experience by therapist and patient, and Zen Buddhsim, which explores the illusory nature of some of our most basic assumptions. Reflecting on her personal experience of the processes of aging and maturing, the author discusses the nuances of listening to and attempting to understand others, especially in the transference and countertransference. Concepts explored include co-creation of relationship, emptiness and impermanence, and existential anxiety.

  • Effect Of Rosary Prayer And Yoga Mantras On Autonomic Cardiovascular Rhythms: Comparative Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Luciano Bernardi
    Author Peter Sleight
    Author Gabriele Bandinelli
    Author Simone Cencetti
    Author Lamberto Fattorini
    Author Johanna Wdowczyc-Szulc
    Author Alfonso Lagi
    Abstract Objective To test whether rhythmic formulas such as the rosary and yoga mantras can synchronise and reinforce inherent cardiovascular rhythms and modify baroreflex sensitivity. Design Comparison of effects of recitation of the Ave Maria (in Latin) or of a mantra, during spontaneous and metronome controlled breathing, on breathing rate and on spontaneous oscillations in RR interval, and on blood pressure and cerebral circulation. Setting Florence and Pavia, Italy. Participants 23 healthy adults. Main outcome measures Breathing rate, regularity of breathing, baroreflex sensitivity, frequency of cardiovascular oscillations. Results Both prayer and mantra caused striking, powerful, and synchronous increases in existing cardiovascular rhythms when recited six times a minute. Baroreflex sensitivity also increased significantly, from 9.5 (SD 4.6) to 11.5 (4.9) ms/mm Hg, P<0.05. Conclusion Rhythm formulas that involve breathing at six breaths per minute induce favourable psychological and possibly physiological effects.
    Publication BMJ: British Medical Journal
    Volume 323
    Issue 7327
    Pages 1446-1449
    Date Dec. 22 - 29, 2001
    ISSN 09598138
    Short Title Effect Of Rosary Prayer And Yoga Mantras On Autonomic Cardiovascular Rhythms
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/25468612
    Accessed Sunday, November 08, 2009 11:13:54 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec. 22 - 29, 2001 / Copyright © 2001 BMJ Publishing Group
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study investigated whether rhythmic formulas such as the rosary and yoga mantras can synchronise and reinforce inherent cardiovascular rhythms and modify baroreflex sensitivity. The authors conclude that rhythm formulas that involve breathing at six breaths per minute induce favourable psychological and possibly physiological effects.

  • Spirituality and autonomic cardiac control

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gary G Berntson
    Author Greg J Norman
    Author Louise C Hawkley
    Author John T Cacioppo
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Spirituality has been suggested to be associated with positive health, but potential biological mediators have not been well characterized. PURPOSE AND METHODS: The present study examined, in a population-based sample of middle-aged and older adults, the potential relationship between spirituality and patterns of cardiac autonomic control, which may have health significance. Measures of parasympathetic (high-frequency heart rate variability) and sympathetic (pre-ejection period) cardiac control were obtained from a representative sample of 229 participants. Participants completed questionnaires to assess spirituality (closeness to and satisfactory relationship with God). Personality, demographic, anthropometric, health behavior, and health status information was also obtained. A series of hierarchical regression models was used to examine the relations between spirituality, the autonomic measures, and two derived indexes--cardiac autonomic balance (CAB, reflecting parasympathetic to sympathetic balance) and cardiac autonomic regulation (CAR, reflecting total autonomic control). RESULTS: Spirituality, net of demographics, or other variables were found to be associated with enhanced parasympathetic as well as sympathetic cardiac control (yielding a higher CAR) but was not associated with CAB. Although the number of cases was small (N = 11), both spirituality and CAR were significant negative predictors of the prior occurrence of a myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONS: In a population-based sample, spirituality appears to be associated with a specific pattern of CAR, characterized by a high level of cardiac autonomic control, irrespective of the relative contribution of the two autonomic branches. This pattern of autonomic control may have health significance.
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 35
    Issue 2
    Pages 198-208
    Date Apr 2008
    Journal Abbr Ann Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s12160-008-9027-x
    ISSN 1532-4796
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18357497
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:49:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18357497
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aging
    • Arousal
    • Autonomic Nervous System
    • Electrocardiography
    • Female
    • Fourier Analysis
    • Heart
    • Heart Rate
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The present study examined the potential relationship between spirituality and patterns of cardiac autonomic control, which may have health significance. A series of hierarchical regression models was used to examine the relations between spirituality, the autonomic measures, and two derived indexes--cardiac autonomic balance (CAB, reflecting parasympathetic to sympathetic balance) and cardiac autonomic regulation (CAR, reflecting total autonomic control). Results: Spirituality, net of demographics, or other variables were found to be associated with enhanced parasympathetic as well as sympathetic cardiac control (yielding a higher CAR) but was not associated with CAB.

  • Depression and religiosity and/or spirituality in college: A longitudinal survey of students in the USA

    Type Journal Article
    Author Devon M Berry
    Author Kate York
    Abstract The aim of this study was to conduct a longitudinal test of an explanatory model of depression, where religiosity and/or spirituality (R/S) represents a potentially protective factor in college students in the USA. A Web-based survey was administered monthly to 214 students from religious and public colleges. At 1 month and 6 months, the measures of R/S, depression, stress, and cognitive vulnerability were administered. Between 2 and 5 months, only the measures of stress and depression were administered. The data were analyzed to test the hypothesis that R/S buffers the effect of stress on depression over time in the context of cognitive vulnerability. The results supported a direct and protective effect over time between R/S and depression, but a buffering effect on the relationship between stress and depression was not found. Although all aspects of R/S were demonstrated to protect the participants from depression, it did not appear that the relationship between R/S and stress or R/S and cognitive vulnerability explains this relationship. Nurses who are working with college students should take holistic approaches to their emotional difficulties, realizing the potentially beneficial effects of students' religiousness or spirituality.
    Publication Nursing & Health Sciences
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 76-83
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr Nurs Health Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1442-2018.2011.00584.x
    ISSN 1442-2018
    Short Title Depression and religiosity and/or spirituality in college
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21426459
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:42:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21426459
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • The influence of religiosity and spirituality on adolescent mothers and their teenage children.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shannon Carothers Bert
    Abstract This project assessed the influence of religiosity and spirituality on the socioemotional and behavioral adjustment of 110 adolescent mothers and their teenage offspring at age 14. Maternal religiosity, measured prenatally and when children were 3, 5, and 8 years of age, was defined as involvement in church as well as contact with and dependence on church officials and members. Levels of spirituality, defined as religious practices and beliefs, were assessed for both mothers and their children at 14 years postpartum. Hierarchical regression analyses suggested that maternal religiosity was a strong predictor of maternal and child adjustment; children’s own spirituality served as a predictor of their socioemotional adjustment as well. Furthermore, child spirituality mediated the relationship between maternal religiosity and children’s externalizing behavior. Implications for designing intervention programs with high risk families are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Youth and Adolescence
    Volume 40
    Issue 1
    Pages 72-84
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s10964-010-9506-9
    ISSN 0047-2891
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • adjustment
    • Adolescent Mothers
    • religiosity
    • spirituality
    • teenage children
  • Using Spirituality to Cope With Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease

    Type Journal Article
    Author L. Beuscher
    Author V. T. Grando
    Abstract This study describes how individuals with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD) use spirituality to cope with losses of self-esteem, independence, and social interaction. Faith, prayer, connection to church, and family support enhanced the ability of people with early-stage AD to keep a positive attitude.
    Publication Western Journal of Nursing Research
    Volume 31
    Issue 5
    Pages 583-598
    Date 03/2009
    Journal Abbr Western Journal of Nursing Research
    DOI 10.1177/0193945909332776
    ISSN 0193-9459
    URL http://wjn.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0193945909332776
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
  • The puzzle of Muslim advantage in child survival in India

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sonia Bhalotra
    Author Christine Valente
    Author Arthur van Soest
    Abstract The socioeconomic status of Indian Muslims is, on average, considerably lower than that of upper-caste Hindus. Muslims nevertheless exhibit substantially higher child survival rates, and have done for decades. This paper analyses this seeming puzzle. A decomposition of the survival differential confirms that some compositional effects favour Muslims but that, overall, differences in characteristics and especially the Muslim deficit in parental education predict a Muslim disadvantage. The results of this study contribute to a recent literature that debates the importance of socioeconomic status (SES) in determining health and survival. They augment a growing literature on the role of religion or culture as encapsulating important unobservable behaviours or endowments that influence health, indeed, enough to reverse the SES gradient that is commonly observed.
    Publication Journal of Health Economics
    Volume 29
    Issue 2
    Pages 191-204
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Health Econ
    DOI 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2009.11.002
    ISSN 1879-1646
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:37:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19969383
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Making space for God: Religious experience in male Anglican priests who have sought psychotherapy and/or spiritual direction.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jane Bingham
    Abstract [Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 25(3) of British Journal of Psychotherapy (see record 2009-10680-019). In the original article, the following error was published on page 56. Introduction 213 loosely structured interviews were held with each participant. The text was incorrect and should have read: Introduction 2/3 loosely structured interviews were held with each participant.] In qualitative psychoanalytically-informed research the author explores how the internal object-representational world of six stipendiary male Anglican priests might illuminate the psychological significance of their relationship with God. Viewing personality development as a lifelong process permits a more synthetic view of existing theories of God as maternal object, transitional object or oedipal father. A relationship with God may reinforce a good relationship with primary objects, but when failures in maternal containment have resulted in disturbances of the spatiotemporal organization of the infant’s mind, new experience—including religious experience—will be superimposed on this distorted psychic substrate. When space centred thinking dominates, religious objects may offer exogenous structural support to the personality, but in the absence of transformative object relationships they will remain unassimilated. The priestly quest may sometimes be an attempt to establish or repair a triadic internal relationship with a maternal containing object and the symbolic father. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication British Journal of Psychotherapy
    Volume 25
    Issue 1
    Pages 56-76
    Date February 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1752-0118.2008.01101.x
    ISSN 0265-9883
    Short Title Making space for God
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • God
    • God Concepts
    • male Anglican priests
    • object relations
    • oedipal father
    • Personality Development
    • priests
    • PSYCHOANALYSIS
    • Psychotherapy
    • religion
    • Religious Experience
    • SPIRITUAL direction
    • spirituality
    • Thinking
    • transformative object relationships
  • In search of inner wisdom: guided mindfulness meditation in the context of suicide

    Type Journal Article
    Author Liora Birnbaum
    Author Aiton Birnbaum
    Abstract Spiritual concerns are highly relevant, but often ignored, in psychotherapy in general and in suicide in particular. This article presents Internet data and clinical case material bearing on the topic, and describes an innovative therapeutic intervention administered in a group-workshop format with suicide survivors and mental health professionals. The technique incorporates relaxation and mindfulness meditation, with the addition of guided meditation in search of inner wisdom. Results of the group intervention are described and illustrated. Many participants reported a significant positive experience including connection to knowledge that was highly relevant to them in their current state of life. Whether such insights were experienced as coming from within (a deeper part of the self) or from an external source (a guiding figure or presence), indications are that guided meditation can be a powerful resource for therapists and their clients, suicidal and otherwise. Possible applications in diverse populations and settings, as well as the need for further research, are discussed.
    Publication TheScientificWorldJournal
    Volume 4
    Pages 216-227
    Date Mar 18, 2004
    Journal Abbr ScientificWorldJournal
    DOI 10.1100/tsw.2004.17
    ISSN 1537-744X
    Short Title In search of inner wisdom
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15105961
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:50:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15105961
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Knowledge
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • Suicide

    Notes:

    • Spiritual concerns are highly relevant, but often ignored, in psychotherapy in general and in suicide in particular. This article presents Internet data and clinical case material bearing on the topic, and describes an innovative therapeutic intervention administered in a group-workshop format with suicide survivors and mental health professionals. The technique incorporates relaxation and mindfulness meditation, with the addition of guided meditation in search of inner wisdom. Results of the group intervention are described and illustrated. Many participants reported a significant positive experience including connection to knowledge that was highly relevant to them in their current state of life. Whether such insights were experienced as coming from within (a deeper part of the self) or from an external source (a guiding figure or presence), indications are that guided meditation can be a powerful resource for therapists and their clients, suicidal and otherwise. Possible applications in diverse populations and settings, as well as the need for further research, are discussed.

  • Psychological benefits for cancer patients and their partners participating in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathryn Birnie
    Author Sheila N Garland
    Author Linda E Carlson
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Cancer patients experience many negative psychological symptoms including stress, anxiety, and depression. This distress is not limited to the patient, as their partners also experience many psychological challenges. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs have demonstrated clinical benefit for a variety of chronic illnesses, including cancer. This is the first study to report MBSR participation with partners of cancer patients. METHODS: This study examined the impact of an 8-week MBSR program for 21 couples who attended the program together on outcomes of mood disturbance, symptoms of stress, and mindfulness. RESULTS: Significant reductions for both patients and partners in mood disturbance (p<0.05) and the Calgary Symptoms of Stress Inventory (C-SOSI) subscales of muscle tension (p<0.01), neurological/GI (p<0.05), and upper respiratory (p<0.01) symptoms were observed after program participation. Significant increases in mindfulness (p<0.05) were also reported in both groups. No significant correlations were observed between patient and partner scores on any measures at baseline or on change scores pre- to post-intervention; however, after MBSR participation couple's scores on the Profile of Mood States and C-SOSI were more highly correlated with one-another. Post-intervention, partners' mood disturbance scores were significantly positively correlated with patients' symptoms of stress and negatively correlated with patients' levels of mindfulness. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the MBSR program was helpful for improving psychological functioning and mindfulness for both members of the couple. Several avenues of future research are suggested to further explore potential benefits of joint couple attendance in the MBSR program.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 19
    Issue 9
    Pages 1004-1009
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1651
    ISSN 1099-1611
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:59:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19918956
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • The Development and Validation of an Outcome Measure for Spiritual Healing: A Mixed Methods Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Felicity L Bishop
    Author Fiona Barlow
    Author Jan Walker
    Author Clare McDermott
    Author George T Lewith
    Abstract Background: Spiritual healing, probably the oldest documented paramedical intervention, is a neglected area of research. In order to conduct further research into the effects of healing, a valid and reliable outcome measure is needed that captures the experience of individuals receiving healing (healees) and is not burdensome to complete. We aimed to develop such a measure. Methods: A mixed methods design was used. Focus groups and cognitive interviews were used to generate and refine questionnaire items grounded in the experiences and language of healees (Study 1). The resulting questionnaire was tested and its formal psychometric properties were evaluated (Study 2). Participants were recruited from a spiritual healing sanctuary and via individual healers (including registered spiritual healers, Reiki practitioners, healers affiliated with churches). Results: In Study 1, 24 participants took part in 7 focus groups and 6 cognitive interviews. 29 common effects were identified and grouped into 7 discrete dimensions that appeared to characterize potentially sustainable effects reported by participants following their experiences of spiritual healing. In Study 2, 393 participants returned completed baseline questionnaires, 243 of whom completed the questionnaire again 1-6 weeks later. Exploratory factor analysis generated 5 subscales, based on 20 of the items: outlook, energy, health, relationships and emotional balance. These subscales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, convergent validity and test-retest reliability. Three of the subscales and the whole questionnaire demonstrated good sensitivity to change. Conclusions: We have produced a psychometrically sound healing impact questionnaire that is acceptable to healees, healers and researchers for use in future evaluations of spiritual healing.
    Publication Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
    Volume 79
    Issue 6
    Pages 350-362
    Date Aug 20, 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychother Psychosom
    DOI 10.1159/000320120
    ISSN 1423-0348
    Short Title The Development and Validation of an Outcome Measure for Spiritual Healing
    Accessed Monday, August 30, 2010 4:52:53 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20733345
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM

    Notes:

    • The authors of this article aim to develop a valid and reliable outcome measure that captures the experience of individuals receiving healing (healees) and is not burdensome to complete to see the effects of healing.  The result: they produced a psychometrically sound healing impact questionnaire that is acceptable to healees, healers and researchers for use in future evaluations of spiritual healing.

  • Religious support, motives for having large families, and psychological functioning among religious Jewish mothers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffery P Bjorck
    Author Aryeh Lazar
    Abstract The effects of religious support, maternal motivations for having large families, and their interactions on psychological functioning were assessed in a sample of 79 religious Israeli Jewish mothers of six or more children. Religious support from religious leaders, community, and G-d--as well as faith-focused maternal motivation--were all positively related to adaptive psychological functioning. In contrast, self-focused maternal motivation was negatively related to adaptive functioning. Moreover, religious support and maternal motivation were both related to psychological functioning even after controlling for social support. Finally, several significant interactions between religious support and maternal motivation emerged and are also discussed.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 50
    Issue 1
    Pages 177-194
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9294-2
    ISSN 1573-6571
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19862620
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19862620
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM

    Notes:

    • This study finds that religious support from religious leaders, religious communities and G-d, along with religiously oriented maternal motivation, positively correlate with adaptive psychological functioning.  This is in contrast to internal maternal motivation which is negatively correlated with adaptive psychological functioning.

  • The Adolescent Religious Coping Scale: Development, Validation, and Cross-Validation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey Bjorck
    Author Robert Braese
    Author Joseph Tadie
    Author David Gililland
    Abstract Research literature on adolescent coping is growing, but typically such studies have ignored religious coping strategies and their potential impact on functioning. To address this lack, we developed the Adolescent Religious Coping Scale and used its seven subscales to examine the relationship between religious coping and emotional functioning. A cross-sectional research design was used with both a validation sample of Christian school students (Sample 1, N = 500, ages 12–19) and a cross-validation sample of Christian youth group attenders (Sample 2, N = 62, ages 11–18). Emotional functioning was assessed positively (life satisfaction) and negatively (hopelessness). Factor analyses supported factorial validity, and alpha levels supported reliability of the seven religious coping subscales (Positive God-Focused Coping, Seeking Religious Support, Constructive Distraction, Questioning, Avoidance, Denial, and Deferring). For both samples, religious coping was significantly related (unique variance) to religious support, parental support, and emotional functioning, respectively. In general, positive religious coping strategies were related to more support and better functioning, whereas the reverse was true for negative religious coping strategies. Moreover, many of these results were maintained even after controlling for variance due to age, gender, and religious attendance. As such, clinicians working with religious adolescents should consider encouraging these teens to optimize use of positive religious coping strategies and minimize reliance on negative ones as part of a holistic approach to handling stress. Religious coping findings are discussed regarding their comparison to general adolescent coping and with respect to future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Child & Family Studies
    Volume 19
    Issue 3
    Pages 343-359
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10826-009-9305-7
    ISSN 10621024
    Short Title The Adolescent Religious Coping Scale
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 5:28:48 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • ADOLESCENT psychology -- Research
    • BELIEF & doubt
    • LIFE skills
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Religious
    • RELIGIOUS adherents

    Notes:

    • Research literature on adolescent coping is growing, but typically such studies have ignored religious coping strategies and their potential impact on functioning. This article develops the Adolescent Religious Coping Scale using its seven subscales to examine the relationship between religious coping and emotional functioning. In general, positive religious coping strategies were related to more support and better functioning, whereas the reverse was true for negative religious coping strategies. Moreover, many of these results were maintained even after controlling for variance due to age, gender, and religious attendance. As such, clinicians working with religious adolescents should consider encouraging these teens to optimize use of positive religious coping strategies and minimize reliance on negative ones as part of a holistic approach to handling stress. Religious coping findings are discussed regarding their comparison to general adolescent coping and with respect to future research directions.

  • Sitting-Meditation Interventions Among Youth: A Review of Treatment Efficacy

    Type Journal Article
    Author David S Black
    Author Joel Milam
    Author Steve Sussman
    Abstract Objective: Although the efficacy of meditation interventions has been examined among adult samples, meditation treatment effects among youth are relatively unknown. We systematically reviewed empirical studies for the health-related effects of sitting-meditative practices implemented among youth aged 6 to 18 years in school, clinic, and community settings. Methods: A systematic review of electronic databases (PubMed, Ovid, Web of Science, Cochrane Reviews Database, Google Scholar) was conducted from 1982 to 2008, obtaining a sample of 16 empirical studies related to sitting-meditation interventions among youth. Results: Meditation modalities included mindfulness meditation, transcendental meditation, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Study samples primarily consisted of youth with preexisting conditions such as high-normal blood pressure, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and learning disabilities. Studies that examined physiologic outcomes were composed almost entirely of African American/black participants. Median effect sizes were slightly smaller than those obtained from adult samples and ranged from 0.16 to 0.29 for physiologic outcomes and 0.27 to 0.70 for psychosocial/behavioral outcomes. Conclusions: Sitting meditation seems to be an effective intervention in the treatment of physiologic, psychosocial, and behavioral conditions among youth. Because of current limitations, carefully constructed research is needed to advance our understanding of sitting meditation and its future use as an effective treatment modality among younger populations.
    Publication Pediatrics
    Date Aug 24, 2009
    Journal Abbr Pediatrics
    DOI 10.1542/peds.2008-3434
    ISSN 1098-4275
    Short Title Sitting-Meditation Interventions Among Youth
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19706568
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:06:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19706568
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • prepub

    Notes:

    • We systematically reviewed empirical studies for the health-related effects of sitting-meditative practices implemented among youth aged 6 to 18 years in school, clinic, and community settings. Conclusions: Sitting meditation seems to be an effective intervention in the treatment of physiologic, psychosocial, and behavioral conditions among youth.

  • Near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author S J Blackmore
    Abstract Reactions to claims of near-death experiences (NDE) range from the popular view that this must be evidence for life after death, to outright rejection of the experiences as, at best, drug induced hallucinations or, at worse, pure invention. Twenty years, and much research, later, it is clear that neither extreme is correct.
    Publication Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
    Volume 89
    Issue 2
    Pages 73-76
    Date Feb 1996
    Journal Abbr J R Soc Med
    ISSN 0141-0768
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/8683504
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:02:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 8683504
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Anoxia
    • Death
    • Endorphins
    • Humans
    • Parapsychology
    • Temporal Lobe
    • Thanatology

    Notes:

    • Reactions to claims of near-death experiences (NDE) range from the popular view that this must be evidence for life after death, to outright rejection of the experiences as, at best, drug induced hallucinations or, at worse, pure invention. Twenty years, and much research, later, it is clear that neither extreme is correct.

  • Religion and Psychology: New Developments

    Type Book
    Editor Tyler H. Blaine
    Editor Amy J. McCurty
    Publisher Nova Science Publishers
    Date 2011-04
    ISBN 1613242557
    Short Title Religion and Psychology
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
  • Exercise intervention in brain injury: a pilot randomized study of Tai Chi Qigong

    Type Journal Article
    Author H Blake
    Author M Batson
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of a brief Tai Chi Chuan Qigong ('Qigong') exercise intervention on individuals with traumatic brain injury. DESIGN: A single-centre randomized controlled trial pilot study. SETTING: A registered charity day centre in the community. SUBJECTS: Twenty individuals with traumatic brain injury. INTERVENTION: Intervention participants attended a Qigong exercise session for one hour per week over eight weeks. Control participants engaged in non-exercise-based social and leisure activities for the same intervention period. MEASURES: Outcome was assessed at baseline and post intervention using the General Health Questionnaire-12, the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire and the Social Support for Exercise Habits Scale, to measure perceived mood, self-esteem, flexibility, coordination, physical activity and social support. RESULTS: Groups were comparable at baseline. After the intervention, mood was improved in the exercise group when compared with controls (U = 22.0, P =0.02). Improvements in self-esteem (Z = 2.397, P =0.01) and mood (Z = -2.032, P =0.04) across the study period were also evident in the exercise group only. There were no significant differences in physical functioning between groups. In view of the sample size, these findings are inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence that a brief Qigong exercise intervention programme may improve mood and self-esteem for individuals with traumatic brain injury. This needs to be tested in a large-scale randomized trial.
    Publication Clinical Rehabilitation
    Volume 23
    Issue 7
    Pages 589-598
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Clin Rehabil
    DOI 10.1177/0269215508101736
    ISSN 1477-0873
    Short Title Exercise intervention in brain injury
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19237436
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:01:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19237436
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Objective: To examine the effects of a brief Tai Chi Chuan Qigong (‘Qigong’) exercise intervention on individuals with traumatic brain injury. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that a brief Qigong exercise intervention programme may improve mood and self-esteem for individuals with traumatic brain injury.

  • The Other Mindful Practice: Centering Prayer & Psychotherapy.

    Type Journal Article
    Author P. Gregg Blanton
    Abstract A review of the literature reveals that one particular form of mindful practice, mindfulness, has received the most research attention during the past decade. While all of this attention has been focused on mindfulness, the clinical usefulness of other mindful practices has been ignored. Built upon this background, the purpose of this article is to bring attention to an overlooked form of mindful practice that grows out of the Christian tradition: Centering Prayer. The article begins with a description of Centering Prayer, along with a comparison with mindfulness. The remainder of the article explores the clinical implications of Centering Prayer. First, ways in which Centering Prayer informs our understanding of the need for and the goals of counseling are suggested. Next, four therapeutic skills of Centering Prayer, along with three distinct ways for integrating Centering Prayer into psychotherapy are offered. Throughout the clinical section of the article, numerous practical ideas and strategies are developed. Finally, a case study is included to illustrate the potential benefits of including Centering Prayer in psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 60
    Issue 1
    Pages 133-147
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-010-0292-9
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title The Other Mindful Practice
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

    Tags:

    • BODY-mind centering
    • CENTERING (Psychology)
    • Christianity
    • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
    • Pastoral Counseling
    • prayer
    • Psychotherapy
  • Spirituality, religion, and clinical outcomes in patients recovering from an acute myocardial infarction

    Type Journal Article
    Author James A Blumenthal
    Author Michael A Babyak
    Author Gail Ironson
    Author Carl Thoresen
    Author Lynda Powell
    Author Susan Czajkowski
    Author Matthew Burg
    Author Francis J Keefe
    Author Patrick Steffen
    Author Diane Catellier
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To assess the prospective relationship between spiritual experiences and health in a sample of patients surviving an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with depression or low social support. METHODS: A subset of 503 patients participating in the enhancing recovery in coronary heart disease (ENRICHD) trial completed a Daily Spiritual Experiences (DSE) questionnaire within 28 days from the time of their AMI. The questionnaire assessed three spirituality variables-worship service/church attendance, prayer/meditation, and total DSE score. Patients also completed the Beck Depression Inventory to assess depressive symptoms and the ENRICHD Social Support Inventory to determine perceived social support. The sample was subsequently followed prospectively every 6 months for an average of 18 months to assess all-cause mortality and recurrent AMI. RESULTS: Of the 503 participants who completed the DSE questionnaire at the time of index AMI, 61 (12%) participants either died or sustained a recurrent MI during the follow-up period. After adjustment for gender, education level, ethnicity, and a composite medical prognosis risk score derived specifically for the ENRICHD trial, we observed no relationship between death or nonfatal AMI and total spirituality as measured by the DSE (p = .446), worship service attendance (p = .120), or frequency of prayer/meditation (p = .679). CONCLUSION: We found little evidence that self-reported spirituality, frequency of church attendance, or frequency of prayer is associated with cardiac morbidity or all-cause mortality post AMI in patients with depression and/or low perceived support.
    Publication Psychosomatic Medicine
    Volume 69
    Issue 6
    Pages 501-508
    Date 2007 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Psychosom Med
    DOI 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3180cab76c
    ISSN 1534-7796
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17636153
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:49:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17636153
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • mortality
    • Myocardial Infarction
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Recurrence
    • religion
    • Risk
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Treatment Outcome
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Objective: To assess the prospective relationship between spiritual experiences and health in a sample of patients surviving an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with depression or low social support. Conclusion: We found little evidence that self-reported spirituality, frequency of church attendance, or frequency of prayer is associated with cardiac morbidity or all-cause mortality post AMI in patients with depression and/or low perceived support.

  • Zen and psychotherapy : partners in liberation

    Type Book
    Author Joe Bobrow
    Place New York
    Publisher W. W. Norton & Co.
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780393705799
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • A randomized trial of the effect of prayer on depression and anxiety

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter A Boelens
    Author Roy R Reeves
    Author William H Replogle
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of direct contact person-to-person prayer on depression, anxiety, positive emotions, and salivary cortisol levels. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Cross-over clinical trial with depression or anxiety conducted in an office setting. Following randomization to the prayer intervention or control groups, subjects (95% women) completed Hamilton Rating Scales for Depression and Anxiety, Life Orientation Test, Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, and underwent measurement of cortisol levels. Individuals in the direct person-to-person prayer contact intervention group received six weekly 1-hour prayer sessions while those in the control group received none. Rating scales and cortisol levels were repeated for both groups after completion of the prayer sessions, and a month later. ANOVAs were used to compare pre- and post-prayer measures for each group. RESULTS At the completion of the trial, participants receiving the prayer intervention showed significant improvement of depression and anxiety, as well as increases of daily spiritual experiences and optimism compared to controls (p < 0.01 in all cases). Subjects in the prayer group maintained these significant improvements (p < 0.01 in all cases) for a duration of at least 1 month after the final prayer session. Participants in the control group did not show significant changes during the study. Cortisol levels did not differ significantly between intervention and control groups, or between pre- and post-prayer conditions. CONCLUSIONS Direct contact person-to-person prayer may be useful as an adjunct to standard medical care for patients with depression and anxiety. Further research in this area is indicated.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 4
    Pages 377-392
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20391859
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20391859
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Christianity
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
  • The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on mental health of adults with a chronic medical disease: A meta-analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ernst Bohlmeijer
    Author Rilana Prenger
    Author Erik Taal
    Author Pim Cuijpers
    Abstract Objectives The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on depression, anxiety and psychological distress across populations with different chronic somatic diseases.Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to examine the effects of MBSR on depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. The influence of quality of studies on the effects of MBSR was analyzed.Results Eight published, randomized controlled outcome studies were included. An overall effect size on depression of 0.26 was found, indicating a small effect of MBSR on depression. The effect size for anxiety was 0.47. However, quality of the studies was found to moderate this effect size. When the studies of lower quality were excluded, an effect size of 0.24 on anxiety was found. A small effect size (0.32) was also found for psychological distress.Conclusions It can be concluded that MBSR has small effects on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in people with chronic somatic diseases. Integrating MBSR in behavioral therapy may enhance the efficacy of mindfulness based interventions.
    Publication Journal of Psychosomatic Research
    Volume 68
    Issue 6
    Pages 539-544
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2009.10.005
    ISSN 0022-3999
    Short Title The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on mental health of adults with a chronic medical disease
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 2:05:06 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM

    Tags:

    • Chronic medical disease
    • depression
    • mental health
    • Meta-analysis
    • Mindfulness
  • Religiosity associated with prolonged survival in liver transplant recipients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Franco Bonaguidi
    Author Claudio Michelassi
    Author Franco Filipponi
    Author Daniele Rovai
    Abstract We tested the hypothesis that religiosity (ie, seeking God's help, having faith in God, trusting in God, and trying to perceive God's will in the disease) is associated with improved survival in patients with end-stage liver disease who have undergone orthotopic liver transplantation. We studied a group of 179 candidates for liver transplantation who responded to a questionnaire on religiosity during the pretransplant psychological evaluation and underwent transplantation between 2004 and 2007. The demographic data, educational level, employment status, clinical data, and results of the questionnaire were compared with the survival of patients during follow-up, regardless of the cause of any deaths. Factorial analysis of responses to the questionnaire revealed 3 main factors: searching for God (active), waiting for God (passive), and fatalism. The consistency of the matrix was very high (consistency index = 0.92). Eighteen patients died during follow-up (median time = 21 months). In multivariate analysis, only the searching for God factor [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-8.32, ?(2) = 4.205, P = 0.040] and the posttransplant length of stay in the intensive care unit (HR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.01-1.08, ?(2) = 8.506, P = 0.035) were independently associated with survival, even after adjustments for the waiting for God factor, fatalism, age, sex, marital status, employment, educational level, viral etiology, Child-Pugh score, serum creatinine level, time from the questionnaire to transplantation, donor age, and intraoperative bleeding. Patients who did not present the searching for God factor were younger than those who did, but they had shorter survival times (P = 0.037) and a 3-fold increased relative risk of dying (HR = 3.01, 95% CI = 1.07-8.45). In conclusion, religiosity is associated with prolonged survival in patients undergoing liver transplantation.
    Publication Liver Transplantation: Official Publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society
    Volume 16
    Issue 10
    Pages 1158-1163
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr Liver Transpl
    DOI 10.1002/lt.22122
    ISSN 1527-6473
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20818656
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:07:21 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM
  • Compulsive prayer and its management

    Type Journal Article
    Author Avigdor Bonchek
    Author David Greenberg
    Abstract Religious symptoms have been recognized as a presentation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) for centuries. The two main treatment strategies for OCD, cognitive behavior therapy (exposure and response prevention [ERP]), and SSRIs have been shown to be effective in religious OCD. The presentation of religious OCD within formal prayer, reported in Judaism and Islam, poses special challenges of inaccessibility of personal prayer, sanctity of the symptom, and the status of the therapist. A method of guided-prayer repetition, a variant of ERP, is described, and its successful application is reported in three cases of ultra-orthodox Jewish men with prayer as the main symptom of their religious OCD.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 4
    Pages 396-405
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20558
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:52:19 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19215018
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Jews
    • Male
    • OBSESSIVE-compulsive disorder
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
  • Defining a Complex Intervention: The Development of Demarcation Criteria for "Meditation"

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth Bond
    Author Maria B. Ospina
    Author Nicola Hooton
    Author Liza Bialy
    Author Donna M. Dryden
    Author Nina Buscemi
    Author David Shannahoff-Khalsa
    Author Jeffrey Dusek
    Author Linda E. Carlson
    Abstract The authors used a 5-round Delphi study with a panel of 7 experts in meditation research to achieve agreement on a set of criteria for a working definition of "meditation" for use in a comprehensive systematic review of the therapeutic use of meditation. Participants agreed that essential to a meditation practice is its use of (a) a defined technique, (b) logic relaxation, and (c) a self-induced state. Participants also agreed that a meditation practice may (d) involve a state of psychophysical relaxation somewhere in the process; (e) use a self-focus skill or anchor; (f) involve an altered state/mode of consciousness, mystic experience, enlightenment or suspension of logical thought processes; (g) be embedded in a religious/spiritual/philosophical context; or (h) involve an experience of mental silence. The results of this study provide insight into the challenges faced by researchers who want to demarcate meditative practices from nonmeditative practices, and they describe an approach to this problem that may prove useful for researchers trying to operationalize meditation in the context of comparative research.
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 1
    Issue 2
    Pages 129-137
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1037/a0015736
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Short Title Defining a Complex Intervention
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B9846-4WKH6C3-5/2/509e26c0ce84ca65c2c2ef1f2ad57eb2
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:14:39 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • CAM
    • characteristics
    • Meditation
    • mind-body techniques
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • The authors used a 5-round Delphi study with a panel of 7 experts in meditation research to achieve agreement on a set of criteria for a working definition of “meditation” for use in a comprehensive systematic review of the therapeutic use of meditation. Participants agreed that essential to a meditation practice is its use of (a) a defined technique, (b) logic relaxation, and (c) a self-induced state. Participants also agreed that a meditation practice may (d) involve a state of psychophysical relaxation somewhere in the process; (e) use a self-focus skill or anchor; (f) involve an altered state/mode of consciousness, mystic experience, enlightenment or suspension of logical thought processes; (g) be embedded in a religious/spiritual/philosophical context; or (h) involve an experience of mental silence. The results of this study provide insight into the challenges faced by researchers who want to demarcate meditative practices from nonmeditative practices, and they describe an approach to this problem that may prove useful for researchers trying to operationalize meditation in the context of comparative research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)

  • Defining a complex intervention: The development of demarcation criteria for “meditation”.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth Bond
    Author Maria B. Ospina
    Author Nicola Hooton
    Author Liza Bialy
    Author Donna M. Dryden
    Author Nina Buscemi
    Author David Shannahoff-Khalsa
    Author Jeffrey Dusek
    Author Linda E. Carlson
    Abstract The authors used a 5-round Delphi study with a panel of 7 experts in meditation research to achieve agreement on a set of criteria for a working definition of “meditation” for use in a comprehensive systematic review of the therapeutic use of meditation. Participants agreed that essential to a meditation practice is its use of (a) a defined technique, (b) logic relaxation, and (c) a self-induced state. Participants also agreed that a meditation practice may (d) involve a state of psychophysical relaxation somewhere in the process; (e) use a self-focus skill or anchor; (f) involve an altered state/mode of consciousness, mystic experience, enlightenment or suspension of logical thought processes; (g) be embedded in a religious/spiritual/philosophical context; or (h) involve an experience of mental silence. The results of this study provide insight into the challenges faced by researchers who want to demarcate meditative practices from nonmeditative practices, and they describe an approach to this problem that may prove useful for researchers trying to operationalize meditation in the context of comparative research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 1
    Issue 2
    Pages 129-137
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1037/a0015736
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Short Title Defining a complex intervention
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pdh&AN=rel-1-2-129&…
    Accessed Saturday, September 12, 2009 6:48:12 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • CAM
    • characteristics
    • Dualism
    • Meditation
    • mind–body techniques
    • Relaxation
    • yoga
  • Depression relapse prophylaxis with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Replication and extension in the Swiss health care system

    Type Journal Article
    Author Guido Bondolfi
    Author Françoise Jermann
    Author Martial Van der Linden
    Author Marianne Gex-Fabry
    Author Lucio Bizzini
    Author Béatrice Weber Rouget
    Author Lusmila Myers-Arrazola
    Author Christiane Gonzalez
    Author Zindel Segal
    Author Jean-Michel Aubry
    Author Gilles Bertschy
    Abstract Background Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a group intervention that integrates elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with components of mindfulness training to prevent depressive relapse. The efficacy of MBCT compared to Treatment As Usual (TAU), shown in two randomized controlled trials indicates a significant decrease in 1-year relapse rates for patients with at least three past depressive episodes. The present study is the first independent replication trial comparing MBCT + TAU to TAU alone across both language and culture (Swiss health care system).Methods Sixty unmedicated patients in remission from recurrent depression (>= 3 episodes) were randomly assigned to MBCT + TAU or TAU. Relapse rate and time to relapse were measured over a 60 week observation period. The frequency of mindfulness practices during the study was also evaluated.Results Over a 14-month prospective follow-up period, time to relapse was significantly longer with MBCT + TAU than TAU alone (median 204 and 69 days, respectively), although both groups relapsed at similar rates. Analyses of homework adherence revealed that following treatment termination, the frequency of brief and informal mindfulness practice remained unchanged over 14 months, whereas the use of longer formal meditation decreased over time.Limitations Relapse monitoring was 14 months in duration and prospective reporting of mindfulness practice would have yielded more precise frequency estimates compared to the retrospective methods we utilized.Conclusions Further studies are required to determine which patient characteristics, beyond the number of past depressive episodes, may predict differential benefits from this therapeutic approach.
    Publication Journal of Affective Disorders
    Volume 122
    Issue 3
    Pages 224-231
    Date May 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2009.07.007
    ISSN 0165-0327
    Short Title Depression relapse prophylaxis with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
    Accessed Friday, June 04, 2010 9:51:30 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Depressive relapse prophylaxis
    • MBCT
    • Mindfulness
    • Mindfulness practice
    • Remission
  • A faith-based physical activity intervention for Latinos: outcomes and lessons

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melissa Bopp
    Author Elizabeth A Fallon
    Author David X Marquez
    Abstract Purpose. To develop, implement, and evaluate a pilot faith-based physical activity (PA) intervention for Latinos. Design. Randomized trial, with two churches receiving the intervention and one church serving as a comparison group. Setting. Three Catholic churches near Manhattan, Kansas. Subjects. A subsample of the congregation from the intervention churches (n  =  24) and comparison church (n  =  23) volunteered to take part in the assessment. Intervention. Culturally and spiritually relevant education materials and activities were developed promoting the health benefits of PA. Educational materials included flyers, bulletin inserts, and posters. An 8-week team based walking contest promoted social support for PA. A health “fiesta” provided hands-on educational opportunities for PA. Measures. Organizational and individual process evaluation outcomes were assessed at baseline and 6 months. Interviews with church contacts at 6 months documented successes and struggles with implementation. Individual-level variables assessed knowledge related to PA and exposure to the intervention. Analysis. Basic frequencies and descriptive statistics were used. Results. Compared with 36% of comparison participants, 66% of intervention participants identified health reasons for participating in PA, and 47% accurately described PA recommendations, compared with 16% of comparison participants. Process evaluation revealed implementation successes and struggles, including communication problems with church contacts and difficulty in creating a large exposure to intervention materials. Conclusions. This pilot study provides formative research for developing larger faith-based PA interventions targeting Latinos.
    Publication American Journal of Health Promotion: AJHP
    Volume 25
    Issue 3
    Pages 168-171
    Date 2011 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr Am J Health Promot
    DOI 10.4278/ajhp.090413-ARB-138
    ISSN 0890-1171
    Short Title A faith-based physical activity intervention for Latinos
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:39:12 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21192745
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • churches
    • Faith-based
    • fitness
    • Intervention
    • Latino
    • Physical activity
    • prevention research
    • randomized trial

    Notes:

    • A pilot faith-based physical activity (PA) intervention for Latinos to study health benefits.  Samples were taken from church subjects and physical activity was generally culturally relevant.  This pilot study provides formative research for developing larger faith-based PA interventions targeting Latinos.

  • Religiousness among at-risk drinkers: is it prospectively associated with the development or maintenance of an alcohol-use disorder?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tyrone F Borders
    Author Geoffrey M Curran
    Author Rhonda Mattox
    Author Brenda M Booth
    Abstract ABSTRACT. Objective: This study examined whether particular dimensions of religiousness are prospectively associated with the development or maintenance of an alcohol-use disorder (AUD) among at-risk drinkers or persons with a history of problem drinking. Method: A prospective cohort study was conducted among at-risk drinkers identified through a population-based telephone survey of adults residing in the southeastern United States. The cohort was stratified by baseline AUD status to determine how several dimensions of religiousness (organized religious attendance, religious self-ranking, religious influence on one's life, coping through prayer, and talking with a religious leader) were associated with the development and, separately, the maintenance or remission of an AUD over 6 months. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the odds of developing versus not developing an AUD and maintaining versus remitting from an AUD while adjusting for measures of social support and other covariates. Results: Among persons without an AUD at baseline, more frequent organized religious attendance, adjusted odds ratio (OR(adj)) = 0.73, 95% CI [0.55, 0.96], and coping through prayer, OR(adj) = 0.63, 95% CI [0.45, 0.87], were associated with lower adjusted odds of developing an AUD. In contrast, among persons with an AUD at baseline, no dimension of religiousness was associated with the maintenance or remission of an AUD. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that religious attendance and coping through prayer may protect against the development of an AUD among at-risk drinkers. Further research is warranted to ascertain whether these or other religious activities and practices should be promoted among atrisk drinkers. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 71, 136-142, 2010).
    Publication Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
    Volume 71
    Issue 1
    Pages 136-142
    Date Jan 2010
    Journal Abbr J Stud Alcohol Drugs
    ISSN 1938-4114
    Short Title Religiousness among at-risk drinkers
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 10:24:05 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20105423
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • The serotonin system and spiritual experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jacqueline Borg
    Author Bengt Andrée
    Author Henrik Soderstrom
    Author Lars Farde
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The serotonin system has long been of interest in biological models of human personality. The purpose of this positron emission tomography (PET) study was to search for relationships between serotonin 5-HT(1A) receptor density and personality traits. METHOD: Fifteen normal male subjects, ages 20-45 years, were examined with PET and the radioligand [(11)C]WAY100635. Personality traits were assessed with the Swedish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory self-report questionnaire. Binding potential, an index for the density of available 5-HT(1A) receptors, was calculated for the dorsal raphe nuclei, the hippocampal formation, and the neocortex. For each region, correlation coefficients between 5-HT(1A) receptor binding potential and Temperament and Character Inventory personality dimensions were calculated and analyzed in two-tailed tests for significance. RESULTS: The authors found that the binding potential correlated inversely with scores for self-transcendence, a personality trait covering religious behavior and attitudes. No correlations were found for any of the other six Temperament and Character Inventory dimensions. The self-transcendence dimension consists of three distinct subscales, and further analysis showed that the subscale for spiritual acceptance correlated significantly with binding potential but not with the other two subscales. CONCLUSIONS: This finding in normal male subjects indicated that the serotonin system may serve as a biological basis for spiritual experiences. The authors speculated that the several-fold variability in 5-HT(1A) receptor density may explain why people vary greatly in spiritual zeal.
    Publication The American Journal of Psychiatry
    Volume 160
    Issue 11
    Pages 1965-1969
    Date Nov 2003
    Journal Abbr Am J Psychiatry
    ISSN 0002-953X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/14594742
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:33:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14594742
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Brain
    • Character
    • Hippocampus
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neocortex
    • personality
    • Personality Assessment
    • Personality Inventory
    • Piperazines
    • Pyridines
    • Raphe Nuclei
    • Receptors, Serotonin
    • Serotonin
    • Serotonin Antagonists
    • spirituality
    • Temperament
    • Tomography, Emission-Computed

    Notes:

    • Objective: The serotonin system has long been of interest in biological models of human personality. The purpose of this positron emission tomography (PET) study was to search for relationships between serotonin 5-HT(1A) receptor density and personality traits. Method: Fifteen normal male subjects, ages 20-45 years, were examined with PET and the radioligand [(11)C]WAY100635. Personality traits were assessed with the Swedish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory self-report questionnaire. Binding potential, an index for the density of available 5-HT(1A) receptors, was calculated for the dorsal raphe nuclei, the hippocampal formation, and the neocortex. For each region, correlation coefficients between 5-HT(1A) receptor binding potential and Temperament and Character Inventory personality dimensions were calculated and analyzed in two-tailed tests for significance. Results: The authors found that the binding potential correlated inversely with scores for self-transcendence, a personality trait covering religious behavior and attitudes. No correlations were found for any of the other six Temperament and Character Inventory dimensions. The self-transcendence dimension consists of three distinct subscales, and further analysis showed that the subscale for spiritual acceptance correlated significantly with binding potential but not with the other two subscales. Conclusions: This finding in normal male subjects indicated that the serotonin system may serve as a biological basis for spiritual experiences. The authors speculated that the several-fold variability in 5-HT(1A) receptor density may explain why people vary greatly in spiritual zeal.

  • Increases in Positive Reappraisal Coping During a Group-Based Mantram Intervention Mediate Sustained Reductions in Anger in HIV-Positive Persons.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jill E. Bormann
    Author Adam W. Carrico
    Abstract There is evidence that various meditation practices reduce distress, but little is known about the mechanisms of frequently repeating a mantram—a spiritual word or phrase—on distress reduction. Mantram repetition is the portable practice of focusing attention frequently on a mantram throughout the day without a specific time, place, or posture. We examined the hypothesis of whether increases in positive reappraisal coping or distancing coping mediated the sustained decreases in anger found following a group-based mantram intervention that was designed to train attention and promote awareness of internal experiences. A secondary analysis was performed on data collected from a randomized controlled trial that compared a group-based mantram intervention ( n = 46) to an attention-matched control ( n = 47) in a community sample of human immunodeficiency virus-positive adults. Positive reappraisal and distancing coping were explored as potential mediators of anger reduction. Participants in the mantram intervention reported significant increases in positive reappraisal coping over the 5-week intervention period, whereas the control group reported decreases. Increases in positive reappraisal coping during the 5-week intervention period appear to mediate the effect of mantram on decreased anger at 22-week follow-up. Findings suggest that a group-based mantram intervention may reduce anger by enhancing positive reappraisal coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 74-80
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s12529-008-9007-3
    ISSN 10705503
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Anger
    • HIV (Viruses)
    • HIV-positive persons
    • MANTRAS
    • Meditation
    • spirituality
  • Increases in positive reappraisal coping during a group-based mantram intervention mediate sustained reductions in anger in HIV-positive persons

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jill E Bormann
    Author Adam W Carrico
    Abstract BACKGROUND: There is evidence that various meditation practices reduce distress, but little is known about the mechanisms of frequently repeating a mantram-a spiritual word or phrase-on distress reduction. Mantram repetition is the portable practice of focusing attention frequently on a mantram throughout the day without a specific time, place, or posture. PURPOSE: We examined the hypothesis of whether increases in positive reappraisal coping or distancing coping mediated the sustained decreases in anger found following a group-based mantram intervention that was designed to train attention and promote awareness of internal experiences. METHOD: A secondary analysis was performed on data collected from a randomized controlled trial that compared a group-based mantram intervention (n = 46) to an attention-matched control (n = 47) in a community sample of human immunodeficiency virus-positive adults. Positive reappraisal and distancing coping were explored as potential mediators of anger reduction. RESULTS: Participants in the mantram intervention reported significant increases in positive reappraisal coping over the 5-week intervention period, whereas the control group reported decreases. Increases in positive reappraisal coping during the 5-week intervention period appear to mediate the effect of mantram on decreased anger at 22-week follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that a group-based mantram intervention may reduce anger by enhancing positive reappraisal coping.
    Publication International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 74-80
    Date March 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s12529-008-9007-3
    ISSN 1532-7558
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19127438
    Accessed Tuesday, September 15, 2009 12:41:09 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19127438
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Anger
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • HIV Seropositivity
    • Homosexuality, Female
    • Homosexuality, Male
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Sick Role
    • spirituality
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • We examined the hypothesis of whether increases in positive reappraisal coping or distancing coping mediated the sustained decreases in anger found following a group-based mantram intervention. Findings suggest that a group-based mantram intervention may reduce anger by enhancing positive reappraisal coping.

  • A spiritually based caregiver intervention with telephone delivery for family caregivers of veterans with dementia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jill Bormann
    Author Kathleen A Warren
    Author Laura Regalbuto
    Author Dale Glaser
    Author Ann Kelly
    Author Judy Schnack
    Author Lakemba Hinton
    Abstract Caring for veterans with dementia is burdensome for family caregivers. This exploratory study tested the efficacy of an innovative, spiritually based mantram caregiver intervention delivered using teleconference calls. A prospective, within-subjects, mixed-methods, and 3-time repeated-measures design with 36-week follow-up telephone interviews was conducted. Sixteen caregivers (94% women, 94% Whites with mean age 69.2 years, SD = 10.35 years) completed the intervention. Significant effects for time and linear terms were found for decreasing caregiver burden, perceived stress, depression, and rumination and for increasing quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction, all with large effect sizes. Findings suggest that teleconference delivery of a spiritually based caregiver intervention is feasible.
    Publication Family & Community Health
    Volume 32
    Issue 4
    Pages 345-353
    Date 2009 Oct
    Journal Abbr Fam Community Health
    DOI 10.1097/FCH.0b013e3181b91fd6
    ISSN 1550-5057
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19752637
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 8:20:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19752637
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Effects of spiritual mantram repetition on HIV outcomes: a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jill E Bormann
    Author Allen L Gifford
    Author Martha Shively
    Author Tom L Smith
    Author Laura Redwine
    Author Ann Kelly
    Author Sheryl Becker
    Author Madeline Gershwin
    Author Patricia Bone
    Author Wendy Belding
    Abstract We examined the efficacy of a psycho-spiritual intervention of mantram repetition--a word or phrase with spiritual associations repeated silently throughout the day--on psychological distress (intrusive thoughts, stress, anxiety, anger, depression), quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction, and existential spiritual well-being in HIV-infected adults. Using a 2-group by 4-time repeated measures design, 93 participants were randomly assigned to mantram (n = 46) or attention control group (n = 47). Over time, the mantram group improved significantly more than the control group in reducing trait-anger and increasing spiritual faith and spiritual connectedness. Actual mantram practice measured by wrist counters was inversely associated with non-HIV related intrusive thoughts and positively associated with quality of life, total existential spiritual well-being, meaning/peace, and spiritual faith. Intent-to-treat findings suggest that a mantram group intervention and actual mantram practice each make unique contributions for managing psychological distress and enhancing existential spiritual well-being in adults living with HIV/AIDS.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 29
    Issue 4
    Pages 359-376
    Date Aug 2006
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-006-9063-6
    ISSN 0160-7715
    Short Title Effects of spiritual mantram repetition on HIV outcomes
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16847590
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:41:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16847590
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Anger
    • Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
    • CD4 Lymphocyte Count
    • depression
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • HIV Infections
    • HIV-1
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
    • Practice (Psychology)
    • Religion and Psychology
    • RNA, Viral
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Viral Load

    Notes:

    • We examined the efficacy of a psycho-spiritual intervention of mantram repetition--a word or phrase with spiritual associations repeated silently throughout the day--on psychological distress (intrusive thoughts, stress, anxiety, anger, depression), quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction, and existential spiritual well-being in HIV-infected adults.

  • Efficacy of frequent mantram repetition on stress, quality of life, and spiritual well-being in veterans: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jill E Bormann
    Author Tom L Smith
    Author Sheryl Becker
    Author Madeline Gershwin
    Author Laureen Pada
    Author Ann H Grudzinski
    Author Elizabeth A Nurmi
    Abstract PURPOSE: Silent, frequent repetition of a mantram-a word or phrase with spiritual significance, sometimes called a Holy Name-is an ancient form of prayer that may reduce stress and related symptoms. The authors tested the feasibility and efficacy of a 5-week (90-min per week) intervention on mantram repetition in a sample of ambulatory veterans. METHOD: Aconvenience sample (N= 62) of outpatient veterans participated in the study by completing pre-and posttest self-report questionnaires on stress, anxiety, anger, quality of life, and spiritual well-being. Wrist-worn counters were provided to track mantram practice. FINDINGS: Mantram repetition significantly reduced symptoms of stress and anxiety and improved quality of life and spiritual well-being. CONCLUSION: Additional research using a larger sample size and control group is needed to further substantiate the benefits of this intervention. IMPLICATIONS: Frequent, silent mantram repetition is easily taught and could be used by nurses and patients for managing stress and increasing well-being.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 23
    Issue 4
    Pages 395-414
    Date Dec 2005
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0898010105278929
    ISSN 0898-0101
    Short Title Efficacy of frequent mantram repetition on stress, quality of life, and spiritual well-being in veterans
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16251489
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:27:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16251489
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anger
    • Faith Healing
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
    • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Veterans

    Notes:

    • The authors tested the feasibility and efficacy of a 5-week (90-min per week) intervention on mantram repetition in a sample of ambulatory veterans. Findings: Mantram repetition significantly reduced symptoms of stress and anxiety and improved quality of life and spiritual well-being.

  • Evaluation of the FICA Spiritual Assessment Tool (501)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tami Borneman
    Author Betty Ferrell
    Author Shirley Otis-Green
    Author Pamela Baird
    Author Christina Puchalski
    Abstract 1. Describe the FICA Spiritual Assessment Tool and its application in the clinical setting. 2. Review research results of a validation study of the FICA tool. 3. Demonstration of the FICA tool within a clinical setting with audience participation. Spirituality plays an important role in illness adaptation for cancer patients. The National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care includes spiritual care as one of the eight clinical practice domains for patient care. The primary purpose of this pilot study is to provide preliminary psychometric evaluation for the FICA Spiritual Assessment Tool and to test its feasibility in clinical settings. Specifically, correlates between the FICA qualitative data and QOL quantitative data are examined to assess validity of the FICA. The theoretical framework of the FICA tool is based on the four domains of spiritual assessment, and these include the presence of faith or belief, the importance of spirituality on an individual's life, the individual's spiritual community, and interventions to address spiritual needs. A prospective, cross-sectional design was used to evaluate the FICA. Patients with solid tumors were recruited from ambulatory clinics of one comprehensive cancer center. Items assessing aspects of spirituality within QOL tools (the FACT-L, FACT-O, and COHQOL) were used, and all patients were assessed using the FICA. Descriptive analysis of demographic data was conducted, followed by comparison of means between the QOL item scores and FICA. The sample (n = 76) had a mean age of 59, and half were Catholic. The majority of patients, assessed by the FICA, rated faith/belief as very important in their lives (X = 8.4; 0–10 scale). FICA quantitative ratings and qualitative comments are closely correlated with items from the QOL tools assessing aspects of spirituality. Findings suggest that the FICA tool is a feasible tool for clinical assessment of spirituality, and correlations between existing spiritual well-being domains of QOL tools are promising. Addressing spiritual needs and concerns in clinical settings is critical in enhancing QOL. This evaluation provides preliminary validation of the FICA Spiritual Assessment Tool as a relevant tool for future research and clinical practice.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 39
    Issue 2
    Pages 406-407
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.11.149
    ISSN 0885-3924
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:07:25 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • The relationship between addiction and religion and its possible implication for care

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laurence Borras
    Author Yasser Khazaal
    Author Riaz Khan
    Author Sylvia Mohr
    Author Yves-Alexandre Kaufmann
    Author Daniele Zullino
    Author Philippe Huguelet
    Abstract Spirituality is a topic of increasing interest to clinicians and researchers interested in addiction because its perceived role in the promotion of meaningfulness in the recovery from addiction. Our review of the literature evaluates different domains relative to the relation between addiction, religion, and psychiatric treatment. Spirituality as a protective or precipitating factor for substance use and as a key component of recovery will be debated. Illustrations of its potential and limitations as a component of treatment will be presented. Types of investigation and integration of this dimension in an eventual therapeutic process strictly respecting the needs and specificities of each one will be discussed.
    Publication Substance Use & Misuse
    Volume 45
    Issue 14
    Pages 2357-2410
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Subst Use Misuse
    DOI 10.3109/10826081003747611
    ISSN 1532-2491
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/21039108
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:06:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21039108
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
  • Religion and Spirituality: How Clinicians in Quebec and Geneva Cope with the Issue When Faced with Patients Suffering from Chronic Psychosis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laurence Borras
    Author Sylvia Mohr
    Author Christiane Gillieron
    Author Pierre-Yves Brandt
    Author Isabelle Rieben
    Author Claude Leclerc
    Author Philippe Huguelet
    Abstract Spirituality and religion have been found to be important in the lives of many people suffering from severe mental disorders, but it has been claimed that clinicians "neglect" their patients' religious issues. In Geneva, Switzerland and Trois-RiviSres, Quebec, 221 outpatients and their 57 clinicians were selected for an assessment of religion and spirituality. A majority of the patients reported that religion was an important aspect of their lives. Many clinicians were unaware of their patients' religious involvement, even if they reported feeling comfortable with the issue. Both areas displayed strikingly similar results, which supports their generalization.
    Publication Community Mental Health Journal
    Volume 46
    Issue 1
    Pages 77-86
    Date 9/2009
    Journal Abbr Community Ment Health J
    DOI 10.1007/s10597-009-9247-y
    ISSN 0010-3853
    URL http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s10597-009-9247-y
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Religious beliefs in schizophrenia: their relevance for adherence to treatment

    Type Journal Article
    Author L Borras
    Author S Mohr
    Author P-Y Brandt
    Author C Gilliéron
    Author A Eytan
    Author P Huguelet
    Abstract The study examined how religious beliefs and practices impact upon medication and illness representations in chronic schizophrenia. One hundred three stabilized patients were included in Geneva's outpatient public psychiatric facility in Switzerland. Interviews were conducted to investigate spiritual and religious beliefs and religious practices and religious coping. Medication adherence was assessed through questions to patients and to their psychiatrists and by a systematic blood drug monitoring. Thirty-two percent of patients were partially or totally nonadherent to oral medication. Fifty-eight percent of patients were Christians, 2% Jewish, 3% Muslim, 4% Buddhist, 14% belonged to various minority or syncretic religious movements, and 19% had no religious affiliation. Two thirds of the total sample considered spirituality as very important or even essential in everyday life. Fifty-seven percent of patients had a representation of their illness directly influenced by their spiritual beliefs (positively in 31% and negatively in 26%). Religious representations of illness were prominent in nonadherent patients. Thirty-one percent of nonadherent patients and 27% of partially adherent patients underlined an incompatibility or contradiction between their religion and taking medication, versus 8% of adherent patients. Religion and spirituality contribute to shaping representations of disease and attitudes toward medical treatment in patients with schizophrenia. This dimension should be on the agenda of psychiatrists working with patients with schizophrenia.
    Publication Schizophrenia Bulletin
    Volume 33
    Issue 5
    Pages 1238-1246
    Date Sep 2007
    Journal Abbr Schizophr Bull
    DOI 10.1093/schbul/sbl070
    ISSN 0586-7614
    Short Title Religious beliefs in schizophrenia
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17213479
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:11:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17213479
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Ambulatory Care
    • Antipsychotic Agents
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Patient Compliance
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Psychometrics
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Schizophrenia
    • Schizophrenic Psychology
    • Switzerland

    Notes:

    • The study examined how religious beliefs and practices impact upon medication and illness representations in chronic schizophrenia. Interviews were conducted to investigate spiritual and religious beliefs and religious practices and religious coping.

  • Religion, ethnicity, coping style, and self-reported self-harm in a diverse non-clinical UK population.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jo Borrill
    Author Pauline Fox
    Author Derek Roger
    Abstract Previous studies of ethnic and cultural differences in self-harm have focussed on overdose and suicide attempts by South Asian women. Research comparing ethnic groups has rarely examined religion or nationality. To achieve a more balanced approach this study examined self-harm methods and self-injury across gender, religion and ethnic group in a non-clinical population. Six hundred and seventeen university students completed a questionnaire asking whether they had ever harmed themselves, and the frequency and method of any self-harm. White participants and participants with no religious affiliation were more likely to report repeated incidents of self-harm, mainly scratching and cutting skin. Hindu religion was associated with lower levels of repeated self-harm. Asian males were less likely to report self-harm than both Asian females and other males. Black students were less likely to report cutting and scored highest on Rational coping style. The results raise questions about differential disclosure of self-harm across gender and culture.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 3
    Pages 259-269
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903485629
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Asians
    • Blacks
    • CHI-square test
    • Christianity
    • COLLEGE students
    • COMPARATIVE studies
    • England
    • Hinduism
    • ISLAM
    • LOGISTIC regression analysis
    • MEDICAL cooperation
    • NONPARAMETRIC statistics
    • religion
    • Research
    • SELF-evaluation
    • Self-Injurious Behavior
    • SEX distribution (Demography)
    • STATISTICAL hypothesis testing
    • UNIVERSITIES & colleges
    • Whites
  • The contribution of spirituality and spiritual coping to anxiety and depression in women with a recent diagnosis of gynecological cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author N Boscaglia
    Author D M Clarke
    Author T W Jobling
    Author M A Quinn
    Abstract The objective of this study was to determine whether, after accounting for illness and demographic variables, spiritual involvement and beliefs and positive and negative spiritual coping could account for any of the variation in anxiety and depression among women within 1 year's diagnosis of gynecological cancer (GC). One hundred patients from outpatient GC clinics at two Melbourne-based hospitals completed a brief structured interview and self-report measures of anxiety, depression, spirituality, and spiritual coping. Using two sequential regression analyses, we found that younger women with more advanced disease, who used more negative spiritual coping, had a greater tendency towards depression and that the use of negative spiritual coping was associated with greater anxiety scores. Although not statistically significant, patients with lower levels of generalized spirituality also tended to be more depressed. The site of disease and phase of treatment were not predictive of either anxiety or depression. We conclude that spirituality and spiritual coping are important to women with GC and that health professionals in the area should consider these issues.
    Publication International Journal of Gynecological Cancer: Official Journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society
    Volume 15
    Issue 5
    Pages 755-761
    Date 2005 Sep-Oct
    Journal Abbr Int. J. Gynecol. Cancer
    DOI 10.1111/j.1525-1438.2005.00248.x
    ISSN 1048-891X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16174220
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:26:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16174220
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Anxiety
    • depression
    • Female
    • Genital Neoplasms, Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The objective of this study was to determine whether, after accounting for illness and demographic variables, spiritual involvement and beliefs and positive and negative spiritual coping could account for any of the variation in anxiety and depression among women within 1 year’s diagnosis of gynecological cancer (GC).

  • Medicine: Cherríe Moraga’s Boundary Violations

    Type Book Section
    Author Suzanne. Bost
    Book Title In Encarnación: Illness and Body Politics in Chicana Feminist Literature
    Place New York
    Publisher Fordham University Press
    Date 2010
    Pages 114-150
    Date Added Saturday, November 05, 2011 10:31:10 PM
    Modified Saturday, November 05, 2011 10:33:40 PM

    Notes:

    • Following the contemporary movement away from the fixed categories of identity politics toward a more fluid conception of the intersections between identities and communities, this book analyzes the ways in which literature and philosophy draw boundaries around identity considering the work of Ch...  more »errie Moraga.

  • Existential suffering in the palliative care setting: an integrated literature review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Patricia Boston
    Author Anne Bruce
    Author Rita Schreiber
    Abstract CONTEXT Existential and spiritual concerns in relation to palliative end-of-life care have received increasing attention over the past decade. OBJECTIVES To review the literature specifically related to existential suffering in palliative care in terms of the significance of existential suffering in end-of-life care, definitions, conceptual frameworks, and interventions. METHODS A systematic approach was undertaken with the aim of identifying emerging themes in the literature. Databases using CINAHL (1980-2009), MEDLINE (1970-2009), and PsychINFO (1980-2009) and the search engine of Google Scholar were searched under the key words existential suffering, existential distress, existential pain, palliative and end of life care. RESULTS The search yielded a total of 156 articles; 32% were peer-reviewed empirical research articles, 28% were peer-reviewed theoretical articles, and 14% were reviews or opinion-based articles. After manually searching bibliographies and related reference lists, 64 articles were considered relevant and are discussed in this review. Overall analysis identifies knowledge of the following: 1) emerging themes related to existential suffering, 2) critical review of those identified themes, 3) current gaps in the research literature, and 4) recommendations for future research. Findings from this comprehensive review reveal that existential suffering and deep personal anguish at the end of life are some of the most debilitating conditions that occur in patients who are dying, and yet the way such suffering is treated in the last days is not well understood. CONCLUSION Given the broad range of definitions attributed to existential suffering, palliative care clinicians may need to be mindful of their own choices and consider treatment options from a critical perspective.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 41
    Issue 3
    Pages 604-618
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.05.010
    ISSN 1873-6513
    Short Title Existential suffering in the palliative care setting
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21145202
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21145202
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Testing a SEM model of two religious concepts and experiential spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gracie E. H. Boswell
    Author Kirstin C. Boswell-Ford
    Abstract Guided by Atchley's Continuity Theory of the Spiritual Self as presented in Aging, spirituality, and religion, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN (1995), this study tested the validity of two dimensions of religiosity and one dimension of spirituality. It then examined the extent to which each dimension of religiosity influenced having spiritual experiences for 221 chronically ill older adults. Mean age of the sample was 80 years. Structural equation modeling was used to test a conceptual model. Substantive findings were that private religiosity (prayer and coping), but not public religiosity (participation and other church involvement) may influence reporting spiritual experiences by the older adults in the study. Findings revealed a good model fit to the data and strong factor loadings revealed sound construct validity for the latent variables (i.e., public and private religiosities, and experiential spirituality) in the model.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 2
    Pages 200-211
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9254-x
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:39:11 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19434496
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • This study tested the validity of two dimensions of religiosity and one dimension of spirituality, guided by Atchley’s Continuity Theory of the Spiritual Self as presented in Aging, spirituality, and religion, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN (1995). It then examined the extent to which each dimension of religiosity influenced having spiritual experiences for 221 chronically ill older adults. Substantive findings were that private religiosity (prayer and coping), but not public religiosity (participation and other church involvement) may influence reporting spiritual experiences by the older adults in the study. Findings revealed a good model fit to the data and strong factor loadings revealed sound construct validity for the latent variables (i.e., public and private religiosities, and experiential spirituality) in the model.

  • The impact of religious practice and religious coping on geriatric depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hayden B Bosworth
    Author Kwang-Soo Park
    Author Douglas R McQuoid
    Author Judith C Hays
    Author David C Steffens
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Both religiousness and social support have been shown to influence depression outcome, yet some researchers have theorized that religiousness largely reflects social support. We set out to determine the relationship of religiousness with depression outcome after considering clinical factors. METHODS: Elderly patients (n=114) in the MHCRC for the Study of Depression in Late Life while undergoing treatment using a standardized algorithm were examined. Patients completed measures of public and religious practice, a modified version of Pargament's RCOPE to measure religious coping, and subjective and instrument social support measures. A geriatric psychiatrist completed the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) at baseline and six months. RESULTS: Both positive and negative religious coping were related to MADRS scores in treated individuals, and positive coping was related to MADRS six months later, independent of social support measures, demographic, and clinical measures (e.g. use of electro-convulsive therapy, number of depressed episodes). Public religious practice, but not private religious practice was independently related to MADRS scores at the time of completion of the religiousness measures. Religious coping was related to social support, but was independently related to depression outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians caring for older depressives should consider inquiring about spirituality and religious coping as a way of improving depressive outcomes.
    Publication International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
    Volume 18
    Issue 10
    Pages 905-914
    Date Oct 2003
    Journal Abbr Int J Geriatr Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1002/gps.945
    ISSN 0885-6230
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14533123
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:38:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14533123
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Epidemiologic Methods
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • religion
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Objective: Both religiousness and social support have been shown to influence depression outcome, yet some researchers have theorized that religiousness largely reflects social support. We set out to determine the relationship of religiousness with depression outcome after considering clinical factors.

  • Spiritual role in healing. An alternative way of thinking

    Type Journal Article
    Author Edwin D Boudreaux
    Author Erin O'Hea
    Author Robert Chasuk
    Abstract Research shows convincingly that patients with serious medical illnesses commonly use spiritual methods to cope with and manage their illnesses. This reliance on spirituality seems to be associated with a range of positive outcomes in the form of an enhanced sense of well-being, improved feelings of resiliency, and decreased adverse physical symptoms (e.g., pain and fatigue) and psychologic symptoms (e.g., anxiety). The methodologic flaws and limitations of this literature, however, make more research necessary before confident conclusions can be made regarding the objective, biologic benefit. Further efforts should focus on identifying the potential mechanisms through which spirituality enhances both subjective and objective outcomes. Care should be taken to use reliable, valid spirituality assessment measures and more advanced methodologic designs, such as prospective, longitudinal studies, and randomized, controlled trials.
    Publication Primary Care
    Volume 29
    Issue 2
    Pages 439-454, viii
    Date Jun 2002
    Journal Abbr Prim. Care
    ISSN 0095-4543
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12391721
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:06:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12391721
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Attitude to Health
    • Chronic Disease
    • Faith Healing
    • Humans
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Research shows convincingly that patients with serious medical illnesses commonly use spiritual methods to cope with and manage their illnesses. This reliance on spirituality seems to be associated with a range of positive outcomes in the form of an enhanced sense of well-being, improved feelings of resiliency, and decreased adverse physical symptoms (e.g., pain and fatigue) and psychologic symptoms (e.g., anxiety). The methodologic flaws and limitations of this literature, however, make more research necessary before confident conclusions can be made regarding the objective, biologic benefit. Further efforts should focus on identifying the potential mechanisms through which spirituality enhances both subjective and objective outcomes. Care should be taken to use reliable, valid spirituality assessment measures and more advanced methodologic designs, such as prospective, longitudinal studies, and randomized, controlled trials.

  • The relationship between religion, illness and death in life histories of family members of children with life-threatening diseases

    Type Journal Article
    Author Regina Szylit Bousso
    Author Taís de Souza Serafim
    Author Maira Deguer Misko
    Abstract This qualitative study aimed to get to know the relationship between the experiences of families of children with a life-threatening disease and their religion, illness and life histories. The methodological framework was based on Oral History. The data were collected through interviews and the participants were nine families from six different religions who had lived the experience of having a child with a life-threatening disease. The interviews, held with one or two family members, were transcribed, textualized and, through their analysis, the Vital Tone was elaborated, representing the moral synthesis of each narrative. Three dimensions of spirituality were related to illness and death in their life histories: a Higher Being with a healing power; Development and Maintenance of a Connection with God and Faith Encouraging Optimism. The narratives demonstrated the family's search to attribute meanings to their experiences, based on their religious beliefs.
    Publication Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem
    Volume 18
    Issue 2
    Pages 156-162
    Date 2010 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Rev Lat Am Enfermagem
    ISSN 0104-1169
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 10:15:53 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20549112
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Mindfulness-based relapse prevention for addictive behaviors: A clinician's guide

    Type Book
    Author Sarah Bowen
    Place New York
    Publisher Guilford Press
    ISBN 9781606239872
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • Yoga for persistent fatigue in breast cancer survivors: results of a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Julienne E Bower
    Author Deborah Garet
    Author Beth Sternlieb
    Abstract Approximately one-third of breast cancer survivors experiences persistent fatigue for months or years after successful treatment completion. There is a lack of evidence-based treatments for cancer-related fatigue, particularly among cancer survivors. This single-arm pilot study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a yoga intervention for fatigued breast cancer survivors based on the Iyengar tradition. Iyengar yoga prescribes specific poses for individuals with specific medical problems and conditions; this trial emphasized postures believed to be effective for reducing fatigue among breast cancer survivors, including inversions and backbends performed with the support of props. Twelve women were enrolled in the trial, and 11 completed the full 12-week course of treatment. There was a significant improvement in fatigue scores from pre- to post-intervention that was maintained at the 3-month post-intervention followup. Significant improvements were also observed in measures of physical function, depressed mood, and quality of life. These results support the acceptability of this intervention and suggest that it may have beneficial effects on persistent post-treatment fatigue. However, results require replication in a larger randomized controlled trial.
    Publication Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM
    Volume 2011
    Pages 623168
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
    DOI 10.1155/2011/623168
    ISSN 1741-4288
    Short Title Yoga for persistent fatigue in breast cancer survivors
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:14:00 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21274288
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • breast cancer
    • Fatigue
    • Iyengar
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • Approximately one-third of breast cancer survivors experiences persistent fatigue for months or years after successful treatment completion.  There is a lack of evidence-based treatments for cancer-related fatigue, particularly among cancer survivors.  This single-arm pilot study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a yoga intervention for fatigued breast cancer survivors based on the Iyengar tradition.  Iyengar yoga prescribes specific poses for individuals with specific medical problems and conditions; this trial emphasized postures believed to be effective for reducing fatigue among breast cancer survivors, including inversions and backbends performed with the support of props. Twelve women were enrolled in the trial, and 11 completed the full 12-week course of treatment.  There was a significant improvement in fatigue scores from pre- to post-intervention that was maintained at the 3-month post-intervention followup.  Significant improvements were also observed in measures of physical function, depressed mood, and quality of life.  These results support the acceptability of this intervention and suggest that it may have beneficial effects on persistent post-treatment fatigue.  However, results require replication in a larger randomized controlled trial.

  • Spirituality and care of prostate cancer patients: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Janice Bowie
    Author Kim Dobson Sydnor
    Author Michal Granot
    Abstract PURPOSE: To explore the integration of spirituality into medical care for African-American men coping with prostate cancer. PROCEDURES: A total of 14 African-American prostate cancer patients completed a self-administered quantitative survey examining the dimension of spirituality as a resource for coping. FINDINGS: A high proportion of survivors reported a general religious orientation as expressed through church affiliation and frequent church attendance. A majority (67%) had spoken with their doctors about their spiritual and religious beliefs and more than half the physicians had solicited their patients' spiritual beliefs as part of their handling of prostate cancer. While one-third of the men reported their doctors had been in contact with their clergy, two-thirds would like their doctor and clergy to be in contact with one another. CONCLUSIONS: This is a pilot study that incorporated both qualitative and quantitative data collection but with the small sample, has limited generalizability. However, this work does suggest that integrating spirituality and religion into medical care may be beneficial to prostate cancer patients. Physicians and physician organizations should engage in future research in this area.
    Publication Journal of the National Medical Association
    Volume 95
    Issue 10
    Pages 951-954
    Date Oct 2003
    Journal Abbr J Natl Med Assoc
    ISSN 0027-9684
    Short Title Spirituality and care of prostate cancer patients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14620707
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:31:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14620707
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Pilot Projects
    • Prostatic Neoplasms
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To explore the integration of spirituality into medical care for African-American men coping with prostate cancer. Findings: A high proportion of survivors reported a general religious orientation as expressed through church affiliation and frequent church attendance. While one-third of the men reported their doctors had been in contact with their clergy, two-thirds would like their doctor and clergy to be in contact with one another.

  • Problems of suffering in religions of the world.

    Type Book
    Author John Bowker
    Place Cambridge
    Publisher Cambridge University Press
    Date 1970
    ISBN 9780521074124
    Library Catalog Open WorldCat
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Notes:

    • This book is a comparative general study of the problems of suffering as treated by Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Marxism, Hinduism and Buddhism.  It functions well as an introduction to the field of the comparative study of religions.

       

  • The Cancer and Deity Questionnaire: A New Religion and Cancer Measure

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth S. Bowman
    Author James A. Beitman
    Author Oxana Palesh
    Author John E. Pérez
    Author Cheryl Koopman
    Abstract We evaluated a new measure, the Cancer and Deity Questionnaire (CDQ), which assesses perceived relations with God after a cancer diagnosis. Based on object relations theory, the 12-item CDQ assesses benevolent and abandoning God representations. Sixty-one older participants with recent cancer diagnoses completed the questionnaire at baseline, and 52 of these participants completed the same questionnaire at follow-up. Internal consistency was excellent for the Benevolence scale (agr = .97) and good for the Abandonment scale (agr = .80). Moderate correlations with the Spiritual Well-Being Scale support divergent validity. Correlations between CDQ scales and the Styles of Religious Coping scales support convergent validity. The CDQ is brief, easily scored, practical for psycho-oncology research, and adaptable for use with other illnesses.
    Publication Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
    Volume 27
    Issue 4
    Pages 435-453
    Date October 2009
    DOI 10.1080/07347330903181913
    ISSN 0734-7332
    Short Title The Cancer and Deity Questionnaire
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/07347330903181913
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:23:22 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Notes:

    • We evaluated a new measure, the Cancer and Deity Questionnaire (CDQ), which assesses perceived relations with God after a cancer diagnosis. Based on object relations theory, the 12-item CDQ assesses benevolent and abandoning God representations. Sixty-one older participants with recent cancer diagnoses completed the questionnaire at baseline, and 52 of these participants completed the same questionnaire at follow-up. Internal consistency was excellent for the Benevolence scale (α = .97) and good for the Abandonment scale (α = .80). Moderate correlations with the Spiritual Well-Being Scale support divergent validity. Correlations between CDQ scales and the Styles of Religious Coping scales support convergent validity. The CDQ is brief, easily scored, practical for psycho-oncology research, and adaptable for use with other illnesses.

  • The Mindfulness Revolution: Leading Psychologists, Scientists, Artists, and Meditatiion Teachers on the Power of Mindfulness in Daily Life

    Type Book
    Author Barry Boyce
    Author Jon Kabat-Zinn
    Author Daniel Siegel
    Author Thich Nhat Hanh
    Author Jack Kornfield
    Edition 1
    Publisher Shambhala
    Date 2011-03-08
    ISBN 1590308891
    Short Title The Mindfulness Revolution
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
  • Have we found the holy grail? Theory of mind as a unifying construct

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey H Boyd
    Abstract Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to a person's ability to understand that another person has his or her own unique way of thinking and feeling. ToM is a well-known and rapidly expanding field of research in the neurosciences, cognitive, social sciences, evolution, and brain imaging. This review article expands ToM into areas where there has not yet been research. We propose that ToM could illuminate the relationship between religion/spirituality and health, and could provide the lingua franca for the hundreds of schools of psychotherapy. We discern two different kinds of spirituality: personal versus impersonal. Empathy is central to ToM research and is also central to mental health training and practice. ToM illuminates familiar topics in a new light. For example ToM reveals a close link between psychology and spirituality in self-efficacy and locus of control research.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 47
    Issue 3
    Pages 366-385
    Date Sep 2008
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9169-y
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Have we found the holy grail?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19105026
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:44:51 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19105026
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cognition
    • Empathy
    • Humans
    • Internal-External Control
    • Models, Theoretical
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Self Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to a person’s ability to understand that another person has his or her own unique way of thinking and feeling. We propose that ToM could illuminate the relationship between religion/spirituality and health, and could provide the lingua franca for the hundreds of schools of psychotherapy.

  • Incorporating spirituality and religion into the treatment of African American clients.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nancy Boyd-Franklin
    Abstract This article discusses the process of incorporating spirituality and religion into the treatment of African American clients. It addresses religious diversity within the African American community. The roles of spirituality and religion as survival and coping mechanisms for overcoming racism, adversity, and loss are emphasized. The cases presented in this article discuss religious and spiritual issues of African American clients at different life cycle stages and are illustrative of the presenting problems encountered by counseling psychologists in a variety of mental health settings including counseling centers, clinics, hospitals, community agencies, and private practices. Although extensive research on the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of African Americans is now available, this article makes an important contribution to the literature and to practicing counseling psychologists by providing detailed case examples, particularly those that illustrate the application of these issues in cross-cultural treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication The Counseling Psychologist
    Volume 38
    Issue 7
    Pages 976-1000
    Date October 2010
    DOI 10.1177/0011000010374881
    ISSN 0011-0000
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • African American
    • Blacks
    • clients
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • treatment

    Notes:

    • This article discusses the process of incorporating spirituality and religion into the treatment of African American clients. It addresses religious diversity within the African American community. The roles of spirituality and religion as survival and coping mechanisms for overcoming racism, adversity, and loss are emphasized. Although extensive research on the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of African Americans is now available, this article makes an important contribution to the literature and to practicing counseling psychologists by providing detailed case examples, particularly those that illustrate the application of these issues in cross-cultural treatment.

  • Religiosity and HIV risk behaviors in African-American students

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kimberly Boyd-Starke
    Author Oliver W Hill
    Author John Fife
    Author Marcina Whittington
    Abstract The participants were 256 African-American students between the ages of 18 and 25, from two historically Black universities. The purpose of this study was to see how dimensions of religiosity and spirituality influenced the HIV risk behavior in African-American college students. Each participant completed the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory (ESI) and a survey of sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. The data were analyzed using a series of ANOVAs, t tests, and correlations. The results from the study confirmed that there was a relationship between religiosity/spirituality and one's tendency to engage in HIV risk behaviors in the population of African-American college students. Interestingly, this study was able to reveal that traditional indicators of religiosity, such as association and church attendance, were not predictors of any of the risky sexual behaviors or attitudes. The portions of religiosity with the greatest impact on these behaviors were the Experiential/Phenomenological, the Existential Well-being, and the Cognitive dimensions, with high scores on each indicative of less likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors.
    Publication Psychological Reports
    Volume 108
    Issue 2
    Pages 528-536
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr Psychol Rep
    ISSN 0033-2941
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21675567
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:11:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21675567
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Female
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Health Surveys
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychometrics
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Statistics as Topic
    • Students
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Unsafe Sex
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    •  The purpose of this study was to see how dimensions of religiosity and spirituality influenced the HIV risk behavior in African-American college students. 256 African-American students between the ages of 18 and 25 were participants. The results from the study confirmed that there was a relationship between religiosity/spirituality and one's tendency to engage in HIV risk behaviors in the population of African-American college students. The portions of religiosity with the greatest impact on these behaviors were the Experiential/Phenomenological, the Existential Well-being, and the Cognitive dimensions.

  • Religion Explained

    Type Book
    Author Pascal Boyer
    Publisher Basic Books
    Date 2002-04
    ISBN 0465006965
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Mindfulness training in stuttering therapy: A tutorial for speech-language pathologists

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael P. Boyle
    Abstract <p><br/>The use of mindfulness training for increasing psychological well-being in a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations has exploded over the last decade. In the area of stuttering, it has been widely recognized that effective long-term management often necessitates treatment of cognitive and affective dimensions of the disorder in addition to behavioral components. Yet, mindfulness based strategies and their possible usefulness in stuttering management have not been described in detail in the literature. This article seeks to engage professionals who treat stuttering in a conversation about the possible usefulness of incorporating mindfulness training into stuttering management. A review of the literature reveals that there is a substantial overlap between what is required for effective stuttering management and the benefits provided by mindfulness practices. Mindfulness practice results in decreased avoidance, increased emotional regulation, and acceptance in addition to improved sensory-perceptual processing and attentional regulation skills. These skills are important for successful long-term stuttering management on both psychosocial and sensory-motor levels. It is concluded that the integration of mindfulness training and stuttering treatment appears practical and worthy of exploration. Mindfulness strategies adapted for people who stutter may help in the management of cognitive, affective, and behavioral challenges associated with stuttering.<br/>Educational objectives: Readers should be able to: (1) describe what mindfulness is and how it is cultivated; (2) identify the benefits that can be produced from mindfulness practice; (3) summarize how the benefits of mindfulness practice parallel what is often required for effective long-term stuttering management; and (4) identify specific mindfulness techniques that can be taught in stuttering therapy and explain their rationale.</p>
    Publication Journal of Fluency Disorders
    Volume 36
    Issue 2
    Pages 122-129
    Date June 2011
    DOI 16/j.jfludis.2011.04.005
    ISSN 0094-730X
    Short Title Mindfulness training in stuttering therapy
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094730X11000386
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 7:02:08 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • Acceptance
    • Mindfulness
    • Stuttering
    • treatment
  • Religiousness and mood in the last week of life: an explorative approach based on after-death proxy interviews

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arjan W Braam
    Author Marianne Klinkenberg
    Author Dorly J H Deeg
    Abstract Although religiousness may, to a certain extent, be expected to alleviate emotional suffering in the last week of life, some religious beliefs might also provoke emotional distress. For the current study, after-death interviews with proxy respondents of deceased sample members of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam provided information on depressive mood and anxiety in the last week of life, as well as on the presence of a sense of peace at the approaching end of life. Proxy respondents also were asked about serious physical symptoms in the last week of life of the respondent, the respondent's cognitive decline, and their estimate of the salience of religion for the sample member. Other characteristics were derived from the last interviews with the sample members when still alive: depressive symptoms, chronic diseases, religious affiliation, church attendance, belief in Heaven, belief in Hell, and salience of religion. None of the characteristics of religiousness was significantly associated with depressive mood or anxiety, as estimated by the proxy respondent. A sense of peace, however, was predicted by higher church attendance, belief in Hell (among church-members), and the proxy's estimate of the salience of religion. It can be concluded that religiousness did not affect depressive mood or anxiety in the last week of life in the current sample. It is possible that religiousness supports a sense of peace, which may be a more-existential facet of mood and is discussed as relevant in the last phase of life and in palliative care.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 31-37
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2010.0262
    ISSN 1557-7740
    Short Title Religiousness and mood in the last week of life
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:33:05 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21244251
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • End of Life
    • Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam
    • Mood
    • religiosity
  • Religious coping and depression in multicultural Amsterdam: A comparison between native Dutch citizens and Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese/Antillean migrants.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arjan W. Braam
    Author Agnes C. Schrier
    Author Wilco C. Tuinebreijer
    Author Aartjan T. F. Beekman
    Author Jack J. M. Dekker
    Author Matty A. S. de Wit
    Abstract Background: Depressive patients may derive consolation as well as struggle from their religion. Outside the Western-Christian cultures these phenomena did not receive much empirical exploration. The current study aims to describe how positive and negative religious coping strategies relate to depressive symptoms in different ethnic groups in The Netherlands. Methods: Interview data were derived from the second phase of the Amsterdam Health Monitor, a population based survey, with stratification for ethnicity (native Dutch N =309, Moroccan 180, Turkish 202, Surinamese/Antillean 85). Religious coping was assessed using a 10-item version of Pargament's Brief RCOPE; depression assessment included the SCL-90-R and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results: The five positive religious coping items constituted one sub-scale, but the five negative religious coping items had to be examined as representing separate coping strategies. Across the ethnic groups, negative religious coping strategies had several positive associations with depressive symptoms, subthreshold depression, and major depressive disorder: the most robust association was found for the item ‘wondered whether God has abandoned me’. Other significant associations were found for interpreting situations as punishment by God, questioning whether God exists, and expressing anger to God. Limitations: Due to the two-phase design and low participation in this urban sample, the non-response was substantial. Therefore, the study focused on associations, not on prevalences. Conclusion: The more or less universal finding about ‘feeling abandoned by God’ may suggest how depression represents an existential void, irrespective of the religious background. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Affective Disorders
    Volume 125
    Issue 1-3
    Pages 269-278
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2010.02.116
    ISSN 0165-0327
    Short Title Religious coping and depression in multicultural Amsterdam
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM

    Tags:

    • Coping Behavior
    • depression
    • Ethnic Groups
    • Human Migration
    • Major Depression
    • migrants
    • multiculturalism
    • PATIENTS
    • Racial and Ethnic Groups
    • religion
    • Religious Coping
  • Religious Involvement and Social Resources: Evidence from the Data Set "Americans' Changing Lives"

    Type Journal Article
    Author E. Bradley
    Abstract In their recent analysis of five counties in North Carolina, Ellison and George (1994) reported a positive association between frequency of church attendance and a variety of social resources. Using the "Americans' Changing Lives" data, this study replicates Ellison and George's analysis. The results of this study do not differ substantively from Ellison and George's observations in a southeastern community. In comparison to less frequent churchgoers, attenders report larger networks, more frequent telephone and in-person contacts, and enhanced perceptions of the supportive quality of their relationships. Also, this study finds no evidence to suggest that the observed social resource advantages among frequent attenders are the product of an overrepresentation of extroverted individuals and/or an underrepresentation of more neurotic persons among regular churchgoers. Finally, religious attendance does not appear to be more important to the constitution of individual social resources in the South than elsewhere.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 34
    Issue 2
    Pages 259-267
    Date Jun., 1995
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Religious Involvement and Social Resources
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1386771
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:05:47 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1995 / Copyright © 1995 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • In comparison to less frequent churchgoers, attenders report larger networks, more frequent telephone and in-person contacts, and enhanced perceptions of the supportive quality of their relationships. Also, this study finds no evidence to suggest that the observed social resource advantages among frequent attenders are the product of an overrepresentation of extroverted individuals and/or an underrepresentation of more neurotic persons among regular churchgoers.

  • Financial hardship and psychological distress: exploring the buffering effects of religion

    Type Journal Article
    Author Matt Bradshaw
    Author Christopher G Ellison
    Abstract Despite ample precedent in theology and social theory, few studies have systematically examined the role of religion in mitigating the harmful effects of socioeconomic deprivation on mental health. The present study outlines several arguments linking objective and subjective measures of financial hardship, as well as multiple aspects of religious life, with psychological distress. Relevant hypotheses are then tested using data on adults aged 18-59 from the 1998 USNORC General Social Survey. Findings confirm that both types of financial hardship are positively associated with distress, and that several different aspects of religious life buffer against these deleterious influences. Specifically, religious attendance and the belief in an afterlife moderate the deleterious effects of financial hardship on both objective and subjective financial hardship, while meditation serves this function only for objective hardship. No interactive relationships were found between frequency of prayer and financial hardship. A number of implications, study limitations, and directions for future research are identified.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 71
    Issue 1
    Pages 196-204
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    ISSN 1873-5347
    Short Title Financial hardship and psychological distress
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:51:31 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20556889
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • Attachment to God, Images of God, and Psychological Distress in a Nationwide Sample of Presbyterians.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Matt Bradshaw
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Jack P. Marcum
    Abstract Drawing broadly on insights from attachment theory, the present study outlines a series of theoretical arguments linking styles of attachment to God, perceptions of the nature of God (i.e., God imagery), and stressful life events with psychological distress. Main effects and potential stress-moderator effects are then evaluated using data from a nationwide sample of elders and rank-and-file members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Key findings indicate that secure attachment to God is inversely associated with distress, whereas both anxious attachment to God and stressful life events are positively related to distress. Once variations in patterns of attachment to God are controlled, there are no net effects of God imagery on levels of distress. There is only modest support for the hypothesis that God images moderate the effects of stressful life events on psychological distress, but no stress-moderator effects were found for attachment to God. Study limitations are identified, and findings are discussed in terms of their implications for religion-health research, as well as recent extensions of attachment theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 20
    Issue 2
    Pages 130-147
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/10508611003608049
    ISSN 10508619
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:25:29 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • CHRISTIAN sects
    • DISTRESS (Psychology)
    • God
    • Life Change Events
    • PRESBYTERIAN Church
  • A pilot study of yoga treatment in children with functional abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marion M.M.G. Brands
    Author Helen Purperhart
    Author Judith M. Deckers-Kocken
    Abstract <p>SummaryObjectives<br/>The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of yoga exercises on pain frequency and intensity and on quality of life in children with functional abdominal pain.Design<br/>20 children, aged 8-18 years, with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or functional abdominal pain (FAP) were enrolled and received 10 yoga lessons. Pain intensity and pain frequency were scored in a pain diary and quality of life was measured with the Kidscreen quality of life questionnaire (KQoL).Results<br/>In the 8-11 year old group and the 11-18 year old group pain frequency was significantly decreased at the end of therapy (p = 0.031 and p = 0.004) compared to baseline. In the 8-11 year group pain intensity was also significantly decreased at this time point (p = 0.015). After 3 months there still was a significant decrease in pain frequency in the younger patient group (p = 0.04) and a borderline significant decrease in pain frequency in the total group (p = 0.052). Parents reported a significantly higher KQoL-score after yoga treatment.Conclusion<br/>This pilot study suggests that yoga exercises are effective for children aged 8-18 years with FAP, resulting in significant reduction of pain intensity and frequency, especially in children of 8-11 years old.</p>
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Medicine
    Volume 19
    Issue 3
    Pages 109-114
    Date June 2011
    DOI 16/j.ctim.2011.05.004
    ISSN 0965-2299
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229911000586
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:37:46 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • children
    • Functional abdominal pain
    • yoga
  • Self-report Mindfulness as a Mediator of Psychological Well-being in a Stress Reduction Intervention for Cancer Patients—A Randomized Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard Bränström
    Author Pia Kvillemo
    Author Yvonne Brandberg
    Author Judith Tedlie Moskowitz
    Abstract There is increasing recognition of mindfulness and mindfulness training as a way to decrease stress and increase psychological functioning. Purpose The aims of this study were to examine the effects of mindfulness stress reduction training on perceived stress and psychological well-being and to examine if changes in mindfulness mediate intervention effects on these outcomes. Methods Seventy women and one man with a previous cancer diagnosis (mean age 51.8 years, standard deviation = 9.86) were randomized into an intervention group or a wait-list control group. The intervention consisted of an 8-week mindfulness training course. Results Compared to participants in the control group, participants in the mindfulness training group had significantly decreased perceived stress and posttraumatic avoidance symptoms and increased positive states of mind. Those who participated in the intervention reported a significant increase in scores on the five-facet mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ) when compared to controls. The increase in FFMQ score mediated the effects of the intervention on perceived stress, posttraumatic avoidance symptoms, and positive states of mind. Conclusions This study indicates that the improvements in psychological well-being resulting from mindfulness stress reduction training can potentially be explained by increased levels of mindfulness as measured with the FFMQ. The importance of these findings for future research in the field of mindfulness is discussed.
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 2
    Pages 151-161
    Date 2/2010
    Journal Abbr ann. behav. med.
    DOI 10.1007/s12160-010-9168-6
    ISSN 0883-6612
    URL http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s12160-010-9168-6
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • A broader framework for exploring the influence of spiritual experience in the wake of stressful life events: examining connections between posttraumatic growth and psycho-spiritual transformation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Bray
    Abstract The literature suggests that spiritual domains of experience may be influential to an individual's growth in the aftermath of stressful life events. This paper explores the role that spiritual experience might play in the process of posttraumatic growth by examining two quite different approaches to transformational growth: Lawrence Calhoun and Richard Tedeschi's posttraumatic growth model; and Stanislav and Christina Grof's framework of psycho-spiritual transformation. Both approaches are briefly outlined, compared and discussed. Some observations are made about their shared understanding of the human potential for growth and the significance of spiritual experience in the struggle to master distressing life events. A further hypothetical model is presented that marries the two approaches and offers the opportunity for individuals in the posttraumatic process and helping professionals to examine their experiences in a broader context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 293-308
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903367199
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title A broader framework for exploring the influence of spiritual experience in the wake of stressful life events
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:27:30 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • MIDLIFE crisis
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder
    • Psychotherapy
    • STRESS (Psychology)
    • TRAUMATIC neuroses

    Notes:

  • Spirituality and meaning in supportive care: spirituality- and meaning-centered group psychotherapy interventions in advanced cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author William Breitbart
    Abstract Existential and spiritual issues are at the frontier of new clinical and research focus in palliative and supportive care of cancer patients. As concepts of adequate supportive care expand beyond a focus on pain and physical symptom control, existential and spiritual issues such as meaning, hope and spirituality in general have received increased attention from supportive care clinicians and clinical researchers. This paper reviews the topics of spirituality and end-of-life care, defines spirituality, and suggests measures of spirituality that deal with two of its main components: faith/religious beliefs and meaning/spiritual well-being. These two constructs of spirituality are reviewed in terms of their role in supportive care. Finally, a review of existing psychotherapeutic interventions for spiritual suffering are reviewed and a novel meaning-centered group psychotherapy for advanced cancer patients is described.
    Publication Supportive Care in Cancer: Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
    Volume 10
    Issue 4
    Pages 272-280
    Date May 2002
    Journal Abbr Support Care Cancer
    DOI 10.1007/s005200100289
    ISSN 0941-4355
    Short Title Spirituality and meaning in supportive care
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12029426
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:37:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12029426
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Humans
    • Neoplasms
    • Palliative Care
    • Psychotherapy
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Self Concept
    • Terminal Care

    Notes:

    • This paper reviews the topics of spirituality and end-of-life care, defines spirituality, and suggests measures of spirituality that deal with two of its main components: faith/religious beliefs and meaning/spiritual well-being.

  • Meaning-centered group psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author William Breitbart
    Author Barry Rosenfeld
    Author Christopher Gibson
    Author Hayley Pessin
    Author Shannon Poppito
    Author Christian Nelson
    Author Alexis Tomarken
    Author Anne Kosinski Timm
    Author Amy Berg
    Author Colleen Jacobson
    Author Brooke Sorger
    Author Jennifer Abbey
    Author Megan Olden
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: An increasingly important concern for clinicians who care for patients at the end of life is their spiritual well-being and sense of meaning and purpose in life. In response to the need for short-term interventions to address spiritual well-being, we developed Meaning Centered Group Psychotherapy (MCGP) to help patients with advanced cancer sustain or enhance a sense of meaning, peace and purpose in their lives, even as they approach the end of life. METHODS: Patients with advanced (stage III or IV) solid tumor cancers (N=90) were randomly assigned to either MCGP or a supportive group psychotherapy (SGP). Patients were assessed before and after completing the 8-week intervention, and again 2 months after completion. Outcome assessment included measures of spiritual well-being, meaning, hopelessness, desire for death, optimism/pessimism, anxiety, depression and overall quality of life. RESULTS: MCGP resulted in significantly greater improvements in spiritual well-being and a sense of meaning. Treatment gains were even more substantial (based on effect size estimates) at the second follow-up assessment. Improvements in anxiety and desire for death were also significant (and increased over time). There was no significant improvement on any of these variables for patients participating in SGP. CONCLUSIONS: MCGP appears to be a potentially beneficial intervention for patients' emotional and spiritual suffering at the end of life. Further research, with larger samples, is clearly needed to better understand the potential benefits of this novel intervention.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 21-28
    Date Jan 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1556
    ISSN 1099-1611
    Short Title Meaning-centered group psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer
    Accessed Sunday, January 24, 2010 5:22:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19274623
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • An increasingly important concern for clinicians who care for patients at the end of life is their spiritual well-being and sense of meaning and purpose in life. In response to the need for short-term interventions to address spiritual well-being, the authors developed Meaning Centered Group Psychotherapy (MCGP) to help patients with advanced cancer sustain or enhance a sense of meaning, peace and purpose in their lives, even as they approach the end of life.

  • Identity Importance and the Overreporting of Religious Service Attendance: Multiple Imputation of Religious Attendance Using the American Time Use Study and the General Social Survey.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Philip S. Brenner
    Abstract The difference between religious service attendance measured using conventional surveys and time diaries has been attributed to identity processes; a high level of religious identity importance may prompt overreporting on a survey question. This article tests the hypothesized role of identity importance as an individual determinant of overreporting and the result of socially desirable behavior. A time diary measure of attendance (from the American Time Use Study 2003-2008) is imputed for conventional survey data (from the General Social Survey 2002-2008) using the multiple imputation for multiple studies procedure ( ). Logistic regression models predicting self-reported attendance and overreported attendance are estimated using identity importance as a key covariate and controlling for demographic variables associated with attendance. Identity importance is a strong predictor of both self-reported and overreported attendance. Attendance, while a biased measure of actual behavior, may be a good indicator of religiosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 50
    Issue 1
    Pages 103-115
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01554.x
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Identity Importance and the Overreporting of Religious Service Attendance
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM

    Tags:

    • Church attendance
    • IDENTITY (Psychology)
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Regression Analysis
    • RELIGIOUS institutions
    • SOCIAL surveys
  • Zen practice: a training method to enhance the skills of clinical social workers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark J Brenner
    Abstract The use of Zen Buddhist meditation in clinical practice has received specific attention from mental health disciplines in the West. A study was undertaken to examine the influence of a personal practice of Zen on the professional work of clinical social workers. Ten experienced clinical social workers who were long-term Zen practitioners were interviewed. Findings from this qualitative study suggest that Zen meditation has direct application to clinical social work in three areas: (1) cultivating Awareness, (2) enhancing Acceptance, and (3) nurturing Responsibility. This article reports on the findings in the area of Awareness. Awareness increases a social worker's focus on the present moment with the client, providing for a suspension of preconceived ideas about the client. Building on the view that social work is both art and science, the author proposes the use of Zen in the training of clinical social workers.
    Publication Social Work in Health Care
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 462-470
    Date 2009 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Soc Work Health Care
    DOI 10.1080/00981380802589860
    ISSN 0098-1389
    Short Title Zen practice
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19396713
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:22:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19396713
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Awareness
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Professional Competence
    • Professional-Patient Relations
    • Social Work

    Notes:

    • The use of Zen Buddhist meditation in clinical practice has received specific attention from mental health disciplines in the West. A study was undertaken to examine the influence of a personal practice of Zen on the professional work of clinical social workers. Ten experienced clinical social workers who were long-term Zen practitioners were interviewed. Findings from this qualitative study suggest that Zen meditation has direct application to clinical social work in three areas: (1) cultivating Awareness, (2) enhancing Acceptance, and (3) nurturing Responsibility. This article reports on the findings in the area of Awareness. Awareness increases a social worker’s focus on the present moment with the client, providing for a suspension of preconceived ideas about the client. Building on the view that social work is both art and science, the author proposes the use of Zen in the training of clinical social workers.

  • A Psychometric Evaluation of Poloma and Pendleton's (1991) and Ladd and Spilka's (2002, 2006) Measures of Prayer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael J. Breslin
    Author Christopher Alan Lewis
    Author Mark Shevlin
    Abstract Prayer has increasingly been used as an empirical measure of religiosity. Recent developments include Ladd and Spilka's Inward, Outward and Upward Prayer Scale, which measures what respondents think about while praying, and Poloma and Pendleton's Measure of Prayer Type, which measures four different dimensions of prayer as well as degree of intimacy with the divine. The present study provides a factor analytical evaluation of both measures, including an examination of total scale and subscale reliability. The measures were administered to a sample of 518 Irish respondents. Although the total scales and subscales were found to be reliable, confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the hypothesized factor structures were a less than optimal fit of the data, while correlational analysis revealed a conceptual overlap between the measures.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 710-723
    Date 12/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01541.x
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01541.x
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:22:56 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
  • Near-Death Experiences and the Temporal Lobe

    Type Journal Article
    Author Willoughby B. Britton
    Author Richard R. Bootzin
    Abstract Many studies in humans suggest that altered temporal lobe functioning, especially functioning in the right temporal lobe, is involved in mystical and religious experiences. We investigated temporal lobe functioning in individuals who reported having transcendental "near-death experiences" during life-threatening events. These individuals were found to have more temporal lobe epileptiform electroencephalographic activity than control subjects and also reported significantly more temporal lobe epileptic symptoms. Contrary to predictions, epileptiform activity was nearly completely lateralized to the left hemisphere. The near-death experience was not associated with dysfunctional stress reactions such as dissociation, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse, but rather was associated with positive coping styles. Additional analyses revealed that near-death experiencers had altered sleep patterns, specifically, a shorter duration of sleep and delayed REM sleep relative to the control group. These results suggest that altered temporal lobe functioning may be involved in the near-death experience and that individuals who have had such experiences are physiologically distinct from the general population.
    Publication Psychological Science
    Volume 15
    Issue 4
    Pages 254-258
    Date 04/2004
    Journal Abbr Psychological Science
    DOI 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00661.x
    ISSN 0956-7976
    URL http://www3.interscience.wiley.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/cgi-bin/fulltext/120705572/main.html,ftx_abs
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:40:05 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Many studies in humans suggest that altered temporal lobe functioning, especially functioning in the right temporal lobe, is involved in mystical and religious experiences. We investigated temporal lobe functioning in individuals who reported having transcendental “near-death experiences” during life-threatening events. These individuals were found to have more temporal lobe epileptiform electroencephalographic activity than control subjects and also reported significantly more temporal lobe epileptic symptoms. Contrary to predictions, epileptiform activity was nearly completely lateralized to the left hemisphere. The near-death experience was not associated with dysfunctional stress reactions such as dissociation, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse, but rather was associated with positive coping styles. Additional analyses revealed that near-death experiencers had altered sleep patterns, specifically, a shorter duration of sleep and delayed REM sleep relative to the control group. These results suggest that altered temporal lobe functioning may be involved in the near-death experience and that individuals who have had such experiences are physiologically distinct from the general population.

  • The contribution of mindfulness practice to a multicomponent behavioral sleep intervention following substance abuse treatment in adolescents: a treatment-development study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Willoughby B Britton
    Author Richard R Bootzin
    Author Jennifer C Cousins
    Author Brant P Hasler
    Author Tucker Peck
    Author Shauna L Shapiro
    Abstract Poor sleep is common in substance use disorders (SUDs) and is a risk factor for relapse. Within the context of a multicomponent, mindfulness-based sleep intervention that included mindfulness meditation (MM) for adolescent outpatients with SUDs (n = 55), this analysis assessed the contributions of MM practice intensity to gains in sleep quality and self-efficacy related to SUDs. Eighteen adolescents completed a 6-session study intervention and questionnaires on psychological distress, sleep quality, mindfulness practice, and substance use at baseline, 8, 20, and 60 weeks postentry. Program participation was associated with improvements in sleep and emotional distress, and reduced substance use. MM practice frequency correlated with increased sleep duration and improvement in self-efficacy about substance use. Increased sleep duration was associated with improvements in psychological distress, relapse resistance, and substance use-related problems. These findings suggest that sleep is an important therapeutic target in substance abusing adolescents and that MM may be a useful component to promote improved sleep.
    Publication Substance Abuse: Official Publication of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse
    Volume 31
    Issue 2
    Pages 86-97
    Date Apr 2010
    Journal Abbr Subst Abus
    DOI 10.1080/08897071003641297
    ISSN 1547-0164
    Short Title The contribution of mindfulness practice to a multicomponent behavioral sleep intervention following substance abuse treatment in adolescents
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 5:27:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20408060
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Polysomnographic and subjective profiles of sleep continuity before and after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in partially remitted depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Willoughby B. Britton
    Author Patricia L. Haynes
    Author Keith W. Fridel
    Author Richard R. Bootzin
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: To examine whether mindfulness meditation (MM) was associated with changes in objectively measured polysomnographic (PSG) sleep profiles and to relate changes in PSG sleep to subjectively reported changes in sleep and depression within the context of a randomized controlled trial. Previous studies have indicated that mindfulness and other forms of meditation training are associated with improvements in sleep quality. However, none of these studies used objective PSG sleep recordings within longitudinal randomized controlled trials of naive subjects. METHODS: Twenty-six individuals with partially remitted depression were randomized into an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) course or a waitlist control condition. Pre-post measurements included PSG sleep studies and subjectively reported sleep and depression symptoms. RESULTS: According to PSG sleep, MM practice was associated with several indices of increased cortical arousal, including more awakenings and stage 1 sleep and less slow-wave sleep relative to controls, in proportion to amount of MM practice. According to sleep diaries, subjectively reported sleep improved post MBCT but not above and beyond controls. Beck Depression Inventory scores decreased more in the MBCT group than controls. Improvements in depression were associated with increased subjective sleep continuity and increased PSG arousal. CONCLUSIONS: MM is associated with increases in objectively measured arousal during sleep with simultaneous improvements in subjectively reported sleep quality and mood disturbance. This pattern is similar to the profiles of positive responders to common antidepressant medications.
    Publication Psychosomatic Medicine
    Volume 72
    Issue 6
    Pages 539-548
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychosom Med
    DOI 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181dc1bad
    ISSN 1534-7796
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:27:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20467003
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • The effect of Johrei healing on substance abuse recovery: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Audrey J Brooks
    Author Gary E Schwartz
    Author Katie Reece
    Author Gerry Nangle
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of Johrei healing, a form of energy healing, on substance use and psychologic symptoms in a sample of clients receiving substance abuse treatment. METHODS: Twenty-one (21) persons in residential substance-abuse treatment participated in a randomized, wait-list control pilot study of Johrei healing. Twelve (12) of the participants received three 20-minute Johrei sessions for 5 weeks in addition to their regular treatment. RESULTS: The results are from the first treatment wave. Individual healing sessions were evaluated pre-post with the Johrei Experience Scale. Participants showed significant decreases in stress/depression and physical pain and increases in positive emotional/spiritual state, energy, and overall well-being after an individual Johrei healing session. The Global Assessment of Individual Need (GAIN), Profile of Mood States (POMS), General Alcoholics Anonymous Tools of Recovery, and 12-Step Participation scales were administered before and after the 5-week intervention to assess change in substance use, psychologic distress, mood, and 12-Step participation. Improvements in depression and trauma symptoms, externalizing behaviors (GAIN), and vigor (POMS) were found for the treatment group. Despite comparable 12-Step attendance the treatment group showed greater improvement than the wait-list control group in the use of 12-Step recovery tools. No difference in substance use was found between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Variables related to substance use and relapse showed improvement in the treatment group suggesting that Johrei healing shows promise and should be studied with a larger sample, over a longer treatment period, with sham controls.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 12
    Issue 7
    Pages 625-631
    Date Sep 2006
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2006.12.625
    ISSN 1075-5535
    Short Title The effect of Johrei healing on substance abuse recovery
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16970532
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:52:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16970532
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Community Mental Health Services
    • depression
    • Double-Blind Method
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Healing
    • Middle Aged
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • The purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of Johrei healing, a form of energy healing, on substance use and psychologic symptoms in a sample of clients receiving substance abuse treatment. Conclusions: Variables related to substance use and relapse showed improvement in the treatment group suggesting that Johrei healing shows promise and should be studied with a larger sample, over a longer treatment period, with sham controls.

  • Eastern Approaches for Enhancing Women's Sexuality: Mindfulness, Acupuncture, and Yoga (CME)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lori A. Brotto
    Author Michael Krychman
    Author Pamela Jacobson
    Abstract Introduction. A significant proportion of women report unsatisfying sexual experiences despite no obvious difficulties in the traditional components of sexual response (desire, arousal, and orgasm). Some suggest that nongoal-oriented spiritual elements to sexuality might fill the gap that more contemporary forms of treatment are not addressing.Aim.  Eastern techniques including mindfulness, acupuncture, and yoga, are Eastern techniques, which have been applied to women's sexuality. Here, we review the literature on their efficacy.Methods.  Our search revealed two empirical studies of mindfulness, two of acupuncture, and one of yoga in the treatment of sexual dysfunction.Main Outcome Measure.  Literature review of empirical sources.Results.  Mindfulness significantly improves several aspects of sexual response and reduces sexual distress in women with sexual desire and arousal disorders. In women with provoked vestibulodynia, acupuncture significantly reduces pain and improves quality of life. There is also a case series of acupuncture significantly improving desire among women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Although yoga has only been empirically examined and found to be effective for treating sexual dysfunction (premature ejaculation) in men, numerous historical books cite benefits of yoga for women's sexuality.Conclusions.  The empirical literature supporting Eastern techniques, such as mindfulness, acupuncture, and yoga, for women's sexual complaints and loss of satisfaction is sparse but promising. Future research should aim to empirically support Eastern techniques in women's sexuality. Brotto LA, Krychman M, and Jacobson P. Eastern approaches for enhancing women's sexuality: Mindfulness, acupuncture, and yoga. J Sex Med 2008;5:274120132748.
    Publication Journal of Sexual Medicine
    Volume 5
    Issue 12
    Pages 2741-2748
    Date 2008
    DOI 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.01071.x
    Short Title Eastern Approaches for Enhancing Women's Sexuality
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.01071.x
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 2:26:15 AM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A significant proportion of women report unsatisfying sexual experiences despite no obvious difficulties in the traditional components of sexual response (desire, arousal, and orgasm). The empirical literature supporting Eastern techniques, such as mindfulness, acupuncture, and yoga, for women’s sexual complaints and loss of satisfaction is sparse but promising.

  • Yoga breathing, meditation, and longevity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard P Brown
    Author Patricia L Gerbarg
    Abstract Yoga breathing is an important part of health and spiritual practices in Indo-Tibetan traditions. Considered fundamental for the development of physical well-being, meditation, awareness, and enlightenment, it is both a form of meditation in itself and a preparation for deep meditation. Yoga breathing (pranayama) can rapidly bring the mind to the present moment and reduce stress. In this paper, we review data indicating how breath work can affect longevity mechanisms in some ways that overlap with meditation and in other ways that are different from, but that synergistically enhance, the effects of meditation. We also provide clinical evidence for the use of yoga breathing in the treatment of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and for victims of mass disasters. By inducing stress resilience, breath work enables us to rapidly and compassionately relieve many forms of suffering.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 54-62
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04394.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735239
    Accessed Friday, February 04, 2011 11:13:50 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735239
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • Breathing Exercises
    • Electroencephalography
    • Humans
    • Longevity
    • Meditation
    • Nervous System Physiological Phenomena
    • Respiration
    • Respiratory Mechanics
    • yoga
  • Yoga breathing, meditation, and longevity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard P Brown
    Author Patricia L Gerbarg
    Abstract Yoga breathing is an important part of health and spiritual practices in Indo-Tibetan traditions. Considered fundamental for the development of physical well-being, meditation, awareness, and enlightenment, it is both a form of meditation in itself and a preparation for deep meditation. Yoga breathing (pranayama) can rapidly bring the mind to the present moment and reduce stress. In this paper, we review data indicating how breath work can affect longevity mechanisms in some ways that overlap with meditation and in other ways that are different from, but that synergistically enhance, the effects of meditation. We also provide clinical evidence for the use of yoga breathing in the treatment of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and for victims of mass disasters. By inducing stress resilience, breath work enables us to rapidly and compassionately relieve many forms of suffering.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 54-62
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04394.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735239
    Accessed Tuesday, September 15, 2009 1:55:13 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735239
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • In this paper, we review data indicating how breath work can affect longevity mechanisms in some ways that overlap with meditation and in other ways that are different from, but that synergistically enhance, the effects of meditation. We provide clinical evidence for the use of yoga breathing in the treatment of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and for victims of mass disasters.

  • Religion and subjective well-being among the elderly in China

    Type Journal Article
    Author Philip H. Brown
    Author Brian Tierney
    Abstract Evidence from developed and developing countries alike demonstrates a strongly positive relationship between religiosity and happiness, particularly for women and particularly among the elderly. Using survey data from the oldest old in China, we find a strong negative relationship between religious participation and subjective well-being in a rich multivariate logistic framework that controls for demographics, health and disabilities, living arrangements, wealth and income, lifestyle and social networks, and location. In contrast to other studies, we also find that religion has a larger effect on subjective well-being on men than women.
    Publication Journal of Socio-Economics
    Volume 38
    Issue 2
    Pages 310-319
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.socec.2008.07.014
    ISSN 1053-5357
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W5H-4T5JHWJ-1/2/210a14b30866237549fa193323a64286
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:23:53 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Aging
    • China
    • religion
    • Subjective well-being
  • After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Gender Differences in Health and Religiosity in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jennifer Brown
    Author Katie Cherry
    Author Loren Marks
    Author Erin Jackson
    Author Julia Volaufova
    Author Christina Lefante
    Author S. Michal Jazwinski
    Abstract We examined health-related quality of life in adults in the Louisiana Health Aging Study (LHAS) after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (HK/R) that made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast region in 2005. Analyses of pre- and post-disaster SF-36 scores yielded changes in physical function and bodily pain. Mental health scores were lower for women than men. Gender differences were observed in religious beliefs and religious coping, favoring women. Religious beliefs and religious coping were negatively correlated with physical function, implying that stronger reliance on religiosity as a coping mechanism may be more likely among those who are less physically capable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Health Care for Women International
    Volume 31
    Issue 11
    Pages 997-1012
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/07399332.2010.514085
    ISSN 07399332
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • Analysis of Variance
    • COMPARATIVE studies
    • Computer Software
    • DATA analysis
    • DEPRESSION in old age
    • Health Surveys
    • LIFE skills
    • LONGITUDINAL method
    • Louisiana
    • mental health
    • NATURAL disasters
    • PRE-tests & post-tests
    • Psychological Tests
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • REPEATED measures design
    • SCALE items
    • SELF-evaluation
    • SEX distribution (Demography)
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • STRESS (Psychology) -- Risk factors
    • T-test (Statistics)
    • Well-Being
  • Religious Attendance and the Subjective Health of the Elderly

    Type Journal Article
    Author Philip A. Broyles
    Author Cynthia K. Drenovsky
    Abstract Religious research shows that among the elderly, church attendance is positively correlated with subjective health. Typical explanations for this correlation suggest that church attendance provides social support which leads to positive evaluations of one's health. Recently, several religious scholars have suggested that the correlation between church attendance and subjective health may be spurious because both church attendance and subjective health are correlates of one's physical capacity. This study shows that among the elderly church attendance has a positive, statistically significant effect on subjective health even when simultaneously controlling for other possible explanatory variables. We argue that religious commitment facilitates adjustment to the latter stages of life and leads to a positive evaluation of one's health.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 34
    Issue 2
    Pages 152-160
    Date Dec., 1992
    ISSN 0034673X
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3511131
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:00:54 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 1992 / Copyright © 1992 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study shows that among the elderly church attendance has a positive, statistically significant effect on subjective health even when simultaneously controlling for other possible explanatory variables. We argue that religious commitment facilitates adjustment to the latter stages of life and leads to a positive evaluation of one’s health.

  • Longing for ground in a ground(less) world: a qualitative inquiry of existential suffering

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anne Bruce
    Author Rita Schreiber
    Author Olga Petrovskaya
    Author Patricia Boston
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Existential and spiritual concerns are fundamental issues in palliative care and patients frequently articulate these concerns. The purpose of this study was to understand the process of engaging with existential suffering at the end of life. METHODS: A grounded theory approach was used to explore processes in the context of situated interaction and to explore the process of existential suffering. We began with in vivo codes of participants' words, and clustered these codes at increasingly higher levels of abstractions until we were able to theorize. FINDINGS: Findings suggest the process of existential suffering begins with an experience of groundlessness that results in an overarching process of Longing for Ground in a Ground(less) World, a wish to minimize the uncomfortable or anxiety-provoking instability of groundlessness. Longing for ground is enacted in three overlapping ways: by turning toward one's discomfort and learning to let go (engaging groundlessness), turning away from the discomfort, attempting to keep it out of consciousness by clinging to familiar thoughts and ideas (taking refuge in the habitual), and learning to live within the flux of instability and unknowing (living in-between). CONCLUSIONS: Existential concerns are inherent in being human. This has implications for clinicians when considering how patients and colleagues may experience existential concerns in varying degrees, in their own fashion, either consciously or unconsciously. Findings emphasize a fluid and dynamic understanding of existential suffering and compel health providers to acknowledge the complexity of fear and anxiety while allowing space for the uniquely fluid nature of these processes for each person. Findings also have implications for health providers who may gravitate towards the transformational possibilities of encounters with mortality without inviting space for less optimistic possibilities of resistance, anger, and despondency that may concurrently arise.
    Publication BMC Nursing
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 2
    Date Jan 27, 2011
    Journal Abbr BMC Nurs
    DOI 10.1186/1472-6955-10-2
    ISSN 1472-6955
    Short Title Longing for ground in a ground(less) world
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:14:03 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21272349
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • Existential Suffering
  • Near death experiences: critical care nurses' attitudes and interventions

    Type Journal Article
    Author L Bucher
    Author F B Wimbush
    Author T Hardie
    Author E R Hayes
    Abstract A patient is successfully resuscitated after a trauma or serious illness. It is increasingly common for such a patient to report having experienced a feeling of calm and peace, a feeling of being separated from the body, and/or a sense of moving through a dark tunnel ending at a bright light. Such experiences are known as near death experiences. What are critical care nurses to make of such accounts reported to them by their patients? This article explores critical care nurses' interests in, knowledge of, and attitudes towards the near death experience, and it identifies nursing interventions that critical care nurses can use during and after the patient experiences near death.
    Publication Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing: DCCN
    Volume 16
    Issue 4
    Pages 194-201
    Date 1997 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Dimens Crit Care Nurs
    ISSN 0730-4625
    Short Title Near death experiences
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/9248378
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:00:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9248378
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Attitude to Death
    • Critical Care
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Nursing Staff, Hospital
    • Questionnaires

    Notes:

    • A patient is successfully resuscitated after a trauma or serious illness. It is increasingly common for such a patient to report having experienced a feeling of calm and peace, a feeling of being separated from the body, and/or a sense of moving through a dark tunnel ending at a bright light. Such experiences are known as near death experiences. What are critical care nurses to make of such accounts reported to them by their patients? This article explores critical care nurses’ interests in, knowledge of, and attitudes towards the near death experience, and it identifies nursing interventions that critical care nurses can use during and after the patient experiences near death.

  • An examination of the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity, blood pressure, and hypertension

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anna C Buck
    Author David R Williams
    Author Marc A Musick
    Author Michelle J Sternthal
    Abstract Researchers have established the role of heredity and lifestyle in the occurrence of hypertension, but the potential role of psychosocial factors, especially religiosity, is less understood. This paper analyzes the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and hypertension using data taken from the Chicago Community Adult Health Study, a probability sample of adults (N=3105) aged 18 and over living in the city of Chicago, USA. Of the primary religiosity variables examined here, attendance and public participation were not significantly related to the outcomes. Prayer was associated with an increased likelihood of hypertension, and spirituality was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure. The addition of several other religiosity variables to the models did not appear to affect these findings. However, variables for meaning and forgiveness were associated with lower diastolic blood pressure and a decreased likelihood of hypertension outcomes. These findings emphasize the importance of analyzing religiosity as a multidimensional phenomenon. This study should be regarded as a first step toward systematically analyzing a complex relationship.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 68
    Issue 2
    Pages 314-322
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.10.010
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19019516
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:23:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19019516
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Blood Pressure
    • Chicago
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hypertension
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Medicine
    • social support
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Researchers have established the role of heredity and lifestyle in the occurrence of hypertension, but the potential role of psychosocial factors, especially religiosity, is less understood. This paper analyzes the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and hypertension using data taken from the Chicago Community Adult Health Study, a probability sample of adults (N=3105) aged 18 and over living in the city of Chicago, USA. Of the primary religiosity variables examined here, attendance and public participation were not significantly related to the outcomes. Prayer was associated with an increased likelihood of hypertension, and spirituality was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure. The addition of several other religiosity variables to the models did not appear to affect these findings. However, variables for meaning and forgiveness were associated with lower diastolic blood pressure and a decreased likelihood of hypertension outcomes. These findings emphasize the importance of analyzing religiosity as a multidimensional phenomenon. This study should be regarded as a first step toward systematically analyzing a complex relationship.

  • The geriatric cancer experience at the end of life: testing an adapted model

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harleah G Buck
    Author Janine Overcash
    Author Susan C McMillan
    Abstract PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To test an adapted end-of-life conceptual model of the geriatric cancer experience and provide evidence for the validity and reliability of the model for use in practice and research. DESIGN: Nonexperimental and cross-sectional using baseline data collected within 24-72 hours of admission to hospice. SETTING: Two hospices in the southeastern United States. SAMPLE: 403 hospice homecare patients; 56% were men and 97% were Caucasian with a mean age of 77.7 years. METHODS: Confirmatory factor analyses using structural equation modeling with AMOS statistical software. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Clinical status; physiologic, psychological, and spiritual variables; and quality of life (QOL). FINDINGS: A three-factor model with QOL as an outcome variable showed that 67% of the variability in QOL is explained by the patient's symptom and spiritual experiences. CONCLUSIONS: As symptoms and associated severity and distress increase, the patient's QOL decreases. As the spiritual experience increases (the expressed need for inspiration, spiritual activities, and religion), QOL also increases. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The model supports caring for the physical and metaphysical dimensions of the patient's life. It also highlights a need for holistic care inclusive of physical, emotional, and spiritual domains.
    Publication Oncology Nursing Forum
    Volume 36
    Issue 6
    Pages 664-673
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Oncol Nurs Forum
    DOI 10.1188/09.ONF.664-673
    ISSN 1538-0688
    Short Title The geriatric cancer experience at the end of life
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19887354
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:38:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19887354
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to test an adapted end-of-life conceptual model of the geriatric cancer experience and provide evidence for the validity and reliability of the model for use in practice and research. Two hospices in the southeastern United States served as the setting where confirmed that as symptoms and associated severity and distress increase, the patient's QOL decreases. As the spiritual experience increases (the expressed need for inspiration, spiritual activities, and religion), QOL also increases. 403 hospice homecare patients. The model supports caring for the physical and metaphysical dimensions of the patient's life. It also highlights a need for holistic care inclusive of physical, emotional, and spiritual domains.

  • An examination of the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity, blood pressure, and hypertension

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anna C Buck
    Author David R Williams
    Author Marc A Musick
    Author Michelle J Sternthal
    Abstract Researchers have established the role of heredity and lifestyle in the occurrence of hypertension, but the potential role of psychosocial factors, especially religiosity, is less understood. This paper analyzes the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and hypertension using data taken from the Chicago Community Adult Health Study, a probability sample of adults (N=3105) aged 18 and over living in the city of Chicago, USA. Of the primary religiosity variables examined here, attendance and public participation were not significantly related to the outcomes. Prayer was associated with an increased likelihood of hypertension, and spirituality was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure. The addition of several other religiosity variables to the models did not appear to affect these findings. However, variables for meaning and forgiveness were associated with lower diastolic blood pressure and a decreased likelihood of hypertension outcomes. These findings emphasize the importance of analyzing religiosity as a multidimensional phenomenon. This study should be regarded as a first step toward systematically analyzing a complex relationship.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 68
    Issue 2
    Pages 314-322
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.10.010
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19019516
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:36:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19019516
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Blood Pressure
    • Chicago
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hypertension
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Medicine
    • social support
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This paper analyzes the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and hypertension. Of the primary religiosity variables examined here, attendance and public participation were not significantly related to the outcomes. Prayer was associated with an increased likelihood of hypertension, and spirituality was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure.

  • The out-of body experience: precipitating factors and neural correlates

    Type Book Section
    Author Silvia Bünning
    Author Olaf Blanke
    Contributor Steven Laureys
    Abstract Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are defined as experiences in which a person seems to be awake and sees his body and the world from a location outside his physical body. More precisely, they can be defined by the presence of the following three phenomenological characteristics: (i) disembodiment (location of the self outside one's body); (ii) the impression of seeing the world from an elevated and distanced visuo-spatial perspective (extracorporeal, but egocentric visuo-spatial perspective); and (iii) the impression of seeing one's own body (autoscopy) from this perspective. OBEs have fascinated mankind from time immemorial and are abundant in folklore, mythology, and spiritual experiences of most ancient and modern societies. Here, we review some of the classical precipitating factors of OBEs such as sleep, drug abuse, and general anesthesia as well as their neurobiology and compare them with recent findings on neurological and neurocognitive mechanisms of OBEs. The reviewed data suggest that OBEs are due to functional disintegration of lower-level multisensory processing and abnormal higher-level self-processing at the temporo-parietal junction. We argue that the experimental investigation of the interactions between these multisensory and cognitive mechanisms in OBEs and related illusions in combination with neuroimaging and behavioral techniques might further our understanding of the central mechanisms of corporal awareness and self-consciousness much as previous research about the neural bases of complex body part illusions such as phantom limbs has done.
    Book Title The Boundaries of Consciousness: Neurobiology and Neuropathology
    Volume Volume 150
    Publisher Elsevier
    Date 2005
    Pages 331-350, 605-606
    ISBN 0079-6123
    Short Title The out-of body experience
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7CV6-4H62GJY-12/2/f05e2dfbb9c7a6243ea8deb70c433f38
    Accessed Tuesday, November 03, 2009 8:53:47 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are defined as experiences in which a person seems to be awake and sees his body and the world from a location outside his physical body. More precisely, they can be defined by the presence of the following three phenomenological characteristics: (i) disembodiment (location of the self outside one’s body); (ii) the impression of seeing the world from an elevated and distanced visuo-spatial perspective (extracorporeal, but egocentric visuo-spatial perspective); and (iii) the impression of seeing one’s own body (autoscopy) from this perspective. OBEs have fascinated mankind from time immemorial and are abundant in folklore, mythology, and spiritual experiences of most ancient and modern societies. Here, we review some of the classical precipitating factors of OBEs such as sleep, drug abuse, and general anesthesia as well as their neurobiology and compare them with recent findings on neurological and neurocognitive mechanisms of OBEs. The reviewed data suggest that OBEs are due to functional disintegration of lower-level multisensory processing and abnormal higher-level self-processing at the temporo-parietal junction. We argue that the experimental investigation of the interactions between these multisensory and cognitive mechanisms in OBEs and related illusions in combination with neuroimaging and behavioral techniques might further our understanding of the central mechanisms of corporal awareness and self-consciousness much as previous research about the neural bases of complex body part illusions such as phantom limbs has done.

  • Alcohol intake and its correlates in a transitional predominantly Muslim population in southeastern Europe

    Type Journal Article
    Author Genc Burazeri
    Author Jeremy D. Kark
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess alcohol consumption and its correlates in Albania, a predominantly Muslim though largely secular Southeast European republic in transition from rigidly structured socialism to a market-oriented system. METHODS: A population-based sample of Tirana residents aged 35-74 years was interviewed and examined in 2003-2006 (450 men and 235 women with data on alcohol intake, 65.5% response). Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression was used to assess the association of drinking frequency, quantity and type of drink with socioeconomic, psychosocial and coronary risk characteristics. RESULTS: 30.6% (95%CI=26.3%-34.9%) of men, age-standardized to the 2005 census, and 5.6% (95%CI=2.6%-8.6%) of women reported almost daily intake of alcohol, whereas 17.0% (95%CI=13.4%-20.5%) of men and 46.6% (95%CI=40.2%-53.1%) of women abstained. In men, frequent drinking was positively associated with age and not receiving financial support from close family emigrants, and was strongly inversely related to religious observance in both Muslims and Christians. In women it was associated with smoking and upward social mobility. Alcohol intake was not associated with religious affiliation in either sex. In men, intake of spirits (predominantly raki) and beer were associated with lower socioeconomic indices, smoking and obesity (beer only), whereas wine intake was associated with financial security, being secular, and not smoking. Among men, 11.3% (95%CI=8.3%-14.3%) reported high intakes (> or =210 g of pure alcohol/week) and 6.0% (95%CI=3.8%-8.3%) very high intakes (> or = 420 g/week). High intakes were associated with frequent, rather than episodic, drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Our study may be the first to provide information on alcohol intake and its characteristics in an Albanian population sample, one of the few predominantly Muslim countries in Europe. Alcohol consumption in women was extremely low. However, consistent very heavy intake of alcohol appears to be more frequent among Albanian men than in many former communist countries in Europe, and is cause for concern.
    Publication Addictive Behaviors
    Volume 35
    Issue 7
    Pages 706-713
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Addict Behav
    DOI 10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.03.015
    ISSN 1873-6327
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:13:51 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20381259
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • Mindfulness-Based Approaches with Children and Adolescents: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emergent Field.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christine Burke
    Abstract Interest in applications of mindfulness-based approaches with adults has grown rapidly in recent times, and there is an expanding research base that suggests these are efficacious approaches to promoting psychological health and well-being. Interest has spread to applications of mindfulness-based approaches with children and adolescents, yet the research is still in its infancy. I aim to provide a preliminary review of the current research base of mindfulness-based approaches with children and adolescents, focusing on MBSR/MBCT models, which place the regular practice of mindfulness meditation at the core of the intervention. Overall, the current research base provides support for the feasibility of mindfulness-based interventions with children and adolescents, however there is no generalized empirical evidence of the efficacy of these interventions. For the field to advance, I suggest that research needs to shift away from feasibility studies towards large, well-designed studies with robust methodologies, and adopt standardized formats for interventions, allowing for replication and comparison studies, to develop a firm research evidence base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Child & Family Studies
    Volume 19
    Issue 2
    Pages 133-144
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10826-009-9282-x
    ISSN 10621024
    Short Title Mindfulness-Based Approaches with Children and Adolescents
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:09:21 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • BEHAVIOR disorders in adolescence -- Treatment
    • CHILD psychology
    • CHILDREN -- Health & hygiene -- Research
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • MEDITATION -- Therapeutic use
    • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

    Notes:

    • Interest in applications of mindfulness-based approaches has spread from applications of mindfulness-based approaches with adults to the same with children and adolescents, yet the research is still in its infancy. This article provides a preliminary review of the current research base of mindfulness-based approaches with children and adolescents, focusing on MBSR/MBCT models, which place the regular practice of mindfulness meditation at the core of the intervention. Overall, the current research base provides support for the feasibility of mindfulness-based interventions with children and adolescents, however there is no generalized empirical evidence of the efficacy of these interventions. For the field to advance, research needs to shift away from feasibility studies towards large, well-designed studies with robust methodologies, and adopt standardized formats for interventions, allowing for replication and comparison studies, to develop a firm research evidence base.

  • Longevity: potential life span and health span enhancement through practice of the basic yoga meditation regimen

    Type Journal Article
    Author William C Bushell
    Abstract This chapter briefly reviews recent psychological, physiological, molecular biological, and anthropological research which has important implications, both direct and indirect, for the recognition and understanding of the potential life span and health span enhancing effects of the basic yoga meditational regimen. This regimen consists of meditation, yogic breath control practices, physical exercises (of both a postural- and movement-based, including aerobic nature), and dietary practices. While each of these component categories exhibit variations in different schools, lineages, traditions, and cultures, the focus of this chapter is primarily on basic forms of relaxation meditation and breath control, as well as postural and aerobic physical exercises (e.g., yogic prostration regimens, see below), and a standard form of yogic or ascetic diet, all of which constitute a basic form of regimen found in many if not most cultures, though with variations.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 20-27
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04538.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title Longevity
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735236
    Accessed Friday, February 04, 2011 11:14:26 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735236
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • Caloric Restriction
    • Exercise
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Immune System
    • Longevity
    • Meditation
    • Stress, Psychological
    • yoga
  • New beginnings: evidence that the meditational regimen can lead to optimization of perception, attention, cognition, and other functions

    Type Journal Article
    Author William C Bushell
    Abstract A "framework" is presented for understanding empirically confirmed and unconfirmed phenomena in the Indo-Tibetan meditation system, from an integrative perspective, and providing evidence that certain meditative practices enable meditators to realize the innate human potential to perceive light "at the limits imposed by quantum mechanics," on the level of individual photons. This is part of a larger Buddhist agenda to meditatitively develop perceptual/attentional capacities to achieve penetrating insight into the nature of phenomena. Such capacities may also allow advanced meditators to perceive changes in natural scenes that are "hidden" from persons with "normal" attentional capacities, according to research on "change blindness," and to enhance their visual system functioning akin to high-speed and time-lapse photography, in toto allowing for the perception, as well as sophisticated understanding, of the "moment to moment change or impermanence" universally characteristic of the phenomenal world but normally outside untrained attention and perception according to Buddhist doctrine.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 348-361
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04960.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title New beginnings
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735255
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:11:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735255
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Algorithms
    • Attention
    • Buddhism
    • Cognition
    • Consciousness
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Perception
    • Visual Perception

    Notes:

    • A “framework” is presented for understanding empirically confirmed and unconfirmed phenomena in the Indo-Tibetan meditation system, from an integrative perspective, and providing evidence that certain meditative practices enable meditators to realize the innate human potential to perceive light “at the limits imposed by quantum mechanics,” on the level of individual photons. This is part of a larger Buddhist agenda to meditatitively develop perceptual/attentional capacities to achieve penetrating insight into the nature of phenomena. Such capacities may also allow advanced meditators to perceive changes in natural scenes that are “hidden” from persons with “normal” attentional capacities, according to research on “change blindness,” and to enhance their visual system functioning akin to high-speed and time-lapse photography, in toto allowing for the perception, as well as sophisticated understanding, of the “moment to moment change or impermanence” universally characteristic of the phenomenal world but normally outside untrained attention and perception according to Buddhist doctrine.

  • Longevity: potential life span and health span enhancement through practice of the basic yoga meditation regimen

    Type Journal Article
    Author William C Bushell
    Abstract This chapter briefly reviews recent psychological, physiological, molecular biological, and anthropological research which has important implications, both direct and indirect, for the recognition and understanding of the potential life span and health span enhancing effects of the basic yoga meditational regimen. This regimen consists of meditation, yogic breath control practices, physical exercises (of both a postural- and movement-based, including aerobic nature), and dietary practices. While each of these component categories exhibit variations in different schools, lineages, traditions, and cultures, the focus of this chapter is primarily on basic forms of relaxation meditation and breath control, as well as postural and aerobic physical exercises (e.g., yogic prostration regimens, see below), and a standard form of yogic or ascetic diet, all of which constitute a basic form of regimen found in many if not most cultures, though with variations.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 20-27
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04538.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title Longevity
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735236
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:42:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735236
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Caloric Restriction
    • Exercise
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Immune System
    • Longevity
    • Meditation
    • Stress, Psychological
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • This chapter briefly reviews recent psychological, physiological, molecular biological, and anthropological research which has important implications, both direct and indirect, for the recognition and understanding of the potential life span and health span enhancing effects of the basic yoga meditational regimen. This regimen consists of meditation, yogic breath control practices, physical exercises (of both a postural- and movement-based, including aerobic nature), and dietary practices. While each of these component categories exhibit variations in different schools, lineages, traditions, and cultures, the focus of this chapter is primarily on basic forms of relaxation meditation and breath control, as well as postural and aerobic physical exercises (e.g., yogic prostration regimens, see below), and a standard form of yogic or ascetic diet, all of which constitute a basic form of regimen found in many if not most cultures, though with variations.

  • Toward a unified field of study: longevity, regeneration, and protection of health through meditation and related practices

    Type Journal Article
    Author William C Bushell
    Author Neil D Theise
    Abstract The orientation of this volume and the Longevity and Optimal Health: Integrating Eastern and Western Perspectives conference is that there is abundant evidence in the scientific and medical literatures that the diligent practice of certain yoga-meditational regimens can lead to a spectrum of health enhancements, ranging from modest to profound, and that these can be investigated in a scientifically rigorous fashion. This overview will summarize these possibilities regarding improved human longevity, regeneration, and protection of health and serve to introduce the perspectives of conference participants from all of the traditions represented.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 5-19
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04959.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title Toward a unified field of study
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735235
    Accessed Friday, February 04, 2011 11:15:10 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735235
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Longevity
    • Meditation
    • yoga
  • The SpREUK-SF10 questionnaire as a rapid measure of spiritual search and religious trust in patients with chronic diseases

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arndt Büssing
    Abstract Background:There is growing evidence that aspects of spirituality have an impact on health. Measures of spirituality must be adapted to the kinds of populations being studied. In order to investigate how patients with chronic diseases living in secular societies view the impact of spirituality on their health and how they cope with illness, the SpREUK questionnaire was developed. Objective: This paper describes the background and psychometric properties of an assessment tool which might be suited for patients living in secular societies, and summarizes confirmatory findings of patients from Germany. Design and participants: Cross-sectional study among 496 patients (mean age 53.5+/-14.4 years) with chronic diseases (84% chronic pain conditions, 6% cancer, and 10% other). All subjects completed the questionnaires by themselves.Outcome measures: We intended to develop a short form of the already established SpREUK questionnaire, and tested it with respect to its factorial structure and conceptual validity. Other measures were engagement in spiritual practices (SpREUK-P), life satisfaction (BMLSS), and interpretation of illness (IIQ). Results: The good psychometric properties of the contextual (disease-related) instrument which differentiates 3 factors were confirmed: (1) Trust (in Higher Guidance/Source) (alpha=0.898), (2) Search (for Support/Access to Spirituality/Religiosity) (alpha=0.844), and (3) Reflection (Positive Interpretation of Disease) (alpha=0.736). Particularly the positive interpretations of disease were moderately associated with Search and Trust, indicating their spiritual connotation. Conclusion: To assess aspects of spirituality in secular societies which are not biased for or against a particular religious commitment, the SpREUK-SF10 questionnaire appears to be a good choice. Adaptations to other cultural backgrounds are encouraged.
    Publication Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao = Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine
    Volume 8
    Issue 9
    Pages 832-841
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao
    ISSN 1672-1977
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 9:01:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20836973
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:10 AM
  • The BENEFIT through spirituality/religiosity scale--a 6-item measure for use in health outcome studies

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arndt Büssing
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: We intended to develop a brief and compact scale which measures the beneficial effects of spirituality/religiosity (SpR) on several dimensions of patients' life concerns, to be used in health outcome studies. METHOD: To attain a short measure valid for spiritual and religious dimensions, we designed a scale based on tested items of an independent item pool of the already established SpREUK inventory, which measures SpR attitudes and convictions and holds an independent data pool addressing the support of life concerns through SpR. To validate the intended BENEFIT scale, reliability and factor analyses were performed utilizing 371 individuals with different chronic diseases recruited in various medical centers in Germany (exploratory analysis), while for the confirmatory analyses we used an independent pool of 229 patients with chronic pain conditions. RESULTS: Six items addressed the beneficial effects of SpR of the patients' concerns, and thus were chosen for the BENEFIT scale. These items had a good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.922). Primary factor analysis pointed to a 1-factor solution, which explained 72% of variance. Correlation analyses revealed that the BENEFIT scale correlated with both uniquely religious and spiritual attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrate the reliability and validity of the 6-item BENEFIT scale that captures a unique aspect of SpR that can be used in epidemiological studies and clinical trials for those who wish to assess both the external and internal dimensions of SpR. This brief instrument can be easily incorporated into almost any study of mental health, physical health, or quality of life.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 38
    Issue 4
    Pages 493-506
    Date 2008
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19480361
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:26:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19480361
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Attitude to Health
    • Chronic Disease
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Female
    • Germany
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • We intended to develop a brief and compact scale which measures the beneficial effects of spirituality/religiosity (SpR) on several dimensions of patients’ life concerns, to be used in health outcome studies. Conclusions: The data demonstrate the reliability and validity of the 6-item BENEFIT scale that captures a unique aspect of SpR that can be used in epidemiological studies and clinical trials for those who wish to assess both the external and internal dimensions of SpR.

  • Trust in God's help as a measure of intrinsic religiosity and its association with depression and life satisfaction in patients with depressive disorders and addictions

    Type Journal Article
    Author A. Büssing
    Author G. Mundle
    Abstract Purpose There are several studies that indicate that spirituality/religiosity (SpR) may be associated with lower incidence of depression and anxiety. Most of these studies were from the US, and one may doubt that these results can easily be transferred to more secular countries. We thus indented to investigate whether patients with depressive disorders and/or addiction utilize intrinsic religiosity as a resource to cope.Methods The sample of this cross-sectional survey contained 96 patients recruited consecutively in 3 psychotherapeutic German clinics, i.e. Oberberg Clinics Schwarzwald, Weserbergland and Berlin/Brandenburg. Their mean age was 47.2±10.5 years; 50% women; 67% had a Christian denomination; 32% none; 67% had depressive disorders and 33% addictions (mostly alcohol). To measure non-organized intrinsic religiosity in the context of disease coping, we used the 5-item scale Trust in God's Help (TGH, Cronbach's alpha=0.914), which is derived from the AKU questionnaire. Depressive states were measured with Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), and the scale which Escape from Illness. Life Satisfaction was measured with the Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale (BMLSS).Results TGH was moderately expressed in the patients (47.1±35.2), indicating that this coping strategy was of minor significance; the strong variations can be explained in part by the lack of a religious denomination in about 1/3 of the patients. Patients with depressive states had significantly lower TGH than patients with addictions (40.9±31.9 versus 61.4±37.2; F=7.7, p<0.01). Albeit not significantly, patients with high TGH had lower depression (F=2.6; p=0.08) and higher life satisfaction (F=2.4, p=0.10) than patients without or indifferent TGH, while Escape scores were significantly lower (F=3.6, p=0.03) in patients with high TGH. In contrast, patients within a depressive state had significantly lower life satisfaction (F=29.6, p<0.001) and TGH (F=5.5, p=0.02). Correlation analyses confirmed that TGH correlated weakly (negative) with depression (r=-0.24, p=0.03) and Escape (r=-0.25, p=0.01), and positively with life satisfaction (r=0.24).Conclusions The results indicate that it is not intrinsic religiosity that accounts for the significant effects on depression, but instead it is the depressive state, which is associated with lower Trust in God's Help as an attitude which includes an engagement in private religiosity.
    Publication European Journal of Integrative Medicine
    Volume 1
    Issue 4
    Pages 190-191
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.eujim.2009.08.087
    ISSN 1876-3820
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B984N-4XNT3MD-36/2/13ef1ec31d5279cdb00eb85c22b22478
    Accessed Wednesday, December 30, 2009 11:59:05 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Validation of the scale Inner correspondence and Peaceful Harmony (ICPH) with practices in participants in eurythmy therapy and yoga

    Type Journal Article
    Author A. Büssing
    Author A. Weißkircher
    Author P. Heusser
    Publication European Journal of Integrative Medicine
    Volume 2
    Issue 4
    Pages 212
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.eujim.2010.09.085
    ISSN 1876-3820
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B984N-51FXHXR-41/2/bd4e64b091f01b5e5e6f152e7f2c9fdc
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:06:10 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
  • Are spirituality and religiosity resources for patients with chronic pain conditions?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arndt Büssing
    Author Andreas Michalsen
    Author Hans-Joachim Balzat
    Author Ralf-Achim Grünther
    Author Thomas Ostermann
    Author Edmund A M Neugebauer
    Author Peter F Matthiessen
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: We studied whether or not spirituality/religiosity is a relevant resource for patients with chronic pain conditions, and to analyze interrelations between spirituality/religiosity (SpREUK Questionnaire; SpREUK is an acronym of the German translation of "Spiritual and Religious Attitudes in Dealing with Illness"), adaptive coping styles that refer to the concept of locus of disease control (AKU Questionnaire; AKU is an acronym of the German translation of "Adaptive Coping with Disease"), life satisfaction, and appraisal dimensions. PATIENTS: In a multicenter cross-sectional study, 580 patients with chronic pain conditions were enrolled. RESULTS: We found that the patients relied on both external powerful sources of disease control and on internal powers and virtues, while Trust in Higher Source (intrinsic religiosity) or Illness as Chance (reappraisal) were valued moderately; Search for Meaningful Support/Access (spiritual quest orientation) was of minor relevance. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that the internal sources of disease control, such as Conscious and Healthy Way of Living and Positive Attitudes, were (apart from the religious denomination) the strongest predictors of patients' reliance on spirituality/religiosity. Both behavioral styles were rated significantly lower in patients who regarded themselves as neither religious nor spiritual. Positive disease interpretations such as Challenge and Value were clearly associated with a spiritual quest orientation and intrinsic religiosity. CONCLUSION: The associations between spirituality/religiosity, positive appraisals. and internal adaptive coping strategies indicate that the utilization of spirituality/religiosity goes far beyond fatalistic acceptance, but can be regarded as an active coping process. The findings support the need for further research concerning the contributions of spiritual coping in adjustment to chronic pain.
    Publication Pain Medicine (Malden, Mass.)
    Volume 10
    Issue 2
    Pages 327-339
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Pain Med
    DOI 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00572.x
    ISSN 1526-4637
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:38:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19284487
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Attitude to Health
    • Chronic Disease
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Questionnaires
    • Spiritualism
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • A study about whether or not spirituality/religiosity is a relevant resource for patients with chronic pain conditions, and to analyze interrelations between spirituality/religiosity (SpREUK Questionnaire; SpREUK is an acronym of the German translation of “Spiritual and Religious Attitudes in Dealing with Illness”), adaptive coping styles that refer to the concept of locus of disease control (AKU Questionnaire; AKU is an acronym of the German translation of “Adaptive Coping with Disease”), life satisfaction, and appraisal dimensions.

  • Reliance on God’s help as a measure of intrinsic religiosity in healthy elderly and patients with chronic diseases. Correlations with health-related quality of life?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arndt Büssing
    Author Julia Fischer
    Author Thomas Ostermann
    Author Peter F. Matthiessen
    Abstract Within the context of coping, we analyze whether Reliance on God’s Help, as a measure of intrinsic religiosity, is associated specifically with SF-12’s health-related quality of life. Data of 5,248 individuals (63.1 ± 10.6 years; 14% chronic diseases, 16% cancer, 8% had experienced acute diseases, and 62% healthy elderly as a control group) were enrolled. Although about half of the individuals had a strong belief that God will help and prayed to become healthy again, Reliance on God’s Help was not generally associated with better physical or mental health-related quality of life. Just in distinct subgroups we found some marginal associations. Regression analyses confirmed that physical or mental health were not among the predictors of Reliance on God’s Help. Nevertheless, intrinsic religiosity was utilized by several individuals, particularly by patients with higher age and cancer. It should be regarded as a resource to cope (meaning-focused coping) rather than an independent contributor to health-related quality of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Applied Research in Quality of Life
    Volume 4
    Issue 1
    Pages 77-90
    Date March 2009
    Series Religion/Spirituality and Quality of Life
    DOI 10.1007/s11482-009-9068-8
    ISSN 1871-2584
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • CHRONIC diseases
    • chronic illness
    • Geriatric Patients
    • Health
    • health–related quality of life
    • intrinsic religiosity
    • Quality of Life
    • religiosity
  • Religious Leaders' Perceptions Regarding Benefits of and Barriers to Organized Religious Support in Providing Care to Older Adults with Chronic Illness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Denise C. Butler
    Author Philip P. Haley
    Author Margaret A. Ege
    Author Rebecca S. Allen
    Abstract Bridging the health care gap for community-dwelling older adults with chronic illnesses is vital. Interviews with 12 religious leaders explored perceived barriers and potential benefits in partnering with a secular organization to provide such care. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim for content analysis. Themes identified as barriers included difficulty identifying “chronic illness” and awareness of need, volunteer over-commitment, proselytizing concerns, and financial obligations. Themes identified as benefits included the possibility of partnering with a secular organization to broker services, community views of churches as centralized assistance “clearinghouses,” a history of church collaboration, and creation of community cohesion. While faith-based organizations were interested in partnering to provide services, such partnerships must be developed within local community organizations in a position to broker services to those in need.
    Publication Clinical Gerontologist
    Volume 34
    Issue 3
    Pages 237-250
    Date 2011
    DOI 10.1080/07317115.2011.554344
    ISSN 0731-7115
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM

    Notes:

    • This article argues that bridging the health care gap for community-dwelling older adults with chronic illnesses is vital. Interviews with 12 religious leaders explored perceived barriers and potential benefits in partnering with a secular organization to provide such care. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim for content analysis. Themes identified as barriers included difficulty identifying “chronic illness” and awareness of need, volunteer over-commitment, proselytizing concerns, and financial obligations. Themes identified as benefits included the possibility of partnering with a secular organization to broker services, community views of churches as centralized assistance “clearinghouses,” a history of church collaboration, and creation of community cohesion. While faith-based organizations were interested in partnering to provide services, such partnerships must be developed within local community organizations in a position to broker services to those in need.

  • Free-lance spiritual seekers: self-growth or compensatory motives?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Coralie Buxant
    Author Vassilis Saroglou
    Author Marie Tesser
    Abstract People attending various spirituality and self-development conferences outside the framework of organised religious groups (N = 204) were compared to norms from the general population and to members of New Religious Movements (NRMs) on the following measures: attachment to parents in childhood, adult attachment, need for closure, need for cognition, openness to experience, and quest religious orientation. Results indicated that these people, in comparison to the general population, share with NRM members similar cognitive (need for closure) and affective (insecure attachment in childhood) needs that seem to be addressed by spirituality. However, in comparison to NRM members, participants scored higher on measures reflecting self-growth, that is openness to experience and quest religious orientation, and lower on need for closure. These findings may be interpreted as indicating a desire to seek spirituality but to preserve autonomy. These people were called free-lance spiritual seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 209-222
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903334660
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Free-lance spiritual seekers
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:45:23 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • FAMILIES
    • MONASTIC & religious life
    • ORIENTATION (Religion)
    • PARENT & child
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • spirituality
  • Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population

    Type Journal Article
    Author R C Byrd
    Abstract The therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer (IP) to the Judeo-Christian God, one of the oldest forms of therapy, has had little attention in the medical literature. To evaluate the effects of IP in a coronary care unit (CCU) population, a prospective randomized double-blind protocol was followed. Over ten months, 393 patients admitted to the CCU were randomized, after signing informed consent, to an intercessory prayer group (192 patients) or to a control group (201 patients). While hospitalized, the first group received IP by participating Christians praying outside the hospital; the control group did not. At entry, chi-square and stepwise logistic analysis revealed no statistical difference between the groups. After entry, all patients had follow-up for the remainder of the admission. The IP group subsequently had a significantly lower severity score based on the hospital course after entry (P less than .01). Multivariant analysis separated the groups on the basis of the outcome variables (P less than .0001). The control patients required ventilatory assistance, antibiotics, and diuretics more frequently than patients in the IP group. These data suggest that intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian God has a beneficial therapeutic effect in patients admitted to a CCU.
    Publication Southern Medical Journal
    Volume 81
    Issue 7
    Pages 826-829
    Date Jul 1988
    Journal Abbr South. Med. J
    ISSN 0038-4348
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3393937
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 6:20:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 3393937
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Christianity
    • Coronary Care Units
    • Double-Blind Method
    • Female
    • Heart Diseases
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Prospective Studies
    • Random Allocation
    • Religion and Medicine

    Notes:

    • Over ten months, 393 patients admitted to the CCU were randomized, after signing informed consent, to an intercessory prayer group (192 patients) or to a control group (201 patients). The IP group subsequently had a significantly lower severity score based on the hospital course after entry (P less than .01). Multivariant analysis separated the groups on the basis of the outcome variables (P less than .0001). The control patients required ventilatory assistance, antibiotics, and diuretics more frequently than patients in the IP group.

  • Yoga lifestyle intervention reduces blood pressure in HIV-infected adults with cardiovascular disease risk factors

    Type Journal Article
    Author W. T. Cade
    Author D. N. Reeds
    Author K. E. Mondy
    Author E. T. Overton
    Author J. Grassino
    Author S. Tucker
    Author C. Bopp
    Author E. Laciny
    Author S. Hubert
    Author S. Lassa-Claxton
    Author K. E. Yarasheski
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: People living with HIV infection are at increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Safe and effective interventions for lowering CVD risk in HIV infection are high priorities. We conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled study to evaluate whether a yoga lifestyle intervention improves CVD risk factors, virological or immunological status, or quality of life (QOL) in HIV-infected adults relative to standard of care treatment in a matched control group. METHODS: Sixty HIV-infected adults with mild-moderate CVD risk were assigned to 20 weeks of supervised yoga practice or standard of care treatment. Baseline and week 20 measures were: 2-h oral glucose tolerance test with insulin monitoring, body composition, fasting serum lipid/lipoprotein profile, resting blood pressures, CD4 T-cell count and plasma HIV RNA, and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF)-36 health-related QOL inventory. RESULTS: Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures improved more (P=0.04) in the yoga group (-5 +/- 2 and -3 +/- 1 mmHg, respectively) than in the standard of care group (+1 +/- 2 and+2 +/- 2 mmHg, respectively). However, there was no greater reduction in body weight, fat mass or proatherogenic lipids, or improvements in glucose tolerance or overall QOL after yoga. Immune and virological status was not adversely affected. CONCLUSION: Among traditional lifestyle modifications, yoga is a low-cost, simple to administer, nonpharmacological, popular behavioural intervention that can lower blood pressure in pre-hypertensive HIV-infected adults with mild-moderate CVD risk factors.
    Publication HIV Medicine
    Volume 11
    Issue 6
    Pages 379-388
    Date Jul 1, 2010
    Journal Abbr HIV Med
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-1293.2009.00801.x
    ISSN 1468-1293
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:18:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20059570
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM

    Notes:

    • This article presents a prospective, randomized, controlled study to evaluate whether a yoga lifestyle intervention improves cardiovascular disease risk factors, virological or immunological status, or quality of life (QOL) in HIV-infected adults relative to standard of care treatment in a matched control group.  The results showed that among traditional lifestyle modifications, yoga is a low-cost, simple to administer, nonpharmacological, popular behavioural intervention that can lower blood pressure in pre-hypertensive HIV-infected adults with mild–moderate cardiovascular risk factors.

  • Saying Your Prayers, Constructing Your Religions: Medical Studies of Intercessory Prayer.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Wendy Cadge
    Abstract This case study focuses on research studies done by medical researchers that examine whether intercessory prayer or the prayers of strangers influences the health of the people who are being prayed for. The author examines how the views differed by denomination over a span of 40 years. The attitudes towards intercessory prayer from medical scientists is also discussed.
    Publication Journal of Religion
    Volume 89
    Issue 3
    Pages 299-327
    Date July 2009
    ISSN 00224189
    Short Title Saying Your Prayers, Constructing Your Religions
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rlh&AN=43386968&…
    Accessed Monday, October 26, 2009 8:53:06 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • CASE studies
    • HEALING -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- Case studies
    • INTERCESSORY prayer -- Christianity -- Case studies
    • MEDICINE -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- Case studies
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Religious
  • Meditation (Vipassana) and the P3a event-related brain potential

    Type Journal Article
    Author B Rael Cahn
    Author John Polich
    Abstract A three-stimulus auditory oddball series was presented to experienced Vipassana meditators during meditation and a control thought period to elicit event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in the two different mental states. The stimuli consisted of a frequent standard tone (500 Hz), an infrequent oddball tone (1000 Hz), and an infrequent distracter (white noise), with all stimuli passively presented through headphones and no task imposed. The strongest meditation compared to control state effects occurred for the distracter stimuli: N1 amplitude from the distracter was reduced frontally during meditation; P2 amplitude from both the distracter and oddball stimuli were somewhat reduced during meditation; P3a amplitude from the distracter was reduced during meditation. The meditation-induced reduction in P3a amplitude was strongest in participants reporting more hours of daily meditation practice and was not evident in participants reporting drowsiness during their experimental meditative session. The findings suggest that meditation state can decrease the amplitude of neurophysiologic processes that subserve attentional engagement elicited by unexpected and distracting stimuli. Consistent with the aim of Vipassana meditation to reduce cognitive and emotional reactivity, the state effect of reduced P3a amplitude to distracting stimuli reflects decreased automated reactivity and evaluative processing of task irrelevant attention-demanding stimuli.
    Publication International Journal of Psychophysiology: Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
    Volume 72
    Issue 1
    Pages 51-60
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychophysiol
    DOI 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.03.013
    ISSN 1872-7697
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18845193
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:22:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18845193
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Acoustic Stimulation
    • Adult
    • Brain
    • Brain Mapping
    • Electroencephalography
    • Event-Related Potentials, P300
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Neuropsychological Tests
    • Psychophysics
    • Self Assessment (Psychology)
    • Time Factors
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • A three-stimulus auditory oddball series was presented to experienced Vipassana meditators during meditation and a control thought period to elicit event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in the two different mental states. The stimuli consisted of a frequent standard tone (500 Hz), an infrequent oddball tone (1000 Hz), and an infrequent distracter (white noise), with all stimuli passively presented through headphones and no task imposed. The strongest meditation compared to control state effects occurred for the distracter stimuli: N1 amplitude from the distracter was reduced frontally during meditation; P2 amplitude from both the distracter and oddball stimuli were somewhat reduced during meditation; P3a amplitude from the distracter was reduced during meditation. The meditation-induced reduction in P3a amplitude was strongest in participants reporting more hours of daily meditation practice and was not evident in participants reporting drowsiness during their experimental meditative session. The findings suggest that meditation state can decrease the amplitude of neurophysiologic processes that subserve attentional engagement elicited by unexpected and distracting stimuli. Consistent with the aim of Vipassana meditation to reduce cognitive and emotional reactivity, the state effect of reduced P3a amplitude to distracting stimuli reflects decreased automated reactivity and evaluative processing of task irrelevant attention-demanding stimuli.

  • Developing Mindfulness in College Students Through Movement-Based Courses: Effects on Self-Regulatory Self-Efficacy, Mood, Stress, and Sleep Quality.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Karen Caldwell
    Author Mandy Harrison
    Author Marianne Adams
    Author Rebecca H. Quin
    Author Jeffrey Greeson
    Abstract Objective: This study examined whether mindfulness increased through participation in movement-based courses and whether changes in self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, and perceived stress mediated the relationship between increased mindfulness and better sleep. Participants: 166 college students enrolled in the 2007–2008 academic year in 15 week classes in Pilates, Taiji quan, or GYROKINESIS. Methods: At beginning, middle, and end of the semester, participants completed measures of mindfulness, self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, perceived stress, and sleep quality. Results: Total mindfulness scores and mindfulness subscales increased overall. Greater changes in mindfulness were directly related to better sleep quality at the end of the semester after adjusting for sleep disturbance at the beginning. Tiredness, Negative Arousal, Relaxation, and Perceived Stress mediated the effect of increased mindfulness on improved sleep. Conclusions: Movement-based courses can increase mindfulness. Increased mindfulness accounts for changes in mood and perceived stress, which explain, in part, improved sleep quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of American College Health
    Volume 58
    Issue 5
    Pages 433-442
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1080/07448480903540481
    ISSN 07448481
    Short Title Developing Mindfulness in College Students Through Movement-Based Courses
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:42:36 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • COLLEGE students -- Health & hygiene
    • MEDITATION -- Therapeutic use
    • MIND & body therapies
    • MOOD (Psychology) -- Research
    • MOVEMENT therapy
    • STRESS (Psychology) -- Prevention
    • STUDENTS -- Research
  • The influence of spiritual growth on adolescents' initiative and responsibility for self-care

    Type Journal Article
    Author Donna M Callaghan
    Abstract This study investigated the relationships among health-promoting self-care behaviors, self-care self-efficacy, and self-care agency in an adolescent population. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships among these concepts as well as the specific influence of spiritual growth, a component of health-promoting self-care behaviors, on self-care agency. The instruments used in this study included the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLPII) scale, the Self-Rated Abilities for Health Practices (SRAHP) scale, and the Exercise of Self-Care Agency (ESCA) scale. A canonical correlation identified a significant variate having a correlation of .95 (p < .000) accounting for 90% of the variance explained. The loading variables included the HPLPII subscale of spiritual growth and the ESCA subscale of initiative and responsibility. The study results indicate that spiritual growth is significantly related to an adolescent's initiative and responsibility for self-care.
    Publication Pediatric Nursing
    Volume 31
    Issue 2
    Pages 91-95, 115
    Date 2005 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Pediatr Nurs
    ISSN 0097-9805
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15934561
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:11:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15934561
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Behavior
    • Adolescent Development
    • Adolescent Psychology
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Attitude to Health
    • Exercise
    • Female
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Life Style
    • Male
    • Models, Psychological
    • Motivation
    • New Jersey
    • Nursing Assessment
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Nursing Theory
    • Pediatric Nursing
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Care
    • Self Efficacy
    • Social Responsibility
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This study investigated the relationships among health-promoting self-care behaviors, self-care self-efficacy, and self-care agency in an adolescent population. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships among these concepts as well as the specific influence of spiritual growth, a component of health-promoting self-care behaviors, on self-care agency.

  • Relationships Among Stress, Infectious Illness, and Religiousness/Spirituality in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bonnie L Callen
    Author Linda Mefford
    Author Maureen Groër
    Author Sandra P Thomas
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among stress, infectious illness, and religiousness/spirituality in community-dwelling older adults in the southeastern United States. Four assessment tools were completed by 82 older adults (mean age = 74, age range = 65 to 91): the Perceived Stress Scale, the Carr Infection Symptom Checklist (SCL), the Brief Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality, and a demographic form. A significant correlation was found between stress and SCL scores; however, four dimensions of religiousness/spirituality moderated the relationship between stress and infection. Older adults who were unable to forgive themselves or forgive others, or feel forgiven by God, were more likely to have had an infection in the previous month. Increased infections also occurred when older participants did not feel they had religious support from their congregations. Using these findings, gerontological nurses are well positioned to deliver tailored stress management and forgiveness interventions when older adults report increased stress.
    Publication Research in Gerontological Nursing
    Pages 1-12
    Date Oct 29, 2010
    Journal Abbr Res Gerontol Nurs
    DOI 10.3928/19404921-20101001-99
    ISSN 1940-4921
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21053840
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:18:03 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
  • Determining relationships between physical health and spiritual experience, religious practices, and congregational support in a heterogeneous medical sample

    Type Journal Article
    Author James D. Campbell
    Author Dong Phil Yoon
    Author Brick Johnstone
    Abstract Previous research indicates that increased religiosity/spirituality is related to better health, but the specific nature of these relationships is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between physical health and spiritual belief, religious practices, and congregational support using the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality and the Medical Outcomes Scale Shortform-36. A total of 168 participants were surveyed with the following medical disorders: Cancer, Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Stroke, plus a healthy sample from a primary care setting. The results show that individuals with chronic medical conditions do not automatically turn to religious and spiritual resources following onset of their disorder. Physical health is positively related to frequency of attendance at religious services, which may be related to better health leading to increased ability to attend services. In addition, spiritual belief in a loving, higher power, and a positive worldview are associated with better health, consistent with psychoneuroimmunological models of health. Practical implications for health care providers are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-17
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9227-5
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:00:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20162451
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Spirituality and Cultural Identification Among Latino and Non-Latino College Students

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maureen Campesino
    Author Michael Belyea
    Author Gary Schwartz
    Abstract The purposes of this study were to examine (a) differences in spiritual perspectives and practices of Latino and non-Latino young adults and (b) the cultural relevance of the Latino Spiritual Perspective Scale (LSPS). Studies indicate that spiritual perspectives are embedded within cultural group norms and vary significantly across ethnic groups. A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample of 223 Latino and non-Latino university students in the Southwestern United States. The Spiritual Perspective Scale (SPS), the LSPS, the Orthogonal Cultural Identification Scale, and a demographic questionnaire were used. Latinos scored significantly higher than non-Latinos in both measures of spiritual perspectives. Self-reported behavioral measures, such as frequency of personal prayer, were also higher among the Latino group. Latino cultural identification was the only significant predictor of LSPS scores. Findings from this study indicate that spirituality among Latinos has meanings specific to the cultural group context. These findings have implications for nursing research involving the conceptualization and measurement of spirituality among multiethnic groups.Los propósitos de este estudio eran examinar: (a) diferencias en perspectivas espirituales y prácticas de jóvenes Latinos y no Latinos; y (b) la relevancia cultural de la Escala de la Perspectiva Espiritual Latina. Estudios indican que perspectivas espirituales están incrustadas entre normas culturales del grupo y varían considerablemente entre grupos étnicos. Un diseño transversal y de encuesta fue utilizado con una muestra de conveniencia de 233 estudiantes universitarios Latinos y no Latinos en el Suroeste de los Estados Unidos. La Escala de la Perspectiva Espiritual (EPE), la Escala de la Perspectiva Espiritual Latina (EPEL), la Escala Ortogonal de Identificación Cultural, y un cuestionario demográfico fueron utilizados. Los Latinos calificaron considerablemente más alto que los no Latinos en ambas medidas de perspectivas espirituales. Medidas de comportamiento auto-reportadas, como la frecuencia de oración, también estuvieron más altas en el grupo Latino. La identificación con la cultura Latina fue el único vaticinador de las calificaciones de la EPEL. Los resultados de este estudio indican que la espiritualidad entre Latinos tiene significados específicos al contexto del grupo cultural. Estas conclusiones tienen implicaciones para las investigaciones de enfermería que involucran la conceptualización y medida de la espiritualidad entre grupos multiétnicos.
    Publication Hispanic Health Care International: The Official Journal of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses
    Volume 7
    Issue 2
    Pages 72
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Hisp Health Care Int
    DOI 10.1891/1540-4153.7.2.72
    ISSN 1540-4153
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:30:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20165566
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • COLLEGE students
    • Latinos/Latinas
    • spirituality
  • Development and Psychometric Properties of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument (WHOQOL-100) in Portugal.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maria Cristina Canavarro
    Author Adriano Vaz Serra
    Author Mário R. Simões
    Author Daniel Rijo
    Author Marco Pereira
    Author Sofia Gameiro
    Author Manuel João Quartilho
    Author Luís Quintais
    Author Carlos Carona
    Author Tiago Paredes
    Abstract At the beginning of the 1990s, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a project in order to create a cross-cultural instrument of quality of life assessment: the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL). This paper describes the development of the European Portuguese version of the WHOQOL-100, according to the methodology recommended by the WHO. Special attention is given to the qualitative pilot study, which led to the development of the Portuguese Facet [Political P], and to the empirical pilot study and the psychometric studies, based on the application of the Portuguese version of the instrument to a sample of 315 subjects from the general population and 289 patients. The assessment protocol also included the Beck Depression Inventory and the Brief Symptom Inventory. The Portuguese version of WHOQOL-100 showed acceptable internal consistency ( α range 0.84–0.94) and test–retest reliability in all domains ( r range 0.67–0.86). Discriminant validity was significant for all domains, except in Spirituality. Convergent validity with the Beck Depression Inventory and the Brief Symptom Inventory was satisfactory for most domains. The WHOQOL showed good psychometric characteristics, suggesting that the Portuguese version of WHOQOL is valid and reliable in the assessment of quality of life in Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 2
    Pages 116-124
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s12529-008-9024-2
    ISSN 10705503
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • BECK Depression Inventory
    • DEPRESSION, Mental -- Diagnosis
    • PORTUGAL
    • Psychometrics
    • Public health
    • Quality of Life
    • WORLD Health Organization
  • The emergency function of the adrenal medulla in pain and the major emotions

    Type Journal Article
    Author W. B. Cannon
    Publication American Journal of Physiology
    Volume 33
    Issue 2
    Pages 356-372
    Date February 2, 1914
    URL http://ajplegacy.physiology.org
    Accessed Monday, October 12, 2009 5:12:48 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Tuesday, November 15, 2011 9:15:08 PM

    Notes:

    • The first paper recognizing that the homeostasis of the body is affected by both physical and emotional stress.

    Attachments

    • HighWire Full Text PDF
  • The cumulative effects of Transcendental Meditation on cognitive function--a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter H Canter
    Author Edzard Ernst
    Abstract It is claimed that regular practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) improves cognitive function and increases intelligence. This systematic review assesses the evidence from randomised controlled trials for cumulative effects of TM on cognitive function. Searches were made of electronic databases and the collected papers and official websites of the TM organisation. Only randomised controlled trials with objective outcome measures of the cumulative effects of TM on cognitive function were included. Trials that measured only acute effects of TM, or used only neurophysiological outcome measures were excluded. 107 articles reporting the effects of TM on cognitive function were identified and 10 met the inclusion criteria. Most were excluded because they used no controls or did not randomize subjects between interventions. Of the 10 trials included, 4 reported large positive effects of TM on cognitive function, four were completely negative, and 2 were largely negative in outcome. All 4 positive trials recruited subjects from among people favourably predisposed towards TM, and used passive control procedures. The other 6 trials recruited subjects with no specific interest in TM, and 5 of them used structured control procedures. The association observed between positive outcome, subject selection procedure and control procedure suggests that the large positive effects reported in 4 trials result from an expectation effect. The claim that TM has a specific and cumulative effect on cognitive function is not supported by the evidence from randomised controlled trials.
    Publication Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift
    Volume 115
    Issue 21-22
    Pages 758-766
    Date Nov 28, 2003
    Journal Abbr Wien. Klin. Wochenschr
    ISSN 0043-5325
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/14743579
    Accessed Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:44:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14743579
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Age Factors
    • Child
    • Cognition
    • Intelligence Tests
    • Meditation
    • Mental Processes
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Time Factors

    Notes:

    • It is claimed that regular practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) improves cognitive function and increases intelligence. This systematic review assesses the evidence from randomised controlled trials for cumulative effects of TM on cognitive function. The association observed between positive outcome, subject selection procedure and control procedure suggests that the large positive effects reported in 4 trials result from an expectation effect. The claim that TM has a specific and cumulative effect on cognitive function is not supported by the evidence from randomised controlled trials.

  • Relationships between health and culture in Polynesia - A review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stuart Capstick
    Author Pauline Norris
    Author Faafetai Sopoaga
    Author Wale Tobata
    Abstract This review of journal articles and book chapters discusses the health beliefs characteristic of Polynesia and reveals several themes. These are: commonality in health conceptualisations across the cultures of the region which differ from the conceptualisations of biomedicine; the role of the relational self, traditional living and communalism in understanding health; the place of spirituality and religion in health and illness causation; and pluralism and pragmatism in health-seeking behaviour. Suggestions are made as to how awareness of key ideas might contribute to effective planning of health promotion and intervention activities.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 68
    Issue 7
    Pages 1341-1348
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.01.002
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6VBF-4VHWB0S-1/2/ea1a56e2c1f7cf737ce71064ce683920
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 11:24:00 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Culture
    • Health beliefs
    • Health promotion
    • Oceania
    • Pacific
    • Polynesia
    • Review

    Notes:

    • This review of journal articles and book chapters discusses the health beliefs characteristic of Polynesia and reveals several themes. These are: commonality in health conceptualisations across the cultures of the region which differ from the conceptualisations of biomedicine; the role of the relational self, traditional living and communalism in understanding health; the place of spirituality and religion in health and illness causation; and pluralism and pragmatism in health-seeking behaviour.

  • Meditation in health: an operational definition

    Type Journal Article
    Author Roberto Cardoso
    Author Eduardo de Souza
    Author Luiz Camano
    Author José Roberto Leite
    Abstract Despite its evergrowing use in health-related areas, procedures characterized as meditation have been little or not at all defined operationally, which hinders its use in a standardized manner. In the present study, the authors present a possible operational definition of meditation, which has been used in social and academic projects, developed in Universidade Federal de São Paulo. In this proposal, it is emphasized that, in order to be characterized as meditation, the procedure should encompass the following requirements: (1) the use of a specific technique (clearly defined), (2) muscle relaxation in some moment of the process and (3) "logic relaxation"; (4) it must necessarily be a self-induced state, and (5) use of "self-focus" skill (coined "anchor").
    Publication Brain Research Protocols
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 58-60
    Date November 2004
    Journal Abbr Brain Res Protoc
    DOI 10.1016/j.brainresprot.2004.09.002
    ISSN 1385-299X
    Short Title Meditation in health
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T3N-4DKD49T-1/2/572fd518abb03915019c37a5a1ab20a8
    Accessed Tuesday, September 01, 2009 9:50:59 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Definition
    • Health
    • Meditation

    Notes:

    • Despite its evergrowing use in health-related areas, procedures characterized as meditation have been little or not at all defined operationally, which hinders its use in a standardized manner. In the present study, the authors present a possible operational definition of meditation, which has been used in social and academic projects, developed in Universidade Federal de São Paulo. In this proposal, it is emphasized that, in order to be characterized as meditation, the procedure should encompass the following requirements: (1) the use of a specific technique (clearly defined), (2) muscle relaxation in some moment of the process and (3) “logic relaxation”; (4) it must necessarily be a self-induced state, and (5) use of “self-focus” skill (coined “anchor”).

  • Randomized controlled clinical trial of yoga in the treatment of eating disorders.

    Type Journal Article
    Author T. Rain Carei
    Author Amber L. Fyfe-Johnson
    Author Cora C. Breuner
    Author Margaret A. Brown
    Abstract Purpose: This was a pilot project designed to assess the effect of individualized yoga treatment on eating disorder outcomes among adolescents receiving outpatient care for diagnosed eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorder not otherwise specified). Methods: A total of 50 girls and 4 boys aged 11–21 years were randomized to an 8-week trial of standard care vs. individualized yoga plus standard care. Of these, 27 were randomized to standard care and 26 to yoga plus standard care (attrition: n = 4). Standard care (every other week physician and/or dietician appointments) was required to meet ethical guidelines. The No Yoga group was offered yoga after study completion as an incentive to maintain participation. Outcomes evaluated at baseline, end of trial, and 1-month follow-up included Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), Body Mass Index (BMI), Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Food Preoccupation questionnaire. Results: The Yoga group demonstrated greater decreases in eating disorder symptoms. Specifically, the EDE scores decreased over time in the Yoga group, whereas the No Yoga group showed some initial decline but then returned to baseline EDE levels at week 12. Food preoccupation was measured before and after each yoga session, and decreased significantly after all sessions. Both groups maintained current BMI levels and decreased in anxiety and depression over time. Conclusions: Individualized yoga treatment decreased EDE scores at 12 weeks, and significantly reduced food preoccupation immediately after yoga sessions. Yoga treatment did not have a negative effect on BMI. Results suggest that individualized yoga therapy holds promise as adjunctive therapy to standard care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Health
    Volume 46
    Issue 4
    Pages 346-351
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.08.007
    ISSN 1054-139X
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:30:20 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • clinical trials
    • Eating Behavior
    • eating disorders
    • outpatient care
    • Outpatients
    • randomized controlled clinical trial
    • yoga
    • yoga treatment
  • Introduction to the Forum on Mourning Religion.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nathan Carlin
    Abstract The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one on friendship as a form of sublimation, another on the mourning religion thesis and another on psychology of religion and pastoral theology.
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 3
    Pages 345
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0272-0
    ISSN 00312789
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 5:32:08 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • BEREAVEMENT -- Psychological aspects
    • PSYCHOLOGY & religion
  • Freud's Wolf Man: A Case of Successful Religious Sublimation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nathan Carlin
    Author Donald Capps
    Abstract This article focuses on Freud's view that the case of Sergei Pankejeff, commonly known as Wolf Man, is an example of an unsuccessful religious sublimation. Freud focuses on the efforts by Sergei's mother and his nurse to educate him in the Christian faith. He points out that, although these efforts were successful in making him into a piously religious boy, they contributed to the repression of his sexual attraction to his father, the arrest of his psychosexual development, and to an obsessional neurosis reflected in blasphemous thoughts and compulsive acts of religious piety. The authors suggest, however, that there was one feature of his early religious behavior that reflected a successful religious sublimation and explain why it was successful. They conclude that even small children may experience a successful religious sublimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 60
    Issue 1
    Pages 149-166
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0212-z
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title Freud's Wolf Man
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

    Tags:

    • BLASPHEMY
    • FREUD, Sigmund, 1856-1939
    • KISSING
    • PANKEJEFF, Sergei
    • REPRESSION (Psychology)
    • SEDUCTION
    • SUBLIMATION (Psychology) -- Religious aspects
    • Visual Acuity
  • Spirituality, anger, and stress in early adolescents.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Barbara L. Carlozzi
    Author Carrie Winterowd
    Author R. Steven Harrist
    Author Nancy Thomason
    Author Kristi Bratkovich
    Author Sheri Worth
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of spiritual beliefs and involvement with anger and stress in early adolescents. Early adolescents (n = 53) completed the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (Hatch et al. 1998), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Spielberger 1999), and the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen and Williamson 1988). Contrary to expectations, spirituality was significantly and positively related to anger and stress. Implications and possible explanations for the unanticipated findings in this study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 445-459
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9295-1
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent Attitudes
    • Anger
    • early adolescents
    • spiritual beliefs
    • spirituality
    • Stress
  • Spirituality, Anger, and Stress in Early Adolescents

    Type Journal Article
    Author Barbara Carlozzi
    Author Carrie Winterowd
    Author R Steven Harrist
    Author Nancy Thomason
    Author Kristi Bratkovich
    Author Sheri Worth
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of spiritual beliefs and involvement with anger and stress in early adolescents. Early adolescents (n = 53) completed the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (Hatch et al. 1998), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Spielberger 1999), and the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen and Williamson 1988). Contrary to expectations, spirituality was significantly and positively related to anger and stress. Implications and possible explanations for the unanticipated findings in this study are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Date Nov 6, 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9295-1
    ISSN 1573-6571
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19894119
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:17:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19894119
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of spiritual beliefs and involvement with anger and stress in early adolescents.

  • Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery: A Step-by-step MBSR Approach to Help You Cope With Treatment and Reclaim Your Life

    Type Book
    Author Linda E. Carlson
    Author Michael Speca
    Place Oakland, Calif.
    Publisher New Harbinger Publications
    Date 2011-02-03
    ISBN 1572248874
    Short Title Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

    Notes:

    • This is a book about the Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery program based on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a therapeutic combination of mindfulness meditation and gentle yoga now offered to cancer survivors and their loved ones in hundreds of medical centers, hospitals, and clinics worldwide

  • The Importance of Spirituality in Couple and Family Therapy: A Comparative Study of Therapists' and Educators' Beliefs.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thomas Carlson
    Author Christi McGeorge
    Author Amy Anderson
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the differences between the beliefs of couple and family therapists (CFTs) and CFT educators in accredited training programs regarding the importance of spirituality in their personal and professional lives. The results suggest a significant difference between the two populations, with clinicians reporting a higher level of agreement regarding the overall role of spirituality in their personal and professional identities compared to CFT faculty members. However, both therapists and educators reported similar levels of agreement in regard to the need for education related to integrating spirituality and its role in clinical practice. Implications for CFT training programs are discussed.
    Publication Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal
    Volume 33
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-16
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s10591-010-9136-0
    ISSN 08922764
    Short Title The Importance of Spirituality in Couple and Family Therapy
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • COMPARATIVE studies
    • CORRELATION (Statistics)
    • COUNSELORS -- Attitudes
    • EFFECT sizes (Statistics)
    • FAMILY psychotherapy
    • HEALTH attitudes
    • HYPOTHESIS
    • SCALE analysis (Psychology)
    • spirituality
    • TEACHERS -- Attitudes
    • T-test (Statistics)
  • Evolving Conceptions of Mindfulness in Clinical Settings

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Carmody
    Abstract This paper proposes a model of mindfulness treatment in clinical modalities, based on facility in the use of attention. A description is provided of mechanisms by which attentional skill may lead to the recognition of internal associational processes and account for psychological outcomes.
    Publication Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 23
    Issue 3
    Pages 270-280
    Date 08/2009
    Journal Abbr J Cogn Psychother
    DOI 10.1891/0889-8391.23.3.270
    ISSN 08898391
    URL http://openurl.ingenta.com/content/xref?
    genre=article&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM
  • How long does a mindfulness-based stress reduction program need to be? A review of class contact hours and effect sizes for psychological distress

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Carmody
    Author Ruth A Baer
    Abstract The mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program was designed to be long enough for participants to grasp the principles of self-regulation through mindfulness and develop skill and autonomy in mindfulness practice. It traditionally consists of 26 hours of session time including eight classes of 2-1/2 hours and an all-day class. The circumstances of some groups exclude them from participating in this standard form and a number of trials have evaluated programs with abbreviated class time. If lower program time demands can lead to similar outcomes in psychological functioning, it would support their utility in these settings and might lead to greater participation. However, the effect of variation in class hours on outcomes has not been systematically studied. To obtain preliminary information related to this question we examined effect sizes for psychological outcome variables in published studies of MBSR, some of which had adapted the standard number of class hours. The correlation between mean effect size and number of in-class hours was nonsignificant for both clinical and nonclinical samples and suggests that adaptations that include less class time may be worthwhile for populations for whom reduction of psychological distress is an important goal and for whom longer time commitment may be a barrier to their ability or willingness to participate. However, the standard MBSR format has accrued the most empirical support for its efficacy and session time may be important to the development of other kinds of program outcomes. The result points to the importance of empirical studies systematically examining this question.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 6
    Pages 627-638
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20555
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title How long does a mindfulness-based stress reduction program need to be?
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:32:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19309694
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Awareness
    • Humans
    • Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
    • Patient Compliance
    • Psychotherapy
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Social Control, Informal
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Time Factors
  • An empirical study of the mechanisms of mindfulness in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Carmody
    Author Ruth A Baer
    Author Emily L B Lykins
    Author Nicholas Olendzki
    Abstract S. L. Shapiro and colleagues (2006) have described a testable theory of the mechanisms of mindfulness and how it affects positive change. They describe a model in which mindfulness training leads to a fundamental change in relationship to experience (reperceiving), which leads to changes in self-regulation, values clarification, cognitive and behavioral flexibility, and exposure. These four variables, in turn, result in salutogenic outcomes. Analyses of responses from participants in a mindfulness-based stress-reduction program did not support the mediating effect of changes in reperceiving on the relationship of mindfulness with those four variables. However, when mindfulness and reperceiving scores were combined, partial support was found for the mediating effect of the four variables on measures of psychological distress. Issues arising in attempts to test the proposed theory are discussed, including the description of the model variables and the challenges to their assessment.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 6
    Pages 613-626
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20579
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:39:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19267330
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attention
    • Awareness
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Questionnaires
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Social Control, Informal
    • Social Values
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Young Adult
  • Mindfulness, spirituality, and health-related symptoms

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Carmody
    Author George Reed
    Author Jean Kristeller
    Author Phillip Merriam
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Although the relationship between religious practice and health is well established, the relationship between spirituality and health is not as well studied. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether participation in the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program was associated with increases in mindfulness and spirituality, and to examine the associations between mindfulness, spirituality, and medical and psychological symptoms. METHODS: Forty-four participants in the University of Massachusetts Medical School's MBSR program were assessed preprogram and postprogram on trait (Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale) and state (Toronto Mindfulness Scale) mindfulness, spirituality (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy--Spiritual Well-Being Scale), psychological distress, and reported medical symptoms. Participants also kept a log of daily home mindfulness practice. Mean changes in scores were computed, and relationships between changes in variables were examined using mixed-model linear regression. RESULTS: There were significant improvements in spirituality, state and trait mindfulness, psychological distress, and reported medical symptoms. Increases in both state and trait mindfulness were associated with increases in spirituality. Increases in trait mindfulness and spirituality were associated with decreases in psychological distress and reported medical symptoms. Changes in both trait and state mindfulness were independently associated with changes in spirituality, but only changes in trait mindfulness and spirituality were associated with reductions in psychological distress and reported medical symptoms. No association was found between outcomes and home mindfulness practice. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in the MBSR program appears to be associated with improvements in trait and state mindfulness, psychological distress, and medical symptoms. Improvements in trait mindfulness and spirituality appear, in turn, to be associated with improvements in psychological and medical symptoms.
    Publication Journal of Psychosomatic Research
    Volume 64
    Issue 4
    Pages 393-403
    Date Apr 2008
    Journal Abbr J Psychosom Res
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2007.06.015
    ISSN 0022-3999
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18374738
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:49:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18374738
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Sick Role
    • Somatoform Disorders
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • Objective: To ascertain whether participation in the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program was associated with increases in mindfulness and spirituality, and to examine the associations between mindfulness, spirituality, and medical and psychological symptoms. Methods: Forty-four participants in the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s MBSR program were assessed preprogram and postprogram on trait (Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale) and state (Toronto Mindfulness Scale) mindfulness, spirituality (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy--Spiritual Well-Being Scale), psychological distress, and reported medical symptoms. Results: There were significant improvements in spirituality, state and trait mindfulness, psychological distress, and reported medical symptoms.

  • An empirical study of the mechanisms of mindfulness in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Carmody
    Author Ruth A Baer
    Author Emily L B Lykins
    Author Nicholas Olendzki
    Abstract S. L. Shapiro and colleagues (2006) have described a testable theory of the mechanisms of mindfulness and how it affects positive change. They describe a model in which mindfulness training leads to a fundamental change in relationship to experience (reperceiving), which leads to changes in self-regulation, values clarification, cognitive and behavioral flexibility, and exposure. These four variables, in turn, result in salutogenic outcomes. Analyses of responses from participants in a mindfulness-based stress-reduction program did not support the mediating effect of changes in reperceiving on the relationship of mindfulness with those four variables. However, when mindfulness and reperceiving scores were combined, partial support was found for the mediating effect of the four variables on measures of psychological distress. Issues arising in attempts to test the proposed theory are discussed, including the description of the model variables and the challenges to their assessment.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 6
    Pages 613-626
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20579
    ISSN 1097-4679
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19267330
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:17:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19267330
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attention
    • Awareness
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Questionnaires
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Social Control, Informal
    • Social Values
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • S. L. Shapiro and colleagues (2006) have described a testable theory of the mechanisms of mindfulness and how it affects positive change. They describe a model in which mindfulness training leads to a fundamental change in relationship to experience (reperceiving), which leads to changes in self-regulation, values clarification, cognitive and behavioral flexibility, and exposure. These four variables, in turn, result in salutogenic outcomes. Analyses of responses from participants in a mindfulness-based stress-reduction program did not support the mediating effect of changes in reperceiving on the relationship of mindfulness with those four variables. However, when mindfulness and reperceiving scores were combined, partial support was found for the mediating effect of the four variables on measures of psychological distress. Issues arising in attempts to test the proposed theory are discussed, including the description of the model variables and the challenges to their assessment.

  • Epilepsy and religious experiences: Voodoo possession

    Type Journal Article
    Author E Carrazana
    Author J DeToledo
    Author W Tatum
    Author R Rivas-Vasquez
    Author G Rey
    Author S Wheeler
    Abstract Epileptic seizures have a historical association with religion, primarily through the concept of spirit possession. Five cases where epileptic seizures were initially attributed to Voodoo spirit possession are presented. The attribution is discussed within the context of the Voodoo belief system.
    Publication Epilepsia
    Volume 40
    Issue 2
    Pages 239-241
    Date Feb 1999
    Journal Abbr Epilepsia
    ISSN 0013-9580
    Short Title Epilepsy and religious experiences
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/9952273
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:40:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9952273
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Epilepsy
    • Female
    • Folklore
    • Haiti
    • Humans
    • Magic
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Superstitions

    Notes:

    • Epileptic seizures have a historical association with religion, primarily through the concept of spirit possession. Five cases where epileptic seizures were initially attributed to Voodoo spirit possession are presented. The attribution is discussed within the context of the Voodoo belief system.

  • Spirituality/religiosity promotes acceptance-based responding and 12-step involvement

    Type Journal Article
    Author Adam W Carrico
    Author Elizabeth V Gifford
    Author Rudolf H Moos
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Previous investigations have observed that spirituality/religiosity (S/R) is associated with enhanced 12-step involvement. However, relatively few studies have attempted to examine the mechanisms for this effect. For the present investigation, we examined whether acceptance-based responding (ABR) - awareness or acknowledgement of internal experiences that allows one to consider and perform potentially adaptive responses - accounted for the effect of S/R on 12-step self-help group involvement 2 years after a treatment episode. METHODS: Data were collected as part of a multi-site treatment outcome study with 3698 substance-dependent male veterans recruited at baseline. Assessments were conducted at baseline, discharge, 1-year follow-up, and 2-year follow-up. We utilized structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among latent variables of S/R, ABR, and 12-step involvement over time. RESULTS: In the final model, S/R was not directly related to 12-step involvement at 2-year follow-up. However, S/R predicted enhanced ABR at 1-year follow-up after accounting for discharge levels of ABR. In turn, ABR at 1-year follow-up predicted increased 12-step involvement at 2-year follow-up after accounting for discharge levels of 12-step involvement. CONCLUSIONS: S/R promotes the use of post-treatment self-regulation skills that, in turn, directly contribute to ongoing 12-step self-help group involvement.
    Publication Drug and Alcohol Dependence
    Volume 89
    Issue 1
    Pages 66-73
    Date Jun 15, 2007
    Journal Abbr Drug Alcohol Depend
    DOI 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2006.12.004
    ISSN 0376-8716
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17229532
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:12:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17229532
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aftercare
    • Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Alcoholism
    • Awareness
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • COMBINED modality therapy
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self-Help Groups
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Veterans

    Notes:

    • For the present investigation, we examined whether acceptance-based responding (ABR) - awareness or acknowledgement of internal experiences that allows one to consider and perform potentially adaptive responses - accounted for the effect of S/R on 12-step self-help group involvement 2 years after a treatment episode. Conclusions: S/R promotes the use of post-treatment self-regulation skills that, in turn, directly contribute to ongoing 12-step self-help group involvement.

  • Yoga of Awareness program for menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors: results from a randomized trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author James W Carson
    Author Kimberly M Carson
    Author Laura S Porter
    Author Francis J Keefe
    Author Victoria L Seewaldt
    Abstract GOAL OF WORK: Breast cancer survivors have limited options for the treatment of hot flashes and related symptoms. Further, therapies widely used to prevent recurrence in survivors, such as tamoxifen, tend to induce or exacerbate menopausal symptoms. The aim of this preliminary, randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effects of a yoga intervention on menopausal symptoms in a sample of survivors of early-stage breast cancer (stages IA-IIB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-seven disease-free women experiencing hot flashes were randomized to the 8-week Yoga of Awareness program (gentle yoga poses, meditation, and breathing exercises) or to wait-list control. The primary outcome was daily reports of hot flashes collected at baseline, posttreatment, and 3 months after treatment via an interactive telephone system. Data were analyzed by intention to treat. MAIN RESULTS: At posttreatment, women who received the yoga program showed significantly greater improvements relative to the control condition in hot-flash frequency, severity, and total scores and in levels of joint pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, symptom-related bother, and vigor. At 3 months follow-up, patients maintained their treatment gains in hot flashes, joint pain, fatigue, symptom-related bother, and vigor and showed additional significant gains in negative mood, relaxation, and acceptance. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study provides promising support for the beneficial effects of a comprehensive yoga program for hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms in early-stage breast cancer survivors.
    Publication Supportive Care in Cancer: Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
    Volume 17
    Issue 10
    Pages 1301-1309
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Support Care Cancer
    DOI 10.1007/s00520-009-0587-5
    ISSN 1433-7339
    Short Title Yoga of Awareness program for menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19214594
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:29:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19214594
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Tags:

    • prepub

    Notes:

    • Breast cancer survivors have limited options for the treatment of hot flashes and related symptoms. Further, therapies widely used to prevent recurrence in survivors, such as tamoxifen, tend to induce or exacerbate menopausal symptoms. The aim of this preliminary, randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effects of a yoga intervention on menopausal symptoms in a sample of survivors of early-stage breast cancer (stages IA-IIB).

  • A pilot randomized controlled trial of the Yoga of Awareness program in the management of fibromyalgia

    Type Journal Article
    Author James W. Carson
    Author Kimberly M. Carson
    Author Kim D. Jones
    Author Robert M. Bennett
    Author Cheryl L. Wright
    Author Scott D. Mist
    Abstract A mounting body of literature recommends that treatment for fibromyalgia (FM) encompass medications, exercise and improvement of coping skills. However, there is a significant gap in determining an effective counterpart to pharmacotherapy that incorporates both exercise and coping. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effects of a comprehensive yoga intervention on FM symptoms and coping. A sample of 53 female FM patients were randomized to the 8-week Yoga of Awareness program (gentle poses, meditation, breathing exercises, yoga-based coping instructions, group discussions) or to wait-listed standard care. Data were analyzed by intention to treat. At post-treatment, women assigned to the yoga program showed significantly greater improvements on standardized measures of FM symptoms and functioning, including pain, fatigue, and mood, and in pain catastrophizing, acceptance, and other coping strategies. This pilot study provides promising support for the potential benefits of a yoga program for women with FM.
    Publication Pain
    Volume 151
    Issue 2
    Pages 530-539
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.pain.2010.08.020
    ISSN 0304-3959
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T0K-5173SRD-2/2/dc5c04474927262f84615ac322a2a2ae
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:42:26 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Fibromyalgia
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Pain
    • Randomized controlled trial
    • yoga
  • Loving-kindness meditation for chronic low back pain: results from a pilot trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author James W Carson
    Author Francis J Keefe
    Author Thomas R Lynch
    Author Kimberly M Carson
    Author Veeraindar Goli
    Author Anne Marie Fras
    Author Steven R Thorp
    Abstract PURPOSE: Loving-kindness meditation has been used for centuries in the Buddhist tradition to develop love and transform anger into compassion. This pilot study tested an 8-week loving-kindness program for chronic low back pain patients. METHOD: Patients (N = 43) were randomly assigned to the intervention or standard care. Standardized measures assessed patients' pain, anger, and psychological distress. FINDINGS: Post and follow-up analyses showed significant improvements in pain and psychological distress in the loving-kindness group, but no changes in the usual care group. Multilevel analyses of daily data showed that more loving-kindness practice on a given day was related to lower pain that day and lower anger the next day. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results suggest that the loving-kindness program can be beneficial in reducing pain, anger, and psychological distress in patients with persistent low back pain. IMPLICATIONS: Clinicians may find loving-kindness meditation helpful in the treatment of patients with persistent pain.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 23
    Issue 3
    Pages 287-304
    Date Sep 2005
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0898010105277651
    ISSN 0898-0101
    Short Title Loving-kindness meditation for chronic low back pain
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16049118
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:19:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16049118
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Anger
    • Attitude to Health
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Low Back Pain
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain Measurement
    • Pilot Projects
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
    • Time Factors

    Notes:

    • Purpose: Loving-kindness meditation has been used for centuries in the Buddhist tradition to develop love and transform anger into compassion. This pilot study tested an 8-week loving-kindness program for chronic low back pain patients. Method: Patients (N = 43) were randomly assigned to the intervention or standard care. Standardized measures assessed patients’ pain, anger, and psychological distress. Findings: Post and follow-up analyses showed significant improvements in pain and psychological distress in the loving-kindness group, but no changes in the usual care group. Multilevel analyses of daily data showed that more loving-kindness practice on a given day was related to lower pain that day and lower anger the next day. Conclusions: Preliminary results suggest that the loving-kindness program can be beneficial in reducing pain, anger, and psychological distress in patients with persistent low back pain. Implications: Clinicians may find loving-kindness meditation helpful in the treatment of patients with persistent pain.

  • Religion/spirituality in African-American culture: an essential aspect of psychiatric care

    Type Journal Article
    Author James H Carter
    Abstract There is an astonishing diversity of religious beliefs and practices in the history of African Americans that influences the presentation, diagnosis, and management of both physical and mental disorders. The majority of African Americans, however, are evangelical Christians with religious experiences originating in the regions of ancient Africa (Cush, Punt, and to a great extent, Egypt), as well as black adaptation of Hebraic, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic beliefs and rituals. Consequently, more than 60 of the nation's 125 medical schools offer classes in spirituality and health. Although there is a lack of empirical evidence that religion improves health outcomes, physicians should understand patients as a biopsychosocial-spiritual whole. Asking about religion/spirituality during a health assessment can help the physician determine whether religious/spiritual factors will influence the patient's medical decisions and compliance. Two psychiatric case histories of African Americans are presented in which religion/spirituality significantly influenced treatment decisions and results. Neither of these patients suffered major debilitating medical comorbidity.
    Publication Journal of the National Medical Association
    Volume 94
    Issue 5
    Pages 371-375
    Date May 2002
    Journal Abbr J Natl Med Assoc
    ISSN 0027-9684
    Short Title Religion/spirituality in African-American culture
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12069218
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:34:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12069218
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Cultural Characteristics
    • Delivery of Health Care
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • United States

    Notes:

    • There is an astonishing diversity of religious beliefs and practices in the history of African Americans that influences the presentation, diagnosis, and management of both physical and mental disorders. Two psychiatric case histories of African Americans are presented in which religion/spirituality significantly influenced treatment decisions and results. Neither of these patients suffered major debilitating medical comorbidity.

  • Spiritual practices in self-management of diabetes in African Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rebecca L. Polzer Casarez
    Author Joan C. Engebretson
    Author Sharon K. Ostwald
    Abstract In this qualitative study, African Americans described 3 orientations about spiritual practices and diabetes self-management: Spiritual practice as effort toward self-management; spiritual practice and self-management as effort toward healing; and spiritual practice as effort toward healing. Spiritual practices may influence diabetes self-management in African Americans and be a resource in care.
    Publication Holistic Nursing Practice
    Volume 24
    Issue 4
    Pages 227-237
    Date 2010 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Holist Nurs Pract
    DOI 10.1097/HNP.0b013e3181e903c6
    ISSN 1550-5138
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:25:40 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20588132
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • Satisfaction with spirituality, satisfaction with religion and personal well-being among Spanish adolescents and young university students.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ferran Casas
    Author Mònica González
    Author Cristina Figuer
    Author Sara Malo
    Abstract Young people in Catalonia are studied in order to better understand differences between satisfaction with spirituality and satisfaction with religion. Results suggest a reactive position on the part of most Spanish youngsters towards traditional religion; they consider it not very important either for their well-being or to give a sense of meaning to their own lives. While the importance given to spirituality is clearly higher, the concept seems to have several very different interpretations among young people. The discussion underlines the importance of discovering young people’s own points of view in order to understand the meaning they give to religion and spirituality in the context of an ever more rapidly changing society. The implications for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Applied Research in Quality of Life
    Volume 4
    Issue 1
    Pages 23-45
    Date March 2009
    Series Religion/Spirituality and Quality of Life
    DOI 10.1007/s11482-009-9066-x
    ISSN 1871-2584
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • religion
    • Satisfaction
    • satisfaction with religion
    • satisfaction with spirituality
    • spirituality
    • well being
    • well–being
  • A Model for Integrating a Mind/Body Approach to Cardiac Rehabilitation: Outcomes and Correlators

    Type Journal Article
    Author Aggie Casey
    Author Bei-Hung Chang
    Author James Huddleston
    Author Narmin Virani
    Author Herbert Benson
    Author Jeffery Dusek
    Abstract PURPOSE: Although cardiac rehabilitation programs have been shown to decrease cardiovascular risk, morbidity, and mortality, few programs have integrated a balanced mind/body approach in which patients are taught the relaxation response and utilize cognitive behavior skills for stress management, along with diet and exercise. We examined the medical and psychological outcomes of patients treated in such a cardiac rehabilitation program in a general hospital setting. METHODS: From 1997 to 2005, outcomes were measured in 637 patients with coronary artery disease at baseline and after a 3-month program. Components of the intervention included smoking cessation, moderate aerobic exercise, nutrition counseling, relaxation response training, and cognitive/behavioral skills. RESULTS: Men and women improved significantly with respect to medical outcomes (blood pressure, lipids, weight, exercise conditioning, frequency of symptoms of chest pain and shortness of breath) and psychological outcomes (general severity index, depression, anxiety, and hostility) (P < .0001). Patients considered "at higher risk" for cardiac events due to high baseline measures improved their measures to a less than "at higher risk" level. Data indicate that specific components of the intervention, that is, increased relaxation response practice and exercise, significantly contributed to these improvements (P < .05). Furthermore, age and gender differences, particularly for psychological measures, were found; younger patients and female patients had greater improvements than older patients and male patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary data for a subsequent randomized control trial to test mind/body-based interventions to determine the most effective outcomes at an affordable cost.
    Publication Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention
    Volume 29
    Issue 4
    Pages 230-238
    Date July 2009
    Journal Abbr J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev
    DOI 10.1097/HCR.0b013e3181a33352
    ISSN 1932-7501
    Short Title A Model for Integrating a Mind/Body Approach to Cardiac Rehabilitation
    Accessed Tuesday, September 08, 2009 7:25:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19451830
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • Cardiac rehabilitation
    • Mind and body
  • Spiritual Bypass: A Preliminary Investigation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Craig S. Cashwell
    Author Harriet L. Glosoff
    Author Cheree Hammond
    Abstract The phenomenon of spiritual bypass has received limited attention in the transpersonal psychology and counseling literature and has not been subjected to empirical inquiry. This study examines the phenomenon of spiritual bypass by considering how spirituality, mindfulness, alexithymia (emotional restrictiveness), and narcissism work together to influence depression and anxiety among college students. Results suggested that mindfulness and alexithymia accounted for variance in depression beyond what is accounted for by spirituality and that all 3 factors (mindfulness, alexithymia, and narcissism) accounted for variance in anxiety beyond what is accounted for by spirituality. Implications for counselors are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Counseling & Values
    Volume 54
    Issue 2
    Pages 162-174
    Date April 2010
    DOI Article
    ISSN 01607960
    Short Title Spiritual Bypass
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:23:21 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • ALEXITHYMIA
    • Anxiety
    • COUNSELORS
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • Narcissism
    • SPIRITUAL life
  • Trance, functional psychosis, and culture

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard J Castillo
    Abstract This paper discusses the hypothesis that the symptoms of functional psychoses can be caused by culturally structured spontaneous trances that may be reactions to environmental stress and psychological trauma. Findings are reviewed of anthropological studies of meditative trance experiences in Indian yogis characterized by divided consciousness (dissociation), religious auditory and visual hallucinations, and beliefs in their own spiritual powers. An explanation of the psychological mechanisms of meditative trance is also provided, highlighting trance-related alteration of consciousness within an Indian cultural context. It is suggested that the psychological mechanisms of meditative trance are similar in structure to spontaneous trances underlying the symptoms of some functional psychoses. Findings from cross-cultural studies are also reviewed, highlighting the effects of culture on the symptoms, indigenous diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes of functional psychoses. In non-Western cultures, transient functional psychoses with complete recovery are 10 times more common than in Western cultures. It is suggested that egocentrism and a loss of spiritual explanations for psychosis in Western cultures constructs a clinical situation in which persons with functional psychoses are treated for a biogenetic (incurable) brain disease rather than a curable spiritual illness. This difference in cultural belief systems leads to poorer outcomes for Western patients compared to non-Western patients. Recognizing cultural differences in symptoms, indigenous diagnoses, and treatment for functional psychoses can help explain the dramatic cross-cultural differences in outcome.
    Publication Psychiatry
    Volume 66
    Issue 1
    Pages 9-21
    Date 2003
    Journal Abbr Psychiatry
    ISSN 0033-2747
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/12710226
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:34:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12710226
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Culture
    • Dissociative Disorders
    • Hallucinations
    • Hinduism
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Psychotic Disorders

    Notes:

    • This paper discusses the hypothesis that the symptoms of functional psychoses can be caused by culturally structured spontaneous trances that may be reactions to environmental stress and psychological trauma. Findings are reviewed of anthropological studies of meditative trance experiences in Indian yogis characterized by divided consciousness (dissociation), religious auditory and visual hallucinations, and beliefs in their own spiritual powers. An explanation of the psychological mechanisms of meditative trance is also provided, highlighting trance-related alteration of consciousness within an Indian cultural context. It is suggested that the psychological mechanisms of meditative trance are similar in structure to spontaneous trances underlying the symptoms of some functional psychoses. Findings from cross-cultural studies are also reviewed, highlighting the effects of culture on the symptoms, indigenous diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes of functional psychoses. In non-Western cultures, transient functional psychoses with complete recovery are 10 times more common than in Western cultures. It is suggested that egocentrism and a loss of spiritual explanations for psychosis in Western cultures constructs a clinical situation in which persons with functional psychoses are treated for a biogenetic (incurable) brain disease rather than a curable spiritual illness. This difference in cultural belief systems leads to poorer outcomes for Western patients compared to non-Western patients. Recognizing cultural differences in symptoms, indigenous diagnoses, and treatment for functional psychoses can help explain the dramatic cross-cultural differences in outcome.

  • Mourning the Religious Self: An Experience of Multiplicity, Loss, and Religious Melancholia.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lisa M. Cataldo
    Abstract The loss of religion is not one thing to all people, nor even one thing to one person. This article asks the question, “when we are talking about the loss of religion, who is mourning what?” The author considers what the loss of religion looks like if we view the self as abiding in both multiplicity and melancholia, and claims that the loss of religion requires a reconfiguration of the inner landscape of centrality and marginality. A clinical example illustrates how one patient’s “loss of faith” calls her to a complex mourning process that includes confronting many personal losses and their relation to her transgendered self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 3
    Pages 355-364
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0222-x
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title Mourning the Religious Self
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 5:32:18 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • BEREAVEMENT -- Psychological aspects
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • LOSS (Psychology)
    • Psychology
    • RELIGION & justice
  • Epileptic seizures and spirit possession in Haitian culture: Report of four cases and review of the literature

    Type Journal Article
    Author A.E. Cavanna
    Author S. Cavanna
    Author A. Cavanna
    Abstract Epileptic seizures have historically been associated with religious beliefs in spirit possession. These attitudes and misconceptions about epilepsy still flourish in developing countries as byproducts of specific sociocultural environments. This article presents a case series of four Haitian patients with epilepsy whose seizures were initially attributed to Voodoo spirit possession. All patients reported ictal experiential phenomena (epigastric aura, ictal fear, depersonalization, and derealization symptoms) followed by complete loss of consciousness. Electroclinical investigations revealed a temporal lobe focus. We review the existing literature on attitudes toward seizures within the Haitian culture and discuss the link between religion and epilepsy, highlighting the possible detrimental influence of specific traditional belief systems on the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of patients with epilepsy.
    Publication Epilepsy & Behavior
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 89-91
    Date September 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.07.002
    ISSN 1525-5050
    Short Title Epileptic seizures and spirit possession in Haitian culture
    Accessed Monday, October 11, 2010 10:31:27 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM

    Tags:

    • belief
    • Epilepsy
    • Haiti
    • Possession
    • Voodoo

    Notes:

    • This article presents a case series of four Haitian patients with epilepsy whose seizures were initially attributed to Voodoo spirit possession. All patients reported ictal experiential phenomena (epigastric aura, ictal fear, depersonalization, and derealization symptoms) followed by complete loss of consciousness. Electroclinical investigations revealed a temporal lobe focus. We review the existing literature on attitudes toward seizures within the Haitian culture and discuss the link between religion and epilepsy, highlighting the possible detrimental influence of specific traditional belief systems on the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of patients with epilepsy.

  • Mindfulness groups for distressing voices and paranoia: a replication and randomized feasibility trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Chadwick
    Author Stephanie Hughes
    Author Daphne Russell
    Author Ian Russell
    Author Dave Dagnan
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The clinical literature cautions against use of meditation by people with psychosis. There is, however, evidence for acceptance-based therapy reducing relapse, and some evidence for clinical benefits of mindfulness groups for people with distressing psychosis, though no data on whether participants became more mindful. AIMS: To assess feasibility of randomized evaluation of group mindfulness therapy for psychosis, to replicate clinical gains observed in one small uncontrolled study, and to assess for changes in mindfulness. METHOD: Twenty-two participants with current distressing psychotic experiences were allocated at random between group-based mindfulness training and a waiting list for this therapy. Mindfulness training comprised twice-weekly sessions for 5 weeks, plus home practice (meditation CDs were supplied), followed by 5 weeks of home practice. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between intervention and waiting-list participants. Secondary analyses combining both groups and comparing scores before and after mindfulness training revealed significant improvement in clinical functioning (p = .013) and mindfulness of distressing thoughts and images (p = .037). CONCLUSIONS: Findings on feasibility are encouraging and secondary analyses replicated earlier clinical benefits and showed improved mindfulness of thoughts and images, but not voices.
    Publication Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 37
    Issue 4
    Pages 403-412
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Behav Cogn Psychother
    DOI 10.1017/S1352465809990166
    ISSN 1469-1833
    Short Title Mindfulness groups for distressing voices and paranoia
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:51:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19545481
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Culture
    • Feasibility Studies
    • Female
    • Hallucinations
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Questionnaires
    • Schizophrenia, Paranoid
    • Severity of Illness Index

    Notes:

    • AIMS: To assess feasibility of randomized evaluation of group mindfulness therapy for psychosis, to replicate clinical gains observed in one small uncontrolled study, and to assess for changes in mindfulness. Results: There were no significant differences between intervention and waiting-list participants. Secondary analyses combining both groups and comparing scores before and after mindfulness training revealed significant improvement in clinical functioning (p = .013) and mindfulness of distressing thoughts and images (p = .037).

  • Mindfulness Groups for Distressing Voices and Paranoia: A Replication and Randomized Feasibility Trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Chadwick
    Author Stephanie Hughes
    Author Daphne Russell
    Author Ian Russell
    Author Dave Dagnan
    Abstract After mindfulness training, subjects with psychosis reflected significant improvement in clinical functioning and mindfulness of distressing thoughts and images after mindfulness training. Findings showed no improvement in voices.
    Publication Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 37
    Issue 04
    Pages 403
    Date 6/2009
    Journal Abbr Behav. Cognit. Psychother.
    DOI 10.1017/S1352465809990166
    ISSN 1352-4658
    URL http://www.journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S1352465809990166
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
  • Mindfulness groups for distressing voices and paranoia: a replication and randomized feasibility trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Chadwick
    Author Stephanie Hughes
    Author Daphne Russell
    Author Ian Russell
    Author Dave Dagnan
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The clinical literature cautions against use of meditation by people with psychosis. There is, however, evidence for acceptance-based therapy reducing relapse, and some evidence for clinical benefits of mindfulness groups for people with distressing psychosis, though no data on whether participants became more mindful. AIMS: To assess feasibility of randomized evaluation of group mindfulness therapy for psychosis, to replicate clinical gains observed in one small uncontrolled study, and to assess for changes in mindfulness. METHOD: Twenty-two participants with current distressing psychotic experiences were allocated at random between group-based mindfulness training and a waiting list for this therapy. Mindfulness training comprised twice-weekly sessions for 5 weeks, plus home practice (meditation CDs were supplied), followed by 5 weeks of home practice. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between intervention and waiting-list participants. Secondary analyses combining both groups and comparing scores before and after mindfulness training revealed significant improvement in clinical functioning (p = .013) and mindfulness of distressing thoughts and images (p = .037). CONCLUSIONS: Findings on feasibility are encouraging and secondary analyses replicated earlier clinical benefits and showed improved mindfulness of thoughts and images, but not voices.
    Publication Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 37
    Issue 4
    Pages 403-412
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Behav Cogn Psychother
    DOI 10.1017/S1352465809990166
    ISSN 1469-1833
    Short Title Mindfulness groups for distressing voices and paranoia
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19545481
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:13:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19545481
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Spirituality within the family and the prevention of health risk behavior among adolescents in Bangkok, Thailand

    Type Journal Article
    Author Aphichat Chamratrithirong
    Author Brenda A. Miller
    Author Hilary F. Byrnes
    Author Orratai Rhucharoenpornpanich
    Author Pamela K. Cupp
    Author Michael J. Rosati
    Author Warunee Fongkaew
    Author Katharine A. Atwood
    Author Warunee Chookhare
    Abstract This study investigates the influences of a family's spiritual beliefs and practices on substance use and sexual risk behaviors among young adolescents 13-14 years old in Bangkok, Thailand. Independent predictor variables are the parents' and teens' spiritual beliefs and practices in Buddhism and parental monitoring behaviors. The study uses data from the 2007 Baseline Survey of the Thai Family Matters Project, which adapted a U.S. based family prevention program for Thai culture. A representative sample of 420 pairs of parents and teens from the Bangkok metropolitan area was recruited to participate in the study. Structural equation models indicate that positive direct and indirect associations of the spirituality of parents and teens within a family and the prevention of adolescent risk behaviors are significant and consistent.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 71
    Issue 10
    Pages 1855-1863
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.08.020
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VBF-512MHFV-3/2/b26fc2a1629732e04c939e3003bdde5d
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:44:18 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM

    Tags:

    • adolescents
    • ALCOHOL
    • Buddhism
    • Family
    • Health Behavior
    • Risk behavior
    • Sexual behavior
    • spirituality
    • Thailand
    • Tobacco
  • Yoga improves quality of life and benefit finding in women undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kavita D Chandwani
    Author Bob Thornton
    Author George H Perkins
    Author Banu Arun
    Author N V Raghuram
    Author H R Nagendra
    Author Qi Wei
    Author Lorenzo Cohen
    Abstract This study examined the effects of yoga on quality of life (QOL) and psychosocial outcomes in women with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy. Sixty-one women were randomly assigned to either a yoga or a wait-list group. Yoga classes were taught biweekly during the 6 weeks of radiotherapy. Participants completed measures of QOL, fatigue, benefit finding (finding meaning in the cancer experience), intrusive thoughts, sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and anxiety before radiotherapy and then again 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the end of radiotherapy. General linear model analyses revealed that compared to the control group, the yoga group reported significantly better general health perception (p = .005) and physical functioning scores (p = .04) 1 week postradiotherapy; higher levels of intrusive thoughts 1 month postradiotherapy (p = .01); and greater benefit finding 3 months postradiotherapy (p = .01). There were no other group differences in other QOL subscales for fatigue, depression, or sleep scores. Exploratory analyses indicated that intrusive thoughts 1 month after radiotherapy were significantly positively correlated with benefit finding 3 months after radiotherapy (r = .36, p = .011). Our results indicated that the yoga program was associated with statistically and clinically significant improvements in aspects of QOL.
    Publication Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology
    Volume 8
    Issue 2
    Pages 43-55
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr J Soc Integr Oncol
    ISSN 1715-894X
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 5:36:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20388445
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Acupuncture and relaxation response for substance use disorder recovery.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bei-Hung Chang
    Author Elizabeth Sommers
    Author Lawrence Herz
    Abstract Background & Aims: Substance abuse is a major health problem in the US population, particularly among veterans. Current treatments for substance abuse in the form of pharmacologic, behavioural, or psychosocial therapy can be effective in limited instances. We investigated the effect of using two complementary and alternative approaches, acupuncture and the relaxation response, to treat veterans who are recovering from substance use disorders. Methods: We conducted a controlled trial at a US Veterans Administration homeless residential rehabilitation programme. Study participants were randomly assigned to acupuncture, relaxation response or usual care groups. Results: Both acupuncture and the relaxation response interventions were well received by the veterans with high intervention attendance rates (75% and 80%, respectively). The acupuncture group had significantly greater reductions in craving and anxiety levels and greater improvements in the spirituality dimension of quality of life, while the relaxation response group had significantly greater reductions in anxiety level and greater improvements in mental health and spirituality dimensions of quality of life than usual care. The two intervention groups had no significant difference in any outcome measures. Conclusions: This trial provided promising pilot data for larger studies to validate the effects of acupuncture and the relaxation response for relapse prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Substance Use
    Volume 15
    Issue 6
    Pages 390-401
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.3109/14659890903580466
    ISSN 1465-9891
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Tags:

    • Acupuncture
    • DRUG abuse
    • Drug Rehabilitation
    • Recovery
    • Recovery (Disorders)
    • Relaxation
    • relaxation responses
    • Responses
    • substance use disorder

    Notes:

  • Relaxation response and spirituality: Pathways to improve psychological outcomes in cardiac rehabilitation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bei-Hung Chang
    Author Aggie Casey
    Author Jeffery A Dusek
    Author Herbert Benson
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Studies have shown beneficial effects from practicing the relaxation response (RR). Various pathways for these effects have been investigated. Previous small studies suggest that spirituality might be a pathway for the health effects of the RR. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that increased spiritual well-being by eliciting the RR is one pathway resulting in improved psychological outcomes. METHODS: This observational study included 845 outpatients who completed a 13-week mind/body Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. Patients self-reported RR practice time in a questionnaire before and after the 13-week program. Similarly, data on spiritual well-being, measured by the subscale of Spiritual Growth of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, were collected. The psychological distress levels were measured by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. We tested the mediation effect of spiritual well-being using regression analyses. RESULTS: Significant increases in RR practice time (75 min/week, effect size/ES=1.05) and spiritual well-being scores (ES=0.71) were observed after participants completed the program (P<.0001). Patients also improved on measures of depression, anxiety, hostility and the global severity index with medium effect sizes (0.25 to 0.48, P<.0001). Greater increases in RR practice time were associated with enhanced spiritual well-being (beta=.08, P=.01); and enhanced spiritual well-being was associated with improvements in psychological outcomes (beta=-0.14 to -0.22, P<.0001). CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrated a possible dose-response relationship among RR practice, spiritual and psychological well-being. Furthermore, the data support the hypothesis that spiritual well-being may serve as a pathway of how RR elicitation improves psychological outcomes. These findings might contribute to improved psychological care of cardiac patients.
    Publication Journal of Psychosomatic Research
    Volume 69
    Issue 2
    Pages 93-100
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr J Psychosom Res
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2010.01.007
    ISSN 1879-1360
    Short Title Relaxation response and spirituality
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:54:14 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20624507
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM

    Notes:

    • A study to test the hypothesis that increased spiritual well-being by eliciting the relaxation response is one pathway resulting in improved psychological outcomes. The data demonstrated a possible dose-response relationship among relaxation relationship, spiritual and psychological well-being.

  • The combined effect of relaxation response and acupuncture on quality of life in patients with HIV: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bei-Hung Chang
    Author Ulrike Boehmer
    Author Yue Zhao
    Author Elizabeth Sommers
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Treatment advances have transformed human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) into a chronic manageable disease; quality of life (QoL) has become an important health outcome. Some studies have shown the individual effects of acupuncture and the relaxation response (RR) in improving QoL of patients with HIV/AIDS. In light of the presumed shared features of acupuncture and the RR, we conducted a pilot study to examine the effects of adding the RR to usual acupuncture treatment on improving the QoL of HIV/AIDS patients. DESIGN: Two-arm double-blind randomized controlled trial. SETTINGS/LOCATION AND SUBJECTS: We enrolled 119 patients with HIV/AIDS (mean age 46 years, 85% male) who had at least 1 of the highly prevalent HIV-related symptoms and who were receiving acupuncture treatment in an acupuncture clinic in Boston, MA. INTERVENTION: We randomized patients into intervention (N = 58) and control (N = 61) groups. All participants received individualized acupuncture treatments prescribed by their acupuncturists. While receiving acupuncture treatment, the intervention group wore earphones to listen to tapes with instructions to elicit the RR followed by soft music that was routinely played in the clinic; the control group listened only to soft music. OUTCOME MEASURES: Three (3) QoL scales: the Medical Outcomes Study HIV health survey, the Functional Assessment of HIV Infection, and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being, measured at baseline, 4-week, 8-week, and 12-week follow-ups. RESULTS: At the 12-week follow-up, the intervention group showed significant improvements in emotional (p = 0.0002), spiritual/peace (p = 0.02), physical (p = 0.003) and mental health (p = 0.0003) QoL from baseline. Results of mixed effects regression models indicated linear trends of improvement over time in these dimensions of QoL for the intervention group (p < 0.02). In the control group, the only significant improvement was observed in the emotional QoL (p < 0.01). The intervention group showed trends of greater improvements than the control group (p = 0.07 for 12-week physical health QoL). CONCLUSIONS: Data from this pilot trial suggested that adding the RR to acupuncture may enhance improvement in QoL of patients with HIV/AIDS. Further investigation on this putative synergistic effect is warranted.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 13
    Issue 8
    Pages 807-815
    Date Oct 2007
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2007.7024
    ISSN 1075-5535
    Short Title The combined effect of relaxation response and acupuncture on quality of life in patients with HIV
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17983336
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:15:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17983336
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
    • Acupuncture Therapy
    • Adult
    • COMBINED modality therapy
    • Double-Blind Method
    • Female
    • Humans
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Relaxation
    • spirituality
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Some studies have shown the individual effects of acupuncture and the relaxation response (RR) in improving QoL of patients with HIV/AIDS. We conducted a pilot study to examine the effects of adding the RR to usual acupuncture treatment on improving the QoL of HIV/AIDS patients. Data from this pilot trial suggested that adding the RR to acupuncture may enhance improvement in QoL of patients with HIV/AIDS.

  • The essence of spirituality of terminally ill patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Co-Shi Chantal Chao
    Author Ching-Huey Chen
    Author Miaofen Yen
    Abstract The purpose of this hermeneutic study was to investigate the essence of spirituality of terminally ill patients. In-depth unstructured interviews were used as the method for data collection. In the six-month period of data collection, the researcher was in the role of a hospice palliative care consultant who directly took care of the subject patients in a hospice ward of a teaching hospital. The six subjects were selected purposively according to various demographic backgrounds. Interview transcripts provided the data for analysis. The results were composed of four constitutive patterns and ten themes. The first constitutive pattern was "Communion with Self" which included three themes: (1) Self-identity--spirituality is the discovery of the authentic self. (2) Wholeness--a human being is full of contradictions but still in wholeness. (3) Inner peace--spirituality is negotiating conflicts for self-reconciliation. The second constitutive pattern was "Communion with others" which included two themes: (1) Love--spirituality is a caring relationship but not an over-attachment to others. (2) Reconciliation--spirituality is to forgive and to be forgiven. The third constitutive pattern was "Communion with Nature" which included two themes: (1) Inspiration from the nature--spirituality is the resonance of the marvelous beauty of nature. (2) Creativity--spirituality is conceiving imaginatively. The fourth constitutive pattern was "Communion with Higher Being" which included three themes: (1) Faithfulness--spirituality is keeping the trust dependably. (2) Hope--spirituality is claiming possibilities. (3) Gratitude--spirituality is giving thanks and embracing grace. The scientific rigor of this qualitative research as well as the strength and limitations of the study are reported. Implications for hospice palliative care and future research are recommended.
    Publication The Journal of Nursing Research: JNR
    Volume 10
    Issue 4
    Pages 237-245
    Date Dec 2002
    Journal Abbr J Nurs Res
    ISSN 1682-3141
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12522736
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:04:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12522736
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Creativeness
    • Female
    • Holistic Health
    • Hospice Care
    • Human Development
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Love
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Morale
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Qualitative Research
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • spirituality
    • Terminally Ill

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this hermeneutic study was to investigate the essence of spirituality of terminally ill patients. In-depth unstructured interviews were used as the method for data collection.

  • Learning to stand on your head: How yoga demonstrates the psychosomatic value of perspective, flexibility and strength

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Chapman
    Abstract Rather like psychotherapy, yoga is a demanding practice that (amongst other things) encourages its devotees to think about the complex interdependence of body and mind. This paper considers how the real world relationships in the yoga room provoke, or crystallize, a variety of developmental crises. In short, how the possibility of bodily transformation, the acquisition of flexibility, necessitates a thoroughgoing negotiation with internal states and objects.
    Publication Psychodynamic Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 3
    Pages 305-312
    Date 8/2010
    Journal Abbr RPCO
    DOI 10.1080/14753634.2010.492144
    ISSN 1475-3634
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?
    genre=article&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • Race and religion: differential prediction of anxiety symptoms by religious coping in African American and European American young adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author L. Kevin Chapman
    Author Michael F. Steger
    Abstract Background: Psychosocial factors, including religious coping, consistently have been implicated in the expression of anxiety disorders. This study sought to investigate the relationship between religious coping on anxiety symptoms among a nonclinical sample of African American and European American young adults. Methods: One hundred twenty-one European American and 100 African American young adults completed measures of anxiety and religious coping. Results: As predicted, results differed according to race. African Americans reported significantly more positive religious coping, less negative religious coping, and experienced fewer anxiety symptoms than European Americans. European Americans demonstrated a significant, positive relationship between negative religious coping and anxiety symptoms, and an opposite trend related to anxiety and positive religious coping. However, no such relationships emerged among the African American sample. Conclusions: Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. Depression and Anxiety, 2010. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
    Publication Depression and Anxiety
    Volume 27
    Issue 3
    Pages 316-322
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr Depress Anxiety
    DOI 10.1002/da.20510
    ISSN 1520-6394
    Short Title Race and religion
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:34:53 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20225240
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Working with a patient claiming a direct relationship with God: Encountering otherness.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marilyn Charles
    Abstract Although we expect to encounter otherness in the consulting room, some types of otherness are more difficult to encounter than others. Differing ethnicities, religions, lifestyles, or other aspects of worldview can bring us into uneasy alliance with the other, as we also encounter disowned or unclaimed aspects of self in this process. I will discuss some of my difficulties working with a man who was born into my own religion—thus offering some common heritage of world view—but subsequently adopted another religion with such intensity that his faith seemed to have psychotic aspects. I struggled to keep my bearings with a man who could at times be cogent, at other times seem quite crazy, and also struggled to keep in mind how prejudices in my own culture might skew my perspective such that intense faith and devoted adherence to scripture seems suspect rather than worthy of respect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis & Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 21-34
    Date 2009
    Series The God representation in the psychoanalytic relationship
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.21
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Short Title Working with a patient claiming a direct relationship with God
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • direct relationships
    • Faith
    • God
    • God Concepts
    • otherness
    • PSYCHOANALYSIS
    • psychotic aspects
    • Psychoticism
    • religion
  • Death and Dying, Life and Living

    Type Book
    Editor Clyde M. Nabe Charles A. Corr
    Editor Donna M. Corr
    Edition Sixth
    Place Belmont
    Publisher Wadsworth Cengage Learning
    Date 2009
    # of Pages 712
    Date Added Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:51:58 PM
    Modified Thursday, November 03, 2011 8:50:34 AM
  • Use of ministers for a serious personal problem among African Americans: findings from the national survey of American life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Linda M Chatters
    Author Jacqueline S Mattis
    Author Amanda Toler Woodward
    Author Robert Joseph Taylor
    Author Harold W Neighbors
    Author Nyasha A Grayman
    Abstract This study examined use of ministers for assistance with a serious personal problem within a nationally representative sample of African Americans (National Survey of American Life-2001-2003). Different perspectives on the use of ministers-social stratification, religious socialization, and problem-oriented approach-were proposed and tested using logistic regression analyses with demographic, religious involvement, and problem type factors as predictors. Study findings supported religious socialization and problem-oriented explanations indicating that persons who are heavily invested in religious pursuits and organizations (i.e., women, frequent attenders) are more likely than their counterparts to use ministerial assistance. Contrary to expectations from the social stratification perspective, positive income and education effects indicated that higher status individuals were more likely to report use of ministers. Finally, problems involving bereavement are especially suited for assistance from ministers owing to their inherent nature (e.g., questions of ultimate meaning) and the extensive array of ministerial support and church resources that are available to address the issue.
    Publication The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
    Volume 81
    Issue 1
    Pages 118-127
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr Am J Orthopsychiatry
    DOI 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01079.x
    ISSN 1939-0025
    Short Title Use of ministers for a serious personal problem among African Americans
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:35:40 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21219283
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
  • Is solution-focused brief therapy culturally appropriate for Muslim American counselees?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Saleha Chaudhry
    Author Chieh Li
    Abstract The mental health needs of Muslims are considered in the context of their religious and family values, expectations of therapy, intra-group diversity and a hostile post-9/11 environment in the US. SFBT is different from traditional modes of psychotherapy due to its emphasis on minimal self-disclosure, short-term treatment, empowerment and a positive orientation. The review of the available literature and examination of the cultural match between SFBT and Muslims and Muslim Americans provide support for the cultural sensitivity of SFBT and its potential efficacy with Muslims. The resulting conceptual analysis and conclusions can be clinically useful and provide a launching pad for more formal empirical research to follow. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy
    Volume 41
    Issue 2
    Pages 109-113
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s10879-010-9153-1
    ISSN 0022-0116
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM

    Tags:

    • Brief Psychotherapy
    • cultural sensitivity
    • mental health
    • mental health needs
    • Muslim American patients
    • MUSLIMS
    • Psychotherapy
    • solution focused brief therapy
    • Solution Focused Therapy
  • The meaning of suffering in drug addiction and recovery from the perspective of existentialism, Buddhism and the 12-Step program

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gila Chen
    Abstract The aim of the current article was to examine the meaning of suffering in drug addiction and in the recovery process. Negative emotions may cause primary suffering that can drive an individual toward substance abuse. At the same time, drugs only provide temporary relief, and over time, the pathological effects of the addiction worsen causing secondary suffering, which is a motivation for treatment. The 12-Step program offers a practical way to cope with suffering through a process of surrender. The act of surrender sets in motion a conversion experience, which involves a self-change including reorganization of one's identity and meaning in life. This article is another step toward understanding one of the several factors that contribute to the addict's motivation for treatment. This knowledge may be helpful for tailoring treatment that addresses suffering as a factor that initiates treatment motivation and, in turn, treatment success.
    Publication Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
    Volume 42
    Issue 3
    Pages 363-375
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr J Psychoactive Drugs
    ISSN 0279-1072
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21053759
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:18:06 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • Buddhism
    • Existentialism
    • Humans
    • Motivation
    • Self-Help Groups
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Framing written emotional expression from a religious perspective: effects on depressive symptoms

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yung Y Chen
    Author Richard J Contrada
    Abstract OBJECTIVE Previous research has found an inverse association between exposure to emotional trauma and well-being. More recently, studies on written emotional expression found that repeated expression of a traumatic experience is beneficial to physical health. However, possible mechanisms through which written emotional expression may work to influence health are still under investigation. Recent research on psychological stress has also found associations among religion, meaning, and health. This study evaluated the effects of taking a religious perspective while engaged in written emotional expression. METHOD Participants included 215 college students, who were assigned randomly to one of three experimental groups. One was given conventional written emotional expression instructions for writing about a traumatic experience; another was instructed to write about the trauma from a religious/spiritual perspective; a control group wrote about a trivial topic. RESULTS Compared with control participants, those in the trauma-religion condition experienced significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms at 1-month follow-up. Conventional trauma writing had no effect on dependent measures. CONCLUSION These findings encourage further investigation of religion as a factor that may augment the health-promoting effects of written emotional expression.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 4
    Pages 427-438
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    Short Title Framing written emotional expression from a religious perspective
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20391863
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20391863
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Disclosure
    • spirituality
    • Writing
    • Young Adult
  • Do people turn to religion in times of stress?: an examination of change in religiousness among elderly, medically ill patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yung Y Chen
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract This study examined the effect of health-related stress on changes in religiousness in a sample of elderly, medically ill patients. Patients admitted to Duke University Medical Center (N = 745) were interviewed at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Increases in illness severity (from baseline to follow-up) were associated with decreases in both organizational and private religiousness at follow-up. Effect of illness severity on organizational religiousness was statistically mediated by changes in physical activity, while its effect on private religiousness remained significant after controlling for physical activity. These findings encourage further research investigating causal relationships between stress and religion, as well as identifying measures of religiousness that may capture this construct in the medically ill population.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 194
    Issue 2
    Pages 114-120
    Date Feb 2006
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/01.nmd.0000198143.63662.fb
    ISSN 0022-3018
    Short Title Do people turn to religion in times of stress?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16477189
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:41:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16477189
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Geriatric Assessment
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Inpatients
    • Logistic Models
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Motor Activity
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • This study examined the effect of health-related stress on changes in religiousness in a sample of elderly, medically ill patients. Increases in illness severity (from baseline to follow-up) were associated with decreases in both organizational and private religiousness at follow-up.

  • Effects of yoga on sleep quality and depression in elders in assisted living facilities

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kuei-Min Chen
    Author Ming-Hsien Chen
    Author Mei-Hui Lin
    Author Jue-Ting Fan
    Author Huey-Shyan Lin
    Author Chun-Huw Li
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Being relocated to an assisted living facility can result in sleep disturbances and depression in elders. This may be attributed to or worsened by lack of regular physical activity. Appropriate exercise programs may be an important component of quality of life in this group of transitional frail elders. PURPOSE: This study aimed to test the effects of a 6-month yoga exercise program in improving sleep quality and decreasing depression in transitional frail elders living in assisted living facilities. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pretest-and-posttest design was used. A convenience sample of 69 elderly residents of assisted living facilities was divided randomly into a yoga exercise (n = 38) and control group (n = 31) based on residence location. A total of 55 participants completed the study. The intervention was implemented in three small groups, and each practice group was led by two pretrained certified yoga instructors three times per week at 70 min per practice session for 24 weeks. The outcome measures of sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and depression state (Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire) were examined at baseline, at the 12th week, and at the 24th week of the study. RESULTS: After 6 months of performing yoga exercises, participants' overall sleep quality had significantly improved, whereas depression, sleep disturbances, and daytime dysfunction had decreased significantly (p < .05). In addition, participants in the intervention group had better results on all outcome indicators than those of participants in the control group (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: It is recommended that yoga exercise be incorporated as an activity program in assisted living facilities or in other long-term care facilities to improve sleep quality and decrease depression in institutionalized elders.
    Publication The Journal of Nursing Research
    Volume 18
    Issue 1
    Pages 53-61
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Nurs Res
    DOI 10.1097/JNR.0b013e3181ce5189
    ISSN 1948-965X
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:08:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20220611
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Introducing qigong meditation into residential addiction treatment: a pilot study where gender makes a difference

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin W Chen
    Author Anthony Comerford
    Author Phillip Shinnick
    Author Douglas M Ziedonis
    Abstract Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the feasibility and efficacy of adding integrative qigong meditation to residential treatment for substance abuse. Methods: Qigong meditation, which blends relaxation, breathing, guided imagery, inward attention, and mindfulness to elicit a tranquil state, was introduced into a short-term residential treatment program. At first clients chose to participate in qigong meditation on a voluntary basis during their evening break. Later they chose to participate in either meditation or Stress Management and Relaxation Training (SMART) twice a day as part of the scheduled treatment. Weekly questionnaires were completed by 248 participants for up to 4 weeks to assess their changes in treatment outcomes. Participants in the meditation group were also assessed for quality of meditation to evaluate the association between quality and treatment outcome. Results: Most clients were amenable to meditation as part of the treatment program, and two thirds chose to participate in daily meditation. While both groups reported significant improvement in treatment outcome, the meditation group reported a significantly higher treatment completion rate (92% versus 78%, p < 01) and more reduction in craving than did the SMART group. Participants whose meditation was of acceptable quality reported greater reductions in craving, anxiety, and withdrawal symptoms than did those whose meditation was of low quality. Female meditation participants reported significantly more reduction in anxiety and withdrawal symptoms than did any other group. Conclusions: Qigong meditation appears to contribute positively to addiction treatment outcomes, with results at least as good as those of an established stress management program. Results for those who meditate adequately are especially encouraging. Meditative therapy may be more effective or acceptable for female drug abusers than for males. Further study is needed to assess ways to improve substance abusers' engagement and proficiency in meditation.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 16
    Issue 8
    Pages 875-882
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2009.0443
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Short Title Introducing qigong meditation into residential addiction treatment
    Accessed Tuesday, August 17, 2010 8:31:53 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20649456
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • Sleep quality, depression state, and health status of older adults after silver yoga exercises: cluster randomized trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kuei-Min Chen
    Author Ming-Hsien Chen
    Author Hui-Chen Chao
    Author Hsuan-Man Hung
    Author Huey-Shyan Lin
    Author Chun-Huw Li
    Abstract BACKGROUND Sleep disturbances, depression, and low perception of health status are commonly seen in elderly population; however, clinicians tend to underestimate or overlook the presence of these symptoms and assume them to be a part of normal aging. Non-pharmacological methods that promote a mind-body interaction should be tested to enhance the mental health of older adults. OBJECTIVE To test the effects of 6 months of silver yoga exercises in promoting the mental health of older adults in senior activity centers, especially their sleep quality, depression, and self-perception of health status. DESIGN Cluster randomized trial. SETTINGS Eight senior activity centers, southern Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS A sample of 139 participants was recruited, and 128 of them completed the study. INCLUSION CRITERIA (1) community-dwelling older adults ages 60 and over, (2) no previous training in yoga, (3) able to walk without assistance, (4) cognitively alert based on the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) score of eight or higher, and (5) independent or mildly dependent in self-care based on a Barthel Index (BI) score of 91 or higher. The mean age of the participants was 69.20 +/- 6.23 years, and the average number of chronic illness was 0.83 +/- 0.90. The average BI score of the participants was 99.92 +/- 0.62, and the mean SPMSQ score was 9.90 +/- 0.30. METHODS Participants were randomly assigned into either the experimental (n=62) or the control (n=66) group based on attendance at selected senior activity centers. A 70-min silver yoga exercise program was implemented three times per week for 6 months as the intervention for the participants in the experimental group. RESULTS Most of the mental health indicators of the participants in the experimental group had significantly improved after the silver yoga interventions, and many of the indicators improved after 3 months of intervention and were maintained throughout the 6 months study. The mental health indicators of the participants in the experimental group were all better than the participants in the control group (all p<.05). CONCLUSIONS After 6 months of silver yoga exercises, the sleep quality, depression, and health status of older adults were all improved.
    Publication International Journal of Nursing Studies
    Volume 46
    Issue 2
    Pages 154-163
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Nurs Stud
    DOI 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.09.005
    ISSN 1873-491X
    Short Title Sleep quality, depression state, and health status of older adults after silver yoga exercises
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18947826
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:23:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18947826
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Sleep
    • Taiwan
    • yoga
  • Effects of external qigong therapy on osteoarthritis of the knee. A randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin W Chen
    Author Adam Perlman
    Author Jason G Liao
    Author Alex Lam
    Author Joy Staller
    Author Leonard H Sigal
    Abstract The objective of our study was to assess the efficacy of external qigong therapy (EQT), a traditional Chinese medicine practice, in reducing pain and improving functionality of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). One hundred twelve adults with knee OA were randomized to EQT or sham treatment (control); 106 completed treatment and were analyzed. Two therapists performed EQT individually, five to six sessions in 3 weeks. The sham healer mimicked EQT for the same number of sessions and duration. Patients and examining physician were blinded. Primary outcomes were Western Ontario MacMaster (WOMAC) pain and function; other outcomes included McGill Pain Questionnaire, time to walk 15 m, and range of motion squatting. Results of patients treated by the two healers were analyzed separately. Both treatment groups reported significant reduction in WOMAC scores after intervention. Patients treated by healer 2 reported greater reduction in pain (mean improvement -25.7 +/- 6.6 vs. -13.1 +/- 3.0; p < 0.01) and more improvement in functionality (-28.1 +/- 9.7 vs. -13.2 +/- 3.4; p < 0.01) than those in sham control and reduction in negative mood but not in anxiety or depression. Patients treated by healer 1 experienced improvement similar to control. The results of therapy persisted at 3 months follow-up for all groups. Mixed-effect models confirmed these findings with controlling for possible confounders. EQT might have a role in the treatment of OA, but our data indicate that all EQT healers are not equivalent. The apparent efficacy of EQT appears to be dependent on some quality of the healer. Further study on a larger scale with multiple EQT healers is necessary to determine the role (if any) of EQT in the treatment of OA and to identify differences in EQT techniques.
    Publication Clinical Rheumatology
    Volume 27
    Issue 12
    Pages 1497-1505
    Date Dec 2008
    Journal Abbr Clin. Rheumatol
    DOI 10.1007/s10067-008-0955-4
    ISSN 1434-9949
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18654733
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:05:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18654733
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Breathing Exercises
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Osteoarthritis, Knee
    • Pain Measurement
    • Recovery of Function
    • Severity of Illness Index

    Notes:

    • Qigong therapy may be an important complement to conventional medicine in treating diabetes, but the quality of studies needs to be improved.

  • An analytical review of the Chinese literature on Qigong therapy for diabetes mellitus

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin W Chen
    Author Tianjun Liu
    Author Haibo Zhang
    Author Zhongpeng Lin
    Abstract Diabetes rates have doubled in China over the past decade. However, as conventional medicine offers neither a sound explanation nor an effective cure, patients with diabetes increasingly seek complementary and alternative therapies. It was reported that the traditional Chinese medical approach, Qigong, might produce therapeutic benefits with minimal side-effects in this condition. The Qigong Database, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the library databases of Chinese institutions from 1978 to middle of 2008 on open trials, laboratory studies, and controlled clinical studies were reviewed. Over 35 studies were identified and reviewed. Qigong therapy for diabetic patients included self-practice, group qi-field therapy, external qi therapy, and Qigong in combination with other therapies. Only 2 randomized controlled trials were found; both evaluate Qigong as an adjuvant to conventional therapy. All studies reported some therapeutic effect or improvement. Some reported significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose. Others reported complete cures, which were unlikely to be the result of placebo effect as objective outcome measures were used. Qigong therapy may be an important complement to conventional medicine in treating diabetes, but the quality of studies needs to be improved. These preliminary data are promising and support the need for further randomized controlled trials.
    Publication The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
    Volume 37
    Issue 3
    Pages 439-457
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Chin. Med
    ISSN 0192-415X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19606506
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 12:58:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19606506
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Breathing Exercises
    • Databases, Factual
    • Diabetes Mellitus
    • Humans
    • Medicine, Chinese Traditional
    • Qi

    Notes:

    • The objective of our study was to assess the efficacy of external qigong therapy (EQT), a traditional Chinese medicine practice, in reducing pain and improving functionality of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The apparent efficacy of EQT appears to be dependent on some quality of the healer.

  • Medical versus spiritual orientations: Differential patient views toward recovery

    Type Journal Article
    Author Benjamin Cheney
    Author Marc Galanter
    Author Helen Dermatis
    Author Stephen Ross
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Relapse among patients in substance abuse treatment has generated interest in identifying attitudinal factors that sustain recovery. OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship of attitudes toward approaches to motivation for treatment and Twelve Step beliefs. METHODS: Dually diagnosed patients (N = 100) completed a survey assessing treatment attitudes, motivation, and Twelve Step beliefs. RESULTS: Endorsement of medical services was positively correlated with motivation but unrelated to Twelve Step beliefs. Endorsement of religious services was unrelated to motivation but was associated with Twelve Step beliefs. CONCLUSIONS: Patients may have differing perceptions regarding routes to recovery based on preferences for professional services or spiritual resources.
    Publication The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
    Volume 35
    Issue 5
    Pages 301-304
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse
    DOI 10.1080/00952990903060119
    ISSN 1097-9891
    Short Title Medical versus spiritual orientations
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:42:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19637102
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry)
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • Middle Aged
    • Motivation
    • Patient Selection
    • Questionnaires
    • Recurrence
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
    • Substance-Related Disorders
  • A Randomized Trial Comparing Acupuncture, Simulated Acupuncture, and Usual Care for Chronic Low Back Pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel C. Cherkin
    Author Karen J. Sherman
    Author Andrew L. Avins
    Author Janet H. Erro
    Author Laura Ichikawa
    Author William E. Barlow
    Author Kristin Delaney
    Author Rene Hawkes
    Author Luisa Hamilton
    Author Alice Pressman
    Author Partap S. Khalsa
    Author Richard A. Deyo
    Abstract Background Acupuncture is a popular complementary and alternative treatment for chronic back pain. Recent European trials suggest similar short-term benefits from real and sham acupuncture needling. This trial addresses the importance of needle placement and skin penetration in eliciting acupuncture effects for patients with chronic low back pain. Methods A total of 638 adults with chronic mechanical low back pain were randomized to individualized acupuncture, standardized acupuncture, simulated acupuncture, or usual care. Ten treatments were provided over 7 weeks by experienced acupuncturists. The primary outcomes were back-related dysfunction (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire score; range, 0-23) and symptom bothersomeness (0-10 scale). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after 8, 26, and 52 weeks. Results At 8 weeks, mean dysfunction scores for the individualized, standardized, and simulated acupuncture groups improved by 4.4, 4.5, and 4.4 points, respectively, compared with 2.1 points for those receiving usual care (P < .001). Participants receiving real or simulated acupuncture were more likely than those receiving usual care to experience clinically meaningful improvements on the dysfunction scale (60% vs 39%; P < .001). Symptoms improved by 1.6 to 1.9 points in the treatment groups compared with 0.7 points in the usual care group (P < .001). After 1 year, participants in the treatment groups were more likely than those receiving usual care to experience clinically meaningful improvements in dysfunction (59% to 65% vs 50%, respectively; P = .02) but not in symptoms (P > .05). Conclusions Although acupuncture was found effective for chronic low back pain, tailoring needling sites to each patient and penetration of the skin appear to be unimportant in eliciting therapeutic benefits. These findings raise questions about acupuncture's purported mechanisms of action. It remains unclear whether acupuncture or our simulated method of acupuncture provide physiologically important stimulation or represent placebo or nonspecific effects. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00065585
    Publication Arch Intern Med
    Volume 169
    Issue 9
    Pages 858-866
    Date May 11, 2009
    DOI 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.65
    URL http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/169/9/858
    Accessed Monday, September 21, 2009 2:58:21 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This trial addresses the importance of needle placement and skin penetration in eliciting acupuncture effects for patients with chronic low back pain. Participants in the treatment groups were more likely than those receiving usual care to experience clinically meaningful improvements in dysfunction (59% to 65% vs 50%, respectively; P = .02) but not in symptoms (P > .05). Although acupuncture was found effective for chronic low back pain, tailoring needling sites to each patient and penetration of the skin appear to be unimportant in eliciting therapeutic benefits.

  • Relaxation training for essential hypertension at the worksite: I. The untreated mild hypertensive

    Type Journal Article
    Author M A Chesney
    Author G W Black
    Author G E Swan
    Author M M Ward
    Abstract This industry-based randomized study compared the effects of behavioral treatment (BT) and blood pressure monitoring (BPM) on blood pressure (BP) change in 158 unmedicated persons with mild hypertension (diastolic blood pressure 90 to 104 mm Hg). Participants recruited by a three-stage screening were randomly assigned to BT or BPM groups and stratified by entry diastolic blood pressure (DBP), age, and sex. BT participants received relaxation training, with or without the addition of biofeedback, cognitive restructuring, and health behavior change components. During the study, all participants were followed by their usual care physicians and received medical advice. At 18 weeks into the study, after the BT groups completed training, both the BT and BPM groups showed significant reductions in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and DBP assessed in the company medical clinic (7.4 and 9.0 mm Hg SBP and 4.5 and 5.9 mm Hg DBP, respectively). These reductions were maintained throughout the 36-week follow-up period. Reductions in BP assessed at the participants' worksite were similar for BT and BPM participants throughout most of the trial, indicating little advantage to the inclusion of behavioral interventions over monitoring alone. Differences in BP changes observed among participants receiving various combinations of behavioral treatment components indicated that the cognitive restructuring component reduced SBP in the worksite by an additional 5.4 mm Hg (p less than 0.05). Possible explanations for the BP changes observed in the BPM group and implications of the results for the treatment of unmedicated mild hypertensives are discussed.
    Publication Psychosomatic Medicine
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 250-263
    Date 1987 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Psychosom Med
    ISSN 0033-3174
    Short Title Relaxation training for essential hypertension at the worksite
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3299442
    Accessed Thursday, September 03, 2009 12:58:45 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 3299442
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Behavior Therapy
    • Biofeedback (Psychology)
    • Blood Pressure
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hypertension
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Occupational Diseases
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Social Environment

    Notes:

    • This industry-based randomized study compared the effects of behavioral treatment (BT) and blood pressure monitoring (BPM) on blood pressure (BP) change in 158 unmedicated persons with mild hypertension (diastolic blood pressure 90 to 104 mm Hg). At 18 weeks into the study, after the BT groups completed training, both the BT and BPM groups showed significant reductions in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and DBP assessed in the company medical clinic.

  • Spirituality of African-American women: correlations to health-promoting behaviors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Deirdra N Chester
    Author Susan P Himburg
    Author Lorraine J Weatherspoon
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate how spirituality relates to health-promoting behaviors in African-American women. Using Burkhart's theoretical framework for spirituality, a descriptive cross-sectional correlational design was used. A group of 260 (N=260) women completed Rosenbergh's Self-Esteem Scale, the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, the Spiritual Perspective Scale, the Brief Block 2000 Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). These women also provided the researchers with their socio-demographic data. Canonical correlation analysis identified a significant pair of canonical variables which indicated that those individuals with good nutrition (.95), physical activity (.79), and healthy eating (.42) were positively associated with stress management (.88), health responsibility (.67), spiritual growth (.66), interpersonal relations (.50), education (.49), and self-esteem (.33). This set of variables explained 56% of the variability (p < .001). Practitioners should incorporate the message of spirituality by focusing on strategies to improve health responsibility, interpersonal relations, and self-esteem, along with health-promoting behaviors.
    Publication Journal of National Black Nurses' Association: JNBNA
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-8
    Date Jul 2006
    Journal Abbr J Natl Black Nurses Assoc
    ISSN 0885-6028
    Short Title Spirituality of African-American women
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17004420
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:53:58 PM
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    Extra PMID: 17004420
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Body Mass Index
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Exercise
    • Female
    • Florida
    • Food Habits
    • Health Behavior
    • Health promotion
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Life Style
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Concept
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • spirituality
    • WOMEN

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to investigate how spirituality relates to health-promoting behaviors in African-American women.

  • Meta-analysis of relationships between religiosity and constructive and destructive behaviors among adolescents.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Chau-kiu Cheung
    Author Jerf Wai-keung Yeung
    Abstract In view of the substantial number of recent studies on relationships between religious involvement and constructive or destructive behavior among adolescents, it is time to consolidate knowledge about these relationships through a meta-analysis. The meta-analysis conducted in this study involves 40 studies published from 1995 to 2009, covering adolescents with an average age of 16.45 years. Results show a weak overall effect (Z r[/sub][sub]r[/sub] = .19). Moreover, religious involvement exhibits a stronger relationship with constructive behavior than with destructive behavior. Compared with private religious involvement, public religious involvement shows a weaker relationship with constructive or destructive behaviors. Furthermore, non-representative sampling generates a stronger relationship than does representative sampling.
    Publication Children and Youth Services Review
    Volume 33
    Issue 2
    Pages 376-385
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.10.004
    ISSN 0190-7409
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent Attitudes
    • constructive behavior
    • Constructivism
    • destructive behavior
    • religiosity
    • Self Destructive Behavior
  • Twelve-Step affiliation and 3-year substance use outcomes among adolescents: social support and religious service attendance as potential mediators

    Type Journal Article
    Author Felicia W Chi
    Author Lee A Kaskutas
    Author Stacy Sterling
    Author Cynthia I Campbell
    Author Constance Weisner
    Abstract AIMS: Twelve-Step affiliation among adolescents is little understood. We examined 12-Step affiliation and its association with substance use outcomes 3 years post-treatment intake among adolescents seeking chemical dependency (CD) treatment in a private, managed-care health plan. We also examined the effects of social support and religious service attendance on the relationship. DESIGN: We analyzed data for 357 adolescents, aged 13-18, who entered treatment at four Kaiser Permanente Northern California CD programs between March 2000 and May 2002 and completed both baseline and 3-year follow-up interviews. MEASURES: Measures at follow-up included alcohol and drug use, 12-Step affiliation, social support and frequency of religious service attendance. FINDINGS: At 3 years, 68 adolescents (19%) reported attending any 12-Step meetings, and 49 (14%) reported involvement in at least one of seven 12-Step activities, in the previous 6 months. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that after controlling individual and treatment factors, 12-Step attendance at 1 year was marginally significant, while 12-Step attendance at 3 years was associated with both alcohol and drug abstinence at 3 years [odds ratio (OR) 2.58, P < 0.05 and OR 2.53, P < 0.05, respectively]. Similarly, 12-Step activity involvement was associated significantly with 30-day alcohol and drug abstinence. There are possible mediating effects of social support and religious service attendance on the relationship between post-treatment 12-Step affiliation and 3-year outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest the importance of 12-Step affiliation in maintaining long-term recovery, and help to understand the mechanism through which it works among adolescents.
    Publication Addiction (Abingdon, England)
    Volume 104
    Issue 6
    Pages 927-939
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Addiction
    DOI 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02524.x
    ISSN 1360-0443
    Short Title Twelve-Step affiliation and 3-year substance use outcomes among adolescents
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:27:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19344442
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • California
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Patient Compliance
    • Recurrence
    • Regression Analysis
    • religion
    • Self-Help Groups
    • social support
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Time
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Psychosocial-spiritual correlates of death distress in patients with life-threatening medical conditions

    Type Journal Article
    Author John T Chibnall
    Author Susan D Videen
    Author Paul N Duckro
    Author Douglas K Miller
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify demographic, disease, health care, and psychosocial-spiritual factors associated with death distress (death-related depression and anxiety). Cross-sectional baseline data from a randomized controlled trial were used. Outpatients (n=70) were recruited from an urban academic medical centre and proprietary hospital. All patients had life-threatening medical conditions, including cancer; pulmonary, cardiac, liver, or kidney disease; HIV/AIDS; or geriatric frailty. Measures of death distress, physical symptom severity, depression and anxiety symptoms, spiritual well-being, social support, patient-perceived physician communication, and patient-perceived quality of health care experiences were administered. In a hierarchical multiple regression model, higher death distress was significantly associated with living alone, greater physical symptom severity, more severe depression symptoms, lower spiritual well-being, and less physician communication as perceived by the patient. Death distress as a unique experiential construct was discriminable among younger patients with specific, diagnosable life-threatening conditions, but less so among geriatric frailty patients. The findings suggest that the experience of death distress among patients with life-threatening medical conditions is associated with the psychosocial-spiritual dimensions of the patient's life. Attention to these dimensions may buffer the negative affects of death distress.
    Publication Palliative Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 4
    Pages 331-338
    Date Jul 2002
    Journal Abbr Palliat Med
    ISSN 0269-2163
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12132546
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:49:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12132546
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • Attitude to Death
    • Critical Illness
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Regression Analysis
    • religion
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to identify demographic, disease, health care, and psychosocial-spiritual factors associated with death distress (death-related depression and anxiety). Death distress as a unique experiential construct was discriminable among younger patients with specific, diagnosable life-threatening conditions, but less so among geriatric frailty patients. The findings suggest that the experience of death distress among patients with life-threatening medical conditions is associated with the psychosocial-spiritual dimensions of the patient’s life.

  • Religiosity/spirituality and mortality. A systematic quantitative review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yoichi Chida
    Author Andrew Steptoe
    Author Lynda H Powell
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The relationship between religiosity/spirituality and physical health has been the subject of growing interest in epidemiological research. We systematically reviewed prospective observational cohort studies of the association between this potentially protective psychological factor and mortality using meta-analytic methods. METHODS: We searched general bibliographic databases: Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science and PubMed (up to 20 March, 2008). Two reviewers independently extracted data on study characteristics, quality, and estimates of associations. Random effects meta-analyses, subgrouping, and sensitivity analysis were performed. RESULTS: There were 69 studies (28 articles) and 22 studies (11 articles) investigating the association between religiosity/spirituality and mortality in initially healthy populations and diseased populations, respectively. The results of the meta-analyses showed that religiosity/spirituality was associated with reduced mortality in healthy population studies (combined hazard ratio = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.76-0.87, p <0.001), but not in diseased population studies (combined hazard ratio = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.94-1.01, p = 0.19). Notably, the protective effect of religiosity/spirituality in the initially healthy population studies was independent of behavioral factors (smoking, drinking, exercising, and socioeconomic status), negative affect, and social support. We divided studies according to the aspects of religiosity/spirituality measure examined, and found that organizational activity (e.g. church attendance) was associated with greater survival in healthy population studies. Multi-dimensional aspects were related to survival in both the healthy and diseased populations. Religiosity/spirituality was negatively associated with cardiovascular mortality in healthy population studies. CONCLUSIONS: The current review suggests that religiosity/spirituality has a favorable effect on survival, although the presence of publication biases indicates that results should be interpreted with caution.
    Publication Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
    Volume 78
    Issue 2
    Pages 81-90
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychother Psychosom
    DOI 10.1159/000190791
    ISSN 1423-0348
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19142047
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:49:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19142047
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Psychophysiology
    • religion
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Methods: We searched general bibliographic databases: Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science and PubMed (up to 20 March, 2008). Two reviewers independently extracted data on study characteristics, quality, and estimates of associations. Random effects meta-analyses, subgrouping, and sensitivity analysis were performed. Results: There were 69 studies (28 articles) and 22 studies (11 articles) investigating the association between religiosity/spirituality and mortality in initially healthy populations and diseased populations, respectively. The results of the meta-analyses showed that religiosity/spirituality was associated with reduced mortality in healthy population studies (combined hazard ratio = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.76-0.87, p <0.001), but not in diseased population studies (combined hazard ratio = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.94-1.01, p = 0.19). Notably, the protective effect of religiosity/spirituality in the initially healthy population studies was independent of behavioral factors (smoking, drinking, exercising, and socioeconomic status), negative affect, and social support.

  • Zen meditation: an integration of current evidence

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alberto Chiesa
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Despite the growing interest in the neurobiological and clinical correlates of many meditative practices, in particular mindfulness meditations, no review has specifically focused on current evidence on electroencephalographic, neuroimaging, biological, and clinical evidence about an important traditional practice, Zen meditation. METHODS: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, the ISI Web of Knowledge, the Cochrane collaboration database, and references of selected articles. Randomized controlled and cross-sectional studies with controls published in English prior to May 2008 were included. RESULTS: Electroencephalographic studies on Zen meditation found increased alpha and theta activity, generally related to relaxation, in many brain regions, including the frontal cortex. Theta activity in particular seemed to be related to the degree of experience, being greater in expert practitioners and advanced masters. Moreover, Zen meditation practice could protect from cognitive decline usually associated with age and enhance antioxidant activity. From a clinical point of view, Zen meditation was found to reduce stress and blood pressure, and be efficacious for a variety of conditions, as suggested by positive findings in therapists and musicians. CONCLUSION: To date, actual evidence about Zen meditation is scarce and highlights the necessity of further investigations. Comparison with further active treatments, explanation of possible mechanisms of action, and the limitations of current evidence are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 15
    Issue 5
    Pages 585-592
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0416
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Short Title Zen meditation
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19422285
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:22:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19422285
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cognition Disorders
    • Electroencephalography
    • Humans
    • Hypertension
    • Meditation
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • Objective: Despite the growing interest in the neurobiological and clinical correlates of many meditative practices, in particular mindfulness meditations, no review has specifically focused on current evidence on electroencephalographic, neuroimaging, biological, and clinical evidence about an important traditional practice, Zen meditation. Methods: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, the ISI Web of Knowledge, the Cochrane collaboration database, and references of selected articles. Randomized controlled and cross-sectional studies with controls published in English prior to May 2008 were included. Results: Electroencephalographic studies on Zen meditation found increased alpha and theta activity, generally related to relaxation, in many brain regions, including the frontal cortex. Theta activity in particular seemed to be related to the degree of experience, being greater in expert practitioners and advanced masters. Moreover, Zen meditation practice could protect from cognitive decline usually associated with age and enhance antioxidant activity. From a clinical point of view, Zen meditation was found to reduce stress and blood pressure, and be efficacious for a variety of conditions, as suggested by positive findings in therapists and musicians. Conclusion: To date, actual evidence about Zen meditation is scarce and highlights the necessity of further investigations. Comparison with further active treatments, explanation of possible mechanisms of action, and the limitations of current evidence are discussed.

  • Mindfulness-based approaches: are they all the same?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alberto Chiesa
    Author Peter Malinowski
    Abstract Mindfulness-based approaches are increasingly employed as interventions for treating a variety of psychological, psychiatric and physical problems. Such approaches include ancient Buddhist mindfulness meditations such as Vipassana and Zen meditations, modern group-based standardized meditations, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and further psychological interventions, such as dialectical behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy. We review commonalities and differences of these interventions regarding philosophical background, main techniques, aims, outcomes, neurobiology and psychological mechanisms. In sum, the currently applied mindfulness-based interventions show large differences in the way mindfulness is conceptualized and practiced. The decision to consider such practices as unitary or as distinct phenomena will probably influence the direction of future research. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 67:1-21, 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 67
    Issue 4
    Pages 404-424
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20776
    ISSN 00219762
    Short Title Mindfulness-based approaches
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM

    Tags:

    • Behavior Therapy
    • BUDDHIST meditations
    • MEDITATION -- Therapeutic use
    • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
    • Neurobiology
    • stress management
  • Mindfulness based cognitive therapy for psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alberto Chiesa
    Author Alessandro Serretti
    Abstract Mindfulness- based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a meditation program based on an integration of Cognitive behavioural therapy and Mindfulness-based stress reduction. The aim of the present work is to review and conduct a meta-analysis of the current findings about the efficacy of MBCT for psychiatric patients. A literature search was undertaken using five electronic databases and references of retrieved articles. Main findings included the following: 1) MBCT in adjunct to usual care was significantly better than usual care alone for reducing major depression (MD) relapses in patients with three or more prior depressive episodes (4 studies), 2) MBCT plus gradual discontinuation of maintenance ADs was associated to similar relapse rates at 1year as compared with continuation of maintenance antidepressants (1 study), 3) the augmentation of MBCT could be useful for reducing residual depressive symptoms in patients with MD (2 studies) and for reducing anxiety symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder in remission (1 study) and in patients with some anxiety disorders (2 studies). However, several methodological shortcomings including small sample sizes, non-randomized design of some studies and the absence of studies comparing MBCT to control groups designed to distinguish specific from non-specific effects of such practice underscore the necessity for further research.
    Publication Psychiatry Research
    Volume 187
    Issue 3
    Pages 441-453
    Date May 30, 2011
    Journal Abbr Psychiatry Res
    DOI 10.1016/j.psychres.2010.08.011
    ISSN 0165-1781
    Short Title Mindfulness based cognitive therapy for psychiatric disorders
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20846726
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 4:53:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20846726
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Databases, Factual
    • Humans
    • Mental Disorders
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alberto Chiesa
    Author Alessandro Serretti
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a clinically standardized meditation that has shown consistent efficacy for many mental and physical disorders. Less attention has been given to the possible benefits that it may have in healthy subjects. The aim of the present review and meta-analysis is to better investigate current evidence about the efficacy of MBSR in healthy subjects, with a particular focus on its benefits for stress reduction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE (PubMed), the ISI Web of Knowledge, the Cochrane database, and the references of retrieved articles. The search included articles written in English published prior to September 2008, and identified ten, mainly low-quality, studies. Cohen's d effect size between meditators and controls on stress reduction and spirituality enhancement values were calculated. RESULTS: MBSR showed a nonspecific effect on stress reduction in comparison to an inactive control, both in reducing stress and in enhancing spirituality values, and a possible specific effect compared to an intervention designed to be structurally equivalent to the meditation program. A direct comparison study between MBSR and standard relaxation training found that both treatments were equally able to reduce stress. Furthermore, MBSR was able to reduce ruminative thinking and trait anxiety, as well as to increase empathy and self-compassion. CONCLUSIONS: MBSR is able to reduce stress levels in healthy people. However, important limitations of the included studies as well as the paucity of evidence about possible specific effects of MBSR in comparison to other nonspecific treatments underline the necessity of further research.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 15
    Issue 5
    Pages 593-600
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0495
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Short Title Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:10:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19432513
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • Empathy
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Self Care
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a clinically standardized meditation that has shown consistent efficacy for many mental and physical disorders. A literature search was conducted. MBSR showed a nonspecific effect on stress reduction in comparison to an inactive control, both in reducing stress and in enhancing spirituality values.

  • Mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain: a systematic review of the evidence

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alberto Chiesa
    Author Alessandro Serretti
    Abstract OBJECTIVES Chronic pain is a common disabling illness that does not completely respond to current medical treatments. As a consequence, in recent years many alternative interventions have been suggested. Among them, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are receiving growing attention. The aim of the present article is to review controlled studies investigating the efficacy of MBIs for the reduction of pain and the improvement of depressive symptoms in patients suffering from chronic pain. METHODS A literature search was undertaken using MEDLINE,(®) ISI web of knowledge, the Cochrane database, and references of retrieved articles. The search included articles written in English published up to July 2009. The data were independently extracted by two reviewers from the original reports. Quality of included trials was also assessed. RESULTS Ten (10) studies were considered eligible for the present review. Current studies showed that MBIs could have nonspecific effects for the reduction of pain symptoms and the improvement of depressive symptoms in patients with chronic pain, while there is only limited evidence suggesting specific effects of such interventions. Further findings evidenced some improvements in psychologic measures related to chronic pain such as copying with pain following MBIs as well. DISCUSSION There is not yet sufficient evidence to determine the magnitude of the effects of MBIs for patients with chronic pain. Main limitations of reviewed studies include small sample size, absence of randomization, the use of a waiting list control group that does not allow distinguishing of specific from nonspecific effects of MBI as well as differences among interventions. CONCLUSIONS However, because of these preliminary results, further research in larger properly powered and better designed studies is warranted.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 83-93
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2009.0546
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Short Title Mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21265650
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21265650
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • Chronic Disease
    • depression
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical
    • Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
    • Pain, Intractable

    Notes:

    • Chronic pain is a common disabling illness that does not completely respond to current medical treatments. As a consequence, in recent years many alternative interventions have been suggested. Among them, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are receiving growing attention. The aim of the present article is to review controlled studies investigating the efficacy of MBIs for the reduction of pain and the improvement of depressive symptoms in patients suffering from chronic pain.A literature search was undertaken using MEDLINE,(®) ISI web of knowledge, the Cochrane database, and references of retrieved articles. The search included articles written in English published up to July 2009. The data were independently extracted by two reviewers from the original reports. Quality of included trials was also assessed.Ten (10) studies were considered eligible for the present review. Current studies showed that MBIs could have nonspecific effects for the reduction of pain symptoms and the improvement of depressive symptoms in patients with chronic pain, while there is only limited evidence suggesting specific effects of such interventions. Further findings evidenced some improvements in psychologic measures related to chronic pain such as copying with pain following MBIs as well.There is not yet sufficient evidence to determine the magnitude of the effects of MBIs for patients with chronic pain. Main limitations of reviewed studies include small sample size, absence of randomization, the use of a waiting list control group that does not allow distinguishing of specific from nonspecific effects of MBI as well as differences among interventions.However, because of these preliminary results, further research in larger properly powered and better designed studies is warranted.

  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alberto Chiesa
    Author Alessandro Serretti
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a clinically standardized meditation that has shown consistent efficacy for many mental and physical disorders. Less attention has been given to the possible benefits that it may have in healthy subjects. The aim of the present review and meta-analysis is to better investigate current evidence about the efficacy of MBSR in healthy subjects, with a particular focus on its benefits for stress reduction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE (PubMed), the ISI Web of Knowledge, the Cochrane database, and the references of retrieved articles. The search included articles written in English published prior to September 2008, and identified ten, mainly low-quality, studies. Cohen's d effect size between meditators and controls on stress reduction and spirituality enhancement values were calculated. RESULTS: MBSR showed a nonspecific effect on stress reduction in comparison to an inactive control, both in reducing stress and in enhancing spirituality values, and a possible specific effect compared to an intervention designed to be structurally equivalent to the meditation program. A direct comparison study between MBSR and standard relaxation training found that both treatments were equally able to reduce stress. Furthermore, MBSR was able to reduce ruminative thinking and trait anxiety, as well as to increase empathy and self-compassion. CONCLUSIONS: MBSR is able to reduce stress levels in healthy people. However, important limitations of the included studies as well as the paucity of evidence about possible specific effects of MBSR in comparison to other nonspecific treatments underline the necessity of further research.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 15
    Issue 5
    Pages 593-600
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0495
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Short Title Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19432513
    Accessed Tuesday, September 15, 2009 1:20:05 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19432513
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • Empathy
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Self Care
    • Stress, Psychological
  • Religious Attendance and Happiness: Examining Gaps in the Current Literature-A Research Note

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ellen Childs
    Abstract Two major gaps exist in research examining the positive association between religious attendance and happiness. First, scholars have argued that this association may be because of people's perceived relationship with God or the social cohesion one experiences with other parishioners, but scholars have not studied both pathways simultaneously. Using nationally representative cross-sectional data (General Social Survey), I first examine the influence of one's perceived relationship with God and one's perceived social cohesion within the religious community on happiness. One's perceived relationship with God is more strongly associated with happiness than is social cohesion. Second, scholars overwhelmingly use religious attendance as the independent variable, with happiness as the dependent variable. Using two waves of data from a nationally representative panel study (National Survey of Families and Households), I then examine the relationship between religious attendance and happiness over time, finding that religious attendance has a greater effect on happiness than happiness has on religious attendance.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 550-560
    Date 09/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01528.x
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01528.x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • An integrative review of the concept of spirituality in the health sciences

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lyren Chiu
    Author Julia D Emblen
    Author Lynn Van Hofwegen
    Author Rick Sawatzky
    Author Heather Meyerhoff
    Abstract Spirituality is a universal human phenomenon, yet confusion and incomprehension of the concept is ever-present. The purpose of this study was to explore how research on the concept of spirituality has been reported in the health literature in the past decade and develop an ontological and theoretical understanding of spirituality. The examination was based on quantitative and qualitative integrative review approaches, which integrated empirical research on spirituality. The sample included 73 spirituality research articles, which were published in English between January 1990 and September 2000. An electronic data-collection tool was designed for use in this project and formatted using Excel software for transfer of coded data into the NVivo software for the data analysis. The results identified essential elements of spirituality, current use of operational definitions and instruments, conceptual frameworks used in spirituality research, and cultural aspects of spirituality. Historical comparison among decades and barriers in researching spirituality are discussed.
    Publication Western Journal of Nursing Research
    Volume 26
    Issue 4
    Pages 405-428
    Date Jun 2004
    Journal Abbr West J Nurs Res
    DOI 10.1177/0193945904263411
    ISSN 0193-9459
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15155026
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:53:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15155026
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Culture
    • Humans
    • Models, Psychological
    • Research
    • spirituality
    • Terminology as Topic

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to explore how research on the concept of spirituality has been reported in the health literature in the past decade and develop an ontological and theoretical understanding of spirituality.

  • Spirituality and life satisfaction in adults with pediatric-onset spinal cord injury

    Type Journal Article
    Author K M Chlan
    Author K Zebracki
    Author L C Vogel
    Abstract Study design:This study was a cross-sectional, follow-up survey.Objectives:To examine the role of importance of religion and spiritual coping on life satisfaction in adults with pediatric-onset spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting:This study was carried out in a specialty hospital system. Methods:Individuals who sustained an SCI before age 18 completed a structured telephone interview at ages 24-45. Demographic/medical questionnaires along with standardized measures were administered: Brief COPE, FIM, Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART), 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) and Satisfaction with Life (SWL) scales. Spirituality was measured with a question assessing importance of religion and using the spiritual coping domain of the Brief COPE. Results: A total of 298 individuals (62% men; 56% with tetraplegia) participated in this study. Approximately half (141) of the participants reported that religion is 'important to very important' to them and 55% (163) used spiritual coping. Importance of religion and spiritual coping was significantly associated with older age (P<0.01), longer duration of injury (P<0.01) and higher SWL (P<0.05). Importance of religion was also related to higher SF-12 mental component (P<0.05). Spiritual coping was negatively associated with motor independence (P<0.05) and CHART occupation (P<0.05). Moreover, spiritual coping emerged as a predictor of SWL, whereas importance of religion did not.Conclusion:Over half of the participants endorsed importance of religion and the use of spiritual coping. Spiritual coping, in particular, may serve a unique role in promoting SWL. Consequently, assessment of spirituality needs to become a standard part of care in the treatment of individuals with SCI and the use of spirituality-focused interventions to promote SWL should be explored.
    Publication Spinal Cord: The Official Journal of the International Medical Society of Paraplegia
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 371-375
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr Spinal Cord
    DOI 10.1038/sc.2010.80
    ISSN 1476-5624
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20603633
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20603633
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • The landscape of distress in the terminally ill

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harvey Max Chochinov
    Author Thomas Hassard
    Author Susan McClement
    Author Thomas Hack
    Author Linda J Kristjanson
    Author Mike Harlos
    Author Shane Sinclair
    Author Alison Murray
    Abstract Understanding the complexities of distress and knowing who is most vulnerable is foundational to the provision of quality, palliative end-of-life care. Although prior studies have examined the prevalence of symptom distress among patients nearing death, these studies have tended to largely focus on physical and, to a lesser extent, psychological challenges. The aim of this study was to use the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI), a novel, reliable, and validated measure of end-of-life distress, to describe a broad landscape of distress in patients who are terminally ill. The PDI, a 25-item self-report, was administered to 253 patients receiving palliative care. Each PDI item is rated by patients to indicate the degree to which they experience various kinds of end-of-life distress. Palliative care patients reported an average of 5.74 problems (standard deviation, 5.49; range, 0-24), including physical, psychological, existential, and spiritual challenges. Being an inpatient, being educated, and having a partner were associated with certain kinds of end-of-life problems, particularly existential distress. Spirituality, especially its existential or "sense of meaning and purpose" dimension, was associated with less distress for terminally ill patients. A better appreciation for the nature of distress is a critical step toward a fuller understanding of the challenges facing the terminally ill. A clear articulation of the landscape of distress, including insight regarding those who are most at risk, should pave the way toward more effective, dignity-conserving end-of-life care.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 38
    Issue 5
    Pages 641-649
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.04.021
    ISSN 1873-6513
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19713069
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:33:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19713069
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • The effect of religious practice on the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Surachai Chokkhanchitchai
    Author Tanee Tangarunsanti
    Author Suphaneewan Jaovisidha
    Author Kanokrat Nantiruj
    Author Suchela Janwityanujit
    Abstract The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of religious practice on the prevalence, severity, and patterns of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in a Thai elderly population with the same ethnicity and culture but different religions. A house-to-house survey was conducted in two subdistricts of Phranakhon Sri Ayutthaya province where inhabitants are a mixture of Buddhists and Muslims. One hundred fifty-three Buddhists and 150 Muslims aged >or= 50 years were evaluated demographically, physically, and radiographically. Those suffering knee pains were questioned about severity using the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores and examined for their range of knee motion. Radiographic knee OA (ROA) was defined as Kellgren-Lawrence radiographic grade >or=2 while symptomatic knee OA (SOA) was defined as knee symptoms of at least 1 month in a knee with ROA. Muslims had on average a higher number of daily religious practices than their Buddhist neighbors (p < 0.001). The prevalence of knee pain and ROA was significantly higher in Buddhists than in Muslims (67.11 vs. 55.80, p = 0.02 for knee pain; 85.62 vs. 70.67, p = 0.02 for ROA). For SOA, Buddhists showed a trend towards higher prevalence than Muslims (47.71 vs. 37.32, p = 0.068). No significant difference was found when the range of motion and WOMAC scores were compared between the two groups. Muslims had a lower prevalence of OA than their Buddhists counterparts with the same ethnicity but different religious practice. The Muslim way of praying since childhood, forcing the knees into deep flexion, may stretch the soft tissue surrounding the knee and decrease stiffness and contact pressure of the articular cartilage.
    Publication Clinical Rheumatology
    Volume 29
    Issue 1
    Pages 39-44
    Date Jan 2010
    Journal Abbr Clin. Rheumatol
    DOI 10.1007/s10067-009-1295-8
    ISSN 1434-9949
    Accessed Sunday, January 24, 2010 4:50:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19830384
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Effects of yoga on stress management in healthy adults: A systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cecilia S M Chong
    Author Megumi Tsunaka
    Author Hector W H Tsang
    Author Edward P Chan
    Author Wai Ming Cheung
    Abstract OBJECTIVE This article reports a systematic review and critical appraisal of the effect of yoga on stress management in healthy adults. METHODS A systematic literature search was performed to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical controlled trials (CCTs) that assessed the effects of yoga on stress management in healthy adults. Selected studies were classified according to the types of intervention, duration, outcome measures, and results. They were also qualitatively assessed based on Public Health Research, Education and Development standards. RESULTS The systematic review was based on eight RCTs and CCTs that indicated a positive effect of yoga in reducing stress levels or stress symptoms. However, most of the studies had methodological problems in that the intervention duration was short and limited follow-up data was available. CONCLUSION This review revealed positive effects of yoga on stress reduction in healthy adult populations. However, the result should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of studies and the associated methodological problems. Further studies to ascertain yoga's long-term effects and the underlying biological mechanisms leading to its stress reduction effect should be conducted.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 32-38
    Date 2011 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    Short Title Effects of yoga on stress management in healthy adults
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21614942
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:43:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21614942
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
  • The perceived relationship between life events and religiosity among individuals raised in a Mormon community.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hui-Tzu Grace Chou
    Abstract This research explored the perceived relationship between some life events and religiosity among people raised by at least one Mormon parent in a Mormon community. It aimed to answer the following questions: what kinds of life events increase individuals' perceived level of religiosity and what kinds of life events decrease or simply keep it unchanged? Based on a qualitative survey of some undergraduate students in Utah, asking them to list three most significant positive life events and three negative life events, and how these life events affect their religious level, this research found that positive life events are more likely than negative life events to increase individuals' level of religiosity. Nevertheless, in contrast to other research findings, negative life events increased, rather than decreased, respondents' religiosity. Other factors, possibly affecting the impacts, including the types and severity of events, whether the events were finished or ongoing, and respondents' religious level before the events, were also examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 5
    Pages 437-451
    Date July 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903381208
    ISSN 13674676
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:45:46 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM

    Tags:

    • Life Change Events
    • MORMON families
    • MORMONS
    • Religiousness
    • UTAH
  • Religion and spirituality in coping with breast cancer: perspectives of Chilean women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ivanka Choumanova
    Author Stan Wanat
    Author Ronald Barrett
    Author Cheryl Koopman
    Abstract This study examined the roles of religion and spirituality in relation to coping with breast cancer in Chilean women. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to examine how these patients used religion and spirituality to cope with their illness; how their illness changed the roles of religion and spirituality in their lives; and their views regarding whether, and if so how, spiritual faith can help patients recuperate from breast cancer. Twenty-seven women with breast cancer who were patients at a clinic in Santiago, Chile were recruited to participate in one-on-one interviews. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using the "constant comparative method" to seek patterns and organize the content into specific themes. Women viewed religion and spirituality as primary resources for themselves and others to use in coping with breast cancer. Women's use of religion and spirituality was manifested in praying, in their perceived dependence on God to intercede and guide them through their illness, and in obtaining social support from other persons in their faith community. Half (13/26) of the women reported that their cancer prompted an increased emphasis on religion and spirituality in their lives by deepening their faith in God. Almost all (26/27) participants endorsed the belief that spiritual faith can help cancer patients to recuperate. These findings suggest that health care providers working should be aware of the culturally dependent roles that religion and spirituality play in women's coping with breast cancer.
    Publication The Breast Journal
    Volume 12
    Issue 4
    Pages 349-352
    Date 2006 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Breast J
    DOI 10.1111/j.1075-122X.2006.00274.x
    ISSN 1075-122X
    Short Title Religion and spirituality in coping with breast cancer
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16848845
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:42:09 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16848845
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Chile
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This study examined the roles of religion and spirituality in relation to coping with breast cancer in Chilean women. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to examine how these patients used religion and spirituality to cope with their illness; how their illness changed the roles of religion and spirituality in their lives; and their views regarding whether, and if so how, spiritual faith can help patients recuperate from breast cancer.

  • Spiritual distress to spiritual transformation: Stroke survivor narratives from Hong Kong

    Type Journal Article
    Author Esther O.W. Chow
    Author Holly Nelson-Becker
    Abstract Cardiovascular accident (stroke) is a leading cause of long-term disability for older adults worldwide, including Hong Kong. The stroke event leaves stroke survivors experiencing great distress as they struggle to regain physical ability and develop a frame of meaning. In a Chinese context, several religious traditions and secular philosophies including Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, and Confucianism contribute to reconstruction of a meaningful post-stroke self. Symbolic interactionism interpreted by Charmaz (1987) and social constructionism offer perspectives for this work. This paper reports on a qualitative study about the spiritual transformation of 11 female stroke survivors in Hong Kong using a naturalistic inquiry approach. Data was analyzed using NVivo to create common categories and profiles. After an initial period of despair and disequilibrium, participants drew on social/environmental resources and personal spiritual resources to reconnect to spiritually-rich beliefs and practices. The stroke ultimately resulted in transformation of the loss and creation of a resilient post-stroke self. Implications suggest that the spiritual transformation process is complex in a diverse society and social care professionals do well to recognize and support culturally relevant spiritual expressions.
    Publication Journal of Aging Studies
    Volume 24
    Issue 4
    Pages 313-324
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jaging.2010.06.001
    ISSN 0890-4065
    Short Title Spiritual distress to spiritual transformation
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6W51-50WYSMV-1/2/289fb6ce9c435a49b8e4868a82503a3b
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:06:19 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Tags:

    • Culture
    • Disability
    • Self-making
    • Spiritual recovery
    • spirituality
    • Stroke
    • Suffering
  • Drug users' spiritual beliefs, locus of control and the disease concept in relation to Narcotics Anonymous attendance and six-month outcomes.

    Type Journal Article
    Author G Christo
    Author C Franey
    Abstract Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is an important support network for drug users emerging from abstinence based treatments. However, the views of NA on 'spirituality' and the 'disease' nature of addiction could be seen as encouraging an external attributional style and have been cited as reasons for non-attendance. After 6 months ninety percent of 101 drug users in treatment were followed up. Narcotics Anonymous attendance was inversely related to drug use for those who had left residential care. We found that spiritual beliefs and disease concept beliefs were not prerequisites for attendance of NA. Spiritual beliefs were not found to cause external attributions for previous drug use or possible future lapse events. It emerged that the most powerful predictors of non-attendance were positive attitudes to the use of alcohol. Treatment implications are discussed.
    Publication Drug and Alcohol Dependence
    Volume 38
    Issue 1
    Pages 51-56
    Date April 1995
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    •  After 6 months ninety percent of 101 drug users in treatment were followed up. Narcotics Anonymous attendance was inversely related to drug use for those who had left residential care. We found that spiritual beliefs and disease concept beliefs were not prerequisites for attendance of NA. Spiritual beliefs were not found to cause external attributions for previous drug use or possible future lapse events.

  • Mindfulness in Thailand and the United States: a case of apples versus oranges?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael S Christopher
    Author Sukjai Charoensuk
    Author Brennan D Gilbert
    Author Timothy J Neary
    Author Kelly L Pearce
    Abstract The study and practice of mindfulness is rapidly expanding in Western psychology. Recently developed self-report measures of mindfulness were derived from Western operationalizations and cross-cultural validation of many of these measures is lacking, particularly in Buddhist cultures. Therefore, this study examined the measurement equivalence of the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) among Thai (n=385) and American (n=365) college students. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis models fit to the data revealed that the KIMS lacked configural invariance across groups, which precluded subsequent invariance tests, and although the MAAS demonstrated configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance, there was no significant latent mean MAAS difference between Thais and Americans. These findings suggest that Eastern and Western conceptualizations of mindfulness may have important differences.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 6
    Pages 590-612
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20580
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title Mindfulness in Thailand and the United States
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:25:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19358288
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Attention
    • Awareness
    • Buddhism
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Models, Psychological
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Concept
    • Self-Assessment
    • Thailand
    • United States
    • Young Adult
  • The benefits of meditation vis-à-vis emotional intelligence, perceived stress and negative mental health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Li-Chuan Chu
    Abstract First, researchers studied 351 adults and found that those with greater meditation experience exhibited higher Emotional Intelligence, and less perceived stress and negative mental health, than those who had less or no experience. Second, researchers randomly divided students into a mindfulness meditation group (n = 10) and a control group (n = 10), and found that those who completed the 8-week mindfulness meditation training demonstrated significant improvements in relation to emotional intelligence compared to the control group.
    Publication Stress and Health
    Volume 26
    Issue 2
    Pages 169-180
    Date 04/2010
    Journal Abbr Stress and Health
    DOI 10.1002/smi.1289
    ISSN 15323005
    URL http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/smi.1289
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Racial differences in desistance from substance abuse: the impact of religious involvement on recovery

    Type Journal Article
    Author Doris C Chu
    Author Hung-En Sung
    Abstract This study examines variations by race in the relationship between religiosity and desistance from substance abuse. Although most studies have included race as a control variable, only a few studies compared the equivalence of associations among religiosity, delinquency, recovery from substance abuse, and other variables between Black and White samples. Using data from the intake and 12-month follow-up survey of the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study, this study examines levels of religious involvement of Black and White drug treatment clients. In addition, it empirically tests whether religious involvement exerts differential effects on Black and White clients' recovery from substance abuse. It was found that Black clients reported higher levels of religious involvement (measured by church attendance) than did White clients. Data indicated that religious behavior at 1-year follow-up was positively associated with Black clients' recovery from substance abuse. In contrast, religious behavior was not a significant predictor of White clients' desistance from substance abuse. Directions for future research and policy implications are discussed.
    Publication International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
    Volume 53
    Issue 6
    Pages 696-716
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol
    DOI 10.1177/0306624X08320207
    ISSN 1552-6933
    Short Title Racial differences in desistance from substance abuse
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18647819
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 1:08:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18647819
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • The experience of persons with allergic respiratory symptoms: practicing yoga as a self-healing modality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Prapaporn Chukumnerd
    Author Urai Hatthakit
    Author Arphorn Chuaprapaisilp
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of persons with allergic respiratory symptoms who practice yoga as a self-healing modality. Fifteen participants were interviewed. Using the content analysis method, 5 themes emerged from the data: perceived positive effects, powerful and harmonious inner energy, mindfulness and self-awareness, understanding self and others, and promoting and achieving a state of balance and harmony. These findings foster the value of knowing the experience of persons who practice yoga as an intervention in holistic nursing.
    Publication Holistic Nursing Practice
    Volume 25
    Issue 2
    Pages 63-70
    Date 2011 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Holist Nurs Pract
    DOI 10.1097/HNP.0b013e31820dbbae
    ISSN 1550-5138
    Short Title The experience of persons with allergic respiratory symptoms
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21325906
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21325906
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
  • Religion, spirituality, and genetics: mapping the terrain for research purposes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Larry R Churchill
    Abstract Genetic diseases often raise issues of profound importance for human self-understanding, such as one's identity, the family or community to which one belongs, and one's future or destiny. These deeper questions have commonly been seen as the purview of religion and spirituality. This essay explores how religion and spirituality are understood in the current US context and defined in the scholarly literature over the past 100 years. It is argued that a pragmatic, functional approach to religion and spirituality is important to understanding how patients respond to genetic diagnoses and participate in genetic therapies. A pragmatic, functional approach requires broadening the inquiry to include anything that provides a framework of transcendent meaning for the fundamental existential questions of human life. This approach also entails suspending questions about the truth claims of any particular religious/spiritual belief or practice. Three implications of adopting this broad working definition will be presented.
    Publication American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part C, Seminars in Medical Genetics
    Volume 151C
    Issue 1
    Pages 6-12
    Date Feb 15, 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet
    DOI 10.1002/ajmg.c.30195
    ISSN 1552-4876
    Short Title Religion, spirituality, and genetics
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:58:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19170080
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Genetics
    • Humans
    • religion
    • Research
  • Religious and Nonreligious Spirituality in Relation to Death Acceptance or Rejection.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Victor G. Cicirelli
    Abstract Meanings of religious and nonreligious spirituality are explored, with implications for death acceptance, death rejection, and life extension. In the first of two exploratory studies, 16 elders low on intrinsic religiosity were compared with 116 elders high in religiosity; they differed both in qualitative responses and on death attitudes. In the second, 48 elders were assessed on religious and nonreligious spirituality and compared on attitudes toward death rejection, life extension, and death acceptance. Conclusions were that a sizable minority of elders hold nonreligious spirituality beliefs, and these beliefs are related to greater acceptance of life extension and death rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Death Studies
    Volume 35
    Issue 2
    Pages 124-146
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1080/07481187.2011.535383
    ISSN 07481187
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • death attitudes
    • INDIANA
    • INTERVIEWS
    • OLD age
    • PROBABILITIES
    • Research
    • spirituality
  • Body and soul in mental health care

    Type Journal Article
    Author Janice Clarke
    Abstract Mental health care literature promotes the concept of holistic care and urges practitioners, especially nurses to address the spirituality of their patients and clients. In this holistic pursuit, the body is often marginalised when thinking about spirituality. However, the body is capable of being spiritual as this model of the person from early Christian theology suggests. This model of the person describes a three aspect approach, the person consisting of soul (which contains the mind), spirit and body. All three aspects are connected in a constant dynamic cycle. Thus that which affects the body can also affect the spirit and the soul. Seeing the person through the lens of this model could open the way for a more accessible model of spiritual care for mental health practitioners which suggests that physical touch and a better quality of relationship can affect the spirit in the same way as talk.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 6
    Pages 649-657
    Date 9/2010
    Journal Abbr Mental Hlth., Religion & Culture
    DOI 10.1080/13674676.2010.488416
    ISSN 1367-4676
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?
    genre=article&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • Psychosis and Spirituality Consolidating the New Paradigm.

    Type Book
    Author Isabel Clarke
    Edition 2
    Place New York
    Publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780470683477
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
  • Exploring Spiritual Well-Being Among Survivors of Colorectal and Lung Cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kimberly S. Clay
    Author Costellia Talley
    Author Karen B. Young
    Abstract This descriptive, exploratory study is part of a larger observational study of the quality of cancer care delivered to population-based cohorts of newly diagnosed patients with lung and colorectal cancer. The current study explores the role of spiritual well-being in adjustment to life after the cancer diagnosis, utilizing the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being-Expanded (FACIT-Sp-Ex) Scale. Survey data collected from 304 newly diagnosed cancer survivors were analyzed to explore important aspects of spirituality, such as sense of meaning in one's life, harmony, peacefulness, and a sense of strength and comfort from one's faith. Spiritual well-being scores, particularly meaning/peace, were statistically significant for African Americans, women, and colorectal cancer survivors. These findings amplify a need for oncology social workers and other practitioners to assess spiritual well-being in cancer survivors in an effort to strengthen psychosocial treatment plans. Implications for social work practice and research are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought
    Volume 29
    Issue 1
    Pages 14-32
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1080/15426430903479247
    ISSN 1542-6432
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/15426430903479247
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:52:40 AM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM

    Notes:

    • This descriptive, exploratory study is part of a larger observational study of the quality of cancer care delivered to population‐based cohorts of newly diagnosed patients with lung and colorectal cancer. The current study explores the role of spiritual well‐being in adjustment to life after the cancer diagnosis, utilizing the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Spiritual Well‐Being–Expanded (FACIT‐Sp‐Ex) Scale. Survey data collected from 304 newly diagnosed cancer survivors were analyzed to explore important aspects of spirituality, such as sense of meaning in one's life, harmony, peacefulness, and a sense of strength and comfort from one's faith. Spiritual well‐being scores, particularly meaning/peace, were statistically significant for African Americans, women, and colorectal cancer survivors. These findings amplify a need for oncology social workers and other practitioners to assess spiritual well‐being in cancer survivors in an effort to strengthen psychosocial treatment plans. Implications for social work practice and research are discussed.

  • Post-Involvement Difficulties Experienced by Former Members of Charismatic Groups

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dominiek D. Coates
    Abstract Limited qualitative studies have been conducted with former members of charismatic groups, especially in Australia. The majority of studies with former members have been conducted by psychologists through quantitative methodologies and clinical case studies. Qualitative studies that explore the phenomenon of charismatic group involvement have predominantly been carried out by sociologists, and these focus on current members of such groups. Sociologists and psychologists have drawn seemingly contradictory conclusions from their study. This study aims to narrow the gap by investigating adjustment to life after involvement with a charismatic group as experienced by former members of such groups through the use of qualitative methods. Seven participants from four different groups were recruited via purposive sampling and modified snowball sampling. A qualitative methodology informed by phenomenology was chosen. In-depth interviews were used to explore the participants’ accounts of adjusting to life after involvement. The findings of this study suggest that the experiences of former members of charismatic groups may be comparable to others who have experienced extreme transitions and adjustments or relationships where significant power differentials exist.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 296-310
    Date 4/2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9251-0
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:55:15 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • Post-involvement difficulties experienced by former members of charismatic groups

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dominiek D Coates
    Abstract Limited qualitative studies have been conducted with former members of charismatic groups, especially in Australia. The majority of studies with former members have been conducted by psychologists through quantitative methodologies and clinical case studies. Qualitative studies that explore the phenomenon of charismatic group involvement have predominantly been carried out by sociologists, and these focus on current members of such groups. Sociologists and psychologists have drawn seemingly contradictory conclusions from their study. This study aims to narrow the gap by investigating adjustment to life after involvement with a charismatic group as experienced by former members of such groups through the use of qualitative methods. Seven participants from four different groups were recruited via purposive sampling and modified snowball sampling. A qualitative methodology informed by phenomenology was chosen. In-depth interviews were used to explore the participants' accounts of adjusting to life after involvement. The findings of this study suggest that the experiences of former members of charismatic groups may be comparable to others who have experienced extreme transitions and adjustments or relationships where significant power differentials exist.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 296-310
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9251-0
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:16:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19390973
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Australia
    • Bereavement
    • Female
    • Group Processes
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Persuasive Communication
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Social Identification
  • Counselling former members of charismatic groups: considering pre-involvement variables, reasons for joining the group and corresponding values.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dominiek D. Coates
    Abstract A majority of counsellors and other health professionals who work with former members of charismatic groups appear to give little consideration to pre-involvement variables such as reasons for initially joining the group and corresponding values. This study explores reasons for joining a charismatic group from the perspective of former members through the use of qualitative methods. Seven participants from four different groups were recruited via purposive sampling and modified snowball sampling. In-depth interviews were used to explore the participants' accounts of why they joined a charismatic group. The findings of this study suggest that participants of this study joined charismatic groups because of the ability of such groups to provide 'certainty' and meet needs of friendship, meaning, and belonging. The need for health professionals to consider pre-involvement variables when working with former members is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 3
    Pages 191-207
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903443404
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Counselling former members of charismatic groups
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM

    Tags:

    • ATTITUDE (Psychology)
    • Christianity
    • Counseling
    • ENTERTAINERS
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • INTERVIEWING
    • JUDGMENT sampling
    • NONPROFIT organizations
    • Qualitative Research
    • religion
    • SAMPLING (Statistics)
    • spirituality
    • THEMATIC analysis
    • values
  • Religiosity and Alcohol Behavior: An Exploration of Reference Group Theory

    Type Journal Article
    Author John K. Cochran
    Author Leonard Beeghley
    Author E. Wilbur Bock
    Abstract This study examines the relationship between religiosity and alcohol use and perceived misuse. Unlike most past research, we focus on adults rather than adolescents and distinguish among specific Protestant denominations. We also use a more appropriate statistical technique and place the findings in a theoretical context. The analysis shows that religiosity is clearly related to alcohol use, mainly because people's religion serves as a reference group influencing their behavior. The analysis also shows that religiosity is not related to perceived misuse of alcohol, mainly because societal norms are congruent with religious norms and, hence, appear to overwhelm any effect of religion.
    Publication Sociological Forum
    Volume 3
    Issue 2
    Pages 256-276
    Date Spring, 1988
    ISSN 08848971
    Short Title Religiosity and Alcohol Behavior
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/684367
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:54:34 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Spring, 1988 / Copyright © 1988 Springer
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study examines the relationship between religiosity and alcohol use and perceived misuse. Unlike most past research, we focus on adults rather than adolescents and distinguish among specific Protestant denominations. We also use a more appropriate statistical technique and place the findings in a theoretical context. The analysis shows that religiosity is clearly related to alcohol use, mainly because people’s religion serves as a reference group influencing their behavior.

  • Regulation, religious experience, and epilepsy: a lens on complementary therapies

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael H Cohen
    Abstract Complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies include chiropractic, acupuncture and traditional Oriental medicine, massage therapy, and herbal remedies; mind-body therapies (such as meditative practices and visualization); and folk practices and religious healing. Of these, modalities based on spiritual healing create a number of conundrums for the clinician, including legal, regulatory, and ethical issues. Further, the historic relationship between the study of epilepsy and religious experience suggests particular, potential associations between CAM therapies (and especially spiritual healing) and care for epileptic patients. There are at least two dimensions to this exploration: first, the widespread use of spiritual healing for treatment of epilepsy; and second, the hypothesized connection between epileptic seizures and mystical states. A number of legal rules help address potential abuse of authority by health care professionals, and include: (1) medical licensure; (2) scope of practice; (3) professional discipline; (4) malpractice; and (5) fraud. This article offers a preliminary resource for clinicians interested in these topics.
    Publication Epilepsy & Behavior: E&B
    Volume 4
    Issue 6
    Pages 602-606
    Date Dec 2003
    Journal Abbr Epilepsy Behav
    ISSN 1525-5050
    Short Title Regulation, religious experience, and epilepsy
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14698692
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:37:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14698692
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Complementary Therapies
    • Epilepsy
    • Health Services Needs and Demand
    • Humans
    • Mental Healing
    • religion
    • Social Control, Formal
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The historic relationship between the study of epilepsy and religious experience suggests particular, potential associations between CAM therapies (and especially spiritual healing) and care for epileptic patients. There are at least two dimensions to this exploration: first, the widespread use of spiritual healing for treatment of epilepsy; and second, the hypothesized connection between epileptic seizures and mystical states.

  • The role of religion in the well-being of older adults with schizophrenia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carl I Cohen
    Author Carolina Jimenez
    Author Sukriti Mittal
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: This study examined a community sample of older adults with schizophrenia to determine whether there were differences in religiousness with their age peers, to examine the relationship between religiousness and psychotic symptoms, and to see whether religiousness has direct or stress-buffering effects on quality of life. METHODS: The schizophrenia group consisted of 198 community-dwelling persons aged 55 and older who developed schizophrenia before age 45.A community comparison group (N=113) was recruited using randomly selected block groups. A seven-item religiousness scale was developed that consisted of three dimensions (salience, coping, and attendance). An adaptation of Pearlin and colleagues' Stress Process Model was used to examine the direct and buffering effects of religiousness on quality of life. RESULTS: Persons with schizophrenia had significantly lower levels of religiousness than their age peers, although this was due to less frequent religious attendance (four times a year versus once a month). Religiousness was not significantly associated with psychotic symptoms, nor did it have any buffering effects on the relationship between psychosis and quality of life. Religiousness had a significant, albeit modest, independent additive effect on quality of life, and it did not have any buffering effects on the four stressors that were significantly associated with quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Religiousness may have a favorable impact on the quality of life of older adults with schizophrenia, and it must be considered along with other therapeutically important agents.
    Publication Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.)
    Volume 61
    Issue 9
    Pages 917-922
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychiatr Serv
    DOI 10.1176/appi.ps.61.9.917
    ISSN 1557-9700
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:59:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20810591
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • Cerebral blood flow effects of yoga training: preliminary evaluation of 4 cases

    Type Journal Article
    Author Debbie L Cohen
    Author Nancy Wintering
    Author Victoria Tolles
    Author Raymond R Townsend
    Author John T Farrar
    Author Mary Lou Galantino
    Author Andrew B Newberg
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Experienced practitioners of yoga have been shown to alter brain function, but this case series measured cerebral blood flow before and after a 12-week training program in Iyengar yoga (IY) for naïve subjects. METHODS: On the first day, each of the 4 subjects listened to the teacher speaking on the history and background of the yoga program while they were injected with 250 MBq of (99m)Tc-bicisate and received a single photon emission computed tomography scan (pre-program baseline). Subjects then had their first IY training and were injected and scanned with 925 MBq bicisate while they did their first meditation (pre-program meditation). Subjects then underwent a 12-week training program in IY and then underwent the same imaging protocol with a postprogram baseline and postprogram meditation scan. Baseline and meditation scans, before and after training, were compared using paired t tests. RESULTS: There were significant decreases (p < 0.05) between the pre- and postprogram baseline scans in the right amygdala, dorsal medial cortex, and sensorimotor area. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the pre- and postprogram percentage change (i.e., activation) in the right dorsal medial frontal lobe, prefrontal cortex, and right sensorimotor cortex. CONCLUSIONS: These initial findings suggest the brain experiences a "training effect" after 12 weeks of IY training.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 15
    Issue 1
    Pages 9-14
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0008
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Short Title Cerebral blood flow effects of yoga training
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19769471
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 4:27:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19769471
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Objectives Experienced practitioners of yoga have been shown to alter brain function, but this case series measured cerebral blood flow before and after a 12-week training program in Iyengar yoga (IY) for naïve subjects. Methods: On the first day, each of the 4 subjects listened to the teacher speaking on the history and background of the yoga program while they were injected with 250 MBq of (99m)Tc-bicisate and received a single photon emission computed tomography scan (pre-program baseline). Subjects then had their first IY training and were injected and scanned with 925 MBq bicisate while they did their first meditation (pre-program meditation). Subjects then underwent a 12-week training program in IY and then underwent the same imaging protocol with a postprogram baseline and postprogram meditation scan. Baseline and meditation scans, before and after training, were compared using paired t tests. Results: There were significant decreases (p < 0.05) between the pre- and postprogram baseline scans in the right amygdala, dorsal medial cortex, and sensorimotor area. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the pre- and postprogram percentage change (i.e., activation) in the right dorsal medial frontal lobe, prefrontal cortex, and right sensorimotor cortex. Conclusions: These initial findings suggest the brain experiences a “training effect” after 12 weeks of IY training.

  • Does religiosity protect against cognitive and behavioral decline in Alzheimer's dementia?

    Type Journal Article
    Author A Coin
    Author E Perissinotto
    Author M Najjar
    Author A Girardi
    Author E M Inelmen
    Author G Enzi
    Author E Manzato
    Author G Sergi
    Abstract BACKGROUND: several studies have shown that religiosity has beneficial effects on health, mortality and pathological conditions; little is known about religiosity in Alzheimer's disease and the progression of its cognitive, behavioral and functional symptoms. Our aim was to identify any relationship between religiosity and the progression of cognitive impairment and behavioral disorders in mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease, and any relationship between the patient's religiosity and the stress in caregivers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 64 patients with Alzheimer's disease were analyzed at baseline and 12 months later using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Behavioral Religiosity Scale (BRS) and the Francis Short Scale (FSS). Caregivers were also questioned on the patient's functional abilities (ADL, IADL), the behavioral disturbances (NPI), and on their stress (NPI-D, CBI). Patients were divided into 2 groups according to BRS: a score of <24 meant no or low religiosity (LR), while a score of > or =24 meant moderate or high religiosity (HR). FINDINGS: LR patients had worsened more markedly after 12 months in their total cognitive and behavioral test scores. Stress was also significantly higher in the caregivers of the LR group. Global BRS and FSS scores correlated significantly with variations after 1 year in the MMSE (r: 0.50), NPI (r:-0.51), NPI-D (r:-0.55) and CBI (r:-0.62). A low religiosity coincided with a higher risk of cognitive impairment, considered as a 3-point decrease in MMSE score (OR 6.7, CI: 1.8-24.7). INTERPRETATION: higher levels of religiosity in Alzheimer's dementia seem to correlate with a slower cognitive and behavioral decline, with a corresponding significant reduction of the caregiver's burden.
    Publication Current Alzheimer Research
    Volume 7
    Issue 5
    Pages 445-452
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr Curr Alzheimer Res
    ISSN 1875-5828
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20088813
    Extra PMID: 20088813
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
  • A Study of Religiosity and Psychological Well-being Among African Americans: Implications for Counseling and Psychotherapeutic Processes

    Type Journal Article
    Author LK Colbert
    Author JL Jefferson
    Author R Gallo
    Author R Davis
    Abstract This study examined whether a relationship exists between religious orientation as a therapy intervention and the degree of depression, coping behavior and self-esteem among African American adults. In addition, the relationship and predictive power of selected religious and socio-demographic variables and religious orientation as a therapy intervention were studied. African American adults were randomly selected to participate in this empirical study. Age had a significant independent effect on intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity and a linear relationship was found between extrinsic religiosity and the seven demographic predictor variables at the .05 level of significance.
    Publication Journal of Religion & Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 3
    Pages 278-289
    Date SEP 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9195-9
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Short Title A Study of Religiosity and Psychological Well-being Among African Americans
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=AdvancedSearch&…
    Accessed Sunday, November 01, 2009 11:54:23 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Spirituality and sexual orientation: relationship to mental well-being and functional health status

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher L Coleman
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Research has shown that spirituality has a positive effect on physical and mental health; however, few studies have explored the influence of spirituality and sexuality on mental well-being and functional health status in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIM: This descriptive cross-sectional study was designed to examine the relationships among spirituality, sexual orientation, mental well-being and aspects of functional health status (physical, role, social and cognitive functioning) in a sample of 117 African-American men and women living with HIV/AIDS. METHODS: Spirituality was measured using the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. A demographic questionnaire gathered data on sexual orientation, age and gender. The Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire-30 assessed aspects of functional health status and mental well-being. The HIV Symptom Checklist for Persons With HIV disease was used to collect data on HIV symptoms. The data were collected in 1996. FINDINGS: The findings indicate that spirituality had a direct relationship with cognitive and social functioning and was inversely related to HIV symptoms. Sexual orientation had direct relationships with mental well-being, cognitive, physical, social and role functioning. t-Tests showed that heterosexual participants reported poorer mental well-being and functional health status compared with homosexual participants. Regression analysis showed that spirituality, sexual orientation, age and HIV symptoms contributed significantly to mental well-being and functional health status. CONCLUSIONS: The regression analysis showed that spirituality, sexual orientation, age and HIV symptoms contributed significantly to mental well-being and functional health status. Further research is needed to explore the various ways that sexual orientation influences health status findings in those with HIV disease in certain segments of the population. The findings support the inclusion of spirituality as a variable when examining mental well-being and physical health. Finally, given the limitations of the design, more rigorous methods should be employed to understand further the contribution of spirituality to the health status of African-Americans living with HIV, because of its social importance to this particular community.
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 43
    Issue 5
    Pages 457-464
    Date Sep 2003
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    ISSN 0309-2402
    Short Title Spirituality and sexual orientation
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12919264
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:23:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12919264
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Attitude to Health
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Questionnaires
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Sexual behavior
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This descriptive cross-sectional study was designed to examine the relationships among spirituality, sexual orientation, mental well-being and aspects of functional health status (physical, role, social and cognitive functioning) in a sample of 117 African-American men and women living with HIV/AIDS. Conclusions: The regression analysis showed that spirituality, sexual orientation, age and HIV symptoms contributed significantly to mental well-being and functional health status.

  • Predictors of self-efficacy to use condoms among seropositive middle-aged African American men

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher Lance Coleman
    Author Katherine Ball
    Abstract Condom use during sexual encounters continues to be a challenge for seropositive individuals. Hence, the influence of personal characteristics, AIDS knowledge, and religious well-being on perceived self-efficacy to use condoms has been examined in a convenience nonprobabilistic sample of 130 middle-aged seropositive African American men from the Mid-Atlantic region. AIDS knowledge and religious well-being are strongly related to self-efficacy to use condoms. These findings indicate that it is critical to explore further the relationship of AIDS knowledge and religious well-being with self-efficacy to use condoms.
    Publication Western Journal of Nursing Research
    Volume 31
    Issue 7
    Pages 889-904
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr West J Nurs Res
    DOI 10.1177/0193945909339895
    ISSN 0193-9459
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19858525
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 8:18:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19858525
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Spiritual belief, social support, physical functioning and depression among older people in Bulgaria and Romania.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter G. Coleman
    Author Roxana O. Carare
    Author Ignat Petrov
    Author Elizabeth Forbes
    Author Anita Saigal
    Author John H. Spreadbury
    Author Andrea Yap
    Author Tony Kendrick
    Abstract Objectives: An exploratory investigation is reported into the role of spirituality and religious practice in protecting against depression among older people living in rural villages in Bulgaria and Romania, two neighbouring countries with similar cultural, political and religious histories, but with differing levels of current religiosity. Methods: In both countries, interviews were conducted with samples of 160 persons of 60 years and over in villages of similar socio-economic status. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression-D scale and the Royal Free Interview for Religious and Spiritual Beliefs were used to assess depression and spiritual belief and practice respectively. In addition social support, physical functioning and the presence of chronic diseases were assessed. One year later, follow-up interviews were conducted with 58 of the original sample in Bulgaria, in which additional measures of depression and of spiritual belief and practice were also included. Results: The study demonstrates, as expected, significantly lower levels of spiritual belief in the Bulgarian sample (Bulgarian mean 29.7 (SD = 19.1), Romanian mean 47.6 (SD = 11.2), t = 10.2, p < 0.001), as well as significantly higher levels of depression (Bulgarian mean 12.0 (SD = 4.9), Romanian mean 7.3 (SD = 4.1), t = 9.3, p < 0.001), the latter attributable in large part to higher morbidity and disability rates, but less evidently to differences in strength of belief. However, analyses from both the cross-sectional study and the one-year follow-up of the Bulgarian sample do suggest that spiritual belief and practice may both influence and reflect physical and mental illness. Conclusions: Much of Eastern Europe displays high rates of depression among its older population and provides opportunities for investigation of the role of religious belief and practice in preventing and coping with depression. Further research is encouraged in populations of diverse religiosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Aging & Mental Health
    Volume 15
    Issue 3
    Pages 327-333
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13607863.2010.519320
    ISSN 13607863
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM

    Tags:

    • BULGARIA
    • DEPRESSION in old age -- Research
    • GERIATRIC psychiatry
    • OLDER people -- Functional assessment
    • ROMANIA
    • social support
    • SPIRITUALITY -- Research
  • Gender differences in use of prayer as a self-care strategy for managing symptoms in African Americans living with HIV/AIDS

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher Lance Coleman
    Author William L Holzemer
    Author Lucille Sanzero Eller
    Author Inge Corless
    Author Nancy Reynolds
    Author Kathleen M Nokes
    Author Jeanne K Kemppainen
    Author Pam Dole
    Author Kenn Kirksey
    Author Liz Seficik
    Author Patrice Nicholas
    Author Mary Jane Hamilton
    Abstract The objective of this study was to explore the association of gender to use of prayer as a self-care strategy for managing the HIV-related symptoms of fatigue, nausea, depression, and anxiety among African American men and women who are HIV-seropositive. To accomplish this, data were determined using convenience sampling from a sample of 448 African American men and women from the United States who were participants in a national study on self-care symptom management of HIV/AIDS. Chi-square analyses were used to examine the potential relationships between gender and the use of prayer for managing the four symptoms. The mean age of the sample was 42.69 +/- 7.93 years (range, 20-66). Results showed the following gender differences in the use of prayer as a self-care strategy: fatigue-men 46% (n = 62), women 54% (n = 74); nausea-men 52% (n = 33), women 48% (n = 30); depression-men 55% (n = 90), women 45% (n = 73); and anxiety-men 77% (n = 83), women 87% (n = 73). Chi-square analyses determined that significant differences exist between African American men and women in the frequency of the use of prayer for managing HIV-related fatigue (chi(2) = 14.81, 1 df, p = .000), nausea (chi(2) = 4.10, 1 df, p =.043), and depression (chi(2) = 5.21, 1 df, p = .022). There was no gender difference in the use of prayer to manage anxiety. Prayer was reported as a self-care strategy by over 50% of the respondents for three of the four symptoms and was rated highly efficacious. The authors conclude that the African American men and women differed in their selection of prayer as a self-care strategy for managing HIV-related depression, fatigue, and nausea. A higher proportion of women than men used prayer to manage fatigue, and more men than women reported using prayer to manage nausea and depression.
    Publication The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care: JANAC
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 16-23
    Date 2006 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care
    DOI 10.1016/j.jana.2006.05.005
    ISSN 1055-3290
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16849085
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:43:10 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16849085
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Anxiety
    • Attitude to Health
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • depression
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Fatigue
    • Female
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Men
    • Middle Aged
    • Nausea
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Self Care
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality
    • United States
    • WOMEN

    Notes:

    • The objective of this study was to explore the association of gender to use of prayer as a self-care strategy for managing the HIV-related symptoms of fatigue, nausea, depression, and anxiety among African American men and women who are HIV-seropositive. A higher proportion of women than men used prayer to manage fatigue, and more men than women reported using prayer to manage nausea and depression.

  • Fire and ice. Natives, alcohol and spirituality, a northern health paradigm

    Type Journal Article
    Author P Colorado
    Publication Arctic Medical Research
    Volume 47 Suppl 1
    Pages 598-603
    Date 1988
    Journal Abbr Arctic Med Res
    ISSN 0782-226X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3272696
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:08:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 3272696
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Alcoholism
    • Arctic Regions
    • Canada
    • Cultural Characteristics
    • Culture
    • Humans
    • Indians, North American
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • Social Environment
  • Religion and spirituality along the suicidal path

    Type Journal Article
    Author Erminia Colucci
    Author Graham Martin
    Abstract The inner experience of spiritual and religious feelings is an integral part of the everyday lives of many individuals. For over 100 years the role of religion as a deterrent to suicidal behavior has been studied in various disciplines. We attempt to systematize the existing literature investigating the relationship between religion/spirituality and suicide in this paper. After an overview of the attitudes of the dominant religions (e.g., Catholicism, Islam, and Buddhism) toward suicide, the three main theories that have speculated regarding the link between religion and suicide are presented: "integration theory" (Durkheim, 1897/1997), "religious commitment theory" (Stack, 1983a; Stark, 1983), and "network theory" (Pescosolido & Georgianna, 1989). Subsequent to this theoretical introduction, we report on studies on religion/spirituality keeping the suicidal path as a reference: from suicidal ideation to nonlethal suicidal behavior to lethal suicidal behavior. Studies presenting indications of religious beliefs as a possible risk factor for suicidal behavior are also presented. The last section reviews possible intervention strategies for suicidal patients and suicide survivors. Indications for future research, such as more studies on nonreligious forms of spirituality and the use of qualitative methodology to achieve a better and deeper understanding of the spiritual dimension of suicidal behavior and treatment, are offered.
    Publication Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior
    Volume 38
    Issue 2
    Pages 229-244
    Date Apr 2008
    Journal Abbr Suicide Life Threat Behav
    DOI 10.1521/suli.2008.38.2.229
    ISSN 0363-0234
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18444780
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:25:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18444780
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Bereavement
    • Buddhism
    • Catholicism
    • Decision Making
    • Humans
    • Models, Psychological
    • Motivation
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Research Design
    • Risk Factors
    • spirituality
    • Suicide
    • Suicide, Assisted
    • Survivors

    Notes:

    • We attempt to systematize the existing literature investigating the relationship between religion/spirituality and suicide in this paper. Indications for future research are offered.

  • Church Attendance and Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author George Comstock
    Author K Partridge
    Abstract Associations between church attendance and health were investigated. Previous studies that mention church attendance as a health-related variable are reviewed, and the results of a 1963 survey of residents of Washington County, Maryland, that included a question on church attendance are analyzed. The results show that the risk of dying from arteriosclerotic heart disease is about twice as high among infrequent church attenders as in frequent church attenders, and death rates from emphysema, cirrhosis, and suicide are also appreciably higher among infrequent attenders.
    Publication Journal of Chronic Diseases
    Volume 25
    Issue 12
    Pages 665-72
    Date Dec. 1972
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Associations between church attendance and health were investigated. Previous studies that mention church attendance as a health-related variable are reviewed, and the results of a 1963 survey of residents of Washington County, Maryland, that included a question on church attendance are analyzed. The results show that the risk of dying from arteriosclerotic heart disease is about twice as high among infrequent church attenders as in frequent church attenders, and death rates from emphysema, cirrhosis, and suicide are also appreciably higher among infrequent attenders.

  • Effect of Religiosity and Spirituality on Drug Treatment Outcomes.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bradley T. Conner
    Author M. Douglas Anglin
    Author Jeffery Annon
    Author Douglas Longshore
    Abstract This study empirically tested one component of a comprehensive model of the role of religiosity and spirituality (R/S) in drug treatment that is presented as a companion article in this special issue. Data collected from individuals dependent on heroin receiving narcotic replacement therapy were used to assess the effects of R/S on drug treatment outcomes. Based on their R and S scores, participants were assigned to one of four groups: those whose scores remained consistently high across the 12-month study period were compared to those whose scores were consistently low, increased, or decreased across the same period. Results indicated that at both study completion (12 months after admission) and 6 months after that participants in the consistently high and increasing spirituality groups self-reported significantly fewer days of heroin and cocaine/crack use than those in the consistently low group ( p < 0.05). There were no significant differences among the religiosity groups on self-reported heroin or cocaine/crack use. Results from χ2 analyses indicated that at 12 months the results of urinalysis for the presence of opiates, but not cocaine/crack, were dependent on spirituality group membership ( p < 0.01) but not religiosity group membership. Results also indicated that at the 6-month follow-up, there were significantly more participants in the decreasing group who were not in maintenance treatment who had a positive urinalysis and fewer in the increasing group than would be expected if the two variables were independent ( p < 0.05). Implications for addictions health services are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research
    Volume 36
    Issue 2
    Pages 189-198
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s11414-008-9145-z
    ISSN 10943412
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • DRUG addiction -- Treatment
    • DRUG addiction -- Treatment -- Religious aspects
    • OUTCOME assessment (Medical care) -- Research
    • RELIGIOUSNESS -- Research
    • SPIRITUALITY -- Therapeutic use
  • Effect of religiosity and spirituality on drug treatment outcomes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bradley T Conner
    Author M Douglas Anglin
    Author Jeffery Annon
    Author Douglas Longshore
    Abstract This study empirically tested one component of a comprehensive model of the role of religiosity and spirituality (R/S) in drug treatment that is presented as a companion article in this special issue. Data collected from individuals dependent on heroin receiving narcotic replacement therapy were used to assess the effects of R/S on drug treatment outcomes. Based on their R and S scores, participants were assigned to one of four groups: those whose scores remained consistently high across the 12-month study period were compared to those whose scores were consistently low, increased, or decreased across the same period. Results indicated that at both study completion (12 months after admission) and 6 months after that participants in the consistently high and increasing spirituality groups self-reported significantly fewer days of heroin and cocaine/crack use than those in the consistently low group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences among the religiosity groups on self-reported heroin or cocaine/crack use. Results from chi(2) analyses indicated that at 12 months the results of urinalysis for the presence of opiates, but not cocaine/crack, were dependent on spirituality group membership (p < 0.01) but not religiosity group membership. Results also indicated that at the 6-month follow-up, there were significantly more participants in the decreasing group who were not in maintenance treatment who had a positive urinalysis and fewer in the increasing group than would be expected if the two variables were independent (p < 0.05). Implications for addictions health services are discussed.
    Publication The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research
    Volume 36
    Issue 2
    Pages 189-198
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Behav Health Serv Res
    DOI 10.1007/s11414-008-9145-z
    ISSN 1556-3308
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18770043
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:12:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18770043
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Analgesics, Opioid
    • Cocaine-Related Disorders
    • Female
    • Heroin Dependence
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Methadone
    • Methadyl Acetate
    • Middle Aged
    • Narcotics
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Data collected from individuals dependent on heroin receiving narcotic replacement therapy were used to assess the effects of R/S on drug treatment outcomes. Results indicated that at both study completion (12 months after admission) and 6 months after that participants in the consistently high and increasing spirituality groups self-reported significantly fewer days of heroin and cocaine/crack use than those in the consistently low group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences among the religiosity groups on self-reported heroin or cocaine/crack use.

  • Spirituality and secularity: professional boundaries in psychiatry.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher C. H. Cook
    Author Andrew Powell
    Author Andrew Sims
    Author Sarah Eagger
    Abstract Spirituality is assuming increasing importance in clinical practice and in research in psychiatry. This increasing salience of spirituality raises important questions about the boundaries of good professional practice. Answers to these questions require not only careful attention to defining and understanding the nature of spirituality, but also closer attention to the nature of concepts of secularity and self than psychiatry has usually given. Far from being 'neutral ground,' secularity is inherently biased against concepts of transcendence. Our secular age is preoccupied with a form of immanence that emphasises interiority, autonomy and reason, but this preoccupation has paradoxically been associated with an explosion of interest in the transcendent in new, often non-religious and non-traditional forms. This context, as well as the increasing evidence base for spiritual and religious coping as important ways of dealing with mental stress and mental disorder, requires that psychiatry gives more careful attention to the ways in which people find meaning in spirituality and religion. This in turn requires that more clinical attention be routinely given to spiritual history taking and the incorporation of spiritual considerations in treatment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 35-42
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674676.2010.484935
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Spirituality and secularity
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
  • Case Study of a Chaplain's Spiritual Care for a Patient with Advanced Metastatic Breast Cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rhonda S Cooper
    Abstract The case study seeks to describe an oncology chaplain's pastoral relationship with a 64-year-old woman with advanced metastatic breast cancer. The patient's distress was complicated by a history of anxiety and other chronic medical conditions. Approximately 16 pastoral encounters occurred during the last year of the patient's life. The patient, chaplain, and the pastoral conversations are presented as well as a retrospective assessment of them. The chaplain's interventions were appropriate for the patient's spiritual needs, particularly in regard to her fear of death, loneliness, grief that her life was "too short" and estrangement from her inherited faith tradition, with observable benefits for the patient. The oncology chaplain has a distinctive role in the healthcare team as one who can meet the patient at the point of their spiritual need, provide appropriate interventions and, thereby, ameliorate the distress, particularly in regard to death anxiety, peace of mind, and issues of meaning.
    Publication Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 19-37
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr J Health Care Chaplain
    DOI 10.1080/08854726.2011.559832
    ISSN 1528-6916
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21534064
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:55:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21534064
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM

    Notes:

    • The case study seeks to describe an oncology chaplain's pastoral relationship with a 64-year-old woman with advanced metastatic breast cancer. The patient's distress was complicated by a history of anxiety and other chronic medical conditions. Approximately 16 pastoral encounters occurred during the last year of the patient's life. The patient, chaplain, and the pastoral conversations are presented as well as a retrospective assessment of them. The chaplain's interventions were appropriate for the patient's spiritual needs, particularly in regard to her fear of death, loneliness, grief that her life was "too short" and estrangement from her inherited faith tradition, with observable benefits for the patient. The oncology chaplain has a distinctive role in the healthcare team as one who can meet the patient at the point of their spiritual need, provide appropriate interventions and, thereby, ameliorate the distress, particularly in regard to death anxiety, peace of mind, and issues of meaning.

  • Differentiated styles of attachment to God and varying religious coping efforts.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laura B. Cooper
    Author A. Jerry Bruce
    Author Marsha J. Harman
    Author Marcus T. Boccaccini
    Abstract The Attachment to God Inventory (AGI) and Religious Coping Activities Scale (RCAS) were given to 159 church-going adults. A median split using AGI Avoidance and Anxiety scales divided participants into Secure (24.46%), Dismissing (20.14%), Preoccupied (25.18%), and Fearful (30.22%) styles. These four groups were analyzed in relation to the six scales of the RCAS. Results indicated that Secure and Preoccupied used more Christian activities and ideas in coping. Secure also scored higher on religious avoidance, turning to religion to avoid problems. Dismissing focused more on good works and also avoided any sense of pleading. Fearful showed greater anger and doubt toward God. The only scale that failed to show a difference was the scale which represents the notion of using the church and pastor as a means of support. One can see that religious adults have differing attachment styles and vary in their use of religion to cope with life experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Psychology and Theology
    Volume 37
    Issue 2
    Pages 134-141
    Date 2009
    ISSN 0091-6471
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • attachment behavior
    • attachment to God
    • church-going adults
    • Coping Behavior
    • God Concepts
    • Religious Coping
    • Religious Practices
  • How important is intrinsic spirituality in depression care? A comparison of white and African-American primary care patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author L A Cooper
    Author C Brown
    Author H T Vu
    Author D E Ford
    Author N R Powe
    Abstract We used a cross-sectional survey to compare the views of African-American and white adult primary care patients (N = 76) regarding the importance of various aspects of depression care. Patients were asked to rate the importance of 126 aspects of depression care (derived from attitudinal domains identified in focus groups) on a 5-point Likert scale. The 30 most important items came from 9 domains: 1) health professionals' interpersonal skills, 2) primary care provider recognition of depression, 3) treatment effectiveness, 4) treatment problems, 5) patient understanding about treatment, 6) intrinsic spirituality, 7) financial access, 8) life experiences, and 9) social support. African-American and white patients rated most aspects of depression care as similarly important, except that the odds of rating spirituality as extremely important for depression care were 3 times higher for African Americans than the odds for whites.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 9
    Pages 634-638
    Date Sep 2001
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    ISSN 0884-8734
    Short Title How important is intrinsic spirituality in depression care?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11556945
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:58:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11556945
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • depression
    • European Continental Ancestry Group
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology

    Notes:

    • We used a cross-sectional survey to compare the views of African-American and white adult primary care patients (N = 76) regarding the importance of various aspects of depression care. The 30 most important items came from 9 domains: 1) health professionals’ interpersonal skills, 2) primary care provider recognition of depression, 3) treatment effectiveness, 4) treatment problems, 5) patient understanding about treatment, 6) intrinsic spirituality, 7) financial access, 8) life experiences, and 9) social support.

  • Natural stress relief meditation as a tool for reducing anxiety and increasing self-actualization.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Fabrizio Coppola
    Author David Spector
    Abstract Natural Stress Relief (NSR) Meditation, a mental technique practiced for 15 minutes twice a day, reduces stress and anxiety by inducing a physiological state of deep rest. Regular practice of this technique appears to reduce trait anxiety and to develop qualities associated with selfactualization, such as inner peace, satisfaction, and creativity. This article reports new research that documents this effect using psychometric measures. A group of 31 practitioners showed, after four weeks of regular practice, a significant reduction of trait anxiety as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983) (effect size d = .69, calculated following Cohen), and a significant increase of selfactualization as measured by the Jones and Crandall (1986) Short Index of Self-Actualization (SISA; effect size d = .47). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal
    Volume 37
    Issue 3
    Pages 307-311
    Date April 2009
    ISSN 03012212
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • MEDITATION -- Psychological aspects
    • PEACE of mind
    • Psychometrics
    • SELF-actualization (Psychology)
    • STRESS (Psychology) -- Research
  • Helping patients who've had near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author D K Corcoran
    Publication Nursing
    Volume 18
    Issue 11
    Pages 34-39
    Date Nov 1988
    Journal Abbr Nursing
    ISSN 0360-4039
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/3211414
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:21:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 3211414
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Death
    • Humans
    • Nursing Care
    • Parapsychology
    • religion
  • The spiritual vision within

    Type Journal Article
    Author G Michael Cordner
    Abstract Fantasy experiences, as described by Carl Jung, Ira Progoff and others, and as used by the author in pastoral counseling, are essentially spiritual experiences. They share basic similarities with revelatory religious experiences particularly in terms of the process of surrender to the experience, and incorporation of the completed experience. Revelatory experiences described in scripture, for example, may be viewed as experiences of a fantasy process. Through fantasy, the essential experiential dimension of spirituality is recaptured.
    Publication Journal of Pastoral Care
    Volume 35
    Issue 1
    Pages 42-51
    Date March 1981
    ISSN 0022-3409
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rfh&…
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Fantasy
    • Imagination
    • Peer reviewed
    • Psychology, Religious
    • Spiritual life
    • Symbolism in religion

    Notes:

    • Fantasy experiences, as described by Carl Jung, Ira Progoff and others, and as used by the author in pastoral counseling, are essentially spiritual experiences. They share basic similarities with revelatory religious experiences particularly in terms of the process of surrender to the experience, and incorporation of the completed experience. Revelatory experiences described in scripture, for example, may be viewed as experiences of a fantasy process. Through fantasy, the essential experiential dimension of spirituality is recaptured.

  • The Role of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Perceived Stress: Preliminary Evidence for the Moderating Role of Attachment Style

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shari L. Cordon
    Author Kirk Warren Brown
    Author Pamela R. Gibson
    Abstract The current research investigated whether adult attachment style moderated the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) participation on levels of perceived stress. Study completing participants (secure group n = 65; insecure group n = 66) completed pre- and postintervention self-report assessments of perceived stress. The insecure group reported significantly higher stress levels prior to MBSR participation, but both groups showed significant pre-post intervention declines in perceived stress. Compared to the secure group, the insecure group also reported marginally lower perceived stress following MBSR participation. Study findings support the efficacy of MBSR for stress reduction across attachment style. Findings also suggest that MBSR participation may provide slightly greater stress reduction benefits for insecurely attached individuals.
    Publication Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 23
    Pages 258-269
    Date August 2009
    DOI 10.1891/0889-8391.23.3.258
    Short Title The Role of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Perceived Stress
    URL http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/springer/jcogp/2009/00000023/00000003/art00006
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:02:39 PM
    Library Catalog IngentaConnect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attachment Style
    • Mbsr
    • Mindfulness
    • Perceived Stress

    Notes:

    • The current research investigated whether adult attachment style moderated the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) participation on levels of perceived stress. Study findings support the efficacy of MBSR for stress reduction across attachment style. Findings also suggest that MBSR participation may provide slightly greater stress reduction benefits for insecurely attached individuals.

  • Religion and spirituality in the lives of people with serious mental illness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Patrick Corrigan
    Author Brian McCorkle
    Author Bonnie Schell
    Author Kathryn Kidder
    Abstract Although there is a fair sized literature documenting the relationship of religiousness and spirituality with health and well-being, far fewer studies have examined this phenomenon for people with serious mental illness. In this research, religiousness is defined as participation in an institutionalized doctrine while spirituality is framed as an individual pursuit of meaning outside the world of immediate experience. In this study, 1,824 people with serious mental illness completed self-report measures of religiousness and spirituality. They also completed measures of three health outcome domains: self-perceived well-being, psychiatric symptoms, and life goal achievement. Results showed that both religiousness and spirituality were significantly associated with proxies of well being and symptoms, but not of goal achievement. Implications of these findings for enhancing the lives of people with psychiatric disability are discussed.
    Publication Community Mental Health Journal
    Volume 39
    Issue 6
    Pages 487-499
    Date Dec 2003
    Journal Abbr Community Ment Health J
    ISSN 0010-3853
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14713056
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:42:47 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14713056
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • United States

    Notes:

    • In this study, 1,824 people with serious mental illness completed self-report measures of religiousness and spirituality. Results showed that both religiousness and spirituality were significantly associated with proxies of well being and symptoms, but not of goal achievement.

  • Religious attendance reduces cognitive decline among older women with high levels of depressive symptoms

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth A Corsentino
    Author Nicole Collins
    Author Natalie Sachs-Ericsson
    Author Dan G Blazer
    Abstract BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence that regular attendance at religious functions is associated with less cognitive decline (CD). However, little research has investigated factors that may moderate the religious attendance-CD relationship. The present study examined the effects of gender and depressive symptoms on the relationship between religious attendance and CD. METHODS: Data were drawn from waves 1 and 2 of the Duke Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, which were 3 years apart. Participants consisted of a sample of community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older (N = 2,938). Linear regression analyses were conducted controlling for important demographic-, socioeconomic-, and health-related variables. Cognitive functioning was assessed at both waves to examine change in errors over time. RESULTS: Greater religious attendance was related to less CD. In addition, there was a three-way interaction between religious attendance, gender, and depressive symptoms in predicting CD. Among women with higher levels of depressive symptoms, those who less frequently attended religious services experienced greater CD than those who more frequently attended religious services. The interaction between attendance and depressive symptoms in men did not reach significance. CONCLUSIONS: Religious attendance may offer mental stimulation that helps to maintain cognitive functioning in later life, particularly among older depressed women. Given the possible benefits religious attendance may have on cognitive functioning, it may be appropriate in certain instances for clinicians to recommend that clients reengage in religious activities they may have given up as a result of their depression.
    Publication The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
    Volume 64
    Issue 12
    Pages 1283-1289
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci
    DOI 10.1093/gerona/glp116
    ISSN 1758-535X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19675176
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 12:12:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19675176
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Aging
    • Cognition Disorders
    • Cohort Studies
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Geriatric Assessment
    • Humans
    • Incidence
    • Linear Models
    • Probability
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Questionnaires
    • Reference Values
    • Registries
    • Risk Assessment
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Self-control failure in Catholicism, Islam, and cognitive psychology

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steven Cottam
    Abstract Our human condition is often defined in terms of human fallibility; we are human specifically because we fail to live up to our own expectations. This paper explores various conceptions of one form of human fallibility: self-control failure. Self-control failure is examined through two conceptualizations, with each conceptualization observed through a corresponding theological and psychological lens: first, as the result of a divided, conflicted humanity, as understood by the Catholic Doctrine of Original Sin and psychological Dual-Process Theories of Cognition; and second, as the result of limited goal perception, as understood by Islamic conceptions of human memory and psychological Construal Level Theory. A concluding discussion considers two broader implications of the preceding analysis: first, that an appropriate understanding of human fallibility can help us to mitigate its effects, and second, that a conversation regarding overlapping concepts across academic disciplines and religious traditions can enrich understanding of said concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science
    Volume 46
    Issue 2
    Pages 491-499
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2010.01187.x
    ISSN 05912385
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM

    Tags:

    • CATHOLIC Church
    • COGNITIVE psychology
    • ISLAM
    • KORAN
    • SELF-control -- Religious aspects
    • SIN, Original
    • Theological anthropology
    • Theology, Doctrinal
  • Religiosity, spirituality, and adolescent sexuality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Devon Berry
    Abstract There are many individual, family, and cultural factors that influence the development of healthy sexuality in adolescents. One factor that is less often described but may play a role is religion/spirituality. Adolescents' religious/spiritual belief system or the cultural religious context within which they are raised may impact their attitudes or beliefs about having sex before marriage, decisions about the timing of coital debut, or contraceptive practices. In this article we will define the terms "religiosity" and "spirituality"; highlight the key scientific literature on the relationships between religiosity, spirituality, and adolescent sexual health outcomes (e.g., coital debut, contraceptive practices), including describing why religiosity/spirituality may be related to these outcomes; and briefly discuss programs/clinical implications for integrating these findings into clinical practice.
    Publication Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews
    Volume 18
    Issue 3
    Pages 471-483, vi
    Date Dec 2007
    Journal Abbr Adolesc Med State Art Rev
    ISSN 1934-4287
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18453228
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:55:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18453228
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Behavior
    • Adolescent Psychology
    • Attitude to Health
    • Coitus
    • Contraception Behavior
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Life Style
    • Male
    • Religion and Sex
    • Sexual Abstinence
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Adolescents’ religious/spiritual belief system or the cultural religious context within which they are raised may impact their attitudes or beliefs about having sex before marriage, decisions about the timing of coital debut, or contraceptive practices.

  • Measurement of religiosity/spirituality in adolescent health outcomes research: trends and recommendations

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Meghan E McGrady
    Author Susan L Rosenthal
    Abstract The relationship between religious/spiritual (R/S) factors and adolescent health outcomes has been studied for decades; however, the R/S measurement tools used may not be developmentally relevant for adolescents. A systematic literature review was conducted to review and evaluate trends in measuring R/S in adolescent health outcomes research. In this review a total of 100 articles met criteria for inclusion. Relatively few (n = 15) included adolescent-specific R/S measures or items accounting for developmentally relevant issues such as parental religiosity or age-appropriate language. Future R/S and health research with adolescents would be strengthened by incorporating developmentally relevant R/S measurement tools, psychometrics, and multidimensional measures.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 414-444
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-010-9324-0
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Measurement of religiosity/spirituality in adolescent health outcomes research
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20127172
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:03:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20127172
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM

    Notes:

    • This article is a systematic literature review was conducted to review and evaluate trends in measuring religious/spiritual (R/S) factors in adolescent health outcomes research. In this review a total of 100 articles met criteria for inclusion. Relatively few (n = 15) included adolescent-specific R/S measures or items accounting for developmentally relevant issues such as parental religiosity or age-appropriate language.

  • Spiritual well-being and mental health outcomes in adolescents with or without inflammatory bowel disease

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Ian Kudel
    Author Yvonne Humenay Roberts
    Author Harini Pallerla
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Author Paul Succop
    Author Michael S Yi
    Abstract PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was threefold: 1) to describe spiritual well-being (existential and religious well-being) in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) versus healthy peers; 2) to examine associations of spiritual well-being with mental health outcomes (emotional functioning and depressive symptoms); and 3) to assess the differential impact of existential versus religious well-being on mental health. METHODS: A total of 155 adolescents aged 11-19 years from a children's hospital and a university hospital filled out questionnaires including the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Children's Depression Inventory-Short Form, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Covariates in multivariable models included demographics, disease status, and interactions. RESULTS: Participants' mean (SD) age was 15.1 (2.0) years; 80 (52%) were male; and 121 (78%) were of white ethnicity. Levels of existential and religious well-being were similar between adolescents with IBD and healthy peers. In multivariable analyses, existential well-being was associated with mental health (partial R(2) change = .08-.11, p < .01) above and beyond other characteristics (total R(2) = .23, p < .01). Presence of disease moderated both the relationship between existential well-being and emotional functioning and that between religious well-being and depressive symptoms: that is, the relationships were stronger in adolescents with IBD as compared with healthy peers. Religious well-being was only marginally significantly associated with mental health after controlling for other factors. CONCLUSIONS: Although both healthy adolescents and those with IBD had high levels of spiritual well-being, having IBD moderated the relationship between spiritual well-being and mental health. Meaning/purpose was related to mental health more than was connectedness to the sacred.
    Publication The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
    Volume 44
    Issue 5
    Pages 485-492
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J Adolesc Health
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.09.013
    ISSN 1879-1972
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:17:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19380097
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Case-Control Studies
    • Child
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Ohio
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult
  • Religious/Spiritual coping in adolescents with sickle cell disease: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Daniel Grossoehme
    Author Susan L Rosenthal
    Author Meghan E McGrady
    Author Yvonne Humenay Roberts
    Author Janelle Hines
    Author Michael S Yi
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Abstract Religious/spiritual (R/S) coping has been associated with health outcomes in chronically ill adults; however, little is known about how adolescents use R/S to cope with a chronic illness such as sickle cell disease (SCD). Using a mixed method approach (quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews), we examined R/S coping, spirituality, and health-related quality of life in 48 adolescents with SCD and 42 parents of adolescents with SCD. Adolescents reported high rates of religious attendance and belief in God, prayed often, and had high levels of spirituality (eg, finding meaning/peace in their lives and deriving comfort from faith). Thirty-five percent of adolescents reported praying once or more a day for symptom management. The most common positive R/S coping strategies used by adolescents were: "Asked forgiveness for my sins" (73% of surveys) and "Sought God's love and care" (73% of surveys). Most parents used R/S coping strategies to cope with their child's illness. R/S coping was not significantly associated with HRQOL (P=NS). R/S coping, particularly prayer, was relevant for adolescents with SCD and their parents. Future studies should assess adolescents' preferences for discussing R/S in the medical setting and whether R/S coping is related to HRQOL in larger samples.
    Publication Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology: Official Journal of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
    Volume 31
    Issue 5
    Pages 313-318
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J. Pediatr. Hematol. Oncol
    DOI 10.1097/MPH.0b013e31819e40e3
    ISSN 1536-3678
    Short Title Religious/Spiritual coping in adolescents with sickle cell disease
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:12:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19415008
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Psychology
    • Anemia, Sickle Cell
    • Child
    • Chronic Disease
    • Data Collection
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Pilot Projects
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult
  • Changes in religiousness and spirituality attributed to HIV/AIDS: are there sex and race differences?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Author Magdalena Szaflarski
    Author Ian Kudel
    Author Susan N Sherman
    Author Judith Feinberg
    Author Anthony C Leonard
    Author William C Holmes
    Abstract BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Having a serious illness such as HIV/AIDS raises existential issues, which are potentially manifested as changes in religiousness and spirituality. The objective of this study was (1) to describe changes in religiousness and spirituality of people with HIV/AIDS, and (2) to determine if these changes differed by sex and race. METHODS: Three-hundred and forty-seven adults with HIV/AIDS from 4 sites were asked demographic, clinical, and religious/spiritual questions. Six religious/spiritual questions assessed personal and social domains of religiousness and spirituality. RESULTS: Eighty-eight participants (25%) reported being "more religious" and 142 (41%) reported being "more spiritual" since being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Approximately 1 in 4 participants also reported that they felt more alienated by a religious group since their HIV/AIDS diagnosis and approximately 1 in 10 reported changing their place of religious worship because of HIV/AIDS. A total of 174 participants (50%) believed that their religiousness/spirituality helped them live longer. Fewer Caucasians than African Americans reported becoming more spiritual since their HIV/AIDS diagnosis (37% vs 52%, respectively; P<.015), more Caucasians than African Americans felt alienated from religious communities (44% vs 21%, respectively; P<.001), and fewer Caucasians than African Americans believed that their religiousness/spirituality helped them live longer (41% vs 68% respectively; P<.001). There were no significantly different reported changes in religious and spiritual experiences by sex. CONCLUSIONS: Many participants report having become more spiritual or religious since contracting HIV/AIDS, though many have felt alienated by a religious group-some to the point of changing their place of worship. Clinicians conducting spiritual assessments should be aware that changes in religious and spiritual experiences attributed to HIV/AIDS might differ between Caucasian and African Americans.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 21 Suppl 5
    Pages S14-20
    Date Dec 2006
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    DOI 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00641.x
    ISSN 1525-1497
    Short Title Changes in religiousness and spirituality attributed to HIV/AIDS
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17083495
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:55:54 PM
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    Extra PMID: 17083495
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Female
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Odds Ratio
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Sex Distribution
    • Social Alienation
    • United States

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study is to characterize spirituality/religion in a large and diverse sample of patients with HIV/AIDS by using several measures of spirituality/religion, to examine associations between spirituality/religion and a number of demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables, and to assess changes in levels of spirituality over 12 to 18 months. Conclusions: Most patients with HIV/AIDS belonged to an organized religion and use their religion to cope with their illness. Patients with greater optimism, greater self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, minorities, and patients who drink less alcohol tend to be both more spiritual and religious. Spirituality levels remain stable over 12 to 18 months.

  • Spirituality and religion in patients with HIV/AIDS

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Christina M Puchalski
    Author Susan N Sherman
    Author Joseph M Mrus
    Author Amy H Peterman
    Author Judith Feinberg
    Author Kenneth I Pargament
    Author Amy C Justice
    Author Anthony C Leonard
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Spirituality and religion are often central issues for patients dealing with chronic illness. The purpose of this study is to characterize spirituality/religion in a large and diverse sample of patients with HIV/AIDS by using several measures of spirituality/religion, to examine associations between spirituality/religion and a number of demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables, and to assess changes in levels of spirituality over 12 to 18 months. METHODS: We interviewed 450 patients from 4 clinical sites. Spirituality/religion was assessed by using 8 measures: the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality-Expanded scale (meaning/peace, faith, and overall spirituality); the Duke Religion Index (organized and nonorganized religious activities, and intrinsic religiosity); and the Brief RCOPE scale (positive and negative religious coping). Covariates included demographics and clinical characteristics, HIV symptoms, health status, social support, self-esteem, optimism, and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The patients' mean (SD) age was 43.3 (8.4) years; 387 (86%) were male; 246 (55%) were minorities; and 358 (80%) indicated a specific religious preference. Ninety-five (23%) participants attended religious services weekly, and 143 (32%) engaged in prayer or meditation at least daily. Three hundred thirty-nine (75%) patients said that their illness had strengthened their faith at least a little, and patients used positive religious coping strategies (e.g., sought God's love and care) more often than negative ones (e.g., wondered whether God has abandoned me; P<.0001). In 8 multivariable models, factors associated with most facets of spirituality/religion included ethnic and racial minority status, greater optimism, less alcohol use, having a religion, greater self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, and lower overall functioning (R2=.16 to .74). Mean levels of spirituality did not change significantly over 12 to 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with HIV/AIDS belonged to an organized religion and use their religion to cope with their illness. Patients with greater optimism, greater self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, minorities, and patients who drink less alcohol tend to be both more spiritual and religious. Spirituality levels remain stable over 12 to 18 months.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 21 Suppl 5
    Pages S5-13
    Date Dec 2006
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    DOI 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00642.x
    ISSN 1525-1497
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17083501
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:57:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17083501
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Alcohol Drinking
    • Ethnic Groups
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Residence Characteristics
    • Self Concept
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • United States

    Notes:

    • The objective of this study was (1) to describe changes in religiousness and spirituality of people with HIV/AIDS, and (2) to determine if these changes differed by sex and race. Conclusions: Many participants report having become more spiritual or religious since contracting HIV/AIDS, though many have felt alienated by a religious group-some to the point of changing their place of worship.

  • Religious/Spiritual coping in adolescents with sickle cell disease: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Daniel Grossoehme
    Author Susan L Rosenthal
    Author Meghan E McGrady
    Author Yvonne Humenay Roberts
    Author Janelle Hines
    Author Michael S Yi
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Abstract Religious/spiritual (R/S) coping has been associated with health outcomes in chronically ill adults; however, little is known about how adolescents use R/S to cope with a chronic illness such as sickle cell disease (SCD). Using a mixed method approach (quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews), we examined R/S coping, spirituality, and health-related quality of life in 48 adolescents with SCD and 42 parents of adolescents with SCD. Adolescents reported high rates of religious attendance and belief in God, prayed often, and had high levels of spirituality (eg, finding meaning/peace in their lives and deriving comfort from faith). Thirty-five percent of adolescents reported praying once or more a day for symptom management. The most common positive R/S coping strategies used by adolescents were: "Asked forgiveness for my sins" (73% of surveys) and "Sought God's love and care" (73% of surveys). Most parents used R/S coping strategies to cope with their child's illness. R/S coping was not significantly associated with HRQOL (P=NS). R/S coping, particularly prayer, was relevant for adolescents with SCD and their parents. Future studies should assess adolescents' preferences for discussing R/S in the medical setting and whether R/S coping is related to HRQOL in larger samples.
    Publication Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology: Official Journal of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
    Volume 31
    Issue 5
    Pages 313-318
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J. Pediatr. Hematol. Oncol
    DOI 10.1097/MPH.0b013e31819e40e3
    ISSN 1536-3678
    Short Title Religious/Spiritual coping in adolescents with sickle cell disease
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19415008
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:02:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19415008
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Psychology
    • Anemia, Sickle Cell
    • Child
    • Chronic Disease
    • Data Collection
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Pilot Projects
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Using a mixed method approach (quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews), we examined R/S coping, spirituality, and health-related quality of life in 48 adolescents with SCD and 42 parents of adolescents with SCD.

  • The impact of adolescent spirituality on depressive symptoms and health risk behaviors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Elizabeth Larkin
    Author Andrea Hoopes
    Author Barbara A Cromer
    Author Susan L Rosenthal
    Abstract PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine spirituality as a meaningful construct in adolescents' lives, and to examine the contribution of spirituality above and beyond that of religiosity to depressive symptoms and health-risk behaviors. METHOD: A total of 134 adolescents from a suburban high school completed a questionnaire assessing spirituality, religiosity, depressive symptoms, and health-risk behaviors. Spirituality was measured with 2 subscales: (1) religious well-being ("I believe that God loves/cares about me") and (2) existential well-being ("Life doesn't have much meaning"). Religiosity was assessed via belief in God/Higher Power and importance of religion. The Children's Depression Inventory-Short Form and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) were used to assess depressive symptoms and health-risk behaviors. RESULTS: The majority of the sample was Caucasian, with a mean age of 16.2 years. Eighty-nine percent reported a belief in God/Higher Power and 77% stated that religion was important in their lives. After controlling for demographics and religiosity, existential well-being and religious well-being accounted for an additional 29% of the variability in depressive symptoms and 17% of the variability in risk behaviors. Existential well-being was the only predictor significant in both final models (p < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Most of these adolescents reported some connection with religious and spiritual concepts, and those with higher levels of spiritual well-being, in particular, existential well-being, had fewer depressive symptoms and fewer risk-taking behaviors. This supports the inclusion of these concepts in our efforts to help promote resilience and healthy adolescent development, and in expanding our investigations beyond religious identification or attendance at religious services to broader concepts of spirituality.
    Publication The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
    Volume 36
    Issue 6
    Pages 529
    Date Jun 2005
    Journal Abbr J Adolesc Health
    ISSN 1879-1972
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15909358
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:01:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15909358
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Linear Models
    • Male
    • Questionnaires
    • Risk-Taking
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to examine spirituality as a meaningful construct in adolescents’ lives, and to examine the contribution of spirituality above and beyond that of religiosity to depressive symptoms and health-risk behaviors. Conclusions: Most of these adolescents reported some connection with religious and spiritual concepts, and those with higher levels of spiritual well-being, in particular, existential well-being, had fewer depressive symptoms and fewer risk-taking behaviors.

  • Religion/spirituality and adolescent health outcomes: a review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Kathy Zebracki
    Author Susan Rosenthal
    Author Joel Tsevt
    Author Dennis Drotar
    Abstract Religion/spirituality is important to adolescents, is usually considered a protective factor against a host of negative health outcomes, and is often included in adolescent health outcomes research. Previous reviews of the relationship among spirituality, religion, and adolescent health have been limited by scope, focusing primarily on distal aspects of religion/spirituality (e.g., attendance at religious services). We reviewed the literature examining proximal domains of religion/spirituality (e.g., spiritual coping) in adolescent health outcomes research. Constructs such as spiritual coping and religious decision-making were the ones most often studied and were generally positively associated with health outcomes. Measurement of proximal domains, associations of proximal domains with health outcomes, methodological issues and recommendations for future research were covered in this review.
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Health
    Volume 38
    Issue 4
    Pages 472-480
    Date April 2006
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.10.005
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science?
    _ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T80-4JH47CN-12&…
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Religion/spirituality is important to adolescents, is usually considered a protective factor against a host of negative health outcomes, and is often included in adolescent health outcomes research. We reviewed the literature examining proximal domains of religion/spirituality (e.g., spiritual coping) in adolescent health outcomes research.

  • Mind-body complementary alternative medicine use and quality of life in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Yvonne Humenay Roberts
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Author Maria T Britto
    Author Paul Succop
    Author Meghan E McGrady
    Author Michael S Yi
    Abstract BACKGROUND:: Mind-body complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities (e.g., relaxation or meditation) for symptom management have not been well studied in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The purposes of this study were to: 1) determine the prevalence of 5 types of mind-body CAM use, and consideration of use for symptom management; 2) assess characteristics associated with regular mind-body CAM use; and 3) examine whether regular and/or considered mind-body CAM use are associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL). METHODS:: Sixty-seven adolescents with IBD ages 12-19 recruited from a children's hospital completed a questionnaire on CAM use and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Logistic regression models were estimated for regular and considered CAM use. RESULTS:: Participants mean (SD) age was 15.5 (2.1) years; 37 (55%) were female; 53 (79%) were white; and 20 (30%) had moderate disease severity. Adolescents used prayer (62%), relaxation (40%), and imagery (21%) once/day to once/week for symptom management. In multivariate analyses, females were more likely to use relaxation (odds ratio [OR] = 4.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.25-15.29, c statistic = 0.73). Younger adolescents were more likely to regularly use (OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.42-0.95, c statistic = 0.72) or consider using (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.59-1.00, c statistic = 0.64) meditation. Adolescents with more severe disease (OR = 4.17, 95% CI = 1.07-16.29, c statistic = 0.83) were more willing to consider using relaxation in the future. Adolescents with worse HRQOL were more willing to consider using prayer and meditation for future symptom management (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:: Many adolescents with IBD either currently use or would consider using mind-body CAM for symptom management. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2009.
    Publication Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
    Date Aug 24, 2009
    Journal Abbr Inflamm. Bowel Dis
    DOI 10.1002/ibd.21045
    ISSN 1536-4844
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19705417
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:35:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19705417
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • prepub

    Notes:

    • The purposes of this study were to: 1) determine the prevalence of 5 types of mind-body CAM use, and consideration of use for symptom management; 2) assess characteristics associated with regular mind-body CAM use; and 3) examine whether regular and/or considered mind-body CAM use are associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Conclusions: Many adolescents with IBD either currently use or would consider using mind-body CAM for symptom management.

  • Altered States in the Church and Clinic

    Type Journal Article
    Author John H. Court
    Abstract The use of altered states of consciousness has a long history in religious settings, providing a vehicle for enhanced spirituality at a personal and collective level. These states have also provided the means of healing both within religious settings and more recently in secular health settings. Biblical sources affirm their value in providing wisdom and insight. Tensions exist among those who question whether altered states are safe, and these exist especially among some Christians who demonize hypnosis. Links between these spiritual and secular phenomena are explored with the help of examples, to argue that these two areas are complementary and not in conflict with one another.
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 4
    Pages 411-422
    Date August 2010
    Journal Abbr Pastoral Psychol
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0206-x
    ISSN 0031-2789
    URL http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s11089-009-0206-x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
  • Religious beliefs affect grieving after pregnancy loss

    Type Journal Article
    Author F S Cowchock
    Author J N Lasker
    Author L J Toedter
    Author S A Skumanich
    Author H G Koenig
    Abstract Religious beliefs and practices may aid in coping with bereavement and grief after pregnancy loss. Data from 103 women enrolled in the original Lehigh Valley Perinatal Loss Project, and who were followed-up for at least 1 year, were evaluated for the impact of initial religious practices and beliefs on the course and severity of grief. Religious practices corresponding to standard scales of religiosity and agreement with specific beliefs were rated by the women on a Likert scale of 1-5. Neither agreement with statements corresponding to extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity or to positive religious coping, nor frequency of religious service attendance was predictive of follow-up scores on the Perinatal Grief Scale. Religious struggle, agreement with statements classified as negative religious coping, and continued attachment to the baby were all associated with more severe grief.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 485-497
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9277-3
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:03:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19690963
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • Psychiatry for the person

    Type Journal Article
    Author John L Cox
    Author Alison J Gray
    Abstract PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review considers much recent work focused around the Psychiatry for the Person Programme of the World Psychiatric Association. Yet we have also considered the wider medical context, based on recent publications familiar to us in the fields of ethics, religion, spirituality and person-centred medicine as well as 'medicine of the person' as developed by Tournier. RECENT FINDINGS: There is an urgent need for evaluative outcome studies of person-centred care, including the narratives of service users, rigorous scientific methods and new conceptual models; and for a reformulation of the bio-psychosocial model to incorporate new knowledge in the neurosciences, philosophy, anthropology, ethics and theology. SUMMARY: We suggest that a biosocial/psychospiritual (BSPS) approach to relationship-based healthcare should be more actively considered.
    Publication Current Opinion in Psychiatry
    Volume 22
    Issue 6
    Pages 587-593
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Curr Opin Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1097/YCO.0b013e3283318e49
    ISSN 1473-6578
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19745742
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 8:08:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19745742
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • A randomised controlled trial of yoga for the treatment of chronic low back pain: Results of a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Helen Cox
    Author Helen Tilbrook
    Author John Aplin
    Author Anna Semlyen
    Author David Torgerson
    Author Alison Trewhela
    Author Ian Watt
    Abstract Objective To conduct a pilot trial of yoga for the treatment of chronic low back pain (LBP) to inform the feasibility and practicality of conducting a full-scale trial in the UK; and to assess the efficacy of yoga for the treatment of chronic low back pain.Design A pragmatic randomised controlled trial was undertaken comparing yoga to usual care.Participants Twenty participants who had presented to their GP with chronic low back pain in the previous 18 months were recruited via GP records from one practice in York, UK.Interventions Twenty patients were randomised to either 12 weekly 75-min sessions of specialised yoga plus written advice, or usual care plus written advice. Allocation was 50/50.Main outcome measures Recruitment rate, levels of intervention attendance, and loss to follow-up were the main non-clinical outcomes. Change as measured by the Roland and Morris disability questionnaire was the primary clinical outcome. Changes in the Aberdeen back pain scale, SF-12, EQ-5D, and pain self-efficacy were secondary clinical outcomes. Data were collected via postal questionnaire at baseline, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks follow-up.Results Of the 286 patients identified from the GP database, 52 (18%) consented and returned the eligibility questionnaire, out of these 20 (6.9%) were eligible and randomised. The total percentage of patients randomised from the GP practice population was 0.28%. Ten patients were randomised to yoga, receiving an average of 1.7 sessions (range 0-5), and 10 were randomised to usual care. At 12 weeks follow-up data was received from 60% of patients in the yoga group and 90% of patients in the usual care group (75% overall). No significant differences were seen between groups in clinical outcomes apart from on the Aberdeen back pain scale at four weeks follow-up where the yoga group reported significantly less pain.Conclusion This pilot study provided useful data and information to inform the design and development of a full-scale trial of yoga for CLBP in the UK. A key finding is the calculation of GP practice total list size required for patient recruitment in a full-scale trial, and the need to implement methods to increase class attendance.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 4
    Pages 187-193
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.05.007
    ISSN 1744-3881
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7MFN-509GR3B-1/2/adf6032c11dcb605d64dd43d35061e3a
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:33:53 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Feasibility
    • Low Back Pain
    • Pilot study
    • Primary care
    • RCT
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • This book is about a a pilot trial of yoga for the treatment of chronic low back pain (LBP) to inform the feasibility and practicality of conducting a full-scale trial in the UK; and to assess the efficacy of yoga for the treatment of chronic low back pain. This pilot study provided useful data and information to inform the design and development of a full-scale trial of yoga for CLBP in the UK. A key finding is the calculation of GP practice total list size required for patient recruitment in a full-scale trial, and the need to implement methods to increase class attendance.

  • A pragmatic multi-centred randomised controlled trial of yoga for chronic low back pain: trial protocol

    Type Journal Article
    Author Helen Cox
    Author Helen Tilbrook
    Author John Aplin
    Author Ling-Hsiang Chuang
    Author Catherine Hewitt
    Author Shalmini Jayakody
    Author Anna Semlyen
    Author Marta O Soares
    Author David Torgerson
    Author Alison Trewhela
    Author Ian Watt
    Author Gill Worthy
    Abstract A systematic review revealed three small randomised controlled trials of yoga for low back pain, all of which showed effects on back pain that favoured the yoga group. To build on these studies a larger trial, with longer term follow-up, and a number of different yoga teachers delivering the intervention is required. This study protocol describes the details of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Yoga for chronic Low Back Pain, which is funded by Arthritis Research Campaign (arc) and is being conducted by the University of York. 262 patients will be recruited from GP practices in 5 centres in England. Patients will be randomised to receive usual care or 12 weekly classes of yoga. A yoga programme will be devised that can be delivered by yoga teachers of the two main national yoga organisations in the UK (British Wheel of Yoga and Iyengar Yoga Association (UK)). Trial registration: Current controlled trials registry ISRCTN81079604 (date registered 30/03/2007).
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 2
    Pages 76-80
    Date May 2010
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Clin Pract
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2009.09.010
    ISSN 1873-6947
    Short Title A pragmatic multi-centred randomised controlled trial of yoga for chronic low back pain
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:12:10 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20347837
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • A systematic review revealed three small randomised controlled trials of yoga for low back pain, all of which showed effects on back pain that favoured the yoga group. To build on these studies a larger trial, with longer term follow-up, and a number of different yoga teachers delivering the intervention is required. This study protocol describes the details of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Yoga for chronic Low Back Pain, which is funded by Arthritis Research Campaign (arc) and is being conducted by the University of York. 262 patients will be recruited from GP practices in 5 centres in England. Patients will be randomised to receive usual care or 12 weekly classes of yoga. A yoga programme will be devised that can be delivered by yoga teachers of the two main national yoga organisations in the UK (British Wheel of Yoga and Iyengar Yoga Association (UK)).

  • The Native American healing experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Don Coyhis
    Author Richard Simonelli
    Abstract Recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs is taking place with the assistance of culture-specific methods in American Indian and Alaska Native communities in North America. These communities utilize many of the recovery approaches that make up today's best practices, but they also use their own cultural and ethnic strengths as an important part of their addictions recovery. The Wellbriety Movement among Native people is one such expression of culture-specific healing for North Americans having the heritage of indigenous peoples. The rallying call, "Our culture is prevention," expresses an approach unique in addictions recovery processes anywhere.
    Publication Substance Use & Misuse
    Volume 43
    Issue 12-13
    Pages 1927-1949
    Date 2008
    Journal Abbr Subst Use Misuse
    DOI 10.1080/10826080802292584
    ISSN 1532-2491
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19016172
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:35:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19016172
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Alcoholism
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Indians, North American
    • Medicine, Traditional
    • Models, Theoretical
    • Montana
    • North America
    • Program Development
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders

    Notes:

    • Recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs is taking place with the assistance of culture-specific methods in American Indian and Alaska Native communities in North America. These communities utilize many of the recovery approaches that make up today’s best practices, but they also use their own cultural and ethnic strengths as an important part of their addictions recovery. The Wellbriety Movement among Native people is one such expression of culture-specific healing for North Americans having the heritage of indigenous peoples. The rallying call, “Our culture is prevention,” expresses an approach unique in addictions recovery processes anywhere.

  • Spirituality and health: towards a framework for exploring the relationship between spirituality and health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joanne Coyle
    Abstract BACKGROUND: A growing body of evidence has found that spirituality enhances health. However, spirituality is an elusive concept that defies clear definition. This inevitably presents difficulties when comparing the findings of studies. Therefore conceptual clarification is essential if practitioners are to better understand the relationship between spirituality and health. AIMS: The aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework, which can be used to explore the relationship between spirituality and health. METHODS: The concept-indicator model was used to analyse spirituality in the literature. The literature was searched for empirical indicators or what are taken as essential attributes of spirituality. Similarities and differences between approaches were identified and these formed the basis of a framework. FINDINGS: The analysis identified three approaches (a trichotomy) to spirituality in the literature. These were termed the transcendent, the value guidance and the structuralist-behaviourist approaches. The paper shows how by clarifying the different conceptualizations of spirituality and the interrelationship between them researchers can also clarify their respective contributions to health. Thus a contribution is made towards making more explicit the ways in which key aspects of spirituality such as transcendence, meaning and purpose, connectedness, hope, and faith, work to produce health benefits in terms of prevention, recovery from illness, or coping with illness. CONCLUSIONS: The framework (or trichotomy) will enable practitioners to understand better the connection between spirituality and health. In particular, it will show that to appreciate the benefits that patients might experience from their value or belief systems, practitioners must actively explore the content of those systems in a respectful way.
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 37
    Issue 6
    Pages 589-597
    Date Mar 2002
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    ISSN 0309-2402
    Short Title Spirituality and health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11879423
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:14:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11879423
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Health
    • Humans
    • Models, Nursing
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework which can be used to explore the relationship between spirituality and health. Methods: The concept-indicator model was used to analyse spirituality in the literature. The literature was searched for empirical indicators or what are taken as essential attributes of spirituality.. Findings: The analysis identified three approaches (a trichotomy) to spirituality in the literature. These were termed the transcendent, the value guidance and the structuralist-behaviourist approaches. Conclusions: The framework (or trichotomy) will enable practitioners to understand better the connection between spirituality and health.

  • Cancer survivors' spiritual well-being and use of complementary methods: a report from the American Cancer Society's Studies of Cancer Survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Corinne Crammer
    Author Chiewkwei Kaw
    Author Ted Gansler
    Author Kevin D Stein
    Abstract We examined associations between spiritual well-being and CAM use among 4,139 cancer survivors. We also explored the classification of religious/spiritual practices (R/S) as CAMs and alternative subscale structures of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy--Spiritual Well-being (FACIT-Sp). We evaluated three aspects of spirituality, Faith, Peace, and Meaning, and use of 19 CAMs in 5 domains. Mind-body methods were subdivided into R/S and non-R/S. All FACIT-Sp factors were associated with CAM use, but in different directions: Meaning and Faith were positively associated; Peace was negatively associated. Peace was negatively associated with R/S CAMs, but not non-R/S CAMs. The prevalence of CAM use dropped from 79.3 to 64.8% when R/S items were excluded. These findings confirm an association between spiritual well-being and CAM use, including some non-R/S CAMs, and provide evidence of the benefits of using the three-factor FACIT-Sp solution and treating R/S CAMs as a separate category.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 50
    Issue 1
    Pages 92-107
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-010-9327-x
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Cancer survivors' spiritual well-being and use of complementary methods
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20300963
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20300963
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Religion and Cancer: Examining the Possible Connections

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jacquelyn N. Crane
    Abstract Numerous sound scientific studies (cross-sectional and longitudinal) have found a positive correlation between religion and physical and mental health. In particular, there is evidence that demonstrates that religion helps cancer patients better adjust to and cope with their disease, at least psychologically. However, some research suggests that mediating factors associated with religion may explain the positive effects of religion on health. This article argues that even if this is the case, there is still intrinsic value to religion in that the mediators themselves are strongly connected to religion, and therefore religion is important to the patient in terms of coping, support, hope, and meaning. This has possible important implications for clinical practice.
    Publication Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
    Volume 27
    Issue 4
    Pages 469-486
    Date October 2009
    DOI 10.1080/07347330903182010
    ISSN 0734-7332
    Short Title Religion and Cancer
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/07347330903182010
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:20:36 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Notes:

    • Numerous sound scientific studies (cross-sectional and longitudinal) have found a positive correlation between religion and physical and mental health. In particular, there is evidence that demonstrates that religion helps cancer patients better adjust to and cope with their disease, at least psychologically. However, some research suggests that mediating factors associated with religion may explain the positive effects of religion on health. This article argues that even if this is the case, there is still intrinsic value to religion in that the mediators themselves are strongly connected to religion, and therefore religion is important to the patient in terms of coping, support, hope, and meaning. This has possible important implications for clinical practice.

  • The relationship between dispositional mindfulness and conditional goal setting in depressed patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine Crane
    Author Thorsten Barnhofer
    Author Emily Hargus
    Author Myanthi Amarasinghe
    Author Rosie Winder
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: This study explored the association between conditional goal setting (CGS; the tendency to view the achievement of high order goals for the self as conditional upon the achievement of lower order goals) and dispositional mindfulness. DESIGN/METHODS: CGS and dispositional mindfulness were assessed in 31 depressed patients in a cross-sectional design. RESULTS: A significant association was identified between increased dispositional mindfulness and reduced CGS, which remained after controlling for severity of depressed mood. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that treatment interventions that increase levels of mindful awareness may have the capacity to reduce CGS in depressed patients.
    Publication The British Journal of Clinical Psychology / the British Psychological Society
    Volume 49
    Issue Pt 3
    Pages 281-290
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr Br J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1348/014466509X455209
    ISSN 0144-6657
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:45:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19558756
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • Dispositional Mindfulness, Meditation, and Conditional Goal Setting

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine Crane
    Author Danka Jandric
    Author Thorsten Barnhofer
    Author J Mark G Williams
    Abstract Conditional goal setting (CGS, the tendency to regard high order goals such as happiness, as conditional upon the achievement of lower order goals) is observed in individuals with depression and recent research has suggested a link between levels of dispositional mindfulness and conditional goal setting in depressed patients. Since interventions which aim to increase mindfulness through training in meditation are used with patients suffering from depression it is of interest to examine whether such interventions might alter CGS. Study 1 examined the correlation between changes in dispositional mindfulness and changes in CGS over a 3-4 month period in patients participating in a pilot randomised controlled trial of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Results indicated that increases in dispositional mindfulness were significantly associated with decreases in CGS, although this effect could not be attributed specifically to the group who had received training in meditation. Study 2 explored the impact of brief periods of either breathing or loving kindness meditation on CGS in 55 healthy participants. Contrary to expectation, a brief period of meditation increased CGS. Further analyses indicated that this effect was restricted to participants low in goal re-engagement ability who were allocated to loving kindness meditation. Longer term changes in dispositional mindfulness are associated with reductions in CGS in patients with depressed mood. However initial reactions to meditation, and in particular loving kindness meditation, may be counterintuitive and further research is required in order to determine the relationship between initial reactions and longer-term benefits of meditation practice.
    Publication Mindfulness
    Volume 1
    Issue 4
    Pages 204-214
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Mindfulness (N Y)
    DOI 10.1007/s12671-010-0029-y
    ISSN 1868-8535
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:15:58 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21258432
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • Conditional Goal Setting
    • Depression
    • Dispositional mindfulness
    • Loving kindness
    • Meditation
  • The relationship between dispositional mindfulness and conditional goal setting in depressed patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine Crane
    Author Thorsten Barnhofer
    Author Emily Hargus
    Author Myanthi Amarasinghe
    Author Rosie Winder
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: This study explored the association between conditional goal setting (CGS; the tendency to view the achievement of high order goals for the self as conditional upon the achievement of lower order goals) and dispositional mindfulness. DESIGN/METHODS: CGS and dispositional mindfulness were assessed in 31 depressed patients in a cross-sectional design. RESULTS: A significant association was identified between increased dispositional mindfulness and reduced CGS, which remained after controlling for severity of depressed mood. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that treatment interventions that increase levels of mindful awareness may have the capacity to reduce CGS in depressed patients.
    Publication The British Journal of Clinical Psychology / the British Psychological Society
    Volume 49
    Issue Pt 3
    Pages 281-290
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr Br J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1348/014466509X455209
    ISSN 0144-6657
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:48:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19558756
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Achievement
    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Cognition
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Depressive Disorder, Major
    • Female
    • Goals
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Concept
  • The Relationship between Religion and Mental Health/Distress

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark E. Crawford
    Author Paul J. Handal
    Author Richard L. Wiener
    Abstract This study examined the relationship between religion and mental health/distress. Data analyzed for the total sample (n = 226) indicated that high religious subjects were significantly less distressed and manifested better psychological adjustment than medium and low religious subjects. Data analyzed for female subjects (n = 136) showed that not only were high religious subjects statistically less distressed and better adjusted psychologically than medium and low religious subjects, the results were clinically meaningful as well. Data analyzed for male subjects found no significant relationship between subjects' degree of religion and mental health/distress.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 31
    Issue 1
    Pages 16-22
    Date Sep., 1989
    ISSN 0034673X
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3511020
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 2:57:12 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1989 / Copyright © 1989 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study examined the relationship between religion and mental health/distress. Data analyzed for the total sample (n = 226) indicated that high religious subjects were significantly less distressed and manifested better psychological adjustment than medium and low religious subjects. Data analyzed for female subjects (n = 136) showed that not only were high religious subjects statistically less distressed and better adjusted psychologically than medium and low religious subjects, the results were clinically meaningful as well. Data analyzed for male subjects found no significant relationship between subjects’ degree of religion and mental health/distress.

  • Mindfulness meditation training effects on CD4+ T lymphocytes in HIV-1 infected adults: a small randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author J David Creswell
    Author Hector F Myers
    Author Steven W Cole
    Author Michael R Irwin
    Abstract Mindfulness meditation training has stress reduction benefits in various patient populations, but its effects on biological markers of HIV-1 progression are unknown. The present study tested the efficacy of an 8-week Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) meditation program compared to a 1-day control seminar on CD4+ T lymphocyte counts in stressed HIV infected adults. A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with enrollment and follow-up occurring between November 2005 and December 2007. A diverse community sample of 48 HIV-1 infected adults was randomized and entered treatment in either an 8-week MBSR or a 1-day control stress reduction education seminar. The primary outcome was circulating counts of CD4+ T lymphocytes. Participants in the 1-day control seminar showed declines in CD4+ T lymphocyte counts whereas counts among participants in the 8-week MBSR program were unchanged from baseline to post-intervention (time x treatment condition interaction, p=.02). This effect was independent of antiretroviral (ARV) medication use. Additional analyses indicated that treatment adherence to the mindfulness meditation program, as measured by class attendance, mediated the effects of mindfulness meditation training on buffering CD4+ T lymphocyte declines. These findings provide an initial indication that mindfulness meditation training can buffer CD4+ T lymphocyte declines in HIV-1 infected adults. Clinical Trials Registration: clinicaltrials.gov, Identifier: NCT00600561.
    Publication Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
    Volume 23
    Issue 2
    Pages 184-188
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Brain Behav. Immun
    DOI 10.1016/j.bbi.2008.07.004
    ISSN 1090-2139
    Short Title Mindfulness meditation training effects on CD4+ T lymphocytes in HIV-1 infected adults
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18678242
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18678242
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • HIV Infections
    • HIV-1
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Time Factors
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • The present study tested the efficacy of an 8-week Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) meditation program compared to a 1-day control seminar on CD4+ T lymphocyte counts in stressed HIV infected adults. The authors' findings provide an initial indication that mindfulness meditation training can buffer CD4+ T lymphocyte declines in HIV-1 infected adults.

  • Examination of the Relationship Between Perfectionism and Religiosity as Mediated by Psychological Inflexibility.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jesse Crosby
    Author Scott Bates
    Author Michael Twohig
    Abstract relationship between perfectionism and religiosity has been suggested in the literature, and this relationship is clarified further when the adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of both constructs are compared. Literature in both areas implicates the idea of a rigid and inflexible personality style that may explain why well meaning high standards can be associated with negative outcomes such as perfectionism. This investigation examined the relationship of perfectionism and religiosity, using adaptive and maladaptive dimensions, as mediated by psychological inflexibility. Validated measures of perfectionism, religiosity, and psychological inflexibility were given to 376 undergraduate college students in an anonymous online survey. Adaptive perfectionism (high standards) was found to be significantly correlated ( r = .26, p < .01, two-tailed) with adaptive religiosity (intrinsic orientation). Maladaptive perfectionism (discrepancy) was found to be significantly correlated ( r = .13, p < .05, two-tailed) with maladaptive religiosity (extrinsic orientation). Psychological inflexibility was found to be significantly correlated with the maladaptive dimensions of both perfectionism and religiosity. It was also shown to mediate the relationship between maladaptive (extrinsic) religiosity and maladaptive (discrepancy) perfectionism. Implications and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Current Psychology
    Volume 30
    Issue 2
    Pages 117-129
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s12144-011-9104-3
    ISSN 10461310
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM

    Tags:

    • CORRELATION (Statistics)
    • INTERNET surveys
    • mediation
    • PERFECTIONISM (Personality trait)
    • Religiousness
    • RIGIDITY (Psychology)
    • UNDERGRADUATES
  • Rowe and Kahn's model of successful aging revisited: positive spirituality--the forgotten factor

    Type Journal Article
    Author Martha R Crowther
    Author Michael W Parker
    Author W A Achenbaum
    Author Walter L Larimore
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract PURPOSE: We explain a new concept, positive spirituality, and offer evidence that links positive spirituality with health; describe effective partnerships between health professionals and religious communities; and summarize the information as a basis for strengthening the existing successful aging model proposed by Rowe and Kahn. DESIGN AND METHODS: A missing component to Rowe and Kahn's three-factor model of successful aging is identified, and we propose strengthening the model with a fourth factor, positive spirituality. RESULTS: We developed an enhanced model of successful aging based on Rowe and Kahn's theoretical framework. Evidence presented suggests that the addition of spirituality to interventions focused on health promotion has been received positively by older adults. IMPLICATIONS: Leaders in gerontology often fail to incorporate the growing body of scientific evidence regarding health, aging, and spirituality into their conceptual models to promote successful aging. The proposed enhancement of Rowe and Kahn's model will help health professionals, religious organizations, and governmental agencies work collaboratively to promote wellness among older adults.
    Publication The Gerontologist
    Volume 42
    Issue 5
    Pages 613-620
    Date Oct 2002
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    ISSN 0016-9013
    Short Title Rowe and Kahn's model of successful aging revisited
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12351796
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:50:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12351796
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aging
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Models, Theoretical
    • religion
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Purpose: We explain a new concept, positive spirituality, and offer evidence that links positive spirituality with health; describe effective partnerships between health professionals and religious communities; and summarize the information as a basis for strengthening the existing successful aging model proposed by Rowe and Kahn. Results: We developed an enhanced model of successful aging based on Rowe and Kahn’s theoretical framework.

  • The association of public and private religious involvement with severity of depression and hopelessness in older adults treated for major depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mario Cruz
    Author Richard Schulz
    Author Harold A Pincus
    Author Patricia R Houck
    Author Salem Bensasi
    Author Charles F Reynolds
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the association between public and private religious participation and depression as well as hopelessness in older depressed, adults treated in mental health settings. METHODS: Data from 130 participants from a posttreatment longitudinal follow-up study of late-life depression were analyzed. Multiple regression analyses were performed to assess the association between public (frequency of church attendance) and private (frequency of prayer/meditation) forms of religious participation and depression as well as hopelessness severity when demographic and health indicators were controlled. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses found significant negative associations between frequency of prayer/meditation and depression (OR = 0.56 [0.36-0.89], Wald chi2 = 5.93, df = 1) as well as hopelessness (OR = 0.58 [0.36-0.94], Wald chi2 = 4.97, df = 1) severity. CONCLUSION: This study supports significant, direct relationships between prayer/meditation and depression as well as hopelessness severity in older adults treated for depression in mental health settings. Prospective studies are needed to further illuminate these relationships.
    Publication The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
    Volume 17
    Issue 6
    Pages 503-507
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Geriatr Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1097/JGP.0b013e31819d37a9
    ISSN 1545-7214
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:06:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19461258
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • depression
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Personality Inventory
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Severity of Illness Index

    Notes:

    • Data from 130 participants from a posttreatment longitudinal follow-up study of late-life depression were analyzed. Multivariate analyses found significant negative associations between frequency of prayer/meditation and depression (OR = 0.56 [0.36-0.89], Wald chi2 = 5.93, df = 1) as well as hopelessness (OR = 0.58 [0.36-0.94], Wald chi2 = 4.97, df = 1) severity.

  • The relationship between religious involvement and clinical status of patients with bipolar disorder

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mario Cruz
    Author Harold Alan Pincus
    Author Deborah E Welsh
    Author Devra Greenwald
    Author Elaine Lasky
    Author Amy M Kilbourne
    Abstract Objective: Religion and spirituality are important coping strategies in depression but have been rarely studied within the context of bipolar disorder. The present study assessed the association between different forms of religious involvement and the clinical status of individuals treated for bipolar disorder. Methods: A cross-sectional observation study of follow-up data from a large cohort study of patients receiving care for bipolar disorder (n = 334) at an urban Veterans Affairs mental health clinic was conducted. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the association between public (frequency of church attendance), private (frequency of prayer/meditation), as well as subjective forms (influence of beliefs on life) of religious involvement and mixed, manic, depressed, and euthymic states when demographic, anxiety, alcohol abuse, and health indicators were controlled. Results: Multivariate analyses found significant associations between higher rates of prayer/meditation and participants in a mixed state [odds ratio (OR) = 1.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.10-1.52, chi square = 9.42, df = 14, p < 0.05], as well as lower rates of prayer/meditation and participants who were euthymic (OR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.72-0.99, chi square = 4.60, df = 14, p < 0.05). Depression and mania were not associated with religious involvement. Conclusions: Compared to patients with bipolar disorder in depressed, manic, or euthymic states, patients in mixed states have more active private religious lives. Providers should assess the religious activities of individuals with bipolar disorder in mixed states and how they may complement/deter ongoing treatment. Future longitudinal studies linking bipolar states, religious activities, and treatment-seeking behaviors are needed.
    Publication Bipolar Disorders
    Volume 12
    Issue 1
    Pages 68-76
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr Bipolar Disord
    DOI 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2009.00772.x
    ISSN 1399-5618
    Accessed Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:27:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20148868
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • The association of public and private religious involvement with severity of depression and hopelessness in older adults treated for major depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mario Cruz
    Author Richard Schulz
    Author Harold A Pincus
    Author Patricia R Houck
    Author Salem Bensasi
    Author Charles F Reynolds
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the association between public and private religious participation and depression as well as hopelessness in older depressed, adults treated in mental health settings. METHODS: Data from 130 participants from a posttreatment longitudinal follow-up study of late-life depression were analyzed. Multiple regression analyses were performed to assess the association between public (frequency of church attendance) and private (frequency of prayer/meditation) forms of religious participation and depression as well as hopelessness severity when demographic and health indicators were controlled. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses found significant negative associations between frequency of prayer/meditation and depression (OR = 0.56 [0.36-0.89], Wald chi2 = 5.93, df = 1) as well as hopelessness (OR = 0.58 [0.36-0.94], Wald chi2 = 4.97, df = 1) severity. CONCLUSION: This study supports significant, direct relationships between prayer/meditation and depression as well as hopelessness severity in older adults treated for depression in mental health settings. Prospective studies are needed to further illuminate these relationships.
    Publication The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
    Volume 17
    Issue 6
    Pages 503-507
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Geriatr Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1097/JGP.0b013e31819d37a9
    ISSN 1545-7214
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19461258
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:48:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19461258
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • depression
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Personality Inventory
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Severity of Illness Index
  • Intimacy and saliency: dimensions for ordering religious experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author Raymond Currie
    Abstract Rodney Stark proposed a taxonomy of religious experiences based on the degree of intimacy between the human actor and the divine. Those who report higher order experiences on the dimension of intimacy should also report lower order experiences. A logical extension of the taxonomy would suggest that the higher order, more intimate experiences should also be more salient to the individuals. A test of these two hypotheses was conducted on a city-wide random sample of young adults, 15 to 24 years of age. There is support for the taxonomy, although not all experiences fit the model. The saliency of the experiences follows a different pattern. It is not determined by the higher order of the experience but rather by the cumulative effect of having more experiences.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 24
    Issue 1
    Pages 19-32
    Date April 1982
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Rodney Stark proposed a taxonomy of religious experiences based on the degree of intimacy between the human actor and the divine. Those who report higher order experiences on the dimension of intimacy should also report lower order experiences. A logical extension of the taxonomy would suggest that the higher order, more intimate experiences should also be more salient to the individuals. A test of these two hypotheses was conducted on a city-wide random sample of young adults, 15 to 24 years of age. There is support for the taxonomy, although not all experiences fit the model. The saliency of the experiences follows a different pattern. It is not determined by the higher order of the experience but rather by the cumulative effect of having more experiences.

  • Evaluation of the Breathworks Mindfulness-Based Pain Management Programme: Effects on Well-Being and Multiple Measures of Mindfulness

    Type Journal Article
    Author B. Cusens
    Author G. B. Duggan
    Author K. Thorne
    Author V. Burch
    Abstract Two studies of a mindfulness training programme are presented. Study 1 reports on a pilot investigation of the impact on well-being of the Breathworks mindfulness-based pain management programme. Significant positive change was found on self-report measures of depression, outlook, catastrophizing and pain self-efficacy in the Intervention Group, but not the Comparison Group. Particularly large effects were found for pain acceptance. These results support the short-term efficacy of the Breathworks programme and reinforce the importance of acceptance for positive outcome with chronic pain patients. Study 2 investigated alterations in mindfulness following participation in the Breathworks programme. Subjective and non-subjective measures of mindfulness were used. Scores on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were significantly higher at Time 2 in the Intervention Group, but not in the Comparison Group. There was no change on a measure of sustained attention. Results from an Implicit Association Test provided some support for an increased awareness of positive stimuli, following the intervention. These results are discussed with reference to the mechanisms of mindfulness. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
    Publication Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 63-78
    Date JAN-FEB 2010
    DOI 10.1002/cpp.653
    ISSN 1063-3995
    Short Title Evaluation of the Breathworks Mindfulness-Based Pain Management Programme
    Accessed Thursday, March 25, 2010 1:35:19 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • Two studies of a mindfulness training program are presented. Study 1 reports on a pilot investigation of the impact on well-being of the Breathworks mindfulness-based pain management program. Significant positive change was found on self-report measures of depression, outlook, catastrophizing and pain self-efficacy in the Intervention Group, but not the Comparison Group. Particularly large effects were found for pain acceptance. These results support the short-term efficacy of the Breathworks program and reinforce the importance of acceptance for positive outcome with chronic pain patients. Study 2 investigated alterations in mindfulness following participation in the Breathworks program. Subjective and non-subjective measures of mindfulness were used. Scores on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were significantly higher at Time 2 in the Intervention Group, but not in the Comparison Group. There was no change on a measure of sustained attention. Results from an Implicit Association Test provided some support for an increased awareness of positive stimuli, following the intervention. These results are discussed with reference to the mechanisms of mindfulness.

  • Evaluation of a biofeedback-assisted meditation program as a stress management tool for hospital nurses: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Susanne M Cutshall
    Author Laura J Wentworth
    Author Dietlind L Wahner-Roedler
    Author Ann Vincent
    Author John E Schmidt
    Author Laura L Loehrer
    Author Stephen S Cha
    Author Brent A Bauer
    Abstract OBJECTIVE To assess whether a self-directed, computer-guided meditation training program is useful for stress reduction in hospital nurses. DESIGN We prospectively evaluated participants before and after a month-long meditation program. The meditation program consisted of 15 computer sessions that used biofeedback to reinforce training. Participants were instructed to practice the intervention for 30 minutes per session, four times a week, for four weeks. Visual analogue scales were used to measure stress, anxiety, and quality of life (assessments were performed using Linear Analogue Self-Assessment [LASA], State Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI], and Short-Form 36 [SF-36] questionnaires). Differences in scores from baseline to the study's end were compared using the paired t test. RESULTS Eleven registered nurses not previously engaged in meditation were enrolled; eight completed the study. Intent-to-treat analysis showed significant improvement in stress management, as measured by SF-36 vitality subscale (P = .04), STAI (P = .03), LASA stress (P = .01), and LASA anxiety (P = .01). Nurses were highly satisfied with the meditation program, rating it 8.6 out of 10. CONCLUSIONS The results of this pilot study suggest the feasibility and efficacy of a biofeedback-assisted, self-directed, meditation training program to help hospital nurses reduce their stress and anxiety. Optimal frequency of use of the program, as well as the duration of effects, should be addressed in future studies.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 7
    Issue 2
    Pages 110-112
    Date 2011 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2010.12.004
    ISSN 1878-7541
    Short Title Evaluation of a biofeedback-assisted meditation program as a stress management tool for hospital nurses
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21397872
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:42:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21397872
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Yoga in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders: A review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tricia L. da Silva
    Author Lakshmi N. Ravindran
    Author Arun V. Ravindran
    Abstract Background Patient use of complementary and alternative treatments, including yoga, to manage mood and anxiety disorders, has been well documented. Despite research interest, there are few recent reviews of the evidence of the benefit of yoga in these conditions. Method The PubMed, Medline and PsycInfo databases were searched for literature published up to July 2008, relating to yoga and depressive and anxiety disorders. Results The paucity of reported studies and several methodological constraints limit data interpretation. In depressive disorders, yoga may be comparable to medication and the combination superior to medication alone. There is reasonable evidence for its use as second-line monotherapy or augmentation to medication in mild to moderate major depression and dysthymia, with early evidence of benefit in more severe depression. In anxiety disorders, yoga may be superior to medication for a subgroup of patients, but its benefits in specific conditions are still largely unknown. Second-line monotherapy is indicated in performance or test anxiety, but only preliminary evidence exists for obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yoga appears to be superior to no treatment and progressive relaxation for both depression and anxiety, and may benefit mood and anxiety symptoms associated with medical illness. It shows good safety and tolerability in short-term treatment. Conclusion Reasonable evidence supports the benefit of yoga in specific depressive disorders. The evidence is still preliminary in anxiety disorders. Given its patient appeal and the promising findings thus far, further research on yoga in these conditions is encouraged.
    Publication Asian Journal of Psychiatry
    Volume 2
    Issue 1
    Pages 6-16
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.ajp.2008.12.002
    ISSN 1876-2018
    Short Title Yoga in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B9837-4VK69C3-1/2/5b7ba708ced6cc5b35768caf422ab928
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:23:46 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Alternative medicine
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Complementary therapy
    • depressive disorders
    • yoga
  • Religiosity, Spirituality, and Death Attitudes in Chronically Ill Older Adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author T. P. Daaleman
    Author D. Dobbs
    Abstract Following interviews with 257 community-dwelling elders with chronic illness, researchers found that self-reported religiosity, closeness to God, and age were significantly associated with approach acceptance of death attitudes. Fear of death attitudes were significantly associated with self-efficacy beliefs, anxiety, and physical functioning.
    Publication Research on Aging
    Volume 32
    Issue 2
    Pages 224-243
    Date 11/2009
    Journal Abbr Research on Aging
    DOI 10.1177/0164027509351476
    ISSN 0164-0275
    URL http://roa.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0164027509351476
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • The Spirituality Index of Well-Being: a new instrument for health-related quality-of-life research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Timothy P Daaleman
    Author Bruce B Frey
    Abstract PURPOSE: Despite considerable interest in examining spirituality in health-related quality-of-life studies, there is a paucity of instruments that measure this construct. The objective of this study was to test a valid and reliable measure of spirituality that would be useful in patient populations. METHODS: We conducted a multisite, cross-sectional survey using systematic sampling of adult outpatients at primary care clinic sites in the Kansas City metropolitan area (N = 523). We determined the instrument reliability (Cronbach's alpha, test-retest) and validity (confirmatory factor analysis, convergent and discriminant validation) of the Spirituality Index of Well-Being (SIWB). RESULTS: The SIWB contains 12 items: 6 from a self-efficacy domain and 6 from a life scheme domain. Confirmatory factor analysis found the following fit indices: chi2 (54, n = 508) = 508.35, P < .001; Comparative Fit Index = .98; Tucker-Lewis Index = .97; root mean square error of approximation = .13. The index had the following reliability results: for the self-efficacy subscale, alpha = .86 and test-retest r = 0.77; for the life scheme subscale, alpha = .89 and test-retest r = 0.86; and for the total scale alpha = .91 and test-retest r = 0.79, showing very good reliability. The SIWB had significant and expected correlations with other quality-of-life instruments that measure well-being or spirituality: Zung Depression Scale (r = 0-.42, P < .001), General Well-Being Scale (r = 0.64, P < .001), and Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB) (r = 0.62, P < .001). There was a modest correlation between the religious well-being subscale of the SWB and the SIWB (r = 0.35, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The Spirituality Index of Well-Being is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used in health-related quality-of-life studies.
    Publication Annals of Family Medicine
    Volume 2
    Issue 5
    Pages 499-503
    Date 2004 Sep-Oct
    Journal Abbr Ann Fam Med
    ISSN 1544-1709
    Short Title The Spirituality Index of Well-Being
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15506588
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 1:05:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15506588
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Kansas
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The objective of this study was to test a valid and reliable measure of spirituality that would be useful in patient populations. Results: The SIWB contains 12 items: 6 from a self-efficacy domain and 6 from a life scheme domain. Confirmatory factor analysis found the following fit indices: chi2 (54, n = 508) = 508.35, P < .001; Comparative Fit Index = .98; Tucker-Lewis Index = .97; root mean square error of approximation = .13. Conclusions: The Spirituality Index of Well-Being is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used in health-related quality-of-life studies.

  • Religion, spirituality, and health status in geriatric outpatients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Timothy P Daaleman
    Author Subashan Perera
    Author Stephanie A Studenski
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Religion and spirituality remain important social and psychological factors in the lives of older adults, and there is continued interest in examining the effects of religion and spirituality on health status. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction of religion and spirituality with self-reported health status in a community-dwelling geriatric population. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 277 geriatric outpatients participating in a cohort study in the Kansas City area. Patients underwent a home assessment of multiple health status and functional indicators by trained research assistants. A previously validated 5-item measure of religiosity and 12-item spirituality instrument were embedded during the final data collection. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the relationship between each factor and self-reported health status. RESULTS: In univariate analyses, physical functioning (P < .01), quality of life (P < .01), race (P < .01), depression (P < .01), age (P = .01), and spirituality (P < .01) were all associated with self-reported health status, but religiosity was not (P = .12). In a model adjusted for all covariates, however, spirituality remained independently associated with self-appraised good health (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Geriatric outpatients who report greater spirituality, but not greater religiosity, are more likely to appraise their health as good. Spirituality may be an important explanatory factor of subjective health status in older adults.
    Publication Annals of Family Medicine
    Volume 2
    Issue 1
    Pages 49-53
    Date 2004 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr Ann Fam Med
    ISSN 1544-1709
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15053283
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:48:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15053283
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Kansas
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction of religion and spirituality with self-reported health status in a community-dwelling geriatric population. Conclusions: Geriatric outpatients who report greater spirituality, but not greater religiosity, are more likely to appraise their health as good. Spirituality may be an important explanatory factor of subjective health status in older adults.

  • Spirituality and well-being: an exploratory study of the patient perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author T P Daaleman
    Author A Kuckelman Cobb
    Author B B Frey
    Abstract Spirituality has become a construct of interest in American health care: however, there remains a limited understanding of how patients themselves describe spirituality and view its impact on their health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe elements of patient-reported, health-related spirituality. A qualitative study utilized focus group interviews of 17 women with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 18 women with no self-identified illness. Purposeful sampling of participants who had prior experiences in healthcare settings, with or without a chronic illness, guided the sampling strategy. Editing analysis of the interview transcripts were coded into conceptual categories. Participant narratives were grouped into eight general categories: (1) change in functional status, (2) core beliefs, (3) medical/disease state information gathering and processing, (4) interpretation and understanding, (5) life scheme, (6) positive intentionality, (7) agency, and (8) subjective well-being. A change in functional status was the catalyst for two process-oriented categories; medical/disease state information gathering and processing, and the higher-order interpretation and understanding, or meaning making of life events. Core beliefs were sources that grounded and maintained an interpretative structure through which participants viewed their life events and positively framed their experiences. Life scheme described a heuristic framework through which all life events were viewed. Positive intentionality was participant belief in the capacity to execute a specific action that was required for a desired outcome. Participants tied the attitudes and practices of positive intentionality with agency, or the use or exertion of power through belief, practice, or community. Participants outlined both a positive affective and cognitive component of subjective well-being. Patients describe several interrelated elements and a process of events in their depiction of spirituality in healthcare settings. Patient-reported spirituality is predominantly a cognitive construct incorporating the domains of life scheme and positive intentionality.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 53
    Issue 11
    Pages 1503-1511
    Date Dec 2001
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    ISSN 0277-9536
    Short Title Spirituality and well-being
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11710425
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:07:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11710425
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Chronic Disease
    • Diabetes Mellitus
    • Female
    • Focus Groups
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to identify and describe elements of patient-reported, health-related spirituality. A qualitative study utilized focus group interviews of 17 women with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 18 women with no self-identified illness. Core beliefs were sources that grounded and maintained an interpretative structure through which participants viewed their life events and positively framed their experiences. Patient-reported spirituality is predominantly a cognitive construct incorporating the domains of life scheme and positive intentionality.

  • Spirituality Index of Well-Being Scale: development and testing of a new measure

    Type Journal Article
    Author Timothy P Daaleman
    Author Bruce B Frey
    Author Dennis Wallace
    Author Stephanie A Studenski
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Spirituality Index of Well-Being (SIWB) Scale in a patient population. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. POPULATION: Community-dwelling elderly individuals (n = 277) recruited from primary care clinic sites in the Kansas City metropolitan area. OUTCOMES MEASURED: Internal consistency, concurrent construct validity, discriminant validity, and factor analysis with Varivax rotation. RESULTS: The initial version of the SIWB contained 40 items: 20 from a self-efficacy domain and 20 from a life scheme domain. Factor analysis yielded 6 items loaded most strongly on factor 1 (intrapersonal self-efficacy) and 6 other items loaded strongly on factor 2 (life scheme). The Self-efficacy subscale had an alpha of.83 and the Life Scheme subscale had an alpha of.80; the total 12-item SIWB Scale had an alpha of.87. The SIWB had significant and expected correlations with other quality-of-life measures related to subjective well-being: EuroQol (r =.18), Geriatric Depression Scale (r = -35), the Physical Functioning Index from the Short Form 36 (r =.28), and the Years of Healthy Life Scale (r = -.35). Religiosity did not correlated significantly with the SIWB (r =.12, P =.056). CONCLUSIONS: The 12-item SIWB Scale is a valid and reliable measure of subjective well-being in an older patient population.
    Publication The Journal of Family Practice
    Volume 51
    Issue 11
    Pages 952
    Date Nov 2002
    Journal Abbr J Fam Pract
    ISSN 0094-3509
    Short Title Spirituality Index of Well-Being Scale
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12485549
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:01:51 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12485549
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • depression
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Female
    • Geriatrics
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Incidence
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • North Carolina
    • Population Surveillance
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • Risk Factors
    • Sickness Impact Profile
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Spirituality Index of Well-Being (SIWB) Scale in a patient population. Conclusions: The 12-item SIWB Scale is a valid and reliable measure of subjective well-being in an older patient population.

  • The emerging role of meditation in addressing psychiatric illness, with a focus on substance use disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elias Dakwar
    Author Frances R Levin
    Abstract Over the past 30 years the practice of meditation has become increasingly popular in clinical settings. In addition to evidence-based medical uses, meditation may have psychiatric benefits. In this review, the literature on the role of meditation in addressing psychiatric issues, and specifically substance use disorders, is discussed. Each of the three meditation modalities that have been most widely studied-transcendental meditation, Buddhist meditation, and mindfulness-based meditation-is critically examined in terms of its background, techniques, mechanisms of action, and evidence-based clinical applications, with special attention given to its emerging role in the treatment of substance use disorders. The unique methodological difficulties that beset the study of meditation are also considered. A brief discussion then integrates the research that has been completed thus far, elucidates the specific ways that meditation may be helpful for substance use disorders, and suggests new avenues for research.
    Publication Harvard Review of Psychiatry
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 254-267
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Harv Rev Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1080/10673220903149135
    ISSN 1465-7309
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:42:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19637074
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Internal-External Control
    • Meditation
    • Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical
    • Self Care
    • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Pilot study: Mindful Eating and Living (MEAL): Weight, eating behavior, and psychological outcomes associated with a mindfulness-based intervention for people with obesity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeanne Dalen
    Author Bruce W. Smith
    Author Brian M. Shelley
    Author Anita Lee Sloan
    Author Lisa Leahigh
    Author Debbie Begay
    Abstract SummaryObjectives The purpose of this study was to pilot a brief (6-week) group curriculum for providing mindfulness training to obese individuals, called Mindful Eating and Living (MEAL).Setting and design Participants were recruited through a local Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in spring 2006. Data was collected at three time points: baseline, completion of intervention (6 weeks), and 3-month follow-up (12 weeks).Intervention Six weekly two-hour group classes (with two monthly follow-up classes). Content included training in mindfulness meditation, mindful eating, and group discussion, with emphasis on awareness of body sensations, emotions, and triggers to overeat.Main outcome measures Key variables assessed included changes in weight, body-mass index (BMI), eating behavior, and psychological distress. In addition, physiological markers of cardiovascular risk were evaluated including C-reactive protein (hsCRP), adiponectin, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1).Results Ten obese patients enrolled with a mean BMI of 36.9 kg/m2 [SD ± 6.2]. The mean weight was 101 kg/m2 and the mean age was 44 years (SD = 8.7; range = 31-62). Compared to baseline data, participants showed statistically significant increases in measures of mindfulness and cognitive restraint around eating, and statistically significant decreases in weight, eating disinhibition, binge eating, depression, perceived stress, physical symptoms, negative affect, and C-reactive protein.Conclusions This study provides preliminary evidence that a eating focused mindfulness-based intervention can result in significant changes in weight, eating behavior, and psychological distress in obese individuals.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Medicine
    Volume 18
    Issue 6
    Pages 260-264
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctim.2010.09.008
    ISSN 0965-2299
    Short Title Pilot study
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WCS-51FFT5V-1/2/4166de1e4a39857ce70d3e9f59a002f3
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:05:48 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM

    Tags:

    • Clinical health psychology
    • Eating Behavior
    • Emotions
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Obesity
  • Spiritual Well-Being and Health-Related Quality of Life Among African-American Women with HIV/AIDS

    Type Journal Article
    Author Safiya George Dalmida
    Author Marcia McDonnell Holstad
    Author Colleen Diiorio
    Author Gary Laderman
    Abstract Many HIV-positive women regard spirituality as an important part of their lives and spirituality may have positive impact on their health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Particularly among African American women with HIV, spirituality may serve as a cultural and psychological resource. This descriptive, crosssectional study examined associations between spiritual well-being (SWB) and its components, existential well-being (EWB) and religious well-being (RWB), and dimensions of HRQOL among a non-random sample of 118 African American HIV-positive women. A secondary analysis of data from two similar, NIH-funded studies: The Get Busy Living (GBL) Project and the KHARMA Project, was conducted. Baseline data on women from both studies were combined into one database and statistical analyses, including descriptive, correlation and hierarchical regression analyses, were conducted. Existential well-being was significantly positively (β =.74; p=.014) associated with the physical composite of HRQOL and accounted for a significant amount of unique variance (10.0%) beyond that explained by socio-demographic variables, religious well-being (RWB), HIV medication adherence, CD4 cell count and percentage, HIV viral load, and depressive symptoms. EWB was also significantly positively (β =.57; p=.024) associated with the mental health composite of HRQOL. Depressive symptomatology was also significantly inversely (β =.40; p=.004) associated with mental HRQOL. EWB accounted for a significant amount of additional variance (6.3%) beyond that explained by other variables. Spirituality is an important factor in the lives and quality of life of African American women and women living with HIV/AIDS. Further research is needed to examine relationships between spirituality and HRQOL among HIV-positive African American women.
    Publication Applied Research in Quality of Life
    Volume 6
    Issue 2
    Pages 139-157
    Date Jun 2011
    Journal Abbr Appl Res Qual Life
    DOI 10.1007/s11482-010-9122-6
    ISSN 1871-2576
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21731593
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:11:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21731593
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Notes:

    • The authors argue in this study that many HIV-positive women regard spirituality as an important part of their lives.This descriptive, crosssectional study examined associations between spiritual well-being (SWB) and its components, existential well-being (EWB) and religious well-being (RWB), and dimensions of HRQOL among a non-random sample of 118 African American HIV-positive women.

  • Spiritual well-being, depressive symptoms, and immune status among women living with HIV/AIDS

    Type Journal Article
    Author Safiya George Dalmida
    Author Marcia McDonnell Holstad
    Author Colleen Diiorio
    Author Gary Laderman
    Abstract Spirituality is a resource some HIV-positive women use to cope with HIV, and it also may have positive impact on physical health. This cross-sectional study examined associations of spiritual well-being, with depressive symptoms, and CD4 cell count and percentages among a non-random sample of 129 predominantly African-American HIV-positive women. Significant inverse associations were observed between depressive symptoms and spiritual well-being (r = -.55, p = .0001), and its components, existential well-being (r = -.62, p = .0001) and religious well-being (r = -.36, p = .0001). Significant positive associations were observed between existential well-being and CD4 cell count (r = .19, p < .05) and also between spiritual well-being (r = .24, p < .05), religious well-being (r = .21, p < .05), and existential well-being (r = .22, p < .05) and CD4 cell percentages. In this sample of HIV-positive women, spiritual well-being, existential well-being, and religious well-being accounted for a significant amount of variance in depressive symptoms and CD4 cell percentages, above and beyond that explained by demographic variables, HIV medication adherence, and HIV viral load (log). Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with CD4 cell counts or percentages. A significant relationship was observed between spiritual/religious practices (prayer/meditation and reading spiritual/religious material) and depressive symptoms. Further research is needed to examine relationships between spirituality and mental and physical health among HIV-positive women.
    Publication Women & Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 2-3
    Pages 119-143
    Date 2009 Mar-May
    Journal Abbr Women Health
    DOI 10.1080/03630240902915036
    ISSN 0363-0242
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:53:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19533506
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • CD4 Lymphocyte Count
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • HIV Seropositivity
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Spirituality is a resource some HIV-positive women use to cope with HIV, and it also may have positive impact on physical health. This cross-sectional study examined associations of spiritual well-being, with depressive symptoms, and CD4 cell count and percentages among a non-random sample of 129 predominantly African-American HIV-positive women. A significant relationship was observed between spiritual/religious practices (prayer/meditation and reading spiritual/religious material) and depressive symptoms. Further research is needed to examine relationships between spirituality and mental and physical health among HIV-positive women.

  • Spiritual well-being, depressive symptoms, and immune status among women living with HIV/AIDS

    Type Journal Article
    Author Safiya George Dalmida
    Author Marcia McDonnell Holstad
    Author Colleen Diiorio
    Author Gary Laderman
    Abstract Spirituality is a resource some HIV-positive women use to cope with HIV, and it also may have positive impact on physical health. This cross-sectional study examined associations of spiritual well-being, with depressive symptoms, and CD4 cell count and percentages among a non-random sample of 129 predominantly African-American HIV-positive women. Significant inverse associations were observed between depressive symptoms and spiritual well-being (r = -.55, p = .0001), and its components, existential well-being (r = -.62, p = .0001) and religious well-being (r = -.36, p = .0001). Significant positive associations were observed between existential well-being and CD4 cell count (r = .19, p < .05) and also between spiritual well-being (r = .24, p < .05), religious well-being (r = .21, p < .05), and existential well-being (r = .22, p < .05) and CD4 cell percentages. In this sample of HIV-positive women, spiritual well-being, existential well-being, and religious well-being accounted for a significant amount of variance in depressive symptoms and CD4 cell percentages, above and beyond that explained by demographic variables, HIV medication adherence, and HIV viral load (log). Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with CD4 cell counts or percentages. A significant relationship was observed between spiritual/religious practices (prayer/meditation and reading spiritual/religious material) and depressive symptoms. Further research is needed to examine relationships between spirituality and mental and physical health among HIV-positive women.
    Publication Women & Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 2-3
    Pages 119-143
    Date 2009 Mar-May
    Journal Abbr Women Health
    DOI 10.1080/03630240902915036
    ISSN 0363-0242
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19533506
    Accessed Monday, September 14, 2009 11:46:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19533506
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • CD4 Lymphocyte Count
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • HIV Seropositivity
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This cross-sectional study examined associations of spiritual well-being, with depressive symptoms, and CD4 cell count and percentages among a non-random sample of 129 predominantly African-American HIV-positive women. A significant relationship was observed between spiritual/religious practices (prayer/meditation and reading spiritual/religious material) and depressive symptoms.

  • Restorative yoga for women with breast cancer: findings from a randomized pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Suzanne C Danhauer
    Author Shannon L Mihalko
    Author Gregory B Russell
    Author Cassie R Campbell
    Author Lynn Felder
    Author Kristin Daley
    Author Edward A Levine
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Restorative yoga (RY) is a gentle type of yoga that may be beneficial for cancer patients and post-treatment survivors. Study goals were: to determine the feasibility of implementing a RY intervention for women with breast cancer; and to examine group differences in self-reported emotional, health-related quality of life, and symptom outcomes. METHODS: Women with breast cancer (n=44; mean age 55.8 years) enrolled in this study; 34% were actively undergoing cancer treatment. Study participants were randomized to the intervention (10 weekly 75-minute RY classes) or a waitlist control group. Participants completed questionnaires at Week 0 (baseline) and Week 10 (immediately post-intervention for the yoga group). RESULTS: Group differences favoring the yoga group were seen for mental health, depression, positive affect, and spirituality (peace/meaning). Significant baseline*group interactions were observed for negative affect and emotional well-being. Women with higher negative affect and lower emotional well-being at baseline derived greater benefit from the yoga intervention compared to those with similar values at baseline in the control group. The yoga group demonstrated a significant within-group improvement in fatigue; no significant difference was noted for the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Although limited by sample size, these pilot data suggest potential benefit of RY on emotional outcomes and fatigue in cancer patients. This study demonstrates that a RY intervention is feasible for women with breast cancer; implications for study design and implementation are noted with an emphasis on program adoption and participant adherence.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 4
    Pages 360-368
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1503
    ISSN 1099-1611
    Short Title Restorative yoga for women with breast cancer
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:47:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19242916
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Feasibility Studies
    • Female
    • Health promotion
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasm Staging
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • Study goals of this study were to determine the feasibility of implementing a RY intervention for women with breast cancer; and to examine group differences in self-reported emotional, health-related quality of life, and symptom outcomes.

  • Belief in conspiracy theories. The role of paranormal belief, paranoid ideation and schizotypy.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hannah Darwin
    Author Nick Neave
    Author Joni Holmes
    Abstract Surveys indicate that belief in conspiracy theories is widespread. Previous studies have indicated that such beliefs are related to agreeableness, low levels of self esteem, certain negative attitudes towards authority, and paranoia. The current study investigated the relationship between conspiracy theory beliefs, paranormal belief, paranoid ideation, and schizotypy, in a study involving 60 females and 60 males aged 18–50. Sex differences were found in paranormal belief, with females scoring significantly higher than males in spiritualism, precognition, psi, and overall paranormal belief. Partial correlations controlling for sex showed that conspiracy beliefs were significantly and positively correlated with paranormal beliefs, paranoid ideation and schizotypy. Confirmatory analysis revealed a best fit model to explain conspiracy beliefs that included schizotypy and paranoid ideation, but not paranormal beliefs. These findings suggest that paranoid ideation and schizotypy are strongly associated with belief in conspiracy theories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 50
    Issue 8
    Pages 1289-1293
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2011.02.027
    ISSN 0191-8869
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM

    Tags:

    • attitudes
    • conspiracy theory beliefs
    • Ideation
    • paranoid ideation
    • paranormal belief
    • Personality traits
    • Schizotypy
  • Empirical Explorations of Mindfulness: Conceptual and Methodological Conundrums

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard J. Davidson
    Abstract This commentary reflects on the articles in this Special Issue. The appearance of this group of articles underscores the important idea that a major target of mindfulness practice is on emotion. Transformation in trait affect is a key goal of all contemplative traditions. This commentary addresses several key methodological and conceptual issues in the empirical study of mindfulness. The many ways in which the term "mindfulness" is used in the articles in this Special Issue are noted, and they include its reference to states, traits, and independent variables that are manipulated in an experimental context. How the term "mindfulness" is conceptualized and operationalized is crucial, and for progress to be made it is essential that we qualify the use of this term by reference to how it is being operationalized in each context. Other methodological issues are considered, such as the duration of training and how it should be measured, and the nature of control and comparison groups in studies of mindfulness-based interventions. Finally, the commentary ends with a consideration of the targets within emotion processing that are likely to be impacted by mindfulness. This collection of articles underscores the substantial progress that has occurred in the empirical study of mindfulness and it is a harbinger of a very promising future in this area.
    Publication Emotion
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 8-11
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0018480
    ISSN 1528-3542
    Short Title Empirical Explorations of Mindfulness
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:03:44 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • affective neuroscience
    • emotion
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
  • Beliefs in karma and reincarnation among survivors of violent trauma--a community survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jonathan R T Davidson
    Author Kathryn M Connor
    Author Li-Ching Lee
    Abstract BACKGROUND: This survey was designed to examine beliefs in karma and reincarnation among survivors of violent trauma in the general US population. METHODS: Two community surveys were conducted in 2001. From a sample of 1,969 respondents, two groups were created based on level of agreement with karmic belief. This sample forms the basis of this report. Information was obtained as to mental and physical health, resilience, exposure to violent trauma, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, and the cohorts were compared on these variables. RESULTS: Five percent of the sample admitted strong agreement to a belief in karma and reincarnation (n=99), while 77% strongly disagreed with these beliefs (n=1,511). Characteristics associated with agreement included being non-white, unmarried, and in poor physical and mental health. Moreover, agreement was associated with more extensive traumatization, including abuse, rape, and loss of a family member through violent death, as well as more severe posttraumatic stress symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Few people subscribe strongly to a belief in karma and reincarnation in the US population, but personal experience of trauma may be associated with greater acceptance, as well as certain demographic and health-associated variables. The importance of holding such beliefs, which may represent an important way of coping following violent trauma, deserves further study.
    Publication Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
    Volume 40
    Issue 2
    Pages 120-125
    Date Feb 2005
    Journal Abbr Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol
    DOI 10.1007/s00127-005-0857-6
    ISSN 0933-7954
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15685403
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:21:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15685403
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Age Distribution
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Buddhism
    • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • spirituality
    • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
    • Violence

    Notes:

    • Background: This survey was designed to examine beliefs in karma and reincarnation among survivors of violent trauma in the general US population. Conclusions: Few people subscribe strongly to a belief in karma and reincarnation in the US population, but personal experience of trauma may be associated with greater acceptance, as well as certain demographic and health-associated variables.

  • Do Private Religious Practices Moderate the Relation Between Family Conflict and Preadolescents' Depression and Anxiety Symptoms?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kelly A. Davis
    Author Catherine C. Epkins
    Abstract We extended past research that focused on the relation between family conflict and preadolescents' depressive and anxiety symptoms. In a sample of 160 11- to 12-year-olds, we examined whether private religious practices moderated the relations between family conflict and preadolescents' depressive and anxiety symptoms. Although preadolescents' depressive and anxiety symptoms were not significantly associated with their private religious practices, preadolescents' private religious practices moderated the relations between: (a) both mother- and preadolescent-reported family conflict and preadolescents' anxiety symptoms; and (b) both mother- and preadolescent-reported family conflict and preadolescents' depression symptoms. The relation between family conflict and depression and anxiety symptoms was significantly stronger for preadolescents low, versus high, in their private religious practices. Preadolescents' sex was not differentially related to these findings. Results highlight the role that private religious practices may play in moderating the relation between family conflict and preadolescents' internalizing symptoms. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Early Adolescence
    Volume 29
    Issue 5
    Pages 693-717
    Date October 2009
    ISSN 02724316
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=fgh&AN=44249999&…
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 2:56:01 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • CHILD psychology
    • depression
    • DEPRESSION in adolescence
    • FAMILY conflict
    • PARENTING
    • PRETEENS
    • religion
    • Religiousness
    • sex
  • What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy-related research.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daphne M. Davis
    Author Jeffrey A. Hayes
    Abstract Research suggests that mindfulness practices offer psychotherapists a way to positively affect aspects of therapy that account for successful treatment. This paper provides psychotherapists with a synthesis of the empirically supported advantages of mindfulness. Definitions of mindfulness and evidence-based interpersonal, affective, and intrapersonal benefits of mindfulness are presented. Research on therapists who meditate and client outcomes of therapists who meditate are reviewed. Implications for practice, research, and training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Psychotherapy
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 198-208
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0022062
    ISSN 0033-3204
    Short Title What are the benefits of mindfulness?
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM

    Tags:

    • literature review
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Psychotherapy

    Notes:

    • Research suggests that mindfulness practices offer psychotherapists a way to positively affect aspects of therapy that account for successful treatment. This paper provides psychotherapists with a synthesis of the empirically supported advantages of mindfulness. Definitions of mindfulness and evidence-based interpersonal, affective, and intrapersonal benefits of mindfulness are presented. Research on therapists who meditate and client outcomes of therapists who meditate are reviewed. Implications for practice, research, and training are discussed.

  • Relational Spirituality and Dealing With Transgressions: Development of the Relational Engagement of the Sacred for a Transgression (REST) Scale.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Don E. Davis
    Author Joshua N. Hook
    Author Everett L. Worthington
    Author Daryl R. Van Tongeren
    Author Aubrey L. Gartner
    Author David J. Jennings
    Author Lucy Norton
    Abstract In the study of spirituality and forgiveness, researchers have begun to look at how dynamic spiritual experiences influence forgiveness. In three studies, we develop the Relational Engagement of the Sacred for a Transgression (REST) Scale, which assesses the extent to which victims actively engage a relationship with the Sacred to deal with a specific transgression. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure of the REST. In Study 2, the factor structure was replicated using confirmatory factory analysis. The REST was correlated with religious commitment and negatively related to avoidant attachment to God. In Study 3, evidence supporting the scale's construct validity was adduced. REST scores were correlated with other appraisals of relational spirituality. Structural equation modeling was used to compare theoretical models. REST scores were related to dedication to the Sacred and viewing the transgression as a desecration. In addition, REST scores were positively related to empathy, which was positively related to forgiveness. Furthermore, REST scores predicted forgiveness above and beyond other appraisals of relational spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 20
    Issue 4
    Pages 288-302
    Date Oct-Dec2010 October 2010
    DOI 10.1080/10508619.2010.507699
    ISSN 10508619
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • FORGIVENESS
    • RELIGIOUS behaviors
    • sacredness
    • SACRILEGE
    • spirituality
  • Relational spirituality and the development of the Similarity of the Offender’s Spirituality Scale.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Don E. Davis
    Author Everett L. Worthington
    Author Joshua N. Hook
    Author Daryl R. Van Tongeren
    Author Jeffrey D. Green
    Author David J. II Jennings
    Abstract We present a model of relational spirituality and forgiveness that considers how a victim’s spirituality affects his or her experience of and response to a transgression. In 2 studies, we investigate the psychometric properties of the Similarity of the Offender’s Spirituality Scale (SOS), which assesses the extent to which the victim sees the offender as spiritually similar. Results suggest the SOS has 2 factors that assess the offender’s spiritual and human similarity. The SOS showed initial evidence of construct validity, being related to other measures of spirituality and to measures of the victim’s response to a transgression. The overall model was found to offer incremental validity beyond known predictors of forgiveness. We suggest directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 1
    Issue 4
    Pages 249-262
    Date November 2009
    DOI 10.1037/a0017581
    ISSN 1941-1022
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pdh&AN=rel-1-4-249&…
    Accessed Monday, November 30, 2009 7:53:30 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude Similarity
    • forgive
    • Forgiveness
    • religion
    • Religious Beliefs
    • similarity
    • Similarity of the Offender’s Spirituality Scale
    • spirituality
    • Test Construction
    • Test Validity
  • Religion, Spirituality, and Positive Psychology in Adulthood: A Developmental View.

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Day
    Abstract For decades, psychologists have been interested in the question whether, and how, religious and spiritual behavior, in terms of beliefs, attitudes, practices, and belonging, could be scientifically studied and assessed in terms of their relative good, or ill, for human well-being. This article considers contributions of religious commitment and spiritual practice to well-being and cognitive-developmental theoretical models and related bodies of empirical and clinical research regarding religious and spiritual development across the life cycle, with particular attention to questions related to positive adult development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Adult Development
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 215-229
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10804-009-9086-7
    ISSN 10680667
    Short Title Religion, Spirituality, and Positive Psychology in Adulthood
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM

    Tags:

    • BEHAVIORAL research
    • Cognition
    • CONCEPTUAL structures (Information theory)
    • DEVELOPMENTAL psychobiology
    • Ethics
    • Judgment
    • LIFE cycle, Human
    • MATHEMATICAL models
    • Psychology
    • PSYCHOLOGY & religion
    • Questionnaires
    • RESEARCH -- Methodology
    • social attitudes
    • spirituality
    • TERMS & phrases
    • THEORY
    • THEORY & practice
    • THOUGHT & thinking
    • Well-Being
  • Therapeutical intervention, relaxation, mental images, and spirituality (RIME) for spiritual pain in terminal patients. A training program

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ana Catarina de Araújo Elias
    Author Joel Sales Giglio
    Author Cibele Andrucioli de Mattos Pimenta
    Author Linda Gentry El-Dash
    Abstract Therapeutic intervention involving the technique of Relaxation, Mental Images, and Spirituality (RIME) can foster the redefinition of spiritual pain in terminal patients. A training course was developed to instruct health care professionals in its use, and the results were followed up by evaluating reactions of professionals to its use in intervention with patients. Six subjects (a nurse, a doctor, three psychologists, and an alternative therapist), all skilled in palliative care, were invited to take part in the experience. They worked with 11 terminal patients in public hospitals of the cities of Campinas, Piracicaba, and São Paulo, located in Brazil. The theoretical basis for the study involves action research and phenomenology, and the results were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The analysis of the experience of the professionals revealed 5 categories and 15 subcategories. The analysis of the nature of spiritual pain revealed 6 categories and 11 subcategories. The administration of RIME revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.0001), i.e., patients reported a greater level of well-being at the end than at the beginning of sessions, which suggests that RIME led to the redefinition of spiritual pain for these terminal patients. The training program proposed has shown itself to be effective in preparing health care professionals for the use of RIME intervention.
    Publication TheScientificWorldJournal
    Volume 6
    Pages 2158-2169
    Date 2006
    Journal Abbr ScientificWorldJournal
    DOI 10.1100/tsw.2006.345
    ISSN 1537-744X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17370011
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:30:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17370011
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Education
    • Health Personnel
    • Humans
    • Imagery (Psychotherapy)
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain Measurement
    • Palliative Care
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • spirituality
    • Terminally Ill

    Notes:

    • Therapeutic intervention involving the technique of Relaxation, Mental Images, and Spirituality (RIME) can foster the redefinition of spiritual pain in terminal patients. A training course was developed to instruct health care professionals in its use, and the results were followed up by evaluating reactions of professionals to its use in intervention with patients.

  • Interactions Among Sex, Ethnicity, Religion, and Gender Role Expectations of Pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ruth Defrin
    Author Ilana Eli
    Author Dorit Pud
    Abstract <p>Background<br/>Sex, gender, ethnicity, and religion are powerful factors that may affect pain experience. Recently, gender role expectations of pain (GREP) were suggested to account for some of the differences in pain perception between men and women. However, the interaction between GREP and ethnicity and religion was not examined. This interaction was studied with regard to pain sensitivity, pain endurance, and willingness to report pain.Objective<br/>Our objective was to study the interaction among GREP, sex, and ethno-religious belonging.Method<br/>Participants (548 healthy men and women) of 3 different ethno-religious groups (341 Jews, 105 Muslim-Arabs, 102 Christian-Arabs) completed the GREP questionnaire; pain sensitivity, pain endurance, and willingness to report pain were analyzed.Results<br/>Men of all 3 ethno-religious groups perceived themselves and other men as less sensitive and less willing to report pain than typical women. Women of all 3 ethno-religious groups perceived themselves and other women as more sensitive and more willing to report pain than men. Ethno-religious differences were observed in the attitudes towards typical men and women, with Christian men and women exhibiting stronger stereotypical views regarding pain sensitivity and pain endurance.Conclusions<br/>Individual's perceptions of pain regarding one's self compared with the same or opposite sex were similar regardless of ethno-religious belonging and were related to sex. However, attitudes on pain of typical men and women seemed to be influenced by ethno-religious belonging. This differential effect of ethno-religion on GREP with relation to sex suggests that these factors should be considered when pain perception is evaluated.</p>
    Publication Gender Medicine
    Volume 8
    Issue 3
    Pages 172-183
    Date June 2011
    DOI 16/j.genm.2011.04.001
    ISSN 1550-8579
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S155085791100060X
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:39:15 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • ETHNICITY
    • gender role expectations
    • pain perception
    • religion
    • sex

    Notes:

    • This study examined the interaction among gender role expectations of pain, sex, and ethno-religious belonging. The study surveyed 548 healthy men and women of three different religious groups, 341 Jews, 105, Muslim-Arabs and 102 Christian-Arabs. The study concluded that individual's perception of pain regarding one's self compared with the same opposite sex were similar regardless of ethno-linguistic belonging and were related to sex.  

  • Spiritual abuse: an additional dimension of abuse experienced by abused Haredi (Ultraorthodox) Jewish wives

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nicole Dehan
    Author Zipi Levi
    Abstract This article aims to conceptualize spiritual abuse as an additional dimension to physical, psychological, sexual, and economic abuse. Growing out of an interpretivist participatory action research study in a therapeutic Haredi (Jewish ultraorthodox) group of eight abused women, spiritual abuse has been defined as any attempt to impair the woman's spiritual life, spiritual self, or spiritual well-being, with three levels of intensity: (a) belittling her spiritual worth, beliefs, or deeds; (b) preventing her from performing spiritual acts; and (c) causing her to transgress spiritual obligations or prohibitions. The concept and its typology are illustrated by means of examples from the women's abusive experiences and may be of theoretical and therapeutic worldwide relevance.
    Publication Violence Against Women
    Volume 15
    Issue 11
    Pages 1294-1310
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Violence Against Women
    DOI 10.1177/1077801209347619
    ISSN 1077-8012
    Short Title Spiritual abuse
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19809096
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 8:16:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19809096
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Living with depressive symptoms: patients with heart failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rebecca L Dekker
    Author Ann R Peden
    Author Terry A Lennie
    Author Mary P Schooler
    Author Debra K Moser
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Patients with heart failure often experience depressive symptoms that affect health-related quality of life, morbidity, and mortality. Researchers have not described the experience of patients with heart failure living with depressive symptoms. Understanding this experience will help in developing interventions to decrease depressive symptoms. OBJECTIVE: To describe the experience of patients with heart failure living with depressive symptoms. METHODS: This study was conducted by using a qualitative descriptive design. The sample consisted of 10 outpatients (50% female, mean age 63 [SD, 13] years, 70% New York Heart Association class III or IV) with heart failure who were able to describe depressive symptoms. Data were collected via taped, individual, 30- to 60-minute interviews. ATLAS ti (version 5) was used for content analysis. RESULTS: Participants described emotional and somatic symptoms of depression. Negative thinking was present in all participants and reinforced their depressed mood. The participants experienced multiple stressors that worsened depressive symptoms. The overarching strategy for managing depressive symptoms was "taking my mind off of it." Patients managed depressive symptoms by engaging in activities such as exercise and reading, and by using positive thinking, spirituality, and social support. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with heart failure experience symptoms of depression that are similar to those experienced by the general population. Clinicians should assess patients with heart failure for stressors that worsen depressive symptoms. Strategies that researchers and clinicians can use to reduce depressive symptoms in patients with heart failure include engaging patients in activities, positive thinking, and spirituality. Helping patients find enhanced social support may also be important.
    Publication American Journal of Critical Care: An Official Publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
    Volume 18
    Issue 4
    Pages 310-318
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Crit. Care
    DOI 10.4037/ajcc2009672
    ISSN 1062-3264
    Short Title Living with depressive symptoms
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19556409
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 4:13:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19556409
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM

    Tags:

    • Depression
    • Heart Failure
  • Ecospirituality: the experience of environmental meditation in patients with cardiovascular disease

    Type Journal Article
    Author Colleen Delaney
    Author Cynthia Barrere
    Abstract Ecospirituality provides a framework for exploring the spiritual dimension of person and environment and the dynamic interplay between this sacred dyad and human health. The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experience of environmental meditation by using a new, spirituality-based meditation intervention that focused on ecospirituality with patients with cardiovascular disease. A convenience sample of 6 women and 2 men with ages ranging from 42 to 64 years and a mean age of 57 years (SD = 8.33 years) participated in the study. From the 8 journals and the researchers' field notebooks, 85 significant phrases or sentences were extracted, transposed into formulated meanings, and later collapsed into 4 theme clusters: Entering a New Time Zone, Environmental Reawakening, Finding a New Rhythm, and Becoming a Healing Environment. The findings of this study provide beginning support for holistic nurses and other healthcare professionals to integrate the use of ecospirituality meditation into their care of patients with cardiovascular disease and the groundwork for further exploration of the spiritual dimension of person and environment.
    Publication Holistic Nursing Practice
    Volume 23
    Issue 6
    Pages 361-369
    Date 2009 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Holist Nurs Pract
    DOI 10.1097/HNP.0b013e3181bf381c
    ISSN 1550-5138
    Short Title Ecospirituality
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19901611
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:29:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19901611
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Notes:

    • Ecospirituality provides a framework for exploring the spiritual dimension of person and environment and the dynamic interplay between this sacred dyad and human health. The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experience of environmental meditation by using a new, spirituality-based meditation intervention that focused on ecospirituality with patients with cardiovascular disease. A convenience sample of 6 women and 2 men with ages ranging from 42 to 64 years and a mean age of 57 years (SD = 8.33 years) participated in the study. From the 8 journals and the researchers' field notebooks, 85 significant phrases or sentences were extracted, transposed into formulated meanings, and later collapsed into 4 theme clusters: Entering a New Time Zone, Environmental Reawakening, Finding a New Rhythm, and Becoming a Healing Environment. The findings of this study provide beginning support for holistic nurses and other healthcare professionals to integrate the use of ecospirituality meditation into their care of patients with cardiovascular disease and the groundwork for further exploration of the spiritual dimension of person and environment.

  • Integrating spirituality into alcohol treatment.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harold D. Delaney
    Author Alyssa A. Forcehimes
    Author William P. Campbell
    Author Bruce W. Smith
    Abstract Spirituality is presumed by millions of Americans to be directly relevant to problems of alcohol abuse. We summarize findings regarding the role of religion and spirituality in the prevention and treatment of substance abuse and present a case illustration. We also consider mechanisms responsible for these effects. We offer advice about why, by whom, and how religion and spirituality should be discussed with clients with substance use disorders. In a recent clinical trial, therapists trained in a client-centered approach to facilitate exploration of spirituality fostered clients' use of spiritual practices. We suggest that the therapist's ability to skillfully engage clients in a discussion of spirituality is largely determined by how the therapist balances the dual roles of authoritative expert and evocative facilitator. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 65:185–198, 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 185-198
    Date February 2009
    ISSN 00219762
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • ALCOHOLISM -- Prevention
    • ALCOHOLISM -- Religious aspects
    • ALCOHOLISM -- Treatment
    • AMERICANS -- Health
    • MEDICAL care -- Religious aspects
    • MEDICINE -- Religious aspects
    • Spiritual healing
    • spirituality
  • The influence of a spirituality-based intervention on quality of life, depression, and anxiety in community-dwelling adults with cardiovascular disease: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Colleen Delaney
    Author Cynthia Barrere
    Author Mary Helming
    Abstract Purpose and Design: The specific aims of this pre-experimental pilot study were to determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an individualized spirituality-based intervention on health-related outcomes (quality-of-life [QOL], depression, and anxiety) in community-dwelling patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods: Self-reported QOL, depression, and anxiety data were provided by cardiac patients recruited from three community-based organizations, ( N = 27) at baseline and one month later. The Spirituality Scale developed by the principal investigator assessed study participants' level of spirituality and scoring on the subscales activated one or more of three spirituality-based interventions. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to evaluate temporal changes. Findings: Patients who participated in the 1-month intervention demonstrated a significant modest increase in overall QOL. There was a trend toward lower depression scores but this was not significant. No significant changes were seen in anxiety scores. Content analysis of patients' perceptions of feasibility supports the acceptability of the intervention. Conclusion: Results from this small pilot study provide preliminary evidence that the individualized spirituality-based intervention used in this study holds promise as an addition to traditional cardiac care and has the potential to improve QOL in community-dwelling adults with CVD.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 29
    Issue 1
    Pages 21-32
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0898010110378356
    ISSN 1552-5724
    Short Title The influence of a spirituality-based intervention on quality of life, depression, and anxiety in community-dwelling adults with cardiovascular disease
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20713655
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20713655
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Treating chronic worry: Psychological and physiological effects of a training programme based on mindfulness.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Luis Carlos Delgado
    Author Pedro Guerra
    Author Pandelis Perakakis
    Author María Nieves Vera
    Author Gustavo Reyes del Paso
    Author Jaime Vila
    Abstract The present study examines psychological and physiological indices of emotional regulation in non-clinical high worriers after a mindfulness-based training programme aimed at reducing worry. Thirty-six female university students with high Penn State Worry Questionnaire scores were split into two equal intervention groups: (a) mindfulness, and (b) progressive muscle relaxation plus self-instruction to postpone worrying to a specific time of the day. Assessment included clinical questionnaires, daily self-report of number/duration of worry episodes and indices of emotional meta-cognition. A set of somatic and autonomic measures was recorded (a) during resting, mindfulness/relaxation and worrying periods, and (b) during cued and non-cued affective modulation of defence reactions (cardiac defence and eye-blink startle). Both groups showed equal post-treatment improvement in the clinical and daily self-report measures. However, mindfulness participants reported better emotional meta-cognition (emotional comprehension) and showed improved indices of somatic and autonomic regulation (reduced breathing pattern and increased vagal reactivity during evocation of cardiac defense). These findings suggest that mindfulness reduces chronic worry by promoting emotional and physiological regulatory mechanisms contrary to those maintaining chronic worry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 48
    Issue 9
    Pages 873-882
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2010.05.012
    ISSN 0005-7967
    Short Title Treating chronic worry
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • chronic worry
    • Chronicity (Disorders)
    • Community Mental Health Training
    • Emotional Regulation
    • Mental Health Programs
    • Mindfulness
    • mindfulness-based training program
    • Physiological Correlates
    • physiological effects
    • Psychodynamics
    • psychological effects
  • Spirituality, Religiosity, and Spiritual Pain in Advanced Cancer Patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marvin O. Delgado-Guay
    Author David Hui
    Author Henrique A. Parsons
    Author Kathy Govan
    Author Maxine De la Cruz
    Author Steven Thorney
    Author Eduardo Bruera
    Abstract <p>Context<br/>Spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain may affect advanced cancer patients' symptom expression, coping strategies, and quality of life.Objectives<br/>To examine the prevalence and intensity of spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain, and how spiritual pain was associated with symptom expression, coping, and spiritual quality of life.Methods<br/>We interviewed 100 advanced cancer patients at the M.D. Anderson palliative care outpatient clinic in Houston, TX. Self-rated spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain were assessed using numeric rating scales (0 = lowest, 10 = highest). Patients also completed validated questionnaires assessing symptoms (Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale [ESAS] and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), coping (Brief COPE and Brief R-COPE), the value attributed by the patient to spirituality/religiosity in coping with cancer (Systems of Belief Inventory-15R), and spiritual quality of life (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being-Expanded [FACIT-Sp-Ex]).Results<br/>The median age was 53 years (range 21-85) and 88% were Christians. Almost all patients considered themselves spiritual (98%) and religious (98%), with a median intensity of 9 (interquartile range 7-10) of 10 and 9 (range 5-10) of 10, respectively. Spiritual pain was reported in 40 (44%) of 91 patients, with a median score of 3 (1-6) among those with spiritual pain. Spiritual pain was significantly associated with lower self-perceived religiosity (7 vs. 10, P = 0.002) and spiritual quality of life (FACIT-Sp-Ex 68 vs. 81, P = 0.001). Patients with spiritual pain reported that it contributed adversely to their physical/emotional symptoms (P < 0.001). There was a trend toward increased depression, anxiety, anorexia, and drowsiness, as measured by the ESAS, among patients with spiritual pain (P < 0.05), although this was not significant after Bonferroni correction.Conclusion<br/>A vast majority of advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care considered themselves spiritual and religious. Spiritual pain was common and was associated with lower self-perceived religiosity and spiritual quality of life.</p>
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 41
    Issue 6
    Pages 986-994
    Date June 2011
    DOI 16/j.jpainsymman.2010.09.017
    ISSN 0885-3924
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885392411000200
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 7:02:37 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • Cancer
    • Coping
    • Palliative Care
    • Quality of Life
    • religiosity
    • spiritual pain
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain may affect advanced cancer patients’ symptom expression, coping strategies, and quality of life.The object of this study was to examine the prevalence and intensity of spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain, and how spiritual pain was associated with symptom expression, coping, and spiritual quality of life.

  • The Impact of Spirituality, Religiosity, and Spiritual Pain in Coping Strategies and Quality of Life (QOL) of Caregivers of Advanced Cancer Patients (CACP) in the Palliative Care (PC) Setting (717)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marvin Delgado-Guay
    Author Henrique Parsons
    Author David Hui
    Author Maxine De La Cruz
    Author Kathy Govan
    Author Eduardo Bruera
    Author Steve Thorney
    Abstract Objectives 1. Discuss the impact of spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain in caregivers of advanced cancer patients in the palliative care setting. 2. Determine the importance of spiritual assessment in caregivers of advanced cancer patients in the palliative care setting. Background. Concerns about spiritual issues arise in the caregivers of advanced cancer patients (CACP). Caregivers could face physical, social, emotional distress, and spiritual-pain. Limited research has been done in oncology focusing on the spiritual-aspects of caregivers suffering. Research objectives. In this prospective cross-sectional study, we examined these associations and various factors, including quality of life (QOL) and coping. Methods. We interviewed 43 CACP in our palliative care (PC)-outpatient clinic. Self-rated spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual-pain were assessed using numeric-rating scales (0 = lowest, 10 = highest). They completed various validated questionnaires assessing sleep disturbances (PSQI), psychosocial distress (HADS), coping (Brief-COPE, Brief-R-COPE), and QOL (FACIT-Sp-Ex, SBI-15R, CGQOL). Results. The median age (range) was 52 years (21–83), 67% female. 78% were white, 17% African American, and 5% Hispanic. Ninety-one percent were Christians, 2% Jewish, and 2% Agnostic. Eighty-six percent were married and 42% were working full time. They were patients’ spouse (58%), friend (12%), and child (14%). Almost all CACP considered themselves spiritual (100%) and religious (98%), with a median score (0 to 10) of 8 (interquartile range 6-10) and 8 (4-9), respectively. The caregivers reported spirituality and religiosity help them cope with their patients’ illness (100%) and have a positive impact on their patients’ physical (58%) and emotional (76%) symptoms. Spiritual-pain was reported in 23/40 (58%) CACP, with a median score of 5 (2-8). Caregivers with spiritual pain expressed worse HADS-anxiety (median 10 versus 4, p = 0.002), worse HADS-depression (6 vs 2, p = 0.006), and expressed denial (3 vs 2, p = 0.01), behavioral disengagement (3 vs 2, p = 0.011), and dysfunctional coping strategies (19 vs 16, p = 0.02) and worse QOL (CGQOL: 70 vs 51, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in religious coping strategies, FACIT-Sp-Ex, and PSQI. Conclusion. Majority of CACP considered themselves spiritual and religious. Spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain play an important role in their emotions and QOL. This supports the importance of spiritual assessment and support for CACP. Implications for research, policy, or practice. Highlight the importance of the spiritual assessment of caregivers of advanced cancer patients in the palliative care setting.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 41
    Issue 1
    Pages 282
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.10.196
    ISSN 0885-3924
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 7:01:36 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • Cancer Patients
    • Coping Strategies
    • Palliative Care
    • Quality of Life
    • religiosity
    • Spiritual Pain
    • spirituality
  • Posttraumatic spiritual growth: a phenomenological study of cancer survivors.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ryan M. Denney
    Author Jamie D. Aten
    Author Kari Leavell
    Abstract A small but growing body of research has sought to investigate the specific role of religion and spirituality in posttraumatic growth. Recently, investigations have reported identifying spiritual growth following trauma, specifically that of cancer patients and survivors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how having cancer affects the spiritual growth of cancer survivors across a multidimensional conceptualisation of spirituality. The researchers investigated posttraumatic spiritual growth by studying the lived experience of 13 cancer survivors using phenomenological data analysis. Participants reported experiencing spiritual growth across the following domains of spirituality: (a) general spirituality, (b) spiritual development, (c) spiritual social participation, (d) spiritual private practices, (e) spiritual support, (f) spiritual coping, (g) spirituality as motivating forces, (h) spiritual experiences, and (i) spiritual commitment. Growth was not endorsed by participants in the following three domains of spirituality outlined in the model: (a) spiritual history, (b) spiritual beliefs and values, and (c) spiritual techniques for regulating and reconciling relationships. Two additional domains of growth emerged beyond the theoretical model that was used to guide this study from participants' narratives, including evangelism and enhanced spirituality of family/friends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 4
    Pages 371-391
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674671003758667
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Posttraumatic spiritual growth
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM

    Tags:

    • ATTITUDE (Psychology)
    • CANCER -- Patients -- Psychology
    • death attitudes
    • DISEASES
    • Focus Groups
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • INTERVIEWING
    • PATIENTS
    • PHENOMENOLOGY
    • prayer
    • Qualitative Research
    • RESEARCH -- Methodology
    • social support
    • SOUND recordings
    • spirituality
    • TELEPHONE
    • THEMATIC analysis
    • TUMORS -- Psychological aspects
  • The influence of religiosity and spirituality on drinking behaviors: differences between students attending two southern universities

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dixie L Dennis
    Author William Cox
    Author Anne Black
    Author Susan Muller
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if students (n = 431) from two southern universities-one in the "buckle" of the Bible-belt, the other a southern "border" state-have different drinking behaviors depending on their religiosity and spirituality. Approximately 95% of students indicated that they had at least one drink of alcohol during their lives, with almost 82% reporting that they used alcohol in the past 30 days. Binge drinking among underage students increased every year (approximately 43% to almost 70%). Students from the buckle university had higher degrees of religiosity and spirituality and reported fewer unhealthy drinking behaviors than those from the border university. By creating a learning environment where students are encouraged to increase the spiritual dimension of health, health educators may alleviate potentially deadly consequences of alcohol.
    Publication Journal of Drug Education
    Volume 39
    Issue 1
    Pages 95-112
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Drug Educ
    ISSN 0047-2379
    Short Title The influence of religiosity and spirituality on drinking behaviors
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:35:05 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19886164
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Alcohol Drinking
    • Alcoholic Intoxication
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Questionnaires
    • Southeastern United States
    • spirituality
    • Students
    • Universities
    • Young Adult
  • An exploratory study of spiritual orientation and adaptation to therapeutic community treatment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Helen Dermatis
    Author Tina James
    Author Marc Galanter
    Author Gregory Bunt
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which spiritual orientation was associated with adaptation to therapeutic community treatment. Spiritual orientation was assessed by the Spirituality Self-Rating Scale, a measure consistent with the conceptualization of spirituality typically reflected in Alcoholics Anonymous members' views. Spiritual orientation was positively correlated with acceptance of therapeutic community principles and clinical progress. Further assessment of spirituality related characteristics and their relation to treatment outcomes is important in informing the design of interventions aimed at improving progress in the therapeutic community, particularly those aspects involving the relative value of integrating the 12-Step group approach in therapeutic community programs.
    Publication Journal of Addictive Diseases
    Volume 29
    Issue 3
    Pages 306-313
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Addict Dis
    DOI 10.1080/10550887.2010.489443
    ISSN 1545-0848
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:48:55 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20635280
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • Religious affiliation and suicide attempt

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kanita Dervic
    Author Maria A Oquendo
    Author Michael F Grunebaum
    Author Steve Ellis
    Author Ainsley K Burke
    Author J John Mann
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Few studies have investigated the association between religion and suicide either in terms of Durkheim's social integration hypothesis or the hypothesis of the regulative benefits of religion. The relationship between religion and suicide attempts has received even less attention. METHOD: Depressed inpatients (N=371) who reported belonging to one specific religion or described themselves as having no religious affiliation were compared in terms of their demographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Religiously unaffiliated subjects had significantly more lifetime suicide attempts and more first-degree relatives who committed suicide than subjects who endorsed a religious affiliation. Unaffiliated subjects were younger, less often married, less often had children, and had less contact with family members. Furthermore, subjects with no religious affiliation perceived fewer reasons for living, particularly fewer moral objections to suicide. In terms of clinical characteristics, religiously unaffiliated subjects had more lifetime impulsivity, aggression, and past substance use disorder. No differences in the level of subjective and objective depression, hopelessness, or stressful life events were found. CONCLUSIONS: Religious affiliation is associated with less suicidal behavior in depressed inpatients. After other factors were controlled, it was found that greater moral objections to suicide and lower aggression level in religiously affiliated subjects may function as protective factors against suicide attempts. Further study about the influence of religious affiliation on aggressive behavior and how moral objections can reduce the probability of acting on suicidal thoughts may offer new therapeutic strategies in suicide prevention.
    Publication The American Journal of Psychiatry
    Volume 161
    Issue 12
    Pages 2303-2308
    Date Dec 2004
    Journal Abbr Am J Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.161.12.2303
    ISSN 0002-953X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/15569904
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:48:30 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15569904
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aggression
    • Depressive Disorder, Major
    • Female
    • Hospitalization
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Morals
    • religion
    • Suicide, Attempted

    Notes:

    • Depressed inpatients (N=371) who reported belonging to one specific religion or described themselves as having no religious affiliation were compared in terms of their demographic and clinical characteristics. Religiously unaffiliated subjects had significantly more lifetime suicide attempts and more first-degree relatives who committed suicide than subjects who endorsed a religious affiliation.

  • Predictors of Yoga Use Among Patients With Breast Cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Krupali Desai
    Author Marjorie A. Bowman
    Author Mary Lou Galantino
    Author Chanita Hughes-Halbert
    Author Neha Vapiwala
    Author Angela DeMichele
    Author Jun J. Mao
    Abstract Objective Emerging research suggests that yoga may be beneficial for reducing symptoms and improving quality of life among breast cancer patients. However, very little is known about the characteristics of breast cancer patients who use yoga; thus, this study seeks to identify the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of yoga users among this population.Design A cross-sectional survey study was conducted.Setting The study was conducted at an outpatient breast oncology clinic at a large university hospital.Participants Three hundred postmenopausal breast cancer patients currently receiving aromatase inhibitors were included in this study.Main outcome measurement Self-reported use of yoga following the cancer diagnosis was collected along with sociodemographic and clinical data. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of yoga use among breast cancer patients.Results Of 300 participants, 53 (17.7%) reported having used yoga following cancer diagnosis. White patients were significantly more likely to use yoga than nonwhite patients (P = .02). Higher education level, lower BMI (body mass index), part-time employment status, previous chemotherapy, and radiation therapy were all associated with greater yoga use (all P < .05). Controlling for other factors, greater yoga use was independently associated with higher education level (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.72, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-6.46), and lower BMI (AOR 0.25, 95% CI, 0.09-0.66).Conclusion Yoga use following breast cancer diagnosis was substantially higher for white patients and those with lower BMI and higher education levels. Considering its potential benefits for symptom management in cancer, more research is needed to understand the attitudes and barriers to yoga use among individuals with nonwhite race, lower education, and higher BMI level. Such investigation will help design yoga programs that are aligned to the needs of these populations.
    Publication EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing
    Volume 6
    Issue 6
    Pages 359-363
    Date November
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2010.08.002
    ISSN 1550-8307
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7MF9-51BY623-8/2/82c6a90f180d89bb3b0e06d1e07a70b5
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:35:30 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM

    Tags:

    • breast cancer
    • complementary and alternative medicine
    • Mind-Body Therapies
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • Emerging research suggests that yoga may be beneficial for reducing symptoms and improving quality of life among breast cancer patients. However, very little is known about the characteristics of breast cancer patients who use yoga; thus, this study seeks to identify the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of yoga users among this population.

  • Effects of a yoga breath intervention alone and in combination with an exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in survivors of the 2004 South-East Asia tsunami.

    Type Journal Article
    Author T. Descilo
    Author A. Vedamurtachar
    Author P. L. Gerbarg
    Author D. Nagaraja
    Author B. N. Gangadhar
    Author B. Damodaran
    Author B. Adelson
    Author L. H. Braslow
    Author S. Marcus
    Author R. P. Brown
    Abstract Descilo T, Vedamurtachar A, Gerbarg PL, Nagaraja D, Gangadhar BN, Damodaran B, Adelson B, Braslow LH, Marcus S, Brown RP. Effects of a yoga breath intervention alone and in combination with an exposure therapy for PTSD and depression in survivors of the 2004 South-East Asia tsunami. Objective: This study evaluated the effect of a yoga breath program alone and followed by a trauma reduction exposure technique on post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in survivors of the 2004 Asian tsunami. Method: In this non-randomized study, 183 tsunami survivors who scored 50 or above on the Post-traumatic Checklist-17 (PCL-17) were assigned by camps to one of three groups: yoga breath intervention, yoga breath intervention followed by 3–8 h of trauma reduction exposure technique or 6-week wait list. Measures for post-traumatic stress disorder (PCL-17) and depression (BDI-21) were performed at baseline and at 6, 12 and 24 weeks. Data were analyzed usinganova and mixed effects regression. Results: The effect of treatment vs. control was significant at 6 weeks ( F2,178 = 279.616, P < 0.001): mean PCL-17 declined by 42.5 +/- 10.0 SD with yoga breath, 39.2 +/- 17.2 with Yoga breath + exposure and 4.6 +/- 13.2 in the control. Conclusion: Yoga breath-based interventions may help relieve psychological distress following mass disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
    Volume 121
    Issue 4
    Pages 289-300
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01466.x
    ISSN 0001690X
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:22:34 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Accidents
    • ASIA
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder
    • STRESS (Psychology)
    • yoga
  • Relational spirituality and depression in adolescent girls

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alethea Desrosiers
    Author Lisa Miller
    Abstract This study examines the possibility that relational spirituality may be inversely associated with the relatively higher rates of adolescent depression found in girls as compared with boys. Subjects were 615 adolescents, representing a diverse range of religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Overall spirituality and depression were measured using The Brief-Multidimensional Measure of Religiosity/Spirituality and the Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. Overall, both level of depression and level of relational spirituality were higher in girls as compared with boys. Regression analyses conducted independently for boys and girls revealed that daily spiritual experiences, forgiveness, and religious coping were associated with less-depressive symptomatology exclusively in girls. This pattern in the findings suggests that uniquely in girls, depression may be associated with disruptions in a relational form of spirituality.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 63
    Issue 10
    Pages 1021-1037
    Date Oct 2007
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20409
    ISSN 0021-9762
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17828762
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:56:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17828762
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Psychology
    • Adult
    • Child
    • depression
    • Female
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Illinois
    • Male
    • New Jersey
    • New York City
    • Psychometrics
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • San Francisco
    • Sex Factors
    • social support
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This study examines the possibility that relational spirituality may be inversely associated with the relatively higher rates of adolescent depression found in girls as compared with boys. Overall, both level of depression and level of relational spirituality were higher in girls as compared with boys.

  • Parent and peer relationships and relational spirituality in adolescents and young adults.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alethea Desrosiers
    Author Brien S. Kelley
    Author Lisa Miller
    Abstract Research showing the protective qualities of Relational Spirituality, the experience of an ongoing dynamic personal relationship with G-d, against psychopathology in adolescents prompted the current investigation of its developmental correlates. Relational Spirituality in adolescence has been shown to have an unfolding heritable contribution and to be intertwined with a process of spiritual individuation, to which the current study adds the contribution of parents and peers to the developmental process. Participants were 615 adolescents and young adults representing a diverse range of ethnicities and religious affiliations. To measure parenting and friend variables, the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), Parental Spiritual Support Scale, and Friends Spiritual Support Scale were utilized. Relational Spirituality was measured using items from several subscales of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality to obtain a composite score. Findings of multivariate regression analyses indicated that Maternal Spiritual Support, Paternal Care, and Friends Spiritual Support were significantly positively associated with Relational Spirituality, with Maternal Spiritual Support influencing the selection of peers who offer Friends Spiritual Support. These results underscore the importance of parents and peers in facilitating the development of Relational Spirituality, particularly through maternal openness to discussion about spirituality/religiosity and through paternal affection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 3
    Issue 1
    Pages 39-54
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0020037
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent Development
    • adolescents
    • developmental process
    • Interpersonal Relationships
    • Parents
    • Peer Relations
    • PEERS
    • relational spirituality
    • religion
    • religiosity
    • spirituality
  • A prospective study of religion/spirituality and depressive symptoms among adolescent psychiatric patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author R.E. Dew
    Author S.S. Daniel
    Author D.B. Goldston
    Author W.V. McCall
    Author M. Kuchibhatla
    Author C. Schleifer
    Author M.F. Triplett
    Author H.G. Koenig
    Abstract Objective Previous research has uncovered relationships between religion/spirituality and depressive disorders. Proposed mechanisms through which religion may impact depression include decreased substance use and enhanced social support. Little investigation of these topics has occurred with adolescent psychiatric patients, among whom depression, substance use, and social dysfunction are common.Method 145 subjects, aged 12-18, from two psychiatric outpatient clinics completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), the Fetzer multidimensional survey of religion/spirituality, and inventories of substance abuse and perceived social support. Measures were completed again six months later. Longitudinal and cross-sectional relationships between depression and religion were examined, controlling for substance abuse and social support.Results Of thirteen religious/spiritual characteristics assessed, nine showed strong cross-sectional relationships to BDI-II score. When perceived social support and substance abuse were controlled for, forgiveness, negative religious support, loss of faith, and negative religious coping retained significant relationships to BDI-II. In longitudinal analyses, loss of faith predicted less improvement in depression scores over 6 months, controlling for depression at study entry.Limitations Self-report data, clinical sample.Conclusions Several aspects of religiousness/spirituality appear to relate cross-sectionally to depressive symptoms in adolescent psychiatric patients. Findings suggest that perceived social support and substance abuse account for some of these correlations but do not explain relationships to negative religious coping, loss of faith, or forgiveness. Endorsing a loss of faith may be a marker of poor prognosis among depressed youth.
    Publication Journal of Affective Disorders
    Volume 120
    Issue 1-3
    Pages 149-157
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2009.04.029
    ISSN 0165-0327
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 12:25:29 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • adolescents
    • depression
    • religion
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Examination of effects of spirituality on factors of depression (namely substance abuse and social isolation) in adolescent psychiatric patients. Social trends of "loss of faith" lead to increasingly poor prognoses.

  • Religion, spirituality, and depression in adolescent psychiatric outpatients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rachel E Dew
    Author Stephanie S Daniel
    Author David B Goldston
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract This study examines in a preliminary manner the relationship between multiple facets of religion/spirituality and depression in treatment-seeking adolescents. One hundred seventeen psychiatric outpatients aged 12 to 18 completed the brief multidimensional measure of religiousness/spirituality, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a substance abuse inventory. Controlling for substance abuse and demographic variables, depression was related to feeling abandoned or punished by God (p < 0.0001), feeling unsupported by one's religious community (p = 0.0158), and lack of forgiveness (p < 0.001). These preliminary results suggest that clinicians should assess religious beliefs and perceptions of support from the religious community as factors intertwined with the experience of depression, and consider the most appropriate ways of addressing these factors that are sensitive to adolescents' and families' religious values and beliefs.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 196
    Issue 3
    Pages 247-251
    Date Mar 2008
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181663002
    ISSN 1539-736X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18340262
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:48:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18340262
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Ambulatory Care
    • Child
    • Depressive Disorder, Major
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders

    Notes:

    • This study examines in a preliminary manner the relationship between multiple facets of religion/spirituality and depression in treatment-seeking adolescents.

  • Exploring the link between religious attitudes and subjective well-being in chronic pain patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jessie Dezutter
    Author Koen Luyckx
    Author Arndt Büssing
    Author Dirk Hutsebaut
    Abstract OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to explore the relations between religious attitudes and subjective well-being in a sample of chronic pain (CP) patients and to investigate whether these associations would differ from those obtained with healthy controls. METHOD A total of 155 CP patients (72% women) and 166 healthy controls (72% women) completed questionnaires on pain, religious attitudes, and subjective well-being. The religious attitudes focused both on religiosity as such (Inclusion vs Exclusion of Transcendence) as on the cognitive approach of religious contents (Symbolic vs Literal). RESULTS Mean-level analyses showed significant differences between the CP and control samples on subjective well-being and Literal Exclusion. Mediation analyses found a direct influence of sample (CP vs control) on subjective well-being as well as an indirect effect via Literal Exclusion. Correlation analyses revealed that Literal Exclusion correlated negatively with well-being in both samples, whereas Literal Inclusion did not. The differential variable between the two samples was the symbolic approach of religion (Symbolic Inclusion and Exclusion), which was significantly associated with higher levels of well-being only in the CP sample. CONCLUSION A literal approach toward religion in combination with a rejection of religion (Literal Exclusion) was, in general-both for CP patients as for healthy controls-associated with lower levels of well-being. In CP patients (but not in healthy controls), a symbolic approach toward religion (regardless of Inclusion or Exclusion of religion) was significantly associated with higher levels of subjective well-being.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 4
    Pages 393-404
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20391860
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20391860
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude
    • Chronic Disease
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Sick Role
    • Young Adult
  • God Image and Happiness in Chronic Pain Patients: The Mediating Role of Disease Interpretation

    Type Journal Article
    Author J Dezutter
    Author K Luyckx
    Author H Schaap-Jonker
    Author A Büssing
    Author J Corveleyn
    Author D Hutsebaut
    Abstract Objective. The present study explored the role of the emotional experience of God (i.e., positive and negative God images) in the happiness of chronic pain (CP) patients. Framed in the transactional model of stress, we tested a model in which God images would influence happiness partially through its influence on disease interpretation as a mediating mechanism. We expected God images to have both a direct and an indirect (through the interpretation of disease) effect on happiness. Design. A cross-sectional questionnaire design was adopted in order to measure demographics, pain condition, God images, disease interpretation, and happiness. One hundred thirty-six CP patients, all members of a national patients' association, completed the questionnaires. Results. Correlational analyses showed meaningful associations among God images, disease interpretation, and happiness. Path analyses from a structural equation modeling approach indicated that positive God images seemed to influence happiness, both directly and indirectly through the pathway of positive interpretation of the disease. Ancillary analyses showed that the negative influence of angry God images on happiness disappeared after controlling for pain severity. Conclusion. The results indicated that one's emotional experience of God has an influence on happiness in CP patients, both directly and indirectly through the pathway of positive disease interpretation. These findings can be framed within the transactional theory of stress and can stimulate further pain research investigating the possible effects of religion in the adaptation to CP.
    Publication Pain Medicine
    Volume 11
    Issue 5
    Pages 765-773
    Date 2010
    ISSN 1526-2375
    Short Title God Image and Happiness in Chronic Pain Patients
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 11:38:11 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • With God's help i can do it: crack users? Formal and informal recovery experiences in El Salvador

    Type Journal Article
    Author Julia Dickson-Gomez
    Author Gloria Bodnar
    Author Carmen Eugenia Guevara
    Author Karla Rodriguez
    Author Lorena Rivas De Mendoza
    Author A Michelle Corbett
    Abstract Crack use has increased dramatically in El Salvador in the last few decades. As with other developing countries with sudden onsets of drug problems, El Salvador has few medical staff trained in addictions treatment. Little research has examined drug users? attempts to reduce or abstain from drug use in countries where government-regulated formal medical treatment for drug addiction is scarce. This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data gathered from active crack users to explore their formal and informal strategies to reduce or abstain from drugs, and compares these with components of informal and formal treatment in developed countries.
    Publication Substance Use & Misuse
    Volume 46
    Issue 4
    Pages 426-439
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr Subst Use Misuse
    DOI 10.3109/10826084.2010.495762
    ISSN 1532-2491
    Short Title With God's help i can do it
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20735191
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20735191
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • Cocaine-Related Disorders
    • Crack Cocaine
    • Developing Countries
    • El Salvador
    • Faith Healing
    • Health Services Accessibility
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Religion and Medicine
  • Mindfulness-specific or generic mechanisms of action

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carlo C. DiClemente
    Abstract In this article, the author discusses the study which examines the effectiveness of transcendental meditation mindfulness training to treat patients with behavioral and emotional problems. It states that rumination and stress management are the key factors that help depression people and substance abuse disorders to respond brain activation using generic self-regulatory operations. Moreover, neurologists explained that approach would lower pain sensitivity in the brain.
    Publication Addiction
    Volume 105
    Issue 10
    Pages 1707-1708
    Date October 2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03013.x
    ISSN 09652140
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • DEPRESSED persons
    • NEUROLOGISTS
    • PAIN -- Treatment
    • rumination
    • stress management
    • SUBSTANCE abuse
    • Transcendental Meditation
  • Spirituality and its relationships with the health and illness of Appalachian people

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gina Diddle
    Author Sharon A Denham
    Abstract This article explores the ways spirituality intertwines with the health and culture of those living in the Appalachian region. Nursing has long considered the value of spirituality and faith, noting its complex connections with health and illness. Literature pertaining to spirituality, health, and the culture of those residing in the Appalachian region was reviewed. Although the review suggests that connections between spirituality and health exist, empirical evidence is limited, somewhat dated, and lacks viable conclusions relative to the diverse needs of the Appalachian population. Focused research that addresses strongly linked operationally defined variables is needed to strengthen the evidence for clarity about distinct applications to practice.
    Publication Journal of Transcultural Nursing: Official Journal of the Transcultural Nursing Society / Transcultural Nursing Society
    Volume 21
    Issue 2
    Pages 175-182
    Date Apr 2010
    Journal Abbr J Transcult Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/1043659609357640
    ISSN 1552-7832
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:08:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20220036
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • The effect of Ramadan fasting on maternal serum lipids, cortisol levels and fetal development

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ebru Dikensoy
    Author Ozcan Balat
    Author Bahar Cebesoy
    Author Ayhan Ozkur
    Author Hulya Cicek
    Author Gunay Can
    Abstract OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of fasting during the month of Ramadan on fetal development and maternal serum cortisol and lipid profile. METHODS This study was performed in Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Gaziantep University Hospital, between 23 September 2006 and 23 October 2006 (during the month of Ramadan). Thirty-six consecutive healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies of 20 weeks or more, who were fasting during Ramadan, were included in the study group (group 1). The control group (group 2) consisted of 29 healthy pregnant women, who were not fasting during the study period. For evaluating Ramadan's effect on fetus, Doppler ultrasonography was performed on all subjects in the beginning and then once a week until the end of Ramadan for the following measurements: increase of fetal biparietal diameter (BPD), increase of fetal femur length (FL), increase of estimated fetal body weight (EFBW), fetal biophysical profile (BPP), amniotic fluid index (AFI), and umbilical artery systole/diastole (S/D) ratio. Maternal serum cortisol, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), and LDL/HDL ratio were also evaluated before and after Ramadan. RESULTS No significant difference was found between the two groups for the fetal age, maternal weight gain (kilogram), estimated fetal weight gain (EFWG), fetal BPP, AFI, and umbilical artery S/D ratio. In the fasting group, the maternal serum cortisol levels on day 20 were significantly higher than the initial levels obtained 1 week prior to Ramadan (p < 0.05). Although no significant increases were observed in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the fasting group, these increases were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). LDL and VLDL levels showed a non-significant decrease at the end of the Ramadan. HDL levels showed a slight increase, but LDL/HDL ratios were significantly decreased in fasting group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION The results of this study showed that maternal serum cortisol level was elevated while LDL/HDL ratio were decreased in healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies of 20 weeks or more, who were fasting during Ramadan. No untoward effect of Ramadan was observed on intrauterine fetal development.
    Publication Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics
    Volume 279
    Issue 2
    Pages 119-123
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Arch. Gynecol. Obstet
    DOI 10.1007/s00404-008-0680-x
    ISSN 1432-0711
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18488237
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18488237
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Cholesterol
    • Fasting
    • Female
    • Fetal Development
    • Fetal Weight
    • Gestational Age
    • Holidays
    • Humans
    • Hydrocortisone
    • ISLAM
    • Lipids
    • Lipoproteins, HDL
    • Lipoproteins, LDL
    • Pregnancy
    • Triglycerides
    • Weight Gain

    Notes:

    • This study finds that fasting during Ramadan, while resulting in some altered biochemical markers by comparison with women who are not fasting and with pre-fasting indicators, does not have perceptible intrauterine effects on the fetus.

  • Psychosocial interventions as adjunct therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rukmal Kumari Dissanayake
    Author James V. Bertouch
    Publication International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases
    Volume 13
    Issue 4
    Pages 324-334
    Date 10/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1756-185X.2010.01563.x
    ISSN 17561841
    URL http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1756-185X.2010.01563.x/abstract
    Accessed Monday, October 11, 2010 11:50:02 AM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM
  • Body Awareness, Eating Attitudes, and Spiritual Beliefs of Women Practicing Yoga

    Type Journal Article
    Author K. A. Dittmann
    Author M. R. Freedman
    Abstract This research evaluated attitudes about body image and eating in women practicing postural yoga. Qualitative data reported improvements in body satisfaction and a reduction in disordered eating due in part to yoga and its associated spirituality.
    Publication Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 273-292
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1080/10640260902991111
    ISSN 1064-0266
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/10640260902991111
    Accessed Monday, September 14, 2009 11:42:33 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
  • Body awareness, eating attitudes, and spiritual beliefs of women practicing yoga

    Type Journal Article
    Author K A Dittmann
    Author M R Freedman
    Abstract This research evaluated attitudes about body image and eating in women practicing postural yoga. Study 1 described scores from questionnaires on variables related to body awareness, intuitive eating, spirituality, and reasons for practicing. Scores were favorable on all measures with significant correlations (p < .01) among all main variables except between spiritual readiness and intuitive eating, and between BMI and both body awareness and spiritual readiness. Reasons for practicing did not affect scores. Study 2 evaluated interviews in a sub-sample. Qualitative data reported improvements in body satisfaction and disordered eating due in part to yoga and its associated spirituality.
    Publication Eating Disorders
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 273-292
    Date 2009 Jul-Sep
    Journal Abbr Eat Disord
    DOI 10.1080/10640260902991111
    ISSN 1532-530X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19548145
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:41:38 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19548145
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude
    • Awareness
    • BODY image
    • eating disorders
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Concept
    • spirituality
    • yoga
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This research evaluated attitudes about body image and eating in women practicing postural yoga.

  • A pilot trial of spirituality counseling for weight loss maintenance in African American breast cancer survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Zora Djuric
    Author Josephine Mirasolo
    Author LaVern Kimbrough
    Author Diane R Brown
    Author Lance K Heilbrun
    Author Lisa Canar
    Author Raghu Venkatranamamoorthy
    Author Michael S Simon
    Abstract A continuing challenge in weight loss treatment is attaining maintenance of weight loss. The goal of this study was to develop a counseling method that would assist African American breast cancer survivors with weight loss maintenance. In this pilot study, 31 obese breast cancer survivors were recruited. Individualized, dietitian-led counseling by telephone and free Weight Watchers coupons were provided to all participants for 18 months. At the 6-month time point, women were randomized to receive spirituality counseling or not in addition to the standard program. The spirituality counseling was delivered via telephone using an 8-step framework. Subjects were asked to utilize daily meditation or prayer, daily readings, and the recording of thoughts in a journal. Mean weight loss from baseline to 6 months was a modest 2.0% of baseline weight. From 6 to 18 months, there was no further weight change in the spirituality arm and a gain of 0.7% in the dietitian-only arm. Despite little effect on weight loss, it did appear that spirituality counseling positively affected spiritual well-being (FACIT-Sp) scores and dietary quality. The spirituality counseling framework therefore may be further refined and useful for other health promotion studies with African American populations.
    Publication Journal of the National Medical Association
    Volume 101
    Issue 6
    Pages 552-564
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Natl Med Assoc
    ISSN 0027-9684
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:45:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19585923
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Body Mass Index
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Diet Records
    • Directive Counseling
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Motor Activity
    • Obesity
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Survival Analysis
    • Survivors
    • United States
    • Weight Loss
  • Fostering healing through mindfulness in the context of medical practice

    Type Journal Article
    Author P L Dobkin
    Publication Current Oncology (Toronto, Ont.)
    Volume 16
    Issue 2
    Pages 4-6
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Curr Oncol
    ISSN 1198-0052
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:19:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19370173
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
  • Increased mindfulness--the active component of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Patricia L Dobkin
    Author Qinyi Zhao
    Abstract While there is growing consensus that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an effective program for patients with a wide range of health problems, little is known with regard to the processes underlying benefits seen following the program. Herein we examined the relationship between increases in mindfulness and improvements in patient outcomes. We sought to determine if there was a relationship between the practice of various types of meditation taught during the program and post-MBSR results. Eighty-three chronic ill patients provided pre- and post-MBSR data. An increase in mindfulness was significantly related to reductions in depressive symptoms, stress, medical symptoms and an increase in overall sense of coherence. However, the relationship between practice and outcomes was less evident. Future research is needed to identify which factors lead to an increase in mindfulness.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 22-27
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Clin Pract
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.03.002
    ISSN 1873-6947
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/21168110
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:21:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21168110
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • mindfulness based stress reduction program
  • School Counselors Support Student Spirituality through Developmental Assets, Character Education, and ASCA Competency Indicators.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert A. Dobmeier
    Abstract This article identifies the Search Institute's Developmental Assets, character education, and the ASCA National Model's Competency Indicators as education-based programs in which spirituality is accessed for children to enhance resiliency. The author presents school counselor interventions based on these three programs that mutually support spiritual with other developmental domains. He also identifies responsibilities of school counselors, professional organizations, district stakeholders, and counselor educators to address ethical and legal concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Professional School Counseling
    Volume 14
    Issue 5
    Pages 317-327
    Date June 2011
    ISSN 10962409
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM

    Notes:

    • This article identifies the Search Institute's Developmental Assets, character education, and the ASCA National Model's Competency Indicators as education-based programs in which spirituality is accessed for children to enhance resiliency. The author presents school counselor interventions based on these three programs that mutually support spiritual with other developmental domains. He also identifies responsibilities of school counselors, professional organizations, district stakeholders, and counselor educators to address ethical and legal concerns.

  • Handbook of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies, Third Edition

    Type Book
    Author Keith S. Dobson
    Edition 3
    Publisher The Guilford Press
    Date 2009-10-27
    ISBN 1606234374
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • The influence of changes in women’s religious affiliation on contraceptive use and fertility among the Kassena-Nankana of northern Ghana.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Henry V. Doctor
    Author James F. Phillips
    Author Evelyn Sakeah
    Abstract Religious affiliation is undergoing major changes in rural Sahelian Africa, with profound consequences for customs that are grounded in traditional belief systems. This study examines the influence of women's religious affiliation on contraceptive use and fertility among the Kassena-Nankana of northern Ghana. Analysis of longitudinal data for women in 1995 and 2003 shows that 61 percent of women changed their religion, with shifts from traditional beliefs to Christianity being dominant. Moreover, women were more likely than men to make such a change. Regression results show that, compared with those who did not change, switching from traditional religion to Christianity or Islam is associated with increased contraceptive use and decreased fertility. The more rapid change in religious affiliation among women than men may have social consequences for the status of women, signaling a trend toward greater autonomy in the family and new aspirations, values, and behavior as evidenced by the proportion of people adopting contraceptives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Studies in Family Planning
    Volume 40
    Issue 2
    Pages 113-122
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2009.00194.x
    ISSN 0039-3665
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • BIRTH control
    • contraceptive usage
    • Fertility
    • Ghana
    • Oral Contraceptives
    • religious affiliation
    • women's religious affiliation

    Notes:

    • This study finds that changes of religious affiliation from African traditional religions to either Christianity or Islam in Northern Ghana results in increased contraceptive use and decreased fertility.  This trend of conversion among women has many social effects that improve the status of women in these societies as they adopt behaviors and attitudes commensurate with economic and political empowerment.

  • The encounter with God in myth and madness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Otto Doerr
    Author Oscar Velásquez
    Abstract BACKGROUND: It is well known how often psychiatric patients report religious experiences. These are especially frequent in schizophrenic and epileptic patients as the subject of their delusions. The question we pose is: are there differences between this kind of religious experiences and those we find in religious texts or in the mythological tradition? RESULTS: An overview on famous mythological narratives, such as The Aeneid, allows us to establish that the divinities become recognizable to the human being at the moment of their departure. Thus, Aeneas does not recognise his mother, Venus, when she appears to him in the middle of the forest at the coast of Africa. A dialogue between the two takes place, and only at the end of the encounter, when she is going away and already with her back to Aeneas, she shows her son the signs of her divinity: the rose-flush emanating from her neck, her hair perfume and the majesty of her gait. Something analogous can be observed in the encounter of Moses with Yahweh on Mount Sinai. Moses asks God: "Show me your glory, I beg you". And God replies, among other things: "you shall see the back of me, but my face is not to be seen". In the same sense, the Emmaus disciples do not recognise Jesus till the moment of his disappearance ("but he had vanished from their sight"), and Saul of Tars falls off his horse just in the moment when he feels the divine presence. In short, the direct encounter with the divinity seems not to occur in the realm of myth or in religious tradition. The realm of madness is exactly the opposite. Our research on religious experiences in schizophrenic and epileptic patients leads us to conclude that God appears to them face to face, and the patient describes God the father, Jesus or the Virgin Mary in intimate detail, always in an everyday setting. So, the divinity is seen in the garden, or in the bedroom, or maybe above the wardrobe, without any of its majesty. The nearness to God also tends to be so extreme that even an identification of patient and God can occur. That light emanating from the world of the divine ceases to be perceived by them. CONCLUSION: While in mythological narratives God appears to the human being at the moment of His departure or showing His back, psychiatric patients with religious delusions experience the divinity in a direct way, face to face. Given the deformation of the divine occurring on the edge of madness we can better understand the mysterious words from Yahweh to Moses in Exodus: "for man cannot see me and live".
    Publication Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine: PEHM
    Volume 2
    Pages 12
    Date 2007
    Journal Abbr Philos Ethics Humanit Med
    DOI 10.1186/1747-5341-2-12
    ISSN 1747-5341
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17608933
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:15:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17608933
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • delusions
    • Epilepsy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • Middle Aged
    • Mythology
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Schizophrenic Psychology

    Notes:

    • Background: It is well known how often psychiatric patients report religious experiences. These are especially frequent in schizophrenic and epileptic patients as the subject of their delusions. The question we pose is: are there differences between this kind of religious experiences and those we find in religious texts or in the mythological tradition? Results: An overview on famous mythological narratives, such as The Aeneid, allows us to establish that the divinities become recognizable to the human being at the moment of their departure. Thus, Aeneas does not recognise his mother, Venus, when she appears to him in the middle of the forest at the coast of Africa. A dialogue between the two takes place, and only at the end of the encounter, when she is going away and already with her back to Aeneas, she shows her son the signs of her divinity: the rose-flush emanating from her neck, her hair perfume and the majesty of her gait. Something analogous can be observed in the encounter of Moses with Yahweh on Mount Sinai. Moses asks God: “Show me your glory, I beg you”. And God replies, among other things: “you shall see the back of me, but my face is not to be seen”. In the same sense, the Emmaus disciples do not recognise Jesus till the moment of his disappearance (“but he had vanished from their sight”), and Saul of Tars falls off his horse just in the moment when he feels the divine presence. In short, the direct encounter with the divinity seems not to occur in the realm of myth or in religious tradition. The realm of madness is exactly the opposite. Our research on religious experiences in schizophrenic and epileptic patients leads us to conclude that God appears to them face to face, and the patient describes God the father, Jesus or the Virgin Mary in intimate detail, always in an everyday setting. So, the divinity is seen in the garden, or in the bedroom, or maybe above the wardrobe, without any of its majesty. The nearness to God also tends to be so extreme that even an identification of patient and God can occur. That light emanating from the world of the divine ceases to be perceived by them. Conclusion: While in mythological narratives God appears to the human being at the moment of His departure or showing His back, psychiatric patients with religious delusions experience the divinity in a direct way, face to face. Given the deformation of the divine occurring on the edge of madness we can better understand the mysterious words from Yahweh to Moses in Exodus: “for man cannot see me and live”.

  • Numinous-like auras and spirituality in persons with partial seizures

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rima Dolgoff-Kaspar
    Author Alan B Ettinger
    Author Sarit A Golub
    Author Kenneth Perrine
    Author Cynthia Harden
    Author Susan D Croll
    Abstract This study investigated hyperreligiosity in persons with partial epilepsy by exploring a relationship between aura symptoms and spirituality. It was reasoned that patients with high frequencies of auras that are suggestive of metaphysical phenomena, termed numinous-like auras, would report increased spirituality of an unconventional form, both during their seizures and generally. Numinous-like auras included: dreaminess/feeling of detachment, autoscopy, derealization, depersonalization, time speed alterations, bodily distortions, and pleasure. A high-frequency aura group, low-frequency aura group, and nonseizure reference group were compared on the Expressions of Spirituality-Revised. The High group had significantly greater Experiential/Phenomenological Dimension and Paranormal Beliefs factor scores than the Low group, and significantly greater Experiential/Phenomenological Dimension factor scores than the reference group. There were no differences between the Low group and the reference group. In addition, there were no differences among the three groups on traditional measures of religiosity. The results provide preliminary evidence that epilepsy patients with frequent numinous-like auras have greater ictal and interictal spirituality of an experiential, personalized, and atypical form, which may be distinct from traditional, culturally based religiosity. This form of spirituality may be better described by the term cosmic spirituality than hyperreligiosity. It is speculated that this spirituality is due to an overactivation and subsequent potentiation of the limbic system, with frequent numinous-like auras indicating sufficient activation for this process to occur. It is likely that numinous-like experiences foster cosmic spirituality in a number of circumstances, including seizures, psychosis, near-death experiences, psychedelic drug use, high-elevation exposure, and also normal conditions.
    Publication Epilepsia
    Volume 52
    Issue 3
    Pages 640-644
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr Epilepsia
    DOI 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2010.02957.x
    ISSN 1528-1167
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21395568
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:42:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21395568
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
  • Giving Up Something Good for Something Better: Sacred Sacrifices Made by Religious Youth

    Type Journal Article
    Author D. C. Dollahite
    Author E. Layton
    Author H. M. Bahr
    Author A. B. Walker
    Author J. Y. Thatcher
    Abstract The concept of sacrifice was formerly a key variable in theorizing about religion and society. Secularization theory and conceptual models equating sacrifice with cost have reduced its usage and apparent relevance, although it continues to be of interest in anthropology and religious studies. Research on sacrifice has been neglected in the social sciences, especially in studies of religiosity and families. Seventy-seven religious adolescents in 55 religious Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Mormon families in New England and northern California were interviewed about whether they felt they had been asked to make sacrifices for their faith as they were growing up. This article discusses how contemporary religious youth view the sacrifices they make for religious reasons. Adolescents reported sacrifices in five domains: societal expectations, popular culture, comforts and pleasures, time and activities, and peer relations. Youth gave the following reasons for being willing to make sacrifices: connecting to a higher meaning or purpose, connecting to God, connecting to the faith tradition or community, fulfilling expectations, feeling affective benefits, and avoiding problems.
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Research
    Volume 24
    Issue 6
    Pages 691-725
    Date 08/2009
    Journal Abbr Journal of Adolescent Research
    DOI 10.1177/0743558409343463
    ISSN 0743-5584
    URL http://jar.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0743558409343463
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Yoga therapy decreases dyspnea-related distress and improves functional performance in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author DorAnne Donesky-Cuenco
    Author Huong Q Nguyen
    Author Steven Paul
    Author Virginia Carrieri-Kohlman
    Abstract BACKGROUND: There has been limited study of yoga training as a complementary exercise strategy to manage the symptom of dyspnea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate a yoga program for its safety, feasibility, and efficacy for decreasing dyspnea intensity (DI) and dyspnea-related distress (DD) in older adults with COPD. METHODS: Clinically stable patients with COPD (n = 29; age 69.9 +/- 9.5; forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) 47.7 +/- 15.6% predicted; female = 21) were randomized to a 12-week yoga program specifically designed for people with COPD or usual-care control (UC). The twice-weekly yoga program included asanas (yoga postures) and visama vritti pranayama (timed breathing). Safety measure outcomes included heart rate, oxygen saturation, dyspnea, and pain. Feasibility was measured by patient-reported enjoyment, difficulty, and adherence to yoga sessions. At baseline and at 12 weeks, DI and DD were measured during incremental cycle ergometry and a 6-minute walk (6MW) test. Secondary efficacy outcomes included physical performance, psychologic well-being, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). RESULTS: Yoga training was safe and feasible for patients with COPD. While yoga training had only small effects on DI after the 6MW test (effect size [ES], 0.20; p = 0.60), there were greater reductions in DD in the yoga group compared to UC (ES, 0.67; p = 0.08). Yoga training also improved 6MW distance (+71.7 +/- 21.8 feet versus -27.6 +/- 36.2 feet; ES = 0.78, p = 0.04) and self-reported functional performance (ES = 0.79, p = 0.04) compared to UC. There were small positive changes in muscle strength and HRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly patients with COPD participated safely in a 12-week yoga program especially designed for patients with this chronic illness. After the program, the subjects tolerated more activity with less DD and improved their functional performance. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger, more sufficiently powered efficacy study.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 15
    Issue 3
    Pages 225-234
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0389
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Short Title Yoga therapy decreases dyspnea-related distress and improves functional performance in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:43:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19249998
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Aged
    • Dyspnea
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Muscle Strength
    • Pilot Projects
    • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Care
    • Self Efficacy
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Treatment Outcome
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • The primary purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate a yoga program for its safety, feasibility, and efficacy for decreasing dyspnea intensity and dyspnea-related distress in older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.After the program, the subjects tolerated more activity with less dyspnea-related distress and improved their functional performance. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger, more sufficiently powered efficacy study.

  • The Association Between Spirituality and Depression in an Urban Clinic

    Type Journal Article
    Author Benjamin R. Doolittle
    Author Michael Farrell
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between spiritual beliefs and depression in an urban population. METHOD: A convenience sample of adult patients of an urban primary care clinic completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of the Zung Depression Scale and the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS). RESULTS: Among 122 respondents, 99 (81%) reported that they consider themselves religious. Responses from the Zung Depression Scale found that 76 (62%) of the patients were depressed and 46 (38%) were not. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the Zung Depression Scale and the SIBS was -0.36 (p <.0001). Backward stepwise regression analysis revealed that SIBS score and physical health predicted the Zung Depression Scale score. Age, gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and income showed no significant association with depression. Analysis of individual SIBS items revealed that high spirituality scores on items in the domain of intrinsic beliefs, such as belief in a higher power (p <.01), the importance of prayer (p <.0001), and finding meaning in times of hardship (p <.05), were associated negatively with depression. Attendance of religious services had no significant association with depression. CONCLUSION: Appropriate encouragement of a patient's spiritual beliefs may be a helpful adjunct to treating depression.
    Publication Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
    Volume 6
    Issue 3
    Pages 114-118
    Date 2004
    Journal Abbr Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry
    ISSN 1523-5998
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15361925
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 1:03:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15361925
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A convenience sample of adult patients of an urban primary care clinic completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of the Zung Depression Scale and the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS). Analysis of individual SIBS items revealed that high spirituality scores on items in the domain of intrinsic beliefs, such as belief in a higher power (p <.01), the importance of prayer (p <.0001), and finding meaning in times of hardship (p <.05), were associated negatively with depression. Attendance of religious services had no significant association with depression.

  • Spirituality and Alzheimer's

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laurence Dopson
    Publication Nursing Older People
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 39
    Date Jun 2005
    Journal Abbr Nurs Older People
    ISSN 1472-0795
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15968863
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:13:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15968863
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Alzheimer Disease
    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Attitude to Health
    • Health Status
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
  • Are prayer experiments legitimate? Twenty criticisms

    Type Journal Article
    Author Larry Dossey
    Author David J Hufford
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 1
    Issue 2
    Pages 109-117
    Date Mar 2005
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2004.12.004
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title Are prayer experiments legitimate?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16781511
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:37:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16781511
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Faith Healing
    • Humans
    • Internal-External Control
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Research Design
    • spirituality
    • Uncertainty
  • Generational Trauma, Attachment, and Spiritual/Religious Interventions.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marilyn Doucet
    Author Martin Rovers
    Abstract A heightened interest in posttraumatic stress disorder has arisen in the light of current world events, such as 9/11, the ongoing war against terrorism, and violent acts of ethnic cleansing. However, the effect of traumatic stress upon the next generation has not been steadily addressed. The phenomenon of generational trauma as a secondary form of trauma that may be passed down to subsequent generations through various means of psychological transference is reviewed by means of attachment theory. Spiritual/religious forms of interventions may be of help in mitigating the harmful consequences of severe trauma in the lives of trauma survivors and its generational effects in the lives of their offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Loss & Trauma
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 93-105
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1080/15325020903373078
    ISSN 15325024
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:43:13 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • CRIMES against humanity
    • INTERNATIONAL offenses
    • NEUROSES
    • POLITICAL crimes & offenses
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder
    • SEPTEMBER 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001
    • STRESS (Psychology)
    • TERRORISM -- Prevention
    • TRAUMATIC neuroses
  • Thinking through the body: The conceptualization of yoga as therapy for individuals with eating disorders.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laura Douglass
    Abstract Yoga has historically been viewed as a discipline that increases self-awareness through body based practices, meditation, self-study, and the reading of philosophical texts. In the 21st century the mindfulness techniques of yoga have been adapted as an adjunct to the treatment of individuals with eating disorders. In an effort to understand the conceptualization of yoga as therapy for individuals with eating disorders, this article juxtaposes how mindfulness based yoga is regarded in three disciplines: sociology, neuroscience, and the "spiritual texts" of yoga. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 83-96
    Date January 2011
    Series Eating disorders and mindfulness
    DOI 10.1080/10640266.2011.533607
    ISSN 1064-0266
    Short Title Thinking through the body
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • Concept formation
    • conceptualization
    • eating disorders
    • Mindfulness
    • neuroscience
    • Neurosciences
    • Sociology
    • yoga
    • yoga therapy
  • Yoga as an intervention in the treatment of eating disorders: does it help?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laura Douglass
    Abstract This article explores the uses of yoga as an experiential adjunct to other forms of therapy in the treatment of eating disorders in residential and outpatient settings. Supported by other treatment modalities, yoga can be an effective method for increasing self-awareness, reflection and the ability to self-soothe. Like other interventions, yoga has potential misuses. These misuses are uncovered with suggestions made as to how therapists can support the practice of yoga in residential and outpatient settings.
    Publication Eating Disorders
    Volume 17
    Issue 2
    Pages 126-139
    Date 2009 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Eat Disord
    DOI 10.1080/10640260802714555
    ISSN 1532-530X
    Short Title Yoga as an intervention in the treatment of eating disorders
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:47:10 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19242842
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Ambulatory Care
    • Anorexia Nervosa
    • Arousal
    • Awareness
    • BODY image
    • Bulimia Nervosa
    • COMBINED modality therapy
    • Defense Mechanisms
    • Hospitalization
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Patient Care Team
    • Self Concept
    • Treatment Outcome
    • yoga
  • The effects of deep breathing training on pain management in the emergency department

    Type Journal Article
    Author La Vonne A Downey
    Author Leslie S Zun
    Abstract PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of deep breathing exercises on the pain levels in patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) with pain as their chief complaint. A secondary purpose was to measure the impact of deep breathing teaching on indicators of patient satisfaction. METHODS: This was an observational study of patients who presented to the ED with pain as their chief complaint to an urban level one Emergency Department. Patients were randomized into a control group and an experimental group. The control group received the usual treatment for pain. The experimental group received the usual treatment for pain, but also received deep breathing exercises. For the measurement of pain prior to treatment, the brief pain inventory (BPI) was used. The visual analogy system (VAS) was used to measure pain prior to and after treatment and deep breathing were administered. For the measurement of patient satisfaction, the medical interview satisfaction scale (MISS) was used. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between those who received the deep breathing education and those that did not with regards to postmedication pain levels. There was however, a significant difference in customer service satisfaction within the area of doctor/patient rapport and intention to follow treatment. CONCLUSION: The usefulness of deep breathing exercises was shown to be ineffective in reducing pain levels; however, the majority of those who received deep breathing education felt it was useful. The exercise was effective in increasing patient's feelings of rapport and intentions to follow their doctor's directives.
    Publication Southern Medical Journal
    Volume 102
    Issue 7
    Pages 688-692
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr South. Med. J
    DOI 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3181a93fc5
    ISSN 1541-8243
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19487995
    Accessed Monday, October 12, 2009 11:37:33 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19487995
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Emergency Service, Hospital
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Pain Measurement
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of deep breathing exercises on the pain levels in patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) with pain as their chief complaint. A secondary purpose was to measure the impact of deep breathing teaching on indicators of patient satisfaction. Results: There was no significant difference between those who received the deep breathing education and those that did not with regards to postmedication pain levels.

  • Three lessons from a randomized trial of massage and meditation at end of life: patient benefit, outcome measure selection, and design of trials with terminally ill patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lois Downey
    Author Ruth A Engelberg
    Author Leanna J Standish
    Author Leila Kozak
    Author William E Lafferty
    Abstract Improving end-of-life care is a priority in the United States, but assigning priorities for standard care services requires evaluations using appropriate study design and appropriate outcome indicators. A recent randomized controlled trial with terminally ill patients produced no evidence of benefit from massage or guided meditation, when evaluated with measures of global quality of life or pain distress over the course of patient participation. However, reanalysis using a more targeted outcome, surrogates' assessment of patients' benefit from the study intervention, suggested significant gains from massage-the treatment patients gave their highest preassignment preference ratings. The authors conclude that adding a menu of complementary therapies as part of standard end-of-life care may yield significant benefit, that patient preference is an important predictor of outcome, and that modifications in trial design may be appropriate for end-of-life studies.
    Publication The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care
    Volume 26
    Issue 4
    Pages 246-253
    Date 2009 Aug-Sep
    Journal Abbr Am J Hosp Palliat Care
    DOI 10.1177/1049909109331887
    ISSN 1938-2715
    Short Title Three lessons from a randomized trial of massage and meditation at end of life
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19395701
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:38:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19395701
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
  • Might Massage or Guided Meditation Provide “Means to a Better End”? Primary Outcomes from an Efficacy Trial with Patients at the End of Life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lois Downey
    Author Paula Diehr
    Author Leanna J. Standish
    Author Donald L. Patrick
    Author Leila Kozak
    Author Douglass Fisher
    Author Sean Congdon
    Author William E. Lafferty
    Abstract This article reports findings from a randomized controlled trial of massage and guided meditation with patients at the end of life. Using data from 167 randomized patients, the authors consider patient outcomes through 10 weeks post-enrollment, as well as next-of-kin ratings of the quality of the final week of life for 106 patients who died during study participation. Multiple regression models demonstrated no significant treatment effects of either massage or guided meditation, delivered up to twice a week, when compared with outcomes of an active control group that received visits from hospice-trained volunteers on a schedule similar to that of the active treatment arms. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for integration of these complementary and alternative medicine therapies into standard hospice care.
    Publication Journal of palliative care
    Volume 25
    Issue 2
    Pages 100-108
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Care
    ISSN 0825-8597
    Short Title Might Massage or Guided Meditation Provide “Means to a Better End”?
    Library Catalog PubMed Central
    Extra PMID: 19678461 PMCID: 2858762
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
  • Might massage or guided meditation provide "means to a better end"? Primary outcomes from an efficacy trial with patients at the end of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lois Downey
    Author Paula Diehr
    Author Leanna J Standish
    Author Donald L Patrick
    Author Leila Kozak
    Author Douglass Fisher
    Author Sean Congdon
    Author William E Lafferty
    Abstract This article reports findings from a randomized controlled trial of massage and guided meditation with patients at the end of life. Using data from 167 randomized patients, the authors considered patient outcomes through 10 weeks post-enrollment, as well as next-of-kin ratings of the quality of the final week of life for 106 patients who died during study participation. Multiple regression models demonstrated no significant treatment effects of either massage or guided meditation, delivered up to twice a week, when compared with outcomes of an active control group that received visits from hospice-trained volunteers on a schedule similar to that of the active treatment arms. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for integration of these complementary and alternative medicine therapies into standard hospice care.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Care
    Volume 25
    Issue 2
    Pages 100-108
    Date July 2009
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Care
    ISSN 0825-8597
    Short Title Might massage or guided meditation provide "means to a better end"?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19678461
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 4:18:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19678461
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Female
    • Hospice Care
    • Humans
    • Least-Squares Analysis
    • Male
    • Massage
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Pain
    • Quality of Life
    • social support
    • Survival Analysis
    • Terminal Care
    • Washington

    Notes:

    • This article reports findings from a randomized controlled trial of massage and guided meditation with patients at the end of life. Multiple regression models demonstrated no significant treatment effects of either massage or guided meditation, delivered up to twice a week, when compared with outcomes of an active control group that received visits from hospice-trained volunteers on a schedule similar to that of the active treatment arms.

  • Religiosity As a Protective Factor Against HIV Risk Among Young Transgender Women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nadia Dowshen
    Author Christine M. Forke
    Author Amy K. Johnson
    Author Lisa M. Kuhns
    Author David Rubin
    Author Robert Garofalo
    Abstract <p>Purpose<br/>Young transgender women (YTW) face many challenges to their well-being, including homelessness, joblessness, victimization, and alarming rates of HIV infection. Little has been written about factors that might help in preventing HIV in this population. Our objective was to examine the role of religion in the lives of YTW and its relationship to HIV risk.Methods<br/>This study is derived from baseline data collected for an HIV prevention intervention. A convenience sample of YTW aged 16-25 years from Chicago were recruited consecutively and completed an audio computer-assisted self-interview. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between sexual risk taking (sex work, multiple anal sex partners, unprotected receptive anal sex), alcohol use, formal religious practices (service attendance, reading/studying scripture), and God consciousness (prayer, thoughts about God).Results<br/>A total of 92 YTW participated in the study, their mean age being 20.4 years; 58% were African American, 21% white, and 22% other. On multivariate logistic regression, alcohol use was significantly associated with sexual risk in both models, with adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 5.28 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.96-14.26) in the Formal Practices model and 3.70 (95% CI: 1.53-8.95) in the God Consciousness model. Controlling for alcohol use, it was found that Formal Practices was significantly associated with sexual risk (OR = .29, 95% CI: .11-.77), but God Consciousness was not (OR = .60, 95% CI: .25-1.47).Conclusion<br/>Among YTW, formal religious practices may attenuate sexual risk-taking behaviors and therefore HIV risk. Further research is needed to explore the role of the religion in the lives of YTW as a protective asset.</p>
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 410-414
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.07.021
    ISSN 1054-139X
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T80-513F031-4/2/0c0998076862c39f5e1e30d105e3b991
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:20:33 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • ALCOHOL
    • Female
    • HIV
    • religion
    • Sexual risk
    • Transgender

    Notes:

    • The authors' objective was to examine the role of religion in the lives of young transgender women (YTW) and its relationship to HIV risk.  Results showed that among YTW, formal religious practices may attenuate sexual risk-taking behaviors and therefore HIV risk. Further research is needed to explore the role of the religion in the lives of YTW as a protective asset.

  • The Spiritual Trauma Experienced by Victims of Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thomas Doyle
    Abstract Most of the published literature on clergy abuse of children has addressed the emotional and psychological effects of sexual abuse common to all victims. The literature published by Church-related sources has consistently addressed the impact of clergy abuse on the Church as an institution as well as the problems and treatment needs of the clergy abusers. Little has been written or even explored about the spiritual trauma suffered by clergy victims. This article examines some of the symptoms and possible recovery from the spiritual dimension of post abuse trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 58
    Issue 3
    Pages 239-260
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-008-0187-1
    ISSN 00312789
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • CATHOLICS
    • CHILDREN -- Crimes against
    • PSYCHIC trauma
    • RELIGIOUS leaders
    • SEX crimes
    • SEXUALLY abused children -- Psychology
  • Race and Ethnic Differences in the Effects of Religious Attendance on Subjective Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Greg L. Drevenstedt
    Abstract Religion and health research has not adequately addressed how the salutary benefits of participating in religious services differ among major racial and ethnic groups. This research uses data from the General Social Surveys to analyze differences in the effects of religious attendance upon subjective health among a sample of non-Latino White, non-Latino Black, and Latino adults. Modeled after a study by Levin and Markides (1986), first-order regressions of religious attendance on subjective health alternately controlled for social support, socioeconomic status, and subjective religiosity. The association between attendance and health tends to hold up among Whites and younger Black and Latino women, but controlling for subjective religiosity explained away bivariate associations among younger respondents in all three race/ethnic groups. Support for the socioeconomic status hypothesis was expected among Blacks and Latinos, but the results did not provide much evidence.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 245-263
    Date Mar., 1998
    DOI 10.2307/3512591
    ISSN 0034673X
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/3512591
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:45:22 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1998 / Copyright © 1998 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This research uses data from the General Social Surveys to analyze differences in the effects of religious attendance upon subjective health among a sample of non-Latino White, non-Latino Black, and Latino adults.

  • Culturally adapted cognitive-behavior therapy: integrating sexual, spiritual, and family identities in an evidence-based treatment of a depressed Latino adolescent

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yovanska Duarté-Vélez
    Author Guillermo Bernal
    Author Karen Bonilla
    Abstract The article described and illustrated how a culturally adapted cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can maintain fidelity to a treatment protocol while allowing for considerable flexibility to address a patient's values, preferences, and context. A manual-based CBT was used with a gay Latino adolescent regarding his sexual identity, family values, and spiritual ideas. The adolescent suffered from a major depression disorder and identified himself as gay and Christian within a conservative and machista Puerto Rican family. CBT promoted personal acceptance and active questioning of homophobic thoughts in a climate of family respect. CBT enabled identity formation and integration, central to the development of a sexual identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, with remission of the patient's depression and better family outcomes.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 66
    Issue 8
    Pages 895-906
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20710
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title Culturally adapted cognitive-behavior therapy
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:45:43 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20568254
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • Therapy with religious couples.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jill D. Duba
    Author Richard E. Watts
    Abstract Although 95% of married couples identify with a particular religion, there is great variation in how couples rely on their religion to define or structure their relationship. Various denominations will imply particular “rules” or will shape how the couple deals with interpersonal and family challenges, such as sexuality, parenting, and power. In this article, we review couple relationships within a religious context and advance several treatment principles for treating religious couples. We present a clinical case to illustrate marital therapy with a religious couple, with an Adlerian context. ©2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 65:1–13, 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 210-223
    Date February 2009
    ISSN 00219762
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • MAN-woman relationships
    • MARRIED people -- Religious life
    • MEDICAL care -- Religious aspects
    • MEDICINE -- Religious aspects
    • PARENTING
    • Psychotherapy
    • Spiritual healing
  • Age Density, Religiosity and Death Anxiety in Retirement Communities

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert W. Duff
    Author Lawrence K. Hong
    Abstract Two different images of death anxiety (DA) among residents of retirement communities are examined: one suggesting retirement community residents face special problems regarding DA because they are surrounded by many older people who are vulnerable to illness and death, and the other portraying them as having low DA because of their high religiosity. Results of a survey of 674 residents from six West Coast retirement communities do not support the age density argument. ANOVA and other tests fail to find the age climate of the community to have an impact on DA. On the other hand, regression analysis finds that attendance at religious services is associated with low DA, whereas private religious practices, significance of religion to self, and social activities are not. In retrospect, the findings on the importance of religion support Durkheim's thesis regarding the importance of participation in shared religious rituals.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 19-32
    Date Sep., 1995
    ISSN 0034673X
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3512068
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:05:39 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1995 / Copyright © 1995 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Two different images of death anxiety (DA) among residents of retirement communities are examined: one suggesting retirement community residents face special problems regarding DA because they are surrounded by many older people who are vulnerable to illness and death, and the other portraying them as having low DA because of their high religiosity.

  • Impact and outcomes of an iyengar yoga program in a cancer centre

    Type Journal Article
    Author M D Duncan
    Author A Leis
    Author J W Taylor-Brown
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Individuals have increasingly sought complementary therapies to enhance health and well-being during cancer, although little evidence of their effect is available. OBJECTIVES: We investigated how an Iyengar yoga program affects the self-identified worst symptom in a group of participants. whether quality of life, spiritual well-being, and mood disturbance change over the Iyengar yoga program and at 6 weeks after the program. how, from a participant's perspective, the Iyengar yoga program complements conventional cancer treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This pre-post instrumental collective case study used a mixed methods design and was conducted at a private Iyengar yoga studio. The sample consisted of 24 volunteers (23 women, 1 man; 88% Caucasian; mean age: 49 years) who were currently on treatment or who had been treated for cancer within the previous 6 months, and who participated in ten 90-minute weekly Iyengar yoga classes. The main outcome measures were most-bothersome symptom (Measure Your Medical Outcome Profile 2 instrument), quality of life and spiritual well-being (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-General subscale and Spiritual subscale), and mood disturbance (Profile of Mood States-Short Form). Participant perspectives were obtained in qualitative interviews. RESULTS: Statistically significant improvements were reported in most-bothersome symptom (t((23)) = 5.242; p < 0.001), quality of life (F((2,46)) = 14.5; p < 0.001), spiritual well-being (F((2,46)) = 14.4; p < 0.001), and mood disturbance (F((2,46)) = 10.8; p < 0.001) during the program. At follow-up, quality of life (t((21)) = -3.7; p = 0.001) and mood disturbance (t((21)) = 2.4; p = 0.025) significantly improved over time. Categorical aggregation of the interview data showed that participants felt the program provided them with various benefits not included on the outcomes questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: Over the course of the Iyengar Yoga for Cancer program, participants reported an improvement in overall well-being. The program was also found to present participants with a holistic approach to care and to provide tools to effectively manage the demands of living with cancer and its treatment.
    Publication Current Oncology (Toronto, Ont.)
    Volume 15 Suppl 2
    Pages s109.es72-78
    Date Aug 2008
    Journal Abbr Curr Oncol
    ISSN 1198-0052
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18769575
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:42:45 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18769575
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Objectives We investigated how an Iyengar yoga program affects the self-identified worst symptom in a group of participants. whether quality of life, spiritual well-being, and mood disturbance change over the Iyengar yoga program and at 6 weeks after the program. Conclusions: Over the course of the Iyengar Yoga for Cancer program, participants reported an improvement in overall well-being.

  • Body satisfaction and pressure to be thin in younger and older Muslim and non-Muslim women: The role of Western and non-Western dress preferences

    Type Journal Article
    Author Trisha M. Dunkel
    Author Denise Davidson
    Author Shaji Qurashi
    Abstract Younger and older Muslim and non-Muslim women living in the United States completed questionnaires about body satisfaction and their internalization of Western standards of beauty (thin-ideal). Younger Muslim women wearing non-Western clothing and a head veil were significantly less likely to express drive for thinness or pressure to attain a thin-ideal standard of beauty than women wearing Western dress or younger women wearing non-Western dress without a head veil. Older women, while expressing greater discrepancy between their ideal body shape and their current body shape, and less satisfaction with their bodies than younger women, reported less drive for thinness and less pressure to attain the Western thin-ideal standard of beauty than younger women. These results are discussed in terms of how factors such as age and religion may serve as protective factors against a strong or unhealthy drive for thinness or thin-ideal standard.
    Publication Body Image
    Volume 7
    Issue 1
    Pages 56-65
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.10.003
    ISSN 1740-1445
    Short Title Body satisfaction and pressure to be thin in younger and older Muslim and non-Muslim women
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 12:24:51 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Age differences
    • BODY image
    • Dress preferences
    • Muslim and non-Muslim women
  • Religious Attendance and Mortality: Implications for the Black-White Mortality Crossover

    Type Journal Article
    Author Matthew E. Dupre
    Author Alexis T. Franzese
    Author Emilio A. Parrado
    Abstract This study investigates the relationships among religious attendance, mortality, and the black-white mortality crossover We build on prior research by examining the link between attendance and mortality while testing whether religious involvement captures an important source of population heterogeneity that contributes to a crossover Using data from the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, wefind a strong negative association between attendance and mortality. Our results also show evidence of a racial crossover in mortality rates for both men and women. When religious attendance is modeled in terms of differential frailty, clear gender differences emerge. For women, the effect of attendance is race- and age-dependent, modifying the age at crossover by 10 years. For men, however, the effect of attendance is not related to race and does not alter the crossover pattern. When other health risks are modeled in terms of differential frailty, we find neither race nor age-related effects. Overall, the results highlight the importance of considering religious attendance when examining racial and gender differences in age-specific mortality rates.
    Publication Demography
    Volume 43
    Issue 1
    Pages 141-164
    Date Feb., 2006
    ISSN 00703370
    Short Title Religious Attendance and Mortality
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/4137236
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:44:43 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Feb., 2006 / Copyright © 2006 Population Association of America
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study investigates the relationships among religious attendance, mortality, and the black-white mortality crossover. We build on prior research by examining the link between attendance and mortality while testing whether religious involvement captures an important source of population heterogeneity that contributes to a crossover.

  • Ethnicity, religion and clinical practice: a qualitative study of beliefs and attitudes of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Glòria Durà-Vilà
    Author Matthew Hagger
    Author Simon Dein
    Author Gerard Leavey
    Abstract There is growing interest in the relationship between religion and mental health and the need for compassion, empathy and 'spiritual competencies' within health services including psychiatry. The nature and the extent of such a relationship are highly vexed and polarising within the psychiatric profession. While the United Kingdom is ostensibly a secular society, a high percentage of NHS clinicians hail from religiously oriented societies; we know little on how the religious beliefs of such professionals are resolved in a secular practice. This is a qualitative study exploring psychiatrists' attitudes to religion and spirituality within their practice and which attempts to examine how these are resolved in the therapeutic relationship with, and management of, religious patients. Twenty interviews were conducted with psychiatrists working in London. The main finding was the strong degree of dissonance amongst the migrant psychiatrists between their practice in their home countries (incorporating patients' religious beliefs) and in the United Kingdom (excluding them). The need for more training in this area and the relevance of the results are discussed and placed in the context of previous literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 53-64
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674676.2010.495111
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Ethnicity, religion and clinical practice
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
  • Culture analysis and metaphor psychotherapy with Arab-Muslim clients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marwan Dwairy
    Abstract Attempting to reveal unconscious content and promoting self-actualization may be counterproductive for clients who come from collectivistic cultures. Such treatment goals may expose clients to harsh confrontations with the family. Clients with dependency traits, low ego-strength, and strict families may be helped through metaphor psychotherapy or culture analysis. Metaphor therapy makes it possible to deal symbolically and indirectly with unconscious content; culture analysis can pave the way to reveal unconscious needs and enable clients to establish a new order within their belief systems and within their families. The present article describes these two therapy methods and illustrates their clinical use with an Arab-Muslim suffering from depression. Through such therapy anchored in his own culture and religion, the client altered his beliefs, became satisfied with himself, and found successful ways to adapt to his family.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 199-209
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20568
    ISSN 1097-4679
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19061250
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19061250
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Arabs
    • Culture
    • depression
    • Humans
    • ISLAM
    • Male
    • Metaphor
    • Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
    • Prognosis
    • Psychotherapy
    • Young Adult
  • The Effect of Religious Concentration and Affiliation on County Cancer Mortality Rates

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey W. Dwyer
    Author Leslie L. Clarke
    Author Michael K. Miller
    Abstract Previous research has documented lower cancer mortality rates among religious groups characterized by doctrinal orthodoxy and behavioral conformity. In addition, there is evidence that the general population in an area with a high concentration of religious participants may experience health benefits resulting from diminished exposure to or increased social disapproval of behaviors related to cancer mortality. This research examines the effect of religious concentration and denominational affiliation on county cancer mortality rates. Our findings suggest that religion has a significant impact on mortality rates for all malignancies combined, for digestive cancer, and for respiratory cancer when we control for demographic, environmental, and regional factors known to affect cancer mortality. These results provide new insight into the relationship between religion and health at the macro or community level and suggest that the influence of religion on social structure warrants further attention.
    Publication Journal of Health and Social Behavior
    Volume 31
    Issue 2
    Pages 185-202
    Date Jun., 1990
    ISSN 00221465
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2137172
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:09:51 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1990 / Copyright © 1990 American Sociological Association
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Our findings suggest that religion has a significant impact on mortality rates for all malignancies combined, for digestive cancer, and for respiratory cancer when we control for demographic, environmental, and regional factors known to affect cancer mortality.

  • Spirituality: A key factor in coping among Iranians chronically affected by mustard gas in the disaster of war

    Type Journal Article
    Author Abbas Ebadi
    Author Fazlollah Ahmadi
    Author Mostafa Ghanei
    Author Anoshirvan Kazemnejad
    Abstract The present study aimed to explore the approach used by Iranians chronically affected by mustard gas in the disaster of war to cope with their chronic illness complications. A qualitative approach was adopted using content analysis of unstructured interviews carried out with 20 patients in a medical center in Tehran and an outpatient clinic in the North West of Iran. Two main themes that emerged from the study were "religious sentiment" and "patriotism". The subthemes that emerged were "divine will", "illness as a means of absolving sin", "saying prayers in the anticipation of divine rewards", "defending the motherland" and "self-sacrifice as a source of pride". To sum up, spirituality was recognized as a key factor among the participants in accepting and coping with their chronic illness complications.
    Publication Nursing & Health Sciences
    Volume 11
    Issue 4
    Pages 344-350
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1442-2018.2009.00498.x
    Short Title Spirituality
    URL http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1111/j.1442-2018.2009.00498.x
    Accessed Thursday, December 17, 2009 1:41:36 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Losing the Bond with God: Sexual Addiction and Evangelical Men

    Type Book
    Author Kailla Edger
    Publisher Praeger
    Date 2011-04-30
    ISBN 031339329X
    Short Title Losing the Bond with God
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
  • Religiosity and decreased risk of substance use disorders: is the effect mediated by social support or mental health status?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark J Edlund
    Author Katherine M Harris
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Author Xiaotong Han
    Author Greer Sullivan
    Author Rhonda Mattox
    Author Lingqi Tang
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The negative association between religiosity (religious beliefs and church attendance) and the likelihood of substance use disorders is well established, but the mechanism(s) remain poorly understood. We investigated whether this association was mediated by social support or mental health status. METHOD: We utilized cross-sectional data from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (n = 36,370). We first used logistic regression to regress any alcohol use in the past year on sociodemographic and religiosity variables. Then, among individuals who drank in the past year, we regressed past year alcohol abuse/dependence on sociodemographic and religiosity variables. To investigate whether social support mediated the association between religiosity and alcohol use and alcohol abuse/dependence we repeated the above models, adding the social support variables. To the extent that these added predictors modified the magnitude of the effect of the religiosity variables, we interpreted social support as a possible mediator. We also formally tested for mediation using path analysis. We investigated the possible mediating role of mental health status analogously. Parallel sets of analyses were conducted for any drug use, and drug abuse/dependence among those using any drugs as the dependent variables. RESULTS: The addition of social support and mental health status variables to logistic regression models had little effect on the magnitude of the religiosity coefficients in any of the models. While some of the tests of mediation were significant in the path analyses, the results were not always in the expected direction, and the magnitude of the effects was small. CONCLUSIONS: The association between religiosity and decreased likelihood of a substance use disorder does not appear to be substantively mediated by either social support or mental health status.
    Publication Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
    Volume 45
    Issue 8
    Pages 827-836
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol
    DOI 10.1007/s00127-009-0124-3
    ISSN 1433-9285
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19714282
    Extra PMID: 19714282
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
  • Shifting foundations: religious belief change and adjustment in college students.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Donald Edmondson
    Author Crystal Park
    Abstract In a sample of 154 college students, prevalence of religious belief change and its relationship to religiosity and coping variables were examined twice over the course of one month. Students who reported belief change (62%) scored higher than those who did not on measures of religiosity and fared worse on adjustment measures. Significant differences in coping strategies were noted, with the change group using more religious coping and alcohol and drugs to cope. Within the change group, a higher degree of change was related to higher levels of religiousness and religious coping, and poorer adjustment at baseline and follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 3
    Pages 289-302
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802627339
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Shifting foundations
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • Alcoholism
    • BELIEF & doubt
    • COLLEGE students
    • DRUG abuse
    • RELIGIOUS life
  • Deconstructing spiritual well-being: existential well-being and HRQOL in cancer survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Donald Edmondson
    Author Crystal L Park
    Author Thomas O Blank
    Author Juliane R Fenster
    Author Mary Alice Mills
    Abstract We demonstrate the utility of partitioning the spiritual well-being (SpWB) construct into spiritual and religious components using results from a study of the relationship of existential well-being to health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a sample of 237 cancer survivors. Existential and religious well-being were measured using the FACIT-Sp-12 and HRQOL was measured using the mental and physical component scores of the SF-12. In hierarchical linear regression analyses, existential well-being fully mediated religious well-being's effect on HRQOL and explained unique variance in both the mental and physical HRQOL domains, controlling for demographic, disease, and psychosocial variables previously shown to impact HRQOL. Religious well-being was not predictive of HRQOL.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 17
    Issue 2
    Pages 161-169
    Date Feb 2008
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1197
    ISSN 1057-9249
    Short Title Deconstructing spiritual well-being
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17506077
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:43:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17506077
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • existentialism
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
    • Survivors

    Notes:

    • We demonstrate the utility of partitioning the spiritual well-being (SpWB) construct into spiritual and religious components using results from a study of the relationship of existential well-being to health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a sample of 237 cancer survivors.

  • Religiosity and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Latina Adolescents: Trends from 1995 to 2008.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lisa M. Edwards
    Author Kristin Haglund
    Author Richard J. Fehring
    Author Jessica Pruszynski
    Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine trends in the influence of religiosity on sexual activity of Latina adolescents in the United States from 1995 to 2008 and to determine if differences existed between the Mexican American and other Latina groups. Methods: The sample comprised the subset of unmarried, 15-21-year-old (mean 17 years) Latina female respondents in the 1995 ( n=267), 2002 ( n=306), and 2006-2008 ( n=400) National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) datasets. Associations between religiosity (importance of religion and service attendance) and history of ever having sex, number of sex partners, and age of sexual debut were investigated. Results: Less than one half of Latinas in 1995 (44%) and in 2006-2008 (44%) reported that religion was very important to them, whereas in 2002, 50% reported it was important. Only in 1995 did Latinas who viewed religion as very important have a significantly lower level of sexual initiation. In 1995 and in 2006-2008, Latinas who held religion as very important had significantly fewer partners. In all three cohorts, the higher religious importance group had higher virgin survival rates. Across cohorts, approximately one third of respondents reported frequent religious attendance. In all cohorts, frequent attenders were less likely to have had sex, had fewer partners, and had older age at sexual debut. The survival rate as virgins for Mexican origin Latinas was higher in 1995 and 2002 compared to non-Mexican Latinas but was almost the same in 2006-2008. Conclusions: Religiosity had a protective association with sexual activity among Latina adolescents. The association of importance of religion with sexual activity has diminished from 1995 to 2008, however, whereas the importance of service attendance has remained stable. The influence of religion was more apparent among the Latinas of Mexican origin, but this greater influence also diminished by 2006-2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Women's Health (15409996)
    Volume 20
    Issue 6
    Pages 871-877
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1089/jwh.2010.1949
    ISSN 15409996
    Short Title Religiosity and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Latina Adolescents
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • adolescence
    • AGE factors in disease
    • Analysis of Variance
    • CHI-square test
    • CHURCH buildings
    • COMPARATIVE studies
    • CONFIDENCE intervals
    • Couples
    • Hispanic Americans
    • MEXICO
    • RELATIVE risk
    • religion
    • REPEATED measures design
    • RISK-taking (Psychology)
    • SECONDARY analysis
    • sex
    • SINGLE people
    • SURVEYS
    • TREND analysis
  • The understanding of spirituality and the potential role of spiritual care in end-of-life and palliative care: a meta-study of qualitative research

    Type Journal Article
    Author A Edwards
    Author N Pang
    Author V Shiu
    Author C Chan
    Abstract Spirituality and spiritual care are gaining increasing attention but their potential contribution to palliative care remains unclear. The aim of this study was to synthesize qualitative literature on spirituality and spiritual care at the end of life using a systematic ('meta-study') review. Eleven patient articles and eight with healthcare providers were included, incorporating data from 178 patients and 116 healthcare providers, mainly from elderly White and Judaeo-Christian origin patients with cancer. Spirituality principally focused on relationships, rather than just meaning making, and was given as a relationship. Spirituality was a broader term that may or may not encompass religion. A 'spirit to spirit' framework for spiritual care-giving respects individual personhood. This was achieved in the way physical care was given, by focusing on presence, journeying together, listening, connecting, creating openings, and engaging in reciprocal sharing. Affirmative relationships supported patients, enabling them to respond to their spiritual needs. The engagement of family caregivers in spiritual care appears underutilized. Relationships formed an integral part of spirituality as they were a spiritual need, caused spiritual distress when broken and were the way spiritual care was given. Barriers to spiritual care include lack of time, personal, cultural or institutional factors, and professional educational needs. By addressing these, we may make an important contribution to the improvement of patient care towards the end of life.
    Publication Palliative Medicine
    Volume 24
    Issue 8
    Pages 753-770
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1177/0269216310375860
    ISSN 1477-030X
    Short Title The understanding of spirituality and the potential role of spiritual care in end-of-life and palliative care
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20659977
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:05:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20659977
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
  • Here and now: Yoga in Israeli schools

    Type Journal Article
    Author Miron Ehud
    Author Bar-Dov An
    Author Strulov Avshalom
    Abstract CONTEXT: In the aftermath of the Second Lebanon War, a project was initiated and designed to reduce tension in the children living in the area under bombardment. AIMS: To assess the impact of yoga intervention in a group of Israeli school children residing in the region affected by the Second Lebanon War. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study population included 122 school children aged 8-12 years in two elementary schools in Safed (n=55 and n=67, respectively) and their teachers (n=6). The children attended the third grade (n=28), fourth grade (n=42) and sixth grade (n=52). Inclusion in the study was based on the school principal's consent to participate in the program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Assessment was conducted using three questionnaires that have been previously validated in international studies and translated to Hebrew. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Statistical analysis of the results included Wilcoxon Signed Ranked Tests for pre- and post-intervention comparisons and the Kruskall-Wallis test for teacher and child cross-comparisons. RESULTS: Based on the questionnaires completed by the children and their teachers, we found that the teachers reported many statistically significant improvements in the children's concentration, mood and ability to function under pressure, although the children themselves were unaware of any change in their behavior. Enjoyment was reported by all participants, and almost all expressed an interest in continuing to practice yoga during school hours. We conclude that participation in yoga classes may be both enjoyable and beneficial to children living in stressful conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that yoga may be beneficial as an intervention for children in postwar stress situations.
    Publication International Journal of Yoga
    Volume 3
    Issue 2
    Pages 42-47
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Int J Yoga
    DOI 10.4103/0973-6131.72629
    ISSN 0973-6131
    Short Title Here and now
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/21170229
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:19:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21170229
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • God, Disease, and Spiritual Dilemmas: Reading the Lives of Women with Breast Cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Megan Eide
    Author Ann Milliken Pederson
    Abstract To write about the disease of breast cancer from both scientific and spiritual perspectives is to reflect upon our genetic and spiritual ancestry. We examine the issues involved in breast cancer at the intersections of spirituality, technology, and science, using the fundamental thing we know about being human: our bodies. Our goal in this essay is to offer close readings of women's spiritual and bodily journeys through the disease of breast cancer. We have discovered that both illness and health come within the stories of particular people and particular disciplines. And to learn more about breast cancer, both scientific and spiritual aspects, one must be attentive to such particularities. Medicine and religion are bodily experiences, and being a body-self is what it means to be human.
    Publication Zygon
    Volume 44
    Issue 1
    Pages 85-96
    Date 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2009.00987.x
    Short Title God, Disease, and Spiritual Dilemmas
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2009.00987.x
    Accessed Monday, August 17, 2009 6:42:30 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Our goal in this essay is to offer close readings of women’s spiritual and bodily journeys through the disease of breast cancer.

  • Religiosity, Spirituality, and Socioemotional Functioning in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Naomi V. Ekas
    Author Thomas L. Whitman
    Author Carolyn Shivers
    Abstract Religious beliefs, religious activities, and spirituality are coping resources used by many mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined whether and how these resources were related to maternal socioemotional functioning. Mothers of children with ASD completed questionnaires assessing religiosity, spirituality, and a wide range of outcome variables, including stress, depression, self-esteem, life satisfaction, positive affect, and sense of control. Analyses revealed that religious beliefs and spirituality were associated with better positive outcomes and, to a lesser extent, lower levels of negative outcomes. Of the two predictors, spirituality accounted for more unique variance in positive outcomes. In contrast, religious activities were related to more negative outcomes and lower levels of positive outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders
    Volume 39
    Issue 5
    Pages 706-719
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10803-008-0673-4
    ISSN 01623257
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • AUTISM in children
    • AUTISTIC children
    • Developmental Disabilities
    • MOTHERS of children with disabilities
    • Religiousness
    • SELF-esteem
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • STRESS (Psychology)
  • Caritas, spirituality and religiosity in nurses' coping

    Type Journal Article
    Author M. A. Ekedahl
    Author Y. Wengström
    Abstract The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate registered nurses' coping processes when working with terminally ill and dying cancer patients, with special focus on religious aspects of coping resources. What religious components can be identified as coping resources in oncology nurses' orienting system and what function has religiosity in the nurse's work? The theoretical reference is care philosophy and the psychology of religion and coping. The material consists of interviews with 15 Swedish registered oncology nurses. The results highlight different dynamic aspects of the nurses' life orientation such as caritas, religiosity, spirituality and atheism and demonstrate that religiosity can have a protective function that facilitates coping, as the nurse has something to turn to. Religious coping dominated by basic trust where prayer is used as a coping strategy may support the nurse.
    Publication European Journal of Cancer Care
    Volume 19
    Issue 4
    Pages 530-537
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Eur J Cancer Care (Engl)
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2009.01089.x
    ISSN 1365-2354
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:16:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20030696
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • Randomized trial of two mind-body interventions for weight-loss maintenance

    Type Journal Article
    Author Charles Elder
    Author Cheryl Ritenbaugh
    Author Scott Mist
    Author Mikel Aickin
    Author Jennifer Schneider
    Author Heather Zwickey
    Author Pat Elmer
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Regain of weight after initial weight loss constitutes a major factor contributing to the escalating obesity epidemic. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and clinical impact of two mind-body interventions for weight-loss maintenance. DESIGN: Randomized, balanced, controlled trial. SETTING: Large-group model health maintenance organization. PARTICIPANTS: Overweight and obese adults were recruited to a 12-week behavioral weight-loss program. Participants meeting threshold weight loss and attendance requirements were eligible for randomization. INTERVENTIONS: The three weight-loss maintenance interventions were qigong (QI), Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT (registered trademark of Tapas Fleming, L.Ac.), and a self-directed support (SDS) group as an attention control. OUTCOMES: The main outcome measure was weight loss maintenance at 24 weeks postrandomization. Patient interviews explored additional benefits of the interventions, as well as barriers and facilitators to compliance. RESULTS: Eighty-eight percent (88%) of randomized patients completed the study. There were no significant study-related adverse events. At 24 weeks, the TAT group maintained 1.2 kg more weight loss than the SDS group did (p = 0.09), and 2.8 kg more weight loss than the QI group did (p = 0.00), only regaining 0.1 kg. A separation test (0.05 level, 0.95 power) indicated that TAT merits further study. A secondary analysis revealed that participants reporting a previous history of recurrent unsuccessful weight loss were more likely to regain weight if assigned to the SDS arm, but this effect was suppressed in both the QI and TAT groups (p = 0.03). Although QI participants reported important general health benefits, the instruction sequence was too brief, given the complexity of the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: TAT warrants further research for weight-loss maintenance. Any further research on qigong should use a modification of our protocol.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 67-78
    Date 2007 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2006.6237
    ISSN 1075-5535
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17309380
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:09:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17309380
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Acupressure
    • Adult
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Attitude to Health
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Obesity
    • Patient Compliance
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Questionnaires
    • Research Design
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Weight Loss

    Notes:

    • The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and clinical impact of two mind-body interventions for weight-loss maintenance.

  • Jewish ethnicity and pancreatic cancer mortality in a large u.s. Cohort

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ronald C. Eldridge
    Author Susan M. Orsillo
    Author Christina C. Newton
    Author Michael Goodman
    Author Alpa V. Patel
    Author Eric J. Jacobs
    Abstract BACKGROUND An association between Jewish ethnicity and pancreatic cancer risk was suggested by analyses comparing pancreatic cancer mortality rates between Jews and non-Jews in New York in the 1950s. These analyses lacked information on potential confounding factors and the association between Jewish ethnicity and pancreatic cancer has not been examined in any contemporary U.S. population or in any cohort study. METHODS We examined the association between Jewish ethnicity and pancreatic cancer mortality among approximately 1 million participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II cohort. Participants completed a questionnaire at enrollment in 1982 which included information on religion, smoking, obesity, and diabetes. During follow-up through 2006, there were 6,727 pancreatic cancer deaths, including 480 among Jewish participants. Proportional hazards modeling was used to calculate multivariable rate ratios (RR). RESULTS After adjusting for age, sex, smoking, body mass index, and diabetes, pancreatic cancer mortality was higher among Jewish participants than among non-Jewish whites (RR = 1.43; 95% CI, 1.30-1.57). In analyses by birthplace, RRs were 1.59 (95% CI, 1.31-1.93) for North American-born Jews with North American-born parents, 1.43 (95% CI, 1.27-1.61) for North American-born Jews with 1 or more parents born outside North America, and 1.03 (0.73, 1.44) for Jews born outside North America (P(heterogeneity) = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS These results support a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer among U.S. Jews that is not explained by established risk factors. Impact: Future studies may clarify the role of specific environmental or genetic factors responsible for higher risk among U.S. Jews. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(4); 691-8. ©2011 AACR.
    Publication Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
    Volume 20
    Issue 4
    Pages 691-698
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev
    DOI 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-10-1196
    ISSN 1538-7755
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21278327
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:02:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21278327
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM

    Notes:

    • A study to examine the association between Jewish ethnicity and pancreatic cancer mortality among approximately 1 million participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II cohort. Participants completed a questionnaire at enrollment in 1982 which included information on religion, smoking, obesity, and diabetes. During follow-up through 2006, there were 6,727 pancreatic cancer deaths, including 480 among Jewish participants. Proportional hazards modeling was used to calculate multivariable rate ratios (RR).

  • Mind-body therapies in integrative oncology

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gary Elkins
    Author William Fisher
    Author Aimee Johnson
    Abstract There is growing interest in mind-body therapies as adjuncts to mainstream cancer treatment, and an increasing number of patients turn to these interventions for the control of emotional stress associated with cancer. Increased research funding has enabled many such interventions to be evaluated for their efficacy, including studies of mind-body interventions to reduce pain, anxiety, insomnia, anticipatory, and treatment-related nauseas, hot flashes, and improved mood. Mind-body treatments evaluated for their utility in oncology include relaxation therapies, biofeedback, meditation and hypnosis, yoga, art and music therapy, tai chi, and qigong. Although studies are not always methodologically sound and results mixed, a growing number of well-designed studies provide convincing evidence that mind-body techniques are beneficial adjuncts to cancer treatment. The evidence is sufficient to recommend further investigation and adoption of these techniques in mainstream oncology care.
    Publication Current Treatment Options in Oncology
    Volume 11
    Issue 3-4
    Pages 128-140
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Curr Treat Options Oncol
    DOI 10.1007/s11864-010-0129-x
    ISSN 1534-6277
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/21116746
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:58:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21116746
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Notes:

    • There is growing interest in mind-body therapies as adjuncts to mainstream cancer treatment, and an increasing number of patients turn to these interventions for the control of emotional stress associated with cancer. Increased research funding has enabled many such interventions to be evaluated for their efficacy, including studies of mind-body interventions to reduce pain, anxiety, insomnia, anticipatory, and treatment-related nauseas, hot flashes, and improved mood. Mind-body treatments evaluated for their utility in oncology include relaxation therapies, biofeedback, meditation and hypnosis, yoga, art and music therapy, tai chi, and qigong. Although studies are not always methodologically sound and results mixed, a growing number of well-designed studies provide convincing evidence that mind-body techniques are beneficial adjuncts to cancer treatment. The evidence is sufficient to recommend further investigation and adoption of these techniques in mainstream oncology care.

  • Cohesiveness and coherence

    Type Book
    Author Ellen L. Idler
    Abstract religion and the health of the elderly
    Series Library MARC record Library MARC record
    Place (New York)
    Publisher Garland
    Date 1994,
    Language xxii, 277 p. :
    ISBN 93048507
    URL http://openlibrary.org/b/OL1436276M/Cohesiveness_and_coherence
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:45:50 PM
    Library Catalog The Open Library
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Abebooks
    • Alibris
    • Amazon
    • Barnes and Noble
    • BookMooch
    • Borrow
    • Browse
    • Buy
    • Data comes from Amazon,
    • Library of Congress, and users like you.
    • Not available for this book.
    • Powells
    • Title Trader
    • Your local library

    Notes:

    • This book treats religion and the health of the elderly.

  • Self-transcendence and depression in middle-age adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author C R Ellermann
    Author P G Reed
    Abstract Self-transcendence has been found to be an important correlate of mental health in older adults and adults facing the end of life. This study extends current theory by examining the relationship of transcendence and other transcendence variables to depression in middle-age adults (N = 133). Reed's Self-Transcendence Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, and measures of parenting, acceptance and spirituality were administered. Findings indicating significant inverse correlations between self-transcendence and depression, as well as between other measures of transcendence and depression support Reed's (1991b) theory. Multiple regression analysis indicated that acceptance may be another significant correlate of depression. Significant gender differences and age-related patterns of increased levels of self-transcendence were found. Study results illuminate the need to continue research into developmentally based transcendence variables related to various experiences of health and well-being across the life span.
    Publication Western Journal of Nursing Research
    Volume 23
    Issue 7
    Pages 698-713
    Date Nov 2001
    Journal Abbr West J Nurs Res
    ISSN 0193-9459
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11675796
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:09:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11675796
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Age Factors
    • Aging
    • depression
    • Female
    • Human Development
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • PARENTING
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Psychological Theory
    • Questionnaires
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • Self Concept
    • Sex Factors
    • Southwestern United States

    Notes:

    • Self-transcendence has been found to be an important correlate of mental health in older adults and adults facing the end of life. Findings indicating significant inverse correlations between self-transcendence and depression, as well as between other measures of transcendence and depression support Reed’s theory.

  • A Longitudinal Analysis of Self-Regulation and Well-Being: Avoidance Personal Goals, Avoidance Coping, Stress Generation, and Subjective Well-Being.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Andrew J. Elliot
    Author Todd M. Thrash
    Author Kou Murayama
    Abstract We conducted 2 longitudinal meditational studies to test an integrative model of goals, stress and coping, and well-being. Study 1 documented avoidance personal goals as an antecedent of life stressors and life stressors as a partial mediator of the relation between avoidance goals and longitudinal change in subjective well-being (SWB). Study 2 fully replicated Study 1 and likewise validated avoidance goals as an antecedent of avoidance coping and avoidance coping as a partial mediator of the relation between avoidance goals and longitudinal change in SWB. It also showed that avoidance coping partially mediates the link between avoidance goals and life stressors and validated a sequential meditational model involving both avoidance coping and life stressors. The aforementioned results held when controlling for social desirability, basic traits, and general motivational dispositions. The findings are discussed with regard to the integration of various strands of research on self-regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Personality
    Volume 79
    Issue 3
    Pages 643-674
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00694.x
    ISSN 00223506
    Short Title A Longitudinal Analysis of Self-Regulation and Well-Being
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM

    Tags:

    • GOAL (Psychology)
    • MOTIVATION (Psychology)
    • Social Desirability
    • SOCIAL psychology
    • STRESS (Psychology)
    • Well-Being

    Notes:

    • Questions different approaches to self-regulation on mental health, specifically examining avoidance goals, avoidance coping, and how avoidance relates to increased life stressors. 

  • Religious negativism and fantasy guilt.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dawn M. Ellison
    Abstract This literature review examines the nature of sexual fantasies and their impact (both negative and positive) on arousal. The effects of guilt and shame resulting from religious negativism—specifically Christianity—toward fantasies is explored. Implications for clinical treatment of highly religious persons presenting for treatment of decreased sexual arousal are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication The Family Journal
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 101-107
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1177/1066480710388754
    ISSN 1066-4807
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • fantasy guilt
    • Guilt
    • Negativism
    • Religious Beliefs
    • religious negativism
    • sexual arousal
    • sexual fantasy
  • Religious Involvement and Subjective Well-Being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Abstract This study examines the multifaceted relationships between religious involvement and subjective well-being. Findings suggest that the beneficent effects of religious attendance and private devotion reported in previous studies are primarily indirect, resulting from their respective roles in strengthening religious belief systems. The positive influence of religious certainty on well-being, however, is direct and substantial: individuals with strong religious faith report higher levels of life satisfaction, greater personal happiness, and fewer negative psychosocial consequences of traumatic life events. Further, in models of life satisfaction only, the positive influence of existential certainty is especially pronounced for older persons and persons with low levels of formal education. Finally, there are persistent denominational variations in life satisfaction, but not in happiness: nondenominational Protestants, liberal Protestants, and members of nontraditional groups such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses report greater life satisfaction than do their unaffiliated counterparts, even with the effects of other dimensions of religiosity held constant. Several directions for additional research on religion and psychological well-being are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Health and Social Behavior
    Volume 32
    Issue 1
    Pages 80-99
    Date Mar., 1991
    ISSN 00221465
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2136801
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:11:30 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1991 / Copyright © 1991 American Sociological Association
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Findings suggest that the beneficent effects of religious attendance and private devotion reported in previous studies are primarily indirect, resulting from their respective roles in strengthening religious belief systems. The positive influence of religious certainty on well-being, however, is direct and substantial: individuals with strong religious faith report higher levels of life satisfaction, greater personal happiness, and fewer negative psychosocial consequences of traumatic life events

  • Religious Involvement and Self-Perception among Black Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Abstract This study focuses on the relationships between the religious involvement of black Americans and two important dimensions of self-perception: self-esteem, or one's sense of personal worth, and personal mastery, or feelings of control over one's affairs. This article argues that participation in church communities may foster positive self-perception through the interpersonal supportiveness and positive reflected appraisals of coreligionists. Private devotional activities may also be linked with positive self-regard via processes of religious role taking. Analyses of data from the 1979-80 National Survey of Black Americans support these arguments with regard to self-esteem, but not personal mastery. In addition, the findings suggest that public religious participation buffers the negative influence of physical unattractiveness on self-esteem, while private religious devotion buffers the negative impact of chronic illness on self-esteem. The results shed new light on the contemporary psychosocial role of religious life among black Americans.
    Publication Social Forces
    Volume 71
    Issue 4
    Pages 1027-1055
    Date Jun., 1993
    ISSN 00377732
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2580129
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:11:31 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1993 / Copyright © 1993 Social Forces, University of North Carolina Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study focuses on the relationships between the religious involvement of black Americans and two important dimensions of self-perception: self-esteem, or one’s sense of personal worth, and personal mastery, or feelings of control over one’s affairs. This article argues that participation in church communities may foster positive self-perception through the interpersonal supportiveness and positive reflected appraisals of coreligionists.

  • Are Religious People Nice People? Evidence from the National Survey of Black Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Abstract This study explores the relationships between religiosity and interpersonal friendliness and cooperation using data from the 1979-80 National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA). Results indicate that respondents who engage in frequent devotional activities (e.g., prayer, Bible study) are reported to be more open and less suspicious, and more enjoyable to interview, than their less-religious counterparts in post-hoc ratings by NSBA interviewers. In addition, respondents for whom religion serves as an important source of moral guidance are also viewed as friendlier, more interested, and more open than those for whom this aspect of religion is less salient. Other aspects of respondent religiosity (e.g., church participation) are unrelated to these post-hoc interviewer assessments. Findings are discussed in terms of (1) religious role-taking processes and (2) the internalization of religious norms concerning interpersonal kindness and empathy, although several alternative explanations are also considered. A number of implications and directions for future research are identified.
    Publication Social Forces
    Volume 71
    Issue 2
    Pages 411-430
    Date Dec., 1992
    ISSN 00377732
    Short Title Are Religious People Nice People?
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2580017
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:11:32 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 1992 / Copyright © 1992 Social Forces, University of North Carolina Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study explores the relationships between religiosity and interpersonal friendliness and cooperation using data from the 1979-80 National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA). Results indicate that respondents who engage in frequent devotional activities (e.g., prayer, Bible study) are reported to be more open and less suspicious, and more enjoyable to interview, than their less-religious counterparts in post-hoc ratings by NSBA interviewers.

  • Race, religious involvement and depressive symptomatology in a southeastern U.S. community

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher Ellison
    Abstract A growing literature suggests that aspects of religious involvement may hold beneficial implications for mental health, and some also suggest that religion is an especially valuable mental health resource for racial minorities in the United States. These issues are explored empirically using data from a large (N = 2956) community sample drawn in the southeastern U.S. Findings include the following: (1) frequency of church attendance is inversely associated with depressive symptoms among whites, but not among blacks. (2) Absence of denominational affiliation is positively associated with depressive symptoms among blacks, but not among whites. (3) Frequency of private devotional activities (e.g. prayer) is positively associated with depressive symptoms among both racial groups. These results are discussed in terms of the distinctive history of the Black Church in the southern U.S. Several promising directions for further inquiry are outlined.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 40
    Issue 11
    Pages 1561-1572
    Date June 1995
    DOI 10.1016/0277-9536(94)00273-V
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A growing literature suggests that aspects of religious involvement may hold beneficial implications for mental health, and some also suggest that religion is an especially valuable mental health resource for racial minorities in the United States. These issues are explored empirically using data from a large (N = 2956) community sample drawn in the southeastern U.S.

  • Religious involvement and risk of major depression in a prospective nationwide study of African American adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G Ellison
    Author Kevin J Flannelly
    Abstract This study investigated the association between religious involvement and major depression in 607 African American adults, using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Black Americans. Logistic regression found that survey participants who reported receiving "a great deal" of guidance from religion in their day-to-day lives at Time 1 (1988-1989) were roughly half as likely (OR = 0.47, p < 0.01) to have major depression at Time 2 (1992), controlling for sociodemographic and psychological factors, and major depression at baseline. The odds of major depression were also lower for persons with high self-esteem (OR = 0.41, p < 0.01) and those who reported having satisfying relationships with friends and family members (OR = 0.51, p < 0.05) at baseline. No association was found between religious attendance or church support and major depression. The possible mechanisms through which religious involvement may protect against depression, especially among African Americans, are discussed.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 197
    Issue 8
    Pages 568-573
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181b08f45
    ISSN 1539-736X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19684492
    Accessed Tuesday, September 15, 2009 1:05:08 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19684492
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Depressive Disorder, Major
    • Female
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Prevalence
    • Prospective Studies
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • Self Concept
    • Self Efficacy
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • United States
  • Religious involvement and risk of major depression in a prospective nationwide study of African American adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G Ellison
    Author Kevin J Flannelly
    Abstract This study investigated the association between religious involvement and major depression in 607 African American adults, using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Black Americans. Logistic regression found that survey participants who reported receiving "a great deal" of guidance from religion in their day-to-day lives at Time 1 (1988-1989) were roughly half as likely (OR = 0.47, p < 0.01) to have major depression at Time 2 (1992), controlling for sociodemographic and psychological factors, and major depression at baseline. The odds of major depression were also lower for persons with high self-esteem (OR = 0.41, p < 0.01) and those who reported having satisfying relationships with friends and family members (OR = 0.51, p < 0.05) at baseline. No association was found between religious attendance or church support and major depression. The possible mechanisms through which religious involvement may protect against depression, especially among African Americans, are discussed.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 197
    Issue 8
    Pages 568-573
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181b08f45
    ISSN 1539-736X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19684492
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:11:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19684492
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Depressive Disorder, Major
    • Female
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Prevalence
    • Prospective Studies
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • Self Concept
    • Self Efficacy
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • United States

    Notes:

    • This study investigated the association between religious involvement and major depression in 607 African American adults, using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Black Americans. Logistic regression found that survey participants who reported receiving “a great deal” of guidance from religion in their day-to-day lives at Time 1 (1988-1989) were roughly half as likely (OR = 0.47, p < 0.01) to have major depression at Time 2 (1992), controlling for sociodemographic and psychological factors, and major depression at baseline.

  • Region, Religious Commitment, and Life Satisfaction among Black Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author David A. Gay
    Abstract Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), this research examines three sets of hypotheses regarding the effects of religious commitment on life satisfaction. Further, given evidence of historical geographical differences in black culture and social structure, this study explores the regional specificity of religious influences on life satisfaction. Religious participation contributes to subjective well-being only among non-southern blacks, while private religiosity is unrelated to well-being in any analysis. There are also denominational effects: non-southern members of traditional black denominations (i.e., Baptists and Methodists) and southern Catholics report particularly high levels of life satisfaction. In addition, the effects of religion on life satisfaction are contingent upon age for non-southerners only. This study concludes with a discussion of directions for future research on religion and mental health.
    Publication The Sociological Quarterly
    Volume 31
    Issue 1
    Pages 123-147
    Date Spring, 1990
    ISSN 00380253
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/4120875
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:28:27 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Spring, 1990 / Copyright © 1990 Midwest Sociological Society
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), this research examines three sets of hypotheses regarding the effects of religious commitment on life satisfaction. Further, given evidence of historical geographical differences in black culture and social structure, this study explores the regional specificity of religious influences on life satisfaction.

  • Religious Involvement, Social Ties, and Social Support in a Southeastern Community

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Linda K. George
    Abstract Although many studies suggest that religious participation enhances the social resources of individuals, there is little empirical evidence on this issue. This study develops a theoretical model linking institutional religious participation, social ties, and social support. Hypotheses derived from this model are then tested using data on a large (N = 2956) southeastern community sample. Frequent churchgoers report larger social networks, more contact with network members, more types of social support received, and more favorable perceptions of the quality of their social relationships than do their unchurched counterparts. Further, most of these empirical patterns withstand statistical controls for a wide range of covariates. A number of promising directions for future research on religious differences in social resources are identified.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 33
    Issue 1
    Pages 46-61
    Date Mar., 1994
    DOI 10.2307/1386636
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/1386636
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:45:03 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1994 / Copyright © 1994 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study develops a theoretical model linking institutional religious participation, social ties, and social support. Frequent churchgoers report larger social networks, more contact with network members, more types of social support received, and more favorable perceptions of the quality of their social relationships than do their unchurched counterparts.

  • The Religion-Health Connection: Evidence, Theory, and Future Directions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Abstract The volume and quality of research on what we term the religion-health connection have increased markedly in recent years. This interest in the complex relationships between religion and mental and physical health is being fueled by energetic and innovative research programs in several fields, including sociology, psychology, health behavior and health education, psychiatry, gerontology, and social epidemiology. This article has three main objectives: (1) to briefly review the medical and epidemiologic research on religious factors and both physical health and mental health; (2) to identify the most promising explanatory mechanisms for religious effects on health, giving particular attention to the relationships between religious factors and the central constructs of the life stress paradigm, which guides most current social and behavioral research on health outcomes; and (3) to critique previous work on religion and health, pointing out limitations and promising new research directions.
    Publication Health Educ Behav
    Volume 25
    Issue 6
    Pages 700-720
    Date December 1, 1998
    DOI 10.1177/109019819802500603
    Short Title The Religion-Health Connection
    URL http://heb.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/25/6/700
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 11:02:44 AM
    Library Catalog Sage Journals Online
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article has three main objectives: (1) to briefly review the medical and epidemiologic research on religious factors and both physical health and mental health; (2) to identify the most promising explanatory mechanisms for religious effects on health; and (3) to critique previous work on religion and health, pointing out limitations and promising new research directions.

  • Turning to Prayer: Social and Situational Antecedents of Religious Coping among African Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Robert Joseph Taylor
    Abstract Although observers have long suggested that prayer is an important coping behavior for African Americans, there has been little research on the social and situational antecedents of such religious coping in this population. This study develops a series of theoretical arguments linking four sets of factors -- religiosity, problem domain, social and psychological resources, and social location -- with religious coping. Relevant hypotheses are then tested using data from a large national probability sample of African Americans. Findings confirm the general importance of religious coping among African Americans. Further, while multiple dimensions of religiosity are important predictors of the use of prayer in coping, this practice is also most likely among persons dealing with health problems or bereavement, persons with low general personal mastery, and females. A number of promising directions for further research on religious coping -- among African Americans, and in the general population -- are discussed.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 38
    Issue 2
    Pages 111-131
    Date Dec., 1996
    DOI 10.2307/3512336
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Turning to Prayer
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/3512336
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 1996 / Copyright © 1996 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study develops a series of theoretical arguments linking four sets of factors -- religiosity, problem domain, social and psychological resources, and social location -- with religious coping. Relevant hypotheses are then tested using data from a large national probability sample of African Americans. Findings confirm the general importance of religious coping among African Americans.

  • Religious involvement and depressive symptoms among Mexican-origin adults in California.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Brian K. Finch
    Author Daniell Nicole Ryan
    Author Jennifer J. Salinas
    Abstract A burgeoning literature has documented generally salutary relationships between various aspects of religious involvement and mental health outcomes, including depressive symptoms. However, few of these studies have focused on Latinos (Hispanics), who now constitute the largest ethnic minority population in the United States. Our work addresses this gap in the literature. A number of hypotheses concerning main and contingent effects of religious attendance, salience, and consolation-seeking are developed and tested, using data on a large (N=3,012) sample of Mexican-origin adults drawn in the Fresno, CA area in 1995–1996. An initial inverse association between religious attendance and depressive symptoms disappears with controls for supportive social ties. However, an apparently salutary association between religious salience and depression persists despite all statistical controls; this relationship is present among both men and women, but it is significantly stronger for women. Contrary to expectations, there are signs that religious involvement may exacerbate the deleterious effects of discrimination and acculturation stress on depressive symptoms. A number of study implications, limitations, and directions for future research is discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Community Psychology
    Volume 37
    Issue 2
    Pages 171-193
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1002/jcop.20287
    ISSN 00904392
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • California
    • COMMUNITY psychology
    • FRESNO (Calif.)
    • Hispanic Americans
    • MENTAL health -- Religious aspects
    • RELIGIOUS groups
    • Religiousness
    • SOCIAL interaction
    • SOCIAL sciences
  • Blessed assurance: Religion, anxiety, and tranquility among US adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Amy M. Burdette
    Author Terrence D. Hill
    Abstract A growing body of research investigates the possible relationships between religion and mental health. After developing a series of arguments linking various aspects of religion with anxiety and tranquility, we test relevant hypotheses using data from the 1996 General Social Survey. Results show that frequency of religious attendance and the belief in an afterlife are inversely associated with feelings of anxiety and positively associated with feelings of tranquility. However, frequency of prayer has no direct association with either outcome. Strong beliefs in the pervasiveness of sin are positively linked with anxiety but unrelated to tranquility. Finally, belief in an afterlife and frequency of prayer buffer the adverse effects of poor health and financial decline on anxiety. Implications of these findings are discussed along with study limitations and promising directions for future research.
    Publication Social Science Research
    Volume 38
    Issue 3
    Pages 656-667
    Date September 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.02.002
    ISSN 0049-089X
    Short Title Blessed assurance
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WX8-4VP666D-1/2/2ca9b8bde3472d0934b4e5a1aca4a490
    Accessed Tuesday, September 29, 2009 10:08:45 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • Emotions
    • mental health
    • religion
    • Religious Beliefs

    Notes:

    • A growing body of research investigates the possible relationships between religion and mental health. Results show that frequency of religious attendance and the belief in an afterlife are inversely associated with feelings of anxiety and positively associated with feelings of tranquility. However, frequency of prayer has no direct association with either outcome.

  • Does Negative Interaction in the Church Increase Psychological Distress? Longitudinal Findings from the Presbyterian Panel Survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Wei Zhang
    Author Neal Krause
    Author John P. Marcum
    Abstract This study examines the effects of negative interaction in church on psychological distress. After outlining a series of theoretical arguments linking negative interaction with health and well-being, relevant hypotheses are tested using longitudinal data from two surveys of the 1997-1999 Presbyterian Panel, a nationwide panel of members and elders (lay leaders) in congregations of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Findings confirm that negative interaction appears to foster or exacerbate distress over the study period. In addition, specific dimensions of social negativity have distinctive effects; the impact of criticisms on distress surface only in cross-sectional models, while the effects of excessive demands emerge only in the longitudinal models. No subgroup variations in these effects are detected. Implications of these findings are discussed with regard to (a) research on religion and health and (b) congregational life, and a number of promising directions for future research are elaborated.
    Publication Sociology of Religion
    Volume 70
    Issue 4
    Pages 409-431
    Date December 1, 2009
    DOI 10.1093/socrel/srp062
    Short Title Does Negative Interaction in the Church Increase Psychological Distress?
    URL http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/70/4/409
    Accessed Monday, March 08, 2010 9:31:55 AM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • The effects of parental marital discord and divorce on the religious and spiritual lives of young adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Anthony B. Walker
    Author Norval D. Glenn
    Author Elizabeth Marquardt
    Abstract A growing literature reveals that parental divorce and marital discord can have undesirable effects on the mental health and social well-being of children, some of which extend well into adulthood. Our study augments this body of work by focusing on the interplay of divorce and discord in shaping the religious and spiritual lives of young adults. Several discrete subgroups of young adults are identified in terms of parental marital status and degree of parents' marital conflict, and multiple religious and spiritual outcomes are considered. Data are taken from the National Survey on the Moral and Spiritual Lives of Young Adults from Divorced and Intact Families, a nationwide US telephone survey of approximately 1500 young adults ages 18-35 conducted in 2001. Findings confirm that persons raised by parents in intact, happy, low-conflict marriages tend to score higher on most religious and spiritual outcomes. However, offspring from divorced families and those from intact high-conflict families differ on some outcomes, but not others. Indicators of traditional institutional religious practices and beliefs appear more vulnerable to the effects of parental divorce and discord than personal spiritual beliefs and practices. Overall, findings reveal a rich but complex set of relationships between family background and religious and spiritual lives among young adults.
    Publication Social Science Research
    Volume 40
    Issue 2
    Pages 538-551
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.10.010
    ISSN 0049-089X
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WX8-51BBKSX-2/2/7b3d54ce9ff61b21b234a99d9c5d8986
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 8:20:12 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • divorce
    • Family
    • Marriage
    • Parents
    • religion
    • Young adults
  • The Couple That Prays Together: Race and Ethnicity, Religion, and Relationship Quality Among Working-Age Adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Amy M. Burdette
    Author W. Bradford Wilcox
    Abstract A substantial body of research has shown that relationship quality tends to be (a) lower among racial and ethnic minorities and (b) higher among more religious persons and among couples in which partners share common religious affiliations, practices, and beliefs. However, few studies have examined the interplay of race or ethnicity and religion in shaping relationship quality. Our study addresses this gap in the literature using data from the National Survey of Religion and Family Life (NSRFL), a 2006 telephone survey of 2,400 working-age adults (ages 18–59), which contains oversamples of African Americans and Latinos. Results underscore the complex nature of the effects of race and ethnicity, as well as religious variables. In particular, we found that couples' in-home family devotional activities and shared religious beliefs are positively linked with reports of relationship quality.
    Publication Journal of Marriage and Family
    Volume 72
    Issue 4
    Pages 963-975
    Date 07/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00742.x
    ISSN 00222445
    URL http://blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00742.x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
  • Religious Resources, Spiritual Struggles, and Mental Health in a Nationwide Sample of PCUSA Clergy.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Lori A. Roalson
    Author Janelle M. Guillory
    Author Kevin J. Flannelly
    Author John P. Marcum
    Abstract A growing body of research explores patterns and correlates of mental health among clergy and other religious professionals. Our study augments this work by distinguishing between religious resources (i.e., support from church members, positive religious coping practices), and spiritual struggles (i.e., troubled relations with God, negative interactions with members, chronic religious doubts). We also explore several conceptual models of the interplay between these positive and negative religious domains and stressful life events. After reviewing theory and research on religious resources, spiritual struggles, and mental health, we test relevant hypotheses using data on a nationwide sample of ordained clergy members in the Presbyterian Church (USA). At least some support is found for all main effects hypotheses. Religious resources predict well-being more strongly, while spiritual struggles are more closely linked with psychological distress. There is some evidence that stressful life events erode mental health by fostering an elevated sense of spiritual disarray and struggle. We find limited support for the stress-buffering role of religious resources, and limited evidence for a stress-exacerbating effect of spiritual struggle. Study limitations are identified, along with a number of implications and promising directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 3
    Pages 287-304
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0239-1
    ISSN 00312789
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 5:30:18 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Clergy
    • mental health
    • Psychiatry
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Pathological
    • RELIGIOUS life
  • Does Religious Commitment Contribute to Individual Life Satisfaction?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author David A. Gay
    Author Thomas A. Glass
    Abstract This article examines the relationships between multiple dimensions of religiosity, secular forms of social involvement, demographic covariates, and subjective reports of life satisfaction. Nested regression models are used to analyze data from the 1983 NORC General Social Survey. Results indicate that both devotional (private) and participatory (public) aspects of religiosity have relatively small but persistent positive relationships with life satisfaction. Further, affiliation with certain denominations appears positively associated with satisfaction. These associations are both statistically and theoretically significant. They remain despite efforts to control for the effects of both qualitative and quantitative measures of nonreligious social ties. This research indicates that the links between religiosity and psychological well-being in previous studies do not reflect merely the effects of high levels of social participation. Future theoretical and empirical work should consider the relationships between various dimensions of religious involvement and other facets of mental health.
    Publication Social Forces
    Volume 68
    Issue 1
    Pages 100-123
    Date Sep., 1989
    ISSN 00377732
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2579222
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:09:54 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1989 / Copyright © 1989 Social Forces, University of North Carolina Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article examines the relationships between multiple dimensions of religiosity, secular forms of social involvement, demographic covariates, and subjective reports of life satisfaction. Nested regression models are used to analyze data from the 1983 NORC General Social Survey. Results indicate that both devotional (private) and participatory (public) aspects of religiosity have relatively small but persistent positive relationships with life satisfaction.

  • Religious Involvement, Stress, and Mental Health: Findings from the 1995 Detroit Area Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Jason D. Boardman
    Author David R. Williams
    Author James S. Jackson
    Publication Social Forces
    Volume 80
    Issue 1
    Pages 215-249
    Date Sep., 2001
    ISSN 00377732
    Short Title Religious Involvement, Stress, and Mental Health
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2675537
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:00:34 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 2001 / Copyright © 2001 Social Forces, University of North Carolina Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Blessed assurance: Religion, anxiety, and tranquility among US adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Amy M. Burdette
    Author Terrence D. Hill
    Abstract A growing body of research investigates the possible relationships between religion and mental health. After developing a series of arguments linking various aspects of religion with anxiety and tranquility, we test relevant hypotheses using data from the 1996 General Social Survey. Results show that frequency of religious attendance and the belief in an afterlife are inversely associated with feelings of anxiety and positively associated with feelings of tranquility. However, frequency of prayer has no direct association with either outcome. Strong beliefs in the pervasiveness of sin are positively linked with anxiety but unrelated to tranquility. Finally, belief in an afterlife and frequency of prayer buffer the adverse effects of poor health and financial decline on anxiety. Implications of these findings are discussed along with study limitations and promising directions for future research.
    Publication Social Science Research
    Volume 38
    Issue 3
    Pages 656-667
    Date September 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.02.002
    Short Title Blessed assurance
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?
    _ob=ArticleURL&…
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 2:01:42 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • Emotions
    • mental health
    • religion
    • Religious Beliefs
  • The Clergy as a Source of Mental Health Assistance: What Americans Believe

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Margaret L. Vaaler
    Author Kevin J. Flannelly
    Author Andrew J. Weaver
    Abstract Although clergy remain a popular source of advice and assistance for persons dealing with mental health issues, there is little solid empirical evidence about this type of help-seeking. Using data from a special mental health module in the 1996 NORC General Social Survey, we examine popular attitudes toward the role of clergy as frontline mental health workers. Among the key findings: (1) Regular church attenders are more likely to approve of this role, as are biblical literalists, while Catholics are less prone to regard clergy as an appropriate source of mental health assistance. (2) Older persons (ages 60 and over) are much more likely to endorse a mental health role for clergy, while the effects of other sociodemographic characteristics are minimal. (3) Clergy are seen as less appropriate sources of help in cases of certain specific problems, e.g., schizophrenia, and for persons who are perceived to pose a danger to others. Implications of these findings and study limitations are discussed, and several important research directions are identified.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 190-211
    Date Dec., 2006
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title The Clergy as a Source of Mental Health Assistance
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/20058132
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:29:43 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 2006 / Copyright © 2006 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Although clergy remain a popular source of advice and assistance for persons dealing with mental health issues, there is little solid empirical evidence about this type of help-seeking. Using data from a special mental health module in the 1996 NORC General Social Survey, we examine popular attitudes toward the role of clergy as frontline mental health workers.

  • Religious Involvement and Mortality Risk among African American Adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Robert A. Hummer
    Author Shannon Cormier
    Author Richard G. Rogers
    Abstract This article examines the effects of religious involvement on mortality risk among African Americans. The authors use a relatively new and innovative nationally representative data set--the National Health Interview Survey matched to the National Center for Health Statistics' multiple cause of death file--to model this relationship. The results show that, compared with African Americans who attend religious services more than once a week, those who never attend are more than twice as likely to die during the nine-year follow-up period, even net of a large number of confounding and mediating factors. The strong effect of nonattendance on mortality risk is robust, pervasive, and remarkably strong across all subgroups of the population, whereas a moderate level of attendance is associated with higher mortality risk among young adults, men, and Southerners, but not among older adults, women, and non-Southerners. Among African Americans, lack of religious involvement appears to be associated with risk of premature death, whereas frequent religious involvement stands out as a critical protective factor that contributes to lower mortality and longer life.
    Publication Research on Aging
    Volume 22
    Issue 6
    Pages 630-667
    Date November 1, 2000
    DOI 10.1177/0164027500226003
    URL http://roa.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/6/630
    Accessed Monday, October 12, 2009 10:50:41 PM
    Library Catalog Sage Journals Online
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article examines the effects of religious involvement on mortality risk among African Americans. The authors use a relatively new and innovative nationally representative data set--the National Health Interview Survey matched to the National Center for Health Statistics’ multiple cause of death file--to model this relationship.

  • Perceptions of the roles of religion and spirituality in the work and lives of professionals in gerontology: Views of the present and expectations about the future.

    Type Journal Article
    Author James W. Ellor
    Author Susan H. McFadden
    Abstract The future of scholarly work in the field of religion, spirituality, and aging will need to address the various ways baby boomers understand and experience religious faith and spiritual practices. A survey of the membership of the American Society on Aging and the National Interfaith Coalition on Aging resulted in 457 responses to an e-mail survey and found that about 54% consider themselves spiritual and religious (R + S), while about 33% call themselves spiritual but not religious (SnR). This study also examined how these professionals in the aging field rate the sources of meaning in their lives today and what they think will provide meaning in the future. For both the present and future, relationships were deemed most important. There were significant differences between the R + S and SnR group regarding their views of whether religious organizations in the future will be prepared to meet the religious and spiritual needs of aging baby boomers. This study discusses the ways that religion and spirituality impact areas of meaning and religious and spiritual practice. The future of scholarship and practice in this area needs to reflect the diversity of the aging population in terms of how persons understand and experience religiousness and spirituality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 23
    Issue 1-2
    Pages 50-61
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1080/15528030.2011.534702
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title Perceptions of the roles of religion and spirituality in the work and lives of professionals in gerontology
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • Aging
    • Gerontology
    • professionals
    • religion
    • religion perceptions
    • Role Perception
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This article addresses the various ways baby boomers understand and experience religious faith and spiritual practices. A survey of the membership of the American Society on Aging and the National Interfaith Coalition on Aging resulted in 457 responses to an e-mail survey and found that about 54% consider themselves spiritual and religious (R + S), while about 33% call themselves spiritual but not religious (SnR). This study also examined how these professionals in the aging field rate the sources of meaning in their lives today and what they think will provide meaning in the future. This study discusses the ways that religion and spirituality impact areas of meaning and religious and spiritual practice.

  • Attention management as a treatment for chronic pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author Minna M. Elomaa
    Author Amanda C. de C. Williams
    Author Eija A. Kalso
    Abstract Attention management is often included in cognitive-behavioural treatments (CBT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of attention management strategies in the treatment for chronic pain. The present pilot study consisted of six weekly 90-min treatment sessions and was based on a CBT attention management manual describing techniques such as attention diversion, imagery and mindfulness exercises. The intended outcomes were reduction in pain-related anxiety and hypervigilance to pain and decrease in pain impact of everyday life, measured by self-report. Information was collected at baseline, pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 3 and 6 months follow-up. The results at the end of treatment, and at 3-month follow-up, show significant reductions in pain-related anxiety, hypervigilance and interference of pain (effect sizes 0.40-0.90). Reduction in pain-related interference and anxiety remained at the 6-month follow-up. The results indicate that attention control skills can be a useful method to reduce anxiety in the short term. Clinical implications of the results are discussed.
    Publication European Journal of Pain
    Volume 13
    Issue 10
    Pages 1062-1067
    Date November 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.ejpain.2008.12.002
    ISSN 1090-3801
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WF3-4VC745B-1/2/ca6907b49c3ecb19f2c338d6d9107606
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 8:54:26 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Tags:

    • Attention management
    • Chronic pain
    • Cognitive-behavioural therapy
    • Pain-related anxiety

    Notes:

    • Attention management is often included in cognitive-behavioural treatments (CBT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of attention management strategies in the treatment for chronic pain. The present pilot study consisted of six weekly 90-min treatment sessions and was based on a CBT attention management manual describing techniques such as attention diversion, imagery and mindfulness exercises. The intended outcomes were reduction in pain-related anxiety and hypervigilance to pain and decrease in pain impact of everyday life, measured by self-report. Information was collected at baseline, pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 3 and 6 months follow-up. The results at the end of treatment, and at 3-month follow-up, show significant reductions in pain-related anxiety, hypervigilance and interference of pain (effect sizes 0.40–0.90). Reduction in pain-related interference and anxiety remained at the 6-month follow-up. The results indicate that attention control skills can be a useful method to reduce anxiety in the short term. Clinical implications of the results are discussed.

  • Questioning western assessment of trauma among Tibetan torture survivors. A quantitative assessment study with comments from Buddhist Lamas

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Elsass
    Author Jessica Carlsson
    Author Kristian Jespersen
    Author Kalsang Phuntsok
    Abstract Our study falls in line with the numerous studies providing a critique of the use of western diagnostic instruments for assessing trauma in a cross-cultural context. Our purpose has been to give evidence for the Tibetan torture survivors' degree of traumatisation and for their use of spirituality to overcome their difficult situation. In addition we wanted to question the use of our western methods in an Asian context. 102 tortured refugees attended a formalised needs assessment including neuropsychological and psychological measures of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist 25 (HSCL-25). Even though significant correlations between the amount of the measures of organized violence and neuropsychological and psychological distress were found in our data, the division of the material into different subgroups according to e.g. religious and non-religious groups did not have an influence on the level of distress. After the assessment study, eight Tibetan lamas were interviewed about their views on our methods and results. They questioned the validity of our western rating scales and explained that our results might be influenced by the Tibetan culture, which among other things can be characterized as having a view and articulation of suffering much more complex than the units of our study's rating scales.
    Publication Torture: Quarterly Journal on Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Prevention of Torture
    Volume 19
    Issue 3
    Pages 194-203
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Torture
    ISSN 1997-3322
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:32:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20065538
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • Buddhism
    • depression
    • Educational Status
    • Female
    • Humans
    • India
    • Male
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Sex Factors
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Survivors
    • Tibet
    • Torture
  • Cancer mortality among Mormons

    Type Journal Article
    Author James E. Enstrom
    Abstract Preliminary results show that the 1970-72 cancer mortality rate among California Mormon adults is about one-half to three-fourths that of the general California population for most cancer sites, including many sites with an unclear etiology. Furthermore, the cancer death rate in the predominately Mormon state of Utah is about two-thirds to three-fourths of the United States rate, and the lowest in the entire country. Mormons are a large, health-conscious religious group whose Church doctrine forbids the use of tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and tea, and recommends a nutritious diet. Initial indications are that Mormons as a whole smoke and drink about half as much as the general population, and that active Mormons abstain almost completely from tobacco and alcohol. However, they appear to be fairly similar to the general white population in other respects, such as socioeconomic status and urbanization. The significance of these findings is discussed.
    Publication Cancer
    Volume 36
    Issue 3
    Pages 825-841
    Date 1975
    DOI 10.1002/1097-0142(197509)36:3<825::AID-CNCR2820360302>3.0.CO;2-Q
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1097-0142(197509)36:3<825::AID-CNCR2820360302>3.0.CO;2-Q
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 10:50:32 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The 1970-72 cancer mortality rate among California Mormon adults is about one-half to three-fourths that of the general California population for most cancer sites. Furthermore, the cancer death rate in the predominately Mormon state of Utah is the lowest in the entire country. Mormons are a large, health-conscious religious group whose Church doctrine forbids the use of tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and tea, and recommends a nutritious diet.

  • Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognitive stress, mindfulness, and telomeres

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elissa Epel
    Author Jennifer Daubenmier
    Author Judith Tedlie Moskowitz
    Author Susan Folkman
    Author Elizabeth Blackburn
    Abstract Understanding the malleable determinants of cellular aging is critical to understanding human longevity. Telomeres may provide a pathway for exploring this question. Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. The length of telomeres offers insight into mitotic cell and possibly organismal longevity. Telomere length has now been linked to chronic stress exposure and depression. This raises the question of mechanism: How might cellular aging be modulated by psychological functioning? We consider two psychological processes or states that are in opposition to one another-threat cognition and mindfulness-and their effects on cellular aging. Psychological stress cognitions, particularly appraisals of threat and ruminative thoughts, can lead to prolonged states of reactivity. In contrast, mindfulness meditation techniques appear to shift cognitive appraisals from threat to challenge, decrease ruminative thought, and reduce stress arousal. Mindfulness may also directly increase positive arousal states. We review data linking telomere length to cognitive stress and stress arousal and present new data linking cognitive appraisal to telomere length. Given the pattern of associations revealed so far, we propose that some forms of meditation may have salutary effects on telomere length by reducing cognitive stress and stress arousal and increasing positive states of mind and hormonal factors that may promote telomere maintenance. Aspects of this model are currently being tested in ongoing trials of mindfulness meditation.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 34-53
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04414.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735238
    Accessed Friday, February 04, 2011 11:15:52 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735238
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Cell Aging
    • Cognition
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Telomere
  • Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognitive stress, mindfulness, and telomeres

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elissa Epel
    Author Jennifer Daubenmier
    Author Judith Tedlie Moskowitz
    Author Susan Folkman
    Author Elizabeth Blackburn
    Abstract Understanding the malleable determinants of cellular aging is critical to understanding human longevity. Telomeres may provide a pathway for exploring this question. Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. The length of telomeres offers insight into mitotic cell and possibly organismal longevity. Telomere length has now been linked to chronic stress exposure and depression. This raises the question of mechanism: How might cellular aging be modulated by psychological functioning? We consider two psychological processes or states that are in opposition to one another-threat cognition and mindfulness-and their effects on cellular aging. Psychological stress cognitions, particularly appraisals of threat and ruminative thoughts, can lead to prolonged states of reactivity. In contrast, mindfulness meditation techniques appear to shift cognitive appraisals from threat to challenge, decrease ruminative thought, and reduce stress arousal. Mindfulness may also directly increase positive arousal states. We review data linking telomere length to cognitive stress and stress arousal and present new data linking cognitive appraisal to telomere length. Given the pattern of associations revealed so far, we propose that some forms of meditation may have salutary effects on telomere length by reducing cognitive stress and stress arousal and increasing positive states of mind and hormonal factors that may promote telomere maintenance. Aspects of this model are currently being tested in ongoing trials of mindfulness meditation.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 34-53
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04414.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735238
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:11:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735238
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Cell Aging
    • Cognition
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Telomere

    Notes:

    • Understanding the malleable determinants of cellular aging is critical to understanding human longevity. Telomeres may provide a pathway for exploring this question. Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. The length of telomeres offers insight into mitotic cell and possibly organismal longevity. Telomere length has now been linked to chronic stress exposure and depression. This raises the question of mechanism: How might cellular aging be modulated by psychological functioning? We consider two psychological processes or states that are in opposition to one another-threat cognition and mindfulness-and their effects on cellular aging. Psychological stress cognitions, particularly appraisals of threat and ruminative thoughts, can lead to prolonged states of reactivity. In contrast, mindfulness meditation techniques appear to shift cognitive appraisals from threat to challenge, decrease ruminative thought, and reduce stress arousal. Mindfulness may also directly increase positive arousal states. We review data linking telomere length to cognitive stress and stress arousal and present new data linking cognitive appraisal to telomere length. Given the pattern of associations revealed so far, we propose that some forms of meditation may have salutary effects on telomere length by reducing cognitive stress and stress arousal and increasing positive states of mind and hormonal factors that may promote telomere maintenance. Aspects of this model are currently being tested in ongoing trials of mindfulness meditation.

  • A preliminary investigation of the effects of experimentally induced mindfulness on emotional responding to film clips.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shannon M. Erisman
    Author Lizabeth Roemer
    Abstract Despite encouraging preliminary findings regarding the efficacy of mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments for a range of psychological presentations, we have yet to elucidate mechanisms of action within these treatments. One mechanism through which mindfulness may reduce psychological symptoms and promote functioning is enhancing emotional responding and regulation. In this study, we used multimodal assessment to examine the effects of a brief mindfulness intervention in a laboratory setting on emotional experiences and regulation in response to distressing, positive, and affectively mixed film clips. Although there were no condition (mindfulness vs. control) effects on reports of emotional response or difficulties in regulation after the distressing film clip, participants in the mindfulness condition reported significantly greater positive affect in response to the positive film. Additionally, participants in the mindfulness condition reported more adaptive regulation (approaching significance, medium to large effect size) in response to the affectively mixed clip and significantly less negative affect immediately after this clip, although not after a recovery period. No significant differences emerged between conditions on physiological measures (skin conductance and heart rate) throughout the study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Emotion
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 72-82
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0017162
    ISSN 1528-3542
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:17:30 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Acceptance
    • emotion regulation
    • Emotional Regulation
    • Emotional Responses
    • Emotional States
    • Emotions
    • film clips
    • Films
    • Mindfulness
    • positive emotions

    Notes:

    • Exploration of how exactly mindfulness benefits psychological states. One study presented distressing film clips and observed mindfulness practitioners exhibiting greater emotional resilience.

  • The therapeutic use of the relaxation response in stress-related diseases

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tobias Esch
    Author Gregory L Fricchione
    Author George B Stefano
    Abstract The objective of this work was to investigate a possible (therapeutic) connection between the relaxation response (RR) and stress-related diseases. Further, common underlying molecular mechanisms and autoregulatory pathways were examined. For the question of (patho)physiology and significance of RR techniques in the treatment of stress-related diseases, we analyzed peer-reviewed references only. The RR has been shown to be an appropriate and relevant therapeutic tool to counteract several stress-related disease processes and certain health-restrictions, particularly in certain immunological, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases/mental disorders. Further, common underlying molecular mechanisms may exist that represent a connection between the stress response, pathophysiological findings in stress-related diseases, and physiological changes/autoregulatory pathways described in the RR. Here, constitutive or low-output nitric oxide (NO) production may be involved in a protective or ameliorating context, whereas inducible, high-output NO release may facilitate detrimental disease processes. In mild or early disease states, a high degree of biological and physiological flexibility may still be possible (dynamic balance). Here, the therapeutic use of RR techniques may be considered particularly relevant, and the observable (beneficial) effects may be exerted via activation of constitutive NO pathways. RR techniques, regularly part of professional stress management or mind/body medical settings, represent an important tool to be added to therapeutic strategies dealing with stress-related diseases. Moreover, as part of 'healthy' life-style modifications, they may serve primary (or secondary) prevention. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the complex physiology underlying the RR and its impact upon stress-related disease states.
    Publication Medical Science Monitor: International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research
    Volume 9
    Issue 2
    Pages RA23-34
    Date Feb 2003
    Journal Abbr Med. Sci. Monit
    ISSN 1234-1010
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12601303
    Accessed Saturday, September 05, 2009 1:17:53 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12601303
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cardiovascular Diseases
    • Humans
    • Immune System Diseases
    • Nervous System Diseases
    • Nitric Oxide
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Stress, Physiological

    Notes:

    • The objective of this work was to investigate a possible (therapeutic) connection between the relaxation response (RR) and stress-related diseases.

  • Ethnic spirituality, gender and health care in the Peruvian Amazon

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Cristina Espinosa
    Abstract By addressing ethnic identities of riparian people in Loreto, this article shows the relevance of spirituality, ethnic difference, and gender subordination affecting health interventions. Ethnic spirituality defines daily life behavior and attitudes revealing different meanings associated with medicine, illness, and healing. Gender segregates natural spaces and portrays women and children as more vulnerable to illness caused by spiritual powers, imposing taboos, and regulations. Due to lesser exposure to the modern outside world, adult women remain less familiar with it, even though modernity is also present in the village and reinterpreted by local ethnic views. Women seem closer to ethnic beliefs that 'color' their views and attitudes toward modern medicine and for that reason experience higher levels of discrimination and subordination. Being the principal care takers, their views and attitudes on medicine, illness, and healing are extremely important to consider. In practice, women and their ethnic views on medicine and illness usually remain invisible.
    Publication Ethnicity & Health
    Volume 14
    Issue 5
    Pages 423-437
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Ethn Health
    DOI 10.1080/13557850802702397
    ISSN 1465-3419
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19330606
    Accessed Friday, September 18, 2009 6:31:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19330606
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Notes:

    • This article shows the relevance of spirituality, ethnic difference, and gender subordination affecting health interventions in the riparian people in Loreto. Ethnic spirituality defines daily life behavior and attitudes revealing different meanings associated with medicine, illness, and healing. Gender segregates natural spaces and portrays women and children as more vulnerable to illness caused by spiritual powers, imposing taboos, and regulations. Due to lesser exposure to the modern outside world, adult women remain less familiar with it, even though modernity is also present in the village and reinterpreted by local ethnic views. Women seem closer to ethnic beliefs that 'color' their views and attitudes toward modern medicine and for that reason experience higher levels of discrimination and subordination. Being the principal care takers, their views and attitudes on medicine, illness, and healing are extremely important to consider. In practice, women and their ethnic views on medicine and illness usually remain invisible.

  • Death-related sensory experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author Angela M Ethier
    Abstract A death-related sensory experience (DRSE) is a spiritually transforming experience occurring with the appearance of a messenger beyond the visible observable universe to guide a dying person through the dying process. DRSEs have been reported to occur among those who are dying, most commonly individuals with terminal illness. Known dead family members are most commonly seen, followed by religious beings. Communication takes place between the dying individual and the apparition. Feelings of peace and comfort are reported by the majority of individuals experiencing DRSEs. DRSEs can occur over a period of hours to months before death. They have been referred to as veridical hallucinations, visions of the dying, deathbed visions, and predeath visions. Reported throughout time, among people of all cultures, religions, races, ages, genders, socioeconomic status, and educational levels, DRSEs are intense spiritual experiences. Validating a child's DRSE provides a way to start a dialogue regarding death. Research is needed to more fully understand DRSEs from the perspective of the dying child.
    Publication Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing: Official Journal of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses
    Volume 22
    Issue 2
    Pages 104-111
    Date 2005 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr J Pediatr Oncol Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/1043454204273735
    ISSN 1043-4542
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/15695352
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:31:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15695352
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Attitude to Death
    • Child
    • Child, Preschool
    • Death
    • Dissociative Disorders
    • Female
    • Hallucinations
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Nursing Research
    • Sensation

    Notes:

    • A death-related sensory experience (DRSE) is a spiritually transforming experience occurring with the appearance of a messenger beyond the visible observable universe to guide a dying person through the dying process. DRSEs have been reported to occur among those who are dying, most commonly individuals with terminal illness. Known dead family members are most commonly seen, followed by religious beings. Communication takes place between the dying individual and the apparition. Feelings of peace and comfort are reported by the majority of individuals experiencing DRSEs. DRSEs can occur over a period of hours to months before death. They have been referred to as veridical hallucinations, visions of the dying, deathbed visions, and predeath visions. Reported throughout time, among people of all cultures, religions, races, ages, genders, socioeconomic status, and educational levels, DRSEs are intense spiritual experiences. Validating a child’s DRSE provides a way to start a dialogue regarding death. Research is needed to more fully understand DRSEs from the perspective of the dying child.

  • Religiosity and Sexual Behaviors in African American and White Youth

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yolanda Evans
    Author Laura Richardson
    Author Cari McCarty
    Author Chuan Zhou
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 2, Supplement 1
    Pages S117
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.11.239
    ISSN 1054-139X
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:50:23 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM

    Tags:

    • religiosity
    • sexual behaviors
  • A randomized controlled trial examining Iyengar yoga for young adults with rheumatoid arthritis: a study protocol

    Type Journal Article
    Author Subhadra Evans
    Author Laura Cousins
    Author Jennie Ci Tsao
    Author Saskia Subramanian
    Author Beth Sternlieb
    Author Lonnie K Zeltzer
    Abstract Background Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, disabling disease that can compromise mobility, daily functioning, and health-related quality of life, especially in older adolescents and young adults. In this project, we will compare a standardized Iyengar yoga program for young people with rheumatoid arthritis to a standard care wait-list control condition. Methods/Design Seventy rheumatoid arthritis patients aged 16-35 years will be randomized into either the 6-week Iyengar yoga program (12 - 1.5 hour sessions twice weekly) or the 6-week wait-list control condition. A 20% attrition rate is anticipated. The wait-list group will receive the yoga program following completion of the first arm of the study. We will collect data quantitatively, using questionnaires and markers of disease activity, and qualitatively using semi-structured interviews. Assessments include standardized measures of general and arthritis-specific function, pain, mood, and health-related quality of life, as well as qualitative interviews, blood pressure/resting heart rate measurements, a medical exam and the assessment of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Data will be collected three times: before treatment, post-treatment, and two months following the treatment. Discussion Results from this study will provide critical data on non-pharmacologic methods for enhancing function in rheumatoid arthritis patients. In particular, results will shed light on the feasibility and potential efficacy of a novel intervention for rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, paving the way for a larger clinical trial.
    Publication Trials
    Volume 12
    Issue 15
    Pages 19
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr Trials
    DOI 10.1186/1745-6215-12-19
    ISSN 1745-6215
    Short Title A randomized controlled trial examining Iyengar yoga for young adults with rheumatoid arthritis
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:16:21 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21255431
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    • Iyengar yoga
    • Protocol
    • yoga
    • Youth
  • Characteristics and Predictors of Short-Term Outcomes in Individuals Self-selecting Yoga or Physical Therapy for Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dian Dowling Evans
    Author Michael Carter
    Author Richard Panico
    Author Laura Kimble
    Author Jennifer T. Morlock
    Author Manjula Judith Spears
    Abstract Objective To compare clinical and demographic characteristics of individuals self-selecting yoga or physical therapy (PT) for treatment of chronic low back pain (cLBP) and to examine predictors of short-term pain and functional outcomes.Design Descriptive, longitudinal study.Settings A hospital-based clinic that offers modified integral yoga classes for cLBP and 2 outpatient PT clinics that offer exercise-based PT.Participants Adults (n = 53) with cLBP >=12 weeks: yoga (n = 27), PT (n = 26).Methods Yoga participants attended a 6-week, once weekly, 2-hour yoga class. PT participants underwent twice weekly, 1-hour individualized PT. Data were collected at baseline and at 6 weeks. Groups were compared by using [chi]2 and independent samples t-tests. Hierarchical linear regression was used to predict treatment outcomes.Main Outcome Measures Disability (Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire), health status (Rand Short Form 36 Health Survey 1.0), pain bothersomeness (numerical rating scale), back pain self-efficacy (Back Pain Self-Efficacy Scale), and treatment satisfaction.Results At baseline, yoga participants were significantly less disabled (P = .013), had higher health status (P = .023), greater pain self-efficacy (P = .012), and less average pain bothersomeness (P = .001) compared with PT participants. At 6 weeks, when controlling for baseline group differences, greater pain self-efficacy was the strongest predictor for reduced pain and higher function for the entire sample. A significant group interaction by baseline pain self-efficacy predicted disability at 6 weeks. PT participants with low pain self-efficacy reported significantly greater disability than those with high pain self-efficacy. Yoga participants with low and high pain self-efficacy had similar disability outcomes.Conclusion These findings strengthen evidence that self-efficacy is associated with cLBP outcomes, especially in individuals self-selecting PT. Further research to evaluate outcomes after yoga and PT in participants with low pain self-efficacy is needed.
    Publication PM&R
    Volume 2
    Issue 11
    Pages 1006-1015
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.pmrj.2010.07.006
    ISSN 1934-1482
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B8JHF-51H17J4-4/2/6959a54ca69cbc0d8d6e5a0a12743296
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:42:18 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM

    Notes:

    • To compare clinical and demographic characteristics of individuals self-selecting yoga or physical therapy (PT) for treatment of chronic low back pain (cLBP) and to examine predictors of short-term pain and functional outcomes. Descriptive, longitudinal study.A hospital-based clinic that offers modified integral yoga classes for cLBP and 2 outpatient PT clinics that offer exercise-based PT.Adults (n = 53) with cLBP ≥12 weeks: yoga (n = 27), PT (n = 26).Yoga participants attended a 6-week, once weekly, 2-hour yoga class. PT participants underwent twice weekly, 1-hour individualized PT. Data were collected at baseline and at 6 weeks. Groups were compared by using χ2 and independent samples t-tests. Hierarchical linear regression was used to predict treatment outcomes.Disability (Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire), health status (Rand Short Form 36 Health Survey 1.0), pain bothersomeness (numerical rating scale), back pain self-efficacy (Back Pain Self-Efficacy Scale), and treatment satisfaction. At baseline, yoga participants were significantly less disabled (P = .013), had higher health status (P = .023), greater pain self-efficacy (P = .012), and less average pain bothersomeness (P = .001) compared with PT participants. At 6 weeks, when controlling for baseline group differences, greater pain self-efficacy was the strongest predictor for reduced pain and higher function for the entire sample. A significant group interaction by baseline pain self-efficacy predicted disability at 6 weeks. PT participants with low pain self-efficacy reported significantly greater disability than those with high pain self-efficacy. Yoga participants with low and high pain self-efficacy had similar disability outcomes.These findings strengthen evidence that self-efficacy is associated with cLBP outcomes, especially in individuals self-selecting PT. Further research to evaluate outcomes after yoga and PT in participants with low pain self-efficacy is needed.

  • Iyengar yoga for young adults with rheumatoid arthritis: results from a mixed-methods pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Subhadra Evans
    Author Mona Moieni
    Author Rebecca Taub
    Author Saskia K Subramanian
    Author Jennie C I Tsao
    Author Beth Sternlieb
    Author Lonnie K Zeltzer
    Abstract CONTEXT: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease that often impacts patient's quality of life. For young people with RA, there is a need for rehabilitative approaches that have been shown to be safe and to lead to improved functioning. OBJECTIVES: This pilot study investigated the feasibility of a single-arm, group-administered, six-week, biweekly Iyengar yoga (IY) program for eight young adults with RA. METHODS: IY is known for its use of props, therapeutic sequences designed for patient populations, emphasis on alignment, and a rigorous teacher training. Treatment outcomes were evaluated using a mixed-methods approach that combined quantitative results from standardized questionnaires and qualitative interviews with participants. RESULTS: Initial attrition was 37% (n=3) after the first week because of scheduling conflicts and a prior non-RA related injury. However, the remaining participants (n=5) completed between 75% and 100% of treatment sessions (mean=95%). No adverse events were reported. The quantitative results indicated significant improvements in pain, pain disability, depression, mental health, vitality, and self-efficacy. Interviews demonstrated improvement in RA symptoms and functioning but uncertainty about whether the intervention affected pain. CONCLUSION: These preliminary findings indicate that IY is a feasible complementary approach for young people with RA, although larger clinical trials are needed to demonstrate safety and efficacy.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 39
    Issue 5
    Pages 904-913
    Date May 2010
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.09.018
    ISSN 1873-6513
    Short Title Iyengar yoga for young adults with rheumatoid arthritis
    Accessed Friday, June 04, 2010 9:28:21 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20471550
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Anger toward God: Social-cognitive predictors, prevalence, and links with adjustment to bereavement and cancer.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Julie J. Exline
    Author Crystal L. Park
    Author Joshua M. Smyth
    Author Michael P. Carey
    Abstract Many people see themselves as being in a relationship with God and see this bond as comforting. Yet, perceived relationships with God also carry the potential for experiencing anger toward God, as shown here in studies with the U.S. population (Study 1), undergraduates (Studies 2 and 3), bereaved individuals (Study 4), and cancer survivors (Study 5). These studies addressed 3 fundamental issues regarding anger toward God: perceptions and attributions that predict anger toward God, its prevalence, and its associations with adjustment. Social-cognitive predictors of anger toward God paralleled predictors of interpersonal anger and included holding God responsible for severe harm, attributions of cruelty, difficulty finding meaning, and seeing oneself as a victim. Anger toward God was frequently reported in response to negative events, although positive feelings predominated. Anger and positive feelings toward God showed moderate negative associations. Religiosity and age correlated negatively with anger toward God. Reports of anger toward God were slightly lower among Protestants and African Americans in comparison with other groups (Study 1). Some atheists and agnostics reported anger involving God, particularly on measures emphasizing past experiences (Study 2) and images of a hypothetical God (Study 3). Anger toward God was associated with poorer adjustment to bereavement (Study 4) and cancer (Study 5), particularly when anger remained unresolved over a 1-year period (Study 5). Taken together, these studies suggest that anger toward God is an important dimension of religious and spiritual experience, one that is measurable, widespread, and related to adjustment across various contexts and populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    Volume 100
    Issue 1
    Pages 129-148
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0021716
    ISSN 0022-3514
    Short Title Anger toward God
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • adjustment
    • Anger
    • Atheism
    • Bereavement
    • Cancer
    • God
    • God Concepts
    • Neoplasms
    • religion
    • Social cognition
    • spirituality
  • The Psychology Of Mindfulness: An Integrated Approach

    Type Book
    Author Michael Eysenck
    Author James Walsh
    Author Jaroslav Gera
    Edition 1
    Publisher Routledge
    Date 2011-03-15
    ISBN 0415414326
    Short Title The Psychology Of Mindfulness
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
  • Exploring spirituality and consciousness with an expanded science: beyond the ego with empiricism, phenomenology, and contemplation

    Type Journal Article
    Author L L Fahlberg
    Author L A Fahlberg
    Abstract Spirituality has been recognized as pivotal in health education and health promotion. Although spirituality is often discussed as a dimension of health, there is little evidence of integrating it into educational settings and health promotion programs. The difficulty in addressing the concept of spirituality is related to both its association with denominational religion and our cultural emphasis on the material realm. However, some scholars are now associating spirituality with the development of human consciousness beyond the ego level. It has been suggested that the scientific investigation of this development beyond the ego may be possible with empirical and phenomenological, as well as with traditional contemplative methods. Thus, investigation in the realms of consciousness beyond the ego can be addressed within theories of knowledge that are grounded in experience. An examination of the spirituality/consciousness relationship may be crucial for any profession that purports to address the health issues of the whole person. It may then be possible to more easily integrate spirituality into educational settings and health enhancement programs. If spirituality is part of human experience, then willingness to make forays into this dimension is fundamental to health.
    Publication American Journal of Health Promotion: AJHP
    Volume 5
    Issue 4
    Pages 273-281
    Date 1991 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Am J Health Promot
    ISSN 0890-1171
    Short Title Exploring spirituality and consciousness with an expanded science
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10146837
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:16:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10146837
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Consciousness
    • Culture
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Philosophy
    • Psychosomatic Medicine
    • religion
    • Spiritualism

    Notes:

    • The difficulty in addressing the concept of spirituality is related to both its association with denominational religion and our cultural emphasis on the material realm. However, some scholars are now associating spirituality with the development of human consciousness beyond the ego level. It has been suggested that the scientific investigation of this development beyond the ego may be possible with empirical and phenomenological, as well as with traditional contemplative methods. It may then be possible to more easily integrate spirituality into educational settings and health enhancement programs.

  • Studying mindfulness in experienced meditators: A quasi-experimental approach

    Type Journal Article
    Author Fredrik Falkenström
    Abstract Self-report measures were used to study mindfulness and well-being in experienced meditators in a quasi-experimental intervention study. Seventy-six experienced meditators were studied, 48 who were participating in an intensive meditation retreat in the Vipassana (insight meditation) tradition and 28 who did not. Retreat participants had scheduled meditation practice from early morning to late at night, and were encouraged to practice mindfulness throughout the whole day. The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) were used to measure mindfulness, and the General Population version of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (GP-CORE) was used to measure well-being. Correlation analyses in the pre-intervention data showed that self-reported mindfulness was strongly related to well-being, with the exception for the observe subscale of FFMQ. Only the acceptance subscales were associated with meditation experience. Mindfulness increased after the retreat, but the increase was not significantly larger for retreat participants than for the control group. However, well-being increased more in the retreat group than the control group, and increase in mindfulness was associated with increase in well-being across both groups. Results are discussed in relation to previous research and methodological aspects.
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 48
    Issue 3
    Pages 305-310
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2009.10.022
    ISSN 0191-8869
    Short Title Studying mindfulness in experienced meditators
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:08:41 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Measurement
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Vipassana
  • Validation and reliability test of Persian version of The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Masoud Fallahi Khoshknab
    Author Monir Mazaheri
    Author Sadat Sb Maddah
    Author Mehdi Rahgozar
    Abstract Aim Validation of a scale. Background Commitment to the concept of holistic nursing and considering the importance of meeting the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs has been well established in nursing practice (Mitchell et al. 2006). However, spiritual care is frequently overlooked and disregarded or delegated to the religious leaders (Govier 2000). Considering the definition of nursing as the diagnosis and treatment of human responses, nurses need to be well prepared in recognising and meeting the spiritual needs of their patients. There is a consensus of opinions that spirituality is important for our existence (Narayanasamy 2004). Spirituality could be defined as a sense of something greater than oneself, which comprise meaning, purpose, values and hope. Spiritual care includes those interventions which address spiritual needs of patients like respecting patients religious and cultural beliefs; communicating by listening and talking with clients; being with the patient by caring; supporting; showing empathy; facilitating participation in religious rituals; promoting a sense of well-being; and referring to chaplains and other professionals. How nurses perceive the spiritual dimension of their care and their philosophical framework has an important contribution in the ways nurses fulfil patient needs. Although this rather neglected dimension of care has a universal demand, it would be interesting to discover how different cultures perceive and understand it. No valid instrument to assess spirituality and spiritual care exists in the Persian language which is mother tongue in some countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, etc. This study, therefore, was designed to validate the Persian version of The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS) to be used in Iranian context and carry out reliability test (test re-test). Design A descriptive cross-cultural design was employed. Method Most qualified nurses working in Razi Psychiatric Center (n = 107) which is an educational centre in Tehran, countrys capital, participated in the study. All (45 women and 62 man) had at least a bachelor degree in nursing. The instrument The scale consisted of two parts, background information (22 questions) and The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS). SSCRS was originally constructed by McSherry et al. (2002) as a multidimensional instrument. It accessed nurses beliefs and values in relation to the areas of hope, meaning and purpose, forgiveness, beliefs and values, spiritual care, relationships belief in a God, or deity, morality, creativity and self expression. Procedure The SSCRS instrument underwent the standard forward-backward procedure to translate from English to Persian. The relevant cultural adaptation was carried out. An expert panel from different disciplines was held to review it and to reach a consensus on the discrepancies. The final version in Persian was prepared after confirmation of the committee on the equivalence between the source and the translated version semantically, idiomatically, experientially and conceptually. To validate the Persian version of the instrument, content validity method was used. The SSCRS was given to ten faculty members with relevant specialties. Minor changes were made on questionnaire based on their comments. To assess face validity, the instrument was given to 13 psychiatric nurses to see how they perceive and interpret the items and to discover the potential problems. The think aloud method was used, asking the participants to reflect on the questions and share their thoughts on the entire instrument. The participants of face validity test found the wording and the components of the instrument clear and easy to understand and answer. The statistical methods used for testing the equivalence included the Cronbachs alpha coefficient, Spearmans rank correlation coefficients and t-test. The reliability and cultural equivalence between the English and Persian versions of the scale and total SSCRS scores were assessed by Cronbachs alpha. To assess reliability of the scale, test-retest was carried out. Results Background information of the participants is presented in Table 1. The internal consistency estimate was found to be satisfactory at both assessments. Test-retest results (r = 0.83) of the scale scores did not show any significant differences between test-retest values. Cronbachs alphas value showed good internal consistency of the instrument (? = 0.85). The face and content validity of the questionnaire were reached through described procedure. Table 1. ?Background variables of the participants Sex Women n = 45 Men n = 62 Total n = 107 1. *In psychiatric hospitals in Iran, usually only female staff work in wards where female patients are cared for. Discussion It is of interest that Iranian nurses who are living in a different socio-cultural context could relate to the domain of spirituality and spiritual care in the way the developers of the SSCRS with a different background have constructed. It confirms McSherry et al. (2002) saying that these components of spirituality may be universally transferrable to all individuals. The study helps to provide an understanding of how psychiatric nurses perceive spiritual care in Iran, as there were no previous studies looking at this neglected area of care in the Iranian context. The importance of this is heightened by knowing that no independent subject or lectures on spirituality and spiritual care is taught in specialised nursing programmes in Iran, only some general religion courses. This lack of conceptual clarity and difficulty in delineating these concepts in Iran brings ambiguities in identifying spiritual needs and providing spiritual care for patients. Having more people with an existentialistic perspective, these terms need to be more universal and applicable to all people regardless of having any religion or not. The present study could be a starting point in conceptualisation and clarification of spirituality and spiritual care in Iran. Conclusion The SSCRS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing spirituality and spiritual care among psychiatric nurses in Iran. Relevance to clinical practice Valid and reliable scales are needed to assess spirituality and spiritual care by Iranian nurses as an initial step in evaluating how they recognise and meet the spiritual needs of their patients. The SSCRS, as a simple administered scale, could be used in appropriate contexts with confidence. The carefully conducted process of translation minimised potential errors in transforming the scale to the new language. However, it might need future examination in different contexts in Iran to be use widely in the country. Key words Persian, reliability, scale, spiritual care, spirituality, validation
    Publication Journal of Clinical Nursing
    Volume 19
    Issue 19-20
    Pages 2939-2941
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr J Clin Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03411.x
    ISSN 1365-2702
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20846236
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:02:06 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
  • Religious/spiritual coping among women trauma survivors with mental health and substance use disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author Roger D Fallot
    Author Jennifer P Heckman
    Abstract This study examines the types of religious/spiritual coping used by women trauma survivors with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Analyses based on data from 2 large racially diverse samples indicate that women from the study population rely considerably more on positive, than negative, religious coping, and that their reliance on religious coping, in general, is significantly higher than that of the general population. Numerous significant relationships were also found between the severity of trauma-related and mental health symptoms and more negative religious coping. This study further suggests that more frequent childhood abuse and childhood sexual violence are especially associated with negative religious coping in adulthood. Findings support the importance of spiritual coping for women trauma survivors with co-occurring disorders and suggest the value of increased attention to spirituality in behavioral health services, especially in assessment and therapeutic relationships.
    Publication The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research
    Volume 32
    Issue 2
    Pages 215-226
    Date 2005 Apr-Jun
    Journal Abbr J Behav Health Serv Res
    ISSN 1094-3412
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15834269
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:28:09 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15834269
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Battered Women
    • Behavioral Medicine
    • California
    • Data Collection
    • Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry)
    • District of Columbia
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Mental Disorders
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Survivors
    • Wounds and Injuries

    Notes:

    • This study examines the types of religious/spiritual coping used by women trauma survivors with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Findings support the importance of spiritual coping for women trauma survivors with co-occurring disorders and suggest the value of increased attention to spirituality in behavioral health services, especially in assessment and therapeutic relationships.

  • Mucosal Immunity Modulated by Integrative Meditation in a Dose-Dependent Fashion

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yaxin Fan
    Author Yi-Yuan Tang
    Author Yinghua Ma
    Author Michael I. Posner
    Abstract After four weeks of Integrative Body–Mind Training (IBMT), participants showed significantly increased salivary basal sIgA levels compared to participants trained for 4 weeks in relaxation. An additional IBMT practice session immediately after acute stress produced significantly higher sIgA release for the IBMT-trained group in comparison with controls at week 2 and 4.
    Publication The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 2
    Pages 151-155
    Date 02/2010
    Journal Abbr The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2009.0234
    ISSN 1075-5535
    URL http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2009.0234
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Establishing a ‘physician’s spiritual well-being scale’ and testing its reliability and validity.

    Type Journal Article
    Author C. K. Fang
    Author P. Y. Li
    Author M. L. Lai
    Author M. H. Lin
    Author D. T. Bridge
    Author H. W. Chen
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to develop a Physician’s Spiritual Well-Being Scale (PSpWBS). The significance of a physician’s spiritual well-being was explored through in-depth interviews with and qualitative data collection from focus groups. Based on the results of qualitative analysis and related literature, the PSpWBS consisting of 25 questions was established. Reliability and validity tests were performed on 177 subjects. Four domains of the PSpWBS were devised: physician’s characteristics; medical practice challenges; response to changes; and overall well-being. The explainable total variance was 65.65%. Cronbach α was 0.864 when the internal consistency of the whole scale was calculated. Factor analysis showed that the internal consistency Cronbach α value for each factor was between 0.625 and 0.794 and the split-half reliability was 0.865. The scale has satisfactory reliability and validity and could serve as the basis for assessment of the spiritual well-being of a physician. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Medical Ethics: Journal of the Insitute of Medical Ethics
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 6-12
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1136/jme.2010.037200
    ISSN 0306-6800
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • Physician’s Spiritual Well-Being Scale
    • Physicians
    • spirituality
    • Test Construction
    • test development
    • Test Reliability
    • Test Validity
    • well being
  • The relation between sexual behavior and religiosity subtypes: a test of the secularization hypothesis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melissa A Farmer
    Author Paul D Trapnell
    Author Cindy M Meston
    Abstract Previous literature on religion and sexual behavior has focused on narrow definitions of religiosity, including religious affiliation, religious participation, or forms of religiousness (e.g., intrinsic religiosity). Trends toward more permissive premarital sexual activity in the North American Christian-Judeo religion support the secularization hypothesis of religion, which posits an increasing gap between religious doctrine and behavior. However, the recent rise of fundamentalist and new age religious movements calls for a reexamination of the current link between religion and sexual behavior. The use of dual definitions of religiosity, including religious affiliation and dimensional subtypes, may further characterize this link. The present cross-sectional study evaluated patterns of sexual behavior in a young adult sample (N = 1302, M age = 18.77 years) in the context of the secularization hypothesis using religious affiliation and a liberal-conservative continuum of religious subtypes: paranormal belief, spirituality, intrinsic religiosity, and fundamentalism. Results indicated few affiliation differences in sexual behavior in men or women. Sexual behaviors were statistically predicted by spirituality, fundamentalism, and paranormal belief, and the endorsement of fundamentalism in particular was correlated with lower levels of female sexual behavior. The secularization hypothesis was supported by consistent levels of sexual activity across affiliations and is contradicted by the differential impact of religiosity subtypes on sexual behavior. Findings suggested that the use of religious subtypes to evaluate religious differences, rather than solely affiliation, may yield useful insights into the link between religion and sexual behavior.
    Publication Archives of Sexual Behavior
    Volume 38
    Issue 5
    Pages 852-865
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Arch Sex Behav
    DOI 10.1007/s10508-008-9407-0
    ISSN 1573-2800
    Short Title The relation between sexual behavior and religiosity subtypes
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18839301
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:50:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18839301
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • The role of the spiritual dimension of the self as the prime determinant of health

    Type Journal Article
    Author K Faull
    Author M D Hills
    Abstract PURPOSE: To present a clinical commentary on the relationship of spirituality to healthcare for those with chronic physical conditions. METHOD: A spiritually based theory of self-identity was presented, based on selected literature to identify the process of health attainment for those with chronic conditions. The resultant Health Change Process Theory was then discussed in relation to relevant empirical research and the implications for rehabilitation practice were outlined. RESULTS: The development of a resilient, intrinsic, spiritually based concept of self was found to be pivotal to health outcomes in rehabilitation. This was then incorporated within a Health Change Process Theory to explain and predict the course followed by people with chronic disorders to achieve health. CONCLUSION: The Health Change Process Theory provides an inclusive framework within which acute and chronic rehabilitation healthcare can be merged to maximise health outcomes. Nevertheless, a need remains to develop a quantitative measure of individual holistic health, based on this theory, to facilitate its use in rehabilitation practice. This paper forwards an explanation for the process that people experiencing chronic physical disabilities undergo as they achieve health. A concept of self that identifies the spiritual core as the component that determines the constancy and continuity of self as a whole which is necessary for health is presented as the basis of the rehabilitative health process.
    Publication Disability and Rehabilitation
    Volume 28
    Issue 11
    Pages 729-740
    Date Jun 15, 2006
    Journal Abbr Disabil Rehabil
    DOI 10.1080/09638280500265946
    ISSN 0963-8288
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16809216
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:38:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16809216
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Chronic Disease
    • Health
    • Humans
    • Self Concept
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To present a clinical commentary on the relationship of spirituality to healthcare for those with chronic physical conditions. Results: The development of a resilient, intrinsic, spiritually based concept of self was found to be pivotal to health outcomes in rehabilitation.

  • The QE Health Scale (QEHS): assessment of the clinical reliability and validity of a spiritually based holistic health measure

    Type Journal Article
    Author K Faull
    Author M D Hills
    Abstract PURPOSE: To assess the clinical reliability and validity of a holistic health measure, the QE Health Scale (QEHS), for use with people with physical disabilities. METHOD: A test-retest design saw the QEHS administered and compared with established measures of health at admission and discharge from three-week inpatient rehabilitation programmes. Data was analysed by factor and correlation analysis. Clinician-reported credibility and usefulness of the theoretical basis of the QEHS, the QEHS itself, and Patient Profiles derived from the QEHS were also used to evaluate clinical validity. RESULTS: The QEHS was judged to possess satisfactory reliability and validity. CONCLUSION: The QEHS is a clinically reliable, valid, credible and useful holistic health instrument to facilitate client-centred therapeutic interventions, inform decision-making and evaluate outcomes for people with physical disabilities.
    Publication Disability and Rehabilitation
    Volume 29
    Issue 9
    Pages 701-716
    Date May 15, 2007
    Journal Abbr Disabil Rehabil
    DOI 10.1080/09638280600926611
    ISSN 0963-8288
    Short Title The QE Health Scale (QEHS)
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17453992
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:38:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17453992
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Disability Evaluation
    • Disabled Persons
    • Female
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Patient Admission
    • Patient Discharge
    • Prospective Studies
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To assess the clinical reliability and validity of a holistic health measure, the QE Health Scale (QEHS), for use with people with physical disabilities. Results: The QEHS was judged to possess satisfactory reliability and validity.

  • Investigation of health perspectives of those with physical disabilities: the role of spirituality as a determinant of health

    Type Journal Article
    Author K Faull
    Author M D Hills
    Author G Cochrane
    Author J Gray
    Author M Hunt
    Author C McKenzie
    Author L Winter
    Abstract PURPOSE: To identify key determinants of health and the process of health attainment for people with musculoskeletal disabilities. METHOD: Focus groups of people with musculoskeletal disorders, including 30 members and their five trained facilitators, provided data. Discussed were 'What is health for you?' and 'What has helped, or would help you achieve this health?' Delphi-structured analysis identified health themes and a health process model was developed with the facilitators comprising the expert panel. RESULTS: Health was perceived as centred on relationships that required a spiritual awareness for a strong and resilient identity. The Self Attributes Model developed portrays the processes perceived to be required for health. CONCLUSIONS: Although physical, social and psychological interventions are essential aspects of health intervention, by themselves they are not sufficient. Also required for health is a strong resilient self resulting from interaction and connection with other people and the natural world. Moreover, development of such an identity requires a spiritual world-view comprising an acknowledgement of the essence of self and focus upon the nature of the connection of this essence with all other aspects of life. Further research is required to advance understanding of the process by which this occurs for people with chronic disorders.
    Publication Disability and Rehabilitation
    Volume 26
    Issue 3
    Pages 129-144
    Date Feb 4, 2004
    Journal Abbr Disabil Rehabil
    DOI 10.1080/09595230020029365
    ISSN 0963-8288
    Short Title Investigation of health perspectives of those with physical disabilities
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14754624
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:44:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14754624
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Delphi Technique
    • Disabled Persons
    • Female
    • Focus Groups
    • Friends
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • spirituality
    • Wit and Humor as Topic

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To identify key determinants of health and the process of health attainment for people with musculoskeletal disabilities. Results: Health was perceived as centred on relationships that required a spiritual awareness for a strong and resilient identity.

  • Self-reparation in religious experience and countertransference

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin Fauteux
    Abstract This work examines the regressive nature of religious experience and suggests that some people's experience repairs the underlying wounds that in part motivated the regression while others remained fixated in the blissful absence of those wounds. It also investigates what takes place in those experiences that become reparative as opposed to what might happen in those that lead to permanent escape. Finally it examines how the author's clinical intervention-including the pertinent countertransference issues-affected the potential of three people's religious experiences to be reparative/transformative or escapist.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 45-57
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.45
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:21:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364258
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Buddhism
    • Christianity
    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Defense Mechanisms
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Regression (Psychology)
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Care
    • spirituality
    • Transference (Psychology)
  • Self-reparation in religious experience and countertransference

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin Fauteux
    Abstract This work examines the regressive nature of religious experience and suggests that some people's experience repairs the underlying wounds that in part motivated the regression while others remained fixated in the blissful absence of those wounds. It also investigates what takes place in those experiences that become reparative as opposed to what might happen in those that lead to permanent escape. Finally it examines how the author's clinical intervention-including the pertinent countertransference issues-affected the potential of three people's religious experiences to be reparative/transformative or escapist.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 45-57
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.45
    ISSN 1546-0371
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19364258
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:08:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364258
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Buddhism
    • Christianity
    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Defense Mechanisms
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Regression (Psychology)
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Care
    • spirituality
    • Transference (Psychology)

    Notes:

    • This work examines the regressive nature of religious experience and suggests that some people’s experience repairs the underlying wounds that in part motivated the regression while others remained fixated in the blissful absence of those wounds. It also investigates what takes place in those experiences that become reparative as opposed to what might happen in those that lead to permanent escape. Finally it examines how the author’s clinical intervention-including the pertinent countertransference issues-affected the potential of three people’s religious experiences to be reparative/transformative or escapist.

  • Beyond Unity: Religious Experience, Creativity, and Psychology

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin Fauteux
    Publication Journal of Aesthetic Education
    Volume 29
    Issue 2
    Pages 93-101
    Date Summer, 1995
    ISSN 00218510
    Short Title Beyond Unity
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3333457
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:49:47 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Summer, 1995 / Copyright © 1995 University of Illinois Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • The Scale Properties of the Adolescent Form of the Francis Psychological Type Scales (FPTSA) Among Canadian Baptist Youth

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bruce Fawcett
    Author Leslie Francis
    Author Mandy Robbins
    Abstract sample of 755 religiously committed young people between the ages of 12 and 18 attending Tidal Impact (a weeklong youth mission and service event sponsored by the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches in Eastern Canada) completed a trial 80-item form of the Francis Psychological Type Scales designed for use among adolescents. These data were employed to refine four ten-item forced-choice scales to distinguish between preferences for the two orientations (extraversion and introversion), the two perceiving processes (sensing and intuition), the two judging processes (thinking and feeling) and the two attitudes (judging and perceiving). The scale properties of the new instrument commend the 40-item Adolescent form of the Francis Psychological Type Scales (FPTSA) for future use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 60
    Issue 2
    Pages 201-216
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-010-0324-5
    ISSN 00312789
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM

    Tags:

    • adolescence
    • BAPTISTS
    • Canada
    • EXTRAVERSION -- Testing
    • INTROVERSION
    • Intuition
    • YOUTH -- Psychology
  • Love the Lord With All Your Mind': Explorations on a Possible Neurobiology of the Experience of God and Some Implications for the Practice of Psychotherapy.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carlos Fayard
    Author Melissa J. Pereau
    Author Antonia Ciovica
    Abstract A central suggestion of this article is that humans are designed to relate to God. The coordinated activation and deactivation of diverse brain systems provide the matrix for a neurobiology of the experience of God. A review of the literature in neurobiology, developmental and cognitive psychology is organized and guided by a Christian perspective on spirituality. The experience of spiritual thirst is hypothesized to relate to the neurobiology of the Seeking System. The relational aspect of the experience of God is assumed to be organized by the Attachment System. Finally, the Theory-of-Mind system is postulated to inform who humans believe God to be like. Clinical examples are provided to illustrate potential applications of this model to a spiritually informed psychotherapeutic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Psychology & Christianity
    Volume 28
    Issue 2
    Pages 167-181
    Date Summer2009 2009
    ISSN 07334273
    Short Title Love the Lord With All Your Mind'
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • CHRISTIANS -- Psychology
    • COGNITIVE psychology
    • DEVELOPMENTAL psychology
    • Neurobiology
    • PSYCHOLOGY & religion
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Religious
    • Psychotherapy
  • Six pillars of energy medicine: clinical strengths of a complementary paradigm

    Type Journal Article
    Author David Feinstein
    Author Donna Eden
    Abstract The current status of energy medicine and its increasing challenge to the biochemical paradigm that has dominated conventional medicine are reviewed. Although energy medicine represents only a small fraction of 1% of the $2.2 trillion healthcare industry, 6 properties of energy medicine give it strengths that could augment conventional health care models. These include the ways energy medicine (1) can address biological processes at their energetic foundations (reach), (2) regulates biological processes with precision, speed, and flexibility (efficiency), (3) fosters health and prevents illness with interventions that can be readily, economically, and noninvasively applied (practicality), (4) includes methods that can be used on an at-home, self-help basis, fostering a stronger patient-practitioner partnership in the healing process (patient empowerment), (5) adopts non-linear concepts consistent with distant healing, the healing impact of prayer, and the role of intention in healing (quantum compatibility), and (6) strengthens the integration of body, mind, and spirit, leading not only to a focus on healing, but to achieving greater well-being, peace, and passion for life (holistic orientation).
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 44-54
    Date 2008 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    Short Title Six pillars of energy medicine
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18251321
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:41:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18251321
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Complementary Therapies
    • Energy Metabolism
    • Faith Healing
    • Holistic Health
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Neoplasms
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The current status of energy medicine and its increasing challenge to the biochemical paradigm that has dominated conventional medicine are reviewed. Although energy medicine represents only a small fraction of 1% of the $2.2 trillion healthcare industry, 6 properties of energy medicine give it strengths that could augment conventional health care models.

  • Burden of cardiovascular risk factors, subclinical atherosclerosis, and incident cardiovascular events across dimensions of religiosity: The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Matthew Feinstein
    Author Kiang Liu
    Author Hongyan Ning
    Author George Fitchett
    Author Donald M Lloyd-Jones
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Religious involvement has been associated with improved health practices and outcomes; however, no ethnically diverse community-based study has examined differences in cardiac risk factors, subclinical cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events across levels of religiosity. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 5474 white, black, Hispanic, and Chinese participants who attended examination 2 of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). We compared cross-sectional differences in cardiac risk factors and subclinical CVD and longitudinal CVD event rates across self-reported levels of religious participation, prayer/meditation, and spirituality. Multivariable-adjusted regression models were fitted to assess associations of measures of religiosity with risk factors, subclinical CVD, and CVD events. MESA participants (52.4% female; mean age, 63) with greater levels of religious participation were more likely to be female and black. After adjustment for demographic covariates, participants who attended services daily, compared with never, were significantly more likely to be obese (adjusted odds ratio 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12 to 1.72) but less likely to smoke (adjusted odds ratio 0.39, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.58). Results were similar for those with frequent prayer/meditation or high levels of spirituality. There were no consistent patterns of association observed between measures of religiosity and presence/extent of subclinical CVD at baseline or incident CVD events during longitudinal follow-up in the course of 4 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not confirm those of previous studies associating greater religiosity with overall better health risks and status, at least with regard to CVD. There was no reduction in risk for CVD events associated with greater religiosity.
    Publication Circulation
    Volume 121
    Issue 5
    Pages 659-666
    Date Feb 9, 2010
    Journal Abbr Circulation
    DOI 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.879973
    ISSN 1524-4539
    Short Title Burden of cardiovascular risk factors, subclinical atherosclerosis, and incident cardiovascular events across dimensions of religiosity
    Accessed Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:14:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20100975
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • Religious involvement has been associated with improved health practices and outcomes; however, no ethnically diverse community-based study has examined differences in cardiac risk factors, subclinical cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events across levels of religiosity.The study included 5474 white, black, Hispanic, and Chinese participants who attended examination 2 of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). We compared cross-sectional differences in cardiac risk factors and subclinical CVD and longitudinal CVD event rates across self-reported levels of religious participation, prayer/meditation, and spirituality. Multivariable-adjusted regression models were fitted to assess associations of measures of religiosity with risk factors, subclinical CVD, and CVD events. MESA participants (52.4% female; mean age, 63) with greater levels of religious participation were more likely to be female and black. After adjustment for demographic covariates, participants who attended services daily, compared with never, were significantly more likely to be obese (adjusted odds ratio 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12 to 1.72) but less likely to smoke (adjusted odds ratio 0.39, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.58). Results were similar for those with frequent prayer/meditation or high levels of spirituality. There were no consistent patterns of association observed between measures of religiosity and presence/extent of subclinical CVD at baseline or incident CVD events during longitudinal follow-up in the course of 4 years. The results do not confirm those of previous studies associating greater religiosity with overall better health risks and status, at least with regard to CVD. There was no reduction in risk for CVD events associated with greater religiosity.

  • Differential effects of mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and loving-kindness meditation on decentering and negative reactions to repetitive thoughts

    Type Journal Article
    Author Greg Feldman
    Author Jeff Greeson
    Author Joanna Senville
    Abstract Decentering has been proposed as a potential mechanism of mindfulness-based interventions but has received limited empirical examination to date in experimental studies comparing mindfulness meditation to active comparison conditions. In the present study, we compared the immediate effects of mindful breathing (MB) to two alternative stress-management techniques: progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and loving-kindness meditation (LKM) to test whether decentering is unique to mindfulness meditation or common across approaches. Novice meditators (190 female undergraduates) were randomly assigned to complete one of three 15-min stress-management exercises (MB, PMR, or LKM) presented by audio recording. Immediately after the exercise, participants completed measures of decentering, frequency of repetitive thoughts during the exercise, and degree of negative reaction to thoughts. As predicted, participants in the MB condition reported greater decentering relative to the other two conditions. The association between frequency of repetitive thought and negative reactions to thoughts was relatively weaker in the MB condition than in the PMR and LKM conditions, in which these two variables were strongly and positively correlated. Consistent with the construct of decentering, the relative independence between these two variables in the MB condition suggests that mindful breathing may help to reduce reactivity to repetitive thoughts. Taken together, results help to provide further evidence of decentering as a potential mechanism that distinguishes mindfulness practice from other credible stress-management approaches.
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 48
    Issue 10
    Pages 1002-1011
    Date October 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2010.06.006
    ISSN 0005-7967
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V5W-50CDSPH-1/2/e9fa6aba93e9ae5da67b8b4feb6f94b7
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:24:04 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Decentering
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Relaxation
    • Repetitive thought
    • stress management
  • Mindfulness as a moderator of neuroticism-outcome relations: A self-regulation perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author Roger Feltman
    Author Michael D. Robinson
    Author Scott Ode
    Abstract Neuroticism's prediction of negative emotional outcomes has been linked to negative reactivity tendencies. Dispositional mindfulness, defined in terms of being attentive and aware (versus not) of present-moment reality, appears to mitigate negative reactivity tendencies. The present two studies, involving 289 undergraduate participants, sought to integrate these two personality-processing perspectives. Neuroticism was an inverse predictor of mindfulness and both neuroticism and mindfulness independently predicted trait anger (Study 1) and depressive symptoms (Study 2). Of more importance, neuroticism-outcome relations were stronger (weaker) among individuals low (high) in mindfulness. The results document the role that dispositional mindfulness appears to play in moderating neuroticism's pernicious correlates. Results are discussed from personality, cognitive, emotional, social, and clinical perspectives.
    Publication Journal of Research in Personality
    Volume 43
    Issue 6
    Pages 953-961
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.jrp.2009.08.009
    ISSN 0092-6566
    Short Title Mindfulness as a moderator of neuroticism-outcome relations
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WM0-4X4Y22P-1/2/6c5518e8f7062e230d53b9523f10b72c
    Accessed Wednesday, December 30, 2009 11:43:43 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Anger
    • Attention
    • depression
    • Mindfulness
    • Neuroticism
    • Self-regulation
  • End-of-life experiences: reaching out for compassion, communication, and connection-meaning of deathbed visions and coincidences

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Fenwick
    Author Sue Brayne
    Abstract A recent study shows that the greatest fear for many Britons is to die alone. More than half the complaints received by the UK National Health Service (NHS) concern end-of-life care, with an emphasis on spiritual matters. Much has been written on the spiritual needs of the dying, but many doctors and nurses still find this a difficult area to approach. They lack the confidence and/or training to recognize or discuss spiritual aspects of death and dying or to affirm the spiritual needs of the dying person. Our end-of-life experience (ELE) research suggests that deathbed visions (DVs) and deathbed coincidences (DCs) are not uncommon, and that the dying process appears to involve an instinctive need for spiritual connection and meaning, requiring compassionate understanding and respect from those who provide end-of-life care.
    Publication The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care
    Volume 28
    Issue 1
    Pages 7-15
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Am J Hosp Palliat Care
    DOI 10.1177/1049909110374301
    ISSN 1938-2715
    Short Title End-of-life experiences
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:21:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20801918
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

    Tags:

    • End of life experiences
  • Measuring mindfulness and examining its relationship with alcohol use and negative consequences

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anne C Fernandez
    Author Mark D Wood
    Author L A R Stein
    Author Joseph S Rossi
    Abstract Mindfulness has been proposed as a useful adjunct to alcohol abuse treatment. However, very little research has examined the basic relationship between alcohol use and mindfulness. Inconsistency in definition and measurement of mindfulness across studies makes such research difficult to interpret and conduct. Therefore, the current research sought to validate an emerging mindfulness measure, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and examine its relationship with alcohol use and alcohol-related negative consequences among a sample of 316 college-aged adults. The purported factor structure of the FFMQ was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling was used to examine relations among mindfulness, alcohol use, and alcohol-related negative consequences. Consistent with past research, results supported the five-factor structure of the FFMQ. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that two awareness-based factors of mindfulness were negatively related to alcohol use. After controlling for alcohol use, one acceptance-based factor (nonjudging of thoughts and feelings) was negatively related to alcohol-related consequences, and one awareness-based factor was positively related to consequences (all ps < .05). Effect sizes were small-medium. The results reported here inform the burgeoning development of mindfulness-based addiction treatment and provide additional psychometric validation of the FFMQ.
    Publication Psychology of Addictive Behaviors: Journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors
    Volume 24
    Issue 4
    Pages 608-616
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychol Addict Behav
    DOI 10.1037/a0021742
    ISSN 1939-1501
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:38:46 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21198223
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • Alcohol Abuse
    • Mindfulness
  • Firm Believers? Religion, Body Weight, and Well-Being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth F. Ferraro
    Abstract Most religions have proscriptions or prescriptions regarding the consumption of food; yet little attention has been given to the relationship between religion and body weight. This paper explores two major questions: (1) Is religion related to body weight, especially the prevalence of obesity? (2) Does religion intensify, mitigate, or counterbalance the effects of body weight on well-being? Two data sources are used in this exploratory study. First, state-level ecological data on religion and body weight show that body weight is somewhat higher in states with a higher proportion of church and temple members. Second, a national sample of adults surveyed in 1986 is used for the bulk of the analysis (N=3,497). Three dimensions of religiosity (practice, identity, and comfort) and three measures of body weight (underweight, overweight, and overall body mass) are examined. Religious practice is associated with all measures of well-being and generally acts to counterbalance the negative effect of body weight on well-being. Obese persons are more likely to be depressed and have lower levels of health satisfaction despite their higher levels of religious practice.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 224-244
    Date Mar., 1998
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Firm Believers?
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3512590
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:08:55 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1998 / Copyright © 1998 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Most religions have proscriptions or prescriptions regarding the consumption of food; yet little attention has been given to the relationship between religion and body weight. This paper explores two major questions: (1) Is religion related to body weight, especially the prevalence of obesity? (2) Does religion intensify, mitigate, or counterbalance the effects of body weight on well-being?

  • Does Religion Influence Adult Health?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth F. Ferraro
    Author Cynthia M. Albrecht-Jensen
    Abstract The effect of religion on health status was examined with a national sample of noninstitutionalized adults. Particular attention was given to assessing the effects of religious affiliation and religiosity -- especially practice -- on subjective health status. Respondents of all ages with a more conservative religious affiliation manifested poorer health than did those with a more liberal affiliation. However, higher levels of religious practice were positively associated with better health, regardless of age. The results show that religion may have both positive and negative effects on health, although in this research the positive effect was stronger.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 30
    Issue 2
    Pages 193-202
    Date Jun., 1991
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1387213
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:01:05 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1991 / Copyright © 1991 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The effect of religion on health status was examined with a national sample of noninstitutionalized adults. Particular attention was given to assessing the effects of religious affiliation and religiosity -- especially practice -- on subjective health status. Respondents of all ages with a more conservative religious affiliation manifested poorer health than did those with a more liberal affiliation. However, higher levels of religious practice were positively associated with better health, regardless of age. The results show that religion may have both positive and negative effects on health, although in this research the positive effect was stronger.

  • Religious Seeking among Affiliates and Non-Affiliates: Do Mental and Physical Health Problems Spur Religious Coping?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth F. Ferraro
    Author Jessica A. Kelley-Moore
    Abstract Research on people who identify themselves as having no religious preference, often referred to as "nones" or non-affiliates, indicates that many used to belong to a religious group or still have some level of religiosity. The purpose of this research is to determine if there are differences between religious affiliates and non-affiliates in whether physical or mental health problems spur religious seeking. Data from a national longitudinal survey, Americans' Changing Lives, Waves I and II, were used to examine whether physical and mental health problems precipitate religious consolation and attendance at religious services. While non-affiliates were generally less likely than affiliates to seek religious consolation, those with a stronger religious identity increased their religious seeking over time. Non-affiliates who more frequently attended religious services also increased their rate of attendance during the study. The findings provide little evidence, however, that physical or mental health factors increase religious consolation and attendance. Affiliates who had been diagnosed with cancer in the previous 12 months or had multiple chronic conditions were actually less likely to attend religious services.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 42
    Issue 3
    Pages 229-251
    Date March 2001
    DOI 10.2307/3512568
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Religious Seeking among Affiliates and Non-Affiliates
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/3512568
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:46:02 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 2001 / Copyright © 2001 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this research is to determine if there are differences between religious affiliates and non-affiliates in whether physical or mental health problems spur religious seeking. Data from a national longitudinal survey, Americans’ Changing Lives, Waves I and II, were used to examine whether physical and mental health problems precipitate religious consolation and attendance at religious services. While non-affiliates were generally less likely than affiliates to seek religious consolation, those with a stronger religious identity increased their religious seeking over time. The findings provide little evidence, however, that physical or mental health factors increase religious consolation and attendance.

  • Religious Consolation among Men and Women: Do Health Problems Spur Seeking?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth F. Ferraro
    Author Jessica A. Kelley-Moore
    Abstract While most religions provide a meaning system that helps people cope with personal problems, there has been relatively little research on how and why men and women seek religious consolation and comfort. Data from a national longitudinal survey, "Americans' Changing Lives, Waves I and II", were used to examine whether physical and mental health problems precipitate seeking religious consolation. The findings indicate that seeking religious consolation is most likely among those who identify with and practice a religion suggesting that religious consolation intensifies among religious persons. Chronic (non-serious) conditions were associated with increased religious seeking over time, and cancer was associated with higher religious seeking, especially among women. Depression was associated with greater seeking of religious consolation among both men and women. The results reveal clearly that women are more likely than men to seek religious consolation, but men seek religious consolation for a wider range of health and situational problems (e.g., unemployment). The findings also demonstrate the importance of considering the role of religious consolation in studies of religion and health.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 39
    Issue 2
    Pages 220-234
    Date Jun., 2000
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Religious Consolation among Men and Women
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1387504
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:04:29 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 2000 / Copyright © 2000 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Data from a national longitudinal survey, “Americans’ Changing Lives, Waves I and II”, were used to examine whether physical and mental health problems precipitate seeking religious consolation. The findings indicate that seeking religious consolation is most likely among those who identify with and practice a religion suggesting that religious consolation intensifies among religious persons. The results reveal clearly that women are more likely than men to seek religious consolation, but men seek religious consolation for a wider range of health and situational problems (e.g., unemployment).

  • Tai chi/yoga effects on anxiety, heartrate, EEG and math computations

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tiffany Field
    Author Miguel Diego
    Author Maria Hernandez-Reif
    Abstract Objective To determine the immediate effects of a combined form of Tai chi/yoga.Design 38 adults participated in a 20-min Tai chi/yoga class. The session was comprised of standing Tai chi movements, balancing poses and a short Tai chi form and 10 min of standing, sitting and lying down yoga poses.Main outcome measures The pre- and post- Tai chi/yoga effects were assessed using the State Anxiety Inventory (STAI), EKG, EEG and math computations.Results Heartrate increased during the session, as would be expected for this moderate-intensity exercise. Changes from pre to post-session assessments suggested increased relaxation including decreased anxiety and a trend for increased EEG theta activity.Conclusions The increased relaxation may have contributed to the increased speed and accuracy noted on math computations following the Tai chi/yoga class.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 4
    Pages 235-238
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.05.014
    ISSN 1744-3881
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7MFN-50DNM33-1/2/a3d4930f668b4bd4997f4f7b90acca2c
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:35:16 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • EEG
    • Heartrate
    • Tai chi
    • yoga
  • Religious Typologies and Health Risk Behaviors of African American College Students.

    Type Journal Article
    Author John E. Fife
    Author Harlan R. Sayles
    Author Adekunle A. Adegoke
    Author Jamal McCoy
    Author Mikeya Stovall
    Author Claudia Verdant
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether meaningful sets of individuals, similar to each other across multiple dimensions of spirituality, could be identified using a cluster analysis technique, and to determine if these classifications differed on health risk behaviors. Risky behaviors were assessed by measuring alcohol use, risky sexual behaviors, depression and suicidal ideation, dietary behaviors, and physical activity. The authors identified six clusters of adolescents from among the 510 participants. There were significant differences between clusters on six of the variables examined. The study indicates the significance of using multidimensional measures of religiosity and spirituality in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication North American Journal of Psychology
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 313-330
    Date June 2011
    ISSN 15277143
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM

    Tags:

    • BEHAVIORAL assessment
    • DRINKING of alcoholic beverages
    • Religiousness
    • sex
    • spirituality
    • suicidal behavior
    • TEENAGERS -- Research
  • Religious commitment, social support and life satisfaction among college students

    Type Journal Article
    Author John Fife
    Author Adekunle Adegoke
    Author Jamal Mccoy
    Author Tashia Brewer
    Abstract This study examined the relationship between life satisfaction, religious commitment and social support among African American and Caucasian American college students. The students were administered the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Salience of Religious Commitment scale. The Social Support survey was used to assess several domains of social support including emotional/informational support, tangible support, affectionate support and positive social interaction. Results revealed a significant relationship between life satisfaction and social support for both African American and Caucasian American but no significant relationship between religious commitment and life satisfaction for either group. Hierarchical regression indicated that religious commitment and social support were significant predictors of life satisfaction, above and beyond race and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication College Student Journal
    Volume 45
    Issue 2
    Pages 393-400
    Date June 2011
    ISSN 01463934
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM

    Tags:

    • COLLEGE students -- Religious life
    • CONTENTMENT
    • Faith
    • INTERPERSONAL communication
    • religion
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • UNIVERSITIES & colleges
    • Well-Being
  • Family Rituals, Religious Involvement, and Drug Attitudes among Recovering Substance Abusers.

    Type Journal Article
    Author John E. Fife
    Author Micah McCreary
    Author Tashia Brewer
    Author Adekunle A. Adegoke
    Abstract This study aims to examine the relationship between family rituals, religious involvement, mental health, and drug attitudes among 141 African-American women recovering from substance abuse. Results indicate a significant negative relationship between religious attendance and substance abuse. A hierarchical regression analysis found that mental health problems and mental health problem severity together were significant predictors of substance use, and that church attendance with one's family (religious ritual) accounted for a significant portion of the variance for substance abuse, above and beyond the variance accounted for by mental health problems and drug attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication North American Journal of Psychology
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 87-98
    Date March 2011
    ISSN 15277143
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM

    Tags:

    • AFRICAN American women
    • FAMILIES -- Religious aspects
    • HUMAN behavior
    • mental health
    • SOCIAL psychology
    • WOMEN -- Substance use
  • Well-being in a deeply religious society in the shadows of war: results of a household survey of Kuwaitis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Charles R Figley
    Author Paula L Chapman
    Author Hadi Ashkanani
    Author Fahad Al Naser
    Author Elizabeth A Donnelly
    Abstract The present study was designed to determine the current level and distribution of well-being among Kuwaiti citizens who have lived either in the middle or in the shadows of war since Kuwait was invaded by Iraq in August 1990. A measure of Kuwaiti well-being, the Kuwaiti Raha Scale, was developed and utilized as the primary indicator in the first National Household Survey (NHS) of well-being in Kuwait. The findings presented are part of an international program of research focusing on national trauma and mental health for which the Kuwaiti NHS was developed. From a population of 935,922 (2004), 830 households were randomly drawn, from which 487 were approached and 416 successfully recruited and surveyed. In contrast to prevailing views in the literature, level of well-being (Raha) was not associated with either educational attainment or wealth. Rather, the results indicate that well-being is more associated with health and religion. Implications of these findings for a new theory of well-being in a deeply religious society are offered along with suggestions for a program of research. The policy implications of the NHS are also discussed.
    Publication The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
    Volume 80
    Issue 4
    Pages 593-600
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr Am J Orthopsychiatry
    DOI 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01064.x
    ISSN 1939-0025
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20950300
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 2:58:21 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
  • Stress Consequences: Mental, Neuropsychological and Socioeconomic

    Type Book
    Author George Fink
    Publisher Academic Press
    Date 2009-10-12
    ISBN 0123751748
    Short Title Stress Consequences
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Baseline predictors of ninety percent or higher antiretroviral therapy adherence in a diverse urban sample: the role of patient autonomy and fatalistic religious beliefs

    Type Journal Article
    Author S Finocchario-Kessler
    Author D Catley
    Author J Berkley-Patton
    Author M Gerkovich
    Author K Williams
    Author J Banderas
    Author K Goggin
    Abstract The role of patient autonomy and influence of religious/spiritual beliefs on antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence is to date not fully understood. This study assessed baseline predictors of high ART adherence (≥90%) measured by electronic drug monitors (EDM) at 12 and 24 weeks after enrollment in a randomized controlled trial testing behavioral interventions to improve ART adherence. Baseline data were collected with audio computer-assisted self interviews (ACASI) surveys among a diverse urban sample of HIV-infected participants (n = 204) recruited from community clinics in a large midwestern city. Baseline variables included a range of established ART adherence predictors as well as several less frequently studied variables related to patient autonomy and religious/spiritual beliefs. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) variables identified in univariate analyses were included in subsequent multivariate analyses predicting higher than 90% adherence at 12 and 24 weeks. Several baseline predictors retained statistical significance in multivariate analysis at 24 weeks. Baseline levels of autonomous support from friends and family, motivation to adhere, and having an active coping style were all positively associated with adherence, while the belief that God is in control of one's health was negatively associated with adherence. Results indicate that effective interventions should include a focus on promoting patients' autonomous regulation and religious/spiritual beliefs regarding ART adherence.
    Publication AIDS Patient Care and STDs
    Volume 25
    Issue 2
    Pages 103-111
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr AIDS Patient Care STDS
    DOI 10.1089/apc.2010.0319
    ISSN 1557-7449
    Short Title Baseline predictors of ninety percent or higher antiretroviral therapy adherence in a diverse urban sample
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:21:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21235403
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM

    Tags:

    • Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence
    • Fatalism

    Notes:

    • This study assessed baseline predictors of high antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence (≥90%) measured by electronic drug monitors (EDM) at 12 and 24 weeks after enrollment in a randomized controlled trial testing behavioral interventions to improve ART adherence.  The object was to better understand the role of influence of religious/spiritual beliefs on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Results indicate that effective interventions should include a focus on promoting patients' autonomous regulation and religious/spiritual beliefs regarding ART adherence.

  • Spiritual turning points and perceived control over the life course

    Type Journal Article
    Author Katherine L Fiori
    Author Judith C Hays
    Author Keith G Meador
    Abstract Recent evidence indicates that spirituality and religion are associated with both physical and psychological health. Because a belief that rewards are largely determined by external forces tends to be detrimental to mental health, the idea that God can be equated with such an external force seems contradictory to the proven benefits of religion and spirituality. The purpose of this article is to examine changes in perceived control in the context of spiritual turning points as uncovered in the narrative histories of 30 elderly people. We propose that for many people who derive benefits from religion or spirituality, God may act as a mediator, in the sense that trusting in God provides personal control. In addition to creating a model of God-mediated control, the study's findings suggest a relationship between recall for type of control during a spiritual turning point and the interpretation of that turning point in late life.
    Publication International Journal of Aging & Human Development
    Volume 59
    Issue 4
    Pages 391-420
    Date 2004
    Journal Abbr Int J Aging Hum Dev
    ISSN 0091-4150
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15612200
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:16:29 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15612200
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Female
    • Geriatric Assessment
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this article is to examine changes in perceived control in the context of spiritual turning points as uncovered in the narrative histories of 30 elderly people. We propose that for many people who derive benefits from religion or spirituality, God may act as a mediator, in the sense that trusting in God provides personal control.

  • The Relationship Between Religious Identity and Preferred Coping Strategies: An Examination of the Relative Importance of Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Coping in Muslim and Christian Faiths

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Fischer
    Author Amy L. Ai
    Author Nilüfer Aydin
    Author Dieter Frey
    Author S. Alexander Haslam
    Abstract Religious affiliation has consistently been shown to help individuals cope with adversity and stressful events. The present paper argues that this proposition is valid for both Christians and Muslims, but that these religious identities foster different types of coping. In accordance with historical, cultural, and psychological accounts, it is proposed that the Christian core self is relatively individualistic, whereas the Muslim core self is oriented more toward the collective. As a consequence, it is hypothesized that when confronted with a stressful life event, Muslims are more likely to adopt interpersonal (collective) coping strategies (such as seeking social support or turning to family members), while Christians are more likely to engage intrapersonal (individualistic) coping mechanisms, such as cognitive restructuring or reframing the event. Evidence from the literature on coping strategies is reviewed and systematized. Evidence lend support to the analysis by indicating that Muslims indeed tend to use an interpersonally oriented (collective) coping style when dealing with adversity, whereas Christians are more likely to employ intrapersonally oriented (individualistic) strategies when facing comparable scenarios. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
    Publication Review of General Psychology
    Volume 14
    Issue 4
    Pages 365-381
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0021624
    ISSN 1089-2680
    Short Title The Relationship Between Religious Identity and Preferred Coping Strategies
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WYJ-51RY8F0-8/2/65e80806491ae6213c0b725bddf454b6
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:12:37 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM

    Tags:

    • collectivism
    • Coping
    • Individualism
    • religion
    • Social Identity
  • Daily spiritual experiences, systolic blood pressure, and hypertension among midlife women in SWAN

    Type Journal Article
    Author George Fitchett
    Author Lynda H Powell
    Abstract Background There is reasonable evidence that religious beliefs and activities are associated with lower blood pressure and less hypertension. It is not known if daily spiritual experiences have similar effects. Purpose We examined the relationship between an eight-item version of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and hypertension. Methods With data from 1,060 Caucasian and 598 African-American midlife women participating in Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, in race-stratified models, we used regression equations, logistic regression, and mixed effects regression to estimate the relationship between DSES group and SBP and hypertensive status. Results We found little difference across DSES groups in adjusted mean SBP for either Caucasian or African-American women. Nor did DSES protect against 3-year increases in SBP, hypertensive status, or incident hypertension. Conclusions Daily spiritual experiences do not appear protective for SBP or hypertension in midlife women. Further research should examine factors that condition the religion–BP relationship.
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 37
    Issue 3
    Pages 257-267
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s12160-009-9110-y
    ISSN 1532-4796
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:41:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19662465
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Age Factors
    • Blood Pressure
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • European Continental Ancestry Group
    • Female
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Hypertension
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Statistical
    • spirituality
    • Women's Health

    Notes:

    • There is reasonable evidence that religious beliefs and activities are associated with lower blood pressure and less hypertension. It is not known if daily spiritual experiences have similar effects. The study examined the relationship between an eight-item version of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and hypertension. With data from 1,060 Caucasian and 598 African-American midlife women participating in Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, in race-stratified models, the authors used regression equations, logistic regression, and mixed effects regression to estimate the relationship between DSES group and SBP and hypertensive status. The authors found little difference across DSES groups in adjusted mean SBP for either Caucasian or African-American women. Nor did DSES protect against 3-year increases in SBP, hypertensive status, or incident hypertension. Daily spiritual experiences do not appear protective for SBP or hypertension in midlife women. Further research should examine factors that condition the religion–BP relationship.

  • Daily spiritual experiences, systolic blood pressure, and hypertension among midlife women in SWAN

    Type Journal Article
    Author George Fitchett
    Author Lynda H Powell
    Abstract BACKGROUND: There is reasonable evidence that religious beliefs and activities are associated with lower blood pressure and less hypertension. It is not known if daily spiritual experiences have similar effects. PURPOSE: We examined the relationship between an eight-item version of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and hypertension. METHODS: With data from 1,060 Caucasian and 598 African-American midlife women participating in Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, in race-stratified models, we used regression equations, logistic regression, and mixed effects regression to estimate the relationship between DSES group and SBP and hypertensive status. RESULTS: We found little difference across DSES groups in adjusted mean SBP for either Caucasian or African-American women. Nor did DSES protect against 3-year increases in SBP, hypertensive status, or incident hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Daily spiritual experiences do not appear protective for SBP or hypertension in midlife women. Further research should examine factors that condition the religion-BP relationship.
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 37
    Issue 3
    Pages 257-267
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s12160-009-9110-y
    ISSN 1532-4796
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19662465
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:07:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19662465
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Background: There is reasonable evidence that religious beliefs and activities are associated with lower blood pressure and less hypertension. It is not known if daily spiritual experiences have similar effects. Purpose: We examined the relationship between an eight-item version of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and hypertension. Methods: With data from 1,060 Caucasian and 598 African-American midlife women participating in Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, in race-stratified models, we used regression equations, logistic regression, and mixed effects regression to estimate the relationship between DSES group and SBP and hypertensive status. Results: We found little difference across DSES groups in adjusted mean SBP for either Caucasian or African-American women. Nor did DSES protect against 3-year increases in SBP, hypertensive status, or incident hypertension. Conclusions: Daily spiritual experiences do not appear protective for SBP or hypertension in midlife women. Further research should examine factors that condition the religion-BP relationship.

  • A qualitative analysis of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in Parkinson's disease

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lee Fitzpatrick
    Author Jane Simpson
    Author Alistair Smith
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: To analyse the experiences of participants with Parkinson's disease (PD), who participated in an 8-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) course. DESIGN AND METHOD: Interpretative phenomenological analysis guided the design and method used in this study. A total of twelve participants (seven men and five women) with PD were recruited prior to and following participation in an MBCT course and interviewed with a semi-structured interview schedule. One participant who opted out of the course was also interviewed. The researcher also participated in another MBCT course to enhance their understanding of the participants' experience, keeping a detailed diary as a means of acknowledging bias in the analysis process. Themes were summarized from transcripts and later classified into superordinate themes, which were compared across all cases. Transcripts were also read and analysed by a second author and participants were given the opportunity to comment upon emerging themes. RESULTS: Major themes included (1) changing patterns of coping; (2) the role of mindfulness in consolidating existing coping skills in the context of loss; (3) group support in the context of loss and society that stigmatizes difference; and (4) the dualism of experience between Parkinson's and mindful meditation. CONCLUSIONS: This study has indicated that MBCT could benefit people with PD and was an acceptable form of group intervention.
    Publication Psychology and Psychotherapy
    Volume 83
    Issue Pt 2
    Pages 179-192
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychol Psychother
    DOI 10.1348/147608309X471514
    ISSN 1476-0835
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:42:04 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19843353
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • The correlates of chaplains' effectiveness in meeting the spiritual/religious and emotional needs of patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin J Flannelly
    Author Margaret Oettinger
    Author Kathleen Galek
    Author Arnd Braun-Storck
    Author Ralph Kreger
    Abstract The study was designed to assess the degree to which two sets of measures about chaplains' visits with patients predicted patients' perceptions that their spiritual/religious needs and their emotional needs were met by the chaplain. The first set consisted of seven items about the chaplain's demeanor during the visit. The second set measured patient satisfaction with seven aspects of the chaplain's care, including specific interventions. Overall, the latter items were more highly correlated with, and were better predictors of patients' perceptions that the chaplain met both their spiritual/religious needs and their emotional needs than were the demeanor items. The findings indicate the usefulness of measuring the effectiveness of specific chaplain interventions. The authors discuss that effectiveness measures may be more useful that patient satisfaction measures for assessing pastoral care.
    Publication The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling: JPCC
    Volume 63
    Issue 1-2
    Pages 9-1-15
    Date 2009 Spring-Summer
    Journal Abbr J Pastoral Care Counsel
    ISSN 1542-3050
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:29:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20196357
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Clergy
    • Emotions
    • Female
    • Health Services Needs and Demand
    • Humans
    • Male
    • New York City
    • PATIENTS
    • Professional Role
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
  • Beliefs about God, psychiatric symptoms, and evolutionary psychiatry

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin J. Flannelly
    Author Kathleen Galek
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Harold G. Koenig
    Abstract The present study analyzed the association between specific beliefs about God and psychiatric symptoms among a representative sample of 1,306 U.S. adults. Three pairs of beliefs about God served as the independent variables: Close and Loving, Approving and Forgiving, and Creating and Judging. The dependent variables were measures of General Anxiety, Depression, Obsessive-Compulsion, Paranoid Ideation, Social Anxiety, and Somatization. As hypothesized, the strength of participants' belief in a Close and Loving God had a significant salutary association with overall psychiatric symptomology, and the strength of this association was significantly stronger than that of the other beliefs, which had little association with the psychiatric symptomology. The authors discuss the findings in the context of evolutionary psychiatry, and the relevance of Evolutionary Threat Assessment Systems Theory in research on religious beliefs.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 2
    Pages 246-261
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9244-z
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:39:13 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19326216
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • A Review of Mortality Research on Clergy and Other Religious Professionals

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin J. Flannelly
    Author Andrew J. Weaver
    Author David B. Larson
    Author Harold G. Koenig
    Abstract An exhaustive literature search was undertaken to find studies on mortality rates among clergy. A total of twelve studies, published between 1959 and 2000, were identified that examined mortality among American and European clergy. All but one of the reports found lower all-cause death rates for clergy compared to the people in general population of similar age. Protestant ministers consistently were found to have more than a 25% mortality advantage in various studies. Catholic nuns had a mortality advantage of roughly 20%–25%, whereas the mortality advantage of Catholic priests was just over 10%. Possible factors contributing to the lower death rates of clergy are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 41
    Issue 1
    Pages 57-68
    Date March 01, 2002
    DOI 10.1023/A:1015158122507
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1015158122507
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 10:49:19 PM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • An exhaustive literature search was undertaken to find studies on mortality rates among clergy. A total of twelve studies, published between 1959 and 2000, were identified that examined mortality among American and European clergy. Possible factors contributing to the lower death rates of clergy are discussed.

    Attachments

    • SpringerLink Full Text PDF
    • SpringerLink Snapshot
  • The Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity: A Study among Eastern Orthodox Christians.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sergej Flere
    Author Leslie Francis
    Author Mandy Robbins
    Abstract The Serbian translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity was developed and tested among a sample of 222 students attending Niš University who self-identified as Eastern Orthodox. The data supported the internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity of this instrument, and commended it for further use in contributing to comparative empirical research within the psychology of religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 60
    Issue 2
    Pages 217-222
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-010-0327-2
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title The Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM

    Tags:

    • ATTITUDE (Psychology)
    • COLLEGE students
    • empirical research
    • ORTHODOX Christianity
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Religious
    • Psychometrics
    • SERBIA
    • TRANSLATING & interpreting
  • Health care providers' perceptions of spirituality while caring for veterans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carol E Fletcher
    Abstract To determine health care providers' views on spirituality, its role in the health of patients, and barriers to discussing spiritual issues with patients, the author convened five focus groups at two Veterans Administration Medical Centers. Participants were nurses, physicians, social workers, psychologists, and chaplains. Common themes included (a) the lack of education for professionals regarding how to address patients' spiritual needs; and (b) systems-related issues, including communication systems that do not function well, how spiritual needs are addressed on admission, support or lack thereof by hospital administrators, and lack of support for the spiritual needs of staff. The aging and illnesses of many current veterans plus the escalated potential of war highlight the importance of addressing veterans' spiritual needs.
    Publication Qualitative Health Research
    Volume 14
    Issue 4
    Pages 546-561
    Date Apr 2004
    Journal Abbr Qual Health Res
    DOI 10.1177/1049732303262509
    ISSN 1049-7323
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15068579
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:49:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15068579
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Female
    • Holistic Health
    • Hospitals, Veterans
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Patient Care
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Veterans

    Notes:

    • The author convened five focus groups at two Veterans Administration Medical Centers. Participants were nurses, physicians, social workers, psychologists, and chaplains. The aging and illnesses of many current veterans plus the escalated potential of war highlight the importance of addressing veterans’ spiritual needs.

  • Gathering information on spirituality: from whose perspective?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kristine L. Florczak
    Abstract This column is concerned with research about spirituality. A cursory overview of the concept of spirituality will be presented followed by a discussion concerning the issues that arise when gathering information about the concept using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Finally, the use of the Parse research methodology will be offered as an alternative.
    Publication Nursing Science Quarterly
    Volume 23
    Issue 3
    Pages 201-205
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Nurs Sci Q
    DOI 10.1177/0894318410371836
    ISSN 1552-7409
    Short Title Gathering information on spirituality
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:50:47 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20558644
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • Measurement of quality of life and participant experience with the mindfulness-based stress reduction program

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathleen F. Flugel Colle
    Author Ann Vincent
    Author Stephen S. Cha
    Author Laura L. Loehrer
    Author Brent A. Bauer
    Author Dietlind L. Wahner-Roedler
    Abstract Clinical studies of MBSR have reported efficacy in treating pain, mood disorders, arthritis, sleep disturbances, and stress. Several academic medical institutions in the United States offer MBSR to their patients, but it has never been offered at Mayo Clinic. The objective of this study was to collect quality-of-life data from subjects who participated in the first MBSR program offered at Mayo Clinic. The class was taught as a collaborative effort with the University of Minnesota that had an established MBSR program. Sixteen participants completed a validated, 12-question, linear analogue self-assessment instrument, administered at the beginning and end of the program. Comparison of assessment scores using paired t-tests showed statistically significant improvement in overall quality of life (P = 0.04), mental well-being (P = 0.005), physical well-being (P < 0.001), emotional well-being (P < 0.001), level of social activity (P = .02), and spiritual well-being (P = 0.006). Although positive changes also were observed for frequency of pain, severity of pain, level of fatigue, level of support from friends and family, and financial and legal concerns, they were not statistically significant. A short intervention in the education of mindfulness significantly improved quality of life for participants.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 36-40
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2009.06.008
    ISSN 1744-3881
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:03:35 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Linear analogue self-assessment scale
    • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
    • Quality of Life
  • Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for individuals whose lives have been affected by cancer: a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth Foley
    Author Andrew Baillie
    Author Malcolm Huxter
    Author Melanie Price
    Author Emma Sinclair
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for individuals with a diagnosis of cancer. METHOD: Participants (N = 115) diagnosed with cancer, across site and stage, were randomly allocated to either the treatment or the wait-list condition. Treatment was conducted at 1 site, by a single therapist, and involved participation in 8 weekly 2-hr sessions that focused on mindfulness. Participants meditated for up to 1 hr daily and attended an additional full-day session during the course. Participants were assessed before treatment and 10 weeks later; this second assessment occurred immediately after completion of the program for the treatment condition. The treatment condition was also assessed at 3 months postintervention. All postinitial assessments were completed by assessors who were blind to treatment allocation. RESULTS: There were large and significant improvements in mindfulness (effect size [ES] = 0.55), depression (ES = 0.83), anxiety (ES = 0.59), and distress (ES = 0.53) as well as a trend for quality of life (ES = 0.30) for MBCT participants compared to those who had not received the training. The wait-list group was assessed before and after receiving the intervention and demonstrated similar change. CONCLUSIONS: These improvements represent clinically meaningful change and provide evidence for the provision of MBCT within oncology settings.
    Publication Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
    Volume 78
    Issue 1
    Pages 72-79
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr J Consult Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0017566
    ISSN 1939-2117
    Short Title Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for individuals whose lives have been affected by cancer
    Accessed Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:14:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20099952
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • This study evaluated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for individuals with a diagnosis of cancer.

  • Alternative Medicine: An Objective Assessment

    Type Book
    Author Phil B Fontanarosa
    Place Chicago, Ill
    Publisher American Medical Association
    Date 2000
    ISBN 1579470025
    Short Title Alternative Medicine
    Library Catalog library.bu.edu Library Catalog
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Tags:

    • Alternative medicine

    Notes:

    • With more than 650 science-based, peer-reviewed pages, this book offers balanced coverage on today's hottest topics in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Leading authors of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the Archives journals provide an authoritative assessment of a broad range of topics.  Topics include how CAM is used and understood, what constitutes CAM, and the evaluation of CAM.

  • Mindfulness meditation for women with chronic pelvic pain: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sarah D Fox
    Author Ellen Flynn
    Author Rebecca H Allen
    Abstract OBJECTIVE Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common condition that can be difficult to treat. Mindfulness meditation improves outcomes in patients with cancer pain, low back pain and migraine headaches. This study evaluates feasibility and efficacy of mindfulness for patients with CPP. STUDY DESIGN Women with CPP were enrolled in an 8-week mindfulness program. Pre-assessments and post-assessments included daily pain scores, the Short Form-36 Health Status Inventory, Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Score and the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology. RESULTS Twelve out of 22 enrolled subjects completed the program and had significant improvement in daily maximum pain scores (p = 0.02), physical function (p = 0.01), mental health (p = 0.01) and social function (p = 0.02). The mindfulness scores improved significantly in all measures (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION Data from this pilot study show the feasibility of mindfulness meditation in women with CPP. Initial pilot data suggest that quality of life and mindfulness outcomes may improve with mindfulness meditation and justify further investigation with a randomized, controlled trial.
    Publication The Journal of Reproductive Medicine
    Volume 56
    Issue 3-4
    Pages 158-162
    Date 2011 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr J Reprod Med
    ISSN 0024-7758
    Short Title Mindfulness meditation for women with chronic pelvic pain
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21542535
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:59:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21542535
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Chronic Disease
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain Measurement
    • Pelvic Pain
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common condition that can be difficult to treat. Mindfulness meditation improves outcomes in patients with cancer pain, low back pain and migraine headaches. This study evaluates feasibility and efficacy of mindfulness for patients with CPP. Women with CPP were enrolled in an 8-week mindfulness program. Pre-assessments and post-assessments included daily pain scores, the Short Form-36 Health Status Inventory, Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Score and the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology. Twelve out of 22 enrolled subjects completed the program and had significant improvement in daily maximum pain scores (p = 0.02), physical function (p = 0.01), mental health (p = 0.01) and social function (p = 0.02). The mindfulness scores improved significantly in all measures (p < 0.01).Data from this pilot study show the feasibility of mindfulness meditation in women with CPP. Initial pilot data suggest that quality of life and mindfulness outcomes may improve with mindfulness meditation and justify further investigation with a randomized, controlled trial.

  • Breast Cancer Screening Adherence: Does Church Attendance Matter?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sarah A. Fox
    Author Kathryn Pitkin
    Author Christopher Paul
    Author Sally Carson
    Author Naihua Duan
    Abstract Little is known about the health behaviors of church attendees. This article reviewed telephone interview data of 1,517 women who were church members from 45 churches located in Los Angeles County to determine their breast cancer screening status and to identify the key predictors of screening. Almost all of this sample (96%) reported attending church at least once a month. Key predictors of screening included physician-patient communication, ethnic background, and having medical insurance. Although church-related predictors were not significantly related to screening adherence, the authors compared community-based screening rates from another sample to their sample rates and found that, when controlling for income and education, church members fared better on mammography screening than women who were community residents. This finding suggests that frequent church attendance contributes to better mammography screening status and that the relationship between religious involvement and health behaviors needs further explanation.
    Publication Health Educ Behav
    Volume 25
    Issue 6
    Pages 742-758
    Date December 1, 1998
    DOI 10.1177/109019819802500605
    Short Title Breast Cancer Screening Adherence
    URL http://heb.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/25/6/742
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:09:00 PM
    Library Catalog Sage Journals Online
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article reviewed telephone interview data of 1,517 women who were church members from 45 churches located in Los Angeles County to determine their breast cancer screening status and to identify the key predictors of screening.

  • Personality and religious orientation: shifting sands or firm foundations?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Leslie J. Francis
    Abstract Beit-Hallahmi and Argyle concluded that individual differences in religiosity are inversely related to psychoticism but independent of extraversion and neuroticism. The aim of the present study is to test the generalizability of that conclusion within the context of Eysenck's dimensional model of personality by distinguishing between different conceptualizations of religiosity and by distinguishing between different overall levels of religiosity in the sample. A total of 517 undergraduate students in Wales completed the short-form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire together with the New Indices of Religious Orientation. The data demonstrated that in the sample as a whole, intrinsic religious orientation was associated with low psychoticism scores, but independent of extraversion scores and neuroticism scores; that extrinsic religious orientation was associated with low psychoticism scores and high neuroticism scores, but independent of extraversion scores; and that quest religious orientation was associated with high neuroticism scores and low extraversion scores, but independent of psychoticism scores. The pattern of relationships changed, however, when separate analyses were conducted among weekly churchgoers and among individuals who never attended church. These data suggest that the pattern of relationship between personality and religion may vary both according to the form of religiosity assessed and according to the samples being studied. The conclusion is drawn that Beit-Hallahmi and Argyle's conclusion is misleading unless nuanced in terms of the aspects of religiosity and the populations to which it applies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 793-803
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802187912
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • A review of faith-based HIV prevention programs

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shelley A Francis
    Author Joan Liverpool
    Abstract HIV disproportionately affects people of color, suggesting a need for innovative prevention programs and collaborations as part of prevention efforts. African Americans have close ties to the church and faith-based organizations. African American faith communities were slow to address HIV prevention, but in recent years, they have become more involved in such activities. This study reviews the empirical literature on faith-based HIV prevention programs among African American populations. Several successful faith-based/public health collaborations are identified, and the limitations and strengths of faith-based prevention programs are discussed. Recommendations are provided for developing effective faith-based/public health collaborations.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 1
    Pages 6-15
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9171-4
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:48:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19229620
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Substance-Related Disorders

    Notes:

    • <div class="abstractText"> <div class="Abstract" lang="en"><a name="Abs1"></a> This study reviews the empirical literature on faith-based HIV prevention programs among African American populations. Several successful faith-based/public health collaborations are identified, and the limitations and strengths of faith-based prevention programs are discussed. Recommendations are provided for developing effective faith-based/public health collaborations.</div> </div>

  • Reducing teachers' psychological distress through a mindfulness training program.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Clemente Franco
    Author Israel Mañas
    Author Adolfo J. Cangas
    Author Emilio Moreno
    Author Jose Gallego
    Abstract Teachers constitute one of the professional collectives most affected by psychological problems. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study is to examine the efficacy of a mindfulness training programme to reduce psychological distress in a group of teachers. The sample comprised 68 teachers of Secondary School Education, from various public schools; half of them formed the experimental group, and the another half the control group. The levels of psychological distress were measured, in both groups, by the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) before and after the application of the programme. Statistical analysis shows the significant reduction of three general measures of psychological distress (Global Severity Index, Positive Symptom Distress Index, and Positive Symptom Total), as well in all its dimensions (somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensibility, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism), in the experimental group compared with the control group. Follow-up measures show that these results were maintained for four months after termination of the intervention in the experimental group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication The Spanish Journal of Psychology
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 655-666
    Date November 2010
    ISSN 1138-7416
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • Distress
    • Mindfulness
    • mindfulness training program
    • Psychological Stress
    • reducing teachers psychological distress
    • teachers
    • training
  • Religion and Well-Being among Canadian University Students: The Role of Faith Groups on Campus

    Type Journal Article
    Author B. Gail Frankel
    Author W. E. Hewitt
    Abstract Social science research examining the relationship between religion and health has produced equivocal results, although evidence from more recent studies points toward a link between inward or intrinsic religion and both mental and physical well-being. This study offers a further examination of this emergent association by comparing the health status of two specific respondent groups drawn from a population of Canadian university students. The first consists of members of a range of campus Christian faith groups, and the second is a comparison or nonaffiliated group chosen from the student body at large. The results of the study reveal a positive relationship between faith group involvement and various aspects of health status, and thus support previous positive findings. At the same time, they reinforce the need for further research on the association between specific aspects of religiosity and well-being.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 33
    Issue 1
    Pages 62-73
    Date Mar., 1994
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Religion and Well-Being among Canadian University Students
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1386637
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 11:59:58 AM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1994 / Copyright © 1994 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Social science research examining the relationship between religion and health has produced equivocal results, although evidence from more recent studies points toward a link between inward or intrinsic religion and both mental and physical well-being. This study offers a further examination of this emergent association by comparing the health status of two specific respondent groups drawn from a population of Canadian university students.The results of the study reveal a positive relationship between faith group involvement and various aspects of health status, and thus support previous positive findings.

  • Neuro-ontological interpretation of spiritual experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ede Frecska
    Author Luis Eduardo Luna
    Abstract The prevailing neuroscientific paradigm considers information processing within the central nervous system as occurring through hierarchically organized and interconnected neural networks. The hierarchy of neural networks doesn't end at the neuroaxonal level; it incorporates subcellular mechanisms as well. When the size of the hierarchical components reaches the nanometer range and the number of elements exceeds that of the neuroaxonal system, an interface emerges for a possible transition between neurochemical and quantum physical events. "Signal nonlocality", accessed by means of quantum entanglement is an essential feature of the quantum physical domain. The presented interface may imply that some manifestations of altered states of consciousness, unconscious/conscious shifts have quantum origin with significant psychosomatic implications. Healing methods based on altered states of consciousness and common in spiritual or shamanic traditions escape neuroscientific explanations based on classical cognition denoted here as "perceptual-cognitive-symbolic" (characteristic of ordinary states of consciousness). Another channel of information processing, called "direct-intuitive-nonlocal" (characteristic of non-ordinary states of consciousness) is required to be introduced for interpretation. The first one is capable of modeling via symbolism and is more culturally bound due to its psycholinguistic features. The second channel lacks the symbolic mediation, therefore it has more transcultural similarity and practically ineffable for the first one, though culture specific transliteration may occur. Different traditional healing rituals pursue the same end: to destroy "profane" sensibility. The ritual use of hallucinogens, the monotonous drumming, the repeated refrains, the fatigue, the fasting, the dancing and so forth, create a sensory condition which is wide open to the so-called "supernatural". According to contemporary anthropological views, the breakdown of ordinary sensibility/cognition is not the ultimate goal, but the way to accomplish healing, that is psychointegration in the widest sense. From the perspective of system theory, integration needs information to be brought into the system. According to the presented model, when the coping capability of the "perceptual-cognitive-symbolic" processing is exhausted in a stressful, unmanageable situation, or its influence is eliminated by the use of hallucinogens or in case of transcendental meditation, a frame shift occurs, and the "spiritual universe" opens up through the "direct-intuitive-nonlocal" channel. There is little chance either for a psychointegrative effect, or for a meaningful "opening" without ritual context, and with the recreational use of mind altering strategies. .
    Publication Neuropsychopharmacologia Hungarica: A Magyar Pszichofarmakológiai Egyesület Lapja = Official Journal of the Hungarian Association of Psychopharmacology
    Volume 8
    Issue 3
    Pages 143-153
    Date Oct 2006
    Journal Abbr Neuropsychopharmacol Hung
    ISSN 1419-8711
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17211049
    Accessed Monday, September 28, 2009 11:56:29 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17211049
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cognition
    • Consciousness
    • Humans
    • Mental Processes
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The prevailing neuroscientific paradigm considers information processing within the central nervous system as occurring through hierarchically organized and interconnected neural networks. The hierarchy of neural networks doesn’t end at the neuroaxonal level; it incorporates subcellular mechanisms as well. When the size of the hierarchical components reaches the nanometer range and the number of elements exceeds that of the neuroaxonal system, an interface emerges for a possible transition between neurochemical and quantum physical events. “Signal nonlocality”, accessed by means of quantum entanglement is an essential feature of the quantum physical domain. The presented interface may imply that some manifestations of altered states of consciousness, unconscious/conscious shifts have quantum origin with significant psychosomatic implications. Healing methods based on altered states of consciousness and common in spiritual or shamanic traditions escape neuroscientific explanations based on classical cognition denoted here as “perceptual-cognitive-symbolic” (characteristic of ordinary states of consciousness). Another channel of information processing, called “direct-intuitive-nonlocal” (characteristic of non-ordinary states of consciousness) is required to be introduced for interpretation. The first one is capable of modeling via symbolism and is more culturally bound due to its psycholinguistic features. The second channel lacks the symbolic mediation, therefore it has more transcultural similarity and practically ineffable for the first one, though culture specific transliteration may occur. Different traditional healing rituals pursue the same end: to destroy “profane” sensibility. The ritual use of hallucinogens, the monotonous drumming, the repeated refrains, the fatigue, the fasting, the dancing and so forth, create a sensory condition which is wide open to the so-called “supernatural”. According to contemporary anthropological views, the breakdown of ordinary sensibility/cognition is not the ultimate goal, but the way to accomplish healing, that is psychointegration in the widest sense. From the perspective of system theory, integration needs information to be brought into the system. According to the presented model, when the coping capability of the “perceptual-cognitive-symbolic” processing is exhausted in a stressful, unmanageable situation, or its influence is eliminated by the use of hallucinogens or in case of transcendental meditation, a frame shift occurs, and the “spiritual universe” opens up through the “direct-intuitive-nonlocal” channel. There is little chance either for a psychointegrative effect, or for a meaningful “opening” without ritual context, and with the recreational use of mind altering strategies. .

  • Spirituality, religion, and health: a critical appraisal of the Larson reports

    Type Journal Article
    Author O Freedman
    Author S Orenstein
    Author P Boston
    Author T Amour
    Author J Seely
    Author B M Mount
    Abstract The four-volume corpus The Faith Factor, and Scientific Research on Spirituality and Health: A Consensus Report by Larson et al constitute the largest English-language review of research on spirituality and health. We have done a critique of the 329 systematic analyses of peer-reviewed research papers presented therein. The objectives were to determine if the Larson conclusions can be generalized; to document the understanding of the potential of qualitative research in assessing the spiritual domain; and to examine whether the definitions of religion and spirituality used by Larson et al correspond to those in general use. We conclude that their results cannot be generalized to other religious and cultural settings; that there is a need for more research focusing on age groups, cultures, religions, and clinical settings not adequately represented in studies to date; and that the need for more qualitative research methods justifies a detailed analysis of the use of qualitative methods in the studies reviewed by the Larson group. Finally, there is a need to establish a common vocabulary that bridges cultural and religious traditions, and facilitates clinical care, research, and teaching relating to spirituality, religion, and health.
    Publication Annals (Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada)
    Volume 35
    Issue 2
    Pages 90-93
    Date Mar 2002
    Journal Abbr Ann R Coll Physicians Surg Can
    ISSN 0035-8800
    Short Title Spirituality, religion, and health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12755127
    Accessed Thursday, October 22, 2009 4:25:19 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12755127
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Culture
    • Health
    • Humans
    • Peer Review, Research
    • Qualitative Research
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Research Design
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The four-volume corpus The Faith Factor, and Scientific Research on Spirituality and Health: A Consensus Report by Larson et al constitute the largest English-language review of research on spirituality and health. We have done a critique of the 329 systematic analyses of peer-reviewed research papers presented therein. We conclude that their results cannot be generalized to other religious and cultural settings; that there is a need for more research focusing on age groups, cultures, religions, and clinical settings; and that the need for more qualitative research methods justifies a detailed analysis of the use of qualitative methods in the studies reviewed by the Larson group.

  • Near-death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher C French
    Abstract Near-death experiences (NDEs) have become the focus of much interest in the last 30 years or so. Such experiences can occur both when individuals are objectively near to death and also when they simply believe themselves to be. The experience typically involves a number of different components including a feeling of peace and well-being, out-of-body experiences (OBEs), entering a region of darkness, seeing a brilliant light, and entering another realm. NDEs are known to have long-lasting transformational effects upon those who experience them. An overview is presented of the various theoretical approaches that have been adopted in attempts to account for the NDE. Spiritual theories assume that consciousness can become detached from the neural substrate of the brain and that the NDE may provide a glimpse of an afterlife. Psychological theories include the proposal that the NDE is a dissociative defense mechanism that occurs in times of extreme danger or, less plausibly, that the NDE reflects memories of being born. Finally, a wide range of organic theories of the NDE has been put forward including those based upon cerebral hypoxia, anoxia, and hypercarbia; endorphins and other neurotransmitters; and abnormal activity in the temporal lobes. Finally, the results of studies of NDEs in cardiac arrest survivors are reviewed and the implications of these results for our understanding of mind-brain relationships are discussed.
    Publication Progress in Brain Research
    Volume 150
    Pages 351-367
    Date 2005
    Journal Abbr Prog. Brain Res
    DOI 10.1016/S0079-6123(05)50025-6
    ISSN 0079-6123
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/16186035
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:34:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16186035
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Brain
    • Death
    • Dissociative Disorders
    • Heart Arrest
    • Humans
    • Models, Neurological
    • Models, Psychological

    Notes:

    • Near-death experiences (NDEs) have become the focus of much interest in the last 30 years or so. Such experiences can occur both when individuals are objectively near to death and also when they simply believe themselves to be. The experience typically involves a number of different components including a feeling of peace and well-being, out-of-body experiences (OBEs), entering a region of darkness, seeing a brilliant light, and entering another realm. NDEs are known to have long-lasting transformational effects upon those who experience them. An overview is presented of the various theoretical approaches that have been adopted in attempts to account for the NDE. Spiritual theories assume that consciousness can become detached from the neural substrate of the brain and that the NDE may provide a glimpse of an afterlife. Psychological theories include the proposal that the NDE is a dissociative defense mechanism that occurs in times of extreme danger or, less plausibly, that the NDE reflects memories of being born. Finally, a wide range of organic theories of the NDE has been put forward including those based upon cerebral hypoxia, anoxia, and hypercarbia; endorphins and other neurotransmitters; and abnormal activity in the temporal lobes. Finally, the results of studies of NDEs in cardiac arrest survivors are reviewed and the implications of these results for our understanding of mind-brain relationships are discussed.

  • Religiosity, Psychological Acculturation to the Host Culture, Self-Esteem and Depressive Symptoms Among Stigmatized and Nonstigmatized Religious Immigrant Groups in Western Europe.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mike Friedman
    Author Vassilis Saroglou
    Abstract This study examined the associations among religiosity, psychological acculturation to the host culture, and self-esteem and depressive symptoms among immigrants to a secular European country (Belgium). A first hypothesis proposed that religiosity would be negatively indirectly associated with psychological acculturation through the intervening mechanism of perceived distance between the home and host cultures. A second hypothesis proposed that religiosity would be indirectly negatively related to self-esteem and indirectly positively related to depressive symptoms through (a) reduced perceptions that religious beliefs are tolerated by the host culture and (b) feelings of anger toward the host society. The first hypothesis received support among stigmatized and nonstigmatized religious groups, whereas the second was supported only for members of the stigmatized religious group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Basic & Applied Social Psychology
    Volume 32
    Issue 2
    Pages 185-195
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/01973531003738387
    ISSN 01973533
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:06:23 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • BELIEF & doubt
    • CULTURE conflict
    • IMMIGRANTS
    • Religiousness
    • SELF-esteem
  • Self-blame, self-forgiveness, and spirituality in breast cancer survivors in a public sector setting

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lois C Friedman
    Author Catherine R Barber
    Author Jenny Chang
    Author Yee Lu Tham
    Author Mamta Kalidas
    Author Mothaffar F Rimawi
    Author Mario F Dulay
    Author Richard Elledge
    Abstract Cognitive appraisal affects adjustment to breast cancer. A self-forgiving attitude and spirituality may benefit breast cancer survivors who blame themselves for their cancer. One hundred and eight women with early breast cancers completed questionnaires assessing self-blame, self-forgiveness, spirituality, mood and quality of life (QoL) in an outpatient breast clinic. Women who blamed themselves reported more mood disturbance (p < 0.01) and poorer QoL (p < 0.01). Women who were more self-forgiving and more spiritual reported less mood disturbance and better QoL (p's < 0.01). Interventions that reduce self-blame and facilitate self-forgiveness and spirituality could promote better adjustment to breast cancer.
    Publication Journal of Cancer Education: The Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Education
    Volume 25
    Issue 3
    Pages 343-348
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr J Cancer Educ
    DOI 10.1007/s13187-010-0048-3
    ISSN 1543-0154
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:51:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20186521
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • Traditional Indian medicine and homeopathy for HIV/AIDS: a review of the literature

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Fritts
    Author C C Crawford
    Author D Quibell
    Author A Gupta
    Author W B Jonas
    Author I Coulter
    Author S A Andrade
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Allopathic practitioners in India are outnumbered by practitioners of traditional Indian medicine and homeopathy (TIMH), which is used by up to two-thirds of its population to help meet primary health care needs, particularly in rural areas. India has an estimated 2.5 million HIV infected persons. However, little is known about TIMH use, safety or efficacy in HIV/AIDS management in India, which has one of the largest indigenous medical systems in the world. The purpose of this review was to assess the quality of peer-reviewed, published literature on TIMH for HIV/AIDS care and treatment. RESULTS: Of 206 original articles reviewed, 21 laboratory studies, 17 clinical studies, and 6 previous reviews of the literature were identified that covered at least one system of TIMH, which includes Ayurveda, Unani medicine, Siddha medicine, homeopathy, yoga and naturopathy. Most studies examined either Ayurvedic or homeopathic treatments. Only 4 of these studies were randomized controlled trials, and only 10 were published in MEDLINE-indexed journals. Overall, the studies reported positive effects and even "cure" and reversal of HIV infection, but frequent methodological flaws call into question their internal and external validity. Common reasons for poor quality included small sample sizes, high drop-out rates, design flaws such as selection of inappropriate or weak outcome measures, flaws in statistical analysis, and reporting flaws such as lack of details on products and their standardization, poor or no description of randomization, and incomplete reporting of study results. CONCLUSION: This review exposes a broad gap between the widespread use of TIMH therapies for HIV/AIDS, and the dearth of high-quality data supporting their effectiveness and safety. In light of the suboptimal effectiveness of vaccines, barrier methods and behavior change strategies for prevention of HIV infection and the cost and side effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for its treatment, it is both important and urgent to develop and implement a rigorous research agenda to investigate the potential risks and benefits of TIMH and to identify its role in the management of HIV/AIDS and associated illnesses in India.
    Publication AIDS Research and Therapy
    Volume 5
    Pages 25
    Date 2008
    Journal Abbr AIDS Res Ther
    DOI 10.1186/1742-6405-5-25
    ISSN 1742-6405
    Short Title Traditional Indian medicine and homeopathy for HIV/AIDS
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19102742
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:56:07 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19102742
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this review was to assess the quality of peer-reviewed, published literature on traditional Indian medicine and homeopathy for HIV/AIDS care and treatment. Conclusion: This review exposes a broad gap between the widespread use of TIMH therapies for HIV/AIDS, and the dearth of high-quality data supporting their effectiveness and safety.

  • Is altruistic behavior associated with major depression onset?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Takeo Fujiwara
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Previous cross-sectional study showed altruistic behaviors were harmful on major depression (MD). It is needed to investigate the impact of altruistic behaviors by its contents on the development of MD prospectively. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) in 1995-1996 and the MIDUS Psychological Experience Follow-Up study in 1998 were analyzed (weighted N = 563). Financial support of 10 or more dollars per month had a significant impact on the development of MD in comparison to no financial support (OR: 2.64, 95% CI: 1.05-6.62). Unpaid assistance and providing emotional support were not significantly associated with the development of MD in later life. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCES: Those who provide financial contribution to individuals other than family members can be at risk of developing MD.
    Publication PloS One
    Volume 4
    Issue 2
    Pages e4557
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr PLoS ONE
    DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0004557
    ISSN 1932-6203
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:47:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19234611
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Altruism
    • Data Collection
    • Depressive Disorder, Major
    • Disease Susceptibility
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Gift Giving
    • Humans
  • Spirituality in psychiatry: a biopsychosocial perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marc Galanter
    Abstract This paper reviews a body of findings in order to define the nature of spirituality from a biopsychosocial perspective and to illustrate its relevance to the field of psychiatry. The emergence of spirituality within the common culture is described, after which a number of sociobiologically related studies are presented to illustrate how its component dimensions can be defined. These are evolutionary adaptation, affectional ties, subjective experiences, and positive psychology. The relevance of spiritually related issues in psychiatric diagnosis are illustrated, along with examples of their role in symptom relief. The paper concludes with a description of a program implemented to integrate the issue of spirituality into resident training and into group support for hospital-based patients.
    Publication Psychiatry
    Volume 73
    Issue 2
    Pages 145-157
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/psyc.2010.73.2.145
    ISSN 1943-281X
    Short Title Spirituality in psychiatry
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:51:22 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20557226
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Spirituality and recovery in 12-step programs: an empirical model

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marc Galanter
    Abstract Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step programs are widely employed in the addiction rehabilitation community. It is therefore important for researchers and clinicians to have a better understanding of how recovery from addiction takes place, in terms of psychological mechanisms associated with spiritual renewal. A program like AA is described here as a spiritual recovery movement, that is, one that effects compliance with its behavioral norms by engaging recruits in a social system that promotes new and transcendent meaning in their lives. The mechanisms underlying the attribution of new meaning in AA are considered by recourse to the models of positive psychology and social network support; both models have been found to be associated with constructive health outcomes in a variety of contexts. By drawing on available empirical research, it is possible to define the diagnosis of addiction and the criteria for recovery in spiritually oriented terms.
    Publication Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
    Volume 33
    Issue 3
    Pages 265-272
    Date Oct 2007
    Journal Abbr J Subst Abuse Treat
    DOI 10.1016/j.jsat.2007.04.016
    ISSN 0740-5472
    Short Title Spirituality and recovery in 12-step programs
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17889297
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:57:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17889297
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Alcoholism
    • Behavior, Addictive
    • empirical research
    • Humans
    • Models, Psychological
    • Patient Compliance
    • Recurrence
    • Religion and Medicine
    • social support
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Temperance

    Notes:

    • A program like AA is described here as a spiritual recovery movement, that is, one that effects compliance with its behavioral norms by engaging recruits in a social system that promotes new and transcendent meaning in their lives. The mechanisms underlying the attribution of new meaning in AA are considered by recourse to the models of positive psychology and social network support; both models have been found to be associated with constructive health outcomes in a variety of contexts.

  • The concept of spirituality in relation to addiction recovery and general psychiatry

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marc Galanter
    Abstract This chapter is directed at defining the nature of spirituality and its relationship to empirical research and clinical practice. A preliminary understanding of the spiritual experience can be achieved on the basis of diverse theoretical and empirically grounded sources, which will be delineated: namely, physiology, psychology, and cross-cultural sources. Furthermore, the impact of spirituality on mental health and addiction in different cultural and clinical settings is explicated regarding both beneficial and compromising outcomes. Illustrations of its application in addiction and general psychiatry are given: in meditative practices, Alcoholics Anonymous, and treatment programs for addiction singly and comorbid with major mental illness. Given its prominence in Alcoholics Anonymous and related Twelve-Step groups, spirituality plays an important role in the rehabilitation of many substance-dependent people. The issue of spirituality, however, is prominent within contemporary culture as well in the form of theistic orientation, as evidenced in a probability sampling of American adults, among whom 95% of respondents reply positively when asked if they believe in "God or a universal spirit." Responses to a follow-up on this question suggest that this belief affects the daily lives of the majority (51%) of those sampled, as they indicated that they had talked to someone about God or some aspect of their faith or spirituality within the previous 24 h (Gallup, 2002).
    Publication Recent Developments in Alcoholism: An Official Publication of the American Medical Society on Alcoholism, the Research Society on Alcoholism, and the National Council on Alcoholism
    Volume 18
    Pages 125-140
    Date 2008
    Journal Abbr Recent Dev Alcohol
    ISSN 0738-422X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19115767
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:45:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19115767
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Alcoholism
    • Behavior, Addictive
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Psychiatry
    • Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This chapter is directed at defining the nature of spirituality and its relationship to empirical research and clinical practice.

  • Research on spirituality and Alcoholics Anonymous

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Galanter
    Publication Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research
    Volume 23
    Issue 4
    Pages 716-719
    Date Apr 1999
    Journal Abbr Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res
    ISSN 0145-6008
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10235308
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 7:40:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10235308
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Alcoholism
    • Attitude to Health
    • Humans
    • Models, Psychological
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Research
  • The effect of group aerobic exercise and t'ai chi on functional outcomes and quality of life for persons living with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Lou Galantino
    Author Kay Shepard
    Author Larry Krafft
    Author Arthur Laperriere
    Author Joseph Ducette
    Author Alfred Sorbello
    Author Michael Barnish
    Author David Condoluci
    Author John T Farrar
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the usefulness of two interventions in a group rehabilitation medicine setting to determine strategies and exercise guidelines for long-term care of the HIV/AIDS population with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). DESIGN: This was a randomized clinical trial investigating the effects of tai chi (TC) and aerobic exercise (EX) on functional outcomes and quality of life (QOL) in patients with AIDS. SETTING: Two outpatient infectious disease clinics in a mid-atlantic state were the setting. SUBJECTS AND INTERVENTION: Thirty-eight (38) subjects with advanced HIV (AIDS) were randomized to one of three groups: TC, EX, or control. Experimental groups exercised twice weekly for 8 weeks. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes included QOL as measured by the Medical Outcomes Short Form (MOS-HIV) and Spirituality Well-Being Scale (SWB). Functional measures included the functional reach (FR) for balance, sit and reach (SR) for flexibility, and sit-up (SU) test for endurance. The physical performance test (PPT) was used to determine overall function, and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) was used to evaluate psychologic changes. To consider the patients' explanations for these measurements, qualitative data were collected from subjects' journals, focus groups, and nonparticipant observation. RESULTS: Thirty-eight (38) subjects were included in data analysis: 13 in the TC group, 13 in the EX group, and 12 in the control group. Results of analysis of covariance showed significant changes in the exercise groups in overall functional measures (p < 0.001). The MOS-HIV showed a significant difference on the subscale of overall health (p = 0.04). The POMS showed significant main effect for time in confusion-bewilderment (p = 0.000) and tension-anxiety (p = 0.005). Three dominant themes emerged from the qualitative data, including: positive physical changes, enhanced psychologic coping, and improved social interactions. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that TC and EX improve physiologic parameters, functional outcomes, and QOL. Group intervention provides a socialization context for management of chronic HIV disease. This study supports the need for more research investigating the effect of other types of group exercise for this population. This study sets the stage for a larger randomized controlled trial to examine the potential short- and long-term effects of group exercise that may prove beneficial in the management of advanced HIV disease. Further research is warranted to evaluate additional exercise interventions that are accessible, safe, and cost-effective for the HIV population.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 11
    Issue 6
    Pages 1085-1092
    Date Dec 2005
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2005.11.1085
    ISSN 1075-5535
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16398601
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:33:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16398601
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
    • Exercise Therapy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mid-Atlantic Region
    • Narration
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Care
    • Tai Ji
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • This study aimed to assess the usefulness of two interventions in a group rehabilitation medicine setting to determine strategies and exercise guidelines for long-term care of the HIV/AIDS population with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

  • A Brief Review of Religious Beliefs in Research on Mental Health and ETAS Theory

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathleen Galek
    Author Matthew Porter
    Abstract The present study briefly describes and critiques the kinds of variables used to measure religion in research on mental health and analyzes data from the Handbook of Religion and Health to assess what variables are most commonly used to do so. The analysis found that organizational religion and subjective religiosity were the most widely used measures in research on psychological well-being, depression, and anxiety, with 30%-52% of studies measuring organizational religion and 34%-36% measuring subjective religiosity. In contrast, only 9%-11% of studies measured religious beliefs. The paper discusses the associations between religious beliefs and mental health that have been reported and the value of measuring religious beliefs in light of ETAS Theory.
    Publication Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
    Volume 16
    Issue 1-2
    Pages 58-64
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Health Care Chaplain
    DOI 10.1080/08854720903489246
    ISSN 1528-6916
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:30:19 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20183114
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Wednesday, November 30, 2011 7:52:40 PM

    Tags:

    • Biomedical Research
    • Chaplaincy Service, Hospital
    • Humans
    • Massachusetts
    • mental health
    • Models, Theoretical
    • NEEDS assessment
    • Pastoral Care
    • religion

    Notes:

    • An overview of methods used to assess the correlation of religion and mental health, especially the Evolutionary Threat Assessment Systems (ETAS) Theory. Aspects of organizational religion and subjective religiosity were the most widely used measures, and religious beliefs were either ignored or not parsed. The paper discusses the associations between religious beliefs and mental health that have been reported and how effective ETAS is at handling this data.

  • To pray or not to pray: considering gender and religious concordance in praying with the ill

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathleen Galek
    Author Nava R Silton
    Author Lauren C Vanderwerker
    Author George F Handzo
    Author Matthew Porter
    Author Martin G Montonye
    Author David W Fleenor
    Abstract Analysis of Covariance was conducted on quantitative data collected by chaplains from January 2005 to December 2008. Data from 82 Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant chaplains, consisting of 53 CPE students and 29 professional chaplains were used in this study. Overall, chaplains exhibited a statistically significant higher rate of prayer with patients from their own religion (religious concordance) than they did with patients of different religions (religious discordance). There was also an interaction of chaplain religion and religious concordance wherein Protestant chaplains were 50% more likely to pray with Protestant patients than with patients of other religions, and Catholic chaplains were 20% more likely to pray with Catholic patients than with other patients. Chaplains were also significantly more likely to pray with patients of their own gender (gender concordance) than with patients of the other gender (gender discordance).
    Publication Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
    Volume 16
    Issue 1-2
    Pages 42-52
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Health Care Chaplain
    DOI 10.1080/08854720903529694
    ISSN 1528-6916
    Short Title To pray or not to pray
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:30:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20183112
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • Catholicism
    • Chaplaincy Service, Hospital
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Jews
    • Male
    • Pastoral Care
    • PROTESTANTISM
    • religion
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Sex Factors
  • Relationship with God and the Quality of Life of Prostate Cancer Survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Terry Lynn Gall
    Abstract This study explored the role of relationship with God with respect to the quality of life of men with prostate cancer. Thirty-four men with prostate cancer completed questionnaires on demographic and illness factors, aspects of relationship with God (e.g., God image), nonreligious resources (e.g., optimism) and physical, social and emotion functioning. Results showed that relationship with God was a significant factor in the prediction of role, emotional and social functioning for these men after controlling for age, reported severity of treatment reactions and nonreligious resources. Notably, different aspects of relationship with God (e.g., causal attribution) evidenced different associations with functioning and the nonreligious resource of perceived health control. Such results suggest that relationship with God may function in a complex manner as a resource in coping with prostate cancer. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify the role of religious/spiritual resources in the short- and long-term quality of life of men with prostate cancer.
    Publication Quality of Life Research
    Volume 13
    Issue 8
    Pages 1357-1368
    Date Oct., 2004
    ISSN 09629343
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/4038209
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 1:11:20 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Oct., 2004 / Copyright © 2004 Springer
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study explored the role of relationship with God with respect to the quality of life of men with prostate cancer. Notably, different aspects of relationship with God (e.g., causal attribution) evidenced different associations with functioning and the nonreligious resource of perceived health control.

  • The trajectory of religious coping across time in response to the diagnosis of breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Terry Lynn Gall
    Author Manal Guirguis-Younger
    Author Claire Charbonneau
    Author Peggy Florack
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the mobilization of religious coping in women's response to breast cancer. METHODS: Ninety-three breast cancer patients and 160 women with a benign diagnosis participated. Breast cancer patients were assessed on their use of religious coping strategies and their level of emotional distress and well-being at pre-diagnosis, 1 week pre-surgery, and 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years post-surgery. RESULTS: In general, breast cancer patients used religious strategies more frequently than women with a benign diagnosis; however, the patterns of use were similar across time for the majority of strategies. Results showed that religious coping strategies are mobilized early on in the process of adjustment to breast cancer. Breast cancer patients' use of support or comfort-related strategies peaked around surgery and then declined, while the use of strategies that reflected more a process of meaning-making remained elevated or increased into the long-term. Positive and negative forms of religious coping were predictive of concurrent distress and emotional well-being. As well, there was evidence that the mobilization of religious coping was predictive of changes in distress and well-being across time. For example, women's increased use of active surrender coping from 1 to 6 months post-surgery was related to a concomitant decrease in emotional distress and increase in emotional well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Notably the nature of the relationship between religious coping and emotional adjustment depended on the type of religious coping strategy as well as the specific time of assessment. Specificity of information in the use of religious coping can allow health-care professionals to better identify resources and address potential points of difficulty during the process of women's adjustment to breast cancer.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 11
    Pages 1165-1178
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1495
    ISSN 1099-1611
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19214984
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 8:17:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19214984
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Notes:

    • This study investigates the mobilization of religious coping in women's response to breast cancer. Ninety-three breast cancer patients and 160 women with a benign diagnosis participated. Breast cancer patients were assessed on their use of religious coping strategies and their level of emotional distress and well-being at pre-diagnosis, 1 week pre-surgery, and 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years post-surgery.

  • A longitudinal study on the role of spirituality in response to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Terry Lynn Gall
    Author Elizabeth Kristjansson
    Author Claire Charbonneau
    Author Peggy Florack
    Abstract This longitudinal study addressed the role of spirituality in women's response to breast cancer. Ninety-three women diagnosed with breast cancer were assessed on various measures of image of God, positive attitude, social well-being and emotional distress at pre-diagnosis, 6 months post-surgery and 1 year post-surgery. As compared to women who dropped out of the study, this sample reported religion to be less important in their daily lives. Path analyses showed evidence of direct and indirect effects of positive and negative images of God on emotional distress in cross-sectional but not longitudinal data. A positive image of God was related to greater concurrent distress while a negative image of God was indirectly related to greater distress through the pathways of social well-being and positive attitude. In the longitudinal path model, a pre-diagnosis measure of religious salience was the only aspect of spirituality that predicted an increase in distress at 1 year post-surgery. The cross-sectional analyses provided limited support for the "religious/spiritual mobilization" hypothesis as put forth by Pargament (The psychology of religion and coping. New York: Guilford Press, 1997). There was also limited support for the mediator variables of positive attitude and social well-being as mechanisms through which spirituality influences adjustment. Finally, there was no support that spirituality acted in a protective manner rather the negative elements of spirituality were more prominent in relation to various aspects of women's adjustment to breast cancer. Such results suggest that women who were less spiritually/religiously involved prior to the onset of breast cancer and who attempt to mobilize these resources under the stress of diagnosis may experience a negative process of spiritual struggle and doubt that, in turn, has implications for their long-term adjustment.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 32
    Issue 2
    Pages 174-186
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-008-9182-3
    ISSN 1573-3521
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18982441
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:23:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18982441
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Emotions
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Spiritualism

    Notes:

    • This longitudinal study addressed the role of spirituality in women's response to breast cancer. Ninety-three women diagnosed with breast cancer were assessed on various measures of image of God, positive attitude, social well-being and emotional distress at pre-diagnosis, 6 months post-surgery and 1 year post-surgery. As compared to women who dropped out of the study, this sample reported religion to be less important in their daily lives. Path analyses showed evidence of direct and indirect effects of positive and negative images of God on emotional distress in cross-sectional but not longitudinal data. A positive image of God was related to greater concurrent distress while a negative image of God was indirectly related to greater distress through the pathways of social well-being and positive attitude. In the longitudinal path model, a pre-diagnosis measure of religious salience was the only aspect of spirituality that predicted an increase in distress at 1 year post-surgery. The cross-sectional analyses provided limited support for the "religious/spiritual mobilization" hypothesis as put forth by Pargament (The psychology of religion and coping. New York: Guilford Press, 1997). There was also limited support for the mediator variables of positive attitude and social well-being as mechanisms through which spirituality influences adjustment. Finally, there was no support that spirituality acted in a protective manner rather the negative elements of spirituality were more prominent in relation to various aspects of women's adjustment to breast cancer. Such results suggest that women who were less spiritually/religiously involved prior to the onset of breast cancer and who attempt to mobilize these resources under the stress of diagnosis may experience a negative process of spiritual struggle and doubt that, in turn, has implications for their long-term adjustment.

  • Power of being present: the role of mindfulness on the relation between men's alcohol use and sexual aggression toward intimate partners.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathryn E. Gallagher
    Author Adam D. Hudepohl
    Author Dominic J. Parrott
    Abstract The primary aim of this investigation was to examine the association between men's level of mindfulness and histories of alcohol consumption and sexual aggression toward intimate partners. Participants were 167 heterosexual drinking males who completed self-report measures of mindfulness, frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption during the past 12 months and sexual aggression against intimate partners during the past 12 months. Results indicated that a history of consuming larger amounts when drinking was associated with more frequent sexual coercion/aggression among men who reported low, but not high, levels of mindfulness. However, drinking more frequently by itself was not associated with more frequent sexual coercion/aggression. These results support the attention-allocation model and suggest implications for future intervention research aimed at reducing alcohol-related aggression. Aggr. Behav. 36:405-413, 2010. 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Aggressive Behavior
    Volume 36
    Issue 6
    Pages 405-413
    Date Nov November 2010
    ISSN 0096140X
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • ALCOHOLICS' spouses
    • ALCOHOLISM -- Psychological aspects
    • DRINKING of alcoholic beverages
    • HETEROSEXUAL men
    • intimate partner violence
    • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
    • SEXUAL aggression
    • SEXUAL consent
  • Religion, spirituality, and mental health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eugene B Gallagher
    Author Angela L Wadsworth
    Author Terry D Stratton
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 190
    Issue 10
    Pages 697-704
    Date Oct 2002
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/01.NMD.0000034746.99430.99
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12409864
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:05:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12409864
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cultural Characteristics
    • delusions
    • existentialism
    • Hospitalization
    • Humans
    • IDENTIFICATION (Psychology)
    • Identity Crisis
    • Mental Disorders
    • mental health
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Models, Psychological
    • Politics
    • Psychotherapy
    • religion
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality
    • United States
  • The effect of acupuncture therapy on pain perception and coping strategies: a preliminary report

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dorit Gamus
    Author Vered Meshulam-Atzmon
    Author Shay Pintov
    Author Rebecca Jacoby
    Abstract The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of acupuncture on the perception of pain and coping strategies, thus focusing on the psychological aspects of pain. The study was conducted in two complementary and alternative medicine clinics of public hospitals. Forty-one patients scheduled for routine acupuncture therapy because of chronic musculoskeletal pain were recruited for the study to receive eight acupuncture treatments. Twenty-four patients completed the treatment schedule and filled two self-reported questionnaires before and after therapy: (1) Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R); and (2) Coping Strategies questionnaire (Brief COPE). A significant improvement was found in the following measures related to pain perception: timeline (chronic versus acute), treatment control, and personal control. Additionally, significant improvement was displayed in three measures related to coping strategies: positive reframing, religion, and venting. The results indicate that acupuncture therapy might be efficient in changing patient's pain perception from chronic to acute and in enhancing their sense of personal and treatment control over their pain. In addition, acupuncture therapy partially improved coping strategies. The present study provides further validation for acupuncture therapy in pain and highlights its possible role in affecting the psychological aspects of pain.
    Publication Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies
    Volume 1
    Issue 1
    Pages 51-53
    Date Sep 2008
    Journal Abbr J Acupunct Meridian Stud
    DOI 10.1016/S2005-2901(09)60007-8
    ISSN 2005-2901
    Short Title The effect of acupuncture therapy on pain perception and coping strategies
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20633455
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20633455
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Acupuncture Therapy
    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Musculoskeletal Diseases
    • Pain
    • Perception
    • Pilot Projects
    • Questionnaires
  • Growing up gay and religious. Conflict, dialogue, and religious identity strategies.

    Type Journal Article
    Author R. R. Ganzevoort
    Author M. van der Laan
    Author E. Olsman
    Abstract Homosexuality has become a divisive issue in many religious communities. Partly because of that, individuals growing up in such a community and experiencing same sex attractions need to negotiate the messages about homosexuality with their own experiences. This paper explores the identity strategies of religious communities as the background of individual identity struggles. Following a discussion of Bauman's grammars of identity/alterity, it describes four different discourses employed in conservative protestant and evangelical circles: holiness, subjectivity, obedience, and responsibility and four modes of negotiation: Christian lifestyle, gay lifestyle, commuting (compartmentalisation), and integration. By combining an analysis of discourses on the community level with individual strategies, this narrative research helps to better understand the interactions of (group) culture and individual coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 3
    Pages 209-222
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903452132
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • ATTITUDE (Psychology)
    • Christianity
    • Ethics
    • HOMOSEXUALITY
    • Qualitative Research
    • ROLE conflict
    • SELF-perception
    • sex
    • THOUGHT & thinking
  • Cancer in Utah Mormon men by lay priesthood level

    Type Journal Article
    Author J W Gardner
    Author J L Lyon
    Abstract Mormons have been shown to have low cancer rates at several common sites, particularly those associated with tobacco and alcohol use. This likely reflects adherence to their Church doctrines advocating abstention from the use of these substances. All Mormons, however, do not adhere to the health practices of their Church, and this study classifies Utah Mormon men by their lay priesthood offices, which reflect degree of adherence to Church doctrines. Follow-up cancer rates for 1966-1970 indicate that the most devout group (Seventies and High Priests) have lung cancer rates 80% lower than those of the least devout group. The same was seen for all smoking- and alcohol-associated cancer sites combined. Cancer of the stomach and the leukemias and lymphomas also had lower rates in the most devout group. Cancers of the colon-rectum, prostate, and pancreas showed little difference in rates when classified by lay priesthood office. These data provide a demonstration of the effects of a healthy lifestyle on cancer occurrence in men.
    Publication American Journal of Epidemiology
    Volume 116
    Issue 2
    Pages 243-257
    Date Aug 1982
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Epidemiol
    ISSN 0002-9262
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7114035
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:19:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 7114035
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Alcohol Drinking
    • Child
    • Child, Preschool
    • Christianity
    • Epidemiologic Methods
    • Humans
    • Infant
    • Life Style
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Smoking
    • UTAH

    Notes:

    • Mormons have been shown to have low cancer rates at several common sites, particularly those associated with tobacco and alcohol use. This likely reflects adherence to their Church doctrines advocating abstention from the use of these substances. All Mormons, however, do not adhere to the health practices of their Church, and this study classifies Utah Mormon men by their lay priesthood offices, which reflect degree of adherence to Church doctrines.

  • Cancer in Utah Mormon Men by Church Activity Level

    Type Journal Article
    Author JOHN W. GARDNER
    Author JOSEPH L. LYON
    Abstract In light of iow cancer rates in Mormons which may be due to specific heaith practices advocated by the Mormon Church, this study classifies female Mormon cancer patients in Utah according to measures of adherence to Church doctrines. The distribution by Church activity level is compared for each site to a group of other cancer sites felt to represent the overall activity level distribution of Utah Mormon women. Mormon women classified as having the strongest adherence to Church doctrines had lung cancer rates during 1966-1970 much lower than did women with the weakest adherence. The relationship was not as strong, however, as that seen in Mormon men when classified by lay priesthood office. Cancer of the uterine cervix also showed lower rates in the more active groups, but this finding was not statistically significant. Cancers of the breast and ovary did not show consistent associations with Church activity level, nor did most of the gastrointestinal cancers. These data suggest that some of the differences in cancer incidence between Mormons and non-Mormons may not be explained by adherence to specific Church doctrines.
    Publication Am. J. Epidemiol.
    Volume 116
    Issue 2
    Pages 258-265
    Date August 1, 1982
    URL http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/116/2/258
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:35:18 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study classifies female Mormon cancer patients in Utah according to measures of adherence to Church doctrines. Mormon women classified as having the strongest adherence to Church doctrines had lung cancer rates during 1966-1970 much lower than did women with the weakest adherence.

  • Envisioning a Future Contemplative Science of Mindfulness: Fruitful Methods and New Content for the Next Wave of Research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eric Garland
    Author Susan Gaylord
    Abstract Mindfulness is an ancient spiritual practice as well as a unique behavioral technique involving the cultivation of non-judgmental, non-reactive, metacognitive awareness of present-moment experience. Given the growing interest in mindfulness across numerous academic and clinical disciplines, an agenda is needed to guide the next wave of research. Here, we suggest four areas that, in our view, are important for a future contemplative science of mindfulness: performance-based measures of mindfulness, scientific evaluation of Buddhist claims, neurophenomenology of mindfulness, and measuring changes in mindfulness-induced gene expression. By exploring these domains, the wisdom of the meditative traditions may be complemented by leading-edge empirical research methodologies.
    Publication Complementary Health Practice Review
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-9
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Complement Health Pract Rev
    DOI 10.1177/1533210109333718
    ISSN 1533-2101
    Short Title Envisioning a Future Contemplative Science of Mindfulness
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20671798
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20671798
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
  • The role of mindfulness in positive reappraisal

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eric Garland
    Author Susan Gaylord
    Author Jongbae Park
    Abstract Mindfulness meditation is increasingly well known for therapeutic efficacy in a variety of illnesses and conditions, but its mechanism of action is still under debate in scientific circles. In this paper, we propose a hypothetical causal model that argues for the role of mindfulness in positive reappraisal coping. Positive reappraisal is a critical component of meaning-based coping that enables individuals to adapt successfully to stressful life events. Mindfulness, as a metacognitive form of awareness, involves the process of decentering, a shifting of cognitive sets that enables alternate appraisals of life events. We review the concept of positive reappraisal in transactional stress and coping theory, then describe research and traditional literature related to mindfulness and positive reappraisal, and detail the central role of mindfulness in the reappraisal process. With this understanding, we present a causal model explicating the proposed mechanism. The discussion has implications for clinical practice, suggesting how mindfulness-based integrative medicine interventions can be designed to support adaptive coping processes.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 5
    Issue 1
    Pages 37-44
    Date 2009 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2008.10.001
    ISSN 1550-8307
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19114262
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19114262
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Humans
    • Internal-External Control
    • Meditation
    • Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical
    • Models, Psychological
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Quality of Life
  • Psycho-spiritual integrative therapy for women with primary breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Max Garlick
    Author Kathleen Wall
    Author Diana Corwin
    Author Cheryl Koopman
    Abstract Breast cancer presents physical and psychological challenges, but can also result in posttraumatic growth (PTG). Twenty-four women completed Psycho-Spiritual Integrative Therapy (PSIT) treatment and completed assessments for PTG and QOL before, immediately following, and 1 month after treatment. Women showed improvement (p < .01) on the FACT-B (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast) Physical Well-being, Emotional Well-being, and Functional Well-being subscales, on the Profile of Mood States (POMS) Depression, Anger, and Fatigue subscales (p < .05), and on their POMS Tension, Vigor and Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) scores (p < .01). Also, women showed improvement on the FACIT-Sp-Ex (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual) Meaning/Peace subscale, the Spiritual Well-being total scale (p < .01), and on the New Possibilities (p < .01) and Personal Strength (p < .05) subscales of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). This preliminary study suggests that PSIT may improve well being and stimulate PTG in breast cancer patients.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings
    Volume 18
    Issue 1
    Pages 78-90
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol Med Settings
    DOI 10.1007/s10880-011-9224-9
    ISSN 1573-3572
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21344265
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21344265
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM

    Notes:

    • A study of twenty four women who completed Psycho-Spiritual Integrative Therapy treatment. 

  • Religious beliefs, faith community involvement and depression: a study of rural, low-income mothers

    Type Journal Article
    Author M E Betsy Garrison
    Author Loren D Marks
    Author Frances C Lawrence
    Author Bonnie Braun
    Abstract The current study investigated the connection between religion and mental health of 131 rural, low-income mothers. Two dimensions of religion, beliefs and faith community involvement, were included and depression was assessed by the CES-D. The sample consisted of mothers who participated in Wave 2 of a multi-state research project. As hypothesized, both religious beliefs and faith community involvement were negatively related to depressive symptoms indicating that mothers with stronger religious beliefs and more involvement in religious activities may experience less depressive symptoms. The results of the current study confirm previous work and support a multifaceted view of religion.
    Publication Women & Health
    Volume 40
    Issue 3
    Pages 51-62
    Date 2004
    Journal Abbr Women Health
    ISSN 0363-0242
    Short Title Religious beliefs, faith community involvement and depression
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15829445
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:27:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15829445
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • mental health
    • Mothers
    • Poverty
    • Questionnaires
    • Rural Population
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • United States

    Notes:

    • The current study investigated the connection between religion and mental health of 131 rural, low-income mothers. Two dimensions of religion, beliefs and faith community involvement, were included and depression was assessed by the CES-D. As hypothesized, both religious beliefs and faith community involvement were negatively related to depressive symptoms indicating that mothers with stronger religious beliefs and more involvement in religious activities may experience less depressive symptoms.

  • The relationships among religious affiliation, religious angst, and disordered eating

    Type Journal Article
    Author K Gates
    Author M Pritchard
    Abstract Although religion is thought to be a positive aspect of life, sometimes that is not always the case. One potentially negative effect of religion is the way people learn to perceive their bodies. Although many studies have examined factors that influence disordered eating (e.g., gender, self-esteem), few studies have examined the relationships among disordered eating and religious affiliation and religious angst. In the present study of 330 undergraduates, we found that Catholics and Christians displayed significantly more disordered eating than did other students. In addition, individuals scoring high on religious angst also reported more disordered eating behaviors than did other students. Implications for counseling will be discussed.
    Publication Eating and Weight Disorders: EWD
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages e11-15
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Eat Weight Disord
    ISSN 1590-1262
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:19:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19367131
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anxiety
    • BODY image
    • Catholicism
    • Christianity
    • Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
    • Confounding Factors (Epidemiology)
    • eating disorders
    • Feeding Behavior
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Northwestern United States
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • Young Adult
  • Use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients suffering from primary headache disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author C Gaul
    Author R Eismann
    Author T Schmidt
    Author A May
    Author E Leinisch
    Author T Wieser
    Author S Evers
    Author K Henkel
    Author G Franz
    Author S Zierz
    Abstract Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly common in the treatment of primary headache disorders despite lack of evidence for efficacy in most modalities. A systematic questionnaire-based survey of CAM therapy was conducted in 432 patients who attended seven tertiary headache out-patient clinics in Germany and Austria. Use of CAM was reported by the majority (81.7%) of patients. Most frequently used CAM treatments were acupuncture (58.3%), massage (46.1%) and relaxation techniques (42.4%). Use was motivated by 'to leave nothing undone' (63.7%) and 'to be active against the disease' (55.6%). Compared with non-users, CAM users were of higher age, showed a longer duration of disease, a higher percentage of chronification, less intensity of headache, were more satisfied with conventional prophylaxis and showed greater willingness to gather information about headaches. There were no differences with respect to gender, headache diagnoses, headache-specific disability, education, income, religious attitudes or satisfaction with conventional attack therapy. A higher number of headache days, longer duration of headache treatment, higher personal costs, and use of CAM for other diseases predicted a higher number of used CAM treatments. This study confirms that CAM is widely used among primary headache patients, mostly in combination with standard care.
    Publication Cephalalgia: An International Journal of Headache
    Volume 29
    Issue 10
    Pages 1069-1078
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Cephalalgia
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-2982.2009.01841.x
    ISSN 1468-2982
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19366356
    Accessed Monday, September 28, 2009 11:50:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19366356
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A systematic questionnaire-based survey of CAM therapy was conducted in 432 patients who attended seven tertiary headache out-patient clinics in Germany and Austria. Use of CAM was reported by the majority (81.7%) of patients. This study confirms that CAM is widely used among primary headache patients, mostly in combination with standard care.

  • An emerging field in religion and reproductive health.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laura M. Gaydos
    Author Alexandria Smith
    Author Carol J. R. Hogue
    Author John Blevins
    Abstract Separate from scholarship in religion and medicine, a burgeoning field in religion and population health, includes religion and reproductive health. In a survey of existing literature, we analyzed data by religious affiliation, discipline, geography and date. We found 377 peer-reviewed articles; most were categorized as family planning (129), sexual behavior (81), domestic violence (39), pregnancy (46), HIV/AIDS (71), and STDs (61). Most research occurred in North America (188 articles), Africa (52), and Europe (47). Article frequency increased over time, from 3 articles in 1980 to 38 articles in 2008. While field growth is evident, there is still no cohesive "scholarship" in religion and reproductive health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 473-484
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-010-9323-1
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM

    Tags:

    • Health
    • Medicine
    • population health
    • religion
    • Reproductive health

    Notes:

    • This article synthesizes the emerging field of religion and reproductive health.  It finds that while numerous publications are coming out in genres related to the field, there is not yet a coherence to the scholarly endeavor of research in this field.

  • Religion and Suicide

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robin E. Gearing
    Author Dana Lizardi
    Abstract Abstract Religion impacts suicidality. One’s degree of religiosity can potentially serve as a protective factor against suicidal behavior. To accurately assess risk of suicide, it is imperative to understand the role of religion in suicidality. PsycINFO and MEDLINE databases were searched for published articles on religion and suicide between 1980 and 2008. Epidemiological data on suicidality across four religions, and the influence of religion on suicidality are presented. Practice guidelines are presented for incorporating religiosity into suicide risk assessment. Suicide rates and risk and protective factors for suicide vary across religions. It is essential to assess for degree of religious commitment and involvement to accurately identify suicide risk.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 3
    Pages 332-341
    Date September 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9181-2
    ISSN 0022-4197
    URL http://www.springerlink.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/index/10.1007/s10943-008-9181-2
    Accessed Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:42:09 AM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
  • Association of religion with delusions and hallucinations in the context of schizophrenia: Implications for engagement and adherence

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robin Edward Gearing
    Author Dana Alonzo
    Author Alex Smolak
    Author Katie McHugh
    Author Sherelle Harmon
    Author Susanna Baldwin
    Abstract OBJECTIVE The relationship of religion and schizophrenia is widely acknowledged, but often minimized by practitioners and under investigated by researchers. In striving to help fill this gap, this paper focuses on examining four aims: 1) how research has investigated the association between religiosity and schizophrenia; 2) how is religiosity associated with delusions and hallucinations; 3) what are the risk and protective factors associated with religiosity and schizophrenia; and 4) does religion influence treatment adherence with individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. METHODS A systematic literature search of PsycINFO and MEDLINE databases from January 1, 1980 through January 1, 2010 was conducted using the terms schizophrenia, schizoaffective, schizophreniform, psychotic disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) and religion, religiosity, spirituality, or faith. Seventy (n=70) original research studies were identified. RESULTS Religion can act as both a risk and protective factor as it interacts with the schizophrenia symptoms of hallucination and delusions. Cultural influences tend to confound the association of religion and schizophrenia. Adherence to treatment has a mixed association with religiosity. CONCLUSION The relationship between religion and schizophrenia may be of benefit to both clinicians and researchers through enhancing adherence to treatment, and enhancement of the protective aspects while minimizing associated risk. The relationship of religion and schizophrenia needs further research that is more nuanced and methodologically rigorous, specifically concerning its influence on engagement and adherence to treatment.
    Publication Schizophrenia Research
    Volume 126
    Issue 1-3
    Pages 150-163
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr Schizophr. Res
    DOI 10.1016/j.schres.2010.11.005
    ISSN 1573-2509
    Short Title Association of religion with delusions and hallucinations in the context of schizophrenia
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21131180
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21131180
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Explaining the Relationships between Religious Involvement and Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Linda K. George
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author David B. Larson
    Abstract There is increasing research evidence that religious involvement is associated both cross-sectionally and prospectively with better physical health, better mental health, and longer survival. These relationships remain substantial in size and statistically significant with other risk and protective factors for morbidity and mortality statistically controlled. In this article, we review the social and psychological factors that have been hypothesized to explain the health-promoting effects of religious involvement. The four potential psychosocial mechanisms that have received empirical attention are health practices, social support, psychosocial resources such as self-esteem and self-efficacy, and belief structures such as sense of coherence. Evidence concerning these potential mediators is mixed and inconsistent, suggesting there is more to be learned about the pathways by which religion affects health. Other possible explanations for the salubrious effects of religious involvement on health and longevity are discussed.
    Publication Psychological Inquiry
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 190-200
    Date 2002
    ISSN 1047840X
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/1449328
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:47:30 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Issue Title: Religion and Psychology / Full publication date: 2002 / Copyright © 2002 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (Taylor & Francis Group)
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • In this article, we review the social and psychological factors that have been hypothesized to explain the health-promoting effects of religious involvement. The four potential psychosocial mechanisms that have received empirical attention are health practices, social support, psychosocial resources such as self-esteem and self-efficacy, and belief structures such as sense of coherence.

  • Development of a bibliography on religion, spirituality and addictions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cynthia Geppert
    Author Michael P Bogenschutz
    Author William R Miller
    Abstract INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive annotated public-domain bibliography of the literature on spirituality and addictions to facilitate future research and scholarship. DESIGN AND METHODS: A search was conducted of all citations listed in the MEDLINE, PsychINFO and ALTA Religion databases covering a period from 1941 to 2004 using the following search terms: substance abuse, substance dependence, addiction, religion, spirituality. A group of experts in the field then classified each citation according to empirically derived categories. RESULTS: A total of 1353 papers met the search parameters and were classified into 10 non-exclusive categories: (1) attitudes toward spirituality and substance use, (2) commentaries, (3) spiritual practices and development in recovery, (4) spiritual and religion variables in the epidemiology of substance abuse, (5) psychoactive substances and spiritual experiences, (6) religious and spiritual interventions, (7) literature reviews, (8) measurement of spirituality and addictions, (9) 12-Step spirituality and (10) youth and development. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The literature is voluminous, but has focused primarily in a few areas. Common findings included an inverse relationship between religiosity and substance use/abuse, reduced use among those practising meditation and protective effects of 12-Step group involvement during recovery. Although sound instruments are available for measuring spirituality, studies have tended to use simplistic, often single-item measures.
    Publication Drug and Alcohol Review
    Volume 26
    Issue 4
    Pages 389-395
    Date Jul 2007
    Journal Abbr Drug Alcohol Rev
    DOI 10.1080/09595230701373826
    ISSN 0959-5236
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17564874
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:46:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17564874
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Bibliography as Topic
    • Databases, Bibliographic
    • Humans
    • Internet
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self-Help Groups
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders

    Notes:

    • The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive annotated public-domain bibliography of the literature on spirituality and addictions to facilitate future research and scholarship.

  • Lifetime alcohol use, abuse and dependence among university students in Lebanon: exploring the role of religiosity in different religious faiths

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lilian A Ghandour
    Author Elie G Karam
    Author Wadih E Maalouf
    Abstract AIMS To examine alcohol consumption and the role of religiosity in alcohol use disorders in Christian, Druze and Muslim youth in Lebanon, given their distinct religious doctrines and social norms. METHODS Using a self-completed anonymous questionnaire, data were collected on 1837 students, selected randomly from two large private universities in Beirut. Life-time abuse and dependence were measured as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version IV. FINDINGS Alcohol use was more common in Christians, who started drinking younger and were twice as likely to be diagnosed with abuse and dependence. However, among ever drinkers, the odds of alcohol use disorders were comparable across religious groups. Believing in God and practising one's faith were related inversely to alcohol abuse and dependence in all religious groups, even among ever drinkers (belief in God only). The associations were sometimes stronger for Muslims, suggesting that religiosity may play a larger role in a more proscriptive religion, as postulated by'reference group theory'. CONCLUSIONS Students belonging to conservative religious groups may be shielded from the opportunity to try alcohol. Once an ever drinker, however, religion is not related to the odds of an alcohol use disorder. Religiosity (i.e. belief in God and religious practice) is, nevertheless, related inversely to alcohol-related problems, even among drinkers. Findings from this culturally and religiously diverse Arab country corroborate the international literature on religion, religiosity and alcohol use, highlighting potential differences between Christians and Muslims.
    Publication Addiction (Abingdon, England)
    Volume 104
    Issue 6
    Pages 940-948
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Addiction
    DOI 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02575.x
    ISSN 1360-0443
    Short Title Lifetime alcohol use, abuse and dependence among university students in Lebanon
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19466919
    Accessed Tuesday, June 14, 2011 9:26:23 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19466919
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Alcohol Drinking
    • Alcoholism
    • Christianity
    • Female
    • Humans
    • ISLAM
    • Lebanon
    • Male
    • Students
    • Young Adult
  • Spirituality and Religiosity: Factors Affecting Wellness Among Low-Income, Rural Women

    Type Journal Article
    Author C. S. Gill
    Author C. A. B. Minton
    Author J. E. Myers
    Abstract A study including measures of spirituality, religiosity, and wellness was conducted to identify coping strategies for the multiple challenges to wellness faced by low-income, rural women. Total spirituality and religiosity accounted for 39% of the variance in wellness, with purpose and meaning in life, unifying interconnectedness, and private religious practices composing the main contributions. Implications for counselors working with these women are discussed, as is the need for further research.
    Publication Journal of Counseling and Development
    Volume 88
    Issue 3
    Pages 293-302
    Date SUM 2010
    ISSN 0748-9633
    Short Title Spirituality and Religiosity
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 6:14:49 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Considering religion and beliefs in child protection and safeguarding work: Is any consensus emerging?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Philip Gilligan
    Abstract Diverse, but significant, phenomena have combined to raise both the profile of issues related to religion and child abuse and the need for professionals to understand and respond appropriately to them. The nature of some of these issues is explored and attempts made to clarify them. Data collected by the author primarily from questionnaires completed by professionals involved in child protection and safeguarding work are analysed and discussed. Some patterns are identified and explored. Finally, it is suggested that, despite the apparent emergence of a more general recognition and acknowledgement of these issues amongst many professionals, relevant day-to-day practice remains largely dependent on individual views and attitudes. Moreover, practitioners are able to continue with 'religion-blind' and 'belief-blind' approaches without these being significantly challenged by agency policies or by professional cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Child Abuse Review
    Volume 18
    Issue 2
    Pages 94-110
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1002/car.1059
    ISSN 0952-9136
    Short Title Considering religion and beliefs in child protection and safeguarding work
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • attitudes
    • Beliefs
    • CHILD abuse
    • child protection
    • Child Welfare
    • Protective Services
    • religion
    • Religious Beliefs
    • safeguarding work
    • Safety
  • Prayer and Spiritual Practices for Health Reasons among American Adults: The Role of Race and Ethnicity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Frank Gillum
    Author Derek M. Griffith
    Abstract Many studies find racial differences in prayer and religious practices, but few reports examine factors that help explain the effects of Hispanic ethnicity or African American race. A national survey conducted in 2002 collected data on 10 non-religious spiritual practices as well as on prayer for health reasons in 22,929 adults aged 18 years and over. We found marked racial and ethnic differences in the use of prayer and other spiritual practices for health reasons. Greater proportions of African Americans and Hispanic Americans than European Americans reported prayer for health reasons. Sociodemographic variables and health status could not explain these differences. Further, among those who reported prayer, African Americans were more likely than European Americans to report being prayed for by others. However, African American women and Hispanic women and men were significantly less likely than European Americans to use other spiritual practices such as meditation and Tai Chi. Surprisingly African American men were just as likely to report these practices as European American men. Sociodemographic variables and health status could not explain these differences.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 283-295
    Date 3/2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9249-7
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Short Title Prayer and Spiritual Practices for Health Reasons among American Adults
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:54:27 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • Religious involvement and seroprevalence of six infectious diseases in US adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author R F Gillum
    Author Cheryl L Holt
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: In the United States, religious practice is inversely associated with several chronic conditions, but no reports show whether it is inversely associated with prevalence of positive serology for infections. METHODS: Data on a multiethnic, national sample included 11,507 persons aged 17 years and over with complete data on frequency of attendance at religious services (FARS) and serologic testing for six pathogens. RESULTS: Even after controlling for multiple confounders, persons attending religious services weekly (19.8%) or more (19.6%) were less likely to be seropositive for herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2) than those attending less frequently (23.7%) or never (25.1%, P = 0.001). Analyses revealed the association to be partially accounted for by reduced risky sexual behavior and illegal drug use among frequent attenders. No associations were found with three enteric pathogens. CONCLUSION: Infection with HSV-2 and hepatitis C virus (HCV) was inversely associated with FARS, independent of multiple confounders.
    Publication Southern Medical Journal
    Volume 103
    Issue 5
    Pages 403-408
    Date May 2010
    Journal Abbr South. Med. J
    DOI 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3181beac80
    ISSN 1541-8243
    Accessed Friday, June 04, 2010 9:30:51 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20375957
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Helicobacter Infections
    • Helicobacter pylori
    • Hepatitis A
    • Hepatitis B
    • Hepatitis C
    • Herpes Genitalis
    • Herpesvirus 2, Human
    • Humans
    • religion
    • Risk-Taking
    • Seroepidemiologic Studies
    • Sexual behavior
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Toxoplasmosis
    • United States
  • Associations between religious involvement and behavioral risk factors for HIV/AIDS in American women and men in a national health survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author R F Gillum
    Author Cheryl L Holt
    Abstract <AbstractText Label="BACKGROUND" NlmCategory="BACKGROUND">Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is a leading cause of death.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="PURPOSE" NlmCategory="OBJECTIVE">We tested the hypothesis that religious variables would be inversely associated with prevalence of HIV/AIDS risk factors.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="METHODS" NlmCategory="METHODS">A 2002 national survey included 9,837 individuals aged 15-44 years with complete data on religious involvement, sexual, and drug use behaviors.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="RESULTS" NlmCategory="RESULTS">Women who never attended services had over two times greater odds of reporting HIV risk factors than those attending weekly or more after adjusting for age and race/ethnicity (p &lt; 0.0001) and over 60% greater after adjusting for multiple confounders, but no significant association was seen in men. Mainline Protestants had lower odds of reporting risk factors than those with no affiliation. No significant independent associations were found with importance of religion.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="CONCLUSIONS" NlmCategory="CONCLUSIONS">Women with public religious involvement had lower prevalence of any HIV risk factors while only affiliation was so associated in men.</AbstractText>
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 40
    Issue 3
    Pages 284-293
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Ann Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s12160-010-9218-0
    ISSN 1532-4796
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20697858
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:51:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20697858
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Notes:

    • Authors of this study tested the hypothesis that religious variables would be inversely associated with prevalence of HIV/AIDS risk factors. Using a 2002 national survey including 9,837 individuals aged 15-44 years, the results showed that women with public religious involvement had lower prevalence of any HIV risk factors while only affiliation was so associated in men.

  • Associations between breast cancer risk factors and religiousness in American women in a national health survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author F Gillum
    Author Carla Williams
    Abstract Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in American women. Data are lacking from representative samples of total populations on the association of risk factors for breast cancer and religiousness. The sixth cycle of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG VI) included 3,766 women aged 30-44 years with complete data on self-reported religiousness, and selected breast cancer risk factors. Of women in the analysis, 1,008 reported having four or more breast cancer risk factors. Women who never attended services were over seven times more likely to report having four or more risk factors than those who attended more than weekly (P < 0.0001). After adjusting for age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, nativity, education and marital status by logistic regression, women who never attended services were still over six times more likely to report having four or more risk factors (P < 0.0001). The combination of frequent attendance at religious services, very high importance of religion in daily life, and self-identification as a Protestant evangelical was particularly protective. Multiple dimensions of religiousness are independently associated with multiple breast cancer risk factors.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 178-188
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9187-9
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:12:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19421868
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Age Distribution
    • Age Factors
    • Alcohol Drinking
    • Breast Feeding
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Contraceptives, Oral
    • Ethnic Groups
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Menarche
    • Odds Ratio
    • Population Surveillance
    • religion
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Risk Factors
    • Smoking
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • United States

    Notes:

    • A study on breast cancer on the association of risk factors for breast cancer and religiousness. After adjusting for age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, nativity, education and marital status by logistic regression, women who never attended services were still over six times more likely to report having four or more risk factors

  • Frequency of attendance at religious services and mortality in a U.S. national cohort

    Type Journal Article
    Author R F Gillum
    Author Dana E King
    Author Thomas O Obisesan
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Few nationally representative cohort studies have appeared on frequency of attendance at religious services and mortality. We test the hypothesis that > weekly attendance compared with nonattendance at religious services is associated with lower probability of future mortality in such a study. METHODS: Data were analyzed from a longitudinal follow-up study of 8450 American men and women age 40 years and older who were examined from 1988 to 1994 and followed an average of 8.5 years. Measurements at baseline included self-reported frequency of attendance at religious services, sociodemographics, and health, physical and biochemical measurements. RESULTS: Death during follow-up occurred in 2058. After adjusting for confounding by baseline sociodemographics and health status, the hazards ratios (95% confidence limits) were never 1.00 (reference); < weekly 0.89 (0.75-1.04), p = 0.15; weekly 0.82 (0.71-0.94) p = 0.005; and > weekly attenders 0.70 (0.59-0.83), p < 0.001. Mediators, including health behaviors and inflammation, explained part of the association. CONCLUSIONS: In a nationwide cohort of Americans, predominantly Christians, analyses demonstrated a lower risk of death independent of confounders among those reporting religious attendance at least weekly compared to never. The association was substantially mediated by health behaviors and other risk factors.
    Publication Annals of Epidemiology
    Volume 18
    Issue 2
    Pages 124-129
    Date Feb 2008
    Journal Abbr Ann Epidemiol
    DOI 10.1016/j.annepidem.2007.10.015
    ISSN 1047-2797
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18083539
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:23:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18083539
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Cohort Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • mortality
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Objective: We test the hypothesis that weekly attendance compared with nonattendance at religious services is associated with lower probability of future mortality in such a study. Methods: Data were analyzed from a longitudinal follow-up study of 8450 American men and women age 40 years and older who were examined from 1988 to 1994 and followed an average of 8.5 years. Conclusions: In a nationwide cohort of Americans, predominantly Christians, analyses demonstrated a lower risk of death independent of confounders among those reporting religious attendance at least weekly compared to never. The association was substantially mediated by health behaviors and other risk factors.

  • The importance of spirituality in the lives of domestic violence survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tameka L Gillum
    Author Cris M Sullivan
    Author Deborah I Bybee
    Abstract Women with abusive partners utilize a variety of coping strategies to deal with and heal from the violence and sense of betrayal they have experienced. For many women, their trust in a higher power and the support they receive from their faith community is integral to their healing. Of 151 women interviewed for this study, the majority (97%) noted that spirituality or God was a source of strength or comfort for them. Extent of religious involvement predicted increased psychological well-being and decreased depression. For women of color, greater religious involvement was also related to increased social support. Implications for research and direct services are discussed.
    Publication Violence Against Women
    Volume 12
    Issue 3
    Pages 240-250
    Date Mar 2006
    Journal Abbr Violence Against Women
    DOI 10.1177/1077801206286224
    ISSN 1077-8012
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16456150
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:39:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16456150
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Battered Women
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Middle Aged
    • Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Complications
    • Pregnant Women
    • Prenatal Care
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality
    • Survivors
    • Women's Health

    Notes:

    • Women with abusive partners utilize a variety of coping strategies to deal with and heal from the violence and sense of betrayal they have experienced. For many women, their trust in a higher power and the support they receive from their faith community is integral to their healing.

  • Spirituality and quality of life in gynecologic oncology patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author M E Gioiella
    Author B Berkman
    Author M Robinson
    Abstract PURPOSE: The inclusion of spiritual well-being in healthcare assessments can provide insight into patients' needs and coping resources. This study explored the relationship between spiritual well-being and quality of life (QOL) in gynecologic oncology patients in an attempt to clarify the significance of spiritual well-being in the assessment process. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: Eighteen women with gynecologic cancer completed a self-administered questionnaire that obtained sociodemographic, medical, spiritual, and functional information. The Spiritual Well-being Scale was used to assess spiritual well-being, and the Functional Living Index: Cancer (FLIC) measured QOL. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, comparison of means, and analysis of variance. RESULTS: Patients with gynecologic cancers other than ovarian reported a better QOL and a higher degree of spiritual, existential, and religious well-being. Older patients consistently reported higher degrees of spiritual well-being and QOL than did younger patients. Married patients consistently reported higher degrees of spiritual well-being than patients who were not married (never married or separated). Catholic patients scored higher in degrees of religious and spiritual well-being as well as in FLIC scores than other patients. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Health professionals do not generally assess spiritual well-being in their evaluations of patients' needs. The findings from this study support the inclusion of spirituality as part of routine patient assessment and intervention. Clinical intervention that would increase a patient's level of spiritual awareness and his or her level of comfort associated with a personal perspective on death could help decrease the patient's level of psychosocial distress. Despite the medical establishment's bias to the contrary, religion and spirituality are positively associated with both physical and mental health and may be particularly significant to terminally ill patients. The curricula of medical, nursing, and other health schools should be redesigned appropriately.
    Publication Cancer Practice
    Volume 6
    Issue 6
    Pages 333-338
    Date 1998 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Cancer Pract
    ISSN 1065-4704
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9824424
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 7:37:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9824424
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Female
    • Genital Neoplasms, Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • NEEDS assessment
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Oncologic Nursing
    • Pastoral Care
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology

    Notes:

    • This study explored the relationship between spiritual well-being and quality of life (QOL) in gynecologic oncology patients in an attempt to clarify the significance of spiritual well-being in the assessment process.

  • Neural and cognitive basis of spiritual experience: biopsychosocial and ethical implications for clinical medicine

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Giordano
    Author Joan Engebretson
    Abstract The role of patient spirituality and spiritual/liminal experience(s; SE) in the clinical setting has generated considerable equivocality within the medical community. Spiritual experience(s), characterized by circumstance, manifestation, and interpretation, reflect patients' explanatory models. We seek to demonstrate the importance of SE to clinical medicine by illustrating biological, cognitive, and psychosocial domains of effect. Specifically, we address where in the brain these events are processed and what types of neural events may be occurring. We posit that existing evidence suggests that SE can induce both intermediate level processing (ILP) to generate attentional awareness (ie, "consciousness of") effects and perhaps nonintermediate level processing to generate nonattentive, subliminal (ie, "state of") consciousness effects. Recognition of neural and cognitive mechanisms is important to clinicians' understanding of the biological basis of noetic, salutogenic, and putative physiologic effects. We posit that neurocognitive mechanisms, fortified by anthropologic and social contexts, led to the incorporation of SE-evoked behaviors into health-based ritual(s) and religious practice(s). Thus, these experiences not only exert biological effects but may provide important means for enhancing patients' locus of control. By recognizing these variables, we advocate clinicians to act within an ethical scope of practice as therapeutic and moral agents to afford patients resources to accommodate their specific desire(s) and/or need(s) for spiritual experiences, in acknowledgement of the underlying mechanisms and potential outcomes that may be health promotional.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 2
    Issue 3
    Pages 216-225
    Date May 2006
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2006.02.002
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title Neural and cognitive basis of spiritual experience
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/16781644
    Accessed Monday, September 28, 2009 11:56:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16781644
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Attitude to Health
    • Clinical Medicine
    • Cognition
    • Ethics, Clinical
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • NEEDS assessment
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Physician's Role
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The role of patient spirituality and spiritual/liminal experience(s; SE) in the clinical setting has generated considerable equivocality within the medical community. Spiritual experience(s), characterized by circumstance, manifestation, and interpretation, reflect patients’ explanatory models. We seek to demonstrate the importance of SE to clinical medicine by illustrating biological, cognitive, and psychosocial domains of effect. Specifically, we address where in the brain these events are processed and what types of neural events may be occurring. We posit that existing evidence suggests that SE can induce both intermediate level processing (ILP) to generate attentional awareness (ie, “consciousness of”) effects and perhaps nonintermediate level processing to generate nonattentive, subliminal (ie, “state of”) consciousness effects. Recognition of neural and cognitive mechanisms is important to clinicians’ understanding of the biological basis of noetic, salutogenic, and putative physiologic effects. We posit that neurocognitive mechanisms, fortified by anthropologic and social contexts, led to the incorporation of SE-evoked behaviors into health-based ritual(s) and religious practice(s). Thus, these experiences not only exert biological effects but may provide important means for enhancing patients’ locus of control. By recognizing these variables, we advocate clinicians to act within an ethical scope of practice as therapeutic and moral agents to afford patients resources to accommodate their specific desire(s) and/or need(s) for spiritual experiences, in acknowledgement of the underlying mechanisms and potential outcomes that may be health promotional.

  • The Culture of Narcissism Revisited: Transformations of Narcissism in Contemporary Psychospirituality.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ann Gleig
    Abstract In this paper, I trace the debate over narcissism in deinstitutionalized and heavily psychologized spiritualities. First, I summarize how Sigmund Freud’s discussion with Romain Rolland about the “oceanic feeling” established the classical psychoanalytic view of mysticism as a regression to primary narcissism. Second, I review how Heinz Kohut’s radical reconceptualization of narcissism has played a seminal role in socio-cultural interpretations of modern psychologized spirituality. Third, I explore how a contemporary psychospiritual tradition, A.H. Almaas’s Diamond Approach, details the relationship between narcissism and mysticism. Finally, I reflect on the benefits of a dialogical approach between psychoanalysis and spirituality arguing that the types of integrative psychospirituality envisioned by Romain and developed more fully by Almaas have the potential to facilitate the mature transformation of narcissism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 1
    Pages 79-91
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0207-9
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title The Culture of Narcissism Revisited
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:39:48 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Egoism
    • FREUD, Sigmund, 1856-1939
    • Mysticism
    • Narcissism
    • PSYCHOANALYSIS
    • ROLLAND, Romain, 1866-1944
  • The Contemporary Study of Religion and Spirituality Among the Elderly: A Critique

    Type Journal Article
    Author Allen Glicksman
    Abstract Much of the contemporary study of the intersection of aging, religion, and health is based on the assumption that religiousness and spirituality can be accurately measured by certain scales and measures. The further assumption is that these scales and measures are not biased toward any particular form of religious expression and can be used to measure these domains irrespective of the particular faith tradition of the respondent. I argue that indeed many of the most popular scales do contain a clear, underlying set of assumptions about what constitutes religiousness and spirituality and that this understanding is shaped by the same Protestant traditions that have shaped American civilization. By examining several of these scales, and then comparing the assumptions contained in the questions about the meaning of religiousness and spirituality with assumptions about these domains found in traditional Judaism, I come to two conclusions. First, that the scales do reflect a particular religious tradition, and second, that to understand the role of faith in the lives of older persons we must understand the specific faith traditions shared by the elders under study.
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 4
    Pages 244-258
    Date October 2009
    DOI 10.1080/15528030903127130
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title The Contemporary Study of Religion and Spirituality Among the Elderly
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/15528030903127130
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:27:44 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Aging among Jewish Americans: implications for understanding religion, ethnicity, and service needs

    Type Journal Article
    Author Allen Glicksman
    Author Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox
    Abstract PURPOSE: This article challenges popular conceptions of the nature of ethnicity and religiousness in the gerontological literature. Using the example of older Jewish Americans, the authors argue for more nuanced definitions and usage of terms such as "religion" and "ethnicity" in order to begin to understand the complex interweaving of these two dimensions in the lives of older persons. DESIGN AND METHODS: The analyses used data from the 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS) as well as comparisons with the 1990 NJPS. There were 1,099 respondents aged 65 years and older in the 2000-2001 NJPS who reported themselves to be Jewish. This sample was then split into three groups: those who reported observing only Judaism and were affiliated with a denomination within Judaism (n = 776) or were not affiliated (n = 277) and those who reported observing another faith in addition to Judaism (n = 46). RESULTS: Respondents to the 2000-2001 NJPS were older, wealthier, and less likely to be members of a religious denomination than those in the 1990 NJPS. Denominational affiliates were more likely than the other two groups to have a strong ethnic identity but less likely to indicate that religion was important in their lives. Denomination members were also more likely to be children or grandchildren of immigrants. IMPLICATIONS: Several key assumptions in the study of ethnicity and religiousness in much of current gerontological research need reassessment especially assumptions about the links between religious identification, beliefs, practices, and communal solidarity.
    Publication The Gerontologist
    Volume 49
    Issue 6
    Pages 816-827
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    DOI 10.1093/geront/gnp070
    ISSN 1758-5341
    Short Title Aging among Jewish Americans
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19542519
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 12:10:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19542519
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Participation in Spiritual Healing, Religiosity, and Mental Health*

    Type Journal Article
    Author Deborah Carrow Glik
    Abstract Survey data are used to examine the relationship between religiosity and psychosocial distress among persons in Christian, charismatic (n = 83), "New Age,""metaphysical" healing groups (n = 93), and a comparison group of medical patients (n = 137). Data partially support the hypothesis that religiosity is an independent predictor of positive mental health. However, the relationships vary by type of healing group, by psychosocial distress indicator used, and by type of religious belief. These findings are discussed within the context of self selection into healing groups, the social causes of distress, and the magico-religious nature of healing groups.
    Publication Sociological Inquiry
    Volume 60
    Issue 2
    Pages 158-176
    Date 1990
    DOI 10.1111/j.1475-682X.1990.tb00136.x
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1990.tb00136.x
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:22:16 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Survey data are used to examine the relationship between religiosity and psychosocial distress among persons in Christian, charismatic (n = 83), “New Age,”“metaphysical” healing groups (n = 93), and a comparison group of medical patients (n = 137). Data partially support the hypothesis that religiosity is an independent predictor of positive mental health.

  • Doing good, feeling good: Examining the role of organizational citizenship behaviors in changing mood.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Teresa M. Glomb
    Author Devasheesh P. Bhave
    Author Andrew G. Miner
    Author Melanie Wall
    Abstract This study investigates whether the altruism and courtesy dimensions of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) regulate mood at work. Social psychological theories of mood regulation suggest helping behaviors can improve individuals’ moods because helping others provides gratification and directs attention away from one's negative mood. We capture mood states prior to and following the enactment of OCBs using experience sampling methodology in a sample of managerial and professional employees over a 3-week period. Results suggest altruism shows a pattern consistent with mood regulation; negative moods during the prior time period are associated with altruism and positive moods in the subsequent time period. The pattern of results for courtesy behaviors is only partially consistent with a mood regulation explanation. Consistent with theories of behavioral concordance, interaction results suggest individuals higher on Extroversion have more intense positive mood reactions after engaging in altruistic behaviors. Interactions with courtesy were not significant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Personnel Psychology
    Volume 64
    Issue 1
    Pages 191-223
    Date 2011
    DOI 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01206.x
    ISSN 0031-5826
    Short Title Doing good, feeling good
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • Altruism
    • Citizenship
    • Emotional States
    • moods
    • organizational behavior
    • organizational citizenship behavior
    • SOCIAL psychology
  • Integrative cognitive-behavioral and spiritual counseling for rural dementia caregivers with depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert L Glueckauf
    Author W Shuford Davis
    Author Kay Allen
    Author Patty Chipi
    Author Gabriel Schettini
    Author Lance Tegen
    Author Xu Jian
    Author David J Gustafson
    Author Janet Maze
    Author Barbara Mosser
    Author Susie Prescott
    Author Fay Robinson
    Author Cindy Short
    Author Sandra Tickel
    Author Joyce Vanmatre
    Author Thomas Digeronimo
    Author Carmen Ramirez
    Abstract Objective: Discuss initial evaluation of a program for training faith community nurses (FCNs) to conduct cognitive-behavioral and spiritual counseling (CBSC) for rural dementia caregivers (CGs), and present 2 case studies on the use of CBSC for treating depression in this population. Study Design: Pre-post evaluation of the effectiveness of CBSC training and a case study analysis of the effectiveness of CBSC on CG problem improvement and depression. Outcome Measures: For FCN training, we used the FCN Counseling Comfort Scale, FCN Counseling Efficacy Scale, and the FCN Counseling Workshop Satisfaction Survey. The Problem Severity Scale and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were used in the case studies. Results: Significant post-training increases in FCN counseling comfort and perceived counseling efficacy were obtained. Case study findings provided evidence of substantial improvement in caregiving problems and reductions in depression. Conclusions: Preliminary outcomes of FCN training and CBSC for dementia CGs were promising. However, replication across the sample is required to evaluate the overall effectiveness of CBSC for reducing CG depression. Specific competencies and ethical considerations in supervising this form of intervention are also addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).
    Publication Rehabilitation Psychology
    Volume 54
    Issue 4
    Pages 449-461
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Rehabil Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0017855
    ISSN 1939-1544
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19929127
    Accessed Monday, November 30, 2009 7:20:53 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19929127
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • The effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on recurrence of depressive episodes, mental health and quality of life: A randomized controlled study

    Type Journal Article
    Author K A Godfrin
    Author C van Heeringen
    Abstract Depression is characterized by a large risk of relapse/recurrence. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a recent non-drug psychotherapeutic intervention to prevent future depressive relapse/recurrence in remitted/recovered depressed patients. In this randomized controlled trial, the authors investigated the effects of MBCT on the relapse in depression and the time to first relapse since study participation, as well as on several mood states and the quality of life of the patients. 106 recovered depressed patients with a history of at least 3 depressive episodes continued either with their treatment as usual (TAU) or received MBCT in addition to TAU. The efficacy of MBCT was assessed over a study period of 56 weeks. At the end of the study period relapse/recurrence was significantly reduced and the time until first relapse increased in the MBCT plus TAU condition in comparison with TAU alone. The MBCT plus TAU group also showed a significant reduction in both short and longer-term depressive mood and better mood states and quality of the life. For patients with a history of at least three depressive episodes who are not acutely depressed, MBCT, added to TAU, may play an important role in the domain of relapse prevention in depression.
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 48
    Issue 8
    Pages 738-746
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr Behav Res Ther
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2010.04.006
    ISSN 1873-622X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20462570
    Extra PMID: 20462570
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • The value of mindfulness-based methods in teaching at a clinical field placement

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nurper Gökhan
    Author Edward F. Meehan
    Author Kevin Peters
    Publication Psychological Reports
    Volume 106
    Issue 2
    Pages 455-466
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr PR
    DOI 10.2466/PR0.106.2.455-466
    ISSN 0033-2941
    URL http://asp.ammonsscientific.com/find.php?
    resource=PR0.106.2.455
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Associations between religiosity and sexual and contraceptive behaviors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melanie A Gold
    Author Anya V Sheftel
    Author Laurel Chiappetta
    Author Amanda J Young
    Author Allan Zuckoff
    Author Carlo C DiClemente
    Author Brian A Primack
    Abstract STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine associations between religiosity and female adolescents' sexual and contraceptive behaviors. DESIGN: We conducted a secondary analysis on data from a randomized controlled trial comparing interventions designed to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Multivariable modeling assessed the association between a religiosity index consisting of items related to religious behaviors and impact of religious beliefs on decisions and sexual outcomes. PARTICIPANTS: 572 female adolescents aged 13 to 21, recruited via a hospital-based adolescent clinic and community-wide advertisements. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sexual experience, pregnancy, STDs, number of lifetime partners, frequency of sexual activity, previous contraceptive use, and planned contraceptive use. RESULTS: Mean participant age was 17.4 +/- 2.2 years and 68% had been sexually active. Most (74.1%) had a religious affiliation and over half (52.8%) reported that their religious beliefs impact their decision to have sex at least "somewhat." Multivariate analyses showed that, compared with those with low religiosity, those with high religiosity were less likely to have had sexual intercourse (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.14, 0.39). Among sexually active participants, those with high religiosity were less likely to have been pregnant (OR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.22, 0.97), to have had an STD (OR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.22, 0.81), or to have had multiple (>or=4) lifetime partners (OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.21, 0.68) compared to those with low religiosity. Levels of religiosity were not significantly associated with frequency of intercourse, contraception use at last intercourse, or planned contraceptive use. CONCLUSION: In this cohort, religiosity appeared to be a protective factor rather than a risk factor with regard to sexual behavior and was not associated with contraception use.
    Publication Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
    Volume 23
    Issue 5
    Pages 290-297
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpag.2010.02.012
    ISSN 1873-4332
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20493738
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:09:33 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM

    Notes:

    • This study of religiosity and sexual and contraceptive behaviors among female adolescents finds that those with high levels of religiosity are less likely than those with low levels of religiosity to have intercourse.  Of those that did have intercourse, those with high religiosity were less likely to be pregnant, have an STD, or have multiple lifetime partners.  Levels of religiosity were not, however, correlated to frequency of intercourse or contraceptive use.

  • A Gentle Critique of Mourning Religion.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Naomi R. Goldenberg
    Abstract This article offers three points of critical reflection about Mourning Religion, a collection of essays edited by William Parsons, Diane Jonte-Pace and Susan Henking, (University of Virginia Press ). It is suggested that the word “religion” and related terms ought to have been contextualized, that Melanie Klein’s theories ought to have been used more extensively and that nostalgia expressed for the loss of an idealized paternal authority ought to have been made more explicit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 3
    Pages 373-377
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0267-x
    ISSN 00312789
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 5:32:36 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • BEREAVEMENT -- Psychological aspects
    • HENKING, Susan
    • JONTE-Pace, Diane
    • KLEIN, Melanie
    • PARSONS, William

    Notes:

    • Three critical reviews about a series of essays on the relation between psychodynamic theory and religion. 

  • Medical student and patient attitudes toward religion and spirituality in the recovery process.

    Type Journal Article
    Author L.M. Goldfarb
    Author M. Galanter
    Author D. McDowell
    Author H. Lifshutz
    Author H. Dermatitis
    Abstract This study compares the views on spirituality of dually diagnosed patients (diagnosed with both substance abuse and general psychiatric disorders) and medical students in order to investigate their respective orientations toward spirituality and their views of the importance of spirituality in the treatment of addiction. We administered a modified version of Feagin's "Orientation to Life and God Scale" to assess religious and spiritual orientation in both the patients and students. A second series of items was developed and administered in order to compare the patients' and students' perceptions of the relative importance of a religious and spiritual orientation in substance abuse treatment. A third series of items was also given to compare the nature of religious and health-related services on the inpatient unit that patients and students most wanted to see improved. We found that the medical students responsible for treating substance abuse are significantly less religiously and spirituality oriented than the patients they treat, and that the students do not indicate that spirituality is an important component in the care of these patients. It may be clinically relevant to train medical students in the potential importance of spirituality in addiction treatment so that they can incorporate spirituality into the treatment of addictions.
    Publication American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
    Volume 22
    Issue 4
    Pages 549-561
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study compares the views on spirituality of dually diagnosed patients (diagnosed with both substance abuse and general psychiatric disorders) and medical students in order to investigate their respective orientations toward spirituality and their views of the importance of spirituality in the treatment of addiction. We found that the medical students responsible for treating substance abuse are significantly less religiously and spirituality oriented than the patients they treat, and that the students do not indicate that spirituality is an important component in the care of these patients.

  • Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Philippe R. Goldin
    Author James J. Gross
    Abstract Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an established program shown to reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. MBSR is believed to alter emotional responding by modifying cognitive–affective processes. Given that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by emotional and attentional biases as well as distorted negative self-beliefs, we examined MBSR-related changes in the brain–behavior indices of emotional reactivity and regulation of negative self-beliefs in patients with SAD. Sixteen patients underwent functional MRI while reacting to negative self-beliefs and while regulating negative emotions using 2 types of attention deployment emotion regulation—breath-focused attention and distraction-focused attention. Post-MBSR, 14 patients completed neuroimaging assessments. Compared with baseline, MBSR completers showed improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms and self-esteem. During the breath-focused attention task (but not the distraction-focused attention task), they also showed (a) decreased negative emotion experience, (b) reduced amygdala activity, and (c) increased activity in brain regions implicated in attentional deployment. MBSR training in patients with SAD may reduce emotional reactivity while enhancing emotion regulation. These changes might facilitate reduction in SAD-related avoidance behaviors, clinical symptoms, and automatic emotional reactivity to negative self-beliefs in adults with SAD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Emotion
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 83-91
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0018441
    ISSN 1528-3542
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:17:48 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Attention
    • emotion
    • Emotional Regulation
    • Mindfulness
    • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
    • Neuroimaging
    • social anxiety
    • Stress
    • stress management
  • Mindfulness Meditation Training and Self-Referential Processing in Social Anxiety Disorder: Behavioral and Neural Effects

    Type Journal Article
    Author Philippe Goldin
    Author Wiveka Ramel
    Author James Gross
    Abstract This study examined the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the brain-behavior mechanisms of self-referential processing in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Sixteen patients underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while encoding self-referential, valence, and orthographic features of social trait adjectives. Post-MBSR, 14 patients completed neuroimaging. Compared to baseline, MBSR completers showed (a) increased self-esteem and decreased anxiety, (b) increased positive and decreased negative self-endorsement, (c) increased activity in a brain network related to attention regulation, and (d) reduced activity in brain systems implicated in conceptual-linguistic self-view. MBSR-related changes in maladaptive or distorted social self-view in adults diagnosed with SAD may be related to modulation of conceptual self-processing and attention regulation. Self-referential processing may serve as a functional biobehavioral target to measure the effects of mindfulness training.
    Publication Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 23
    Pages 242-257
    Date August 2009
    DOI 10.1891/0889-8391.23.3.242
    Short Title Mindfulness Meditation Training and Self-Referential Processing in Social Anxiety Disorder
    URL http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/springer/jcogp/2009/00000023/00000003/art00005
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:02:06 PM
    Library Catalog IngentaConnect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Clinical Intervention
    • Fmri
    • Mindfulness
    • Self
    • Social Anxiety Disorder

    Notes:

    • This study examined the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the brain-behavior mechanisms of self-referential processing in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Compared to baseline, MBSR completers showed (a) increased self-esteem and decreased anxiety, (b) increased positive and decreased negative self-endorsement, (c) increased activity in a brain network related to attention regulation, and (d) reduced activity in brain systems implicated in conceptual-linguistic self-view.

  • Sacred moments: implications on well-being and stress

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elisha David Goldstein
    Abstract This research provides a theoretical, empirical, and qualitative examination of the role of cultivating sacred moments in daily life on subjective well-being (SWB), psychological well-being (PWB), and stress. Seventy-three participants were randomly assigned to two groups: (a) a 3-week intervention group where members were instructed in cultivating sacred moments, or (b) a 3-week control group where members were instructed in writing about daily activities. Findings indicate that the intervention was equally as effective as an adapted therapeutic writing intervention. There were significant effects over time across multiple assessments related to SWB, PWB, stress, and daily spiritual experiences after the 3-week intervention and again 6 weeks later. Qualitative analysis complemented and enriched the findings of these results. This study introduces a new intervention into the field of clinical psychology and extends the findings of prior research.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 63
    Issue 10
    Pages 1001-1019
    Date Oct 2007
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20402
    ISSN 0021-9762
    Short Title Sacred moments
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17828765
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:56:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17828765
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Adult
    • Attention
    • Female
    • Happiness
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Healing
    • Middle Aged
    • Narration
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Writing

    Notes:

    • @font-face { font-family: "Garamond"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.BibEntryAnnotation, li.BibEntryAnnotation, div.BibEntryAnnotation { margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

      This research provides a theoretical, empirical, and qualitative examination of the role of cultivating sacred moments in daily life on subjective well-being (SWB), psychological well-being (PWB), and stress. Findings indicate that the intervention was equally as effective as an adapted therapeutic writing intervention.

       

  • The role of religiosity, social support, and stress-related growth in protecting against HIV risk among transgender women.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sarit A. Golub
    Author Ja'Nina J. Walker
    Author Buffie Longmire-Avital
    Author David S. Bimbi
    Author Jeffrey T. Parsons
    Abstract Transgender women completed questionnaires of religiosity, social support, stigma, stress-related growth, and sexual risk behavior. In a multivariate model, both social support and religious stress-related growth were significant negative predictors of unprotected anal sex, but religious behaviors and beliefs emerged as a significant positive predictor. The interaction between religious behaviors and beliefs and social support was also significant, and post-hoc analyses indicated that high-risk sex was least likely among individuals with high-levels of social support but low levels of religious behaviors and beliefs. These data have important implications for understanding factors that might protect against HIV risk for transgender women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 15
    Issue 8
    Pages 1135-1144
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1177/1359105310364169
    ISSN 1359-1053
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Human Females
    • protective factors
    • religiosity
    • sexual risk behavior
    • Sexual Risk Taking
    • social support
    • Stress
    • Transgender
    • transgender women

    Notes:

    • Transgender women completed questionnaires of religiosity, social support, stigma, stress-related growth, and sexual risk behavior. In a multivariate model, both social support and religious stress-related growth were significant negative predictors of unprotected anal sex, but religious behaviors and beliefs emerged as a significant positive predictor. The interaction between religious behaviors and beliefs and social support was also significant, and post-hoc analyses indicated that high-risk sex was least likely among individuals with high-levels of social support but low levels of religious behaviors and beliefs. These data have important implications for understanding factors that might protect against HIV risk for transgender women.

  • Relationship between religion and obsessive phenomena

    Type Journal Article
    Author C. J, Gonsalvez
    Author A. R. Hains
    Author G. Stoyles
    Abstract The study examined the relationship between religion and symptoms of psychopathology, particularly obsessive-compulsive (OC) and scrupulosity symptoms. Religious affiliation, religiosity variables (strength of faith, religious application, the beliefs about God's nature), and cognitive factors (e.g., obsessive beliefs) were studied as predictors of OC and scrupulosity symptoms in 179 non-clinical participants. The main groups (Catholic, Protestant, and no religion) were not different with regard to measures of wellbeing or symptoms of general psychopathology (depression, anxiety, and stress), but were different with regard to OC symptoms. Consistent with cognitive theory, OC beliefs strongly predicted both OC and scrupulosity symptoms, even when general levels of psychopathology were controlled. Religion bore a less major but significant association with OC phenomena. Religious affiliation (being Catholic) was associated with higher levels of OC symptoms, and higher levels of personal religiosity (strength of faith) were associated with higher levels of scrupulosity.
    Publication Australian Journal of Psychology
    Volume 62
    Issue 2
    Pages 93-102
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1080/00049530902887859
    ISSN 0004-9530
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 6:08:30 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Relationship between religion and obsessive phenomena.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Craig J. Gonsalvez
    Author Alex R. Hains
    Author Gerard Stoyles
    Abstract The study examined the relationship between religion and symptoms of psychopathology, particularly obsessive-compulsive (OC) and scrupulosity symptoms. Religious affiliation, religiosity variables (strength of faith, religious application, the beliefs about God's nature), and cognitive factors (e.g., obsessive beliefs) were studied as predictors of OC and scrupulosity symptoms in 179 non-clinical participants. The main groups (Catholic, Protestant, and no religion) were not different with regard to measures of wellbeing or symptoms of general psychopathology (depression, anxiety, and stress), but were different with regard to OC symptoms. Consistent with cognitive theory, OC beliefs strongly predicted both OC and scrupulosity symptoms, even when general levels of psychopathology were controlled. Religion bore a less major but significant association with OC phenomena. Religious affiliation (being Catholic) was associated with higher levels of OC symptoms, and higher levels of personal religiosity (strength of faith) were associated with higher levels of scrupulosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Australian Journal of Psychology
    Volume 62
    Issue 2
    Pages 93-102
    Date July 2010
    DOI 10.1080/00049530902887859
    ISSN 00049530
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:41:14 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • CATHOLICS
    • OBSESSIVE-compulsive disorder
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Pathological
    • religion
  • Support for spirituality in smoking cessation: results of pilot survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author David Gonzales
    Author Donovan Redtomahawk
    Author Barbara Pizacani
    Author Wendy G Bjornson
    Author Janet Spradley
    Author Elizabeth Allen
    Author Paul Lees
    Abstract Patient spiritual resources are increasingly included in the treatment of medical conditions such as cancers and alcohol and drug dependence, but use of spiritual resources is usually excluded from tobacco dependence treatment. We hypothesized that this omission may be linked to perceived resistance from smokers. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted a pilot survey to assess whether current smokers would consider spiritual, including religious, resources helpful if they were planning to quit. Smokers at least 18 years of age at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, (N=104) completed a brief survey of smoking behaviors and spiritual beliefs. None were attempting to quit. Of these individuals, 92 (88%) reported some history of spiritual resources (spiritual practice or belief in a Higher Power), and of those respondents, 78% reported that using spiritual resources to quit could be helpful, and 77% reported being open to having their providers encourage use of spiritual resources when quitting. Results of logistic regression analysis indicated that those aged 31-50 years (OR=3.3), those over age 50 years (OR=5.4), and women (OR=3.4) were significantly more likely to have used spiritual resources in the past. Of the 92 smokers with any history of spiritual resources, those smoking more than 15 cigarettes/day were significantly more receptive to provider encouragement of spiritual resources in a quit attempt (OR=5.4). Our data are consistent with overall beliefs in the United States about spirituality and recent trends to include spirituality in health care. We conclude that smokers, especially heavier smokers, may be receptive to using spiritual resources in a quit attempt and that spirituality in tobacco dependence treatment warrants additional investigation and program development.
    Publication Nicotine & Tobacco Research: Official Journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
    Volume 9
    Issue 2
    Pages 299-303
    Date Feb 2007
    Journal Abbr Nicotine Tob. Res
    DOI 10.1080/14622200601078582
    ISSN 1462-2203
    Short Title Support for spirituality in smoking cessation
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17365761
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:29:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17365761
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Counseling
    • Data Collection
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pilot Projects
    • Smoking
    • Smoking Cessation
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • We conducted a pilot survey to assess whether current smokers would consider spiritual, including religious, resources helpful if they were planning to quit. We conclude that smokers, especially heavier smokers, may be receptive to using spiritual resources in a quit attempt and that spirituality in tobacco dependence treatment warrants additional investigation and program development.

  • Evaluating the direction of effects in the relationship between religious versus non-religious activities, academic success, and substance use.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marie Good
    Author Teena Willoughby
    Abstract This longitudinal study tested the influence of involvement and selection hypotheses for the association between religious versus non-religious activity involvement and two salient indicators of adolescent psychosocial adjustment (substance use and academic achievement). Participants included 3,993 Canadian adolescents (49.4% girls) who were surveyed each year from grades 9–12. More frequent religious attendance (but not non-religious club involvement) in one grade predicted lower levels of substance use in the next grade. Higher levels of non-religious club involvement (but not religious service attendance) in one grade predicted higher academic achievement in the next grade, and higher academic achievement in one grade predicted more frequent non-religious club involvement in the next grade. The effects were robust, as they were invariant across grade and significant after controlling for individual, peer, and family characteristics. Most importantly, these results suggest that religious activities are not just another club, but, rather, that different developmental assets may be fostered in religious as compared to non-religious activities. understanding and promoting positive developmental features, both religious and non-religious structured activities are seen as environments where intrapersonal and interpersonal assets may be fostered in adolescents (e.g., Dworkin et al. 2003; King and Furrow 2004). Religious activities (e.g., attendance at church), however, may be a particularly unique form of structured activity where young people may have experiences not typically gained in other types of clubs (e.g., Smith 2003a). Different assets, therefore, may be fostered by religious, as compared to non-religious clubs. Similarly, different types of adolescents may be drawn to participate in religious versus non-religious activities. Differences between religious and non-religious activities have been largely overlooked within the literature, as religious activities often are not examined as a unique category (e.g., Gardner et al. 2008). Not surprisingly, then, potential differences in the relationships between religious versus non-religious activities and adolescent psychosocial adjustment also have not been examined. In the present study, we evaluate differential relationships between participation in these activities and two commonly-studied indicators of adjustment in adolescence (substance use and academic achievement), with a focus on assessing differences in the direction of effects for religious versus non-religious activities as well as the robustness of these effects across time and in the presence of multiple control variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Youth and Adolescence
    Volume 40
    Issue 6
    Pages 680-693
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s10964-010-9581-y
    ISSN 0047-2891
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • ACADEMIC achievement
    • academic success
    • adolescent psychosocial adjustment
    • psychosocial development
    • religious activities
    • Religious Practices
  • Just another club? The distinctiveness of the relation between religious service attendance and adolescent psychosocial adjustment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marie Good
    Author Teena Willoughby
    Author Jan Fritjers
    Abstract This study used hierarchical linear modeling to compare longitudinal patterns of adolescent religious service attendance and club attendance, and to contrast the longitudinal relations between adolescent adjustment and religious service versus club attendance. Participants included 1050 students (47% girls) encompassing a school district in Canada, who completed the survey first in grade nine and again in grades 11 and 12. Results demonstrated that patterns of religious service attendance over time were quite different from other clubs. Religious attendance was uniquely associated with several indicators of positive as well as negative adjustment. Club involvement, conversely, was only associated with positive adjustment--particularly for individuals who reported sustained involvement over time. Findings suggest that religious services may provide some unique experiences--both positive and negative--over and above what may be provided in other clubs, and that sustained, rather than sporadic participation in clubs, may be especially important for adolescent adjustment.
    Publication Journal of Youth and Adolescence
    Volume 38
    Issue 9
    Pages 1153-1171
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr J Youth Adolesc
    DOI 10.1007/s10964-008-9320-9
    ISSN 1573-6601
    Short Title Just another club?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19669897
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 3:46:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19669897
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Stability and change in adolescent spirituality/religiosity: A person-centered approach

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marie Good
    Author Teena Willoughby
    Author Michael A Busseri
    Abstract Although there has been a substantial increase over the past decade in studies that have examined the psychosocial correlates of spirituality/religiosity in adolescence, very little is known about spirituality/religiosity as a domain of development in its own right. To address this limitation, the authors identified configurations of multiple dimensions of spirituality/religiosity across 2 time points with an empirical classification procedure (cluster analysis) and assessed development in these configurations at the sample and individual level. Participants included 756 predominately Canadian-born adolescents (53% female, 47% male) from southern Ontario, Canada, who completed a survey in Grade 11 (M age = 16.41 years) and Grade 12 (M age = 17.36 years). Measures included religious activity involvement, enjoyment of religious activities, the Spiritual Transcendence Index, wondering about spiritual issues, frequency of prayer, and frequency of meditation. Sample-level development (structural stability and change) was assessed by examining whether the structural configurations of the clusters were consistent over time. Individual-level development was assessed by examining intraindividual stability and change in cluster membership over time. Results revealed that a five cluster-solution was optimal at both grades. Clusters were identified as aspiritual/irreligious, disconnected wonderers, high institutional and personal, primarily personal, and meditators. With the exception of the high institutional and personal cluster, the cluster structures were stable over time. There also was significant intraindividual stability in all clusters over time; however, a significant proportion of individuals classified as high institutional and personal in Grade 11 moved into the primarily personal cluster in Grade 12. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).
    Publication Developmental Psychology
    Volume 47
    Issue 2
    Pages 538-550
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr Dev Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0021270
    ISSN 1939-0599
    Short Title Stability and change in adolescent spirituality/religiosity
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21171747
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21171747
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
  • The evaluation of spiritual care in a dementia care setting.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Margaret A. Goodall
    Abstract Spiritual care has become an integral part of the care package offered to older people who move to residential care. However, spirituality is a word that can mean everything or nothing and as such becomes difficult to define. Assessment of ‘spiritual care’ becomes a real challenge, because it raises important questions. These are as follows: the nature of spiritual care; how it is offered; and who takes responsibility for it. This is especially true in dementia care homes where residents cannot normally take part in evaluation. This paper offers a model of evaluation of spiritual care by using reflection, relationship and restoration, and through observing the virtues described in the Biblical concept of ‘fruit of the spirit’. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice
    Volume 8
    Issue 2
    Pages 167-183
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1177/1471301209103249
    ISSN 1471-3012
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Dementia
    • dementia care setting
    • Home Care
    • residential care
    • Spiritual care
    • spirituality
  • "You look, thank God, quite good on the outside": imitating the ideal self in a Jewish ultra-Orthodox rehabilitation site

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yehuda C Goodman
    Abstract Rather than viewing therapeutic interventions as either compliance or resistance to the social order, I analyze them as mimesis of cultural ideal selves. In particular, I examine the new mediations of the social order constituted in mimetic therapeutic practices and their entailed creativity and ambivalence. Drawing on participant observation in a Jewish ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) rehabilitation site I explore how, given the ruptures brought about in mental disorders, caretakers offer their clients new ways to inhabit the normal self through its imitation. Specifically, caregivers construct replications of dominant selves by selectively deploying modern and neotraditional discourses of the self in diverse social contexts and in multiple registries like body, emotions, social relations, and ways of belonging to the community. I suggest that mimetic therapeutic work is carried out along emerging social distinctions that are associated with Haredim's complex relations with the secular society, and with cultural contestations within the community itself.
    Publication Medical Anthropology Quarterly
    Volume 23
    Issue 2
    Pages 122-141
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Med Anthropol Q
    ISSN 0745-5194
    Short Title "You look, thank God, quite good on the outside"
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:48:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19562952
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Anthropology, Cultural
    • Humans
    • Jews
    • Mental Disorders
    • Psychotherapy
    • Self Concept
    • Social Class
  • The serotonergic system and mysticism: could LSD and the nondrug-induced mystical experience share common neural mechanisms?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neil Goodman
    Abstract This article aims to explore, through established scientific research and documented accounts of personal experience, the similarities between religious mystical experiences and some effects of D-lysergic diethylamide or LSD. LSD predominantly works upon the serotonergic (serotonin-using neurons) diffuse neuromodulatory system, which projects its axons to virtually all areas of the brain including the neocortex. By its normal action it modulates awareness of the environmental surroundings and filters a high proportion of this information before it can be processed, thereby only allowing the amount of information that is necessary for survival. LSD works to open this filter, and so an increased amount of somatosensory data is processed with a corresponding increase in what is deemed important. This article describes the effects and actions of LSD, and due to the similarities with the nondrug-induced mystical experience the author proposes that the two could have common modes of action upon the brain. This could lead to avenues of research into mysticism and a wealth of knowledge on consciousness and how we perceive the universe.
    Publication Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
    Volume 34
    Issue 3
    Pages 263-272
    Date 2002 Jul-Sep
    Journal Abbr J Psychoactive Drugs
    ISSN 0279-1072
    Short Title The serotonergic system and mysticism
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/12422936
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:36:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12422936
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Brain
    • Hallucinations
    • Humans
    • Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
    • Molecular Structure
    • Mysticism
    • Neurons
    • Norepinephrine
    • Psychophysiology
    • Receptors, Presynaptic
    • Receptors, Serotonin
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Serotonin
    • Serotonin Agonists

    Notes:

    • This article aims to explore, through established scientific research and documented accounts of personal experience, the similarities between religious mystical experiences and some effects of D-lysergic diethylamide or LSD. LSD predominantly works upon the serotonergic (serotonin-using neurons) diffuse neuromodulatory system, which projects its axons to virtually all areas of the brain including the neocortex. By its normal action it modulates awareness of the environmental surroundings and filters a high proportion of this information before it can be processed, thereby only allowing the amount of information that is necessary for survival. LSD works to open this filter, and so an increased amount of somatosensory data is processed with a corresponding increase in what is deemed important. This article describes the effects and actions of LSD, and due to the similarities with the nondrug-induced mystical experience the author proposes that the two could have common modes of action upon the brain. This could lead to avenues of research into mysticism and a wealth of knowledge on consciousness and how we perceive the universe.

  • The efficacy of adult christian support groups in coping with the death of a significant loved one

    Type Journal Article
    Author Herbert Goodman
    Author Mark H Stone
    Abstract Psychologists sometimes minimize important resources such as religion and spiritual beliefs for coping with bereavement. Alienation of therapeutic psychology from religious values contrasts to professional and public interest in religious experience and commitment. A supportive viewpoint has come about partially as a result of recognizing important values which clinicians have found absent in many of their clients. Until spiritual belief systems become integrated into the work of clinicians, clients may not be fully integrative in coping with loss. The key finding of this study was that individuals who participated in Christian and secular support groups showed no statistically significant difference in their mean endorsement of negative criteria on the BHS, and no statistically significant difference for their mean score endorsement of positive criteria on the RCOPE. However, a Christian-oriented approach was no less effective than a psychological-oriented one. In both groups, a spiritual connection to a specific or generalized higher power was frequently identified which clients ascribed to facilitating the management of their coping.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 3
    Pages 305-316
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9201-2
    ISSN 1573-6571
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19639419
    Accessed Tuesday, October 27, 2009 9:56:08 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19639419
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Hidden Mission of the Psyche in Abuse and Addiction

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christian Gostecnik
    Author Tanja Repic
    Author Mateja Cvetek
    Author Robert Cvetek
    Abstract Traumatic experiences can become the central mental content in our psychic structure and can deeply mark all our later perceptions and experiences of our surroundings. We can claim something similar also for addictions of all kinds. In this article, we will demonstrate that recurring traumatic experiences and abuse as well as addiction represent a hidden mission of psyche for resolution and a great cry of longing for salvation.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 361-376
    Date 6/2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9264-8
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:56:44 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • A stairway to heaven? Structure of the religious involvement inventory and spiritual well-being scale

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alan J Gow
    Author Roger Watson
    Author Martha Whiteman
    Author Ian J Deary
    Abstract Being religious or having spiritual beliefs has been linked to improved health and well-being in several empirical studies. Potential underlying mechanisms can be suggested by psychometrically reliable and valid indices. Two self-report measures of religiosity/spirituality were completed by a cohort of older adults: the Religious Involvement Inventory and the Spiritual Well-being Scale. Both were analyzed using principal components analysis and the Mokken scaling procedure. The latter technique examines whether items can be described as having a hierarchical structure. The results across techniques were comparable and hierarchical structures were discovered in the scales. Analysis of the hierarchy in the RII items suggested the latent trait assesses the extent to which an individual's belief in God influences their life. Examining scales with a range of psychometric techniques may give a better indication of the latent construct being assessed, particularly the hierarchies within these which may be of interest to those investigating religiosity-health associations.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 50
    Issue 1
    Pages 5-19
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-010-9375-2
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title A stairway to heaven?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20614185
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20614185
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
  • Intensive meditation for refractory pain and symptoms

    Type Journal Article
    Author Madhav Goyal
    Author Jennifer Haythornthwaite
    Author David Levine
    Author Diane Becker
    Author Dhananjay Vaidya
    Author Felicia Hill-Briggs
    Author Daniel Ford
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess patient interest in intensive meditation training for chronic symptoms. DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a cross-sectional anonymous survey among six chronic disease clinics in Baltimore including Chronic Kidney Disease, Crohn's Disease, Headache, Renal Transplant Recipients, General Rheumatology, and lupus clinic. SUBJECTS: Subjects were 1119 consecutive patients registering for their appointments at these clinics. OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome measures were 6-month pain, global symptomatology, four-item perceived stress scale, use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, and attitudes toward use of meditation for managing symptoms. We then gave a scripted description of an intensive, 10-day meditation training retreat. Patient interest in attending such a retreat was assessed. RESULTS: Seventy-seven percent (77%) of patients approached completed the survey. Fifty-three percent (53%) of patients reported moderate to severe pain over the past 6 months. Eighty percent (80%) reported use of some CAM therapy in the past. Thirty-five percent (35%) thought that learning meditation would improve their health, and 49% thought it would reduce stress. Overall, 39% reported interest in attending the intensive 10-day meditation retreat. Among those reporting moderate to severe pain or stress, the percentages were higher (48% and 59%). In a univariate analysis, higher education, nonworking/disabled status, female gender, higher stress, higher pain, higher symptomatology, and any CAM use were all associated with a greater odds of being moderately to very interested in an intensive 10-day meditation retreat. A multivariate model that included prior use of CAM therapies as predictors of interest in the program fit the data significantly better than a model not including CAM therapies (p = 0.0013). CONCLUSIONS: Over 50% of patients followed in chronic disease clinics complain of moderate to severe pain. Patients with persistent pain or stress are more likely to be interested in intensive meditation.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 6
    Pages 627-631
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2009.0372
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:34:39 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20569029
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • The object of this study was to assess patient interest in intensive meditation training for chronic symptoms. The study concluded that over 50% of patients followed in chronic disease clinics complain of moderate to severe pain. Patients with persistent pain or stress are more likely to be interested in intensive meditation.

  • Frequency of church attendance and blood pressure elevation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thomas W. Graham
    Author Berton H. Kaplan
    Author Joan C. Cornoni-Huntley
    Author Sherman A. James
    Author Caroline Becker
    Author Curtis G. Hames
    Author Siegfried Heyden
    Abstract Blood pressure levels were examined with regard to church attendance patterns in a group of white male heads of households who appeared in the 1967–1969 follow-up examination of the Evans County Cardiovascular Epidemiologic Study. A consistent pattern of lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures among frequent church attenders was found compared to that of infrequent attenders which was not due to the effects of age, obesity, cigarette smoking, or socioeconomic status.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 1
    Issue 1
    Pages 37-43
    Date March 01, 1978
    DOI 10.1007/BF00846585
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00846585
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:05:59 PM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Blood pressure levels were examined with regard to church attendance patterns in a group of white male heads of households who appeared in the 1967–1969 follow-up examination of the Evans County Cardiovascular Epidemiologic Study. A consistent pattern of lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures among frequent church attenders was found compared to that of infrequent attenders which was not due to the effects of age, obesity, cigarette smoking, or socioeconomic status.

  • Contribution of religiousness in the prediction and interpretation of mystical experiences in a sensory deprivation context: activation of religious schemas

    Type Journal Article
    Author Pehr Granqvist
    Author Marcus Larsson
    Abstract M. A. Persinger (2002) claimed that transcranial magnetic stimulation with weak, complex magnetic fields evokes mystical experiences. However, in a double-blind experiment, P. Granqvist, M. Fredrikson, P. Unge, A. Hagenfeldt, S. Valind., et al. (2005) found no effects of field exposure on mystical experiences (N = 89), though a minority of participants reported spontaneous mystical experiences. Following the conclusion of null effects from magnetic field exposure, the setup of this experiment, including pre-experimental assessments of religiousness and sensory deprivation, can be viewed as a prime/setting for such experiences. The authors analyzed subsets of experimental data from P. Granqvist and colleagues with emphasis on the contribution of religiousness in the prediction and interpretation of mystical experiences. They found that a higher degree of religiousness predicted a higher occurrence of mystical experiences with a religious quality, but not of mystical experiences without such a quality. The authors discuss findings in terms of the experimental setup serving as a prime/setting activating the religious schemas of religious participants.
    Publication The Journal of Psychology
    Volume 140
    Issue 4
    Pages 319-327
    Date Jul 2006
    Journal Abbr J Psychol
    ISSN 0022-3980
    Short Title Contribution of religiousness in the prediction and interpretation of mystical experiences in a sensory deprivation context
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/16967739
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:19:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16967739
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Magnetics
    • Male
    • Mysticism
    • religion
    • Religious Philosophies
    • Sensory Deprivation
    • Sweden
    • Theology

    Notes:

    • M. A. Persinger (2002) claimed that transcranial magnetic stimulation with weak, complex magnetic fields evokes mystical experiences. However, in a double-blind experiment, P. Granqvist, M. Fredrikson, P. Unge, A. Hagenfeldt, S. Valind., et al. (2005) found no effects of field exposure on mystical experiences (N = 89), though a minority of participants reported spontaneous mystical experiences. Following the conclusion of null effects from magnetic field exposure, the setup of this experiment, including pre-experimental assessments of religiousness and sensory deprivation, can be viewed as a prime/setting for such experiences. The authors analyzed subsets of experimental data from P. Granqvist and colleagues with emphasis on the contribution of religiousness in the prediction and interpretation of mystical experiences. They found that a higher degree of religiousness predicted a higher occurrence of mystical experiences with a religious quality, but not of mystical experiences without such a quality. The authors discuss findings in terms of the experimental setup serving as a prime/setting activating the religious schemas of religious participants.

  • Pain sensitivity and analgesic effects of mindful states in Zen meditators: a cross-sectional study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joshua A Grant
    Author Pierre Rainville
    Abstract OBJECTIVE To investigate pain perception and the potential analgesic effects of mindful states in experienced Zen meditators. METHODS Highly trained Zen meditators (n = 13; >1000 hours of practice) and age/gender-matched control volunteers (n = 13) received individually adjusted thermal stimuli to elicit moderate pain on the calf. Conditions included: a) baseline-1: no task; b) concentration: attend exclusively to the calf; c) mindfulness: attend to the calf and observe, moment to moment, in a nonjudgmental manner; and d) baseline-2: no task. RESULTS Meditators required significantly higher temperatures to elicit moderate pain (meditators: 49.9 degrees C; controls: 48.2 degrees C; p = .01). While attending "mindfully," meditators reported decreases in pain intensity whereas control subjects showed no change from baseline. The concentration condition resulted in increased pain intensity for controls but not for meditators. Changes in pain unpleasantness generally paralleled those found in pain intensity. In meditators, pain modulation correlated with slowing of the respiratory rate and with greater meditation experience. Covariance analyses indicated that mindfulness-related changes could be partially explained by changes in respiratory rates. Finally, the meditators reported higher tendencies to observe and be nonreactive of their own experience as measured on the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire; these factors correlated with individual differences in respiration. CONCLUSIONS These results indicated that Zen meditators have lower pain sensitivity and experience analgesic effects during mindful states. Results may reflect cognitive/self-regulatory skills related to the concept of mindfulness and/or altered respiratory patterns. Prospective studies investigating the effects of meditative training and respiration on pain regulation are warranted.
    Publication Psychosomatic Medicine
    Volume 71
    Issue 1
    Pages 106-114
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychosom Med
    DOI 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31818f52ee
    ISSN 1534-7796
    Short Title Pain sensitivity and analgesic effects of mindful states in Zen meditators
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19073756
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19073756
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attention
    • Attitude
    • Awareness
    • Buddhism
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Hot Temperature
    • Humans
    • Leg
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Pain Threshold
    • Respiration
    • Young Adult
  • Spiritual dimensions of dying in pluralist societies

    Type Journal Article
    Author Liz Grant
    Author Scott A Murray
    Author Aziz Sheikh
    Abstract Despite the decline of formal religion many people still regard the idea of spirituality as essential to their sense of self, especially at times of inner turbulence. We explore how the spiritual needs of dying patients can be understood and met in pluralist and secular societies.
    Publication BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.)
    Volume 341
    Pages c4859
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr BMJ
    DOI 10.1136/bmj.c4859
    ISSN 1468-5833
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:31:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20847019
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Health Services Needs and Demand
    • Humans
    • Patient-Centered Care
    • Psychotherapy
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Terminal Care
    • Terminally Ill
  • Divergent Logics of Spiritual Care: End of Life and the Role of the Church of Sweden

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eva Jeppsson Grassman
    Author Anna Whitaker
    Abstract This article addresses the role of the Church of Sweden in spiritual care for parishioners in their end-of-life phase. The frame of reference is a new geography of dying that implies that a majority of Swedes today, particularly older people, die in their local neighborhood of belonging, in fact in their parishes. Findings from a study of all parishes in two Swedish communities are presented that indicate support for dying parishioners is surprisingly uncommon, although most parishes offer support for the bereaved. A possible interpretation of these contrasting patterns is discussed. The findings indicate that divergent forms of care logic motivated the different types of support offered by the Church. Long-standing relationships with aging parishioners seemed to be at the heart of the matte
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 4
    Pages 344-360
    Date 2009 October
    DOI 10.1080/15528030903158192
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title Divergent Logics of Spiritual Care
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/15528030903158192
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:35:45 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • God's Ruthless Embrace: Religious Belief in Three Women with Borderline Personality Disorder

    Type Journal Article
    Author Wendy Jones Gravitt
    Abstract This exploratory study was designed to determine if three people with the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) viewed religion in characteristic and unique ways. The data was analyzed using Object Relations Theory, Attachment Theory, and an integrated cognitive, affect, and object relations theory. I concluded that the participants shared a faith style that resulted from an early developmental failure and that their image and response to God and the moral universe were a re-enactment of the dysfunctional mother/infant dyad. Specifically, God's character was seen as (1) self-evident and inescapable and (2) stationary and large. God was envisioned (3) as a person who is (4) magical; (5) inexplicable, and therefore, unreliable. Participants believed that (6) God's task was to provide and that (7) God created a moral universe. Their responses had an intense and desperate quality, were typified by ambivalence, and emphasized a power differential. Finally, the women's relationship with God took the form of a deal: if she was dependent, then God would provide. The interface between BPD and psychological and spiritual well-being is discussed and a tentative application of the findings is made to the field of mental health nursing. I suggest that an understanding of BPD religious constructs and the sensitive application of a few principles can contribute to the spiritual and psychological well-being of the BPD inpatient.
    Publication Issues in Mental Health Nursing
    Volume 32
    Issue 5
    Pages 301-317
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr Issues Ment Health Nurs
    DOI 10.3109/01612840.2010.558234
    ISSN 1096-4673
    Short Title God's Ruthless Embrace
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21574844
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:56:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21574844
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
  • Religion, health, and psychological well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Morgan Green
    Author Marta Elliott
    Abstract This study compares the effects of religiosity on health and well-being, controlling for work and family. With 2006 GSS data, we assess the effects of religiosity on health and well-being, net of job satisfaction, marital happiness, and financial status. The results indicate that people who identify as religious tend to report better health and happiness, regardless of religious affiliation, religious activities, work and family, social support, or financial status. People with liberal religious beliefs tend to be healthier but less happy than people with fundamentalist beliefs. Future research should probe how religious identity and beliefs impact health and well-being.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 2
    Pages 149-163
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9242-1
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:38:09 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19283486
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Family
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Workplace
  • Religion, health, and psychological well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Morgan Green
    Author Marta Elliott
    Abstract This study compares the effects of religiosity on health and well-being, controlling for work and family. With 2006 GSS data, we assess the effects of religiosity on health and well-being, net of job satisfaction, marital happiness, and financial status. The results indicate that people who identify as religious tend to report better health and happiness, regardless of religious affiliation, religious activities, work and family, social support, or financial status. People with liberal religious beliefs tend to be healthier but less happy than people with fundamentalist beliefs. Future research should probe how religious identity and beliefs impact health and well-being.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 2
    Pages 149-163
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9242-1
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:39:30 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19283486
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Do formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions have independent linkages with diverse dimensions of psychological well-being?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Emily A Greenfield
    Author George E Vaillant
    Author Nadine F Marks
    Abstract Recognizing religiosity and spirituality as related yet distinct phenomena, and conceptualizing psychological well-being as a multidimensional construct, this study examines whether individuals' frequency of formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions are independently associated with diverse dimensions of psychological well-being (negative affect, positive affect, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and autonomy). Data came from 1,564 respondents in the 2005 National Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS). Higher levels of spiritual perceptions were independently associated with better psychological well-being across all dimensions, and three of these salutary associations were stronger among women than men. Greater formal religious participation was independently associated only with more purpose in life and (among older adults) personal growth; greater formal religious participation was also associated with less autonomy. Overall, results suggest a different pattern of independent linkages between formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions across diverse dimensions of psychological well-being.
    Publication Journal of Health and Social Behavior
    Volume 50
    Issue 2
    Pages 196-212
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Health Soc Behav
    ISSN 0022-1465
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:53:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19537460
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Personal Autonomy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Efficacy
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This study examines whether individuals’ frequency of formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions are independently associated with diverse dimensions of psychological well-being.

  • Do formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions have independent linkages with diverse dimensions of psychological well-being?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Emily A Greenfield
    Author George E Vaillant
    Author Nadine F Marks
    Abstract Recognizing religiosity and spirituality as related yet distinct phenomena, and conceptualizing psychological well-being as a multidimensional construct, this study examines whether individuals' frequency of formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions are independently associated with diverse dimensions of psychological well-being (negative affect, positive affect, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and autonomy). Data came from 1,564 respondents in the 2005 National Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS). Higher levels of spiritual perceptions were independently associated with better psychological well-being across all dimensions, and three of these salutary associations were stronger among women than men. Greater formal religious participation was independently associated only with more purpose in life and (among older adults) personal growth; greater formal religious participation was also associated with less autonomy. Overall, results suggest a different pattern of independent linkages between formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions across diverse dimensions of psychological well-being.
    Publication Journal of Health and Social Behavior
    Volume 50
    Issue 2
    Pages 196-212
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Health Soc Behav
    ISSN 0022-1465
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19537460
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:07:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19537460
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Personal Autonomy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Efficacy
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality
  • Complementary and alternative therapy use before and after breast cancer diagnosis: the Pathways Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Heather Greenlee
    Author Marilyn L Kwan
    Author Isaac Joshua Ergas
    Author Karen J Sherman
    Author Sarah E Krathwohl
    Author Christine Bonnell
    Author Marion M Lee
    Author Lawrence H Kushi
    Abstract Many women use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to maintain or improve their health. We describe CAM use among the first 1,000 participants enrolled in the Pathways Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study of women diagnosed with breast cancer (BC). Participants, identified by rapid case ascertainment in Kaiser Permanente Northern California, are women > or = 21 years diagnosed with first invasive BC. Comprehensive baseline data are collected on CAM use through in-person interviews. Study participants include 70.9% non-Hispanic whites, 10.2% Hispanics, 9.0% Asians, 6.5% African-Americans, and 3.4% others. Most women (82.2%) were diagnosed with AJCC stage I/II BC at average (+/-SD) age 59.5 (+/-12.0) years and reported prior use of at least one form of CAM (96.5% of participants). In the 5 years before diagnosis, CAM therapies used at least weekly by >20% of women included green tea, glucosamine, omega-3 fatty acids, prayer and religion. CAM use was high (86.1% of participants) in the period immediately following diagnosis; 47.5% used botanical supplements, 47.2% used other natural products, 28.8% used special diets, 64.2% used mind-body healing, and 26.5% used body/energy/other treatments. In multivariable analyses, frequent use of each CAM modality before and after diagnosis was associated with use of other CAM modalities and other health behaviors (i.e., high fruit/vegetable intake, lower BMI). CAM use before and after BC diagnosis is common in this diverse group of women. Our results emphasize the need for clinicians to discuss CAM use with all BC patients.
    Publication Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
    Volume 117
    Issue 3
    Pages 653-665
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Breast Cancer Res. Treat
    DOI 10.1007/s10549-009-0315-3
    ISSN 1573-7217
    Short Title Complementary and alternative therapy use before and after breast cancer diagnosis
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19184414
    Accessed Monday, September 28, 2009 10:34:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19184414
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Many women use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to maintain or improve their health. We describe CAM use among the first 1,000 participants enrolled in the Pathways Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study of women diagnosed with breast cancer (BC).

  • Breathing Awareness Meditation and LifeSkills Training Programs Influence Upon Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Sodium Excretion Among African American Adolescents

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mathew J. Gregoski
    Author Vernon A. Barnes
    Author Martha S. Tingen
    Author Gregory A. Harshfield
    Author Frank A. Treiber
    Abstract Purpose To evaluate the effect of breathing awareness meditation (BAM), Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST), and health education control (HEC) on ambulatory blood pressure and sodium excretion in African American adolescents.Methods Following 3 consecutive days of systolic blood pressure (SBP) screenings, 166 eligible participants (i.e., SBP >50th-95th percentile) were randomized by school to either BAM (n = 53), LST (n = 69), or HEC (n = 44). In-school intervention sessions were administered for 3 months by health education teachers. Before and after the intervention, overnight urine samples and 24-hour ambulatory SBP, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were obtained.Results Significant group differences were found for changes in overnight SBP and SBP, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate over the 24-hour period and during school hours. The BAM treatment exhibited the greatest overall decreases on these measures (Bonferroni adjusted, ps < .05). For example, for school-time SBP, BAM showed a change of -3.7 mmHg compared with no change for LST and a change of -.1 mmHg for HEC. There was a nonsignificant trend for overnight urinary sodium excretion (p = .07), with the BAM group displaying a reduction of -.92 ± 1.1 mEq/hr compared with increases of .89 ± 1.2 mEq/hr for LST and .58 ± .9 mEq/hr for HEC group.Conclusion BAM appears to improve hemodynamic function and may affect sodium handling among African American adolescents who are at increased risk for development of cardiovascular disease.
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 1
    Pages 59-64
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.05.019
    ISSN 1054-139X
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 6:59:12 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • adolescents
    • Ambulatory blood pressure
    • Botvin LifeSkills Training
    • Breathing awareness meditation
    • Clinical trial
    • Sodium excretion
  • Specifying the effects of religion on medical helpseeking: the case of infertility

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arthur Greil
    Author Julia McQuillan
    Author Maureen Benjamins
    Author David R Johnson
    Author Katherine M Johnson
    Author Chelsea R Heinz
    Abstract Several recent studies have examined the connection between religion and medical service utilization. This relationship is complicated because religiosity may be associated with beliefs that either promote or hinder medical helpseeking. The current study uses structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between religion and fertility-related helpseeking using a probability sample of 2183 infertile women in the United States. We found that, although religiosity is not directly associated with helpseeking for infertility, it is indirectly associated through mediating variables that operate in opposing directions. More specifically, religiosity is associated with greater belief in the importance of motherhood, which in turn is associated with increased likelihood of helpseeking. Religiosity is also associated with greater ethical concerns about infertility treatment, which are associated with decreased likelihood of helpseeking. Additionally, the relationships are not linear throughout the helpseeking process. Thus, the influence of religiosity on infertility helpseeking is indirect and complex. These findings support the growing consensus that religiously-based behaviours and beliefs are associated with levels of health service utilization.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 71
    Issue 4
    Pages 734-742
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.04.033
    ISSN 1873-5347
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20547437
    Extra PMID: 20547437
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM

    Notes:

    • While confirming recent findings that religiously-based behaviors are correlated to health service utilization, this study nevertheless finds that religiosity is only indirectly associated with greater likelihood of help-seeking for infertility treatment as religiosity is correlated with a stronger belief in the importance of motherhood.  This finding is complicated by the fact that higher religiosity is also correlated with stronger ethical concerns about infertility treatment.  The value of the study is in assessing the indirect nature of associations between religiosity and health service utilization.

  • Patient-perceived changes in the system of values after cancer diagnosis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elżbieta Greszta
    Author Maria J Siemińska
    Abstract A cross-sectional study investigated changes in patients' value systems following a diagnosis of cancer. Fifty patients at 1 to 6 months following cancer diagnosis, were asked to compare their current values with their recollection of past values. Using the Rokeach Value Survey we obtained statistically significant results showing that twenty-seven out of thirty-six values changed their importance from the patients' perspective: 16 values significantly increased, while 11 values significantly decreased in importance. Changes with respect to nine values were insignificant. We indentified clusters of values increasing in importance the most: Religious morality (Salvation, Forgiving, Helpful, Clean), Personal orientation (Self-Respect, True Friendship, Happiness), Self-constriction (Self-Controlled, Obedient, Honest), Family security (Family Security, Responsible), and Delayed gratification (Wisdom, Inner Harmony). We also observed that the following value clusters decreased in importance: Immediate gratification (An Exciting Life, Pleasure, A Comfortable Life); Self-expansion (Capable, Ambitious, Broadminded), Competence (A Sense of Accomplishment, Imaginative, Intellectual). The remaining values belonged to clusters that as a group changed slightly or not at all. Practical implications of the study are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings
    Volume 18
    Issue 1
    Pages 55-64
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol Med Settings
    DOI 10.1007/s10880-011-9221-z
    ISSN 1573-3572
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21373853
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21373853
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM

    Notes:

    • A cross-sectional study investigated changes in patients' value systems following a diagnosis of cancer.

  • Consistency of near-death experience accounts over two decades: Are reports embellished over time?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bruce Greyson
    Publication Resuscitation
    Volume 73
    Issue 3
    Pages 407-411
    Date 06/2007
    Journal Abbr Resuscitation
    DOI 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2006.10.013
    ISSN 03009572
    Short Title Consistency of near-death experience accounts over two decades
    URL http://www.resuscitationjournal.com/article/S0300-9572(06)00669-1/abstract
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:32:40 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Near-Death Experiences in a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic Population

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bruce Greyson
    Abstract Near-death experiences, or mystical experiences during encounters with death, are reported to have beneficial effects despite their phenomenologic similarity to pathological states. This study explored the prevalence of near-death experiences and associated psychological distress by using a cross-sectional survey of 832 psychiatric outpatients. Standardized measures of near-death experiences and psychological distress were administered via questionnaire at clinic intake. A total of 272 patients (33 percent) reported encounters with death, and these patients were found to have greater psychological distress than other patients. Sixty-one of the patients who had been close to death (22 percent) reported having near-death experiences, and these patients were found to have less psychological distress than patients who did not have near-death experiences after brushes with death.
    Publication Psychiatric Services
    Volume 54
    Issue 12
    Pages 1649-1651
    Date December 1, 2003
    DOI 10.1176/appi.ps.54.12.1649
    URL http://ps.psychiatryonline.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/cgi/content/abstract/54/12/1649
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:44:45 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Near-death experiences, or mystical experiences during encounters with death, are reported to have beneficial effects despite their phenomenologic similarity to pathological states. This study explored the prevalence of near-death experiences and associated psychological distress by using a cross-sectional survey of 832 psychiatric outpatients. Standardized measures of near-death experiences and psychological distress were administered via questionnaire at clinic intake. A total of 272 patients (33 percent) reported encounters with death, and these patients were found to have greater psychological distress than other patients. Sixty-one of the patients who had been close to death (22 percent) reported having near-death experiences, and these patients were found to have less psychological distress than patients who did not have near-death experiences after brushes with death.

  • Dissociation in people who have near-death experiences: out of their bodies or out of their minds?

    Type Journal Article
    Author B Greyson
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Some people who come close to death report having experiences in which they transcend the boundaries of the ego and the confines of time and space. Such near-death experiences (NDEs) share some features with the phenomenon of dissociation, in which a person's self identity becomes detached from bodily sensation. This study explored the frequency of dissociative symptoms in people who had come close to death. METHODS: 96 individuals who had had self-reported NDEs, and 38 individuals who had come close to death but who had not had NDEs completed a mailed questionnaire that included a measure of "depth" of near-death experience (the NDE scale) and a measure of dissociative symptoms (the Dissociative Experiences Scale). Median scores in the two groups were compared with Mann-Whitney U tests. The association between depth of NDE and dissociative symptoms was tested by Spearman's rank-order correlation between scores on the NDE scale and the dissociative experiences scale. FINDINGS: People who reported NDEs also reported significantly more dissociative symptoms than did the comparison group. Among those who reported NDEs, the depth of the experience was positively correlated with dissociative symptoms, although the level of symptoms was substantially lower than that of patients with pathological dissociative disorders. INTERPRETATION: The pattern of dissociative symptoms reported by people who have had NDEs is consistent with a non-pathological dissociative response to stress, and not with a psychiatric disorder. A greater understanding of the mechanism of dissociation may shed further light on near-death and other mystical or transcendental experiences.
    Publication Lancet
    Volume 355
    Issue 9202
    Pages 460-463
    Date Feb 5, 2000
    Journal Abbr Lancet
    DOI 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)82013-9
    ISSN 0140-6736
    Short Title Dissociation in people who have near-death experiences
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/10841127
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:57:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10841127
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Consciousness Disorders
    • Death
    • Dissociative Disorders
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • Background: Some people who come close to death report having experiences in which they transcend the boundaries of the ego and the confines of time and space. Such near-death experiences (NDEs) share some features with the phenomenon of dissociation, in which a person’s self identity becomes detached from bodily sensation. This study explored the frequency of dissociative symptoms in people who had come close to death. Methods: 96 individuals who had had self-reported NDEs, and 38 individuals who had come close to death but who had not had NDEs completed a mailed questionnaire that included a measure of “depth” of near-death experience (the NDE scale) and a measure of dissociative symptoms (the Dissociative Experiences Scale). Median scores in the two groups were compared with Mann-Whitney U tests. The association between depth of NDE and dissociative symptoms was tested by Spearman’s rank-order correlation between scores on the NDE scale and the dissociative experiences scale. Findings: People who reported NDEs also reported significantly more dissociative symptoms than did the comparison group. Among those who reported NDEs, the depth of the experience was positively correlated with dissociative symptoms, although the level of symptoms was substantially lower than that of patients with pathological dissociative disorders. INTERPRETATION: The pattern of dissociative symptoms reported by people who have had NDEs is consistent with a non-pathological dissociative response to stress, and not with a psychiatric disorder. A greater understanding of the mechanism of dissociation may shed further light on near-death and other mystical or transcendental experiences.

  • Varieties of near-death experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author B Greyson
    Abstract Near-death experiences are profound subjective events frequently reported by individuals who have come close to death. They are of importance to mental health professionals, not only because they often happen to patients under our care, but because they have been reported to produce widespread and long-lasting changes in values, beliefs, and behavior that dramatically affect the experiencers' attitudes toward living and dying (Bates and Stanley 1985; Bauer 1985; Flynn 1982; Greyson 1983b; Noyes 1980; Ring 1984). Several studies, including surveys of recently resuscitated hospitalized patients (Ring 1980; Sabom 1982) and a nationwide poll of the general population (Gallup and Proctor 1982) have estimated that near-death experiences are reported by 30%-40% of individuals who come close to death, or about 5% of the adult American population.
    Publication Psychiatry
    Volume 56
    Issue 4
    Pages 390-399
    Date Nov 1993
    Journal Abbr Psychiatry
    ISSN 0033-2747
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/8295976
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:13:29 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 8295976
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Death
    • Awareness
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Illusions
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Parapsychology
    • Reality Testing

    Notes:

    • Near-death experiences are profound subjective events frequently reported by individuals who have come close to death. They are of importance to mental health professionals, not only because they often happen to patients under our care, but because they have been reported to produce widespread and long-lasting changes in values, beliefs, and behavior that dramatically affect the experiencers’ attitudes toward living and dying (Bates and Stanley 1985; Bauer 1985; Flynn 1982; Greyson 1983b; Noyes 1980; Ring 1984). Several studies, including surveys of recently resuscitated hospitalized patients (Ring 1980; Sabom 1982) and a nationwide poll of the general population (Gallup and Proctor 1982) have estimated that near-death experiences are reported by 30%-40% of individuals who come close to death, or about 5% of the adult American population.

  • Posttraumatic stress symptoms following near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author B Greyson
    Abstract Persons who report "near-death experiences" (NDEs) acknowledge more intrusive symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than those who came close to death without NDEs, but not more avoidance symptoms, suggesting a nonspecific stress response. Although dissociation generally increases vulnerability to PTSD, the positive affect that distinguishes NDEs from other dissociative experiences may mitigate subsequent PTSD symptoms.
    Publication The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
    Volume 71
    Issue 3
    Pages 368-373
    Date Jul 2001
    Journal Abbr Am J Orthopsychiatry
    ISSN 0002-9432
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11495339
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:54:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11495339
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Death
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

    Notes:

    • Persons who report “near-death experiences” (NDEs) acknowledge more intrusive symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than those who came close to death without NDEs, but not more avoidance symptoms, suggesting a nonspecific stress response. Although dissociation generally increases vulnerability to PTSD, the positive affect that distinguishes NDEs from other dissociative experiences may mitigate subsequent PTSD symptoms.

  • Incidence and correlates of near-death experiences in a cardiac care unit

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bruce Greyson
    Abstract Near-death experiences, unusual experiences during a close brush with death, may precipitate pervasive attitudinal and behavior changes. The incidence and psychological correlates of such experiences, and their association with proximity to death, are unclear. We conducted a 30-month survey to identify near-death experiences in a tertiary care center cardiac inpatient service. In a consecutive sample of 1595 patients admitted to the cardiac inpatient service (mean age 63 years, 61% male), of whom 7% were admitted with cardiac arrest, patients who described near-death experiences were matched with comparison patients on diagnosis, gender, and age. Near-death experiences were reported by 10% of patients with cardiac arrest and 1% of other cardiac patients (P<.001). Near-death experiencers were younger than other patients (P=.001), were more likely to have lost consciousness (P<.001) and to report prior purportedly paranormal experiences (P=.009), and had greater approach-oriented death acceptance (P=.01). Near-death experiencers and comparison patients did not differ in sociodemographic variables, social support, quality of life, acceptance of their illness, cognitive function, capacity for physical activities, degree of cardiac dysfunction, objective proximity to death, or coronary prognosis.
    Publication General Hospital Psychiatry
    Volume 25
    Issue 4
    Pages 269-276
    Date 2003 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Gen Hosp Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1016/S0163-8343(03)00042-2
    ISSN 0163-8343
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/12850659
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:45:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12850659
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Affect
    • Attitude to Death
    • Cardiology Service, Hospital
    • Cardiovascular Diseases
    • Cognition
    • Death
    • Female
    • Heart Arrest
    • Hospitals, University
    • Humans
    • Incidence
    • Intensive Care Units
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Myocardial Infarction
    • Quality of Life
    • Virginia

    Notes:

    • Near-death experiences, unusual experiences during a close brush with death, may precipitate pervasive attitudinal and behavior changes. The incidence and psychological correlates of such experiences, and their association with proximity to death, are unclear. We conducted a 30-month survey to identify near-death experiences in a tertiary care center cardiac inpatient service. In a consecutive sample of 1595 patients admitted to the cardiac inpatient service (mean age 63 years, 61% male), of whom 7% were admitted with cardiac arrest, patients who described near-death experiences were matched with comparison patients on diagnosis, gender, and age. Near-death experiences were reported by 10% of patients with cardiac arrest and 1% of other cardiac patients (P<.001). Near-death experiencers were younger than other patients (P=.001), were more likely to have lost consciousness (P<.001) and to report prior purportedly paranormal experiences (P=.009), and had greater approach-oriented death acceptance (P=.01). Near-death experiencers and comparison patients did not differ in sociodemographic variables, social support, quality of life, acceptance of their illness, cognitive function, capacity for physical activities, degree of cardiac dysfunction, objective proximity to death, or coronary prognosis.

  • "False positive" claims of near-death experiences and "false negative" denials of near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bruce Greyson
    Abstract Some persons who claim to have had near-death experiences (NDEs) fail research criteria for having had NDEs ("false positives"); others who deny having had NDEs do meet research criteria for having had NDEs ("false negatives"). The author evaluated false positive claims and false negative denials in an organization that promotes near-death research and in psychiatric outpatients. The frequency of false positives and negatives varied in samples that differed in prevalence of, and knowledge about, NDEs. The influence of participants' knowledge about NDEs on the findings of near-death research makes it critically important to use standardized criteria for identifying NDEs.
    Publication Death Studies
    Volume 29
    Issue 2
    Pages 145-155
    Date 2005 Feb-Mar
    Journal Abbr Death Stud
    ISSN 0748-1187
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/15822242
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:37:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15822242
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Death
    • False Negative Reactions
    • False Positive Reactions
    • Humans
    • Predictive Value of Tests
    • Reference Standards
    • Reproducibility of Results

    Notes:

    • Some persons who claim to have had near-death experiences (NDEs) fail research criteria for having had NDEs (“false positives”); others who deny having had NDEs do meet research criteria for having had NDEs (“false negatives”). The author evaluated false positive claims and false negative denials in an organization that promotes near-death research and in psychiatric outpatients. The frequency of false positives and negatives varied in samples that differed in prevalence of, and knowledge about, NDEs. The influence of participants’ knowledge about NDEs on the findings of near-death research makes it critically important to use standardized criteria for identifying NDEs.

  • Biological aspects of near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author B Greyson
    Publication Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
    Volume 42
    Issue 1
    Pages 14-32
    Date 1998
    Journal Abbr Perspect. Biol. Med
    ISSN 0031-5982
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/9894355
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:59:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9894355
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Death
    • Depersonalization
    • Humans
    • Hypoxia, Brain
    • Memory
    • Psychophysiology
    • Visual Perception
  • The near-death experience as a focus of clinical attention

    Type Journal Article
    Author B Greyson
    Abstract Near-death experiences (NDEs) often produce profound changes in attitudes and behavior that can lead to psychosocial and psychospiritual problems. The diagnostic label of religious or spiritual problem, included in DSM-IV under the category of other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention, was originally proposed to encompass NDEs and their aftereffects. Four cases are discussed in which patients presented with NDE-related problems, and differential diagnosis and current treatment strategies are reviewed. The inclusion of this new diagnostic category in the DSM-IV permits differentiation of NDEs and similar experiences from mental disorders and may lead to research into more effective treatment strategies.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 185
    Issue 5
    Pages 327-334
    Date May 1997
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/9171810
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:01:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9171810
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Attitude
    • Comorbidity
    • Death
    • Diagnosis, Differential
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Life Style
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Terminology as Topic

    Notes:

    • Near-death experiences (NDEs) often produce profound changes in attitudes and behavior that can lead to psychosocial and psychospiritual problems. The diagnostic label of religious or spiritual problem, included in DSM-IV under the category of other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention, was originally proposed to encompass NDEs and their aftereffects. Four cases are discussed in which patients presented with NDE-related problems, and differential diagnosis and current treatment strategies are reviewed. The inclusion of this new diagnostic category in the DSM-IV permits differentiation of NDEs and similar experiences from mental disorders and may lead to research into more effective treatment strategies.

  • Distressing near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author B Greyson
    Author N E Bush
    Abstract Most reported near-death experiences include profound feelings of peace, joy, and cosmic unity. Less familiar are the reports following close brushes with death of experiences that are partially or entirely unpleasant, frightening, or frankly hellish. While little is known about the antecedents or aftereffects of these distressing experiences, there appear to be three distinct types, involving (1) phenomenology similar to peaceful near-death experiences but interpreted as unpleasant, (2) a sense of nonexistence or eternal void, or (3) graphic hellish landscapes and entities. While the first type may eventually convert to a typical peaceful experience, the relationship of all three types to prototypical near-death experiences merits further study. The effect of the distressing experience in the lives of individuals deserves exploration, as the psychological impact may be profound and long-lasting.
    Publication Psychiatry
    Volume 55
    Issue 1
    Pages 95-110
    Date Feb 1992
    Journal Abbr Psychiatry
    ISSN 0033-2747
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/1557473
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:18:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 1557473
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Arousal
    • Attitude to Death
    • Child
    • Fear
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Recall
    • Parapsychology
    • Sick Role

    Notes:

    • Most reported near-death experiences include profound feelings of peace, joy, and cosmic unity. Less familiar are the reports following close brushes with death of experiences that are partially or entirely unpleasant, frightening, or frankly hellish. While little is known about the antecedents or aftereffects of these distressing experiences, there appear to be three distinct types, involving (1) phenomenology similar to peaceful near-death experiences but interpreted as unpleasant, (2) a sense of nonexistence or eternal void, or (3) graphic hellish landscapes and entities. While the first type may eventually convert to a typical peaceful experience, the relationship of all three types to prototypical near-death experiences merits further study. The effect of the distressing experience in the lives of individuals deserves exploration, as the psychological impact may be profound and long-lasting.

  • Qigong stress reduction in hospital staff

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jay M Griffith
    Author Joseph P Hasley
    Author Hong Liu
    Author Daniel G Severn
    Author Latoya H Conner
    Author Lawrence E Adler
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a qigong training program in reducing stress in hospital staff. METHODS: Subjects were randomly assigned to a 6-week intervention of either qigong practice (n = 16) or a waiting list (n = 21). The primary measure of stress was the Perceived Stress Scale. Secondary measures included the Short Form 36 (SF-36) quality-of-life measure and a 100-mm analog pain scale. RESULTS: The qigong group demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of perceived stress compared to the control group (p = 0.02). On the Social Interaction subscale of the SF-36, the qigong group demonstrated greater improvement compared to controls (p = 0.04). Within-groups analyses demonstrated that the qigong group (p = 0.03), but not the control group, experienced a significant reduction of pain intensity. A regression analysis demonstrated an association between higher baseline stress levels and greater improvement within the qigong group (R(2) = 0.34; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that short-term exposure to qigong was effective in reducing stress in hospital staff. Further studies are needed to evaluate the possible effectiveness of qigong in reducing pain and in improving quality of life.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 14
    Issue 8
    Pages 939-945
    Date Oct 2008
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2007.0814
    ISSN 1557-7708
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18823261
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:05:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18823261
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Burnout, Professional
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Personnel, Hospital
    • Qi
    • Quality of Life
    • Regression Analysis
    • Stress, Psychological
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a qigong training program in reducing stress in hospital staff. Methods: Subjects were randomly assigned to a 6-week intervention of either qigong practice (n = 16) or a waiting list (n = 21). The qigong group demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of perceived stress compared to the control group (p = 0.02).

  • Participant experiences of a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy group for cardiac rehabilitation

    Type Journal Article
    Author K Griffiths
    Author P M Camic
    Author J M Hutton
    Abstract Recently there has been a growth of interest in mindfulness-based psychotherapeutic approaches across a range of medical problems. Cardiac rehabilitation patients often suffer from stress, worry, anxiety and depression, all of which can lead to poor prognosis and worsening of cardiac symptoms. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) of participant experiences, this study reports on the first known Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy group adapted for cardiac rehabilitation. Analysis identified the development of awareness, commitment, within group experiences, relating to the material and acceptance as central experiential themes. The use of the approach was supported for this population.
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 14
    Issue 5
    Pages 675-681
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr J Health Psychol
    DOI 10.1177/1359105309104911
    ISSN 1359-1053
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19515682
    Accessed Sunday, November 01, 2009 10:43:21 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19515682
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Awareness
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Heart Diseases
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Recently there has been a growth of interest in mindfulness-based psychotherapeutic approaches across a range of medical problems. Cardiac rehabilitation patients often suffer from stress, worry, anxiety and depression, all of which can lead to poor prognosis and worsening of cardiac symptoms. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) of participant experiences, this study reports on the first known Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy group adapted for cardiac rehabilitation. Analysis identified the development of awareness, commitment, within group experiences, relating to the material and acceptance as central experiential themes. The use of the approach was supported for this population.

  • Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rr Griffiths
    Author Wa Richards
    Author Mw Johnson
    Author Ud McCann
    Author R Jesse
    Abstract Psilocybin has been used for centuries for religious purposes; however, little is known scientifically about its long-term effects. We previously reported the effects of a double-blind study evaluating the psychological effects of a high psilocybin dose. This report presents the 14-month follow-up and examines the relationship of the follow-up results to data obtained at screening and on drug session days. Participants were 36 hallucinogen-naïve adults reporting regular participation in religious/ spiritual activities. Oral psilocybin (30 mg/70 kg) was administered on one of two or three sessions, with methylphenidate (40 mg/70 kg) administered on the other session(s). During sessions, volunteers were encouraged to close their eyes and direct their attention inward. At the 14-month follow-up, 58% and 67%, respectively, of volunteers rated the psilocybin-occasioned experience as being among the five most personally meaningful and among the five most spiritually significant experiences of their lives; 64% indicated that the experience increased well-being or life satisfaction; 58% met criteria for having had a 'complete' mystical experience. Correlation and regression analyses indicated a central role of the mystical experience assessed on the session day in the high ratings of personal meaning and spiritual significance at follow-up. Of the measures of personality, affect, quality of life and spirituality assessed across the study, only a scale measuring mystical experience showed a difference from screening. When administered under supportive conditions, psilocybin occasioned experiences similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences that, at 14-month follow-up, were considered by volunteers to be among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their lives.
    Publication Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
    Volume 22
    Issue 6
    Pages 621-632
    Date Aug 2008
    Journal Abbr J. Psychopharmacol. (Oxford)
    DOI 10.1177/0269881108094300
    ISSN 0269-8811
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18593735
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:12:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18593735
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Administration, Oral
    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Hallucinogens
    • Humans
    • Knowledge
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Mysticism
    • personality
    • Psilocybine
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • Time Factors

    Notes:

    • Psilocybin has been used for centuries for religious purposes; however, little is known scientifically about its long-term effects. We previously reported the effects of a double-blind study evaluating the psychological effects of a high psilocybin dose. This report presents the 14-month follow-up and examines the relationship of the follow-up results to data obtained at screening and on drug session days. Participants were 36 hallucinogen-naïve adults reporting regular participation in religious/ spiritual activities. Oral psilocybin (30 mg/70 kg) was administered on one of two or three sessions, with methylphenidate (40 mg/70 kg) administered on the other session(s). During sessions, volunteers were encouraged to close their eyes and direct their attention inward. At the 14-month follow-up, 58% and 67%, respectively, of volunteers rated the psilocybin-occasioned experience as being among the five most personally meaningful and among the five most spiritually significant experiences of their lives; 64% indicated that the experience increased well-being or life satisfaction; 58% met criteria for having had a ‘complete’ mystical experience. Correlation and regression analyses indicated a central role of the mystical experience assessed on the session day in the high ratings of personal meaning and spiritual significance at follow-up. Of the measures of personality, affect, quality of life and spirituality assessed across the study, only a scale measuring mystical experience showed a difference from screening. When administered under supportive conditions, psilocybin occasioned experiences similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences that, at 14-month follow-up, were considered by volunteers to be among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their lives.

  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction versus pharmacotherapy for chronic primary insomnia: a randomized controlled clinical trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cynthia R Gross
    Author Mary Jo Kreitzer
    Author Maryanne Reilly-Spong
    Author Melanie Wall
    Author Nicole Y Winbush
    Author Robert Patterson
    Author Mark Mahowald
    Author Michel Cramer-Bornemann
    Abstract OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as a treatment for chronic primary insomnia. DESIGN A randomized controlled trial was conducted. SETTING The study was conducted at a university health center. PATIENTS Thirty adults with primary chronic insomnia based on criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Text Revision, 4th Edition were randomized 2:1 to MBSR or pharmacotherapy (PCT). INTERVENTIONS Mindfulness-based stress reduction, a program of mindfulness meditation training consisting of eight weekly 2.5 hour classes and a daylong retreat, was provided, with ongoing home meditation practice expectations during three-month follow-up; PCT, consisting of three milligrams of eszopiclone (LUNESTA) nightly for eight weeks, followed by three months of use as needed. A 10-minute sleep hygiene presentation was included in both interventions. MAIN OUTCOMES The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), sleep diaries, and wrist actigraphy were collected pretreatment, posttreatment (eight weeks), and at five months (self-reports only). RESULTS Between baseline and eight weeks, sleep onset latency (SOL) measured by actigraphy decreased 8.9 minutes in the MBSR arm (P < .05). Large, significant improvements were found on the ISI, PSQI, and diary-measured total sleep time, SOL, and sleep efficiency (P < .01, all) from baseline to five-month follow-up in the MBSR arm. Changes of comparable magnitude were found in the PCT arm. Twenty-seven of 30 patients completed their assigned treatment. This study provides initial evidence for the efficacy of MBSR as a viable treatment for chronic insomnia as measured by sleep diary, actigraphy, well-validated sleep scales, and measures of remission and clinical recovery.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 7
    Issue 2
    Pages 76-87
    Date 2011 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2010.12.003
    ISSN 1878-7541
    Short Title Mindfulness-based stress reduction versus pharmacotherapy for chronic primary insomnia
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21397868
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:42:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21397868
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Mindfulness meditation training to reduce symptom distress in transplant patients: rationale, design, and experience with a recycled waitlist

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cynthia R Gross
    Author Mary Jo Kreitzer
    Author Maryanne Reilly-Spong
    Author Nicole Y Winbush
    Author E Katherine Schomaker
    Author William Thomas
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Solid organ transplant recipients must take immune suppressive medications that have side effects, cause complications, and lead to distressing symptoms that reduce health-related quality of life (QOL). Mindfulness meditation has been shown to reduce these symptoms in other patient populations, and it is unlikely to interfere with the immune suppressive medication regimen. PURPOSE: This article describes the design and rationale of a clinical trial to determine whether training in mindfulness meditation can reduce depression, anxiety and insomnia after transplantation, and summarizes baseline characteristics of the participants. METHODS: Transplant recipients were randomized in equal numbers to one of three arms: a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program consisting of 8 weeks of group instruction, home practice and telephone monitoring; a time and attention control Health Education program; or a waitlist arm. After serving 6 months as waitlist controls, these participants were re-randomized to MBSR or Health Education. Evaluations were obtained at baseline (prior to the active interventions), 8 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year (after randomization to MBSR or Health Education only). The primary analysis will compare composite symptom scores between MBSR and Health Education, initially or after serving in the waitlist. Subsequent analyses will compare these two groups on depression, anxiety, and insomnia symptom scales and secondary outcomes of health-related QOL, actigraphy, and health care utilization. A separate analysis, using only data collected before re-randomization, will compare short-term outcomes between the waitlist and active treatment arms. RESULTS: One hundred fifty recipients were randomized and 72% of waitlist participants (31/43) were recycled to an active intervention after 6 months. Patient characteristics were balanced across trial arms after initial and secondary randomizations. LIMITATIONS: Transplant recipients are a very select population. Their adherence to the intervention and willingness to serve as waitlist controls prior to re-randomization may be atypical. Participants were not blinded to treatment and primary outcomes are self-reports. CONCLUSION: The innovative design used in the trial enabled the waitlist group to directly contribute to the number in the primary analysis of active arms, and to also serve as an internal validation test. The trial may be a useful model for trials involving very small target populations.
    Publication Clinical Trials (London, England)
    Volume 6
    Issue 1
    Pages 76-89
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Clin Trials
    DOI 10.1177/1740774508100982
    ISSN 1740-7745
    Short Title Mindfulness meditation training to reduce symptom distress in transplant patients
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:42:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19254938
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • depression
    • DISEASE management
    • Health Education
    • Humans
    • Informed Consent
    • Meditation
    • Organ Transplantation
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Research Design
    • Sample Size
    • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Waiting Lists
  • Parents' Religious Coping Styles in the First Year After Their Child's Cystic Fibrosis Diagnosis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel H. Grossoehme
    Author Judy Ragsdale
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Jamie L. Wooldridge
    Author Lisa Grimes
    Author Michael Seid
    Abstract Parents of children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis described it as "devastating." Given religion's importance to many Americans, parents may utilize religious coping. Relatively little is known about parents' use of religious coping to handle their child's illness. Interviews with 15 parents about their use of religion in the year following their child's cystic fibrosis diagnosis were coded for religious coping styles. Sixteen styles were identified. Positive religious coping styles were more frequent than negative styles (previously associated with poorer health outcomes), and occurred more frequently than in other studies. Religious coping styles used to make meaning, gain control, or seek comfort/intimacy with God were equally prevalent. The most common styles were: Pleading, Collaboration, Benevolent Religious Reappraisals, and Seeking Spiritual Support. Parents described active rather than passive coping styles. Religious coping involving religious others was rare. Clinical attention to negative religious coping may prevent it becoming chronic and negatively affecting health.
    Publication Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
    Volume 16
    Issue 3
    Pages 109-122
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Health Care Chaplain
    DOI 10.1080/08854726.2010.480836
    ISSN 1528-6916
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:42:36 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20658425
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • Written prayers and religious coping in a paediatric hospital setting

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel H. Grossoehme
    Author C. Jeffrey Jacobson
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Judith R. Ragsdale
    Author Rhonda VanDyke
    Author Michael Seid
    Abstract Hospitalised children represent a threatened future to parents. Such stressors call forth people's coping styles. Some individuals cope religiously or spiritually, and religious coping through prayer may be utilised. A sample of prayers written in a paediatric hospital chapel was coded by styles of religious coping evident within them. Styles associated with coping to gain control of their situation and with coping by seeking comfort from God were present. Seeking to cope for gaining control of a situation was more common than seeking comfort from God during the event. Written prayers did not contain evidence of coping by making meaning. Regression analysis showed that the probability of writing a prayer to gain control decreased over time and a trend towards increasing probability of writing a prayer expressing coping by seeking God's comfort. Clinical implications are discussed. Future research should include a larger sample and cognitive interviews with prayer writers.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 5
    Pages 423-432
    Date 06/2011
    Journal Abbr Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    DOI 10.1080/13674671003762693
    ISSN 1367-4676
    URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13674671003762693
    Accessed Thursday, July 14, 2011 5:18:22 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
  • We Can Handle This: Parents' Use of Religion in the First Year Following Their Child's Diagnosis with Cystic Fibrosis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel H Grossoehme
    Author Judy Ragsdale
    Author Jamie L Wooldridge
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Michael Seid
    Abstract The diagnosis of a child's life-shortening disease leads many American parents to utilize religious beliefs. Models relating religious constructs to health have been proposed. Still lacking are inductive models based on parent experience. The specific aims of this study were: 1. develop a grounded theory of parental use of religion in the year after diagnosis; 2. describe whether parents understand a relationship between their religious beliefs and their follow-through with their child's at-home treatment regimen. Fifteen parent interviews were analyzed using grounded theory method. Parents used religion to make meaning of their child's cystic fibrosis (CF) diagnosis. Parents imagined God as active, benevolent, and interventionist; found hope in their beliefs; felt supported by God; and related religion to their motivation to adhere to their child's treatment plan. Religious beliefs are clinically significant in working with many parents of children recently diagnosed with CF. Interventions that improve adherence to treatment may be enhanced by including religious aspects.
    Publication Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
    Volume 16
    Issue 3
    Pages 95-108
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Health Care Chaplain
    DOI 10.1080/08854726.2010.480833
    ISSN 1528-6916
    Short Title We Can Handle This
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:42:38 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20658424
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • Spiritual and religious experiences of adolescent psychiatric inpatients versus healthy peers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel H Grossoehme
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Anthony Leonard
    Abstract One hundred twenty-two adolescent psychiatric inpatients with depressive disorders and 80 healthy peers were administered the INSPIRIT, a measure of core spiritual experiences. Healthy adolescents reported a greater frequency of spiritual experiences and a more positive impact of such experiences on their belief in God than did their inpatient peers. Adolescent inpatients reported higher frequencies of experiencing angels, demons, God or guiding spirits; feeling unity with the earth and other living things; and with near death or life after death as compared to healthy peers. Overall, females reported higher frequency of spiritual experiences and higher impact of the experience on their belief in God than did males. It was concluded that the INSPIRIT is a feasible spiritual assessment tool for adolescent populations and may be used by chaplains as a means for guiding clinical conversations with adolescents.
    Publication The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling: JPCC
    Volume 61
    Issue 3
    Pages 197-204
    Date 2007
    Journal Abbr J Pastoral Care Counsel
    ISSN 1542-3050
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17958084
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:14:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17958084
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent, Hospitalized
    • Case-Control Studies
    • Chaplaincy Service, Hospital
    • Crisis Intervention
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Hospitals, Pediatric
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Pastoral Care
    • Psychiatric Department, Hospital
    • Psychometrics
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • One hundred twenty-two adolescent psychiatric inpatients with depressive disorders and 80 healthy peers were administered the INSPIRIT, a measure of core spiritual experiences. Healthy adolescents reported a greater frequency of spiritual experiences and a more positive impact of such experiences on their belief in God than did their inpatient peers. Adolescent inpatients reported higher frequencies of experiencing angels, demons, God or guiding spirits; feeling unity with the earth and other living things; and with near death or life after death as compared to healthy peers. Overall, females reported higher frequency of spiritual experiences and higher impact of the experience on their belief in God than did males. It was concluded that the INSPIRIT is a feasible spiritual assessment tool for adolescent populations and may be used by chaplains as a means for guiding clinical conversations with adolescents.

  • Social norms and the relationship between cigarette use and religiosity among adolescents in the United States

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jan Gryczynski
    Author Brian W Ward
    Abstract This study investigated the social dynamics that underlie the negative association between religiosity and cigarette use among U.S. adolescents. Using data from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the authors used a theory-based conceptual model (vicarious learning networks [VLN]) to examine the role that key reference group norms play in the religiosity-smoking relationship. This relationship is partially mediated by parents' and close friends' perceived disapproval for smoking. However, religiosity maintains a strong negative association with smoking. Consistent with the VLN model, cigarette use varied substantively based on reference group normative configurations. To the extent that the protective effects of religiosity arise from its influence in structuring the social milieu, some of religiosity's benefits could potentially be leveraged through interventions that promote healthy norms among reference groups within the social network. The VLN model may be a useful tool for conceptualizing the transmission of health behavior through social learning processes.
    Publication Health Education & Behavior: The Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education
    Volume 38
    Issue 1
    Pages 39-48
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Health Educ Behav
    DOI 10.1177/1090198110372331
    ISSN 1552-6127
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21189421
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 7:08:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21189421
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Behavior
    • Age Factors
    • Ethnic Groups
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Parents
    • Peer Group
    • religion
    • Sex Factors
    • Smoking
    • Social Environment
    • United States
  • Exploring the impact on counsellors of working with spiritually abused clients.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Madsen Gubi
    Author Rachel Jacobs
    Abstract This small-scale study explores the impact on counsellors of working with clients who have experienced spiritual abuse. Participants were five counsellors who have worked with spiritually abused clients. They were interviewed and the data analysed using a bricolage of heuristic and interpretative phenomenological analysis. The data indicate that counsellors experience symptoms of visceral traumatization and secondary traumatic stress disorder characterized by feelings of anger, outrage, sadness, grief, powerlessness, cynicism, helplessness, frustration, disassociation, needing to justify or vindicate God and protect the spiritual community—rather than the abuser—and wariness of leadership of spiritual communities. However, working with clients who were spiritually abused deepened and strengthened the counsellors' relationship with God in a profound way. The research also highlights the need for greater awareness to be had of spirituality and spiritual abuse in supervision and training courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 2
    Pages 191-204
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802441509
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • CHILD sexual abuse by clergy -- Psychological aspects
    • CHRISTIANS -- Abuse of
    • COUNSELING -- Religious aspects
    • COUNSELORS -- Psychology
    • FAITH -- Psychological aspects
    • PSYCHIC trauma
    • PSYCHOLOGY & religion
    • VICTIMS of abuse
  • Therapeutic Enterprise: A Psychological Exploration of Healing Elements in a Local African-American Spiritualist Church.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Margarita S. Guillory
    Abstract African-American Spiritualist churches are dynamic and diverse ecclesiastical bodies in their exhibition of rich doctrinal material, elaborate public and private altars, and their multifarious ritualistic activities. This article employs analytical psychology to argue that these Spiritualist groups, as seen in the Redeeming Spiritualist Christian Church of Nashville, represent a viable therapeutic enterprise addressing certain psychological disruptions.
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 1
    Pages 65-77
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0215-9
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title Therapeutic Enterprise
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:39:28 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • AFRICAN American churches
    • ALTARS
    • CHURCH decoration & ornament
    • CHURCH furniture
    • JUNGIAN psychology
    • SPIRITUALISTS
  • The influence of spirituality and religiosity on breast cancer screening delay in African American women: application of the Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior (TRA/TPB)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Gullate
    Abstract African American women (AAW) are 25% more likely to present with late stage breast cancer and 20% more likely to die from their disease than Caucasian women. Researchers report that a treatment delay of 3 months is a significant factor in breast cancer mortality. Socioeconomic factors, lack of access and knowledge, spiritual and religious beliefs, fear and fatalism are reported as contributing factors to screening delays. Studies have primarily applied the Health Belief Model (HBM) and modified versions like the Champion HBM to preventive health practices. Neither have significant inclusion of spirituality or religiosity. The TRA/TPB focus on beliefs, intent and attitude as individual determinants of the likelihood of performing a specific behavior; but have not had wide utility in studies related to screening delays among AAW. This paper explores the utility of applying the TRA/TPB as the theoretical framework for determining cultural relevance of spirituality and religiosity to screening delays among AAW.
    Publication The ABNF Journal: Official Journal of the Association of Black Nursing Faculty in Higher Education, Inc
    Volume 17
    Issue 2
    Pages 89-94
    Date 2006
    Journal Abbr ABNF J
    ISSN 1046-7041
    Short Title The influence of spirituality and religiosity on breast cancer screening delay in African American women
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18402350
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:52:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18402350
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Christianity
    • Cultural Diversity
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Intention
    • Internal-External Control
    • Mass Screening
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Psychological Theory
    • Qualitative Research
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Care
    • Self Efficacy
    • spirituality
    • Time Factors
    • Transcultural Nursing
    • WOMEN

    Notes:

    • African American women (AAW) are 25% more likely to present with late stage breast cancer and 20% more likely to die from their disease than Caucasian women. Researchers report that a treatment delay of 3 months is a significant factor in breast cancer mortality. Socioeconomic factors, lack of access and knowledge, spiritual and religious beliefs, fear and fatalism are reported as contributing factors to screening delays.

  • Religiosity, spirituality, and cancer fatalism beliefs on delay in breast cancer diagnosis in African American women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Magee Gullatte
    Author Otis Brawley
    Author Anita Kinney
    Author Barbara Powe
    Author Kathi Mooney
    Abstract African American women are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to present with a later stage of breast cancer at initial diagnosis. Delay in breast cancer detection is a critical factor in diagnosis at a later stage. Available data indicate a delay of 3 months or more is a significant factor in breast cancer mortalty. Numerous factors have been reported as contributing to delay in time to seek medical care including religiosity, spirituality, and fatalistic beliefs. This study examined the influence of religiosity, spirituality, and cancer fatalism on delay in diagnosis and breast cancer stage in African American women with self-detected breast symptoms. A descriptive correlation, retrospective methodology using an open-ended questionnaire and three validated measurement scales were used: the Religious Problem Solving Scale (RPSS), the Religious Coping Activity Scale (RCAS) subscale measuring spiritually based coping, and the modified Powe Fatalism Inventory (mPFI). A convenience sample of 129 women ages between 30 and 84 years who self-reported detecting a breast symptom before diagnosis of breast cancer within the preceding 12 months were included in the study. Outcome variables were time to seek medical care and breast cancer stage. Other variables of interest included marital status, income, education, insurance status, and to whom the women spoke about their breast symptoms. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, logistic regression analysis, Pearson r correlations, Mann-Whitney U analysis, and Chi Square analysis. Participants were found to be highly religious and spiritual but not fatalistic. While most women delayed more than 3 months in seeking medical care, no associations were found between the three predictor variables and time to seek medical care. The median delay in time from self detection of a breast symptom to seeking medical care was 5.5 months. Women who were less educated, unmarried, and talked to God only about their breast change were significantly more likely to delay seeking medical care. An association was found between disclosing a breast symptom to God only and delay in seeking medical care. In contrast, women who had told a person about their breast symptom were more likely to seek medical care sooner. African American women who delayed seeking medical care for longer than 3 months were more likely to present with a later stage of breast cancer than women who sought care within 3 months of symptom discovery.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 1
    Pages 62-72
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9232-8
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:39:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19184437
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Religiosity, spirituality, and cancer fatalism beliefs on delay in breast cancer diagnosis in African American women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Magee Gullatte
    Author Otis Brawley
    Author Anita Kinney
    Author Barbara Powe
    Author Kathi Mooney
    Abstract African American women are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to present with a later stage of breast cancer at initial diagnosis. Delay in breast cancer detection is a critical factor in diagnosis at a later stage. Available data indicate a delay of 3 months or more is a significant factor in breast cancer mortalty. Numerous factors have been reported as contributing to delay in time to seek medical care including religiosity, spirituality, and fatalistic beliefs. This study examined the influence of religiosity, spirituality, and cancer fatalism on delay in diagnosis and breast cancer stage in African American women with self-detected breast symptoms. A descriptive correlation, retrospective methodology using an open-ended questionnaire and three validated measurement scales were used: the Religious Problem Solving Scale (RPSS), the Religious Coping Activity Scale (RCAS) subscale measuring spiritually based coping, and the modified Powe Fatalism Inventory (mPFI). A convenience sample of 129 women ages between 30 and 84 years who self-reported detecting a breast symptom before diagnosis of breast cancer within the preceding 12 months were included in the study. Outcome variables were time to seek medical care and breast cancer stage. Other variables of interest included marital status, income, education, insurance status, and to whom the women spoke about their breast symptoms. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, logistic regression analysis, Pearson r correlations, Mann-Whitney U analysis, and Chi Square analysis. Participants were found to be highly religious and spiritual but not fatalistic. While most women delayed more than 3 months in seeking medical care, no associations were found between the three predictor variables and time to seek medical care. The median delay in time from self detection of a breast symptom to seeking medical care was 5.5 months. Women who were less educated, unmarried, and talked to God only about their breast change were significantly more likely to delay seeking medical care. An association was found between disclosing a breast symptom to God only and delay in seeking medical care. In contrast, women who had told a person about their breast symptom were more likely to seek medical care sooner. African American women who delayed seeking medical care for longer than 3 months were more likely to present with a later stage of breast cancer than women who sought care within 3 months of symptom discovery.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 1
    Pages 62-72
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9232-8
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:55:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19184437
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Early Diagnosis
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Time Factors

    Notes:

    • African American women are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to present with a later stage of breast cancer at initial diagnosis. Delay in breast cancer detection is a critical factor in diagnosis at a later stage. Available data indicate a delay of 3
      months or more is a significant factor in breast cancer mortalty. Numerous factors have been reported as contributing to delay in time to seek medical care including religiosity, spirituality, and fatalistic beliefs. This study examined the influence of religiosity, spirituality, and cancer fatalism on delay in diagnosis and breast cancer stage in African American women with self-detected breast symptoms. A descriptive correlation, retrospective methodology using an open-ended questionnaire and three validated measurement scales were used: the Religious Problem Solving Scale (RPSS), the Religious Coping Activity Scale (RCAS) subscale measuring spiritually based coping, and the modified Powe Fatalism Inventory (mPFI). A convenience sample of 129 women ages between 30 and 84 years who self-reported detecting a breast symptom before diagnosis of breast cancer within the preceding 12 months were included in the study. Outcome variables were time to seek medical care and breast cancer stage. Other variables of interest included.

  • Clinical effect of qigong practice on essential hypertension: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

    Type Journal Article
    Author Xinfeng Guo
    Author Bin Zhou
    Author Tsutomu Nishimura
    Author Satoshi Teramukai
    Author Masanori Fukushima
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of self-practiced qigong for treatment of essential hypertension. METHODS: Six major electronic databases were searched up to July 2006 to retrieve any potential randomized controlled trials designed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of self-practiced qigong for essential hypertension reported in any language, with main outcome measures as systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The quality of included studies were assessed with the Jadad Scale and a customized standard quality assessment scale. RESULTS: Ninety-two (92) studies were identified. Nine (9) of these studies qualified for meta-analysis, comprising a total of 908 cases. Results were as follows: (1) The mean decrease of SBP in those practicing qigong was a 17.03 mm Hg reduction (95% confidence interval (CI) 11.53-22.52) compared with nonspecific intervention controls, but not superior to that in drug controls (1.19 mm Hg, 95% CI -5.40-7.79) and conventional exercise controls (-1.51 mm Hg, 95% CI -6.98-3.95). (2) Mean decrease of DBP in those practicing qigong was 9.98 mm Hg (95% CI 2.55-17.41) compared with nonspecific intervention controls, but not superior to that in drug controls (2.49 mm Hg, 95% CI -0.16-5.13) and conventional exercise controls (-1.59 mm Hg, 95% CI -4.91-1.74). (3) No obvious side effects were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Self-practiced qigong for less than 1 year is better in decreasing BP in patients with essential hypertension than in no-treatment controls, but is not superior to that in active controls. More methodologically strict studies are needed to prove real clinical benefits of qigong, and to explore its potential mechanism.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 27-37
    Date 2008 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2007.7213
    ISSN 1075-5535
    Short Title Clinical effect of qigong practice on essential hypertension
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18199012
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:06:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18199012
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Blood Pressure
    • Breathing Exercises
    • CONFIDENCE intervals
    • Exercise
    • Humans
    • Hypertension
    • Odds Ratio
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Self Care
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • This study was designed to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of self-practiced qigong for treatment of essential hypertension. Conclusions: Self-practiced qigong for less than 1 year is better in decreasing BP in patients with essential hypertension than in no-treatment controls, but is not superior to that in active controls.

  • Effect of yoga on mental health: Comparative study between young and senior subjects in Japan

    Type Journal Article
    Author Derebail Gururaja
    Author Kaori Harano
    Author Ikenaga Toyotake
    Author Haruo Kobayashi
    Abstract BACKGROUND Japan has a large number of senior citizens. Yoga can be wisely applied in old age care. There is no any age restriction to practice yoga. The effect may differ by age. There is a need to study the mechanism of action of yoga with respect to age. AIM This study was conducted in Japan to find the effect of yoga on mental health between young and senior people. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-five normal healthy volunteers of both sexes were divided into two groups according to age. Fifteen participants of the age group between 65 to 75 years and 10 participants of the age group between 20 to 30 years were selected. This study was approved by the ethical committee of Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare. Selected individuals were subjected to 90 min of yoga classes once or twice a week for a month. Salivary amylase activity was assessed before and after yoga practice. State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was given before yoga on the first day and after one month of practice to assess the change in State anxiety and Trait anxiety. RESULTS Senior group - Salivary amylase activity decreased from 111.2±42.7 to 83.48±39.5 kU/L [average±standard deviation]. Younger group - Salivary amylase activity reduced from 60.74±31.8 to 42.39±24 kU/L. Senior group - State anxiety score decreased from 41.13 ±8.43 to 30.8±6.49, Trait anxiety score reduced from 45.66±7.5 to 40.73±8.3. Younger group - State anxiety score reduced from 38.7±4.8 to 30.8±4.1,Trait anxiety score reduced from 46.2±7.9 to 42.9±9.1. Changes were statistically significant with P<0.05. CONCLUSION Decrease in Salivary amylase activity may be due to reduction in sympathetic response. Reduction in State and Trait anxiety score signifies that yoga has both immediate as well as long-term effect on anxiety reduction. Thus yoga helps to improve the mental health in both the groups.
    Publication International Journal of Yoga
    Volume 4
    Issue 1
    Pages 7-12
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr Int J Yoga
    DOI 10.4103/0973-6131.78173
    ISSN 0973-6131
    Short Title Effect of yoga on mental health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21654969
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21654969
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
  • Religion, Physical Disabilities, and Life Satisfaction in Older Age Cohorts.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rebecca Faith Guy
    Abstract Concern here is with the relationship between religious affiliation and life satisfaction. Past research points to religion as an important factor in adjustment of the aged. However, there have been contradictory findings on aging and church attendance. Church attendance patterns are examined in relation to aging and personal adjustment. The intervening variable of the elderly person's physical disabilities is offered as an explanation for declining church attendance with age.
    Publication International Journal of Aging and Human Development
    Volume 15
    Issue 3
    Pages 225-32
    Date 1982
    Journal Abbr International Journal of Aging and Human Development
    Library Catalog ERIC
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Sunday, November 27, 2011 6:24:57 AM

    Tags:

    • Church attendance

    Notes:

    • Concern here is with the relationship between religious affiliation and life satisfaction. Past research points to religion as an important factor in adjustment of the aged. However, there have been contradictory findings on aging and church attendance. Church attendance patterns are examined in relation to aging and personal adjustment. The intervening variable of the elderly person's physical disabilities is offered as an explanation for declining church attendance with age.

  • Religion, HIV/AIDS and sexual risk-taking among men in Ghana

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stephen Obeng Gyimah
    Author Eric Y. Tenkorang
    Author Baffour K. Takyi
    Author Jones Adjei
    Author Gabriel Fosu
    Abstract Although a growing body of research has linked religious involvement with HIV/AIDS protective behaviour in Africa, the focus has mainly been on women. Given the patriarchal nature of African culture, this paper argues for the inclusion of men, a critical group whose sexual behaviours have increasingly been linked to the spread and sustenance of the virus in the region. Drawing on different theoretical discourses and using data from the 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, this paper examines how religious affiliation influences men's risky sexual behaviours. While the results from the bivariate analysis suggested that Muslims and Traditionalists were significantly less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour compared with Christians, those differences disappeared once socioeconomic variables were controlled, rendering support for the selectivity thesis. This finding could benefit programmatic and policy formulation regarding AIDS prevention in Ghana.
    Publication Journal of Biosocial Science
    Volume 42
    Issue 4
    Pages 531-547
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Biosoc Sci
    DOI 10.1017/S0021932010000027
    ISSN 1469-7599
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:20:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20211045
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM

    Notes:

    • Given the patriarchal nature of African culture, this paper argues for the inclusion of men, a critical group whose sexual behaviours have increasingly been linked to the spread and sustenance of the virus in the region. Drawing on different theoretical discourses and using data from the 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, this paper examines how religious affiliation influences men's risky sexual behaviours. While the results from the bivariate analysis suggested that Muslims and Traditionalists were significantly less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour compared with Christians, those differences disappeared once socioeconomic variables were controlled, rendering support for the selectivity thesis. This finding could benefit programmatic and policy formulation regarding AIDS prevention in Ghana.

  • The effect of Qigong on fibromyalgia (FMS): a controlled randomized study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thomas Haak
    Author Berit Scott
    Abstract PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of a 7-week Qigong intervention on subjects with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS). METHODS: The study was a controlled randomized study with repeated measures. Fifty-seven FMS female subjects were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 29) or a waiting-list control group (n = 28). After completion of the experimental part, the control group received the same intervention. Collection of data was made at pre- and post-treatment and at 4-month follow-up for both groups. RESULTS: During the experimental part of the study, significant improvements were found for the intervention group, at posttreatment, regarding different aspects of pain and psychological health and distress. Almost identical results were found for the combined group. At 4-month follow-up, the majority of these results were either maintained or improved. CONCLUSION: The overall results show that Qigong has positive and reliable effects regarding FMS. A high degree of completion, 93%, and contentment with the intervention further support the potential of the treatment. The results of the study are encouraging and suggest that Qigong intervention could be a useful complement to medical treatment for subjects with FMS.
    Publication Disability and Rehabilitation
    Volume 30
    Issue 8
    Pages 625-633
    Date 2008
    Journal Abbr Disabil Rehabil
    DOI 10.1080/09638280701400540
    ISSN 0963-8288
    Short Title The effect of Qigong on fibromyalgia (FMS)
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17852292
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:07:19 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17852292
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Female
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Quality of Life
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a 7-week Qigong intervention on subjects with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS). Results: During the experimental part of the study, significant improvements were found for the intervention group, at posttreatment, regarding different aspects of pain and psychological health and distress. Almost identical results were found for the combined group. At 4-month follow-up, the majority of these results were either maintained or improved. Conclusion: The overall results show that Qigong has positive and reliable effects regarding FMS.

  • Yoga for arthritis: a scoping review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steffany Haaz
    Author Susan J Bartlett
    Abstract This article reviews the existing literature on using yoga for arthritis. It includes peer-reviewed research from clinical trials (published from 1980 to 2010) that used yoga as an intervention for arthritis and reported quantitative findings. Eleven studies were identified, including 4 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 4 non-RCTs. All trials were small and control groups varied. No adverse events were reported, and attrition was comparable or better than that typical for exercise interventions. Evidence was strongest for reduced disease symptoms (tender/swollen joints, pain) and disability and for improved self-efficacy and mental health. Interventions, research methods, and disease diagnoses were heterogeneous.
    Publication Rheumatic Diseases Clinics of North America
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 33-46
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Rheum. Dis. Clin. North Am
    DOI 10.1016/j.rdc.2010.11.001
    ISSN 1558-3163
    Short Title Yoga for arthritis
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:35:37 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21220084
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Exercise
    • Literature Review
    • Mindfulness
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Physical activity
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • yoga
  • Mediation of family alcoholism risk by religious affiliation types

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jon Randolph Haber
    Author Theodore Jacob
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Religious affiliation is inversely associated with alcohol dependence (AD). Our previous findings indicated that when a religious affiliation differentiated itself from cultural norms, then high-risk adolescents (those having parents with alcoholism history) raised with these affiliations exhibited fewer AD symptoms compared with adolescents of other religious affiliations and nonreligious adolescents. The first of two studies reported here provides a needed replication of our previous findings for childhood religious affiliation using a different sample, and the second study extends examination to current religious affiliation. METHOD: A national sample of male and female adolescents/young adults (N = 1,329; mean age = 19.6 years) was selected who were the offspring of members of the Vietnam era Twin Registry. Parental alcoholism, religious affiliation types, and their interactions were examined as predictors of offspring AD symptoms. RESULTS: (1) Offspring reared with a differentiating religious affiliation during child-hood exhibited significantly fewer AD symptoms as young adults; (2) offspring with current differentiating religious affiliation also exhibited fewer AD symptoms; this main effect was not weakened by adding other measures of religiousness to the model; (3) differentiating religious affiliation was correlated with both family alcoholism risk and offspring outcome, and removed the association between family alcoholism risk and offspring outcome, thus indicating that differentiating religious affiliation was at least a partial mediator of the association between family AD history risk and offspring AD outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Current results indicate that religious differentiation is an inverse mediator of alcoholism risk for offspring with or without parental AD history and regardless of the influence of other religion variables. Results replicated our previous report on religious upbringing between ages 6 and 13 years and indicated an even stronger effect when current differentiating affiliation was examined.
    Publication Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
    Volume 70
    Issue 6
    Pages 877-889
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr J Stud Alcohol Drugs
    ISSN 1938-4114
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19895764
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 8:01:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19895764
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Religious Commitment and the Quality of Life in American Society

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher Kirk Hadaway
    Author Wade Clark Roof
    Abstract Religious commitment, conceptualized as "meaning" and "belonging," is examined in relation to subjective feelings of satisfaction with life. Consistent with our expectation that religious commitment acts as a resource, it was found that those who feel their religious faith is important and those who participate in religious activities also tend to feel their lives are more worth-while. It is concluded that in future studies of quality of American life, religious commitment should be included as an important correlate.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 19
    Issue 3
    Pages 295-307
    Date Spring, 1978
    ISSN 0034673X
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3510129
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:32:39 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Spring, 1978 / Copyright © 1978 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Religious commitment, conceptualized as “meaning” and “belonging,” is examined in relation to subjective feelings of satisfaction with life. Consistent with our expectation that religious commitment acts as a resource, it was found that those who feel their religious faith is important and those who participate in religious activities also tend to feel their lives are more worth-while.

  • The God-Shaped Hole' Addictive Disorders and the Search for Perfection.

    Type Journal Article
    Author W. Bryce Hagedorn
    Author Holly J. Hartwig Moorhead
    Abstract Clients with addictive disorders who have an internalized need for perfection benefit from an integration of spirituality into counseling treatment. This article provides d review of the literature, offers a spiritual approach for working with clients who struggle with addiction and perfectionism, and provides a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the integration of spirituality and counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Counseling & Values
    Volume 55
    Issue 1
    Pages 63-78
    Date October 2010
    ISSN 01607960
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • Counseling
    • PERFECTIONISM (Personality trait)
    • RELIGIOUS life
    • Soul
    • spirituality
  • The association of religiosity, sexual education, and parental factors with risky sexual behaviors among adolescents and young adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kristin A Haglund
    Author Richard J Fehring
    Abstract This study examined the association of religiosity, sexual education and family structure with risky sexual behaviors among adolescents and young adults. The nationally representative sample, from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, included 3,168 women and men ages 15-21 years. Those who viewed religion as very important, had frequent church attendance, and held religious sexual attitudes were 27-54% less likely to have had sex and had significantly fewer sex partners than peers. Participants whose formal and parental sexual education included abstinence and those from two-parent families were 15% less likely to have had sex and had fewer partners.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 460-472
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9267-5
    ISSN 1573-6571
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19565334
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:03:51 PM
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    Extra PMID: 19565334
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
  • Spirituality at the beginning of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jennifer Hall
    Abstract AIM: The aim of this paper was to explore the issues surrounding the spirit of the unborn child. BACKGROUND: Pregnancy and birth have been recognised to have a spiritual nature by women and health professionals caring for them. Midwives and nurses are expected to have a holistic approach to care. I suggest that for care to be truly holistic exploration is required of the spiritual nature of the unborn fetus. METHODS: Historical, philosophical and religious views of the spirit of the fetus, are explored as well as those of women. Investigation was made of views of the timing of 'ensoulment'. RESULTS: The review demonstrates the value women place on the sacredness of pregnancy and birth, and that the spiritual nature of the unborn should be recognised. CONCLUSION:This paper shows that the views and values women have of pregnancy and birth and the powerful, spiritual relationship they have with the unborn, indicates that further discussion and research needs to be carried out in this area. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It is recommended that all who work with women who are pregnant should recognise the spiritual nature of the unborn when carrying out care.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Nursing
    Volume 15
    Issue 7
    Pages 804-810
    Date Jul 2006
    Journal Abbr J Clin Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2006.01650.x
    ISSN 0962-1067
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16879373
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:44:18 PM
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    Extra PMID: 16879373
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Beginning of Human Life
    • Fetus
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Maternal-Child Nursing
    • Maternal-Fetal Relations
    • Nurse's Role
    • Obstetrical Nursing
    • Philosophy, Nursing
    • Pregnant Women
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Reproductive Techniques
    • Social Values
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The review demonstrates the value women place on the sacredness of pregnancy and birth, and that the spiritual nature of the unborn should be recognised.

  • The Effect of Meditation on the Academic Performance of African American College Students

    Type Journal Article
    Author Pamela D. Hall
    Publication Journal of Black Studies
    Volume 29
    Issue 3
    Pages 408-415
    Date Jan., 1999
    ISSN 00219347
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2668066
    Accessed Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:51:58 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jan., 1999 / Copyright © 1999 Sage Publications, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Episcopal measure of faith tradition: a context-specific approach to measuring religiousness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel E Hall
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Author Keith G Meador
    Abstract Precise measurement of religiousness remains a vexing problem. In addition to relying almost exclusively on self-report, existing measures of religiousness pay little attention to the specific context of religious belief, and this may override distinctive norms of particular faith traditions and potentially confound the conclusions drawn from such research. To address these limitations, the authors describe a modified form of narrative content analysis that could eventually sort respondents into distinct theological traditions. A pilot test among Episcopalians demonstrates encouraging reliability (kappa 0.74, 95% LCI 0.47, P < 0.0002), and tests for convergent and discriminate validity suggest that the context of religious belief is both relevant and insufficiently assessed by the existing paradigm of religious measurements. If validated in a religiously diverse sample, this approach could be combined with existing, context-free measures of religiousness to generate more meaningful findings.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 2
    Pages 164-178
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9240-3
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Episcopal measure of faith tradition
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:37:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19288198
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Culture
    • Humans
    • PROTESTANTISM
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
  • Measuring religiousness in health research: review and critique

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel E Hall
    Author Keith G Meador
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract Although existing measures of religiousness are sophisticated, no single approach has yet emerged as a standard. We review the measures of religiousness most commonly used in the religion and health literature with particular attention to their limitations, suggesting that vigilance is required to avoid over-generalization. After placing the development of these scales in historical context, we discuss measures of religious attendance, private religious practice, and intrinsic/extrinsic religious motivation. We also discuss measures of religious coping, wellbeing, belief, affiliation, maturity, history, and experience. We also address the current trend in favor of multi-dimensional and functional measures of religiousness. We conclude with a critique of the standard, "context-free" approach aimed at measuring "religiousness-in-general", suggesting that future work might more fruitfully focus on developing ways to measure religiousness in specific, theologically relevant contexts.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 47
    Issue 2
    Pages 134-163
    Date Jun 2008
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9165-2
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Measuring religiousness in health research
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19105008
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:43:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19105008
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Biomedical Research
    • Humans
    • Philosophy
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • We review the measures of religiousness most commonly used in the religion and health literature with particular attention to their limitations, suggesting that vigilance is required to avoid over-generalization.

  • Hitting the target: why existing measures of "religiousness" are really reverse-scored measures of "secularism"

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel E Hall
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Author Keith G Meador
    Abstract Over 100 measures of religiousness and spirituality are used in research investigating the associations between religion and health. These measures are often used to assess "religiousness in general," but this approach lumps together widely divergent worldviews in ways that can distort religion beyond recognition. The authors suggest that the existing measures of religiousness are perhaps better understood as reverse-coded measures of "secularism." This argument suggests that the existing data regarding religiousness and health might be best interpreted as demonstrating a small, robust health liability associated with a deliberately secular worldview. If true, this conclusion might change the direction of future research, and it would imply that meaningful inferences about the health associations of religious practice will depend on developing tools that measure specific religions in their particularity.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 4
    Issue 6
    Pages 368-373
    Date 2008 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2008.08.002
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title Hitting the target
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18984548
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:34:00 PM
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    Extra PMID: 18984548
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Health Status
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Religion and Science
    • Research Design
    • Secularism
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The authors suggest that the existing measures of religiousness are perhaps better understood as reverse-coded measures of “secularism.” This argument suggests that the existing data regarding religiousness and health might be best interpreted as demonstrating a small, robust health liability associated with a deliberately secular worldview.

  • Reliability and validity of the perspectives of Support From God Scale

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jill B Hamilton
    Author Jamie L Crandell
    Author J Kameron Carter
    Author Mary R Lynn
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Existing spiritual support scales for use with cancer survivors focus on the support believed to come from a religious community, clergy, or health care providers. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of a new measure of spiritual support believed to come from God in older Christian African American cancer survivors. METHODS: The Perceived Support From God Scale was administered to 317 African American cancer survivors aged 55-89 years. Psychometric evaluation involved identifying underlying factors, conducting item analysis and estimating reliability, and obtaining evidence on the relationship to other variables or the extent to which the Perceived Support From God Scale correlates with religious involvement and depression. RESULTS: The Perceived Support From God Scale consists of 15 items in two subscales (Support From God and God's Purpose for Me). The two subscales explained 59% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were .94 and .86 for the Support From God and God's Purpose for Me subscales, respectively. Test-retest correlations were strong, supporting the temporal stability of the instrument. Pearson's correlations to an existing religious involvement and beliefs scale were moderate to strong. Subscale scores on Support From God were negatively correlated to depression. DISCUSSION: Initial support for reliability and validity was demonstrated for the Perceived Support From God Scale. The scale captures a facet of spirituality not emphasized in other measures. Further research is needed to evaluate the scale with persons of other racial/ethnic groups and to explore the relationship of spirituality to other outcome measures.
    Publication Nursing Research
    Volume 59
    Issue 2
    Pages 102-109
    Date 2010 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Nurs Res
    DOI 10.1097/NNR.0b013e3181d1b265
    ISSN 1538-9847
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:10:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20216012
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Hypnosis in the treatment of anxiety- and stress-related disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author D Corydon Hammond
    Abstract Self-hypnosis training represents a rapid, cost-effective, nonaddictive and safe alternative to medication for the treatment of anxiety-related conditions. Here we provide a review of the experimental literature on the use of self-hypnosis in the treatment of anxiety and stress-related disorders, including anxiety associated with cancer, surgery, burns and medical/dental procedures. An overview of research is also provided with regard to self-hypnotic treatment of anxiety-related disorders, such as tension headaches, migraines and irritable bowel syndrome. The tremendous volume of research provides compelling evidence that hypnosis is an efficacious treatment for state anxiety (e.g., prior to tests, surgery and medical procedures) and anxiety-related disorders, such as headaches and irritable bowel syndrome. Although six studies demonstrate changes in trait anxiety, this review recommends that further randomized controlled outcome studies are needed on the hypnotic treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and in documenting changes in trait anxiety. Recommendations are made for selecting clinical referral sources.
    Publication Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics
    Volume 10
    Issue 2
    Pages 263-273
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr Expert Rev Neurother
    DOI 10.1586/ern.09.140
    ISSN 1744-8360
    Accessed Thursday, March 04, 2010 9:03:56 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20136382
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • An exploration of spirituality in rural women with chronic illness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jenaneta S Hampton
    Author Clarann Weinert
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore expressions of spirituality in rural women with chronic illness. Six categories that emerged were prayer, faith, verse, finding meaning, transcendence, and family. Results of this study were consistent with findings in previous literature that spirituality can be an extremely helpful and powerful coping mechanism that can be used in managing the stressors of a chronic illness. Spirituality is an important illness management tool that needs to be acknowledged by healthcare professionals.
    Publication Holistic Nursing Practice
    Volume 20
    Issue 1
    Pages 27-33
    Date 2006 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr Holist Nurs Pract
    ISSN 0887-9311
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16428969
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:35:17 PM
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    Extra PMID: 16428969
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Chronic Disease
    • Female
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Rural Population
    • spirituality
    • Women's Health

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to explore expressions of spirituality in rural women with chronic illness. Six categories that emerged were prayer, faith, verse, finding meaning, transcendence, and family. Results of this study were consistent with findings in previous literature that spirituality can be an extremely helpful and powerful coping mechanism that can be used in managing the stressors of a chronic illness. Spirituality is an important illness management tool that needs to be acknowledged by healthcare professionals.

  • Coping, drug use, and religiosity/spirituality in relation to HIV serostatus among gay and bisexual men

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melvin C Hampton
    Author Perry N Halkitis
    Author Jacqueline S Mattis
    Abstract Cross-sectional data were collected on a sample of 259 gay and bisexual, male-identified individuals as part of a larger study of the psychosocial functioning of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. Analyses considered differences between HIV-positive and HIV-negative men in relation to active and religious coping strategies; avoidant coping strategies (specifically, illicit drug use); and the psychosocial states of anxiety, hostility, and depression in relation to self-reported HIV-status of the participants. As compared with HIV-negative men, the HIV positive participants indicated a greater likelihood of engaging in illicit substance use within the previous 3 months, as well as higher levels of both active and religious coping strategies. Illicit substance use also was found to be related to higher levels of depression, anxiety, and hostility. A multivariate model indicated a significant difference in substance-based and active coping strategies among the men surveyed, with persons with a self-reported HIV-positive serostatus endorsing higher levels of both strategies. These results and their implications for prevention and future research are discussed, rooted in the understanding that a complex reality for coping is often enacted by HIV-positive men.
    Publication AIDS Education and Prevention: Official Publication of the International Society for AIDS Education
    Volume 22
    Issue 5
    Pages 417-429
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr AIDS Educ Prev
    DOI 10.1521/aeap.2010.22.5.417
    ISSN 1943-2755
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20973662
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 2:54:10 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
  • Neural consequences of religious belief on self-referential processing

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shihui Han
    Author Lihua Mao
    Author Xiaosi Gu
    Author Ying Zhu
    Author Jianqiao Ge
    Author Yina Ma
    Abstract Christianity strongly encourages its believers to surrender to God and to judge the self from God's perspective. We used functional MRI to assess whether this religious belief is associated with neural correlates of self-referential processing distinct from that of non-religious people. Non-religious and Christian participants were scanned while performing tasks of personal-trait judgments regarding the self or public persons. We found that, while self-judgment was linked to better memory of traits related to the self than to others, self-referential processing induced increased activity in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) for non-religious participants but in the dorsal MPFC for Christian participants. In addition, the dorsal MPFC activity was positively correlated with the rating scores of the importance of Jesus' judgment in subjective evaluation of a person's personality. Because the ventral and dorsal MPFC are respectively engaged in representation of stimulus self-relevance and evaluation of self-referential stimuli, our findings suggest that Christian beliefs result in weakened neural coding of stimulus self-relatedness but enhanced neural activity underlying evaluative processes applied to self-referential stimuli.
    Publication Social Neuroscience
    Volume 3
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-15
    Date 2008
    Journal Abbr Soc Neurosci
    DOI 10.1080/17470910701469681
    ISSN 1747-0927
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18633851
    Accessed Tuesday, November 03, 2009 7:52:24 PM
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    Extra PMID: 18633851
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Brain Mapping
    • Christianity
    • Ego
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Judgment
    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    • Male
    • Nerve Net
    • Prefrontal Cortex
    • religion

    Notes:

    • Christianity strongly encourages its believers to surrender to God and to judge the self from God’s perspective. We used functional MRI to assess whether this religious belief is associated with neural correlates of self-referential processing distinct from that of non-religious people. Non-religious and Christian participants were scanned while performing tasks of personal-trait judgments regarding the self or public persons. We found that, while self-judgment was linked to better memory of traits related to the self than to others, self-referential processing induced increased activity in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) for non-religious participants but in the dorsal MPFC for Christian participants. In addition, the dorsal MPFC activity was positively correlated with the rating scores of the importance of Jesus’ judgment in subjective evaluation of a person’s personality. Because the ventral and dorsal MPFC are respectively engaged in representation of stimulus self-relevance and evaluation of self-referential stimuli, our findings suggest that Christian beliefs result in weakened neural coding of stimulus self-relatedness but enhanced neural activity underlying evaluative processes applied to self-referential stimuli.

  • Religious attachment dimensions and schizotypal personality traits.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lisa Hancock
    Author Niko Tiliopoulos
    Abstract This brief pilot study explored associations between religious attachment (RA) and schizotypy in a nonclinical Christian sample (N = 96). Participants responded to questionnaires assessing the above constructs, as well as adult attachment and neuroticism. Religious attachment accounted for 15.2% of the variance in cognitive schizotypy. Anxious religious attachment uniquely predicted cognitive schizotypy, while its effects on other schizotypy traits were accounted for by adult attachment effects. Schizotypy research may benefit from considering attachment relationships in the religious domain. Should our findings be extended and replicated, they may aid the development of interventions, tailored for specific religious populations, which could improve treatment outcomes for schizotypal or schizophrenic individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 261-265
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903334678
    ISSN 13674676
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:26:13 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • NEUROSES
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Pathological
    • Questionnaires
    • Schizophrenia
    • SCHIZOTYPAL personality disorder
  • Grief and loss of religion: the experiences of four rural lesbians

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jennifer E. Hansen
    Author Serena M. Lambert
    Abstract The purpose of this four-person study was to discover the grief and loss experiences of rural lesbians using a phenomenological approach. A prominent theme that emerged from the interview data was grief and loss related to religion and a lesbian identity. Participants identified the need to modify their beliefs, the experience of rejection by church members or the church itself, and seeking acceptance.
    Publication Journal of Lesbian Studies
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 187-196
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr J Lesbian Stud
    DOI 10.1080/10894160.2011.521103
    ISSN 1540-3548
    Short Title Grief and loss of religion
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21491314
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:04:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21491314
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
  • Measuring mindfulness: pilot studies with the Swedish versions of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills

    Type Journal Article
    Author Erling Hansen
    Author Lars-Gunnar Lundh
    Author Anders Homman
    Author Margit Wångby-Lundh
    Abstract The present article describes data from pilot studies with the Swedish versions of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS). The MAAS and two of the KIMS scales, Act with Awareness and Accept without Judgment, were found to correlate in the predicted direction with measures of well-being and emotional distress. The KIMS scales Observe and Describe showed more ambiguous results, possibly because these two scales measure a mixture of two opposite kinds of processes: healthy self-observation ("experiential self-focus") and unhealthy rumination ("analytical self-focus"). The KIMS was also used in an uncontrolled study with participants in an educational programme for close relatives of persons with borderline personality disorder, Family Connections (FC), which includes components of mindfulness training. The FC participants were found to (a) score lower than a comparison group on Act with Awareness and Accept without Judgment before treatment and (b) show significantly increased scores on Accept without Judgment after treatment.
    Publication Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
    Volume 38
    Issue 1
    Pages 2-15
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Cogn Behav Ther
    DOI 10.1080/16506070802383230
    ISSN 1651-2316
    Short Title Measuring mindfulness
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19125361
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19125361
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Anorexia Nervosa
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Attention
    • Attitude to Health
    • Awareness
    • Borderline Personality Disorder
    • Burnout, Professional
    • Caregivers
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Emotions
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Individuality
    • Judgment
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Military Personnel
    • Personality Inventory
    • Pilot Projects
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Reference Values
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • Self Concept
    • Self-Injurious Behavior
    • Sweden
    • Translating
    • Young Adult
  • Does religious involvement protect against early drinking? A behavior genetic approach

    Type Journal Article
    Author K. Paige Harden
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Adolescent involvement in religious organizations has been hypothesized to protect against early age at first drink. However, the correlation between adolescent religiosity and later age at first drink may be confounded by environmental or genetic differences between families. This study tests whether, after controlling for shared environmental and genetic confounds using a behavior genetic design, the association between individual levels of religiosity and earlier age at first drink is still evident. METHOD: Twin and sibling pairs were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally-representative sample of US adolescents. Age at first drink was measured as how old adolescents were when they first had a drink of beer, wine, or liquor. Religiosity was measured using four items concerning frequency of religious activities and importance of religious beliefs. Using twins and siblings who were discordant for religiosity, analyses tested whether religious adolescents had a later age at first drink than their non-religious co-twins/co-siblings. RESULTS: Religious adolescents did not differ from their non-religious siblings in their mean age at first drink. Results from survival models indicate that environmental differences between families completely account for the correlation between religiosity and later age at first drink. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that individual religious involvement is a proxy variable for family or cultural environments that are salient for when adolescents initiate alcohol use. Future research is needed to identify specific protective environments in religious families. These results have implications for both public policy and etiological theory.
    Publication Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines
    Volume 51
    Issue 7
    Pages 763-771
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Child Psychol Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02247.x
    ISSN 1469-7610
    Short Title Does religious involvement protect against early drinking?
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:20:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20406334
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • Effects of mindfulness on meta-awareness and specificity of describing prodromal symptoms in suicidal depression.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Emily Hargus
    Author Catherine Crane
    Author Thorsten Barnhofer
    Author J. Mark G. Williams
    Abstract The authors examined the effects of mindfulness training on 2 aspects of mode of processing in depressed participants: degree of meta-awareness and specificity of memory. Each of these has been suggested as a maladaptive aspect of a mode of processing linked to persistence and recurrence of symptoms. Twenty-seven depressed participants, all of whom had experienced suicidal crises, described warning signs for their last crisis. These descriptions were blind-rated independently for meta-awareness and specificity. Participants were then randomly allocated to receive mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) plus treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU alone, and retested after 3 months. Results showed that, although comparable at baseline, patients randomized to MBCT displayed significant posttreatment differences in meta-awareness and specificity compared with TAU patients. These results suggest that mindfulness training may enable patients to reflect on memories of previous crises in a detailed and decentered way, allowing them to relate to such experiences in a way that is likely to be helpful in preventing future relapses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Emotion
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 34-42
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0016825
    ISSN 1528-3542
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:16:39 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Awareness
    • depression
    • Major Depression
    • Memory
    • memory specificity
    • meta-awareness
    • Mindfulness
    • Primary Health Care
    • relapse
    • Screening Tests
    • Suicidal Ideation
    • suicidality
    • Suicide
  • Measuring spirituality, religiosity, and denial in individuals working in funeral service to predict death anxiety

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laura K Harrawood
    Abstract The aim of the present study was to examine predictors of death anxiety in U.S. funeral directors/embalmers who were part of a larger study (n = 234). Backward stepwise multiple regression was conducted to determine whether or not spirituality, intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, and denial predicted levels of death anxiety. Results indicated that spirituality along with age of the participants accounted for 19% of the variance of death anxiety, R2 = .190, R2(adj) = .180, F(2, 168) = 19.64, p < .001. Intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, and denial were not significant in the regression model. Several items, however, in the model had a significant positive correlation with each other at the .01 alpha level including spirituality with intrinsic religiosity (r = .63) and age (r = .21), and intrinsic religiosity with denial (r = .22) and age (r = .24). Other variables correlated negatively with one another at the .01 alpha level. Namely, death anxiety with spirituality (-.38), intrinsic religiosity (r = -.36), and age (-.28); spirituality with extrinsic religiosity (-.22); intrinsic religiosity with extrinsic religiosity (-.45); and extrinsic religiosity with age (r = -.19). Limitations of the study and implications for practice were discussed.
    Publication Omega
    Volume 60
    Issue 2
    Pages 129-142
    Date 2009-2010
    Journal Abbr Omega (Westport)
    ISSN 0030-2228
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20222233
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20222233
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Attitude to Death
    • Comorbidity
    • Denial (Psychology)
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Job Satisfaction
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Mortuary Practice
    • Occupational Diseases
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
    • United States
  • Measuring spirituality, religiosity, and denial in individuals working in funeral service to predict death anxiety

    Type Journal Article
    Author LK Harrawood
    Abstract The aim of the present study was to examine predictors of death anxiety in U.S. funeral directors/embalmers who were part of a larger Study (n = 234). Backward stepwise multiple regression was conducted to determine whether or not spirituality, intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, and denial predicted levels of death anxiety. Results indicated that spirituality along with age of the participants accounted for 19% of the variance of death anxiety, R-2 = .190, R-adj(2) = .180, F(2, 168) = 19.64, p < .001. Intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, and denial were not significant in the regression model. Several items, however, in the model had a significant positive correlation with each other at the .01 alpha level including spirituality with intrinsic religiosity (r = .63) and age (r = .21), and intrinsic religiosity with denial (r = .22) and age (r = .24). Other variables con-elated negatively with one another at the .01 alpha level. Namely, death anxiety with spirituality (-.38), intrinsic religiosity (r = -.36), and age (-.28); spirituality with extrinsic religiosity (-.22); intrinsic religiosity with extrinsic religiosity (-.45); and extrinsic religiosity with age (r = -.19). Limitations of the study and implications for practice were discussed.
    Publication Omega - Journal of Death and Dying
    Volume 60
    Issue 2
    Pages 129-142
    Date 2009
    DOI 10.2190/OM.60.2.b
    ISSN 0030-2228
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:52:24 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • AIDS, sexuality, and the Black church : making the wounded whole

    Type Book
    Author Angelique Harris
    Series Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Studies in Religion, Culture, and Social Development
    Place New York
    Publisher P. Lang
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9781433109430
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • In AIDS, Sexuality, and the Black Church, Angelique Harris examines the formation of the Black Church AIDS movement and the organizational development of The Balm in Gilead. This research begins from the perspective that the Black Church is working to address AIDS, and details how this work is being done. Harris couches her findings within social movement theory, the sociology of health and illness, social marketing, and the social construction of knowledge. This text provides a unique lens through which to examine AIDS discourse within the Black community. AIDS, Sexuality, and the Black Church is essential reading for AIDS scholars, researchers, and community activists alike.

  • The effectiveness of a trauma focused spiritually integrated intervention for veterans exposed to trauma.

    Type Journal Article
    Author J. Irene Harris
    Author Christopher R. Erbes
    Author Brian E. Engdahl
    Author Paul Thuras
    Author Nichole Murray-Swank
    Author Dixie Grace
    Author Henry Ogden
    Author Raymond H. A. Olson
    Author Ann Marie Winskowski
    Author Russ Bacon
    Author Catherine Malec
    Author Kelsey Campion
    Author TuVan Le
    Abstract Building Spiritual Strength (BSS) is an 8-session, spiritually integrated group intervention designed to address religious strain and enhance religious meaning making for military trauma survivors. It is based upon empirical research on the relationship between spirituality and adjustment to trauma. To assess the intervention's effectiveness, veterans with histories of trauma who volunteered for the study were randomly assigned to a BSS group ( n = 26) or a wait-list control group ( n = 28). BSS participants showed statistically significant reductions in PTSD symptoms based on self-report measures as compared with those in a wait-list control condition. Further research on spiritually integrated interventions for trauma survivors is warranted. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 67:1-14, 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 67
    Issue 4
    Pages 425-438
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20777
    ISSN 00219762
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM

    Tags:

    • CLINICAL psychology
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder
    • Spiritual healing
    • spirituality
    • TRAUMATIC neuroses
    • Veterans
  • Spiritual well-being in long-term survivors with chronic graft-versus-host disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brian A. Harris
    Author Ann M. Berger
    Author Sandra A. Mitchell
    Author Seth M. Steinberg
    Author Karen L. Baker
    Author Daniel L. Handel
    Author Jacques L. Bolle
    Author Eric G. Bush
    Author Daniele Avila
    Author Steven Z. Pavletic
    Abstract Spiritual well-being (Sp-WB) is a resource that supports adaptation and resilience, strengthening quality of life (QOL) in patients with cancer or other chronic illnesses. However, the relationship between Sp-WB and QOL in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) remains unexamined. Fifty-two participants completed the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual WellBeing (FACIT-Sp) questionnaire as part of a multidisciplinary study of cGVHD. Sp-WB was generally high. Those with the lowest Sp-WB had a significantly longer time since diagnosis of cGVHD (P = 0.05) than those with higher Sp-WB. There were no associations between Sp-WB and demographics, cGVHD severity, or intensity of immunosuppression. Participants with the lowest Sp-WB reported inferior physical (P = 0.0009), emotional (P = 0.003), social (P = 0.027), and functional well-being (P < 0.0001) as well as lower overall QOL (P < 0.0001) compared with those with higher Sp-WB. They also had inferior QOL relative to population norms. Differences between the group reporting the lowest Sp-WB and those groups who reported the highest Sp-WB scores consistently demonstrated a significant difference for all QOL subscales and for overall QOL. Controlling for physical, emotional, and social well-being, Sp-WB was a significant independent predictor of contentment with QOL. Our results suggest that Sp-WB is an important factor contributing to the QOL of patients with cGVHD. Research is needed to identify factors that diminish Sp-WB and to test interventions designed to strengthen this coping resource in patients experiencing the late effects of treatment.
    Publication The Journal of Supportive Oncology
    Volume 8
    Issue 3
    Pages 119-125
    Date 2010 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr J Support Oncol
    ISSN 1544-6794
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:54:28 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20552925
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Chronic Disease
    • Female
    • Graft vs Host Disease
    • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality
    • Survivors
  • Reliability and validity of the brief multidimensional measure of religiousness/spirituality among adolescents

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sion Kim Harris
    Author Lon R Sherritt
    Author David W Holder
    Author John Kulig
    Author Lydia A Shrier
    Author John R Knight
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Developed for use in health research, the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) consists of brief measures of a broad range of religiousness and spirituality (R/S) dimensions. It has established psychometric properties among adults, but little is known about its appropriateness for use with adolescents. PURPOSE: We assessed the psychometric properties of the BMMRS among adolescents. METHOD: We recruited a racially diverse (85% non-White) sample of 305 adolescents aged 12-18 years (median 16 yrs, IQR 14-17) from 3 urban medical clinics; 93 completed a retest 1 week later. We assessed internal consistency and test-retest reliability. We assessed construct validity by examining how well the measures discriminated groups expected to differ based on self-reported religious preference, and how they related to a hypothesized correlate, depressive symptoms. Religious preference was categorized into "No religion/Atheist" (11%), "Don't know/Confused" (9%), or "Named a religion" (80%). RESULTS: Responses to multi-item measures were generally internally consistent (alpha > or = 0.70 for 12/16 measures) and stable over 1 week (intraclass correlation coefficients > or = 0.70 for 14/16). Forgiveness, Negative R/S Coping, and Commitment items showed lower internal cohesiveness. Scores on most measures were higher (p < 0.05) among those who "Named a religion" compared to the "No religion/Atheist" group. Forgiveness, Commitment, and Anticipated Support from members of one's congregation were inversely correlated with depressive symptoms, while BMMRS measures assessing negative R/S experiences (Negative R/S Coping, Negative Interactions with others in congregation, Loss in Faith) were positively correlated with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that most BMMRS measures are reliable and valid for use among adolescents.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 47
    Issue 4
    Pages 438-457
    Date Dec 2008
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    ISSN 0022-4197
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19093673
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:42:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19093673
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Behavior
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • spirituality
    • Urban Population

    Notes:

    •  Developed for use in health research, the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) consists of brief measures of a broad range of religiousness and spirituality (R/S) dimensions. We assessed the psychometric properties of the BMMRS among adolescents. Conclusions: Most BMMRS measures are reliable and valid for use among adolescents.

  • The neural correlates of religious and nonreligious belief

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sam Harris
    Author Jonas T Kaplan
    Author Ashley Curiel
    Author Susan Y Bookheimer
    Author Marco Iacoboni
    Author Mark S Cohen
    Abstract BACKGROUND: While religious faith remains one of the most significant features of human life, little is known about its relationship to ordinary belief at the level of the brain. Nor is it known whether religious believers and nonbelievers differ in how they evaluate statements of fact. Our lab previously has used functional neuroimaging to study belief as a general mode of cognition [1], and others have looked specifically at religious belief [2]. However, no research has compared these two states of mind directly. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure signal changes in the brains of thirty subjects-fifteen committed Christians and fifteen nonbelievers-as they evaluated the truth and falsity of religious and nonreligious propositions. For both groups, and in both categories of stimuli, belief (judgments of "true" vs judgments of "false") was associated with greater signal in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, an area important for self-representation [3], [4], [5], [6], emotional associations [7], reward [8], [9], [10], and goal-driven behavior [11]. This region showed greater signal whether subjects believed statements about God, the Virgin Birth, etc. or statements about ordinary facts. A comparison of both stimulus categories suggests that religious thinking is more associated with brain regions that govern emotion, self-representation, and cognitive conflict, while thinking about ordinary facts is more reliant upon memory retrieval networks. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: While religious and nonreligious thinking differentially engage broad regions of the frontal, parietal, and medial temporal lobes, the difference between belief and disbelief appears to be content-independent. Our study compares religious thinking with ordinary cognition and, as such, constitutes a step toward developing a neuropsychology of religion. However, these findings may also further our understanding of how the brain accepts statements of all kinds to be valid descriptions of the world.
    Publication PloS One
    Volume 4
    Issue 10
    Pages e0007272
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr PLoS ONE
    DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0007272
    ISSN 1932-6203
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19794914
    Accessed Tuesday, November 03, 2009 7:51:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19794914
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Background: While religious faith remains one of the most significant features of human life, little is known about its relationship to ordinary belief at the level of the brain. Nor is it known whether religious believers and nonbelievers differ in how they evaluate statements of fact. Our lab previously has used functional neuroimaging to study belief as a general mode of cognition [1], and others have looked specifically at religious belief [2]. However, no research has compared these two states of mind directly. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL Findings: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure signal changes in the brains of thirty subjects-fifteen committed Christians and fifteen nonbelievers-as they evaluated the truth and falsity of religious and nonreligious propositions. For both groups, and in both categories of stimuli, belief (judgments of “true” vs judgments of “false”) was associated with greater signal in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, an area important for self-representation [3], [4], [5], [6], emotional associations [7], reward [8], [9], [10], and goal-driven behavior [11]. This region showed greater signal whether subjects believed statements about God, the Virgin Birth, etc. or statements about ordinary facts. A comparison of both stimulus categories suggests that religious thinking is more associated with brain regions that govern emotion, self-representation, and cognitive conflict, while thinking about ordinary facts is more reliant upon memory retrieval networks. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: While religious and nonreligious thinking differentially engage broad regions of the frontal, parietal, and medial temporal lobes, the difference between belief and disbelief appears to be content-independent. Our study compares religious thinking with ordinary cognition and, as such, constitutes a step toward developing a neuropsychology of religion. However, these findings may also further our understanding of how the brain accepts statements of all kinds to be valid descriptions of the world.

  • Functional neuroimaging of belief, disbelief, and uncertainty

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sam Harris
    Author Sameer A Sheth
    Author Mark S Cohen
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The difference between believing and disbelieving a proposition is one of the most potent regulators of human behavior and emotion. When one accepts a statement as true, it becomes the basis for further thought and action; rejected as false, it remains a string of words. The purpose of this study was to differentiate belief, disbelief, and uncertainty at the level of the brain. METHODS: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the brains of 14 adults while they judged written statements to be "true" (belief), "false" (disbelief), or "undecidable" (uncertainty). To characterize belief, disbelief, and uncertainty in a content-independent manner, we included statements from a wide range of categories: autobiographical, mathematical, geographical, religious, ethical, semantic, and factual. RESULTS: The states of belief, disbelief, and uncertainty differentially activated distinct regions of the prefrontal and parietal cortices, as well as the basal ganglia. INTERPRETATION: Belief and disbelief differ from uncertainty in that both provide information that can subsequently inform behavior and emotion. The mechanism underlying this difference appears to involve the anterior cingulate cortex and the caudate. Although many areas of higher cognition are likely involved in assessing the truth-value of linguistic propositions, the final acceptance of a statement as "true" or its rejection as "false" appears to rely on more primitive, hedonic processing in the medial prefrontal cortex and the anterior insula. Truth may be beauty, and beauty truth, in more than a metaphorical sense, and false propositions may actually disgust us.
    Publication Annals of Neurology
    Volume 63
    Issue 2
    Pages 141-147
    Date Feb 2008
    Journal Abbr Ann. Neurol
    DOI 10.1002/ana.21301
    ISSN 1531-8249
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18072236
    Accessed Tuesday, November 03, 2009 7:52:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18072236
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Basal Ganglia
    • Brain
    • Brain Mapping
    • Cerebral Cortex
    • Cognition
    • Culture
    • Emotions
    • Female
    • Functional Laterality
    • Humans
    • Judgment
    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    • Male
    • Mental Processes
    • Middle Aged
    • Neural Pathways
    • Neuropsychological Tests
    • Parietal Lobe
    • Prefrontal Cortex
    • Reaction Time

    Notes:

    • Objective: The difference between believing and disbelieving a proposition is one of the most potent regulators of human behavior and emotion. When one accepts a statement as true, it becomes the basis for further thought and action; rejected as false, it remains a string of words. The purpose of this study was to differentiate belief, disbelief, and uncertainty at the level of the brain. Methods: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the brains of 14 adults while they judged written statements to be “true” (belief), “false” (disbelief), or “undecidable” (uncertainty). To characterize belief, disbelief, and uncertainty in a content-independent manner, we included statements from a wide range of categories: autobiographical, mathematical, geographical, religious, ethical, semantic, and factual. Results: The states of belief, disbelief, and uncertainty differentially activated distinct regions of the prefrontal and parietal cortices, as well as the basal ganglia. INTERPRETATION: Belief and disbelief differ from uncertainty in that both provide information that can subsequently inform behavior and emotion. The mechanism underlying this difference appears to involve the anterior cingulate cortex and the caudate. Although many areas of higher cognition are likely involved in assessing the truth-value of linguistic propositions, the final acceptance of a statement as “true” or its rejection as “false” appears to rely on more primitive, hedonic processing in the medial prefrontal cortex and the anterior insula. Truth may be beauty, and beauty truth, in more than a metaphorical sense, and false propositions may actually disgust us.

  • A Randomized, Controlled Trial of the Effects of Remote, Intercessory Prayer on Outcomes in Patients Admitted to the Coronary Care Unit

    Type Journal Article
    Author William S. Harris
    Author Manohar Gowda
    Author Jerry W. Kolb
    Author Christopher P. Strychacz
    Author James L. Vacek
    Author Philip G. Jones
    Author Alan Forker
    Author James H. O'Keefe
    Author Ben D. McCallister
    Abstract Context Intercessory prayer (praying for others) has been a common response to sickness for millennia, but it has received little scientific attention. The positive findings of a previous controlled trial of intercessory prayer have yet to be replicated. Objective To determine whether remote, intercessory prayer for hospitalized, cardiac patients will reduce overall adverse events and length of stay. Design Randomized, controlled, double-blind, prospective, parallel-group trial. Setting Private, university-associated hospital. Patients Nine hundred ninety consecutive patients who were newly admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU). Intervention At the time of admission, patients were randomized to receive remote, intercessory prayer (prayer group) or not (usual care group). The first names of patients in the prayer group were given to a team of outside intercessors who prayed for them daily for 4 weeks. Patients were unaware that they were being prayed for, and the intercessors did not know and never met the patients. Main Outcome Measures The medical course from CCU admission to hospital discharge was summarized in a CCU course score derived from blinded, retrospective chart review. Results Compared with the usual care group (n=524), the prayer group (n=466) had lower mean{+/-}SEM weighted (6.35{+/-}0.26 vs 7.13{+/-}0.27; P=.04) and unweighted (2.7{+/-}0.1 vs 3.0{+/-}0.1; P=.04) CCU course scores. Lengths of CCU and hospital stays were not different. Conclusions Remote, intercessory prayer was associated with lower CCU course scores. This result suggests that prayer may be an effective adjunct to standard medical care.
    Publication Archives of Internal Medicine
    Volume 159
    Issue 19
    Pages 2273-2278
    Date October 25, 1999
    Journal Abbr Arch Intern Med
    DOI 10.1001/archinte.159.19.2273
    URL http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/159/19/2273
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 10:11:52 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Objective To determine whether remote, intercessory prayer for hospitalized, cardiac patients will reduce overall adverse events and length of stay. Design Randomized, controlled, double-blind, prospective, parallel-group trial. Nine hundred ninety consecutive patients who were newly admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU). At the time of admission, patients were randomized to receive remote, intercessory prayer (prayer group) or not (usual care group). Compared with the usual care group (n=524), the prayer group (n=466) had lower mean{+/-}SEM weighted (6.35{+/-}0.26 vs 7.13{+/-}0.27; P=.04) and unweighted (2.7{+/-}0.1 vs 3.0{+/-}0.1; P=.04) CCU course scores. Lengths of CCU and hospital stays were not different.

  • Religiosity/spirituality and pain in patients with sickle cell disease

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Ojinga Harrison
    Author Christopher L Edwards
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Author Hayden B Bosworth
    Author Laura Decastro
    Author Mary Wood
    Abstract Religion/spirituality has been identified by individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) as an important factor in coping with stress and in determining quality of life. Research has demonstrated positive associations between religiosity/spirituality and better physical and mental health outcomes. However, few studies have examined the influence religiosity/spirituality has on the experience of pain in chronically ill patients. Our aim was to examine three domains of religiosity/spirituality (church attendance, prayer/Bible study, intrinsic religiosity) and evaluate their association with measures of pain. We studied a consecutive sample of 50 SCD outpatients and found that church attendance was significantly associated with measures of pain. Attending church once or more per week was associated with the lowest scores on pain measures. These findings were maintained after controlling for age, gender, and disease severity. Prayer/Bible study and intrinsic religiosity were not significantly related to pain in our study. Positive associations are consistent with recent literature, but our results expose new aspects of the relationship for African American patients. We conclude that religious involvement likely plays a significant role in modulating the pain experience of African American patients with SCD and may be an important factor for future study in other populations of chronically ill pain sufferers.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 193
    Issue 4
    Pages 250-257
    Date Apr 2005
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15805821
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:26:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15805821
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Ambulatory Care
    • Anemia, Sickle Cell
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Pain Measurement
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Quality of Life
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

  • Spiritual Self-Management: A Look at Older Adults with Chronic Illness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Idethia S. Harvey
    Abstract This study examines the role of spirituality in the self-management of chronic illness among older adults by using criterion sampling between African-American and non-Hispanic white elderly adults. Data analyzed from in-depth interviews produced common themes regarding the process of spirituality in self-management behaviors. Five themes were identified: God: The healer; God: The enabler through doctors; Prayer: The pain manager; Spirituality as a coping mechanism; and, Combining spiritual and conventional modalities.
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 3
    Pages 200
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1080/15528030902803871
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title Spiritual Self-Management
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/15528030902803871
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:17:55 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • Older adults
    • self-management
    • spirituality
  • Exploring the role of spirituality in self-management practices among older African-American and non-Hispanic White women with chronic conditions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Idethia Shevon Harvey
    Author Lawanda Cook
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the role of spirituality in the self-management of chronic illness among older women with chronic conditions. METHODS: A sample of 41 African-American and non-Hispanic White women, of age 66 and older, participated in the process of self-care study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and analysed for common themes using the Grounded Theory method. RESULTS: Audiotaped and transcribed interviews identified four categories that emerged to suggest the influence of spirituality in behavioural change and disease management: (1) God's involvement in illness management; (2) prayer as a mediator; (3) spirituality as a coping mechanism; and (4) the combination of conventional and spiritual practices. DISCUSSION: Older women with various chronic illnesses defined 'spirituality' in a broad, holistic way, and the findings suggest that spirituality played a part in documenting the self-management process. Knowledge of spirituality and the role it plays in illness management may assist public health gerontologists in designing effective and culturally appropriate self-management programmes.
    Publication Chronic Illness
    Volume 6
    Issue 2
    Pages 111-124
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Chronic Illn
    DOI 10.1177/1742395309350228
    ISSN 1745-9206
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:32:04 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20444763
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • The role of spirituality in the self-management of chronic illness among older African and Whites

    Type Journal Article
    Author Idethia S Harvey
    Author Myrna Silverman
    Abstract This study used data from in-depth interviews collected from 88 African American and White men and women aged 65 years and older who reside in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The purpose of this study was to understand the role of spirituality in the self-management of chronic illness among this population. Thematic content analysis addressed two specific questions: (1) how do older adults use spirituality to help manage their chronic illness, and (2) are there any racial differences in the use of spirituality. Several core themes emerged from the linkage of spirituality and self-management: God: the healer, God: the enabler through doctors, faith in God, prayer as a mediator, spirituality as a coping mechanism, combining conventional medicine and spiritual practices, and empowering respondents to practice healthy eating habits. These results display racial differences in the use of spirituality in the self-management of chronic illness. African American elders were more likely than White elders to endorse a belief in divine intervention. White elders were more likely than African America elders to merge their spirituality in various self-management practices. Despite these differences, spirituality can play an integral part in a person's health and well-being of chronically ill elders.
    Publication Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology
    Volume 22
    Issue 2
    Pages 205-220
    Date Jun 2007
    Journal Abbr J Cross Cult Gerontol
    DOI 10.1007/s10823-007-9038-2
    ISSN 0169-3816
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17370121
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:30:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17370121
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Chronic Disease
    • Data Collection
    • European Continental Ancestry Group
    • Female
    • Frail Elderly
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Pennsylvania
    • Self Care
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This study used data from in-depth interviews collected from 88 African American and White men and women aged 65 years and older who reside in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The purpose of this study was to understand the role of spirituality in the self-management of chronic illness among this population.

  • Religious moral beliefs as mental health protective factor of war veterans suffering from PTSD, depressiveness, anxiety, tobacco and alcohol abuse in comorbidity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mevludin Hasanović
    Author Izet Pajević
    Abstract INTRODUCTION: Our aim was to investigate is there association between level of religious moral beliefs and severity of PTSD symptoms, depressiion symptoms, anxiety and severity of alcohol abuse we tested 152 war veterans on presence of PTSD, depression symptoms, anxiety, alcohol misuse and level of religious moral beliefs. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We used Harvard trauma questionnaire (HTQ), Hopkins Check Scale SBCL 25, check list for alcohol misuse MAST. Subjects were assessed with regard to the level of belief in some basic ethical principles that arise from religious moral values. The score of religious moral belief index was used to correlate with severity of PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, anxiety and severity of alcohol misuse. RESULTS: Mean age of tested subjects was 40.8 (SD=6.6) years. The score of the moral belief index was negatively correlated to PTSD symptom severity and depressiveness (Pearson's r=-0.325, p<0.001; r=-0.247, p=0.005, respectively). Besides that the score of moral belief index negatively correlated with presented anxiety (Pearson's r=-0.199,p=0.026). Related to severity of tobacco and alcohol misuse we found negative association of these with the moral belief index (Pearson's r=-0.227, p=0.011; r=-0.371, p<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: A higher index of religious moral beliefs in war veterans enables better control distress, providing better mental health stability. It enables post traumatic conflicts typical for combatants' survivors to be more easily overcome. It also causes healthier reactions to external stimuli. A higher index of religious moral beliefs of war veterans provides a healthier and more efficient mechanism of tobacco and alcohol misuse control. In this way, it helps overcoming postwar psychosocial problems and socialization of the personality, leading to the improvement in mental health.
    Publication Psychiatria Danubina
    Volume 22
    Issue 2
    Pages 203-210
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychiatr Danub
    ISSN 0353-5053
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:49:05 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20562748
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Being Hopeful and Continuing to Move Ahead: Religious Coping in Iranian Chemical Warfare Poisoned Veterans, a Qualitative Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hadi Hassankhani
    Author Fariba Taleghani
    Author Jane Mills
    Author Melanie Birks
    Author Karen Francis
    Author Fazlolah Ahmadi
    Abstract There is a substantial number of Iranian war veterans, exposed to sulfur mustard, who suffer from serious long term progressive health problems involving their respiratory organs, eyes, and skin. Little is known, however, about these casualties’ experiences of living with the consequences of sulfur mustard poisoning. This qualitative study aims to provide greater insight into how war veterans live with the consequences of the poisoning and involved 17 Iranian war veterans who had been poisoned by sulfur mustard during the Iran–Iraq conflict. Each participant was interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule and the data generated through this process was analyzed using constant comparative data analysis technique. Data analysis resulted in “religious beliefs and practices” as a main category, which included two sub-categories: religious value centered life and religious support. Findings suggest that religious belief assists veterans to accept the impact of poisoning on their lives and adapt their lifestyles accordingly, to participate in religious social activities and feel socially supported, and to be hopeful about the future and live their lives as fully as possible.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 311-321
    Date 4/2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9252-z
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Short Title Being Hopeful and Continuing to Move Ahead
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:56:07 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • Being hopeful and continuing to move ahead: religious coping in Iranian chemical warfare poisoned veterans, a qualitative study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hadi Hassankhani
    Author Fariba Taleghani
    Author Jane Mills
    Author Melanie Birks
    Author Karen Francis
    Author Fazlolah Ahmadi
    Abstract There is a substantial number of Iranian war veterans, exposed to sulfur mustard, who suffer from serious long term progressive health problems involving their respiratory organs, eyes, and skin. Little is known, however, about these casualties' experiences of living with the consequences of sulfur mustard poisoning. This qualitative study aims to provide greater insight into how war veterans live with the consequences of the poisoning and involved 17 Iranian war veterans who had been poisoned by sulfur mustard during the Iran-Iraq conflict. Each participant was interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule and the data generated through this process was analyzed using constant comparative data analysis technique. Data analysis resulted in "religious beliefs and practices" as a main category, which included two sub-categories: religious value centered life and religious support. Findings suggest that religious belief assists veterans to accept the impact of poisoning on their lives and adapt their lifestyles accordingly, to participate in religious social activities and feel socially supported, and to be hopeful about the future and live their lives as fully as possible.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 311-321
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9252-z
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Being hopeful and continuing to move ahead
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:14:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19396547
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Chemical Warfare Agents
    • Chronic Disease
    • Humans
    • Iran
    • ISLAM
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Mustard Gas
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Veterans
  • Depression: dispirited or spiritually deprived?

    Type Journal Article
    Author C S Hassed
    Abstract The 20th century has seen a widespread decline in mental health in Western society. One important factor may be the lack of meaning and spiritual fulfilment that is part of our increasingly secular and materialistic society. In medical education and practice, religious issues are often marginalised or 'pathologised", despite consistent evidence from the literature of the protective effect of "religiosity" or "spirituality" on mental and physical health.
    Publication The Medical Journal of Australia
    Volume 173
    Issue 10
    Pages 545-547
    Date Nov 20, 2000
    Journal Abbr Med. J. Aust
    ISSN 0025-729X
    Short Title Depression
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11194740
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:48:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11194740
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • depression
    • Health Transition
    • Humans
    • mental health
    • Models, Psychological
    • religion

    Notes:

    • The 20th century has seen a widespread decline in mental health in Western society. One important factor may be the lack of meaning and spiritual fulfilment that is part of our increasingly secular and materialistic society. In medical education and practice, religious issues are often marginalised or ‘pathologised”, despite consistent evidence from the literature of the protective effect of “religiosity” or “spirituality” on mental and physical health.

  • Religiosity and hope: a path for women coping with a diagnosis of breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ilanit Hasson-Ohayon
    Author Michal Braun
    Author Daliah Galinsky
    Author Lea Baider
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Both religiosity and hope are known for their positive role in coping with cancer. OBJECTIVE: This study examines the mediating role of hope between religiosity and coping for women diagnosed with breast cancer. METHOD: Israeli Jewish women with breast cancer (N=233) completed the Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale, The Systems of Belief Inventory, and The Hope Scale. RESULTS: By use of hierarchical regression, hope was found to be a mediator between religiosity and three coping styles. CONCLUSION: Special attention should be given to the role of hope for religious patients because it increases the positive effects of religion in coping with cancer.
    Publication Psychosomatics
    Volume 50
    Issue 5
    Pages 525-533
    Date 2009 Sep-Oct
    Journal Abbr Psychosomatics
    DOI 10.1176/appi.psy.50.5.525
    ISSN 1545-7206
    Short Title Religiosity and hope
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19855039
    Accessed Tuesday, October 27, 2009 9:56:40 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19855039
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • The Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale. Development and testing of a new instrument

    Type Journal Article
    Author R L Hatch
    Author M A Burg
    Author D S Naberhaus
    Author L K Hellmich
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Spirituality is receiving greater attention in the medical literature, especially in the family practice journals. A widely applicable instrument to assess spirituality has been lacking, however, and this has hampered research on the relationship between spirituality and health in the clinical setting. METHODS: A new instrument, called the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale, was designed to be widely applicable across religious traditions, to assess actions as well as beliefs to address key components not assessed in other available measures, and to be easily administered and scored. The instrument is a questionnaire containing 26 items in a modified Likert-type format. Following careful pretesting, the instrument was administered to 50 family practice patients and 33 family practice educators. The validity and reliability of the instrument were then evaluated. RESULTS: By several measures, instrument reliability and validity are very good, with high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .92); strong test-retest reliability (r = .92); a clear four-factor structure; and a high correlation (r = .80) with another established measure of spirituality, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. CONCLUSIONS: The Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS) appears to have good reliability and validity. Compared with other instruments that assess spirituality, the SIBS has several theoretical advantages, including broader scope, use of terms that avoid cultural-religious bias, and assessment of both beliefs and actions. More testing is underway to further assess its usefulness.
    Publication The Journal of Family Practice
    Volume 46
    Issue 6
    Pages 476-486
    Date Jun 1998
    Journal Abbr J Fam Pract
    ISSN 0094-3509
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9638112
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:44:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9638112
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Behavior
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Family Practice
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Healing
    • Middle Aged
    • Psychometrics
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Reproducibility of Results

    Notes:

    • A new instrument, called the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale, was designed to be widely applicable across religious traditions, to assess actions as well as beliefs to address key components not assessed in other available measures, and to be easily administered and scored. The instrument is a questionnaire containing 26 items in a modified Likert-type format.

  • Religiously oriented mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

    Type Journal Article
    Author William Hathaway
    Author Erica Tan
    Abstract The interface of religiously accommodative and oriented treatments and the cognitive–behavioral tradition is explored. In terms of Hayes' characterization of the evolution of the cognitive–behavioral tradition through three waves, considerable theoretical, clinical, and empirical work emerged to support a religiously accommodative cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) during the second-generation CBTs. Rather than including religion and spirituality, the third-wave CBT traditions have engaged in spiritual themes inspired heavily from Eastern religious traditions. The authors discuss the application of a religiously congruent third-wave cognitive therapy with a depressed conservatively Christian client. Some conceptual challenges and rationales for adopting such treatments with Christian or other theist clients are described. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 65:158–171, 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 158-171
    Date February 2009
    ISSN 00219762
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Christianity
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • CULTURAL pluralism
    • MEDICAL care -- Religious aspects
    • MEDICINE -- Religious aspects
    • spirituality
  • The Book of Job: Implications for construct validity of posttraumatic stress disorder diagnostic criteria.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Clifford Haughn
    Author John C. Gonsiorek
    Abstract This project involved asking a group of clinicians experienced in working with trauma to rate (among other things) how well descriptions from the Book of Job matched current DSM diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This research found high ratings of congruence between descriptions of Job's reactions and symptoms of PTSD described in DSM-IV-TR. However, the congruence with the traumatising events was less certain. These findings are discussed in relation to the construct validity of PTSD diagnostic criteria. While symptoms of trauma are consistent and robust over millennia of observation of the human condition, the nature of the events required in criterion A (1) is likely flawed on a number of levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Issue 8
    Pages 833-845
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903101218
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title The Book of Job
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45427290&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:27:32 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • MEDICAL personnel
    • MEDICINE -- Research
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder
    • SELF-congruence
    • SYMPTOMS
  • Psychometric evaluation of the Spanish and English versions of the spiritual coping strategies scale

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dawn Hawthorne
    Author JoAnne M Youngblut
    Author Dorothy Brooten
    Abstract The Spiritual Coping Strategies (SCS) Scale measures how frequently religious and nonreligious (spiritual) coping strategies are used to cope with a stressful experience. This study's purpose is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the newly translated Spanish version of the SCS. A total of 51 bilingual adults completed the SCS in Spanish and English, with 25 completing them again 2-3 weeks later. Internal consistency reliability for the Spanish (r = 0.83) and English (r = 0.82) versions of the SCS in the total sample were good. Test-retest reliability was .84 for the Spanish and .80 for the English version. Spanish and English responses to the SCS items and the resulting score for the subscales and the total scale were not significantly different. Scores on the English and Spanish versions were correlated as expected with time since the stressful event and happiness with family and with spouse or partner, supporting the validity of the Spanish SCS. Study findings support the reliability and validity of the newly translated Spanish SCS.
    Publication Journal of Nursing Measurement
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 46-54
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr J Nurs Meas
    ISSN 1061-3749
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21560900
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:48:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21560900
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
  • Authentic happiness theory supported by impact of religion on life satisfaction: A longitudinal analysis with data for Germany

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bruce Headey
    Author Juergen Schupp
    Author Ingrid Tucci
    Author Gert G. Wagner
    Abstract Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey, this paper assesses the relationship between life satisfaction and religious practice. It is shown that individuals who become more religious over time record long term gains in life satisfaction, while those who become less religious record long term losses. This result holds net of the effects of personality traits, and also in fixed effects panel models.
    Publication The Journal of Positive Psychology
    Volume 5
    Issue 1
    Pages 73-82
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1080/17439760903435232
    ISSN 1743-9760
    Short Title Authentic happiness theory supported by impact of religion on life satisfaction
    Accessed Monday, March 29, 2010 8:27:56 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Positive and negative religious coping and well-being in women with breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Randy Hebert
    Author Bozena Zdaniuk
    Author Richard Schulz
    Author Michael Scheier
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Although religions is important to many people with cancer, few studies have explored the relationship between religious coping and well-being in a prospective manner, using validated measures, while controlling for important covariates. METHODS: One hundred ninety-eight women with stage I or II and 86 women with stage IV stage breast cancer were recruited. Standardized assessment instruments and structured questions were used to collect data at study entry and 8 to 12 months later. Religious coping was measured with validated measures of positive and negative religious coping. Linear regression models were used to explore the relationships between positive and negative religious coping and overall physical and mental well-being, depression, and life satisfaction. RESULTS: The percentage of women who used positive religious coping (i.e., partnering with God or looking to God for strength, support, or guidance) "a moderate amount" or "a lot" was 76%. Negative religious coping (i.e., feeling abandoned by or anger at God) was much less prevalent; 15% of women reported feeling abandoned by or angry at God at least "a little." Positive religious coping was not associated with any measures of well-being. Negative religious coping predicted worse overall mental health, depressive symptoms, and lower life satisfaction after controlling for sociodemographics and other covariates. In addition, changes in negative religious coping from study entry to follow-up predicted changes in these well-being measures over the same time period. Cancer stage did not moderate the relationships between religious coping and well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Negative religious coping methods predict worse mental heath and life satisfaction in women with breast cancer.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 12
    Issue 6
    Pages 537-545
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2008.0250
    ISSN 1557-7740
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:55:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19508140
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Pennsylvania
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine

    Notes:

    • A study that explores the relationship between religious coping and well-being in a prospective manner, using validated measures, while controlling for important covariates.

  • Former palliative caregivers who identify that additional spiritual support would have been helpful in a population survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author Meg M. Hegarty
    Author Amy P. Abernethy
    Author Ian Olver
    Author David C. Currow
    Abstract BACKGROUND Palliative care encompasses physical, psychosocial and spiritual care for patients and caregivers. No population data are available on bereaved people who subsequently report that additional spiritual support would have been helpful. METHODS In a population survey, a respondent-defined question was asked regarding 'additional spiritual support' that would have been helpful if someone 'close to them had died' an expected death in the previous five years. Data (socio-demographic [respondent]); clinical [deceased]) directly standardized to the whole population were analysed. RESULTS There were 14,902 participants in this study (71.6% participation rate), of whom 31% (4665) experienced such a death and 1084 (23.2%) provided active hands-on (day-to-day or intermittent) care. Fifty-one of the 1084 (4.7%) active caregivers identified that additional spiritual support would have been helpful. The predictors in a regression analysis were: other domains where additional support would have been helpful (OR 1.69; 95% CI 1.46-1.94; p < 0.001); and being female (OR 3.23; 95% CI 1.23 to 8.33; p = 0.017). 'Additional spiritual support being helpful' was strongly associated with higher rates where additional support in other domains would also have been helpful in: all bereaved people (2.7 vs 0.6; p < 0.0001); and in active caregivers (3.7 vs 0.8; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION People who identify that additional spiritual support would have been helpful have specific demographic characteristics. There is also a strong association with the likelihood of identifying that a number of other additional supports would have been helpful. Clinically, the need for additional spiritual support should open a conversation about other areas where the need for further support may be identified.
    Publication Palliative Medicine
    Volume 25
    Issue 3
    Pages 266-277
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1177/0269216310389225
    ISSN 1477-030X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21228089
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:04:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21228089
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
  • Traditional Medicine and the Treatment of Drug Addicts: Three Examples from Southeast Asia

    Type Journal Article
    Author H. K. Heggenhougen
    Publication Medical Anthropology Quarterly
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-7
    Date Nov., 1984
    ISSN 07455194
    Short Title Traditional Medicine and the Treatment of Drug Addicts
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/648713
    Accessed Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:53:06 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Nov., 1984 / Copyright © 1984 American Anthropological Association
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Bowen Family Systems Theory and Spirituality: Exploring the Relationship Between Triangulation and Religious Questing.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Katie M. Heiden Rootes
    Author Peter J. Jankowski
    Author Steven Sandage
    Abstract In order to advance the literature on the integration of Bowen family systems theory and spirituality, the relationship between triangulation and religious questing was examined. A positive relationship between differentiated functioning and religious questing was hypothesized. Contrary to the expected relationship, results indicated that greater triangulation predicted greater questing. In addition, a significant quadratic relationship between triangulation and existential questioning was found. The findings may offer a clarification of the process of differentiating a self in triangulated systems, where moderate levels of spiritual exploration and seeking may be a means of gaining space for self. It is suggested that questing behavior may help individuals achieve increased self-differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal
    Volume 32
    Issue 2
    Pages 89-101
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10591-009-9101-y
    ISSN 08922764
    Short Title Bowen Family Systems Theory and Spirituality
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 5:23:26 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • FAMILIES
    • FAMILY systems theory
    • RELIGIOUS behaviors
    • spirituality
    • TRIANGULATION
  • A focus-group study on spirituality and substance-user treatment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Adrienne J Heinz
    Author Elizabeth R Disney
    Author David H Epstein
    Author Louise A Glezen
    Author Pamela I Clark
    Author Kenzie L Preston
    Abstract Focus groups were conducted in 2005-2006 with 25 urban methadone-maintained outpatients to examine beliefs about the role of spirituality in addiction and its appropriateness in formal treatment. Thematic analyses suggested that spirituality and religious practices suffered in complex ways during active addiction, but went "hand in hand" with recovery. Participants agreed that integration of a voluntary spiritual discussion group into formal treatment would be preferable to currently available alternatives. One limitation was that all participants identified as strongly spiritual. Studies of more diverse samples will help guide the development and evaluation of spiritually based interventions in formal treatment.
    Publication Substance Use & Misuse
    Volume 45
    Issue 1-2
    Pages 134-153
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Subst Use Misuse
    DOI 10.3109/10826080903035130
    ISSN 1532-2491
    Accessed Saturday, January 23, 2010 8:47:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20025443
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Notes:

    • Parses data gathered from addiction recovery centers about role and appropriateness of spirituality in treatment. Suggests that spirituality recedes during addiction and plays a role in recovery and recommends methods for further analyzing this issue. 

  • Spiritual/Religious experiences and in-treatment outcome in an inner-city program for heroin and cocaine dependence

    Type Journal Article
    Author Adrienne Heinz
    Author David H Epstein
    Author Kenzie L Preston
    Abstract Although spirituality is an integral component of some of the most popular approaches to substance abuse treatment, there is little empirical evidence for a causal relationship between spirituality and treatment success. In the present study, 169 (121 male) opiate- or cocaine-abusing treatment seekers completed the Index of Spiritual Experience (INSPIRIT), a questionnaire that assesses both spirituality and religiosity. Responses were analyzed in terms of demographic variables and in-treatment outcome, which was determined by treatment retention and drug screens from observed biweekly urine collections. Religious/spiritual beliefs were common in these participants and were associated with in-treatment outcome: total INSPIRIT score was weakly correlated (r = .16, p < .04) with number of subsequent cocaine-negative urines, and participants reporting that they frequently spent time on religious/spiritual activities showed significantly better outcomes in terms of subsequent drug use and treatment retention. Women and African Americans were more likely than men and non-African Americans to report religious and spiritual beliefs or experiences on several individual items, and African Americans had higher INSPIRIT scores than Caucasians. The results suggest that spiritual and religious experience plays a role in substance abuse recovery and that demographic characteristics should be considered in the design of spiritually oriented behavioral interventions for addiction.
    Publication Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
    Volume 39
    Issue 1
    Pages 41-49
    Date Mar 2007
    Journal Abbr J Psychoactive Drugs
    ISSN 0279-1072
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17523584
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:45:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17523584
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Baltimore
    • Cocaine-Related Disorders
    • DEMOGRAPHY
    • Female
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Heroin Dependence
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pilot Projects
    • Prospective Studies
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality
    • Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Urban Health Services

    Notes:

    • In the present study, 169 (121 male) opiate- or cocaine-abusing treatment seekers completed the Index of Spiritual Experience (INSPIRIT), a questionnaire that assesses both spirituality and religiosity. The results suggest that spiritual and religious experience plays a role in substance abuse recovery and that demographic characteristics should be considered in the design of spiritually oriented behavioral interventions for addiction.

  • Neurology, psychology, and extraordinary religious experiences.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel A. Helminiak
    Abstract Temporal lobe epilepsy and certain personality disorders often result in experiences described as "religious". TLE research suggests a possible neurological basis for such experiences. Immediately the question arises about the authenticity of these experiences as religious. An experience is authentic if it furthers the authentic growth of the subject, regardless of what triggered it. So pathology may occasion authentic religious experiences, even as history exemplifies. For practical purposes, the further question about God in religious experience is secondary. The exception, miraculous occurrences, should not be granted without sufficient reason. This approach dissolves all conflict between science and faith. [j].
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 23
    Issue 1
    Pages 33-46
    Date Spr 1984
    ISSN 0022-4197
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000956108&…
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:24:15 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Brain
    • Experience (Religion)
    • God--Knowableness
    • Neurology
    • peer reviewed
    • Temporal lobe epilepsy

    Notes:

    • Temporal lobe epilepsy and certain personality disorders often result in experiences described as “religious”. TLE research suggests a possible neurological basis for such experiences. Immediately the question arises about the authenticity of these experiences as religious. An experience is authentic if it furthers the authentic growth of the subject, regardless of what triggered it. So pathology may occasion authentic religious experiences, even as history exemplifies. For practical purposes, the further question about God in religious experience is secondary. The exception, miraculous occurrences, should not be granted without sufficient reason. This approach dissolves all conflict between science and faith. [j].

  • In Memoriam

    Type Book
    Author Henri Nouwen
    Place Notre Dame
    Publisher Ave Maria Press
    Date 1999
    # of Pages 62
    Date Added Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:57:47 PM
    Modified Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:57:47 PM
  • Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may reduce thought suppression in previously suicidal participants: findings from a preliminary study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Silvia R Hepburn
    Author Catherine Crane
    Author Thorsten Barnhofer
    Author Danielle S Duggan
    Author Melanie J V Fennell
    Author J Mark G Williams
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Thought suppression is a strategy aimed at mental control that may paradoxically increase the frequency of unwanted thoughts. This preliminary study examined effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on thought suppression and depression in individuals with past depression and suicidality. METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial design, 68 participants were allocated to an MBCT group or a treatment-as-usual waitlist control. Measures of thought suppression and depression were taken pre- and post-treatment. RESULTS: MBCT did not reduce thought suppression as measured by the White Bear Suppression Inventory, but significantly reduced self-reported attempts to suppress in the previous week. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary evidence suggests that MBCT for suicidality may reduce thought suppression, but differential effects on thought suppression measures warrant further studies.
    Publication The British Journal of Clinical Psychology / the British Psychological Society
    Volume 48
    Issue Pt 2
    Pages 209-215
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Br J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1348/014466509X414970
    ISSN 0144-6657
    Short Title Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may reduce thought suppression in previously suicidal participants
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:42:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19254446
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Awareness
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Recurrence
    • Research Design
    • Suicide
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Waiting Lists
  • Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may reduce thought suppression in previously suicidal participants: findings from a preliminary study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Silvia R Hepburn
    Author Catherine Crane
    Author Thorsten Barnhofer
    Author Danielle S Duggan
    Author Melanie J V Fennell
    Author J Mark G Williams
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Thought suppression is a strategy aimed at mental control that may paradoxically increase the frequency of unwanted thoughts. This preliminary study examined effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on thought suppression and depression in individuals with past depression and suicidality. METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial design, 68 participants were allocated to an MBCT group or a treatment-as-usual waitlist control. Measures of thought suppression and depression were taken pre- and post-treatment. RESULTS: MBCT did not reduce thought suppression as measured by the White Bear Suppression Inventory, but significantly reduced self-reported attempts to suppress in the previous week. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary evidence suggests that MBCT for suicidality may reduce thought suppression, but differential effects on thought suppression measures warrant further studies.
    Publication The British Journal of Clinical Psychology / the British Psychological Society
    Volume 48
    Issue Pt 2
    Pages 209-215
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Br J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1348/014466509X414970
    ISSN 0144-6657
    Short Title Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may reduce thought suppression in previously suicidal participants
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19254446
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:16:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19254446
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Awareness
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Recurrence
    • Research Design
    • Suicide
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Waiting Lists

    Notes:

    • This preliminary study examined effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on thought suppression and depression in individuals with past depression and suicidality. Results: MBCT did not reduce thought suppression as measured by the White Bear Suppression Inventory, but significantly reduced self-reported attempts to suppress in the previous week.

  • Catholic priests’ conceptualisation of scrupulosity: a grounded theory analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Margaret Hepworth
    Author Laura Maria Simonds
    Author Robert Marsh
    Abstract Scrupulosity is a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder concerned with religious themes. It is unclear how religious leaders understand scrupulosity, the support they offer, or how they view collaboration with mental health practitioners. This study was designed to address these issues. Eleven Catholic priests took part in a semi-structured interview based on a vignette describing a person with scrupulosity. Data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Priests understood scrupulosity as a psychological problem that they felt unqualified to deal with but for which they could offer spiritual guidance. Scrupulous individuals were perceived as difficult to develop a supportive relationship with and were sometimes a challenge to priests' emotional well-being. Collaborative working between priests and mental health services was suggested as a way to address these issues, although priests recognised some difficulties in implementing this. Further research, with other religious groups and with people with scrupulosity, would be beneficial in order to expand the current conceptual framework.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 1
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903092177
    ISSN 1367-4676
    Short Title Catholic priests’ conceptualisation of scrupulosity
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/13674670903092177
    Accessed Monday, January 11, 2010 3:24:46 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Acceptance and mindfulness in cognitive behavior therapy: understanding and applying the new therapies

    Type Book
    Author James Herbert
    Place Hoboken, N.J.
    Publisher John Wiley & Sons
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780470474419
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • Attachment to God, Spiritual Coping, and Alcohol Use.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Giselle Hernandez
    Author Jessica M. Salerno
    Author Bette L. Bottoms
    Abstract We examined the effect of emotional God attachment on undergraduates' alcohol use generally and for coping purposes and whether spiritual coping styles (collaborative, deferring, and self-directing) drive this effect. As hypothesized, people who feel secure in their emotional relationship with God use significantly more deferring, more collaborative, and less self-directing coping styles than people who feel anxious-ambivalent in their emotional relationship to God. Anxious-ambivalents use significantly more deferring, more collaborative, and less self-directing coping than people who feel disengaged from God (avoidants). Secures use alcohol significantly less than anxious-ambivalents, who use alcohol significantly less than avoidants. The effect of God attachment on general alcohol use was mediated by the use of self-directing (but not deferring or collaborative) spiritual coping style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 20
    Issue 2
    Pages 97-108
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/10508611003607983
    ISSN 10508619
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:25:18 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • ALCOHOL
    • God
    • spirituality
    • UNDERGRADUATES
  • Religious coping and caregiver well-being in Mexican-American families

    Type Journal Article
    Author Angelica P Herrera
    Author Jerry W Lee
    Author Rebecca D Nanyonjo
    Author Larry E Laufman
    Author Isabel Torres-Vigil
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: We sought to explore the association of religious and spiritual coping with multiple measures of well-being in Latinos caring for older relatives with long-term or permanent disability, either with or without dementia. METHODS: Using a multi-dimensional survey instrument, we conducted in-home interviews with 66 predominantly Mexican-American Catholic family caregivers near the US-Mexico border. We assessed caregivers' intrinsic, organizational and non-organizational religiosity with the Duke Religiosity Index, as well as Pargament's brief positive and negative spiritual coping scale to determine the association of religiosity with caregivers' mental and physical health, depressive symptomatology and perceived burden. RESULTS: Using regression analysis, we controlled for sociocultural factors (e.g. familism, acculturation), other forms of formal and informal support, care recipients' functional status and characteristics of the caregiving dyad. Intrinsic and organizational religiosity was associated with lower perceived burden, while non-organizational religiosity was associated with poorer mental health. Negative religious coping (e.g. feelings that the caregiver burden is a punishment) predicted greater depression. CONCLUSION: Measures of well-being should be evaluated in relation to specific styles of religious and spiritual coping, given our range of findings. Further investigation is warranted regarding how knowledge of the positive and negative associations between religiosity and caregiving may assist healthcare providers in supporting Latino caregivers.
    Publication Aging & Mental Health
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 84-91
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Aging Ment Health
    DOI 10.1080/13607860802154507
    ISSN 1364-6915
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:52:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19197693
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • California
    • Caregivers
    • Disabled Persons
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Mexican Americans
    • Middle Aged
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Young Adult
  • How parents of children receiving pediatric palliative care use religion, spirituality, or life philosophy in tough times

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kari R. Hexem
    Author Cynthia J. Mollen
    Author Karen Carroll
    Author Dexter A. Lanctot
    Author Chris Feudtner
    Abstract Abstract Background: How parents of children with life threatening conditions draw upon religion, spirituality, or life philosophy is not empirically well described. Methods: Participants were parents of children who had enrolled in a prospective cohort study on parental decision-making for children receiving pediatric palliative care. Sixty-four (88%) of the 73 parents interviewed were asked an open-ended question on how religion, spirituality, or life philosophy (RSLP) was helpful in difficult times. Responses were coded and thematically organized utilizing qualitative data analysis methods. Any discrepancies amongst coders regarding codes or themes were resolved through discussion that reached consensus. Results: Most parents of children receiving palliative care felt that RSLP was important in helping them deal with tough times, and most parents reported either participation in formal religious communities, or a sense of personal spirituality. A minority of parents, however, did not wish to discuss the topic at all. For those who described their RSLP, their beliefs and practices were associated with qualities of their overall outlook on life, questions of goodness and human capacity, or that “everything happens for a reason.” RSLP was also important in defining the child's value and beliefs about the child's afterlife. Prayer and reading the bible were important spiritual practices in this population, and parents felt that these practices influenced their perspectives on the medical circumstances and decision-making, and their locus of control. From religious participation and practices, parents felt they received support from both their spiritual communities and from God, peace and comfort, and moral guidance. Some parents, however, also reported questioning their faith, feelings of anger and blame towards God, and rejecting religious beliefs or communities. Conclusions: RSLP play a diverse and important role in the lives of most, but not all, parents whose children are receiving pediatric palliative care.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 39-44
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2010.0256
    ISSN 1557-7740
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:33:01 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21244252
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • Pediatric Palliative Care
    • religion
  • Assumptive Worldviews and Religious Coping With Bereavement and Type 2 Diabetes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rachel Hibberd
    Author Brian Vandenberg
    Author Rachel Wamser
    Abstract This study explored the effects of deferring and self-directed religious coping on the assumptive worldviews of women following the death of a child, the death of another friend or family member, or diagnosis with type 2 diabetes mellitus (n = 284). Participants completed the World Assumptions Scale (Janoff-Bulman, 198915. Janoff-Bulman , R. 1989 . Assumptive worlds and the stress of traumatic events: Application of the schema construct . Social Cognition , 7 : 113 – 136 . [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®] View all references), the Religious Problem-Solving Scales (Pargament et al., 198828. Pargament , K. I. , Kennell , J. , Hathaway , W. , Grevengoed , N. , Newman , J. and Jones , W. 1988 . Religion and the problem-solving process: Three styles of coping . Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion , 27 : 90 – 104 . [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®], [CSA] View all references), and the Deistic and Supportive but Nonintervening God Scale (Phillips, Pargament, Quinten, & Crossley, 200436. Phillips , R. E. , Pargament , K. I. , Quinten , K. L. and Crossley , C. 2004 . Self-directing religious coping: A deistic God, abandoning God, or no God at all? . Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion , 43 : 409 – 418 . [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®] View all references). Women who had lost a child saw the world as least meaningful, followed by women otherwise bereaved, followed by women diagnosed with diabetes. Different religious coping styles offered different advantages in coping with these stressors. Across groups, deferring coping was associated with greater world meaning, whereas self-directed coping was associated with greater self-worth. The findings are discussed in the context of previous research finding inconsistent relationships between deferring and self-directed religious coping styles and adjustment.
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 21
    Issue 3
    Pages 198-211
    Date 06/2011
    Journal Abbr International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    DOI 10.1080/10508619.2011.581576
    ISSN 1050-8619
    URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10508619.2011.581576
    Accessed Thursday, July 14, 2011 5:20:07 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
  • An exploratory study of radical mindfulness training with severely economically disadvantaged people: Findings of a Canadian study.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steven F. Hick
    Author Charles Furlotte
    Abstract This article describes a two-phased research project that piloted a modified mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention developed specifically for a severely economically disadvantaged population. The terms severely economically disadvantaged (SED) and "severely marginalised" were used to describe the participants who experience socioeconomic disadvantage and social isolation as well as significant medical, psychological, physical, and learning challenges. Phase one of the project consisted of community focus groups to determine what types of mindfulness-based interventions would most benefit this population. Based on this feedback, the first author developed a modified MBSR intervention he called radical mindfulness training (or RMT). Phase two was a pilot study of RMT with 11 SED participants who accessed services at a local community health centre; eight participants completed the program, and seven of the participants completed Self Compassion and Satisfaction with Life scales and qualitative interviews. Results revealed an overall mean increase in self compassion and satisfaction with life after completing the program. Qualitative findings provided further evidence of the nature of the participants’ perceived effectiveness of this program. The authors conclude that the findings from his limited exploratory study substantiate the need for further study of the RMT program. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Australian Social Work
    Volume 63
    Issue 3
    Pages 281-298
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1080/0312407X.2010.496865
    ISSN 0312-407X
    Short Title An exploratory study of radical mindfulness training with severely economically disadvantaged people
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM

    Tags:

    • Canada
    • Disadvantaged
    • economically disadvantaged people
    • Mindfulness
    • radical mindfulness training
    • socioeconomic status
    • Stress
    • stress management
    • stress reduction intervention
    • Treatment Outcomes
  • Spirituality and health: an exploratory study of hospital patients' perspectives

    Type Journal Article
    Author Julieanne Hilbers
    Author Abby S. Haynes
    Author Jennifer G. Kivikko
    Abstract The relationship between spirituality/religion and health is receiving increasing academic interest, but few studies have explored the experience of Australians. This paper presents data from an exploratory survey of patients and families in a public teaching hospital in Sydney. The findings show that the majority of hospital service users:
    Publication Australian Health Review: A Publication of the Australian Hospital Association
    Volume 34
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-10
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr Aust Health Rev
    DOI 10.1071/AH09655
    ISSN 0156-5788
    Short Title Spirituality and health
    Accessed Monday, March 29, 2010 3:40:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20334749
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality. Implications for physical and mental health research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter C Hill
    Author Kenneth I Pargament
    Abstract Empirical studies have identified significant links between religion and spirituality and health. The reasons for these associations, however, are unclear. Typically, religion and spirituality have been measured by global indices (e.g., frequency of church attendance, self-rated religiousness and spirituality) that do not specify how or why religion and spirituality affect health. The authors highlight recent advances in the delineation of religion and spirituality concepts and measures theoretically and functionally connected to health. They also point to areas for areas for growth in religion and spirituality conceptualization and measurement. Through measures of religion and spirituality more conceptually related to physical and mental health (e.g., closeness to God, religious orientation and motivation, religious support, religious struggle), psychologists are discovering more about the distinctive contributions of religiousness and spirituality to health and well-being.
    Publication The American Psychologist
    Volume 58
    Issue 1
    Pages 64-74
    Date Jan 2003
    Journal Abbr Am Psychol
    ISSN 0003-066X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12674819
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:17:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12674819
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • mental health
    • Motivation
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Research Design
    • spirituality
    • Truth Disclosure

    Notes:

    • Typically, religion and spirituality have been measured by global indices (e.g., frequency of church attendance, self-rated religiousness and spirituality) that do not specify how or why religion and spirituality affect health. The authors highlight recent advances in the delineation of religion and spirituality concepts and measures theoretically and functionally connected to health.

  • Validation of the Narrative Emplotment Scale and its correlations with well-being and psychological adjustment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eric D Hill
    Author Heather K Terrell
    Author Steven Hladkyj
    Author Craig T Nagoshi
    Abstract Two studies examined correlates of the Narrative Emplotment Scale (NES), which measures the extent to which individuals perceive chance events and unchosen experiences as meaningfully connected. In Study 1 (N=99), the NES demonstrated adequate test-retest stability and good internal reliability. The scale was positively related to paranormal beliefs, mystical experiences, and absorption. In Study 2 (N=342), personality measures indicative of external locus of control, intrinsic religiosity, well-being, satisfaction with life, and a measure of frequency of coincidence experience were all positively correlated with narrative emplotment, providing further support for the construct validity of the scale. In terms of the question of whether meaning making is predictive of better or worse psychological adjustment, analyses indicated that the relationship between narrative emplotment and psychological adjustment was moderated by individual differences in coping strategies. Path analysis indicated that emplotment was a mediator of the pathway between religiosity and well-being. Emplotment had a negative effect on well-being through chance locus of control. These analyses suggest that this type of meaning-making is an important variable for understanding religious/spiritual beliefs and their influence on psychological adjustment.
    Publication British Journal of Psychology
    Volume 100
    Issue Pt 4
    Pages 675-698
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Br J Psychol
    DOI 10.1348/000712608X396585
    ISSN 0007-1269
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19236793
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 8:12:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19236793
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Validation of the Narrative Emplotment Scale and its correlations with well-being and psychological adjustment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eric D Hill
    Author Heather K Terrell
    Author Steven Hladkyj
    Author Craig T Nagoshi
    Abstract Two studies examined correlates of the Narrative Emplotment Scale (NES), which measures the extent to which individuals perceive chance events and unchosen experiences as meaningfully connected. In Study 1 (N=99), the NES demonstrated adequate test-retest stability and good internal reliability. The scale was positively related to paranormal beliefs, mystical experiences, and absorption. In Study 2 (N=342), personality measures indicative of external locus of control, intrinsic religiosity, well-being, satisfaction with life, and a measure of frequency of coincidence experience were all positively correlated with narrative emplotment, providing further support for the construct validity of the scale. In terms of the question of whether meaning making is predictive of better or worse psychological adjustment, analyses indicated that the relationship between narrative emplotment and psychological adjustment was moderated by individual differences in coping strategies. Path analysis indicated that emplotment was a mediator of the pathway between religiosity and well-being. Emplotment had a negative effect on well-being through chance locus of control. These analyses suggest that this type of meaning-making is an important variable for understanding religious/spiritual beliefs and their influence on psychological adjustment.
    Publication British Journal of Psychology (London, England: 1953)
    Volume 100
    Issue Pt 4
    Pages 675-698
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Br J Psychol
    DOI 10.1348/000712608X396585
    ISSN 0007-1269
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:47:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19236793
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Association
    • Comprehension
    • Culture
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Individuality
    • Internal-External Control
    • Male
    • Mysticism
    • Narration
    • Parapsychology
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult
  • Religious beliefs and practices in acute mental health patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Claire Hilton
    Author Farina Ghaznavi
    Author Tahira Zuberi
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Holistic practice involves caring for the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of patients. Spiritual assessment is an important part of the patient's overall assessment. Religion is a component of spirituality and is supported by a recognisable formal system of beliefs. Religious beliefs might help patients in their search for meaning in life, especially in difficult circumstances such as during an episode of illness. A small, retrospective anonymous audit of patients' notes (n = 23) was undertaken to assess the recording of patients' religious affiliations, beliefs and practices in an acute mental health unit for older people. CONCLUSION: All individuals had a religious affiliation documented in their notes, but there was a lack of recorded information about their beliefs and practices. The findings showed that religious beliefs were only discussed with patients who had psychotic symptoms that had a religious content. Therefore, it would seem that patients on this unit are not having their spiritual and religious needs met. Staff training on religious awareness might help to address these issues.
    Publication Nursing Standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain): 1987)
    Volume 16
    Issue 38
    Pages 33-36
    Date 2002 Jun 5-11
    Journal Abbr Nurs Stand
    ISSN 0029-6570
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12077953
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:43:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12077953
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Alzheimer Disease
    • Female
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Background: A small, retrospective anonymous audit of patients’ notes (n = 23) was undertaken to assess the recording of patients’ religious affiliations, beliefs and practices in an acute mental health unit for older people. Conclusion: All individuals had a religious affiliation documented in their notes, but there was a lack of recorded information about their beliefs and practices. The findings showed that religious beliefs were only discussed with patients who had psychotic symptoms that had a religious content. Therefore, it would seem that patients on this unit are not having their spiritual and religious needs met.

  • Religious practice, blood transfusion, and major medical procedures

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sarah Hivey
    Author Nicholas Pace
    Author John P Garside
    Author Andrew R Wolf
    Abstract In this debate, we explore the dilemmas between the law, the ethical issues, the good clinical practice, and the wishes of the family. In the scenario chosen, the issues center around not only the senior family members but also of an older child with some rights to self-determination. There are no absolute rights or wrongs to this case, which is based on a synthesis of other actual clinical scenarios. The maze of considerations are not easy to negotiate, and in the final analysis, the surgeon and the anesthetist must also be comfortable with the decisions as they are the active elements that have to practically manage a clinical crisis should it occur. The participants in this debate are all UK based, and as such the legal standpoint reflects UK legislation, and the ethical and clinical reviews are strongly influenced by current attitudes within UK and Europe that may not be exactly mirrored in different cultural frameworks. However, in this article, it is the broad principles behind the differing responses that are important, which it is hoped will stimulate reflection of attitudes and management in different cultural frameworks.
    Publication Paediatric Anaesthesia
    Volume 19
    Issue 10
    Pages 934-946
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Paediatr Anaesth
    DOI 10.1111/j.1460-9592.2009.03139.x
    ISSN 1460-9592
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19754485
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 8:33:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19754485
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • A Systematic Review of the Empirical Literature on Intercessory Prayer

    Type Journal Article
    Author David R. Hodge
    Abstract Perhaps surprisingly, many social workers appear to use intercessory prayer in direct practice settings. To help inform practitioners' use of this intervention, this article evaluates the empirical literature on the topic using the following three methods: (a) an individual assessment of each study, (b) an evaluation of intercessory prayer as an empirically supported intervention using criteria developed by Division 12 of the American Psychological Association (APA), and (c) a meta-analysis. Based on the Division 12 criteria, intercessory prayer was classified as an experimental intervention. Meta-analysis indicated small, but significant, effect sizes for the use of intercessory prayer (g =-.171, p =.015). The implications are discussed in light of the APA's Presidential Task Force on Evidence-based Practice.
    Publication Research on Social Work Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 2
    Pages 174-187
    Date March 1, 2007
    DOI 10.1177/1049731506296170
    URL http://rsw.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/17/2/174
    Accessed Monday, October 12, 2009 5:46:42 PM
    Library Catalog Sage Journals Online
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Perhaps surprisingly, many social workers appear to use intercessory prayer in direct practice settings. To help inform practitioners’ use of this intervention, this article evaluates the empirical literature on the topic using the following three methods: (a) an individual assessment of each study, (b) an evaluation of intercessory prayer as an empirically supported intervention using criteria developed by Division 12 of the American Psychological Association (APA), and (c) a meta-analysis. Based on the Division 12 criteria, intercessory prayer was classified as an experimental intervention. Meta-analysis indicated small, but significant, effect sizes for the use of intercessory prayer (g =-.171, p =.015).

  • Native Americans and brief spiritual assessment: examining and operationalizing the Joint Commission's assessment framework

    Type Journal Article
    Author David R Hodge
    Author Gordon E Limb
    Abstract At the turn of the century, the Joint Commission--the nation's largest health care accrediting organization--began requiring spiritual assessments in hospitals and many other mental health settings frequented by Native Americans. Despite high levels of service use, culturally unique forms of spirituality, and a history of oppression in mainstream settings, no research has explored how to best implement this new requirement with Native Americans. Accordingly, this mixed-method study asked recognized experts in Native American culture (N = 50) to identify the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the new assessment framework and a culturally valid question protocol to operationalize the requirements. The results indicate that the framework is moderately consistent with Native American culture, and a number of practice-oriented suggestions and tools are offered to implement the requirements in a culturally valid manner.
    Publication Social Work
    Volume 55
    Issue 4
    Pages 297-307
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr Soc Work
    ISSN 0037-8046
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20977053
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 2:53:48 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
  • A Native American perspective on spiritual assessment: the strengths and limitations of a complementary set of assessment tools

    Type Journal Article
    Author David R Hodge
    Author Gordon E Limb
    Abstract Mental health practitioners are increasingly called on to administer spiritual assessments with Native American clients, in spite of limited training on the topic. To help practitioners better understand the strengths and limitations of various assessment instruments from a Native perspective, this study used a sample of recognized experts in Native American culture (N = 50) to evaluate a complementary set of spiritual assessment instruments or tools. Specifically, each instrument's degree of consistency with Native culture was evaluated along with its strengths and limitations for use with Native clients. A brief overview of each instrument is provided, along with the results, to familiarize readers with a repertoire of spiritual assessment tools so that the most culturally appropriate method can be selected in a given clinical context.
    Publication Health & Social Work
    Volume 35
    Issue 2
    Pages 121-131
    Date May 2010
    Journal Abbr Health Soc Work
    ISSN 0360-7283
    Short Title A Native American perspective on spiritual assessment
    Accessed Sunday, May 30, 2010 11:33:56 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20506866
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Sub-Saharan African women living with HIV/AIDS: an exploration of general and spiritual coping strategies

    Type Journal Article
    Author David R Hodge
    Author Jini L Roby
    Abstract From a global perspective, the typical person living with HIV/AIDS is likely a sub-Saharan African woman. Yet despite calls from NASW to adopt a global outlook on the HIV/AIDS crisis, little research has examined how such women cope. In this study, the authors used a mixed-methods approach to explore how one sample of sub-Saharan African women (N = 162) attending an AIDS clinic in Entebbe, Uganda, cope with their circumstances. The results reveal the importance of indigenous service providers, spirituality, and, to a lesser extent, social support. Approximately 85 percent of the women reported that spirituality played some role in their ability to cope. Among these, 43 percent indicated that spirituality was the most important factor that kept them going. The most widely used spiritual coping strategies consisted of support from other believers, prayer, and trusting in God.
    Publication Social Work
    Volume 55
    Issue 1
    Pages 27-37
    Date Jan 2010
    Journal Abbr Soc Work
    ISSN 0037-8046
    Short Title Sub-Saharan African women living with HIV/AIDS
    Accessed Sunday, January 24, 2010 5:23:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20069938
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • In this study, authors add needed research to how one sample of sub-Saharan African women attending an AIDS clinic in Entebbe, Uganda cope with their circumstances.  The results reveal the importance

  • Effect of spirituality on successful recovery from spinal surgery

    Type Journal Article
    Author Scott D Hodges
    Author S Craig Humphreys
    Author Jason C Eck
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Many patients believe prayer helps them recover from health problems. Benefits of spirituality on other illnesses and surgical procedures have been reported. It is unknown whether patients with strong spiritual beliefs have a greater propensity for successful recovery from spinal surgery. METHODS: In this study, 188 patients having spinal surgery completed the visual analog pain scale (VAS) and the Oswestry functional capacity questionnaire (OSW) before and after operation, and the scores were used to assess surgical outcome. Degree of spirituality was assessed using the INSPIRIT survey. RESULTS: Paired t test revealed significant improvements in both the VAS and OSW outcome measures. Linear regression analysis revealed no correlation between change in either VAS or OSW. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that recovery from spinal surgery may be more dependent on proper patient selection and surgical technique than on patient spiritual beliefs.
    Publication Southern Medical Journal
    Volume 95
    Issue 12
    Pages 1381-1384
    Date Dec 2002
    Journal Abbr South. Med. J
    ISSN 0038-4348
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12597302
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:09:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12597302
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Pain Measurement
    • Questionnaires
    • Regression Analysis
    • Spine
    • spirituality
    • Surgical Procedures, Operative
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • In this study, 188 patients having spinal surgery completed the visual analog pain scale (VAS) and the Oswestry functional capacity questionnaire (OSW) before and after operation, and the scores were used to assess surgical outcome. Conclusions: Results suggest that recovery from spinal surgery may be more dependent on proper patient selection and surgical technique than on patient spiritual beliefs.

  • Toward mutual recognition : relational psychoanalysis and the Christian narrative

    Type Book
    Author Marie Hoffman
    Place New York
    Publisher Routledge
    Date 2011
    ISBN 9780415999137
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • Mindfulness or Mindlessness? A Modified Version of the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Volkmar Höfling
    Author Helfried Moosbrugger
    Author Karin Schermelleh-Engel
    Author Thomas Heidenreich
    Abstract The 15 items of the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) are negatively worded and assumed to assess mindfulness. However, there are indications of differences between the original MAAS and a version with the positively rephrased MAAS items ("mirror items"). The present study examines whether the mindfulness facet "mindful attention and awareness" (MAA) can be measured with both positively and negatively worded items if we take method effects due to item wording into account. To this end, the 15 negatively worded items of the MAAS and additionally 13 positively rephrased items were assessed (N = 602). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) models with and without regard to method effects were carried out and evaluated by means of model fit. As a result, the positively and negatively worded items should be seen as different methods that influence the construct validity of mindfulness. Furthermore, a modified version of the MAAS (MAAS-Short) with five negatively worded items (taken from the MAAS) and five positively worded items ("mirror items") was introduced as an alternative to assess MAA. The MAAS-Short appears superior to the original MAAS. The results and the limitations of the present study are discussed.
    Publication European Journal of Psychological Assessment
    Volume 27
    Issue 1
    Pages 59-64
    Date 2011
    DOI 10.1027/1015-5759/a000045
    ISSN 1015-5759
    Short Title Mindfulness or Mindlessness?
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 6:55:29 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • item wording effects
    • method effects
    • Mindfulness
    • multitrait-multimethod analysis
    • positively and negatively worded items
  • Does church participation facilitate tobacco control? A report on Korean immigrants

    Type Journal Article
    Author C Richard Hofstetter
    Author John W Ayers
    Author Veronica L Irvin
    Author D Eastern Kang Sim
    Author Suzanne C Hughes
    Author Frederick Reighard
    Author Melbourne F Hovell
    Abstract BACKGROUND: This study explores hypotheses linking church attendance to smoking prevalence, cessation, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and household smoking bans among Korean immigrants in California. METHODS: Data were drawn from telephone interviews with Korean adults (N = 2085) based on a probability sample during 2005-2006 in which 86% of those contacted completed interviews. RESULTS: Koreans who reported that they had attended church were less likely to be current smokers and to be exposed to ETS, and more likely to have quit smoking and to have a complete smoking ban than non-attenders after statistical controls for behavioral covariates. DISCUSSION: Whether or not participants reported attending church was associated with increased tobacco control practices. Public health interventions may profit by seeking to expand cooperation with religious congregations to facilitate efforts to promote healthy lifestyles among immigrant populations beyond the influences of church attendance.
    Publication Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Center for Minority Public Health
    Volume 12
    Issue 2
    Pages 187-197
    Date Apr 2010
    Journal Abbr J Immigr Minor Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10903-009-9228-9
    ISSN 1557-1920
    Short Title Does church participation facilitate tobacco control?
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:52:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19205883
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
  • Does church participation facilitate tobacco control? A report on Korean immigrants.

    Type Journal Article
    Author C. Richard Hofstetter
    Author John W. Ayers
    Author Veronica L. Irvin
    Author D. Eastern Kang Sim
    Author Suzanne C. Hughes
    Author Frederick Reighard
    Author Melbourne F. Hovell
    Abstract Background: This study explores hypotheses linking church attendance to smoking prevalence, cessation, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and household smoking bans among Korean immigrants in California. Methods: Data were drawn from telephone interviews with Korean adults (N = 2085) based on a probability sample during 2005–2006 in which 86% of those contacted completed interviews. Results: Koreans who reported that they had attended church were less likely to be current smokers and to be exposed to ETS, and more likely to have quit smoking and to have a complete smoking ban than non-attenders after statistical controls for behavioral covariates. Discussion: Whether or not participants reported attending church was associated with increased tobacco control practices. Public health interventions may profit by seeking to expand cooperation with religious congregations to facilitate efforts to promote healthy lifestyles among immigrant populations beyond the influences of church attendance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
    Volume 12
    Issue 2
    Pages 187-197
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10903-009-9228-9
    ISSN 1557-1912
    Short Title Does church participation facilitate tobacco control?
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:21:27 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • church participation
    • Environment
    • environmental tobacco smoke
    • Immigration
    • Korean Cultural Groups
    • Korean immigrants
    • Religious Practices
    • smoking bans
    • Smoking Cessation
    • tobacco control
    • Tobacco Smoking
  • Religiosity and Sexuality: Experiences of Brazilian Catholic Women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Luiza Akiko Komura Hoga
    Author Cristiane Alves Tibúrcio
    Author Ana Luiza Vilela Borges
    Author Luciana Magnoni Reberte
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of a group of Catholic women related to the orientations received from priests and parents and their influence on sexual attitudes. The oral history method was used to interview 17 Catholic women. Three categories summarize women's experiences: orientations about sexuality received from priests; lack of orientation or existence of open dialogue about sexuality: distinct experiences in the family context; adherence or repudiation; and distinct attitudes toward orientations received. Health professionals systematically should seek knowledge about women's religious principles, because this is essential for meaningful and ethical health care.
    Publication Health Care for Women International
    Volume 31
    Issue 8
    Pages 700-717
    Date 8/2010
    Journal Abbr Hlth. Care for Women Int.
    DOI 10.1080/07399332.2010.486881
    ISSN 0739-9332
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?
    genre=article&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
  • Normative and non-normative religious experience among high school youth

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dean R. Hoge
    Author Ella I. Smith
    Abstract A sample of 451 Catholic, Baptist, and Methodist tenth-grade youth were asked about definite religious experiences in their lives, and 58 percent reported them. Most took place in church services or at a retreat or camp. The authors categorized the experiences using the Elkind-Elkind and Stark typologies and found that with one additional category the Elkind-Elkind typology was apt. The "salvation or inspiration" type is the most common, especially among the Baptists and Methodists. This type is normative in those denominations, and church life encourages it. The analysis of factors encouraging the experiences showed the necessity of distinguishing normative from non-normative religious experiences, since their determinants are different. The former are encouraged in certain denominations, and their occurrence is patterned. The latter are idiosyncratic and unpatterned.
    Publication Sociological Analysis
    Volume 43
    Issue 2
    Pages 69-81
    Date April 1982
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A sample of 451 Catholic, Baptist, and Methodist tenth-grade youth were asked about definite religious experiences in their lives, and 58 percent reported them. Most took place in church services or at a retreat or camp. The authors categorized the experiences using the Elkind-Elkind and Stark typologies and found that with one additional category the Elkind-Elkind typology was apt. The “salvation or inspiration” type is the most common, especially among the Baptists and Methodists. This type is normative in those denominations, and church life encourages it. The analysis of factors encouraging the experiences showed the necessity of distinguishing normative from non-normative religious experiences, since their determinants are different. The former are encouraged in certain denominations, and their occurrence is patterned. The latter are idiosyncratic and unpatterned.

  • Risk management in hypnotic recall of near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author J M Holden
    Author F MacHovec
    Abstract A substantial number of people facing physical and/or psychological crisis report having a near-death experience (NDE) involving a subjectively real experience of an alternate reality. Where NDE content is associated with positive emotions, benefit might be gained by hypnotic recall of the NDE, yet such recall might involve possible risk in the form of reactivation of the original crisis. In this article we describe a study involving hypnotic recall of positive NDEs by one male and five female subjects. We describe in detail some procedures to minimize risk, including a hypnosis protocol.
    Publication The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis
    Volume 36
    Issue 1
    Pages 38-46
    Date Jul 1993
    Journal Abbr Am J Clin Hypn
    ISSN 0002-9157
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/8368195
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:14:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 8368195
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Death
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hypnosis
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Mental Recall
    • Middle Aged
    • Regression (Psychology)
    • Risk Management

    Notes:

    • A substantial number of people facing physical and/or psychological crisis report having a near-death experience (NDE) involving a subjectively real experience of an alternate reality. Where NDE content is associated with positive emotions, benefit might be gained by hypnotic recall of the NDE, yet such recall might involve possible risk in the form of reactivation of the original crisis. In this article we describe a study involving hypnotic recall of positive NDEs by one male and five female subjects. We describe in detail some procedures to minimize risk, including a hypnosis protocol.

  • THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL NATURE OF THE QUEST CONSTRUCT FORGIVENESS, SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION, & DIFFERENTIATION OF SELF

    Type Journal Article
    Author VT Holeman
    Author JB Dean
    Author L DeShea
    Author JD Duba
    Abstract The study examined relationships between differentiation of self, sacred loss/desecration, and decisional or emotional forgiveness. A convenience sample (N = 437) completed an on-line survey. After controlling for impact of the event, impression management, hurtfulness, and religiousness, sacred loss/desecration partially predicted forgiveness. Sacred loss significantly predicted one measure of emotional forgiveness, and desecration significantly predicted two measures of decisional forgiveness and one measure of emotional forgiveness. Four differentiation of self scales were examined in separate hierarchical regression analyses as predictors of forgiveness, controlling for impact of the event, impression management, and hurtfulness. Each differentiation of self scale significantly predicted reduction of negative emotion, and two differentiation of self scales significantly predicted inhibition of harmful intention. Differentiation of self partially mediated the relationship between sacred loss/desecration and emotional or decisional forgiveness. Implications for clinical practice and future research are considered.
    Publication JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY AND THEOLOGY
    Volume 39
    Issue 1
    Pages 31-43
    Date SPR 2011
    ISSN 0091-6471
    Accessed Thursday, June 09, 2011 6:25:40 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
  • Mindfulness, self-compassion, and happiness in non-meditators: A theoretical and empirical examination

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laurie Hollis-Walker
    Author Kenneth Colosimo
    Abstract This study examined relationships between mindfulness and indices of happiness and explored a five-factor model of mindfulness. Previous research using this mindfulness model has shown that several facets predicted psychological well-being (PWB) in meditating and non-meditating individuals. The current study tested the hypothesis that the prediction of PWB by mindfulness would be augmented and partially mediated by self-compassion. Participants were 27 men and 96 women (mean age = 20.9 years). All completed self-report measures of mindfulness, PWB, personality traits (NEO-PI-R), and self-compassion. Results show that mindfulness is related to psychologically adaptive variables and that self-compassion is a crucial attitudinal factor in the mindfulness-happiness relationship. Findings are interpreted from the humanistic perspective of a healthy personality.
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 50
    Issue 2
    Pages 222-227
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2010.09.033
    ISSN 0191-8869
    Short Title Mindfulness, self-compassion, and happiness in non-meditators
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 7:04:54 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • Eudaimonia
    • Mindfulness
    • Psychological well-being
    • self-compassion
  • Religiosity, meaning in life, and clinical symptomology: A comparison of African-American and European-American college students.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey D. Holmes
    Author Susan I. Hardin
    Abstract This study examined whether religiosity is subsumed under the broader construct of meaning in life as a predictor of psychological symptomology in college students from two ethnic groups. Data from 299 undergraduates indicated that among European- American students, religiosity predicted little variance in psychological symptomology and was subsumed by general meaning in life. Conversely, for African-American students, perceived meaning in life predicted little variance in symptomology and was subsumed by religiosity. The findings demonstrate that the link between religiosity and mental health among college students differs as a function of ethnic group membership and illustrate the perils of neglecting ethnicity when examining predictors of mental health variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of College Student Psychotherapy
    Volume 23
    Issue 2
    Pages 103-117
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1080/87568220902743199
    ISSN 8756-8225
    Short Title Religiosity, meaning in life, and clinical symptomology
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • clinical symptomology
    • COLLEGE students
    • meaning
    • meaningful life
    • religiosity
    • SYMPTOMS
  • Development of a Spiritually Based Educational Intervention to Increase Informed Decision Making for Prostate Cancer Screening Among Church-Attending African American Men

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cheryl L. Holt
    Author Theresa A. Wynn
    Author Penny Southward
    Author Mark S. Litaker
    Author Sanford Jeames
    Author Emily Schulz
    Abstract One way of developing culturally relevant health communication in the African American church setting is to develop spiritually based interventions, in which the health message is framed by relevant spiritual themes and scripture. In this article we describe the development of a community health advisor(CHA)-led intervention aimed at increasing informed decision making (IDM) for prostate cancer screening among church-attending African American men. Full-color print educational booklets were developed and pilot tested with extensive community participation of church-attending African American men age-eligible for screening. The intervention development phase consisted of ideas solicited from an advisory panel of African American men (N = 10), who identified core content and developed the spiritual themes. In the intervention pilot testing phase, prototypes of the intervention materials were pilot tested for graphic appeal in two focus groups (N = 16), and content was tested for acceptability and comprehension using individual cognitive response interviews (N = 10). Recommendations were made for project branding and logo and for use of graphics of real people in the educational materials. Significant feedback was obtained from the focus groups, on the graphics, colors, fonts, continuity, titles, and booklet size/shape. The importance of working closely with the community when developing interventions is discussed, as well as the importance of pilot testing of educational materials.
    Publication Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives
    Volume 14
    Issue 6
    Pages 590
    Date 2009
    DOI 10.1080/10810730903120534
    ISSN 1081-0730
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/10810730903120534
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 9:27:18 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • NEED ABSTRACT
  • Role of religion in cancer coping among African Americans: A qualitative examination.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cheryl L. Holt
    Author Lee Caplan
    Author Emily Schulz
    Author Victor Blake
    Author Penny Southward
    Author Ayanna Buckner
    Author Hope Lawrence
    Abstract The present study used qualitative methods to examine if and how African Americans with cancer use religiosity in coping. Patients (N = 23) were recruited from physician offices and completed 1-1½ hour interviews. Themes that emerged included but were not limited to control over one's illness, emotional response, importance of social support, role of God as a healer, relying on God, importance of faith for recovery, prayer and scripture study, and making sense of the illness. Participants had a great deal to say about the role of religion in coping. These themes may have utility for development of support interventions if they can be operationalized and intervened upon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
    Volume 27
    Issue 2
    Pages 248-273
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1080/07347330902776028
    ISSN 0734-7332
    Short Title Role of religion in cancer coping among African Americans
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Blacks
    • cancer coping
    • Coping Behavior
    • faith role
    • God as healer
    • illness control
    • Neoplasms
    • Recovery
    • Recovery (Disorders)
    • religion
    • religion role
    • Religious Beliefs
    • social support

    Notes:

    • The present study used qualitative methods to examine if and how African Americans with cancer use religiosity in coping. Patients (N = 23) were recruited from physician offices and completed 1–1½ hour interviews. Themes that emerged included but were not limited to control over one's illness, emotional response, importance of social support, role of God as a healer, relying on God, importance of faith for recovery, prayer and scripture study, and making sense of the illness. Participants had a great deal to say about the role of religion in coping. These themes may have utility for development of support interventions if they can be operationalized and intervened upon.

  • Development and validation of measures of religious involvement and the cancer experience among African Americans.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cheryl L. Holt
    Author Lee Caplan
    Author Emily Schulz
    Author Victor Blake
    Author Vivian L. Southward
    Author Ayanna V. Buckner
    Abstract Research indicates that African Americans diagnosed with cancer tend to use religion in coping. However less is known about the specific role that religion plays in the coping process. Based on previous qualitative work, five instruments were developed to assess the role of religious involvement in cancer coping: God as helper, God as healer, Faith in healing, Control over cancer and New perspective. The instruments were administered to 100 African Americans with cancer. Each exhibited high internal reliability, and concurrent and discriminant validity. These instruments may have applied value for the development of church based cancer support/survivorship interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 14
    Issue 4
    Pages 525-535
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1177/1359105309103572
    ISSN 1359-1053
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Blacks
    • cancer experience
    • Coping Behavior
    • Diagnosis
    • Neoplasms
    • religion
    • religious involvement
    • Religious Practices
    • Test Construction
    • test development
    • Test Reliability
    • Test Validity

    Notes:

    • Research indicates that African Americans diagnosed with cancer tend to use religion in coping. However less is known about the specific role that religion plays in the coping process. Based on previous qualitative work, five instruments were developed to assess the role of religious involvement in cancer coping: God as helper, God as healer, Faith in healing, Control over cancer and New perspective. The instruments were administered to 100 African Americans with cancer. Each exhibited high internal reliability, and concurrent and discriminant validity. These instruments may have applied value for the development of church-based cancer support/survivorship interventions.

  • Development and validation of measures of religious involvement and the cancer experience among African Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cheryl L Holt
    Author Lee Caplan
    Author Emily Schulz
    Author Victor Blake
    Author Vivian L Southward
    Author Ayanna V Buckner
    Abstract Research indicates that African Americans diagnosed with cancer tend to use religion in coping. However less is known about the specific role that religion plays in the coping process. Based on previous qualitative work, five instruments were developed to assess the role of religious involvement in cancer coping: God as helper, God as healer, Faith in healing, Control over cancer and New perspective. The instruments were administered to 100 African Americans with cancer. Each exhibited high internal reliability, and concurrent and discriminant validity. These instruments may have applied value for the development of church-based cancer support/survivorship interventions.
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 14
    Issue 4
    Pages 525-535
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J Health Psychol
    DOI 10.1177/1359105309103572
    ISSN 1359-1053
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19383653
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:00:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19383653
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Alabama
    • Faith Healing
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychometrics
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Spirituality has been shown to be associated with health, and is an important component in the lives of many African Americans. Recent research proposes that spirituality is a multidimensional construct. The present study proposes a two-dimensional model in which spirituality encompasses a belief and behavioral dimension. This hypothesis was examined, as were relationships between these dimensions and spiritual health locus of control, breast cancer beliefs and mammography utilization among African American women.

  • Spirituality, breast cancer beliefs and mammography utilization among urban African American women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cheryl L Holt
    Author Susan N Lukwago
    Author Matthew W Kreuter
    Abstract Spirituality has been shown to be associated with health, and is an important component in the lives of many African Americans. Recent research proposes that spirituality is a multidimensional construct. The present study proposes a two-dimensional model in which spirituality encompasses a belief and behavioral dimension. This hypothesis was examined, as were relationships between these dimensions and spiritual health locus of control, breast cancer beliefs and mammography utilization among African American women. The belief dimension played a more important role in adaptive breast cancer beliefs and mammography utilization that did the behavioral dimension. These findings suggest the importance of spiritual belief systems for health, and implications for spiritual cancer communication interventions are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 8
    Issue 3
    Pages 383-396
    Date May 2003
    Journal Abbr J Health Psychol
    DOI 10.1177/13591053030083008
    ISSN 1359-1053
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14670216
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:40:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14670216
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Continental Ancestry Group
    • Attitude to Health
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Internal-External Control
    • Mammography
    • Middle Aged
    • Missouri
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Research indicates that African Americans diagnosed with cancer tend to use religion in coping. However less is known about the specific role that religion plays in the coping process. Based on previous qualitative work, five instruments were developed to assess the role of religious involvement in cancer coping: God as helper, God as healer, Faith in healing, Control over cancer and New perspective.

  • Expansion and validation of the spiritual health locus of control scale: factorial analysis and predictive validity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cheryl L Holt
    Author Eddie M Clark
    Author Patrick R Klem
    Abstract The present study reports on the development and validation of an expanded scale assessing spiritual health locus of control beliefs. Additional items were developed, and the scale was pilot tested among 108 church-attending African American women. The scale was multidimensional, comprised of the original Active and Passive Spiritual dimensions, and additional subscales reflecting 'Spiritual Life and Faith' and 'God's Grace'. Internal consistency was acceptable, and predictive validity was evidenced by negative correlations between the Passive Spiritual dimension and knowledge about mammography, breast cancer, and breast cancer treatment, and mammography utilization. This instrument provides an in-depth assessment of beliefs regarding the role of God in one's health, and may be useful for the development of church-based health education serving African Americans.
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 12
    Issue 4
    Pages 597-612
    Date Jul 2007
    Journal Abbr J Health Psychol
    DOI 10.1177/1359105307078166
    ISSN 1359-1053
    Short Title Expansion and validation of the spiritual health locus of control scale
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17584811
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:47:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17584811
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Internal-External Control
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Statistical
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The present study reports on the development and validation of an expanded scale assessing spiritual health locus of control beliefs. Additional items were developed, and the scale was pilot tested among 108 church-attending African American women.

  • Religiosity, Sense of Meaning, and Health Behavior in Older Adults.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kristin J. Homan
    Author Chris J. Boyatzis
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between older adults' religiosity, sense of meaning in life, and health behavior. Three dimensions of religiosity were assessed: religious orientation (intrinsic and extrinsic), sanctification of the body, and relationship with God. Five health behaviors were measured: smoking, exercise, taking responsibility for one's own health, nutritious eating, and stress management. In general, stronger religiosity and sense of meaning were associated with healthier behaviors; however, extrinsic religious orientation was associated with decreased rates of healthy behavior. In regression analyses that controlled for service attendance, sex, age, and education, sense of meaning in life was the construct most consistently related to health behavior. Results support a model in which religion and sense of meaning affect health by motivating certain behaviors that are then tied directly to overall physical health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 20
    Issue 3
    Pages 173-186
    Date Jul-Sep2010 July 2010
    DOI 10.1080/10508619.2010.481225
    ISSN 10508619
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:42:44 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • Body Image in Older Adults: Links with Religion and Gender.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kristin J. Homan
    Author Chris J. Boyatzis
    Abstract Research has confirmed a healthy link between young adults’ religiosity and body image. This study explored this relationship in 127 older men and women (mean = 74 years) who completed measures on two dimensions of body image (body satisfaction and anxiety about an aging appearance) and on different indices of religiosity. Men reported higher body satisfaction and lower anxiety about an aging appearance than women. For men, body satisfaction correlated with many religiosity variables and was predicted by religious well-being, existential well-being, and manifestation of God in their body; aging-appearance anxiety was unrelated to religiosity. For women, body satisfaction was weakly related to religiosity but aging-appearance anxiety was predicted by intrinsic orientation, religious well-being, and existential well-being; in all cases higher religiosity predicted lower anxiety about an aging appearance. Results are discussed in the context of differing cultural standards of aging and attractiveness for men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Adult Development
    Volume 16
    Issue 4
    Pages 230-238
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10804-009-9069-8
    ISSN 10680667
    Short Title Body Image in Older Adults
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45062398&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:20:23 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • ADULTHOOD
    • BODY dysmorphic disorder
    • BODY image
    • OLDER people
    • personality
  • Addiction Treatment: Comparing Religion and Science in Application

    Type Book
    Author Daniel E. Hood
    Publisher Transaction Publishers
    Date 2011-04-26
    ISBN 1412814634
    Short Title Addiction Treatment
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
  • Religious Orientation and the Report of Religious Experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ralph W. Hood
    Abstract An operationalized measure of religious experience, the Religious Experience Episodes Measure (REEM), was constructed and demonstrated to differentiate persons reliably according to degree of reported religious experience. Further research was concerned with the empirical relationship between the REEM and religious orientation as measured by Allport's Religious Orientation Scale. It was demonstrated that intrinsically religious oriented persons were more likely to report having had a religious experience than were extrinsically religious oriented persons. The lack of a significant difference in reported religious experiences between intrinsically religious oriented persons and indiscriminately pro-religious oriented persons is discussed from a methodological perspective as is the lack of significant difference between extrinsically oriented persons and indiscriminately anti-religious oriented persons in reported religious experiences. The possibility of empirically interrelating measures of religious experience, religious orientation, and secular activities is briefly discussed.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 9
    Issue 4
    Pages 285-291
    Date Winter, 1970
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1384573
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:48:05 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Winter, 1970 / Copyright © 1970 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • An operationalized measure of religious experience, the Religious Experience Episodes Measure (REEM), was constructed and demonstrated to differentiate persons reliably according to degree of reported religious experience. Further research was concerned with the empirical relationship between the REEM and religious orientation as measured by Allport’s Religious Orientation Scale. It was demonstrated that intrinsically religious oriented persons were more likely to report having had a religious experience than were extrinsically religious oriented persons. The lack of a significant difference in reported religious experiences between intrinsically religious oriented persons and indiscriminately pro-religious oriented persons is discussed from a methodological perspective as is the lack of significant difference between extrinsically oriented persons and indiscriminately anti-religious oriented persons in reported religious experiences. The possibility of empirically interrelating measures of religious experience, religious orientation, and secular activities is briefly discussed.

  • Psychological Strength and the Report of Intense Religious Experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ralph W. Hood
    Abstract A measure of intense religious experience was related to measures of psychological strength in two studies. In the first study a significant negative correlation was found between intense religious experience and Barron's (1953) measure of ego-strength. However, this correlation was reduced to insignificance when the religion subscale was removed from Barron's total Ego-Strength Scale. In the second study intense religious experience was more frequent among persons classified as low on Stark's (1971) Index of Psychic Inadequacy than among persons classified as high. The importance of assessing the relationship between intense religious experiences and psychological health by independently operationalized measures is stressed. Also, the possibility of nonpathological evaluations of intense religious experiences commonly labeled "mystical," "peak," or "ecstatic" is discussed.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 65-71
    Date Mar., 1974
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1384801
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:48:07 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1974 / Copyright © 1974 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A measure of intense religious experience was related to measures of psychological strength in two studies. In the first study a significant negative correlation was found between intense religious experience and Barron’s (1953) measure of ego-strength. However, this correlation was reduced to insignificance when the religion subscale was removed from Barron’s total Ego-Strength Scale. In the second study intense religious experience was more frequent among persons classified as low on Stark’s (1971) Index of Psychic Inadequacy than among persons classified as high. The importance of assessing the relationship between intense religious experiences and psychological health by independently operationalized measures is stressed. Also, the possibility of nonpathological evaluations of intense religious experiences commonly labeled “mystical,” “peak,” or “ecstatic” is discussed.

  • Forms of Religious Commitment and Intense Religious Experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ralph W. Hood
    Abstract A sample of 54 equally religiously committed subjects was divided into a primarily personally religiously committed group (N=25), a primarily institutionally religiously committed group (N=14) and an equally personally and institutionally religiously committed group (N=15). Ss in each group were then individually interviewed regarding their most significant personal experience. All interviews were taped and subsequently rated for the presence of mystical qualities based upon operational criteria derived from Stace (1960). It was found that the primarily personally religiously committed group was more likely to report experiences codifiable as mystical than was the equally personally and institutionally religiously committed group, which in turn was more likely to report experiences codifiable as mystical than was the primarily institutionally religiously committed group. The relevance of these data for the possible antithetical nature of institutional religious commitment and the intense personal religious experience of mysticism is discussed.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 15
    Issue 1
    Pages 29-36
    Date Autumn, 1973
    ISSN 0034673X
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3510294
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:48:09 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Issue Title: Religious Values and Viewpoints / Full publication date: Autumn, 1973 / Copyright © 1973 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A sample of 54 equally religiously committed subjects was divided into a primarily personally religiously committed group (N=25), a primarily institutionally religiously committed group (N=14) and an equally personally and institutionally religiously committed group (N=15). Ss in each group were then individually interviewed regarding their most significant personal experience. All interviews were taped and subsequently rated for the presence of mystical qualities based upon operational criteria derived from Stace (1960). It was found that the primarily personally religiously committed group was more likely to report experiences codifiable as mystical than was the equally personally and institutionally religiously committed group, which in turn was more likely to report experiences codifiable as mystical than was the primarily institutionally religiously committed group. The relevance of these data for the possible antithetical nature of institutional religious commitment and the intense personal religious experience of mysticism is discussed.

  • The Construction and Preliminary Validation of a Measure of Reported Mystical Experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ralph W. Hood
    Abstract A measure of reported mystical experience is presented. This "Mysticism Scale, Research Form D (M scale)," has 32 items, four for each of 8 categories of mysticism initially conceptualized by Stace (1960). Items on this scale are both positively and negatively expressed to avoid problems of response set. A factor analysis of the M Scale indicated two major factors, a general mystical experience factor (20 items) and a religious interpretation factor (12 items). Preliminary evidence indicates that those high on the M Scale have more intrinsic religious motivation as defined by Hoge's (1972) scale, are more open to experience as defined by Taft's (1970) ego permissiveness scale, have more intense religious experience as defined by Hood's (1970) scale, and have moderately higher scores on the L, Hs, and Hy scales of the MMPI.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 29-41
    Date Mar., 1975
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1384454
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:56:47 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1975 / Copyright © 1975 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A measure of reported mystical experience is presented. This “Mysticism Scale, Research Form D (M scale),” has 32 items, four for each of 8 categories of mysticism initially conceptualized by Stace (1960). Items on this scale are both positively and negatively expressed to avoid problems of response set. A factor analysis of the M Scale indicated two major factors, a general mystical experience factor (20 items) and a religious interpretation factor (12 items). Preliminary evidence indicates that those high on the M Scale have more intrinsic religious motivation as defined by Hoge’s (1972) scale, are more open to experience as defined by Taft’s (1970) ego permissiveness scale, have more intense religious experience as defined by Hood’s (1970) scale, and have moderately higher scores on the L, Hs, and Hy scales of the MMPI.

  • Christian Couple Counseling by Professional, Pastoral, and Lay Counselors from a Protestant Perspective: A Nationwide Survey.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joshua N. Hook
    Author Everett L. Worthington
    Abstract Couple counseling is widely practiced by Christian counselors, but there are almost no empirical data investigating it. The present study presents data from a national web-based survey of counselors from the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC). We describe the nature of Christian couple counseling, as well as counselors' religiousness and their attitudes toward integrating religion and spirituality into couple counseling. Christian couple counselors were highly religious and their personal religiosity affected their attitude toward incorporating religion in counseling. There were differences between professional, pastoral, and lay counselors suggesting that each be treated separately rather than be lumped generically as Christian couple counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication American Journal of Family Therapy
    Volume 37
    Issue 2
    Pages 169-183
    Date Mar March 2009
    DOI 10.1080/01926180802151760
    ISSN 01926187
    Short Title Christian Couple Counseling by Professional, Pastoral, and Lay Counselors from a Protestant Perspective
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Christians
    • COUNSELING -- Religious aspects
    • COUNSELORS
    • Couples Therapy
    • Protestants
    • religion
  • Empirically supported religious and spiritual therapies

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joshua N Hook
    Author Everett L Worthington
    Author Don E Davis
    Author David J Jennings
    Author Aubrey L Gartner
    Author Jan P Hook
    Abstract This article evaluated the efficacy status of religious and spiritual (R/S) therapies for mental health problems, including treatments for depression, anxiety, unforgiveness, eating disorders, schizophrenia, alcoholism, anger, and marital issues. Religions represented included Christianity, Islam, Taoism, and Buddhism. Some studies incorporated a generic spirituality. Several R/S therapies were found to be helpful for clients, supporting the further use and research on these therapies. There was limited evidence that R/S therapies outperformed established secular therapies, thus the decision to use an R/S therapy may be an issue of client preference and therapist comfort. (c) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 66: 1-27, 2010.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Date Nov 10, 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20626
    ISSN 1097-4679
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19904806
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:03:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19904806
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article evaluated the efficacy status of religious and spiritual (R/S) therapies for mental health problems, including treatments for depression, anxiety, unforgiveness, eating disorders, schizophrenia, alcoholism, anger, and marital issues. Religions represented included Christianity, Islam, Taoism, and Buddhism. Some studies incorporated a generic spirituality. Several R/S therapies were found to be helpful for clients, supporting the further use and research on these therapies. There was limited evidence that R/S therapies outperformed established secular therapies.

  • What do you think is a non-disease? Diet, lifestyle, exercise, spirituality, and the search for meaning are ignored at our peril

    Type Journal Article
    Author Malcolm Hooper
    Publication BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.)
    Volume 324
    Issue 7342
    Pages 912
    Date Apr 13, 2002
    Journal Abbr BMJ
    ISSN 1468-5833
    Short Title What do you think is a non-disease?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11951907
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:21:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11951907
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Diagnosis
    • Disease
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Life Style

    Notes:

    • This is a collection of responses by the editors of the British Medical Journal to questions regarding medicalisation and non-diseases.

  • Atheistic, agnostic, and religious older adults on well-being and coping behaviors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sheena M. Horning
    Author Hasker P. Davis
    Author Michael Stirrat
    Author R. Elisabeth Cornwell
    Abstract <p><br/>Previous research reports relationships between religion and both well-being and positive coping, especially among the older adult age group. However, researchers have failed to consider the non-religious when comparing groups categorized by religious belief, ignoring possible differences between those with a belief and the non-religious, atheists, and agnostics. To explore possible differences, we gathered data from a sample of 134 religious and non-religious older adults (55 years old plus) who completed an online questionnaire assessing relationships between religiosity and well-being, social support, locus of control, and meaning in life. Belief groups, including atheists, agnostics, and those high and low on religious beliefs, were compared on coping behaviors. The religious groups did not significantly differ from atheists and agnostics on well-being, satisfaction with social support, or locus of control; however, the high religiosity group did endorse higher levels of presence of meaning in life than the atheists and a greater number of social supports compared to the non-religious groups. The groups significantly differed on their use of religious coping (p < .05), and differences approached significance on the groups utilization of humor and substances as coping mechanisms (p = .07). The religious groups endorsed religious-oriented coping at significantly greater rates, whereas the atheists endorsed a greater use of substances to cope than the other three groups. Additionally, atheists endorsed humor for coping more so than their low religiosity counterparts.</p>
    Publication Journal of Aging Studies
    Volume 25
    Issue 2
    Pages 177-188
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.jaging.2010.08.022
    ISSN 0890-4065
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W51-511GX3B-1/2/c81392bb3540dd5e0fa943fda82e9f97
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:20:41 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM

    Tags:

    • Agnosticism
    • Atheism
    • Coping
    • Older Adults
    • religiosity
  • Assessing the Influence of Religious Beliefs and Practices on Parenting Capacity: The Challenges for Social Work Practitioners

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jan Horwath
    Author Janet Lees
    Abstract The 1989 Children Act emphasizes the importance of giving due consideration to the child's religious persuasion. Yet, government assessment guidance provides practitioners with very little assistance in terms of establishing ways in which religious beliefs and practices influence family life. This is concerning at a time when considerable attention is being paid in the media to the negative influences of religious beliefs on parenting and Britain is becoming increasingly diverse. Drawing on a literature review of seventy-seven papers on religion and parenting, consideration is given to some of the challenges encountered by social workers when assessing the influence of religious beliefs on parenting. These challenges include: a lack of clarity with regard to what is meant by religion'; small-scale research studies with limited scope; a focus on perceptions of the influence of religious beliefs; disregard for both social workers' own views about religion and the ways in which these views are likely to influence practice. Moreover, poor preparation on social work training programmes and minimal support from supervisors mean that practitioners do not feel confident exploring religious beliefs and practices with families. All these factors lead to a significant influence in many families' lives being ignored.
    Publication British Journal of Social Work
    Volume 40
    Issue 1
    Pages 82-99
    Date January 1, 2010
    DOI 10.1093/bjsw/bcn116
    Short Title Assessing the Influence of Religious Beliefs and Practices on Parenting Capacity
    URL http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/1/82
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 7:25:41 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Adolescents' Perceptions of Family Connectedness, Intrinsic Religiosity, and Depressed Mood.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Benjamin Houltberg
    Author Carolyn Henry
    Author Michael Merten
    Author Linda Robinson
    Abstract Using a sample of 248 ninth and tenth grade students at public high schools, we examined adolescents' perceptions of family connectedness, intrinsic religiosity, and adolescents' gender in relation to depressed mood and whether intrinsic religiosity and gender moderated the association of aspects of family connectedness to adolescent depressed mood. Using hierarchical multiple regression analyses we tested models separately for three forms of family connectedness (overall family cohesion, mothers' support, and fathers' support), intrinsic religiosity, and depressed mood. In each model, family connectedness was negatively associated with depressed mood. Intrinsic religiosity was not significantly associated with depressed mood. However, in the mothers' support model, both a two-way interaction (mothers' support × intrinsic religiosity) and a three-way interaction (adolescents' gender × mothers' support × intrinsic religiosity) were significantly related to depressed mood. In the two-way interaction, higher intrinsic religiosity was a moderator, strengthening the association between mothers' support and depressed mood. In the three-way interaction, gender differences were found. For boys, high intrinsic religiosity strengthened the association between mothers' support and depressed mood. Among girls, when mothers' support was low, intrinsic religiosity provided an additional source of connectedness in protecting against depressed mood. Our findings show that connectedness in overall family systems, mother-adolescent subsystems, and father-adolescent subsystems are all important to emotional resilience in adolescents by protecting against depressed mood. Future studies of adolescent religiosity may benefit from including diverse forms of family connectedness in understanding the protective processes provided by aspects of religiosity in promoting adolescents' emotional resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Child & Family Studies
    Volume 20
    Issue 1
    Pages 111-119
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s10826-010-9384-5
    ISSN 10621024
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • ADOLESCENT psychology -- Research
    • DEPRESSION, Mental -- Research
    • MOOD (Psychology) -- Research
    • Perception
    • Religiousness
    • SUPPORT (Domestic relations)

    Notes:

    • Accession Number: 57390146; Source Information: Feb2011, Vol. 20 Issue 1, p111; Subject Term: ADOLESCENT psychology -- Research; Subject Term: MOOD (Psychology) -- Research; Subject Term: DEPRESSION, Mental -- Research; Subject Term: RELIGIOUSNESS; Subject Term: SUPPORT (Domestic relations); Subject Term: PERCEPTION; Number of Pages: 9p; Document Type: Article

    • Copyright of Journal of Child & Family Studies is the property of Springer Science & Business Media B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

  • Character as a Predictor of Reproductive Health Outcomes for Youth: A Systematic Review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lawrence Duane House
    Author Trisha Mueller
    Author Belinda Reininger
    Author Kathryn Brown
    Author Christine M. Markham
    Abstract To review research examining the influence of character on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH). We defined character as comprising two positive youth development constructs: prosocial norms and spirituality. We conducted a systematic review of behavioral research published from 1985 through 2007 that examined the association between two character constructs (prosocial norms and spirituality) and ASRH outcomes. We coded results as showing a protective association, risk association, or no association, and as longitudinal, or cross-sectional. We considered consistent associations from at least two longitudinal studies for a given outcome to be sufficient evidence for a protective or risk association. There is sufficient evidence to indicate that prosocial norms and spirituality can be protective factors for some ASRH outcomes including intention to have sex, early sex or ever having sex, contraceptive and condom use, frequency of sex, and pregnancy. The generalizability of findings by age, race/ethnicity, and gender was unclear. Findings suggest that some character sub-constructs are associated with a reduced likelihood of several adverse ASRH outcomes and with an increased likelihood of using contraceptives and intending to use condoms. Further research is needed to better understand mixed results and results showing some character sub-constructs, such as religious affiliation, to be associated with adverse ASRH outcomes.
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Health
    Volume 46
    Issue 3, Supplement 1
    Pages S59-S74
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.11.218
    ISSN 1054-139X
    Short Title Character as a Predictor of Reproductive Health Outcomes for Youth
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 9:01:54 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Character
    • Reproductive health
    • Sexual behavior
  • Mindfulness predicts sleep-related self-regulation and well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Andrew J. Howell
    Author Nancy L. Digdon
    Author Karen Buro
    Abstract On data from undergraduate students (n = 334), mindfulness predicted well-being both directly and indirectly through its association with self-regulation of sleep. Results are considered in terms of possible mechanisms underlying these associations and the nature of the self-regulation of sleep.
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 419-424
    Date 03/2010
    Journal Abbr Personality and Individual Differences
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2009.11.009
    ISSN 01918869
    URL http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0191886909004711
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Religious beliefs, social support, self-efficacy and adjustment to cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Barbara A Howsepian
    Author Thomas V Merluzzi
    Abstract PURPOSE: Religious beliefs have received relatively little attention in research on coping with cancer. In this study, the relationship of religious beliefs and perceived social support with adjustment to cancer was studied in a coping model that included self-efficacy for coping as a mediator. Of particular interest was the relationship between religious beliefs and social support. METHOD: Data were collected from 164 in-treatment cancer patients. They completed measures of religious beliefs, social support, physical functioning, self-efficacy for coping, and adjustment. A model comparison approach was used to assess the fit of models that included or excluded the contribution of religious beliefs while testing the relationship between religious beliefs and social support. RESULTS: Religious beliefs were more strongly connected to perceived social support than with other constructs. Importantly, a coping model that included religious beliefs fit the data significantly better than a model without paths related to religious beliefs. Self-efficacy partially mediated the relation of age, physical functioning, and perceived support to adjustment, but not religious beliefs. DISCUSSION: Religious beliefs may not directly affect self-efficacy and adjustment; however, cancer patients who have religious beliefs may experience an enhanced sense of social support from a community with whom they share those beliefs.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 10
    Pages 1069-1079
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1442
    ISSN 1099-1611
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19189320
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 8:37:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19189320
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • An exploration of spiritual needs of Taiwanese patients with advanced cancer during the therapeutic processes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Szu-Mei Hsiao
    Author Meei-Ling Gau
    Author Christine Ingleton
    Author Tony Ryan
    Author Fu-Jin Shih
    Abstract AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This study explores the spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer during their therapeutic process in Taiwan and analyses the influence of Chinese culture in addressing their spiritual needs. BACKGROUND Many nurse clinicians have concerns about the difficulties of providing spiritual care for ethnic-Chinese cancer clients within their cultural context, possibly as a result of lack of knowledge and training. There has been little research exploring the potential impact of Chinese cultural values on the spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer. DESIGN Explorative qualitative enquiry was used. METHODS Data were collected through participant observation and in-depth face-to-face interviews. Transcribed interview data were analysed by using qualitative content analysis. The purposive sample (n = 33) was drawn from a leading medical center (n = 19) with 3000 beds in the capital and a community-based rural teaching hospital (n = 14) with 581 beds in Taiwan. RESULTS Four spiritual needs emerged from the analysis: the need to foster hope for survival and obtain a peaceful mindset, to fulfil the meanings of life and preserve one's dignity, to experience more reciprocal human love and finally, to receive assistance in facing death peacefully. CONCLUSION This research has shown that patients with advanced cancer need caregivers, friends and the help of their religion to meet their spiritual needs during the therapeutic processes. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The findings of this study could assist health professionals to detect the unmet spiritual needs of ethnic-Chinese patients with cancer in the context of their cultural or religious background as early as possible.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Nursing
    Volume 20
    Issue 7-8
    Pages 950-959
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr J Clin Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03278.x
    ISSN 1365-2702
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21044187
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:04:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21044187
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM

    Notes:

    • This study explores the spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer during their therapeutic process in Taiwan and analyses the influence of Chinese culture in addressing their spiritual needs.

  • Spiritual health, clinical practice stress, depressive tendency and health-promoting behaviours among nursing students

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ya-Chu Hsiao
    Author Li-Yu Chien
    Author Li-Yu Wu
    Author Chih-Ming Chiang
    Author Song-Yuan Huang
    Abstract AIM: This paper is a report of an exploration of the association of spiritual health with clinical practice stress, depressive tendency and health-promoting behaviours among nursing students. BACKGROUND: Several studies in western countries have demonstrated an association between spirituality and health. Spirituality-related research in eastern countries, however, is still in its infancy. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was adopted and structured questionnaires were used for data collection. We adopted the Probability Proportional to Size cluster sampling method to recruit nursing students in senior grades. Data were collected in 2005 using the Spiritual Health Scale, Perceived Clinical Practice Stress Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II and Health Promotion Behaviours Scale. RESULTS: A total of 1276 nursing students with an average age of 20.1 years (sd = 1.6 years) participated in the study. Spiritual health was negatively associated with clinical practice stress (r = -0.211, P < 0.001) and depressive tendency (r = -0.324, P < 0.001) and positively associated with health-promoting behaviours (r = 0.611, P < 0.001). Using hierarchical regression analysis to control for demographic factors, spiritual health was found to be an important predictive factor for clinical practice stress, depressive tendency and health-promoting behaviours. CONCLUSION: These results are consistent with research findings from western countries. Educators should develop strategies to address nursing students' spiritual health. This may help nursing students to manage their stress, to reduce depressive symptoms and to enhance health-promoting behaviours.
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 66
    Issue 7
    Pages 1612-1622
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05328.x
    ISSN 1365-2648
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:19:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20492024
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • Role of religiosity and spirituality in complementary and alternative medicine use among cancer survivors in California

    Type Journal Article
    Author An-Fu Hsiao
    Author Mitchell D Wong
    Author Melissa F Miller
    Author Anita H Ambs
    Author Michael S Goldstein
    Author Ashley Smith
    Author Rachel Ballard-Barbash
    Author Lida S Becerra
    Author Eric M Cheng
    Author Neil S Wenger
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Cancer survivors often turn to religion, spirituality, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) because they perceive these areas as being more holistic and patient-centered than conventional medicine. Because increased religiosity and spirituality have been found to be associated with higher CAM use in the general population, it was hypothesized that these factors would be important predictors of CAM use in cancer survivors. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: The study included a subsample of 1844 people with cancer or a history of cancer from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey of CAM, a cross-sectional survey of a population-based sample of adults in California. Prevalence and predictors of religious/spiritual forms of CAM (R/S CAM) and nonreligious/nonspiritual forms of CAM (non-R/S CAM) were compared. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of R/S CAM and non-R/S CAM. RESULTS: Nearly two thirds of participants reported using at least 1 type of R/S CAM, and 85% reported ever using non-R/S CAM. The majority of cancer survivors reported that they were very/moderately religious or spiritual. Both religiosity and spirituality were strongly related to non-R/S CAM use, but in opposite directions. Very or moderately religious cancer survivors were less likely (odds ratio=0.30; 95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.40) than nonreligious cancer survivors to use non-R/S CAM. In contrast, very or moderately spiritual cancer survivors were more likely (odds ratio=2.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-6.02) than nonspiritual cancer survivors to use non-R/S CAM. CONCLUSIONS: The use of R/S CAM and non-R/S CAM is very high in cancer survivors. It may be helpful for clinicians to ascertain their patients' use of these types of CAM to integrate all forms of care used to managing their cancer.
    Publication Integrative Cancer Therapies
    Volume 7
    Issue 3
    Pages 139-146
    Date Sep 2008
    Journal Abbr Integr Cancer Ther
    DOI 10.1177/1534735408322847
    ISSN 1534-7354
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18815145
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:29:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18815145
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • California
    • Complementary Therapies
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Neoplasms
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Survivors
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Because increased religiosity and spirituality have been found to be associated with higher CAM use in the general population, it was hypothesized that these factors would be important predictors of CAM use in cancer survivors. Conclusions: The use of R/S CAM and non-R/S CAM is very high in cancer survivors.

  • The Exploring of Buddhist Meditation by Using fMRI

    Type Journal Article
    Author C.H. Hsieh
    Author C.H. Liou
    Author C.W. Hsieh
    Author C.H. Wang
    Author L.K. Ho
    Author J.H. Chen
    Abstract Introduction Although the meditation mechanism underlie remain uncertain for these effects on body and mind for the past decades, many scientists worked on the researches of brain mappings for various meditation styles. Since different meditation methods may activate different regions in brain. Lazar et al. [1] studied a form of meditation with fMRI. We also had a previous study by using fMRI [2]. In this study, we would like to compare positive and negative activation areas of the brain during the meditation with nine-word phrase, and one is just practiced the breath with the phrase that contained nine words. The first word was matched with inhaling and following the next with exhaling alternately during the meditation period. Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) based fMRI were used to examine the brain functions. Methods There are four subjects scanned three times, one is 36-year-old, right-handed female, had practiced meditation for twelve years, and others are 36-year-old, right-handed male, had practiced meditation from fifteen to seventeen years. The paradigm is proceeded as below: two periods of meditation state, each with 3 minutes, and three control states with 3 minutes put before, between and after those two meditation epoch. Total scan time is 15 minutes. Experiments were performed on a Bruker MEDSPEC 3T system (Bruker, Ettlingen, Germany). Images were acquired using gradient-echo echo planar image (EPI) with matrix size of 128×128, TE of 35 ms, and TR of 6 sec. The raw data were analyzed with SPM2 [3], and the preprocessing were realignment, coregistration, normalization of Talairach space, smoothness with FWHM of 8 mm, and were applied FFX statistics (FWE corrected, p<0.05). Results The results showed as below: positive activation brain areas of right hemisphere were anterior cingulate cortex of limbic lobe, supramarginal gyrus (BA 40) of parietal lobe, superior temporal (BA 22) of temporal lobe, precuneus (BA 7) of parietal lobe, superior occipital gyrus (BA 19) of occipital lobe, medial frontal gyrus (BA 6) of frontal lobe, culmen and thalamus (fig. 1). In the left cerebellum, the activation areas were precentral gyrus (BA 4) of frontal lobe and paracentral lobule (BA 31) of frontal lobe; Negative ones of right hemisphere: middle frontal gyrus (BA 10) of frontal lobe, tuber of posterior lobe; for left hemisphere, superior temporal gyrus (BA 10) of frontal lobe, superior frontal gyrus (BA8) of frontal lobe, middle frontal gyrus (BA 9) of frontal lobe. (fig. 2). Conclusions We found that positive activation areas of the meditation with nine-word phrase were shown mainly on right hemisphere, and negative ones were just appeared mostly on left hemisphere. It displayed that meditation practice induced positive and negative activation areas concerned with various cognitive functions. However, maybe we could screen the same activation regions during different meditation forms, and construct the roles of each area for the mechanism step by step.
    Publication NeuroImage
    Volume 47
    Issue Supplement 1
    Pages S133
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1016/S1053-8119(09)71300-X
    ISSN 1053-8119
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WNP-4X3PHYG-1MD/2/f27aab0a75417c6b11d63cbb144a748f
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:32:22 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Although the meditation mechanism underlie remain uncertain for these effects on body and mind for the past decades, many scientists worked on the researches of brain mappings for various meditation styles. Since different meditation methods may activate different regions in brain. Lazar et al. [1] studied a form of meditation with fMRI. We also had a previous study by using fMRI [2]. In this study, we would like to compare positive and negative activation areas of the brain during the meditation with nine-word phrase, and one is just practiced the breath with the phrase that contained nine words. The first word was matched with inhaling and following the next with exhaling alternately during the meditation period. Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) based fMRI were used to examine the brain functions.

      There are four subjects scanned three times, one is 36-year-old, right-handed female, had practiced meditation for twelve years, and others are 36-year-old, right-handed male, had practiced meditation from fifteen to seventeen years. The paradigm is proceeded as below: two periods of meditation state, each with 3 minutes, and three control states with 3 minutes put before, between and after those two meditation epoch. Total scan time is 15 minutes. Experiments were performed on a Bruker MEDSPEC 3T system (Bruker, Ettlingen, Germany). Images were acquired using gradient-echo echo planar image (EPI) with matrix size of 128×128, TE of 35 ms, and TR of 6 sec. The raw data were analyzed with SPM2 [3], and the preprocessing were realignment, coregistration, normalization of Talairach space, smoothness with FWHM of 8 mm, and were applied FFX statistics (FWE corrected, p<0.05).

      The results showed as below: positive activation brain areas of right hemisphere were anterior cingulate cortex of limbic lobe, supramarginal gyrus (BA 40) of parietal lobe, superior temporal (BA 22) of temporal lobe, precuneus (BA 7) of parietal lobe, superior occipital gyrus (BA 19) of occipital lobe, medial frontal gyrus (BA 6) of frontal lobe, culmen and thalamus (fig. 1). In the left cerebellum, the activation areas were precentral gyrus (BA 4) of frontal lobe and paracentral lobule (BA 31) of frontal lobe; Negative ones of right hemisphere: middle frontal gyrus (BA 10) of frontal lobe, tuber of posterior lobe; for left hemisphere, superior temporal gyrus (BA 10) of frontal lobe, superior frontal gyrus (BA8) of frontal lobe, middle frontal gyrus (BA 9) of frontal lobe. (fig. 2).

      We found that positive activation areas of the meditation with nine-word phrase were shown mainly on right hemisphere, and negative ones were just appeared mostly on left hemisphere. It displayed that meditation practice induced positive and negative activation areas concerned with various cognitive functions. However, maybe we could screen the same activation regions during different meditation forms, and construct the roles of each area for the mechanism step by step.

  • Religion/spirituality and quality of life of international tertiary students in New Zealand: an exploratory study.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Patricia Hsien-Chuan Hsu
    Author Christian U. Krägeloh
    Author Daniel Shepherd
    Author Rex Billington
    Abstract Previous research links religion/spirituality to beneficial health outcomes, but the majority of these studies used samples from populations with long-term illness or older people. The present study explored whether the links between religion/spirituality and quality of life can be observed in a sample of younger adults, and also whether religion/spirituality could function as a coping mechanism in international tertiary students who are often subjected to significant stressors related to acculturation and being away from their families. The sample consisted of 218 domestic and 164 international students at a New Zealand university who were given the quality of life inventory and the additional special module about spirituality/religion/personal beliefs, both developed by the World Health Organization in collaboration with many member states. Religion/spirituality was significantly correlated with psychological quality of life in both groups, and social quality of life in international students. The results also show that religion/spirituality might function as a coping mechanism in international students in response to stressors of acculturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 4
    Pages 385-399
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902752920
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Religion/spirituality and quality of life of international tertiary students in New Zealand
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • ASSIMILATION (Sociology)
    • COLLEGE students
    • New Zealand
    • OLDER people -- Diseases
    • Quality of Life
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • STUDENTS, Foreign
    • WORLD Health Organization
  • EEG dynamics of experienced Zen meditation practitioners probed by complexity index and spectral measure

    Type Journal Article
    Author H-Y Huang
    Author P-C Lo
    Abstract Changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics in experienced Zen meditation practitioners (n = 23) during 40 minutes of meditation were compared with those in the matched controls (n = 23) taking a rest for 40 minutes. Averaged complexity index ([image omitted] ) evaluation and spectral analysis were measured in three intervals: the first, middle and the last 5-min segments of Zen meditation or relaxing rest. Significant increase in frontal alpha-1 (8-10 Hz) and occipital beta power was found during meditation as compared with the EEG under the rest, whereas an average increase of theta power was observed in the controls. In meditation, brain dynamics exhibited high [image omitted] , which correlated with more beta activity. Control subjects showed no significant change in [image omitted] level. This distinction became more significant during the last 5 minutes of meditation over most electrodes. Deeper meditation state has been reported as having implications of increased beta power that can be more prominent by the approach of [image omitted] estimation. Our results substantiate the idea that long-term training with Zen-Buddhist meditation induces changes in the electro-cortical activity of the brain.
    Publication Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology
    Volume 33
    Issue 4
    Pages 314-321
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Med Eng Technol
    DOI 10.1080/03091900802602677
    ISSN 1464-522X
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:16:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19384707
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Brain
    • Brain Mapping
    • Electroencephalography
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Nonlinear Dynamics
  • The interactions between religion, religiosity, religious delusion/hallucination, and treatment-seeking behavior among schizophrenic patients in Taiwan

    Type Journal Article
    Author Charles Lung-Cheng Huang
    Author Chi-Yung Shang
    Author Ming-Shien Shieh
    Author Hsin-Nan Lin
    Author Jin Chung-Jen Su
    Abstract Religion could influence the psychopathology, treatment-seeking behavior, and treatment outcome in schizophrenia, but the associations between these factors have never been explored thoroughly, and the data in Han-Chinese society are scarcer still. The current study recruited 55 schizophrenic patients to explore the relationship between religion, psychopathology with religious content, treatment-seeking behavior, and outcome. Subjects with religious delusions/hallucinations had lower scores on functioning and higher scores on religiosity. The higher religiosity scores were correlated with older age, longer duration of illness, religious affiliation, lower preference of psychiatric treatment, lower functioning score, and delusion/hallucination. As to treatment-seeking behavior, patients with religious affiliation showed less preference toward psychiatric treatment. Individuals with religious delusion/hallucination were more likely to receive magico-religious healing and not to be satisfied with psychiatric treatment. A more positive view of psychiatric treatment was predicted by lower religiosity score, higher satisfaction with psychiatric treatment, and lower years of education. The religiosity level seems not directly related to clinical severity, but it seems to be a better predictor of religious delusions/hallucinations than religious affiliation status. Patients with religious delusions/hallucinations did not necessarily have more severe psychopathology. There are different profiles associated with religious affiliation/religiosity and religious delusions/hallucinations in relation to treatment-seeking behavior among schizophrenia patients in Han-Chinese society.
    Publication Psychiatry Research
    Volume 187
    Issue 3
    Pages 347-353
    Date May 30, 2011
    Journal Abbr Psychiatry Res
    DOI 10.1016/j.psychres.2010.07.014
    ISSN 0165-1781
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20691483
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 4:53:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20691483
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • delusions
    • Female
    • Hallucinations
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Predictive Value of Tests
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Schizophrenia
    • Schizophrenic Psychology
    • Taiwan
    • Young Adult
  • “The Lord is my Shepherd”: examining spirituality as a protection against mental health problems in youth exposed to violence in Brazil.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Susan Huculak
    Author John D. McLennan
    Abstract Intrinsic and institutional spirituality or religiosity may each provide unique protective effects against the negative impacts of stress on mental health. Whether this extends to adolescents exposed to high levels of community violence is unknown. Three hundred twenty-five incarcerated adolescents from Sao Paulo City, Brazil responded to questions about spirituality and violence exposure drawn from the Social and Health Assessment, and mental health problems drawn from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. There was some evidence that intrinsic and institutional spirituality/religiosity may buffer the relation between violence exposure and certain mental health problems, and that intrinsic spirituality may mediate the relationship between institutional activities and certain mental well-being outcomes. These findings extend a degree of support to the multi-dimensional nature of spirituality to high-risk youth populations, suggesting a small differential and interactive role that intrinsic and institutional spirituality may play in protecting against some mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 5
    Pages 467-484
    Date July 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903406096
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title “The Lord is my Shepherd”
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:46:01 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM

    Tags:

    • mental health
    • Religiousness
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • spirituality
    • TEENAGERS

    Notes:

    • Examines the role of spirituality in maintaining mental health in the face of violence; case study is a demographic of incarcerated Brazilian youth. Discusses results of a "Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire" and recommends implementation of multi-dimensional (intrinsic and institutional) spirituality programming for at-risk populations.

  • Sleep paralysis as spiritual experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author David J Hufford
    Abstract This article presents an overview of the sleep paralysis experience from both a cultural and a historical perspective. The robust, complex phenomenological pattern that represents the subjective experience of sleep paralysis is documented and illustrated. Examples are given showing that, for a majority of subjects, sleep paralysis is taken to be a kind of spiritual experience. This is, in part, because of the very common perception of a non-physical 'threatening presence' that is part of the event. Examples from various cultures, including mainstream contemporary America which has no widely known tradition about sleep paralysis, are used to show that the complex pattern and spiritual interpretation are not dependent on cultural models or prior learning. This is dramatically contrary to conventional explanations of apparently 'direct' spiritual experiences, explanations that are summed up as the 'Cultural Source Hypothesis.' This aspect of sleep paralysis was not recognized through most of the twentieth century. The article examines the way that conventional modern views of spiritual experience, combined with medical ideas that labeled 'direct' spiritual experiences as psychopathological, and mainstream religious views of such experiences as heretical if not pathological, suppressed the report and discussion of these experiences in modern society. These views have resulted in confusion in the scientific literature on sleep paralysis with regard to its prevalence and core features. The article also places sleep paralysis in the context of other 'direct' spiritual experiences and offers an 'Experiential Theory' of cross-culturally distributed spiritual experiences.
    Publication Transcultural Psychiatry
    Volume 42
    Issue 1
    Pages 11-45
    Date Mar 2005
    Journal Abbr Transcult Psychiatry
    ISSN 1363-4615
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/15881267
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:30:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15881267
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Affect
    • Culture
    • Humans
    • Psychological Theory
    • Sleep Paralysis
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This article presents an overview of the sleep paralysis experience from both a cultural and a historical perspective. The robust, complex phenomenological pattern that represents the subjective experience of sleep paralysis is documented and illustrated. Examples are given showing that, for a majority of subjects, sleep paralysis is taken to be a kind of spiritual experience. This is, in part, because of the very common perception of a non-physical ‘threatening presence’ that is part of the event. Examples from various cultures, including mainstream contemporary America which has no widely known tradition about sleep paralysis, are used to show that the complex pattern and spiritual interpretation are not dependent on cultural models or prior learning. This is dramatically contrary to conventional explanations of apparently ‘direct’ spiritual experiences, explanations that are summed up as the ‘Cultural Source Hypothesis.’ This aspect of sleep paralysis was not recognized through most of the twentieth century. The article examines the way that conventional modern views of spiritual experience, combined with medical ideas that labeled ‘direct’ spiritual experiences as psychopathological, and mainstream religious views of such experiences as heretical if not pathological, suppressed the report and discussion of these experiences in modern society. These views have resulted in confusion in the scientific literature on sleep paralysis with regard to its prevalence and core features. The article also places sleep paralysis in the context of other ‘direct’ spiritual experiences and offers an ‘Experiential Theory’ of cross-culturally distributed spiritual experiences.

  • A randomized trial of spiritual assessment of outpatients with schizophrenia: patients' and clinicians' experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Philippe Huguelet
    Author Sylvia Mohr
    Author Carine Betrisey
    Author Laurence Borras
    Author Christiane Gillieron
    Author Adham Mancini Marie
    Author Isabelle Rieben
    Author Nader Perroud
    Author Pierre-Yves Brandt
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Recovery-oriented care for patients with schizophrenia involves consideration of cultural issues, such as religion and spirituality. However, there is evidence that psychiatrists rarely address such topics. This study examined acceptance of a spiritual assessment by patients and clinicians, suggestions for treatment that arose from the assessment, and patient outcomes--in terms of treatment compliance and satisfaction with care (as measured by treatment alliance). METHODS: Outpatients with psychosis were randomly assigned to two groups: an intervention group that received traditional treatment and a religious and spiritual assessment (N=40) and a control group that received only traditional treatment (N=38). Eight psychiatrists were trained to administer the assessment to their established and stable patients. After each administration, the psychiatrist attended a supervision session with a psychiatrist and a psychologist of religion. Baseline and three-month data were collected. RESULTS: The spiritual assessment was well accepted by patients. During supervision, psychiatrists reported potential clinical uses for the assessment information for 67% of patients. No between-group differences in medication adherence and satisfaction with care were found at three months, although patients in the intervention group had significantly better appointment attendance during the follow-up period. Their interest in discussing religion and spirituality with their psychiatrists remained high. The process was not as well accepted by psychiatrists. CONCLUSIONS: Spiritual assessment can raise important clinical issues in the treatment of patients with chronic schizophrenia. Cultural factors, such as religion and spirituality, should be considered early in clinical training, because many clinicians are not at ease addressing such topics with patients.
    Publication Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.)
    Volume 62
    Issue 1
    Pages 79-86
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr Psychiatr Serv
    DOI 10.1176/appi.ps.62.1.79
    ISSN 1557-9700
    Short Title A randomized trial of spiritual assessment of outpatients with schizophrenia
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:37:10 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21209304
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
  • Influence of spirituality and religiousness on substance misuse in patients with schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorder

    Type Journal Article
    Author Philippe Huguelet
    Author Laurence Borras
    Author Christiane Gillieron
    Author Pierre-Yves Brandt
    Author Sylvia Mohr
    Abstract Substance misuse represents a major issue in the treatment of schizophrenia patients. Spirituality and religiousness have been shown to reduce substance misuse and to foster recovery among substance misusers in the general population. One hundred and fifteen stabilized outpatients with schizophrenia (mean age 39; 70% male) were selected in 2004 for an interview about religious coping. Religious involvement was significantly inversely correlated to substance use and abuse. A content analysis showed that religion may play a protective role toward substance misuse in 14% of the total sample, especially for patients who had stopped substance misuse (42%). It played a negative role in 3% of cases. Religion may play a role in the recovery of schizophrenia patients with substance misuse comorbidity.
    Publication Substance Use & Misuse
    Volume 44
    Issue 4
    Pages 502-513
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Subst Use Misuse
    DOI 10.1080/10826080802344872
    ISSN 1532-2491
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:48:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19219658
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Affective Disorders, Psychotic
    • Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry)
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Schizophrenia
    • Schizophrenic Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Switzerland
  • Religious Explanatory Models in Patients with Psychosis: A Three-Year Follow-Up Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author P Huguelet
    Author S Mohr
    Author C Gilliéron
    Author P-Y Brandt
    Author L Borras
    Abstract Background/Aims: Spirituality and religiousness have been shown to be highly prevalent in patients with psychosis. Yet the influence of religious denomination as it affects coping methods and/or as an explanatory model for illness and treatment remains to be determined. This study aims (1) to investigate if religious denomination is associated with explanatory models, (2) to assess the evolution over time of these explanatory models, and (3) to examine the relationship between these explanatory models and the spiritual vision of treatment and adhesion to such treatment. Sampling and Methods: Of an initial cohort of 115 outpatients, 80% (n = 92) participated in a 3-year follow-up study. The evolution of their religious explanatory models was assessed in order to evaluate if religious denomination, as a meaning-making coping tool, is associated with the patients' explanatory models. Finally, we examined the relationship between these representations and the patients' spiritual visions of treatment and treatment adhesion. Results: A spiritual vision of the illness (as part of an explanatory model) was more frequent in patients with psychosis for whom the subjective dimension of religion was important. However, there was no association between the patients' religious denomination and their spiritual vision of the illness. The analyses showed that the various contents of spiritual visions of illness were not positive or negative per se; instead, they depended on how this religious vision was integrated into the person's experience. Examining longitudinal aspects of coping showed that the spiritual vision sometimes changed, but was not associated with clinical or social outcome. Conclusions: For patients with psychosis, explanatory models frequently involve a religious component which is independent of denomination and likely to change over time. Clinicians should address this issue on a regular basis, by asking patients about their explanatory model before trying to build a bridge with the medical model.
    Publication Psychopathology
    Volume 43
    Issue 4
    Pages 230-239
    Date Apr 28, 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychopathology
    DOI 10.1159/000313521
    ISSN 1423-033X
    Short Title Religious Explanatory Models in Patients with Psychosis
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 2:41:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20424504
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Religious involvement, religious context, and self-assessed health in europe

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tim Huijts
    Author Gerbert Kraaykamp
    Abstract In the present study, the authors examine the extent to which effects of individual religious involvement on self-assessed health are influenced by the religious context (i.e., religious involvement at the country level). The authors test their expectations using individual level data (N = 127,257) on 28 countries from the European Social Surveys (2002-2008). Results of multilevel analyses show that individual religious attendance is positively related to self-assessed health in Europe. Protestants appear to feel healthier than Catholics. Moreover, modeling cross-level interactions demonstrates that religious denominations at the national level are influential: The health advantage of Protestants as compared to Catholics is greater as the percentage of Protestants in a country is higher, yet smaller as countries have a higher percentage of Catholics. The association between religious attendance and self-assessed health does not depend on the national level of religious attendance.
    Publication Journal of Health and Social Behavior
    Volume 52
    Issue 1
    Pages 91-106
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Health Soc Behav
    DOI 10.1177/0022146510394950
    ISSN 0022-1465
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21362614
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21362614
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
  • Religious Involvement and U.S. Adult Mortality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert A. Hummer
    Author Richard G. Rogers
    Author Charles B. Nam
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Abstract We use recently released, nationally representative data from the National Health Interview Survey-Multiple Cause of Death linked file to model the association of religious attendance and sociodemographic, health, and behavioral correlates with overall and cause-specific mortality. Religious attendance is associated with U.S. adult mortality in a graded fashion: People who never attend exhibit 1.87 times the risk of death in the follow-up period compared with people who attend more than once a week. This translates into a seven-year difference in life expectancy at age 20 between those who never attend and those who attend more than once a week. Health selectivity is responsible for a portion of the religious attendance effect: People who do not attend church or religious services are also more likely to be unhealthy and, consequently, to die. However, religious attendance also works through increased social ties and behavioral factors to decrease the risks of death. And although the magnitude of the association between religious attendance and mortality varies by cause of death, the direction of the association is consistent across causes.
    Publication Demography
    Volume 36
    Issue 2
    Pages 273-285
    Date May, 1999
    DOI 10.2307/2648114
    ISSN 00703370
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/2648114
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:44:52 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: May, 1999 / Copyright © 1999 Population Association of America
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Health selectivity is responsible for a portion of the religious attendance effect: People who do not attend church or religious services are also more likely to be unhealthy and, consequently, to die. However, religious attendance also works through increased social ties and behavioral factors to decrease the risks of death.

  • Religion, Age, Life Satisfaction, and Perceived Sources of Religiousness: A Study of Older Persons

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bruce Hunsberger
    Abstract Eighty-five persons aged 65 to 88 years participated in this interview study of three issues. The present study supported previous findings of a tendency toward increased religiosity in older age. This was tempered, however, by the finding that, although highly religious older persons tended to report an increase in religiousness over the course of their lives, respondents who were low in religiosity tended to report a decrease. These two groups reported that before the age of 20 a relatively small difference in religiosity existed but by old age this difference had become substantial. Second, there was evidence of a low to moderate positive relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction. Finally, mothers were reported to have had the strongest proreligious influence, although both parents were generally perceived to be important influences in religious development.
    Publication J Gerontol
    Volume 40
    Issue 5
    Pages 615-620
    Date September 1, 1985
    DOI 10.1093/geronj/40.5.615
    Short Title Religion, Age, Life Satisfaction, and Perceived Sources of Religiousness
    URL http://geronj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/5/615
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:35:34 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The present study supported previous findings of a tendency toward increased religiosity in older age. This was tempered, however, by the finding that, although highly religious older persons tended to report an increase in religiousness over the course of their lives, respondents who were low in religiosity tended to report a decrease.

  • Treating Scrupulosity in Religious Individuals Using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jonathan D. Huppert
    Author Jedidiah Siev
    Abstract Scrupulosity, the obsessional fear of thinking or behaving immorally or against one's religious beliefs, is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder that has been relatively understudied to date. Treating religious patients with scrupulosity raises a number of unique clinical challenges for many clinicians. For example, how does one distinguish normal beliefs from pathological scrupulosity? How does one adapt exposures to a religious patient whose fears are related to sinning? How far should one go in exposures in such cases? How and when does one include clergy in treatment? We address these issues and report a case example of the successful treatment of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman using the treatment principles that we recommend for religious individuals with scrupulosity.
    Publication Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 382-392
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.07.003
    ISSN 1077-7229
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7XMX-4YK7JBH-1/2/f3505876e25031301a2bd5c9fcaeffc7
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:33:43 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • Correlations between spirituality and health-promoting behaviors among sheltered homeless women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jene M. Hurlbut
    Author Leslie K. Robbins
    Author Mary M. Hoke
    Abstract This study examined the relationship between spirituality and health-promoting behaviors in a convenience sample of 90 sheltered homeless women using the Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. A moderate positive correlation was found between spiritual well-being and overall health promoting lifestyle (r = .426). Moderate to strong positive correlations were found between the Spiritual Well-Being Scale and the Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II dimension subscales (physical activity, nutrition, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations, and stress management). The results support the importance of spirituality in relation to health-promoting behaviors among sheltered homeless women.
    Publication Journal of Community Health Nursing
    Volume 28
    Issue 2
    Pages 81-91
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr J Community Health Nurs
    DOI 10.1080/07370016.2011.564064
    ISSN 1532-7655
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21541870
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:04:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21541870
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
  • Extending Religion-Health Research to Secular Minorities: Issues and Concerns

    Type Journal Article
    Author Karen Hwang
    Author Joseph Hammer
    Author Ryan Cragun
    Abstract Claims about religion's beneficial effects on physical and psychological health have received substantial attention in popular media, but empirical support for these claims is mixed. Many of these claims are tenuous because they fail to address basic methodological issues relating to construct validity, sampling methods or analytical problems. A more conceptual problem has to do with the near universal lack of atheist control samples. While many studies include samples of individuals classified as "low spirituality" or religious "nones", these groups are heterogeneous and contain only a fraction of members who would be considered truly secular. We illustrate the importance of including an atheist control group whenever possible in the religiosity/spirituality and health research and discuss areas for further investigation.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Date Oct 28, 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9296-0
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Extending Religion-Health Research to Secular Minorities
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19862619
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:14:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19862619
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Claims about religion’s beneficial effects on physical and psychological health have received substantial attention in popular media, but empirical support for these claims is mixed. Many of these claims are tenuous because they fail to address basic methodological issues relating to construct validity, sampling methods or analytical problems. A more conceptual problem has to do with the near universal lack of atheist control samples. We illustrate the importance of including an atheist control group whenever possible in the religiosity/spirituality and health research and discuss areas for further investigation.

  • Spirituality predicts outcome independently of expectancy following flower essence self-treatment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael E Hyland
    Author Adam W A Geraghty
    Author Oliver E T Joy
    Author Scott I Turner
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether absorption and spirituality predict the placebo response independently of expectancy. METHOD: This was an open study of self-treatment with self-selected Bach flower essences. Participants' expectancy of the effect of flower essences, attitudes to complementary medicine, holistic health beliefs, absorption, and spirituality were measured prior to treatment. One month after the start of treatment, participants responded to an e-mail enquiry about symptom change using a single seven-point change scale. RESULTS: One hundred sixteen participants (97 university undergraduates and 19 staff) completed all assessments. Spirituality and absorption together predicted additional variance compared with a cluster of expectancy measures comprising expectancy, attitude to complementary medicine, and holistic beliefs (increment in R(2)=.042, P=.032), and spirituality alone (but not absorption alone) predicted more additional variance than did the expectancy cluster (increment in R(2)=.043, P=.014). CONCLUSION: Our data are inconsistent with conventional explanations for the placebo effect. The mechanism underlying the placebo response is not fully understood.
    Publication Journal of Psychosomatic Research
    Volume 60
    Issue 1
    Pages 53-58
    Date Jan 2006
    Journal Abbr J Psychosom Res
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2005.06.073
    ISSN 0022-3999
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16380310
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:32:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16380310
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Child
    • Female
    • Flowers
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Medicine, Traditional
    • Middle Aged
    • Phytotherapy
    • Prospective Studies
    • Psychological Theory
    • Self Administration
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • To determine whether absorption and spirituality predict the placebo response independently of expectancy. Method: This was an open study of self-treatment with self-selected Bach flower essences. Participants’ expectancy of the effect of flower essences, attitudes to complementary medicine, holistic health beliefs, absorption, and spirituality were measured prior to treatment. Results: Spirituality and absorption together predicted additional variance compared with a cluster of expectancy measures comprising expectancy, attitude to complementary medicine, and holistic beliefs (increment in R(2)=.042, P=.032), and spirituality alone (but not absorption alone) predicted more additional variance than did the expectancy cluster (increment in R(2)=.043, P=.014). Conclusion: Our data are inconsistent with conventional explanations for the placebo effect. The mechanism underlying the placebo response is not fully understood.

  • Religion, Health, and Nonphysical Senses of Self

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ellen L. Idler
    Abstract The relationship between religion and physical health is a complicated one. In the Durkheimian tradition, and in longitudinal epidemiological studies, religious involvement is shown to have a protective effect on health. Cross-sectionally, however, and even in short followup periods, we sometimes see higher levels of religiousness associated with poorer, not better, health, as people in the midst of crises often turn to religion for comfort and social support. A third way of thinking about the relationship involves self-ratings of health, which appear to represent broad conceptions of self in which physical health and abilities may be deemphasized and nonphysical characteristics, including religious or spiritual self-identities, may be relied upon. Quantitative and qualitative data from a cross-sectional sample of disabled clients of an urban rehabilitation clinic support both of the latter perspectives.
    Publication Social Forces
    Volume 74
    Issue 2
    Pages 683-704
    Date December 1995
    DOI 10.2307/2580497
    ISSN 00377732
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/2580497
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:51:15 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 1995 / Copyright © 1995 Social Forces, University of North Carolina Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Self-ratings of health appear to represent broad conceptions of self in which physical health and abilities may be deemphasized and nonphysical characteristics, including religious or spiritual self-identities, may be relied upon. Quantitative and qualitative data from a cross-sectional sample of disabled clients of an urban rehabilitation clinic support both of the latter perspectives

  • Religious Involvement and the Health of the Elderly: Some Hypotheses and an Initial Test

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ellen L. Idler
    Abstract The study examines patterns of religious involvement, health status, functional disability, and depression among noninstitutionalized elderly residents of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1982. Controlling for demographic variables and physical health status, cross-sectional analysis of data from the Yale Health and Aging Project (N = 2811) shows higher levels of public religious involvement associated with lower levels of functional disability and depressive symptomatology; among men the analysis also shows that private religious involvement modifies the associations of health status with disability, and disability with depression. Four alterntive explanatory hypotheses with roots in classical sociological theories of religion are proposed and tested, three arguments for indirect effects of religious involvement through health behaviors, social cohesiveness, and cognitive coherence, and one for an interactive theodicy effect.
    Publication Social Forces
    Volume 66
    Issue 1
    Pages 226-238
    Date Sep., 1987
    ISSN 00377732
    Short Title Religious Involvement and the Health of the Elderly
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2578909
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 11:56:40 AM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1987 / Copyright © 1987 Social Forces, University of North Carolina Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The study examines patterns of religious involvement, health status, functional disability, and depression among noninstitutionalized elderly residents of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1982.

  • Religion among disabled and nondisabled persons I: cross-sectional patterns in health practices, social activities, and well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author EL Idler
    Author SV Kasl
    Publication J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
    Volume 52
    Issue 6
    Pages S294-305
    Date November 1, 1997
    Short Title Religion among disabled and nondisabled persons I
    URL http://psychsoc.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/52/6/S294
    Accessed Tuesday, November 10, 2009 7:53:26 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article and its second part explore questions such as: What is the relationship between religious involvement and functional disability among elderly people? Is being disabled different for those who frequently attend religious services? Does religious involvement have an effect on subsequent change in disability?  The authors found (a) that religious involvement in 1982 is tied to a broad array of behavioral and psychosocial resources, (b) that these resources are associated primarily with attendance at services, and not with subjective feelings of religiousness, and (c) that some of these associations are especially pronounced among disabled respondents.

  • Religion among disabled and nondisabled persons II: attendance at religious services as a predictor of the course of disability.

    Type Journal Article
    Author E.L. Idler
    Author S.V. Kasl
    Abstract Does religious involvement influence changes in physical health? We perform a longitudinal analysis of the effect of religious participation on functioning over a 12-year follow-up period, in a large, prospective, representative sample of elderly persons from New Haven, Connecticut, a religiously diverse community. To examine the possibility that disability or changes in disability may be affecting religious involvement, we perform a second longitudinal analysis of changes in religious practices. Finally, we ask whether psychosocial correlates explain the effect of religious involvement on disability. Findings are (a) that attendance at services is a strong predictor of better functioning, even when intermediate changes in functioning are included, (b) that health practices, social ties, and indicators of well-being reduce, but do not eliminate these effects, and (c) that disability has minimal effects on subsequent attendance. The findings illustrate the short- and long-term importance of religious participation to the health and well-being of elderly people, and suggest a particular significance for religious participation in the lives of disabled elders.
    Publication The Journals of Gerontology
    Volume 52
    Issue 6
    Pages S306-316
    Date Nov. 1997
    Series B
    Series Title Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
    Journal Abbr J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9403524
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Findings are (a) that attendance at services is a strong predictor of better functioning, even when intermediate changes in functioning are included, (b) that health practices, social ties, and indicators of well-being reduce, but do not eliminate these effects, and (c) that disability has minimal effects on subsequent attendance.

  • Religion, Disability, Depression, and the Timing of Death

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ellen L. Idler
    Author Stanislav V. Kasl
    Abstract Despite its importance in Durkheim's work, the subject of religion's influence on health and well-being is rarely addressed in contemporary sociological research. This study of elderly persons in New Haven, Connecticut, examines the prospective relationship between religious involvement and several aspects of health status. Results show significant protective effects of public religious in volvement against disability among men and women and of private religious involvement against depression among recently disabled men over a three-year period. Religious group membership also protected Christians and Jews against mortality in the month before their respective religious holidays during a six-year period. The article concludes that religious involvement exerts a strong positive effect on the health of the elderly; that this effect varies by religious group and by sex; that the health behaviors, social contacts, and optimistic attitudes of religious group members may explain part but not all of this association; and that several aspects of religious experience, such as participation in ritual and religion's provision of meaning play a role.
    Publication The American Journal of Sociology
    Volume 97
    Issue 4
    Pages 1052-1079
    Date Jan., 1992
    ISSN 00029602
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2781506
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 11:57:01 AM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Issue Title: New Directions in the Sociology of Medicine / Full publication date: Jan., 1992 / Copyright © 1992 The University of Chicago Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article concludes that religious involvement exerts a strong positive effect on the health of the elderly; that this effect varies by religious group and by sex; that the health behaviors, social contacts, and optimistic attitudes of religious group members may explain part but not all of this association; and that several aspects of religious experience, such as participation in ritual and religion’s provision of meaning play a role.

  • Religion and the quality of life in the last year of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ellen L Idler
    Author Julie McLaughlin
    Author Stanislav Kasl
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Religious involvement in old age appears to remain quite stable until the very end of life, reflecting patterns established earlier in life. Are there differences in quality of life (QOL) for those who are religiously involved in that last year compared with those who are not? METHODS: We studied 499 elderly persons participating in ongoing annual interviews who died in the 12 months following an interview. We examined public and subjective religious involvement and indicators of health-related and psychosocial QOL, including health status and functional ability, family and friendship networks, depression, and well-being. RESULTS: More deeply religious respondents were more likely to see friends, and they had better self-rated health, fewer depressive feelings, and were observed by the interviewer to find life more exciting compared with the less religious. Respondents receiving strength and comfort from religion reported poorer self-rated health. Those who attended religious services often were most likely to have attended holiday parties, even after adjusting for health status. Significant interactions indicated that the disabled benefited more from both public and subjective religious involvement than the nondisabled. DISCUSSION: Overall, QOL in the last year of life is positively related to religious involvement, particularly its more subjective dimensions.
    Publication The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
    Volume 64
    Issue 4
    Pages 528-537
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
    DOI 10.1093/geronb/gbp028
    ISSN 1758-5368
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:09:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19435927
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
  • Looking Inside the Black Box of "Attendance at Services": New Measures for Exploring an Old Dimension in Religion and Health Research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ellen L Idler
    Author David A Boulifard
    Author Erich Labouvie
    Author Yung Y Chen
    Author Tyrone J Krause
    Author Richard J Contrada
    Abstract Research in religion and health has spurred new interest in measuring religiousness. Measurement efforts have focused on subjective facets of religiousness such as spirituality and beliefs, and less attention has been paid to congregate aspects, beyond the single item measuring attendance at services. We evaluate some new measures for religious experiences occurring during congregational worship services. Respondents (N=576) were religiously-diverse community-dwelling adults interviewed prior to cardiac surgery. Exploratory factor analysis of the new items with a pool of standard items yielded a readily interpretable solution, involving seven correlated but distinct factors and one index variable, with high levels of internal consistency. We describe religious affiliation and demographic differences in these measures. Attendance at religious services provides multifaceted physical, emotional, social, and spiritual experiences that may promote physical health through multiple pathways.
    Publication The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-20
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychol Relig
    DOI 10.1080/10508610802471096
    ISSN 1050-8619
    Short Title Looking Inside the Black Box of "Attendance at Services"
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19214241
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:52:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19214241
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • We evaluate some new measures for religious experiences occurring during congregational worship services. Respondents (N=576) were religiously-diverse community-dwelling adults interviewed prior to cardiac surgery. Exploratory factor analysis of the new items with a pool of standard items yielded a readily interpretable solution, involving seven correlated but distinct factors and one index variable, with high levels of internal consistency.

  • Unforgiveness, rumination, and depressive symptoms among older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Berit Ingersoll-Dayton
    Author Cynthia Torges
    Author Neal Krause
    Abstract The experience of feeling unforgiven for past transgressions may contribute to depressive symptoms in later life. This article tests a model in which feeling unforgiven by God and by other people have direct effects on depressive symptoms while self-unforgiveness and rumination mediate this relationship. The sample consisted of 965 men and women aged 67 and older who participated in a national probability sample survey, the Religion, Aging, and Health survey. Results from a latent variable model indicate that unforgiveness by others has a significant direct effect on depressive symptoms and an indirect effect via self-unforgiveness and rumination. However, rather than having a direct effect on depressive symptoms, unforgiveness by God operates only indirectly through self-unforgiveness and rumination. Similarly, self-unforgiveness has an indirect effect on depressive symptoms through rumination.
    Publication Aging & Mental Health
    Volume 14
    Issue 4
    Pages 439-449
    Date May 2010
    Journal Abbr Aging Ment Health
    DOI 10.1080/13607860903483136
    ISSN 1364-6915
    Accessed Sunday, May 30, 2010 11:48:15 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20455120
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Mind-body therapies for menopausal symptoms: a systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kim E. Innes
    Author Terry Kit Selfe
    Author Abhishek Vishnu
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the peer-reviewed literature regarding the effects of self-administered mind-body therapies on menopausal symptoms. METHODS: To identify qualifying studies, we searched 10 scientific databases and scanned bibliographies of relevant review papers and all identified articles. The methodological quality of all studies was assessed systematically using predefined criteria. RESULTS: Twenty-one papers representing 18 clinical trials from 6 countries met our inclusion criteria, including 12 randomized controlled trials (N=719), 1 non-randomized controlled trial (N=58), and 5 uncontrolled trials (N=105). Interventions included yoga and/or meditation-based programs, tai chi, and other relaxation practices, including muscle relaxation and breath-based techniques, relaxation response training, and low-frequency sound-wave therapy. Eight of the nine studies of yoga, tai chi, and meditation-based programs reported improvement in overall menopausal and vasomotor symptoms; six of seven trials indicated improvement in mood and sleep with yoga-based programs, and four studies reported reduced musculoskeletal pain. Results from the remaining nine trials suggest that breath-based and other relaxation therapies also show promise for alleviating vasomotor and other menopausal symptoms, although intergroup findings were mixed. Most studies reviewed suffered methodological or other limitations, complicating interpretation of findings. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, findings of these studies suggest that yoga-based and certain other mind-body therapies may be beneficial for alleviating specific menopausal symptoms. However, the limitations characterizing most studies hinder interpretation of findings and preclude firm conclusions regarding efficacy. Additional large, methodologically sound trials are needed to determine the effects of specific mind-body therapies on menopausal symptoms, examine long-term outcomes, and investigate underlying mechanisms.
    Publication Maturitas
    Volume 66
    Issue 2
    Pages 135-149
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Maturitas
    DOI 10.1016/j.maturitas.2010.01.016
    ISSN 1873-4111
    Short Title Mind-body therapies for menopausal symptoms
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:40:24 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20167444
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Neural markers of religious conviction

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael Inzlicht
    Author Ian McGregor
    Author Jacob B Hirsh
    Author Kyle Nash
    Abstract Many people derive peace of mind and purpose in life from their belief in God. For others, however, religion provides unsatisfying answers. Are there brain differences between believers and nonbelievers? Here we show that religious conviction is marked by reduced reactivity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a cortical system that is involved in the experience of anxiety and is important for self-regulation. In two studies, we recorded electroencephalographic neural reactivity in the ACC as participants completed a Stroop task. Results showed that stronger religious zeal and greater belief in God were associated with less firing of the ACC in response to error and with commission of fewer errors. These correlations remained strong even after we controlled for personality and cognitive ability. These results suggest that religious conviction provides a framework for understanding and acting within one's environment, thereby acting as a buffer against anxiety and minimizing the experience of error.
    Publication Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society / APS
    Volume 20
    Issue 3
    Pages 385-392
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02305.x
    ISSN 1467-9280
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19291205
    Accessed Tuesday, November 03, 2009 7:53:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19291205
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Anxiety
    • Attitude
    • Cognition
    • Cognition Disorders
    • Culture
    • Electroencephalography
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Neuropsychological Tests
    • personality
    • Psychological Tests
    • religion

    Notes:

    • Many people derive peace of mind and purpose in life from their belief in God. For others, however, religion provides unsatisfying answers. Are there brain differences between believers and nonbelievers? Here we show that religious conviction is marked by reduced reactivity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a cortical system that is involved in the experience of anxiety and is important for self-regulation. In two studies, we recorded electroencephalographic neural reactivity in the ACC as participants completed a Stroop task. Results showed that stronger religious zeal and greater belief in God were associated with less firing of the ACC in response to error and with commission of fewer errors. These correlations remained strong even after we controlled for personality and cognitive ability. These results suggest that religious conviction provides a framework for understanding and acting within one’s environment, thereby acting as a buffer against anxiety and minimizing the experience of error.

  • Spiritual transformation, psychological well-being, health, and survival in people with HIV

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gail Ironson
    Author Heidemarie Kremer
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Although Spiritual Transformation (ST) occurs in a sizable proportion of people with HIV (about 39%), there is little research on the potential benefits of ST with respect to psychological well-being, health, and survival in this population. Our study attempts to fill this gap. METHOD: Using a mixed method approach, we related interviews of 147 people with HIV (identifying the presence/absence of ST) to questionnaires measuring demographics, medical history, treatment adherence, physical symptoms, and psychological well-being (i.e., stress, coping, life attitude, and spirituality), and assessments of CD4-counts and viral load and survival 3 to 5 years later. RESULTS: At comparable times since HIV-diagnosis and antiretroviral medications prescribed, the presence of ST was significantly associated with better treatment success (undetectable viral loads, higher CD4 counts), better medication adherence, fewer symptoms, less distress, more positive coping, different life attitudes (i.e., existential transcendence, meaning/purpose in life, optimism, death acceptance), more spiritual practices, and increased spirituality. ST was also associated with substance-use recovery and with being African American. Survival up to 5 years was 5.35 times more likely among participants with ST (p(f) = .044). According to a Cox-regression adjusted for baseline CD4-counts, age, race-ethnicity, gender, education, years since HIV-diagnosis, and a history of substance-use problems, ST still reduced the risk of death (HR = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.01-0.53, p = .010). CONCLUSIONS: ST has associated benefits for psychological well-being, health, and survival.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 263-281
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:34:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19967899
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Case-Control Studies
    • CD4 Lymphocyte Count
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Proportional Hazards Models
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Survival Rate
    • United States
    • Viral Load
  • Spiritual transformation, psychological well-being, health, and survival in people with HIV

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gail Ironson
    Author Heidemarie Kremer
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Although Spiritual Transformation (ST) occurs in a sizable proportion of people with HIV (about 39%), there is little research on the potential benefits of ST with respect to psychological well-being, health, and survival in this population. Our study attempts to fill this gap. METHOD: Using a mixed method approach, we related interviews of 147 people with HIV (identifying the presence/absence of ST) to questionnaires measuring demographics, medical history, treatment adherence, physical symptoms, and psychological well-being (i.e., stress, coping, life attitude, and spirituality), and assessments of CD4-counts and viral load and survival 3 to 5 years later. RESULTS: At comparable times since HIV-diagnosis and antiretroviral medications prescribed, the presence of ST was significantly associated with better treatment success (undetectable viral loads, higher CD4 counts), better medication adherence, fewer symptoms, less distress, more positive coping, different life attitudes (i.e., existential transcendence, meaning/purpose in life, optimism, death acceptance), more spiritual practices, and increased spirituality. ST was also associated with substance-use recovery and with being African American. Survival up to 5 years was 5.35 times more likely among participants with ST (p(f) = .044). According to a Cox-regression adjusted for baseline CD4-counts, age, race-ethnicity, gender, education, years since HIV-diagnosis, and a history of substance-use problems, ST still reduced the risk of death (HR = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.01-0.53, p = .010). CONCLUSIONS: ST has associated benefits for psychological well-being, health, and survival.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 263-281
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 11:03:27 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19967899
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Case-Control Studies
    • CD4 Lymphocyte Count
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Proportional Hazards Models
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Survival Rate
    • United States
    • Viral Load
  • An increase in religiousness/spirituality occurs after HIV diagnosis and predicts slower disease progression over 4 years in people with HIV

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gail Ironson
    Author Rick Stuetzle
    Author Mary Ann Fletcher
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Most studies on religion/spirituality predicting health outcomes have been limited to church attendance as a predictor and have focused on healthy people. However, confronting a major medical crisis may be a time when people turn to the sacred. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which changes in spirituality/religiousness occur after HIV diagnosis and whether changes predict disease progression. DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS: This longitudinal study examined the relationship between changes in spirituality/religiousness from before with after the diagnosis of HIV, and disease progression (CD4 and viral load [VL] every 6 months) over 4 years in 100 people with HIV. Measures included change in religiousness/spirituality after diagnosis of HIV, religiousness/spirituality at various times in one's life, church attendance, depression, hopelessness, optimism, coping (avoidant, proactive), social support, CD4/VL, and health behaviors. RESULTS: Forty-five percent of the sample showed an increase in religiousness/spirituality after the diagnosis of HIV, 42% remained the same, and 13% decreased. People reporting an increase in spirituality/religiousness after the diagnosis had significantly greater preservation of CD4 cells over the 4-year period, as well as significantly better control of VL. Results were independent of (i.e., held even after controlling for) church attendance and initial disease status (CD4/VL), medication at every time point, age, gender, race, education, health behaviors (adherence, risky sex, alcohol, cocaine), depression, hopelessness, optimism, coping (avoidant, proactive), and social support. CONCLUSIONS: There is an increase in spirituality/religiousness after HIV diagnosis, and this increase predicts slower disease progression; medical personnel should be aware of its potential importance.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 21 Suppl 5
    Pages S62-68
    Date Dec 2006
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    DOI 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00648.x
    ISSN 1525-1497
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17083503
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:57:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17083503
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Causality
    • Disease Progression
    • Florida
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk-Taking
    • social support

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which changes in spirituality/religiousness occur after HIV diagnosis and whether changes predict disease progression. Conclusions: There is an increase in spirituality/religiousness after HIV diagnosis, and this increase predicts slower disease progression.

  • The Ironson-woods Spirituality/Religiousness Index is associated with long survival, health behaviors, less distress, and low cortisol in people with HIV/AIDS

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gail Ironson
    Author George F Solomon
    Author Elizabeth G Balbin
    Author Conall O'Cleirigh
    Author Annie George
    Author Mahendra Kumar
    Author David Larson
    Author Teresa E Woods
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of an instrument that measures both spirituality and religiousness, to examine the relation between spirituality and religiousness and important health outcomes for people living with HIV and to examine the potential mediators of these relations. One aim was to determine whether subscales of spirituality, religiousness, or both would be independently related to long survival in people living with AIDS. The Ironson-Woods Spirituality/Religiousness (SR) Index is presented with evidence for its reliability and validity. Four factors were identified on the Ironson-Woods SR Index (Sense of Peace, Faith in God, Religious Behavior, and Compassionate View of Others). Each subscale was significantly related to long survival with AIDS. That is, the long-term survivor (LTS) group (n = 79) scored significantly higher on these factors than did the HIV-positive comparison (COMP) group (n = 200). Long survival was also significantly related to both frequency of prayer (positively) and judgmental attitude (negatively). In addition, the Ironson-Woods SR Index yielded strong and significant correlations with less distress, more hope, social support, health behaviors, helping others, and lower cortisol levels. The relation between religious behavior and health outcomes was not due to social support. Further analyses were conducted, which identified urinary cortisol concentrations and altruistic behavior as mediators of the relation between SR and long survival.
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 24
    Issue 1
    Pages 34-48
    Date 2002
    Journal Abbr Ann Behav Med
    ISSN 0883-6612
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12008793
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:30:15 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12008793
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Status
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Hydrocortisone
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • social support
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Survival Analysis

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of an instrument that measures both spirituality and religiousness, to examine the relation between spirituality and religiousness and important health outcomes for people living with HIV and to examine the potential mediators of these relations. Each subscale was significantly related to long survival with AIDS. In addition, the Ironson-Woods SR Index yielded strong and significant correlations with less distress, more hope, social support, health behaviors, helping others, and lower cortisol levels.

  • Psychosocial adjustment to multiple sclerosis: exploration of identity redefinition

    Type Journal Article
    Author H Irvine
    Author C Davidson
    Author K Hoy
    Author A Lowe-Strong
    Abstract PURPOSE: As multiple sclerosis (MS) often occurs in the prime of life and is unpredictable in nature, there is likely to be a strong psychological effect, with changes in values and beliefs and how the individual sees him or her self. This article presents the findings of a focus group study which aimed to explore the subjective experiences of living with, and adjusting to, MS. METHOD: Seven individuals who had been diagnosed with MS for at least 5 years reflected on their reactions to being diagnosed, how they cope with the day to day challenges of the disease, and the changes that they have experienced. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. RESULTS: Diagnosis was met with negative reactions: denial, concealment and diminished confidence. However, the majority reported that, over time, there were positive changes in terms of their values and outlook. It would appear that the functional difficulties and psychological challenges, such as uncertainty and depression, are ameliorated to some extent by an increased appreciation for life and spirituality. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide insight into the psychological process of identity redefinition associated with adjusting to MS. Given this, interventions should target role/identity re-examination to assist individuals with MS in better managing the disease and enjoying life.
    Publication Disability and Rehabilitation
    Volume 31
    Issue 8
    Pages 599-606
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Disabil Rehabil
    DOI 10.1080/09638280802243286
    ISSN 0963-8288
    Short Title Psychosocial adjustment to multiple sclerosis
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:38:29 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19280434
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Attitude
    • Empathy
    • Female
    • Focus Groups
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Self Concept
    • social support
  • Cultivating mindfulness in health care professionals: a review of empirical studies of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Julie Anne Irving
    Author Patricia L Dobkin
    Author Jeeseon Park
    Abstract Demands faced by health care professionals include heavy caseloads, limited control over the work environment, long hours, as well as organizational structures and systems in transition. Such conditions have been directly linked to increased stress and symptoms of burnout, which in turn, have adverse consequences for clinicians and the quality of care that is provided to patients. Consequently, there exists an impetus for the development of curriculum aimed at fostering wellness and the necessary self-care skills for clinicians. This review will examine the potential benefits of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs aimed at enhancing well-being and coping with stress in this population. Empirical evidence indicates that participation in MBSR yields benefits for clinicians in the domains of physical and mental health. Conceptual and methodological limitations of the existing studies and suggestions for future research are discussed.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 61-66
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Clin Pract
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2009.01.002
    ISSN 1873-6947
    Short Title Cultivating mindfulness in health care professionals
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:27:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19341981
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Burnout, Professional
    • Clinical Trials as Topic
    • Health Personnel
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Stress, Psychological
  • God-sent ordeals and their discontents: Ultra-orthodox Jewish women negotiate prenatal testing

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tsipy Ivry
    Author Elly Teman
    Author Ayala Frumkin
    Abstract Through narrative interviews with 20 pregnant ultra-orthodox [Haredi] Jewish women in Israel conducted between 2007 and 2009, we examine the implications for such women of prenatal testing, and of pregnancy as a gendered route of piety. We found that pregnancy signified both a divine mission and possible reproductive misfortunes. Bearing a child with a disability was taken as a test of faith and God's decree was to be accepted. Fetal anomaly created anxiety about the women's ability to fulfill their God-given task and about their position in an unwritten hierarchy of gendered righteousness. Challenging reproductive decisions were often assigned to rabbis, but this did not exempt women from viewing themselves as inadequate in their religious devotion. We conclude that prenatal testing becomes a spiritual ordeal that aggravates pregnancy tensions.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 72
    Issue 9
    Pages 1527-1533
    Date May 2011
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.007
    ISSN 1873-5347
    Short Title God-sent ordeals and their discontents
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21470732
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:37:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21470732
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM

    Notes:

    • This study concludes that prenatal testing is a spiritual ordeal for ultra-Orthodox Jewish women due to the fact that finding fetal anomalies results in anxiety about the capacity of the woman to fulfill her G-d-given task of raising a disabled child, even when responsibility for making challenging reproductive decisions was handed over to a rabbi.

  • How does religiosity enhance well-being? The role of perceived control.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brenda R. Jackson
    Author C. S. Bergeman
    Abstract Religiousness and spirituality (R/S) are consistently linked with positive indicators of well-being, but the mechanisms behind these associations remain largely unknown. We hypothesize that an individual's level of perceived control (PC) acts as a mediator of this relationship and that this effect is stronger in older adults. Participants were 529 adults from the Notre Dame Study of Health and Well-Being (aged 31–88). Regression analyses tested both mediating and moderating functions of PC for three different R/S components (religious practices, daily spiritual experiences, and religious/spiritual coping); composite variables were used for PC and subjective well-being (SWB) in all analyses. These effects were tested using the full sample, as well as separately by age group (early midlife, aged 31–49; late midlife, aged 50–59; and later life, aged 60 and over), in order to discover any age differences that may exist. Results revealed differences by both R/S dimension and age group: PC partially mediated the religious practices-SWB relationship in the full sample and in the later life group; the effects of religious/spiritual coping and spiritual experiences on SWB were partially mediated by PC in the full sample, the late midlife group, and the later life group; and none of the R/S-SWB relationships were mediated in the early midlife group. Moderating effects were indicated by significant interactions between PC and spiritual experiences in the full sample, PC and religious coping in the full sample, and PC and religious practices in the later life group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 3
    Issue 2
    Pages 149-161
    Date May 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0021597
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Short Title How does religiosity enhance well-being?
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM

    Tags:

    • age effects
    • Aging
    • control
    • perceived control
    • religiosity
    • spirituality
    • Subjective well-being
    • well being
  • Exploring spirituality among youth in foster care: Findings from the Casey Field Office Mental Health Study.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lovie J. Jackson
    Author Catherine Roller White
    Author Kirk O'Brien
    Author Paul DiLorenzo
    Author Ernie Cathcart
    Author Mary Wolf
    Author Delilah Bruskas
    Author Peter J. Pecora
    Author Vivian Nix-Early
    Author Jorge Cabrera
    Abstract This study examined spiritual coping mechanisms, beliefs about spirituality and participation in spiritual activities and in other positive activities among adolescents in foster care. A multidimensional measure of spirituality was developed for face-to-face interviews with 188 youth (ages 14-17) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds in the United States. Findings revealed 95% of youth believe in God, over 70% believe God is 'creator' and God is 'love', and 79% considered prayer a spiritual practice. Most youth said love and forgiveness help them heal. Two-thirds (67%) reported responding to 'bad or tragic things happening' by spending time alone, and over half responded by praying (59%) or sharing the problem with someone else (56%). Youth's top three spiritual goals were to follow God's plan for them, become a better person, and know their purpose in life. Based on the value youth ascribed to spiritual coping mechanisms, recommendations for policy and practice focus on the integration of spirituality into practice and caregiving for youth in foster care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Child & Family Social Work
    Volume 15
    Issue 1
    Pages 107-117
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2206.2009.00649.x
    ISSN 1356-7500
    Short Title Exploring spirituality among youth in foster care
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:42:11 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • adolescents
    • attitudes
    • Beliefs
    • Casey Field Office Mental Health Study
    • Coping Behavior
    • coping mechanisms
    • foster care
    • mental health
    • positive activities
    • Positive Psychology
    • spirituality
    • youth
  • Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tonya L. Jacobs
    Author Elissa S. Epel
    Author Jue Lin
    Author Elizabeth H. Blackburn
    Author Owen M. Wolkowitz
    Author David A. Bridwell
    Author Anthony P. Zanesco
    Author Stephen R. Aichele
    Author Baljinder K. Sahdra
    Author Katherine A. MacLean
    Author Brandon G. King
    Author Phillip R. Shaver
    Author Erika L. Rosenberg
    Author Emilio Ferrer
    Author B. Alan Wallace
    Author Clifford D. Saron
    Abstract Background: Telomerase activity is a predictor of long-term cellular viability, which decreases with chronic psychological distress (Epel et al., 2004). Buddhist traditions claim that meditation decreases psychological distress and promotes well-being (e.g., Dalai Lama and Cutler, 2009). Therefore, we investigated the effects of a 3-month meditation retreat on telomerase activity and two major contributors to the experience of stress: Perceived Control (associated with decreased stress) and Neuroticism (associated with increased subjective distress). We used mediation models to test whether changes in Perceived Control and Neuroticism explained meditation retreat effects on telomerase activity. In addition, we investigated whether two qualities developed by meditative practice, increased Mindfulness and Purpose in Life, accounted for retreat-related changes in the two stress-related variables and in telomerase activity. Methods: Retreat participants (n = 30) meditated for ∼6h daily for 3 months and were compared with a wait-list control group (n = 30) matched for age, sex, body mass index, and prior meditation experience. Retreat participants received instruction in concentrative meditation techniques and complementary practices used to cultivate benevolent states of mind (Wallace, 2006). Psychological measures were assessed pre- and post-retreat. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples were collected post-retreat for telomerase activity. Because there were clear, a priori hypotheses, 1-tailed significance criteria were used throughout. Results: Telomerase activity was significantly greater in retreat participants than in controls at the end of the retreat (p < 0.05). Increases in Perceived Control, decreases in Neuroticism, and increases in both Mindfulness and Purpose in Life were greater in the retreat group (p < 0.01). Mediation analyses indicated that the effect of the retreat on telomerase was mediated by increased Perceived Control and decreased Neuroticism. In turn, changes in Perceived Control and Neuroticism were both partially mediated by increased Mindfulness and Purpose in Life. Additionally, increases in Purpose in Life directly mediated the telomerase group difference, whereas increases in Mindfulness did not. Conclusions: This is the first study to link meditation and positive psychological change with telomerase activity. Although we did not measure baseline telomerase activity, the data suggest that increases in perceived control and decreases in negative affectivity contributed to an increase in telomerase activity, with implications for telomere length and immune cell longevity. Further, Purpose in Life is influenced by meditative practice and directly affects both perceived control and negative emotionality, affecting telomerase activity directly as well as indirectly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Psychoneuroendocrinology
    Volume 36
    Issue 5
    Pages 664-681
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.09.010
    ISSN 0306-4530
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • Distress
    • immune cell telomerase activities
    • intensive meditation training
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Psychological distress
    • psychological mediators
  • Providing emotional stability through relaxation training

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Janbozorgi
    Author A Zahirodin
    Author N Norri
    Author R Ghafarsamar
    Author J Shams
    Abstract To determine the effects of integrative relaxation training (IRT) on emotional stability, we exposed 32 patients diagnosed with anxiety disorder to a pre-test (16PF) and to 12 sessions of group psychoeducation training. Patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups (study 17 and control 15 patients). The study group received 12 weekly group sessions of IRT. Level of anxiety was evaluated in a post-test using a questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Emotional stability and level of anxiety were significantly reduced in the study group: there was a marked increase in scores for emotionally s and venturesome and a decrease in scores for apprehensive and tense. The STAI score was statistically significantly lower in the study group.
    Publication Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal = La Revue De Santé De La Méditerranée Orientale = Al-Majallah Al-Ṣiḥḥīyah Li-Sharq Al-Mutawassiṭ
    Volume 15
    Issue 3
    Pages 629-638
    Date 2009 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr East. Mediterr. Health J
    ISSN 1020-3397
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19731779
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:12:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19731779
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Attitude to Health
    • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interview, Psychological
    • Iran
    • Life Style
    • Male
    • Patient Education as Topic
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Questionnaires
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • spirituality
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • To determine the effects of integrative relaxation training (IRT) on emotional stability, we exposed 32 patients diagnosed with anxiety disorder to a pre-test (16PF) and to 12 sessions of group psychoeducation training. Emotional stability and level of anxiety were significantly reduced in the study group.

  • Meditative prayer, hope, adult attachment, and forgiveness: A proposed model.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter J. Jankowski
    Author Steven J. Sandage
    Abstract The present study tested a theoretical model of the relationship between meditative prayer and interpersonal forgiveness with hope and adult attachment as mediator variables. Results supported the proposed multiple mediation model as determined by multiple measures of model fit with the data. Significant direct effects were observed between meditative prayer and hope, hope and adult attachment, and adult attachment and forgiveness. A significant total indirect effect was found between meditative prayer and forgiveness. A significant specific indirect effect was also observed between meditative prayer and adult attachment with hope as the mediator, and between hope and forgiveness with adult attachment as a mediator. The concept of affect regulation is proposed as a possible unifying mechanism of the variables in the proposed model and implications are discussed in terms of existing literature and promoting interpersonal forgiveness in counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 3
    Issue 2
    Pages 115-131
    Date May 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0021601
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Short Title Meditative prayer, hope, adult attachment, and forgiveness
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM

    Tags:

    • adult attachment
    • attachment behavior
    • dispositional forgiveness
    • Forgiveness
    • hope
    • Interpersonal Relationships
    • meditative prayer
    • prayer
    • relational spirituality
    • religion
    • spirituality
  • Anxiety, depression and students' religiosity.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kate L. Jansen
    Author Rebecca Motley
    Author Joseph Hovey
    Abstract Many studies have examined the protective factors associated with religion and mental illness. In some studies, religiosity had an inverse relationship to mental health problems, whereas in other studies, religiosity has no effect. The current study examines the relationship between religious beliefs, anxiety, and depression in college students. The Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered as well as questions about religious beliefs and religiosity. No difference was found between Catholic and other Christian denominations in rates and levels of depression and anxiety. Self-reported religious influence and self-reported religiosity were significantly related to depression but not anxiety. Religious service attendance was negatively correlated with both anxiety and depression. These results suggest that certain aspects of religiosity may play a more influential role in the protection against depression, indicating these aspects of religion play different roles in individual's mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 267-271
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903352837
    ISSN 13674676
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:26:21 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • mental health
    • MENTAL illness
    • Religiousness
    • STRESS (Psychology)
  • Religion and differences in morbidity and mortality

    Type Journal Article
    Author George K. Jarvis
    Author Herbert C. Northcott
    Abstract Religion and its effects on morbidity and mortality (with particular emphasis on mortality) are reviewed as are special issues which have in the past made the study of religion and death difficult. The morbidity and mortality experience of various religious groups is portrayed, including Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, the clergy, Seventh-day Adventists, Latter-day Saints, Parsis, Jehovah's Witnesses and Hutterites. Studies of religious effects on morbidity and mortality have broadened in focus from the study of specific health practices, or health-related behaviors, to include the study of social support, religious participation and health-related attitudes. Gaps in the literature are identified and a preliminary model of religion's effect on morbidity and mortality is discussed.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 25
    Issue 7
    Pages 813-824
    Date 1987
    DOI 10.1016/0277-9536(87)90039-6
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6VBF-4665DNP-RW/2/c79dc72a7f4095785c6eae001e72cb98
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:39:10 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • health risks
    • Life Style
    • morbidity
    • mortality
    • religion

    Notes:

    • Religion and its effects on morbidity and mortality (with particular emphasis on mortality) are reviewed as are special issues which have in the past made the study of religion and death difficult. The morbidity and mortality experience of various religious groups is portrayed. Studies of religious effects on morbidity and mortality have broadened to include the study of social support, religious participation and health-related attitudes. Gaps in the literature are identified and a preliminary model of religion’s effect on morbidity and mortality is discussed.

    Attachments

    • ScienceDirect Snapshot
  • Potential role of self-induced EEG fast oscillations in predisposition to seizures in meditators

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harinder Jaseja
    Abstract Meditation is a mental exercise practiced widely as an antistress measure and in the belief that it possesses remedial efficacy for a number of medical ailments, especially neurological disorders. Further, there is a general belief that meditation is an absolutely safe practice devoid of any harmful effects. However, with the advent of neuroimaging techniques, the possibility of adverse effects has been raised in recent times. One such issue that has been debated is the potential epileptogenic versus antiepileptic influence exerted by meditation. This brief article attempts to study the potential role of meditation-induced EEG fast oscillations in the predisposition to seizures in meditation practitioners with epilepsy.
    Publication Epilepsy & Behavior
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 124-125
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.yebeh.2009.10.022
    ISSN 1525-5050
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 12:39:37 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • EEG
    • Fast oscillations
    • Gamma activity
    • Meditation
  • Coping with potentially incompatible identities: Accounts of religious, ethnic, and sexual identities from British Pakistani men who identify as Muslim and gay

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rusi Jaspal
    Author Marco Cinnirella
    Abstract This study explores how a group of young British Muslim gay men (BMGM) of Pakistani background in non-gay affirmative religious contexts understood and defined their sexual, religious, and ethnic identities, focusing upon the negotiation and construction of these identities and particularly upon strategies employed for coping with identity threat. A total of 12 BMGM were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Transcripts were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke. The aim was to explore participants' lived experiences through the interpretive lens of identity process theory. Four superordinate themes are reported, entitled 'I'm gay because … ': making sense of gay identity, 'It's all about temptation': invoking religious discourses to explain sexual identity, 'Going against God': fear of divine retribution, 'It's easier to be gay here': external attributions and British national identity. The data suggest the existence of an additional identity principle, which is referred to as the psychological coherence principle. This motive represents the need to ensure a sense of coherence between existing identities, and we discuss how individuals may adopt strategies to deal with threats to the principle.
    Publication The British Journal of Social Psychology / the British Psychological Society
    Volume 49
    Issue Pt 4
    Pages 849-870
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Br J Soc Psychol
    DOI 10.1348/014466609X485025
    ISSN 0144-6665
    Short Title Coping with potentially incompatible identities
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20170600
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:58:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20170600
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • Effects of yoga on depression and anxiety of women

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Javnbakht
    Author R Hejazi Kenari
    Author M Ghasemi
    Abstract oga has often been perceived as a method of stress management tool that can assist in alleviating depression and anxiety disorders. This study sought to evaluate the influence of yoga in relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety in women who were referred to a yoga clinic. METHODS: The study involved a convenience sample of women who were referred to a yoga clinic from July 2006 to July 2007. All new cases were evaluated on admission using a personal information questionnaire well as Beck and Spielberger tests. Participants were randomly assigned into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group (n=34) participated in twice weekly yoga classes of 90 min duration for two months. The control group (n=31) was assigned to a waiting list and did not receive yoga. Both groups were evaluated again after the two-month study period. RESULTS: The average prevalence of depression in the experimental group pre and post Yoga intervention was 12.82+/-7.9 and 10.79+/-6.04 respectively, a statistically insignificant decrease (p=0.13). However, when the experimental group was compared to the control group, women who participated in yoga classes showed a significant decrease in state anxiety (p=0.03) and trait anxiety (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Participation in a two-month yoga class can lead to significant reduction in perceived levels of anxiety in women who suffer from anxiety disorders. This study suggests that yoga can be considered as a complementary therapy or an alternative method for medical therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 102-104
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Clin Pract
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2009.01.003
    ISSN 1873-6947
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:27:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19341989
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Women's Health
    • yoga
  • Yoga and disc degenerative disease in cervical and lumbar spine: an MR imaging-based case control study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Chin-Ming Jeng
    Author Tzu-Chieh Cheng
    Author Ching-Huei Kung
    Author Hue-Chen Hsu
    Abstract The objective of the current study was to find out whether yoga practice was beneficial to the spine by comparing degenerative disc disease in the spines of long-time yoga practitioners and non-yoga practicing controls, using an objective measurement tool, magnetic resonance imaging. This matched case-control study comprised 18 yoga instructors with teaching experience of more than 10 years and 18 non-yoga practicing asymptomatic individuals randomly selected from a health checkup database. A validated grading scale was used to grade the condition of cervical and lumbar discs seen in magnetic resonance imaging of the spine, and the resulting data analyzed statistically. The mean number of years of yoga practice for the yoga group was 12.9 ± 7.5. The overall (cervical + lumbar) disc scores of the yoga group were significantly lower (indicating less degenerative disc disease) than those of the control group (P < 0.001). The scores for the cervical vertebral discs of the yoga group were also significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.001), while the lower scores for the yoga group in the lumbar group approached, but did not reach, statistical significance (P = 0.055). The scores for individual discs of yoga practitioners showed significantly less degenerative disease at three disc levels, C3/C4, L2/L3 and L3/L4 (P < 0.05). Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the group of long-term practitioners of yoga studied had significantly less degenerative disc disease than a matched control group.
    Publication European Spine Journal: Official Publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
    Volume 20
    Issue 3
    Pages 408-413
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr Eur Spine J
    DOI 10.1007/s00586-010-1547-y
    ISSN 1432-0932
    Short Title Yoga and disc degenerative disease in cervical and lumbar spine
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20711844
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20711844
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
  • “God Had Something Else in Mind”: Family, Religion, and Infertility

    Type Journal Article
    Author Patricia K. Jennings
    Abstract Feminist scholarship has generated a large body of work that reveals that medical discourse encourages infertile women to embrace assisted reproductive technologies (ART) as a path to “normative” family formation. The role that religion plays in the decision-making process is absent from this body of scholarship. This study is part of a larger study on infertility. In this article, I explore how infertile women who profess some religious affinity utilize medicine and religion to achieve their reproductive goals. Findings, which are drawn from participant observation of RESOLVE meetings and face-to-face interviews with infertile women, suggest that religion intersects with gender in complex ways. For many of the women in this study, growing up in traditional “church-going” families coupled with their continued connection to mainstream religion reaffirmed their desire for a child-centered family. Most of the women in this study pursued some form of ART. This held even for those who affiliated with religions that opposed ART (e.g., the Catholic Church). When ART failed, some women drew on religious discourse to renegotiate their views on adoption. For a small number of women, religious experience moved them to adopt “hard to adopt” children. I draw on these findings to suggest strategies for future research on religion and infertility. ER -
    Publication Journal of Contemporary Ethnography,
    Volume 39
    Pages 215 -237
    Date April 2010
    Short Title “God Had Something Else in Mind”
    URL http://jce.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/39/2/215
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 7:20:56 PM
    Library Catalog Sage Journals Online
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Wednesday, November 30, 2011 5:08:51 PM

    Notes:

    • An exploration of how infertile women who profess some religious affinity utilize medicine and religion to achieve their reproductive goals. Explores the complex intersections of religion and gender via issues such as IVF and adoption. Recommends future directions for research on religion and infertility.

  • Hypnosis for chronic pain management: A new hope

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark P. Jensen
    Abstract The author advocates for research to identify and develop methods for enhancing the efficacy of hypnotic treatments in the face of a resurgence of intrest in hypnosis and hypnotic analgesia. This resurgence may be fueled by three recent trends: (1) the clear evidence that the experience of chronic pain is closely related to supraspinal nervous system activity; (2) research demonstrating that hypnosis has direct effects on the supraspinal sites that are linked to the experience of pain; and (3) research demonstrating that self-hypnosis training is effective for reducing the severity of chronic pain.
    Publication Pain
    Volume 146
    Issue 3
    Pages 235-237
    Date December 5, 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.pain.2009.06.027
    ISSN 0304-3959
    Short Title Hypnosis for chronic pain management
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6T0K-4WR5NTJ-1/2/11e1723d7ff84e383e42a3e2f3cf4cfb
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 4:34:05 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Notes:

    • The aim of this study was to demonstrate that hypnosis has direct effects on many supraspinal sites involved in the experience of pain.

  • Comforting children and families who grieve: Incorporating spiritual support.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Annette Jerome
    Abstract Based on specific school and community tragedies, this article reviews difficult situations and how students’ spiritual and religious beliefs were incorporated into school-based grief interventions. Suggestions are made to strengthen this often untapped resource, encouraging school-based mental health professionals to consult with community spiritual leaders and parents, exploring students’ spiritual resources and more effectively blending spiritually-based interventions across settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
    Publication School Psychology International
    Volume 32
    Issue 2
    Pages 194-209
    Date 04 April 2011
    DOI 10.1177/0143034311400829
    ISSN 01430343
    Short Title Comforting children and families who grieve
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM

    Tags:

    • children
    • Grief
    • religion
    • Religious Beliefs
    • school
    • spirituality
  • Effects of spirituality and psychosocial well-being on health risk behaviors in Appalachian pregnant women

    Type Journal Article
    Author D Elizabeth Jesse
    Author Pamela G Reed
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationships of spirituality and psychosocial well-being to health risk behaviors in pregnant Appalachian women. METHOD: Descriptive study of 120 women between 16 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. The instruments used were the Spiritual Perspective Scale and religiosity items from the Jarel Well-Being Scale. Psychosocial well-being was measured by the Prenatal Psychosocial Profile. Four items measured health risk behaviors. RESULTS: Higher levels of spirituality (spiritual perspective and religiosity) were significantly correlated with greater satisfaction with social support, higher levels of self-esteem, and decreased levels of smoking. Sociodemographic, psychosocial, and spiritual variables explained 25% of the variance in frequency of smoking, and in the logistic regression analysis, psychosocial stress was the only variable that significantly predicted substance use. CONCLUSION: Higher levels of spirituality and lower levels of stress are associated with decreased health risk behaviors among pregnant women from Appalachia. Increasing spiritual resources and decreasing stress during pregnancy offer the potential to improve health promotion efforts in pregnancy with women from Appalachia.
    Publication Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing: JOGNN / NAACOG
    Volume 33
    Issue 6
    Pages 739-747
    Date 2004 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0884217504270669
    ISSN 0884-2175
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15561662
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 1:08:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15561662
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Appalachian Region
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Maternal Behavior
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Pregnancy
    • Prenatal Care
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Concept
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • Objective: To determine the relationships of spirituality and psychosocial well-being to health risk behaviors in pregnant Appalachian women. Conclusion: Higher levels of spirituality and lower levels of stress are associated with decreased health risk behaviors among pregnant women from Appalachia.

  • Spirituality and Personhood Dementia

    Type Book
    Author Albert Jewell
    Publisher Jessica Kingsley Publishers
    Date 2011-05
    ISBN 1849051542
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
  • Examining the protective effects of mindfulness training on working memory capacity and affective experience.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amishi P. Jha
    Author Elizabeth A. Stanley
    Author Anastasia Kiyonaga
    Author Ling Wong
    Author Lois Gelfand
    Abstract We investigated the impact of mindfulness training (MT) on working memory capacity (WMC) and affective experience. WMC is used in managing cognitive demands and regulating emotions. Yet, persistent and intensive demands, such as those experienced during high-stress intervals, may deplete WMC and lead to cognitive failures and emotional disturbances. We hypothesized that MT may mitigate these deleterious effects by bolstering WMC. We recruited 2 military cohorts during the high-stress predeployment interval and provided MT to 1 (MT, n = 31) but not the other group (military control group, MC, n = 17). The MT group attended an 8-week MT course and logged the amount of out-of-class time spent practicing formal MT exercises. The operation span task was used to index WMC at 2 testing sessions before and after the MT course. Although WMC remained stable over time in civilians (n = 12), it degraded in the MC group. In the MT group, WMC decreased over time in those with low MT practice time, but increased in those with high practice time. Higher MT practice time also corresponded to lower levels of negative affect and higher levels of positive affect (indexed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). The relationship between practice time and negative, but not positive, affect was mediated by WMC, indicating that MT-related improvements in WMC may support some but not all of MT’s salutary effects. Nonetheless, these findings suggest that sufficient MT practice may protect against functional impairments associated with high-stress contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Emotion
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 54-64
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0018438
    ISSN 1528-3542
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:17:04 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • affective experience
    • emotion regulation
    • Emotional Regulation
    • Emotions
    • military deployment
    • Military Personnel
    • Mindfulness
    • Prevention
    • Short Term Memory
    • working memory capacity
  • Religion and Spirituality in Psychotherapy: An Individual Psychology Perspective

    Type Book
    Author Thor Johansen
    Place New York
    Publisher Springer Publishing Company
    Date 2009-12-07
    ISBN 0826103855
    Short Title Religion and Spirituality in Psychotherapy
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Subjective and Social Dimensions of Religiosity and Loneliness among the Well Elderly

    Type Journal Article
    Author Doyle Paul Johnson
    Author Larry C. Mullins
    Abstract This paper investigates the relationship between different dimensions of religiosity and loneliness among older persons with controls introduced for social contacts, satisfaction with social contacts, and depression. Data were obtained through interviews with 131 residents of a 199-unit high-rise apartment facility for low-income older persons. The results of the regression analysis showed that the social dimension of religiosity was significantly related to low levels of loneliness as hypothesized, but the subjective dimension was not, even though the direction was as hypothesized. These relationships were maintained when the social contact variables were included in the regression equations, even though in some cases these variables also had effects on loneliness. In contrast, the relationship between depression and loneliness was so strong that it obscured the religiosity-loneliness relationship. Several implications are suggested from these findings.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 31
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-15
    Date Sep., 1989
    ISSN 0034673X
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3511019
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:05:45 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1989 / Copyright © 1989 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This paper investigates the relationship between different dimensions of religiosity and loneliness among older persons with controls introduced for social contacts, satisfaction with social contacts, and depression.

  • Loving-kindness meditation to enhance recovery from negative symptoms of schizophrenia

    Type Journal Article
    Author David P Johnson
    Author David L Penn
    Author Barbara L Fredrickson
    Author Piper S Meyer
    Author Ann M Kring
    Author Mary Brantley
    Abstract In this article, we describe the clinical applicability of loving-kindness meditation (LKM) to individuals suffering from schizophrenia-spectrum disorders with persistent negative symptoms. LKM may have potential for reducing negative symptoms such as anhedonia, avolition, and asociality while enhancing factors consistent with psychological recovery such as hope and purpose in life. Case studies will illustrate how to conduct this group treatment with clients with negative symptoms, the potential benefits to the client, and difficulties that may arise. Although LKM requires further empirical support, it promises to be an important intervention since there are few treatments for clients afflicted with negative symptoms.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 5
    Pages 499-509
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20591
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:39:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19267396
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Emotions
    • Empathy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Love
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Psychotherapy
    • Schizophrenia
    • Schizophrenic Psychology
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Spirituality, religion and health outcomes research: findings from the Center on Religion and the Professions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brick Johnstone
    Abstract The Spirituality and Health Research Project of the MU Center on Religion and the Professions is investigating the relationships that exist among religion, spirituality, and health for persons with heterogeneous medical conditions. Pilot studies indicate that spirituality and congregational support are related to health outcomes, but religious practices are not. Additional research indicates that spiritual experiences are related to diminished right parietal functioning (through meditation/ prayer or brain injury), which is associated with decreased sense of the self. Implications for health professionals are discussed.
    Publication Missouri Medicine
    Volume 106
    Issue 2
    Pages 141-144
    Date 2009 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Mo Med
    ISSN 0026-6620
    Short Title Spirituality, religion and health outcomes research
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19397115
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:01:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19397115
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Chronic Disease
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Missouri
    • Pilot Projects
    • religion
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The Spirituality and Health Research Project of the MU Center on Religion and the Professions is investigating the relationships that exist among religion, spirituality, and health for persons with heterogeneous medical conditions. Pilot studies indicate that spirituality and congregational support are related to health outcomes, but religious practices are not. Additional research indicates that spiritual experiences are related to diminished right parietal functioning, which is associated with decreased sense of the self.

  • Relationships between the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality and health outcomes for a heterogeneous rehabilitation population

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brick Johnstone
    Author Dong Pil Yoon
    Abstract Purpose: To determine relationships between the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS; i.e., positive/negative spirituality, forgiveness, religious practices, positive/negative congregational support) and physical and mental health (Medical Outcomes Scale-Short Form 36; SF-36) for individuals with chronic disabilities. Research Method: A cross-sectional analysis of 118 individuals evaluated in outpatient settings, including 61 with traumatic brain injury (TBI), 32 with cerebral vascular accidents (CVA), and 25 with spinal cord injury (SCI). Results: Three of 6 BMMRS factor scores (i.e., positive spiritual experience, forgiveness, negative spiritual experience) were significantly correlated with the SF-36 General Health Perception (GHP) scale, and only 1 of 6 BMMRS factor scores (i.e., negative spiritual experience) was significantly and negatively correlated with the SF-36 General Mental Health (GMH) scale. BMMRS scales did not significantly predict either physical or mental health in hierarchical multiple regressions. Conclusions: Positive spiritual experiences and willingness to forgive are related to better physical health, while negative spiritual experiences are related to worse physical and mental health for individuals with chronic disabilities. Future research using the BMMRS will benefit from using a 6-factor model that evaluates positive/negative spiritual experiences, religious practices, and positive/negative congregational support. Interventions to accentuate positive spiritual beliefs (e.g., forgiveness protocols, etc.) and reduce negative spiritual beliefs for individuals with chronic disabilities are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).
    Publication Rehabilitation Psychology
    Volume 54
    Issue 4
    Pages 422-431
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Rehabil Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0017758
    ISSN 1939-1544
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19929124
    Accessed Monday, November 30, 2009 7:20:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19929124
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Relationships among spiritual beliefs, religious practises, congregational support and health for individuals with traumatic brain injury.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brick Johnstone
    Author Dong Pil Yoon
    Author Jon Rupright
    Author Stephanie Reid-Arndt
    Abstract Objective: To determine relationships among spiritual beliefs, religious practises, congregational support and health for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: A cross-sectional analysis of 61 individuals with TBI evaluated in an outpatient clinic using the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) and the Medical Outcomes Scale-Short Form 36 (SF-36). Results: For persons with TBI the BMMRS Meaning and Values/Beliefs sub-scales were significantly correlated with the SF-36 General Health Perception sub-scale and the BMMRS Religious Support sub-scale was significantly correlated with the SF-36 General Mental Health sub-scale. Hierarchical regressions indicated that the BMMRS Values/Beliefs and Forgiveness sub-scales accounted for 16% additional variance in SF-36 General Health Perception scores beyond that accounted for by demographic variables (i.e. age, income); no BMMRS sub-scales accounted for additional variance in predicting the SF-36 General Mental Health sub-scale beyond that accounted for by demographic variables (i.e. age, income). Conclusions: The physical health of individuals with TBI is associated with spiritual beliefs but not religious practises or congregational support. Better mental health is associated with increasing congregationally based social support for persons with TBI. Religious practises (i.e. praying, etc.) are not related to either physical or mental health, as some persons with TBI may increase prayer with declining health status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Brain Injury
    Volume 23
    Issue 5
    Pages 411-419
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1080/02699050902788501
    ISSN 02699052
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • BRAIN -- Wounds & injuries
    • MENTAL health -- Religious aspects
    • PUBLIC health -- Research
    • REHABILITATION -- Social aspects
    • religion
    • spirituality
  • Relationships among religiousness, spirituality, and health for individuals with stroke

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brick Johnstone
    Author Kelly Lora Franklin
    Author Dong Pil Yoon
    Author Joseph Burris
    Author Cheryl Shigaki
    Abstract The current study evaluated the relationships among spiritual beliefs, religious practices, physical health, and mental health for individuals with stroke. A cross-sectional analysis of 63 individuals evaluated in outpatient settings, including 32 individuals with stroke and 31 healthy controls was conducted through administration of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) and the Medical Outcomes Scale-Short Form 36 (SF-36). For individuals with stroke, the SF-36 General Mental Health scale was significantly correlated with only the BMMRS Religious and Spiritual Coping scale (r = .43; p < .05). No other BMMRS factors were significantly correlated with SF-36 mental or physical health scales. Non-significant trends indicated spiritual factors were primarily related to mental versus physical health. This study suggests spiritual belief that a higher power will assist in coping with illness/disability is associated with better mental health following stroke, but neither religious nor spiritual factors are associated with physical health outcomes. The results are consistent with research that suggests that spiritual beliefs may protect individuals with stroke from experiencing emotional distress.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings
    Volume 15
    Issue 4
    Pages 308-313
    Date Dec 2008
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol Med Settings
    DOI 10.1007/s10880-008-9128-5
    ISSN 1573-3572
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19104988
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:43:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19104988
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Attitude to Health
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Stroke

    Notes:

    • The current study evaluated the relationships among spiritual beliefs, religious practices, physical health, and mental health for individuals with stroke. This study suggests spiritual belief that a higher power will assist in coping with illness/disability is associated with better mental health following stroke, but neither religious nor spiritual factors are associated with physical health outcomes. The results are consistent with research that suggests that spiritual beliefs may protect individuals with stroke from experiencing emotional distress.

  • Relationships among spiritual beliefs, religious practises, congregational support and health for individuals with traumatic brain injury

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brick Johnstone
    Author Dong Pil Yoon
    Author Jon Rupright
    Author Stephanie Reid-Arndt
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine relationships among spiritual beliefs, religious practises, congregational support and health for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis of 61 individuals with TBI evaluated in an outpatient clinic using the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) and the Medical Outcomes Scale-Short Form 36 (SF-36). RESULTS: For persons with TBI the BMMRS Meaning and Values/Beliefs sub-scales were significantly correlated with the SF-36 General Health Perception sub-scale and the BMMRS Religious Support sub-scale was significantly correlated with the SF-36 General Mental Health sub-scale. Hierarchical regressions indicated that the BMMRS Values/Beliefs and Forgiveness sub-scales accounted for 16% additional variance in SF-36 General Health Perception scores beyond that accounted for by demographic variables (i.e. age, income); no BMMRS sub-scales accounted for additional variance in predicting the SF-36 General Mental Health sub-scale beyond that accounted for by demographic variables (i.e. age, income). CONCLUSIONS: The physical health of individuals with TBI is associated with spiritual beliefs but not religious practises or congregational support. Better mental health is associated with increasing congregationally based social support for persons with TBI. Religious practises (i.e. praying, etc.) are not related to either physical or mental health, as some persons with TBI may increase prayer with declining health status.
    Publication Brain Injury: [BI
    Volume 23
    Issue 5
    Pages 411-419
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Brain Inj
    DOI 10.1080/02699050902788501
    ISSN 1362-301X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19306162
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:58:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19306162
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Objective: To determine relationships among spiritual beliefs, religious practises, congregational support and health for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Conclusions: The physical health of individuals with TBI is associated with spiritual beliefs but not religious practises or congregational support. Better mental health is associated with increasing congregationally based social support for persons with TBI.

  • Re-conceptualizing the factor structure of the brief multidimensional measure of religiousness/spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brick Johnstone
    Author Dong Pil Yoon
    Author Kelly Lora Franklin
    Author Laura Schopp
    Author Joseph Hinkebein
    Abstract RATIONALE: This study attempted to differentiate statistically the spiritual and religious factors of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS), which was developed based on theoretical conceptualizations that have yet to be adequately empirically validated in a population with significant health disorders. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred sixty-four individuals with heterogeneous medical conditions [i.e., brain injury, spinal cord injury (SCI), cancer, stroke, primary care conditions]. METHODS: Participants completed the BMMRS as part of a pilot study on spirituality, religion, and physical and mental health. RESULTS: A principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization identified a six-factor solution (opposed to the expected 8-factor solution) accounting for 60% of the variance in scores, labeled as: (1) Positive Spiritual Experience; (2) Negative Spiritual Experience; (3) Forgiveness; (4) Religious Practices; (5) Positive Congregational Support; and (6) Negative Congregational Support. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the BMMRS assesses distinct positive and negative aspects of religiousness and spirituality that may be best conceptualized in a psychoneuroimmunological context as measuring: (a) Spiritual Experiences (i.e., emotional experience of feeling connected with a higher power/the universe); (b) Religious Practices (i.e., prayer, rituals, service attendance); (c) Congregational Support; and (d) Forgiveness (i.e., a specific coping strategy that can be conceptualized as religious or non-religious in context).
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 146-163
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9179-9
    ISSN 1573-6571
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19421866
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:03:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19421866
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Pilot Projects
    • Principal Component Analysis
    • Psychometrics
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This study attempted to differentiate statistically the spiritual and religious factors of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS), which was developed based on theoretical conceptualizations that have yet to be adequately empirically validated in a population with significant health disorders. Conclusions: The results suggest the BMMRS assesses distinct positive and negative aspects of religiousness and spirituality.

  • Mourning, Melancholia and Religious Studies: Is the “Lost Object” Really Lost?

    Type Journal Article
    Author James W. Jones
    Abstract This reflection on the book /Mourning and Religion/ (2008) offers a reading of Freud’s foundational text /Mourning and Melancholia/ in which the relationship between mourning and melancholia is theorized slightly differently from that in /Mourning and Religion./ Mourning and melancholia are here seen as clinically distinct responses to object loss: melancholia resulting from a more unconsciously ambivalent and complex relationship to the lost object. And drawing on the work of Hans Loewald, mourning is understood as more dialectical and less linear. Some implications of these models of mourning and melancholia for a psychoanalysis of the origin of the field of religious studies are mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 3
    Pages 379-384
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0224-8
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title Mourning, Melancholia and Religious Studies
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 5:32:30 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • BEREAVEMENT -- Psychological aspects
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • PSYCHOANALYSIS
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Pathological
    • RELIGION & justice
  • Effects of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program on Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hye Myung Joo
    Author Sung Jae Lee
    Author Yong Gu Chung
    Author Il Young Shin
    Abstract Following 8 weeks of mindfulness based stress reduction, 11 patients with anxiety and depression symptoms following surgery for spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage, measurements of depression decreased in a statistically significant way. Although it was not statistically significant, a decreased tendency in anxiety was shown. Further, heart rate variability measurements improved, and physical stress was reduced.
    Publication Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
    Volume 47
    Issue 5
    Pages 345-351
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr J Korean Neurosurg Soc
    DOI 10.3340/jkns.2010.47.5.345
    ISSN 2005-3711
    URL http://synapse.koreamed.org/DOIx.php?
    id=10.3340/jkns.2010.47.5.345
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Meditators and non-meditators on sustained and executive attentional performance.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Torbjörn Josefsson
    Author Anders Broberg
    Abstract In order to gain a deeper understanding of the mindfulness construct and the mental health benefits associated with mindfulness-based programmes, the relation between mindfulness and its proposed core component attention was studied. Buddhist and Western mindfulness meditators were compared with non-meditators on tasks of sustained (SART) and executive (the Stroop Task) attention. Relations between self-reported mindfulness (FFMQ) and sustained and executive attention were also analysed. No significant differences were found between meditators and non-meditators either in sustained or executive attention. High scores on the FFMQ total scale and on Describe were related to fewer SART errors. High scores on Describe were also related to low Stroop interference. Mindfulness meditators may have an increased awareness of internal processes and the ability to quickly attend to them but this type of refined attentional ability does not seem to be related to performance on attention tests requiring responses to external targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 3
    Pages 291-309
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903578621
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • ANALYSIS of covariance
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Attention
    • Buddhism
    • COMPARATIVE studies
    • Computer Software
    • DATA analysis
    • MEDICAL care -- Evaluation
    • Meditation
    • Regression Analysis
    • SCALE analysis (Psychology)
    • Sweden
    • T-test (Statistics)
    • UNIVERSITIES & colleges
  • Religion and spirituality in child and adolescent psychiatry: a new frontier

    Type Journal Article
    Author Allan M Josephson
    Author Mary Lynn Dell
    Abstract This article introduces the interface between child and adolescent psychiatry and religion and spirituality. Developmental psychopathology has become increasingly diverse in its study of risk and protective factors for child and adolescent psychopathology. The effect of religion and spirituality on clinical conditions is among those factors. This review addresses (1) historical aspects of the relationship between psychiatry and religion/spirituality, (2) definitional issues, and (3) unique factors in child and adolescent work. Considering these factors and some general principles of intervention, it prepares the reader for other articles in this issue. The article concludes with some observations on the "secular family".
    Publication Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-15, v
    Date Jan 2004
    Journal Abbr Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am
    ISSN 1056-4993
    Short Title Religion and spirituality in child and adolescent psychiatry
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14723297
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:36:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14723297
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Psychiatry
    • Child
    • Child Psychiatry
    • Delivery of Health Care
    • Forecasting
    • Humans
    • Internal-External Control
    • PARENTING
    • Personality Development
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • United States

    Notes:

    • This article introduces the interface between child and adolescent psychiatry and religion and spirituality. This review addresses (1) historical aspects of the relationship between psychiatry and religion/spirituality, (2) definitional issues, and (3) unique factors in child and adolescent work.

  • Big Five Personality Traits and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Iranian Muslim University Students.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mohsen Joshanloo
    Author Samaneh Afshari
    Abstract This study presents the first examination of the relation between the Big Five personality traits, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in Iran, which is an understudied country in the well-being literature. Participants were 235 university students at the University of Tehran, all reporting their religious affiliation as Muslim. Findings revealed that the Big Five personality traits explained about 25% of the variance in life satisfaction scores. Among the Big Five traits, extraversion and neuroticism were found to be the strongest predictors of life satisfaction. In addition, it was found that self-esteem significantly predicted life satisfaction over and above the Big Five personality traits. Findings also showed that self-esteem completely mediated the influence of conscientiousness and agreeableness on life satisfaction, while the influence of extraversion and neuroticism on life satisfaction was partially mediated by self-esteem. Furthermore, findings revealed that female students scored significantly higher than male students on life satisfaction. Sex also could moderate the relation between conscientiousness and life satisfaction. This relation was found to be significantly stronger for female students. Implications of the results are discussed with reference to prior studies on the relation between personality traits and different aspects of well-being in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Happiness Studies
    Volume 12
    Issue 1
    Pages 105-113
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s10902-009-9177-y
    ISSN 13894978
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • COLLEGE students
    • DANISHGAH-i Tihran
    • Iran
    • personality
    • Quality of Life
    • Satisfaction
    • SELF-esteem
    • TEHRAN (Iran)
  • Effects of Meditation Training on Attentional Networks: A Randomized Controlled Trial Examining Psychometric and Electrophysiological (EEG) Measures

    Type Thesis
    Author A. A Joshi
    University University of Oregon
    Date 2007
    Short Title Effects of Meditation Training on Attentional Networks
    Library Catalog Google Scholar
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Effect of four voluntary regulated yoga breathing techniques on grip strength

    Type Journal Article
    Author Meesha Joshi
    Author Shirley Telles
    Abstract Bilateral hand-grip strength was studied in 21 male volunteers (M age = 25.6 yr., SD = 5.2). All were assessed before and after five practice sessions of 20 min. duration: right-nostril yoga breathing, left-nostril yoga breathing, alternate-nostril yoga breathing, breath awareness, and a no-intervention session. Data were analyzed with analyses of variance and an analysis of variance using the no-breath awareness control condition as a covariate. There were no significant changes. The left-hand-grip strength reduced after left-nostril yoga breathing. However, findings were not considered significant, so methodological issues in yoga research which could contribute to null findings and even mask actual changes were discussed.
    Publication Perceptual and Motor Skills
    Volume 108
    Issue 3
    Pages 775-781
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Percept Mot Skills
    ISSN 0031-5125
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:40:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19725313
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Hand Strength
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Respiration
    • yoga
  • Duality and nonduality in meditation research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Zoran Josipovic
    Abstract The great variety of meditation techniques found in different contemplative traditions presents a challenge when attempting to create taxonomies based on the constructs of contemporary cognitive sciences. In the current issue of Consciousness and Cognition, Travis and Shear add 'automatic self-transcending' to the previously proposed categories of 'focused attention' and 'open monitoring', and suggest characteristic EEG bands as the defining criteria for each of the three categories. Accuracy of current taxonomies and potential limitations of EEG measurements as classifying criteria are discussed.
    Publication Consciousness and Cognition
    Volume 19
    Issue 4
    Pages 1119-1121; discussion 1122-1123
    Date 2010 December
    Journal Abbr Conscious Cogn
    DOI 10.1016/j.concog.2010.03.016
    ISSN 1090-2376
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:58:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20385506
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
  • Qigong exercise with concentration predicts increased health

    Type Journal Article
    Author John Jouper
    Author Peter Hassmén
    Author Mattias Johansson
    Abstract Regular physical activity has many positive health effects. Despite this, approximately 50% of all adults are not exercising enough to enjoy better health and may, therefore, need an alternative to vigorous physical exercise. Qigong offers a gentle way to exercise the body. A questionnaire sample of 253 participants was collected and correlations with the variable health-now were analyzed. Results showed that health-now was positively correlated with number of completed qigong courses (p < 0.05), with level of concentration (p < 0.01), session-time (p < 0.01), and years of practice (p < 0.05). Among these variables, concentration predicts an increased feeling of health (R(2) = 0.092). Qigong exercise thereby seems to offer a viable alternative to other more vigorous physical activities when wellness is the primary goal. When interpreted using self-determination theory, qigong seems to satisfy needs related to autonomy, competence and relatedness, thereby, primarily attracting individuals who are intrinsically motivated.
    Publication The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
    Volume 34
    Issue 6
    Pages 949-957
    Date 2006
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Chin. Med
    ISSN 0192-415X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17163584
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:09:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17163584
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Motivation
    • Questionnaires

    Notes:

    • Regular physical activity has many positive health effects. Despite this, approximately 50% of all adults are not exercising enough to enjoy better health and may, therefore, need an alternative to vigorous physical exercise. Qigong offers a gentle way to exercise the body. A questionnaire sample of 253 participants was collected and correlations with the variable health-now were analyzed. Results showed that health-now was positively correlated with number of completed qigong courses (p < 0.05), with level of concentration (p < 0.01), session-time (p < 0.01), and years of practice (p < 0.05). Among these variables, concentration predicts an increased feeling of health (R(2) = 0.092). Qigong exercise thereby seems to offer a viable alternative to other more vigorous physical activities when wellness is the primary goal. When interpreted using self-determination theory, qigong seems to satisfy needs related to autonomy, competence and relatedness, thereby, primarily attracting individuals who are intrinsically motivated.

  • The effects of mind-body training on stress reduction, positive affect, and plasma catecholamines

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ye-Ha Jung
    Author Do-Hyung Kang
    Author Joon Hwan Jang
    Author Hye Yoon Park
    Author Min Soo Byun
    Author Soo Jin Kwon
    Author Go-Eun Jang
    Author Ul Soon Lee
    Author Seung Chan An
    Author Jun Soo Kwon
    Abstract This study was designed to assess the association between stress, positive affect and catecholamine levels in meditation and control groups. The meditation group consisted of 67 subjects who regularly engaged in mind-body training of "Brain-Wave Vibration" and the control group consisted of 57 healthy subjects. Plasma catecholamine (norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), and dopamine (DA)) levels were measured, and a modified form of the Stress Response Inventory (SRI-MF) and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) were administered. The meditation group showed higher scores on positive affect (p=.019) and lower scores on stress (p<.001) compared with the control group. Plasma DA levels were also higher in the meditation (p=.031) than in the control group. The control group demonstrated a negative correlation between stress and positive affects (r=-.408, p=.002), whereas this correlation was not observed in the meditation group. The control group showed positive correlations between somatization and NE/E (r=.267, p=.045) and DA/E (r=.271, p=.042) ratios, whereas these correlations did not emerge in the meditation group. In conclusion, these results suggest that meditation as mind-body training is associated with lower stress, higher positive affect and higher plasma DA levels when comparing the meditation group with the control group. Thus, mind-body training may influence stress, positive affect and the sympathetic nervous system including DA activity.
    Publication Neuroscience Letters
    Volume 479
    Issue 2
    Pages 138-142
    Date Jul 26, 2010
    Journal Abbr Neurosci. Lett
    DOI 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.05.048
    ISSN 1872-7972
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:06:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20546836
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • Latino Women's Spiritual Beliefs Related to Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Janine M Jurkowski
    Author Courtney Kurlanska
    Author Blanca M Ramos
    Abstract PURPOSE: This study employed qualitative research to describe the relationship between spirituality and overall health among a sample of Latino women. A framework is presented for understanding this complex relationship. DESIGN: Findings are presented from a qualitative analysis of six 1.5-hour focus group sessions. SETTING: The research was conducted among Latino women living in Chicago, Illinois, and Northeastern New York communities. We employed a community-based participatory research approach in which community members were active participants throughout the research process. SUBJECTS: Subjects were 47 Latino women 31 to 81 years, all of whom were Christian and the majority (43%) of whom had less than a high school education. Twenty-seven percent reported having high school diplomas, and the same percentage reported at least some college. Of the women who answered the questions, one did not have health insurance, 69% had public health insurance, and 29% had private health insurance. MEASURES: Grounded theory using selective coding was employed to understand the relationship between spirituality and health and to develop the conceptual framework. RESULTS: Spirituality was expressed as a vital component of health, and the belief in a need for balance of physical, mental, and spiritual health was described. An active and a passive relationship between spirituality and health emerged, with active being most common. Asking God for help or faith as a coping strategy were subdomains of the active relationship, and God responsible for health fell under the passive domain. These relationship types influenced beliefs about participation in one's own health. CONCLUSION: The findings that emerged contribute to an understanding of how spirituality plays a role in health beliefs among Latino women, which has implications for health promotion research and program development for addressing health disparities.
    Publication American Journal of Health Promotion: AJHP
    Volume 25
    Issue 1
    Pages 19-25
    Date 2010 Sep-Oct
    Journal Abbr Am J Health Promot
    DOI 10.4278/ajhp.080923-QUAL-211
    ISSN 0890-1171
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:44:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20809827
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • End-of-life decisions in HIV-positive patients: the role of spiritual beliefs

    Type Journal Article
    Author L C Kaldjian
    Author J F Jekel
    Author G Friedland
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To describe the role of spiritual beliefs in HIV-positive patients' end-of-life decisions. DESIGN: Inperson, cross-sectional survey. SETTING: An HIV/AIDS floor of an urban, university teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Ninety hospitalized HIV-positive patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prior discussions about advance directives, possession of a living will (written advance directive), fear of death, professions of hope and purpose in life, religious beliefs and practices, guilt about HIV infection, and perception of HIV as punishment. RESULTS: Of 104 eligible patients, 90 agreed to be interviewed. Twenty-four per cent of patients had discussed their resuscitation status with a physician and 17% possessed a living will; 44% of patients felt guilty about their HIV infection, 32% expressed fear of death, and 26% felt their disease was some form of punishment. Prior discussions about resuscitation status were less likely in those who perceived HIV as punishment (P=0.009) and more likely in those who believed in God's forgiveness (P=0.043). A living will was more common in those who prayed daily (P=0.025) and in those whose belief in God helped them when thinking about death (P=0.065). Fear of death was more likely in those who perceived HIV as punishment (P=0.01) or felt guilty about having HIV (P=0.039), and less likely in those who read the Bible frequently (P=0.01) or attended church regularly (P=0.015). Outcome measures did not vary significantly according sex, race, HIV risk factors, or education level. CONCLUSIONS: In this HIV-positive population, spiritual beliefs and religious practices appeared to play a role in end-of-life decisions. Discussions about end-of-life decisions may be facilitated by a patient's belief in a forgiving God and impeded by a patient's interpretation of HIV infection as punishment. Health-care providers need to recognize patients' spiritual beliefs and incorporate them into discussions about terminal care.
    Publication AIDS (London, England)
    Volume 12
    Issue 1
    Pages 103-107
    Date Jan 1, 1998
    Journal Abbr AIDS
    ISSN 0269-9370
    Short Title End-of-life decisions in HIV-positive patients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9456260
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:37:10 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9456260
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Advance Care Planning
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Death
    • Decision Making
    • Educational Status
    • Fear
    • Female
    • GUILT
    • HIV Infections
    • Hospitalization
    • Hospitals, University
    • Humans
    • Living Wills
    • Male
    • Punishment
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Resuscitation Orders
    • Risk Factors
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality
    • Vulnerable Populations

    Notes:

    • Objective: To describe the role of spiritual beliefs in HIV-positive patients’ end-of-life decisions. Conclusions: In this HIV-positive population, spiritual beliefs and religious practices appeared to play a role in end-of-life decisions. Discussions about end-of-life decisions may be facilitated by a patient’s belief in a forgiving God and impeded by a patient’s interpretation of HIV infection as punishment.

  • The daily spiritual experiences scale and well-being: demographic comparisons and scale validation with older jewish adults and a diverse internet sample

    Type Journal Article
    Author Solomon Kalkstein
    Author Roni Beth Tower
    Abstract A substantive literature connects spirituality to positive physical, social, and mental health. In this study, the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) was administered to 410 subjects who participated in a community study and to 87 residents at the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale (HHAR), the latter sample consisting primarily of older Jewish respondents. Internal consistency of the DSES in both samples was high and exploratory factor analyses revealed one dominant factor and a second factor, which included 14 and 2 items, respectively, consistent with the scale's original validation (Underwood and Teresi 2002). Demographic subgroup comparison among religious groups revealed significantly fewer daily spiritual experiences among Jews, and lowest scores among those respondents endorsing no religious affiliation. Women exhibited more frequent daily experience than men, and attainment of higher levels of education was associated with less frequent daily spiritual experience. All but one of the outcome measures of physical and psychologic well-being were found to be positively associated with the DSES so that more frequent daily spiritual experience correlated with less psychopathology, more close friendships, and better self-rated health. Directions for future research, study interpretation and limitations, and clinical implications for use of the DSES are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 402-417
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9203-0
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title The daily spiritual experiences scale and well-being
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19890717
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:16:53 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19890717
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • In this study, the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) was administered to 410 subjects who participated in a community study and to 87 residents at the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale (HHAR). Internal consistency of the DSES in both samples was high and exploratory factor analyses revealed one dominant factor and a second factor, which included 14 and 2 items, respectively, consistent with the scale’s original validation.

  • Internal reliability and temporal stability of the New Indices of Religious Orientation among Indian undergraduates: test-retest data over 15 days.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shanmukh V. Kamble
    Author Christopher Alan Lewis
    Author Sharon Mary Cruise
    Abstract The present study examined the internal reliability and temporal stability of both the long and short forms of the New Indices of Religious Orientation, containing measures of Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Quest religiosity, over a 15-day period among a sample of 100 Indian university students. Internal reliabilities for the long form of the measure at times 1 and 2 were acceptable for all subscales with the exception of the intrinsic subscale at time 2. Reliability estimates for the extrinsic and intrinsic subscales of the short form of the measure at both time 1 and time 2 were also less than satisfactory, though the alpha coefficients for the quest subscale were satisfactory. Data demonstrated that stability across the two administrations for both long- and short-form versions of the three dimensions of religious orientation were moderately high to high (ranging from r = 0.63 to r = 0.76). Moreover, intra-class correlation coefficients were similar to those derived from the Pearson's correlation coefficients, thus confirming that there were no systematic errors between the time 1 and time 2 datasets. However, there were significant differences in mean scores between time 1 and time 2 for both long- and short-form versions of the intrinsic and quest religious orientation subscales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 833-839
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674676.2010.489390
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
  • Predictors of university students' willingness in the USA to use clergy as sources of skilled help.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael N. Kane
    Abstract This exploratory study investigated U.S. university students' perceptions (N = 186) and the predictor variables associated with their willingness to use clergy as a source of help. In the final regression analysis using the predicted variable of willingness to use clergy as a source of help (R = 0.816, R2= 0.665, Adjusted R2= 0.650), there were seven significant predictor variables: (a) trust of clergy, (b) empathic ability of clergy, (c) having previously sought help from clergy, (d) respondents' dominant/minority cultural identification, (e) attendance at religious services at least once a year, (f) believing that spiritual counselling is as effective as psychotherapy, and (g) receiving religious/spiritual education as a child. An eighth variable was retained in the final regression model because of its proximity to significance (Friendships between clergy and people, p = 0.051). Accusations against clergy and the belief that clergy are held to a higher standard did not predict willingness to use clergy as a source of help. A general linear model (F = 125.696, df = 10, p < 0.001) revealed that those who self-identified with Protestant Christianity, Catholic/Orthodox Christianity, and Judaism were more likely to consider seeking help from clergy than those who self-identified with another religious tradition (Hinduism, Islam, or Buddhism), or adherence to spiritual not religious belief. Further, those who self-identified as Jewish or Christian were also more like to perceive clergy as trustworthy and empathic. Finally, African American/Caribbean Black respondents were more likely than either Latino/Latino American respondents or European American respondents to seek help from clergy, to perceive clergy as empathic, and to believe that spiritual counselling is as effective as psychotherapy (F = 1495, df = 12, p < 0.001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 309-325
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/10371390903381106
    ISSN 13674676
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:27:44 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Clergy
    • CLINICAL sociology
    • COLLEGE students
    • Psychotherapy
    • United States
  • Hinduism and Mental Health: engaging British Hindus

    Type Journal Article
    Author Chetna Kang
    Abstract Understanding service users' symptoms in the context of their cultural background can be of great assistance in diagnosing and managing their illness and possibly even more so when trying to engage them in services. It only stands to reason then that with many service users using spirituality or religion as way of making sense of who they are, some understanding of the spiritual principles on which many cultures are based, would be useful. In this paper we will be looking at the teachings of Hinduism and how they may influence Hindus suffering mental health problems, in particular, British Hindus.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 6
    Pages 587-593
    Date 9/2010
    Journal Abbr Mental Hlth., Religion & Culture
    DOI 10.1080/13674676.2010.488427
    ISSN 1367-4676
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?
    genre=article&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • The effectiveness of a stress coping program based on mindfulness meditation on the stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by nursing students in Korea

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yune Sik Kang
    Author So Young Choi
    Author Eunjung Ryu
    Abstract This study examined the effectiveness of a stress coping program based on mindfulness meditation on the stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by nursing students in Korea. A nonequivalent, control group, pre-posttest design was used. A convenience sample of 41 nursing students were randomly assigned to experimental (n=21) and control groups (n=20). Stress was measured with the PWI-SF (5-point) developed by Chang. Anxiety was measured with Spieberger's state anxiety inventory. Depression was measured with the Beck depression inventory. The experimental group attended 90-min sessions for eight weeks. No intervention was administered to the control group. Nine participants were excluded from the analysis because they did not complete the study due to personal circumstances, resulting in 16 participants in each group for the final analysis. Results for the two groups showed (1) a significant difference in stress scores (F=6.145, p=0.020), (2) a significant difference in anxiety scores (F=6.985, p=0.013), and (3) no significant difference in depression scores (t=1.986, p=0.056). A stress coping program based on mindfulness meditation was an effective intervention for nursing students to decrease their stress and anxiety, and could be used to manage stress in student nurses. In the future, long-term studies should be pursued to standardize and detail the program, with particular emphasis on studies to confirm the effects of the program in patients with diseases, such as cancer.
    Publication Nurse Education Today
    Volume 29
    Issue 5
    Pages 538-543
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Nurse Educ Today
    DOI 10.1016/j.nedt.2008.12.003
    ISSN 1532-2793
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19141364
    Accessed Friday, November 12, 2010 8:04:15 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19141364
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anxiety
    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Buddhism
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • depression
    • Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate
    • Exercise Therapy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Korea
    • Meditation
    • Program Development
    • Program Evaluation
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Statistics, Nonparametric
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Students, Nursing

    Notes:

    • This study examined the effectiveness of a stress coping program based on mindfulness meditation on the stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by nursing students in Korea. A nonequivalent, control group, pre-posttest design was used. Results for the two groups showed (1) a significant difference in stress scores (F=6.145, p=0.020), (2) a significant difference in anxiety scores (F=6.985, p=0.013), and (3) no significant difference in depression scores (t=1.986, p=0.056).

  • The effectiveness of a stress coping program based on mindfulness meditation on the stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by nursing students in Korea

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yune Sik Kang
    Author So Young Choi
    Author Eunjung Ryu
    Abstract This study examined the effectiveness of a stress coping program based on mindfulness meditation on the stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by nursing students in Korea. A nonequivalent, control group, pre-posttest design was used. A convenience sample of 41 nursing students were randomly assigned to experimental (n=21) and control groups (n=20). Stress was measured with the PWI-SF (5-point) developed by Chang. Anxiety was measured with Spieberger's state anxiety inventory. Depression was measured with the Beck depression inventory. The experimental group attended 90-min sessions for eight weeks. No intervention was administered to the control group. Nine participants were excluded from the analysis because they did not complete the study due to personal circumstances, resulting in 16 participants in each group for the final analysis. Results for the two groups showed (1) a significant difference in stress scores (F=6.145, p=0.020), (2) a significant difference in anxiety scores (F=6.985, p=0.013), and (3) no significant difference in depression scores (t=1.986, p=0.056). A stress coping program based on mindfulness meditation was an effective intervention for nursing students to decrease their stress and anxiety, and could be used to manage stress in student nurses. In the future, long-term studies should be pursued to standardize and detail the program, with particular emphasis on studies to confirm the effects of the program in patients with diseases, such as cancer.
    Publication Nurse Education Today
    Volume 29
    Issue 5
    Pages 538-543
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Nurse Educ Today
    DOI 10.1016/j.nedt.2008.12.003
    ISSN 1532-2793
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19141364
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:14:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19141364
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anxiety
    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Buddhism
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • depression
    • Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate
    • Exercise Therapy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Korea
    • Meditation
    • Program Development
    • Program Evaluation
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Statistics, Nonparametric
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Students, Nursing
  • Correlations Between Spiritual Beliefs and Health-Related Quality of Life of Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in Taiwan

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tze-Wah Kao
    Author Pau-Chung Chen
    Author Chia-Jung Hsieh
    Author Hong-Wei Chiang
    Author Lap-Yuen Tsang
    Author Ing-Fang Yang
    Author Tun-Jun Tsai
    Author Wan-Yu Chen
    Abstract This study evaluated the correlations between spiritual beliefs and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of hemodialysis (HD) patients in Taiwan. Participants had to complete two questionnaires: the 36-item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire and the Royal Free Interview for Spiritual and Religious Beliefs. They were then divided into three groups according to their strength of spiritual beliefs2014having no, weak, or strong beliefs. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data among groups were compared. Correlations between spiritual beliefs and HRQOL were then determined by the analysis of covariance and the post hoc Scheffe tests. Six hundred thirty-three patients completed the study. There were more women in the group of patients with strong beliefs (P =  0.005) and more less-educated patients in the group of patients with weak beliefs (P = 0.005). Patients with no or with strong spiritual beliefs had higher role physical (P =  0.01) and social functioning (SF) (P = 0.001) scores than patients with weak beliefs. After adjustment for gender, age, marital status, education, comorbidities, and time on dialysis, patients with no or with strong spiritual beliefs were found to have higher SF scores (P = 0.02) than patients with weak beliefs. HD patients with no or strong spiritual beliefs had higher SF HRQOL than those with weak spiritual beliefs.
    Publication Artificial Organs
    Volume 33
    Issue 7
    Pages 576-579
    Date 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1525-1594.2009.00739.x
    URL http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1111/j.1525-1594.2009.00739.x
    Accessed Sunday, November 01, 2009 12:10:55 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Disciplining Freud on religion: perspectives from the humanities and social sciences

    Type Book
    Author Gregory Kaplan
    Place Lanham, MD
    Publisher Lexington Books
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780739142127
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
  • The effect of religious and spiritual interventions on the biological, psychological, and spiritual outcomes of oncology patients: A meta-analytic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author ME Kaplar
    Author AB Wachholtz
    Author WH O'Brien
    Abstract In addition to biomedical forms of treatment, many cancer patients have elected to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) of a spiritual or religious nature. However, the effectiveness of such spiritual and religious interventions is uncertain. Using a meta-analytic approach, the present study synthesized available treatment-outcome studies on spiritual and religious interventions for cancer patients to determine the efficacy of such interventions. Effect sizes were calculated for three types of outcome measures: biological, psychological, and spiritual. The authors found that nondrug spiritual and religious interventions produced small to moderate effect sizes for treatment versus control comparisons and small effect sizes for pre- versus posttreatment comparisons. Studies that used psychedelic drugs to promote spiritual experiences produced large effect sizes for both treatment versus control and pre- versus posttreatment comparisons. Finally, they found that, overall, treatment versus control comparisons produced larger effect sizes than did pre- versus posttreatment comparisons. Limitations of the studies discussed in the present meta-analysis included the lack of control groups, randomization, and a large number of participants. The results suggest that there is a shortage of sufficiently detailed, high-quality treatment outcome studies examining the efficacy of spiritual and religious interventions for oncology patients. (C) 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
    Publication Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
    Volume 22
    Issue 1
    Pages 39-49
    Date 2004
    DOI 10.1300/J077v2201_03
    ISSN 0734-7332
    Short Title The effect of religious and spiritual interventions on the biological, psychological, and spiritual outcomes of oncology patients
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Sunday, September 06, 2009 11:17:45 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • In addition to biomedical forms of treatment, many cancer patients have elected to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) of a spiritual or religious nature. However, the effectiveness of such spiritual and religious interventions is uncertain. Using a meta-analytic approach, the present study synthesized available treatment-outcome studies on spiritual and religious interventions for cancer patients to determine the efficacy of such interventions.

  • Cognitive and neural foundations of religious belief

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dimitrios Kapogiannis
    Author Aron K Barbey
    Author Michael Su
    Author Giovanna Zamboni
    Author Frank Krueger
    Author Jordan Grafman
    Abstract We propose an integrative cognitive neuroscience framework for understanding the cognitive and neural foundations of religious belief. Our analysis reveals 3 psychological dimensions of religious belief (God's perceived level of involvement, God's perceived emotion, and doctrinal/experiential religious knowledge), which functional MRI localizes within networks processing Theory of Mind regarding intent and emotion, abstract semantics, and imagery. Our results are unique in demonstrating that specific components of religious belief are mediated by well-known brain networks, and support contemporary psychological theories that ground religious belief within evolutionary adaptive cognitive functions.
    Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    Volume 106
    Issue 12
    Pages 4876-4881
    Date Mar 24, 2009
    Journal Abbr Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A
    DOI 10.1073/pnas.0811717106
    ISSN 1091-6490
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19273839
    Accessed Tuesday, November 03, 2009 7:47:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19273839
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Cognition
    • Emotions
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Knowledge
    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    • Male
    • Nervous System Physiological Phenomena
    • religion

    Notes:

    • We propose an integrative cognitive neuroscience framework for understanding the cognitive and neural foundations of religious belief. Our analysis reveals 3 psychological dimensions of religious belief (God’s perceived level of involvement, God’s perceived emotion, and doctrinal/experiential religious knowledge), which functional MRI localizes within networks processing Theory of Mind regarding intent and emotion, abstract semantics, and imagery. Our results are unique in demonstrating that specific components of religious belief are mediated by well-known brain networks, and support contemporary psychological theories that ground religious belief within evolutionary adaptive cognitive functions.

  • The Current Status of Measures of Spirituality: A Critical Review of Scale Development

    Type Journal Article
    Author Afton N. Kapuscinski
    Author Kevin S. Masters
    Abstract Despite spirituality's growing popularity within psychology, measurement of the construct remains challenging. The difficulty largely arises from disagreement regarding the nature of spirituality per se and its relationship to religiousness. The present paper provides a critical review of scale development practices for 24 measures of spirituality including information pertaining to conceptualization, item generation and revision practices, format, sample characteristics, and psychometric properties. Findings raise theological and methodological concerns, which inform several recommendations for future development and validation of spirituality measures.
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 2
    Issue 4
    Pages 191-205
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0020498
    ISSN 1941-1022
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B9846-51HB622-1/2/0551e89585fe8b4d93a2924f4d176653
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:44:02 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM

    Tags:

    • measure
    • religion
    • Review
    • scale
    • spirituality
  • Illness cognitions as a pathway between religiousness and subjective health in chronic cardiac patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Evangelos C Karademas
    Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the role of illness cognitions as a possible pathway between religiousness and subjective health in chronic illness. A sample of 135 chronic cardiac patients completed questionnaires about intrinsic religiousness, frequency of church service attendance, basic illness cognitions (i.e., helplessness, illness acceptance, perceived benefits), and physical and emotional well-being. According to the results, religiousness was significantly associated with subjective health. However, this relationship was indirect, with helplessness and illness acceptance serving as mediators between intrinsic religiousness and health. This finding is significant for understanding the complex relation of religiousness to chronic patients' well-being.
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 239-247
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Health Psychol
    DOI 10.1177/1359105309347585
    ISSN 1461-7277
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:11:10 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20207667
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • The aim of this study was to examine the role of illness cognitions as a possible pathway between religiousness and subjective health in chronic illness. A sample of 135 chronic cardiac patients completed questionnaires about intrinsic religiousness, frequency of church service attendance, basic illness cognitions (i.e., helplessness, illness acceptance, perceived benefits), and physical and emotional well-being. According to the results, religiousness was significantly associated with subjective health. However, this relationship was indirect, with helplessness and illness acceptance serving as mediators between intrinsic religiousness and health. This finding is significant for understanding the complex relation of religiousness to chronic patients’ well-being.

  • Religious Coping and Cancer: Proposing an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maria Karekla
    Author Marios Constantinou
    Abstract A cancer diagnosis is one of the most difficult diagnoses for any person to receive and cope with. Numerous individuals turn to religion or their spiritual beliefs to find meaning through the process of coping with such a serious illness. Therefore, in recent years research on religious coping has received increased attention. The aim of the present paper is to examine the area of religious coping, along with its dimensions and ways to assess it, as it relates to cancer. Moreover, this paper presents a relatively new approach to the psychological treatment of individuals with cancer. Namely, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a spiritually and religiously sensitive treatment. This approach aims to first explore a person's values (including spiritual and religious values), to subsequently help the person accept any experience that the person has no control over in light of these values, and to then commit and take actions consistent with these values. Recent evidence providing initial support for this approach is discussed. Finally, a case example is presented to illustrate how ACT may be carried out to address religious coping in outpatient clinical practice with cancer patients.
    Publication Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 371-381
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.08.003
    ISSN 1077-7229
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7XMX-4YK2FC0-1/2/d9a5c824b787a48cf92031437619a893
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:33:37 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM

    Notes:

    • This paper presents a relatively new approach to the psychological treatment of individuals with cancer. Namely, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a spiritually and religiously sensitive treatment. This approach aims to first explore a person's values (including spiritual and religious values), to subsequently help the person accept any experience that the person has no control over in light of these values, and to then commit and take actions consistent with these values. Recent evidence providing initial support for this approach is discussed. Finally, a case example is presented to illustrate how ACT may be carried out to address religious coping in outpatient clinical practice with cancer patients.

  • Does Religious Observance Promote Health? Mortality in Secular vs Religious Kibbutzim in Israel

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeremy D. Kark
    Author Galia Shemi
    Author Yechiel Friedlander
    Author Oz Martin
    Author Orly Manor
    Author S. H. Blondheim
    Abstract Objectives: This study assessed the association of Jewish religious observance with mortality by comparing religious and secular kibbutzim. These collectives are highly similar in social structure and economic function and are cohesive and supportive communities., Methods: In a 16-year (1970 through 1985) historical prospective study of mortality in 11 religious and 11 matched secular kibbutzim in Israel, 268 deaths occurred among 3900 men and women 35 years of age and older during 41 347 person-years of observation., Results: Mortality was considerably higher in secular kibbutzim. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to adjust for age and the matched design; rate ratios were 1.67 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.17, 2.39) for men, 2.67 (95% CI = 1.55, 4.60) for women, and 1.93 (95% CI = 1.44, 2.59) overall. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of birth cohorts confirmed the association. The lower mortality in religious kibbutzim was consistent for all major causes of death., Conclusions: Belonging to a religious collective was associated with a strong protective effect not attributable to confounding by sociodemographic factors. Elucidation of mechanisms mediating this effect may provide etiologic insights and leads for intervention. (Am J Public Health. 1996;86:341-346)., Copyright (C) 1996 by the American Public Health Association, Inc.
    Publication Journal of Public Health March 1996
    Volume 86
    Issue 3
    Pages 341-346
    Date 1996
    ISSN 0090-0036
    Short Title Does Religious Observance Promote Health?
    Library Catalog Ovid (Journals@Ovid)
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Behavioral & Social Sciences

    Notes:

    • In a 16-year historical prospective study of mortality in 11 religious and 11 matched secular kibbutzim in Israel, 268 deaths occurred among 3900 men and women 35 years of age and older during 41 347 person-years of observation. Mortality was considerably higher in secular kibbutzim. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to adjust for age and the matched design;. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of birth cohorts confirmed the association. Conclusions: Belonging to a religious collective was associated with a strong protective effect not attributable to confounding by sociodemographic factors.

  • Religious and ethnic differences in health: evidence from the Health Surveys for England 1999 and 2004.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Saffron Karlsen
    Author James Y. Nazroo
    Abstract Objectives. To examine the role of religion in the patterning of health inequities, and how this is related to ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Design. Multivariate analyses using nationally representative data on self-assessed fair or poor health, longstanding limiting illness, diagnosed diabetes, diagnosed hypertension, waist-hip ratio, body mass index, current tobacco use and participating in no regular physical activity from 14,924 Christians, 4337 Muslims, 656 Sikhs, 1197 Hindus and 2682 people reporting not identifying with any religion with different ethnic backgrounds, who were interviewed as part of the Health Survey for England in either 1999 or 2004, adjusted for age, gender and socioeconomic status and periodicity. Results. Odds ratios for general health, hypertension, diabetes, waist-hip ratio, tobacco use and physical activity speak to the importance of ethnicity in the patterning of health inequalities. But there is also evidence of an important, independent role for religion, with risks for the different health indicators varying between people with the same ethnic, but different religious, identifications. Adjusting for socioeconomic status attenuated the ethnic/religious patterning of, particularly, self-assessed health, longstanding activity-limiting illness, waist-hip ratio, body mass index and tobacco use. Conclusions. This evidence enables greater understanding of the complexities of the relationship between ethnicity, religion and health, recognising the need to understand the heterogeneity underlying both ethnic and religious group membership and the processes producing the structural disadvantage facing certain religious and ethnic groups in the mediation of the relationship between health and ethnicity/religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Ethnicity & Health
    Volume 15
    Issue 6
    Pages 549-568
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13557858.2010.497204
    ISSN 13557858
    Short Title Religious and ethnic differences in health
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM

    Tags:

    • DIABETES
    • ETHNIC groups -- Health
    • HEALTH -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
    • HEALTH -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism
    • HEALTH -- Religious aspects -- Islam
    • HEALTH behavior -- Research
    • Health Status Indicators
    • Hypertension
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Obesity
    • SIKHS
    • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Health Outcomes and a New Index of Spiritual Experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jared D. Kass
    Author Richard Friedman
    Author Jane Leserman
    Author Patricia C. Zuttermeister
    Author Herbert Benson
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 30
    Issue 2
    Pages 203-211
    Date Jun., 1991
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/1387214
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1991 / Copyright © 1991 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Meditation acutely improves psychomotor vigilance, and may decrease sleep need

    Type Journal Article
    Author Prashant Kaul
    Author Jason Passafiume
    Author R. Craig Sargent
    Author Bruce F. O'Hara
    Abstract ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: A number of benefits from meditation have been claimed by those who practice various traditions, but few have been well tested in scientifically controlled studies. Among these claims are improved performance and decreased sleep need. Therefore, in these studies we assess whether meditation leads to an immediate performance improvement on a well validated psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), and second, whether longer bouts of meditation may alter sleep need. METHODS: The primary study assessed PVT reaction times before and after 40 minute periods of mediation, nap, or a control activity using a within subject cross-over design. This study utilized novice meditators who were current university students (n=10). Novice meditators completed 40 minutes of meditation, nap, or control activities on six different days (two separate days for each condition), plus one night of total sleep deprivation on a different night, followed by 40 minutes of meditation. A second study examined sleep times in long term experienced meditators (n=7) vs. non-meditators (n=23). Experienced meditators and controls were age and sex matched and living in the Delhi region of India at the time of the study. Both groups continued their normal activities while monitoring their sleep and meditation times. RESULTS: Novice meditators were tested on the PVT before each activity, 10 minutes after each activity and one hour later. All ten novice meditators improved their PVT reaction times immediately following periods of meditation, and all but one got worse immediately following naps. Sleep deprivation produced a slower baseline reaction time (RT) on the PVT that still improved significantly following a period of meditation. In experiments with long-term experienced meditators, sleep duration was measured using both sleep journals and actigraphy. Sleep duration in these subjects was lower than control non-meditators and general population norms, with no apparent decrements in PVT scores. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that meditation provides at least a short-term performance improvement even in novice meditators. In long term meditators, multiple hours spent in meditation are associated with a significant decrease in total sleep time when compared with age and sex matched controls who did not meditate. Whether meditation can actually replace a portion of sleep or pay-off sleep debt is under further investigation.
    Publication Behavioral and Brain Functions
    Volume 6
    Issue 1
    Pages 47
    Date Jul 29, 2010
    Journal Abbr Behav Brain Funct
    DOI 10.1186/1744-9081-6-47
    ISSN 1744-9081
    Accessed Tuesday, August 03, 2010 5:00:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20670413
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • The Neuroimmune Basis of Anti-inflammatory Acupuncture

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ben Kavoussi
    Author B. Evan Ross
    Abstract This review article presents the evidence that the antiinflammatory actions of acupuncture are mediated via the reflexive central inhibition of the innate immune system. Both laboratory and clinical evidence have recently shown the existence of a negative feedback loop between the autonomic nervous system and the innate immunity. There is also experimental evidence that the electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve inhibits macrophage activation and the production of TNF, IL-1{beta} , IL-6, IL-18, and other proinflammatory cytokines. It is therefore conceivable that along with hypnosis, meditation, prayer, guided imagery, biofeedback, and the placebo effect, the systemic anti-inflammatory actions of traditional and electro-acupuncture are directly or indirectly mediated by the efferent vagus nerve activation and inflammatory macrophage deactivation. In view of this common physiological mediation, assessing the clinical efficacy of a specific acupuncture regimen using conventional double-blind placebo-controlled trials inherently lacks objectivity due to (1) the uncertainty of ancient rules for needle placement, (2) the diffuse noxious inhibitory control triggered by control-needling at irrelevant points, (3) the possibility of a dose-response relationship between stimulation and effects, and (4) the possibility of inadequate blinding using an inert sham procedure. A more objective assessment of its efficacy could perhaps consist of measuring its effects on the surrogate markers of autonomic tone and inflammation. The use of acupuncture as an adjunct therapy to conventional medical treatment for a number of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases seems plausible and should be validated by confirming its cholinergicity.
    Publication Integr Cancer Ther
    Volume 6
    Issue 3
    Pages 251-257
    Date September 1, 2007
    DOI 10.1177/1534735407305892
    URL http://ict.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/6/3/251
    Accessed Friday, September 04, 2009 1:55:40 PM
    Library Catalog Sage Journals Online
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This review article presents the evidence that the antiinflammatory actions of acupuncture are mediated via the reflexive central inhibition of the innate immune system.

  • The near-death experience as status passage

    Type Journal Article
    Author A Kellehear
    Abstract Near-death experiences are identity transitions with many of the major social features of status passage as these were originally formulated by Glaser and Strauss (Status Passage, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1971). These features are described and then compared with the similar experience of being a castaway after shipwreck. In this way, the clinical near-death experience can be analysed as one of a number of social near-death experiences. Viewed as status passage many of the psychological reactions can be usefully seen as context dependent processes rather than simply defence mechanisms or products of neurophysiology.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 31
    Issue 8
    Pages 933-939
    Date 1990
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/2259966
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:19:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 2259966
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cultural Characteristics
    • Death
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Role
    • Self Concept
    • Social Behavior

    Notes:

    • Near-death experiences are identity transitions with many of the major social features of status passage as these were originally formulated by Glaser and Strauss (Status Passage, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1971). These features are described and then compared with the similar experience of being a castaway after shipwreck. In this way, the clinical near-death experience can be analysed as one of a number of social near-death experiences. Viewed as status passage many of the psychological reactions can be usefully seen as context dependent processes rather than simply defence mechanisms or products of neurophysiology.

  • Culture, biology, and the near-death experience. A reappraisal

    Type Journal Article
    Author A Kellehear
    Abstract Life review and tunnel sensation in near-death experiences appear to be culture-bound phenomena, confined largely to societies where historic religions are dominant. The clinical literature postulating biological theories for life review and tunnel sensations, therefore, may have been developed somewhat prematurely. The present review argues that social and historical explanations are more persuasive in the context of the available evidence presented here.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 181
    Issue 3
    Pages 148-156
    Date Mar 1993
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/8445373
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:16:15 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 8445373
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Anthropology, Cultural
    • Australia
    • Brain
    • China
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Culture
    • Death
    • Depersonalization
    • Guam
    • Humans
    • India
    • Models, Biological
    • New Zealand
    • Oceanic Ancestry Group
    • Temporal Lobe
    • Thanatology

    Notes:

    • Life review and tunnel sensation in near-death experiences appear to be culture-bound phenomena, confined largely to societies where historic religions are dominant. The clinical literature postulating biological theories for life review and tunnel sensations, therefore, may have been developed somewhat prematurely. The present review argues that social and historical explanations are more persuasive in the context of the available evidence presented here.

  • Working with clients who have religious/spiritual issues: A survey of university counseling center therapists.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ian S. Kellems
    Author Clara E. Hill
    Author Rachel E. Crook-Lyon
    Author Gary Freitas
    Abstract University counseling center therapists (N = 220) completed an Internet survey about religion/spirituality in therapy, with 200 of these therapists describing therapy with a recent client whose issues involved religion/spirituality. Common client religion/spirituality issues were questioning one’s childhood religion, exploring religion/spirituality beliefs, and using religion/spirituality as a source of strength. Similarity of therapist and client religion/spirituality values was not related to the strength of the therapeutic relationship. Therapists with higher levels of religious commitment tended to rate religion/spirituality goals as more important and use religion/spirituality interventions more frequently than therapists with lower levels of religious commitment. Finally, therapists with more religion/spirituality training had higher self-efficacy for working with religion/spirituality issues. Implications for practice, research, and training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of College Student Psychotherapy
    Volume 24
    Issue 2
    Pages 139-155
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/87568220903558745
    ISSN 8756-8225
    Short Title Working with clients who have religious/spiritual issues
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:19:29 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • clients
    • COLLEGE students
    • religion
    • religious issues
    • School Counseling
    • spiritual issues
    • spirituality
    • Therapists
    • university counseling center therapists
  • Near-death experiences with reports of meeting deceased people

    Type Journal Article
    Author E W Kelly
    Abstract Few scientists have taken seriously the interpretation of near-death experiences (NDEs) as evidence for survival after death, even though most people having such an experience have become convinced that they will survive death and several features of NDEs are at least suggestive of survival. This article compares survival and some nonsurvival interpretations of NDEs in light of one feature suggestive of survival, that of reports of having seen deceased persons during the NDE. Several features of 74 NDEs involving such reports were compared with those of 200 NDEs not involving such reports. Although some of the findings could support either a survival or a nonsurvival interpretation, several other findings may weaken the primary nonsurvival hypothesis, that of expectation. Additionally, the convergence of several features suggesting survival and the convergence of features that require multiple kinds of alternative explanations, in individual cases as well as in large groups of cases, warrant our considering the survival hypothesis of NDEs more seriously than most scientists currently do.
    Publication Death Studies
    Volume 25
    Issue 3
    Pages 229-249
    Date 2001 Apr-May
    Journal Abbr Death Stud
    ISSN 0748-1187
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11785541
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:51:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11785541
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Death
    • Hallucinations
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Parapsychology
    • Survival
  • A developmental twin study of church attendance and alcohol and nicotine consumption: a model for analyzing the changing impact of genes and environment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth S Kendler
    Author John Myers
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Church attendance is one of the most consistent predictors of alcohol and nicotine consumption. The authors sought to clarify changes in the role of genetic and environmental factors in influencing church attendance and the interrelationship between church attendance and alcohol and nicotine use from early adolescence into adulthood. METHOD: The authors used data from two interview waves 6 years apart of 1,796 male twins from a population-based register, in which respondents were asked about current and past church attendance and psychoactive drug use. Structural twin models were fitted and tested using the Mx software program. RESULTS: As twins developed from childhood through adulthood, the influence of shared environmental factors on church attendance declined dramatically while genetic factors increased. In early and late adolescence, the negative correlations between church attendance and alcohol and nicotine consumption resulted largely from shared environmental factors. In adulthood, the inverse relationship between church attendance and substance use became stronger and arose largely from genetic factors. CONCLUSIONS: As individuals mature, they increasingly shape their own social environment in large part as a result of their genetically influenced temperament. When individuals are younger and living at home, frequent church attendance reflects a range of familial and social-environmental influences that reduce levels of substance use. In adulthood, by contrast, high levels of church attendance largely index genetically influenced temperamental factors that are protective against substance use. Using genetically informative designs such as twin studies, it is possible to show that the causes of the relationship between social risk factors and substance use can change dramatically over development.
    Publication The American Journal of Psychiatry
    Volume 166
    Issue 10
    Pages 1150-1155
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09020182
    ISSN 1535-7228
    Short Title A developmental twin study of church attendance and alcohol and nicotine consumption
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19755576
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 8:33:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19755576
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Age Distribution
    • Age Factors
    • Alcohol Drinking
    • Child
    • Diseases in Twins
    • Genotype
    • Humans
    • Individuality
    • Male
    • Models, Genetic
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • Smoking
    • Social Environment
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Temperament
    • Twins
    • Twins, Dizygotic
    • Twins, Monozygotic
  • Changes in spirituality and well-being in a retreat program for cardiac patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author James E Kennedy
    Author R Anne Abbott
    Author Beth S Rosenberg
    Abstract CONTEXT: Many epidemiological studies indicate that spirituality or religion are positively correlated with health measures, but research is needed on interventions that change spirituality to verify that it actually affects health and to justify suggestions that changes in spiritual practices or beliefs may have health benefits. However, it is not clear that health interventions can influence spirituality or which techniques are effective. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether participation in a retreat program for cardiac patients and their partners resulted in changes in spirituality and whether changes in spirituality were related to changes in well-being meaning in life, anger, and confidence in handling problems. DESIGN: Participants filled out questionnaires before and after participating in the retreat. SETTING: Retreats were sponsored by the Health Promotion and Wellness Program, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and were held in a remote training center. PARTICIPANTS: Notices were sent to cardiac rehabilitation programs and directly to heart patients, resulting in the enrollment of 72 first-time participants. INTERVENTION: The 2.5-day educational retreats included discussion and opportunities to experience healthy lifestyle options. Exercise, nutrition, stress management techniques, communication skills that enhance social support, and spiritual principles of healing were incorporated. Experiential practices included yoga, meditation, visualization, and prayer. RESULTS: Of the participants, 78% reported increased spirituality after the retreat. Changes in spirituality were positively associated with increased well-being meaning in life, confidence in handling problems, and decreased tendency to become angry. CONCLUSIONS: Programs that explore spirituality in a health context can result in increased spirituality that is associated with increased well-being and related measures. Many patients and their families want to integrate the spiritual and health dimensions of their lives. Further work is needed to develop healthcare settings that can support this integration.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 8
    Issue 4
    Pages 64-66, 68-70, 72-73
    Date 2002 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/12126175
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:45:32 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12126175
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Female
    • Heart Diseases
    • Humans
    • Life Style
    • Male
    • Mental Healing
    • Middle Aged
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Self-Help Groups
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Time Factors
    • Treatment Outcome
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Objective: To evaluate whether participation in a retreat program for cardiac patients and their partners resulted in changes in spirituality and whether changes in spirituality were related to changes in well-being meaning in life, anger, and confidence in handling problems. Conclusions: Programs that explore spirituality in a health context can result in increased spirituality that is associated with increased well-being and related measures.

  • "Keepin' my mind right": identity maintenance and religious social support in the prison context

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kent R Kerley
    Author Heith Copes
    Abstract It is not uncommon for inmates to experience religious conversions in prison. These conversions allow inmates to portray themselves in a prosocial light and help them to establish a sense of control in their current lives, regardless of their past. Despite the value of these conversions, maintaining a new outlook of one's self is remarkably difficult. Using semistructured interviews with 63 inmates who had undergone a religious conversion, the authors examine the process that they engaged in to keep these new senses of self. The narratives suggest that they relied on various social support mechanisms to keep themselves focused and inspired. Specifically, they stressed the importance of connecting with positive others in formal and informal settings, sharing their stories with those in need, and reflecting on their daily choices. It is through these strategies that inmates keep the inspiration and focus to "keep their minds right."
    Publication International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
    Volume 53
    Issue 2
    Pages 228-244
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol
    DOI 10.1177/0306624X08315019
    ISSN 0306-624X
    Short Title "Keepin' my mind right"
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18332177
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:30:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18332177
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Humans
    • Male
    • prisoners
    • religion
    • Social Identification
    • social support
  • Developing an observing attitude: an analysis of meditation diaries in an MBSR clinical trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine E Kerr
    Author Krishnapriya Josyula
    Author Ronnie Littenberg
    Abstract Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an 8-week training that is designed to teach participants mindful awareness of the present moment. In randomized clinical trials (RCTs), MBSR has demonstrated efficacy in various conditions including reducing chronic pain-related distress and improving quality of life in healthy individuals. There have, however, been no qualitative studies investigating participants' descriptions of changes experienced over multiple time points during the course of the programme. This qualitative study of an MBSR cohort (N = 8 healthy individuals) in a larger RCT examined participants' daily diary descriptions of their home-practice experiences. The study used a two-part method, combining grounded theory with a close-ended coding approach. The grounded theory analysis revealed that during the trial, all participants, to varying degrees, described moments of distress related to practice; at the end of the course, all participants who completed the training demonstrated greater detail and clarity in their descriptions, improved affect, and the emergence of an observing self. The closed-ended coding schema, carried out to shed light on the development of an observing self, revealed that the emergence of an observing self was not related to the valence of participants' experiential descriptions: even participants whose diaries contained predominantly negative characterizations of their experience throughout the trial were able, by the end of the trial, to demonstrate an observing, witnessing attitude towards their own distress. Progress in MBSR may rely less on the valence of participants' experiences and more on the way participants describe and relate to their own inner experience.
    Publication Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy
    Volume 18
    Issue 1
    Pages 80-93
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr Clin Psychol Psychother
    DOI 10.1002/cpp.700
    ISSN 1099-0879
    Short Title Developing an observing attitude
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:34:23 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21226129
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
  • Perceptions, experiences, and shifts in perspective occurring among urban youth participating in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program

    Type Journal Article
    Author Deanna Kerrigan
    Author Kelly Johnson
    Author Miriam Stewart
    Author Trish Magyari
    Author Nancy Hutton
    Author Jonathan M. Ellen
    Author Erica M.S. Sibinga
    Abstract <p><br/>Interest in mindfulness as a tool to improve health and well-being has increased rapidly over the past two decades. Limited qualitative research has been conducted on mindfulness and health. This study utilized in-depth interviews to explore the context, perceptions, and experiences of a sub-set of participants engaged in an acceptability study of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) among urban youth. Content analysis revealed that all in-depth interview participants reported experiencing some form of positive benefit and enhanced self-awareness as a result of MBSR program participation. Significant variation in the types and intensity of changes occurring was identified, ranging from a reframing and reduction of daily stressors to transformational shifts in life orientation and well-being. Variations in perceptions of and experiences with mindfulness should be studied in further depth in the context of prospective intervention research, including their potentially differential influence on mental and physical health outcomes.</p>
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 2
    Pages 96-101
    Date May 2011
    DOI 16/j.ctcp.2010.08.003
    ISSN 1744-3881
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1744388110000587
    Accessed Thursday, June 09, 2011 6:07:50 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescents/youth
    • At-risk
    • Health and well-being
    • HIV/AIDS
    • Qualitative
    • Stress/distress
  • Intersex individuals' religiosity and their journey to wellbeing

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stephen Kerry
    Abstract The intersex movement has spent the past two decades forming around a common need to change the way in which contemporary societies 'diagnose' and 'treat' intersex. As the intersex movement is becoming articulate, visible and politically active, intersex individuals are also struggling to deal with the ongoing psycho-social and emotional trauma generated by decades of silence, secrets and scars. As the movement finds strength in numbers, and in 'others like ourselves', some intersex individuals are turning elsewhere for guidance and means of 'coping'. This article introduces recent findings that intersex individuals are turning to traditional discourses of religiosity to understand not only the 'treatments' they have undergone, but also the meaning(s) of their intersex bodies. While counselling and peer support are increasingly recommended to, and sought by, intersex individuals, it is in spiritual and/or religious life that intersex individuals are finding answers, health and wellbeing. This article explores how some in the intersex movement are articulating their sense of intersex self through their own spiritual journeys; a path that contributes to traditional coping mechanisms.
    Publication Journal of Gender Studies
    Volume 18
    Issue 3
    Pages 277-285
    Date Sept 2009
    DOI 10.1080/09589230903057092
    ISSN 0958-9236
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/09589230903057092
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 9:27:58 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Religious doubts and mental health in adolescence and young adulthood: The association with religious attitudes.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anikó Kézdy
    Author Tamás Martos
    Author Vivian Boland
    Author Katalin Horváth-Szabó
    Abstract Religious doubts seem to be a part of identity and faith development in adolescence and young adulthood. Such doubts, however, are often linked with psychological distress, though the results in the field are not consistent. It seems important therefore to explore further the relationship between religious doubts and mental health. This study investigated the moderating role of religious attitudes (strength of religious belief, and literal vs. symbolic approach to religion) on this relationship in a sample of 403 Hungarian high school and university students aged 15–25 years in a cross-sectional survey. Results provided support for a three-way moderation: the positive correlation between doubts and anxiety/depression was stronger the higher the level of religious belief, but was strongest when religious beliefs and symbolic approach were both high. These associations were found to be stable across gender and educational level. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Adolescence
    Volume 34
    Issue 1
    Pages 39-47
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.03.003
    ISSN 0140-1971
    Short Title Religious doubts and mental health in adolescence and young adulthood
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • adolescence
    • Adolescent Development
    • Distress
    • Doubt
    • mental health
    • psychosocial development
    • Religious attitudes
    • Religious Beliefs
    • Religious doubts
    • young adulthood
  • Yoga ameliorates performance anxiety and mood disturbance in young professional musicians

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sat Bir S Khalsa
    Author Stephanie M Shorter
    Author Stephen Cope
    Author Grace Wyshak
    Author Elyse Sklar
    Abstract Yoga and meditation can alleviate stress, anxiety, mood disturbance, and musculoskeletal problems, and can enhance cognitive and physical performance. Professional musicians experience high levels of stress, performance anxiety, and debilitating performance-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs). The goal of this controlled study was to evaluate the benefits of yoga and meditation for musicians. Young adult professional musicians who volunteered to participate in a 2-month program of yoga and meditation were randomized to a yoga lifestyle intervention group (n = 15) or to a group practicing yoga and meditation only (n = 15). Additional musicians were recruited to a no-practice control group (n = 15). Both yoga groups attended three Kripalu Yoga or meditation classes each week. The yoga lifestyle group also experienced weekly group practice and discussion sessions as part of their more immersive treatment. All participants completed baseline and end-program self-report questionnaires that evaluated music performance anxiety, mood, PRMDs, perceived stress, and sleep quality; many participants later completed a 1-year followup assessment using the same questionnaires. Both yoga groups showed a trend towards less music performance anxiety and significantly less general anxiety/tension, depression, and anger at end-program relative to controls, but showed no changes in PRMDs, stress, or sleep. Similar results in the two yoga groups, despite psychosocial differences in their interventions, suggest that the yoga and meditation techniques themselves may have mediated the improvements. Our results suggest that yoga and meditation techniques can reduce performance anxiety and mood disturbance in young professional musicians.
    Publication Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
    Volume 34
    Issue 4
    Pages 279-289
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback
    DOI 10.1007/s10484-009-9103-4
    ISSN 1573-3270
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19657730
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 11:55:13 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19657730
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anxiety
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Life Style
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Questionnaires
    • Random Allocation
    • Sleep
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome
    • yoga
  • Stress, inflammation, and yoga practice

    Type Journal Article
    Author Janice K Kiecolt-Glaser
    Author Lisa Christian
    Author Heather Preston
    Author Carrie R Houts
    Author William B Malarkey
    Author Charles F Emery
    Author Ronald Glaser
    Abstract Objective: To address the mechanisms underlying hatha yoga's potential stress-reduction benefits, we compared inflammatory and endocrine responses of novice and expert yoga practitioners before, during, and after a restorative hatha yoga session, as well as in two control conditions. Stressors before each of the three conditions provided data on the extent to which yoga speeded an individual's physiological recovery. Methods: A total of 50 healthy women (mean age, 41.32 years; range, 30-65 years), 25 novices and 25 experts, were exposed to each of the conditions (yoga, movement control, and passive-video control) during three separate visits. Results: The yoga session boosted participants' positive affect compared with the control conditions, but no overall differences in inflammatory or endocrine responses were unique to the yoga session. Importantly, even though novices and experts did not differ on key dimensions, including age, abdominal adiposity, and cardiorespiratory fitness, novices' serum interleukin (IL)-6 levels were 41% higher than those of experts across sessions, and the odds of a novice having detectable C-reactive protein (CRP) were 4.75 times as high as that of an expert. Differences in stress responses between experts and novices provided one plausible mechanism for their divergent serum IL-6 data; experts produced less lipopolysaccharide-stimulated IL-6 in response to the stressor than novices, and IL-6 promotes CRP production. Conclusion: The ability to minimize inflammatory responses to stressful encounters influences the burden that stressors place on an individual. If yoga dampens or limits stress-related changes, then regular practice could have substantial health benefits.
    Publication Psychosomatic Medicine
    Volume 72
    Issue 2
    Pages 113-121
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychosom Med
    DOI 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181cb9377
    ISSN 1534-7796
    Accessed Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:31:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20064902
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • The influence of religiosity on depression among low-income people with diabetes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Barbara Kilbourne
    Author Sherry M Cummings
    Author Robert S Levine
    Abstract People with diabetes experience depression at a significantly higher rate than do their nondiabetic counterparts. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of multiple dimensions of religiosity on depression among a lower income population of people with diabetes. Using a cross-sectional design, the study focused on a combined clinical and community sample of people with diabetes from low-income neighborhoods. On the basis of previous studies and confirmatory factor analyses of study data, five distinct dimensions of religiosity emerged: religious belief, reading religious materials, prayer, religious attendance, and engaging others in religious discourse. Bivariate correlation and hierarchical linear regression revealed robust and inverse associations between four of the five dimensions of religiosity and level of depression. Prayer, religious reading, religious attendance, and religious belief proved protective against depressive symptoms. Although it correlated with the other measures of religiosity, engaging in religious discourse was not distinctly associated with levels ofdepression. The analyses suggest that religious resources increase psychological resiliency among those managing the chronic stress of diabetes. Pedagogical and practice implications are discussed.
    Publication Health & Social Work
    Volume 34
    Issue 2
    Pages 137-147
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Health Soc Work
    ISSN 0360-7283
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:11:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19425343
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Chronic Disease
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • depression
    • Diabetes Mellitus
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Poverty
    • religion
    • Risk Factors
    • social support
  • Impact of Mindfulness Meditation Training on the Default Network

    Type Journal Article
    Author LA Kilpatrick
    Author BY Suyenobu
    Author SR Smith
    Author JA Bueller
    Author EA Mayer
    Author BD Naliboff
    Abstract Introduction The practice of meditation has been shown to have a beneficial effect on physical and psychological health, as well as positive regulatory effects on physiological processes. Presumably these effects result from changes in underlying brain processes. Although there are many types of meditation, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training is of particular research interest because it utilizes a traditional practice applied in a well-documented, standardized contemporary format. As part of a larger study of mindfulness meditation and pain processing, we investigated how mindfulness meditation impacts default mode network (DMN) activity. The default network is a set of brain regions that are metabolically active in the absence of goal-directed activity, and are disrupted in a number of mental disorders (Raichle et al 2001; Broyd et al 2008). We hypothesized that the DMN of MBSR-trained subjects, relative to wait list controls, would demonstrate greater coherence with regions previously associated with a present moment, experiential self-focus and less coherence with regions associated with a narrative self-focus (Farb et al, 2007). Methods 12 healthy, meditation naive female subjects were scanned following an MBSR course and compared to 8 wait list controls. Subjects were asked to close their eyes and be mindfully aware of their surroundings during a 5 minute baseline functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI; 1.5 T) scan. Group independent component analysis was performed to investigate training-related changes among DMN brain regions during mindful rest. Results MBSR-trained subjects and wait list controls had significant differences in the default mode network. Most notably, MBSR-trained subjects, compared to wait list controls, showed significantly increased DMN connectivity with the left dorsal and inferior lateral prefrontal cortex (BA10), left angular gyrus (BA39), left inferior parietal lobule (BA40), and bilateral precuneus (BA7) and decreased DMN connectivity with the bilateral hippocampal formation, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA46) and bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (BA23). Conclusions MBSR students learn to generate a state of focused awareness on the present moment with curiosity and equanimity. Default mode network differences between MBSR-trained subjects and wait list controls suggest a training-induced shift from a greater coherence with regions supporting ruminative, narrative-based processing (hippocampal formation, posterior cingulate) to a greater coherence with regions supporting present moment, experiential processing (BA10, BA39, BA40). Greater coherence with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in wait list controls may reflect greater effort to resist narrative mind wandering (Farb et al, 2007). In summary, MBSR-training appears to induce changes in the nature of self-referential thought processes occurring in the absence of goal-directed behavior, facilitating present-centered self-awareness and reducing ruminative type thinking.
    Publication NeuroImage
    Volume 47
    Issue Supplement 1
    Pages S156
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1016/S1053-8119(09)71639-8
    ISSN 1053-8119
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WNP-4X3PHYG-22H/2/1511991dafc0113eb94892cf4bbda722
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:30:25 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • MBSR students learn to generate a state of focused awareness on the present moment with curiosity and equanimity. Default mode network differences between MBSR-trained subjects and wait list controls suggest a training-induced shift from a greater coherence with regions supporting ruminative, narrative-based processing (hippocampal formation, posterior cingulate) to a greater coherence with regions supporting present moment, experiential processing (BA10, BA39, BA40). Greater coherence with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in wait list controls may reflect greater effort to resist narrative mind wandering (Farb et al, 2007). In summary, MBSR-training appears to induce changes in the nature of self-referential thought processes occurring in the absence of goal-directed behavior, facilitating present-centered self-awareness and reducing ruminative type thinking.

  • Parents’ and Children’s Religiosity and Child Behavioral Adjustment Among Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jungmeen Kim
    Author Michael McCullough
    Author Dante Cicchetti
    Abstract We investigated the role of parents’ and children’s religiosity in behavioral adjustment among maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Data were collected on 170 maltreated and 159 nonmaltreated children from low-income families (mean age = 10 years). We performed dyadic data analyses to examine unique contributions of parents’ and children’s religiosity and their interaction to predicting child internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. A four group structural equation modeling was used to test whether the structural relations among religiosity predictors and child outcomes differed by child maltreatment status and child gender. We found evidence of parent-child religiosity interaction suggesting that (1) parents’ frequent church attendance was related to lower levels of internalizing symptomatology among nonmaltreated children with low church attendance and (2) parents’ importance of faith was associated with lower levels of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology among nonmaltreated children with low faith. The results suggest that independent effects of parents’ religiosity varied depending on children’s religiosity and parent-child relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Child & Family Studies is the property of Springer Science & Business Media B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts)
    Publication Journal of Child & Family Studies
    Volume 18
    Issue 5
    Pages 594-605
    Date October 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10826-009-9262-1
    ISSN 10621024
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=43919461&…
    Accessed Thursday, October 22, 2009 1:01:14 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • ABUSED children -- Research
    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology) in children
    • CHILD abuse
    • CHILDREN -- Research
    • PARENT & child
    • RELIGIOUSNESS -- Psychological aspects
  • Parents' and Children's Religiosity and Child Behavioral Adjustment among Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jungmeen Kim
    Author Michael E McCullough
    Author Dante Cicchetti
    Abstract We investigated the role of parents' and children's religiosity in behavioral adjustment among maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Data were collected on 170 maltreated and 159 nonmaltreated children from low-income families (mean age = 10 years). We performed dyadic data analyses to examine unique contributions of parents' and children's religiosity and their interaction to predicting child internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. A four group structural equation modeling was used to test whether the structural relations among religiosity predictors and child outcomes differed by child maltreatment status and child gender. We found evidence of parent-child religiosity interaction suggesting that (1) parents' frequent church attendance was related to lower levels of internalizing symptomatology among nonmaltreated children with low church attendance and (2) parents' importance of faith was associated with lower levels of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology among nonmaltreated children with low faith. The results suggest that independent effects of parents' religiosity varied depending on children's religiosity and parent-child relationship.
    Publication Journal of Child and Family Studies
    Volume 18
    Issue 5
    Pages 594-605
    Date Oct 1, 2009
    Journal Abbr J Child Fam Stud
    DOI 10.1007/s10826-009-9262-1
    ISSN 1062-1024
    Accessed Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:01:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20161490
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Effectiveness of a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in patients with panic disorder

    Type Journal Article
    Author Borah Kim
    Author Sang-Hyuk Lee
    Author Yong Woo Kim
    Author Tai Kiu Choi
    Author Keunyoung Yook
    Author Shin Young Suh
    Author Sung Joon Cho
    Author Ki-Hwan Yook
    Abstract Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been studied to treat patients with depressive or anxiety disorders. The aim of this study was to examine whether MBCT is effective as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in the treatment of patients with panic disorder. Twenty-three patients with panic disorder were included in a MBCT program for a period of 8 weeks. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised (ASI-R), Albany Panic and Phobia Questionnaire (APPQ), and Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) were used to assess the patients during the MBCT program. Both HAM-A and PDSS scores were significantly decreased at the 2nd, 4th and 8th weeks compared to baseline in the patients with panic disorder (HAM-A, p<0.01; PDSS, p<0.01). Also, BAI, APPQ and ASI-R were improved significantly after MBCT program (BAI, p<0.01; APPQ, p<0.01; ASI-R, p<0.01). In addition, all subscale scores of ASI-R decreased significantly. MBCT could be effective as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in patients with panic disorder. However, randomized controlled trials are needed.
    Publication Journal of Anxiety Disorders
    Volume 24
    Issue 6
    Pages 590-595
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr J Anxiety Disord
    DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.03.019
    ISSN 1873-7897
    Accessed Monday, September 13, 2010 9:04:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20427148
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anti-Anxiety Agents
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • COMBINED modality therapy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Panic disorder
    • Patient Selection
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Questionnaires
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Mindfulness intervention for child abuse survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth Kimbrough
    Author Trish Magyari
    Author Patricia Langenberg
    Author Margaret Chesney
    Author Brian Berman
    Abstract Twenty-seven adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse participated in a pilot study comprising an 8-week mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction (MBSR) program and daily home practice of mindfulness skills. Three refresher classes were provided through final follow-up at 24 weeks. Assessments of depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and mindfulness, were conducted at baseline, 4, 8, and 24 weeks. At 8 weeks, depressive symptoms were reduced by 65%. Statistically significant improvements were observed in all outcomes post-MBSR, with effect sizes above 1.0. Improvements were largely sustained until 24 weeks. Of three PTSD symptom criteria, symptoms of avoidance/numbing were most greatly reduced. Compliance to class attendance and home practice was high, with the intervention proving safe and acceptable to participants. These results warrant further investigation of the MBSR approach in a randomized, controlled trial in this patient population. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 66: 1-18, 2010.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 66
    Issue 1
    Pages 17-33
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20624
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 1:10:53 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • ESRD patient quality of life: symptoms, spiritual beliefs, psychosocial factors, and ethnicity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul L Kimmel
    Author Seth L Emont
    Author John M Newmann
    Author Helen Danko
    Author Alvin H Moss
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Recent research suggests that patients' perceptions may be more important than objective clinical assessments in determining quality of life (QOL) for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). METHODS: We interviewed 165 hemodialysis patients from 3 sites using a QOL questionnaire that included the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the McGill QOL (MQOL) scale, which includes a single-item global measure of QOL (Single-Item QOL Scale [SIS]). The MQOL scale asks patients to report their most troublesome symptoms. We also initiated the use of a Support Network Scale and a Spiritual Beliefs Scale. RESULTS: Mean patient age was 60.9 years, 52% were men, 63% were white, and 33% were African American. Patients had a mean treatment time for ESRD of 44 months, mean hemoglobin level of 11.8 g/dL (118 g/L), mean albumin level of 3.7 g/dL (37 g/L), and mean Kt/V of 1.6. Forty-five percent of patients reported symptoms. Pain was the most common symptom (21% of patients). There was an inverse relationship between reported number of symptoms and SWLS (P < 0.01), MQOL scale score (P < 0.001), and SIS (P < 0.001). The Spiritual Beliefs Scale correlated with the MQOL scale score, SWLS (both P < 0.01), and SIS (P < 0.05). The Support Network Scale score correlated with the MQOL Existential (P = 0.01) and MQOL Support (P < 0.01) subscales. No clinical parameter correlated with any measure of QOL, spiritual beliefs, or social support. CONCLUSION: Symptoms, especially pain, along with psychosocial and spiritual factors, are important determinants of QOL of patients with ESRD. Additional studies, particularly a longitudinal trial, are needed to determine the reproducibility and utility of these QOL measures in assessing patient long-term outcome and their association with other QOL indices in larger and more diverse patient populations.
    Publication American Journal of Kidney Diseases: The Official Journal of the National Kidney Foundation
    Volume 42
    Issue 4
    Pages 713-721
    Date Oct 2003
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Kidney Dis
    ISSN 1523-6838
    Short Title ESRD patient quality of life
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14520621
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:39:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14520621
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Humans
    • Karnofsky Performance Status
    • Kidney Failure, Chronic
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Population Groups
    • Psychological Tests
    • Quality of Health Care
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Renal Dialysis
    • Sex Factors
    • social support
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Recent research suggests that patients’ perceptions may be more important than objective clinical assessments in determining quality of life (QOL) for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We interviewed 165 hemodialysis patients from 3 sites using a QOL questionnaire that included the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the McGill QOL (MQOL) scale, which includes a single-item global measure of QOL (Single-Item QOL Scale [SIS]).

  • Conceptualising spirituality for medical research and health service provision

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael King
    Author Harold Koenig
    Abstract The need to take account of spirituality in research and health services provision is assuming ever greater importance. However the field has long been hampered by a lack of conceptual clarity about the nature of spirituality itself. We do not agree with the sceptical claim that it is impossible to conceptualise spirituality within a scientific paradigm. Our aims are to 1) provide a brief over-view of critical thinking that might form the basis for a useful definition of spirituality for research and clinical work and 2) demystify the language of spirituality for clinical practice and research.
    Publication BMC Health Services Research
    Volume 9
    Issue 1
    Pages 116
    Date 2009
    DOI 10.1186/1472-6963-9-116
    ISSN 1472-6963
    URL http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/9/116
    Accessed Thursday, October 22, 2009 4:27:12 PM
    Library Catalog BioMed Central and More
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • We do not agree with the sceptical claim that it is impossible to conceptualise spirituality within a scientific paradigm. Our aims are to 1) provide a brief over-view of critical thinking that might form the basis for a useful definition of spirituality for research and clinical work and 2) demystify the language of spirituality for clinical practice and research.

  • Spiritual and religious beliefs in acute illness--is this a feasible area for study?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael King
    Author P Speck
    Author A Thomas
    Abstract In this paper we discuss the measurement of spiritual, religious and philosophical beliefs in patients admitted to hospital with acute physical illness. The discussion is based on the results of a preliminary study of the beliefs of 300 patients studied by face-to-face interview and questionnaire. Principal outcome measures at 6 months were self reported psychological and belief scores and physical state as reported in the medical records. Two thirds of patients reported a religious and/or spiritual belief system. Strength of belief was not associated with social, psychological or diagnostic factors. However, those patients with a religious and/or spiritual life view who expressed strong beliefs were likely to fare less well clinically. We conclude that empirical study of patients' beliefs is possible, though care must be exercised over the measures used. Beliefs were at least as predictive of outcome as other social and psychological factors. This area is of considerable importance to patients and should not be neglected by carers or researchers.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 38
    Issue 4
    Pages 631-636
    Date 1982
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • In this paper we discuss the measurement of spiritual, religious and philosophical beliefs in patients admitted to hospital with acute physical illness. Beliefs were at least as predictive of outcome as other social and psychological factors.

  • Measuring spiritual belief: development and standardization of a Beliefs and Values Scale

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael King
    Author Louise Jones
    Author Kelly Barnes
    Author Joseph Low
    Author Carl Walker
    Author Susie Wilkinson
    Author Christina Mason
    Author Juliette Sutherland
    Author Adrian Tookman
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Higher levels of religious involvement are modestly associated with better health, after taking account of other influences, such as age, sex and social support. However, little account is taken of spiritual beliefs that are not tied to personal or public religious practice. Our objective was to develop a standardized measure of spirituality for use in clinical research. METHOD: We characterized the core components of spirituality using narrative data from a purposive sample of people, some of whom were near the end of their lives. These data were developed into statements in a scale to measure strength of spiritual beliefs and its reliability, validity and factor structure were evaluated in order to reach a final version. RESULTS: Thirty-nine people took part in the qualitative study to define the nature of spirituality in their lives. These data were used to construct a 47-item instrument that was evaluated in 372 people recruited in medical and non-medical settings. Analysis of these statements led to a 24-item version that was evaluated in a further sample of 284 people recruited in similar settings. The final 20-item questionnaire performed with high test-retest and internal reliability and measures spirituality across a broad religious and non-religious perspective. CONCLUSIONS: A measure of spiritual belief that is not limited to religious thought, may contribute to research in psychiatry and medicine.
    Publication Psychological Medicine
    Volume 36
    Issue 3
    Pages 417-425
    Date Mar 2006
    Journal Abbr Psychol Med
    DOI 10.1017/S003329170500629X
    ISSN 0033-2917
    Short Title Measuring spiritual belief
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16288679
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:30:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16288679
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Motivation
    • Psychometrics
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • Social Values
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Our objective was to develop a standardized measure of spirituality for use in clinical research. Method: We characterized the core components of spirituality using narrative data from a purposive sample of people, some of whom were near the end of their lives. Conclusions: A measure of spiritual belief that is not limited to religious thought may contribute to research in psychiatry and medicine.

  • Religiosity, spirituality, and psychological distress in African-Americans at risk for having a hereditary cancer predisposing gene mutation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anita Y Kinney
    Author James E Coxworth
    Author Sara E Simonson
    Author Joseph B Fanning
    Abstract Elevated psychological distress has been observed among people at increased risk for familial cancer. Researchers consider religiosity and spirituality (RS) to be positive coping mechanisms associated with reduced psychological distress. Relatively little is known about the impact of RS on genomic health issues. The objectives of our study were: (1) describe the prevalence of RS and depressive symptoms and (2) explore how RS relates to psychological distress in a cohort of individuals with a > or =25% prior probability of a genetic predisposition to cancer. Participants (n = 99) were drawn from an African-American, Louisiana-based kindred with a mutation at the BRCA1 locus. This analysis reports findings from a survey assessing RS and the use of three types of religious coping styles: collaborative, self-directing, and deferring. Clinically significant depressive symptoms were relatively high (27%); with females (33%) more likely than males (17%) to report symptoms (P < 0.01). The majority of participants reported being highly religious. The most commonly employed religious problem solving style used by participants was collaborative (X=22.9; SD=5.8) versus self-directing (X=12.8; SD = 5.1) and deferring (X=19.9; SD = 6.3). We did not observe significant associations between RS indicators and psychological distress, nor did we observe appreciable differences related to gender or risk perception. Although RS beliefs and practices are important for many African-Americans, we did not find evidence that indicators of self-reported RS are associated with psychological distress prior to genetic counseling and testing.
    Publication American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part C, Seminars in Medical Genetics
    Volume 151C
    Issue 1
    Pages 13-21
    Date Feb 15, 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet
    DOI 10.1002/ajmg.c.30194
    ISSN 1552-4876
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:58:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19170079
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • African Continental Ancestry Group
    • Female
    • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mutation
    • Neoplasms
    • religion
    • Stress, Psychological
  • Stress and depression in Latin American immigrants: The mediating role of religiosity

    Type Journal Article
    Author T. Kirchner
    Author C. Patiño
    Abstract Objective Migrating implies a high level of stress that may destabilise immigrants' mental health. The sense of spiritual fulfilment (feelings of faith, religiosity, and transcendence beyond ordinary material life) can mitigate the stress and benefit mental health. The objective of the present study was to analyze the relationship between migratory stress, religiosity and depression symptoms, as well as the mediating role of religiosity between migratory stress and depression symptoms.Method Participants were 295 Latin American immigrants living in Barcelona (Spain), 186 of whom (63.1%) were women and 109 (36.9%) were men. They were recruited from a Spanish NGO by means of a consecutive-case method.Results The results showed an inverse relationship between religiosity and depression symptoms, but only in women. Likewise, in women, the sense of spiritual fulfilment had mediating value in buffering the relationship between stress and depression symptoms. This mediating value of spiritual fulfilment was not observed in men. For both genders religiosity was inversely related with stress. In addition, it was observed that the sense of religiosity decreases as the time since immigration passes.Conclusions These results may be of importance in clinical practice for prevention and therapeutic intervention with Latin American immigrants. As sense of transcendence and social support from the religious community are intertwined, it is difficult to specifically attribute the observed benefit of religiosity to the former versus the later.
    Publication European Psychiatry
    Volume 25
    Issue 8
    Pages 479-484
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2010.04.003
    ISSN 0924-9338
    Short Title Stress and depression in Latin American immigrants
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:06:14 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM

    Tags:

    • Depression symptoms
    • Immigrant
    • Latin American
    • Mediational analyses
    • religiosity
    • Stress
  • Life Satisfaction and Religion: A Reanalysis.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher Kirk Hadaway
    Abstract ABSTRACT Findings by Campbell et al. in The Quality of American Life suggesting that religious people tend to be somewhat less satisfied with their lives than the nonreligious are reexamined in this paper. Using the same data source and variables it is shown that their interpretation is in error, and that to the contrary, religion functions more as a resource than as compensation.
    Publication Social Forces
    Volume 57
    Issue 2
    Pages 636-643
    Date December 1978
    DOI Article
    ISSN 00377732
    Short Title Life Satisfaction and Religion
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=5285601&…
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:29:36 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Quality of Life
    • religion
    • RELIGIOUS life
    • Satisfaction
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Findings by Campbell et al. in The Quality of American Life suggesting that religious people tend to be somewhat less satisfied with their lives than the nonreligious are reexamined in this paper. Using the same data source and variables it is shown that their interpretation is in error, and that to the contrary, religion functions more as a resource than as compensation.

  • Effects of low-dose mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR-ld) on working adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maryanna D Klatt
    Author Janet Buckworth
    Author William B Malarkey
    Abstract Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has produced behavioral, psychological, and physiological benefits, but these programs typically require a substantial time commitment from the participants. This study assessed the effects of a shortened (low-dose [ld]) work-site MBSR intervention (MBSR-ld) on indicators of stress in healthy working adults to determine if results similar to those obtained in traditional MBSR could be demonstrated. Participants were randomized into MBSR-ld and wait-list control groups. Self-reported perceived stress, sleep quality, and mindfulness were measured at the beginning and end of the 6-week intervention. Salivary cortisol was assessed weekly. Significant reductions in perceived stress (p = .0025) and increases in mindfulness (p = .0149) were obtained for only the MBSR-ld group (n = 22). Scores on the global measure of sleep improved for the MBSR-ld group (p = .0018) as well as for the control group (p = .0072; n = 20). Implications and future research are discussed.
    Publication Health Education & Behavior: The Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education
    Volume 36
    Issue 3
    Pages 601-614
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Health Educ Behav
    DOI 10.1177/1090198108317627
    ISSN 1090-1981
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18469160
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18469160
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hydrocortisone
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Occupational Exposure
    • Saliva
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Young Adult
  • Effects of low-dose mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR-ld) on working adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maryanna D Klatt
    Author Janet Buckworth
    Author William B Malarkey
    Abstract Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has produced behavioral, psychological, and physiological benefits, but these programs typically require a substantial time commitment from the participants. This study assessed the effects of a shortened (low-dose [ld]) work-site MBSR intervention (MBSR-ld) on indicators of stress in healthy working adults to determine if results similar to those obtained in traditional MBSR could be demonstrated. Participants were randomized into MBSR-ld and wait-list control groups. Self-reported perceived stress, sleep quality, and mindfulness were measured at the beginning and end of the 6-week intervention. Salivary cortisol was assessed weekly. Significant reductions in perceived stress (p = .0025) and increases in mindfulness (p = .0149) were obtained for only the MBSR-ld group (n = 22). Scores on the global measure of sleep improved for the MBSR-ld group (p = .0018) as well as for the control group (p = .0072; n = 20). Implications and future research are discussed.
    Publication Health Education & Behavior: The Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education
    Volume 36
    Issue 3
    Pages 601-614
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Health Educ Behav
    DOI 10.1177/1090198108317627
    ISSN 1090-1981
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18469160
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:16:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18469160
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hydrocortisone
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Occupational Exposure
    • Saliva
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has produced behavioral, psychological, and physiological benefits, but these programs typically require a substantial time commitment from the participants. This study assessed the effects of a shortened (low-dose [ld]) work-site MBSR intervention (MBSR-ld) on indicators of stress in healthy working adults to determine if results similar to those obtained in traditional MBSR could be demonstrated. Participants were randomized into MBSR-ld and wait-list control groups. Self-reported perceived stress, sleep quality, and mindfulness were measured at the beginning and end of the 6-week intervention. Salivary cortisol was assessed weekly. Significant reductions in perceived stress (p = .0025) and increases in mindfulness (p = .0149) were obtained for only the MBSR-ld group (n = 22). Scores on the global measure of sleep improved for the MBSR-ld group (p = .0018) as well as for the control group (p = .0072; n = 20). Implications and future research are discussed.

  • Spirituality of parents of children in palliative care

    Type Journal Article
    Author Caprice Knapp
    Author Vanessa Madden
    Author Hua Wang
    Author Charlotte Curtis
    Author Phyllis Sloyer
    Author Elizabeth Shenkman
    Abstract Abstract Aims: To determine the spirituality of parents whose children have life-limiting illnesses and to determine the factors associated with parents' spirituality. Methods: Telephone survey of 129 parents whose children were enrolled in a pediatric palliative care program in Florida. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being (FACIT-Sp) scale was used to measure parents' spirituality. The Health Utilities Index (HUI) was used to measure health status. Results: Parents' average score on the FACIT-Sp meaning/peace subscale was 24.1 out of 32, and 12.5 out of 16 for the faith subscale. Parents' average total FACIT-Sp score was 36.6 of 48. Multivariate analyses show that parental black non-Hispanic race, "other" race, being married, as well as children's higher vision and hearing health status were associated with higher spirituality, as measured by the total FACIT-Sp. Two parent household and children's higher speech health status were associated with lower FACIT-Sp scores. Conclusions: Our results suggest that non-white parents have greater faith-based and overall spirituality than white parents. Spiritual assessments should be conducted for all parents as differing supportive services may be needed. The palliative care team should ensure that parents' spirituality is being incorporated, as appropriate, into their children's routine care.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 14
    Issue 4
    Pages 437-443
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2010.0387
    ISSN 1557-7740
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21385082
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:04:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21385082
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
  • Alcohol use and religiousness/spirituality among adolescents

    Type Journal Article
    Author John R Knight
    Author Lon Sherritt
    Author Sion Kim Harris
    Author David W Holder
    Author John Kulig
    Author Lydia A Shrier
    Author Joy Gabrielli
    Author Grace Chang
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicate that religiousness is associated with lower levels of substance use among adolescents, but less is known about the relationship between spirituality and substance use. The objective of this study was to determine the association between adolescents' use of alcohol and specific aspects of religiousness and spirituality. METHODS: Twelve- to 18-year-old patients coming for routine medical care at three primary care sites completed a modified Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality; the Spiritual Connectedness Scale; and a past-90-days alcohol use Timeline Followback calendar. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to assess the association between each religiousness/spirituality measure and odds of any past-90-days alcohol use, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and clinic site. Timeline Followback data were dichotomized to indicate any past-90-days alcohol use and religiousness/spirituality scale scores were z-transformed for analysis. RESULTS: Participants (n = 305) were 67% female, 74% Hispanic or black, and 45% from two-parent families. Mean +/- SD age was 16.0 +/- 1.8 years. Approximately 1/3 (34%) reported past-90-day alcohol use. After controlling for demographics and clinic site, Religiousness/Spirituality scales that were not significantly associated with alcohol use included: Commitment (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.36, 1.79), Organizational Religiousness (OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.64, 1.07), Private Religious Practices (OR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.80, 1.10), and Religious and Spiritual Coping--Negative (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.91, 1.23). All of these are measures of religiousness, except for Religious and Spiritual Coping--Negative. Scales that were significantly and negatively associated with alcohol use included: Forgiveness (OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.73), Religious and Spiritual Coping--Positive (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.51-0.84), Daily Spiritual Experiences (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.54-0.84), and Belief (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.68-0.83), which are all measures of spirituality. In a multivariable model that included all significant measures, however, only Forgiveness remained as a significant negative correlate of alcohol use (OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.41, 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: Forgiveness is associated with a lowered risk of drinking during adolescence.
    Publication Southern Medical Journal
    Volume 100
    Issue 4
    Pages 349-355
    Date Apr 2007
    Journal Abbr South. Med. J
    ISSN 0038-4348
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17458392
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:39:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17458392
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Alcohol Drinking
    • Child
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Massachusetts
    • Odds Ratio
    • Prevalence
    • Prognosis
    • Prospective Studies
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Spiritual Therapies

    Notes:

    • The objective of this study was to determine the association between adolescents’ use of alcohol and specific aspects of religiousness and spirituality. Conclusions: Forgiveness is associated with a lowered risk of drinking during adolescence.

  • Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: a review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract Religious and spiritual factors are increasingly being examined in psychiatric research. Religious beliefs and practices have long been linked to hysteria, neurosis, and psychotic delusions. However, recent studies have identified another side of religion that may serve as a psychological and social resource for coping with stress. After defining the terms religion and spirituality, this paper reviews research on the relation between religion and (or) spirituality, and mental health, focusing on depression, suicide, anxiety, psychosis, and substance abuse. The results of an earlier systematic review are discussed, and more recent studies in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other countries are described. While religious beliefs and practices can represent powerful sources of comfort, hope, and meaning, they are often intricately entangled with neurotic and psychotic disorders, sometimes making it difficult to determine whether they are a resource or a liability.
    Publication Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie
    Volume 54
    Issue 5
    Pages 283-291
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Can J Psychiatry
    ISSN 0706-7437
    Short Title Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:58:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19497160
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Alcoholism
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Culture
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Humans
    • Mental Disorders
    • mental health
    • Prognosis
    • Psychotic Disorders
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Suicide
  • How does religious faith contribute to recovery from depression?

    Type Journal Article
    Author H G Koenig
    Publication The Harvard Mental Health Letter / from Harvard Medical School
    Volume 15
    Issue 8
    Pages 8
    Date Feb 1999
    Journal Abbr Harv Ment Health Lett
    ISSN 1057-5022
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9990252
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 7:41:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9990252
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Psychology
  • Handbook of Religion and Mental Health

    Type Book
    Editor Harold G Koenig
    Place San Diego
    Publisher Academic Press
    Date 1998
    ISBN 0124176453
    Library Catalog library.bu.edu Library Catalog
    Call Number BL65.M45 H26 1998
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Mental Disorders
    • mental health
    • methods
    • Psychology
    • Psychology and religion
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Religious aspects
  • Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: a review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract Religious and spiritual factors are increasingly being examined in psychiatric research. Religious beliefs and practices have long been linked to hysteria, neurosis, and psychotic delusions. However, recent studies have identified another side of religion that may serve as a psychological and social resource for coping with stress. After defining the terms religion and spirituality, this paper reviews research on the relation between religion and (or) spirituality, and mental health, focusing on depression, suicide, anxiety, psychosis, and substance abuse. The results of an earlier systematic review are discussed, and more recent studies in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other countries are described. While religious beliefs and practices can represent powerful sources of comfort, hope, and meaning, they are often intricately entangled with neurotic and psychotic disorders, sometimes making it difficult to determine whether they are a resource or a liability.
    Publication Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie
    Volume 54
    Issue 5
    Pages 283-291
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Can J Psychiatry
    ISSN 0706-7437
    Short Title Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19497160
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:04:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19497160
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Alcoholism
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Culture
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Humans
    • Mental Disorders
    • mental health
    • Prognosis
    • Psychotic Disorders
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Suicide

    Notes:

    • After defining the terms religion and spirituality, this paper reviews research on the relation between religion and (or) spirituality, and mental health, focusing on depression, suicide, anxiety, psychosis, and substance abuse. The results of an earlier systematic review are discussed, and more recent studies in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other countries are described. While religious beliefs and practices can represent powerful sources of comfort, hope, and meaning, they are often intricately entangled with neurotic and psychotic disorders.

  • Religious attitudes and practices of hospitalized medically ill older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author H G Koenig
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence of religious beliefs and practices among medically ill hospitalized older adults and relate them to social, psychological and health characteristics. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Consecutive patients age 60 or over admitted to the general medicine cardiology and neurology services of Duke University Medical Center were evaluated for participation in a depression study. As part of the evaluation, information on religious affiliation, religious attendance, private religious activities, intrinsic religiosity and religious coping was collected. Demographic, social, psychological and physical health characteristics were also assessed. Bivariate and multivariate correlates of religious belief and activity were examined using Pearson correlation and linear regression. RESULTS: Of the 542 patients evaluated, detailed information on religious beliefs and behaviors was collected on 455 cognitively unimpaired patients. Over one-half (53.4%) of the sample reported attending religious services once per week or more often; 58.7% prayed or studied the Bible daily or more often; over 85% of patients held intrinsic religious attitudes; and over 40% spontaneously reported that their religious faith was the most important factor that enabled them to cope. Religious variables were consistently and independently related to race (Black), lower education, higher social support and greater life stressors, and religious attendance was associated with less medical illness burden. Religious attendance was also related to lower depressive symptoms, although the association weakened when other covariates were controlled. CONCLUSIONS: Religious practices, attitudes and coping behaviors are prevalent among hospitalized medically ill older adults and are related to social, psychological and physical health outcomes. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.
    Publication International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
    Volume 13
    Issue 4
    Pages 213-224
    Date Apr 1998
    Journal Abbr Int J Geriatr Psychiatry
    ISSN 0885-6230
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9646148
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:43:26 PM
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    Extra PMID: 9646148
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
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    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Continental Population Groups
    • Defense Mechanisms
    • Educational Status
    • Female
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Health Status Indicators
    • Hospitalization
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • Middle Aged
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care)
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Sex Distribution
    • social support
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • Objectives To examine the prevalence of religious beliefs and practices among medically ill hospitalized older adults and relate them to social, psychological and health characteristics. Conclusions: Religious practices, attitudes and coping behaviors are prevalent among hospitalized medically ill older adults and are related to social, psychological and physical health outcomes. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

  • Concerns about measuring "spirituality" in research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract Spirituality is increasingly being examined as a construct related to mental and physical health. The definition of spirituality, however, has been changing. Traditionally, spirituality was used to describe the deeply religious person, but it has now expanded to include the superficially religious person, the religious seeker, the seeker of well-being and happiness, and the completely secular person. Instruments used to measure spirituality reflect this trend. These measures are heavily contaminated with questions assessing positive character traits or mental health: optimism, forgiveness, gratitude, meaning and purpose in life, peacefulness, harmony, and general well-being. Spirituality, measured by indicators of good mental health, is found to be correlated with good mental health. This research has been reported in some of the world's top medical journals. Such associations are meaningless and tautological. Either spirituality should be defined and measured in traditional terms as a unique, uncontaminated construct, or it should be eliminated from use in academic research.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 196
    Issue 5
    Pages 349-355
    Date May 2008
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31816ff796
    ISSN 1539-736X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18477877
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:57:13 PM
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    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
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    Tags:

    • Humans
    • mental health
    • PERSONALITY tests
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Research
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Traditionally, spirituality was used to describe the deeply religious person, but it has now expanded to include the superficially religious person, the religious seeker, the seeker of well-being and happiness, and the completely secular person. Instruments used to measure spirituality reflect this trend. These measures are heavily contaminated with questions assessing positive character traits or mental health: optimism, forgiveness, gratitude, meaning and purpose in life, peacefulness, harmony, and general well-being. Such associations are meaningless and tautological.

  • Religion and Well-Being in Later Life.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harold G. Koenig
    Author et al.
    Abstract For 836 older adults (mean age 73.4 years), moderately strong correlations were found between morale and three religious measures: organizational religious activity, non-organizational religious activity, and intrinsic religiosity. For women and those 75 and over, religious behaviors and attitudes were particularly strong correlates of morale. Among participants age 75 and older, only health accounted for more of the explained variance than did religious variables. Indicated was that religious attitudes and activities may influence the complex interactions of health and sociodemographic factors affecting morale and well-being in later life.
    Publication Gerontologist
    Volume 28
    Issue 1
    Pages 18-28
    Date 1988
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    Library Catalog ERIC
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Sunday, November 27, 2011 6:29:06 AM

    Notes:

    • This study considered 836 older adults to discover moderately strong correlations between morale and three religious measures: organizational religious activity, non-organizational religious activity, and intrinsic religiosity. For women and those 75 and over, religious behaviors and attitudes were particularly strong correlates of morale. Among participants age 75 and older, only health accounted for more of the explained variance than did religious variables. Indicated was that religious attitudes and activities may influence the complex interactions of health and sociodemographic factors affecting morale and well-being in later life.

  • Use of hospital services, religious attendance, and religious affiliation

    Type Journal Article
    Author H G Koenig
    Author D B Larson
    Abstract BACKGROUND: We examined the relationship between religious attendance, religious affiliation, and use of acute hospital services by older medical patients. METHODS: Religious affiliation (n = 542) and church attendance (n = 455) were examined in a consecutive sample of medical patients aged 60 or older admitted to Duke University Medical Center. Information on use of acute hospital services during the year before admission and length of the current hospital stay was collected. Frequency of church attendance and religious affiliation were examined as predictors of hospital service use, controlling for age, sex, race, education, social support, depressive symptoms, physical functioning, and severity of medical illness as covariates using logistic regression. RESULTS: Patients who attended church weekly or more often were significantly less likely in the previous year to have been admitted to the hospital, had fewer hospital admissions, and spent fewer days in the hospital than those attending less often; these associations retained their significance after controlling for covariates. Patients unaffiliated with a religious community, while not using more acute hospital services in the year before admission, had significantly longer index hospital stays than those affiliated. Unaffiliated patients spent an average of 25 days in the hospital, compared with 11 days for affiliated patients; this association strengthened when physical health and other covariates were controlled. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in and affiliation with a religious community is associated with lower use of hospital services by medically ill older adults, a population of high users of health care services. Possible reasons for this association and its implications are discussed.
    Publication Southern Medical Journal
    Volume 91
    Issue 10
    Pages 925-932
    Date Oct 1998
    Journal Abbr South. Med. J
    ISSN 0038-4348
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9786287
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:40:21 PM
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    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
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    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Female
    • Hospitalization
    • Hospitals, University
    • Humans
    • Length of Stay
    • Male
    • Mental Healing
    • Middle Aged
    • North Carolina
    • Religion and Medicine

    Notes:

    • Background: We examined the relationship between religious attendance, religious affiliation, and use of acute hospital services by older medical patients. Conclusions: Participation in and affiliation with a religious community is associated with lower use of hospital services by medically ill older adults, a population of high users of health care services. Possible reasons for this association and its implications are discussed.

  • A prospective study of church attendance and health over the lifespan

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laura B Koenig
    Author George E Vaillant
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The objective of the current study was to help clarify the previously ambiguous results concerning the relationship between church attendance and later physical health. DESIGN: The current study examined the effect of church attendance on 4 different indicators of later health in a sample of inner city men followed throughout their lifecourse. Measures of previous health status, mood, substance abuse, smoking, education, and social class were used as covariates in regression analyses predicting health at age 70 from church attendance at age 47. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Health at age 70 was assessed by 4 indicators: mortality, objective physical health, subjective physical health, and subjective well-being. RESULTS: Though church attendance was related to later physical health, this was only through indirect means, as both physical health and church attendance were associated with substance use and mood. However, findings do suggest a more direct link between church attendance and well-being. CONCLUSION: Indirect effects of church attendance on health were clearly observed, with alcohol use/dependence, smoking, and mood being possible mediators of the church attendance-health relationship. The effects of church attendance on more subjective ratings of health, however, may be more direct.
    Publication Health Psychology: Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association
    Volume 28
    Issue 1
    Pages 117-124
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Health Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0012984
    ISSN 0278-6133
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:52:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19210025
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Health Status Indicators
    • Humans
    • Life Style
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Prospective Studies
    • religion
    • Urban Population
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • The objective of the current study was to help clarify the previously ambiguous results concerning the relationship between church attendance and later physical health.

  • Religion, spirituality, and medicine: a rebuttal to skeptics

    Type Journal Article
    Author H G Koenig
    Author E Idler
    Author S Kasl
    Author J C Hays
    Author L K George
    Author M Musick
    Author D B Larson
    Author T R Collins
    Author H Benson
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 29
    Issue 2
    Pages 123-131
    Date 1999
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    Short Title Religion, spirituality, and medicine
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10587810
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:30:22 PM
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    Extra PMID: 10587810
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
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    Tags:

    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Mental Healing
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Religion and Medicine

    Notes:

    • This article, although academic, makes a strong case for the relationship to faith and health. It functions, in part, as a response to an artcle by Sloan et al. that presented the skeptical side in the scientific debate on the religion-health relationship. The authors assert that Sloan et al. provide an overly negative review of many published studies.

  • Religion, spirituality, and health in medically ill hospitalized older patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Author Linda K George
    Author Patricia Titus
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of religion and spirituality on social support, psychological functioning, and physical health in medically ill hospitalized older adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Duke University Medical Center. PARTICIPANTS: A research nurse interviewed 838 consecutively admitted patients aged 50 and older to a general medical service. MEASUREMENTS: Measures of religion included organizational religious activity (ORA), nonorganizational religious activity, intrinsic religiosity (IR), self-rated religiousness, and observer-rated religiousness (ORR). Measures of spirituality were self-rated spirituality, observer-rated spirituality (ORS), and daily spiritual experiences. Social support, depressive symptoms, cognitive status, cooperativeness, and physical health (self-rated and observer-rated) were the dependent variables. Regression models controlled for age, sex, race, and education. RESULTS: Religiousness and spirituality consistently predicted greater social support, fewer depressive symptoms, better cognitive function, and greater cooperativeness (P<.01 to P<.0001). Relationships with physical health were weaker, although similar in direction. ORA predicted better physical functioning and observer-rated health and less-severe illness. IR tended to be associated with better physical functioning, and ORR and ORS with less-severe illness and less medical comorbidity (all P<.05). Patients categorizing themselves as neither spiritual nor religious tended to have worse self-rated and observer-rated health and greater medical comorbidity. In contrast, religious television or radio was associated with worse physical functioning and greater medical comorbidity. CONCLUSION: Religious activities, attitudes, and spiritual experiences are prevalent in older hospitalized patients and are associated with greater social support, better psychological health, and to some extent, better physical health. Awareness of these relationships may improve health care.
    Publication Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
    Volume 52
    Issue 4
    Pages 554-562
    Date Apr 2004
    Journal Abbr J Am Geriatr Soc
    DOI 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52161.x
    ISSN 0002-8614
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15066070
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:49:24 PM
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    Extra PMID: 15066070
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
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    Tags:

    • Academic Medical Centers
    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Health
    • Cognition
    • Comorbidity
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Geriatric Assessment
    • Health Status
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Inpatients
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Mental Status Schedule
    • North Carolina
    • Predictive Value of Tests
    • Regression Analysis
    • religion
    • social support
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Objectives To examine the effect of religion and spirituality on social support, psychological functioning, and physical health in medically ill hospitalized older adults. Conclusion: Religious activities, attitudes, and spiritual experiences are prevalent in older hospitalized patients and are associated with greater social support, better psychological health, and to some extent, better physical health.

  • The use of religion and other emotion-regulating coping strategies among older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author H G Koenig
    Author L K George
    Author I C Siegler
    Abstract A stratified random sample of 100 older participants in the Second Duke Longitudinal Study was interviewed. Responses to open-ended coping questions were commonly religious in nature. For at least 1 of the 3 stressful periods inquired about, 45% of the sample mentioned a religious coping behavior. Because of the socio-demographic characteristics of participants, these results provided evidence against the generally held view that religion is relevant only to the poor or uneducated. This coping strategy's effectiveness is supported by studies that have revealed a positive relationship between religious behaviors and well-being.
    Publication The Gerontologist
    Volume 28
    Issue 3
    Pages 303-310
    Date Jun 1988
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    ISSN 0016-9013
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3396911
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:41:08 PM
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    Extra PMID: 3396911
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Sunday, November 27, 2011 6:26:44 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Sampling Studies

    Notes:

    • This article reviews a study where a stratified random sample of 100 older participants in the Second Duke Longitudinal Study was interviewed. Responses to open-ended coping questions were commonly religious in nature. Because of the socio-demographic characteristics of participants, these results provided evidence against the generally held view that religion is relevant only to the poor or uneducated. This coping strategy's effectiveness is supported by studies that have revealed a positive relationship between religious behaviors and well-being.

  • Counter-stress effects of relaxation on proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kyung Bong Koh
    Author Young-Joon Lee
    Author Keyng Min Beyn
    Author Sang Hee Chu
    Author Duck Man Kim
    Abstract The counter-stress effects of relaxation on proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were examined. From 36 medical students, 18 were randomly assigned to the relaxation group, and 18 were randomly assigned to the non-relaxation group. Relaxation lasted for four weeks. The levels of stimulated production of IL-6, TNF-alpha, and IL-10, and blood pressure were measured during the non-examination period (baseline period) and the pre-examination period (stress period). The levels of perceived stress were assessed by the Global Assessment of Recent Stress (GARS) scale, the Stress Response Inventory (SRI) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) anxiety subscale. Repeat measure ANOVA revealed that the SRI total score, scores of the SCL-90-R anxiety subscale and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher during the stress period than during the baseline period regardless of groups. The level of IL-6 production was significantly lower but the level of IL-10 production was significantly higher during the stress period than during the baseline period. Significant reduction in the delta (stress period value minus baseline period value) in the total GARS score, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, the levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha production but significant enhancement in the delta in the level of the IL-10 production were found in the relaxation group compared with the non-relaxation group. These results suggest that relaxation is associated with reduction in stress-induced psychological or physiological responses and proinflammatory cytokine alterations but with enhancement in stress-induced anti-inflammatory cytokine alteration. Therefore, relaxation is more likely to have counter-stress effect on proinflammatory cytokines than on anti-inflammatory cytokine.
    Publication Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
    Volume 22
    Issue 8
    Pages 1130-1137
    Date November 2008
    Journal Abbr Brain Behav. Immun
    DOI 10.1016/j.bbi.2008.06.009
    ISSN 1090-2139
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18639628
    Accessed Friday, September 04, 2009 2:02:30 PM
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    Notes:

    • The counter-stress effects of relaxation on proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were examined. The results suggest that relaxation is associated with reduction in stress-induced psychological or physiological responses and proinflammatory cytokine alterations but with enhancement in stress-induced anti-inflammatory cytokine alteration

  • Facets of mindfulness - Results of an online study investigating the Freiburg mindfulness inventory

    Type Journal Article
    Author Niko Kohls
    Author Sebastian Sauer
    Author Harald Walach
    Abstract There is an ongoing discussion about the definition of mindfulness including the question whether mindfulness is a one-dimensional or multidimensional construct. Research on the Freiburg mindfulness inventory (FMI) has also reflected this debate. We have investigated the psychometric properties of the FMI-14-item in an online convenience sample of n = 244 individuals (150 female; mean age 28.7 (SD = 8.76)) with (n = 75) and without (n = 169) regular meditative training). A simplified version of the beck depression inventory (BDI-V) and the trait subscale of the state-trait-anxiety-inventory (STAI-T) were used for determining criterion validity. A one-dimensional ([alpha] = .83) and an alternative two-dimensional solution ([alpha]F1 = .77; [alpha]F2 = .69) of the FMI-14 were tested with a confirmatory factor analysis and yielded suboptimal fit indices. An exploratory analysis resulted in a reduced 8-item version of the two-dimensional solution with better fit indices, but low internal consistency ([alpha]F1 = .71; [alpha]F2 = .64). The factors could be identified as "Presence" (F1) and "Acceptance" (F2). Further investigation revealed that the substantial negative relationship between mindfulness and anxiety and depression is completely due to the "Acceptance" factor of mindfulness. This suggests that there may be heuristic value in the two-factorial solution, although for practical purposes it seems sufficient to assess mindfulness as one-dimensional construct.
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 46
    Issue 2
    Pages 224-230
    Date January 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2008.10.009
    ISSN 0191-8869
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9F-4TYPJ1P-1/2/9b4aeecb7be8a48214b595bfeea752c4
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:44:24 PM
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    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • depression
    • Factor-structure
    • Measurement
    • Mindfulness
  • Complementary and alternative medicine use in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

    Type Journal Article
    Author Katie Kompoliti
    Author Wenqin Fan
    Author Sue Leurgans
    Abstract The aim of this study was to describe the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) and explore associations with CAM use. In recent years CAM use has increased, but rates of CAM use in TS patients are not reported. Consecutive TS patients or their parent(s), seen in an academic movement disorder center, completed a questionnaire regarding their use of CAM. One hundred TS patients or parents completed the questionnaire, mean age 21.5 +/- 13.5, 76 males, 87 Caucasians. Sixty four patients had used at least one CAM modality. CAM treatments used were prayer (28), vitamins (21), massage (19), dietary supplements (15), chiropractic manipulations (12), meditation (10), diet alterations (nine), yoga (nine), acupuncture (eight), hypnosis (seven), homeopathy (six), and EEG biofeedback (six). Fifty six percent of patients using CAM reported some improvement. Users paid out of pocket for 47% of treatments pursued, and 19% of these payers received partial reimbursement by third party payer. Users and non-users did not differ in age, gender, race, income, educational level, general health, tic severity, medication use for TS, current satisfaction from medications or experience of side effects from medications. CAM use was associated with the presence of affective disorder (P = 0.004), but not with either ADHD or OCD. Among CAM users, 80% initiated CAM without informing their doctor. CAM is commonly used in children and adults with TS, and often without the neurologist's knowledge. Physicians should inquire about CAM to understand the spectrum of interventions that patients with TS use. (c) 2009 Movement Disorder Society.
    Publication Movement Disorders: Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
    Date Aug 24, 2009
    Journal Abbr Mov. Disord
    DOI 10.1002/mds.22724
    ISSN 1531-8257
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19705358
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:35:30 PM
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    Extra PMID: 19705358
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
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    Tags:

    • prepub

    Notes:

    • The aim of this study was to describe the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) and explore associations with CAM use.

  • Pulling yourself together: Meditation promotes congruence between implicit and explicit self-esteem

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sander L. Koole
    Author Olesya Govorun
    Author Clara Michelle Cheng
    Author Marcello Gallucci
    Abstract Self-reported or explicit self-esteem frequently conflicts with indirectly assessed, implicit self-esteem. The present research investigated whether meditation may reduce such inner conflicts by promoting congruence between implicit and explicit self-esteem. Relative to control conditions, meditation led to greater congruence between explicit self-esteem, assessed via self-report, and implicit self-esteem, indicated by name-letter preference (Studies 1 and 2). Low implicit self-esteem was further associated with a slow-down of explicit self-evaluation (Study 2), an effect that mediated the greater congruence between implicit and explicit self-esteem in the meditation condition. These results suggest that meditation encourages people to rely more on intuitive feelings of self-worth.
    Publication Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
    Volume In Press, Corrected Proof
    Date 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.05.018
    ISSN 0022-1031
    Short Title Pulling yourself together
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WJB-4WGBFMN-1/2/b109a079539eb75cedf5ec6793e82eb8
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:22:02 PM
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    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
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    Tags:

    • (Implicit) self-esteem
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Name-letter preference
    • prepub

    Notes:

    • Self-reported or explicit self-esteem frequently conflicts with indirectly assessed, implicit self-esteem. The present research investigated whether meditation may reduce such inner conflicts by promoting congruence between implicit and explicit self-esteem. Relative to control conditions, meditation led to greater congruence between explicit self-esteem, assessed via self-report, and implicit self-esteem, indicated by name-letter preference (Studies 1 and 2).

  • Existential and spiritual needs in mental health care: an ethical and holistic perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tiburtius Koslander
    Author António Barbosa da Silva
    Author Asa Roxberg
    Abstract This study illuminates how existential needs and spiritual needs are connected with health care ethics and individuals' mental health and well-being. The term existential needs is defined as the necessity of experiencing life as meaningful, whereas the term spiritual needs is defined as the need of deliverance from despair, guilt and/or sin, and of pastoral care. It discusses whether or not patients' needs are holistically addressed in Western health care systems that neglect patients' existential and spiritual needs, because of their biomedical view of Man which recognizes only patients' physical needs. It excludes a holistic health care which considers all needs, expressed by patients in treatment of mental illness. Addressing all needs is important for patients' improvement and recovery. For some patients, this is the only way to regain their mental health and well-being.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 27
    Issue 1
    Pages 34-42
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0898010108323302
    ISSN 0898-0101
    Short Title Existential and spiritual needs in mental health care
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:56:21 PM
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    Extra PMID: 19176899
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
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    Tags:

    • Holistic Health
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Mental Disorders
    • Nurse-Patient Relations
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
  • Yoga practice in diabetes improves physical and psychological outcomes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Madhu Kosuri
    Author Gumpeny R Sridhar
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of yoga practice on clinical and psychological outcomes in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: In a 40-day yoga camp at the Institute of Yoga and Consciousness, ambulatory subjects with T2DM not having significant complications (n = 35) participated in a 40-day yoga camp, where yogic practices were overseen by trained yoga teachers. Clinical, biochemical, and psychological well-being were studied at baseline and at the end of the camp. RESULTS: At the end of the study, there was a reduction of body mass index (BMI) (26.514 +/- 3.355 to 25.771 +/- 3.40; P < 0.001) and anxiety (6.20 +/- 3.72 to 4.29 +/- 4.46; P < 0.05) and an improvement in total general well-being (48.6 +/- 11.13 to 52.66 +/- 52.66 +/- 12.87; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Participation of subjects with T2DM in yoga practice for 40 days resulted in reduced BMI, improved well-being, and reduced anxiety.
    Publication Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders
    Volume 7
    Issue 6
    Pages 515-517
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Metab Syndr Relat Disord
    DOI 10.1089/met.2009.0011
    ISSN 1557-8518
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19900155
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 2:40:39 PM
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    Extra PMID: 19900155
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
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  • A multifaith spiritually based intervention for generalized anxiety disorder: a pilot randomized trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Diana Koszycki
    Author Kelley Raab
    Author Fahad Aldosary
    Author Jacques Bradwejn
    Abstract This pilot trial evaluated the efficacy of a multifaith spiritually based intervention (SBI) for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for GAD of at least moderate severity were randomized to either 12 sessions of the SBI (n=11) delivered by a spiritual care counselor or 12 sessions of psychologist-administered cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT; n=11). Outcome measures were completed at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month and 6-month follow-ups. Primary efficacy measures included the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed on the intent-to-treat sample using the Last Observation Carried Forward method. Eighteen patients (82%) completed the study. The SBI produced robust and clinically significant reductions from baseline in psychic and somatic symptoms of GAD and was comparable in efficacy to CBT. A reduction in depressive symptoms and improvement in social adjustment was also observed. Treatment response occurred in 63.6% of SBI-treated and 72.3% of CBT-treated patients. Gains were maintained at 3-month and 6-month follow-ups. These preliminary findings are encouraging and suggest that a multifaith SBI may be an effective treatment option for GAD. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to establish the efficacy of this intervention. (c) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: 66(4):1-12, 2010.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 66
    Issue 4
    Pages 430-441
    Date Feb 8, 2010
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20663
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title A multifaith spiritually based intervention for generalized anxiety disorder
    Accessed Thursday, March 04, 2010 9:02:25 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20143382
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Notes:

    • After a multifaith spiritually based intervention was applied to patients suffering generalized anxiety disorder, a reduction in depressive symptoms and improvement in social adjustment was observed.

  • Perceptions of death, belief systems and the process of coping with chronic pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author J A Kotarba
    Abstract Chronic pain is an on-going experience of embodied discomfort, quite often associated with neuromuscular pathologies, which fails either to heal naturally or to respond to normal medical intervention. The process of coping with chronic pain most commonly involves both the search for medical or non-medical cure, and the search for meaning for intractable suffering. In this paper, I survey various religious, philosophical and mystical belief systems and their empirical use as resources for meaning. The great variability in the ways ideas of death, the key elements extracted from belief systems during the process of coping, are used reflects the variable success in normalizing chronic pain. Theoretically, this paper adds an important dimension to the concept of the chronic illness trajectory, namely, the issue of inevitability, and discusses clinical and non-clinical aspects of depression among people with chronic pain.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 17
    Issue 10
    Pages 681-689
    Date 1983
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6879229
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:44:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 6879229
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Attitude to Death
    • Chronic Disease
    • Humans
    • Pain
    • Suicide

    Notes:

    • The process of coping with chronic pain most commonly involves both the search for medical or non-medical cure, and the search for meaning for intractable suffering. In this paper, I survey various religious, philosophical and mystical belief systems and their empirical use as resources for meaning.

  • Religious advisors' role in mental health care in the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author Viviane Kovess-Masfety
    Author Anne Dezetter
    Author Ron de Graaf
    Author Joseph Maria Haro
    Author Ronny Bruffaerts
    Author Xavier Briffault
    Author Fabien Gilbert
    Author Miquel Codony
    Author Jordi Alonso
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To study the role of religious advisors in mental health problems in six European countries and to compare it to data from the USA. METHODS: Data were derived from the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD) study, a cross-sectional study, conducted in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. 21,425 individuals, 18 and older, were interviewed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0. Findings were compared to the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) and replication of the NCS (NCS-R) in the US. RESULTS: In ESEMeD, 0.6% of individuals (0.3% exclusively) sought help from religious advisors concerning mental health problems during the previous year, compared to 2.6% in NCS and 3.4% (for human services) in NCS-R in the US. Among those using any form of service, 6.9% consulted religious advisors (12.2% in Germany to 2.1% in Spain) compared to 18.8% in the US. Being younger (less than 25years old), being older (more than 64) and religiosity are associated with the use of religious advisors, whereas being a student is associated with a lower probability. CONCLUSIONS: Seeking help from religious advisors for mental health problems varies dramatically among ESEMeD countries. Except for Germany, organised religion in the ESEMeD countries could not be considered as an alternative.
    Publication Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
    Volume 45
    Issue 10
    Pages 989-998
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol
    DOI 10.1007/s00127-009-0143-0
    ISSN 1433-9285
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19798457
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:10:26 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Comorbidity
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Epidemiologic Studies
    • Europe
    • Female
    • Germany
    • Health Care Surveys
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • Mental Health Services
    • Pastoral Care
    • Prevalence
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Referral and Consultation
    • religion
    • United States
  • The enhancement of visuospatial processing efficiency through Buddhist Deity meditation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maria Kozhevnikov
    Author Olga Louchakova
    Author Zoran Josipovic
    Author Michael A Motes
    Abstract This study examined the effects of meditation on mental imagery, evaluating Buddhist monks' reports concerning their extraordinary imagery skills. Practitioners of Buddhist meditation were divided into two groups according to their preferred meditation style: Deity Yoga (focused attention on an internal visual image) or Open Presence (evenly distributed attention, not directed to any particular object). Both groups of meditators completed computerized mental-imagery tasks before and after meditation. Their performance was compared with that of control groups, who either rested or performed other visuospatial tasks between testing sessions. The results indicate that all the groups performed at the same baseline level, but after meditation, Deity Yoga practitioners demonstrated a dramatic increase in performance on imagery tasks compared with the other groups. The results suggest that Deity meditation specifically trains one's capacity to access heightened visuospatial processing resources, rather than generally improving visuospatial imagery abilities.
    Publication Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society / APS
    Volume 20
    Issue 5
    Pages 645-653
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02345.x
    ISSN 1467-9280
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19476594
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:22:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19476594
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attention
    • Awareness
    • Buddhism
    • Discrimination (Psychology)
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Imagination
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Memory, Short-Term
    • Middle Aged
    • Orientation
    • Pattern Recognition, Visual
    • Reaction Time
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Space Perception
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • This study examined the effects of meditation on mental imagery, evaluating Buddhist monks’ reports concerning their extraordinary imagery skills. Practitioners of Buddhist meditation were divided into two groups according to their preferred meditation style: Deity Yoga (focused attention on an internal visual image) or Open Presence (evenly distributed attention, not directed to any particular object). Both groups of meditators completed computerized mental-imagery tasks before and after meditation. Their performance was compared with that of control groups, who either rested or performed other visuospatial tasks between testing sessions. The results indicate that all the groups performed at the same baseline level, but after meditation, Deity Yoga practitioners demonstrated a dramatic increase in performance on imagery tasks compared with the other groups. The results suggest that Deity meditation specifically trains one’s capacity to access heightened visuospatial processing resources, rather than generally improving visuospatial imagery abilities.

  • Association of an educational program in mindful communication with burnout, empathy, and attitudes among primary care physicians

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael S Krasner
    Author Ronald M Epstein
    Author Howard Beckman
    Author Anthony L Suchman
    Author Benjamin Chapman
    Author Christopher J Mooney
    Author Timothy E Quill
    Abstract CONTEXT: Primary care physicians report high levels of distress, which is linked to burnout, attrition, and poorer quality of care. Programs to reduce burnout before it results in impairment are rare; data on these programs are scarce. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an intensive educational program in mindfulness, communication, and self-awareness is associated with improvement in primary care physicians' well-being, psychological distress, burnout, and capacity for relating to patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Before-and-after study of 70 primary care physicians in Rochester, New York, in a continuing medical education (CME) course in 2007-2008. The course included mindfulness meditation, self-awareness exercises, narratives about meaningful clinical experiences, appreciative interviews, didactic material, and discussion. An 8-week intensive phase (2.5 h/wk, 7-hour retreat) was followed by a 10-month maintenance phase (2.5 h/mo). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mindfulness (2 subscales), burnout (3 subscales), empathy (3 subscales), psychosocial orientation, personality (5 factors), and mood (6 subscales) measured at baseline and at 2, 12, and 15 months. RESULTS: Over the course of the program and follow-up, participants demonstrated improvements in mindfulness (raw score, 45.2 to 54.1; raw score change [Delta], 8.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.0 to 10.8); burnout (emotional exhaustion, 26.8 to 20.0; Delta = -6.8; 95% CI, -4.8 to -8.8; depersonalization, 8.4 to 5.9; Delta = -2.5; 95% CI, -1.4 to -3.6; and personal accomplishment, 40.2 to 42.6; Delta = 2.4; 95% CI, 1.2 to 3.6); empathy (116.6 to 121.2; Delta = 4.6; 95% CI, 2.2 to 7.0); physician belief scale (76.7 to 72.6; Delta = -4.1; 95% CI, -1.8 to -6.4); total mood disturbance (33.2 to 16.1; Delta = -17.1; 95% CI, -11 to -23.2), and personality (conscientiousness, 6.5 to 6.8; Delta = 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1 to 5 and emotional stability, 6.1 to 6.6; Delta = 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3 to 0.7). Improvements in mindfulness were correlated with improvements in total mood disturbance (r = -0.39, P < .001), perspective taking subscale of physician empathy (r = 0.31, P < .001), burnout (emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment subscales, r = -0.32 and 0.33, respectively; P < .001), and personality factors (conscientiousness and emotional stability, r = 0.29 and 0.25, respectively; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Participation in a mindful communication program was associated with short-term and sustained improvements in well-being and attitudes associated with patient-centered care. Because before-and-after designs limit inferences about intervention effects, these findings warrant randomized trials involving a variety of practicing physicians.
    Publication JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
    Volume 302
    Issue 12
    Pages 1284-1293
    Date Sep 23, 2009
    Journal Abbr JAMA
    DOI 10.1001/jama.2009.1384
    ISSN 1538-3598
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19773563
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:00:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19773563
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
  • Church-Based Social Relationships and Change in Self-Esteem Over Time

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Abstract Using data from a nationwide survey of XXXX older adults, the author finds that having a close personal relationship with God is associated with a stronger sense of self-esteem at the baseline and follow-up interviews. In contrast, emotional support from fellow church members was not associated with self-esteem at either point in time. However, emotional support from secular social network members is related to self-esteem at the baseline but not the follow-up interview.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 756-773
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01477.x
    URL http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01477.x
    Accessed Thursday, December 17, 2009 1:19:12 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study is examine the relationships between church-based emotional support, negative interaction, and psychological well-being among clergy, elders, and rank-and-file members of the Presbyterian Church USA. Data from a nationwide survey of Presbyterians reveal that elders as well as clergy encounter more emotional support and negative interaction than rank-and-file members. The findings further indicate that the effects of emotional support and negative interaction on well-being are greater for clergy and elders than for rank-and-file members.

  • Lifetime Trauma, Prayer, and Psychological Distress In Late Life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to see whether prayer helps older people cope more effectively with the adverse effects of lifetime trauma. Data from a nationwide survey of older adults reveal that the size of the relationship between traumatic events and depressive symptoms is reduced for older people who believe that only God knows when it is best to answer a prayer, and when they believe that only God knows the best way to answer it. The findings further reveal that these beliefs about prayer outcomes are especially likely to offset the effects of traumatic events that arose during childhood.
    Publication The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 55-72
    Date Jan 1, 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychol Relig
    DOI 10.1080/10508610802471112
    ISSN 1050-8619
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20204149
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20204149
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
  • Assessing coping responses within specific faith traditions: suffering in silence, stress, and depressive symptoms among older Catholics.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate a coping response that is thought to be unique among older Catholics-suffering in silence. Two hypotheses are examined. The first predicts that older Catholics will be more likely than older Protestants to suffer in silence when ongoing economic difficulty is encountered. The second hypothesis specifies that the potentially deleterious effects of financial problems on depressive symptoms will be offset for older adults who prefer to suffer in silence. Data from an ongoing nationwide survey of older people in the United States provide support for both hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 5
    Pages 513-529
    Date July 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903433686
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Assessing coping responses within specific faith traditions
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:46:06 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM

    Tags:

    • CATHOLICS
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • FINANCIAL crises
    • Protestants
    • United States
  • Church-Based Emotional Support And Self-Forgiveness in Late Life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to see whether emotional support from fellow church members is associated with self-forgiveness in late life. The data come from a longitudinal nationwide survey of older adults. An effort is made to contribute to the literature by comparing and contrasting the effects of two church-based support measures: the amount of emotional support that is provided by fellow church members and satisfaction with emotional support from co-religionists. The findings suggest that older study participants who are more satisfied with the emotional support they have received from the members of their church are more likely to forgive themselves than older people who are not satisfied with the emotional support they have received in church. In contrast, significant effects failed to emerge with the measure of the amount of received emotional support.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 52
    Issue 1
    Pages 72-89
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr Rev Relig Res
    ISSN 0034-673X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21686035
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21686035
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
  • The Social Milieu of the Church and Religious Coping Responses: A Longitudinal Investigation of Older Whites and Older Blacks.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to see if the social environment of the church influences the use of religious coping responses over time. The following theoretical relationships were embedded in the conceptual model that was developed to evaluate this issue: (a) People who go to church more often are more likely to feel their congregation is highly cohesive (e.g., share the same values and beliefs); (b) individuals who worship in highly cohesive congregations are more likely to receive spiritual support (i.e., encouragement to adopt religious teachings and principles) from their fellow church members; and (c) people who receive more spiritual support will be more likely to adopt religious coping responses. In the process of evaluating this model, tests were performed to examine the influence of racial culture. Data from a nationwide longitudinal survey of older adults provide support for each link in the conceptual model. Pervasive racial cultural differences were also found: Older Blacks were more likely to be deeply involved in each facet of religion than older Whites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 20
    Issue 2
    Pages 109-129
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/10508611003608007
    ISSN 10508619
    Short Title The Social Milieu of the Church and Religious Coping Responses
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:25:23 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • church
    • delusions
    • RELIGIOUS gatherings
    • SOCIAL context
    • spirituality
  • Meaning in life and mortality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was to see if meaning in life is associated with mortality in old age. Interviews were conducted with a nationwide sample of older adults (N = 1,361). Data were collected on meaning in life, mortality, and select control measures. Three main findings emerged from this study. First, the data suggest that older people with a strong sense of meaning in life are less likely to die over the study follow-up period than those who do not have a strong sense of meaning. Second, the findings indicate that the effect of meaning on mortality can be attributed to the potentially important indirect effect that operates through health. Third, further analysis revealed that one dimension of meaning-having a strong sense of purpose in life-has a stronger relationship with mortality than other facets of meaning. The main study findings were observed after the effects of attendance at religious services and emotional support were controlled statistically. If the results from this study can be replicated, then interventions should be designed to help older people find a greater sense of purpose in life.
    Publication The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
    Volume 64
    Issue 4
    Pages 517-527
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
    DOI 10.1093/geronb/gbp047
    ISSN 1758-5368
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:55:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19515991
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Affect
    • Aged
    • Attitude
    • Chronic Disease
    • DEMOGRAPHY
    • Disabled Persons
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Life
    • mortality
    • Questionnaires
    • social support
  • Religious Involvement, Humility, and Self-Rated Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to develop and test a conceptual model that assesses the following theoretical linkages: (1) people who go to church more often tend to receive more spiritual support from fellow church members (i.e., encouragement to adopt religious teachings and principles); (2) individuals who get more frequent spiritual support are more likely to be humble; and (3) people with greater humility tend to rate their health more favorably. The data come from the third wave of a nationwide longitudinal survey of older adults. The data provide support for each of the conceptual linkages identified above.
    Publication Social Indicators Research
    Volume 98
    Issue 1
    Pages 23-39
    Date Aug 1, 2010
    Journal Abbr Soc Indic Res
    DOI 10.1007/s11205-009-9514-x
    ISSN 0303-8300
    Accessed Tuesday, August 17, 2010 7:52:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20703366
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • God-Mediated Control and Change in Self-Rated Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to see if feelings of God-mediated control are associated with change in self-rated health over time. In the process, an effort was made to see if a sense of meaning in life and optimism mediated the relationship between God-mediated control and change in health. The following hypothesized relationships were contained in the conceptual model that was developed to evaluate these issues: (1) people who go to church more often tend to have stronger God-mediated control beliefs than individuals who do not attend worship services as often; (2) people with a strong sense of God-mediated control are more likely to find a sense of meaning in life and be more optimistic than individuals who do not have a strong sense of God-mediated control; (3) people who are optimistic and who have a strong sense of meaning in life will rate their health more favorably over time than individuals who are not optimistic, as well as individuals who have not found a sense of meaning in life. Data from a longitudinal nationwide survey of older adults provided support for each of these hypotheses.
    Publication The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 20
    Issue 4
    Pages 267-287
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychol Relig
    DOI 10.1080/10508619.2010.507695
    ISSN 1050-8619
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21057586
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 2:51:44 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM
  • Prayer to the Saints or the Virgin and Health Among Older Mexican Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author N. Krause
    Author E. Bastida
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate a conceptual model that assesses whether praying to the saints or the Virgin is associated with the health of older Mexican Americans. A survey was conducted of 1,005 older Mexican Americans (Mean age = 73.9 years; SD = 6.6 years). Data from 795 of the Catholic respondents are presented in this study. The findings support the following relationships that are embedded in the conceptual model: (1) older Mexican Americans who attend church more often are more likely to believe in the efficacy of prayer to the saints or the Virgin; (2) stronger beliefs in the efficacy of intercessory prayer are associated with more frequent prayer to the saints or the Virgin; (3) frequent prayer is to the saints or the Virgin and is associated with greater God-mediated control beliefs; (4) stronger God-mediated control beliefs are associated with greater optimism; and (5) greater optimism is associated with better self-rated health.
    Publication Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences
    Volume 33
    Issue 1
    Pages 71-87
    Date 01/2011
    Journal Abbr Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences
    DOI 10.1177/0739986310393628
    ISSN 0739-9863
    URL http://hjb.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0739986310393628
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
  • Religion, suffering, and health among older Mexican Americans.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Author Elena Bastida
    Abstract Abstract: Pain and suffering are deeply embedded in the ethos of Mexican American culture. Consequently, it is not surprising to find that many Mexican Americans turn to their faith in an effort to deal with the pain and suffering that arise in their lives. The purpose of the current study is to explore the interface between pain, suffering, religion, and health among older Mexican Americans. Three major themes emerged from in-depth qualitative interviews with 52 older Mexican Americans. The first is concerned with whether pain and suffering are a necessary part of religious life, the second has to do with the potential benefits that pain and suffering may provide, and the third involves whether it is necessary to bear pain and suffering in silence. In the process of reviewing these themes, an effort is made to show how they may be linked with the physical and mental health of older Mexican Americans. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
    Publication Journal of Aging Studies
    Volume 23
    Issue 2
    Pages 114-123
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.jaging.2008.11.002
    ISSN 08904065
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • AGE factors in disease
    • COGNITION -- Age factors
    • OLDER Mexican Americans -- Psychology
    • OLDER people -- Health
    • Pain
    • religion
    • Suffering
    • United States
  • Close Companion Friends in Church and Health in Late Life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Author John Cairney
    Abstract This study has two principal aims. The first goal is to empirically evaluate new measures of close companion friendships that arise in church. The second goal is to embed these measures in a conceptual model that seeks to assess the relationship between close companion friends at church and health. Based on data from a nationwide sample of older people, the findings reveal that the newly devised measures are psychometrically sound. In addition, the results provide empirical support for the following linkages that are contained in our conceptual model: older people who have a close companion friend at church are more likely to feel they belong in their congregation; old adults who believe they belong in their congregation are more likely to feel grateful to God; and older individuals who feel grateful to God tend to rate their health more favorably.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 51
    Issue 2
    Pages 181-200
    Date Jan 1, 2009
    Journal Abbr Rev Relig Res
    ISSN 0034-673X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20563266
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20563266
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
  • Forgiveness by God, Forgiveness of Others, and Psychological Well-Being in Late Life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among forgiveness by God, forgiveness of others, and psychological well-being with data provided by a nationwide survey of older adults. Three main findings emerge from the analyses. First, the data suggest that forgiving others tends to enhance psychological well-being, and these salubrious effects are greater than those associated with forgiveness by God. Second, the findings indicate that how older people go about forgiving others is important: older adults who require transgressors to perform acts of contrition experience more psychological distress than those who forgive unconditionally. Third, the results reveal that forgiveness by God may be involved in this process because older people who feel they are forgiven by God are less likely to expect transgressors to perform acts of contrition.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 42
    Issue 1
    Pages 77-94
    Date Mar., 2003
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1387986
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:11:33 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 2003 / Copyright © 2003 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among forgiveness by God, forgiveness of others, and psychological well-being with data provided by a nationwide survey of older adults.

  • Stress and religious involvement among older blacks

    Type Journal Article
    Author N Krause
    Author T Van Tran
    Abstract We conducted this study in a nationwide sample of older Black Americans to determine whether religious involvement helps to reduce the negative impact of stressful life events. The major outcome measures were self-esteem and feelings of personal control. Three models of the stress process were evaluated empirically: the suppressor, moderator, and distress-deterrent models. The data provided support for the distress-deterrent model only. The findings from this model indicated that although life stress to erode feelings of self-worth and mastery, these negative effects were offset or counterbalanced by increased religious involvement.
    Publication Journal of Gerontology
    Volume 44
    Issue 1
    Pages S4-13
    Date Jan 1989
    Journal Abbr J Gerontol
    ISSN 0022-1422
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2911002
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:45:19 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 2911002
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • We conducted this study in a nationwide sample of older Black Americans to determine whether religious involvement helps to reduce the negative impact of stressful life events.

  • Religious Doubt and Health: Exploring the Potential Dark Side of Religion

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Author Keith M. Wulff
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to test two hypotheses about the relationship between religious doubt and health. The first hypothesis specifies that people who have more doubts about their faith will be less satisfied with their health, and experience more symptoms of depression than individuals who have fewer doubts about their religious beliefs. The second hypothesis states that the potentially deleterious effects of religious doubt will be greater for people who occupy formal roles in the church. Findings from a nationwide survey provide support for both hypotheses. The results underscore the importance of looking at the potential costs, as well as the benefits, of religious involvement.
    Publication Sociology of Religion
    Volume 65
    Issue 1
    Pages 35-56
    Date Spring, 2004
    DOI 10.2307/3712506
    ISSN 10694404
    Short Title Religious Doubt and Health
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/3712506
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:47:50 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Spring, 2004 / Copyright © 2004 Association for the Sociology of Religion, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study is twofold: (a) To see whether religious doubt is related to psychological well-being and (b) to test for age differences in the relationship between these constructs.. The findings suggest that doubt is associated with greater psychological distress and diminished feelings of well-being. Moreover, the results reveal that the deleterious effects of doubt are greater for younger than for older people.

  • Church-Based Emotional Support, Negative Interaction, and Psychological Well-Being: Findings from a National Sample of Presbyterians

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Keith M. Wulff
    Abstract The purpose of this study is examine the relationships between church-based emotional support, negative interaction, and psychological well-being among clergy, elders, and rank-and-file members of the Presbyterian Church USA. Based on identity theory, it is proposed that clergy will receive more emotional support and encounter more negative interaction than others in the church. It is further hypothesized that the impact of emotional support and negative interaction on well-being will be greatest among members of the clergy. Data from a nationwide survey of Presbyterians reveal that elders as well as clergy encounter more emotional support and negative interaction than rank-and-file members. The findings further indicate that the effects of emotional support and negative interaction on well-being are greater for clergy and elders than for rank-and-file members. The implications of these findings are discussed, along with several promising directions for future research.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 37
    Issue 4
    Pages 725-741
    Date Dec., 1998
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Church-Based Emotional Support, Negative Interaction, and Psychological Well-Being
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1388153
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:06:56 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 1998 / Copyright © 1998 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Aging, religious doubt, and psychological well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author N Krause
    Author B Ingersoll-Dayton
    Author C G Ellison
    Author K M Wulff
    Abstract The purpose of this study is twofold: (a) To see whether religious doubt is related to psychological well-being and (b) to test for age differences in the relationship between these constructs. The data come from a national sample of Presbyterians. The findings suggest that doubt is associated with greater psychological distress and diminished feelings of well-being. Moreover, the results reveal that the deleterious effects of doubt are greater for younger than for older people. Implications for practice with adults across the life span are suggested.
    Publication The Gerontologist
    Volume 39
    Issue 5
    Pages 525-533
    Date Oct 1999
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    ISSN 0016-9013
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10568077
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 1:50:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10568077
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aging
    • Christianity
    • Defense Mechanisms
    • Humans
    • Personality Assessment
    • Religion and Psychology

    Notes:

    • The first hypothesis specifies that people who have more doubts about their faith will be less satisfied with their health. The second hypothesis states that the potentially deleterious effects of religious doubt will be greater for people who occupy formal roles in the church. Findings from a nationwide survey provide support for both hypotheses.

  • The Effects of Church-Based Emotional Support on Health: Do They Vary by Gender?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Neal Krause
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Jack P. Marcum
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among social support provided by church members, gender, and change in physical health status over time. More specifically, this study was designed to see whether women receive more support from church members than men, whether more support from church members is associated with better self-rated health over time, and whether there are gender differences in the relationship between church-based support and health. The data come from a longitudinal nationwide survey of members of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The findings suggest that women receive more emotional support from church members than men. Moreover, church-based support is associated with better self-rated health over time, but these effects emerge among men only. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed and elaborated.
    Publication Sociology of Religion
    Volume 63
    Issue 1
    Pages 21-47
    Date Spring, 2002
    ISSN 10694404
    Short Title The Effects of Church-Based Emotional Support on Health
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3712538
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:28:31 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Spring, 2002 / Copyright © 2002 Association for the Sociology of Religion, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among social support provided by church members, gender, and change in physical health status over time. More specifically, this study was designed to see whether women receive more support from church members than men, whether more support from church members is associated with better self-rated health over time, and whether there are gender differences in the relationship between church-based support and health.

  • The brief serenity scale: a psychometric analysis of a measure of spirituality and well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Jo Kreitzer
    Author Cynthia R Gross
    Author On-anong Waleekhachonloet
    Author Maryanne Reilly-Spong
    Author Marcia Byrd
    Abstract PURPOSE: This article describes a factor analysis of a 22-item version of the Serenity Scale, a tool that measures spirituality and well-being. METHOD: A sample of 87 participants, enrolled in a National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trial examining the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction on symptom management post-solid organ transplantation, completed the abbreviated instrument. FINDINGS: Exploratory factor analysis yielded three subscales: acceptance, inner haven, and trust. The Serenity Scale was positively associated with positive affect and mindful awareness and inversely related to negative affect, anxiety, depression, health distress and transplant-related stress. CONCLUSIONS: Serenity, a dimension of spirituality that is secular and distinct from religious orientation or religiosity, shows promise as a tool that could be used to measure outcomes of nursing interventions that improve health and well-being. IMPLICATIONS: Spirituality is recognized as being an essential component of holistic nursing practice. As nurses expand their use of spiritual interventions, it is important to document outcomes related to nursing care. The Serenity Scale appears to capture a dimension of spirituality, a state of acceptance, inner haven and trust that is distinct from other spirituality instruments.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 27
    Issue 1
    Pages 7-16
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0898010108327212
    ISSN 0898-0101
    Short Title The brief serenity scale
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:56:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19176898
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Holistic Health
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Personality Assessment
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality
    • United States
  • Everything changed: spiritual transformation in people with HIV

    Type Journal Article
    Author Heidemarie Kremer
    Author Gail Ironson
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Spiritual Transformation (ST) is accompanied by dramatic changes in spiritual beliefs along with major changes in behaviors, self-view, and attitudes. This study examined types of ST, as well as its antecedents and consequences in people with HIV. METHOD: Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze interviews about ST in people's lives in two samples: people with chronic HIV-disease (chronic disease sample, n = 74) and people with HIV who identified themselves as spiritual (spiritual sample, n = 73). RESULTS: ST occurred in 39% of the chronic disease and 75% of the spiritual sample. These STs were generally positive (95%) and enduring (M = 8.71 +/- 7.43 years). ST was most frequently associated with spiritual experience (in particular near-death experience), substance-use recovery, and HIV/AIDS-diagnosis. Main antecedents were substance-use disorder, education/upbringing, and desire to change. Further themes were depression/helplessness, confrontation with illness/death, social support, and lifestyle. The top six consequences include spiritual intensification, more spiritual practices, positive feelings toward self, recovery from substance-use, finding new meaning and purpose in life, and increased self-knowledge. In the spiritual sample, there was a common pattern of hitting rock bottom with drugs, having a spiritual experience (in particular a near-death experience), and joining a drug program. CONCLUSIONS: Positive ST occurs in a sizable proportion of people with HIV. Importantly, ST often results in an enduring substance-use recovery, and an improved quality of life as indicated by enhanced gratitude, appreciation, joy, sense of peace, and reduced fear of death.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 243-262
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    Short Title Everything changed
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:34:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19967898
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Case-Control Studies
    • Chronic Disease
    • Female
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Qualitative Research
    • Quality of Life
    • Self Concept
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
  • The fork in the road: HIV as a potential positive turning point and the role of spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author H Kremer
    Author G Ironson
    Author L Kaplan
    Abstract We interviewed 147 HIV-positive people regarding their key life-changing experiences - involving profound changes in attitudes, behaviors, beliefs (including spiritual beliefs), or self-views - to determine the prominence of HIV as the key positive/negative turning point. HIV was the key turning point, for 37% (26% positive, 11% negative), whereas for 63% of our sample it was not. Characteristics associated with perceiving HIV as the most positive turning point included having a near-death experience from HIV, increasing spirituality after HIV diagnosis, and feeling chosen by a Higher Powerto have HIV. Notably, perceived antecedents of viewing HIV as the key positive turning point were hitting rock bottom and calling on a Higher Power. Conversely, viewing HIV as the most negative turning point was associated with declining spirituality after diagnosis. Spirituality can both negatively and positively affect coping with HIV. Promoting positive spiritual coping may offer new counseling approaches. Further, for the majority of the participants, HIV is not the key turning point, which may be an indicator of the normalization of HIV with the advent of effective treatment.
    Publication AIDS Care
    Volume 21
    Issue 3
    Pages 368-377
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr AIDS Care
    DOI 10.1080/09540120802183479
    ISSN 1360-0451
    Short Title The fork in the road
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:38:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19280412
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • This study is based on interviews of 147 HIV-positive people regarding their key life-changing experiences – involving profound changes in attitudes, behaviors, beliefs (including spiritual beliefs), or self-views – to determine the prominence of HIV as the key positive/negative turning point. HIV was the key turning point, for 37% (26% positive, 11% negative), whereas for 63% of our sample it was not. Characteristics associated with perceiving HIV as the most positive turning point included having a near-death experience from HIV, increasing spirituality after HIV diagnosis, and feeling chosen by a Higher Power to have HIV. Notably, perceived antecedents of viewing HIV as the key positive turning point were hitting rock bottom and calling on a Higher Power. Conversely, viewing HIV as the most negative turning point was associated with declining spirituality after diagnosis. Spirituality can both negatively and positively affect coping with HIV. Promoting positive spiritual coping may offer new counseling approaches. Further, for the majority of the participants, HIV is not the key turning point, which may be an indicator of the normalization of HIV with the advent of effective treatment.

  • Spiritual and mind–body beliefs as barriers and motivators to HIV-treatment decision-making and medication adherence? A qualitative study.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Heidemarie Kremer
    Author Gail Ironson
    Author Martina Porr
    Abstract We examined spiritual/mind–body beliefs related to treatment decision-making and adherence in 79 HIV-positive people (35% female, 41% African American, 22% Latino, 24% White) who had been offered antiretroviral treatment by their physicians. Interviews (performed in 2003) identified spiritual/mind–body beliefs; the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) questionnaire assessed adherence and symptoms/side effects. Decision-making was influenced by health-related spiritual beliefs (e.g., calling on God/Higher Power for help/protection, God/Higher Power controls health) and mind–body beliefs (e.g., mind controls body, body tells when medication is needed). Participants believing God/Higher Power controls health were 4.75 times more likely to refuse, and participants with mind–body beliefs related to decision-making were 5.31 times more likely to defer antiretrovirals than those without those beliefs. Participants believing spirituality helps coping with side effects reported significantly better adherence and fewer symptoms/side effects. Fewer symptoms/side effects were significantly associated with the beliefs mind controls body, calling on God/Higher Power for help/protection, and spirituality helps adherence. Spiritual/mind–body beliefs as barriers or motivators to taking or adhering to treatment are important, since they may affect survival and quality of life of HIV-positive people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication AIDS Patient Care and STDs
    Volume 23
    Issue 2
    Pages 119-126
    Date February 2009
    DOI 10.1089/apc.2008.0131
    ISSN 1087-2914
    Short Title Spiritual and mind–body beliefs as barriers and motivators to HIV-treatment decision-making and medication adherence?
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • antiretroviral treatment
    • barriers
    • Decision Making
    • drug treatment adherence
    • Dualism
    • God Concepts
    • Health Care Seeking Behavior
    • HIV
    • HIV treatment decisions
    • mind body beliefs
    • spiritual beliefs
    • spirituality
    • Treatment Barriers
    • Treatment Compliance

    Notes:

    • This study examined spiritual/mind–body beliefs related to treatment decision-making and adherence in 79 HIV-positive people (35% female, 41% African American, 22% Latino, 24% White) who had been offered antiretroviral treatment by their physicians. Interviews (performed in 2003) identified spiritual/mind–body beliefs; the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) questionnaire assessed adherence and symptoms/side effects. Decision-making was influenced by health-related spiritual beliefs (e.g., calling on God/Higher Power for help/protection, God/Higher Power controls health) and mind–body beliefs. Participants believing God/Higher Power controls health were 4.75 times more likely to refuse, and participants with mind–body beliefs related to decision-making were 5.31 times more likely to defer antiretrovirals than those without those beliefs. Participants believing spirituality helps coping with side effects reported significantly better adherence and fewer symptoms/side effects. Fewer symptoms/side effects were significantly associated with the beliefs mind controls body, calling on God/Higher Power for help/protection, and spirituality helps adherence. Spiritual/mind–body beliefs as barriers or motivators to taking or adhering to treatment are important, since they may affect survival and quality of life of HIV-positive people.

  • The fork in the road: HIV as a potential positive turning point and the role of spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author H Kremer
    Author G Ironson
    Author L Kaplan
    Abstract We interviewed 147 HIV-positive people regarding their key life-changing experiences - involving profound changes in attitudes, behaviors, beliefs (including spiritual beliefs), or self-views - to determine the prominence of HIV as the key positive/negative turning point. HIV was the key turning point, for 37% (26% positive, 11% negative), whereas for 63% of our sample it was not. Characteristics associated with perceiving HIV as the most positive turning point included having a near-death experience from HIV, increasing spirituality after HIV diagnosis, and feeling chosen by a Higher Powerto have HIV. Notably, perceived antecedents of viewing HIV as the key positive turning point were hitting rock bottom and calling on a Higher Power. Conversely, viewing HIV as the most negative turning point was associated with declining spirituality after diagnosis. Spirituality can both negatively and positively affect coping with HIV. Promoting positive spiritual coping may offer new counseling approaches. Further, for the majority of the participants, HIV is not the key turning point, which may be an indicator of the normalization of HIV with the advent of effective treatment.
    Publication AIDS Care
    Volume 21
    Issue 3
    Pages 368-377
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr AIDS Care
    DOI 10.1080/09540120802183479
    ISSN 1360-0451
    Short Title The fork in the road
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19280412
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:55:47 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19280412
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • We interviewed 147 HIV-positive people regarding their key life-changing experiences - involving profound changes in attitudes, behaviors, beliefs (including spiritual beliefs), or self-views - to determine the prominence of HIV as the key positive/negative turning point.

  • Meditation therapies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thawatchai Krisanaprakornkit
    Author Chetta Ngamjarus
    Author Chartree Witoonchart
    Author Nawanant Piyavhatkul
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common developmental disorders experienced in childhood and can persist into adulthood. The disorder has early onset and is characterized by a combination of overactive, poorly modulated behavior with marked inattention. In the long term it can impair academic performance, vocational success and social-emotional development. Meditation is increasingly used for psychological conditions and could be used as a tool for attentional training in the ADHD population. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of meditation therapies as a treatment for ADHD. SEARCH STRATEGY: Our extensive search included: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO, C2-SPECTR, dissertation abstracts, LILACS, Virtual Health Library (VHL) in BIREME, Complementary and Alternative Medicine specific databases, HSTAT, Informit, JST, Thai Psychiatric databases and ISI Proceedings, plus grey literature and trial registries from inception to January 2010. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials that investigated the efficacy of meditation therapy in children or adults diagnosed with ADHD. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors extracted data independently using a pre-designed data extraction form. We contacted study authors for additional information required. We analyzed data using mean difference (MD) to calculate the treatment effect. The results are presented in tables, figures and narrative form. MAIN RESULTS: Four studies, including 83 participants, are included in this review. Two studies used mantra meditation while the other two used yoga compared with drugs, relaxation training, non-specific exercises and standard treatment control. Design limitations caused high risk of bias across the studies. Only one out of four studies provided data appropriate for analysis. For this study there was no statistically significant difference between the meditation therapy group and the drug therapy group on the teacher rating ADHD scale (MD -2.72, 95% CI -8.49 to 3.05, 15 patients). Likewise, there was no statistically significant difference between the meditation therapy group and the standard therapy group on the teacher rating ADHD scale (MD -0.52, 95% CI -5.88 to 4.84, 17 patients). There was also no statistically significant difference between the meditation therapy group and the standard therapy group in the distraction test (MD -8.34, 95% CI -107.05 to 90.37, 17 patients). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: As a result of the limited number of included studies, the small sample sizes and the high risk of bias, we are unable to draw any conclusions regarding the effectiveness of meditation therapy for ADHD. The adverse effects of meditation have not been reported. More trials are needed.
    Publication Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
    Volume 6
    Pages CD006507
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Cochrane Database Syst Rev
    DOI 10.1002/14651858.CD006507.pub2
    ISSN 1469-493X
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:51:43 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20556767
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Assessing depression following two ancient Indian interventions: effects of yoga and ayurveda on older adults in a residential home

    Type Journal Article
    Author Manjunath Nandi Krishnamurthy
    Author Shirley Telles
    Abstract The effects of yoga and ayurveda on geriatric depression were evaluated in 69 persons older than 60 who were living in a residential home. Participants were stratified by age and gender and randomly allocated to three groups: Yoga, Ayurveda, or Wait-list Control. The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms prior to the intervention, and after 3 months and 6 months post-intervention. Participation in one of the three groups lasted 24 weeks. The yoga program (7 hours 30 minutes per week) included physical postures, relaxation techniques, regulated breathing, devotional songs, and lectures. The Ayurveda Group received an herbal preparation twice daily for the whole period. The depression symptom scores of the Yoga Group at both 3 and 6 months decreased significantly, from a group average baseline of 10.6 to 8.1 and 6.7, respectively (p < .001, paired t-test). The other groups showed no change. Hence, an integrated approach of yoga including the mental and philosophical aspects in addition to the physical practices was useful for institutionalized older persons.
    Publication Journal of Gerontological Nursing
    Volume 33
    Issue 2
    Pages 17-23
    Date Feb 2007
    Journal Abbr J Gerontol Nurs
    ISSN 0098-9134
    Short Title Assessing depression following two ancient Indian interventions
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17310659
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 2:29:53 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17310659
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Analysis of Variance
    • depression
    • Female
    • Geriatric Assessment
    • Humans
    • India
    • Institutionalization
    • Male
    • Malvaceae
    • Medicine, Ayurvedic
    • Middle Aged
    • Nursing Assessment
    • Nursing Evaluation Research
    • nursing homes
    • Phyllanthus emblica
    • Phytotherapy
    • Piper
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Terminalia
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Withania
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • The effects of yoga and ayurveda on geriatric depression were evaluated in 69 persons older than 60 who were living in a residential home. Participants were stratified by age and gender and randomly allocated to three groups: Yoga, Ayurveda, or Wait-list Control. The depression symptom scores of the Yoga Group at both 3 and 6 months decreased significantly, from a group average baseline of 10.6 to 8.1 and 6.7, respectively (p < .001, paired t-test). The other groups showed no change.

  • Mindfulness-based eating awareness training for treating binge eating disorder: The conceptual foundation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jean L. Kristeller
    Author Ruth Q. Wolever
    Abstract This paper reviews the conceptual foundation of mindfulness-based eating awareness training (MB-EAT). It provides an overview of key therapeutic components as well as a brief review of current research. MB-EAT is a group intervention that was developed for treatment of binge eating disorder (BED) and related issues. BED is marked by emotional, behavioral and physiological disregulation in relation to food intake and self-identity. MB-EAT involves training in mindfulness meditation and guided mindfulness practices that are designed to address the core issues of BED: controlling responses to varying emotional states; making conscious food choices; developing an awareness of hunger and satiety cues; and cultivating self-acceptance. Evidence to date supports the value of MB-EAT in decreasing binge episodes, improving one's sense of self-control with regard to eating, and diminishing depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 49-61
    Date January 2011
    Series Eating disorders and mindfulness
    DOI 10.1080/10640266.2011.533605
    ISSN 1064-0266
    Short Title Mindfulness-based eating awareness training for treating binge eating disorder
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • Awareness
    • binge eating disorder
    • Group Psychotherapy
    • intervention
    • Mindfulness
    • mindfulness-based eating awareness training
  • What do "we" want and need to know about prayer and healing?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mitchell W Krucoff
    Author Suzanne W Crater
    Abstract Prayer research is in its infancy. We have no mechanistic understanding of how prayer works. We don't know how to define what a "dose" is. The fact that research is being undertaken by prestigious institutions is significant. With so much unknown, clinical trials are best understood in their context, rather than just by their specific findings or provocative results.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
    Volume 15
    Issue 12
    Pages 1259-1261
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2009.0675
    ISSN 1557-7708
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20001834
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 12:12:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20001834
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Music, imagery, touch, and prayer as adjuncts to interventional cardiac care: the Monitoring and Actualisation of Noetic Trainings (MANTRA) II randomised study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mitchell W Krucoff
    Author Suzanne W Crater
    Author Dianne Gallup
    Author James C Blankenship
    Author Michael Cuffe
    Author Mimi Guarneri
    Author Richard A Krieger
    Author Vib R Kshettry
    Author Kenneth Morris
    Author Mehmet Oz
    Publication The Lancet
    Volume 366
    Issue 9481
    Pages 211-217
    Date 07/2005
    Journal Abbr The Lancet
    DOI 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66910-3
    ISSN 01406736
    Short Title Music, imagery, touch, and prayer as adjuncts to interventional cardiac care
    URL http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/bsi/detail?
    vid=6&hid=7&…
    Accessed Saturday, October 10, 2009 11:18:20 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Fully Committed: Suicide Bombers' Motivation and the Quest for Personal Significance.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arie W. Kruglanski
    Author Xiaoyan Chen
    Author Mark Dechesne
    Author Shira Fishman
    Author Edward Orehek
    Abstract A motivational analysis of suicidal terrorism is outlined, anchored in the notion of significance quest. It is suggested that heterogeneous factors identified as personal causes of suicidal terrorism (e.g. trauma, humiliation, social exclusion), the various ideological reasons assumed to justify it (e.g. liberation from foreign occupation, defense of one's nation or religion), and the social pressures brought upon candidates for suicidal terrorism may be profitably subsumed within an integrative framework that explains diverse instances of suicidal terrorism as attempts at significance restoration, significance gain, and prevention of significance loss. Research and policy implications of the present analysis are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Political Psychology
    Volume 30
    Issue 3
    Pages 331-357
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9221.2009.00698.x
    ISSN 0162895X
    Short Title Fully Committed
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • MOTIVATION (Psychology)
    • SIGNIFICATION (Logic)
    • SOCIAL pressure
    • suicide bombers
    • SUICIDE bombings
    • SUICIDE terrorism
    • TERRORISTS -- Psychology
  • Divorce and the divine: The role of spirituality in adjustment to divorce.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eilzabeth J. Krumrei
    Author Annette Mahoney
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Abstract This study examined the role of three spiritual responses to divorce for psychological adjustment: appraising the event as a sacred loss/desecration, engaging in adaptive spiritual coping, and experiencing spiritual struggles. A sample of 100 adults (55% female) was recruited through public divorce records. Most appraised their divorce as a sacred loss/desecration (74%), experienced spiritual struggles (78%), and engaged in adaptive spiritual coping (88%). Appraisals of sacred loss/desecration and spiritual struggles were tied to higher levels of depression. Adaptive spiritual coping was tied to greater posttraumatic growth. Spiritual coping and struggles each contributed uniquely to adjustment beyond parallel forms of nonspiritual coping and struggles and mediated links between viewing the divorce as a sacred loss/desecration and depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Marriage and Family
    Volume 71
    Issue 2
    Pages 373-383
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00605.x
    ISSN 0022-2445
    Short Title Divorce and the divine
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • divorce
    • Emotional Adjustment
    • psychological adjustment
    • spirituality
  • Spirituality influences health related quality of life in men with prostate cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tracey L Krupski
    Author Lorna Kwan
    Author Arlene Fink
    Author Geoffrey A Sonn
    Author Sally Maliski
    Author Mark S Litwin
    Abstract Spirituality is interdependent with the biological, psychological, and interpersonal aspects of life. Although spirituality has been studied in breast cancer survivors, little work has been done in men with prostate cancer. We sought to determine whether lower spirituality in men with early stage prostate cancer is associated with worse general health-related quality of life (HRQOL), disease-specific HRQOL, or psychosocial health. Two hundred and twenty-two subjects were drawn from a state-funded program providing free prostate cancer treatment to indigent men. Validated instruments captured spirituality, general and disease-specific HRQOL, anxiety, symptom distress, and emotional well-being. We found a consistent relationship between spirituality and the outcomes assessed. Low spirituality was associated with significantly worse physical and mental health, sexual function and more urinary bother after controlling for covariates. All of the psychosocial variables studied reflected worse adjustment in the men with low spirituality. Because the likelihood of prostate cancer survivorship is high, interventions targeting spirituality could impact the physical and psychosocial health of many men.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 121-131
    Date Feb 2006
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.929
    ISSN 1057-9249
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15880458
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:00:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15880458
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Anxiety
    • DEMOGRAPHY
    • depression
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Prostatic Neoplasms
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • We sought to determine whether lower spirituality in men with early stage prostate cancer is associated with worse general health-related quality of life (HRQOL), disease-specific HRQOL, or psychosocial health. We found a consistent relationship between spirituality and the outcomes assessed. Low spirituality was associated with significantly worse physical and mental health, sexual function and more urinary bother after controlling for covariates.

  • Establishing the validity of a spiritual distress scale for cancer patients hospitalized in southern Taiwan

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ya-Lie Ku
    Author Shih-Ming Kuo
    Author Ching-Yi Yao
    Abstract The present study was conducted to establish the validity of the spritual distress scale (SDS), a scale developed as part of a qualitative study in which 20 cancer patients were interviewed about spritual needs in 2003-2004. The SDS has four domains: relationship with self, relationship with others, relationship with God, and attitude towards death A measurement study was conducted whereby 85 patients completed the SDS during their hospitalization in the oncology unit of a medical centre in southern Taiwan. The SDS, including four domains of sub-scales, was broader than other spiritual scales in the literature that only contained one or two domains and focused on the health area. The SDS has established the adequate content and construct validity. Further training of nurses for assessing spiritual distress of cancer patients using the SDS would be recommended for future study. The established content and construct validity of the SDS could be applied in oncology for nurses to assess spiritual distress of cancer patients.
    Publication International Journal of Palliative Nursing
    Volume 16
    Issue 3
    Pages 134-138
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr Int J Palliat Nurs
    ISSN 1357-6321
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:05:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20357706
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • "God Made me Gay for a Reason": Young Men who have Sex with Men's Resiliency in Resolving Internalized Homophobia from Religious Sources

    Type Journal Article
    Author Katrina Kubicek
    Author Bryce McDavitt
    Author Julie Carpineto
    Author George Weiss
    Author Ellen Iverson
    Author Michele D Kipke
    Abstract Research investigating the role of religion in the lives of young men who have sex with men (YMSM) is limited. Given the unique developmental stage of emerging adults and the fact that most religions have restrictions on homosexual behavior, it is important to understand how YMSM integrate their sexual and religious/spiritual identities. Drawing upon a longitudinal, mixed methods study, we explore the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of a sample of YMSM. Presented are descriptions of messages about homosexuality from religious contexts and how these messages are internalized. The process used to resolve the conflict between these messages and their sexual identity is then described. Findings discuss how to help YMSM retain the more supportive and nurturing aspects of religion to integrate their sexual and religious identities for a functional support system.
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Research
    Volume 24
    Issue 5
    Pages 601-633
    Date Sep 1, 2009
    Journal Abbr J Adolesc Res
    DOI 10.1177/0743558409341078
    ISSN 0743-5584
    Short Title "God Made me Gay for a Reason"
    Accessed Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:02:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20160996
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Prayer as Therapeutic Process Toward Aliveness Within a Spiritual Direction Relationship

    Type Journal Article
    Author Karen Kuchan
    Abstract This article underscores the potential benefit of a specific form of Christian prayer that creates space within a spiritual direction relationship for the creation of inner images that reveal a person’s unconscious relational longings and co-created representations of God. In this specific type of prayer that can be facilitated by mental health professionals and pastoral counselors, imagery of God’s presence is created in the space between a Christian spiritual director and a Christian directee while they are open to inner experiences that reveal God’s presence interacting with infantile processes toward aliveness. Aliveness is understood using Winnicottian notions in dialog with theories proposed by Allan N. Schore, affective neuropsychologist and Clinical Faculty at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Ann Belford Ulanov, Jungian Analyst and Professor of Psychiatry and Religion at Union Theological Seminary and W.R.D., British psychoanalyst in the Objects Relations School. Ideas of transitional space, good enough mother, holding environment, aggression, creativity, and play are set alongside theories of affect regulation, the developing brain, co-created objective God images, the relational nature of God and being received as good while illuminating three prayer experiences during one 30-year-old Asian American woman’s 16-month therapeutic process toward aliveness.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 47
    Issue 2
    Pages 276
    Date June 01, 2008
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9166-1
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10943-008-9166-1
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 2:14:54 AM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article underscores the potential benefit of a specific form of Christian prayer that creates space within a spiritual direction relationship for the creation of inner images that reveal a person’s unconscious relational longings and co-created representations of God.

  • Spirituality and religiosity in patients with HIV: A test and expansion of a model.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ian Kudel
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Magda Szaflarski
    Author William C. Holmes
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Abstract Background: A causal model developed by Koenig suggests that higher levels of spirituality and religiosity effect intermediary variables and eventually result in better mental health, which then positively affects physical function. Purpose/Methods: Using structural equation modeling, we tested the model and expanded versions that use self-report data of patients with HIV (n = 345). Results: All models demonstrated good overall fit with significant parameters. The final model found that increased spirituality/religiosity predicted increased religious coping, which influenced social support. Social support, in turn, positively influenced depressed mood (as a measure of mental health); depressed mood affected fatigue; and both variables predicted self-reported physical function. These three variables predicted health rating/utility for one’s health state. Additional analyses found that two covariates, religiosity and race, differentially predicted spirituality/religiosity and religious coping. Conclusion: In patients with HIV, an expanded version of Koenig's model found that increased spirituality/religiosity is positively associated with self-reported outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 41
    Issue 1
    Pages 92-103
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s12160-010-9229-x
    ISSN 0883-6612
    Short Title Spirituality and religiosity in patients with HIV
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM

    Tags:

    • HIV
    • HIV patients
    • Quality of Life
    • religiosity
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Using structural equation modeling, this study tested the model and expanded versions that use self-report data of patients with HIV.

  • Rumination, distraction and mindful self-focus: effects on mood, dysfunctional attitudes and cortisol stress response

    Type Journal Article
    Author C Kuehner
    Author S Huffziger
    Author K Liebsch
    Abstract BACKGROUND Although aggravating effects of rumination on dysfunctional cognitions and endocrine stress responses have been proposed, experimental studies testing these assumptions are lacking. In parallel, mindfulness theory suggests beneficial effects of mindfulness on dysfunctional cognitions. This study aimed to investigate the effects of induced rumination, distraction and mindful self-focus on mood and dysfunctional attitudes and to assess the possible impact of induced rumination on participants' cortisol responses. METHOD Sixty university students were subjected to negative mood induction and subsequently randomly assigned to a rumination, distraction or mindful self-focus condition. The latter included statements focusing on self-acceptance and awareness of the breath. Four saliva cortisol samples were selected during the session. RESULTS Compared to induced rumination, distraction showed a clear beneficial effect on the course of dysphoric mood, whereas a mindful self-focus did not. In contrast to distraction and mindful self-focus, participants induced to ruminate showed significant increases in dysfunctional attitudes from baseline to post-induction. Although rumination was not itself linked to higher cortisol responses, participants scoring high on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-II who were induced to ruminate showed a smaller decrease in cortisol levels than those scoring low on the BDI-II. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that rumination as a dysfunctional mode of cognitive processing is able to maintain depression-linked dysfunctional thought content. Furthermore, our study revealed preliminary indications for a link between induced rumination and the cortisol stress response in vulnerable individuals.
    Publication Psychological Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 2
    Pages 219-228
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Med
    DOI 10.1017/S0033291708003553
    ISSN 0033-2917
    Short Title Rumination, distraction and mindful self-focus
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18485265
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18485265
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Attention
    • Attitude
    • Cognition
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hydrocortisone
    • Male
    • Mental Recall
    • Saliva
    • Self Concept
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Young Adult
  • Yogic exercises and health--a psycho-neuro immunological approach

    Type Journal Article
    Author D D Kulkarni
    Author T K Bera
    Abstract Relaxation potential of yogic exercises seems to play a vital role in establishing psycho-physical health in reversing the psycho-immunology of emotions under stress based on breath and body awareness. However, mechanism of yogic exercises for restoring health and fitness components operating through psycho-neuro-immunological pathways is unknown. Therefore, a hybrid model of human information processing-psycho-neuroendocrine (HIP-PNE) network has been proposed to reveal the importance of yogic information processing. This study focuses on two major pathways of information processing involving cortical and hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) interactions with a deep reach molecular action on cellular, neuro-humoral and immune system in reversing stress mediated diseases. Further, the proposed HIP-PNE model has ample of experimental potential for objective evaluation of yogic view of health and fitness.
    Publication Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
    Volume 53
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-15
    Date 2009 Jan-Mar
    Journal Abbr Indian J. Physiol. Pharmacol
    ISSN 0019-5499
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:37:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19810571
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Cerebral Cortex
    • Cognition
    • Health
    • Homeostasis
    • Humans
    • Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
    • Models, Biological
    • Neuroimmunomodulation
    • Pituitary-Adrenal System
    • Stress, Psychological
    • yoga
  • The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine

    Type Book
    Author Shigehisa Kuriyama
    Place New York
    Publisher Zone Books
    Date 1999
    ISBN 0942299884
    Library Catalog library.bu.edu Library Catalog
    Call Number R723 .K87 1999
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Tags:

    • Greek World
    • History
    • Human body
    • MEDICINE, Chinese
    • Medicine, Chinese Traditional
    • Medicine, Greek and Roman
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Philosophy
    • Philosophy, Medical
    • Social aspects

    Notes:

    • The Expressiveness of the Body meditates on the contrasts between the human body described in classical Greek medicine and the body as envisaged by physicians in ancient China. It asks how this most basic of human realities came to be conceived by two sophisticated civilizations in radically diverging ways. And it seeks answers in fresh and unexpected topics, such as the history of tactile knowledge, the relationship between ways of seeing and ways of listening, and the evolution of bloodletting.

  • Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial comparing mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with maintenance anti-depressant treatment in the prevention of depressive relapse/recurrence: the PREVENT trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Willem Kuyken
    Author Sarah Byford
    Author Richard Byng
    Author Tim Dalgleish
    Author Glyn Lewis
    Author Rod Taylor
    Author Edward R Watkins
    Author Rachel Hayes
    Author Paul Lanham
    Author David Kessler
    Author Nicola Morant
    Author Alison Evans
    Abstract ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Depression is a common and distressing mental health problem that is responsible for significant individual disability and cost to society. Medication and psychological therapies are effective for treating depression and maintenance anti-depressants (m-ADM) can prevent relapse. However, individuals with depression often express a wish for psychological help that can help them recover from depression in the long-term. We need to develop psychological therapies that prevent depressive relapse/recurrence. A recently developed treatment, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT, see http://www.mbct.co.uk) shows potential as a brief group programme for people with recurring depression. In two studies it has been shown to halve the rates of depression recurring compared to usual care.This trial asks the policy research question, is MBCT superior to m-ADM in terms of: a primary outcome of preventing depressive relapse/recurrence over 24 months; and, secondary outcomes of (a) depression free days, (b) residual depressive symptoms, (c) antidepressant (ADM) usage, (d) psychiatric and medical co-morbidity, (e) quality of life, and (f) cost effectiveness? An explanatory research question asks is an increase in mindfulness skills the key mechanism of change? METHODS/DESIGN: The design is a single blind, parallel RCT examining MBCT vs. m-ADM with an embedded process study. To answer the main policy research question the proposed trial compares MBCT plus ADM-tapering with m-ADM for patients with recurrent depression. Four hundred and twenty patients with recurrent major depressive disorder in full or partial remission will be recruited through primary care. Depressive relapse/recurrence over two years is the primary outcome variable. The explanatory question will be addressed in two mutually informative ways: quantitative measurement of potential mediating variables pre/post-treatment and a qualitative study of service users' views and experiences. DISCUSSION: If the results of our exploratory trial are extended to this definitive trial, MBCT will be established as an alternative approach to maintenance anti-depressants for people with a history of recurrent depression. The process studies will provide evidence about the effective components which can be used to improve MBCT and inform theory as well as other therapeutic approaches. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN26666654.
    Publication Trials
    Volume 11
    Pages 99
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Trials
    DOI 10.1186/1745-6215-11-99
    ISSN 1745-6215
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20961444
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 2:55:59 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
  • How does mindfulness-based cognitive therapy work?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Willem Kuyken
    Author Ed Watkins
    Author Emily Holden
    Author Kat White
    Author Rod S. Taylor
    Author Sarah Byford
    Author Alison Evans
    Author Sholto Radford
    Author John D. Teasdale
    Author Tim Dalgleish
    Abstract Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an efficacious psychosocial intervention for recurrent depression ([Kuyken et al., 2008], [Ma and Teasdale, 2004] and [Teasdale et al., 2000]). To date, no compelling research addresses MBCT's mechanisms of change. This study determines whether MBCT's treatment effects are mediated by enhancement of mindfulness and self-compassion across treatment, and/or by alterations in post-treatment cognitive reactivity. The study was embedded in a randomized controlled trial comparing MBCT with maintenance antidepressants (mADM) with 15-month follow-up (Kuyken et al., 2008). Mindfulness and self-compassion were assessed before and after MBCT treatment (or at equivalent time points in the mADM group). Post-treatment reactivity was assessed one month after the MBCT group sessions or at the equivalent time point in the mADM group. One hundred and twenty-three patients with >=3 prior depressive episodes, and successfully treated with antidepressants, were randomized either to mADM or MBCT. The MBCT arm involved participation in MBCT, a group-based psychosocial intervention that teaches mindfulness skills, and discontinuation of ADM. The mADM arm involved maintenance on a therapeutic ADM dose for the duration of follow-up. Interviewer-administered outcome measures assessed depressive symptoms and relapse/recurrence across 15-month follow-up. Mindfulness and self-compassion were measured using self-report questionnaire. Cognitive reactivity was operationalized as change in depressive thinking during a laboratory mood induction. MBCT's effects were mediated by enhancement of mindfulness and self-compassion across treatment. MBCT also changed the nature of the relationship between post-treatment cognitive reactivity and outcome. Greater reactivity predicted worse outcome for mADM participants but this relationship was not evident in the MBCT group. MBCT's treatment effects are mediated by augmented self-compassion and mindfulness, along with a decoupling of the relationship between reactivity of depressive thinking and poor outcome. This decoupling is associated with the cultivation of self-compassion across treatment.
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 48
    Issue 11
    Pages 1105-1112
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2010.08.003
    ISSN 0005-7967
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V5W-50S8PPS-1/2/b7f90f23a7d5638a90087c53d8fe6c42
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:30:51 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive reactivity
    • Compassion
    • Depression
    • Mediator
    • Mindfulness
    • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
    • Moderator
  • Mind-Body Treatments for the Pain-Fatigue-Sleep Disturbance Symptom Cluster in Persons with Cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kristine L. Kwekkeboom
    Author Catherine H. Cherwin
    Author Jun W. Lee
    Author Britt Wanta
    Abstract Context Co-occurring pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance comprise a common symptom cluster in patients with cancer. Treatment approaches that target the cluster of symptoms rather than just a single symptom need to be identified and tested.Objectives To synthesize evidence regarding mind-body interventions that have shown efficacy in treating two or more symptoms in the pain-fatigue-sleep disturbance cancer symptom cluster.Methods A literature search was conducted using CINAHL, Medline, and PsychInfo databases through March 2009. Studies were categorized based on the type of mind-body intervention (relaxation, imagery/hypnosis, cognitive-behavioral therapy/coping skills training [CBT/CST], meditation, music, and virtual reality), and a preliminary review was conducted with respect to efficacy for pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Mind-body interventions were selected for review if there was evidence of efficacy for at least two of the three symptoms. Forty-three studies addressing five types of mind-body interventions met criteria and are summarized in this review.Results Imagery/hypnosis and CBT/CST interventions have produced improvement in all the three cancer-related symptoms individually: pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Relaxation has resulted in improvements in pain and sleep disturbance. Meditation interventions have demonstrated beneficial effects on fatigue and sleep disturbance. Music interventions have demonstrated efficacy for pain and fatigue. No trials were found that tested the mind-body interventions specifically for the pain-fatigue-sleep disturbance symptom cluster.Conclusion Efficacy studies are needed to test the impact of relaxation, imagery/hypnosis, CBT/CST, meditation, and music interventions in persons with cancer experiencing concurrent pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. These mind-body interventions could help patients manage all the symptoms in the cluster with a single treatment strategy.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 39
    Issue 1
    Pages 126-138
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.05.022
    ISSN 0885-3924
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 12:39:58 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Cancer
    • Fatigue
    • mind-body and relaxation techniques
    • Pain
    • sleep disturbance

    Notes:

    • This study aimed to synthesize evidence regarding mind-body interventions that have shown efficacy in treating two or more symptoms in the pain-fatigue-sleep disturbance cancer symptom cluster.

  • Research on meaning-making and health in secular society: Secular, spiritual and religious existential orientations

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter la Cour
    Author Niels C. Hvidt
    Abstract This article proposes a framework of concepts for the field of existential meaning-making in secular cultures such as those of Northern Europe. Seeking an operational approach, we have narrowed the field's components down to a number of basic domains and dimensions that provide a more authentic cultural basis for research in secular society. Reviewing the literature, three main domains of existential meaning-making emerge: Secular, spiritual, and religious. In reconfirming these three domains, we propose to couple them with the three dimensions of cognition (knowing), practice (doing), and importance (being), resulting in a conceptual framework that can serve as a fundamental heuristic and methodological research tool for mapping the field of existential meaning-making and health. The proposed grid might contribute to clearer understanding of the multidimensional nature of existential meaning-making and as a guide for posing adequate research and clinical questions in the field.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 71
    Issue 7
    Pages 1292-1299
    Date October 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.06.024
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VBF-50HP2YY-2/2/a9cd684d63cdb650ff59baffe45014ea
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:24:58 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • existential
    • Methodology
    • Northern Europe
    • religion
    • secular
    • spirituality
  • Psychology moment by moment: a guide to enhancing your clinical practice with mindfulness and meditation

    Type Book
    Author Elise Labbé
    Place Oakland, CA
    Publisher New Harbinger Publications
    Date 2011
    ISBN 9781572248953
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
  • Evaluating the Interplay Between Spirituality, Personality and Stress

    Type Journal Article
    Author E. E. Labbé
    Author A. Fobes
    Abstract Spirituality and the big five personality traits may be risk or protective factors for coping with stress. We hypothesized young adults who reported higher spirituality ratings would demonstrate lower sympathetic nervous system arousal and better emotional coping when exposed to a laboratory stressor compared to those who rated themselves lower in spirituality. We also compared spirituality groups on trait anger, neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and openness to experience. Eighty participants completed trait-state anger, personality and spirituality questionnaires and were grouped into low, average and high spirituality. Participants' physiological responses were monitored before and during a stressful event. Significant differences were found between low, average and high spirituality groups' respiration rate and emotional response to the stressor. Significant differences were also found between spirituality groups in extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, trait anger and neuroticism. Females reported higher levels of spirituality and conscientiousness than males.
    Publication Applied psychophysiology and Biofeedback
    Volume 35
    Issue 2
    Pages 141-146
    Date JUN 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10484-009-9119-9
    ISSN 1090-0586
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:51:06 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Development and Initial Validation of an Implicit Measure of Religiousness-Spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jordan P. LaBouff
    Author Wade C. Rowatt
    Author Megan K. Johnson
    Author Michelle Thedford
    Author Jo-Ann Tsang
    Abstract An implicit measure of religiousness-spirituality (RS) was constructed and used in two studies. In Study 1, undergraduates completed a Religiousness-Spirituality Implicit Association Test (RS-IAT) and several self-report measures of RS and related constructs (e.g., religious fundamentalism, authoritarianism). Informants rated the participants’ RS. The RS-IAT was internally consistent. Implicit RS correlated positively with self-reported RS, spiritual transcendence, spiritual experiences, religious fundamentalism, and intrinsic religiousness. Informant ratings correlated positively with participants’ self-reported religiousness but not implicit RS. In Study 2, implicit RS accounted for unique variability in self-reported attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women when controlling for self-reported religiousness and right-wing authoritarianism. These findings demonstrate that an implicit measure of trait RS explains some variability in attitudes that self-report measures do not. An implicit measure of RS could advance the scientific study of religion beyond what is known from self-report measures.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 439-455
    Date 09/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01521.x
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01521.x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • Functional Relaxation as Complementary Therapy in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Claas Lahmann
    Author Frank Röhricht
    Author Nina Sauer
    Author Michael Noll-Hussong
    Author Joram Ronel
    Author Gerhard Henrich
    Author Angela von Arnim
    Author Thomas Loew
    Abstract In a study of 80 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), participants were randomly allocated either to functional relaxation (FR) or to enhanced medical care (EMC: treatment as usual plus two counseling interviews) as control intervention with 2 weekly sessions over the 5-week trial each. Thirty-nine patients completed FR and 39 received EMC. FR was significantly superior to EMC, with a standardized effect size of 0.85. The achieved effects through FR remained stable in terms of psychic and bodily impairment after 3-month follow-up.
    Publication The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 47-52
    Date 01/2010
    Journal Abbr The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2009.0084
    ISSN 1075-5535
    Short Title Functional Relaxation as Complementary Therapy in Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    URL http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2009.0084
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 10:54:55 AM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Rumour of angels and heavenly midwives: anthropology of transpersonal events and childbirth

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gregg Lahood
    Abstract Some contemporary women can experience non-ordinary states of consciousness when childbearing. The purpose of this paper is to bring a 'transpersonal' frame to these non-ordinary states of consciousness (hereafter: NOSC). Transpersonal psychology is an interdisciplinary movement in Western science that studies 'religious', 'peak' or 'healing' experiences in different cultures and social contexts. Between 2001 and 2006 in Auckland, New Zealand, while engaged in anthropological fieldwork, I collected stories from mothers, fathers, and midwives who had participated in transpersonal events during childbirth. I will compare the local women's NOSC with ethnographic accounts of spirit-possession and its relationship to indigenous midwifery then revisit and reconstruct the witch-hunts of Medieval Europe from this perspective. Midwives are encouraged to learn to identify and support women's NOSC during labour and birth as many women find strength and wisdom by passing through these states in labour. The subject is also critical to men, whether they are present with women and birth as fathers or health professionals. The hoped for result of this inquiry is to revalorise NOSC among birth-giving mothers, and to educate birth attendants in this field.
    Publication Women and Birth: Journal of the Australian College of Midwives
    Volume 20
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-10
    Date Mar 2007
    Journal Abbr Women Birth
    DOI 10.1016/j.wombi.2006.10.002
    ISSN 1871-5192
    Short Title Rumour of angels and heavenly midwives
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17127114
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:18:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17127114
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Ceremonial Behavior
    • Consciousness
    • Cultural Characteristics
    • Delivery, Obstetric
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Infant, Newborn
    • Midwifery
    • Mothers
    • New Zealand
    • Nurse-Patient Relations
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Pregnancy
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Some contemporary women can experience non-ordinary states of consciousness when childbearing. The purpose of this paper is to bring a ‘transpersonal’ frame to these non-ordinary states of consciousness (hereafter: NOSC). Transpersonal psychology is an interdisciplinary movement in Western science that studies ‘religious’, ‘peak’ or ‘healing’ experiences in different cultures and social contexts. Between 2001 and 2006 in Auckland, New Zealand, while engaged in anthropological fieldwork, I collected stories from mothers, fathers, and midwives who had participated in transpersonal events during childbirth. I will compare the local women’s NOSC with ethnographic accounts of spirit-possession and its relationship to indigenous midwifery then revisit and reconstruct the witch-hunts of Medieval Europe from this perspective. Midwives are encouraged to learn to identify and support women’s NOSC during labour and birth as many women find strength and wisdom by passing through these states in labour. The subject is also critical to men, whether they are present with women and birth as fathers or health professionals. The hoped for result of this inquiry is to revalorise NOSC among birth-giving mothers, and to educate birth attendants in this field.

  • Religiosity, self-control, and antisocial behavior: Religiosity as a promotive and protective factor

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert D. Laird
    Author Loren D. Marks
    Author Matthew D. Marrero
    Abstract <p><br/>Three hypotheses with the potential to provide information on the role of religiosity as a promotive and protective factor in early adolescence were tested. Adolescents (N = 166, M age = 13 years, 49% female, 49% European American, 45% African American) and mothers reported their own personal importance of religion and the frequency of their attendance of religious services. Greater mother importance and attendance was associated with greater adolescent importance and attendance. Mother importance was indirectly linked to adolescent antisocial behavior through adolescent importance. Less adolescent importance and attendance were associated with low self-control and low self-control was associated with more antisocial and rule-breaking behavior. Adolescent importance also moderated the links between low self-control and antisocial and rule-breaking behavior such that low levels of self-control were more strongly associated with more antisocial and rule-breaking behavior among adolescents reporting low religious importance compared to adolescents reporting high religious importance.</p>
    Publication Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
    Volume 32
    Issue 2
    Pages 78-85
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.appdev.2010.12.003
    ISSN 0193-3973
    Short Title Religiosity, self-control, and antisocial behavior
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W52-521V6MG-1/2/03fb3523f64c77c1622114289b01b6c5
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 8:19:52 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • adolescence
    • Antisocial Behavior
    • religiosity
    • Self-control
  • Invocations and intoxication: does prayer decrease alcohol consumption?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nathaniel M. Lambert
    Author Frank D. Fincham
    Author Loren D. Marks
    Author Tyler F. Stillman
    Abstract Four methodologically diverse studies (N = 1,758) show that prayer frequency and alcohol consumption are negatively related. In Study 1 (n = 824), we used a cross-sectional design and found that higher prayer frequency was related to lower alcohol consumption and problematic drinking behavior. Study 2 (n = 702) used a longitudinal design and found that more frequent prayer at Time 1 predicted less alcohol consumption and problematic drinking behavior at Time 2, and this relationship held when controlling for baseline levels of drinking and prayer. In Study 3 (n = 117), we used an experimental design to test for a causal relationship between prayer frequency and alcohol consumption. Participants assigned to pray every day (either an undirected prayer or a prayer for a relationship partner) for 4 weeks drank about half as much alcohol at the conclusion of the study as control participants. Study 4 (n = 115) replicated the findings of Study 3, as prayer again reduced drinking by about half. These findings are discussed in terms of prayer as reducing drinking motives.
    Publication Psychology of Addictive Behaviors: Journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors
    Volume 24
    Issue 2
    Pages 209-219
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychol Addict Behav
    DOI 10.1037/a0018746
    ISSN 1939-1501
    Short Title Invocations and intoxication
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:46:31 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20565147
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • The clash of Gods: changes in a patient's use of God representations

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ryan Lamothe
    Abstract In this article, I argue that manifest and latent intrapsychic and interpersonal clashes of god representations, which are inextricably yoked to transference and countertransference communications, signify the patient's and therapist's personal realities and histories. More specifically, the therapist's conscious (relatively speaking) commitment to a god representation will not only shape his/her analytic attitude-as well as interpretations and noninterpretive interventions-it may also be implicated in a patient altering his/her use of god representations. I suggest further that one way to understand the process of psychoanalytic therapy is how both analyst and analysand tacitly face and answer the following questions: What God(s) orients my life and relationships? What God(s) represents subjugation, fear, and the loss of freedom? What God(s) have I repressed? What God(s) represents the possibility and experience of being alive and real with others? In the end, what God(s) will I choose to serve, to surrender to?
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 73-84
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.73
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Short Title The clash of Gods
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:20:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364260
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Christianity
    • Communication
    • Conflict (Psychology)
    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Culture
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Psychoanalytic Interpretation
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Repression, Psychology
    • Transference (Psychology)
    • Unconscious (Psychology)
  • Coping with major life events: the role of spirituality and self-transformation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brian Les Lancaster
    Author Jason Timothy Palframan
    Abstract The aim of the current study was to explore the process of self-transformation as a result of coping with a major life event, and to address the role, if any, that spirituality plays within the coping and transformational process. Using grounded theory methodology, six participants were interviewed over a period of 6 months. The findings, supportive of previous research, produced a preliminary model illustrating transformation as a gradual process. The core category was identified as “openness,” in that by being open to others or to the “Transcendent,” the participants were able to let go and transform. It was theorized that openness, in this sense, enables acceptance of material deriving from a realm of self beyond the everyday ego. Indeed, such a journey of transformation crucially seems to entail expanding the conception of self beyond customary limits. Understood in this way, transformation may be conceptualized as a process of continual movement into the unconscious, where the totality of the self is awakened, resulting in a reinterpretation of life purpose. The consequences of the transformation for participants were positive in nature. The role that spirituality plays within the coping and transformation process was seen to manifest as being subtle and unfolding and/or supportive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 3
    Pages 257-276
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802500684
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Coping with major life events
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • BELIEF & doubt
    • LIFE skills
    • Psychosocial Factors
    • Quality of Life
    • RELIGIOUS life
    • social factors
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • spirituality
  • The role of religiosity in the relationship between parents, peers, and adolescent risky sexual behavior

    Type Journal Article
    Author Antoinette Landor
    Author Leslie Gordon Simons
    Author Ronald L Simons
    Author Gene H Brody
    Author Frederick X Gibbons
    Abstract Research has documented a negative relationship between religion and risky sexual behavior. Few studies, however, have examined the processes whereby religion exerts this effect. The present study develops and tests a model of various mechanisms whereby parental religiosity reduces the likelihood of adolescents' participation in risky sexual behavior (early sexual debut, multiple sexual partners, and inconsistent condom use). Structural equation modeling, using longitudinal data from a sample of 612 African American adolescents (55% female), provided support for the model. The results indicated that parental religiosity influenced adolescent risky sexual behavior through its impact on authoritative parenting, adolescent religiosity, and adolescent affiliation with less sexually permissive peers. Some mediating mechanisms differed by the gender of the respondent, suggesting a "double-standard" for daughters but not for sons. Findings also indicated the importance of messages about sexual behavior that are transmitted to adolescents by their peers. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Youth and Adolescence
    Volume 40
    Issue 3
    Pages 296-309
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Youth Adolesc
    DOI 10.1007/s10964-010-9598-2
    ISSN 1573-6601
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21052800
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21052800
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
  • The "sensed presence": an epileptic aura with religious overtones

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anne-Marie Landtblom
    Abstract "Sensed presence," a religious emotion, has been the focus of recent neurotheological research because it has been claimed that weak transcranial magnetic stimulation can evoke such experiences. Some researchers have recently questioned this claim. However, religion and epilepsy have been linked through history, clinical observations, and research. This article describes the "sensed presence" as an aura in one patient who did not interpret his experience in a religious way. He had bilateral hypoperfusion of the temporal lobes when investigated by SPECT, and hypoplasia of the dorsal part of the left hippocampus when examined by magnetic resonance imaging. This case report illustrates that "sensed presence" can occur as an epileptic aura with or without religious interpretation.
    Publication Epilepsy & Behavior: E&B
    Volume 9
    Issue 1
    Pages 186-188
    Date Aug 2006
    Journal Abbr Epilepsy Behav
    DOI 10.1016/j.yebeh.2006.04.023
    ISSN 1525-5050
    Short Title The "sensed presence"
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/16753347
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:20:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16753347
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Cerebral Cortex
    • Cerebrovascular Circulation
    • Epilepsy
    • Functional Laterality
    • Hallucinations
    • Humans
    • Male
    • religion
    • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

    Notes:

    • “Sensed presence,” a religious emotion, has been the focus of recent neurotheological research because it has been claimed that weak transcranial magnetic stimulation can evoke such experiences. Some researchers have recently questioned this claim. However, religion and epilepsy have been linked through history, clinical observations, and research. This article describes the “sensed presence” as an aura in one patient who did not interpret his experience in a religious way. He had bilateral hypoperfusion of the temporal lobes when investigated by SPECT, and hypoplasia of the dorsal part of the left hippocampus when examined by magnetic resonance imaging. This case report illustrates that “sensed presence” can occur as an epileptic aura with or without religious interpretation.

  • Brief meditation training can improve perceived stress and negative mood.

    Type Journal Article
    Author James D. Lane
    Author Jon E. Seskevich
    Author Carl F. Pieper
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: To test a brief, non-sectarian program of meditation training for effects on perceived stress and negative emotion, and to determine effects of practice frequency and test the moderating effects of neuroticism (emotional lability) on treatment outcome. DESIGN AND SETTING: The study used a single-group, open-label, pre-test post-test design conducted in the setting of a university medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy adults (N=200) interested in learning meditation for stress-reduction were enrolled. One hundred thirty-three (76% females) completed at least 1 follow-up visit and were included in data analyses. INTERVENTION: Participants learned a simple mantra-based meditation technique in 4, 1-hour small-group meetings, with instructions to practice for 15-20 minutes twice daily. Instruction was based on a psychophysiological model of meditation practice and its expected effects on stress. OUTCOME MEASURES: Baseline and monthly follow-up measures of Profile of Mood States; Perceived Stress Scale; State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Practice frequency was indexed by monthly retrospective ratings. Neuroticism was evaluated as a potential moderator of treatment effects. RESULTS: All 4 outcome measures improved significantly after instruction, with reductions from baseline that ranged from 14% (STAI) to 36% (BSI). More frequent practice was associated with better outcome. Higher baseline neuroticism scores were associated with greater improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary evidence suggests that even brief instruction in a simple meditation technique can improve negative mood and perceived stress in healthy adults, which could yield long-term health benefits. Frequency of practice does affect outcome. Those most likely to experience negative emotions may benefit the most from the intervention.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 38-44
    Date 2007-01
    ISSN 1078-6791
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Objectives To test a brief, non-sectarian program of meditation training for effects on perceived stress and negative emotion, and to determine effects of practice frequency and test the moderating effects of neuroticism (emotional lability) on treatment outcome. DESIGN AND Setting: The study used a single-group, open-label, pre-test post-test design conducted in the setting of a university medical center. Patricipants: Healthy adults (N=200) interested in learning meditation for stress-reduction were enrolled. One hundred thirty-three (76% females) completed at least 1 follow-up visit and were included in data analyses. INTERVENTION: Participants learned a simple mantra-based meditation technique in 4, 1-hour small-group meetings, with instructions to practice for 15-20 minutes twice daily. Instruction was based on a psychophysiological model of meditation practice and its expected effects on stress. Outcome measures: Baseline and monthly follow-up measures of Profile of Mood States; Perceived Stress Scale; State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Practice frequency was indexed by monthly retrospective ratings. Neuroticism was evaluated as a potential moderator of treatment effects. Results: All 4 outcome measures improved significantly after instruction, with reductions from baseline that ranged from 14% (STAI) to 36% (BSI). More frequent practice was associated with better outcome. Higher baseline neuroticism scores were associated with greater improvement. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggests that even brief instruction in a simple meditation technique can improve negative mood and perceived stress in healthy adults, which could yield long-term health benefits. Frequency of practice does affect outcome. Those most likely to experience negative emotions may benefit the most from the intervention.

  • A Rasch scaling validation of a 'core' near-death experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rense Lange
    Author Bruce Greyson
    Author James Houran
    Abstract For those with true near-death experiences (NDEs), Greyson's (1983, 1990) NDE Scale satisfactorily fits the Rasch rating scale model, thus yielding a unidimensional measure with interval-level scaling properties. With increasing intensity, NDEs reflect peace, joy and harmony, followed by insight and mystical or religious experiences, while the most intense NDEs involve an awareness of things occurring in a different place or time. The semantics of this variable are invariant across True-NDErs' gender, current age, age at time of NDE, and latency and intensity of the NDE, thus identifying NDEs as 'core' experiences whose meaning is unaffected by external variables, regardless of variations in NDEs' intensity. Significant qualitative and quantitative differences were observed between True-NDErs and other respondent groups, mostly revolving around the differential emphasis on paranormal/mystical/religious experiences vs. standard reactions to threat. The findings further suggest that False-Positive respondents reinterpret other profound psychological states as NDEs. Accordingly, the Rasch validation of the typology proposed by Greyson (1983) also provides new insights into previous research, including the possibility of embellishment over time (as indicated by the finding of positive, as well as negative, latency effects) and the potential roles of religious affiliation and religiosity (as indicated by the qualitative differences surrounding paranormal/mystical/religious issues).
    Publication British Journal of Psychology
    Volume 95
    Issue Pt 2
    Pages 161-177
    Date May 2004
    Journal Abbr Br J Psychol
    DOI 10.1348/000712604773952403
    ISSN 0007-1269
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/15142300
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:39:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15142300
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Death
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Likelihood Functions
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Parapsychology
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • For those with true near-death experiences (NDEs), Greyson’s (1983, 1990) NDE Scale satisfactorily fits the Rasch rating scale model, thus yielding a unidimensional measure with interval-level scaling properties. With increasing intensity, NDEs reflect peace, joy and harmony, followed by insight and mystical or religious experiences, while the most intense NDEs involve an awareness of things occurring in a different place or time. The semantics of this variable are invariant across True-NDErs’ gender, current age, age at time of NDE, and latency and intensity of the NDE, thus identifying NDEs as ‘core’ experiences whose meaning is unaffected by external variables, regardless of variations in NDEs’ intensity. Significant qualitative and quantitative differences were observed between True-NDErs and other respondent groups, mostly revolving around the differential emphasis on paranormal/mystical/religious experiences vs. standard reactions to threat. The findings further suggest that False-Positive respondents reinterpret other profound psychological states as NDEs. Accordingly, the Rasch validation of the typology proposed by Greyson (1983) also provides new insights into previous research, including the possibility of embellishment over time (as indicated by the finding of positive, as well as negative, latency effects) and the potential roles of religious affiliation and religiosity (as indicated by the qualitative differences surrounding paranormal/mystical/religious issues).

  • The role of religious imagery in adaptive psychotherapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert Langs
    Abstract This paper presents the viewpoint of the adaptive approach in respect to manifest allusions to God and other religious themes from patients in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. Such imagery is understood and interpreted on a par with secular imagery, as reflections of encoded deep unconscious experiences, many of them in response to therapists' interventions. The article also explores the reasons why religious imagery is uncommon in adaptive modes of therapy, discusses encoded evidence that therapists' religious self-revelations and extended personal reactions to patients' religious images are maladaptively countertransference-based, and suggests that particular kinds of encoded nonreligious imagery suggest that the deep unconscious mind should be thought of as an inner god of divine wisdom and pristine morality. The decision as to whether this viewpoint speaks for the existence of a transcendental deity or is properly considered in secular terms lies beyond the province of psychoanalytic observations and thinking.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 85-98
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.85
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:20:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364261
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Communication
    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Culture
    • Humans
    • Imagination
    • Moral Development
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Psychoanalytic Interpretation
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Unconscious (Psychology)
  • Meditative movement as a category of exercise: implications for research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Linda Larkey
    Author Roger Jahnke
    Author Jennifer Etnier
    Author Julie Gonzalez
    Abstract INTRODUCTION: Meditative Movement (MM) is proposed as a new category of exercise defined by (a) some form of movement or body positioning, (b) a focus on breathing, and (c) a cleared or calm state of mind with a goal of (d) deep states of relaxation. REVIEW: Two forms of exercise meeting this definition, Qigong and Tai Chi, are reviewed to examine health benefits found in the research literature, recap elements that should be assessed in MM research, and suggest where aspects of MM intersect with, and are distinguished from, conventional forms of exercise. RESULTS: Relevant dimensions of the key elements of MM, such as frequency, duration, type of movement, degree of exertion, description of breathing, and achievement of relaxed state are recommended to be clearly described and measured to consistently define the category across studies and clarify how MM may affect health outcomes in similar, and perhaps different, ways than conventional exercise. CONCLUSIONS: If these suggested standards are used, we will gain a better understanding of which elements are necessary for achieving targeted outcomes. Over time, as MM is studied as a category of exercise, research may progress more efficiently to define the domains of physiological and psychological benefit.
    Publication Journal of Physical Activity & Health
    Volume 6
    Issue 2
    Pages 230-238
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr J Phys Act Health
    ISSN 1543-3080
    Short Title Meditative movement as a category of exercise
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:12:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19420401
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Biomedical Research
    • Blood Pressure
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Humans
    • Immune System
    • Meditation
    • mental health
    • Movement
    • Postural Balance
    • Relaxation
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Tai Ji
  • A Study of the Unique Contribution of Spiritual Coping to Health-Related Quality of Life with Heart Failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author Terry Larsen
    Publication Journal of Cardiac Failure
    Volume 16
    Issue 8, Supplement 1
    Pages S103
    Date August 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.cardfail.2010.06.360
    ISSN 1071-9164
    Accessed Monday, September 13, 2010 8:46:32 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM

    Notes:

    • Research suggests that the heart failure (HF) population is particularly vulnerable to depression due to neurohormonal derangement and its psychological impact. HF patients with depression have been found to have more hospitalizations and poorer outcomes than those who are not depressed. The purpose of this study is to examine factors that predict health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults with heart failure. Its aims are (1) to examine level of religious/spiritual coping, spiritual distress, demoralization, depression and HRQoL among adults with heart failure, (2) to examine the relationships of religious/spiritual coping, spiritual distress demoralization, depression and selected demographic variables (age, gender, race/ethnicity and length of living with HF) with HRQoL. The tests revealed significant differences for positive religious/spiritual coping t(113) = 2.72, 95, 84, p < .05 by gender. Women reported lower mean HRQoL scores 58.86 (SD 26.59) than men 68.57 (SD 24.77); and used more positive religious coping 20.95 (SD 4.97) than men 18.05(SD 6.20) p < .05. Correlation analysis found depression and demoralization to be highly correlated (r = .801; p < .05). A significant negative relationship between depression and HRQoL (r = -.645, p < .001), demoralization (r = -507; p < .001) and spiritual distress (r = -.218; p < .05) was found. One-way ANOVA revealed no significant differences in KCCQ scores based upon the demographic variables. Trending towards statistical significance was found with Hispanics 21.26 (SD 5.04) who more likely to use positive religious/spiritual coping than non-Hispanic participants 17.96 (SD = 6.42, p = 0.54). Regression analysis indicate the overall model significantly predicted HRQOL R2 = 0.424, F (4,110) = 20.267, p < . 001. Depression was the only variable that significantly contributed to the model. A holistic approach to managing HF patients should consider the varied human responses of stress and coping, and be culturally sensitive and gender appropriate.

  • Self-actualization as related to frequency, range, and pattern of religious experience.

    Type Journal Article
    Author John A. Larsen
    Abstract This study investigated the relationship of frequency, range, and pattern of religious experience to self-actualization. The Religious Experience Measure (REM), a paper and pencil instrument, was constructed to provide measures of Stark's confirming, responsive, ecstatic, and revelational experiences. Validity and reliability studies yielded favorable results. In a classroom setting, the 401 undergraduates who comprised the sample were administered the Personal Data Sheet (PDS), the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), and the REM. Results showed that high and low self-actualizers alike have religious experiences and that such experiences cannot inherently be viewed as either symptoms of pathology or evidence of positive mental health. However, frequency, range, and pattern are dimensional aspects of religious experience which are differentially related to self-actualization.
    Publication Journal of Psychology & Theology
    Volume 7
    Issue 1
    Pages 39-47
    Date April 1979
    ISSN 0091-6471
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000771247&…
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:28:15 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Experience (Religion)
    • peer reviewed
    • Self-actualization

    Notes:

    • This study investigated the relationship of frequency, range, and pattern of religious experience to self-actualization. The Religious Experience Measure (REM), a paper and pencil instrument, was constructed to provide measures of Stark’s confirming, responsive, ecstatic, and revelational experiences. Validity and reliability studies yielded favorable results. In a classroom setting, the 401 undergraduates who comprised the sample were administered the Personal Data Sheet (PDS), the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), and the REM. Results showed that high and low self-actualizers alike have religious experiences and that such experiences cannot inherently be viewed as either symptoms of pathology or evidence of positive mental health. However, frequency, range, and pattern are dimensional aspects of religious experience which are differentially related to self-actualization.

  • Systematic analysis of research on religious variables in four major psychiatric journals, 1978-1982

    Type Journal Article
    Author DB Larson
    Author EM Pattison
    Author DG Blazer
    Author AR Omran
    Author BH Kaplan
    Publication Am J Psychiatry
    Volume 143
    Issue 3
    Pages 329-334
    Date March 1, 1986
    URL http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/143/3/329
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 8:55:35 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Scientific Research on Spirituality and Health: A Report Based on the Scientific Progress in Spirituality Conferences

    Type Book
    Contributor David B Larson
    Contributor James P Swyers
    Contributor Michael E McCullough
    Contributor Templeton Foundation
    Contributor Scientific Progress in Spirituality Conference
    Place Rockville, Md.
    Publisher National Institute for Healthcare Research
    Date 1998
    Short Title Scientific Research on Spirituality and Health
    Library Catalog Library of Congress Catalog
    Call Number BL65.M4 S35 1998
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Health
    • Health aspects
    • Religious aspects
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This text is part of a four volume corpus that constitutes one of the largest English-language reviews of research on spirituality and health.  It includes thick chapters on both physical and mental health.

  • The impact of religion on men's blood pressure

    Type Journal Article
    Author David B. Larson
    Author Harold G. Koenig
    Author Berton H. Kaplan
    Author Raymond S. Greenberg
    Author Everett Logue
    Author Herman A. Tyroler
    Abstract Most clinical studies examining the relation between religion and blood pressure status have focused on church attendance, finding lower pressures among frequent attenders. The present study examines the effect on blood pressure status of a religious meaning variable, importance of religion, both by itself and together with frequency of church attendance. The relation between blood pressure, self-perceived importance of religion, and frequency of church attendance was examined among a rural sample of 407 white men free from hypertension or cardiovascular disease. The data confirmed an interaction between the effects of both religious variables on blood pressure status, with importance of religion having an even greater association with lower pressures than church attendance. Diastolic blood pressures of persons with high church attendance and high religious importance were significantly lower than those in the low attendance, low importance group. These differences persisted after adjusting the analyses for age, socioeconomic status, smoking, and weight-height ratio (Quetelet Index). The difference in mean diastolic pressures based on response to the religious importance variable alone was statistically and clinically significant, particularly among men aged 55 and over (6 mm) and among smokers (5 mm). These findings suggest that both religious attitudes and involvement may interact favorably in their effects on cardiovascular hemodynamics.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 28
    Issue 4
    Pages 265-278
    Date December 01, 1989
    DOI 10.1007/BF00986065
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00986065
    Accessed Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:31:37 PM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The present study examines the effect on blood pressure status of a religious meaning variable, importance of religion, both by itself and together with frequency of church attendance.

  • Eating attitudes and dieting behavior among religious subgroups of Israeli-Arab adolescent females.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yael Latzer
    Author Faisal Azaiza
    Author Orna Tzischinsky
    Abstract Objectives The aim of the study was to compare the eating attitudes and behaviors, including weight concerns and dieting behavior, among three religious subgroups (Moslems, Druze, and Christians) and three age subgroups (12–13, 14–15, and 16–18 years old) of Israeli-Arab adolescent females. Methods The sample consisted of 1141 Israeli-Arab adolescent females, including 926 (81.2%) Moslem, 128 (11.2%) Christian, and 87 (7.6%) Druze schoolgirls in the seventh to twelfth grades. Participants were assessed using the EAT–26 questionnaire. Results The results showed that 75% of the students had a negative EAT-26 score (>20) and that 25% of the students had a positive EAT-26 score (<20). No significant differences were found in total scores, subscale scores, or scores above 20 between the age subgroups or the religious subgroups. The results demonstrated a high prevalence of disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors among Israeli- Arab adolescent schoolgirls. Discussion Higher prevalence of disturbed eating attitudes found among Israeli-Arab schoolgirls as compared to their Jewish counterparts. Although our sample is a communal based, there still remains an open question as to why the desired "slenderness culture" evident in the results is not reflected in the number of ED clinic referrals, among clinical population. These discrepancies were discussed in light of ethnicity- specific factors that may influence the perceived severity of eating disorders and the receptiveness of primary practitioners to address them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 189-199
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9189-7
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Age differences
    • Arabs
    • Christians
    • dieting behavior
    • Druze
    • eating attitudes
    • Eating Behavior
    • eating behaviors
    • eating disorders
    • Human Females
    • Israeli-Arab adolescent females
    • Moslems
    • MUSLIMS
    • religion
    • religious subgroups
    • weight concerns
  • Elaboration on posttraumatic growth in youth exposed to terror: the role of religiosity and political ideology

    Type Journal Article
    Author Avital Laufer
    Author Zahava Solomon
    Author Stephen Z. Levine
    Abstract Researchers found that both religiosity and political ideology mediated the effects of exposure and fear on growth in 2,999 Israeli youth exposed to terror, aged 13-15. Political ideology, but not religiosity, had a moderating effect, such that subjective fear was positively associated with growth only among those with stronger ideologies.
    Publication Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
    Volume 45
    Issue 6
    Pages 647-653
    Date 8/2009
    Journal Abbr Soc Psychiat Epidemiol
    DOI 10.1007/s00127-009-0106-5
    ISSN 0933-7954
    URL http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s00127-009-0106-5
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • A quantitative electroencephalographic study of meditation and binaural beat entrainment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christina F Lavallee
    Author Stanley A Koren
    Author Michael A Persinger
    Abstract Abstract Objectives: The study objective was to determine the quantitative electroencephalographic correlates of meditation, as well as the effects of hindering (15 Hz) and facilitative (7 Hz) binaural beats on the meditative process. Design: The study was a mixed design, with experience of the subject as the primary between-subject measure and power of the six classic frequency bands (δ, θ, low α, high α, β, γ), neocortical lobe (frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital), hemisphere (left, right), and condition (meditation only, meditation with 7-Hz beats, meditation with 15-Hz beats) as the within-subject measures. Location: The study was conducted at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Subjects: The subjects comprised novice (mean of 8 months experience) and experienced (mean of 18 years experience) meditators recruited from local meditation groups. Intervention: Experimental manipulation included application of hindering and facilitative binaural beats to the meditative process. Results: Experienced meditators displayed increased left temporal lobe δ power when the facilitative binaural beats were applied, whereas the effect was not observed for the novice subjects in this condition. When the hindering binaural beats were introduced, the novice subjects consistently displayed more γ power than the experienced subjects over the course of their meditation, relative to baseline. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, novice meditators were not able to maintain certain levels of θ power in the occipital regions when hindering binaural beats were presented, whereas when the facilitative binaural beats were presented, the experienced meditators displayed increased θ power in the left temporal lobe. These results suggest that the experienced meditators have developed techniques over the course of their meditation practice to counter hindering environmental stimuli, whereas the novice meditators have not yet developed those techniques.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 351-355
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2009.0691
    ISSN 1557-7708
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21480784
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:02:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21480784
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
  • Religious/spiritual coping and adjustment in individuals with cancer: unanswered questions, important trends, and future directions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Megan E. Lavery
    Author Erin L. O’Hea
    Abstract Thune-Boyle, Stygall, Keshtgar, and Newman's (2006) literature review generated inconclusive findings regarding the relationship between religious coping and illness adjustment in cancer patients. This paper aims to review studies following Thune-Boyle et al. (2006), as well as to categorise trends not previously addressed. Increasingly, current research conceptualises religious coping multidimensionally. Separating religious coping into positive and negative dimensions, negative religious coping appears negatively associated with illness adjustment, while the relationship between positive religious coping and adjustment is unclear. Findings are mixed when examining whether religious coping affects adjustment directly, with nonreligious coping and stage of cancer as potential mediators and moderators. Research suggests that religious needs assessments, as well as spiritually focused therapy may positively impact illness adjustment. Further, causal conclusions are generally curtailed by universal limitations in the design and methods of the religious coping research.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 55-65
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903131850
    ISSN 1367-4676
    Short Title Religious/spiritual coping and adjustment in individuals with cancer
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/13674670903131850
    Accessed Monday, January 11, 2010 3:25:01 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • Thune-Boyle, Stygall, Keshtgar, and Newman's (2006) literature review generated inconclusive findings regarding the relationship between religious coping and illness adjustment in cancer patients. This paper aims to review studies following Thune-Boyle et al. (2006), as well as to categorise trends not previously addressed. Increasingly, current research conceptualises religious coping multidimensionally. Separating religious coping into positive and negative dimensions, negative religious coping appears negatively associated with illness adjustment, while the relationship between positive religious coping and adjustment is unclear. Findings are mixed when examining whether religious coping affects adjustment directly, with nonreligious coping and stage of cancer as potential mediators and moderators. Research suggests that religious needs assessments, as well as spiritually focused therapy may positively impact illness adjustment. Further, causal conclusions are generally curtailed by universal limitations in the design and methods of the religious coping research.

  • Trait anxiety and measures of religiosity in four cultural settings.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Miran Lavrič
    Author Sergej Flere
    Abstract Several measures of religious practice and religious orientation (intrinsic/extrinsic/quest) and the trait form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were employed in a survey of undergraduate university students from four different cultural environments: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, and the USA. The results suggest that (1) the relationship between trait anxiety and religiosity substantially varies between these samples; (2) the relationship between quest religious orientation and trait anxiety was the only one to give stable (positive) unidirectional and significant correlations across the four samples; and (3) among the religious measures employed, attendance at religious services proved to be potentially the most effective anxiety-buffering mechanism within the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 667-682
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670701414961
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
  • The Role of Culture in the Relationship Between Religiosity and Psychological Well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Miran Lavrič
    Author Sergej Flere
    Abstract Abstract Several measures of religious practice and religious orientation (intrinsic/extrinsic/quest) and two measures of psychological well-being (positive affect and negative affect) have been employed in a cross-cultural survey of undergraduate university students from five different cultural/religious environments: Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, the United States of America, and Japan. Results suggest that measures of exstrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religiosity are not entirely applicable in most of the cultures observed. Nevertheless, it was possible to discern abbreviated cross-culturally valid scales for each dimension. The strength and direction of the correlation between psychological well-being and a particular type of religious orientation proved to depend substantially upon culture. More importantly, the cultural environment plays a crucial role in shaping the relationship between general measures of religiosity and psychological well-being. According to the data, higher general levels of religiosity at the societal level are linked to more positive correlations between religiosity and psychological well-being. The overall picture leads to the conclusion that there is no culturally universal pattern in the relationship between measures of religiosity and psychological well-being and that the particular cultural and religious context should always be considered in studies dealing with this issue.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 47
    Issue 2
    Pages 164-175
    Date June 01, 2008
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9168-z
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10943-008-9168-z
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 2:15:50 AM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Several measures of religious practice and religious orientation (intrinsic/extrinsic/quest) and two measures of psychological well-being (positive affect and negative affect) have been employed in a cross-cultural survey of undergraduate university students from five different cultural/religious environments: Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, the United States of America, and Japan. Results suggest that measures of extrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religiosity are not entirely applicable in most of the cultures observed. The overall picture leads to the conclusion that there is no culturally universal pattern in the relationship between measures of religiosity and psychological well-being and that the particular cultural and religious context should always be considered in studies dealing with this issue.

  • The effects of church attendance and marital status on the longitudinal trajectories of depressed mood among older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rita W Law
    Author David A Sbarra
    Abstract Objective. The present study investigated the potential effects of church attendance and marital status on mood trajectories among older adults and whether these effects varied by gender. Method. Data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging were used to examine the effects of church attendance and marital status on changes in depressed mood. Participants included 791 older adults (42.4% men; mean age at study entry = 75.62) who were interviewed at three time points over 8 years. Results. Using multilevel modeling to assess change, church attendance was found to have a protective effect against the emergence of mood problems among older adults. Also, although becoming married was associated with a decrease in depressed mood, becoming nonmarried was associated with an increase in depressed mood. Discussion. A sense of purpose as a potential explanation for the association between church attendance and changes in depressed mood in old age was discussed.
    Publication Journal of Aging and Health
    Volume 21
    Issue 6
    Pages 803-823
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr J Aging Health
    DOI 10.1177/0898264309338300
    ISSN 0898-2643
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:53:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19535821
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Australia
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Marital Status
    • Mood Disorders
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Sex Factors
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
  • The effects of church attendance and marital status on the longitudinal trajectories of depressed mood among older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rita W Law
    Author David A Sbarra
    Abstract Objective. The present study investigated the potential effects of church attendance and marital status on mood trajectories among older adults and whether these effects varied by gender. Method. Data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging were used to examine the effects of church attendance and marital status on changes in depressed mood. Participants included 791 older adults (42.4% men; mean age at study entry = 75.62) who were interviewed at three time points over 8 years. Results. Using multilevel modeling to assess change, church attendance was found to have a protective effect against the emergence of mood problems among older adults. Also, although becoming married was associated with a decrease in depressed mood, becoming nonmarried was associated with an increase in depressed mood. Discussion. A sense of purpose as a potential explanation for the association between church attendance and changes in depressed mood in old age was discussed.
    Publication Journal of Aging and Health
    Volume 21
    Issue 6
    Pages 803-823
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr J Aging Health
    DOI 10.1177/0898264309338300
    ISSN 0898-2643
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19535821
    Accessed Tuesday, October 27, 2009 9:54:20 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19535821
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Australia
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Marital Status
    • Mood Disorders
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Sex Factors
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
  • The unique effects of forgiveness on health: an exploration of pathways

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathleen A Lawler
    Author Jarred W Younger
    Author Rachel L Piferi
    Author Rebecca L Jobe
    Author Kimberley A Edmondson
    Author Warren H Jones
    Abstract The relationship of forgiveness, both state and trait, to health was assessed. Eighty-one community adults completed a packet of questionnaires and participated in a laboratory interview about a time of hurt or betrayal. Heart rate and blood pressure were recorded during a 10 min baseline, the interview and during a recovery period; interviews were structured around a framework of questions and videotaped. Four measures of forgiveness were all statistically associated with five measures of health (physical symptoms, medications used, sleep quality, fatigue, and somatic complaints). Trait forgiveness was associated with decreased reactivity (rate-pressure product) to the interview, but sympathetic reactivity did not account for the trait forgiveness-health association. Four mechanisms or pathways by which forgiveness could lead to fewer physical symptoms were examined: spirituality, social skills, reduction in negative affect, and reduction in stress. All factors either partially or fully mediated the effect of forgiveness on health; however, the strongest mediator for both state and trait forgiveness was reduction in negative affect. For state forgiveness, the second strongest mediator was reduction in stress; for trait forgiveness, both conflict management and reduction in stress were strong contributors.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 28
    Issue 2
    Pages 157-167
    Date Apr 2005
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    ISSN 0160-7715
    Short Title The unique effects of forgiveness on health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15957571
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:13:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15957571
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Aged
    • Attitude
    • Conflict (Psychology)
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Heart Rate
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Prevalence
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • The relationship of forgiveness, both state and trait, to health was assessed. Eighty-one community adults completed a packet of questionnaires and participated in a laboratory interview about a time of hurt or betrayal. The strongest mediator for both state and trait forgiveness was reduction in negative affect.

  • The long-term impact of child abuse on religious behavior and spirituality in men

    Type Journal Article
    Author R Lawson
    Author C Drebing
    Author G Berg
    Author A Vincellette
    Author W Penk
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Two hypotheses were tested: (1) In a sample of adult men, past experience of child abuse (sexual, physical, or emotional) will be related to higher levels of reported alienation from religion and God as shown in lower rates of current religious behavior, higher frequency of spiritual "injury," and lower stability of religious behavior and experiences; (2) More "severe" forms of abuse will be associated with higher indicators of alienation. METHOD: Data were collected from 1,207 male veterans, 527 (43.7%) of whom reported being abused as a child. Each subject completed the Spiritual Issues Assessment, a large survey which includes data about: (1) KASL Religiosity Index; (2) The Spiritual Injury Scale; and (3) Religious items from the Westberg Personal Health Inventory. RESULTS: A history of sexual abuse was related to significantly greater spiritual injury and lower stability of spiritual behaviors and experiences, but not to overall rate of current religious behavior. Surprisingly, abuse was related to increased frequency of prayer and of "spiritual experience." Multivariate analyses indicate that the effect size is relatively small and the type of abuse was less important than the presence of any form of abuse. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the impact of childhood abuse is more complex than initially hypothesized. While abuse seems to be related to continuing spiritual injury and distress, it is also related to higher levels of some spiritual activities and experiences which are usually associated with positive spirituality.
    Publication Child Abuse & Neglect
    Volume 22
    Issue 5
    Pages 369-380
    Date May 1998
    Journal Abbr Child Abuse Negl
    ISSN 0145-2134
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9631249
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:44:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9631249
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Child
    • CHILD abuse
    • Child Abuse, Sexual
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Religion and Psychology

    Notes:

    • Two hypotheses were tested: (1) In a sample of adult men, past experience of child abuse (sexual, physical, or emotional) will be related to higher levels of reported alienation from religion and God; (2) More “severe” forms of abuse will be associated with higher indicators of alienation. Results: A history of sexual abuse was related to significantly greater spiritual injury and lower stability of spiritual behaviors and experiences, but not to overall rate of current religious behavior. Surprisingly, abuse was related to increased frequency of prayer and of “spiritual experience.”

  • Spirituality and job satisfaction among female Jewish Israeli hospital nurses

    Type Journal Article
    Author Aryeh Lazar
    Abstract AIM: This paper is a report of a study conducted to examine the relationship between spirituality and hospital nurses' work satisfaction and to determine the unique contributions of various specific aspects of spirituality to their work satisfaction. BACKGROUND: Spirituality has been indicated as a possible contributor to nurses' job satisfaction. However, few researchers have examined the relationship between spirituality and nurses' job satisfaction. METHOD: During 2007, 120 female Jewish Israeli hospital nurses responded to a questionnaire including a multidimensional measure of spirituality and a measure of overall job satisfaction. RESULTS: Correlation analysis indicated a positive relationship between life coherency aspects of spirituality and spiritual values with job satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated the particular importance of an idealistic spiritual orientation (positive contribution) and a transcendent spiritual orientation (negative contribution) to the prediction of nurses' job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The relationship between spirituality and nurses' job satisfaction is complex. Hospital managers may be able to enhance job satisfaction by providing opportunities for nurses to satisfy their spiritual needs (in particular, altruistic and ideological orientations) on the job. In addition, nurses with a strong transcendent orientation may be identified and given special attention to increase the likelihood of job satisfaction.
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 66
    Issue 2
    Pages 334-344
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05172.x
    ISSN 1365-2648
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 2:43:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20423416
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • On "spirituality," "religion," and "religions": a concept analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author J Mark Lazenby
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: With increasing research on the role of religion and spirituality in the well-being of cancer patients, it is important to define distinctly the concepts that researchers use in these studies. METHOD: Using the philosophies of Frege and James, this essay argues that the terms "religion" and "spirituality" denote the same concept, a concept that is identified with the Peace/Meaning subscale of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy--Spiritual Well-being Scale (FACIT-Sp). RESULTS: The term "Religions" denotes the concept under which specific religious systems are categorized. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: This article shows how muddling these concepts causes researchers to make claims that their findings do not support, and it ends in suggesting that future research must include universal measures of the concept of religion/spirituality in order to investigate further the role of interventions in the spiritual care of people living with cancer.
    Publication Palliative & Supportive Care
    Volume 8
    Issue 4
    Pages 469-476
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Palliat Support Care
    DOI 10.1017/S1478951510000374
    ISSN 1478-9523
    Short Title On "spirituality," "religion," and "religions"
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20875214
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:05:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20875214
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
  • Learning for holistic care: addressing practical wisdom (phronesis) and the spiritual sphere

    Type Journal Article
    Author Helen L Leathard
    Author Michael J Cook
    Abstract <AbstractText Label="AIM" NlmCategory="OBJECTIVE">This paper is a discussion of practical wisdom (phronesis) and spirituality in holistic caring and strategies to facilitate their application in nurse education.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="BACKGROUND" NlmCategory="BACKGROUND">Phronesis, with its inherent spiritual qualities, is an established aspect of the persona of excellent clinical leaders. There is a strong case for recognizing the value of this characteristic in all nurses, and a strategy is required for engendering the development of phronesis during nurse education.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="DATA SOURCES" NlmCategory="METHODS">Electronic searches of Google Scholar and CINAHL were conducted for English language publications in the period 1996-2008. Search terms included combinations of phronesis, spirituality, health, education, pharmacology, medicines and medication education, holistic care and spiritual care. Selection of items for inclusion was based on their pertinence to the arguments being developed and their value as leads to earlier material.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="DISCUSSION" NlmCategory="CONCLUSIONS">The links between the attributes of effective clinical leaders and those required for holistic caring are explicated and related to phronesis, the acquisition of which involves spiritual development. An explanatory account of phronesis and its applicability to nursing leads to an explanation of how its spiritual aspects in particular might be incorporated into learning for holistic care. Reference to research in medicines-related education illustrates how the principles can be applied in nurse education.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="CONCLUSION" NlmCategory="CONCLUSIONS">Nursing quality could be enhanced if adequate opportunities for acquiring phronesis through experiential learning were provided in nursing curricula. Phronesis and spiritual care could be incorporated into existing models of nursing care or new models devised to use these critical concepts.</AbstractText>
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 65
    Issue 6
    Pages 1318-1327
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04949.x
    ISSN 1365-2648
    Short Title Learning for holistic care
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:43:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19243460
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Education, Nursing
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Knowledge
    • Nurse-Patient Relations
    • Pharmacology
    • spirituality
  • Psychoanalysis and religious mysticism.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stanley A. Leavy
    Abstract Reviews the books, Crucified with christ: Meditation on the passion, mystical death, and the medieval invention of psychotherapy by Dan Merkur (2007); Centers of power: The convergence of psychoanalysis and kabalah by Joseph H. Berke and Stanley Schneider (2008); and Into the mountain Stream: Psychotherapy and buddhist experience by Paul C. Cooper (see record 2007-05046-000). Of the three volumes under discussion in this essay, one, by Dan Merkur, a veteran in these studies, concerns a shift in the fourteenth century within Christian mystical theology, when the traditional concern for spiritual access to supernatural beings and locations gave way to concern for the effects of divine grace as mediated inwardly. The change was not limited to the small groups of ascetics with whom it originated earlier, grandly exemplified by Francis of Assisi, but was part of a general inward turn in Christian devotion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
    Publication Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
    Volume 57
    Issue 2
    Pages 477-489
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1177/0003065109336186
    ISSN 0003-0651
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • PSYCHOANALYSIS
    • religion
    • religiosity
    • religious mysticism
    • spiritual access
    • spirituality
  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction and cancer: a meta-analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dianne Ledesma
    Author Hiroaki Kumano
    Abstract OBJECTIVE This meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the mental and physical health status of various cancer patients. METHODS Ten studies (randomized-controlled trials and observational studies) were found to be eligible for meta-analysis. Individual study results were categorized into mental and physical variables and Cohen's effect size d was computed for each category. RESULTS MBSR may indeed be helpful for the mental health of cancer patients (Cohen's effect size d=0.48); however, more research is needed to show convincing evidence of the effect on physical health (Cohen's effect size d=0.18). CONCLUSION The results suggest that MBSR may improve cancer patients' psychosocial adjustment to their disease.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 6
    Pages 571-579
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1400
    ISSN 1099-1611
    Short Title Mindfulness-based stress reduction and cancer
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19023879
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:23:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19023879
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Arousal
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Prognosis
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Sick Role
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • This meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the mental and physical health status of various cancer patients.

  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction and cancer: a meta-analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dianne Ledesma
    Author Hiroaki Kumano
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the mental and physical health status of various cancer patients. METHODS: Ten studies (randomized-controlled trials and observational studies) were found to be eligible for meta-analysis. Individual study results were categorized into mental and physical variables and Cohen's effect size d was computed for each category. RESULTS: MBSR may indeed be helpful for the mental health of cancer patients (Cohen's effect size d=0.48); however, more research is needed to show convincing evidence of the effect on physical health (Cohen's effect size d=0.18). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that MBSR may improve cancer patients' psychosocial adjustment to their disease.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 6
    Pages 571-579
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1400
    ISSN 1099-1611
    Short Title Mindfulness-based stress reduction and cancer
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19023879
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:20:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19023879
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Arousal
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Prognosis
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Sick Role
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • This meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the mental and physical health status of various cancer patients. Results: MBSR may indeed be helpful for the mental health of cancer patients (Cohen’s effect size d=0.48); however, more research is needed to show convincing evidence of the effect on physical health (Cohen’s effect size d=0.18). Conclusion: The results suggest that MBSR may improve cancer patients’ psychosocial adjustment to their disease.

  • The moderating influence of demographic characteristics, social support, and religious coping on the effectiveness of a multicomponent psychosocial caregiver intervention in three racial ethnic groups

    Type Journal Article
    Author Chin C. Lee
    Author Sara J. Czaja
    Author Richard Schulz
    Abstract This article extends the findings from the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH II) program, a multisite randomized clinical trial of a multicomponent psychosocial intervention, to improve the well-being of informal caregivers (CGs) of persons with dementia. We used residual change scores and stepwise hierarchical regression analyses to explore separately in 3 racial ethnic groups (Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American, and White or Caucasian) how the effects of the intervention were moderated by CG characteristics (sex, age, education, and relationship), CG resources (social support), and religious coping. The results indicated that CG's age and religious coping moderated the effects of the intervention for Hispanics and Blacks. The older Hispanic and Black CGs who received the intervention reported a decrease in CG burden from baseline to follow-up. Black CGs with less religious coping who received the intervention also reported a decrease in depressive symptoms from baseline to follow-up.
    Publication The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
    Volume 65B
    Issue 2
    Pages 185-194
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
    DOI 10.1093/geronb/gbp131
    ISSN 1758-5368
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:37:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20056684
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Cohort profile: The biopsychosocial religion and health study (BRHS)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jerry W Lee
    Author Kelly R Morton
    Author James Walters
    Author Denise L Bellinger
    Author Terry L Butler
    Author Colwick Wilson
    Author Eric Walsh
    Author Christopher G Ellison
    Author Monica M McKenzie
    Author Gary E Fraser
    Abstract In The Secrets of Long Life in the National Geographic1 Buettner explored longevity among three communities in Sardinia Italy, Okinawa Japan, and Loma Linda California. Loma Linda is largely a community of 7th-day Adventists. In 1969 initial research2 found that among individuals surviving past age 35 Adventist women in California lived 3.7 years longer than their counterparts and Adventist men 6.2 years longer. In a later, larger California sample3 the differences were even stronger—4.4 years for women and 7.3 years for men. Exercise, vegetarian diet, not smoking, eating nuts and social support have been found to predict longevity in Adventists.4 Yet even when these and several psychological variables are controlled church attendance still predicts greater longevity.5 Interest has been increasing regarding the association of both mental and physical health with religion or spirituality.6 There have been a number of literature reviews that have concluded that the associations of religion and . . .
    Publication International Journal of Epidemiology
    Volume 38
    Issue 6
    Pages 1470-1478
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Epidemiol
    DOI 10.1093/ije/dyn244
    ISSN 1464-3685
    Short Title Cohort profile
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19052114
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 12:11:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19052114
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Therapeutic Processes and Perceived Helpfulness of Dang-Ki (Chinese Shamanism) from the Symbolic Healing Perspective.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Boon-Ooi Lee
    Author Laurence J. Kirmayer
    Author Danielle Groleau
    Abstract This study focuses on the therapeutic process and perceived helpfulness of dang-ki, a form of Chinese shamanistic healing, in Singapore. It aims to understand the healing symbols employed in dang-ki, whether or not patients find them helpful and whether their perceived helpfulness can be explained by the symbolic healing model (Dow, Am Anthropol 88(1):56–69, ; Levi-Strauss, Structural anthropology. Basic Books, New York, ). Although many researchers have applied this model to explain the efficacy of shamanistic healings, they did not directly provide empirical support. Furthermore, the therapeutic process of a shared clinical reality as proposed by the model may be achievable in small-scale traditional societies that are culturally more homogeneous than in contemporary societies that are culturally more diversified due to globalization and immigration. Patients may hold multidimensional health belief systems, as biomedicine and alternative healing systems coexist. Thus, it would be interesting to see the relevance and applicability of the symbolic healing model to shamanistic healing in contemporary societies. In this study, ethnographic interviews were conducted with 21 patients over three stages: immediately before and after the healing and approximately 1 month later. The dang-ki healing symbols were identified by observing the healing sessions with video recording. Results show that dang-kis normally applied more than one method to treat a given problem. These methods included words, talismans and physical manipulations. Overall, 11 patients perceived their consultations as helpful, 4 perceived their consultations as helpful but were unable to follow all recommendations, 5 were not sure of the outcome because they had yet to see any concrete results and only 1 patient considered his consultation unhelpful. Although the symbolic healing model provides a useful framework to understand perceived helpfulness, processes such as enactment of a common meaning system and symbolic transformation are complex and dynamic, and may be carried over several healing sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry
    Volume 34
    Issue 1
    Pages 56-105
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11013-009-9161-3
    ISSN 0165005X
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:36:21 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • China
    • healing
    • Shamanism
    • SHAMANS
    • THERAPEUTICS
  • Yoga for menopausal symptoms: a systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Myeong Soo Lee
    Author Jong-In Kim
    Author Jeong Yong Ha
    Author Kate Boddy
    Author Edzard Ernst
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of yoga as a treatment option for menopausal symptoms. METHODS: We searched the literature using 14 databases from their inception to July 2008 and included all types of clinical studies regardless of their design. The methodological quality of all studies was assessed using a modified Jadad score. RESULTS: Seven studies met our inclusion criteria. Two randomized clinical trials compared the effects of yoga with those of walking or physical exercise. The meta-analysis of these data failed to show specific effects of yoga on menopausal complaints including psychological, somatic, and vasomotor symptoms. Two randomized clinical trials found no effects of yoga on total menopausal symptoms compared with wait-list control or no treatment. The remaining studies were either non-randomized (n = 1) or uncontrolled clinical trials (n = 3). They reported favorable effects of yoga on menopausal symptoms. These data collectively show that the results of rigorous studies of the effects of yoga for menopausal symptoms are unconvincing. CONCLUSION: The evidence is insufficient to suggest that yoga is an effective intervention for menopause. Further research is required to investigate whether there are specific benefits of yoga for treating menopausal symptoms.
    Publication Menopause (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 16
    Issue 3
    Pages 602-608
    Date 2009 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Menopause
    DOI 10.1097/gme.0b013e31818ffe39
    ISSN 1530-0374
    Short Title Yoga for menopausal symptoms
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:58:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19169169
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Hot Flashes
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Menopause
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • This article reviews the literature on the effectiveness of yoga practices for treating menopausal symptoms and finds that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that yoga practices are an effective intervention.

  • Tai chi for breast cancer patients: a systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Myeong Soo Lee
    Author Tae-Young Choi
    Author Edzard Ernst
    Abstract The objective of this review was to assess the effectiveness of tai chi for supportive breast cancer care. Eleven databases were searched from inception through December 2009. Controlled trials testing tai chi in patients with breast cancer that assessed clinical outcome measures were considered. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validations were performed independently by two reviewers. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane criteria. Three randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and four non-randomized controlled clinical trials (CCTs) met our inclusion criteria. The three RCTs tested the effects of tai chi on breast cancer care compared with walking exercise, psychological support therapy, or spiritual growth or standard health care and showed no significant differences between tai chi and these control procedures in quality of life and psychological and physical outcome measures. The meta-analysis also failed to demonstrate significant effects of tai chi compared with control interventions (n = 38, SMD, 0.45, 95% CI −0.25 to 1.14, P = 0.21; heterogeneity: χ2 = 0.23, P = 0.63; I 2 = 0%). All of the four CCTs showed favorable effects of tai chi. Three trials suggested effectiveness in psychological and physical outcome measures, whereas one study was too poorly reported to be evaluated in detail. All of the CCTs had a high risk of bias. Collectively, the existing trial evidence does not show convincingly that tai chi is effective for supportive breast cancer care. Future studies should be of high methodological quality, with a particular emphasis on including an adequate control intervention.
    Publication Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
    Volume 120
    Issue 2
    Pages 309-316
    Date 2/2010
    Journal Abbr Breast Cancer Res Treat
    DOI 10.1007/s10549-010-0741-2
    ISSN 0167-6806
    URL http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s10549-010-0741-2
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM

    Notes:

    • The objective of this review was to assess the
      effectiveness of tai chi for supportive breast cancer care.
      Eleven databases were searched from inception through
      December 2009. Controlled trials testing tai chi in patients
      with breast cancer that assessed clinical outcome measures
      were considered.

  • Internal qigong for pain conditions: a systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Myeong Soo Lee
    Author Max H Pittler
    Author Edzard Ernst
    Abstract The objective of this systematic review was to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of internal qigong as a treatment option for pain conditions. Nineteen databases were searched through to February 2009. Controlled clinical trials testing internal qigong in patients with pain of any origin assessing clinical outcome measures were considered. Trials using any type of internal qigong and control intervention were included. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by 2 reviewers. Four randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and 3 controlled clinical trials met all inclusion criteria. One RCT suggested no significant difference for low back pain compared with electromyographic biofeedback. Two RCTs failed to show effects of internal qigong in neck pain compared with exercise therapy and waiting list control. One RCT suggested that qigong is inferior to aerobic exercise in patients with fibromyalgia. There are few RCTs testing the effectiveness of internal qigong in the management of pain conditions. Collectively, the existing trial evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that internal qigong is an effective modality for pain management. PERSPECTIVE: This review of controlled clinical trials focused on the effects of internal qigong, a self-directed energy healing intervention involving movement and meditation. Collectively, the existing trial evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that internal qigong is an effective modality for pain management. Future studies should be of high quality with particular emphasis on designing an adequate control intervention.
    Publication The Journal of Pain: Official Journal of the American Pain Society
    Volume 10
    Issue 11
    Pages 1121-1127.e14
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pain
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpain.2009.03.009
    ISSN 1528-8447
    Short Title Internal qigong for pain conditions
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19559656
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:50:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19559656
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Notes:

    • The objective of this systematic review was to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of internal qigong as a treatment option for pain conditions. Nineteen databases were searched through to February 2009. Controlled clinical trials testing internal qigong in patients with pain of any origin assessing clinical outcome measures were considered. Trials using any type of internal qigong and control intervention were included. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by 2 reviewers. Four randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and 3 controlled clinical trials met all inclusion criteria. One RCT suggested no significant difference for low back pain compared with electromyographic biofeedback. Two RCTs failed to show effects of internal qigong in neck pain compared with exercise therapy and waiting list control. One RCT suggested that qigong is inferior to aerobic exercise in patients with fibromyalgia. There are few RCTs testing the effectiveness of internal qigong in the management of pain conditions. Collectively, the existing trial evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that internal qigong is an effective modality for pain management. PERSPECTIVE: This review of controlled clinical trials focused on the effects of internal qigong, a self-directed energy healing intervention involving movement and meditation. Collectively, the existing trial evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that internal qigong is an effective modality for pain management. Future studies should be of high quality with particular emphasis on designing an adequate control intervention.

  • Qigong for type 2 diabetes care: a systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Myeong Soo Lee
    Author Kevin W Chen
    Author Tae-Young Choi
    Author Edzard Ernst
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: To summarize and critically evaluate the evidence available from clinical trials (CTs) of qigong for patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: We have searched the literature using 15 databases from their respective inceptions through March 2009 without language restrictions. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane criteria. RESULTS: Nine CTs, which included three randomized clinical trials (RCTs), one controlled clinical trial (CCT) and five uncontrolled observational studies (UOSs), met our inclusion criteria. Three RCTs compared qigong plus usual care (including drug therapy) with usual care alone. The quality of these RCTs was poor. Their results suggested favorable effects of qigong on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), 2h plasma glucose (2hPG), insulin sensitivity, and blood viscosity. One CCT compared qigong with no treatment and failed to show favorable effects of qigong on fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2hPG, HbA1c and insulin sensitivity. All UOSs reported beneficial effects of qigong on FPG or 2hPG. CONCLUSION: Currently there are few rigorous trials testing the effectiveness of qigong for type 2 diabetes. The studies that are available are of low methodological quality. Collectively this evidence is insufficient to suggest that qigong is an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes. Rigorously designed trials are warranted to answer the many questions that remain open.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Medicine
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 236-242
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctim.2009.05.001
    ISSN 1873-6963
    Short Title Qigong for type 2 diabetes care
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19632552
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 12:57:47 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19632552
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Blood Glucose
    • Blood Physiological Phenomena
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Clinical Trials as Topic
    • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
    • Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated
    • Humans
    • Insulin Resistance

    Notes:

    • Objectives To summarize and critically evaluate the evidence available from clinical trials (CTs) of qigong for patients with type 2 diabetes. Conclusion: Currently there are few rigorous trials testing the effectiveness of qigong for type 2 diabetes. Collectively this evidence is insufficient to suggest that qigong is an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes.

  • Tai chi for rheumatoid arthritis: systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author M S Lee
    Author M H Pittler
    Author E Ernst
    Abstract The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate data from controlled clinical trials testing the effectiveness of tai chi for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Systematic searches were conducted on Medline, Pubmed, AMED, British Nursing Index, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycInfo, The Cochrane Library 2007, Issue 1, the UK National Research Register and ClinicalTrials.gov, Korean medical databases, Qigong and Energy Medicine Database and Chinese databases up to January 2007. Hand-searches included conference proceedings and our own files. There were no restrictions regarding the language of publication. All controlled trials of tai chi for patients with RA were considered for inclusion. Methodological quality was assessed using the Jadad score. The searches identified 45 potentially relevant studies. Two randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and three non-randomized controlled clinical trials (CCTs) met all inclusion criteria. The included RCTs reported some positive findings for tai chi on disability index, quality of life, depression and mood for RA patients. Two RCTs assessed pain outcomes and did not demonstrate effectiveness on pain reduction compared with education plus stretching exercise and usual activity control. The extent of heterogeneity in these RCTs prevented a meaningful meta-analysis. Currently there are few trials testing the effectiveness of tai chi in the management of RA. The studies that are available are of low methodological quality. Collectively this evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that tai chi is an effective treatment for RA. The value of tai chi for this indication therefore remains unproven.
    Publication Rheumatology (Oxford, England)
    Volume 46
    Issue 11
    Pages 1648-1651
    Date Nov 2007
    Journal Abbr Rheumatology (Oxford)
    DOI 10.1093/rheumatology/kem151
    ISSN 1462-0324
    Short Title Tai chi for rheumatoid arthritis
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17634188
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:08:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17634188
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Arthritis, Rheumatoid
    • Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic
    • Evidence-Based Medicine
    • Humans
    • Pain
    • Tai Ji

    Notes:

    • The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate data from controlled clinical trials testing the effectiveness of tai chi for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that tai chi is an effective treatment for RA. The value of tai chi for this indication therefore remains unproven.

  • Qigong for cancer treatment: a systematic review of controlled clinical trials

    Type Journal Article
    Author Myeong Soo Lee
    Author Kevin W Chen
    Author Kenneth M Sancier
    Author Edzard Ernst
    Abstract Qigong is a mind-body integrative exercise or intervention from traditional Chinese medicine used to prevent and cure ailments, to improve health and energy levels through regular practice. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize and critically evaluate the effectiveness of qigong used as a stand-alone or additional therapy in cancer care. We have searched the literature using the following databases from their respective inceptions through November 2006: MEDLINE, AMED, British Nursing Index, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycInfo, The Cochrane Library 2006, Issue 4, four Korean Medical Databases, Qigong and Energy Medicine Database from Qigong Institute and four Chinese Databases. Randomised and non-randomised clinical trials including patients with cancer or past experience of cancer receiving single or combined qigong interventions were included. All clinical endpoints were considered. The methodological quality of the trials was assessed using the Jadad score. Nine studies met our inclusion criteria (four were randomised trials and five were non-randomised studies). Eight of these trials tested internal qigong and one trial did not reported details. The methodological quality of these studies varies greatly and was generally poor. All trials related to palliative/supportive cancer care and none to qigong as a curative treatment. Two trials suggested effectiveness in prolonging life of cancer patients and one failed to do so. We conclude that the effectiveness of qigong in cancer care is not yet supported by the evidence from rigorous clinical trials.
    Publication Acta Oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden)
    Volume 46
    Issue 6
    Pages 717-722
    Date 2007
    Journal Abbr Acta Oncol
    DOI 10.1080/02841860701261584
    ISSN 0284-186X
    Short Title Qigong for cancer treatment
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17653892
    Accessed Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:28:53 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17653892
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Antineoplastic Agents
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Databases as Topic
    • Evidence-Based Medicine
    • Medicine, Chinese Traditional
    • Neoplasms
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • The aim of this systematic review is to summarize and critically evaluate the effectiveness of qigong used as a stand-alone or additional therapy in cancer care. We conclude that the effectiveness of qigong in cancer care is not yet supported by the evidence from rigorous clinical trials.

  • Internal Qigong for Pain Conditions: A Systematic Review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Myeong Soo Lee
    Author Max H Pittler
    Author Edzard Ernst
    Abstract The objective of this systematic review was to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of internal qigong as a treatment option for pain conditions. Nineteen databases were searched through to February 2009. Controlled clinical trials testing internal qigong in patients with pain of any origin assessing clinical outcome measures were considered. Trials using any type of internal qigong and control intervention were included. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by 2 reviewers. Four randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and 3 controlled clinical trials met all inclusion criteria. One RCT suggested no significant difference for low back pain compared with electromyographic biofeedback. Two RCTs failed to show effects of internal qigong in neck pain compared with exercise therapy and waiting list control. One RCT suggested that qigong is inferior to aerobic exercise in patients with fibromyalgia. There are few RCTs testing the effectiveness of internal qigong in the management of pain conditions. Collectively, the existing trial evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that internal qigong is an effective modality for pain management. PERSPECTIVE: This review of controlled clinical trials focused on the effects of internal qigong, a self-directed energy healing intervention involving movement and meditation. Collectively, the existing trial evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that internal qigong is an effective modality for pain management. Future studies should be of high quality with particular emphasis on designing an adequate control intervention.
    Publication The Journal of Pain: Official Journal of the American Pain Society
    Date Jun 24, 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pain
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpain.2009.03.009
    ISSN 1528-8447
    Short Title Internal Qigong for Pain Conditions
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19559656
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:47:59 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19559656
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The objective of this systematic review was to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of internal qigong as a treatment option for pain conditions. Collectively, the existing trial evidence is not convincing enough to suggest that internal qigong is an effective modality for pain management.

  • External qigong for pain conditions: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials

    Type Journal Article
    Author Myeong Soo Lee
    Author Max H Pittler
    Author Edzard Ernst
    Abstract The aim of this systematic review was to assess the clinical evidence of external qigong as a treatment option for pain conditions. Databases were searched up to January 2007. Randomized, clinical trials (RCTs) testing external qigong in patients with pain of any origin assessing clinical outcomes were considered. Trials using any type of control group were included. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by at least 2 reviewers. One hundred forty-one potentially relevant studies were identified and 5 RCTs could be included. All RCTs of external qigong demonstrated greater pain reductions in the qigong groups compared with control groups. Meta-analysis of 2 RCTs showed a significant effect of external qigong compared with general care for treating chronic pain (Pain 100 mm VAS; weighted main differences, 36.3 mm; 95% CI, 22.8 to 49.8; P < .001; heterogeneity: chi(2) = 1.79, P = .18, I(2) = 44.0%, n = 80). The evidence from RCTs testing the effectiveness of external qigong for treating pain is encouraging. Further studies are warranted. PERSPECTIVE: This review of clinical studies focused on the efficacy of qigong, an energy-healing intervention used to prevent and cure ailments. A meta-analysis shows that evidence for the effectiveness of external qigong is encouraging, though further studies are warranted.
    Publication The Journal of Pain: Official Journal of the American Pain Society
    Volume 8
    Issue 11
    Pages 827-831
    Date Nov 2007
    Journal Abbr J Pain
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpain.2007.05.016
    ISSN 1526-5900
    Short Title External qigong for pain conditions
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17690012
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:07:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17690012
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Breathing Exercises
    • Humans
    • Pain
    • Pain Measurement
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

    Notes:

    • The aim of this systematic review was to assess the clinical evidence of external qigong as a treatment option for pain conditions. A meta-analysis shows that evidence for the effectiveness of external qigong is encouraging, though further studies are warranted.

  • The Religion of the Poor: Escape or Creative Force?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Harry G. Lefever
    Abstract This study presents an alternative explanation of low-income religious behavior other than as a compensation for the conditions of lower-class life or as an escape from those conditions. The argument is made that the religion of the poor contributes in significant and positive ways to the processes of identity formation and to the development and maintenance of cultural values and norms. The immediate social environment of the religious service provides a context in which identities are dynamically and dramatically conferred, developed, and reinforced. With regards to the larger social evnrionment, the religion of the poor, first of all, offers a challenge to the hierarchical structure of the general status system. And, secondly, the religion of the poor offers an understanding of tragedy and suffering that is frequently lacking from the sensibilities of the religious nonpoor.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 16
    Issue 3
    Pages 225-236
    Date Sep., 1977
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title The Religion of the Poor
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1385693
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 2:16:57 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1977 / Copyright © 1977 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study presents an alternative explanation of low-income religious behavior other than as a compensation for the conditions of lower-class life or as an escape from those conditions. The argument is made that the religion of the poor contributes in significant and positive ways to the processes of identity formation and to the development and maintenance of cultural values and norms.

  • Genes, memes, culture, and mental illness : toward an integrative model

    Type Book
    Author Hoyle Leigh
    Place New York; London
    Publisher Springer
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9781441956705
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for survivors of breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cecile A. Lengacher
    Author Versie Johnson-Mallard
    Author Janice Post-White
    Author Manolete S. Moscoso
    Author Paul B. Jacobsen
    Author Thomas W. Klein
    Author Raymond H. Widen
    Author Shirley G. Fitzgerald
    Author Melissa M. Shelton
    Author Michelle Barta
    Author Matthew Goodman
    Author Charles E. Cox
    Author Kevin E. Kip
    Abstract Objectives: Considerable morbidity persists among survivors of breast cancer (BC) including high levels of psychological stress, anxiety, depression, fear of recurrence, and physical symptoms including pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances, and impaired quality of life. Effective interventions are needed during this difficult transitional period.Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of 84 female BC survivors (Stages 0-III) recruited from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer and Research Institute. All subjects were within 18 months of treatment completion with surgery and adjuvant radiation and/or chemotherapy. Subjects were randomly assigned to a 6-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program designed to self-regulate arousal to stressful circumstances or symptoms (n=41) or to usual care (n=43). Outcome measures compared at 6 weeks by random assignment included validated measures of psychological status (depression, anxiety, perceived stress, fear of recurrence, optimism, social support) and psychological and physical subscales of quality of life (SF-36).Results: Compared with usual care, subjects assigned to MBSR(BC) had significantly lower (two-sided p&lt;0.05) adjusted mean levels of depression (6.3 vs 9.6), anxiety (28.3 vs 33.0), and fear of recurrence (9.3 vs 11.6) at 6 weeks, along with higher energy (53.5 vs 49.2), physical functioning (50.1 vs 47.0), and physical role functioning (49.1 vs 42.8). In stratified analyses, subjects more compliant with MBSR tended to experience greater improvements in measures of energy and physical functioning.Conclusions: Among BC survivors within 18 months of treatment completion, a 6-week MBSR(BC) program resulted in significant improvements in psychological status and quality of life compared with usual care. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 12
    Pages 1261-1272
    Date Dec 2009
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1529
    URL http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1002/pon.1529
    Accessed Thursday, December 17, 2009 1:43:14 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Notes:

    • We conducted a randomized controlled trial of 84 female BC survivors (Stages 0–III) recruited from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer and Research Institute. All subjects were within 18 months of treatment completion with surgery and adjuvant radiation and/or chemotherapy. Subjects were randomly assigned to a 6-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program designed to self-regulate arousal to stressful circumstances or symptoms (n=41) or to usual care (n=43). Outcome measures compared at 6 weeks by random assignment included validated measures of psychological status (depression, anxiety, perceived stress, fear of recurrence, optimism, social support) and psychological and physical subscales of quality of life (SF-36).

  • Heart Rate Variability during two Relaxation Techniques in Post-MI Men

    Type Journal Article
    Author A. Leonaite
    Author A. Vainoras
    Abstract A. Leonaite, A. Vainoras. Heart Rate Variability during two Relaxation Techniques in Post-MI Men // Electronics and Electrical Engineering. - Kaunas: Technologija, 2010. - No. 5(101). - P. 107-110. This study examines the short-term effect of two relaxation techniques on heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with ischemic heart disease The focus of our work was on whether progressive muscular relaxation and body scan meditation produce any reliable changes of HRV and whether these changes are any different from those produced by a comparable period of just lying quietly. A computerized ECG analysis system "Kaunas-load", developed by the Institute of Cardiology of Kaunas Medical University, was applied for 12-lead ECG recording and analysis ECG was recorded with the patient lying quietly for 5 min before each performed technique, for 20 min during each relaxation activity and for 5 min after each performed technique Participants listened via headphone to audio-recorded relaxation instructions The changes in HRV were analyzed. The results indicate both similarities and differences in the HRV responses to different relaxing activities III 7, bibl 12 (in English, abstracts in English, Russian and Lithuanian).
    Publication Electronics and Electrical Engineering
    Volume 5
    Issue 101
    Pages 107-110
    Date 2010
    ISSN 1392-1215
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 11:03:01 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • A Belief-Behavior Gap? Exploring Religiosity and Sexual Activity Among High School Seniors

    Type Journal Article
    Author KC Leonard
    Author D Scott-Jones
    Abstract Religiosity, sexual activity, and contraception were examined via questionnaires and interviews in a diverse sample of 118 high school seniors. The majority reported religion to be important; importance and frequency ratings declined from private (e.g., prayer) to public (e.g., group activities) components of religion. Most were sexually active and used contraception. Nearly half acknowledged religious teachings on sexual activity, and one third believed premarital sex is proscribed. Religiosity items were negatively correlated with approval of sexual activity in hypothetical relationship scenarios, but religiosity was not related to self-reported sexual activity or contraceptive use. Participants emphasized relationships and physical health, not religious proscriptions, in their standards for sexual activity. Older adolescents may believe sexual activity is acceptable in committed romantic relationships.
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Research
    Volume 25
    Issue 4
    Pages 578-600
    Date JUL 2010
    DOI 10.1177/0743558409357732
    ISSN 0743-5584
    Short Title A Belief-Behavior Gap?
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 6:20:19 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • Schizotypal personality traits and attitudes towards Hinduism among Balinese Hindus.

    Type Journal Article
    Author C. B. Lesmana
    Author N. Tiliopoulos
    Abstract The study explored the relationship between schizotypal personality traits and attitude of Hindus towards their faith. A total of 309 Balinese Hindus responded to the Santosh-Francis Scale of Attitude towards Hinduism, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief, and a number of external indicators and religious practices. Attitude towards Hinduism, frequency of prayer, and temple attendance had a rather weak positive relationship with each other, while prayer behaviour exhibited negative low-to-moderate relationships with schizotypal traits. A hierarchical multiple linear regression model identified the disorganised elements of schizotypy as the primary predictor of the attitude towards Hinduism. Finally, age showed negative associations with schizotypy and positive ones with Hinduism, while women were less schizotypal and had more positive attitude towards their faith than men. These findings suggest the presence of both underlying cross-faith elements and the strong influence of faith- and culture-specific forces on the relationship between religiosity and schizotypy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 8
    Pages 773-785
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902930344
    ISSN 13674676
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45427288&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:26:57 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Hinduism
    • PERSONALITY questionnaires
    • PERSONALITY tests
    • Regression Analysis
    • SCHIZOTYPAL personality disorder
  • The effect of intercessory prayer on wound healing in nonhuman primates

    Type Journal Article
    Author Karen T Lesniak
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to examine the effects of intercessory prayer (IP) on wound healing and related physiological and behavioral factors in nonhuman primates. DESIGN: Twenty-two bush babies (Otolemur garnettii) with chronic self-injurious behavior (SIB) were stratified by wound severity and matched by total wound area. The animals were then randomized to IP and L-tryptophan or L-tryptophan only for treatment of SIB and related wounds. The IP intervention was conducted in a double-blind, randomized manner. Prayer was conducted daily for 4 weeks. Initiation of prayer was coincident with the first day of L-tryptophan administration. Physiological and behavioral variables were assessed at baseline and end of study. RESULTS: Following IP/L-tryptophan treatment, prayer-group animals had a reduction in wound size compared to non-prayer animals (P=.028). Prayer-group animals had a greater increase in red blood cells (P=.006), hemoglobin (P=.01), and hematocrit (P=.018); a greater reduction in both mean corpuscular hemoglobin (P=.023) and corpuscular volume (P=.008); and a reduction in wound grooming (P=.01) and total grooming behaviors (P=.04) than non-prayer-group animals. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are consistent with prior human trials of IP effectiveness, but suggest IP-induced health improvements may be independent of confounds associated with human participants. Findings may provide direction for study of the mechanisms of IP-induced health improvements in both human and animal models.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 12
    Issue 6
    Pages 42-48
    Date 2006 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17131981
    Accessed Wednesday, October 14, 2009 11:26:42 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17131981
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Animals
    • Behavior, Animal
    • Faith Healing
    • Galago
    • Humans
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Tryptophan
    • Wound Healing

    Notes:

    • Twenty-two bush babies (Otolemur garnettii) with chronic self-injurious behavior (SIB) were stratified by wound severity and matched by total wound area. The IP intervention was conducted in a double-blind, randomized manner. Prayer was conducted daily for 4 weeks. Following IP/L-tryptophan treatment, prayer-group animals had a reduction in wound size compared to non-prayer animals (P=.028).

  • Depth of near-death experiences and confounding factors

    Type Journal Article
    Author David Lester
    Abstract In a sample of 51 near-death experiences, the depth of the reported experience was not related to the years since the experience.
    Publication Perceptual and Motor Skills
    Volume 96
    Issue 1
    Pages 18
    Date Feb 2003
    Journal Abbr Percept Mot Skills
    ISSN 0031-5125
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/12705503
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:46:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12705503
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Age Factors
    • Death
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Recall
    • Middle Aged
    • Perceptual Distortion
    • Sex Factors

    Notes:

    • In a sample of 51 near-death experiences, the depth of the reported experience was not related to the years since the experience.

  • Major dimensions of near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author D Lester
    Abstract Data from 71 near-death experiences indicated that there were four independent clusters of elements to the experience and that personal and circumstance-related variables were associated with some of these clusters.
    Publication Psychological Reports
    Volume 87
    Issue 3 Pt 1
    Pages 835-836
    Date Dec 2000
    Journal Abbr Psychol Rep
    ISSN 0033-2941
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11191398
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:56:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11191398
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Cluster Analysis
    • Death
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Individuality
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Parapsychology

    Notes:

    • Data from 71 near-death experiences indicated that there were four independent clusters of elements to the experience and that personal and circumstance-related variables were associated with some of these clusters.

  • Positive emotional change: mediating effects of forgiveness and spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael R Levenson
    Author Carolyn M Aldwin
    Author Loriena Yancura
    Abstract We evaluated the efficacy of an emotional education program that seeks to reduce the intergenerational transmission of negative interaction patterns by increasing forgiveness and spirituality. We examined both reduction of psychological symptoms and increase in positive psychological outcomes over the course of a year, as well as the mediators of this change. At baseline, the sample consisted of 99 participants and 47 waiting list controls. Comparisons of scores from baseline (Time 1) to one week after the Hoffman Quadrinity Process (Time 2) showed large declines in negative affect (depressive symptoms) and increases in both positive outcomes (mastery, empathy, emotional intelligence, life satisfaction, forgiveness, and spiritual experience) and health and well-being. Over the course of a year, most of these gains were sustained, in comparison with the control group. Further, increases in forgiveness and spirituality mediated the effect of program participation on depressive symptoms.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 2
    Issue 6
    Pages 498-508
    Date 2006 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2006.08.002
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title Positive emotional change
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17113490
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:59:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17113490
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Aged
    • Anger
    • Conflict (Psychology)
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • We evaluated the efficacy of an emotional education program that seeks to reduce the intergenerational transmission of negative interaction patterns by increasing forgiveness and spirituality.

  • How faith heals: a theoretical model

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeff Levin
    Abstract This paper summarizes theoretical perspectives from psychology supportive of a healing effect of faith. First, faith is defined as a congruence of belief, trust, and obedience in relation to God or the divine. Second, evidence for a faith-healing association is presented, empirically and in theory. To exemplify religiously sanctioned affirmation of such a connection, selected passages are cited from the Jewish canon attesting to biblical and rabbinic support for a faith factor in longevity, disease risk, mental health and well-being, disease prevention, and healing. Third, reference to theories of hope, learned optimism, positive illusions, and opening up or disclosure, and to theory and research on psychoneuroimmunology and placebos, demonstrates that contemporary psychology can accommodate a healing power of faith. This is summarized in a typology of five hypothesized mechanisms underlying a faith-healing association, termed behavioral/conative, interpersonal, cognitive, affective, and psychophysiological. Finally, implications are discussed for the rapprochement of religion and medicine.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 5
    Issue 2
    Pages 77-96
    Date 2009 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2008.12.003
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title How faith heals
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:38:47 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19272579
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Attitude to Health
    • Faith Healing
    • Health Status
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Models, Theoretical
    • Philosophy, Medical
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
  • Esoteric healing traditions: a conceptual overview

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeff Levin
    Abstract This paper presents, for the first time, a comprehensive scholarly examination of the history and principles of major traditions of esoteric healing. After a brief conceptual overview of esoteric religion and healing, summaries are provided of eight major esoteric traditions, including descriptions of beliefs and practices related to health, healing, and medicine. These include what are termed the kabbalistic tradition, the mystery school tradition, the gnostic tradition, the brotherhoods tradition, the Eastern mystical tradition, the Western mystical tradition, the shamanic tradition, and the new age tradition. Next, commonalities across these traditions are summarized with respect to beliefs and practices related to anatomy and physiology; nosology and etiology; pathophysiology; and therapeutic modalities. Finally, the implications of this survey of esoteric healing are discussed for clinicians, biomedical researchers, and medical educators.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 4
    Issue 2
    Pages 101-112
    Date 2008 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2007.12.003
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title Esoteric healing traditions
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18316053
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:46:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18316053
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Tags:

    • Complementary Therapies
    • Evidence-Based Medicine
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Holistic Health
    • Homeopathy
    • Humans
    • Medicine, Traditional
    • Meditation
    • Mind-Body Therapies
    • Naturopathy
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Shamanism
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This paper presents a comprehensive scholarly examination of the history and principles of major traditions of esoteric healing. After a brief conceptual overview of esoteric religion and healing, summaries are provided of eight major esoteric traditions, including descriptions of beliefs and practices related to health, healing, and medicine. These include what are termed the kabbalistic tradition, the mystery school tradition, the gnostic tradition, the brotherhoods tradition, the Eastern mystical tradition, the Western mystical tradition, the shamanic tradition, and the new age tradition. Commonalities across these traditions are summarized.  The implications of this survey of esoteric healing are discussed for clinicians, biomedical researchers, and medical educators.

  • "And let us make us a name": reflections on the future of the religion and health field

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeff Levin
    Abstract After years of marginality, research on religion and health is entering the academic mainstream. Scholarship on this topic has evolved into a large, productive field. As in any emerging field, there are competing visions for what the field should be about and what research questions should be pursued. Different opinions exist as to which constructs should be researched. Words like religion, spirituality, faith, and prayer, and health, healing, medicine, and healthcare, imply different things. The study of their various interconnections can thus take myriad forms. This article argues for a welcoming approach open to the widest range of research subjects.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 125-145
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9243-0
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title "And let us make us a name"
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19291406
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:56:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19291406
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Faith Healing
    • Forecasting
    • Humans
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Research
    • spirituality
    • Theology

    Notes:

    • After years of marginality, research on religion and health is entering the academic mainstream. Scholarship on this topic has evolved into a large, productive field. Different opinions exist as to which constructs should be researched. Words like religion, spirituality, faith, and prayer, and health, healing, medicine, and healthcare, imply different things. This article argues for a welcoming approach open to the widest range of research subjects.

  • Spiritual determinants of health and healing: an epidemiologic perspective on salutogenic mechanisms

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeff Levin
    Abstract This article provides an overview of both empirical research and conceptual and theoretical approaches bearing on the connection between spirituality and health. Special emphasis is placed on key epidemiologic concepts that are typically overlooked or misinterpreted in discussions of religious and spiritual factors in health and healing. These include the natural history of disease, the epidemiologic triangle, the levels of prevention, risk factors, protection, salutogenesis, and host resistance. After reviewing research evidence of both a protective factor for health and therapeutic factor in healing attributed to religiousness, faith, or spirituality, a typology is proposed which classifies potentially salutogenic mechanisms underlying such effects. This model differentiates among biological, psychosocial, bioenergy-based, nonlocal, and supernatural pathways. Finally, the clinical and scientific implications of this work is described.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 9
    Issue 6
    Pages 48-57
    Date 2003 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    Short Title Spiritual determinants of health and healing
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14618858
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:32:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14618858
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Attitude to Health
    • Health Status
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Mental Healing
    • Psychophysiology
    • Quality of Life
    • social support
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The summary finding of a protective religious effect on morbidity is examined in terms of three important epidemiologic concepts: the natural history of disease, salutogenesis and host resistance.

  • How faith heals: a theoretical model

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeff Levin
    Abstract This paper summarizes theoretical perspectives from psychology supportive of a healing effect of faith. First, faith is defined as a congruence of belief, trust, and obedience in relation to God or the divine. Second, evidence for a faith-healing association is presented, empirically and in theory. To exemplify religiously sanctioned affirmation of such a connection, selected passages are cited from the Jewish canon attesting to biblical and rabbinic support for a faith factor in longevity, disease risk, mental health and well-being, disease prevention, and healing. Third, reference to theories of hope, learned optimism, positive illusions, and opening up or disclosure, and to theory and research on psychoneuroimmunology and placebos, demonstrates that contemporary psychology can accommodate a healing power of faith. This is summarized in a typology of five hypothesized mechanisms underlying a faith-healing association, termed behavioral/conative, interpersonal, cognitive, affective, and psychophysiological. Finally, implications are discussed for the rapprochement of religion and medicine.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 5
    Issue 2
    Pages 77-96
    Date 2009 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2008.12.003
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title How faith heals
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19272579
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:55:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19272579
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Attitude to Health
    • Faith Healing
    • Health Status
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Models, Theoretical
    • Philosophy, Medical
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • After reviewing research evidence of both a protective factor for health and therapeutic factor in healing attributed to religiousness, faith, or spirituality, a typology is proposed which classifies potentially salutogenic mechanisms underlying such effects. This model differentiates among biological, psychosocial, bioenergy-based, nonlocal, and supernatural pathways.

  • How religion influences morbidity and health: Reflections on natural history, salutogenesis and host resistance

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey Levin
    Abstract This paper surveys the field that has come to be known as the epidemiology of religion. Epidemiologic study of the impact of religious involvement, broadly defined, has become increasingly popular in recent years, although the existence, meaning and implications of an apparently salutary religious effect on health have not yet been interpreted in an epidemiologic context. This paper attempts to remedy this situation by putting the “epidemiology” into the epidemiology of religion through discussion of existing empirical findings in terms of several substantive epidemiologic concepts. After first providing an overview of key research findings and prior reviews of this field, the summary finding of a protective religious effect on morbidity is examined in terms of three important epidemiologic concepts: the natural history of disease, salutogenesis and host resistance. In addition to describing a theoretical basis for interpreting a religion-health association, this paper provides an enumeration of common misinterpretations of epidemiologic findings for religious involvement, as well as an outline of hypothesized pathways, mediating factors, and salutogenic mechanisms for respective religious dimensions. It is hoped that these reflections will serve both to elevate the status of religion as a construct worthy of social-epidemiologic research and to reinvigorate the field of social epidemiology.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 43
    Issue 5
    Pages 849-864
    Date Sept. 1996
    DOI 10.1016/0277-9536(96)00150-5
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This paper summarizes theoretical perspectives from psychology supportive of a healing effect of faith.

  • Religion in Aging and Health: Theoretical Foundations and Methodological Frontiers

    Type Book
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Publisher Sage Publications, Inc
    Date 1993-10-20
    ISBN 0803954395
    Short Title Religion in Aging and Health
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Religion in Aging and Health brings together key scholars and scientists from several fields to advance epidemiologic and gerontological research into the role of religion in physical and mental health, psychological well-being, and other psychosocial and health outcomes. Among other samples, this book includes a cogent study of religious involvement among older African Americans.

  • Religious Attendance and Subjective Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Author Kyriakos S. Markides
    Abstract Epidemiologists often correlate religious attendance with a variety of health outcomes and claim that religion represents a protective factor with respect to health. However, these analyses are typically zero-order (i.e., uncontrolled) and thus fail to address the possibility that partialling out the effects of potential explanatory variables might reduce such associations to insignificance. Using a three-generations sample of Mexican American Catholics, the authors regress subjective health onto religious attendance, alternatively controlling for four such variables: social support, physical capacity, social class, and subjective religiosity. Among both older and younger women, significant zero-order associations are explained away by removing the effects of physical capacity. These findings lend empirical support to theoretical work in social gerontology which suggests that religious attendance may represent a proxy for functional health, especially in older people.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 25
    Issue 1
    Pages 31-40
    Date Mar., 1986
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1386061
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 1:01:08 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1986 / Copyright © 1986 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Culturally specific, causal link, or geriatrics?

    • Religious attendance may represent a proxy for functional health, especially in older people.

  • Religious Attendance and Psychological Well-Being in Middle-Aged and Older Mexican Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Author Kyriakos S. Markides
    Abstract The relationship between religious attendance and psychological well-being is explored in a sample of middle-aged and older Mexican American men and women. Religious attendance has significant zero-order effects on life satisfaction in older men and in middle-aged and older women. The associations remain significant in women, despite controlling for age, marital status, social class, and either of two indicators of health status. Previous work in gerontology and epidemiology suggests that religious attendance, especially among older adults, may represent a proxy for health, but our findings provide only mixed confirmation of this, and only in older men. In women, religious attendance does appear to have a substantive independent effect on well-being
    Publication Sociological Analysis
    Volume 49
    Issue 1
    Pages 66-72
    Date Spring, 1988
    ISSN 00380210
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3711104
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 1:00:30 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Spring, 1988 / Copyright © 1988 Association for the Sociology of Religion, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The relationship between religious attendance and psychological well-being is explored in a sample of middle-aged and older Mexican American men and women. Religious attendance has significant zero-order effects on life satisfaction in older men and in middle-aged and older women.

  • Is there a religious factor in health?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Author Preston L. Schiller
    Abstract This paper reviews epidemiologic studies employing religion as an independent construct, and finds that most epidemiologists have an extremely limited appreciation of religion. After a historical overview of empirical religion and health research, some theoretical considerations are offered, followed by clarification of several operational and methodological issues. Next, well over 200 studies are reviewed from nine health-related areas: cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, colitis and enteritis, general health status, general mortality, cancer of the uterine corpus and cervix, all other non-uterine cancers, morbidity and mortality in the clergy, and cancer in India. Finally, an agenda for further research is proposed.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 26
    Issue 1
    Pages 9-36
    Date March 01, 1987
    DOI 10.1007/BF01533291
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01533291
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:02:42 PM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This paper reviews epidemiological studies employing religion as an independent construct, and finds that most epidemiologists have an extremely limited appreciation of religion. Well over 200 studies are reviewed from nine health-related areas: cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, colitis and enteritis, general health status, general mortality, cancer of the uterine corpus and cervix, all other non-uterine cancers, morbidity and mortality in the clergy, and cancer in India. Finally, an agenda for further research is proposed.

    Attachments

    • SpringerLink Snapshot
  • Panel Analyses of Religious Involvement and Well-Being in African Americans: Contemporaneous vs. Longitudinal Effects

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Author Robert Joseph Taylor
    Abstract This panel study explores the effects of eight measures of religious involvement on three indicators of well-being in a national probability sample of African Americans. Religious measures include religious attendance, church membership, church activity, reading religious books, listening to religious TV/radio, prayer, asking for prayer, and subjective religiosity. Well-being indicators include single-item measures of life satisfaction and happiness, and a 10-item version of the RAND Mental Health Index (MHI), a scale assessing psychological distress. Using data from multiple waves of the National Survey of Black Americans, religious effects on well-being are examined both cross-sectionally at each wave and longitudinally across waves. Findings reveal strong, statistically significant, and consistent religious effects on well-being contemporaneously within each wave, which withstand controlling for the effects of health and seven sociodemographic variables. Longitudinal religious effects on well-being are present bivariately, but disappear after controlling for the effects of baseline well-being, lagged religious involvement, and health. The meaning and interpretation of contemporaneous as opposed to longitudinal religious effects on well-being are discussed.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 37
    Issue 4
    Pages 695-709
    Date Dec., 1998
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Panel Analyses of Religious Involvement and Well-Being in African Americans
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1388151
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 1:00:54 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 1998 / Copyright © 1998 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This panel study explores the effects of eight measures of religious involvement on three indicators of well-being in a national probability sample of African Americans. Religious measures include religious attendance, church membership, church activity, reading religious books, listening to religious TV/radio, prayer, asking for prayer, and subjective religiosity. Well-being indicators include single-item measures of life satisfaction and happiness, and a 10-item version of the RAND Mental Health Index (MHI), a scale assessing psychological distress.

  • Is frequent religious attendance really conducive to better health?: Toward an epidemiology of religion

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Author Harold Y. Vanderpool
    Abstract Although hundreds of published studies have addressed the effects of religion on morbidity and mortality, many investigators may be unaware of this literature. This paper begins with an analysis of an important subset of these studies--those 27 which operationalize [`]religiosity' as religious attendance-- and which, taken as a whole, point to a consistent salutary effect for frequent attendance. Upon identifying several pervasive epistemological, methodological, and analytical problems with these studies, however, this paper shows that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that religious attendance is positively and significantly related to health. Nevertheless, the authors present a theoretical basis for expecting such associations. This framework is included in a brief primer on religion for epidemiologists and other sociomedical scientists interested in exploring the health-related effects of religious factors. Finally, a possible scenario for the development of an epidemiology of religion is discussed.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 24
    Issue 7
    Pages 589-600
    Date 1987
    DOI 10.1016/0277-9536(87)90063-3
    ISSN 0277-9536
    Short Title Is frequent religious attendance really conducive to better health?
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6VBF-4656DS5-9Y/2/5cc3633eb0d869443f66878f945716a3
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 2:32:38 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • epidemiology
    • Measurement
    • methodology
    • religion

    Notes:

    • Although hundreds of published studies have addressed the effects of religion on morbidity and mortality, many investigators may be unaware of this literature. Upon identifying several pervasive epistemological, methodological, and analytical problems with these studies, however, this paper shows that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that religious attendance is positively and significantly related to health. Nevertheless, the authors present a theoretical basis for expecting such associations.

    Attachments

    • ScienceDirect Snapshot
  • Is religion therapeutically significant for hypertension?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Author Harold Y. Vanderpool
    Abstract Epidemiologic studies of the effects of religion on blood pressure suggest that religious commitment is inversely associated with blood pressure and that several religious denominations or groups have relatively low rates of hypertension-related morbidity and mortality. In this review, we examine the implication that certain characteristics and functions of religion account for this association, and we posit 12 possible explanations for this finding. We propose that a salutary effect of religion on blood pressure can be explained by some combination of the following correlates or sequelae of religion: the promotion of health-related behavior; hereditary predispositions in particular groups; the healthful psychosocial effects of religious practice; and, the beneficial psychodynamics of belief systems, religious rites, and faith. Since past epidemiologic studies may have been methodologically limited or flawed, possible explanations for the findings of these studies also include epistemological confusion, measurement problems, and analytical errors. Finally, for the sake of completeness, two more speculative hypotheses are identified: superempirical and supernatural influences or pathways.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 29
    Issue 1
    Pages 69-78
    Date 1989
    DOI 10.1016/0277-9536(89)90129-9
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6VBF-469WW2W-1J/2/ba793086478c6c6fbc74c8141f7d38b9
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:42:20 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Blood Pressure
    • epidemiology
    • Hypertension
    • methodology
    • religion

    Notes:

    • This review examines the implication that certain characteristics and functions of religion account for the association between religion and reduced hypertension and posits 12 possible explanations for this finding.

  • Quantitative Methods in Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Methodological Manifesto

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Author Thomas A. Glass
    Author Lawrence H. Kushi
    Author John R. Schuck
    Author Lea Steele
    Author Wayne B. Jonas
    Publication Medical Care
    Volume 35
    Issue 11
    Pages 1079-1094
    Date Nov., 1997
    ISSN 00257079
    Short Title Quantitative Methods in Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3767471
    Accessed Tuesday, October 13, 2009 12:57:18 AM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Nov., 1997 / Copyright © 1997 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article summarizes the deliberations of the Quantitative Methods Working Group convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in support of the NIH Office of Alternative Medicine.  This article shows how the working group produced a "methodological manifesto," a summary list of seven recommended methodological guidelines for research on alternative medicine.  The authors conclude that established methodologies and data-analytic procedures are quite satisfactory for addressing major questions related to alternative medicine.

  • A Multidimensional Measure of Religious Involvement for African Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Author Robert Joseph Taylor
    Author Linda M. Chatters
    Abstract This article describes the confirmation and validation of a multidimensional measure of religious involvement using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (N = 2,107). This model was developed through a multistep strategy of confirmatory factor analysis and structural-equation modeling. First, a three-dimensional factor structure comprising organizational, nonorganizational. and subjective religiosity was confirmed for twelve religious indicators. This measurement model was found to exhibit excellent overall fit; it compared favorably to alternative models; and all hypothesized factor loadings were strong and statistically significant. Second, several constructs identified by prior research as correlates of religious involvement (gender, age, education, region, and urbanicity) were found to exhibit significant associations with one or more dimensions of the model. All analyses were conducted in LISREL 8.03, using maximum-likelihood estimation and a strategy of split-sample replication.
    Publication The Sociological Quarterly
    Volume 36
    Issue 1
    Pages 157-173
    Date Winter, 1995
    ISSN 00380253
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/4121282
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 1:01:27 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Winter, 1995 / Copyright © 1995 Midwest Sociological Society
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article describes the confirmation and validation of a multidimensional measure of religious involvement using data from the National Survey of Black Americans.

  • Religious Effects on Health Status and Life Satisfaction among Black Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeffrey S. Levin
    Author Linda M. Chatters
    Author Robert Joseph Taylor
    Abstract This study tests a theoretical model linking religiosity, health status, and life satisfaction using data from the National Survey of Black Americans, a nationally representative sample of Blacks at least 18 years old. Findings reveal statistically significant effects for organizational religiosity on both health and life satisfaction, for nonorganizational religiosity on health, and for subjective religiosity on life satisfaction. Analyses of structural invariance reveal a good overall fit for the model across three age cohorts ([≤] 30, 31-54, [≥] 55) and confirm that assuming ageinvariance of structural parameters does not significantly detract from overall fit. In addition, after controlling for the effects of several sociodemographic correlates of religiosity, health, and well-being, organizational religiosity maintains a strong, significant effect on life satisfaction. These findings suggest that the association between religion and well-being is consistent over the life course and not simply an artifact of the confounding of measures of organizational religiosity and health status.
    Publication J GERONTOL B PSYCHOL SCI SOC SCI
    Volume 50B
    Issue 3
    Pages S154-163
    Date May 1, 1995
    DOI 10.1093/geronb/50B.3.S154
    URL http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/50B/3/S154
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:32:14 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study tests a theoretical model linking religiosity, health status, and life satisfaction using data from the National Survey of Black Americans, a nationally representative sample of Blacks at least 18 years old. Findings reveal statistically significant effects for organizational religiosity on both health and life satisfaction, for nonorganizational religiosity on health, and for subjective religiosity on life satisfaction.

  • The benefits of prayer on mood and well-being of breast cancer survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ellen G Levine
    Author Caryn Aviv
    Author Grace Yoo
    Author Cheryl Ewing
    Author Alfred Au
    Abstract OBJECTIVES Prayer is becoming more widely acknowledged as a way to cope with cancer. The goal of this study was to compare differences in use of prayer between breast cancer survivors from different ethnic groups and examine how use of prayer is related to mood and quality of life. METHODS This study used a mixed methods design. One hundred and seventy-five breast cancer survivors participated in a longitudinal study of survivorship. Women completed in-depth qualitative interviews and a battery of measures including quality of life, spirituality, social support, and mood. RESULTS Eighty-one percent of the women prayed. There were no significant differences between the groups for any of the psychological, social support, or quality of life variables with the exception of higher benefit finding and spiritual well-being among those who prayed. The data did show that women who prayed were able to find more positive contributions from their cancer experience than women who did not pray. The interviews showed that those who prayed tended to be African American or Asian, Catholic or Protestant. The prayers were for petitioning, comfort, or praise. Some of the women stated that they had difficulty praying for themselves. CONCLUSIONS While there seems to be few differences in terms of standardized measures of quality of life, social support, and mood between those who prayed and those who did not, the interviews showed that certain ethnic minority groups seem to find more comfort in prayer, felt closer to God, and felt more compassion and forgiveness than Caucasian women.
    Publication Supportive Care in Cancer: Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
    Volume 17
    Issue 3
    Pages 295-306
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Support Care Cancer
    DOI 10.1007/s00520-008-0482-5
    ISSN 0941-4355
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18633651
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18633651
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Affect
    • Aged
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • California
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Quality of Life
    • religion
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Statistics, Nonparametric
    • Survivors
  • The influence of religious participation on the adjustment of female inmates

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lacey Levitt
    Author Ann Booker Loper
    Abstract Incarcerated women at a state correctional facility (N = 213) participated in a study of the relationship between stress, adjustment, institutional misconduct, and degree of personal support derived from religious participation. A series of multivariate analyses of variance investigated differences on adjustment indicators between four groups of inmates who differed on their self-reported support from religious activities, while controlling for self-reported support for other institutional activities. Inmates who received high-level support from participation in religious activities reported significantly less depression, recounted perpetrating fewer aggressive acts, and committed fewer serious institutional infractions than those who did not attend religious activities as well as those who attended but reported receiving low-level support. In addition, inmates reporting a high level of support through their religious activities reported fewer instances of feeling angry, having arguments with inmates and correctional officers, physical fights, and injury than those who reported no participation in religious activities. Results indicate that inmates who perceive that they are receiving personal support from religious activities are better adjusted to the challenges of prison.
    Publication The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
    Volume 79
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-7
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Orthopsychiatry
    DOI 10.1037/a0015429
    ISSN 0002-9432
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:35:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19290720
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aggression
    • Anger
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • prisoners
    • Religion and Psychology
    • SOCIAL adjustment
    • social support
    • Stress, Psychological
  • Spiritual assessment in African-Americans: a review of measures of spirituality used in health research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lisa M Lewis
    Abstract BACKGROUND: A number of instruments have been developed for investigating relationships between spirituality and health, and have been used to assess spirituality in African-Americans. Yet, the cultural appropriateness for African-Americans of these instruments has not been investigated to date. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the construct validity and reliability of spirituality measures used in health research from 1982 to 2005. METHOD: Systematic review of the literature. RESULTS: Thirty five studies and five measures of spirituality met the inclusion criteria. Most of the spirituality measures were developed in primarily Caucasian-American samples. African-Americans were represented in 71% of the studies (n = 25) using spirituality measures in health research. Distinct cultural attributes of African-American spirituality were omitted in most of the spirituality measures. Two studies were retrieved in which psychometric evaluation was conducted in entirely African-American samples. DISCUSSION: Spirituality is a significant cultural experience and belief that influences the health behaviors of African-Americans. The lack of a culturally appropriate measure of African-American spirituality is a major limitation of studies investigating spirituality and health in this population. Development of a culturally appropriate and sensitive measure of spirituality in African-Americans is suggested to strengthen the quality of research in this area.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 47
    Issue 4
    Pages 458-475
    Date Dec 2008
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Short Title Spiritual assessment in African-Americans
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19093674
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:42:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19093674
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • African Americans
    • Attitude to Health
    • Cultural Characteristics
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Health Services Needs and Demand
    • Health Services Research
    • Humans
    • Professional Competence
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Spirituality is a significant cultural experience and belief that influences the health behaviors of African-Americans. The lack of a culturally appropriate measure of African-American spirituality is a major limitation of studies investigating spirituality and health in this population. Development of a culturally appropriate and sensitive measure of spirituality in African-Americans is suggested to strengthen the quality of research in this area.

  • Dynamical complexity changes during two forms of meditation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jin Li
    Author Jing Hu
    Author Yinhong Zhang
    Author Xiaofeng Zhang
    Abstract Detection of dynamical complexity changes in natural and man-made systems has deep scientific and practical meaning. We use the base-scale entropy method to analyze dynamical complexity changes for heart rate variability (HRV) series during specific traditional forms of Chinese Chi and Kundalini previous termYoga meditationnext term techniques in healthy young adults. The results show that dynamical complexity decreases in previous termmeditationnext term states for two forms of previous termmeditation.next term Meanwhile, we detected changes in probability distribution of m-words during previous termmeditationnext term and explained this changes using probability distribution of sine function. The base-scale entropy method may be used on a wider range of physiologic signals.
    Publication Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
    Volume 390
    Issue 12
    Pages 2381-2387
    Date 6/2011
    Journal Abbr Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
    DOI 10.1016/j.physa.2011.02.003
    ISSN 03784371
    URL http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378437111001117
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:28:05 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
  • Genomic profiling of neutrophil transcripts in Asian Qigong practitioners: a pilot study in gene regulation by mind-body interaction

    Type Journal Article
    Author Quan-Zhen Li
    Author Ping Li
    Author Gabriela E Garcia
    Author Richard J Johnson
    Author Lili Feng
    Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The great similarity of the genomes of humans and other species stimulated us to search for genes regulated by elements associated with human uniqueness, such as the mind-body interaction. DNA microarray technology offers the advantage of analyzing thousands of genes simultaneously, with the potential to determine healthy phenotypic changes in gene expression. The aim of this study was to determine the genomic profile and function of neutrophils in Falun Gong (FLG, an ancient Chinese Qigong) practitioners, with healthy subjects as controls. SUBJECTS AND DESIGN: Six (6) Asian FLG practitioners and 6 Asian normal healthy controls were recruited for our study. The practitioners have practiced FLG for at least 1 year (range, 1-5 years). The practice includes daily reading of FLG books and daily practice of exercises lasting 1-2 hours. Selected normal healthy controls did not perform Qigong, yoga, t'ai chi, or any other type of mind-body practice, and had not followed any conventional physical exercise program for at least 1 year. Neutrophils were isolated from fresh blood and assayed for gene expression, using microarrays and RNase protection assay (RPA), as well as for function (phagocytosis) and survival (apoptosis). RESULTS: The changes in gene expression of FLG practitioners in contrast to normal healthy controls were characterized by enhanced immunity, downregulation of cellular metabolism, and alteration of apoptotic genes in favor of a rapid resolution of inflammation. The lifespan of normal neutrophils was prolonged, while the inflammatory neutrophils displayed accelerated cell death in FLG practitioners as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Correlating with enhanced immunity reflected by microarray data, neutrophil phagocytosis was significantly increased in Qigong practitioners. Some of the altered genes observed by microarray were confirmed by RPA. CONCLUSION: Qigong practice may regulate immunity, metabolic rate, and cell death, possibly at the transcriptional level. Our pilot study provides the first evidence that Qigong practice may exert transcriptional regulation at a genomic level. New approaches are needed to study how genes are regulated by elements associated with human uniqueness, such as consciousness, cognition, and spirituality.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 11
    Issue 1
    Pages 29-39
    Date Feb 2005
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2005.11.29
    ISSN 1075-5535
    Short Title Genomic profiling of neutrophil transcripts in Asian Qigong practitioners
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15750361
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:24:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15750361
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Apoptosis
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Case-Control Studies
    • Female
    • Gene Expression Regulation
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Immunity, Innate
    • Male
    • Microarray Analysis
    • Middle Aged
    • Neutrophils
    • Pilot Projects
    • Psychophysiology
    • Qi
    • Reference Values
    • Time Factors
    • Transcription, Genetic

    Notes:

    • Qigong practice may regulate immunity, metabolic rate, and cell death, possibly at the transcriptional level. Our pilot study provides the first evidence that Qigong practice may exert transcriptional regulation at a genomic level.

  • The relationship between religious expression and outcomes in online support groups: A partial replication

    Type Journal Article
    Author Morton A. Lieberman
    Author Andrew Winzelberg
    Abstract Shaw and his colleagues [Shaw, B., Han, J., Kim, E., Gustafson, D., Hawkins, R., Cleary, C., et al. (2007). Effects of prayer and religious expression within computer support groups on women with breast cancer. Psycho-oncology, 16(7), 676-687] examined religious expression in breast cancer (BC) online support groups (OSG). Using Pennebaker's LIWC text analysis to assess religious expression, they found that the more frequent the expression of words related to religion the lower the levels of negative emotions and the higher the levels of health self-efficacy and functional well-being. Our study goal was to replicate their findings. Specifically, we tested their central hypothesis that the percentage of religious words written by members of BC OSG's are associated with improvement in psychological outcomes. Five BC OSG's from our previous work [Lieberman, M. A., & Goldstein, B. (2005a). Not all negative emotions are equal: The role of emotional expression in online support groups for women with breast cancer. Psycho-oncology. 15, 160-168; Lieberman, M. A., & Goldstein, B. (2005b). Self-help online: An outcome evaluation of breast cancer bulletin boards. Journal of Health Psychology, 10(6), 855-862] studied 91 participants at baseline and 6 months post. Significant changes in depression and quality of life was found over time. In the current study linear regressions examined the relationship between religious statements and outcomes. The results did not support the hypotheses of a positive relationship between religious expression and positive outcome in both OSG samples. Reviews of studies examining the role of religion in health outcomes report equivocal results on the benefits of religious expression.
    Publication Computers in Human Behavior
    Volume 25
    Issue 3
    Pages 690-694
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.chb.2008.11.003
    ISSN 0747-5632
    Short Title The relationship between religious expression and outcomes in online support groups
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VDC-4W1SGFX-1/2/baedd640e82b35f3fb20370f7d7585ad
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:04:42 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • breast cancer
    • Internet support groups
    • Outcomes
    • religious expression
    • Replication
  • Religious concepts among individuals with intellectual disability: A comparison between adolescents and adults.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Heftziba Lifshitz
    Author Yaacov J. Katz
    Abstract This study compared behavioral, cognitive, and motivational components of religiosity among 54 Jewish adolescents (aged 13–21 years) and 35 adults (aged 30–60 years) with intellectual disability (ID) (IQ = 40–69). A special questionnaire was constructed based on several previous studies by other authors. A different pattern was found between age groups. The adolescents fulfilled Jewish commandments to a greater extent than the adults. Social psychology theories regarding religion change/stability over the lifecycle can serve as an explanation for these findings. The cognitive component was measured using a Piagetean-type scale. The scores in prayer efficacy and providence of God were significantly higher among the adults than among the adolescents. The adults also exhibited more mature motives of fulfilling commandments (dependence on God) than the adolescents. Regression analysis indicated that among the adolescents, mental age contributed to the explained variance of the behavioral and cognitive components, while among the adults chronological age contributed to the explained variance of these components. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication European Journal of Special Needs Education
    Volume 24
    Issue 2
    Pages 183-201
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1080/08856250902793651
    ISSN 0885-6257
    Short Title Religious concepts among individuals with intellectual disability
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • adolescents
    • adults
    • Age differences
    • Behavior
    • behavioral components
    • cognitive components
    • Cognitive Processes
    • intellectual disabilities
    • Mental Retardation
    • Motivation
    • motivational components
    • religiosity

    Notes:

    • This study compared behavioural, cognitive, and motivational components of religiosity among 54 Jewish adolescents (aged 13–21 years) and 35 adults (aged 30–60 years) with intellectual disability (ID) (IQ=40–69). A special questionnaire was constructed which revealed a different pattern was found between age groups. The adolescents fulfilled Jewish commandments to a greater extent than the adults. The authors look at social psychology theories to serve as an explanation for these findings.

  • The patient who believes and the analyst who does not (1)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ruth M Lijtmaer
    Abstract A patient's religious beliefs and practices challenge the clinical experience and self-knowledge of the analyst owing to a great complexity of factors, and often take the form of the analyst's resistances and countertransference reactions to spiritual and religious issues. The analyst's feelings about the patient's encounters with religion and other forms of healing experiences may result in impasses and communication breakdown for a variety of reasons. These reasons include the analyst's own unresolved issues around her role as a psychoanalyst-which incorporates in some way psychoanalysis's views of religious belief-and these old conflicts may be irritated by the religious themes expressed by the patient. Vignettes from the treatments of two patients provide examples of the analyst's countertransference conflicts, particularly envy in the case of a therapist who is an atheist.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 99-110
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.99
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:20:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364262
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Catholicism
    • Communication
    • Conflict (Psychology)
    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Culture
    • Defense Mechanisms
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Mental Healing
    • Middle Aged
    • Object Attachment
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Transference (Psychology)
  • Teaching acceptance and mindfulness to improve the lives of the obese: a preliminary test of a theoretical model

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jason Lillis
    Author Steven C Hayes
    Author Kara Bunting
    Author Akihiko Masuda
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Obesity is a growing epidemic. Weight control interventions can achieve weight loss, but most is regained over time. Stigma and low quality of life are significant problems that are rarely targeted. PURPOSE: A new model aimed at reducing avoidant behavior and increasing psychological flexibility, has shown to be relevant in the treatment of other chronic health problems and is worth examining for improving the lives of obese persons. METHODS: Patients who had completed at least 6 months of a weight loss program (N = 84) were randomly assigned to receive a 1-day, mindfulness and acceptance-based workshop targeting obesity-related stigma and psychological distress or be placed on a waiting list. RESULTS: At a 3-month follow-up, workshop participants showed greater improvements in obesity-related stigma, quality of life, psychological distress, and body mass, as well as improvements in distress tolerance, and both general and weight-specific acceptance and psychological flexibility. Effects on distress, stigma, and quality of life were above and beyond the effects due to improved weight control. Mediational analyses indicated that changes in weight-specific acceptance coping and psychological flexibility mediated changes in outcomes. CONCLUSION: Results provide preliminary support for the role of acceptance and mindfulness in improving the quality of life of obese individuals while simultaneously augmenting their weight control efforts.
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 58-69
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s12160-009-9083-x
    ISSN 1532-4796
    Short Title Teaching acceptance and mindfulness to improve the lives of the obese
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:43:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19252962
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude
    • Body Mass Index
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Education
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Obesity
    • Quality of Life
    • Stress, Psychological
  • Assessing spirituality/religiosity in the treatment environment: the Treatment Spirituality/Religiosity Scale

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jason Lillis
    Author Elizabeth Gifford
    Author Keith Humphreys
    Author Rudolf Moos
    Abstract There has been much interest in measuring and evaluating the role of spirituality/religiosity (S/R) in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. This study presents the initial evaluation of a new measure of S/R in the treatment environment: the Treatment Spirituality/Religiosity Scale (TSRS). The TSRS has 10 items and can be completed by both patient and staff to measure the emphasis on S/R in a given treatment program, which may have important implications for patient-program fit. Data on the TSRS were gathered from 3,018 patients and 329 staff members from 15 residential SUD treatment programs within the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System. The TSRS showed good internal consistency (alpha = .77), a single-factor structure, close agreement between patients and staff members (r = .93), and good discriminant validity. The TSRS appears to be a brief, easily administered, and potentially useful measure of the emphasis on S/R in residential SUD treatment programs.
    Publication Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
    Volume 35
    Issue 4
    Pages 427-433
    Date Dec 2008
    Journal Abbr J Subst Abuse Treat
    DOI 10.1016/j.jsat.2008.02.002
    ISSN 1873-6483
    Short Title Assessing spirituality/religiosity in the treatment environment
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18424049
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:53:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18424049
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Data Collection
    • Humans
    • Inpatients
    • Psychometrics
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • United States
    • United States Department of Veterans Affairs
  • The effects of religiosity, spirituality, and social support on quality of life: a comparison between Korean American and Korean breast and gynecologic cancer survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jung-won Lim
    Author Jaehee Yi
    Abstract PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To examine the differences in religiosity, spirituality, and quality of life (QOL) between Korean American and Korean breast and gynecologic cancer survivors and investigate the effect of religiosity, spirituality, and social support on QOL. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design. SETTING: Participants were recruited from hospitals and community-based support groups in the areas of Southern California and Seoul, Korea. SAMPLE: 161 women diagnosed with breast and gynecologic cancer (110 Koreans and 51 Korean Americans). METHODS: Participants completed a mailed questionnaire. To identify the QOL outcomes, religiosity, spirituality, and social support, four standardized measures were used. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: QOL outcomes, religiosity, spirituality, religious involvement, and social support. FINDINGS: Religiosity and spirituality were related to some QOL outcomes in different patterns in Korean American and Korean breast and gynecologic cancer survivors. The effect on QOL, however, was not strong after controlling for covariates. Social support partially mediated the effect of spirituality on QOL but only among the Korean American cancer survivors. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide evidence that the effect of religiosity and spirituality on QOL varied between Korean American and Korean survivors. The mediating effect of social support between spirituality and QOL for Korean Americans also was demonstrated. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The results present nursing practice and research implications that religiosity, spirituality, and social support need to be considered in developing services for enhancing QOL of immigrant cancer survivors.
    Publication Oncology Nursing Forum
    Volume 36
    Issue 6
    Pages 699-708
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Oncol Nurs Forum
    DOI 10.1188/09.ONF.699-708
    ISSN 1538-0688
    Short Title The effects of religiosity, spirituality, and social support on quality of life
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19887358
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:35:10 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19887358
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Notes:

    • This study examines the differences in religiosity, spirituality, and quality of life (QOL) between Korean American and Korean breast and gynecologic cancer survivors and investigate the effect of religiosity, spirituality, and social support on QOL.

  • Effects of yoga on psychological health, quality of life, and physical health of patients with cancer: a meta-analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kuan-Yin Lin
    Author Yu-Ting Hu
    Author King-Jen Chang
    Author Heui-Fen Lin
    Author Jau-Yih Tsauo
    Abstract Yoga is one of the most widely used complementary and alternative medicine therapies to manage illness. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the effects of yoga on psychological health, quality of life, and physical health of patients with cancer. Studies were identified through a systematic search of seven electronic databases and were selected if they used a randomized controlled trial design to examine the effects of yoga in patients with cancer. The quality of each article was rated by two of the authors using the PEDro Scale. Ten articles were selected; their PEDro scores ranged from 4 to 7. The yoga groups compared to waitlist control groups or supportive therapy groups showed significantly greater improvements in psychological health: anxiety (P = .009), depression (P = .002), distress (P = .003), and stress (P = .006). However, due to the mixed and low to fair quality and small number of studies conducted, the findings are preliminary and limited and should be confirmed through higher-quality, randomized controlled trials.
    Publication Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM
    Volume 2011
    Pages 659876
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
    DOI 10.1155/2011/659876
    ISSN 1741-4288
    Short Title Effects of yoga on psychological health, quality of life, and physical health of patients with cancer
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21437197
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:40:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21437197
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM

    Notes:

    • Yoga is one of the most widely used complementary and alternative medicine therapies to manage illness. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the effects of yoga on psychological health, quality of life, and physical health of patients with cancer. Studies were identified through a systematic search of seven electronic databases and were selected if they used a randomized controlled trial design to examine the effects of yoga in patients with cancer. The quality of each article was rated by two of the authors using the PEDro Scale. Ten articles were selected; their PEDro scores ranged from 4 to 7. The yoga groups compared to waitlist control groups or supportive therapy groups showed significantly greater improvements in psychological health: anxiety (P = .009), depression (P = .002), distress (P = .003), and stress (P = .006). However, due to the mixed and low to fair quality and small number of studies conducted, the findings are preliminary and limited and should be confirmed through higher-quality, randomized controlled trials.

  • Spiritual well-being in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Wen-Chuan Lin
    Author Meei-Ling Gau
    Author Hui-Chen Lin
    Author Hung-Ru Lin
    Abstract BACKGROUND Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, long-term, and non-life-threatening disease. Individuals with RA face various daily pressures that include physical symptoms as well as feelings of helplessness, dependency, threats to self-respect, interference with social activities, disruptions of family ties, and difficulties in continuing to work. Quality of life reflects a patient's spiritual well-being and can be used as an important indicator of adaptation to RA. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to describe the status of spiritual well-being in RA patients. METHODS This study used meta-synthesis with Sandelowski and Barroso's qualitative meta-summary technique. A comprehensive search of Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycARTICA LES, and SocINDEX using relevant keywords identified primary research studies that have previously explored spiritual well-being in patients with RA. Each study was systematically evaluated on the basis of the following inclusion criteria: (a) clear descriptions of research purposes and qualitative research, sampling strategies and techniques used; (b) statement of sample size and sample variables; (c) description of data analysis methods used; and (d) quality of research finding presentation. RESULTS A total of 675 articles, published between 1995 and 2009, were found. Ten met the inclusion criteria. The results revealed four consistent themes related to RA patients' spiritual well-being, namely, living with the disease, reclaiming control, reframing the situation, and bolstering courage. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Multifaceted resources should be used to give patients spiritual support. These resources should include establishing cognition-based education programs that provide information about the disease and programs that offer strong support for patient groups. Curricula should address how to plan family education courses. Spiritual well-being as presented in this study should be integrated into quality-of-life evaluations of RA patients and provide an evaluation tool able to assess the effectiveness of various interventions.
    Publication The Journal of Nursing Research: JNR
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-12
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Nurs Res
    DOI 10.1097/JNR.0b013e31820b0f8c
    ISSN 1948-965X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21350382
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21350382
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Impact of near-death experiences on dialysis patients: a multicenter collaborative study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shuei-Liong Lin
    Author Chee-Jen Chang
    Author Pei-Yuan Chen
    Author Kwan-Dun Wu
    Author Tun-Jun Tsai
    Author Wang-Yu Chen
    Author Chun-Fu Lai
    Author Tze-Wah Kao
    Author Ming-Shiou Wu
    Author Shou-Shang Chiang
    Author Chung-Hsin Chang
    Author Chia-Sheng Lu
    Author Chwei-Shiun Yang
    Author Chih-Ching Yang
    Author Hong-Wei Chang
    Abstract BACKGROUND: People who have come close to death may report an unusual experience known as a near-death experience (NDE). This study aims to investigate NDEs and their aftereffects in dialysis patients. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: 710 dialysis patients at 7 centers in Taipei, Taiwan. PREDICTOR: Demographic characteristics, life-threatening experience, depression, and religiosity. OUTCOMES: NDE and self-perceived changes in attitudes or behaviors. MEASUREMENTS: Greyson's NDE scale, Royal Free Questionnaire, 10-Question Survey, Ring's Weighted Core Experience Index, and Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: 45 patients had 51 NDEs. Mean NDE score was 11.9 (95% confidence interval, 11.0 to 12.9). Out-of-body experience was found in 51.0% of NDEs. Purported precognitive visions, awareness of being dead, and "tunnel experience" were uncommon (<10%). Compared with the no-NDE group, subjects in the NDE group were more likely to be women and younger at life-threatening events. Both frequency of participation in religious ceremonies and pious religious activity correlated significantly with NDE score in patients with NDEs (P < 0.01 and P = 0.01, respectively). The NDE group reported being kinder to others (P = 0.04) and more motivated (P = 0.02) after their life-threatening events than the no-NDE group. LIMITATIONS: Determining the incidence of NDEs is dependent on self-reporting. Many NDEs occurred before the patient began long-term dialysis therapy. Causality between NDE and aftereffects cannot be inferred. CONCLUSIONS: NDE is not uncommon in the dialysis population and is associated with positive aftereffects. Nephrology care providers should be aware of the occurrence and aftereffects of NDEs. The high occurrence of life-threatening events, availability of medical records, and accessibility and cooperativeness of patients make the dialysis population very suitable for NDE research.
    Publication American Journal of Kidney Diseases: The Official Journal of the National Kidney Foundation
    Volume 50
    Issue 1
    Pages 124-132, 132.e1-2
    Date Jul 2007
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Kidney Dis
    DOI 10.1053/j.ajkd.2007.04.021
    ISSN 1523-6838
    Short Title Impact of near-death experiences on dialysis patients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17591532
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:30:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17591532
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Death
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Kidney Failure, Chronic
    • Life Change Events
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Renal Dialysis
    • Uremia

    Notes:

    • Background: People who have come close to death may report an unusual experience known as a near-death experience (NDE). This study aims to investigate NDEs and their aftereffects in dialysis patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. SETTING & Patricipants: 710 dialysis patients at 7 centers in Taipei, Taiwan. PREDICTOR: Demographic characteristics, life-threatening experience, depression, and religiosity. OUTCOMES: NDE and self-perceived changes in attitudes or behaviors. Measurements: Greyson’s NDE scale, Royal Free Questionnaire, 10-Question Survey, Ring’s Weighted Core Experience Index, and Beck Depression Inventory. Results: 45 patients had 51 NDEs. Mean NDE score was 11.9 (95% confidence interval, 11.0 to 12.9). Out-of-body experience was found in 51.0% of NDEs. Purported precognitive visions, awareness of being dead, and “tunnel experience” were uncommon (<10%). Compared with the no-NDE group, subjects in the NDE group were more likely to be women and younger at life-threatening events. Both frequency of participation in religious ceremonies and pious religious activity correlated significantly with NDE score in patients with NDEs (P < 0.01 and P = 0.01, respectively). The NDE group reported being kinder to others (P = 0.04) and more motivated (P = 0.02) after their life-threatening events than the no-NDE group. LIMITATIONS: Determining the incidence of NDEs is dependent on self-reporting. Many NDEs occurred before the patient began long-term dialysis therapy. Causality between NDE and aftereffects cannot be inferred. Conclusions: NDE is not uncommon in the dialysis population and is associated with positive aftereffects. Nephrology care providers should be aware of the occurrence and aftereffects of NDEs. The high occurrence of life-threatening events, availability of medical records, and accessibility and cooperativeness of patients make the dialysis population very suitable for NDE research.

  • Religion and psychosis: the effects of the Welsh religious revival in 1904-1905

    Type Journal Article
    Author S C Linden
    Author M Harris
    Author C Whitaker
    Author D Healy
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Psychotic symptoms have been linked to religious experience, but empirical evidence is scarce. We have investigated the impact of the Welsh religious revival (RR) of 1904-1905 on the number of admissions to the regional psychiatric hospital, their diagnostic features and lifelong course. METHOD: All case-notes of patients admitted to the North Wales Hospital between 1902 and 1907 were included. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in admissions for brief polymorphic psychoses (BPP; ICD-10: F23.0 and F23.1) in the revival years, but the number of first admissions for other mental disorders did not change. The vast majority of BPP admissions were linked to a revival meeting and did not result in further admissions. CONCLUSIONS: Intensive religious experience can lead to transient psychotic episodes. Our data also support the view that BPP triggered by life events rarely lead to chronic mental illness, distinguishing them from other psychoses and supporting the validity of the concept of reactive psychosis.
    Publication Psychological Medicine
    Volume 40
    Issue 8
    Pages 1317-1323
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychol Med
    DOI 10.1017/S0033291709991917
    ISSN 1469-8978
    Short Title Religion and psychosis
    Accessed Monday, September 13, 2010 9:06:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19917147
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • Brain Functional Mapping on Physiological Regulating Phenomena during Meditation Exercise

    Type Journal Article
    Author C-H Liou
    Author C-H Hsieh
    Author C-W Hsieh
    Author C-H Wang
    Author S-C Lee
    Author J-H Chen
    Abstract Introduction The mechanism why meditation improves people's health remains unclear. Since different meditations may activate different regions in brain, we can use fMRI to investigate it. Chinese original quiet sitting (COQS) is mainly one kind of traditional Chinese meditation. It is composed of two different parts: a short period of keeping phrase and receiving cosmic Qi energy (named “Invitation of Primordial Qi”: IPQ), and a long period of relaxation with no further action (named “Allow its Natural Workings”: ANW). Chen had studied it by EEG [1]. We also had a previous study by fMRI [2-3]. In this paper, we want to study the brain activation area during the ANW state. Methods One special kind of paradigm was designed to find the BOLD signals during the ANW periods. It consisted of three parts: 3-minutes of control state, followed by 3-minutes of IPQ state, and then 9-minutes of ANW state. Total scan time was 15-minutes. Seventeen well-trained subjects with seven females and ten males participated in this fMRI study. Their mean age was 47.5 ± 2.9 (Mean ± SEM, 32not, vert, similar70) with meditation experience 12.4 ± 1.4 (4not, vert, similar21) years. Their regularly mean practice times every day was about 1.3 ± 0.1 (1not, vert, similar3) with mean practice duration 53.8 ± 5.5 (30not, vert, similar120) minutes each time. Experiments were performed on Bruker MEDSPEC 3T system (Bruker, Ettlingen, Germany). Images were acquired using gradient-echo EPI with matrix size 128×128, TE 35ms, and TR 6000ms. All experiments had 12 continuous slices (slice thickness=7mm), FOV 30×30cm2. Data were analyzed by random effect analysis in SPM. Results Our results showed that (with p<0.05, T>1.75, degree of freedom=16, and number of clusters>25), during the ANW period, certain brain regions showed negative activation, such as (showed in Talairach pick and T-value): dACC (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, 4,42,12, T= −5.89), superior frontal gyrus (−22,44,22, T= −4.83), caudate body (−6,12,14, T= −2.60), amygdala (26,-12,-28, T= −5.07, −30,-8,-30, T= −4.69), superior temporal gyrus (68,-24,6, T= −4.10, −50,-42,6, T= −4.53) and cuneus (−22,-96,-2, T= −4.51). Other regions showed positive activation, such as: vACC (ventral anterior cingulate cortex, -6,22,-4, T=4.51), declive (−6,-56,-16, T=2.89), culmen (−6,-54,-16, T=2.74), thalamus (4,-8,10, T=2.57) and hypothalamus (−4,6,-24, T=2.38). Conclusions During the COQS-ANW state, the activity of cognition, self-awareness, sensation and the memory system of the body seemed all “calming down”. Lacking of the emotional event and the physical activity, amygdala might show negative activation. The more profound signification of all these negative activation regions still need further study. The positive activation regions showed special physiological meanings. Hypothalamus is a collecting center for information concerned with the internal well-being of the body. Much of this information is used to control secretions of the many globally important pituitary hormones [4]. VACC may involve in the regulation of mental and emotional activities. Thalamus may regulate the autonomic and visceral functions, motor systems and sensory systems. The activation of declive and culmen in cerebellum may be involved in the subtle regulation of motor functions.
    Publication NeuroImage
    Volume 47
    Issue Supplement 1
    Pages S156
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1016/S1053-8119(09)71628-3
    ISSN 1053-8119
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WNP-4X3PHYG-224/2/25a156de836269f31795d1ce23d6c055
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:36:58 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Introduction: The mechanism why meditation improves people’s health remains unclear. Since different meditations may activate different regions in brain, we can use fMRI to investigate it. Chinese original quiet sitting (COQS) is mainly one kind of traditional Chinese meditation. It is composed of two different parts: a short period of keeping phrase and receiving cosmic Qi energy (named “Invitation of Primordial Qi”: IPQ), and a long period of relaxation with no further action (named “Allow its Natural Workings”: ANW). Chen had studied it by EEG [1]. We also had a previous study by fMRI [2-3]. In this paper, we want to study the brain activation area during the ANW state. Methods: One special kind of paradigm was designed to find the BOLD signals during the ANW periods. It consisted of three parts: 3-minutes of control state, followed by 3-minutes of IPQ state, and then 9-minutes of ANW state. Total scan time was 15-minutes. Seventeen well-trained subjects with seven females and ten males participated in this fMRI study. Their mean age was 47.5 ± 2.9 (Mean ± SEM, 32not, vert, similar70) with meditation experience 12.4 ± 1.4 (4not, vert, similar21) years. Their regularly mean practice times every day was about 1.3 ± 0.1 (1not, vert, similar3) with mean practice duration 53.8 ± 5.5 (30not, vert, similar120) minutes each time. Experiments were performed on Bruker MEDSPEC 3T system (Bruker, Ettlingen, Germany). Images were acquired using gradient-echo EPI with matrix size 128×128, TE 35ms, and TR 6000ms. All experiments had 12 continuous slices (slice thickness=7mm), FOV 30×30cm2. Data were analyzed by random effect analysis in SPM. Results: Our results showed that (with p<0.05, T>1.75, degree of freedom=16, and number of clusters>25), during the ANW period, certain brain regions showed negative activation, such as (showed in Talairach pick and T-value): dACC (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, 4,42,12, T= −5.89), superior frontal gyrus (−22,44,22, T= −4.83), caudate body (−6,12,14, T= −2.60), amygdala (26,-12,-28, T= −5.07, −30,-8,-30, T= −4.69), superior temporal gyrus (68,-24,6, T= −4.10, −50,-42,6, T= −4.53) and cuneus (−22,-96,-2, T= −4.51). Other regions showed positive activation, such as: vACC (ventral anterior cingulate cortex, -6,22,-4, T=4.51), declive (−6,-56,-16, T=2.89), culmen (−6,-54,-16, T=2.74), thalamus (4,-8,10, T=2.57) and hypothalamus (−4,6,-24, T=2.38). Conclusions: During the COQS-ANW state, the activity of cognition, self-awareness, sensation and the memory system of the body seemed all “calming down”. Lacking of the emotional event and the physical activity, amygdala might show negative activation. The more profound signification of all these negative activation regions still need further study. The positive activation regions showed special physiological meanings. Hypothalamus is a collecting center for information concerned with the internal well-being of the body. Much of this information is used to control secretions of the many globally important pituitary hormones [4]. VACC may involve in the regulation of mental and emotional activities. Thalamus may regulate the autonomic and visceral functions, motor systems and sensory systems. The activation of declive and culmen in cerebellum may be involved in the subtle regulation of motor functions.

  • Moral injury and moral repair in war veterans: a preliminary model and intervention strategy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brett T Litz
    Author Nathan Stein
    Author Eileen Delaney
    Author Leslie Lebowitz
    Author William P Nash
    Author Caroline Silva
    Author Shira Maguen
    Abstract Throughout history, warriors have been confronted with moral and ethical challenges and modern unconventional and guerilla wars amplify these challenges. Potentially morally injurious events, such as perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations may be deleterious in the long-term, emotionally, psychologically, behaviorally, spiritually, and socially (what we label as moral injury). Although there has been some research on the consequences of unnecessary acts of violence in war zones, the lasting impact of morally injurious experience in war remains chiefly unaddressed. To stimulate a critical examination of moral injury, we review the available literature, define terms, and offer a working conceptual framework and a set of intervention strategies designed to repair moral injury.
    Publication Clinical Psychology Review
    Volume 29
    Issue 8
    Pages 695-706
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Clin Psychol Rev
    DOI 10.1016/j.cpr.2009.07.003
    ISSN 1873-7811
    Short Title Moral injury and moral repair in war veterans
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19683376
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 2:52:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19683376
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • A preliminary study of the effects of Tai Chi and Qigong medical exercise on indicators of metabolic syndrome, glycaemic control, health related quality of life, and psychological health in adults with elevated blood glucose

    Type Journal Article
    Author Xin Liu
    Author Yvette D Miller
    Author Nicola W Burton
    Author Wendy J Brown
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effects of a Tai Chi and Qigong exercise program in adults with elevated blood glucose. Design, Setting, and PARTICIPANTS: A single group pre-post feasibility trial with 11 participants (3 male and 8 female; aged 42-65 years) with elevated blood glucose. Invervention: Participants attended Tai Chi and Qigong exercise training for 1 to 1.5 hours, 3 times per week for 12 weeks, and were encouraged to practice the exercises at home. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Indicators of metabolic syndrome (body mass index[BMI], waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol), glucose control (HbA1c, fasting insulin and insulin resistance [HOMA]), health-related quality of life; stress and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: There was good adherence and high acceptability. There were significant improvements in four of the seven indicators of metabolic syndrome including BMI (mean difference -1.05, p<0.001), waist circumference (-2.80 cm, p<0.05), and systolic (-11.64 mm Hg, p<0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (-9.73 mm Hg , p<0.001), as well as in HbA1c (-0.32 %, p<0.01), insulin resistance (-0.53, p<0.05), stress (-2.27, p<0.05), depressive symptoms (-3.60, p<0.05), and the SF-36 mental health summary score (5.13, p<0.05) and sub-scales for general health (19.00, p<0.01), mental health (10.55, p<0.01) and vitality (23.18, p<0.05. CONCLUSIONS: The program was feasible and acceptable and participants showed improvements in metabolic and psychological variables. A larger controlled trial is now needed to confirm these promising preliminary results.
    Publication British Journal of Sports Medicine
    Date Oct 16, 2008
    Journal Abbr Br J Sports Med
    DOI 10.1136/bjsm.2008.051144
    ISSN 1473-0480
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18927159
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:04:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18927159
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Objectives To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effects of a Tai Chi and Qigong exercise program in adults with elevated blood glucose. Conclusions: The program was feasible and acceptable and participants showed improvements in metabolic and psychological variables.

  • Spirituality and Young Women in Transition: A Preliminary Investigation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kimberly A. Livingston
    Author Anne L. Cummings
    Abstract This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge about spirituality and life transitions Through qualitative investigation, 9 young women in professional education programs described their definition of spirituality, their spiritual activities, and hew they used their spirituality to cope with life transitions as they prepared to enter the workforce. These women viewed spirituality as including connectedness and a special relationship with a Being outside of themselves Their spiritual activities were private and nontraditional (e.g, meditation, prayer, being in nature), and most of them reported that their spirituality helped them deal with their life transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Counseling & Values
    Volume 53
    Issue 3
    Pages 224-235
    Date April 2009
    ISSN 01607960
    Short Title Spirituality and Young Women in Transition
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • CAREER education
    • LABOR market
    • LABOR supply
    • PROFESSIONAL education
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • spirituality
  • Religion and Suicide: Buddhism, Native American and African Religions, Atheism, and Agnosticism

    Type Journal Article
    Author D. Lizardi
    Author R. E. Gearing
    Abstract Research has repeatedly demonstrated that religiosity can potentially serve as a protective factor against suicidal behavior. A clear understanding of the influence of religion on suicidality is required to more fully assess for the risk of suicide. The databases PsycINFO and MEDLINE were used to search peer-reviewed journals prior to 2008 focusing on religion and suicide. Articles focusing on suicidality across Buddhism, Native American and African religions, as well as on the relationship among Atheism, Agnosticism, and suicide were utilized for this review. Practice recommendations are offered for conducting accurate assessment of religiosity as it relates to suicidality in these populations. Given the influence of religious beliefs on suicide, it is important to examine each major religious group for its unique conceptualization and position on suicide to accurately identify a client’s suicide risk.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 377-384
    Date 4/2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9248-8
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Short Title Religion and Suicide
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:56:50 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • Religion and suicide: Buddhism, Native American and African religions, Atheism, and Agnosticism

    Type Journal Article
    Author D Lizardi
    Author R E Gearing
    Abstract Research has repeatedly demonstrated that religiosity can potentially serve as a protective factor against suicidal behavior. A clear understanding of the influence of religion on suicidality is required to more fully assess for the risk of suicide. The databases PsycINFO and MEDLINE were used to search peer-reviewed journals prior to 2008 focusing on religion and suicide. Articles focusing on suicidality across Buddhism, Native American and African religions, as well as on the relationship among Atheism, Agnosticism, and suicide were utilized for this review. Practice recommendations are offered for conducting accurate assessment of religiosity as it relates to suicidality in these populations. Given the influence of religious beliefs on suicide, it is important to examine each major religious group for its unique conceptualization and position on suicide to accurately identify a client's suicide risk.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 377-384
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9248-8
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Religion and suicide
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:26:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19347586
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Humans
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • Suicide
  • Rescuing the Baby from the Bathwater: Continuing the Conversation on Gender, Risk, and Religiosity.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Omar Lizardo
    Author Jessica L. Collett
    Abstract In this short response, we selectively address some of the key issues and criticisms raised by our esteemed commenters. First, we our standpoint vis à vis “biological” arguments, underscoring that our article is not to be read as hostile to all forms of explanations that incorporate biology into the explanation of religious behavior and belief, but only against those explanations that attempt to imply that socialization plays no role (“the it's all biology” argument). Second, we the explanatory scope of our proposal by showing that our argument is not vulnerable to the “simpler” counterexplanation proposed by Hoffmann. Finally, we where our contributions fit in terms of more encompassing arguments regarding the operation of gender and gendering processes as multicausal, multilevel phenomena, as well as explicitly stating our perspective on the role that “risk” should play in the explanation of religious behavior and belief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 256-259
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01445.x
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Rescuing the Baby from the Bathwater
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • RELIGION -- Research
    • RELIGION & gender
    • RELIGIOUS behaviors
    • SEX differences -- Religious aspects
    • SEX differences (Psychology) -- Research
    • SEX role -- Religious aspects
  • Long-term follow-up of internet-delivered exposure and mindfulness based treatment for irritable bowel syndrome

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brjánn Ljótsson
    Author Erik Hedman
    Author Perjohan Lindfors
    Author Timo Hursti
    Author Nils Lindefors
    Author Gerhard Andersson
    Author Christian Rück
    Abstract We conducted a follow-up of a previously reported study of internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for IBS, based on exposure and mindfulness exercises (Ljótsson et al. (2010). Internet-delivered exposure and mindfulness based therapy for irritable bowel syndrome - a randomized controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 531-539). Seventy-five participants from the original sample of 85 (88%) reported follow-up data at 15-18 months (mean 16.4 months) after completing treatment. The follow-up sample included participants from both the original study's treatment group and waiting list after it had been crossed over to treatment. Intention-to-treat analysis showed that treatment gains were maintained on all outcome measures, including IBS symptoms, quality of life, and anxiety related to gastrointestinal symptoms, with mainly large effect sizes (within-group Cohen's d = 0.78-1.11). A total of fifty participants (59% of the total original sample; 52% of the original treatment group participants and 65% of the original waiting list participants) reported adequate relief of symptoms. Improvements at follow-up were more pronounced for the participants that had completed the full treatment and maintenance of improvement did not seem to be dependent on further treatment seeking. This study suggests that internet-delivered CBT based on exposure and mindfulness has long-term beneficial effects for IBS-patients.
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 49
    Issue 1
    Pages 58-61
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2010.10.006
    ISSN 0005-7967
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 6:54:59 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Exposure
    • Follow-up
    • Internet therapy
    • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    • Mindfulness
    • Self-help
  • Internet-delivered exposure and mindfulness based therapy for irritable bowel syndrome - A randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brjann Ljótsson
    Author Lisa Falk
    Author Amanda Wibron Vesterlund
    Author Erik Hedman
    Author Perjohan Lindfors
    Author Christian Rück
    Author Timo Hursti
    Author Sergej Andréewitch
    Author Liselotte Jansson
    Author Nils Lindefors
    Author Gerhard Andersson
    Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate if cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) based on exposure and mindfulness exercises delivered via the Internet would be effective in treating participants with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Participants were recruited through self-referral. Eighty-six participants were included in the study and randomized to treatment or control condition (an online discussion forum). One participant was excluded after randomization. The main outcome measure was IBS-symptom severity and secondary measures included IBS-related quality of life, GI-specific anxiety, depression and general functioning. Participants were assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment and 3 month follow-up (treatment condition only). Four participants (5% of total sample) in the treatment condition did not participate in post-treatment assessment. Participants in the treatment condition reported a 42% decrease and participants in the control group reported a 12% increase in primary IBS-symptoms. Compared to the control condition, participants in the treatment group improved on all secondary outcome measures with a large between group effect size on quality of life (Cohen's d = 1.21). We conclude that CBT-based on exposure and mindfulness delivered via the Internet can be effective in treating IBS-patients, alleviating the total burden of symptoms and increasing quality of life.
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 48
    Issue 6
    Pages 531-539
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2010.03.003
    ISSN 0005-7967
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 2:04:40 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM

    Tags:

    • Exposure
    • Internet therapy
    • Mindfulness
    • Self-help
  • Psychopharmacotherapy and spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dulijano Ljubicić
    Author Marija Vucić Peitl
    Author Dinko Vitezić
    Author Vjekoslav Peitl
    Author Josip Grbac
    Abstract Although the connection between spiritual and physical has been acknowledged since the oldest of human civilizations and emphasized in almost all of religions, It has taken a lot of time for that connection to gradually recover its lost meaning. As it is evident that many diseases and illnesses can not be explained purely by physical causes nor treated with purely physical methods there is a growing interest in spirituality and its usability in the treatment of various diseases and states, as well as in everyday life. Despite the fact that a sense of positive, nourishing and healing power of faith is deeply rooted in every religion, objective and empirical research of that connection has been avoided for centuries, and those studies which were conducted are only rudimentary, on the outskirts of empirical science. Scientific literature regarding spirituality and mental health points to a conclusion that spirituality and faith are positively correlated with positive therapeutic outcome and the possible explanation for that can be found in the fact that spirituality and religiosity can satisfy some of the basic needs of psychiatric patients. Efficacy of psychiatric treatment improved with the introduction of psychotropic medicaments and psychotherapeutic techniques, but the outcome is still not satisfying because relapse, recidivation and discontinuation of therapy occur very often. On the other hand, spirituality and religiosity play a very significant role in the healing process because they provide people with strength and will to fight their problems and disease itself. Psychopharmaceuticals are evidently irreplaceable in the therapy of mental disorders, but they are only one of the segments of the overall therapy. In order to adequately answer to the spiritual and religious needs of their patients, psychiatrists, psychologists and related health care professionals are faced with the need for expanding scientific concepts which served as the basis for development of many psychiatric methods and techniques.
    Publication Psychiatria Danubina
    Volume 19
    Issue 3
    Pages 216-221
    Date Sep 2007
    Journal Abbr Psychiatr Danub
    ISSN 0353-5053
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17914323
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:00:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17914323
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • COMBINED modality therapy
    • Humans
    • Mental Disorders
    • Mental Healing
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Psychotherapy
    • Psychotropic Drugs
    • Quality of Life
    • Recurrence
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Scientific literature regarding spirituality and mental health points to a conclusion that spirituality and faith are positively correlated with positive therapeutic outcome and the possible explanation for that can be found in the fact that spirituality and religiosity can satisfy some of the basic needs of psychiatric patients.

  • The expulsion of evil and its return: An unconscious fantasy associated with a case of mass hysteria in adolescents

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nashyiela Loa Zavala
    Abstract The formal study of hysteria started with psychoanalysis, which opened paths to studying the unconscious. However, we have found no psychoanalytic or psychiatric studies in the literature reporting epidemics of hysteria in hundreds of adolescent girls affected for several months like the one we describe. This epidemic occurred in a religious boarding-school in a rural area of Mexico. Our study aimed to determine psychoanalytic and sociocultural elements contributing to explain a behavioural epidemic outbreak during which young girls were unable to walk normally and which led to a temporary cessation of routine activities at the boarding-school. Key informers were interviewed, including the first cases of affected adolescent girls and the nuns. Interviews included questions concerning informers' life history and their life at the boarding-school before and during the epidemic. We found that this boarding-school functioned as a large family affected by a psychotic episode which resulted from modes of communication of its members. This article describes the phenomenon and emphasizes perceived communication among members of the boarding-school and visitors at the time of the outbreak.
    Publication The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis
    Volume 91
    Issue 5
    Pages 1157-1178
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychoanal
    DOI 10.1111/j.1745-8315.2010.00322.x
    ISSN 1745-8315
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955250
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 2:56:21 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
  • Heaven can wait: near death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author S Loader
    Abstract People who have been resuscitated often describe phenomena which have a profound effect on them. Do these experiences have a physiological origin?
    Publication Professional Nurse (London, England)
    Volume 5
    Issue 9
    Pages 458-463
    Date Jun 1990
    Journal Abbr Prof Nurse
    ISSN 0266-8130
    Short Title Heaven can wait
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/2367539
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:19:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 2367539
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Death
    • Humans

    Notes:

    • People who have been resuscitated often describe phenomena which have a profound effect on them. Do these experiences have a physiological origin?

  • Five-factor model personality traits, spirituality/religiousness, and mental health among people living with HIV

    Type Journal Article
    Author Corinna E Löckenhoff
    Author Gail H Ironson
    Author Conall O'Cleirigh
    Author Paul T Costa
    Abstract We examined the association between five-factor personality domains and facets and spirituality/religiousness as well as their joint association with mental health in a diverse sample of people living with HIV (n=112, age range 18-66). Spirituality/religiousness showed stronger associations with Conscientiousness, Openness, and Agreeableness than with Neuroticism and Extraversion. Both personality traits and spirituality/religiousness were significantly linked to mental health, even after controlling for individual differences in demographic measures and disease status. Personality traits explained unique variance in mental health above spirituality and religiousness. Further, aspects of spirituality and religiousness were found to mediate some of the links between personality and mental health in this patient sample. These findings suggest that underlying personality traits contribute to the beneficial effects of spirituality/religiousness among vulnerable populations.
    Publication Journal of Personality
    Volume 77
    Issue 5
    Pages 1411-1436
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pers
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00587.x
    ISSN 1467-6494
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19686457
    Accessed Friday, September 18, 2009 6:31:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19686457
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire
    • mental health
    • MENTAL health -- Religious aspects
    • religiousness
    • spirituality

    Notes:

  • Five-Factor Model Personality Traits, Spirituality/Religiousness, and Mental Health Among People Living With HIV

    Type Journal Article
    Author Corinna E. Löckenhoff
    Author Gail H. Ironson
    Author Conall O'Cleirigh
    Author Paul T. Costa
    Abstract Researchers examined the association between five-factor personality domains and facets and spirituality/religiousness as well as their joint association with mental health among people with HIV. Spirituality/religiousness showed associations with Conscientiousness, Openness, and Agreeableness. Personality traits and spirituality/religiousness were significantly linked to mental health.
    Publication Journal of Personality
    Volume 77
    Issue 5
    Pages 1411-1436
    Date 10/2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00587.x
    ISSN 00223506
    URL http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00587.x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Notes:

    • This study examined the association between five-factor personality domains and facets and spirituality/religiousness as well as their joint association with mental health in a diverse sample of people living with HIV (n=112, age range 18–66). Spirituality/religiousness showed stronger associations with Conscientiousness, Openness, and Agreeableness than with Neuroticism and Extraversion.

  • Five-factor model personality traits, spirituality/religiousness, and mental health among people living with HIV

    Type Journal Article
    Author Corinna E Löckenhoff
    Author Gail H Ironson
    Author Conall O'Cleirigh
    Author Paul T Costa
    Abstract We examined the association between five-factor personality domains and facets and spirituality/religiousness as well as their joint association with mental health in a diverse sample of people living with HIV (n=112, age range 18-66). Spirituality/religiousness showed stronger associations with Conscientiousness, Openness, and Agreeableness than with Neuroticism and Extraversion. Both personality traits and spirituality/religiousness were significantly linked to mental health, even after controlling for individual differences in demographic measures and disease status. Personality traits explained unique variance in mental health above spirituality and religiousness. Further, aspects of spirituality and religiousness were found to mediate some of the links between personality and mental health in this patient sample. These findings suggest that underlying personality traits contribute to the beneficial effects of spirituality/religiousness among vulnerable populations.
    Publication Journal of Personality
    Volume 77
    Issue 5
    Pages 1411-1436
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pers
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00587.x
    ISSN 1467-6494
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19686457
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:11:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19686457
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • We examined the association between five-factor personality domains and facets and spirituality/religiousness as well as their joint association with mental health in a diverse sample of people living with HIV (n=112, age range 18-66). Spirituality/religiousness showed stronger associations with Conscientiousness, Openness, and Agreeableness than with Neuroticism and Extraversion.

  • The effect of a contemplative self-healing program on quality of life in women with breast and gynecologic cancers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joseph J Loizzo
    Author Janey C Peterson
    Author Mary E Charlson
    Author Emily J Wolf
    Author Margaret Altemus
    Author William M Briggs
    Author Linda T Vahdat
    Author Thomas A Caputo
    Abstract Stress-related symptoms-intense fear, avoidance, intrusive thoughts--are common among breast and gynecologic cancer patients after chemotherapy and radiation. The objective of this pilot study was to determine the impact of a 20-week contemplative self-healing program among breast and gynecologic cancer survivors on self-reported quality of life (QOL), the main outcome. Assessments were performed at the first session and at 20 weeks, including QOL (FACIT-G, FACIT subscales, SF-36), anxiety, and depression (HADS). Biologic markers of immune function were obtained. A 20-week program was implemented: the initial 8 weeks addressed open-mindfulness, social-emotional self-care, visualization, and deep breathing followed by 12 weeks of exposing stress-reactive habits and developing self-healing insights. Daily practice involved CD-guided meditation and manual contemplations. Sixty-eight women were enrolled, and 46 (68%) completed the program. Participants had significant within-patient changes on FACIT-G, improving by a mean of 6.4 points. In addition, they reported clinically important improvement in emotional and functional domains and social, role-emotional, and mental health status domains on SF-36. Biologic data revealed significant improvement in maximum AM cortisol and a reduction in resting heart rate at 20 weeks. These findings suggest a contemplative self-healing program can be effective in significantly improving QOL and reducing distress and disability among female breast and gynecologic cancer survivors.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 3
    Pages 30-37
    Date 2010 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    Accessed Sunday, May 30, 2010 11:48:29 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20486622
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Learning from losing: ethical, psychoanalytic, and spiritual perspectives on managing the incremental losses of the distributed self in dementia

    Type Journal Article
    Author James W Lomax
    Abstract The author describes his experiences making decisions about the care of his mother, who was suffering from dementia, and the profound effect this process had on him as a psychotherapist. As background, he first presents an overview of writings from Jerry M. Lewis, George Pollock, and George Vaillant on issues related to attachment, death, loss, and mourning. The author equates his experiences caring for his mother with a type of involuntary "continuing education" and describes the lessons he learned as he was faced with decisions about his mother's level of care and as he mourned the slow, piecemeal loss of her distributed self. A case vignette is presented to illustrate how the author applied the lessons he had learned in psychotherapy with a distressed patient caring for her aging mother. The article concludes with a summary of the clinical and ethical questions raised by this case and the author's experience with his mother and a discussion of principles that can help psychotherapists provide treatment for patients who are caring for family members with dementia. (Journal of Psychiatric Practice. 2011;17:41-48).
    Publication Journal of Psychiatric Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 41-48
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr J Psychiatr Pract
    DOI 10.1097/01.pra.0000393843.71464.dc
    ISSN 1538-1145
    Short Title Learning from losing
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:14:09 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21266893
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
  • Perspectives on "Sacred Moments" in Psychotherapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author James W. Lomax
    Author Jeffrey J. Kripal
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Abstract In this article, we describe a clinical experience and offer comments on it from the perspectives of a psychoanalyst, a psychotherapy researcher, and a historian of religions. The clinical context is a psychodynamic psychotherapy with a patient who is describing what she has tentatively thought about intellectually as a "paranormal experience," but she is concerned that it might be further evidence to support labeling her as an odd, weird, and "severely pathologic" individual. Our purpose is to encourage clinicians to be open to our patients' descriptions of anomalous experiences and to work with patients to construct meanings of these experiences that will promote health, positive coping, and growth.
    Publication American Journal of Psychiatry
    Volume 168
    Issue 1
    Pages 12-18
    Date January 1, 2011
    DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10050739
    Accessed Wednesday, February 23, 2011 6:39:27 AM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
  • The role of spiritualiy in psychosocial rehabilitation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniele A Longo
    Author Stephanie M Peterson
    Abstract The role of spirituality in mental health and general wellness has begun to receive much needed attention in the psychological literature. Historically, however, mental health researchers and practitioners alike have generally neglected spirituality. There have been at least three significant barriers to the acceptance of spirituality as a clinical tool in mental health treatment. These barriers are identified in the article as (a) the history of mental health treatment; (b) professional stereotypes; and (c) confusion and fears over the meaning of spirituality. Although more empirical evidence is needed to investigate the role of spirituality and how to integrate spiritual beliefs in treatment, the time may have come to incorporate spirituality in the mental health professional's tool kit.
    Publication Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal
    Volume 25
    Issue 4
    Pages 333-340
    Date 2002
    Journal Abbr Psychiatr Rehabil J
    ISSN 1095-158X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12013261
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:24:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12013261
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Mental Disorders
    • Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • There have been at least three significant barriers to the acceptance of spirituality as a clinical tool in mental health treatment. These barriers are identified in the article as (a) the history of mental health treatment; (b) professional stereotypes; and (c) confusion and fears over the meaning of spirituality.

  • Are religiosity and spirituality useful constructs in drug treatment research?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Douglas Longshore
    Author M Douglas Anglin
    Author Bradley T Conner
    Abstract Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) have been shown to be related to better outcomes in many health service areas, including drug abuse treatment. The latter area, however, lacks a fully emergent empirical framework to guide further study. Moreover, although scientists have tested isolated hypotheses, no comprehensive process model has been designed and validated, limiting conceptual development as well. This paper reviews the relevant R/S and health research literature with a primary focus on drug treatment processes. Then a conceptual model is suggested to guide future incremental study of R/S assessment and intervention development. Implications for addiction health services include increased efforts to empirically validate R/S interventions, to increase practitioner competencies in this area, and to disseminate relevant research findings.
    Publication The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research
    Volume 36
    Issue 2
    Pages 177-188
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Behav Health Serv Res
    DOI 10.1007/s11414-008-9152-0
    ISSN 1556-3308
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19023659
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:23:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19023659
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Religion and Medicine
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Are religiosity and spirituality useful constructs in drug treatment research?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Douglas Longshore
    Author M Douglas Anglin
    Author Bradley T Conner
    Abstract Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) have been shown to be related to better outcomes in many health service areas, including drug abuse treatment. The latter area, however, lacks a fully emergent empirical framework to guide further study. Moreover, although scientists have tested isolated hypotheses, no comprehensive process model has been designed and validated, limiting conceptual development as well. This paper reviews the relevant R/S and health research literature with a primary focus on drug treatment processes. Then a conceptual model is suggested to guide future incremental study of R/S assessment and intervention development. Implications for addiction health services include increased efforts to empirically validate R/S interventions, to increase practitioner competencies in this area, and to disseminate relevant research findings.
    Publication The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research
    Volume 36
    Issue 2
    Pages 177-188
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Behav Health Serv Res
    DOI 10.1007/s11414-008-9152-0
    ISSN 1556-3308
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19023659
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:36:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19023659
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Religion and Medicine
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • This paper reviews the relevant R/S and health research literature with a primary focus on drug treatment processes. Then a conceptual model is suggested to guide future incremental study of R/S assessment and intervention development. Implications for addiction health services include increased efforts to empirically validate R/S interventions, to increase practitioner competencies in this area, and to disseminate relevant research findings.

  • Psychometric properties and cross-cultural equivalence of the Arabic Social Capital Scale: instrument development study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Wendy Sue Looman
    Author Shewikar Farrag
    Abstract BACKGROUND Social capital, defined as an investment in relationships that facilitates the exchange of resources, has been identified as a possible protective factor for child health in the context of risk factors such as poverty. Reliable and valid measures of social capital are needed for research and practice, particularly in non-English-speaking populations in developing countries. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the psychometric properties and cross-cultural equivalence of the Arabic translation of the Social Capital Scale (SCS). DESIGN Descriptive, cross-sectional study for psychometric testing of a translated tool. SETTING Two metropolitan health clinics in Alexandria, Egypt. PARTICIPANTS A convenience sample of 117 Egyptian parents of children with chronic conditions. To be eligible to participate, respondents had to be a parent of child with a chronic health condition between the ages of 1 and 18 years. The sample included primarily biological parents between the ages of 20 and 56 years. METHODS The 20-item Arabic SCS was administered as part of a written survey that included additional measures on demographic information and parent ratings of the child's overall health. Six items were ultimately removed based on item analysis, and exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the resulting 14-item scale. As a measure of construct validity, hypothesis testing was conducted using an independent samples t-test to determine whether a significant difference exists between mean total social capital scores for two groups of respondents based on the parental rating of the child's overall health. RESULTS Item and factor analysis yielded preliminary support for a revised, 14-item Arabic SCS with four internally consistent factors. The standardized item alpha reliability coefficient for the total 14-item scale was .75. Respondents who reported that their child was in good health had significantly higher social capital scores than those who rated their child's health as poor. CONCLUSIONS The 14-item Arabic SCS was found to be reliable and valid in this sample, with four internally consistent factors. While the tool may not be appropriate for comparing social capital between cultural groups, it will enable clinicians and researchers to address an important gap in knowledge characterized by a paucity of research on childhood chronic illness in low- and middle-income countries such as Egypt.
    Publication International Journal of Nursing Studies
    Volume 46
    Issue 1
    Pages 44-53
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Nurs Stud
    DOI 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.07.010
    ISSN 1873-491X
    Short Title Psychometric properties and cross-cultural equivalence of the Arabic Social Capital Scale
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18783773
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18783773
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Arabs
    • Attitude to Health
    • Child
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Developmental Disabilities
    • Egypt
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • ISLAM
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Nursing Assessment
    • Nursing Evaluation Research
    • Parents
    • Psychometrics
    • Questionnaires
    • social support
    • Translations
  • Religious commitment, adult attachment, and marital adjustment in newly married couples

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jamie L Lopez
    Author Shelley A Riggs
    Author Sara E Pollard
    Author Joshua N Hook
    Abstract Existing literature on the role of religiosity in marital functioning is often difficult to interpret due to the frequent use of convenience samples, statistical approaches inadequate for interdependent dyadic data, and the lack of a theoretical framework. The current study examined the effects of religious commitment and insecure attachment on marital adjustment. Newly married couples who did not have children (N = 92 couples, 184 individuals) completed measures of religious commitment, adult attachment, and marital functioning. There was a small positive association between religious commitment and marital adjustment. Religious commitment buffered the negative association between attachment avoidance and marital adjustment, but exacerbated the negative association between attachment anxiety and marital adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).
    Publication Journal of Family Psychology: JFP: Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43)
    Volume 25
    Issue 2
    Pages 301-309
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr J Fam Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0022943
    ISSN 1939-1293
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21480709
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:04:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21480709
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
  • Spiritual well-being and practices among women with gynecologic cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Aida J López
    Author Ruth McCaffrey
    Author Mary T Quinn Griffin
    Author Joyce J Fitzpatrick
    Abstract PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To identify spiritual well-being and spiritual practices in women with gynecologic cancer. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional. SETTING: Urban and rural communities in southeast Florida. SAMPLE: Convenience sample of 85 women (X age = 65.72 years) with some form of gynecologic cancer. METHODS: Participants completed questionnaires to assess spiritual well-being and spiritual practices while attending a healthcare clinic. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Spiritual well-being, spiritual practices. FINDINGS: The level of overall spiritual well-being was high, as were the levels of self-efficacy and life scheme (meaningfulness), as measured with two subscales. Most women reported use of several spiritual practices, including family activities, exercise, and listening to music. CONCLUSIONS: Additional study of the spiritual well-being and practices of women with cancer and comparisons with other groups of women are needed. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Nurses can assume a role in encouraging spiritual practices and enhancing spiritual well-being in women with cancer.
    Publication Oncology Nursing Forum
    Volume 36
    Issue 3
    Pages 300-305
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Oncol Nurs Forum
    DOI 10.1188/09.ONF.300-305
    ISSN 1538-0688
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:14:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19403451
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Genital Neoplasms, Female
    • Humans
    • Oncologic Nursing
    • Quality of Life
    • Self Efficacy
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality
  • The integration of healing into conventional cancer care in the UK

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ava Lorenc
    Author Brenda Peace
    Author Chandrika Vaghela
    Author Nicola Robinson
    Abstract Healing encompasses Reiki, therapeutic touch and healing touch, and is often used by cancer patients to supplement their health care, but the extent of healing provision in conventional cancer care is unknown. This study used snowball sampling to map the healing provision in UK conventional cancer care settings. Sixty-seven individuals at 38 centres were identified who provided healing within conventional care, 16 NHS-based. Less than half were paid or had specialist cancer training. Self-referral was the usual route to healing, followed by hospital nurse referral. Healing was perceived as well accepted and useful by healers. Providing healing in conventional cancer care may improve patient empowerment and choice. Despite the value to patients, staff and healers, many services receive little financial support. Exchange of information and communication on referral possibilities between healers and conventional staff needs to be improved. Voluntary healer self-regulation will facilitate the safe incorporation of healing into conventional care.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 4
    Pages 222-228
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.03.001
    ISSN 1744-3881
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7MFN-4YVP1DH-1/2/0f9e3598f7bbbde6d0aff5fdf1014296
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:35:12 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM

    Tags:

    • cancer
    • Integrative care
    • Spiritual healing

    Notes:

    • Healing encompasses Reiki, therapeutic touch and healing touch, and is often used by cancer patients to supplement their health care, but the extent of healing provision in conventional cancer care is unknown. This study used snowball sampling to map the healing provision in UK conventional cancer care settings.

  • Systemic hypnosis with depressed individuals and their families

    Type Journal Article
    Author Camillo Loriedo
    Author Chiara Torti
    Abstract Historically, depression has been considered almost exclusively from an intrapersonal viewpoint, focusing almost entirely on the depressed individual in treatment. In this article, the focus is shifted to an interpersonal view of depression, emphasizing the role of family and cultural influences on the evolution of depression and its successful treatment. Patterns of hypnosis that can be applied in a systemic treatment framework are described and illustrated with case examples.
    Publication The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
    Volume 58
    Issue 2
    Pages 222-246
    Date Apr 2010
    Journal Abbr Int J Clin Exp Hypn
    DOI 10.1080/00207140903523277
    ISSN 1744-5183
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 5:32:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20390692
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • The mental self

    Type Book Section
    Author Hans C. Lou
    Author Markus Nowak
    Author Troels W. Kjaer
    Contributor Steven Laureys
    Abstract In meditation both the quality and the contents of consciousness may be voluntarily changed, making it an obvious target in the quest for the neural correlate of consciousness. Here we present the results of a positron emission tomography study of yoga nidra relaxation meditation when compared with the normal resting conscious state. Meditation is accompanied by a relatively increased perfusion in the sensory imagery system: hippocampus and sensory and higher order association regions, with decreased perfusion in the executive system: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, striatum, thalamus, pons, and cerebellum. To identify regions active in both systems we performed a principal component analysis of the results. This separated the blood flow data into two groups of regions, explaining 25 and 18% of their variance: One group corresponded to the executive system, and the other to the systems supporting sensory imagery. A small group of regions contributed considerably to both networks: medial parietal and medial prefrontal cortices, together with the striatum. The inclusion of the striatum and our subsequent finding of increased striatal dopamine binding to D2 receptors during meditation suggested dopaminergic regulation of this circuit. We then investigated the neural networks supporting episodic retrieval of judgments of individuals with different degrees of self-relevance, in the decreasing order: self, best friend, and the Danish queen. We found that all conditions activated a medial prefrontal -- precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and cerebellum. This activation occurred together with the activation of the left lateral prefrontal/temporal cortex. The latter was dependent on the requirement of retrieval of semantic information, being most pronounced in the "queen" condition. Transcranial magnetic stimulation, targeting precuneus, was then applied to the medial parietal region to transiently disrupt the normal function of the circuitry. We found a decreased efficiency of retrieval of self-judgment compared to the judgment of best friend. This shows that the integrity of the function of precuneus is essential for self-reference, but not for reference to others.
    Book Title The Boundaries of Consciousness: Neurobiology and Neuropathology
    Volume Volume 150
    Publisher Elsevier
    Date 2005
    Pages 197-204, 594
    ISBN 0079-6123
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7CV6-4H62GJY-P/2/5e96e377a6a4a212776dee0e64a7721b
    Accessed Tuesday, September 01, 2009 9:55:35 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • In meditation both the quality and the contents of consciousness may be voluntarily changed, making it an obvious target in the quest for the neural correlate of consciousness. Here we present the results of a positron emission tomography study of yoga nidra relaxation meditation when compared with the normal resting conscious state. Meditation is accompanied by a relatively increased perfusion in the sensory imagery system: hippocampus and sensory and higher order association regions, with decreased perfusion in the executive system: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, striatum, thalamus, pons, and cerebellum. To identify regions active in both systems we performed a principal component analysis of the results. This separated the blood flow data into two groups of regions, explaining 25 and 18% of their variance: One group corresponded to the executive system, and the other to the systems supporting sensory imagery. A small group of regions contributed considerably to both networks: medial parietal and medial prefrontal cortices, together with the striatum. The inclusion of the striatum and our subsequent finding of increased striatal dopamine binding to D2 receptors during meditation suggested dopaminergic regulation of this circuit. We then investigated the neural networks supporting episodic retrieval of judgments of individuals with different degrees of self-relevance, in the decreasing order: self, best friend, and the Danish queen. We found that all conditions activated a medial prefrontal -- precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and cerebellum. This activation occurred together with the activation of the left lateral prefrontal/temporal cortex. The latter was dependent on the requirement of retrieval of semantic information, being most pronounced in the “queen” condition. Transcranial magnetic stimulation, targeting precuneus, was then applied to the medial parietal region to transiently disrupt the normal function of the circuitry. We found a decreased efficiency of retrieval of self-judgment compared to the judgment of best friend. This shows that the integrity of the function of precuneus is essential for self-reference, but not for reference to others.

  • Religiousness affects mental health, pain and quality of life in older people in an outpatient rehabilitation setting

    Type Journal Article
    Author Giancarlo Lucchetti
    Author Alessandra Granero Lucchetti
    Author Antonio M Badan-Neto
    Author Patricia T Peres
    Author Mario F P Peres
    Author Alexander Moreira-Almeida
    Author Cláudio Gomes
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract OBJECTIVES To evaluate the relationship between religiousness and mental health, hospitalization, pain, disability and quality of life in older adults from an outpatient rehabilitation setting in Sao Paulo, Brazil. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS/PATIENTS A total of 110 patients aged 60 years or older were interviewed during attendance at an outpatient rehabilitation service. METHODS Researchers administered a standardized questionnaire that assessed socio-demographic data, religiousness, self-reported quality of life, anxiety, physical activity limitation, depression, pain and cognition. Predictors were included in each model analysis, and a backward conditional method was used for variable selection using logistic regression (categorical outcomes) or linear regression (continuous outcomes). RESULTS Thirty-one patients (28.2%) fulfilled criteria for significant depressive symptoms, 27 (24.5%) for anxiety, and 10 (9.6%) for cognitive impairment. Pain was present in 89 (80.7%) patients. Limited depressive symptoms (as assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale), and greater self-reported quality of life were related to greater self-reported religiousness, as were scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination (less cognitive impairment), and lower ratings of pain. CONCLUSION Religiousness is related to significantly less depressive symptoms, better quality of life, less cognitive impairment, and less perceived pain. Clinicians should consider taking a spiritual history and ensuring that spiritual needs are addressed among older patients in rehabilitation settings.
    Publication Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine: Official Journal of the UEMS European Board of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
    Volume 43
    Issue 4
    Pages 316-322
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Rehabil Med
    DOI 10.2340/16501977-0784
    ISSN 1651-2081
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21305230
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21305230
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Aged
    • Cognition Disorders
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • depression
    • Female
    • Geriatric Assessment
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • REHABILITATION
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Self Report
    • spirituality
  • 033 Sleep patterns and religiosity in an urban, low-income community in Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Type Journal Article
    Author G. Lucchetti
    Author A.L. Granero
    Author M.F.P. Peres
    Abstract Results: Four hundred and forty community members were enrolled and 383 completed the sleep patterns questionnaire. The sample was composed mainly of females (74.4%) with low education (41% with less than 4 years of study) and low income (88.8% earning less than US$500.00 per month). Concerning sleep patterns, 48.1% reported morning tiredness, 66% had difficulty maintaining sleep, 37.2% frequently took a nap during the day, 36.9% had diculty initiating sleep, and 32.9% required more than one hour to initiate sleep. When questioned about religion, 72.6% wereCatholics, 13.3% were evangelical Protestants and 3.3% were spiritists; 37.3% reported that they went to religious services at least once a week, 53.8% carried out private religious activities daily and 84.7% stated they felt Gods presence in their lives. Logistic regression controlled for sex, family income, employment, education, marital status and race showed no relationship between extrinsic religiosity, intrinsic religiosity and spirituality with any sleep patterns (initiating sleep, maintaining sleep, sleep hours and morning tiredness). Female sex and low family income were associated with less desirable sleep patterns. Conclusion: There appeared to be no association between sleep patterns and spirituality/religiosity. However,not all aspects of sleep and spirituality wereassessed, so these results should be interpreted with caution. Further studies are needed to explore this issue in more detail.
    Publication Sleep Medicine
    Volume 10
    Issue Supplement 2
    Pages S9-S10
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1016/S1389-9457(09)70035-8
    ISSN 1389-9457
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6W6N-4XYC0Y8-17/2/f750b9db5974124b1274ce658c9f9bb5
    Accessed Wednesday, December 30, 2009 12:01:38 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • The Effectiveness of Cognitive and Behavioural Treatment of Chronic Pain in the Elderly: A Quantitative Review

    Type Journal Article
    Author LH Lunde
    Author IH Nordhus
    Author S Pallesen
    Abstract This study provides a meta-analytic review of cognitive and behavioural interventions for chronic pain in the elderly, focusing on treatment effectiveness. Included in the analysis are studies in which a comparison was made either to a control condition or to pre-treatment. A total of 12 outcome studies published or reported between January 1975 and March 2008, were identified involving participants 60 years and above and providing 16 separate treatment interventions. The analysis indicated that cognitive and behavioural interventions were effective on self-reported pain experience, yielding an overall effect size of 0.47. However, there were no significant effects of cognitive and behavioural treatment on symptoms of depression, physical functioning and medication use. Methodological issues concerning design, outcome measures and treatment are discussed and recommendations for future studies are outlined.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings
    Volume 16
    Issue 3
    Pages 254-262
    Date SEP 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10880-009-9162-y
    ISSN 1068-9583
    Short Title The Effectiveness of Cognitive and Behavioural Treatment of Chronic Pain in the Elderly
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Sunday, November 01, 2009 10:35:17 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Mindfulness meditation for symptom reduction in fibromyalgia: psychophysiological correlates

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth Lush
    Author Paul Salmon
    Author Andrea Floyd
    Author Jamie L Studts
    Author Inka Weissbecker
    Author Sandra E Sephton
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome, is often accompanied by psychological distress and increased basal sympathetic tone. In a previous report it was shown that mindfulness-based stress-reduction (MBSR) reduced depressive symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia with gains maintained at two months follow-up (Sephton et al., Arthr Rheum 57:77-85, 2007). This second study explores the effects of MBSR on basal sympathetic (SNS) activation among women with fibromyalgia. METHODS: Participants (n = 24) responded to a television news appearance, newspaper, and radio advertisements. Effects on anxiety, depressive symptoms, and SNS activation measures were tested before and after MBSR using a within-subjects design. RESULTS: The MBSR treatment significantly reduced basal electrodermal (skin conductance level; SCL) activity (t = 3.298, p = .005) and SCL activity during meditation (t = 4.389, p = .001), consistent with reduced SNS activation. CONCLUSIONS: In this small sample, basal SNS activity was reduced following MBSR treatment. Future studies should assess how MBSR may help reduce negative psychological symptoms and attenuate SNS activation in fibromyalgia. Further clarification of psychological and physiological responses associated with fibromyalgia may lead to more beneficial treatment.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings
    Volume 16
    Issue 2
    Pages 200-207
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol Med Settings
    DOI 10.1007/s10880-009-9153-z
    ISSN 1573-3572
    Short Title Mindfulness meditation for symptom reduction in fibromyalgia
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19277851
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:19:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19277851
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Anxiety
    • Arousal
    • depression
    • Female
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Galvanic Skin Response
    • Heart Rate
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychometrics
    • Psychophysiologic Disorders
    • Skin Temperature
    • Sympathetic Nervous System
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This second study explores the effects of MBSR on basal sympathetic (SNS) activation among women with fibromyalgia. Results: The MBSR treatment significantly reduced basal electrodermal (skin conductance level; SCL) activity (t = 3.298, p = .005) and SCL activity during meditation (t = 4.389, p = .001), consistent with reduced SNS activation.

  • Transformative practices for integrating mind-body-spirit

    Type Journal Article
    Author Frederic Luskin
    Abstract This paper explores the clinical use of transformative practices that arose from the varied religious traditions of the world. Examples include prayer, meditation, mantra, affirmation, tai chi, and yoga. The purpose of these practices was to lead the practitioner to long term spiritual transformation toward an enhanced awareness of spirit, and a corresponding diminishment of identification with the mental and physical aspects of life. Unfortunately, the vagueness of the definition of transformation demonstrates that it is a broad and diffuse multidimensional concept difficult to quantify and resistant to rigorous research. However, these spiritual practices, offered as interventions separate from their spiritual tradition, have begun to be evaluated to document their effect on psychological and physical well-being. Currently, there are a number of well-designed studies that attest to the health-enhancing and suffering-reducing benefits derived from religiously transformative practices. There also is research, although sporadic and mostly on forgiveness, slowly emerging to show that prosocial positive emotion skills can be taught, and when measured, demonstrate benefit. Randomized trials of transformative practices are needed to help all levels of the health care system focus their attention on the manifestations and effect of the care delivered.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 10 Suppl 1
    Pages S15-23
    Date 2004
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    ISSN 1075-5535
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15630819
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:17:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15630819
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics)
    • Quality Assurance, Health Care
    • Quality of Life
    • Research Design
    • Self Care
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This paper explores the clinical use of transformative practices that arose from the varied religious traditions of the world. Examples include prayer, meditation, mantra, affirmation, tai chi, and yoga. The purpose of these practices was to lead the practitioner to long term spiritual transformation toward an enhanced awareness of spirit, and a corresponding diminishment of identification with the mental and physical aspects of life. Currently, there are a number of well-designed studies that attest to the health-enhancing and suffering-reducing benefits derived from religiously transformative practices.

  • Mindfulness meditation research: issues of participant screening, safety procedures, and researcher training

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Kathleen B Lustyk
    Author Neharika Chawla
    Author Roger S Nolan
    Author G Alan Marlatt
    Abstract Increasing interest in mindfulness meditation (MM) warrants discussion of research safety. Side effects of meditation with possible adverse reactions are reported in the literature. Yet participant screening procedures, research safety guidelines, and standards for researcher training have not been developed and disseminated in the MM field of study. The goal of this paper is to summarize safety concerns of MM practice and offer scholars some practical tools to use in their research. For example, we offer screener schematics aimed at determining the contraindication status of potential research participants. Moreover, we provide information on numerous MM training options. Ours is the first presentation of this type aimed at helping researchers think through the safety and training issues presented herein. Support for our recommendations comes from consulting 17 primary publications and 5 secondary reports/literature reviews of meditation side effects. Mental health consequences were the most frequently reported side effects, followed by physical health then spiritual health consequences. For each of these categories of potential adverse effects, we offer MM researchers methods to assess the relative risks of each as it pertains to their particular research programs.
    Publication Advances in Mind-Body Medicine
    Volume 24
    Issue 1
    Pages 20-30
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Adv Mind Body Med
    ISSN 1532-1843
    Short Title Mindfulness meditation research
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:29:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20671334
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Attention
    • Biomedical Research
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Mental Disorders
    • mental health
    • Mind-Body Therapies
    • Patient Selection
    • Research Personnel
    • spirituality
  • BOLD signal in insula is differentially related to cardiac function during compassion meditation in experts vs. novices

    Type Journal Article
    Author Antoine Lutz
    Author Lawrence L Greischar
    Author David M Perlman
    Author Richard J Davidson
    Abstract The brain and the cardiovascular system influence each other during the processing of emotion. The study of the interactions of these systems during emotion regulation has been limited in human functional neuroimaging, despite its potential importance for physical health. We have previously reported that mental expertise in cultivation of compassion alters the activation of circuits linked with empathy and theory of mind in response to emotional stimuli. Guided by the finding that heart rate increases more during blocks of compassion meditation than neutral states, especially for experts, we examined the interaction between state (compassion vs. neutral) and group (novice, expert) on the relation between heart rate and BOLD signal during presentation of emotional sounds presented during each state. Our findings revealed that BOLD signal in the right middle insula showed a significant association with heart rate (HR) across state and group. This association was stronger in the left middle/posterior insula when experts were compared to novices. The positive coupling of HR and BOLD was higher within the compassion state than within the neutral state in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex for both groups, underlining the role of this region in the modulation of bodily arousal states. This state effect was stronger for experts than novices in somatosensory cortices and the right inferior parietal lobule (group by state interaction). These data confirm that compassion enhances the emotional and somatosensory brain representations of others' emotions, and that this effect is modulated by expertise. Future studies are needed to further investigate the impact of compassion training on these circuits.
    Publication NeuroImage
    Volume 47
    Issue 3
    Pages 1038-1046
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr Neuroimage
    DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.04.081
    ISSN 1095-9572
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:11:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19426817
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Brain Mapping
    • Cerebral Cortex
    • Cerebrovascular Circulation
    • Emotions
    • Empathy
    • Female
    • Heart Rate
    • Humans
    • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted
    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    • Male
    • Meditation

    Notes:

    • The brain and the cardiovascular system influence each other during the processing of emotion. The study of the interactions of these systems during emotion regulation has been limited in human functional neuroimaging, despite its potential importance for physical health. We have previously reported that mental expertise in cultivation of compassion alters the activation of circuits linked with empathy and theory of mind in response to emotional stimuli. Guided by the finding that heart rate increases more during blocks of compassion meditation than neutral states, especially for experts, we examined the interaction between state (compassion vs. neutral) and group (novice, expert) on the relation between heart rate and BOLD signal during presentation of emotional sounds presented during each state. Our findings revealed that BOLD signal in the right middle insula showed a significant association with heart rate (HR) across state and group. This association was stronger in the left middle/posterior insula when experts were compared to novices. The positive coupling of HR and BOLD was higher within the compassion state than within the neutral state in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex for both groups, underlining the role of this region in the modulation of bodily arousal states. This state effect was stronger for experts than novices in somatosensory cortices and the right inferior parietal lobule (group by state interaction). These data confirm that compassion enhances the emotional and somatosensory brain representations of others' emotions, and that this effect is modulated by expertise. Future studies are needed to further investigate the impact of compassion training on these circuits.

  • BOLD signal in insula is differentially related to cardiac function during compassion meditation in experts vs. novices

    Type Journal Article
    Author Antoine Lutz
    Author Lawrence L Greischar
    Author David M Perlman
    Author Richard J Davidson
    Abstract The brain and the cardiovascular system influence each other during the processing of emotion. The study of the interactions of these systems during emotion regulation has been limited in human functional neuroimaging, despite its potential importance for physical health. We have previously reported that mental expertise in cultivation of compassion alters the activation of circuits linked with empathy and theory of mind in response to emotional stimuli. Guided by the finding that heart rate increases more during blocks of compassion meditation than neutral states, especially for experts, we examined the interaction between state (compassion vs. neutral) and group (novice, expert) on the relation between heart rate and BOLD signal during presentation of emotional sounds presented during each state. Our findings revealed that BOLD signal in the right middle insula showed a significant association with heart rate (HR) across state and group. This association was stronger in the left middle/posterior insula when experts were compared to novices. The positive coupling of HR and BOLD was higher within the compassion state than within the neutral state in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex for both groups, underlining the role of this region in the modulation of bodily arousal states. This state effect was stronger for experts than novices in somatosensory cortices and the right inferior parietal lobule (group by state interaction). These data confirm that compassion enhances the emotional and somatosensory brain representations of others' emotions, and that this effect is modulated by expertise. Future studies are needed to further investigate the impact of compassion training on these circuits.
    Publication NeuroImage
    Volume 47
    Issue 3
    Pages 1038-1046
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr Neuroimage
    DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.04.081
    ISSN 1095-9572
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19426817
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:33:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19426817
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The brain and the cardiovascular system influence each other during the processing of emotion. The study of the interactions of these systems during emotion regulation has been limited in human functional neuroimaging, despite its potential importance for physical health. We have previously reported that mental expertise in cultivation of compassion alters the activation of circuits linked with empathy and theory of mind in response to emotional stimuli. Guided by the finding that heart rate increases more during blocks of compassion meditation than neutral states, especially for experts, we examined the interaction between state (compassion vs. neutral) and group (novice, expert) on the relation between heart rate and BOLD signal during presentation of emotional sounds presented during each state. Our findings revealed that BOLD signal in the right middle insula showed a significant association with heart rate (HR) across state and group. This association was stronger in the left middle/posterior insula when experts were compared to novices. The positive coupling of HR and BOLD was higher within the compassion state than within the neutral state in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex for both groups, underlining the role of this region in the modulation of bodily arousal states. This state effect was stronger for experts than novices in somatosensory cortices and the right inferior parietal lobule (group by state interaction). These data confirm that compassion enhances the emotional and somatosensory brain representations of others’ emotions, and that this effect is modulated by expertise. Future studies are needed to further investigate the impact of compassion training on these circuits.

  • The Effect of Meditation on Neural Systems Implicated in Social Judgments

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Ly
    Author ML Spezio
    Abstract Introduction Meditation practices are often purported to have beneficial consequences on one's attentional performance or on one's capacity for positive behaviors in social interactions. Meditation is defined as a self-directed practice with a goal of suspending discursive and evaluative thought. Previous research on meditation, mainly within Eastern traditions such as Buddhism, have been shown to have an effect on systems of attention (Lutz et al., 2008; Slagter et al., 2007); thus, consequently, meditation has been adopted as a significant form of mind-body intervention within clinical healthcare with promising results including decreased levels of stress, chronic pain and anxiety. However, it is not known whether these practices may influence social decision-making. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated whether neural areas that were differentially activated by meditation continued to be recruited during simple judgments involving making trustworthiness attributions from just visual facial images. Methods Using a within subjects experimental design, experienced practitioners either meditated or focused attention on an audio narrative and signaled via button press when mind wandering occurred. Subsequently, participants made trustworthiness judgments based on facial images presented for 50 milliseconds, preceded by 10 minutes of either meditating or focusing on the narrative. Results During meditation, mindfulness in contrast to mind wandering recruited a greater activation in the bilateral insula and paracingulate [Figure 1]. Mindfulness during meditation in contrast to focused listening was associated with greater activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and right precuneus [Figure 2]. Meditation prior to making trustworthiness judgments elicited increased activation in the left lateralized insula, inferofrontal gyrus and ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) [Figure 3]. In contrast to focused listening, meditation was associated with a larger recruitment of the left insula, ACC, and right parietal cortex [Figure 4]. Conclusions We have shown that mindfulness during meditation recruits networks associated with attention and affective processing and in a differentially increased manner in contrast to focused listening. When compared to focused listening, meditation prior to social decision making was associated with greater recruitment of areas implicated in processing attention, emotion and interoception. These findings suggest that meditation may influence neural circuits in an enduring manner in which they may be easily recruited during social cognition. In a recent review, Craig (2009) proposed that the insula and ACC be regarded as limbic sensory and motor cortices that produce the feeling and motivation that compose an emotion. This theory is based on the dual lamina I spinothalamocortical projection to both the insula and the ACC, recruitment of both of these areas in numerous studies investigating emotion and their respective descending projections to sensory and motor brainstem regions. It is also suggested that the co-activation of the ACC and insula are associated with greater emotional and self-conscious awareness (Seeley et al., 2007; Craig, 2009). Further analyses on the functional connectivity between the insula and ACC will be conducted to further extend these findings.
    Publication NeuroImage
    Volume 47
    Issue Supplement 1
    Pages S194
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1016/S1053-8119(09)72190-1
    ISSN 1053-8119
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WNP-4X3PHYG-2S6/2/c29afb2ec44a0cbec39a769a5cfb1689
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:25:24 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Introduction Meditation practices are often purported to have beneficial consequences on one’s attentional performance or on one’s capacity for positive behaviors in social interactions. Meditation is defined as a self-directed practice with a goal of suspending discursive and evaluative thought. Previous research on meditation, mainly within Eastern traditions such as Buddhism, have been shown to have an effect on systems of attention (Lutz et al., 2008; Slagter et al., 2007); thus, consequently, meditation has been adopted as a significant form of mind-body intervention within clinical healthcare with promising results including decreased levels of stress, chronic pain and anxiety. However, it is not known whether these practices may influence social decision-making. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated whether neural areas that were differentially activated by meditation continued to be recruited during simple judgments involving making trustworthiness attributions from just visual facial images. Methods: Using a within subjects experimental design, experienced practitioners either meditated or focused attention on an audio narrative and signaled via button press when mind wandering occurred. Subsequently, participants made trustworthiness judgments based on facial images presented for 50 milliseconds, preceded by 10 minutes of either meditating or focusing on the narrative. Results: During meditation, mindfulness in contrast to mind wandering recruited a greater activation in the bilateral insula and paracingulate [Figure 1]. Mindfulness during meditation in contrast to focused listening was associated with greater activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and right precuneus [Figure 2]. Meditation prior to making trustworthiness judgments elicited increased activation in the left lateralized insula, inferofrontal gyrus and ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) [Figure 3]. In contrast to focused listening, meditation was associated with a larger recruitment of the left insula, ACC, and right parietal cortex [Figure 4]. Conclusions: We have shown that mindfulness during meditation recruits networks associated with attention and affective processing and in a differentially increased manner in contrast to focused listening. When compared to focused listening, meditation prior to social decision making was associated with greater recruitment of areas implicated in processing attention, emotion and interoception. These findings suggest that meditation may influence neural circuits in an enduring manner in which they may be easily recruited during social cognition. In a recent review, Craig (2009) proposed that the insula and ACC be regarded as limbic sensory and motor cortices that produce the feeling and motivation that compose an emotion. This theory is based on the dual lamina I spinothalamocortical projection to both the insula and the ACC, recruitment of both of these areas in numerous studies investigating emotion and their respective descending projections to sensory and motor brainstem regions. It is also suggested that the co-activation of the ACC and insula are associated with greater emotional and self-conscious awareness (Seeley et al., 2007; Craig, 2009). Further analyses on the functional connectivity between the insula and ACC will be conducted to further extend these findings.

  • Psychological Functioning in a Sample of Long-Term Practitioners of Mindfulness Meditation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Emily L.B. Lykins
    Author Ruth A. Baer
    Abstract Although mindfulness meditation traditionally is viewed as a lifelong practice, much current knowledge about its effects is based on short-term practitioners who have participated in mindfulness-based treatment. In the current study, long-term meditators and demographically similar nonmeditators completed self-report measures of constructs expected to be related to the practice of mindfulness meditation. Extent of meditation experience was correlated in the expected directions with levels of mindfulness and with many other variables. Mean differences between meditators and nonmeditators were significant in most cases. Mediation analyses were consistent with the hypothesis that practicing meditation is associated with increased mindfulness in daily life, which is related to decreased rumination, decreased fear of emotion, and increased behavioral self-regulation. These mechanisms appear partially responsible for the relationships between mindfulness skills and psychological adjustment. Overall, the current study suggests that the long-term practice of mindfulness meditation may cultivate mindfulness skills and promote adaptive functioning.
    Publication Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 23
    Pages 226-241
    Date August 2009
    DOI 10.1891/0889-8391.23.3.226
    URL http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/springer/jcogp/2009/00000023/00000003/art00004
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:01:35 PM
    Library Catalog IngentaConnect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptive Functioning
    • Mechanisms
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness

    Notes:

    • In the current study, long-term meditators and demographically similar nonmeditators completed self-report measures of constructs expected to be related to the practice of mindfulness meditation. Extent of meditation experience was correlated in the expected directions with levels of mindfulness and with many other variables.

  • Faith at Work Scale (FWS): Justification, development, and validation of a measure of Judaeo-Christian religion in the workplace.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Monty L. Lynn
    Author Michael J. Naughton
    Author Steve VanderVeen
    Abstract Workplace spirituality research has sidestepped religion by focusing on the function of belief rather than its substance. Although establishing a unified foundation for research, the functional approach cannot shed light on issues of workplace pluralism, individual or institutional faith-work integration, or the institutional roles of religion in economic activity. To remedy this, we revisit definitions of spirituality and argue for the place of a belief-based approach to workplace religion. Additionally, we describe the construction of a 15-item measure of workplace religion informed by Judaism and Christianity—the Faith at Work Scale (FWS). A stratified random sample (n = 234) of managers and professionals assisted in refining the FWS which exhibits a single factor structure (Eigenvalue = 8.88; variance accounted for = 59.22%) that is internally consistent (Cronbach’s α = 0.77) and demonstrates convergent validity with the Faith Maturity Scale (r = 0.81, p > 0.0001). The scale shows lower skew and kurtosis with Mainline and Catholic adherents than with Mormons and Evangelicals. Validation of the scale among Jewish and diverse Christian adherants would extend research in workplace religion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Business Ethics
    Volume 85
    Issue 2
    Pages 227-243
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10551-008-9767-3
    ISSN 0167-4544
    Short Title Faith at Work Scale (FWS)
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Beliefs
    • CATHOLICS
    • Christianity
    • Diversity in the Workplace
    • Economics
    • Faith at Work Scale
    • Judaeo-Christian religion
    • Judaism
    • Psychometrics
    • spirituality
    • test validation
    • Test Validity
    • Workplace
  • The Spiritual Implications of Interpersonal Abuse: Speaking of the Soul.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Emily Lyon
    Abstract A holistic view of the person includes body, mind and spirit, or soul. The purpose of this paper is to explore the concepts of “soul” and “radical evil” within a conversation about destructive interpersonal abuse. Most religions and spiritual disciplines understand the human person, especially the human soul, as sacred. When the perpetrator, propelled by his own internal alienation, desecrates the soul of his victim through relational sexual abuse, the victim often experiences herself as a no-person. Her ongoing sense of identity is fragmented, her capacity for spiritual experience, for imagination, creativity, relatedness are deeply wounded. With the help of information from the field of neuroscience, as well as other theological perspectives, some pathways for healing of the soul are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 2
    Pages 233-247
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0238-2
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title The Spiritual Implications of Interpersonal Abuse
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:27:56 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Mental Healing
    • MIND & body
    • SEX crimes
    • Soul
    • Theological anthropology
  • 98. Is Spirituality a Substitute for Connectedness? An Examination of Spirituality Among HIV-Infected Adolescents and their Families

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maureen Lyon
    Author Patricia Garvie
    Author Linda Briggs
    Author Jiangping He
    Author Robert McCarter
    Author Lawrence D'Angelo
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 2, Supplement 1
    Pages S68-S69
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.11.145
    ISSN 1054-139X
    Short Title 98. Is Spirituality a Substitute for Connectedness?
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:50:11 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study is to fill the gap in our knowledge about spiritual well-being among adolescents living with HIV and their families and to explore the impact of a Family Centered Advance Care Planning intervention on families' spirituality.

  • CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY IN MORMONS AND NON-MORMONS IN UTAH, 1969-1971

    Type Journal Article
    Author JOSEPH L. LYON
    Author HARRY P. WETZLER
    Author JOHN W. GARDNER
    Author MELVILLE R. KLAUBER
    Author ROGER R. WILLIAMS
    Abstract Cardiovascular mortality In the State of Utah Is among the lowest In the United States. The religion of 72% of the state residents (Mormon) proscribes the use of tobacco and alcohol; a large number of Mormons adhere to this proscription. This study analyzed the 6108 cardiovascular disease deaths between 1969-1971 in Utah of members In the Mormon Church. For both sexes, Mormons had 35% less mortality than expected from US rates for ischemlc heart disease, while non-Mormons were not significantly different from US whites. These results support the relationship between cigarette smoking and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Mormon men also had lower mortality from hypertensive heart disease and Mormon women from rheumatic heart disease than non-Mormons in Utah.
    Publication Am. J. Epidemiol.
    Volume 108
    Issue 5
    Pages 357-366
    Date November 1, 1978
    URL http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/108/5/357
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 2:56:49 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study analyzed the 6108 cardiovascular disease deaths between 1969-1971 in Utah of members in the Mormon Church. For both sexes, Mormons had 35% less mortality than expected from US rates for ischemic heart disease.

  • Forgiveness and purpose in life as spiritual mechanisms of recovery from substance use disorders.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Geoffrey C. B. Lyons
    Author Frank P. Deane
    Author Peter J. Kelly
    Abstract Spirituality has often been associated with recovery from substance use disorders through its emphasis in faith-based rehabilitation programs. The purpose of this article is to describe some psychological dynamics that may explain how spirituality aids in the treatment of substance abuse and dependence. Forgiveness and purpose in life are proposed as spiritual mechanisms that partially mediate a spiritually directed recovery. Recent empirical studies on spirituality and recovery from substance use disorders are discussed in relation to 12-steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and Christian principles in order to describe how forgiveness and purpose in life interact with spiritual development in substance use disorder treatment programs. A theoretical model detailing the relationship between spirituality, forgiveness, purpose, and recovery is presented based on anecdotal and empirical literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Addiction Research & Theory
    Volume 18
    Issue 5
    Pages 528-543
    Date October 2010
    DOI 10.3109/16066351003660619
    ISSN 1606-6359
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • DRUG abuse
    • Drug Rehabilitation
    • FORGIVENESS
    • Purpose in Life
    • Recovery
    • Recovery (Disorders)
    • spiritual mechanisms
    • spirituality
    • substance use disorders
    • treatment
  • Measures of spiritual and transpersonal constructs for use in yoga research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Douglas A Macdonald
    Author Harris L Friedman
    Abstract This article presents information on standardized paper-and-pencil measures of spiritual and transpersonal constructs that hold promise for use in yoga research. Nine instruments are discussed at length including the Assessment Schedule for Altered States of Consciousness, Ego Grasping Orientation, Expressions of Spirituality Inventory, Hindu Religious Coping Scale, Measures of Hindu Pathways, Self-Expansiveness Level Form, Spiritual Orientation Inventory, Spiritual Transcendence Scale, and the Vedic Personality Inventory. As well, a listing of an additional 14 measures, along with primary citations, is provided. In conclusion, the authors proffer recommendations for the use of psychometric tests and provide a general proposal for programmatic research.
    Publication International Journal of Yoga
    Volume 2
    Issue 1
    Pages 2-12
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Yoga
    DOI 10.4103/0973-6131.53837
    ISSN 0973-6131
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21234209
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21234209
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
  • Religious affiliation and psychiatric diagnoses

    Type Journal Article
    Author MacDonald, Coval
    Author Luckett, Jeffrey B.
    Abstract This study examines the relationship between religious affiliation and psychiatric diagnoses in a sample of 7050 patients at a mid-western psychiatric clinic (1977-80). Seven major and thirty-three specific religious groups are compared according to nine major and forty-four specific DSM II psychiatric diagnostic categories. The major finding is that under emotional stress, affiliates of major and specific religious groups tend to experience psychiatric disorder in different ways. Using the top third Chi-square values for both major and specific groups, a psychiatric profile is provided for each religious group in which significantly strong and weak diagnoses are rank ordered.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 22
    Issue 1
    Pages 15-37
    Date March 1983
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study examines the relationship between religious affiliation and psychiatric diagnoses in a sample of 7050 patients at a mid-western psychiatric clinic (1977-80). The major finding is that under emotional stress, affiliates of major and specific religious groups tend to experience psychiatric disorder in different ways.

  • The mutual redemption of divine and human being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher Mackenna
    Abstract A clinical experience with a religiously-minded patient is presented, in which an unthinking observation made by the analyst-based on the mistaken belief that he and his patient had evolved a shared God language-proved nearly catastrophic for the work. Subsequent analysis revealed the complicated intertwining of maternal and paternal material in previously unconscious aspects of the patient's god image. Analysis of these components and greater understanding of transference dynamics brought limited therapeutic gains, until the patient was able to overcome her resistance to speaking about a core sexual fantasy. This achievement was the prelude to a vision that revealed the common root of her sexual and spiritual eros. Working through these understandings led both to greater personal integration and to the "humanizing" of her primitive god image.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 111-122
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.111
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:20:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364263
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Christianity
    • Communication
    • Conflict (Psychology)
    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Culture
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Psychoanalytic Interpretation
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Transference (Psychology)
  • Using Spiritual Reminiscence with a Small Group of Latvian Residents with Dementia in a Nursing Home: A Multifaith and Multicultural Perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth MacKinlay
    Abstract Post-World War II immigration to Australia included many from Eastern Europe. These older ethnic groups now challenge aged-care providers with cultural, language, and religious issues not always understood. This article examines spirituality and meaning in the experience of dementia of older Latvian residents, using in-depth interviews and small group work, based on a model of spiritual tasks of ageing. Data were analyzed using grounded theory and NVIVO7 computer package for qualitative data analysis. Main themes identified were need for connectedness; spiritual and religious practices; vulnerability and transcendence, physical health issues; wisdom and memory, war experiences; hope/fear and communication style of facilitator.
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 4
    Pages 318-329
    Date 2009 October
    DOI 10.1080/15528030903030003
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title Using Spiritual Reminiscence with a Small Group of Latvian Residents with Dementia in a Nursing Home
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/15528030903030003
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:33:11 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Living in aged care: Using spiritual reminiscence to enhance meaning in life for those with dementia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth MacKinlay
    Author Corinne Trevitt
    Abstract Spiritual reminiscence is a way of telling a life story with emphasis on meaning. Spiritual reminiscence can identify meaning associated with joy, sadness, anger, guilt, or regret. Exploring these issues in older age can help people to reframe some of these events and come to new understanding of the meaning and purpose of their lives. A total of 113 older adults with dementia, living in aged-care facilities, participated in this study. They were allocated to small groups for spiritual reminiscence, to meet weekly over 6 weeks or 6 months. Quantitative data were gathered using a behavioural scale before and after each spiritual reminiscence session. Qualitative data included taped and transcribed reminiscence sessions, individual interviews, and observer journals. A facilitator led the small-group discussion based on spiritual reminiscence. New relationships were developed among group members that improved life for these people in aged care. This paper examines aspects of the qualitative data around the themes of 'meaning in life' and 'vulnerability and transcendence'. Spiritual reminiscence offers nursing staff a way of knowing those with dementia in a deeper and more meaningful way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
    Volume 19
    Issue 6
    Pages 394-401
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1447-0349.2010.00684.x
    ISSN 14458330
    Short Title Living in aged care
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • Dementia
    • GROUNDED theory
    • Life
    • MEDICAL rehabilitation
    • NURSING home patients -- Psychology
    • nursing homes
    • OLD age
    • PHENOMENOLOGY
    • Psychological Tests
    • REMINISCING
    • SOUND recordings
    • spirituality
    • THEMATIC analysis
  • Creativity and positive schizotypy influence the conflict between science and religion

    Type Journal Article
    Author James S. MacPherson
    Author Steve W. Kelly
    Abstract <p><br/>Recent research suggests that evaluations of scientific and religious explanations compete for [`]explanatory space'. This study examines whether a combination of positive schizotypy (PS) and creativity can partly explain why a scientist committed to empirical measurement and evidence could hold a concomitant faith-based view of the world. The O-LIFE, the religious orientation Scale and the Creative Personality Scale were completed by (n = 222) PhD level Scientists and a Control group of (n = 193) non-scientists. Regression analyses found that PS and creativity accounted for a significant degree of variance in religiosity in the Scientist sample. This relationship was not demonstrated in the Control group, nor was it affected by the intrinsic/extrinsic religiosity dimension. These findings suggest that PS and creativity help afford religious beliefs when commitment to empiricism is high. Links to cognitive processing styles such as syncretic cognition and Transliminality are discussed.</p>
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 50
    Issue 4
    Pages 446-450
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2010.11.002
    ISSN 0191-8869
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9F-51MHP0S-1/2/58d4663439ec41dc4bb2dbbf6b34185b
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:23:32 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM

    Tags:

    • Creativity
    • O-LIFE
    • religion
    • religious orientation
    • Schizotypy
    • Scientific thinking
    • Syncretic cognition
    • Transliminality
  • Psychotherapists' spiritual, religious, atheist or agnostic identity and their practice of psychotherapy: A grounded theory study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Danielle Magaldi-Dopman
    Author Jennie Park-Taylor
    Author Joseph G Ponterotto
    Abstract In this present grounded theory study, 16 experienced psychologists, who practiced from varied theoretical orientations and came from diverse religious/spiritual/nonreligious backgrounds, explored their personal religious/spiritual/nonreligious identity development journeys, their experiences with clients' religious/spiritual content in psychotherapy sessions, and how their identity may have influenced the way they interacted with religious/spiritual material during sessions. Results revealed that psychologists' spiritual/religious/nonreligious identity is conflicted and complex and that their academic and clinical training did not provide sufficient opportunity to examine how this may affect their therapeutic work. A tentative grounded theory emerged suggesting that psychologists both identified with and were activated by clients' spiritual/religious conflicts and their internal experiences about the spiritual/religious content, both of which presented significant challenges to therapeutic work.
    Publication Psychotherapy Research: Journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research
    Volume 21
    Issue 3
    Pages 286-303
    Date May 2011
    Journal Abbr Psychother Res
    DOI 10.1080/10503307.2011.565488
    ISSN 1468-4381
    Short Title Psychotherapists' spiritual, religious, atheist or agnostic identity and their practice of psychotherapy
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21480053
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:37:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21480053
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
  • Examining a paradox: does religiosity contribute to positive birth outcomes in Mexican American populations?

    Type Journal Article
    Author A Magaña
    Author N M Clark
    Abstract A particularly interesting and consistent finding regarding the health of the Latino population is that Mexican American women, despite their relatively lower socioeconomic status, deliver significantly fewer low birth weight babies and lose fewer babies to all causes during infancy than do women of other ethnic groups. A central thesis of this discussion is that the religiosity and spirituality of many of these Latinas, a key factor in their culture, may protect them and their infants through the pre- and antenatal phases of life. We also suggest that lack of research, related to cultural similarities and differences in Hispanic/Latino subgroups, can lead to faulty or simplistic understanding regarding their health behavior and health status.
    Publication Health Education Quarterly
    Volume 22
    Issue 1
    Pages 96-109
    Date Feb 1995
    Journal Abbr Health Educ Q
    ISSN 0195-8402
    Short Title Examining a paradox
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7721605
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:25:59 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 7721605
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Acculturation
    • Catholicism
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Culture
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Humans
    • Mexican Americans
    • Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Outcome
    • United States
    • Women's Health

    Notes:

    • A particularly interesting and consistent finding regarding the health of the Latino population is that Mexican American women, despite their relatively lower socioeconomic status, deliver significantly fewer low birth weight babies and lose fewer babies to all causes during infancy than do women of other ethnic groups. A central thesis of this discussion is that the religiosity and spirituality of many of these Latinas, a key factor in their culture, may protect them and their infants through the pre- and antenatal phases of life.

  • The spiritual meaning of pre-loss music therapy to bereaved caregivers of advanced cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lucanne Magill
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to learn how music therapy sessions, held prior to the death of a loved one, impact spirituality in surviving caregivers of advanced cancer patients. METHOD: The method of naturalistic inquiry was used to investigate the spiritual meaning of pre-loss music therapy sessions. Bereaved caregivers of seven different patients, who had been receiving music therapy through a home-based hospice program, participated in individual open-ended interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Themes were organized as they emerged. RESULTS: As caregivers reflected on their experiences in music therapy, they reported autonomous joy (music therapy affected the caregiver directly) and empathic joy (caregivers' joy was based in remembering seeing the patient happy in music therapy). They also noted feelings of empowerment due to the ways they felt they had contributed in the care of the patients through music therapy. The caregivers were found to engage in processes of reflection that inspired these spiritual themes: reflection on the present (connectedness), reflection on the past (remembrance), and reflection on the future (hope). They referred to the ways that the music therapy sessions helped them find connection with self, others (through bringing their loved ones "back to life" and have a "renewal of self"), and the "beyond"; and that times in music therapy brought them happy memories and sentiments of hope. Meaning through transcendence was found to be the overarching trend in this study, as caregivers were lifted from remorse into heightened sense of meaning and gained "airplane views" of their lives. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Pre-loss music therapy can potentially assist caregivers during times of bereavement, as they retain memories of joy and empowerment, rather than memories of pain and distress, and find meaning through transcendence.
    Publication Palliative & Supportive Care
    Volume 7
    Issue 1
    Pages 97-108
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Palliat Support Care
    DOI 10.1017/S1478951509000121
    ISSN 1478-9523
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:43:05 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19619379
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Bereavement
    • Caregivers
    • Hospice Care
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Music Therapy
    • Neoplasms
    • Palliative Care
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
  • Psychological well-being and pilgrimage: Religiosity, happiness and life satisfaction of Ardh-Kumbh Mela pilgrims (Kalpvasis) at Prayag, India

    Type Journal Article
    Author Saurabh Maheshwari
    Author Purnima Singh
    Abstract Pilgrimage is an important aspect of our life and has both religious as well as spiritual significance. The present study examined the relationship of religiosity, happiness and satisfaction with life in the case of pilgrims in a very special cultural context of the Ardh-Kumbh Mela (held in Prayag, Allahabad, India) during the months of January and February, 2007). The study specifically examined these relationships in a sample of Kalpvasis (pilgrims who stay at the banks of the Sangam for a month in the holy city of Prayag during the Mela period). One hundred and fifty-four Kalpvasis participated in the study. Positive association between religiosity, happiness and life satisfaction was obtained. Results showed that gender did not have a significant role on these relations in the case of pilgrims. Implications of these results are discussed.
    Publication Asian Journal of Social Psychology
    Volume 12
    Issue 4
    Pages 285-292
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-839X.2009.01291.x
    Short Title Psychological well-being and pilgrimage
    URL http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1111/j.1467-839X.2009.01291.x
    Accessed Thursday, December 17, 2009 1:34:09 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Religion in Families, 1999-2009: A Relational Spirituality Framework

    Type Journal Article
    Author Annette Mahoney
    Abstract This review examines the role of religion, for better and worse, in marital and parent–child relationships according to peer-reviewed studies from 1999 to 2009. A conceptual framework of relational spirituality is used (a) to organize the breadth of findings into the 3 stages of formation, maintenance, and transformation of family relationships and (b) to illustrate 3 in-depth sets of mechanisms to delve into the ways religion shapes family bonds. Topics include union formation, fertility, spousal roles, marital satisfaction and conflict, divorce, domestic violence, infidelity, pregnancy, parenting children, parenting adolescents, and coping with family distress. Conclusions emphasize moving beyond markers of general religiousness and identifying specific spiritual beliefs and practices that prevent or intensify problems in traditional and nontraditional families.
    Publication Journal of Marriage and Family
    Volume 72
    Issue 4
    Pages 805-827
    Date 07/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00732.x
    ISSN 00222445
    URL http://blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00732.x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • The effect of trataka, a yogic visual concentration practice, on critical flicker fusion

    Type Journal Article
    Author Taruna Mallick
    Author Ravi Kulkarni
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to study the change in the critical flicker fusion (CFF) after a yogic visual concentration practice (trataka). DESIGN: Thirty (30) subjects participated in a study where they were evaluated for the CFF immediately before and after the practice. The subjects also participated in a comparable control session. SUBJECTS: The subjects were 30 volunteers in the age range 25-40. Fifteen (15) of the volunteers were male. The mean age was 31.33 ± 4.67. RESULTS: The CFF showed a statistically significant increase from 37.35 ± 2.84 to 38.66 ± 2.91 after the yoga practice of trataka. The control session did not produce a statistically significant change in the CFF. CONCLUSIONS: An increase in the CFF is seen immediately after the yogic concentration practice called trataka.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 16
    Issue 12
    Pages 1265-1267
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2010.0012
    ISSN 1557-7708
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/21091294
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:59:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21091294
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
  • Religion and health: the application of a cognitive-behavioural framework.

    Type Journal Article
    Author John Maltby
    Author Christopher Alan Lewis
    Author Anna Freeman
    Author Liza Day
    Author Sharon Mary Cruise
    Author Michael J. Breslin
    Abstract The empirical examination of the relationship between religion and health has often lacked theoretical direction. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between dimensions of religiosity and health within the context of James and Wells' cognitive-behavioural framework of religion. A community sample of 177 UK adults completed measures of religious orientation, religious coping, and prayer activity alongside the SF-36 Health Survey. Consistent with the cognitive-behavioural framework of religion, intrinsic religiosity and meditative prayer scores accounted for unique variance in both physical and mental health scores over a number of religious measures. These findings suggest the potential usefulness and importance of a cognitive-behavioural framework to understand the relationship between religion (as measured by meditative prayer and intrinsic religiosity) and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 749-759
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802596930
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • The role of religion in HIV-positive women's disclosure experiences and coping strategies in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

    Type Journal Article
    Author Suzanne Maman
    Author Rebecca Cathcart
    Author Gillian Burkhardt
    Author Serge Omba
    Author Frieda Behets
    Abstract Literature from the U.S. has documented the importance of spirituality on the psychological health of people living with HIV/AIDS; however there is little published data on the ways in which people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa turn to religion for support. We conducted 40 in-depth interviews with HIV-positive women who were pregnant or had recently given birth in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo to inform the development of a comprehensive family-centered HIV treatment and care program. Women described how they relied upon their faith and turned to church leaders when they were diagnosed with HIV and prepared to share their diagnosis with others. The women used prayer to overcome the initial shock, sadness and anger of learning their HIV diagnosis. They turned to their church leaders to help them prepare for disclosing their diagnosis to others, including their partners. Church leaders were also important targets for disclosure by some women. Women's faith played an important role in their long-term coping strategies. Conceptualizing their infection as a path chosen by God, and believing that God has the power to cure their infection comforted women and provided them with hope. In settings like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where there is a strong foundation of faith, we need to recognize how individuals draw upon their different health belief systems in order to develop and implement coherent and effective prevention, treatment and care strategies.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 68
    Issue 5
    Pages 965-970
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.12.028
    ISSN 0277-9536
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VBF-4VBK4JJ-8/2/86a17da4afe2e2114ace5c1619a8d8c8
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:35:33 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Coping
    • Democratic Republic of Congo
    • HIV/AIDS
    • religion
    • Sub-Saharan Africa
    • WOMEN

    Notes:

    • Literature from the U.S. has documented the importance of spirituality on the psychological health of people living with HIV/AIDS; however there is little published data on the ways in which people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa turn to religion for support. We conducted 40 in-depth interviews with HIV-positive women who were pregnant or had recently given birth in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo to inform the development of a comprehensive family-centered HIV treatment and care program. Women described how they relied upon their faith and turned to church leaders when they were diagnosed with HIV and prepared to share their diagnosis with others. The women used prayer to overcome the initial shock, sadness and anger of learning their HIV diagnosis. They turned to their church leaders to help them prepare for disclosing their diagnosis to others, including their partners. Church leaders were also important targets for disclosure by some women. Women's faith played an important role in their long-term coping strategies. Conceptualizing their infection as a path chosen by God, and believing that God has the power to cure their infection comforted women and provided them with hope. In settings like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where there is a strong foundation of faith, we need to recognize how individuals draw upon their different health belief systems in order to develop and implement coherent and effective prevention, treatment and care strategies.

  • Ayurveda and yoga in cardiovascular diseases

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ravinder Mamtani
    Author Ronac Mamtani
    Abstract Ayurveda is derived from 2 Sanskrit words, namely, "Ayus" and "Veda," meaning life and knowledge, respectively. It literally means science of life. Ayurveda, of which yoga is an integral part, is widely practiced in India and is gaining acceptance in many countries around the world. It is a comprehensive and a holistic system, the focus of which is on the body, mind, and consciousness. The Ayurvedic treatment consists of the use herbal preparations, diet, yoga, meditation, and other practices. Based on the review of available studies, the evidence is not convincing that any Ayurvedic herbal treatment is effective in the treatment of heart disease or hypertension. However, the use of certain spices and herbs such as garlic and turmeric in an overall healthy diet is appropriate. Many herbs used by Ayurvedic practitioners show promise and could be appropriate for larger randomized trials. Yoga, an integral part of Ayurveda, has been shown to be useful to patients with heart disease and hypertension. Yoga reduces anxiety, promotes well-being, and improves quality of life. Its safety profile is excellent. Its use as a complementary therapeutic regimen under medical supervision is appropriate and could be worth considering.
    Publication Cardiology in Review
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 155-162
    Date 2005 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Cardiol Rev
    ISSN 1061-5377
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/15834238
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 2:33:07 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15834238
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cardiovascular Diseases
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Medicine, Ayurvedic
    • Phytotherapy
    • Plant Extracts
    • Prognosis
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Risk Assessment
    • Sensitivity and Specificity
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Survival Rate
    • Treatment Outcome
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • Based on the review of available studies, the evidence is not convincing that any Ayurvedic herbal treatment is effective in the treatment of heart disease or hypertension. However, the use of certain spices and herbs such as garlic and turmeric in an overall healthy diet is appropriate. Yoga, an integral part of Ayurveda, has been shown to be useful to patients with heart disease and hypertension.

  • The third therapeutic system: faith healing strategies in the context of a generalized AIDS epidemic

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nicolette D Manglos
    Author Jenny Trinitapoli
    Abstract Faith healing in sub-Saharan Africa has primarily been studied qualitatively among Pentecostal-Charismatic groups, and considered as its own phenomenon with little attention to its relationship to other modes of healing. Using data from Malawi, a religiously diverse African country with high HIV prevalence, we find that faith healing is pervasive across multiple religious traditions. For individuals, attending a faith healing congregation is associated with lower levels of generalized worry about AIDS, and this association is driven by those who switched churches before AIDS became widespread in rural areas. Use of condoms and traditional medicine are, on the other hand, positively associated with worry about AIDS. We argue that faith healing can be understood as a third therapeutic system that coexists with the well-documented biomedical and traditional systems. The success of faith healing approaches lies in their unique ability to combine individual-pragmatic and communal-ritualized aspects of healing to inform interpretations of the AIDS epidemic and its consequences.
    Publication Journal of Health and Social Behavior
    Volume 52
    Issue 1
    Pages 107-122
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Health Soc Behav
    DOI 10.1177/0022146510395025
    ISSN 0022-1465
    Short Title The third therapeutic system
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21362615
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21362615
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM

    Notes:

    • Faith healing in sub-Saharan Africa has primarily been studied qualitatively among Pentecostal-Charismatic groups, and considered as its own phenomenon with little attention to its relationship to other modes of healing. Using data from Malawi, a religiously diverse African country with high HIV prevalence, we find that faith healing is pervasive across multiple religious traditions. For individuals, attending a faith healing congregation is associated with lower levels of generalized worry about AIDS, and this association is driven by those who switched churches before AIDS became widespread in rural areas. Use of condoms and traditional medicine are, on the other hand, positively associated with worry about AIDS. We argue that faith healing can be understood as a third therapeutic system that coexists with the well-documented biomedical and traditional systems. The success of faith healing approaches lies in their unique ability to combine individual-pragmatic and communal-ritualized aspects of healing to inform interpretations of the AIDS epidemic and its consequences.

  • Influence of Yoga and Ayurveda on self-rated sleep in a geriatric population

    Type Journal Article
    Author N K Manjunath
    Author Shirley Telles
    Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Sleep in older persons is characterized by decreased ability to stay asleep, resulting in fragmented sleep and reduced daytime alertness. Pharmacological treatment of insomnia in older persons is associated with hazardous side effects. Hence, the present study was designed to compare the effects of Yoga and Ayurveda on the self rated sleep in a geriatric population. METHODS: Of the 120 residents from a home for the aged, 69 were stratified based on age (five year intervals) and randomly allocated to three groups i.e., Yoga (physical postures, relaxation techniques, voluntarily regulated breathing and lectures on yoga philosophy), Ayurveda (a herbal preparation), and Wait-list control (no intervention). The groups were evaluated for self-assessment of sleep over a one week period at baseline, and after three and six months of the respective interventions. RESULTS: The Yoga group showed a significant decrease in the time taken to fall asleep (approximate group average decrease: 10 min, P<0.05), an increase in the total number of hours slept (approximate group average increase: 60 min, P< 0.05) and in the feeling of being rested in the morning based on a rating scale (P<0.05) after six months. The other groups showed no significant change. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: Yoga practice improved different aspects of sleep in a geriatric population.
    Publication The Indian Journal of Medical Research
    Volume 121
    Issue 5
    Pages 683-690
    Date May 2005
    Journal Abbr Indian J. Med. Res
    ISSN 0971-5916
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/15937373
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 2:32:07 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15937373
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Female
    • Humans
    • India
    • Male
    • Malvaceae
    • Medicine, Ayurvedic
    • Phyllanthus emblica
    • Piper
    • Plant Preparations
    • Sleep
    • Terminalia
    • Time Factors
    • Withania
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • The present study was designed to compare the effects of Yoga and Ayurveda on the self rated sleep in a geriatric population. The Yoga group showed a significant decrease in the time taken to fall asleep, an increase in the total number of hours slept and in the feeling of being rested in the morning based on a rating scale (P<0.05) after six months. The other groups showed no significant change.

  • Enchanted journeys: near-death experiences and the emergency nurse

    Type Journal Article
    Author L K Manley
    Publication Journal of Emergency Nursing: JEN: Official Publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
    Volume 22
    Issue 4
    Pages 311-316
    Date Aug 1996
    Journal Abbr J Emerg Nurs
    ISSN 0099-1767
    Short Title Enchanted journeys
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/8936142
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:02:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 8936142
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Critical Illness
    • Death
    • Emergency Nursing
    • Humans
    • Hypoxia, Brain
    • Male
    • Organizations
  • Religion, spirituality, social support, and perceived stress in pregnant and postpartum Hispanic women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joshua R Mann
    Author Jana Mannan
    Author Luis Antonio Quiñones
    Author Allyson A Palmer
    Author Myriam Torres
    Abstract To examine the association between religion/spirituality and perceived stress in prenatal and postpartum Hispanic women. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: An urban, publicly funded hospital in California. Participants: Two hundred and forty-eight pregnant and postpartum Hispanic women between age 18 and 45 years. Patients presenting for prenatal or postpartum care or for the first infant visit were recruited to participate in the current study. Participants completed surveys consisting of questions about demographic characteristics, religiosity, spirituality, social support, and stress. Most participants were unmarried, low-income women with low educational attainment. Ninety percent of women reported a religious affiliation, with more than one half (57.4%) listing their religious affiliation as "Catholic." Overall religiousness/spirituality was significantly associated with increased negative experiences of stress in women who selected English language instruments (Spearman's r=.341, p=.007); there was no such relationship in women who selected Spanish language instruments. Social support and greater relationship quality with a significant other were significantly associated with reduced perceived stress in Spanish reading and English reading women. In this sample of pregnant and postpartum Latinas, religiousness/spirituality was not associated with reduced perceived stress and was in fact associated with increased perceived stress among women who selected English-language surveys. Additional research is needed to investigate this association. On the other hand, the current study reinforces the importance of social support and relationship quality for pregnant and postpartum women.
    Publication Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing: JOGNN / NAACOG
    Volume 39
    Issue 6
    Pages 645-657
    Date Nov 2010
    Journal Abbr J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2010.01188.x
    ISSN 1552-6909
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21039849
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:19:21 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • Using meditation for less stress and better wellbeing - A seminar for GPs

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ramesh Manoch
    Author Amy Gordon
    Author Deborah Black
    Author Gin Malhi
    Author Raymond Seidler
    Abstract BACKGROUND: General practitioner stress is a recognised problem for which meditation is a potential intervention. The aim of this project was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of an initiative to train GPs in a set of evidence based meditation skills. METHOD: General practitioners attended a seminar comprising a 1 hour lecture on GP wellbeing, a 45 minute session on meditation, meditation skills practise in groups with an experienced instructor, a larger group review and the provision of take home kits. At the seminar's conclusion, GPs were offered the option of meditating at home twice daily. Measures were taken before and after the seminar and after 2 weeks home practise. The measures included the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale - 10 (K10), personal experience rating by visual analogue scale, and diary card. RESULTS: A total of 299 GPs attended the seminar, from which 293 provided visual analogue scale on the day. Pre- and post-K10 data was provided by 111 GPs. The mean pre-K10 score for these GPs was 17.2 (SD: 5.67); the post-K10 score was 14.7 (SD: 3.92), with 25.1% of the 'at risk' participants moving to the 'low risk' category. Mean compliance with meditation was 79.5%. DISCUSSION: A meditation workshop for GP wellbeing is practical, feasible and appealing to GPs. Quantitative feedback from the workshop indicates its potential as an effective mental health promotion and prevention strategy.
    Publication Australian Family Physician
    Volume 38
    Issue 6
    Pages 454-458
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Aust Fam Physician
    ISSN 0300-8495
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:54:15 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19530378
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Education, Medical, Continuing
    • Family Practice
    • Feasibility Studies
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Pain Measurement
    • Stress, Psychological
  • A randomized, controlled trial of meditation for work stress, anxiety and depressed mood in full-time workers

    Type Journal Article
    Author R Manocha
    Author D Black
    Author J Sarris
    Author C Stough
    Abstract Objective. To assess the effect of meditation on work stress, anxiety and mood in full-time workers. Methods. 178 adult workers participated in an 8-week, 3-arm randomized controlled trial comparing a "mental silence" approach to meditation (n = 59) to a "relaxation" active control (n = 56) and a wait-list control (n = 63). Participants were assessed before and after using Psychological Strain Questionnaire (PSQ), a subscale of the larger Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI), the State component of the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI), and the depression-dejection (DD) subscale of the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Results. There was a significant improvement for the meditation group compared to both the relaxation control and the wait-list groups the PSQ (P = .026), and DD (P = .019). Conclusions. Mental silence-orientated meditation, in this case Sahaja Yoga meditation, is a safe and effective strategy for dealing with work stress and depressive feelings. The findings suggest that "thought reduction" or "mental silence" may have specific effects relevant to work stress and hence occupational health.
    Publication Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM
    Volume 2011
    Pages 960583
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
    DOI 10.1155/2011/960583
    ISSN 1741-4288
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21716708
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:11:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21716708
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
  • Serum cytokines, mood and sleep after a qigong program: is qigong an effective psychobiological tool?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Juan M Manzaneque
    Author Francisca M Vera
    Author Francisco M Rodriguez
    Author Gaspar J Garcia
    Author Laura Leyva
    Author Maria J Blanca
    Abstract Qigong is an ancient Chinese psychosomatic exercise that integrates movement, breathing and meditation into a single multifaceted practice. The present study was designed to assess the effects of qigong practice on serum cytokines, mood and subjective sleep quality. Experimental participants underwent a qigong training program for one month. Blood samples for the quantification of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma, and several instruments to assess anxiety and depression symptoms as well as SSQ, were obtained before and after the program. Our findings revealed that while the practice of qigong for one month did not alter serum cytokines, it enhanced psychological well-being, including sleep duration.
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 60-67
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr J Health Psychol
    DOI 10.1177/1359105308097946
    ISSN 1359-1053
    Short Title Serum cytokines, mood and sleep after a qigong program
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19129338
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:09:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19129338
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Affect
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Cytokines
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Questionnaires
    • Sleep
    • Time Factors
    • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
    • Young Adult
  • Relaxation training for anxiety: a ten-years systematic review with meta-analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gian Manzoni
    Author Francesco Pagnini
    Author Gianluca Castelnuovo
    Author Enrico Molinari
    Abstract Relaxation training is a common treatment for anxiety problems. Lacking is a recent quantitative meta-analysis that enhances understanding of the variability and clinical significance of anxiety reduction outcomes after relaxation treatment. METHODS:All studies (1997-2007), both RCT, observational and without control group, evaluating the efficacy of relaxation training (Jacobson's progressive relaxation, autogenic training, applied relaxation and meditation) for anxiety problems and disorders were identified by comprehensive electronic searches with Pubmed, Psychinfo and Cochrane Registers, by checking references of relevant studies and of other reviews. Our primary outcome was anxiety measured with psychometric questionnaires. Meta-analysis was undertaken synthesizing the data from all trials, distinguishing within and between effect sizes.RESULTS:27 studies qualified for the inclusion in the meta-analysis. As hypothesized, relaxation training showed a medium-large effect size in the treatment of anxiety. Cohen's d was .57 (95% CI: .52 to .68) in the within analysis and .51 (95% CI: .46 to .634) in the between group analysis. Efficacy was higher for meditation, among volunteers and for longer treatments. Implications and limitations are discussed.CONCLUSION:The results show consistent and significant efficacy of relaxation training in reducing anxiety. This meta-analysis extends the existing literature through facilitation of a better understanding of the variability and clinical significance of anxiety improvement subsequent to relaxation training.
    Publication BMC Psychiatry
    Volume 8
    Issue 1
    Pages 41
    Date 2008
    DOI 10.1186/1471-244X-8-41
    ISSN 1471-244X
    Short Title Relaxation training for anxiety
    URL http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/8/41
    Accessed Saturday, September 05, 2009 1:07:44 PM
    Library Catalog BioMed Central and More
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Relaxation training is a common treatment for anxiety problems. Lacking is a recent quantitative meta-analysis that enhances understanding of the variability and clinical significance of anxiety reduction outcomes after relaxation treatment. Meta-analysis was undertaken synthesizing the data from all trials, distinguishing within and between effect sizes. The results show consistent and significant efficacy of relaxation training in reducing anxiety.

  • Cancer survivors with unmet needs were more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jun J Mao
    Author Steve C Palmer
    Author Joseph B Straton
    Author Peter F Cronholm
    Author Shimrit Keddem
    Author Kathryn Knott
    Author Marjorie A Bowman
    Author Frances K Barg
    Abstract PURPOSE: Despite advancements in cancer care, cancer survivors continue to experience a substantial level of physical and emotional unmet needs (UMN). This study aims to determine the relationship between patients' perceived UMN and their use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to help with cancer problems during and after treatment. METHODS: A mailed, cross-sectional survey was completed by 614 cancer survivors identified through the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry 3.5 to 4 years from initial diagnosis. Relationships among UMN and CAM use along with clinical and socio-demographic factors were examined. RESULTS: Respondents who identified any UMN were 63% more likely to report CAM use than those without UMN (58% vs. 36%), p < 0.001. UMN remained the only independent predictor (adjusted odds ratio = 2.30, 95% confidence interval = 1.57-3.36, p < 0.001) of CAM use in a multivariate logistic regression model that included age, sex, marital status, education, previous chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Adjusted for covariates, UMN in domains of emotional, physical, nutritional, financial, informational, treatment-related, employment-related, and daily living activities were all related to CAM use, whereas UMN in transportation, home care, medical staff, family and spirituality were not related to CAM use. Patients who experienced multiple types of unmet needs were also more likely to use multiple types of CAM (p < 0.001 for model). CONCLUSIONS: Cancer survivors who experienced unmet needs within the existing cancer treatment and support system were more likely to use CAM to help with cancer problems. Research is needed to determine if appropriate CAM use decreases unmet needs among cancer survivors.
    Publication Journal of Cancer Survivorship: Research and Practice
    Volume 2
    Issue 2
    Pages 116-124
    Date Jun 2008
    Journal Abbr J Cancer Surviv
    DOI 10.1007/s11764-008-0052-3
    ISSN 1932-2267
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18648980
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:05:59 PM
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    Extra PMID: 18648980
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Complementary Therapies
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Educational Status
    • Employment
    • Female
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Income
    • Male
    • Marital Status
    • Massage
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • NEEDS assessment
    • Neoplasms
    • Odds Ratio
    • social support
    • Survivors

    Notes:

    • Purpose: Despite advancements in cancer care, cancer survivors continue to experience a substantial level of physical and emotional unmet needs (UMN). This study aims to determine the relationship between patients’ perceived UMN and their use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to help with cancer problems during and after treatment.

  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction in therapeutic community treatment: a stage 1 trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marianne T Marcus
    Author Joy Schmitz
    Author Gerald Moeller
    Author Patricia Liehr
    Author Stanley G Cron
    Author Paul Swank
    Author Susan Bankston
    Author Deidra D Carroll
    Author L Kian Granmayeh
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: This trial compared Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, adapted for therapeutic community treatment (MBTC), with treatment as usual (TAU) for reducing stress and increasing retention in a residential facility for substance use disorders. METHOD: Four-hundred and fifty-nine participants, who met DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence were recruited (TAU = 164, MBTC = 295). RESULTS: A survival analysis of time to dropout did not show a significant difference between groups, however level of participation in MBTC was associated with decreased likelihood of dropout (p = < .01), and higher Symptoms of Stress Inventory (SOSI) scores at baseline were associated with increased likelihood of dropout (p = .03). CONCLUSION: The association between retention and level of stress on intake as well as level of participation in MBTC provides support for further research on integrating MBTC into therapeutic community treatment.
    Publication The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
    Volume 35
    Issue 2
    Pages 103-108
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse
    DOI 10.1080/00952990902823079
    ISSN 1097-9891
    Short Title Mindfulness-based stress reduction in therapeutic community treatment
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:31:05 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19322731
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Patient Dropouts
    • Residential Treatment
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Therapeutic Community
    • Time Factors
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Handbook of New Spiritual Consciousness: Theory and Research

    Type Book
    Author Ferenc Margitics
    Publisher Nova Science Publishers
    Date 2009-10
    ISBN 1608760049
    Short Title Handbook of New Spiritual Consciousness
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Validation of a typology of religious experience and its relationship to the psychotic experience.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert D. Margolis
    Author Kirk W. Elifson
    Abstract A typology of religious experience was validated and an empirical determination of the similarities between the religious and psychotic experiences was made. Expert and non-expert raters (n=16) were asked to differentiate religious experiences (n=12), fabricated religious experiences (n=12), and psychotic experiences (n=12) using the typology of religious experience. A split plot, repeated measures analysis of variance yielded three significant findings: a) Expert raters performed significantly better than non-expert raters at identifying the three types of experiences. B) Non-expert raters with the typology performed as well as expert raters and significantly better than non-expert raters without the typology. C) Psychotic experiences were more easily identified than were religious or fabricated experiences. [j].
    Publication Journal of Psychology & Theology
    Volume 11
    Issue 2
    Pages 135-141
    Date Sum 1983
    ISSN 0091-6471
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000932670&…
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:24:44 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Experience (Religion)
    • peer reviewed
    • PSYCHOSES
    • Typology (Psychology)

    Notes:

    • A typology of religious experience was validated and an empirical determination of the similarities between the religious and psychotic experiences was made. Expert and non-expert raters (n=16) were asked to differentiate religious experiences (n=12), fabricated religious experiences (n=12), and psychotic experiences (n=12) using the typology of religious experience. A split plot, repeated measures analysis of variance yielded three significant findings: a) Expert raters performed significantly better than non-expert raters at identifying the three types of experiences. B) Non-expert raters with the typology performed as well as expert raters and significantly better than non-expert raters without the typology. C) Psychotic experiences were more easily identified than were religious or fabricated experiences.

  • A Typology of Religious Experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert D. Margolis
    Author Kirk W. Elifson
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 18
    Issue 1
    Pages 61-67
    Date Mar., 1979
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/1385379
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1979 / Copyright © 1979 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Religiosity and Spirituality Among Persons With Spinal Cord Injury: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Irmo Marini
    Author Noreen M. Glover-Graf
    Abstract A total of 157 persons with spinal cord injury completed the Spirituality and Spinal Cord Injury Survey in relation to their spiritual and/or religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices in terms of adapting to their disability. Factor analysis accounting for 69% of the variance revealed four factors related to Spiritual Help and Improvement (36%), Spiritual Decline (22%), Punishment/Atonement (6%), and Body/Mind Improvements (5%). Participants were further classified by time since injury, which statistically indicated that some individuals tend to become more focused on religious or spiritual practices and beliefs regarding cure soon after injury; however, these behaviors and beliefs tend to dissipate over time. The majority of participants expressed overall satisfaction with God or a Spiritual Power (G/SP) and that G/SP helped them cope, gave them meaning, and was a source of happiness in their lives. Implications for rehabilitation counselors and educators are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
    Publication Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin
    Volume 54
    Issue 2
    Pages 82-92
    Date 01 January 2011
    DOI 10.1177/0034355210368868
    ISSN 00343552
    Short Title Religiosity and Spirituality Among Persons With Spinal Cord Injury
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • CONTINUING education units
    • CORRELATION (Statistics)
    • DEMOGRAPHY
    • EDUCATIONAL attainment
    • EMPLOYMENT (Economic theory)
    • factor analysis
    • PEOPLE with disabilities
    • POPULATION geography
    • religion
    • RESEARCH -- Evaluation
    • SAMPLING (Statistics)
    • SCALE analysis (Psychology)
    • SCALE items
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • SEX distribution (Demography)
    • SOUTHERN States
    • SPINAL cord -- Wounds & injuries -- Psychological aspects
    • spirituality
    • SURVEYS
    • Time
    • T-test (Statistics)

    Notes:

    • A total of 157 persons with spinal cord injury completed the Spirituality and Spinal Cord Injury Survey in relation to their spiritual and/or religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices in terms of adapting to their disability.  The majority of participants expressed overall satisfaction with God or a Spiritual Power (G/SP) and that G/SP helped them cope, gave them meaning, and was a source of happiness in their lives. Implications for rehabilitation counselors and educators are discussed.

  • Aging, Religiosity, and Adjustment: A Longitudinal Analysis.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kyraikos S. Markides
    Abstract The relationships between church attendance, self-rated religiosity, and private prayer with aging are investigated with longitudinal data on older Mexican-Americans and Anglos. It is found that church attendance and practice of private prayer remained relatively stable over time (4 years) and that self-rated religiosity increased somewhat. Of the three measures only church attendance showed a significant effect on life satisfaction (net of other important predictors of life satisfaction) for both ethnic groups and at both points of observation. Among Anglos the effect of church attendance on life satisfaction increased significantly during the study interval.
    Publication Journal of Gerontology
    Volume 38
    Issue 5
    Pages 621-25
    Date 1983
    Journal Abbr Journal of Gerontology
    Short Title Aging, Religiosity, and Adjustment
    Library Catalog ERIC
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Sunday, November 27, 2011 6:32:41 AM

    Notes:

    • This article investigates the relationships between church attendance, self-rated religiosity, and private prayer with aging and data on older Mexican-Americans and Anglos. The study showed that church attendance and practice of private prayer remained relatively stable over time (4 years) and that self-rated religiosity increased somewhat. Of the three measures only church attendance showed a significant effect on life satisfaction (net of other important predictors of life satisfaction) for both ethnic groups and at both points of observation. Among Anglos the effect of church attendance on life satisfaction increased significantly during the study interval.

  • Do dispositional rumination and/or mindfulness moderate the relationship between life hassles and psychological dysfunction in adolescents?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anthony D G Marks
    Author Donna J Sobanski
    Author Donald W Hine
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: This study examined the moderating effects of dispositional rumination and mindfulness on the relationship between recent life hassles and adolescent mental health (operationalized as symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress). METHOD: Data collected from a sample of 317 Australian high school students comprised an inventory of recent life hassles, measures of dispositional rumination and dispositional mindfulness and an assessment of current symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. RESULTS: An increased incidence of recent life hassles was reliably associated with increased depressive symptoms, anxiety and stress. However, moderation analyses revealed that dispositional rumination exacerbated the relationship between life hassles and symptoms of depression and anxiety, whereas dispositional mindfulness attenuated the relationship between life hassles and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase dispositional mindfulness in childhood are proposed as a method of protecting the psychological well-being of adolescents confronted by inevitable everyday life stress.
    Publication The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
    Volume 44
    Issue 9
    Pages 831-838
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr Aust N Z J Psychiatry
    DOI 10.3109/00048674.2010.487478
    ISSN 1440-1614
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:44:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20815670
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • Near-death-experiences in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors. Meaningful phenomena or just fantasy of death?

    Type Journal Article
    Author P R Martens
    Abstract Frequent criticism concerning the investigation of near-death-experiences (NDEs) has been the lack of uniform nomenclature and the failure to control the studied population with an elimination of interfering factors such as administration of sedatives and nonspecific stress responses. Greyson's NDE Scale is a 16-item questionnaire developed to standardize further research into mechanisms and effects of NDEs. Using this scale, we interviewed good out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors, with documented time-intervals between call for help and restoration of spontaneous circulation, yet without obvious brain damage or known, psychiatric history. The incidence of such experiences appeared to be extremely low among survivors of genuine cardiac arrest events. Alteration of information processing under the influence of hypoxia and hypercarbia only occurs after several minutes of brain ischaemia. International multicentric data collection within the framework for standardized reporting of cardiac arrest events will be the only satisfying method to address this fascinating and intriguing issue.
    Publication Resuscitation
    Volume 27
    Issue 2
    Pages 171-175
    Date Mar 1994
    Journal Abbr Resuscitation
    ISSN 0300-9572
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/8029538
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:08:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 8029538
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Brain Ischemia
    • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
    • Fantasy
    • Heart Arrest
    • Humans
    • Questionnaires
    • Registries
    • Thanatology

    Notes:

    • Frequent criticism concerning the investigation of near-death-experiences (NDEs) has been the lack of uniform nomenclature and the failure to control the studied population with an elimination of interfering factors such as administration of sedatives and nonspecific stress responses. Greyson’s NDE Scale is a 16-item questionnaire developed to standardize further research into mechanisms and effects of NDEs. Using this scale, we interviewed good out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors, with documented time-intervals between call for help and restoration of spontaneous circulation, yet without obvious brain damage or known, psychiatric history. The incidence of such experiences appeared to be extremely low among survivors of genuine cardiac arrest events. Alteration of information processing under the influence of hypoxia and hypercarbia only occurs after several minutes of brain ischaemia. International multicentric data collection within the framework for standardized reporting of cardiac arrest events will be the only satisfying method to address this fascinating and intriguing issue.

  • Antecedents of adult wellbeing: adolescent religiosity and health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Terence Martin
    Author Bruce Kirkcaldy
    Author Georg Siefen
    Abstract An extant of literature has demonstrated an apparent connection between religiosity and physical and psychological health, yet there is a scarcity of studies focussing on the impact of religion on health among children and adolescents. The current study examined associations between self-report data on self-image, physical and psychological health and death-related cognitions in a large representative sample of German high-school students. Almost 1,000 German adolescents (aged 14-18 years) were administered a comprehensive series of questionnaires aimed at assessing anxiety/depression, trait addiction, smoking and drinking behaviour, physical ill-health reports, and self-perception of self-image, parental acceptance and educational attainment. Several statements were incorporated to assess self-injury and suicidal ideation. Just over half of the adolescents (56.9 per cent) did not attend church at all. Level of school influenced church attendance with secondary school adolescents attending least. Religious denomination also exerted a major role on church attendance with Muslims attending most regularly followed by Roman Catholics and then Protestants. Males were more likely to be non-attendees. Regular church attendees tended to adopt more healthy life-styles, they exercised more regularly, smoked less, were more likely to display higher school grades in linguistic – but not mathematical – competency. Conversely, there was some indication that negative affect, reflected by higher scores on the social problems scale was higher among church attenders. Religiosity was scarcely related to suicidal ideation among adolescents.
    Publication Journal of Managerial Psychology
    Volume 18
    Issue 5
    Pages 453 - 470
    Date 2003
    DOI 10.1108/02683940310484044
    Short Title Antecedents of adult wellbeing
    URL http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/02683940310484044
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:09:58 PM
    Library Catalog Emerald Publishing
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Churches
    • Health
    • mental health
    • Psychology
    • religion
    • Young people

    Notes:

    • The current study examined associations between self-report data on self-image, physical and psychological health and death-related cognitions in a large representative sample of German high-school students. Regular church attendees tended to adopt more healthy life-styles, they exercised more regularly, smoked less, were more likely to display higher school grades in linguistic – but not mathematical – competency. Conversely, there was some indication that negative affect, reflected by higher scores on the social problems scale was higher among church attenders.

  • The mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) reduces stress-related psychological distress in healthcare professionals.

    Type Journal Article
    Author A Martín-Asuero
    Author Gloria García-Banda
    Abstract This semi-experimental study examines how Mindfulness facilitates a distress reduction in a group of health professionals. The sample comprises 29 professionals seeking stress reduction who undertook an 8 weeks psico-educative intervention, involving 28 hours of class, based on a program called Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction or MBSR. Results show a 35% reduction of distress, from percentile 75 to 45, combined with a 30% reduction in rumination and a 20% decrease in negative affect. These benefits lasted during the 3 months of the follow up period. The correlation analysis indicates that the decrease in distress is significantly related to the other two variables. These results confirm the effectiveness of MBSR to decrease distress and its applicability in training programs for health professionals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication The Spanish Journal of Psychology
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 897-905
    Date November 2010
    ISSN 1138-7416
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • Distress
    • health care professionals
    • Health Personnel
    • Mindfulness
    • mindfulness based stress reduction program
    • Psychological Stress
    • stress management
    • stress related psychological distress
  • Gender differences in religious practices, spiritual experiences and health: results from the US General Social Survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joanna Maselko
    Author Laura D Kubzansky
    Abstract Even though a majority of Americans report having spiritual/religious beliefs, the role of different dimensions of spirituality/religiosity in health is not well understood. Moreover, given that the experience of spirituality/religiosity differs for men and women, it is possible that the strength of the association between spirituality/religiosity and health may also differ by gender. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between spirituality/religiosity and three markers of health and well-being, and any gender differences in these relationships. First, we test the hypothesis that engagement with formal religious institutions (i.e. public religious activity) will be more beneficial for men than for women and we examine the role of denominational affiliation in any observed differences. Second, we directly compare effects of three different kinds of religious activities (public and private religious activity and spiritual experience) on health and well-being. Data are from the 1998 US General Social Survey, a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized adults. Participants were asked about the frequency of engaging in public and private religious activities and having spiritual experiences. Psychological distress, happiness and self-rated health were used as indicators of health and well-being. Results suggest that weekly public religious activity was significantly associated with better health and well-being. Furthermore, this relationship was stronger for men than women and was influenced by denominational affiliation. When public religious activity, private religious activity and spiritual experiences were considered simultaneously, public religious activity emerged as the most consistent predictor of health and well-being among men. Among women, both public religious activity and spiritual experiences maintained an independent association with the health and well-being. These results suggest that it may not be appropriate to generalize findings about the relationship between spirituality/religiosity and health from one form of spirituality/religiosity to another, across denominations, or to assume effects are uniform for men and women.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 62
    Issue 11
    Pages 2848-2860
    Date Jun 2006
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.11.008
    ISSN 0277-9536
    Short Title Gender differences in religious practices, spiritual experiences and health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16359765
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:31:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16359765
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • religion
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • United States

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between spirituality/religiosity and three markers of health and well-being, and any gender differences in these relationships.

  • Religious service attendance and spiritual well-being are differentially associated with risk of major depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author J Maselko
    Author S E Gilman
    Author S Buka
    Abstract BACKGROUND The complex relationships between religiosity, spirituality and the risk of DSM-IV depression are not well understood. METHOD We investigated the independent influence of religious service attendance and two dimensions of spiritual well-being (religious and existential) on the lifetime risk of major depression. Data came from the New England Family Study (NEFS) cohort (n=918, mean age=39 years). Depression according to DSM-IV criteria was ascertained using structured diagnostic interviews. Odds ratios (ORs) for the associations between high, medium and low tertiles of spiritual well-being and for religious service attendance and the lifetime risk of depression were estimated using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS Religious service attendance was associated with 30% lower odds of depression. In addition, individuals in the top tertile of existential well-being had a 70% lower odds of depression compared to individuals in the bottom tertile. Contrary to our original hypotheses, however, higher levels of religious well-being were associated with 1.5 times higher odds of depression. CONCLUSIONS Religious and existential well-being may be differentially associated with likelihood of depression. Given the complex interactions between religiosity and spirituality dimensions in relation to risk of major depression, the reliance on a single domain measure of religiosity or spirituality (e.g. religious service attendance) in research or clinical settings is discouraged.
    Publication Psychological Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 6
    Pages 1009-1017
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Med
    DOI 10.1017/S0033291708004418
    ISSN 1469-8978
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18834554
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18834554
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Boston
    • Cohort Studies
    • Depressive Disorder, Major
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interview, Psychological
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Rhode Island
    • Risk Factors

    Notes:

    • We investigated the independent influence of religious service attendance and two dimensions of spiritual well-being (religious and existential) on the lifetime risk of major depression. Results: Religious service attendance was associated with 30% lower odds of depression.

  • Religious service attendance and spiritual well-being are differentially associated with risk of major depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author J Maselko
    Author S E Gilman
    Author S Buka
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The complex relationships between religiosity, spirituality and the risk of DSM-IV depression are not well understood. METHOD: We investigated the independent influence of religious service attendance and two dimensions of spiritual well-being (religious and existential) on the lifetime risk of major depression. Data came from the New England Family Study (NEFS) cohort (n=918, mean age=39 years). Depression according to DSM-IV criteria was ascertained using structured diagnostic interviews. Odds ratios (ORs) for the associations between high, medium and low tertiles of spiritual well-being and for religious service attendance and the lifetime risk of depression were estimated using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Religious service attendance was associated with 30% lower odds of depression. In addition, individuals in the top tertile of existential well-being had a 70% lower odds of depression compared to individuals in the bottom tertile. Contrary to our original hypotheses, however, higher levels of religious well-being were associated with 1.5 times higher odds of depression. CONCLUSIONS: Religious and existential well-being may be differentially associated with likelihood of depression. Given the complex interactions between religiosity and spirituality dimensions in relation to risk of major depression, the reliance on a single domain measure of religiosity or spirituality (e.g. religious service attendance) in research or clinical settings is discouraged.
    Publication Psychological Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 6
    Pages 1009-1017
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Med
    DOI 10.1017/S0033291708004418
    ISSN 1469-8978
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18834554
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:29:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18834554
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Boston
    • Cohort Studies
    • Depressive Disorder, Major
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interview, Psychological
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Rhode Island
    • Risk Factors
  • Do spirituality and religiosity help in the management of cravings in substance abuse treatment?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sarah J Mason
    Author Frank P Deane
    Author Peter J Kelly
    Author Trevor P Crowe
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of spirituality, religiosity and self-efficacy with drug and/or alcohol cravings. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 77 male participants at an Australian Salvation Army residential rehabilitation service in 2007. The survey included questions relating to the participants' drug and/or alcohol use and also measures for spirituality, religiosity, cravings, and self-efficacy. The sample included participants aged between 19 and 74 years, with more than 57% reporting a diagnosis for a mental disorder and 78% reporting polysubstance misuse with alcohol most frequently endorsed as the primary drug of concern (71%). Seventy-five percent of the clients reported that spirituality and religious faith were useful components of the treatment program. A multivariate multiple regression analysis identified that spirituality and self-efficacy have significant relationships with cravings. Self-efficacy mediated the relationship between spirituality and drug and/or alcohol cravings. The limitations of this study included its cross-sectional design and a sample that was drawn from a faith-based program. Future research would benefit from the longitudinal examination of the relationship between spirituality, self-efficacy, and cravings; the exploration of a broader range of client-specific and interpersonal variables; and the inclusion of a control group from a secular treatment facility.
    Publication Substance Use & Misuse
    Volume 44
    Issue 13
    Pages 1926-1940
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Subst Use Misuse
    DOI 10.3109/10826080802486723
    ISSN 1532-2491
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:32:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20001289
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Behavior, Addictive
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pilot Projects
    • Psychotherapy
    • religion
    • Self Efficacy
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
  • The role of religion in therapy: Time for psychologists to have a little faith?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin S. Masters
    Abstract The argument has been made that religious and spiritual (R/S) forms of treatment, or R/S adaptations of existing treatments, are an appropriate, culturally sensitive, and potentially efficacious method of intervention when working clinically with religious patients experiencing psychological, behavioral, or physiological dysfunction. The previous articles in this special series describe four such interventions designed for use with patients with particular presenting problems including serious mental illness, cancer, eating disorders, and scrupulosity. This article offers a brief historical presentation on the growth of interest in R/S in clinical psychology and behavioral medicine, with particular attention to the general issue of the role of values in therapy, and includes criticisms of integrating R/S in treatment. The difficulty of appreciating unique R/S perspectives and their relevance for particular clients is emphasized and the question of whether a true understanding of R/S beliefs necessarily leads to better health is examined. Each of the four therapies presented in this special series is individually analyzed, and it is clear that they offer sensitive and culturally relevant approaches to treating the various disorders, though areas of potential improvement or possible confusion are highlighted. Finally, the following are deemed essential if R/S-informed therapies are to impact the field and be appropriately introduced with clients: (a) training of future and current practitioners; (b) longitudinal research on R/S; (c) outcome studies of R/S interventions; and (d) adequate funding for the achievement of these goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 393-400
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.11.003
    ISSN 1077-7229
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Psychologist Attitudes
    • PSYCHOLOGISTS
    • Psychotherapeutic Techniques
    • religion
    • religion's role
    • spirituality
    • therapy
    • treatment
  • Religious Orientation Among a Random Sample of Community-Dwelling Adults: Relations With Health Status and Health-Relevant Behaviors.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin S. Masters
    Author Andrea Knestel
    Abstract This empirical study was designed as the first to describe the distribution of the four religious orientation types in the general population, based on Allport and Ross's Intrinsic/Extrinsic typology, and to test whether differences in health status and health relevant behaviors based on religious type exist. Throughout 2005-2006 individuals (N = 157) were randomly telephoned and administered a measure of religious orientation. They reported health status, height/weight, use of tobacco and alcohol, and engagement in aerobic exercise. All four religious orientation types were represented (Intrinsic = 19.1%, Extrinsic = 22.3%, Pro-religious = 36.9%, Non-religious = 21.7%). Intrinsic and Non-religious types reported the most favorable health perceptions and lowest body mass indexes. Intrinsic and Pro-religious types were least likely to smoke tobacco or drink alcohol. Religious orientation is a useful construct pertaining to health status and health relevant behaviors and further demonstrates the multidimensional nature of religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 21
    Issue 1
    Pages 63-76
    Date Jan-Mar2011 January 2011
    DOI 10.1080/10508619.2011.532450
    ISSN 10508619
    Short Title Religious Orientation Among a Random Sample of Community-Dwelling Adults
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Body Mass Index
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Status Indicators
    • RELIGIOUS institutions
    • SURVEYS
  • Prayer and health: review, meta-analysis, and research agenda

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin S Masters
    Author Glen I Spielmans
    Abstract This article reviews the empirical research on prayer and health and offers a research agenda to guide future studies. Though many people practice prayer and believe it affects their health, scientific evidence is limited. In keeping with a general increase in interest in spirituality and complementary and alternative treatments, prayer has garnered attention among a growing number of behavioral scientists. The effects of distant intercessory prayer are examined by meta-analysis and it is concluded that no discernable effects can be found. The literature regarding frequency of prayer, content of prayer, and prayer as a coping strategy is subsequently reviewed. Suggestions for future research include the conduct of experimental studies based on conceptual models that include precise operationally defined constructs, longitudinal investigations with proper measure of control variables, and increased use of ecological momentary assessment techniques.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 30
    Issue 4
    Pages 329-338
    Date Aug 2007
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-007-9106-7
    ISSN 0160-7715
    Short Title Prayer and health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17487575
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:42:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17487575
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • religion
    • Research

    Notes:

    • This article reviews the empirical research on prayer and health and offers a research agenda to guide future studies. The effects of distant intercessory prayer are examined by meta-analysis and it is concluded that no discernible effects can be found. The literature regarding frequency of prayer, content of prayer, and prayer as a coping strategy is subsequently reviewed.

  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction among breast cancer survivors: a literature review and discussion

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yaowarat Matchim
    Author Jane M Armer
    Author Bob R Stewart
    Abstract Purpose/Objectives: To evaluate and discuss existing studies of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) among breast cancer survivors.Data Sources: Articles published from 1987-2009 were retrieved using MEDLINE®, CINAHL®, Ovid, and Scopus. Key words, including mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness meditation, were combined with breast cancer.Data Synthesis: The search resulted in 26 articles that were narrowed down to 16 by selecting only quantitative studies of MBSR conducted with breast cancer (n = 7) or heterogeneous types of cancer in which the predominant cancer was breast cancer (n = 9). Most studies were one-group pre- and post-test design and examined the effect of MBSR on psychological outcomes. Overall, the studies had large effect sizes on perceived stress and state anxiety and medium effect sizes on symptoms of stress and mood disturbance. Four studies measured biologic outcomes and had small effect sizes, except cytokine production, which showed a large effect size at 6- and 12-month follow-ups.Conclusions: Future studies using randomized, control trials and longitudinal, repeated-measures designs are needed. Studies conducted with heterogeneous types of cancer and gender should be analyzed and the results reported separately. Implications for Nursing: The comprehensive summary and critical discussion of existing studies of MBSR usage among breast cancer survivors provide essential information that can be used by nurses and others working in the healthcare setting.
    Publication Oncology Nursing Forum
    Volume 38
    Issue 2
    Pages E61-71
    Date Mar 1, 2011
    Journal Abbr Oncol Nurs Forum
    DOI 10.1188/11.ONF.E61-E71
    ISSN 1538-0688
    Short Title Mindfulness-based stress reduction among breast cancer survivors
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21356643
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21356643
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM

    Notes:

    • Purpose of study is to evaluate and discuss existing studies of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) among breast cancer survivors.

  • The long-term effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a relapse prevention treatment for major depressive disorder

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kate L Mathew
    Author Hayley S Whitford
    Author Maura A Kenny
    Author Linley A Denson
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a relapse prevention treatment for major depressive disorder. METHOD: An observational clinical audit of 39 participants explored the long-term effects of MBCT using standardized measures of depression (BDI-II), rumination (RSS), and mindfulness (MAAS). RESULTS: MBCT was associated with statistically significant reductions in depression from pre to post treatment. Gains were maintained over time (Group 1, 1-12 months, p = .002; Group 2, 13-24 months, p = .001; Group 3, 25-34 months, p = .04). Depression scores in Group 3 did begin to worsen, yet were still within the mild range of the BDI-II. Treatment variables such as attendance at "booster" sessions and ongoing mindfulness practice correlated with better depression outcomes (p = .003 and p = .03 respectively). There was a strong negative correlation between rumination and mindful attention (p < .001), consistent with a proposed mechanism of metacognition in the efficacy of MBCT. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that ongoing MBCT skills and practice may be important for relapse prevention over the longer term. Larger randomized studies of the mechanisms of MBCT with longer follow-up periods are recommended.
    Publication Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 38
    Issue 5
    Pages 561-576
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr Behav Cogn Psychother
    DOI 10.1017/S135246581000010X
    ISSN 1469-1833
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20374671
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:10:07 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
  • The Stress-Buffering Role of Spiritual Support: Cross-Sectional and Prospective Investigations.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth I. Maton
    Abstract The contribution of spiritual support (perceived support from God) to well-being, especially under conditions of high versus low life stress, has received little empirical study In the present research, the relationship of spiritual support to well-being for several high and low life-stress samples was examined. With demographic variables controlled, regression analyses indicated that spiritual support: 1) was inversely related to depression and positively related to self-esteem for high life-stress (recently bereaved) parents; and 2) in a prospective (longitudinal) analysis with pre-college depression controlled, spiritual support was positively related to personal-emotional adjustment to college for high life, stress (three or more life events), first-semester college freshmen. Spiritual support was not significantly related to well-being for low life-stress subsamples. The implications of the findings for future research and intervention are discussed. [
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 28
    Issue 3
    Pages 310
    Date 1989
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title The Stress-Buffering Role of Spiritual Support
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=4894195&…
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:53:54 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • DEMOGRAPHY
    • LONGITUDINAL method
    • SELF-esteem -- Religious aspects
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • STRESS (Psychology) -- Religious aspects

    Notes:

    • In the present research, the relationship of spiritual support to well-being for several high and low life-stress samples was examined. With demographic variables controlled, regression analyses indicated that spiritual support: 1) was inversely related to depression and positively related to self-esteem for high life-stress (recently bereaved) parents; and 2) in a prospective (longitudinal) analysis with pre-college depression controlled, spiritual support was positively related to personal-emotional adjustment to college for high life, stress (three or more life events), first-semester college freshmen. Spiritual support was not significantly related to well-being for low life-stress subsamples.

  • Cortisol as a marker for improvement in mindfulness-based stress reduction

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rose H. Matousek
    Author Patricia L. Dobkin
    Author Jens Pruessner
    Abstract While much attention has been devoted to examining the beneficial effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs on patients' ability to cope with various chronic medical conditions, most studies have relied on self-report measures of improvement. Given that these measures may not accurately reflect physiological conditions, there is a need for an objective marker of improvement in research evaluating the beneficial effects of stress management programs. Cortisol is the major stress hormone in the human organism and as such is a promising candidate measure in the study of the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs. In conjunction with other biological measures, the use of cortisol levels as a physiological marker of stress may be useful to validate self-reported benefits attributed to this program. In the current manuscript, we review the available literature on the role of cortisol as a physiological marker for improvement with regards to mindfulness practice, and make recommendations for future study designs.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 13-19
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2009.06.004
    ISSN 1744-3881
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:03:23 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Cortisol
    • Mbsr
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
    • Stress
  • Changes in the cortisol awakening response (CAR) following participation in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in women who completed treatment for breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rose H. Matousek
    Author Jens C. Pruessner
    Author Patricia L. Dobkin
    Abstract <p>Background<br/>Changes in the cortisol awakening response (CAR) were studied in women participating in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program after completion of their medical treatment for breast cancer.Method<br/>Thirty-three women completed questionnaires pre- and post-MBSR pertaining to: stress, depressive symptomatology, and medical symptoms. The CAR was assessed on 3 days pre- and 3 days post-MBSR as a biological marker of stress.Results<br/>A significant effect on the CAR was found, with cortisol levels showing a prolonged increase after awakening at the post-MBSR assessment period. This was accompanied by significant improvements in self-reported stress levels, depressive symptomatology, and medical symptoms. Furthermore, the change in medical symptoms was negatively correlated with the area under the curve (AUC) at study onset (r = -.52, p < .002); i.e., the greater the AUC of the CAR before MBSR, the greater the reduction in medical symptoms after the program.Conclusions<br/>These results suggest the potential usefulness of employing the CAR as a biological marker in women with breast cancer participating in an MBSR program.</p>
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 2
    Pages 65-70
    Date May 2011
    DOI 16/j.ctcp.2010.10.005
    ISSN 1744-3881
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1744388110000940
    Accessed Thursday, June 09, 2011 5:57:30 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM

    Tags:

    • breast cancer
    • Cancer
    • Cortisol
    • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
    • Relaxation
    • Stress

    Notes:

    • A study looking at changes in the cortisol awakening response in women participating in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program after completion of their medical treatment for breast cancer.

  • Religious Commitment and Health Status: A Review of the Research and Implications for Family Medicine

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dale A. Matthews
    Author Michael E. McCullough
    Author David B. Larson
    Author Harold G. Koenig
    Author James P. Swyers
    Author Mary Greenwold Milano
    Abstract The empirical literature from epidemiological and clinical studies regarding the relationship between religious factors (eg, frequency of religious attendance, private religious involvement, and relying on one's religious beliefs as a source of strength and coping) and physical and mental health status in the areas of prevention, coping, and recovery was reviewed. Empirical studies from the published literature that contained at least 1 measure of subjects' religious commitment and at least 1 measure of their physical or mental health status were used. In particular, studies that examined the role of religious commitment or religious involvement in the prevention of illness, coping with illnesses that have already arisen, and recovery from illness were highlighted. A large proportion of published empirical data suggest that religious commitment may play a beneficial role in preventing mental and physical illness, improving how people cope with mental and physical illness, and facilitating recovery from illness. However, much still remains to be investigated with improved studies that are specially designed to investigate the connection between religious involvement and health status. Nevertheless, the available data suggest that practitioners who make several small changes in how patients' religious commitments are broached in clinical practice may enhance health care outcomes.
    Publication Arch Fam Med
    Volume 7
    Issue 2
    Pages 118-124
    Date March 1, 1998
    DOI 10.1001/archfami.7.2.118
    Short Title Religious Commitment and Health Status
    URL http://archfami.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/7/2/118
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:12:24 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The empirical literature from epidemiological and clinical studies regarding the relationship between religious factors and physical and mental health status in the areas of prevention, coping, and recovery was reviewed. A large proportion of published empirical data suggest that religious commitment may play a beneficial role in preventing mental and physical illness, improving how people cope with mental and physical illness, and facilitating recovery from illness.

    Attachments

    • HighWire Full Text PDF
    • HighWire Snapshot
  • Coping with the personal loss of having a parent with mental illness: young adults' narrative accounts of spiritual struggle and strength.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Aleisha Maunu
    Author Catherine H. Stein
    Abstract The present study examines the personal accounts of nine young adults who have parents living with mental illness. Adults' experience of personal loss due to their parents' mental illness and perceptions of their religious faith journey and spiritual struggles are described. Overall, young adults who reported experiencing more personal loss due to their parents' mental illness also reported feeling more confused on their faith journey, and reported experiencing more spiritual struggle relative to participants who reported experiencing less personal loss. Regardless of level of personal loss, all participants identified positive personal attributes that resulted from coping with their parents' illness, including a greater sense of independence, personal strength, and compassion. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Community Psychology
    Volume 38
    Issue 5
    Pages 645-655
    Date July 2010
    DOI 10.1002/jcop.20385
    ISSN 00904392
    Short Title Coping with the personal loss of having a parent with mental illness
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:44:28 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • CHILDREN of parents with mental disabilities
    • COMMUNITY psychology
    • Compassion
    • Faith
    • MENTAL illness
    • PARENTS -- Diseases
    • Qualitative Research
    • spirituality
  • The Physiological Foundation of Yoga Chakra Expression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard W. Maxwell
    Abstract Chakras are a basic concept of yoga but typically are ignored by scientific research on yoga, probably because descriptions of chakras can appear like a fanciful mythology. Chakras are commonly considered to be centers of concentrated metaphysical energy. Although clear physiological effects exist for yoga practices, no explanation of how chakras influence physiological function has been broadly accepted either in the scientific community or among yoga scholars. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that yoga is based on subjective experience, and practitioners often shun objective descriptions. This essay builds on earlier work hypothesizing that intercellular gap junction connections provide a physiological mechanism underlying subtle energy systems described in yoga as well as other disciplines such as acupuncture. Three physical aspects of chakras are distinguished that are integrated through gap junction mechanisms and are proposed to have arisen during embryological development. Furthermore, electrical conductance associated with a high concentration of gap junctions could generate phenomena that, when subjectively experienced, have the radiant qualities attributed to chakras. This theory provides a scientific rationale for previously unexplained details of chakra theory and offers a new orientation to conceptualizing and studying such subjective phenomena.
    Publication Zygon
    Volume 44
    Issue 4
    Pages 807-824
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2009.01035.x
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2009.01035.x
    Accessed Saturday, November 28, 2009 8:27:37 AM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Support from neurobiology for spiritual techniques for anxiety: a brief review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kelley Raab Mayo
    Abstract Research in neurobiology supports use of spiritual techniques as a beneficial treatment for anxiety. Psychotherapy, including mindfulness CBT and meditation, has been shown to change brain structure. The amygdala-the brain structure responsible for processing emotion and anxiety-demonstrates plasticity, and the purpose of therapy may be to allow the cortex to establish more effective and efficient synaptic links with the amygdala. A main feature of spiritual approaches is changing one's focus of attention. Instead of worry, one focuses on peaceful thoughts, thoughts of helping others, etc. Research demonstrates that thought, meditation, and other manifestations of mind can alter the brain, sometimes in an enduring way. Few studies have addressed the neurobiological underpinnings of meditation. Limited evidence, however, suggests that brain changes occur during prolonged meditation and that meditation activates neural structures involved in attention and control of the autonomic nervous system.
    Publication Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
    Volume 16
    Issue 1-2
    Pages 53-57
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Health Care Chaplain
    DOI 10.1080/08854720903451055
    ISSN 1528-6916
    Short Title Support from neurobiology for spiritual techniques for anxiety
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:30:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20183113
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Amygdala
    • Anxiety
    • Autonomic Nervous System
    • Brain
    • Humans
    • Spiritual Therapies
  • Creativity, Spirituality, and Mental Health: Exploring Connections

    Type Book
    Author Kelley Raab Mayo
    Series New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies
    Place Surrey, England
    Publisher Ashgate
    Date 2009-11-01
    ISBN 0754664589
    Short Title Creativity, Spirituality, and Mental Health
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Support from neurobiology for spiritual techniques for anxiety: a brief review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kelley Raab Mayo
    Abstract Research in neurobiology supports use of spiritual techniques as a beneficial treatment for anxiety. Psychotherapy, including mindfulness CBT and meditation, has been shown to change brain structure. The amygdala-the brain structure responsible for processing emotion and anxiety-demonstrates plasticity, and the purpose of therapy may be to allow the cortex to establish more effective and efficient synaptic links with the amygdala. A main feature of spiritual approaches is changing one's focus of attention. Instead of worry, one focuses on peaceful thoughts, thoughts of helping others, etc. Research demonstrates that thought, meditation, and other manifestations of mind can alter the brain, sometimes in an enduring way. Few studies have addressed the neurobiological underpinnings of meditation. Limited evidence, however, suggests that brain changes occur during prolonged meditation and that meditation activates neural structures involved in attention and control of the autonomic nervous system.
    Publication Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 53-57
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr J Health Care Chaplain
    DOI 10.1080/08854720903451055
    ISSN 1528-6916
    Short Title Support from neurobiology for spiritual techniques for anxiety
    Accessed Thursday, March 04, 2010 8:45:44 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20183113
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • The relationship between a patient's spirituality and health experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author J L McBride
    Author G Arthur
    Author R Brooks
    Author L Pilkington
    Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The relationship between spirituality and health is a new frontier in medicine. This study is a preliminary investigation into the relationship between a patient's experience of overall health, physical pain, and intrinsic spirituality. METHODS: We used a stratified, random sample of 462 patients at a family practice residency clinic. The Index of Core Spiritual Experiences (INSPIRIT) measured intrinsic spirituality, and Dartmouth Primary Care Cooperative Charts measured overall health and pain. Pearson correlations tested the association between health, pain, and spirituality. Patient scores on the INSPIRIT were then placed into three groups (high, medium, and low levels of intrinsic spirituality). ANOVA tested for significant differences in health and pain. RESULTS: We collected information from 442 of the patients surveyed (95%). We found significant correlation between patient health and spirituality. Significant differences were also found in both overall health and physical pain, based on the three levels of spirituality. Gender differences were only significant for overall health, not for patient pain. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest an association between intrinsic spirituality and a patient's experience of health and pain. Assessment of spirituality may be important for family physicians to consider as a supplement to patient interviews.
    Publication Family Medicine
    Volume 30
    Issue 2
    Pages 122-126
    Date Feb 1998
    Journal Abbr Fam Med
    ISSN 0742-3225
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9494803
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:36:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9494803
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Tuesday, November 15, 2011 8:52:31 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Health
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Sex Factors
    • Suburban Health

    Notes:

    • This study is a preliminary investigation into the relationship between a patient’s experience of overall health, physical pain, and intrinsic spirituality. Methods: We used a stratified, random sample of 462 patients at a family practice residency clinic. The Index of Core Spiritual Experiences (INSPIRIT) measured intrinsic spirituality, and Dartmouth Primary Care Cooperative Charts measured overall health and pain. Pearson correlations tested the association between health, pain, and spirituality. Results: We found significant correlation between patient health and spirituality.

  • Hypnosis in the treatment of depression: Considerations in research design and methods.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Barbara S. McCann
    Author Sara J. Landes
    Abstract Depressive disorders constitute a serious problem in the United States and around the world. The appearance of practice guidelines and lists of evidenced-based therapies suggests that adequate treatments for depression exist. However, a careful consideration of what is known and not known about the treatment of depression leaves plenty of room for improved approaches to addressing this condition. Although there has been a dearth of research on the treatment of depression using hypnosis, there are several compelling arguments for the inclusion of hypnotic approaches in the array of current strategies for dealing with depression. However, traditional “gold-standard” research methods, namely randomized controlled trials, have many shortcomings for identifying the potential impact of hypnosis on depression. Other strategies, notably single-case design and benchmarking approaches, may offer a more practical solution to the problem of determining “what works for depression.” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
    Volume 58
    Issue 2
    Pages 147-164
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/00207140903523186
    ISSN 0020-7144
    Short Title Hypnosis in the treatment of depression
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:28:21 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • depression
    • depressive disorders
    • Experimental Design
    • Experimental Methods
    • Hypnosis
    • Hypnotherapy
    • Major Depression
    • research design & methods
    • treatment
  • Facilitating dialogue on religion and sexuality using a descriptive approach.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard W. McCarty
    Abstract This chapter offers practical steps for creating and navigating difficult dialogues with respect to sexuality and religion. It suggests that partnership with departments, programs, and scholars of religious studies may prove helpful for student affairs professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication New Directions for Student Services
    Issue 125
    Pages 39-46
    Date Spring2009 2009
    ISSN 01647970
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • COLLEGE student development programs
    • COUNSELING in higher education
    • EDUCATION, Higher -- Social aspects
    • RELIGION -- Study & teaching
    • SEX -- Religious aspects
    • SOCIAL history
    • STUDENT affairs services
    • STUDENTS -- Services for
  • Daily spiritual experiences of older adults with and without arthritis and the relationship to health outcomes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeanne McCauley
    Author Margaret J Tarpley
    Author Steffany Haaz
    Author Susan J Bartlett
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Strategies to improve coping with chronic disease are increasingly important, especially with the aging US population. For many, spirituality serves as a source of strength and comfort. However, little is known about the prevalence of daily spiritual experiences (DSE) and how they may relate to physical and mental health. METHODS: We surveyed older adults age>50 years with chronic health conditions seen in a primary care setting about their DSE, health perceptions, pain, energy, and depression. RESULTS: Of 99 patients, 80% reported DSE most days and many times per day. Women had significantly lower DSE scores than men (reflecting more frequent DSE, mean+/-SD 37.3+/-15.0 versus 45.8+/-17.5; P=0.012). African American women reported the most frequent DSE and white men reported the least frequent DSE (mean+/-SD 35.9+/-13.6 versus 52.2+/-19.1). Frequent DSE were significantly associated with a higher number of comorbid conditions (P=0.003), although not with age, education, or employment status. Persons with arthritis reported significantly more DSE than those without arthritis (mean+/-SD 35.2+/-12.1 versus 47.1+/-18.6; P<0.001). After adjustment for age, race, sex, pain, and comorbid conditions, more frequent DSE were associated with increased energy (P<0.009) and less depression (P<0.007) in patients with arthritis. CONCLUSION: DSE are common among older adults, especially those with arthritis. Increased DSE may be associated with more energy and less depression. DSE may represent one pathway through which spirituality influences mental health in older adults.
    Publication Arthritis and Rheumatism
    Volume 59
    Issue 1
    Pages 122-128
    Date Jan 15, 2008
    Journal Abbr Arthritis Rheum
    DOI 10.1002/art.23246
    ISSN 0004-3591
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18163414
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:26:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18163414
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Arthritis
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This study investigates the prevalence of daily spiritual experiences (DSE) and how they may relate to physical and mental health. The authors conclude that DSE are common among older adults, especially those with arthritis. Increased DSE may be associated with more energy and less depression. DSE may represent one pathway through which spirituality influences mental health in older adults.

  • Using mindfulness meditation to teach beginning therapists therapeutic presence: a qualitative study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eric E McCollum
    Author Diane R Gehart
    Abstract Some of the more difficult to define aspects of the therapeutic process (empathy, compassion, presence) remain some of the most important. Teaching them presents a challenge for therapist trainees and educators alike. In this study, we examine our beginning practicum students' experience of learning mindfulness meditation as a way to help them develop therapeutic presence. Through thematic analysis of their journal entries a variety of themes emerged, including the effects of meditation practice, the ability to be present, balancing being and doing modes in therapy, and the development of acceptance and compassion for themselves and for their clients. Our findings suggest that mindfulness meditation may be a useful addition to clinical training.
    Publication Journal of Marital and Family Therapy
    Volume 36
    Issue 3
    Pages 347-360
    Date Jul 1, 2010
    Journal Abbr J Marital Fam Ther
    DOI 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2010.00214.x
    ISSN 1752-0606
    Short Title Using mindfulness meditation to teach beginning therapists therapeutic presence
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:57:18 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20618581
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • Teaching Mindfulness: A Practical Guide for Clinicians and Educators

    Type Book
    Author Donald McCown
    Author Diane Reibel
    Author Marc S. Micozzi
    Place New York
    Publisher Springer
    Date 2009-12-15
    ISBN 0387094830
    Short Title Teaching Mindfulness
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action may counteract fear and avoidance of emotions in chronic pain: an analysis of anxiety sensitivity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lance M McCracken
    Author Edmund Keogh
    Abstract People often respond with distress and avoidance to their own negative experiences, such as the physical, cognitive, and emotional aspects of depression or anxiety. When people with chronic pain respond this way, their overall level of distress may increase, they may struggle to avoid their emotional experiences, and their daily functioning may decrease. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of anxiety sensitivity (AS), or "fear of anxiety," in relation to these processes. It was predicted that those persons with chronic pain who report higher AS will also report higher emotional distress and greater disability caused by chronic pain. A second purpose was to examine whether therapeutic processes designed to reduce emotional avoidance, namely, acceptance, mindfulness, and values, could be demonstrated to reduce the role of AS in relation to this distress and disability based on a statistical model including these variables. Subjects were 125 consecutive adult patients (64.8% women) seeking services from a specialty pain service in the United Kingdom. All patients completed a standard set of measures of AS, acceptance of pain, mindfulness, and values-based action, as well as measures of pain, disability, and emotional functioning, at their initial consultation, and these data formed the basis for the current study. In correlation and regression analyses, AS was associated with greater pain, disability, and distress. In regression analyses, the 3 proposed therapeutic processes reduced the average variance accounted for by AS in patient functioning from DeltaR(2) = .21 to DeltaR(2) = .048. This means that when the 3 therapeutic variables are taken into account statistically, AS alone retained relatively little association with patient functioning. These results suggest that AS may amplify the impact of emotional distress on patient functioning in chronic pain and that processes of acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action may reduce this effect. PERSPECTIVE: Humans can fear and struggle to avoid their own emotional experiences, even when these cannot harm them. Data presented here show individuals with chronic pain have more distress and disability when they manifest more fear of anxiety symptoms, and behavior patterns of "acceptance" and "mindfulness" may reduce this effect.
    Publication The Journal of Pain: Official Journal of the American Pain Society
    Volume 10
    Issue 4
    Pages 408-415
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pain
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpain.2008.09.015
    ISSN 1528-8447
    Short Title Acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action may counteract fear and avoidance of emotions in chronic pain
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:30:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19327643
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Avoidance Learning
    • Chronic Disease
    • Disability Evaluation
    • Fear
    • Female
    • Great Britain
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Pain Measurement
    • Pain Threshold
    • Regression Analysis
  • Psychological flexibility in adults with chronic pain: A study of acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action in primary care

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lance M. McCracken
    Author Sophie C. Velleman
    Abstract There is an increasing number of studies of acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action in relation to chronic pain. Evidence from these studies suggests that these processes may be important for reducing the suffering and disability arising in these conditions. Taken together these processes entail an overarching process referred to as "psychological flexibility." While these processes have been studied in people with chronic pain contacted in specialty treatment centers, they have not yet been investigated in primary care. Thus, participants in this study were 239 adults with chronic pain surveyed in primary care, through contact with their General Practitioners (GPs), in the UK. They completed measures of acceptance of chronic pain, mindfulness, psychological acceptance, values-based action, health status, and GP visits related to pain. Correlation coefficients demonstrated significant relations between the components of psychological flexibility and the measures of health and GP visits. In regression analyses, including both pain intensity and psychological flexibility as potential predictors, psychological flexibility accounted for significant variance, [Delta]R2 = .039-.40 (3.9-40.0%). In these regression equations pain intensity accounted for an average of 9.2% of variance while psychological flexibility accounted for 24.1%. These data suggest that psychological flexibility may reduce the impact of chronic pain in patients with low to moderately complex problems outside of specialty care. Due to a particularly conservative recruitment strategy the overall response rate in this study was low and the generality of these results remains to be established.
    Publication Pain
    Volume 148
    Issue 1
    Pages 141-147
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.pain.2009.10.034
    ISSN 0304-3959
    Short Title Psychological flexibility in adults with chronic pain
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 12:57:04 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Acceptance
    • Chronic pain
    • Cognitive behavioral therapy
    • Disability
    • Mindfulness
    • Psychological flexibility

    Notes:

    • There is an increasing number of studies of acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action in relation to chronic pain. Evidence from these studies suggests that these processes may be important for reducing the suffering and disability arising in these conditions. Taken together these processes entail an overarching process referred to as “psychological flexibility.” While these processes have been studied in people with chronic pain contacted in specialty treatment centers, they have not yet been investigated in primary care. Thus, participants in this study were 239 adults with chronic pain surveyed in primary care, through contact with their General Practitioners (GPs), in the UK. They completed measures of acceptance of chronic pain, mindfulness, psychological acceptance, values-based action, health status, and GP visits related to pain. Correlation coefficients demonstrated significant relations between the components of psychological flexibility and the measures of health and GP visits. In regression analyses, including both pain intensity and psychological flexibility as potential predictors, psychological flexibility accounted for significant variance, ΔR2=.039–.40 (3.9–40.0%). In these regression equations pain intensity accounted for an average of 9.2% of variance while psychological flexibility accounted for 24.1%. These data suggest that psychological flexibility may reduce the impact of chronic pain in patients with low to moderately complex problems outside of specialty care. Due to a particularly conservative recruitment strategy the overall response rate in this study was low and the generality of these results remains to be established.

  • Religion, self-regulation, and self-control: Associations, explanations, and implications

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael E McCullough
    Author Brian L B Willoughby
    Abstract Many of the links of religiousness with health, well-being, and social behavior may be due to religion's influences on self-control or self-regulation. Using Carver and Scheier's (1998) theory of self-regulation as a framework for organizing the empirical research, the authors review evidence relevant to 6 propositions: (a) that religion can promote self-control; (b) that religion influences how goals are selected, pursued, and organized; (c) that religion facilitates self-monitoring; (d) that religion fosters the development of self-regulatory strength; (e) that religion prescribes and fosters proficiency in a suite of self-regulatory behaviors; and (f) that some of religion's influences on health, well-being, and social behavior may result from religion's influences on self-control and self-regulation. The authors conclude with suggestions for future research.
    Publication Psychological Bulletin
    Volume 135
    Issue 1
    Pages 69-93
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Bull
    DOI 10.1037/a0014213
    ISSN 0033-2909
    Short Title Religion, self-regulation, and self-control
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:52:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19210054
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Character
    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Culture
    • Goals
    • Humans
    • Individuality
    • Internal-External Control
    • Meditation
    • Moral Development
    • Motivation
    • Personality Inventory
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • Socialization
    • spirituality
  • Does devoutness delay death? Psychological investment in religion and its association with longevity in the Terman sample

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael E McCullough
    Author Howard S Friedman
    Author Craig K Enders
    Author Leslie R Martin
    Abstract Religious people tend to live slightly longer lives (M. E. McCullough, W. T. Hoyt, D. B. Larson, H. G. Koenig, & C. E. Thoresen, 2000). On the basis of the principle of social investment (J. Lodi-Smith & B. W. Roberts, 2007), the authors sought to clarify this phenomenon with a study of religion and longevity that (a) incorporated measures of psychological religious commitment; (b) considered religious change over the life course; and (c) examined 19 measures of personality traits, social ties, health behaviors, and mental and physical health that might help to explain the religion-longevity association. Discrete-time survival growth mixture models revealed that women (but not men) with the lowest degrees of religiousness through adulthood had shorter lives than did women who were more religious. Survival differences were largely attributable to cross-sectional and prospective between-class differences in personality traits, social ties, health behaviors, and mental and physical health.
    Publication Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    Volume 97
    Issue 5
    Pages 866-882
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pers Soc Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0016366
    ISSN 1939-1315
    Short Title Does devoutness delay death?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19857007
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 8:01:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19857007
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Ayurveda and acupuncture in heroin detoxification in Sri Lanka

    Type Journal Article
    Author D McDonald
    Abstract The Bandaranaike Memorial Ayurvedic Research Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is applying the traditional medical practices of Ayurveda and acupuncture to the management of withdrawal from heroin. This is part of a wider research effort into the application of Ayurveda in contemporary systems of health care. The detoxification programme is briefly described. Initial observations of programme outcomes suggest that these methods are of similar effectiveness to approaches used in western medicine and are culturally appropriate in the Sri Lankan context.
    Publication Drug and Alcohol Review
    Volume 9
    Issue 4
    Pages 329-331
    Date 1990
    Journal Abbr Drug Alcohol Rev
    DOI 10.1080/09595239000185461
    ISSN 0959-5236
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16840160
    Accessed Monday, October 12, 2009 11:08:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16840160
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Medicine, Ayurvedic

    Notes:

    • The Bandaranaike Memorial Ayurvedic Research Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is applying the traditional medical practices of Ayurveda and acupuncture to the management of withdrawal from heroin. This is part of a wider research effort into the application of Ayurveda in contemporary systems of health care. The detoxification programme is briefly described. Initial observations of programme outcomes suggest that these methods are of similar effectiveness to approaches used in western medicine and are culturally appropriate in the Sri Lankan context.

  • Life-style and death patterns of the Missouri RLDS church members.

    Type Journal Article
    Author L McEnvoy
    Author G Land
    Abstract Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (RLDS) are dissuaded from the use of tobacco, alcohol, and hot drinks. A well-balanced diet is also stressed. This study compares the 1972-78 mortality experience of the Missouri RLDS with three other population groups. The findings show Missouri RLDS experiencing age-adjusted death rates which are 22.6 percent lower than rates for Missouri non-RLDs whites; 19.6 per cent lower than the non-RLDS of Independence, Missouri; and 14.4 per cent lower than Utah residents. The RLDS display lower death rates than the two Missouri comparison groups for each of seven selected causes-particularly lung cancer, pneumonia/influenza, and violent deaths. Comparisons between the Missouri RLDS and Utah residents show an inconsistent pattern, with Utah residents having non-significantly lower death rates for lung cancer and ischemic heart disease, but with the Missouri RLDS having significantly lower rates for pneumonia/influenza and violent deaths. These inconsistencies are of interest because 72 per cent of Utah's population belong to the Mormon Church which advocates life-styles similar to the RLDS. If these disparate mortality patterns persist under a more direct comparison between the Missouri RLDS and Utah Mormons, they could provide the opportunity to assess the impact of similar life-styles in separate settings.
    Publication American Journal of Public Health
    Volume 71
    Pages 1350-1357
    Date 1981
    ISSN 0090-0036
    URL http://www.ophsource.org/periodicals/ophtha/medline/record/MDLN.7316000
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Missouri RLDS experiencing age-adjusted death rates which are 22.6 percent lower than rates for Missouri non-RLDs whites; 19.6 per cent lower than the non-RLDS of Independence, Missouri; and 14.4 per cent lower than Utah residents. These results may be mediated by religious behavioral pre- and proscriptions.

  • Universality and Particularity: Reflections on Glicksman's Critique of the Study of Religion and Spirituality Among Older Persons

    Type Journal Article
    Author Susan H. McFadden
    Abstract This article responds to Glicksman's critique that researchers studying older adults' religiousness and spirituality employ measuring instruments that fail to recognize the theological, cultural, and historical factors affecting scale development. Reflections on the ways psychologists of religion have conceptualized and measured intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity offers additional insight into the unacknowledged tacit assumptions underlying many research tools used to study religion, spirituality, and aging. Especially problematic are efforts to measure so-called universal aspects of religiousness and spirituality without reference to the particularities of religious traditions and spiritual practices.
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 4
    Pages 268-274
    Date 2009 October
    DOI 10.1080/15528030902821238
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title Universality and Particularity
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/15528030902821238
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:29:22 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Arts Involvement and Spirituality as Sources of Well-Being in Older People

    Type Journal Article
    Author Susan H. McFadden
    Author Melissa Lunsman
    Abstract Spirituality and involvement with the arts have been individually studied as contributors to late-life well-being. This study explored relationships among arts involvement, as measured by a six-item scale constructed for this research, experiences of the transcendent in everyday life, as measured by the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES), and morale, as measured by the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS). Participants were adults over age 40 (N = 90). Only arts scores significantly predicted PGCMS scores (B = 0.17, t = 2.26, p < 0.05). In addition, DSES scores and arts scores were significantly correlated (r = 0.50, p < 0.01). These results are discussed in terms of growing interest in congregational programs that promote dialogue between the arts and religion.
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 4
    Pages 330-343
    Date 2009 October
    DOI 10.1080/15528030903158135
    ISSN 1552-8030
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/15528030903158135
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:34:17 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Spirituality in tobacco dependence: a mayo clinic survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author David McFadden
    Author Ivana T Croghan
    Author Kathryn M Piderman
    Author Carl Lundstrom
    Author Darrell R Schroeder
    Author J Taylor Hays
    Abstract CONTEXT With widespread interest in natural remedies and "wholistic" treatments, there has been a renewed focus on the impact of spirituality related alternative therapy for many current chronic diseases. OBJECTIVE To assess the potential impact of spiritual beliefs on lifestyle choices such as tobacco use, we conducted a patient survey. DESIGN/SETTING This cross-section study was conducted using a 27-question survey of patients seen at the Mayo Clinic over a 14-week period. PATIENTS We invited all patients (smokers and nonsmokers) seen in several Mayo Clinic divisions to participate in this voluntary survey. INTERVENTIONS The survey included demographic information, history of tobacco use or nonuse, and assessment of spirituality. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Among the 501 patients who participated, 370 were nonsmokers and 131 were smokers. Compared with smokers, nonsmokers more often participated in religious activities such as regular weekly church attendance (48% vs. 24%), daily prayer, and Bible study (49% vs. 24%; P < .001). Current smoking was negatively correlated with religious activities. However, after adjustment for demographic facdtors, there was no significant difference in intrinsic spirituality (importance of religion) between the two groups (P < .130). RESULT Nonsmokers are more likely to engage in religious activities such as prayer, Bible study, and regular church attendance. Further studies may be helpful to clearly define the potential impact of spirituality on smoking cessation.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 7
    Issue 3
    Pages 162-167
    Date 2011 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2011.02.003
    ISSN 1878-7541
    Short Title Spirituality in tobacco dependence
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21571235
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:32:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21571235
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
  • The center on aging, religion, and spirituality: Lessons learned.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Susan H. McFadden
    Author Melvin A. Kimble
    Author James W. Ellor
    Author James E. Seeber
    Author Robert Rost
    Abstract The Center on Aging, Religion, and Spirituality (CARS) was associated with Luther Seminary (St. Paul, Minnesota) from 1994 until 2007. Emphasizing the need for immanent and transcendent meaning in late life, it provided an ecumenical, interdisciplinary continuing education program for clergy, chaplains, lay leaders, and others interested in pastoral care and ministry with older persons. It also supported research and scholarship on aging, religion, and spirituality, and shared this knowledge with others through conferences, journal articles, and two edited handbooks. This article tells the story of CARS, describes its activities, and identifies the lessons learned when its directors concluded that it could no longer be sustained. The article concludes with observations about whether programs like CARS are still needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 23
    Issue 1-2
    Pages 62-76
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1080/15528030.2010.533358
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title The center on aging, religion, and spirituality
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • Aging
    • Clergy
    • Educational Programs
    • religion
    • spirituality
  • Religion and mental health among older adults: do the effects of religious involvement vary by gender?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael J McFarland
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Few studies explore how the relationship between religious involvement and mental health varies by gender among the aging population. This article outlines a series of arguments concerning the effects of gender in moderating the effect of religious involvement on mental health and examines them empirically. METHODS: Using two waves (2001 and 2004) of the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, this study estimates the differential effect of gender in the religion-mental health connection using multivariate analyses for a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 66-95 years. RESULTS: Results suggest that (a) men obtain more mental health benefits from religious involvement than women, (b) women with higher levels of organizational religious involvement have similar levels of mental health as those with moderate and lower levels of organizational religious involvement, (c) men with very high levels of organizational religious involvement tend to have much higher levels of mental health than all other men. DISCUSSION: The relationship between organizational religious involvement and mental health is found to be mostly a nonlinear one such that those with the highest levels of religiosity receive all the benefits. The findings suggest a number of promising research directions on the religion-mental health connection among older Americans.
    Publication The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
    Volume 65
    Issue 5
    Pages 621-630
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
    DOI 10.1093/geronb/gbp112
    ISSN 1758-5368
    Short Title Religion and mental health among older adults
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:51:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20007301
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Death
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • religion
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • Sex Factors
    • United States
  • The role of religion in shaping sexual frequency and satisfaction: evidence from married and unmarried older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael J McFarland
    Author Jeremy E Uecker
    Author Mark D Regnerus
    Abstract This study assesses the role of religion in influencing sexual frequency and satisfaction among older married adults and sexual activity among older unmarried adults. The study proposes and tests several hypotheses about the relationship between religion and sex among these two groups of older Americans, using nationally representative data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. Results suggest that among married older adults, religion is largely unrelated with sexual frequency and satisfaction, although religious integration in daily life shares a weak, but positive, association with pleasure from sex. For unmarried adults, such religious integration exhibits a negative association with having had sex in the last year among women, but not among men.
    Publication Journal of Sex Research
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 297-308
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Sex Res
    DOI 10.1080/00224491003739993
    ISSN 1559-8519
    Short Title The role of religion in shaping sexual frequency and satisfaction
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20349390
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20349390
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:10 AM
  • Developing a language for nonreligious spirituality in relation to serious illness through research: preliminary findings

    Type Journal Article
    Author Pam McGrath
    Abstract The preliminary findings presented in this article are part of a research program that is concerned with exploring the notion of spirituality for those dealing with serious illness. The aim of the program is not only to deepen our understanding of how individuals construct their spirituality in the face of life-threatening illness, but also to respond to such insights by beginning to develop a language reflective of the commonalities of experience. The development of such a language involves a three-phase process including the thematic development of qualitative data, comparative analysis of findings from disparate sample groups, and expert reflection of conceptual notions within the context of the richness of traditional philosophical/theological literature. This discussion focuses on the preliminary process of qualitative data development based on in-depth interviews with survivors of a hematological malignancy. The findings indicate that, for those who have a nonreligious framework, there is no shared language readily available to communicate their insights and experience with serious illness. However, the qualitative analysis also indicates that such survivors share a number of identifiable conceptual notions. These notions are articulated as a preliminary step in language development.
    Publication Health Communication
    Volume 18
    Issue 3
    Pages 217-235
    Date 2005
    Journal Abbr Health Commun
    DOI 10.1207/s15327027hc1803_2
    ISSN 1041-0236
    Short Title Developing a language for nonreligious spirituality in relation to serious illness through research
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16187929
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:27:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16187929
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Hematologic Neoplasms
    • Humans
    • Language
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • spirituality
    • Survivors

    Notes:

    • The aim of the program is not only to deepen our understanding of how individuals construct their spirituality in the face of life-threatening illness, but also to respond to such insights by beginning to develop a language reflective of the commonalities of experience.

  • Mindfulness as a potential intervention for stimulus over-selectivity in older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Louise McHugh
    Author Anna Simpson
    Author Phil Reed
    Abstract Ageing is related to significant declines in cognitive functioning. This effect can have a serious impact on the physical and psychological health of older adults as well as their quality of life. One phenomenon linked to cognitive deficits, particularly attention, that has been demonstrated to emerge with ageing is over-selectivity. Over-selectivity occurs when behavior is controlled by a limited number of stimuli in the environment. Mindfulness is a construct that specifically targets attention and awareness of the present moment. The current study aimed to remediate over-selectivity in an elderly population by means of a focused attention/mindfulness induction. The results of this study indicated that the level of emergent over-selectivity in an elderly population was significantly reduced after a focused attention induction when compared to an unfocused attention induction. The findings are discussed in terms of the efficacy of mindfulness training in reducing over-selectivity.
    Publication Research in Developmental Disabilities
    Volume 31
    Issue 1
    Pages 178-184
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ridd.2009.08.009
    ISSN 0891-4222
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 12:57:22 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Attention
    • Mindfulness
    • OLDER people
    • Stimulus overselectivity
  • Psychosocial needs in cancer patients related to religious belief

    Type Journal Article
    Author M B McIllmurray
    Author B Francis
    Author J C Harman
    Author S M Morris
    Author K Soothill
    Author C Thomas
    Abstract In a study of psychosocial needs amongst cancer patients, the possession of a religious faith has been identified as a significant factor in determining a range of psychosocial needs. Of the 354 respondents to a questionnaire, which included a comprehensive psychosocial needs inventory, 83% said they had a religious faith, and in general these patients were less reliant on health professionals, had less need for information, attached less importance to the maintenance of independence and had less need for help with feelings of guilt, with their sexuality or with some practical matters than those who said they had no religious faith. In addition, they had fewer unmet needs overall (32% compared with 52%). The knowledge of a patient's spirituality should help service providers to predict aspects of psychosocial need and to respond sensitively and appropriately to a patient's experience of cancer.
    Publication Palliative Medicine
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 49-54
    Date Jan 2003
    Journal Abbr Palliat Med
    ISSN 0269-2163
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12597466
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:12:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12597466
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Emotions
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Professional-Patient Relations
    • Psychology, Social
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • spirituality

    Notes:

  • "Overeating is not about the food": women describe their experience of a yoga treatment program for binge eating

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shane McIver
    Author Michael McGartland
    Author Paul O'Halloran
    Abstract As part of a larger mixed-methods study, data from 20 personal journals were analyzed to examine the experience of a 12-week yoga treatment program for binge eating among a sample of 25 women who were obese. Qualitative analysis revealed a positive shift experienced by the women during the program, summarized by a general structural description: disconnection versus connection. Women's comments suggested that the program appeared to encourage a healthy reconnection to food, as well as the development of physical self-empowerment, through cultivating present-moment awareness. Specifically, women perceived an overall reduction in the quantity of food they consumed, decreased eating speed, and an improvement in food choices throughout the program. The women also reported feeling more connected to and positive about their physical well-being. These evolving outcomes were summarized through two major themes: the way their physicality changed, and the way their food consumption changed over time. Findings provide insights relevant to therapeutic processes that might occur within eating disorder interventions that draw on meditation-based approaches.
    Publication Qualitative Health Research
    Volume 19
    Issue 9
    Pages 1234-1245
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr Qual Health Res
    DOI 10.1177/1049732309343954
    ISSN 1049-7323
    Short Title "Overeating is not about the food"
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19690205
    Accessed Friday, February 04, 2011 11:08:51 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19690205
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Binge-Eating Disorder
    • BODY image
    • Diet Records
    • Female
    • Food Habits
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Medical Records
    • Middle Aged
    • Obesity
    • Power (Psychology)
    • Program Evaluation
    • Qualitative Research
    • Weight Loss
    • WOMEN
    • Women's Health
    • yoga
  • "Overeating is not about the food": women describe their experience of a yoga treatment program for binge eating

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shane McIver
    Author Michael McGartland
    Author Paul O'Halloran
    Abstract As part of a larger mixed-methods study, data from 20 personal journals were analyzed to examine the experience of a 12-week yoga treatment program for binge eating among a sample of 25 women who were obese. Qualitative analysis revealed a positive shift experienced by the women during the program, summarized by a general structural description: disconnection versus connection. Women's comments suggested that the program appeared to encourage a healthy reconnection to food, as well as the development of physical self-empowerment, through cultivating present-moment awareness. Specifically, women perceived an overall reduction in the quantity of food they consumed, decreased eating speed, and an improvement in food choices throughout the program. The women also reported feeling more connected to and positive about their physical well-being. These evolving outcomes were summarized through two major themes: the way their physicality changed, and the way their food consumption changed over time. Findings provide insights relevant to therapeutic processes that might occur within eating disorder interventions that draw on meditation-based approaches.
    Publication Qualitative Health Research
    Volume 19
    Issue 9
    Pages 1234-1245
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr Qual Health Res
    DOI 10.1177/1049732309343954
    ISSN 1049-7323
    Short Title "Overeating is not about the food"
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19690205
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:34:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19690205
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • As part of a larger mixed-methods study, data from 20 personal journals were analyzed to examine the experience of a 12-week yoga treatment program for binge eating among a sample of 25 women who were obese. Women’s comments suggested that the program appeared to encourage a healthy reconnection to food, as well as the development of physical self-empowerment, through cultivating present-moment awareness.

  • The practice of prelacteal feeding to newborns among Hindu and Muslim families

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathleen M McKenna
    Author Rani T Shankar
    Publication Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health
    Volume 54
    Issue 1
    Pages 78-81
    Date 2009 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr J Midwifery Womens Health
    DOI 10.1016/j.jmwh.2008.07.012
    ISSN 1542-2011
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19114243
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19114243
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Asian Continental Ancestry Group
    • Breast Feeding
    • Cultural Diversity
    • Family
    • Female
    • Hinduism
    • Humans
    • Infant Care
    • Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
    • Infant, Newborn
    • ISLAM
    • Midwifery
    • Pregnancy
  • Perceptions of clinical athletic trainers on the spiritual care of injured athletes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cynthia M McKnight
    Author Stephanie Juillerat
    Abstract CONTEXT Treating both the body and the mind of an injured or ill patient is accepted as necessary for full healing to occur. However, treating the spiritual needs of the patient has less consensus. OBJECTIVE To determine the perceptions and practices of certified athletic trainers (ATs) working in the college/university setting pertaining to spiritual care of the injured athlete. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING A survey instrument was e-mailed to a stratified random sample of 2000 ATs at 4-year colleges and universities. Patients or Other Participants: Five hundred sixty-four Main Outcome Measure(s): We measured the ATs' perceptions and practices related to spiritual care for athletes. RESULTS We found that 82.4% of respondents agreed that addressing spiritual concerns could result in more positive therapeutic outcomes for athletes; however, 64.3% disagreed that ATs are responsible for providing the spiritual care. Positive correlations were found between personal spirituality and items favoring implementing spiritual care. CONCLUSIONS Athletic trainers have a conceptual appreciation of the importance of spiritual care for athletes, but the practicalities of how to define, acquire skills in, and practice spiritual care are unresolved.
    Publication Journal of Athletic Training
    Volume 46
    Issue 3
    Pages 303-311
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr J Athl Train
    ISSN 1938-162X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21669101
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21669101
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM
  • Faith and Religious Beliefs in an Outpatient Military Population

    Type Journal Article
    Author S. S. McLaughlin
    Author A. D. McLaughlin
    Author J. A. Van Slyke
    Abstract Background: This study of outpatients at a military medical center seeks to evaluate the extent that this population relies on religion and spirituality to cope with health-related stress. This study also assesses outpatients' desire for spiritual intervention in the context of their medical appointments. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 670 outpatients presenting at a military medical center. Results: The majority of respondents endorsed a Christian religious affiliation (87%), a belief in God (91%), and attendance at religious services at least a few times a month (53%). Respondents who were male, younger than age 43, and on active duty were significantly less likely to attend religious services, believe in God (or a 'higher power'), or rely on religion or spirituality to cope with illness. Outpatients presenting for procedures or treatments were more likely to desire prayer or other religious intervention, as compared to patients who had regular clinic appointments. Conclusions: Compared to the general US population, a higher percentage of this patient population believes in God ( 91% vs. 78%), attends religious services once a week or more (42% vs. 30%), and endorses a Christian religious affiliation (87% vs. 73%). Because one-third of the surveyed outpatients desired prayer or other religious support, we concluded that all outpatients should be explicitly notified of the pastoral care and counseling services that are available for them.
    Publication Southern Medical Journal
    Volume 103
    Issue 6
    Pages 527-531
    Date JUN 2010
    DOI 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3181de0304
    ISSN 0038-4348
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 6:17:00 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • What American Psychological Association Leaders Have to Say About Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark R. McMinn
    Author William L. Hathaway
    Author Scott W. Woods
    Author Kimberly N. Snow
    Abstract What do American Psychological Association (APA) leaders have to say about the new journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality? A survey was sent to 204 current APA council representatives and divisional residents, yielding 63 completed questionnaires (31% response rate). Respondents generally affirmed the importance of religion and spirituality as topics of inquiry in psychology. Although not highly religious themselves, respondents recognize religion and spirituality as important aspects of human diversity. In considering the new journal, current APA leaders who responded to the survey are particularly interested in articles relating religion and spirituality to health and coping and articles considering cross-cultural and interfaith issues.
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 1
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-13
    Date February 2009
    DOI 10.1037/a0014991
    ISSN 1941-1022
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B9846-4W4DV6F-2/2/a6aafb610900a4061015e11518037f0b
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:35:01 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • human diversity
    • psychology of religion
    • religion
    • spirituality
  • The Neuroscience of Religious Experience

    Type Book
    Author Patrick McNamara
    Publisher Cambridge University Press
    Date 2009-11-30
    ISBN 0521889588
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Recent technical advances in the life and medical sciences have revolutionized our understanding of the brain, while the emerging disciplines of social, cognitive, and affective neuroscience continue to reveal the connections of the higher cognitive functions and emotional states associated with religious experience to underlying brain states. At the same time, a host of developing theories in psychology and anthropology posit evolutionary explanations for the ubiquity and persistence of religious beliefs and the reports of religious experiences across human cultures, while gesturing toward physical bases for these behaviors. What is missing from this literature is a strong voice speaking to these behavioral and social scientists - as well as to the intellectually curious in the religious studies community - from the perspective of a brain scientist.

  • Where God and Science Meet [Three Volumes]: How Brain and Evolutionary Studies Alter Our Understanding of Religion

    Type Book
    Author Patrick McNamara
    Publisher Praeger Publishers
    Date 2006-09-30
    ISBN 0275987884
    Short Title Where God and Science Meet [Three Volumes]
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Spiritual practices, or awakenings, have an impact on brain, mind and personality. These changes are being scientifically predicted and proven. For example, studies show Buddhist priests and Franciscan nuns at the peak of religious feelings show a functional change in the lobes of their brain. Similar processes have been found in people with epilepsy, which Hippocrates called “the sacred disease.” New research is showing that not only does a person’s brain activity change in particular areas while that person is experiencing religious epiphany, but such events can be created for some people, even self-professed atheists, by stimulating various parts of the brain. In this far-reaching and novel set, experts from across the nation and around the world present evolutionary, neuroscientific, and psychological approaches to explaining and exploring religion, including the newest findings and evidence that have spurred the fledgling field of neurotheology. It is not the goal of neurotheology to prove or disprove the existence of God, but to understand the biology of spiritual experiences. Such experiences seem to exist outside time and space - caused by the brain for some reason losing its perception of a boundary between physical body and outside world - and could help explain other intangible events, such as altered states of consciousness, possessions, alien visitations, near-death experiences and out-of-body events. Understanding them - as well as how and why these abilities evolved in the brain - could also help us understand how religion contributes to survival of the human race. Eminent contributors to this set help us answer questions including: How does religion better our brain function? What is the difference between a religious person and a terrorist who kills in the name of religion? Is there one site or function in the brain necessary for religious experience?

  • Positive psychology research in India: A review and critique.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Seema Mehrotra
    Author Ravikesh Tripathi
    Abstract Rapid strides have been made in the field of positive psychology across the globe in the last one decade. The present paper reviews the published empirical literature from India that falls within the purview of positive psychology. The primary tool for extracting relevant studies was an electronic search of databases covered on EBSCOhost, using pre-determined criteria in addition to a supplementary manual search. The studies reviewed span the years from 1954 to the beginning of 2010. The themes covered ranged from folk notions of happiness, values and wellbeing, socio-demographic, intrapersonal and interpersonal correlates and predictors of subjective wellbeing, positive adaptation to illness, posttraumatic growth, perceptions and expressions of positive emotions, development of positive traits & strengths, to examining outcomes that go beyond subjective reports of wellbeing. A large proportion of intervention studies have been rooted in spiritual frameworks. The review indicates the nature of issues addressed in field while bringing to light some of the areas that require attention in further research. The paper highlights the critical need for cumulative building of knowledge-base in the Indian positive psychology research through adequate linkages of studies from one to another. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 9-26
    Date January 2011
    ISSN 0019-4247
    Short Title Positive psychology research in India
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • databases
    • Demographic Characteristics
    • India
    • intervention
    • Positive Psychology
    • positive psychology research
    • SOCIOCULTURAL factors
    • socio-demographic characteristics
    • well being
  • Terrorism, post-traumatic stress, coping strategies, and spiritual outcomes.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Janice Bell Meisenhelder
    Author John P. Marcum
    Abstract This mail survey measured post-traumatic stress symptoms, spiritual and non-spiritual coping strategies, and positive spiritual outcomes following the tragedies of 9/11/01 in a national, random sample of 1,056 Presbyterians. Respondents reported mild to moderate degrees of re-experiencing and hyper-arousal symptoms of post-traumatic stress, unrelated to location or knowing someone involved. People experiencing high stress used greater frequency and variety of both spiritual and non-spiritual types of coping strategies. Positive spiritual outcomes were remarkably related to positive spiritual coping strategies, in contrast to no association with negative coping. This study illustrates the significant degree of post-traumatic stress experienced with vicarious exposure and a wide spectrum of coping strategies used following the major terrorist attacks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 1
    Pages 46-57
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9192-z
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Coping Behavior
    • coping strategies
    • hyper-arousal symptoms
    • Mail Surveys
    • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
    • post-traumatic stress symptoms
    • Presbyterians
    • Protestants
    • Religious Beliefs
    • spiritual outcomes
    • Stress
    • Terrorism

    Notes:

    • Transcendental meditation is said to induce in its practitioners an altered state of consciousness resulting in relief of stress, an increased sense of awareness, and a sense of well-being. Release of catecholamines has been associated widely with stress and lends itself to quantitation. Plasma epinephrine and norephinephrine, as well as lactate, were measured in 12 volunteers before, during, and after meditation. Values were compared with those obtained from controls matched for sex and age who rested instead of meditating. Essentially the same results were obtained for the two groups, which suggests that meditation does not induce a unique metabolic state but is seen biochemically as a resting state.

  • Religion in the psychoanalytic relationship-some aspects of transference and countertransference

    Type Journal Article
    Author W W Meissner
    Abstract This case poses the problem of the nature of transference and counter-transference dynamics in analytic relationships in which analyst and analysand share a communality of religious background, training, belief, and commitment. In this analysis, both analyst and analysand were professionally trained and committed Catholic priests. The analysis revealed the preoedipal and oedipal determinants of the analysand's intrapsychic perspective on religious matters and his engagement in religious activities. Countertransference difficulties arose in relation to empathic resonances potentially leading to excessive empathic attunement and concordant identification on one hand and a contrary pull to possible complementary identification and role responsiveness.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 123-136
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.123
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:20:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364264
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Catholicism
    • Clergy
    • Conflict (Psychology)
    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Gender Identity
    • Homosexuality, Male
    • Humans
    • IDENTIFICATION (Psychology)
    • Male
    • Narcissism
    • Object Attachment
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Transference (Psychology)
    • Transvestism
  • The distortion of the image of God, the father, and its relation to psychopathology

    Type Journal Article
    Author M. Meletiadis
    Abstract The meaning of father figure and its values for the development and mental-emotional-psychic maturation of children is self-evident. Two renowned stories, which emanate from the substructure of western civilization, are indicative. In Telemachia, Telemachus tries to become a man through the quest of the absent father (Ulysses). During an initiation process, we attest Telemachus' passage from adolescence to manhood, from lack of will and a passive stance to action and a responsible attitude. The process culminates when Ulysses is revealed to Telemachus, a meeting which bears elements of a theophany. In Oedipus, the king-servant of Thebes realizes that he is the cause of all the problems facing the city. He is revealed as the murderer of his father, husband of his mother. Oedipus assumes the responsibility of all his actions and searches the truth to the end. Departing this world, Oedipus keeps alive the image, the honour and self-value of the father. With the New Comer, Christ, the Father is identified with the immense opening, love. God is not distant but present, always next to his creatures. We sanctify his name on earth in taking him as a Father, in showing ourselves by our actions to be his children. These are some of the most important father figures in the legacy of the western culture. We have to revisit self as the space of the paternal signifier and at the same time reinstate the paternal function of love in the community and the state.
    Publication European Journal of Science and Theology
    Volume 6
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-16
    Date MAR 2010
    ISSN 1841-0464
    Accessed Thursday, March 25, 2010 1:43:17 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Religion, spirituality, and psychosis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Adair Menezes
    Author Alexander Moreira-Almeida
    Abstract This review discusses the relationships between religion, spirituality, and psychosis. Based on the DSM-IV, we comment on the concept of spiritual and religious problems, which, although they may seem to be psychotic episodes, are actually manifestations of nonpathological spiritual and religious experiences. Studies reporting that hallucinations also occur in the nonclinical population and thus are not exclusive to the diagnosed population are presented. Then, other studies pointing to the strong presence of religious content in psychotic patients are also presented. Finally, the criteria that could be used to make a differential diagnosis between healthy spiritual experiences and mental disorders of religious content are discussed. We conclude that the importance of this theme and the lack of quality investigations point to the necessity of further investigation.
    Publication Current Psychiatry Reports
    Volume 12
    Issue 3
    Pages 174-179
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Curr Psychiatry Rep
    DOI 10.1007/s11920-010-0117-7
    ISSN 1535-1645
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 2:37:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20425277
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Explorations of the psychoanalytic mystics

    Type Book
    Author Dan Merkur
    Series Contemporary Psychoanalytic Studies
    Place Amsterdam
    Publisher Rodopi
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9789042028593
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • The influence of religiosity on positive and negative outcomes associated with stress among college students.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ray Merrill
    Author Curtis Read
    Author Alisha LeCheminant
    Abstract This study presents the impact of religious coping on promoting positive outcomes and minimizing negative outcomes associated with stress among college students. Analyses are based on 742 college students at a large, church-sponsored school in the Western United States who completed a cross-sectional survey. Religiosity had a beneficial influence on both positive and negative outcomes associated with stress among college students. Among the negative outcomes associated with stress, religiosity had the greatest influence on lowering feelings of anger when things happen outside of one's control or minimizing upset feelings because of an unexpected event. Among the positive outcomes associated with stress, religiosity had the greatest effect on promoting feelings of confidence in one's ability to handle personal problems. Thus, higher levels of religiosity have the potential to prevent negative outcomes but promote positive outcomes associated with stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Mental Health, Religion & Culture is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts)
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 5
    Pages 501-511
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902774106
    ISSN 13674676
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rlh&AN=42411019&…
    Accessed Monday, October 26, 2009 8:59:01 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • CHRISTIAN life
    • CHURCH & state
    • COLLEGE students
    • mental health
    • RELIGIOUS institutions
    • Religiousness
    • stress management
    • SURVEYS
    • United States
  • Personal values and medical preferences: postmaterialism, spirituality, and the use of complementary medicine

    Type Journal Article
    Author V Messerli-Rohrbach
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The use of complementary medicine is increasing in the countries of the West. To find out the reason for this, research concentrated on the patients' demands for these methods, on their dissatisfaction with conventional medicine, and on their health conceptions. Quantitative research into the influence of attitudes and convictions in a broader sense on the use of complementary medicine are lacking, but would be of interest. QUESTIONS: This article aims to throw light on the specific question of whether materialistic or postmaterialistic values and spiritual preferences correlate with the use of unconventional medical methods. METHOD: Within the framework of the Swiss National Research Programme 34: 'Complementary Medicine', 3,077 and 2,276 Swiss residents were interviewed by telephone in 1995 and 1996, respectively, about their use of the medical system as well as about their attitudes towards materialism and spirituality. RESULTS: Hypotheses were confirmed: Attitudes and convictions influence the use of complementary medicine. Postmaterialists and interviewees who tended to agree with neoreligious statements used complementary medicine significantly more frequently than materialists and interviewees who tended to disagree with neoreligiosity or who tended towards traditional Christian values. CONCLUSIONS: Further research should concentrate on the interaction of different attitudes and convictions in order to learn more about the background of the growing trend towards complementary medicine. Another important conclusion is that the so-called health market is not simply subject to supply and demand, and cannot be regulated by marketing means alone.
    Publication Forschende Komplementärmedizin Und Klassische Naturheilkunde = Research in Complementary and Natural Classical Medicine
    Volume 7
    Issue 4
    Pages 183-189
    Date Aug 2000
    Journal Abbr Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd
    ISSN 1424-7364
    Short Title Personal values and medical preferences
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11025393
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:38:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11025393
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Health
    • Christianity
    • Complementary Therapies
    • Educational Status
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Social Values
    • Switzerland

    Notes:

    • This article aims to throw light on the specific question of whether materialistic or postmaterialistic values and spiritual preferences correlate with the use of unconventional medical methods. Method: 3,077 and 2,276 Swiss residents were interviewed by telephone in 1995 and 1996, respectively, about their use of the medical system as well as about their attitudes towards materialism and spirituality. Results: Postmaterialists and interviewees who tended to agree with neoreligious statements used complementary medicine significantly more frequently than materialists and interviewees who tended to disagree with neoreligiosity or who tended towards traditional Christian values.

  • Enhancement of the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy by the pineal hormone melatonin and its relation with the psychospiritual status of cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Giuseppina Messina
    Author Paolo Lissoni
    Author Paolo Marchiori
    Author Erio Bartolacelli
    Author Fernando Brivio
    Author Luciano Magotti
    Abstract BACKGROUND The anti-oxidant and immunomodulating natural agents may enhance the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy. One of the most important agents is the pineal hormone melatonin (MLT) which may exert both anti-oxidant and antiproliferative immunostimulating anticancer effects. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of a biochemotherapeutic regimen in metastatic cancer patients, and its therapeutic activity in relation to the psychospiritual status of patients. METHODS The study included 50 metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and a control group of 100 patients. Chemotherapy consisted of cisplatin plus gemcitabine. MLT was given orally at 20 mg/day in the evening. Patients were subdivided into 5 psychic profiles, as follows: spiritual faith, rationale faith, anxiety, apathy, and accusation behavior. RESULTS Tumor response rate was significantly higher in patients treated by chemotherapy plus MLT than in those treated by chemotherapy alone (21/50 vs. 24/100, p < 0.001). However, the percentage of objective tumor regressions obtained in patients with spiritual faith was significantly higher than that found in the overall other patients concomitantly treated by chemotherapy plus MLT (6/8 vs. 15/42, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the efficacy of chemotherapy may be enhanced by the pineal hormone MLT, by representing a new promising biochemotherapeutic combination; also despite its objective ability to enhance chemotherapy efficacy, the activity of MLT is depending at least in part on the psychospiritual status of cancer patients, and it is maximal in the presence of a real spiritual faith.
    Publication Journal of Research in Medical Sciences: The Official Journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
    Volume 15
    Issue 4
    Pages 225-228
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Res Med Sci
    ISSN 1735-7136
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21526086
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:56:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21526086
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM

    Notes:

    • This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of a biochemotherapeutic regimen in metastatic cancer patients, and its therapeutic activity in relation to the psychospiritual status of patients. In conclusion, the efficacy of chemotherapy may be enhanced by the pineal hormone MLT, by representing a new promising biochemotherapeutic combination; also despite its objective ability to enhance chemotherapy efficacy, the activity of MLT is depending at least in part on the psychospiritual status of cancer patients, and it is maximal in the presence of a real spiritual faith.

  • Evaluation of Transcendental Meditation as a Method of Reducing Stress

    Type Journal Article
    Author R. R. Michaels
    Author M. J. Huber
    Author D. S. McCann
    Abstract Transcendental meditation is said to induce in its practitioners an altered state of consciousness resulting in relief of stress, an increased sense of awareness, and a sense of well-being. Release of catecholamines has been associated widely with stress and lends itself to quantitation. Plasma epinephrine and norephinephrine, as well as lactate, were measured in 12 volunteers before, during, and after meditation. Values were compared with those obtained from controls matched for sex and age who rested instead of meditating. Essentially the same results were obtained for the two groups, which suggests that meditation does not induce a unique metabolic state but is seen biochemically as a resting state.
    Publication Science
    Volume 192
    Issue 4245
    Pages 1242-1244
    Date Jun. 18, 1976
    Series New Series
    ISSN 00368075
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1742607
    Accessed Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:49:20 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun. 18, 1976 / Copyright © 1976 American Association for the Advancement of Science
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Narrating Disability, Narrating Religious Practice: Reconciliation and Fragile X Syndrome

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marsha Michie
    Author Debra Skinner
    Abstract This article examines the place of religion in the narratives of mothers of children with fragile X syndrome. In interviews, a majority of women combined narratives of religious practice with illness narratives, interpreting their children's disabilities within a religious framework. The authors articulate a reconciliation narrative that mothers commonly used to describe their transition from viewing disability as a burden or challenge to seeing it as a blessing, or as a part of God's purpose or plan for their lives.
    Publication Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 99-111
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Intellect Dev Disabil
    DOI 10.1352/1934-9556-48.2.99
    ISSN 1934-9491
    URL http://aamr.allenpress.com/aamronline/?
    request=get-abstract&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • This article examines the place of religion in the narratives of mothers of children with fragile X syndrome. The authors found that a majority of women interpreted their children's disabilities within a religious framework. Informed by Arthur Frank's (1995) concept of “wounded storytellers,” the authors articulate a reconciliation narrative that mothers commonly used to describe their transition from viewing disability as a burden or challenge to seeing it as a blessing, or as a part of God's purpose or plan for their lives. The authors discuss the significance of narrative for better understanding religious perspectives on disability and conclude with the implications of these findings for practitioners and future research.

  • The Revelation of the Breath: A Tribute to Its Wisdom, Power, and Beauty

    Type Book
    Editor Sharon G. Mijares
    Series SUNY series in transpersonal and humanistic psychology
    Place Albany, NY
    Publisher State University of New York Press
    Date 2009-11-05
    ISBN 1438428774
    Short Title The Revelation of the Breath
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Researching the spiritual dimensions of alcohol and other drug problems

    Type Journal Article
    Author William R. Miller
    Abstract Although religions have been far from silent on the use of psychoactive drugs, and spirituality has long been emphasized as an important factor in recovery from addiction, surprisingly little research has explored the relationships between these two phenomena. Current findings indicate that spiritual/religious involvement may be an important protective factor against alcohol/drug abuse. Individuals currently suffering from these problems are found to have a low level of religious involvement, and spiritual (re)engagement appears to be correlated with recovery. Reasons are explored for the lack of studies testing spiritual hypotheses, and promising avenues for future research are discussed. Comprehensive addictions research should include not only biomedical, psychological and socio-cultural factors but spiritual aspects of the individual as well.
    Publication Addiction
    Volume 93
    Issue 7
    Pages 979-990
    Date 1998
    DOI 10.1046/j.1360-0443.1998.9379793.x
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.1998.9379793.x
    Accessed Thursday, October 22, 2009 10:43:15 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Current findings indicate that spiritual/religious involvement may be an important protective factor against alcohol/drug abuse. Individuals currently suffering from these problems are found to have a low level of religious involvement, and spiritual (re)engagement appears to be correlated with recovery.

  • Spirituality: the silent dimension in addiction research. The 1990 leonard ball oration

    Type Journal Article
    Author William [1] Miller
    Abstract Researchers currently recognize and incorporate psychological, biomedical, and social determinants in the study of addictive behaviors. Yet spiritual aspects of addiction and recovery remain virtually unstudied, despite the fact that spirituality is given central importance in Alcoholics Anonymous and in the lives of many individuals. Traditional spiritual concepts have been relabelled to remove their transcendent dimension, and addiction researchers have acted as though spirituality plays no role in the lives of those they study. Consequently an entire class of potentially important variables is being overlooked. A majority of variance in addictive behaviors and treatment outcomes remains unexplained, a portion of which might be accounted for through the study of spiritual dependent, moderator, and independent variables. Behavioural scientists have begun to acknowledge the role of complex spiritual, moral, and decisional processes in the addictive behaviours. Though uncomfortable in some ways for both believers and unbelievers, the scientific study of spiritual processes may improve our understanding of the addictive behaviours, and our ability to prevent and treat these enduring problems.
    Publication Drug and Alcohol Review
    Volume 9
    Pages 259-266
    Date 1990
    DOI 10.1080/09595239000185341
    Short Title Spirituality
    URL http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/apl/cdar/1990/00000009/00000003/art00009
    Accessed Thursday, October 22, 2009 4:42:31 PM
    Library Catalog IngentaConnect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • 1

    Notes:

    • Objective: To replicate previous findings among adults of an inverse association between religiosity and substance use among a nationally representative sample of adolescents., Conclusion: Low levels of religiosity may be associated with adolescent onset of substance use and abuse.

  • Religiosity and Substance Use and Abuse Among Adolescents in the National Comorbidity Survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lisa Miller
    Author Mark Davies
    Author Steven Greenwald
    Abstract Objective: To replicate previous findings among adults of an inverse association between religiosity and substance use among a nationally representative sample of adolescents., Method: Subjects were 676 (328 female and 348 male) adolescents in the National Comorbidity Survey who were assessed for substance use and abuse with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Religiosity was assessed through affiliation with religious denomination and through response to 7 questions concerning belief and practice., Results: Confirmatory factor analyses replicated in adolescents the 2 religiosity factors of personal devotion and personal conservatism previously identified by Kendler among adults, although the 2 factors were more highly correlated in adolescents than in adults. Personal devotion (a personal relationship with the Divine) and affiliation with more fundamentalist religious denominations were inversely associated with substance use and substance dependence or abuse across a range of substances (alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, or any contraband drug). Personal conservatism (a personal commitment to teaching and living according to creed) was inversely associated with use of alcohol only., Conclusion: Low levels of religiosity may be associated with adolescent onset of substance use and abuse., Copyright 2000 (C) American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
    Publication Journal of the American Academy of Child
    Volume 39
    Issue 9
    Pages 1190-1197
    Date 2000
    ISSN 0890-8567
    Library Catalog Ovid (Journals@Ovid)
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Clinical Medicine, Behavioral & Social Sciences

    Notes:

    • Spiritual aspects of addiction and recovery remain virtually unstudied, despite the fact that spirituality is given central importance in Alcoholics Anonymous and in the lives of many individuals. Traditional spiritual concepts have been relabelled to remove their transcendent dimension, and addiction researchers have acted as though spirituality plays no role in the lives of those they study. Consequently an entire class of potentially important variables is being overlooked.

  • The effects of religion and gender on well-being, substance use, and academic engagement among rural adolescents.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alyssa S. Milot
    Author Alison Bryant Ludden
    Abstract The effects of religious attendance, religious importance, and gender on well-being, substance use, and academic engagement were examined among early adolescents (N = 683) from rural schools. Results indicated that females viewed religion as more important than males, although the frequency of religious attendance did not differ for males and females. Hierarchical regression results revealed that religious importance was a more prominent protective factor than attendance against substance use even after accounting for parental support; however, no links were found between religiosity and depression or self-esteem. Adolescents who reported that religion was important in their lives reported lower school misbehavior and higher motivation, although those with high religious attendance had higher grades. Interaction effects indicated that religious importance was particularly salient for males compared to females in terms of enhanced school bonding and self-efficacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Youth & Society
    Volume 40
    Issue 3
    Pages 403-425
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1177/0044118X08316668
    ISSN 0044-118X
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • ACADEMIC achievement
    • academic engagement
    • Adolescent Development
    • adolescents
    • DRUG abuse
    • Gender differences
    • Human Sex Differences
    • religion
    • Religious Beliefs
    • substance use
    • well being
    • Well-Being
  • Psychological Care for Persons of Diverse Religions: A Collaborative Continuum

    Type Journal Article
    Author Glen Milstein
    Author Amy Manierre
    Author Ann Marie Yali
    Abstract The purpose of this paper is to describe to psychologists and other clinicians a continuum of mental health care for persons of diverse religions. The continuum delineates boundaries between clinical care provided by mental health professionals and religious care provided by clergy, as well as describes pathways of collaboration across these boundaries. A prevention science based model of Clergy Outreach and Professional Engagement (COPE) is offered to guide this collaboration. The model describes a continuum that moves from the care already present in religious communities, through professional clinical care provided in response to dysfunction and returns persons to their own spiritual communities. One challenge for clinicians is that in addition to a wide diversity of beliefs and practices across religions, there is great ethnic diversity within religions. These diversities are reflected in varied correlations with mental health outcomes. Therefore, we recommend that clinicians assess religious beliefs and their cultural variations when designing religious inclusive psychotherapy specific to the client. There are ethical concerns as to the place of religion in clinical care. The "Resolution on Religious, Religion-Based and/or Religion-Derived Prejudice" adopted by the American Psychological Association has stated that it is not the role of professional psychologists to be spiritual guides. Through spiritual assessment of clients and strategic collaboration with religious leaders via COPE, mental health professionals can focus their efforts on clinical care that respects and incorporates the religious views of clients and does not attempt to recreate the lived religions of the clients' communities.
    Publication Professional Psychology: Research and Practice
    Volume 41
    Issue 5
    Pages 371-381
    Date October 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0021074
    ISSN 0735-7028
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6X00-51BDXRG-3/2/0e0e2c4c2ae03a11c9a8e35c06da0951
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:24:52 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • continuity
    • military
    • Recovery
    • religion
    • stigma
  • The impact of child-parent attachment, attachment to God and religious orientation on psychological adjustment.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maureen Miner
    Abstract The impact of religion and spirituality on psychological adjustment is a continuing area of concern. This preliminary study attempted to examine the effects of religious orientation, retrospective accounts of child-parent attachment and current accounts of attachment to God on trait anxiety and existential well being, based on questionnaire responses of a sample of 116 adults from Sydney, Australia. Small, significant effects of attachment to God on the prediction of adjustment were found above the effects of child-parent attachments. Intrinsic religious orientation mediated the relationship between attachment to God and adjustment. In addition, groups were formed according to correspondence and compensation routes to secure religious attachment. Results gave preliminary support to a differentiation, rather than a surrogacy, model of compensation. Further work to examine the process whereby attachment to God does or does not compensate for insecure child-parent attachment is needed (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Psychology and Theology
    Volume 37
    Issue 2
    Pages 114-124
    Date 2009
    ISSN 0091-6471
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • attachment behavior
    • attachment to God
    • child-parent attachment
    • Emotional Adjustment
    • God Concepts
    • Parent Child Relations
    • psychological adjustment
    • religiosity
    • religious orientation
  • The role of religiosity, coping strategies, self-efficacy and personality dimensions in the prediction of Iranian undergraduate rehabilitation interns’ satisfaction with their clinical experience.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Y. R. Mirsaleh
    Author H. Rezai
    Author S. R. Kivi
    Author R. Ghorbani
    Abstract Objective: To investigate the relationship between religiosity, coping styles, self-efficacy and personality dimensions as predictors of satisfaction with clinical experience in rehabilitation interns during transition from academic study to clinical internship.Design: A cross-sectional survey design.Setting: Five rehabilitation faculties.Participants: Three hundred and eighteen undergraduate rehabilitation interns, including physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech and language pathology students.Main outcome measures: Islamic Religiosity Scale, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, General Self-efficacy Scale, NEO Five Factor Inventory, and Satisfaction with Clinical Experiences Questionnaire.Results: Religiosity, problem-focused coping and general self-efficacy had significant positive correlation with satisfaction with clinical internship in rehabilitation students. Among personality dimensions, openness, agreement and consciousness had significant positive correlation with satisfaction with clinical experience and neuroticism had significant negative correlation with satisfaction with clinical experience. The results of regression analysis demonstrated that religiosity and self-efficacy had important roles in the prediction of satisfaction with clinical experience in all the rehabilitation intern students of three disciplines (physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology).Conclusion: Religiosity, problem-focused coping and general self-efficacy seem to be good predictors of satisfaction with clinical internship in rehabilitation students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
    Publication Clinical Rehabilitation
    Volume 24
    Issue 12
    Pages 1136-1143
    Date 12 December 2010
    DOI 10.1177/0269215510375907
    ISSN 02692155
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Cluster Analysis
    • Computer Software
    • CORRELATION (Statistics)
    • CROSS-sectional method
    • DATA analysis
    • Education
    • INTERVIEWS
    • Iran
    • Job Satisfaction
    • MEDICAL cooperation
    • personality
    • PROFESSIONALISM
    • Questionnaires
    • Regression Analysis
    • REHABILITATION
    • religion
    • Research
    • SAMPLING (Statistics)
    • Satisfaction
    • SCALE items
    • self-efficacy
    • Socialization
    • STUDENTS -- Attitudes
  • Randomized controlled trial of yoga among a multiethnic sample of breast cancer patients: effects on quality of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alyson B Moadel
    Author Chirag Shah
    Author Judith Wylie-Rosett
    Author Melanie S Harris
    Author Sapana R Patel
    Author Charles B Hall
    Author Joseph A Sparano
    Abstract PURPOSE: This study examines the impact of yoga, including physical poses, breathing, and meditation exercises, on quality of life (QOL), fatigue, distressed mood, and spiritual well-being among a multiethnic sample of breast cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred twenty-eight patients (42% African American, 31% Hispanic) recruited from an urban cancer center were randomly assigned (2:1 ratio) to a 12-week yoga intervention (n = 84) or a 12-week waitlist control group (n = 44). Changes in QOL (eg, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy) from before random assignment (T1) to the 3-month follow-up (T3) were examined; predictors of adherence were also assessed. Nearly half of all patients were receiving medical treatment. RESULTS: Regression analyses indicated that the control group had a greater decrease in social well-being compared with the intervention group after controlling for baseline social well-being and covariates (P < .0001). Secondary analyses of 71 patients not receiving chemotherapy during the intervention period indicated favorable outcomes for the intervention group compared with the control group in overall QOL (P < .008), emotional well-being (P < .015), social well-being (P < .004), spiritual well-being (P < .009), and distressed mood (P < .031). Sixty-nine percent of intervention participants attended classes (mean number of classes attended by active class participants = 7.00 +/- 3.80), with lower adherence associated with increased fatigue (P < .001), radiotherapy (P < .0001), younger age (P < .008), and no antiestrogen therapy (P < .02). CONCLUSION: Despite limited adherence, this intent-to-treat analysis suggests that yoga is associated with beneficial effects on social functioning among a medically diverse sample of breast cancer survivors. Among patients not receiving chemotherapy, yoga appears to enhance emotional well-being and mood and may serve to buffer deterioration in both overall and specific domains of QOL.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Oncology: Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
    Volume 25
    Issue 28
    Pages 4387-4395
    Date Oct 1, 2007
    Journal Abbr J. Clin. Oncol
    DOI 10.1200/JCO.2006.06.6027
    ISSN 1527-7755
    Short Title Randomized controlled trial of yoga among a multiethnic sample of breast cancer patients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17785709
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:43:04 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17785709
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Quality of Life
    • Regression Analysis
    • SOCIAL adjustment
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • This study examines the impact of yoga, including physical poses, breathing, and meditation exercises, on quality of life (QOL), fatigue, distressed mood, and spiritual well-being among a multiethnic sample of breast cancer patients. Conclusion: Despite limited adherence, this intent-to-treat analysis suggests that yoga is associated with beneficial effects on social functioning among a medically diverse sample of breast cancer survivors.

  • Predicaments in Researching Spirituality and Religion: A Response to Glicksman's “Contemporary Study of Religion and Spirituality Among the Elderly”

    Type Journal Article
    Author David O. Moberg
    Abstract Glicksman's perceptive critique calls attention to significant recurrent issues in the study of religion and spirituality that point to the need for humility by all who engage in it. Among these issues are implicit questions: What is spirituality? Is it a universal feature of humanity even though its manifestations are very diverse? How do researchers' assumptions and answers to those questions affect the methodologies they use to study religion and spirituality? Is theology relevant? Examples of overlapping scriptures of Judaism and evangelical Protestantism show how easily theological doctrines and philosophical values are misinterpreted by outsiders and how important they are for understanding the faith-related behavior of any group of people. Multidisciplinary research on the spirituality of people from all religions and none, global comparisons of the results, and painstaking analyses of the findings can bring us closer to comprehending the mysteries of spirituality and using them for the benefit of humanity.
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 4
    Pages 297-309
    Date 2009 October
    DOI 10.1080/15528030903029997
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title Predicaments in Researching Spirituality and Religion
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/15528030903029997
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:31:06 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Cognitive dimensions of religious experiences.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Debra Moehle McCallum
    Abstract Multidimensional scaling and regression techniques were used to identify and interpret dimensions in the domain of religious experiences. Descriptions of personal religious experiences were collected from college students and adult members of major western religions. Experimental participants judged the similarities among the descriptions and rated them on a number of attribute scales. Analyses indicated that student experiences could be described by four dimensions: spiritual-temporal, aesthetic response, social-individual, and discrete-continual. Three dimensions defined the adult experiences: level of personal control, spiritual-temporal, and social-individual. Points of correspondence and noncorrespondence with previous taxonomies of religious experiences are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
    Volume 19
    Pages 122-145
    Date 1983
    ISSN 0022-1031
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000928063&…
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:25:12 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Experience (Religion)
    • peer reviewed
    • Religiousness
    • Social psychology--Research
    • Students--Religious life
    • Tests and measurements in religion

    Notes:

    • Multidimensional scaling and regression techniques were used to identify and interpret dimensions in the domain of religious experiences. Descriptions of personal religious experiences were collected from college students and adult members of major western religions. Experimental participants judged the similarities among the descriptions and rated them on a number of attribute scales. Analyses indicated that student experiences could be described by four dimensions: spiritual-temporal, aesthetic response, social-individual, and discrete-continual. Three dimensions defined the adult experiences: level of personal control, spiritual-temporal, and social-individual. Points of correspondence and noncorrespondence with previous taxonomies of religious experiences are discussed.

  • Spirituality and depressive symptoms in a racially diverse US sample of community-dwelling adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mahyar Mofidi
    Author Robert F Devellis
    Author Dan G Blazer
    Author Brenda M Devellis
    Author A T Panter
    Author Joanne M Jordan
    Abstract The role of spirituality in depression is understudied. We examined the relationship between one dimension of spirituality, spiritual experiences, and depressive symptoms, and evaluated whether differences in gender, race, age, and stress moderated the relationship. The study was conducted with a community-based sample of 630 racially diverse middle-aged and older adults. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate a model linking spiritual experiences to depressive symptoms while controlling for demographic and health variables. Spiritual experiences were operationalized using six items of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale. Sample items included, "I feel God's presence," and, "I feel comfort in my religion or spirituality." The model achieved satisfactory goodness of fit. Spiritual experiences were significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms, and age as well as stress moderated the association, but not gender and race. Spirituality appears to be a psychosocial resource against depressive symptoms, although the results must be confirmed in longitudinal investigations.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 194
    Issue 12
    Pages 975-977
    Date Dec 2006
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/01.nmd.0000243825.14449.de
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17164640
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:05:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17164640
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • African Continental Ancestry Group
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Data Collection
    • Depressive Disorder
    • European Continental Ancestry Group
    • Female
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • North Carolina
    • Personality Inventory
    • Questionnaires
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • United States

    Notes:

    • We examined the relationship between one dimension of spirituality, spiritual experiences, and depressive symptoms, and evaluated whether differences in gender, race, age, and stress moderated the relationship. Spiritual experiences were significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms, and age as well as stress moderated the association, but not gender and race.

  • The relationship between spirituality and depressive symptoms: testing psychosocial mechanisms

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mahyar Mofidi
    Author Robert F DeVellis
    Author Brenda M DeVellis
    Author Dan G Blazer
    Author A T Panter
    Author Joanne M Jordan
    Abstract Although many studies suggest lower rates of depressive symptoms in those who report greater spirituality, few have investigated the mechanisms by which spirituality might relate to depressive symptoms. The current study aimed to elucidate potential psychosocial mechanisms that link these 2 variables. Data were drawn from a community-dwelling stratified sample of 630 racially diverse adults in rural North Carolina. Spirituality was assessed by 6 items of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale. Depressive symptoms were measured using 4 subscales from the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression. Hypothesized mediators were optimism, volunteering, and perceived social support. Structural equation modeling was used to test whether proposed mediators explain a link between spirituality and depressive symptoms. The model demonstrated a satisfactory fit. Spirituality was indirectly related to depressive symptoms. More specifically, spirituality was significantly associated with optimism and volunteering but not with social support, and optimism, volunteering and perceived social support were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. The link between spirituality and depressive symptoms is indirect. The relationship is mediated by optimism, volunteering, and social support. Findings present research and practice implications.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 195
    Issue 8
    Pages 681-688
    Date Aug 2007
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31811f4038
    ISSN 0022-3018
    Short Title The relationship between spirituality and depressive symptoms
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17700301
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:53:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17700301
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude
    • Delivery of Health Care
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • North Carolina
    • Prevalence
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Rural Population
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Voluntary Workers

    Notes:

    • The link between spirituality and depressive symptoms is indirect. The relationship is mediated by optimism, volunteering, and social support.

  • Religious delusions in an evangelical Christian woman with anorexia nervosa

    Type Journal Article
    Author Diana E Moga
    Author Deborah L Cabaniss
    Author Eric R Marcus
    Author B Timothy Walsh
    Author David A Kahn
    Abstract This case report describes the history and hospital course of a 42-year-old devout evangelical Christian woman with a long standing history of anorexia nervosa, binge/purge type, who developed religious delusions, including the conviction that God was prohibiting her from eating. The discussion emphasizes the difficulties of diagnosing and treating psychosis in devout individuals, and the interplay between anorexia, psychosis, and religion.
    Publication Journal of Psychiatric Practice
    Volume 15
    Issue 6
    Pages 477-483
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr J Psychiatr Pract
    DOI 10.1097/01.pra.0000364291.86080.66
    ISSN 1538-1145
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 11:18:17 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19934724
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • The relationship between identity styles and religiosity in students.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mahnaz Moghanloo
    Author Maryam Aguilar-Vafaie
    Author Mehrnaz Shahraray
    Abstract Objectives: The aim of this descriptive study was to examine the relationships between identity styles of the Berzonsky model and religiosity. Method: 359 students (182 males and 177 females) who were selected using a randomized stratified multi-stage method from among undergraduate students of Shahid Beheshti and Tehran universities, were assessed using Berzonsky Identity Styles Inventory (ISI), Islamic Orientation Questionnaire, and the Duriez Post Critical Belief Scale (PCBS). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression analysis. Results: Based on correlation analysis, most religiousity variables were positively related to informational and normative identity styles and negatively related to diffuse/avoidant identity style. Also, stepwise regression analysis showed that religious belief and practice, was predicted by informational and normative identity styles, inclusion of transcendence was predicted by normative and diffuse/avoidant identity styles (negatively) and symbolic processing was positively predicted by informational identity style. Conclusion: The positive relation of most religiousity factors with informational and normative identity styles, and their negative relationship with diffuse/avoidant identity styles indicates that these factors belong to a common religious construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology
    Volume 15
    Issue 4
    Pages 377-387
    Date 2010
    ISSN 1735-4315
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM

    Tags:

    • Berzonsky models
    • identity styles
    • Models
    • religiosity
    • Self Concept
    • Students
  • Neurobiology of Spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author E Mohandas
    Abstract Spiritual practices have been proposed to have many beneficial effects as far as mental health is concerned. The exact neural basis of these effects is slowly coming to light and different imaging techniques have elucidated the neural basis of meditative practices. The evidence though preliminary and based on studies replete with methodological constraints, points toward the involvement of the prefrontal and parietal cortices. The available data on meditation focus on activated frontal attentional network. Neuroimaging studies have shown that meditation results in an activation of the prefrontal cortex, activation of the thalamus and the inhibitory thalamic reticular nucleus and a resultant functional deafferentation of the parietal lobe. The neurochemical change as a result of meditative practices involves all the major neurotransmitter systems. The neurotransmitter changes contribute to the amelioration of anxiety and depressive symptomatology and in part explain the psychotogenic property of meditation. This overview highlights the involvement of multiple neural structures, the neurophysiological and neurochemical alterations observed in meditative practices.
    Publication Mens Sana Monographs
    Volume 6
    Issue 1
    Pages 63
    Date Jan 2008
    Journal Abbr Mens Sana Monogr
    DOI 10.4103/0973-1229.33001
    ISSN 0973-1229
    URL http://www.msmonographs.org/article.asp?
    issn=0973-1229;year=2008;volume=6;issue=1;spage=63;epage=80;aulast=Mohandas
    Accessed Tuesday, September 29, 2009 9:44:46 AM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Spiritual practices have been proposed to have many beneficial effects as far as mental health is concerned. The exact neural basis of these effects is slowly coming to light and different imaging techniques have elucidated the neural basis of meditative practices. The evidence though preliminary and based on studies replete with methodological constraints, points toward the involvement of the prefrontal and parietal cortices. The available data on meditation focus on activated frontal attentional network. Neuroimaging studies have shown that meditation results in an activation of the prefrontal cortex, activation of the thalamus and the inhibitory thalamic reticular nucleus and a resultant functional deafferentation of the parietal lobe. The neurochemical change as a result of meditative practices involves all the major neurotransmitter systems. The neurotransmitter changes contribute to the amelioration of anxiety and depressive symptomatology and in part explain the psychotogenic property of meditation. This overview highlights the involvement of multiple neural structures, the neurophysiological and neurochemical alterations observed in meditative practices.

  • Religious fundamentalism and its impact on the female gender.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Allan S. Mohl
    Abstract Virtually all human cultures have had some sort of religion, some coherent creative narrative to consolidate and counter balance human terrors, desires, limitations and inclinations. Generally those religions are populated by a mix of animal and humanoid gods, some male, some female, some bi-sexual. Yet as the feminist scholar Gerda Lerner convincingly shows the ascendance of patriarchy is paralleled by a shift in the balance of power among the resident deities. In her book, the creation of patriarchy, she writes that "the development of strong kingships and of archaic states brings changes in religious beliefs and symbols. The observable pattern is first, the demotion of the Mother-Goddess figure and the ascendance and later dominance of her male consort/son; then his merging with a stormgod into a male creator-god, who heads the pantheon of gods and goddesses. Wherever such changes occur, the power of creation and fertility is transferred from the Goddess to the God. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
    Publication The Journal of Psychohistory
    Volume 36
    Issue 4
    Pages 333-349
    Date 2009
    ISSN 0145-3378
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • female gender
    • God Concepts
    • human cultures
    • Human Females
    • religion
    • RELIGIOUS fundamentalism
  • The relationship between schizophrenia and religion and its implications for care

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sylvia Mohr
    Author Philippe Huguelet
    Abstract This paper focuses on the relationships between schizophrenia and religion, on the basis of a review of literature and the data of an ongoing study about religiousness and spiritual coping conducted among outpatients with chronic schizophrenia. Religion (including both spirituality and religiousness) is salient in the lives of many people suffering from schizophrenia. However, psychiatric research rarely addresses religious issues. Religious beliefs and religious delusions lie on a continuum and vary across cultures. In Switzerland for example, the belief in demons as the cause of mental health problems is a common phenomenon in Christians with high saliency of religiousness. Religion has an impact, not always positive, on the comorbidity of substance abuse and suicidal attempts in schizophrenia. In many patients' life stories, religion plays a central role in the processes of reconstructing a sense of self and recovery. However religion may become part of the problem as well as part of the recovery. Some patients are helped by their faith community, uplifted by spiritual activities, comforted and strengthened by their beliefs. Other patients are rejected by their faith community, burdened by spiritual activities, disappointed and demoralized by their beliefs. Religion is relevant for the treatment of people with schizophrenia in that it may help to reduce pathology, to enhance coping and to foster recovery. In the treatment of these patients, it appears useful to tolerate diversity, to respect others beliefs, to ban proselytism and to have a good knowledge of one's own spiritual identity.
    Publication Swiss Medical Weekly: Official Journal of the Swiss Society of Infectious Diseases, the Swiss Society of Internal Medicine, the Swiss Society of Pneumology
    Volume 134
    Issue 25-26
    Pages 369-376
    Date Jun 26, 2004
    Journal Abbr Swiss Med Wkly
    DOI 2004/25/smw-10322
    ISSN 1424-7860
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15340880
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 1:00:51 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15340880
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Chronic Disease
    • delusions
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Long-Term Care
    • Male
    • Prognosis
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Assessment
    • Schizophrenia
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Suicide, Attempted
    • Switzerland

    Notes:

    • This paper focuses on the relationships between schizophrenia and religion, on the basis of a review of literature and the data of an ongoing study about religiousness and spiritual coping conducted among outpatients with chronic schizophrenia.

  • Delusions with religious content in patients with psychosis: how they interact with spiritual coping

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sylvia Mohr
    Author Laurence Borras
    Author Carine Betrisey
    Author Brandt Pierre-Yves
    Author Christiane Gilliéron
    Author Philippe Huguelet
    Abstract Delusions with religious content have been associated with a poorer prognosis in schizophrenia. Nevertheless, positive religious coping is frequent among this population and is associated with a better outcome. The aim of this study was to compared patients with delusions with religious content (n = 38), patients with other sorts of delusions (n = 85) and patients without persistent positive symptoms (n = 113) clinically and spiritually. Outpatients (n = 236) were randomly selected for a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of religious coping. Patients presenting delusions with religious content were not associated with a more severe clinical status compared to other deluded patients, but they were less likely to adhere to psychiatric treatment. For almost half of the group (45%), spirituality and religiousness helped patients cope with their illness. Delusional themes consisted of: persecution (by malevolent spiritual entities), influence (being controlled by spiritual entities), and self-significance (delusions of sin/guilt or grandiose delusions). Both groups of deluded patients valued religion more than other patients, but patients presenting delusions with religious content received less support from religious communities. In treating patients with such symptoms, clinicians should go beyond the label of "religious delusion," likely to involve stigmatization, by considering how delusions interact with patients' clinical and psychosocial context.
    Publication Psychiatry
    Volume 73
    Issue 2
    Pages 158-172
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/psyc.2010.73.2.158
    ISSN 1943-281X
    Short Title Delusions with religious content in patients with psychosis
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:51:20 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20557227
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Evolution of spirituality and religiousness in chronic schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorders: A 3-years follow-up study.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sylvia Mohr
    Author Laurence Borras
    Author Isabelle Rieben
    Author Carine Betrisey
    Author Christiane Gillieron
    Author Pierre-Yves Brandt
    Author Nader Perroud
    Author Philippe Huguelet
    Abstract Purpose: Spirituality and religiousness have been shown to be highly prevalent in patients with schizophrenia. Religion can help instill a positive sense of self, decrease the impact of symptoms and provide social contacts. Religion may also be a source of suffering. In this context, this research explores whether religion remains stable over time. Methods: From an initial cohort of 115 out-patients, 80% completed the 3-years follow-up assessment. In order to study the evolution over time, a hierarchical cluster analysis using average linkage was performed on factorial scores at baseline and follow-up and their differences. A sensitivity analysis was secondarily performed to check if the outcome was influenced by other factors such as changes in mental states using mixed models. Results: Religion was stable over time for 63% patients; positive changes occurred for 20% (i.e., significant increase of religion as a resource or a transformation of negative religion to a positive one) and negative changes for 17% (i.e., decrease of religion as a resource or a transformation of positive religion to a negative one). Change in spirituality and/or religiousness was not associated with social or clinical status, but with reduced subjective quality of life and self-esteem; even after controlling for the influence of age, gender, quality of life and clinical factors at baseline. Conclusions: In this context of patients with chronic schizophrenia, religion appeared to be labile. Qualitative analyses showed that those changes expressed the struggles of patients and suggest that religious issues need to be discussed in clinical settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
    Volume 45
    Issue 11
    Pages 1095-1103
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s00127-009-0151-0
    ISSN 0933-7954
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • Chronic Mental Illness
    • chronic schizo-affective disorders
    • chronic schizophrenia
    • religiosity
    • religiousness
    • Schizoaffective Disorder
    • Schizophrenia
    • spirituality
  • The assessment of spirituality and religiousness in schizophrenia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sylvia Mohr
    Author Christiane Gillieron
    Author Laurence Borras
    Author Pierre-Yves Brandt
    Author Philippe Huguelet
    Abstract To assess religious coping in schizophrenia, we developed and tested a clinical grid, as no validated questionnaire exists for this population. One hundred fifteen outpatients were interviewed. Results obtained by 2 clinicians were compared. Religion was central in the lives of 45% of patients, 60% used religion extensively to cope with their illness. Religion is a multifaceted construct. Principal component analysis elicited 4 factors: subjective dimension, collective dimension, synergy with psychiatric treatment, and ease of talking about religion with psychiatrist. Different associations were found between these factors and psychopathology, substance abuse, and psychosocial adaptation. The high prevalence of spirituality and religious coping clearly indicates the necessity of addressing spirituality in patient care. Our clinical grid is suitable for this purpose. It proved its applicability to a broad diversity of religious beliefs, even pathological ones. Interjudge reliability and construct validity were high and specific training is not required.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 195
    Issue 3
    Pages 247-253
    Date Mar 2007
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/01.nmd.0000258230.94304.6b
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17468685
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:41:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17468685
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Ambulatory Care
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Prevalence
    • Principal Component Analysis
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Psychometrics
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • Research Design
    • Schizophrenia
    • Schizophrenic Psychology
    • SOCIAL adjustment
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • To assess religious coping in schizophrenia, we developed and tested a clinical grid, as no validated questionnaire exists for this population. Principal component analysis elicited 4 factors: subjective dimension, collective dimension, synergy with psychiatric treatment, and ease of talking about religion with psychiatrist. Different associations were found between these factors and psychopathology, substance abuse, and psychosocial adaptation.

  • The meaning of spirituality and spiritual care among the Hong Kong Chinese terminally ill

    Type Journal Article
    Author Esther Mok
    Author Frances Wong
    Author Daniel Wong
    Abstract AIM: This paper is a report of a study conducted to explore the phenomenon of spirituality and spiritual care among terminally ill Chinese patients. BACKGROUND: Meeting a patient's spiritual needs is a fundamental part of holistic nursing care. In the Western literature, spirituality is related to connectedness, faith, and hope. Contemporary scholars in the West suggest that spirituality is a broader term than religion. METHOD: Phenomenological interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 15 terminally ill Chinese patients in 2007. FINDINGS: Participants found the term spirituality an abstract concept and described it as a unique personal belief which gives strength and relates to meaning of life. Spirituality is integrated with the body and mind and is a multidimensional concept. The acceptance of death as a process in life and 'letting go' leads to serenity and peace of mind. Other important themes include how the meaning of life is derived through relationships and connectedness, self-reflection of responsibilities, and obligations fulfilled. Inner spiritual well-being is attained from having faith and knowing possibilities in life and after death. Participants did not expect nurses to provide spiritual care, but when quality interpersonal care was given it gave them strength and spiritually supportive. CONCLUSION: If healthcare professionals can provide a compassionate and loving environment that facilitates acceptance and hope, the spiritual life of patients is enhanced. For dying individuals to experience love and for them to be understood as valuable even when no longer economically productive are both experiences of healing.
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 66
    Issue 2
    Pages 360-370
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05193.x
    ISSN 1365-2648
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 2:43:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20423419
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Healthcare professionals' perceptions of existential distress in patients with advanced cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Esther Mok
    Author Ka-po Lau
    Author Wai-man Lam
    Author Lai-ngor Chan
    Author Jeffrey S C Ng
    Author Kin-sang Chan
    Abstract AIM: This paper is a report of an exploration of the phenomenon of existential distress in patients with advanced cancer from the perspectives of healthcare professionals. BACKGROUND: Existential distress is an important concern in patients with advanced cancer; it affects their well-being and needs to be addressed in the provision of holistic care. METHOD: Focus groups were conducted from November 2008 to February 2009 with physicians, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and chaplains working in a palliative care unit that served patients with advanced cancer in Hong Kong. Data collection and analysis were guided by the grounded theory approach. All categories were saturated when five focus groups had been held with a total number of 23 participants. FINDINGS: We found three causal conditions of existential distress: anticipation of a negative future, failure to engage in meaningful activities and relationships, and having regrets. Three basic (caring, relating and knowing) and six specific (positive feedback, religious support, new experiences, task setting, exploring alternatives and relationship reconciliation) intervening strategies were identified. Whether the intervening strategies would be effective would depend on patients' openness and readiness; healthcare professionals' self-awareness, hopefulness, and interest in knowing the patients; and a trusting relationship between patients and healthcare professionals. A sense of peace in patients was considered a consequence of successful interventions. CONCLUSION: This paper acknowledges the lack of an accepted conceptual framework of existential distress in patients with advanced cancer. It is based on healthcare professionals' views, and further studies from the perspectives of patients and their families are needed.
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 66
    Issue 7
    Pages 1510-1522
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05330.x
    ISSN 1365-2648
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:19:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20492015
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM

    Notes:

    • This paper is a report of an exploration of the phenomenon of existential distress in patients with advanced cancer from the perspectives of healthcare professionals.

  • Moderating effect of religiosity on the relationship between social isolation and psychological well-being.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yadollah Abolfathi Momtaz
    Author Tengku-Aizan Hamid
    Author Rahimah Ibrahim
    Author Nurizan Yahaya
    Author Sen Tyng Chai
    Abstract It is known that social isolation is negatively associated to psychological well-being. Hence, it is imperative to identify factors that may moderate this association. This study aimed to examine the moderating effect of religiosity on the relationship between social isolation and psychological well-being among a sample of 1415 community-dwelling older Malay Muslims age 60 years and over. The data for this study came from a national survey entitled Patterns of Social Relationship and Psychological Well Being among Older Persons in Peninsular Malaysia, which was conducted using a cross-sectional research design. Three scales namely WHO-5 Well being Index, Revised Intrinsic Extrinsic Religiosity Scale, and Lubben Social Network Scale were utilised to measure psychological well-being, religiosity, and social isolation, respectively. A four-step moderated hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS (version-13) was employed to test moderating effect of religiosity. The results of this study demonstrated that religiosity significantly moderates relationship between social isolation and psychological well-being, after controlling for age, sex, marital status, level of education, employment status, household income, and place of residence. Based on the findings from this study, the possible educational and therapeutic implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 2
    Pages 141-156
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674676.2010.497963
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • Computer Software
    • DATA analysis
    • ISLAM
    • Malaysia
    • Social Isolation
    • STATISTICS
    • Well-Being
  • Does yoga shape body, mind and spiritual health and happiness: Differences between yoga practitioners and college students

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth Monk-Turner
    Author Charlie Turner
    Abstract Background/Aims: To assess the body, mind and spirit differences between yoga students compared with college students. Materials and Methods: Mind, body and spirit survey instruments administered to the two groups. Results: Five indicators to measure mental wellness were significantly different between yoga practitioners and college students. On three of these five measures, college students reported more mental wellness than yoga practitioners – in other words, the relationship was the inverse of what was expected. College students reported maintaining stability in their life more often than yoga practitioners as well as more often experiencing satisfying interpersonal relationships. College students were also more likely than yoga practitioners to report being tolerant of others, whether or not they approved of their behavior or beliefs. Yoga practitioners were more likely than college students to report having strong morals and healthy values as well as the ability to express their feelings and consider the feelings of others. We found differences between yoga practitioners and college students on more than half of our spirit items (five of nine). Yoga practitioners were more likely than college students to report expressing their spirituality appropriately and in healthy ways, recognizing the positive contribution faith could make to the quality of life (significant at the 0.07 level), routinely undertaking new experiences to enhance spiritual health and having a positive outlook on life. Further, we found support for the proposition that yoga practitioners were more likely to report experiencing happiness within. Conclusions: Significant differences between yoga and college students were found on the body, mind and spirit measurement instrument. Further work needs to address the complexities of these relationships.
    Publication International Journal of Yoga
    Volume 3
    Issue 2
    Pages 48-54
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Int J Yoga
    DOI 10.4103/0973-6131.72630
    ISSN 0973-6131
    Short Title Does yoga shape body, mind and spiritual health and happiness
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:19:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21170230
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • The spiritual distress assessment tool: an instrument to assess spiritual distress in hospitalised elderly persons

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stefanie M Monod
    Author Etienne Rochat
    Author Christophe J Büla
    Author Guy Jobin
    Author Estelle Martin
    Author Brenda Spencer
    Abstract Background Although spirituality is usually considered a positive resource for coping with illness, spiritual distress may have a negative influence on health outcomes. Tools are needed to identify spiritual distress in clinical practice and subsequently address identified needs. This study describes the first steps in the development of a clinically acceptable instrument to assess spiritual distress in hospitalized elderly patients. Methods A three-step process was used to develop the Spiritual Distress Assessment Tool (SDAT): 1) Conceptualisation by a multidisciplinary group of a model (Spiritual Needs Model) to define the different dimensions characterizing a patient's spirituality and their corresponding needs; 2) Operationalisation of the Spiritual Needs Model within geriatric hospital care leading to a set of questions (SDAT) investigating needs related to each of the defined dimensions; 3) Qualitative assessment of the instrument's acceptability and face validity in hospital chaplains. Results Four dimensions of spirituality (Meaning, Transcendence, Values, and Psychosocial Identity) and their corresponding needs were defined. A formalised assessment procedure to both identify and subsequently score unmet spiritual needs and spiritual distress was developed. Face validity and acceptability in clinical practice were confirmed by chaplains involved in the focus groups. Conclusions The SDAT appears to be a clinically acceptable instrument to assess spiritual distress in elderly hospitalised persons. Studies are ongoing to investigate the psychometric properties of the instrument and to assess its potential to serve as a basis for integrating the spiritual dimension in the patient's plan of care.
    Publication BMC Geriatrics
    Volume 10
    Pages 88
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr BMC Geriatr
    DOI 10.1186/1471-2318-10-88
    ISSN 1471-2318
    Short Title The spiritual distress assessment tool
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:47:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21144024
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • Mediators of a brief hypnosis intervention to control side effects in breast surgery patients: response expectancies and emotional distress

    Type Journal Article
    Author Guy H Montgomery
    Author Michael N Hallquist
    Author Julie B Schnur
    Author Daniel David
    Author Jeffrey H Silverstein
    Author Dana H Bovbjerg
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to test the hypotheses that response expectancies and emotional distress mediate the effects of an empirically validated presurgical hypnosis intervention on postsurgical side effects (i.e., pain, nausea, and fatigue). METHOD: Women (n = 200) undergoing breast-conserving surgery (mean age = 48.50 years; 63% White, 15% Hispanic, 13% African American, and 9% other) were randomized to a hypnosis or to an attention control group. Prior to surgery, patients completed assessments of hypothesized mediators (response expectancies and emotional distress), and following surgery, patients completed assessments of outcome variables (pain, nausea, and fatigue). RESULTS: Structural equation modeling revealed the following: (a) Hypnotic effects on postsurgical pain were partially mediated by pain expectancy (p < .0001) but not by distress (p = .12); (b) hypnotic effects on postsurgical nausea were partially mediated by presurgical distress (p = .02) but not by nausea expectancy (p = .10); and (c) hypnotic effects on postsurgical fatigue were partially mediated by both fatigue expectancy (p = .0001) and presurgical distress (p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the mediational roles of response expectancies and emotional distress in clinical benefits associated with a hypnotic intervention for breast cancer surgical patients. More broadly, the results improve understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for hypnotic phenomena and suggest that future hypnotic interventions target patient expectancies and distress to improve postsurgical recovery.
    Publication Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
    Volume 78
    Issue 1
    Pages 80-88
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr J Consult Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0017392
    ISSN 1939-2117
    Short Title Mediators of a brief hypnosis intervention to control side effects in breast surgery patients
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 11:43:04 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20099953
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • The present study was designed to test the hypotheses that response expectancies and emotional distress mediate the effects of an empirically validated presurgical hypnosis intervention on postsurgical side effects (i.e., pain, nausea, and fatigue).

  • Meditation, mindfulness and cognitive flexibility

    Type Journal Article
    Author Adam Moore
    Author Peter Malinowski
    Abstract This study investigated the link between meditation, self-reported mindfulness and cognitive flexibility as well as other attentional functions. It compared a group of meditators experienced in mindfulness meditation with a meditation-naïve control group on measures of Stroop interference and the "d2-concentration and endurance test". Overall the results suggest that attentional performance and cognitive flexibility are positively related to meditation practice and levels of mindfulness. Meditators performed significantly better than non-meditators on all measures of attention. Furthermore, self-reported mindfulness was higher in meditators than non-meditators and correlations with all attention measures were of moderate to high strength. This pattern of results suggests that mindfulness is intimately linked to improvements of attentional functions and cognitive flexibility. The relevance of these findings for mental balance and well-being are discussed.
    Publication Consciousness and Cognition
    Volume 18
    Issue 1
    Pages 176-186
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Conscious Cogn
    DOI 10.1016/j.concog.2008.12.008
    ISSN 1090-2376
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19181542
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:22:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19181542
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attention
    • Cognition
    • Humans
    • Meditation

    Notes:

    • This study investigated the link between meditation, self-reported mindfulness and cognitive flexibility as well as other attentional functions. It compared a group of meditators experienced in mindfulness meditation with a meditation-naïve control group on measures of Stroop interference and the “d2-concentration and endurance test”. Overall the results suggest that attentional performance and cognitive flexibility are positively related to meditation practice and levels of mindfulness. Meditators performed significantly better than non-meditators on all measures of attention. Furthermore, self-reported mindfulness was higher in meditators than non-meditators and correlations with all attention measures were of moderate to high strength. This pattern of results suggests that mindfulness is intimately linked to improvements of attentional functions and cognitive flexibility. The relevance of these findings for mental balance and well-being are discussed.

  • Religiousness and mental health: a review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alexander Moreira-Almeida
    Author Francisco Lotufo Neto
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The relationship between religiosity and mental health has been a perennial source of controversy. This paper reviews the scientific evidence available for the relationship between religion and mental health. METHOD: The authors present the main studies and conclusions of a larger systematic review of 850 studies on the religion-mental health relationship published during the 20th Century identified through several databases. The present paper also includes an update on the papers published since 2000, including researches performed in Brazil and a brief historical and methodological background. DISCUSSION: The majority of well-conducted studies found that higher levels of religious involvement are positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale) and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug/alcohol use/abuse. Usually the positive impact of religious involvement on mental health is more robust among people under stressful circumstances (the elderly, and those with disability and medical illness). Theoretical pathways of the religiousness-mental health connection and clinical implications of these findings are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that religious involvement is usually associated with better mental health. We need to improve our understanding of the mediating factors of this association and its use in clinical practice.
    Publication Revista Brasileira De Psiquiatria (São Paulo, Brazil: 1999)
    Volume 28
    Issue 3
    Pages 242-250
    Date Sep 2006
    Journal Abbr Rev Bras Psiquiatr
    ISSN 1516-4446
    Short Title Religiousness and mental health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16924349
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:48:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16924349
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • depression
    • Humans
    • Life Style
    • Mental Disorders
    • mental health
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Suicide

    Notes:

    • This paper reviews the scientific evidence available for the relationship between religion and mental health. Method: The authors present the main studies and conclusions of a larger systematic review of 850 studies on the religion-mental health relationship published during the 20th Century identified through several databases. Conclusions: There is evidence that religious involvement is usually associated with better mental health.

  • Meaninglessness in terminally ill cancer patients: a randomized controlled study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tatsuya Morita
    Author Hisayuki Murata
    Author Emi Kishi
    Author Mitsunori Miyashita
    Author Takuhiro Yamaguchi
    Author Yosuke Uchitomi
    Abstract Although recent empirical studies reveal that fostering patients' perception of meaning in their lives is an essential task for palliative care clinicians, few studies have reported the effects of training programs for nurses specifically aimed at improving these skills. The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the effects of an educational workshop focusing on patients' feelings of meaninglessness on nurses' confidence, self-reported practice, and attitudes toward caring for such patients, in addition to burnout and meaning of life. The study was designed as a single-institution, randomized controlled trial using a waiting list control. The intervention consisted of eight 180-minute training sessions over four months, including lectures and exercises using structured assessment. A total of 41 nurses were randomly allocated to three groups, which were separately trained, and all were evaluated four times at three-month intervals (before intervention, between each intervention, and after the last intervention). Assessments included validated Confidence and Self-Reported Practice scales, the Attitudes Toward Caring for Patients Feeling Meaningless Scale (including willingness to help, positive appraisal, and helplessness items), the Maslach Burnout Scale, job satisfaction, and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual (FACIT-Sp). One participant withdrew from the study before the baseline evaluation, and the remaining 40 nurses completed the study. The nurses were all female and had a mean age of 31+/-6.4, and mean clinical experience of 8.9+/-5.5 years. There were no significant differences in background among the groups. The intervention effects were statistically significant on the Confidence Scale, the Self-Reported Practice Scale, and the willingness to help, positive appraisal, and helplessness subscales, in addition to the overall levels of burnout, emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, job satisfaction, and the FACIT-Sp. The change ratio of each parameter ranged from 5.6% (willingness to help) to 37% for the helplessness score and 51% on the Confidence Scale. The percentages of nurses who evaluated this program as "useful" or "very useful" were 85% (to understand the conceptual framework in caring for terminally ill patients with meaninglessness), 80% (to foster nurses' personal values), and 88% (to know how to provide care for patients with meaninglessness). This educational intervention had a significant beneficial effect on nurse-perceived confidence, practice, and attitudes in providing care for patients feeling meaninglessness, in addition to the levels of burnout and spiritual well-being of nurses.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 37
    Issue 4
    Pages 649-658
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2008.04.017
    ISSN 1873-6513
    Short Title Meaninglessness in terminally ill cancer patients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18834700
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18834700
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Endpoint Determination
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Nurses
    • PATIENTS
    • Terminal Care
    • Waiting Lists
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the effects of an educational workshop focusing on patients' feelings of meaninglessness on nurses' confidence, self-reported practice, and attitudes toward caring for such patients, in addition to burnout and meaning of life. The study was designed as a single-institution, randomized controlled trial using a waiting list control.

  • A home study-based spirituality education program decreases emotional distress and increases quality of life--a randomized, controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sabine Moritz
    Author Hude Quan
    Author Badri Rickhi
    Author Mingfu Liu
    Author Maureen Angen
    Author Renata Vintila
    Author Russell Sawa
    Author Jeanette Soriano
    Author John Toews
    Abstract CONTEXT: Although epidemiological studies have reported protective effects of religion and spirituality on mental health, it is unknown whether spirituality can be used as an intervention to improve psychological well-being. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a home study-based spirituality program on mood disturbance in emotionally distressed patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A non-blinded, randomized, wait list-controlled trial of 165 individuals with mood disturbance [score of >40 on the Profile of Mood States (POMS)] were recruited from primary care clinics in a Canadian city between August 2000 and March 2001. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomized to a spirituality group (an 8-week audiotaped spirituality home-study program), a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction group (attendance at facilitated classes for 8 weeks), or a wait-list control group (no intervention for 12 weeks). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes were mood disturbance, measured using POMS, and quality of life, measured using the SF-36, a short-form health survey with 36 questions. The POMS and the SF-36 were completed at baseline, at 8 weeks, and at 12 weeks. RESULTS: At the end of the 8-week intervention period, the mean POMS score improvement was -43.1 (-45.7%) for the spirituality group, -22.6 (-26.3%) for the meditation group, and -10.3 (11.3%) for the control group (P<.001 for spirituality vs control group; P=.034 for spirituality vs meditation group). Mean improvement in the SF-36 mental component summary score was 14.4 (48.6%) for the spirituality group, 7.1 (22.3%) for the meditation group, and 4.7 (16.1%) for the control group (P<.001 for spirituality vs control group; P=.029 for spirituality vs meditation group). At 12 weeks, POMS and SF-36 scores remained significantly different from baseline for the spirituality group.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 12
    Issue 6
    Pages 26-35
    Date 2006 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17131979
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:01:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17131979
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Mental Healing
    • mental health
    • Mood Disorders
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Waiting Lists

    Notes:

    • This study evaluates the efficacy of a home study-based spirituality program on mood disturbance in emotionally distressed patients.

  • Are personality, well-being and death anxiety related to religious affiliation?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gareth J. Morris
    Author Tina McAdie
    Abstract A survey design was used to examine if there are any differences between a Christian, a Muslim, and a non-religious group in five personality factors (dominance, liveliness, warmth, apprehension, and sensitivity), general well-being, and death anxiety. No significant differences were found with any of the personality factors between the three groups. Religious participants (Christians and Muslims combined) scored significantly higher for general well-being than non-religious participants. Christians scored significantly lower for death anxiety than both non-religious and Muslim groups, and Muslims scored significantly higher than the non-religious group. These findings are discussed with reference to Terror Management Theory. Suggestions for future research include deeper investigation into beliefs of the afterlife and inclusion of more religions into psychological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 2
    Pages 115-120
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802351856
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • ANXIETY -- Religious aspects
    • BELIEF & doubt -- Psychological aspects
    • Christians
    • Death
    • FUTURE life -- Psychological aspects
    • MUSLIMS -- Research
    • PERSONALITY -- Religious aspects
    • WELL-being -- Religious aspects
  • How Christian Spiritual and Religious Beliefs Help and Hinder Counselors' Empathy Toward Clients.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marie Morrison
    Author William A. Borgen
    Abstract The critical incident technique was used to examine how counselors' religion and spirituality help and hinder counselor empathy toward clients. Twelve counselors holding Christian beliefs identified 242 helping and 25 hindering incidents that formed 14 helping and 3 hindering categories. Categories reflected counselors relying on a natural connection to their spirituality, drawing from empathic roots in their religion or spiritual experience, and using commonalities shared with clients as a means of empathizing. Implications for research, counselor education, and counseling practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Counseling & Values
    Volume 55
    Issue 1
    Pages 25-45
    Date October 2010
    ISSN 01607960
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • Christians
    • COUNSELORS
    • Empathy
    • religion
    • spirituality
  • Perceptions of Clients and Counseling Professionals Regarding Spirituality in Counseling.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Julie Q. Morrison
    Author Stacy M. Clutter
    Author Elaine M. Pritchett
    Author Alan Demmitt
    Abstract Although current research indicates that psychotheraoeutic change both affects and is affected by spiritual concerns, relatively little is known about the degree to which spirituality is used as an intervention in counseling and how it is perceived by clients and mental health professionals. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of clients and professionals regarding the use of spirituality in counseling. The results suggest that more professionals may be using spirituality in counseling than has previously been reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Counseling & Values
    Volume 53
    Issue 3
    Pages 183-194
    Date April 2009
    ISSN 01607960
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Counseling
    • MEDICAL personnel
    • mental health
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • spirituality
    • THERAPEUTICS
  • A near-death experience in a 7-year-old child

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Morse
    Abstract Near-death experiences occurring to persons who have survived near-terminal events, such as cardiac arrests or profound comas, have been widely reported in the lay literature; however, there is little documentation of such events in the medical literature. These experiences generally have a consistent core of euphoric affect, an out-of-the-body state, encountering a being of light, meeting others (especially dead relatives), and going from a dark tunnel to a world of light. This core remains consistently present despite wide variations in the religious or cultural background of the person. Such an event occurred to a 7-year-old near-drowning victim. Pediatricians should be alerted to the potential need for counseling in children who have survived near-fatal events.
    Publication American Journal of Diseases of Children (1960)
    Volume 137
    Issue 10
    Pages 959-961
    Date Oct 1983
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Dis. Child
    ISSN 0002-922X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/6613940
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:48:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 6613940
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Child
    • Counseling
    • Death
    • Drowning
    • Female
    • Humans
    • religion
    • Resuscitation

    Notes:

    • Near-death experiences occurring to persons who have survived near-terminal events, such as cardiac arrests or profound comas, have been widely reported in the lay literature; however, there is little documentation of such events in the medical literature. These experiences generally have a consistent core of euphoric affect, an out-of-the-body state, encountering a being of light, meeting others (especially dead relatives), and going from a dark tunnel to a world of light. This core remains consistently present despite wide variations in the religious or cultural background of the person. Such an event occurred to a 7-year-old near-drowning victim. Pediatricians should be alerted to the potential need for counseling in children who have survived near-fatal events.

  • Near death experiences and death-related visions in children: implications for the clinician

    Type Journal Article
    Author M L Morse
    Abstract Near death experiences (NDEs) have been reported throughout human history in a wide variety of cultures. In the past 20 years an explosion of accounts of such experiences occurring to those surviving coma, cardiac arrest, and noninjurious near fatal brushes with death has been reported. Such events occur to a broad cross section of society, including children, and are variously estimated to occur in between 10% and 90% of near-death situations. A number of similar elements are common to NDEs, including out-of-body experiences (OBEs), hearing buzzing or rushing sounds, entering into a void or a tunnel, seeing or entering into a bright spiritual light, encountering a border or limit, and the subjective perception of making a conscious choice or being forced to return to the body. Anecdotal cases exist in which the reality of the out-of-body perceptions can be independently verified by external conditions, situations, people, and objects. Childhood experiences are often compelling because children have a different perception of death than adults. Their experiences are simple and reveal a core NDE that is universal to the human dying experience.
    Publication Current Problems in Pediatrics
    Volume 24
    Issue 2
    Pages 55-83
    Date Feb 1994
    Journal Abbr Curr Probl Pediatr
    ISSN 0045-9380
    Short Title Near death experiences and death-related visions in children
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/8026218
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:11:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 8026218
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Attitude to Death
    • Child
    • Child, Preschool
    • Counseling
    • Death
    • Fantasy
    • Female
    • Hallucinations
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Parapsychology

    Notes:

    • Near death experiences (NDEs) have been reported throughout human history in a wide variety of cultures. In the past 20 years an explosion of accounts of such experiences occurring to those surviving coma, cardiac arrest, and noninjurious near fatal brushes with death has been reported. Such events occur to a broad cross section of society, including children, and are variously estimated to occur in between 10% and 90% of near-death situations. A number of similar elements are common to NDEs, including out-of-body experiences (OBEs), hearing buzzing or rushing sounds, entering into a void or a tunnel, seeing or entering into a bright spiritual light, encountering a border or limit, and the subjective perception of making a conscious choice or being forced to return to the body. Anecdotal cases exist in which the reality of the out-of-body perceptions can be independently verified by external conditions, situations, people, and objects. Childhood experiences are often compelling because children have a different perception of death than adults. Their experiences are simple and reveal a core NDE that is universal to the human dying experience.

  • Spirituality of Childhood Cancer Survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth E Morse
    Author Kathleen O'Rourke
    Abstract With the survival rates for childhood cancer growing, studies point to both the challenges and possible opportunities for personal growth that children with cancer may experience throughout their life journey. Examined in this review, research on the spirituality of childhood cancer survivors has provided insight into their overall spiritual journeys, their strategies to promote well-being, and the dynamics of hope and meaning within their lives. In an area that is in the early stages of research, the qualitative and exploratory research of the spirituality of childhood cancer survivors also contributes to the generation of future hypotheses. Finally, future research in this area should provide us with an enhanced understanding of spiritual paradigms that will assist us in making provisions for optimal support of children and their families.
    Publication Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology
    Volume 7
    Issue 4
    Pages 146-154
    Date 2009 Fall 01
    Journal Abbr J Soc Integr Oncol
    ISSN 1715-894X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19883530
    Accessed Wednesday, November 04, 2009 10:03:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19883530
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Notes:

    • With the survival rates for childhood cancer growing, studies point to both the challenges and possible opportunities for personal growth that children with cancer may experience throughout their life journey. Examined in this review, research on the spirituality of childhood cancer survivors has provided insight into their overall spiritual journeys, their strategies to promote well-being, and the dynamics of hope and meaning within their lives. In an area that is in the early stages of research, the qualitative and exploratory research of the spirituality of childhood cancer survivors also contributes to the generation of future hypotheses. Finally, future research in this area should provide us with an enhanced understanding of spiritual paradigms that will assist us in making provisions for optimal support of children and their families

  • Religiosity, anxiety, and discussions about organ donation: understanding a complex system of associations

    Type Journal Article
    Author Chris R Morse
    Author Walid A Afifi
    Author Susan E Morgan
    Author Michael T Stephenson
    Author Tom Reichert
    Author Tyler R Harrison
    Author Shawn D Long
    Abstract An increasingly large research base on religiosity has shown it to have a buffering effect on anxiety. In a separate vein, scholars interested in organ donation have suggested that both religiosity and anxiety play roles in individuals' willingness to seek information concerning their decisions about organ donations with their family-an event that greatly increases donation rates. This investigation presents 2 studies that examine the associations between religiosity and anxiety (variously measured), on the one hand, and anxiety and individual's information seeking behaviors with family members about organ donation on the other. The first study offers national samples and relies on self-reports, whereas the second study is one of the few organ donation studies to provide observer ratings of interaction between family members on the issue. Results suggest a more complicated role of religiosity with regard to anxiety than previously believed and show a consistent and robust association between anxiety and communication behaviors regarding organ donation. Implications for campaigns are discussed.
    Publication Health Communication
    Volume 24
    Issue 2
    Pages 156-164
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Health Commun
    DOI 10.1080/10410230802676755
    ISSN 1532-7027
    Short Title Religiosity, anxiety, and discussions about organ donation
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:38:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19280459
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Anxiety
    • Attitude to Health
    • Behavior
    • Communication
    • Family
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Intention
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Middle Aged
    • New England
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Tissue and Organ Procurement
    • Tissue Donors
    • Universities
    • Young Adult
  • Childhood near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Morse
    Author P Castillo
    Author D Venecia
    Author J Milstein
    Author D C Tyler
    Abstract We nonselectively interviewed 11 patients aged 3 through 16 years who had survived critical illnesses, including cardiac arrests and profound comas. Any memory of a time they were unconscious was considered to be a near-death experience (NDE) and was recorded. Seven of these children had memories that included being out of the physical body (six patients), entering darkness (five patients), being in a tunnel (four patients), and deciding to return to the body (three patients). We also interviewed 29 age-matched survivors of illnesses that required intubation, narcotics, benzodiazepines, and admission to an intensive care unit. None of them had any memories of the time they were unconscious. In our study population, NDEs were clearly associated with surviving a critical illness. The elements of NDEs reported are similar to those previously described in adults. No children described elements of depersonalization as part of their NDEs. A core NDE, triggered by the process of dying or resuscitation efforts, may be a natural developmental experience. We present a neurophysiologic hypothesis as to the cause of NDEs.
    Publication American Journal of Diseases of Children
    Volume 140
    Issue 11
    Pages 1110-1114
    Date Nov 1986
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Dis. Child
    ISSN 0002-922X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/3020964
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:20:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 3020964
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Child
    • Child, Preschool
    • Critical Care
    • Death
    • Humans
    • Intensive Care Units
    • Narcotics
    • Parapsychology
    • Prospective Studies
    • Respiration, Artificial
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Synaptic Transmission
    • Temporal Lobe

    Notes:

    • We nonselectively interviewed 11 patients aged 3 through 16 years who had survived critical illnesses, including cardiac arrests and profound comas. Any memory of a time they were unconscious was considered to be a near-death experience (NDE) and was recorded. Seven of these children had memories that included being out of the physical body (six patients), entering darkness (five patients), being in a tunnel (four patients), and deciding to return to the body (three patients). We also interviewed 29 age-matched survivors of illnesses that required intubation, narcotics, benzodiazepines, and admission to an intensive care unit. None of them had any memories of the time they were unconscious. In our study population, NDEs were clearly associated with surviving a critical illness. The elements of NDEs reported are similar to those previously described in adults. No children described elements of depersonalization as part of their NDEs. A core NDE, triggered by the process of dying or resuscitation efforts, may be a natural developmental experience. We present a neurophysiologic hypothesis as to the cause of NDEs.

  • Spiritual Autobiography and Older Adults.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Moschella
    Abstract Spiritual autobiography groups constitute a form of ministry that can potentially enrich the lives of older adults, their families, and their congregations. Such groups, when competently led, provide participants with an environment in which they can make meaning out of their lives, grieve their losses, and give and receive support. The actions and interactions involved in composing, telling, and hearing life stories are salutary exercises that can increase participants' experiences of clarity, coherence, and connection to God and to each other. The spiritual wisdom that emerges from such life stories, when shared within congregations, can enhance intergenerational relationships and lead to spiritual growth for members of diverse ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 60
    Issue 1
    Pages 95-98
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-010-0307-6
    ISSN 00312789
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

    Tags:

    • autobiography
    • FICTION
    • Intergenerational Relations
    • LISTENING
    • OLDER people
    • PASTORAL theology
    • RELIGIOUS gatherings
    • SPIRITUAL formation
  • Attachment and religiousness: Contributions to young adult marital attitudes and readiness.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jonathan E. Mosko
    Author M. Carole Pistole
    Abstract In this study (N = 239), Christian religious affiliation, low attachment avoidance, and intrinsic religious motivation contributed uniquely to positive marital attitudes; more serious relational status, low attachment avoidance, and intrinsic religious motivation contributed uniquely to marital readiness. Implications for family counseling practice and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication The Family Journal
    Volume 18
    Issue 2
    Pages 127-135
    Date April 2010
    ISSN 1066-4807
    Short Title Attachment and religiousness
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:24:20 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • attachment behavior
    • Christian religious affiliation
    • Christianity
    • Christians
    • family counseling
    • Family Therapy
    • intrinsic religious motivation
    • marital readiness
    • Marriage Attitudes
    • religiosity
    • religious affiliation
    • Religiousness
    • young adult marital attitudes
  • Effect of Slow- and Fast-Breathing Exercises on Autonomic Functions in Patients with Essential Hypertension

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Mourya
    Author AS Mahajan
    Author NP Singh
    Author AK Jain
    Abstract Objectives: Breathing exercises practiced in various forms of meditations such as yoga may influence autonomic functions. This may be the basis of therapeutic benefit to hypertensive patients. Design: The study design was a randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study using three groups. Subjects: The subjects comprised 60 male and female patients aged 20-60 years with stage 1 essential hypertension. Intervention: Patients were randomly and equally divided into the control and other two intervention groups, who were advised to do 3 months of slow-breathing and fast-breathing exercises, respectively. Baseline and postintervention recording of blood pressure (BP), autonomic function tests such as standing-to-lying ratio (S/L ratio), immediate heart rate response to standing (30: 15 ratio), Valsalva ratio, heart rate variation with respiration (E/I ratio), hand-grip test, and cold presser response were done in all subjects. Results: Slow breathing had a stronger effect than fast breathing. BP decreased longitudinally over a 3-month period with both interventions. S/L ratio, 30: 15 ratio, E/I ratio, and BP response in the hand grip and cold pressor test showed significant change only in patients practicing the slow-breathing exercise. Conclusions: Both types of breathing exercises benefit patients with hypertension. However, improvement in both the sympathetic and parasympathetic reactivity may be the mechanism that is associated in those practicing the slow-breathing exercise.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
    Volume 15
    Issue 7
    Pages 711-717
    Date JUL 2009
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0609
    ISSN 1075-5535
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Sunday, November 01, 2009 10:37:20 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Boswellia resin: from religious ceremonies to medical uses; a review of in-vitro, in-vivo and clinical trials

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arieh Moussaieff
    Author Raphael Mechoulam
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Despite its historical-religious, cultural and medical importance, Boswellia has not been thoroughly studied, and gaps still exist between our knowledge of the traditional uses of the resin and the scientific data available. Here we review the pharmacology of Boswellia resin and of the small molecules identified as the active ingredients of the resin. KEY FINDINGS: The resin of Boswellia species ('frankincense', 'olibanum') has been used as incense in religious and cultural ceremonies since the beginning of written history. Its medicinal properties are also widely recognized, mainly in the treatment of inflammatory conditions, as well as in some cancerous diseases, wound healing and for its antimicrobial activity. Until recently, work on Boswellia focused on the immunomodulatory properties of the resin and boswellic acids were considered to be the main, if not the only, active ingredients of the resin. Hence, this family of triterpenoids was investigated by numerous groups, both in vitro and in vivo. These compounds were shown to exert significant anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic activity in many assays: in vitro, in vivo and in clinical trials. We recently found incensole acetate and its derivatives, which are major components of Boswellia resin, to be nuclear factor-kappaB inhibitors, thus suggesting that they are, at least in part, responsible for its anti-inflammatory effects. Incensole acetate also exerts a robust neuroprotective effect after brain trauma in mice. Furthermore, it causes behavioural as well as anti-depressive and anxiolytic effects in mice. It is also a potent agonist of the transient receptor potential (TRP)V3 channel. It thus seems that incensole acetate and its derivatives play a significant role in the effects that Boswellia resin exerts on biological systems. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, studies on Boswellia resin have provided an arsenal of bio-active small molecules with a considerable therapeutic potential that is far from being utilized.
    Publication The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology
    Volume 61
    Issue 10
    Pages 1281-1293
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr J. Pharm. Pharmacol
    DOI 10.1211/jpp/61.10.0003
    ISSN 0022-3573
    Short Title Boswellia resin
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19814859
    Accessed Wednesday, November 04, 2009 10:21:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19814859
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Notes:

    • This article investigates the pharmacology of Boswellia resin, used as incense in many religious rituals, and finds that the "arsenal of bio-active small molecules" in Boswellia resin has "considerable therapeutic potential that is far from being utilized."

  • Spirituality, religion, social support and health among older Australian adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Annette Moxey
    Author Mark McEvoy
    Author Steven Bowe
    Author John Attia
    Abstract Aim:  To examine the impact of perceived importance of spirituality or religion (ISR) and religious service attendance (RSA) on health and well-being in older Australians. Methods:  A cross-sectional survey of 752 community-dwelling men and women aged 55-85 years from the Hunter Region, New South Wales. Results:  Overall, 51% of participants felt spirituality or religion was important in their lives and 24% attended religious services at least 2-3 times a month. In univariate regression analyses, ISR and RSA were associated with increased levels of social support (P < 0.001). However, ISR was also associated with more comorbidities (incidence-rate ratio= 1.2, 95% confidence interval 1.08-1.33). There were no statistically significant associations between ISR or RSA and other measures such as mental and physical health. Conclusion:  Spirituality and religious involvement have a beneficial impact on older Australians' perceptions of social support, and may enable individuals to better cope with the presence of multiple comorbidities later in life.
    Publication Australasian Journal on Ageing
    Volume 30
    Issue 2
    Pages 82-88
    Date Jun 2011
    Journal Abbr Australas J Ageing
    DOI 10.1111/j.1741-6612.2010.00453.x
    ISSN 1741-6612
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21672117
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:11:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21672117
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
  • Spirituality in children: understanding and developing interventions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carolyn R Mueller
    Abstract Children are born with "spiritual competence," an inner quality or power for faith development. Traditions from early nursing practice address the care of those who are in distress, suffering, questioning the reason for illness or pain, or seeking meaning and purpose in their lives. Increased demands on time and rapidly changing complex medical cases allow less time and energy directed toward spiritual issues for the nurse, while at the same time increasing the possibility of spiritual needs of the child and family. The following discussion is a synthesis of faith development theory, effects of spirituality in children, spiritual assessment techniques, and intervention strategies for children.
    Publication Pediatric Nursing
    Volume 36
    Issue 4
    Pages 197-203, 208
    Date 2010 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Pediatr Nurs
    ISSN 0097-9805
    Short Title Spirituality in children
    Accessed Thursday, September 30, 2010 2:00:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20860259
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • Religiosity may alter the cold pressor stress response

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thomas Mulligan
    Author Frank M Skidmore
    Abstract Researchers found a measurable difference in the blood pressure, pulse, and serum cortisol response to acute painful stress in Christian (N = 7) versus nonreligious (N = 7) subjects; from similar baselines, blood pressure, pulse, and serum cortisol increased in all subjects, but the increases were attenuated in religious subjects compared to nonreligious subjects (diastolic blood pressure of 5 mm. vs. 13 mm, respectively; systolic blood pressure of 11 vs. 21 mm. Hg, respectively; pulse rate of 2 vs. 9 beats/minute, respectively; and serum cortisol of 0.7 vs. 3.8 g/dL, respectively).
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 5
    Issue 6
    Pages 345-346
    Date 2009 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2009.08.002
    ISSN 1878-7541
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19913762
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 8:14:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19913762
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Impact of spirituality and religiousness on outcomes in patients with ALS

    Type Journal Article
    Author P L Murphy
    Author S M Albert
    Author C M Weber
    Author M L Del Bene
    Author L P Rowland
    Abstract The Project of Death in America Study at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center enrolled 121 patients with ALS from 1996 through 1997, 46 of whom participated in a study assessing the effects of religiousness and spirituality (attachment to life, mental health, support group, health care proxy, and attitudes toward death) on outcomes (technology and death). Spirituality or religion influenced use of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, noninvasive assisted ventilation, tracheotomy, and attitudes toward the dying process.
    Publication Neurology
    Volume 55
    Issue 10
    Pages 1581-1584
    Date Nov 28, 2000
    Journal Abbr Neurology
    ISSN 0028-3878
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11094123
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:42:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11094123
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Prognosis
    • religion
    • Spiritualism

    Notes:

    • The Project of Death in America Study at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center enrolled 121 patients with ALS from 1996 through 1997, 46 of whom participated in a study assessing the effects of religiousness and spirituality (attachment to life, mental health, support group, health care proxy, and attitudes toward death) on outcomes (technology and death). Spirituality or religion influenced use of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, noninvasive assisted ventilation, tracheotomy, and attitudes toward the dying process.

  • Archetypal trajectories of social, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing and distress in family care givers of patients with lung cancer: secondary analysis of serial qualitative interviews

    Type Journal Article
    Author Scott A. Murray
    Author Marilyn Kendall
    Author Kirsty Boyd
    Author Liz Grant
    Author Gill Highet
    Author Aziz Sheikh
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To assess if family care givers of patients with lung cancer experience the patterns of social, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing and distress typical of the patient, from diagnosis to death. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of serial qualitative interviews carried out every three months for up to a year or to bereavement. SETTING: South east Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: 19 patients with lung cancer and their 19 family carers, totalling 88 interviews (42 with patients and 46 with carers). RESULTS: Carers followed clear patterns of social, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing and distress that mirrored the experiences of those for whom they were caring, with some carers also experiencing deterioration in physical health that impacted on their ability to care. Psychological and spiritual distress were particularly dynamic and commonly experienced. In addition to the "Why us?" response, witnessing suffering triggered personal reflections in carers on the meaning and purpose of life. Certain key time points in the illness tended to be particularly problematic for both carers and patients: at diagnosis, at home after initial treatment, at recurrence, and during the terminal stage. CONCLUSIONS: Family carers witness and share much of the illness experience of the dying patient. The multidimensional experience of distress suffered by patients with lung cancer was reflected in the suffering of their carers in the social, psychological, and spiritual domains, with psychological and spiritual distress being most pronounced. Carers may need to be supported throughout the period of illness not just in the terminal phase and during bereavement, as currently tends to be the case.
    Publication BMJ: British Medical Journal
    Volume 340
    Pages c2581
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr BMJ
    ISSN 1468-5833
    Short Title Archetypal trajectories of social, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing and distress in family care givers of patients with lung cancer
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 10:18:47 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20538635
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Caregivers
    • Family
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Home Care Services
    • Humans
    • Lung Neoplasms
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Terminally Ill
  • Patterns of social, psychological, and spiritual decline toward the end of life in lung cancer and heart failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author Scott A Murray
    Author Marilyn Kendall
    Author Elizabeth Grant
    Author Kirsty Boyd
    Author Stephen Barclay
    Author Aziz Sheikh
    Abstract Typical trajectories of physical decline have been described for people with end-stage disease. It is possible that social, psychological, and spiritual levels of distress may also follow characteristic patterns. We sought to identify and compare changes in the psychological, social, and spiritual needs of people with end-stage disease during their last year of life by synthesizing data from two longitudinal, qualitative, in-depth interview studies investigating the experiences and needs of people with advanced illnesses. The subjects were 48 patients with advanced lung cancer (n=24) and heart failure (n=24) who gave a total of 112 in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed within individual case studies and then cross-sectionally according to the stage of physical illness. Characteristic social, psychological, and spiritual end-of-life trajectories were discernible. In lung cancer, the social trajectory mirrored physical decline, while psychological and spiritual well-being decreased together at four key transitions: diagnosis, discharge after treatment, disease progression, and the terminal stage. In advanced heart failure, social and psychological decline both tended to track the physical decline, while spiritual distress exhibited background fluctuations. Holistic end-of-life care needs to encompass all these dimensions. An appreciation of common patterns of social, psychological, and spiritual well-being may assist clinicians as they discuss the likely course of events with patients and carers and try to minimize distress as the disease progresses.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 34
    Issue 4
    Pages 393-402
    Date Oct 2007
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.12.009
    ISSN 0885-3924
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17616334
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:49:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17616334
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Cardiac Output, Low
    • Female
    • Great Britain
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Lung Neoplasms
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • NEEDS assessment
    • Neoplasms
    • Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Terminally Ill

    Notes:

    • We sought to identify and compare changes in the psychological, social, and spiritual needs of people with end-stage disease during their last year of life by synthesizing data from two longitudinal, qualitative, in-depth interview studies investigating the experiences and needs of people with advanced illnesses.

  • Role of naturopathy and yoga treatment in the management of hypertension

    Type Journal Article
    Author S.N. Murthy
    Author N.S.N. Rao
    Author Babina Nandkumar
    Author Avinash Kadam
    Abstract Aim The primary aim was to study the effect of naturopathy and yoga interventions in treatment of mild to moderate hypertension.Design The variables of interest were measured at the beginning and end of the intervention using a pre-post design.Setting The study was conducted by INYS medical research society in Jindal Nature Cure Institute, Bangalore.Subjects A total of 104 subjects, already diagnosed with mild to moderate hypertension and on treatment with antihypertensive medicines were included in study.Interventions The intervention consisted of various inpatient administration of different naturopathy treatments, yoga therapies, low calorie and low sodium diet for 21 days. Antihypertensive medicines were withdrawn for some patients in one week based upon response to the treatment.Outcome measures The outcome measures were values of diastolic and systolic blood pressure and body weight. Subjects were followed for a period of one year after every 3 months.Results After starting nonpharmacological approach of naturopathy and yoga, Systolic blood pressure came down from mean of 139.6 to 129.6 where as it came down from 91.2 to 86.1 for diastolic blood pressure. At the same time favorable effect was also seen in other variables like lipid profile and body weight. At the end of one year out of 57 patients who came for follow-up, 14 cases were found to have blood pressure within normal ranges without any medication over the previous 12 months.Conclusion Naturopathy and yoga therapy can be considered as a valuable nonpharmacoloical approach in treatment of hypertension
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 9-12
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.08.005
    ISSN 1744-3881
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:49:35 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM

    Tags:

    • Hypertension
    • Naturopathy
    • Non-pharmacological therapy
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • A study conducted by INYS medical research society in Jindal Nature Cure Institute, Bangalore on the effects of naturopathy and yoga interventions in treatment of mild to moderate hypertension.

  • Attendance at Religious Services and Mortality in a National Sample

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marc A. Musick
    Author James S. House
    Author David R. Williams
    Abstract Research and theory increasingly suggest that attendance at religious services is protective against premature mortality. However, prior studies are limited and do not extensively explore potential explanations for the relationship, especially in terms of religious beliefs and behaviors associated with service attendance. This study estimates the impact of service attendance on mortality in a national probability sample and provides the most extensive empirical examination of potential explanations. Individuals who report attending religious services once a month or more (just over 50 percent of the population) have a 30-35 percent reduced risk of death over a 7.5 year follow-up period after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Consistent with prior research, 20-30 percent of this effect may be explained by better health behaviors (especially physical activity) among regular service attendees. Surprisingly, other religious beliefs and behaviors do not explain, and often tend to suppress, the association between service attendance and mortality.
    Publication Journal of Health and Social Behavior
    Volume 45
    Issue 2
    Pages 198-213
    Date June 2004
    ISSN 00221465
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/3653839
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:44:31 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 2004 / Copyright © 2004 American Sociological Association
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Research and theory increasingly suggest that attendance at religious services is protective against premature mortality. 20-30 percent of this effect may be explained by better health behaviors (especially physical activity) among regular service attendees. Surprisingly, other religious beliefs and behaviors do not explain, and often tend to suppress, the association between service attendance and mortality.

  • Strength of faith and body image in Muslim and non-Muslim women.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alexander J. Mussap
    Abstract A questionnaire was completed by 98 Muslim and 91 non-Muslim Australian women to examine the relationship between Islam and body image. Path analyses revealed that for Muslim women (but not non-Muslim women) strength of religious faith was inversely related to body dissatisfaction, body self-objectification, and dietary restraint. These relationships were mediated by increased use of modest clothing and by reduced media consumption. These results are consistent with the proposition that adherence to Islam can indirectly protect women's body image from appearance-based public scrutiny and from exposure to Western media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 2
    Pages 121-127
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802358190
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Australia
    • BELIEF & doubt -- Psychological aspects
    • BODY image -- Research
    • BODY image in women -- Religious aspects
    • FAITH (Islam) -- Psychology
    • MUSLIM women
    • PATH analysis (Statistics)
  • HIV/AIDS stigma and religiosity among African American women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nancy Muturi
    Author Soontae An
    Abstract African American women are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS compared with other ethnicities, accounting for two-thirds (67%) of all women diagnosed with HIV. Despite their increased risk of HIV infection, few studies have been conducted to understand culture-specific factors leading to their vulnerability. Given the central role of religious organizations in African American communities, this study explored whether and to what extent religiosity plays a role in stigma toward HIV/AIDS. Results of hierarchical regression showed that after controlling for key factors, religiosity was a significant factor predicting the level of religious stigma. Those with high religiosity displayed significantly higher stigma, associating HIV/AIDS with a curse or punishment from God. Verbatim responses to an open-ended question also revealed seemingly ingrained prejudice against HIV/AIDS from a religious perspective. The findings point to the important role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in addressing HIV/AIDS issues within African American communities.
    Publication Journal of Health Communication
    Volume 15
    Issue 4
    Pages 388-401
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Health Commun
    DOI 10.1080/10810731003753125
    ISSN 1087-0415
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:38:32 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20574877
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Association between maternal use of traditional healer services and child vaccination coverage in Pont-Sonde, Haiti

    Type Journal Article
    Author Adamson S Muula
    Author Martine Y Polycarpe
    Author Jayakaran Job
    Author Seter Siziya
    Author Emmanuel Rudatsikira
    Abstract UNLABELLED ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND Child vaccination is one of the public health interventions that are responsible for the relatively low child morbidity and mortality in developed nations compared to the developing world. We carried out this study to examine the association between mothers' use of traditional healer services and vaccination among Haitian children. Our hypothesis was that children whose mothers used the services of traditional healers were less likely to be vaccinated compared to children whose mothers did not use the services of traditional healers. METHODS A two-stage stratified sampling method was used to select 720 mothers from the population of Pont-Sonde, Haiti. Of these mothers, 691 (96%) completed the survey by responding to a standardized questionnaire on vaccination giving unadjusted odds ratios (OR) and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) and use of traditional healers. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the effect of explanatory variables on vaccination (the main outcome). RESULTS Mother's use of traditional healer services was negatively associated with vaccination after controlling for maternal age, education, religion, and distance from the nearest health care facility. For those children whose mothers often or always used the services of traditional healers, we found a 53% decrease in the odds of vaccination (AOR = 0.47; 95% CI [0.27, 0.83]) compared against children whose mothers never used the services of the traditional healers. There were negative associations between practice of Vodou and vaccination (AOR = 0.56; 95% CI [0.35, 0.92]), and distance from the nearest health care service facility and vaccination (AOR = 0.53; 95% CI [0.29, 0.97] and AOR = 0.34; 95% CI [0.20, 0.59] at 46-60 and more than 60 minutes walk time, respectively). CONCLUSION We found that mother's use of traditional healer services was negatively associated with vaccination of Haitian children. Findings from this study underscore the potential to enlist the support of traditional healers in promoting child health by educating, mentoring them (the traditional healers) in supporting vaccination efforts.
    Publication International Journal for Equity in Health
    Volume 8
    Pages 1
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Equity Health
    DOI 10.1186/1475-9276-8-1
    ISSN 1475-9276
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19133155
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:09:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19133155
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
  • Predictors of spirituality at the end of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kyriaki Mystakidou
    Author Eleni Tsilika
    Author Efi Prapa
    Author Marilena Smyrnioti
    Author Anna Pagoropoulou
    Author Vlahos Lambros
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between spirituality and hopelessness, desire for hastened death, and clinical and disease-related characteristics among patients with advanced cancer, and to investigate predictors of spirituality. Spiritual well-being is thought to have a beneficial effect on patients' response to illness. DESIGN: Patients were asked to complete 4 questionnaires: the Greek version of the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale, the Greek version of the Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and a questionnaire on demographics. SETTING: A palliative care unit in Athens, Greece. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 91 patients with advanced cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Associations between scores on the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs scale and scores on the Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death scale and the Beck Hopelessness scale, and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Statistically significant associations were found between spirituality and sex of patients (P = .001) and spirituality and stronger hopelessness (r = 0.252, P = .016). In multivariate analyses, stronger hopelessness, male sex, younger age, and receiving chemotherapy were found to be the strongest predictors of being spiritual. CONCLUSION: Demographic and clinical characteristics and stronger hopelessness appeared to have statistically significant relationships with spirituality. Interventions to improve patients' spiritual well-being should take these relationships into account.
    Publication Canadian Family Physician Médecin De Famille Canadien
    Volume 54
    Issue 12
    Pages 1720-1721.e5
    Date Dec 2008
    Journal Abbr Can Fam Physician
    ISSN 1715-5258
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19074719
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:41:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19074719
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Greece
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Palliative Care
    • Questionnaires
    • Retrospective Studies
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality
    • Terminally Ill

    Notes:

    • Objective: To assess the relationship between spirituality and hopelessness, desire for hastened death, and clinical and disease-related characteristics among patients with advanced cancer, and to investigate predictors of spirituality. Conclusion: Demographic and clinical characteristics and stronger hopelessness appeared to have statistically significant relationships with spirituality.

  • Demographic and clinical predictors of spirituality in advanced cancer patients: a randomized control study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kyriaki Mystakidou
    Author Eleni Tsilika
    Author Efi Parpa
    Author Ioanna Hatzipli
    Author Marilena Smyrnioti
    Author Antonis Galanos
    Author Lambros Vlahos
    Abstract AIM: To study the influence of cancer patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics in their spiritual beliefs and attitudes. BACKGROUND: Patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics may have an important role in their spirituality. Failure to control these factors can lead to a false estimation on patients' spiritual beliefs. Previous studies have found that age, gender and health status associate with spiritual attitudes and beliefs.Design. Survey. METHODS: The Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale was administered to 82 cancer patients. Demographic characteristics, disease status and treatment regimen were recorded. RESULTS: Among the most significant correlations were those between gender and all the subscales, cancer diagnosis, existential/meditative subscale, radiotherapy treatment and external/ritual, internal/fluid and existential meditative. In the prediction of spirituality, the contribution of gender, age, years of education, performance status and radiotherapy is high. CONCLUSION: Acknowledging the specific patients' demographic and medical characteristics, such as female gender, old age, years of education, performance status and radiotherapy treatment, contributes to the prediction of patients' spiritual beliefs and attitudes. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Addressing spiritual needs in palliative care among the dying needs to be a priority and could be a crucial aspect of psychological functioning, especially when considering certain demographic and clinical characteristics.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Nursing
    Volume 17
    Issue 13
    Pages 1779-1785
    Date Jul 2008
    Journal Abbr J Clin Nurs
    ISSN 1365-2702
    Short Title Demographic and clinical predictors of spirituality in advanced cancer patients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18592623
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:03:07 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18592623
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • DEMOGRAPHY
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • In the prediction of spirituality, the contribution of gender, age, years of education, performance status and radiotherapy is high. Acknowledging the specific patients’ demographic and medical characteristics, such as female gender, old age, years of education, performance status and radiotherapy treatment, contributes to the prediction of patients’ spiritual beliefs and attitudes.

  • Psychoanalysis and spirituality-catastrophic change and becoming "o"

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gilead Nachmani
    Abstract This article considers the relationship between post-Kleinian psychoanalysis and spiritual experience in the healing process of a physically ill man undergoing medical care for an unknown disorder. He entered psychoanalytic psychotherapy after two years of being ill and after numerous medical interventions had failed. The psychotherapy involved certain religious experiences in the patient and the analyst that attuned them to one another. It also involved his fighting with doctors, family, and analyst. The fights were considered a transcendence of his troubling life, a mustering of courage and strength to live with illness and loss, and his use of a godlike fantasy figure, which could also be considered as a vivid good internal object. The therapeutic work was punctuated by numerous instances of catastrophic change, hope, and disappointment and by his not knowing about why his body acted as it has and why important people treated him as they had. He learned to know, in the sense that Bion used the term, to live with adversity, and return to as normal a life as is possible. The psychotherapy is a work in progress.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 137-152
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.137
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:20:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364265
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude to Death
    • Conflict (Psychology)
    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Defense Mechanisms
    • dreams
    • Fantasy
    • Holocaust
    • Humans
    • Judaism
    • Male
    • Object Attachment
    • Projection
    • Psychoanalytic Interpretation
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Resilience, Psychological
    • Sick Role
    • spirituality
  • Spiritual well-being, intrinsic religiosity, and suicidal behavior in predominantly Catholic Croatian war veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder: a case control study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sanea Nad
    Author Darko Marcinko
    Author Bjanka Vuksan-Aeusa
    Author Miro Jakovljević
    Author Gordana Jakovljevic
    Abstract We investigated relationships between spiritual well-being (SWB), intrinsic religiosity (IR), and suicidal behavior in 45 Croatian war veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder and 32 healthy volunteers. Compared with the volunteers, the veterans had significantly lower SWB scores (p = 0.000) and existential well-being (EWB) scores (p = 0.000). Scores on the religious well-being (RWB) subscale (p = 0.108) and the IR scale did not differ significantly between the groups (p = 0.803). Veterans' suicidality inversely correlated with SWB (p = 0.000), EWB (p = 0.000), RWB (p = 0.026), and IR (p = 0.041), with the association being stronger for the EWB subscale than for the RWB subscale. Veterans who had attempted suicide at least once in their lifetime had significantly higher Suicidal Assessment Scale scores and lower EWB scores than veterans who never attempted suicide. Low EWB scores may imply an increased risk of suicidality. Some religious activities were more frequent among the veterans than among the healthy volunteers, possibly reflecting the veterans' increased help-seeking behavior due to poor EWB.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 196
    Issue 1
    Pages 79-83
    Date Jan 2008
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31815faa5f
    ISSN 1539-736X
    Short Title Spiritual well-being, intrinsic religiosity, and suicidal behavior in predominantly Catholic Croatian war veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18195647
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18195647
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Case-Control Studies
    • Catholicism
    • Chronic Disease
    • Combat Disorders
    • Croatia
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Culture
    • existentialism
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Motivation
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • Self Concept
    • spirituality
    • Suicide, Attempted
    • Veterans
    • War

    Notes:

    • We investigated relationships between spiritual well-being (SWB), intrinsic religiosity (IR), and suicidal behavior in 45 Croatian war veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder and 32 healthy volunteers. Compared with the volunteers, the veterans had significantly lower SWB scores (p = 0.000) and existential well-being (EWB) scores (p = 0.000). Some religious activities were more frequent among the veterans than among the healthy volunteers, possibly reflecting the veterans’ increased help-seeking behavior due to poor EWB.

  • University students' views about compatibility of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) with their personal, social and religious values (a study from Pakistan).

    Type Journal Article
    Author Farooq Naeem
    Author Mary Gobbi
    Author Muhammad Ayub
    Author David Kingdon
    Abstract Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) in its current form might not be applicable in non Western cultures. Differences between Western and non Western cultures have been reported widely. Psychotherapy was developed in the West and is underpinned by many beliefs which might be specific only to the Western culture. However, in order to modify CBT, we need to understand whether the concepts associated with the CBT might cause conflicts among people who receive therapy. This study explored the beliefs of the university students in Pakistan to find out if the concepts underpinning CBT are consistent with the personal, family, socio-cultural and religious values of the university students. Discussions were held with University students in Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan. Students were given information on various aspects of the CBT and were asked to rate their agreement with these concepts on a visual analogue scale. There was little disagreement for the principles of CBT for personal values, while some disagreement existed for religious values. This study highlights the value of assessing peoples' beliefs about acceptability of CBT in non Western cultures. Students in Pakistan felt that the principles of CBT are consistent with their belief system in most areas. However, the value system of students might not be representative of the rest of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 8
    Pages 847-855
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903115226
    ISSN 13674676
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45427289&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:27:45 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • Behavior Therapy
    • COLLEGE students
    • Culture
    • Pakistan
    • Psychotherapy
  • Yoga For Bronchial Asthma: A Controlled Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author R. Nagarathna
    Author H. R. Nagendra
    Abstract Fifty three patients with asthma underwent training for two weeks in an integrated set of yoga exercises, including breathing exercises, suryanamaskar, yogasana (physical postures), pranayama (breath slowing techniques), dhyana (meditation), and a devotional session, and were told to practise these exercises for 65 minutes daily. They were then compared with a control group of 53 patients with asthma matched for age, sex, and type and severity of asthma, who continued to take their usual drugs. There was a significantly greater improvement in the group who practised yoga in the weekly number of attacks of asthma, scores for drug treatment, and peak flow rate. This study shows the efficacy of yoga in the long term management of bronchial asthma, but the physiological basis for this beneficial effect needs to be examined in more detail.
    Publication British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition)
    Volume 291
    Issue 6502
    Pages 1077-1079
    Date Oct. 19, 1985
    ISSN 02670623
    Short Title Yoga For Bronchial Asthma
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/29520949
    Accessed Sunday, November 08, 2009 11:09:46 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Oct. 19, 1985 / Copyright © 1985 BMJ Publishing Group
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Fifty three patients with asthma underwent training for two weeks in an integrated set of yoga exercises, including breathing exercises, suryanamaskar, yogasana (physical postures), pranayama (breath slowing techniques), dhyana (meditation), and a devotional session, and were told to practise these exercises for 65 minutes daily. There was a significantly greater improvement in the group who practised yoga in the weekly number of attacks of asthma, scores for drug treatment, and peak flow rate.

  • Religious involvement and cigarette smoking among Iranian university students

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nouzar Nakhaee
    Author Kouros Divsalar
    Author Nadjme Jadidi
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: To find out the prevalence of cigarette smoking in a group of Iranian Muslim students and also to find out if there is a relationship between religious practices and cigarette smoking. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 950 university students in Kerman, Iran were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire consisting of questions on demographic data, cigarette smoking, and religious practices. It was explained that the study was anonymous and voluntary, and confidentiality was assured. RESULTS: All 833 subjects who participated in the study were Muslims, 54.1% of whom were female and 89.3% were single. Approximately 40% of male students and 5.8% of the female ones were smokers. Based on bivariate analysis, some differences were noted in the prevalence of smoking according to gender, marital status, income, average university scores, close friend's smoking, parental smoking, reading the Quran, saying prayers, mosque attendance, and fasting. Using multivariate analysis, male gender, higher income, lower average exam scores, and close friend's smoking being associated with the likelihood to smoke cigarettes. The odds ratio for cigarette smoking in the upper tertile compared with those in the lower tertile of religious activity was 0.53 (CI 95% 0.33-0.84). CONCLUSION: Religious activities may have a protective role against cigarette smoking among Muslim college students in the country.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 2
    Pages 189-198
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:35:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19860077
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Iran
    • ISLAM
    • Male
    • Odds Ratio
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Smoking
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • Students
    • Young Adult
  • Self-chosen involvement in new religious movements (NRMs): well-being and mental health from a longitudinal perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author S. Namini
    Author S. Murken
    Abstract In spite of a cult debate that has lasted for some decades now, the controversy about the harmfulness of new religious movements (NRMs) continues. A core question remains whether current or past involvement with an NRM has an adverse effect on psychosocial adjustment. In this study, this question is investigated from a longitudinal perspective. First, an overview on previous research is given. Then findings from an empirical study on individuals who get involved with NRMs in Germany are reported. Life satisfaction, depression and anxiety are investigated over the course of three years for two groups: (a) #8220stayers#8221: individuals who remained in the chosen NRM (n = 51) and (b) #8220leavers#8221: persons who left a Pentecostal parish during the course of the study (n = 9). The results confirm findings from previous studies which indicate that joining an NRM is often preceded by some kind of (retrospectively reported) crisis and that well-being increases with involvement. Adaptation during involvement was comparable to that of comparison groups from the general population and remained relatively stable over time. Among several aspects of involvement related to health and well-being, religious sense of coherence and secure attachment to God were most often and most strongly correlated with the outcome measures. Surprisingly, the hypothesis of a crisis accompanying the exit from the Pentecostal parish was only partially supported. Overall, the study does not confirm the popular notion that membership in an NRM must be harmful. It calls for a sensitive handling of the topic.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 6
    Pages 561-585
    Date Sept 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902897618
    ISSN 1367-4676
    Short Title Self-chosen involvement in new religious movements (NRMs)
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/13674670902897618
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 9:26:00 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • How is well-being related to membership in new religious movements? An application of person environment fit theory.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sussan Namini
    Author Claudia Appel
    Author Ralph Jürgensen
    Author Sebastian Murken
    Abstract Ongoing public discussion about the consequences of membership in new religious movements (NRMs) and the lack of studies concerning the relationship between the fit of the person with his or her NRM and well-being together call for a theoretically based investigation of the phenomenon. Hence, this German study on new members of three NRMs applied person–environment fit theory to investigate whether the fit between persons’ needs for autonomy and relatedness, on the one hand, and the commensurate supplies of the groups, on the other, are related to well-being and mental health. The regression model following Edwards (1994) predicted satisfaction with religious affiliation, mental health, and depression, but not life satisfaction and anxiety. Results indicate that, for autonomy and relatedness, well-being measures tend to decrease as supplies exceed needs. Little support was found for a moderator effect of centrality of religiosity. Overall, findings encourage the application of person–environment fit theory to the study of membership in (new) religious groups and call for further research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Applied Psychology: An International Review
    Volume 59
    Issue 2
    Pages 181-201
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2009.00377.x
    ISSN 0269-994X
    Short Title How is well-being related to membership in new religious movements?
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:28:09 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • autonomy
    • Independence (Personality)
    • Membership
    • mental health
    • needs
    • new religious movement membership
    • Person Environment Fit
    • person-environment fit theory
    • relatedness
    • RELIGIOUS groups
    • Theories
    • well being
    • Well-Being
  • Effect of integrated yogic practices on positive and negative emotions in healthy adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lakshmi Narasimhan
    Author R Nagarathna
    Author Hr Nagendra
    Abstract BACKGROUND Studies on affective wellbeing have shown the beneficial role of positive emotions on cognitive processing and the harmful role of negative emotions on coping, stress and health status. Studies have shown that yoga practices reduce anxiety and depression and improve wellbeing. OBJECTIVE The aims of the study were to, (i) examine the safety and feasibility of conducting a weeklong free yoga camp, and (ii) assess its impact on the negative and positive affect in normal healthy volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this open-arm study450 participants were taught integrated yoga module. It included asanas, pranayama, relaxation, notional correction and devotional sessions. Assessment was carried out on the first and last day of the camp, using a modified version of Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). It has ten questions each to measure positive (PA) and negative affect (NA). Nine questions have been added which are referred as other positive affect (OPA) and other negative affect (ONA) domains. RESULTS Three hundred and twelve sets of pre-post data were analyzed. There was an increase in PA of PANAS by 13% (P<0.001, Wilcoxon's signed rank test) and OPA by 17% (P<0.001). The NA reduced by 47% (P<0.001) and ONA by 48% (P<0.001). CONCLUSION It is feasible and safe to conduct a weeklong yoga camp in an urban setting, and integrated yoga practices can reduce the negative affect and increase the positive affect within one week.
    Publication International Journal of Yoga
    Volume 4
    Issue 1
    Pages 13-19
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr Int J Yoga
    DOI 10.4103/0973-6131.78174
    ISSN 0973-6131
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21654970
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21654970
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
  • Religious/spiritual beliefs: a hidden resource for emergency mental health providers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thomas J Nardi
    Abstract This article identifies religious/spiritual beliefs as a hidden resource for Emergency Mental Health (EMH) providers. The purpose of the article is to encourage providers to examine their own world views, be they spiritual or religious or both, as they apply to their EMH services. The article also provides suggestions and guidelines for the education/training of EMH providers in understanding and utilizing survivors' religious/spiritual beliefs.
    Publication International Journal of Emergency Mental Health
    Volume 11
    Issue 1
    Pages 37-41
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Emerg Ment Health
    ISSN 1522-4821
    Short Title Religious/spiritual beliefs
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:42:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19637499
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Emergency Services, Psychiatric
    • Humans
    • Mental Health Services
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
  • Biblical framings of and responses to spousal violence in the narratives of abused Christian women.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shondrah Tarrezz Nash
    Author Latonya Hesterberg
    Abstract Through narrative, the authors examine the coping activities of three Christian women to learn how they used religion to organize actions intended to end spouse abuse. Findings suggest an apparent creative attempt to stop violation. Respondents formed coping strategies from biblical archetypes that resembled their oppression and clued a method to its end. However, their responses encouraged ownership of spousal change and impeded removal of violation. Given these confines, the authors address why religion became an important resource. A discussion on legal and cultural views surrounding abused women’s responses and the contextual factors that limit but do not preclude acts of subversion is given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Violence Against Women
    Volume 15
    Issue 3
    Pages 340-361
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1177/1077801208330437
    ISSN 1077-8012
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Bible
    • Biblical framings
    • Christian women
    • Christians
    • Coping Behavior
    • partner abuse
    • religion
    • SPOUSES
  • Applying behavior change models to understand spiritual mechanisms underlying change in substance abuse treatment

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Alan Neff
    Author Samuel A MacMaster
    Abstract Despite increasing attention directed to conceptual and methodological issues surrounding spirituality and despite the centrality of "spiritual transformation" in the recovery literature, there is little systematic evidence to support the role of spiritual change as a necessary condition for substance abuse behavior change. As an explicit conceptualization of mechanisms underlying behavior change is fundamental to effective interventions, this article: 1) briefly reviews relevant behavior change theories to identify key variables underlying change; 2) presents an integrative conceptual framework articulating linkages between program components, behavior change processes, spiritual change mechanisms and substance abuse outcomes; and 3) presents a discussion of how the mechanisms identified in our model can be seen in commonly used substance abuse interventions. Overall, we argue that spiritual transformation at an individual level takes place in a social context involving peer influence, role modeling, and social reinforcement.
    Publication The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
    Volume 31
    Issue 4
    Pages 669-684
    Date 2005
    Journal Abbr Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse
    ISSN 0095-2990
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16318040
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:30:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16318040
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Behavior Therapy
    • Humans
    • Motivation
    • religion
    • Residential Treatment
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders

    Notes:

    • This article: 1) briefly reviews relevant behavior change theories to identify key variables underlying change; 2) presents an integrative conceptual framework articulating linkages between program components, behavior change processes, spiritual change mechanisms and substance abuse outcomes; and 3) presents a discussion of how the mechanisms identified in our model can be seen in commonly used substance abuse interventions.

  • He Made a Way out of No Way: Religious Experience in an African-American Congregation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Timothy J. Nelson
    Abstract Sociologists have expended little effort to examine the experiential dimension of religion. When social scientists have turned their attention to religious experience, they have used a definition of the concept which has overly restricted its scope. This paper is based upon an ethnographic study of an African Methodist Episcopal congregation made up primarily of the working poor and near-poor. I use the data to study the reported experiences of congregational members concerning the action of spiritual beings in their everyday lives, and I discuss the role of social ties and the cultural devices of metaphor and narrative in shaping these experiences. Finally, I demonstrate the influence of social location -- primarily race and class -- on attributions to supernatural agency.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 39
    Issue 1
    Pages 5-26
    Date Sep., 1997
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title He Made a Way out of No Way
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3512476
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:49:19 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1997 / Copyright © 1997 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Sociologists have expended little effort to examine the experiential dimension of religion. When social scientists have turned their attention to religious experience, they have used a definition of the concept which has overly restricted its scope. This paper is based upon an ethnographic study of an African Methodist Episcopal congregation made up primarily of the working poor and near-poor. I use the data to study the reported experiences of congregational members concerning the action of spiritual beings in their everyday lives, and I discuss the role of social ties and the cultural devices of metaphor and narrative in shaping these experiences. Finally, I demonstrate the influence of social location -- primarily race and class -- on attributions to supernatural agency.

  • Exploring We Will Go: The Investigation of Religion and Spirituality in Older Populations (Reflections on Glicksman's “The Contemporary Study of Religion and Spirituality Among the Elderly”)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Holly Nelson-Becker
    Abstract The field of research in religion and spirituality within aging is expanding and there is need for much more knowledge integration. At the same time, it is valuable to acknowledge some unique aspects to inquiry in this area. Researcher considerations include awareness of cultural biases, limitations in all methods of research, the influence of religious traditions and external environments that favor or marginalize this research, and the danger of reductionism through definitional limits. Spirituality particularly is difficult to trimly capture in categories. Thus, holding open the possibility of intuitive insight for greater knowledge and maintaining a goal of compassionate understanding can help us end our journey at the beginning point of our exploration and know it in a way that is rich and deep, as if seeing it for the first time.
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 4
    Pages 259-267
    Date 2009 October
    DOI 10.1080/15528030902862463
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title Exploring We Will Go
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/15528030902862463
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:28:33 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Addressing Children's Beliefs Through Fowler's Stages of Faith

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michelle E Neuman
    Abstract Knowledge of child development, including faith development, is important in providing holistic care to the child. Pediatric nurses and nurse practitioners may be inadequately prepared to meet the spiritual needs of children in developmentally appropriate ways. This article demonstrates why it is necessary to asses a child's or an adolescent's religious and spiritual beliefs and when and how a nurse intervenes. Modeled here is one way in which pediatric nurses can effectively combine their knowledge of child development and Fowler's theory of faith development to address the child and adolescent's spiritual needs.
    Publication Journal of Pediatric Nursing
    Volume 26
    Issue 1
    Pages 44-50
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr J Pediatr Nurs
    DOI 10.1016/j.pedn.2009.09.002
    ISSN 1532-8449
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:16:11 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21256411
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
  • The neuroscientific study of religious and spiritual phenomena: or why God doesn't use biostatistics

    Type Journal Article
    Author Andrew B. Newberg
    Author Bruce Y. Lee
    Abstract With the rapidly expanding field of neuroscience research exploring religious and spiritual phenomena, there have been many perspectives as to the validity, importance, relevance, and need for such research. In this essay we review the studies that have contributed to our current understanding of the neuropsychology of religious phenomena. We focus on methodological issues to determine which areas have been weaknesses and strengths in the current studies. This area of research also poses important theological and epistemological questions that require careful consideration if both the religious and scientific elements are to be appropriately respected. The best way to evaluate this field is to determine the methodological issues that currently affect the field and explore how best to address such issues so that future investigations can be as robust as possible and can become more mainstream in both the religious and the scientific arenas.
    Publication Zygon
    Volume 40
    Issue 2
    Pages 469-490
    Date 2005
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2005.00675.x
    Short Title The neuroscientific study of religious and spiritual phenomena
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2005.00675.x
    Accessed Tuesday, November 10, 2009 7:27:06 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist

    Type Book
    Author Andrew Newberg
    Author Mark Robert Waldman
    Publisher Ballantine Books
    Date 2009-03-24
    ISBN 0345503414
    Short Title How God Changes Your Brain
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth

    Type Book
    Author Andrew Newberg
    Author Mark Robert Waldman
    Publisher Free Press
    Date 2006-09-12
    ISBN 0743274970
    Short Title Why We Believe What We Believe
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Associations of general religiousness and specific religious beliefs with coping appraisals in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

    Type Journal Article
    Author A. Taylor Newton
    Author Daniel N. McIntosh
    Abstract Are specific religious beliefs related to interpretations of stressful events and available coping resources? The present study addressed this by assessing appraisals, general religiousness, and two specific beliefs—verticality (deity-centered vs. person-focused approach to religion) and God image—in 63 Christian and Jewish undergraduates coping with the 2005 hurricane season. Primary appraisals (interpretation of the stressor as a challenge, threat, loss, and benefit) and secondary appraisals (perception of whether self, others, and God have control over the stressor) were related to religion. By controlling for general religiousness, unique associations of specific beliefs with appraisals were identified. General religiousness was positively associated with interpreting hurricane-related events as a loss for the Christian participants and as a benefit for the Jewish participants. For both groups, general religiousness and God image were related positively to perception that God was in control, and verticality was related negatively to the perception of self-control. For Jewish participants, verticality was associated negatively with others-control and positively with God-control. Overall, general religiousness was more related to primary appraisals (relevance), and specific beliefs were associated with secondary appraisals (resources). Investigation of finely grained distinctions in religious belief furthers understanding of the roles of religion in coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 2
    Pages 129-146
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802380400
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology) -- Religious aspects
    • BELIEF & doubt -- Psychological aspects
    • CHRISTIAN college students
    • GOD -- Omnipotence
    • HURRICANE Katrina, 2005 -- Psychological aspects
    • HURRICANE Rita, 2005
    • JEWISH college students
    • RELIGIOUSNESS -- Psychological aspects
  • Specific Religious Beliefs in a Cognitive Appraisal Model of Stress and Coping

    Type Journal Article
    Author A. Taylor Newton
    Author Daniel N. McIntosh
    Abstract In a national sample of 103 parents of children with disabilities, positive God image was associated positively with appraisals that the disability is a challenge, a benefit, and God is in control; it was associated negatively with loss appraisal. Vertical religious focus was associated positively with the appraisal that God is in control. Consistent with the model, appraisals mediated the relation between specific beliefs and coping strategies. Loss appraisal mediated the relation of vertical focus and God image with engagement coping and the appraisal that God is in control further explained the relation between vertical focus and engagement coping.
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 20
    Issue 1
    Pages 39
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1080/10508610903418129
    ISSN 1050-8619
    Accessed Wednesday, February 03, 2010 5:08:59 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Psychophysiological outcomes of health qigong for chronic conditions: a systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bobby H P Ng
    Author Hector W H Tsang
    Abstract We aimed to unravel the clinical benefits and the plausible underlying psychophysiological mechanism based on available randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Meta-analysis of 26 RCTs shortlisted from electronic databases from 1997 to 2006 shows that qigong had some effects on increasing the numbers of white blood cells and lymphocytes, stroke volume, peak early transmitral filling velocity, peak late transmitral filling velocity, forced vital capacity, and forced expiratory volume, and, conversely, lowering of total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and depressive mood scores. Explanatory pathways may pertain to stress reduction via nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Limitations on methodology are discussed and directions for further studies are suggested. Because of its safety, minimal cost, and clinical benefit, health qigong can be advocated as an adjunctive exercise therapy for older people with chronic conditions.
    Publication Psychophysiology
    Volume 46
    Issue 2
    Pages 257-269
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychophysiology
    DOI 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00763.x
    ISSN 0048-5772
    Short Title Psychophysiological outcomes of health qigong for chronic conditions
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19170945
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:02:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19170945
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Blood Cell Count
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Databases, Factual
    • Hemodynamics
    • Humans
    • Lipids
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Respiratory Function Tests
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Meta-analysis of 26 RCTs shortlisted from electronic databases from 1997 to 2006 shows that qigong had some effects on increasing the numbers of white blood cells and lymphocytes, stroke volume, peak early transmitral filling velocity, peak late transmitral filling velocity, forced vital capacity, and forced expiratory volume, and, conversely, lowering of total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and depressive mood scores.

  • Religion, health beliefs and the use of mental health services by the elderly

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tze Pin Ng
    Author Ma Shwe Zin Nyunt
    Author Peak Chiang Chiam
    Author Ee Heok Kua
    Abstract BACKGROUND Few studies have investigated whether elderly people of particular religious affiliations were more or less likely to seek treatment for mental illness, and whether it was related to their health beliefs. METHOD In the National Mental Survey of Elderly Singaporeans in 2004, data were collected on reported religious affiliations, and 1-year prevalence of mental disorders (DSM-IV diagnoses of psychiatric disorders) from diagnostic interviews using the Geriatric Mental State schedule, self-report of treatment for mental health problems, and health beliefs about the curability of mental illness, embarrassment and stigma, ease in discussing mental problems, effectiveness and safety of treatment, and trust in professionals. RESULTS Compared to those with no religious affiliation, elderly people of all religious affiliations showed higher prevalence of mental health problems, yet reported less frequent treatment by healthcare professionals. In multivariate analyses, the adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of association with seeking treatment were for Christianity, 0.12 (0.02-0.57); Islam, 0.12 (0.01-1.31); Buddhism/Taoism, 0.59 (0.18-1.88); and Hinduism, 0.21 (0.02-2.56) versus no affiliation. Various religious affiliations differ from each other and from non-religious affiliation on some negative health beliefs, but they did not adequately explain why religious affiliates were less likely to seek treatment. CONCLUSION Further studies should evaluate the lower tendency of elderly people with religious affiliations to seek treatment for mental health problems.
    Publication Aging & Mental Health
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 143-149
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr Aging Ment Health
    DOI 10.1080/13607863.2010.508771
    ISSN 1364-6915
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20938847
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20938847
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Validation of the Chinese version of Underwood's Daily Spiritual Experience Scale--transcending cultural boundaries?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Siu-Man Ng
    Author Ted C T Fong
    Author Elaine Y L Tsui
    Author Friendly S W Au-Yeung
    Author Sally K W Law
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Daily spiritual experience (DSE) refers to one's interaction with the transcendent in day-to-day life. Underwood's Daily Spiritual Experience Scale mic(DSES) was developed to measure this experiential component of religiousness and spirituality. Addressing ordinary daily experiences rather than particular beliefs, DSES has transcultural applicability potential. PURPOSE: The current study aimed to develop and evaluate the Chinese version of DSES (DSES-C). METHOD: The 16-item scale was translated faithfully through standard translation/back-translation procedures. The term "God" required an extended definition embracing both a humanized and a philosophical higher power in Chinese culture. The translated scale plus a battery of validation scales were administered to staff of a large rehabilitation service complex, resulting in 245 completed questionnaires. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis revealed a similar factor structure as the original English version and similar problems with items 13 (compassion) and 14 (mercy). After carefully deliberating on the Chinese conceptualization of spirituality and balancing psychometric properties, the one-factor 16-item structure of the English version was supported. DSES-C showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.97). Construct validity was supported by correlations with validation scales in expected directions. CONCLUSION: The psychometric properties of DSES were similar to the English version in factor structure, internal consistency, and convergence/divergence construct validity.
    Publication International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 2
    Pages 91-97
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s12529-009-9045-5
    ISSN 1532-7558
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19291413
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:57:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19291413
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Culture
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Female
    • Hong Kong
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Psychometrics
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Assessment (Psychology)
    • Self Concept
    • spirituality
    • Translating
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Background: Daily spiritual experience (DSE) refers to one’s interaction with the transcendent in day-to-day life. Underwood’s Daily Spiritual Experience Scale mic(DSES) was developed to measure this experiential component of religiousness and spirituality. Purpose: The current study aimed to develop and evaluate the Chinese version of DSES (DSES-C). Conclusion: The psychometric properties of DSES were similar to the English version in factor structure, internal consistency, and convergence/divergence construct validity.

  • Associations between different dimensions of religious involvement and self-rated health in diverse European populations.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amanda Nicholson
    Author Richard Rose
    Author Martin Bobak
    Abstract Objective: Existing evidence on the relationship between religious involvement and health indicates that organizational religious involvement, such as attendance at services, is associated with better health. Findings concerning other dimensions of religious involvement, such as prayer, are inconsistent and analyses often neglect the potential influence of other correlated dimensions. Design: Using cross-sectional data from 22 diverse European countries in the European Social Survey, including 18,129 men and 21,205 women, three dimensions of religious involvement (frequency of attendance at religious services; frequency of private prayer; self-assessment as a religious person) were studied. Main Outcome Measure: Poor self-rated health (SRH). Results: When analyzed separately, less frequent attendance was associated with poor health in men and women. Associations were weaker with less frequent prayer and lower religiousness. In models with all dimensions together, the association with attendance was strengthened and prayer became significantly inversely associated with health. Conclusions: The frequency of attendance at religious services and private prayer had opposite associations with self-rated health, resulting in negative confounding. These results are consistent with social contact being important in any health benefits from religious involvement and highlight the importance of using multidimensional measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Health Psychology
    Volume 29
    Issue 2
    Pages 227-235
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0018036
    ISSN 0278-6133
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:23:07 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • attendance
    • cross-sectional
    • Europe
    • Health
    • Involvement
    • prayer
    • religious involvement
    • Religious Practices
    • religious services
    • self-rated health
  • A randomized controlled trial on effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on blood pressure, psychological distress, and coping in young adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sanford I Nidich
    Author Maxwell V Rainforth
    Author David A F Haaga
    Author John Hagelin
    Author John W Salerno
    Author Fred Travis
    Author Melissa Tanner
    Author Carolyn Gaylord-King
    Author Sarina Grosswald
    Author Robert H Schneider
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Psychological distress contributes to the development of hypertension in young adults. This trial assessed the effects of a mind-body intervention on blood pressure (BP), psychological distress, and coping in college students. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 298 university students randomly allocated to either the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program or wait-list control. At baseline and after 3 months, BP, psychological distress, and coping ability were assessed. A subgroup of 159 subjects at risk for hypertension was analyzed similarly. RESULTS: Changes in systolic BP (SBP)/diastolic BP (DBP) for the overall sample were -2.0/-1.2 mm Hg for the TM group compared to +0.4/+0.5 mm Hg for controls (P = 0.15, P = 0.15, respectively). Changes in SBP/DBP for the hypertension risk subgroup were -5.0/-2.8 mm Hg for the TM group compared to +1.3/+1.2 mm Hg for controls (P = 0.014, P = 0.028, respectively). Significant improvements were found in total psychological distress, anxiety, depression, anger/hostility, and coping (P values < 0.05). Changes in psychological distress and coping correlated with changes in SBP (P values < 0.05) and DBP (P values < 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first RCT to demonstrate that a selected mind-body intervention, the TM program, decreased BP in association with decreased psychological distress, and increased coping in young adults at risk for hypertension. This mind-body program may reduce the risk for future development of hypertension in young adults.
    Publication American Journal of Hypertension
    Volume 22
    Issue 12
    Pages 1326-1331
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Hypertens
    DOI 10.1038/ajh.2009.184
    ISSN 1879-1905
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19798037
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 11:55:05 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19798037
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Descriptions of religious experience using trait and affect adjectives

    Type Journal Article
    Author M E Nielsen
    Abstract 66 adults rated the relevance of adjectives representing dimensions of affect and personality for describing how they felt during religious experiences. Adjectives, representing positive affect (enthusiastic, at ease), low neuroticism (calm, relaxed), and high agreeableness (soft-hearted, sympathetic), conscientiousness (conscientious, reliable), and extraversion (sociable, talkative), were rated to be descriptive of religious experiences. The failure of openness to discriminate religious experiences is consistent with Block's criticism (1995) of the five-factor model of personality.
    Publication Psychological Reports
    Volume 86
    Issue 1
    Pages 308-310
    Date Feb 2000
    Journal Abbr Psychol Rep
    ISSN 0033-2941
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/10778285
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:39:15 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10778285
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Attitude
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • personality
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Semantics

    Notes:

    • 66 adults rated the relevance of adjectives representing dimensions of affect and personality for describing how they felt during religious experiences. Adjectives, representing positive affect (enthusiastic, at ease), low neuroticism (calm, relaxed), and high agreeableness (soft-hearted, sympathetic), conscientiousness (conscientious, reliable), and extraversion (sociable, talkative), were rated to be descriptive of religious experiences. The failure of openness to discriminate religious experiences is consistent with Block’s criticism (1995) of the five-factor model of personality.

  • Religious orientation, religious affiliation, and boundary maintenance: The case of polygamy.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael E. Nielsen
    Author Ryan T. Cragun
    Abstract The role of religious orientation in group boundary maintenance was explored in the context of Fundamentalist Mormon polygamy. A sample of 2330 Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Fundamentalist (polygamous) Mormons, and religious 'nones' responded to a series of questions regarding sexuality, polygamy, religious orientation, religious doubt, and whether Mormons are considered Christian. Regression analyses indicate that attitudes regarding polygamy are predicted by attitudes toward alternative sexual practices for all groups except for Fundamentalist Mormons. Religious doubt, and considering Mormons to be Christian, were associated with relatively more favorable views toward polygamy. Intrinsic religious orientation was negatively correlated with polygamy attitudes, but this relationship reversed once conservative views toward sexuality were taken into account. The results are consistent with the view that alternative sexual and marital arrangements may generate differential treatment because of their implicit challenge to family structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 761-770
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902832805
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • The spiritual needs of neuro-oncology patients from patients’ perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author Aline Nixon
    Author Aru Narayanasamy
    Abstract Keywords: * family support; * neuro-oncology; * spiritual care; * spiritual needs; * spirituality Aims.   This study aimed to identify the spiritual needs of neuro-oncology patients from a patient perspective and how nurses currently support patients with spiritual needs. Background.   Spiritual needs of cancer patients should be assessed and discussed by healthcare professionals from diagnosis. Nurses should assess and support neuro-oncology patients with their spiritual needs during their hospital stay. Design.  Qualitative research. Methods.  Data were collected through a Critical Incident Technique questionnaire from neuro-oncology patients and were subjected to thematic content analysis. Results.  Some patients with brain tumours do report spiritual needs during their hospital stay and some of these needs are not met by nurses. Conclusions.  There is clearly a need for healthcare professionals to provide spiritual care for neuro-oncology patients and their relatives. Further research is required to explore how effective nurses are at delivering spiritual care and if nurses are the most appropriate professionals to support neuro-oncology patients with spiritual care. Relevance to clinical practice.  The study illuminates that some neuro-oncology patients’ have spiritual needs that could be met by nurses. Spiritual needs include supportive family relationships, emotional support, loneliness, religious needs, need to talk, reassurance, anxiety, solitude, denial, plans for the future, thoughts about meaning of life, end of life decisions and discussion of beliefs. The implications of the findings of this study are that nurses need to be aware and respond to these spiritual needs.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Nursing
    Volume 19
    Issue 15-16
    Pages 2259-2370
    Date 2010-08
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.03112.x
    ISSN 09621067
    URL http://blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.03112.x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM

    Notes:

    • This study aimed to identify the spiritual needs of neuro-oncology patients from a patient perspective and how nurses currently support patients with spiritual needs. Spiritual needs of cancer patients should be assessed and discussed by healthcare professionals from diagnosis. Nurses should assess and support neuro-oncology patients with their spiritual needs during their hospital stay.

  • Spiritual needs in cancer patients and spiritual care based on logotherapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Wataru Noguchi
    Author Satoshi Morita
    Author Tatsuya Ohno
    Author Okihiko Aihara
    Author Hirohiko Tsujii
    Author Kojiro Shimozuma
    Author Eisuke Matsushima
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The suitability of Frankl's logotherapy for the spiritual care (psychotherapy) of cancer patients in Japan is suggested. Using Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual (FACIT-Sp, Japanese version), the Purpose in Life test (PIL test, Japanese version), and WHO-Subjective Inventory (WHO-SUBI, Japanese version), we attempted to elucidate the complicated structure of spirituality in cancer patients in order to identify possible approaches to their spiritual care and means of evaluating such care. MATERIALS: Two hundred and ninety-eight cancer patients participated in the study. All three tests were taken at the same time, and the results were evaluated by principal component analysis. RESULTS: It was demonstrated that all the subscales employed in the present study could be represented by a two-dimensional structure (two principal components), and that the FACIT-Sp and PIL tests have similar contents. DISCUSSION: FACIT-Sp (Japanese version) is very similar in conception to the PIL test, which was prepared in accordance with logotherapy. The results suggest that this test can serve as an adequate evaluation scale for measuring the effectiveness of spiritual care based on Frankl's logotherapy.
    Publication Supportive Care in Cancer: Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 65-70
    Date Jan 2006
    Journal Abbr Support Care Cancer
    DOI 10.1007/s00520-005-0827-2
    ISSN 0941-4355
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15856331
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:59:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15856331
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Japan
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Psychotherapy
    • Research Design
    • Sickness Impact Profile
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • We attempted to elucidate the complicated structure of spirituality in cancer patients in order to identify possible approaches to their spiritual care and means of evaluating such care.

  • Religion, Stress, and Mental Health in Adolescence: Findings from Add Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jennifer G. Nooney
    Abstract A growing body of multidisciplinary research documents associations between religious involvement and mental health outcomes, yet the causal mechanisms linking them are not well understood. Ellison and his colleagues (2001) tested a series of hypotheses derived from the life stress paradigm which linked religious involvement to adult well-being and distress. In the present study those proposed mechanisms are tested in a population of adolescents, a particularly understudied group in religious research. Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) reveals that religious involvement works to prevent the occurrence of school and health stressors, which reduces depression. For suicide ideation, religious involvement works to mobilize social resources. Implications for theory and research are discussed.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 46
    Issue 4
    Pages 341-354
    Date Jun., 2005
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Religion, Stress, and Mental Health in Adolescence
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3512165
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:30:19 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 2005 / Copyright © 2005 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Ellison and his colleagues (2001) tested a series of hypotheses derived from the life stress paradigm which linked religious involvement to adult well-being and distress. In the present study those proposed mechanisms are tested in a population of adolescents, a particularly understudied group in religious research.

  • Religious Coping and Church-Based Social Support as Predictors of Mental Health Outcomes: Testing a Conceptual Model

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jennifer Nooney
    Author Eric Woodrum
    Abstract This study assesses religious coping and church-based social support as mechanisms explaining religious benefits to mental health. We build on recent research and test an explanatory model using the 1998 General Social Survey. The model considers both institutional and individual aspects of religiousness, and their interrelations, as predictors of mental health outcomes. It considers negative effects of religion along with the well-known positive effects. We found that benefits of attendance, a measure of institutional participation, are mediated by church-based social support. Benefits of prayer, an individual form of religiousness, are mediated by the similarly privatized religious coping. Institutional measures of religion were found to impact individuals' religious coping styles. Implications are suggested for the scientific study of religion as well as for the applied efforts of clergy, pastoral counselors, and lay church members concerned with improving religious benefits.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 41
    Issue 2
    Pages 359-368
    Date Jun., 2002
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Religious Coping and Church-Based Social Support as Predictors of Mental Health Outcomes
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/1388014
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:51:31 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 2002 / Copyright © 2002 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study assesses religious coping and church-based social support as mechanisms explaining religious benefits to mental health.

  • The paradox of healing pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rebecca Sachs Norris
    Abstract Pain may be seen as a problem to be healed or as a means for healing. The secular biomedical view of pain is that it is to be avoided and alleviated; its only meaning is as a symptom of underlying disease. In contrast, there have been throughout history other views of suffering--as redemptive or as transformative, for example. This paper considers the disparity between these perspectives, examining the role of the emotions and the underlying neurobiological processes though which pain and suffering come to be experienced as meaningful, then analyzes interview material exploring how religion and religious beliefs help people cope with suffering or with pain. The experience of pain is subjective, enculturated experience; the meaning that pain or suffering holds within a given cultural context affects the experience of pain and suffering. In a context where pain and suffering are understood to be valuable, those experiences can be used for spiritual transformation and integrated within a meaningful identity. In contrast, in a context where pain and suffering are not understood to have value, that attitude can create more suffering, even in conditions meant to alleviate suffering, such as in biomedical situations.
    Publication Religion
    Volume 39
    Issue 1
    Pages 22-33
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.religion.2008.03.007
    ISSN 0048-721X
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WWN-4SN8V13-1/2/83141f03a655b325a3a9f6e30a152bd6
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:23:58 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Notes:

    • Pain may be seen as a problem to be healed or as a means for healing. The secular biomedical view of pain is that it is to be avoided and alleviated; its only meaning is as a symptom of underlying disease. In contrast, there have been throughout history other views of suffering—as redemptive or as transformative, for example. This paper considers the disparity between these perspectives, examining the role of the emotions and the underlying neurobiological processes though which pain and suffering come to be experienced as meaningful, then analyzes interview material exploring how religion and religious beliefs help people cope with suffering or with pain. The experience of pain is subjective, enculturated experience; the meaning that pain or suffering holds within a given cultural context affects the experience of pain and suffering. In a context where pain and suffering are understood to be valuable, those experiences can be used for spiritual transformation and integrated within a meaningful identity. In contrast, in a context where pain and suffering are not understood to have value, that attitude can create more suffering, even in conditions meant to alleviate suffering, such as in biomedical situations.

  • The social, cultural and medicinal use of kava for twelve Tongan born men living in Auckland, New Zealand

    Type Journal Article
    Author Vili Nosa
    Author Malakai Ofanoa
    Abstract Kava consumption is a very popular practise amongst Pacific people especially amongst the Tongan communities. The purpose of this paper is to identify some of the key cultural, social and medicinal elements of kava use amongst Tongan men. Twelve face to face interviews in this study were undertaken. The paper argues that kava drinking is strongly linked to many of the ceremonial, social and cultural obligations that are deeply embedded within the Tongan culture. The positive uses of kava include medicinal purposes, male bonding, alternative to alcohol consumption, reaffirming and establishing relationships amongst other Tongan men, The men also stated negative uses of kava such as it made them lazy, tired so they were not able to go to work, a lack of sexual activities by being too tired have sex with their partners, and very expensive to buy in New Zealand. AIM: The aim of this paper is to discuss and examine the social, cultural and medicinal kava use amongst twelve Tongan born men living in Auckland, New Zealand. METHODS: The study used qualitative methods, specifically individual interviews were conducted in Tongan or English. Participants were recruited through community networks in Auckland. A number of Tongan churches, Tongan medical clinics such as Langimailie, and kava clubs were approached to recruit participants. The open ended interview schedule covered themes such as access, quantity, frequency, and problems associated with kava use. The interviews were conducted by a Tongan researcher either in English or Tongan. All interviews were translated and transcribed into English. A thematic analysis based on multiple readings of the transcripts was used The analysis identified commonalities and differences. The study was granted ethical approval by the University of Auckland Human Subjects Ethics Committee in December 2004. Interviews were conducted at the beginning of 2005. Interviews were undertaken in a place where the participants felt comfortable. Interview times were arranged at a time convenient for the participants. All participants were given information sheets prior to interviews, and participants were asked to sign consent forms before the interviews commenced. These forms were provided in Tongan and English versions. Most of the interviews ranged between one to three hours. Interviews were audiotaped, and confidentiality was maintained throughout the research. PARTICIPANTS: Twelve men were interviewed. All participants were Tongan men born and raised in Tonga. The ages of men ranged between 30 and 75 years. Most of the men had been residing in New Zealand for over 30 years, although some men had only been in New Zealand between 2-18 years. Most of the men were employed and a few had retired from work. Most of these men also belonged to a church. All of the men who participated were married.
    Publication Pacific Health Dialog
    Volume 15
    Issue 1
    Pages 96-102
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Pac Health Dialog
    ISSN 1015-7867
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:45:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19585739
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Beverages
    • Culture
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Kava
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • New Zealand
    • Plant Preparations
    • Qualitative Research
    • Risk-Taking
    • Social perception
  • Use of biomedical services and traditional healing options among American Indians: sociodemographic correlates, spirituality, and ethnic identity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Douglas K Novins
    Author Janette Beals
    Author Laurie A Moore
    Author Paul Spicer
    Author Spero M Manson
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the use of biomedical services and traditional healing options among a reservation-based sample of American Indians from 2 culturally distinct tribes METHODS: Participants were 2595 American Indian adolescents and adults ages 15 to 57 randomly selected to represent 2 tribes living on or near their rural reservations. First, we examined the prevalence and correlates of use of biomedical services and traditional healing for both physical health and psychiatric problems. Second, we developed logistic regression models predicting the independent and combined use of biomedical services and traditional healing RESULTS: The prevalence of combined and independent use of biomedical services and traditional healing varied by tribe. The prevalence of biomedical service use ranged from 40.9% to 59.1% for physical health problems and 6.4% to 6.8% for psychiatric problems. The prevalence of the use of traditional healing ranged from 8.4% to 22.9% for physical health problems and 3.2% to 7.8% for psychiatric problems. Although combined use of both types of services was common (10.4-22.6% of service users), many used only traditional healing (3.5-40.0%). Correlates of service use included age, educational level, and ethnic identity. For example, use of traditional healing was correlated with higher scores on a scale measuring identification with American Indian culture CONCLUSIONS: Both biomedical services and traditional healing are important sources of care in American Indian communities, and are used both independently and in combination with one another.
    Publication Medical Care
    Volume 42
    Issue 7
    Pages 670-679
    Date Jul 2004
    Journal Abbr Med Care
    ISSN 0025-7079
    Short Title Use of biomedical services and traditional healing options among American Indians
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15213492
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:54:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15213492
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Female
    • Health Care Surveys
    • Health Services, Indigenous
    • Humans
    • Indians, North American
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Medicine, Traditional
    • Mental Disorders
    • Middle Aged
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • Southwestern United States
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the use of biomedical services and traditional healing options among a reservation-based sample of American Indians from 2 culturally distinct tribes. Conclusions: Both biomedical services and traditional healing are important sources of care in American Indian communities, and are used both independently and in combination with one another.

  • Helping the soul: the relationship between connectivity and well-being within a church community.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Patricia Obst
    Author Naomi Tham
    Abstract Although previous research attests to the importance of psychological sense of community (PSOC) to individuals' well-being, little research has examined this relationship for the four proposed dimensions of PSOC: membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection (McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Further, little research has explored multiple aspects of community connectivity in the one study. The current research investigated the relationship between participants' (N=127) religiosity, PSOC, social support, and identification within a church community context and their well-being. Results indicated that the PSOC dimensions of shared emotional connection and influence were particularly important in the prediction of well-being in this context. Further, individuals' perception of social support mediated the relationship between PSOC and well-being and the strength of individuals' identification as a church member enhanced the relationships of both PSOC and religiosity with well-being. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Community Psychology
    Volume 37
    Issue 3
    Pages 342-361
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1002/jcop.20299
    ISSN 00904392
    Short Title Helping the soul
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Community Involvement
    • COMMUNITY psychology
    • INFLUENCE (Psychology)
    • Membership
    • NEEDS assessment
    • Religiousness
    • SELF-realization
    • social integration
    • social support
  • Man is born broken. He lives by mending. the grace of God is glue. How religion can Enrich an analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anthony O'Connell
    Abstract The patient, a 59-year-old Caucasian male, was self-referred for analysis. The analysis lasted a period of four years on a thrice-weekly basis. The patient introduced the topic of religion directly in the analysis, and the analyst initially treated it as a psychological construct. The importance of the religious meaning of the patient's desires was not treated directly at the beginning of the analysis, which led to an impasse in the treatment. Further, the analyst's role as a priest was not disclosed to the patient. When the analysand discovered this, the analysis seemed to take a turn for the worse, but in actual fact, it was the real beginning of the analysis that allowed other topics to be faced, and the patient was able to move on with his life, as best he could, toward retirement and search for a new marriage partner.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 153-164
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.153
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:20:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364266
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Alcoholism
    • Clergy
    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Freudian Theory
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Disclosure
    • Temperance
  • Differentiating psychosis and faith: the role of social norms and religious fundamentalism.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shawn O'Connor
    Author Brian Vandenberg
    Abstract Although delusion is a central characteristic of psychosis, problems with the DSM definition make identification difficult, especially when religious content is involved. This study, involving 255 participants, sought to (1) determine if untrained participants' assessment of religious beliefs would be similar to that of trained clinicians in a previous study and (2) determine whether participants' Religious Fundamentalism (RF) influenced assessment. Three sets of religious beliefs, with varying levels of conventionality, were assessed. Results indicate that untrained participants rated religious beliefs in much the same way as did clinicians in a previous study, suggesting that social norms play an important role in the assessment of religious ideation. It was also found that High RF participants rated beliefs similar to their own as less pathological than did Low RF participants. Furthermore, High RF participants did not lower pathology ratings for beliefs from the least conventional religion, even when identified as religious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 171-186
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903277984
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Differentiating psychosis and faith
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:44:58 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Faith
    • MODERNIST-fundamentalist controversy
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Pathological
    • PSYCHOSES
    • RELIGION & politics
    • RELIGIOUS fundamentalism
    • THEOLOGICAL virtues
  • Mortality among Japanese Zen priests.

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Ogata
    Author M Ikeda
    Author M Kuratsune
    Abstract A cohort study was done on 1396 deaths seen among 4352 Japanese male Zen priests during a follow up period from 1 January 1955 to 31 December 1978. Standardised mortality ratios were computed for major causes of death by comparing with the counterparts of the general Japanese male population. The SMR for all causes of death was 0.82 (p less than 0.001) and the SMR values for cerebrovascular diseases, pneumonia and bronchitis, peptic ulcer, liver cirrhosis, cancer of the respiratory organs, and cancer of the lung were all significantly smaller than unity. Taking regional mortality differences into account, a similar computation was made dividing the cohort into two subcohorts--that is, the priests living in eastern Japan and those in western Japan. Both subcohorts showed a highly significantly smaller SMR than unity for all causes of death. With the exception of only a few causes of death for which the observed number of deaths was small, they also showed such reduced SMRs for nearly all of the causes of death tested. A questionnaire survey on the current life style of active priests showed that they smoke less, eat less, meat and fish as they follow the more traditional Japanese dietary habits, and live in less polluted areas, but their drinking habits do not differ much from that of the average Japanese adult man. Possible reasons for their reduced mortality are discussed.
    Publication J Epidemiol Community Health
    Volume 38
    Issue 2
    Pages 161-166
    Date June 1, 1984
    DOI 10.1136/jech.38.2.161
    URL http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/38/2/161
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 10:46:43 PM
    Library Catalog HighWire
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A cohort study was done on 1396 deaths seen among 4352 Japanese male Zen priests during a follow up period from 1 January 1955 to 31 December 1978. Taking regional mortality differences into account, the cohort was divided into two subcohorts--that is, the priests living in eastern Japan and those in western Japan. Both subcohorts showed a highly significantly smaller SMR than unity for all causes of death.

    Attachments

    • HighWire Snapshot
  • Religious Influences on Teenage Childbearing Among Brazilian Female Adolescents: A Research Note

    Type Journal Article
    Author Curtis P. Ogland
    Author John P. Bartkowski
    Author Thankam S. Sunil
    Author Xiaohe Xu
    Abstract Scholars have shown increasing interest in the social implications of Protestant and, specifically, Pentecostal expansion in Latin America over the past several decades. This study uses data from the National Demographic and Health Survey in Brazil to explore the influence of religious affiliation and attendance on the reproductive behavior of unmarried female adolescents (ages 15–19). Results demonstrate that religiously affiliated female adolescents are less likely to have had a child during their teen years when compared with their unaffiliated peers. These protective effects are quite robust for adolescents who claim a Pentecostal affiliation, which is consistent with the doctrine of sanctification, including norms of sexual restraint. Results also demonstrate that teens who attend worship services frequently are significantly less likely to have had a child. These findings augment prior research on religion and fertility while calling attention to the protective effects associated with emergent niches in Brazil's increasingly diversified religious economy.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 754-760
    Date 12/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01544.x
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Religious Influences on Teenage Childbearing Among Brazilian Female Adolescents
    URL http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01544.x
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:23:05 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
  • The Association of Religion and Virginity Status Among Brazilian Adolescents

    Type Journal Article
    Author Curtis P. Ogland
    Author Xiaohe Xu
    Author John P. Bartkowski
    Author Emmanuelle G. Ogland
    Abstract <p><br/>This study examines the association between religious factors and the virginity status of unmarried Brazilian female adolescents aged 15-19 years. The analysis draws on data from the Brazilian National Demographic and Health Survey (2006) using a sub-sample of unmarried Brazilian female adolescents aged 15-19 years (N = 2,364). Multinomial logistic regression is used to test the association between denominational affiliation, worship service participation, and self-reported virginity status. The findings reveal that adolescents affiliated with Protestant faiths, particularly Pentecostalism, and those who attend worship services often have significantly higher odds of remaining a virgin because of a commitment to not have sex until marriage. This premarital chastity rationale for virginity is most strongly evidenced among frequently attending teens who are affiliated with Protestant and Pentecostal faiths. Similar to patterns observed in the United States, teen involvement with Protestant faiths, particularly strict traditions, such as Pentecostalism, is associated with a commitment to virginity in Brazil.</p>
    Publication Journal of Adolescent Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 6
    Pages 651-653
    Date June 2011
    DOI 16/j.jadohealth.2010.09.018
    ISSN 1054-139X
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X10004866
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:39:55 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Brazil
    • Protestant
    • religion
    • Sexual behavior
    • Virginity
  • Medical Qigong for cancer patients: pilot study of impact on quality of life, side effects of treatment and inflammation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Byeongsang Oh
    Author Phyllis Butow
    Author Barbara Mullan
    Author Stephen Clarke
    Abstract Quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients is often diminished due to the side effects of treatment and symptoms of the disease itself. Medical Qigong (coordination of gentle exercise and relaxation through meditation and breathing exercise based on Chinese medicine theory of energy channels) may be an effective therapy for improving QOL, symptoms and side effects, and longevity of cancer patients. In this pilot study, the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of Medical Qigong (MQ) were evaluated on outcomes in cancer patients. Thirty patients diagnosed with heterogeneous cancers, were randomly assigned to two groups: a control group that received usual medical care and an intervention group who participated in a MQ program for 8 weeks in addition to receiving usual medical care. Randomization was stratified by completion of cancer treatment (n = 14) or under chemotherapy (n = 16). Patients completed measures before and after the program. Quality of life and symptoms were measured by the EORTC QLQ-C 30 and progress of disease by the inflammation biomarker (CRP: c-reactive protein) via a blood test was assessed. The MQ intervention group reported clinically significant improved global QOL scores pre- and post-intervention. The MQ intervention also reduced the symptoms of side effects of cancer treatment and inflammation biomarker (CRP) compare to the control group. Due to the small sample size, however, the results were not statistically significant between treatment and the control groups. Data from the pilot study suggest that MQ with usual medical treatment can enhance the QOL of cancer patients and reduce inflammation. This study needs a further investigation with a larger sample size.
    Publication The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
    Volume 36
    Issue 3
    Pages 459-472
    Date 2008
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Chin. Med
    ISSN 0192-415X
    Short Title Medical Qigong for cancer patients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18543381
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:05:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18543381
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Biological Markers
    • Breathing Exercises
    • China
    • C-Reactive Protein
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Inflammation
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life

    Notes:

    •  In this pilot study, the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of Medical Qigong (MQ) were evaluated on outcomes in cancer patients. The MQ intervention group reported clinically significant improved global QOL scores pre- and post-intervention. The MQ intervention also reduced the symptoms of side effects of cancer treatment and inflammation biomarker (CRP) compare to the control group. Due to the small sample size, however, the results were not statistically significant between treatment and the control groups.

  • Religiosity and life satisfaction across nations.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn
    Abstract This paper investigates the relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction in 79 nations using World Values Survey data. Extant literature analyzes religiosity and life satisfaction at person level. But religiosity is an attribute of both, persons and societies. To solve methodological problems evident in previous work a random coefficient multilevel model is employed to account for the fact that individuals are nested within countries. This study shows that the relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction is bimodal. Religious people tend to be either very satisfied or dissatisfied with life. The relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction is also two-dimensional. Forms of religiosity that promote social capital predict high life satisfaction. People have so called “need to belong” and religion helps to satisfy it. On the other hand, forms of religiosity that do not promote social capital do not predict high life satisfaction. Religiosity is also context-dependent. Religious people are happier in religious nations. In other words, it is not only religiosity per se that makes people happy, but rather a social setting it offers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 155-169
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903273801
    ISSN 13674676
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:44:51 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • RELIGIOUS behaviors
    • RELIGIOUS life
    • Religiousness
    • SELF-realization
    • SOCIAL capital (Sociology)
  • An experimental study of the effects of distant, intercessory prayer on self-esteem, anxiety, and depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author S O'Laoire
    Abstract DESIGN: Randomized, controlled, double-blind study. PATIENTS: 496 volunteers: those who prayed (agents, n = 90) and those who were prayed for (subjects, n = 406). INTERVENTION: Agents were randomly assigned to either a directed or nondirected prayer group; photos and names of subjects were used as a focus. Subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: those prayed for by nondirected agents, a control group, and those prayed for by directed agents. Prayer was offered for 15 minutes daily for 12 weeks. Each subject was prayed for by three agents. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Five pretest and posttest objective measures and six posttest subjective measures were taken. RESULTS: Subjects improved significantly on all 11 measures. Agents improved significantly on 10 measures. A significant positive correlation was found between the amount of prayer the agents did and their scores on the five objective tests. Agents had significantly better scores than did subjects on all objective measures. Subjects' views of the locus of God's action showed significance in three objective measures. Improvement on four objective measures was significantly related to subjects' belief in the power of prayer for others. Improvement on all II measures was significantly related to subjects' conviction concerning whether they had been assigned to a control or an experimental group. Possible explanations include the placebo/faith effect, the time displaced effect, and extraneous prayer.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 3
    Issue 6
    Pages 38-53
    Date Nov 1997
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9375429
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 6:15:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9375429
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • depression
    • Double-Blind Method
    • Humans
    • religion
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept

    Notes:

    • Agents were randomly assigned to either a directed or nondirected prayer group; photos and names of subjects were used as a focus. Subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: those prayed for by nondirected agents, a control group, and those prayed for by directed agents. Results: Subjects improved significantly on all 11 measures. Agents improved significantly on 10 measures. A significant positive correlation was found between the amount of prayer the agents did and their scores on the five objective tests. Agents had significantly better scores than did subjects on all objective measures.

  • Protection throughout the life span: the psychoneuroimmunologic impact of Indo-Tibetan meditative and yogic practices

    Type Journal Article
    Author Erin L Olivo
    Abstract The Indo-Tibetan tradition claims that proficiency in the suggested longevity practices of meditation, diet, and physical exercise (yoga), will result in profound anti-aging, stress-mediating and health enhancing effects. Western biomedical research has begun to demonstrate that the psychobiological states induced and cultivated by cognitive behavioral practices which are emblematic of those contained within the Indo-Tibetan tradition (hypnosis, meditation, visualization, systematic relaxation), indeed do have a profound impact on the body's protective and regulatory systems. Although continued study is necessary, much of the early research illuminating the mechanisms responsible for the life-span extending and health-enhancing effects of these cognitive behavioral practices points to the importance of their anti-inflammatory, anti-stress, and antioxidant effects as well as their impact in enhancing the production of endogenous substances that possess general longevity-enhancing, regenerative properties.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 163-171
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04415.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title Protection throughout the life span
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735248
    Accessed Friday, February 04, 2011 11:16:20 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735248
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Exercise
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Immune System
    • India
    • Inflammation
    • Longevity
    • Medicine, Tibetan Traditional
    • Medicine, Traditional
    • Meditation
    • Neurosecretory Systems
    • yoga
  • Protection throughout the life span: the psychoneuroimmunologic impact of Indo-Tibetan meditative and yogic practices

    Type Journal Article
    Author Erin L Olivo
    Abstract The Indo-Tibetan tradition claims that proficiency in the suggested longevity practices of meditation, diet, and physical exercise (yoga), will result in profound anti-aging, stress-mediating and health enhancing effects. Western biomedical research has begun to demonstrate that the psychobiological states induced and cultivated by cognitive behavioral practices which are emblematic of those contained within the Indo-Tibetan tradition (hypnosis, meditation, visualization, systematic relaxation), indeed do have a profound impact on the body's protective and regulatory systems. Although continued study is necessary, much of the early research illuminating the mechanisms responsible for the life-span extending and health-enhancing effects of these cognitive behavioral practices points to the importance of their anti-inflammatory, anti-stress, and antioxidant effects as well as their impact in enhancing the production of endogenous substances that possess general longevity-enhancing, regenerative properties.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 163-171
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04415.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title Protection throughout the life span
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735248
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:41:29 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735248
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Exercise
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Immune System
    • India
    • Inflammation
    • Longevity
    • Medicine, Tibetan Traditional
    • Medicine, Traditional
    • Meditation
    • Neurosecretory Systems
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • The Indo-Tibetan tradition claims that proficiency in the suggested longevity practices of meditation, diet, and physical exercise (yoga), will result in profound anti-aging, stress-mediating and health enhancing effects. Western biomedical research has begun to demonstrate that the psychobiological states induced and cultivated by cognitive behavioral practices which are emblematic of those contained within the Indo-Tibetan tradition (hypnosis, meditation, visualization, systematic relaxation), indeed do have a profound impact on the body’s protective and regulatory systems. Although continued study is necessary, much of the early research illuminating the mechanisms responsible for the life-span extending and health-enhancing effects of these cognitive behavioral practices points to the importance of their anti-inflammatory, anti-stress, and antioxidant effects as well as their impact in enhancing the production of endogenous substances that possess general longevity-enhancing, regenerative properties.

  • Feasibility and effectiveness of a brief meditation-based stress management intervention for patients diagnosed with or at risk for coronary heart disease: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Erin L Olivo
    Author Brooke Dodson-Lavelle
    Author Anava Wren
    Author Yixin Fang
    Author Mehmet C Oz
    Abstract Extensive research has led to the development of a psychobiological model of cardiovascular disease. This model suggests that psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, hostility, and stress may affect the development and progression of coronary heart disease (CHD). Recent studies have also demonstrated that meditation-based stress reduction programs are useful interventions for patients with various medical and psychological symptoms. The objective of this pilot study was to gather preliminary information regarding the feasibility of implementing a brief meditation-based stress management (MBSM) program for patients with CHD, and those at high risk for CHD, at a major metropolitan hospital that serves a predominately non-local patient population. The secondary aim of this study was to investigate the possibility that such an intervention might reduce depression, as well as perceived stress, anxiety, and hostility, while improving general health scores. The overall feasibility results indicate that this MBSM intervention was highly feasible with regard to both recruitment and retention of participants. In fact, 40% of patients requested further training. In addition, after completion of the 4-week intervention, participants reported significant reductions in depression and perceived stress. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the brief meditation-based stress management program was well-received by patients and can successfully be used as a supportive program for patients at risk or diagnosed with CHD.
    Publication Psychology, Health & Medicine
    Volume 14
    Issue 5
    Pages 513-523
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Health Med
    DOI 10.1080/13548500902890087
    ISSN 1465-3966
    Short Title Feasibility and effectiveness of a brief meditation-based stress management intervention for patients diagnosed with or at risk for coronary heart disease
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19844830
    Accessed Wednesday, November 04, 2009 10:25:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19844830
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Notes:

    • Extensive research has led to the development of a psychobiological model of cardiovascular disease. This model suggests that psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, hostility, and stress may affect the development and progression of coronary heart disease (CHD). Recent studies have also demonstrated that meditation-based stress reduction programs are useful interventions for patients with various medical and psychological symptoms. The objective of this pilot study was to gather preliminary information regarding the feasibility of implementing a brief meditation-based stress management (MBSM) program for patients with CHD, and those at high risk for CHD, at a major metropolitan hospital that serves a predominately non-local patient population. The secondary aim of this study was to investigate the possibility that such an intervention might reduce depression, as well as perceived stress, anxiety, and hostility, while improving general health scores. The overall feasibility results indicate that this MBSM intervention was highly feasible with regard to both recruitment and retention of participants. In fact, 40% of patients requested further training. In addition, after completion of the 4-week intervention, participants reported significant reductions in depression and perceived stress. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the brief meditation-based stress management program was well-received by patients and can successfully be used as a supportive program for patients at risk or diagnosed with CHD.

  • Near-death experiences and the elderly

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Olson
    Publication Holistic Nursing Practice
    Volume 7
    Issue 1
    Pages 16-21
    Date Oct 1992
    Journal Abbr Holist Nurs Pract
    ISSN 0887-9311
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/1447326
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:17:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 1447326
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Death
    • Geriatric Nursing
    • Human Development
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Questionnaires
  • Life satisfaction, life review, and near-death experiences in the elderly

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Olson
    Author P Dulaney
    Abstract When 145 senior citizens living independently in the community were surveyed for incidence of near-death experiences (NDEs), 46 of the seniors believed they had had a "close call" with death. Twelve of those reported that they had had an unusual experience during their close call and were subsequently interviewed. Their stories were evaluated using research criteria to document sufficient number of characteristics of an NDE for inclusion in research data and if that set of characteristics of the NDE included a life review component. They were also compared to a non-NDE group on the Life Satisfaction Index, to determine if life review in the context of an NDE helped older people feel more satisfied with life. There was no correlation, because surprisingly, although older people do have NDEs at least as often as other groups, the life review does not seem to be a part of it. So the reasons for scores on the LSI-A are not attributable to the life review. Reasons for this finding are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 11
    Issue 4
    Pages 368-382
    Date Dec 1993
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    ISSN 0898-0101
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/8228140
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:12:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 8228140
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Death
    • Consciousness
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Memory
    • Middle Aged
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires

    Notes:

    • When 145 senior citizens living independently in the community were surveyed for incidence of near-death experiences (NDEs), 46 of the seniors believed they had had a “close call” with death. Twelve of those reported that they had had an unusual experience during their close call and were subsequently interviewed. Their stories were evaluated using research criteria to document sufficient number of characteristics of an NDE for inclusion in research data and if that set of characteristics of the NDE included a life review component. They were also compared to a non-NDE group on the Life Satisfaction Index, to determine if life review in the context of an NDE helped older people feel more satisfied with life. There was no correlation, because surprisingly, although older people do have NDEs at least as often as other groups, the life review does not seem to be a part of it. So the reasons for scores on the LSI-A are not attributable to the life review. Reasons for this finding are discussed.

  • Unique and Common Facets of Religion and Spirituality: Both Are Important

    Type Journal Article
    Author Doug Oman
    Abstract This commentary describes a multidimensional approach that underlies much recent empirical research on religion and spirituality (RS) and health. Each faith tradition possesses its own particularities, and common facets shared with other traditions as a coherent resemblance. Taxonomies of RS dimensions vary from being coarse grained to fine grained. The most useful taxonomy depends upon the particular research question. Fine-grained measures may more easily document particularistic facets. However, fine-grained measures can obscure common facets, which are sometimes usefully assessed by moderate- or coarse-grained measures. Full understanding requires the scientific study of both common and particularistic facets. In light of these conceptions, seven RS scales critiqued by Glicksman are analyzed for problematic themes that may obscure particularistic facets.
    Publication Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging
    Volume 21
    Issue 4
    Pages 275-286
    Date October 2009
    DOI 10.1080/15528030902862471
    ISSN 1552-8030
    Short Title Unique and Common Facets of Religion and Spirituality
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/15528030902862471
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 8:21:06 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • How does one become spiritual? The Spiritual Modeling Inventory of Life Environments (SMILE).

    Type Journal Article
    Author Doug Oman
    Author Carl E. Thoresen
    Author Crystal L. Park
    Author Phillip R. Shaver
    Author Ralph W. Hood
    Author Thomas G. Plante
    Abstract We report the theoretical background, psychometric properties, and correlates of the Spiritual Modeling Inventory of Life Environments (SMILE), a measure of perceptions of spiritual models, defined as everyday and prominent people who have functioned for respondents as exemplars of spiritual qualities, such as compassion, self-control, or faith. Demographic, spiritual, and personality correlates were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of college students from California, Connecticut, and Tennessee (N = 1010). A summary measure of model influence was constructed from perceived models within family, school, and religious organization, and among prominent individuals from both tradition and media. The SMILE, based on concepts from Bandura's (1986) Social Cognitive Theory, was well-received by respondents. The summary measure demonstrated good 7-week test-retest reliability (r = 0.83); patterns of correlation supporting convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity; demographic differences in expected directions; and substantial individual heterogeneity. Implications are discussed for further research and for pastoral, educational, and health-focused interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Mental Health, Religion & Culture is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts)
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 5
    Pages 427-456
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902758257
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title How does one become spiritual?
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rlh&AN=42411016&…
    Accessed Monday, October 26, 2009 8:57:31 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • HUMAN behavior
    • MODELS & modelmaking
    • PSYCHOLOGY -- Methodology
    • Psychometrics
    • RELIGIOUS institutions
    • SCALING (Social sciences)
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • United States
    • WORSHIP
  • Does passage meditation foster compassionate love among health professionals?: a randomised trial.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Doug Oman
    Author Carl E. Thoresen
    Author John Hedberg
    Abstract 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 129-154
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903261954
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title Does passage meditation foster compassionate love among health professionals?
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:44:39 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Meditation
    • mental health
    • Physicians
    • SELF-management (Psychology)
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • stress management
  • Passage meditation reduces perceived stress in health professionals: a randomized, controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Doug Oman
    Author John Hedberg
    Author Carl E Thoresen
    Abstract The authors evaluated an 8-week, 2-hr per week training for physicians, nurses, chaplains, and other health professionals using nonsectarian, spiritually based self-management tools based on passage meditation (E. Easwaran, 1978/1991). Participants were randomized to intervention (n = 27) or waiting list (n = 31). Pretest, posttest, and 8- and 19-week follow-up data were gathered on 8 measures, including perceived stress, burnout, mental health, and psychological well-being. Aggregated across examinations, beneficial treatment effects were observed on stress (p = .0013) and mental health (p = .03). Treatment effects on stress were mediated by adherence to practices (p = .05). Stress reductions remained large at 19 weeks (84% of the pretest standard deviation, p = .006). Evidence suggests this program reduces stress and may enhance mental health.
    Publication Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
    Volume 74
    Issue 4
    Pages 714-719
    Date Aug 2006
    Journal Abbr J Consult Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/0022-006X.74.4.714
    ISSN 0022-006X
    Short Title Passage meditation reduces perceived stress in health professionals
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16881779
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:47:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16881779
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Health Personnel
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Psychological Theory
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • The authors evaluated an 8-week, 2-hr per week training for physicians, nurses, chaplains, and other health professionals using nonsectarian, spiritually based self-management tools based on passage meditation (E. Easwaran, 1978/1991). Participants were randomized to intervention (n = 27) or waiting list (n = 31). Pretest, posttest, and 8- and 19-week follow-up data were gathered on 8 measures, including perceived stress, burnout, mental health, and psychological well-being. Aggregated across examinations, beneficial treatment effects were observed on stress (p = .0013) and mental health (p = .03). Treatment effects on stress were mediated by adherence to practices (p = .05). Stress reductions remained large at 19 weeks (84% of the pretest standard deviation, p = .006). Evidence suggests this program reduces stress and may enhance mental health.

  • A mindfulness-based approach to the treatment of insomnia.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jason Ong
    Author David Sholtes
    Abstract Mindfulness meditation has emerged as a novel approach to emotion regulation and stress reduction that has several health benefits. Preliminary work has been conducted on mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBT-I), a meditation-based program for individuals suffering from chronic sleep disturbance. This treatment integrates behavioral treatments for insomnia with the principles and practices of mindfulness meditation. A case illustration of a chronic insomnia sufferer demonstrates the application of mindfulness principles for developing adaptive ways of working with the nocturnal symptoms and waking consequences of chronic insomnia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 66
    Issue 11
    Pages 1175-1184
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20736
    ISSN 0021-9762
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM

    Tags:

    • insomnia
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • mindfulness meditation therapy
    • treatment

    Notes:

  • Mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: a naturalistic 12-month follow-up

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jason C Ong
    Author Shauna L Shapiro
    Author Rachel Manber
    Abstract A unique intervention combining mindfulness meditation with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has been shown to have acute benefits at posttreatment in an open label study. The aim of the present study was to examine the long-term effects of this integrated intervention on measures of sleep and sleep-related distress in an attempt to characterize the natural course of insomnia following this treatment and to identify predictors of poor long-term outcome. Analyses were conducted on 21 participants, who provided follow-up data at six and 12 months posttreatment. At each time point, participants completed one week of sleep and meditation diaries and questionnaires related to mindfulness, sleep, and sleep-related distress, including the Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale, the Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale, the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills, and the Insomnia Episode Questionnaire. Analyses examining the pattern of change across time (baseline, end of treatment, six months, and 12 months) revealed that several sleep-related benefits were maintained during the 12-month follow-up period. Participants who reported at least one insomnia episode (>or=1 month) during the follow-up period had higher scores on the Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale (P < .05) and the Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale (P < .05) at end of treatment compared with those with no insomnia episodes. Correlations between mindfulness skills and insomnia symptoms revealed significant negative correlations (P < .05) between mindfulness skills and daytime sleepiness at each of the three time points but not with nocturnal symptoms of insomnia. These results suggest that most sleep-related benefits of an intervention combining CBT-I and mindfulness meditation were maintained during the 12-month follow-up period, with indications that higher presleep arousal and sleep effort at end of treatment constitute a risk for occurrence of insomnia during the 12 months following treatment.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 5
    Issue 1
    Pages 30-36
    Date 2009 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2008.10.004
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title Mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19114261
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19114261
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Questionnaires
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Sleep
    • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Young Adult
  • Complementary and alternative methods in cerebral palsy

    Type Journal Article
    Author WL Oppenheim
    Abstract There are no published studies specifically addressing complementary and alternative treatments in adults with cerebral palsy (CP). However, national surveys of adults with chronic disabilities document that a majority of them use such treatments, that they are willing to pay out of pocket, if necessary, and that they believe that pursuing such treatment relieves pain, reduces stress and anxiety, and leads to improved feelings of fitness and well-being. Individuals enjoy taking charge of their own health care decisions, and frequently feel more in control with these therapies than with more traditional methods. In contrast to adults, there is some information on complementary and alternative methods (CAM) in children with CP. This article discusses some of the CAM used in children that may be carried over into adulthood, as well as the pitfalls for patients and conventional physicians as they try to sort out what might be helpful and what might be harmful in this arena. Practitioners of both conventional and CAM therapies believe that exercise can be beneficial; accordingly, activities such as recreational sports, yoga, and hippotherapy may be continued from childhood into adulthood. General treatments for stress and anxiety, through such activities as yoga and meditation, though not directed at CP per se, may be more popular for adults than children. Research in this area should first identify what methods are being utilized and then subject these methods to well-designed outcome studies that take into account any associated risks.
    Publication Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
    Volume 51
    Issue Supplement 4
    Pages 122-129
    Date OCT 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2009.03424.x
    ISSN 0012-1622
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Sunday, November 01, 2009 10:00:21 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Complementary and alternative methods in cerebral palsy

    Type Journal Article
    Author William L Oppenheim
    Abstract There are no published studies specifically addressing complementary and alternative treatments in adults with cerebral palsy (CP). However, national surveys of adults with chronic disabilities document that a majority of them use such treatments, that they are willing to pay out of pocket, if necessary, and that they believe that pursuing such treatment relieves pain, reduces stress and anxiety, and leads to improved feelings of fitness and well-being. Individuals enjoy taking charge of their own health care decisions, and frequently feel more in control with these therapies than with more traditional methods. In contrast to adults, there is some information on complementary and alternative methods (CAM) in children with CP. This article discusses some of the CAM used in children that may be carried over into adulthood, as well as the pitfalls for patients and conventional physicians as they try to sort out what might be helpful and what might be harmful in this arena. Practitioners of both conventional and CAM therapies believe that exercise can be beneficial; accordingly, activities such as recreational sports, yoga, and hippotherapy may be continued from childhood into adulthood. General treatments for stress and anxiety, through such activities as yoga and meditation, though not directed at CP per se, may be more popular for adults than children. Research in this area should first identify what methods are being utilized and then subject these methods to well-designed outcome studies that take into account any associated risks.
    Publication Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
    Volume 51 Suppl 4
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Dev Med Child Neurol
    DOI 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2009.03424.x
    ISSN 1469-8749
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19740219
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:28:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19740219
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • 122-129
    • prepub

    Notes:

    • There are no published studies specifically addressing complementary and alternative treatments in adults with cerebral palsy (CP). In contrast to adults, there is some information on complementary and alternative methods (CAM) in children with CP. This article discusses some of the CAM used in children that may be carried over into adulthood.

  • Religiosity and Posttraumatic Stress Following Forced Relocation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lior Oren
    Author Chaya Possick
    Abstract In order to examine the role of religiosity in situations of extreme stress, such as forced relocation, 326 Israeli settlers who were evicted from the Gaza Strip by the government were tested for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), intrusion and avoidance, and religiosity and religious support. Approximately 40% of the subjects suffered from PTSD. No correlation was found between PTSD and religiosity or religious support. However, among very religious people, high religious support predicted lower PTSD, while among the moderately religious, high religious support predicted higher PTSD. In addition, religiosity measures were positively correlated with intrusion and negatively correlated with avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Loss & Trauma
    Volume 14
    Issue 2
    Pages 144-160
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1080/15325020902724586
    ISSN 15325024
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • CHRISTIAN life
    • FORCED migration
    • GAZA Strip
    • ISRAELIS
    • NEUROSES
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder
    • RELIGIOUS behaviors
    • Religiousness
    • STRESS (Psychology)
  • The meaning of survival: the early aftermath of a near-death experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author R M Orne
    Abstract An estimated 9 million adults in this country may have had a near-death experience (NDE), yet little research has been focused on the early aftermath of this extraordinary phenomenon. The purpose of this interpretive study was to appropriate and make visible how patients who had an NDE during a cardiac or respiratory arrest understood and experienced this early period of survival. Gadamerian hermeneutics (1975/1990) informed and guided the study. This interpretation demonstrates that NDEs and their early aftermath can be the positive, life-enhancing experiences that the common lore and most research tend to depict, yet they can also be unpleasant and distressing experiences fraught with emotional pain and angst.
    Publication Research in Nursing & Health
    Volume 18
    Issue 3
    Pages 239-247
    Date Jun 1995
    Journal Abbr Res Nurs Health
    ISSN 0160-6891
    Short Title The meaning of survival
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/7754094
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:04:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 7754094
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Death
    • Death
    • Female
    • Heart Arrest
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Parapsychology
    • Respiratory Insufficiency
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Survival

    Notes:

    • An estimated 9 million adults in this country may have had a near-death experience (NDE), yet little research has been focused on the early aftermath of this extraordinary phenomenon. The purpose of this interpretive study was to appropriate and make visible how patients who had an NDE during a cardiac or respiratory arrest understood and experienced this early period of survival. Gadamerian hermeneutics (1975/1990) informed and guided the study. This interpretation demonstrates that NDEs and their early aftermath can be the positive, life-enhancing experiences that the common lore and most research tend to depict, yet they can also be unpleasant and distressing experiences fraught with emotional pain and angst.

  • Clinical trials of meditation practices in health care: characteristics and quality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maria B Ospina
    Author Kenneth Bond
    Author Mohammad Karkhaneh
    Author Nina Buscemi
    Author Donna M Dryden
    Author Vernon Barnes
    Author Linda E Carlson
    Author Jeffery A Dusek
    Author David Shannahoff-Khalsa
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To provide a descriptive overview of the clinical trials assessing meditation practices for health care. DESIGN: Systematic review of the literature. Comprehensive searches were conducted in 17 electronic bibliographic databases through September 2005. Other sources of potentially relevant studies included hand searches, reference tracking, contacting experts, and gray literature searches. Included studies were clinical trials with 10 or more adult participants using any meditation practice, providing quantitative data on health-related outcomes, and published in English. Two independent reviewers assessed study relevance, extracted the data, and assessed the methodological quality of the studies. RESULTS: Four hundred clinical trials on meditation (72% described as randomized) were included in the review (publication years 1956-2005). Five broad categories of meditation practices were identified: mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, yoga, t'ai chi, and qigong. The three most studied clinical conditions were hypertension, miscellaneous cardiovascular diseases, and substance abuse. Psychosocial measures were the most frequently reported outcomes. Outcome measures of psychiatric and psychological symptoms dominate the outcomes of interest. Overall, the methodological quality of clinical trials is poor, but has significantly improved over time by 0.014 points every year (95% CI, 0.005, 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: Most clinical trials on meditation practices are generally characterized by poor methodological quality with significant threats to validity in every major quality domain assessed. Despite a statistically significant improvement in the methodological quality over time, it is imperative that future trials on meditation be rigorous in design, execution, analysis, and the reporting of results.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 14
    Issue 10
    Pages 1199-1213
    Date Dec 2008
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0307
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Short Title Clinical trials of meditation practices in health care
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19123875
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:03:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19123875
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Breathing Exercises
    • Clinical Trials as Topic
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Quality of Health Care
    • Quality of Life
    • Research Design
    • Tai Ji
    • Treatment Outcome
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • Objective: To provide a descriptive overview of the clinical trials assessing meditation practices for health care. Design: Systematic review of the literature. Comprehensive searches were conducted in 17 electronic bibliographic databases through September 2005. Other sources of potentially relevant studies included hand searches, reference tracking, contacting experts, and gray literature searches. Included studies were clinical trials with 10 or more adult participants using any meditation practice, providing quantitative data on health-related outcomes, and published in English. Two independent reviewers assessed study relevance, extracted the data, and assessed the methodological quality of the studies. Results: Four hundred clinical trials on meditation (72% described as randomized) were included in the review (publication years 1956-2005). Five broad categories of meditation practices were identified: mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, yoga, t’ai chi, and qigong. The three most studied clinical conditions were hypertension, miscellaneous cardiovascular diseases, and substance abuse. Psychosocial measures were the most frequently reported outcomes. Outcome measures of psychiatric and psychological symptoms dominate the outcomes of interest. Overall, the methodological quality of clinical trials is poor, but has significantly improved over time by 0.014 points every year (95% CI, 0.005, 0.023). Conclusions: Most clinical trials on meditation practices are generally characterized by poor methodological quality with significant threats to validity in every major quality domain assessed. Despite a statistically significant improvement in the methodological quality over time, it is imperative that future trials on meditation be rigorous in design, execution, analysis, and the reporting of results.

  • Contemporary perspectives on stress management: Medication, meditation or mitigation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author James C. Overholser
    Author Lauren B. Fisher
    Abstract Stressful life events can increase the risk for developing a variety of physical disorders and emotional problems. A biopsychosocial approach can help mental health professions to better understand and more effectively treat disorders that are related to severe negative life events. Biological approaches focus on suppressing emotional reactions, usually through a reliance on psychopharmacological interventions. Psychological approaches usually focus on the cognitive processes that translate stress into distress. Psychological interventions focus on changing the negative attitudes and maladaptive behaviors that aggravate most stressful situations. Social interventions focus on improving social support and involvement with agencies to confront limited finances, unemployment, and housing problems. In these times of economic crisis and severe financial hardship, psychological and social intervention strategies appear more useful than biological treatments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 147-155
    Date September 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10879-009-9114-8
    ISSN 0022-0116
    Short Title Contemporary perspectives on stress management
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:36:57 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM

    Tags:

    • biopsychosocial approach
    • stress management
  • Features of "near-death experience" in relation to whether or not patients were near death

    Type Journal Article
    Author J E Owens
    Author E W Cook
    Author I Stevenson
    Abstract The medical records of 58 patients, most of whom believed they were near death during an illness or after an injury and all of whom later remembered unusual experiences occurring at the time, were examined. 28 patients were judged to have been so close to death that they would have died without medical intervention; the other 30 patients were not in danger of dying although most of them thought they were. Patients of both groups reported closely similar experiences but patients who really were close to death were more likely than those who were not to report an enhanced perception of light and enhanced cognitive powers. The claim of enhancement of cognitive functions despite the likelihood that brain function had probably become disturbed and possibly diminished, deserves further investigation.
    Publication Lancet
    Volume 336
    Issue 8724
    Pages 1175-1177
    Date Nov 10, 1990
    Journal Abbr Lancet
    ISSN 0140-6736
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/1978037
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:19:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 1978037
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Death
    • Child
    • Cognition
    • Death
    • Emotions
    • Evaluation Studies as Topic
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Light
    • Male
    • Medical Records
    • Memory
    • Middle Aged
    • Perception

    Notes:

    • The medical records of 58 patients, most of whom believed they were near death during an illness or after an injury and all of whom later remembered unusual experiences occurring at the time, were examined. 28 patients were judged to have been so close to death that they would have died without medical intervention; the other 30 patients were not in danger of dying although most of them thought they were. Patients of both groups reported closely similar experiences but patients who really were close to death were more likely than those who were not to report an enhanced perception of light and enhanced cognitive powers. The claim of enhancement of cognitive functions despite the likelihood that brain function had probably become disturbed and possibly diminished, deserves further investigation.

  • Secularizing Religious Practices: A Study of Subjectivity and Existential Transformation in Naikan Therapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Chikako Ozawa-de Silva
    Author Brendan Ozawa-de Silva
    Abstract Data collected in both Japan and Austria reveal that Naikan, a “secularized” practice derived from Buddhist meditation but stripped of Buddhist references, effects changes in clients’ subjectivity that are strikingly similar to those sought in Buddhist traditions. This suggests that Naikan operates therapeutically on an existential level and employs cognitive techniques that, while originating in Buddhism, remain efficacious outside a Buddhist context.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 49
    Issue 1
    Pages 147-161
    Date 03/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01497.x
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Secularizing Religious Practices
    URL http://blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01497.x
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:40:02 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Effect of compassion meditation on neuroendocrine, innate immune and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thaddeus W W Pace
    Author Lobsang Tenzin Negi
    Author Daniel D Adame
    Author Steven P Cole
    Author Teresa I Sivilli
    Author Timothy D Brown
    Author Michael J Issa
    Author Charles L Raison
    Abstract Meditation practices may impact physiological pathways that are modulated by stress and relevant to disease. While much attention has been paid to meditation practices that emphasize calming the mind, improving focused attention, or developing mindfulness, less is known about meditation practices that foster compassion. Accordingly, the current study examined the effect of compassion meditation on innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress and evaluated the degree to which engagement in meditation practice influenced stress reactivity. Sixty-one healthy adults were randomized to 6 weeks of training in compassion meditation (n=33) or participation in a health discussion control group (n=28) followed by exposure to a standardized laboratory stressor (Trier social stress test [TSST]). Physiologic and behavioral responses to the TSST were determined by repeated assessments of plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and cortisol as well as total distress scores on the Profile of Mood States (POMS). No main effect of group assignment on TSST responses was found for IL-6, cortisol or POMS scores. However, within the meditation group, increased meditation practice was correlated with decreased TSST-induced IL-6 (r(p)=-0.46, p=0.008) and POMS distress scores (r(p)=-0.43, p=0.014). Moreover, individuals with meditation practice times above the median exhibited lower TSST-induced IL-6 and POMS distress scores compared to individuals below the median, who did not differ from controls. These data suggest that engagement in compassion meditation may reduce stress-induced immune and behavioral responses, although future studies are required to determine whether individuals who engage in compassion meditation techniques are more likely to exhibit reduced stress reactivity.
    Publication Psychoneuroendocrinology
    Volume 34
    Issue 1
    Pages 87-98
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychoneuroendocrinology
    DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.08.011
    ISSN 0306-4530
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18835662
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18835662
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Empathy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hydrocortisone
    • Immunity, Innate
    • Interleukin-6
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Stress, Physiological
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Time Factors
    • Young Adult
  • Innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress do not predict subsequent compassion meditation practice time

    Type Journal Article
    Author Thaddeus W.W. Pace
    Author Lobsang Tenzin Negi
    Author Teresa I. Sivilli
    Author Michael J. Issa
    Author Steven P. Cole
    Author Daniel D. Adame
    Author Charles L. Raison
    Abstract Summary Increasing data suggest that meditation impacts stress-related physiological processes relevant to health and disease. For example, our group recently reported that the practice of compassion meditation was associated with reduced innate immune (plasma interleukin [IL]-6) and subjective distress responses to a standardized laboratory psychosocial stressor (Trier Social Stress Test [TSST]). However, because we administered a TSST after, but not prior to, meditation training in our initial study, it remained possible that associations between practice time and TSST outcomes reflected the fact that participants with reduced stress responses prior to training were more able to practice compassion meditation, rather than that meditation practice reduced stress responses. To help resolve this ambiguity, we conducted the current study to evaluate whether innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to a TSST conducted prior to compassion meditation training in an independent sample of 32 medically health young adults would predict subsequent amount of meditation practice time during a compassion meditation training protocol identical to the one used in our first study. No associations were found between responses to a TSST administered prior to compassion meditation training and subsequent amount of meditation practice, whether practice time was considered as a continuous variable or whether meditators were divided into high and low practice time groups based on a median split of mean number of practice sessions per week. These findings contrast strikingly with our original study, in which high and low practice time meditators demonstrated marked differences in IL-6 and distress responses to a TSST administered after meditation training. In addition to providing the first published data regarding stress responsivity as a potential predictor of subsequent ability/willingness to practice meditation, the current study strengthens findings from our initial work by supporting the conclusion that in individuals who actively engage in practicing the technique, compassion meditation may represent a viable strategy for reducing potentially deleterious physiological and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress.
    Publication Psychoneuroendocrinology
    Volume 35
    Issue 2
    Pages 310-315
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.06.008
    ISSN 0306-4530
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:10:15 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Compassion
    • Cortisol
    • Interleukin-6
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Trier Social Stress Test
  • Existential well-being and spirituality of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is related to psychological well-being of their caregivers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Francesco Pagnini
    Author Christian Lunetta
    Author Gabriella Rossi
    Author Paolo Banfi
    Author Ksenija Gorni
    Author Nadia Cellotto
    Author Gianluca Castelnuovo
    Author Enrico Molinari
    Author Massimo Corbo
    Abstract Existential well-being (EWB) and spirituality issues are important factors in determining quality of life (QoL) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. No conclusive data among the relation between patient's EWB, their spirituality and caregivers' QoL are available. In the mainframe of a longitudinal study, we performed a cross-sectional analysis aimed to investigate EWB and spirituality issues in sporadic ALS (SALS) patients and the relations with caregivers' psychological features. Thirty-seven SALS patients, together with their caregivers, consecutively recruited at NEuroMuscular Omnicentre, in Milan, were included in this study. EWB and spirituality questions were administrated to patients and caregivers. Caregivers also completed questionnaires about quality of life (MQoL-SI), care burden (ZBI), depression (BDI) and anxiety (STAI). Both EWBs and questions about spirituality of SALS patients showed a positive correlation with MQoL-SI and EWBs in their caregivers. Conversely, SALS patients' EWB and spirituality were negatively correlated with caregivers' STAI, BDI and ZBI scores. In conclusion, existential well-being, as well as spirituality issues, perceived by SALS patients seems to be directly related with quality of life, severity of mood disturbance and burden experienced by their caregivers.
    Publication Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Official Publication of the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases
    Volume 12
    Issue 2
    Pages 105-108
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr Amyotroph Lateral Scler
    DOI 10.3109/17482968.2010.502941
    ISSN 1471-180X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20653520
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20653520
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • The Anguish of the Korean Woman's Soul: Feminist Theologians on a Real-Life Issue.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jung Pak
    Abstract This paper explores the conflict between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in traditional Korean families. In Korea, mothers-in-law sometimes dominate and even denigrate their daughters-in-law. This situation may be caused by the accumulated frustrations of oppressed Korean women that are then vented against their daughters-in-law, intensifying the suffering of women in Korea. The daughter-in-law is now demeaned not just by the men in the family but also by an older woman in the family who has power over her because of age and her status as the mother of the younger woman's husband. The two women are both victims of a society dominated by men. Women in this culture tend to view their suffering as their destiny, even though they are pained by the unequal treatment. It is possible for a faith community to accept and heal these damaged souls, but some faith communities hurt the women even more in the name of God or sacred authority. This paper provides an analysis of the reality of women's predicament in Korea and suggests ways in which theology can be a creative and productive resource for these oppressed persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 60
    Issue 2
    Pages 291-303
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-011-0337-8
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title The Anguish of the Korean Woman's Soul
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM

    Tags:

    • FRUSTRATION
    • Korea
    • MALE domination (Social structure)
    • MOTHERS-in-law & daughters-in-law
    • OPPRESSION (Psychology)
    • WOMEN -- Social conditions
    • WOMEN theologians
  • Effect of yogic practices on lipid profile and body fat composition in patients of coronary artery disease

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ajay Pal
    Author Neena Srivastava
    Author Sunita Tiwari
    Author N.S. Verma
    Author V.S. Narain
    Author G.G. Agrawal
    Author S.M. Natu
    Author Kamakhya Kumar
    Abstract Objectives To observe the effect of regular yogic practices and self-discipline in reducing body fat and elevated lipids in CAD patients. Method In this study one hundred seventy (170) subjects, of both sexes having coronary artery disease were randomly selected form Department of Cardiology. Subjects were divided in to two groups randomly in yoganext term group and in non-previous termyoganext term group, eighty five (85) in each group. Out of these (170 subjects), one hundred fifty four (154) completed the study protocol. Time line The yogic intervention consisted of 35–40 min/day, five days in a week till six months in the Department of Physiology CSMMU UP Lucknow. Body fat testing and estimation of lipid profile were done of the both groups at zero time and after six months of yogic intervention in previous termyoganext term group and without yogic intervention in non previous termyoganext term group. Results In present study, BMI (p < 0.04), fat % (p < 0.0002), fat free mass (p < 0.04), SBP (p < 0.002), DBP (p < 0.009), heart rate (p < 0.0001), total cholesterol (p < 0.0001), triglycerides (p < 0.0001), HDL (p < 0.0001) and low density lipoprotein (p < 0.04) were changed significantly. Conclusion Reduction of SBP, DBP, heart rate, body fat%, total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL after regular yogic practices is beneficial for cardiac and hypertensive patients. Therefore yogic practices included in this study are helpful for the patients of coronary artery disease.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Medicine
    Volume 19
    Issue 3
    Pages 122-127
    Date 6/2011
    Journal Abbr Complementary Therapies in Medicine
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctim.2011.05.001
    ISSN 09652299
    URL http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0965229911000550
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:38:27 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Notes:

    • To observe the effect of regular yogic practices and self-discipline in reducing body fat and elevated lipids in CAD patients.

  • A randomized trial of the effects of remote intercessory prayer: interactions with personal beliefs on problem-specific outcomes and functional status

    Type Journal Article
    Author Raymond F Palmer
    Author David Katerndahl
    Author Jayne Morgan-Kidd
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Investigate the relevance of interpersonal belief factors as modifiers of the effectiveness of intercessory prayer. DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial. SETTING/LOCATION: Community-dwelling adults recruited from seven local church groups. SUBJECTS: Eighty-six (86) male and female participants 18-88 years of age were randomly assigned to either treatment (n = 45) or control groups (n = 41). INTERVENTIONS: Several volunteers committed to daily prayer for participants in the intervention group. Intercessory prayer commenced for 1 month and were directed toward a life concern or problem disclosed by the participant at baseline. Participants were unaware of being prayed for. Outcomes measures: Degree to which their problem had been resolved and the current level of concern they had about a specific life problem they described at baseline. Four component scores from the Medical Outcomes Study SF-20 were also used. RESULTS: No direct intervention effect on the primary outcomes was found. A marginally significant reduction in the amount of pain was observed in the intervention group compared to controls. The amount of concern for baseline problems at follow-up was significantly lower in the intervention group when stratified by subject's baseline degree of belief that their problem could be resolved. Prayer intervention appeared to effectively reduce the subject's level of concern only if the subject initially believed that the problem could be resolved. Those in the intervention group who did not believe in a possible resolution to their problem did not differ from controls. Better physical functioning was observed in the intervention group among those with a higher belief in prayer and surprisingly, better mental health scores were observed in the control group with lower belief in prayer scores. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study underscore the role of interpersonal belief in prayer efficacy and are consistent with the literature showing the relevance of belief in health and well-being in general. The relevance of interpersonal belief factors of the participants is recommended in future investigations.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 10
    Issue 3
    Pages 438-448
    Date Jun 2004
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/1075553041323803
    ISSN 1075-5535
    Short Title A randomized trial of the effects of remote intercessory prayer
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15253847
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:56:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15253847
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Faith Healing
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Healing
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Power (Psychology)
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Research Design
    • Self Concept
    • spirituality
    • Time Factors
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Several volunteers committed to daily prayer for participants in the intervention group. Intercessory prayer commenced for 1 month and were directed toward a life concern or problem disclosed by the participant at baseline. Participants were unaware of being prayed for. No direct intervention effect on the primary outcomes was found. A marginally significant reduction in the amount of pain was observed in the intervention group compared to controls.

  • Brazilian validation of the Quality of Life Instrument/spirituality, religion and personal beliefs

    Type Journal Article
    Author Raquel Gehrke Panzini
    Author Camila Maganha
    Author Neusa Sica da Rocha
    Author Denise Ruschel Bandeira
    Author Marcelo P Fleck
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To analyze the psychometric properties of the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Instrument--Spirituality, Religion and Personal Beliefs module (WHOQOL-SRPB). METHODS: The WHOQOL-SRPB, the Brief Spiritual/Religious Coping Scale (Brief-SRCOPE Scale), the WHOQOL-BREF and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were consecutively applied in a convenience sample of 404 patients and workers of a university hospital and workers of a university, in the city of Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, between 2006 and 2009. The sample was stratified by sex, age, health status and religion/belief. The retest of the two first instruments was conducted with 54 participants. Exploratory factorial analyses of the WHOQOL-SRPB with the method of main components were performed, without limiting the number of factors, and requiring eight factors concomitantly with the WHOQOL-BREF items. RESULTS: The Brazilian Portuguese version of the WHOQOL-SRPB (General SRPB-Domain) showed construct validity, with a discriminatory validity between believers and non-believers (t = 7.40; p = 0.0001); concurrent criterion-related validity, distinguishing depressed individuals from non-depressed ones (t = 5.03; p = 0.0001); convergent validity with the WHOQOL-BREF (physical r = 0.18; psychological r = 0.46; social r = 0.35; environmental r = 0.29; global r = 0.23; p = 0.0001) and with the SRPB-Domain of the WHOQOL-100 (r = 0.78; p = 0.0001); and convergent/discriminatory validity with the brief SRCOPE Scale (with positive SRCOPE r = 0.64; p = 0.0001/negative SRCOPE r = -0.03; p = 0.554). Excellent test-retest reliability (t = 0.74; p = 0.463) and internal consistency (α = 0.96; intrafactorial correlation 0.87 > r > 0.60; p = 0.0001) were observed. The exploratory factorial analyses performed corroborated the eight-factor structure of the WHOQOL-SRPB multicenter study. CONCLUSIONS: The Brazilian Portuguese version of the WHOQOL-SRPB showed good psychometric qualities and use valid and reliable in Brazil. It is suggested that new studies be conducted with specific populations, such as different religions, cultural groups and/or diseases.
    Publication Revista De Saúde Pública
    Volume 45
    Issue 1
    Pages 153-165
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Rev Saude Publica
    ISSN 1518-8787
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:29:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21181054
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

    Tags:

    • Brazil
    • Quality of Life
  • Family violence exposure and health outcomes among older African American women: do spirituality and social support play protective roles?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anuradha Paranjape
    Author Nadine Kaslow
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Family violence (FV), spirituality, and social support are salient psychosocial determinants of health. FV is associated with poor health among older African American women. The effect of spirituality and social support levels on the health of older African American women is unknown. METHODS: To assess the role of spirituality and social support as culturally relevant determinants of health status for older African American women independent of FV levels, we used a cross-sectional observational study. Two hundred twelve African American women, aged ? 50, were interviewed in two urban primary care practices. The measures used were (1) Family Violence Against Older Women (FVOW) scale, (2) Physical and Mental Composite Scores of the Short-Form 8 scale, (3) Medical Outcomes of Social Support survey (MOSS), and (4) Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS). Spearman correlation coefficients estimated to test associations among lifetime FV exposure, spirituality, social support, and health status outcomes and multivariate regression models were used to examine the independent effect of spirituality and social support on physical and mental health status, controlling for FV and significant demographic variables. RESULTS: Mean participant age was 63.9 years. Higher spirituality levels were significantly associated with better physical health status after adjusting for FV levels and demographic factors (F = 6.17, p = 0.0001). Similarly, higher levels of spirituality and social support both significantly correlated with better mental health status in the multivariate model (F = 13.45, p < 0.0001) that controlled for lifetime FV levels and demographic factors. CONCLUSIONS: Spirituality and social support are two potentially modifiable determinants of health for older African American women. Culturally appropriate mechanisms to enhance social support and spirituality levels need to be explored as potential inteventions to improve the health of those African American women who have been exposed to FV.
    Publication Journal of Women's Health (2002)
    Volume 19
    Issue 10
    Pages 1899-1904
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr J Womens Health (Larchmt)
    DOI 10.1089/jwh.2009.1845
    ISSN 1931-843X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20831432
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:07:19 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
  • Religious faith and spirituality in substance abuse recovery: determining the mental health benefits

    Type Journal Article
    Author D A Pardini
    Author T G Plante
    Author A Sherman
    Author J E Stump
    Abstract Recently, mental health professionals have begun examining the potential value of religious faith and spirituality in the lives of individuals suffering from a variety of acute and chronic illnesses. This study explored the relation between religious faith, spirituality, and mental health outcomes in 236 individuals recovering from substance abuse. We found that recovering individuals tend to report high levels of religious faith and religious affiliation, but choose to rate themselves as being more spiritual than religious. Results also indicate that among recovering individuals, higher levels of religious faith and spirituality were associated with a more optimistic life orientation, greater perceived social support, higher resilience to stress, and lower levels of anxiety. This represents the largest self-report study to date examining the relation between religious faith, spirituality, and mental health outcomes among individuals recovering from substance abuse.
    Publication Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
    Volume 19
    Issue 4
    Pages 347-354
    Date Dec 2000
    Journal Abbr J Subst Abuse Treat
    ISSN 0740-5472
    Short Title Religious faith and spirituality in substance abuse recovery
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11166499
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:48:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11166499
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Regression Analysis
    • religion
    • Substance-Related Disorders

    Notes:

    • This study explored the relation between religious faith, spirituality, and mental health outcomes in 236 individuals recovering from substance abuse. We found that recovering individuals tend to report high levels of religious faith and religious affiliation, but choose to rate themselves as being more spiritual than religious. Results also indicate that among recovering individuals, higher levels of religious faith and spirituality were associated with a more optimistic life orientation, greater perceived social support, higher resilience to stress, and lower levels of anxiety.

  • God and the Just World: Causal and Coping Attributions to God in Health Situations.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author June Hahn
    Abstract Health-related situations pose a particular challenge to the need to find justice, meaning and control in life. This study points to the rich and varied ways that attributions to God are integrated into attempts to maintain meaningful views of the world and to cope with the world. A sample of 124 undergraduates was presented with four health-related situations depicting responsible or irresponsible behavior followed by a positive or negative outcome They then responded to causal and coping attribution items. As predicted, attributions to God's will, God's love and God's anger were greater in noncontingent/ unjust, positive outcome, and negative outcome situations respectively. Attributions to God's will appeared to represent a benign, external, alternative explanation to chance attributions. The results also support the view that people turn to God for help in coping more commonly as a source of support during stress than as a moral guide or as an antidote to an unjust world. Generally, these findings underscore the need for further integration of religious concepts into the general attribution and coping literatures Heath-related situations present a particular challenge to the need to find justice, meaning and control in life. This study demonstrates the important function that attributions to God serve in helping people maintain a belief in a just world and to cope with the world. Across the different health situations, a rich and varied set of causal attributions was made to God, ranging from a loving God who rewards good behavior, to a benevolent God whose will accounts for less easily understood situations, to an angry God who provides just punishment for personal sins. While diverse, each of these attributions could be seen as an attempt to establish a meaningful world view. The tendency to turn to God for assistance more frequently in situations involving negative than positive outcomes also appears to reflect this desire for a controllable justice.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 25
    Issue 2
    Pages 193-207
    Date June 1986
    DOI Article
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title God and the Just World
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=4899411&…
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 3:56:29 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • GOD -- Attributes
    • GOD -- Incomparability
    • GOD -- Simplicity
    • religion
    • SUFFERING of God
    • SUPERNATURAL beings

    Notes:

    • Accession Number: 4899411; Source Information: Jun86, Vol. 25 Issue 2, p193; Subject Term: GOD -- Attributes; Subject Term: GOD -- Incomparability; Subject Term: GOD -- Simplicity; Subject Term: SUFFERING of God; Subject Term: SUPERNATURAL beings; Subject Term: RELIGION; Number of Pages: 15p; Illustrations: 2 charts, 2 graphs; Document Type: Article

    • This study points to the rich and varied ways that attributions to God are integrated into attempts to maintain meaningful views of the world and to cope with the world. A sample of 124 undergraduates was presented with four health-related situations depicting responsible or irresponsible behavior followed by a positive or negative outcome. As predicted, attributions to God’s will, God’s love and God’s anger were greater in noncontingent/ unjust, positive outcome, and negative outcome situations respectively

  • Building Spiritual Fitness in the Army: An Innovative Approach to a Vital Aspect of Human Development

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author Patrick J. Sweeney
    Abstract This article describes the development of the spiritual fitness component of the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) program. Spirituality is defined in the human sense as the journey people take to discover and realize their essential selves and higher order aspirations. Several theoretically and empirically based reasons are articulated for why spirituality is a necessary component of the CSF program: Human spirituality is a significant motivating force, spirituality is a vital resource for human development, and spirituality is a source of struggle that can lead to growth or decline. A conceptual model developed by Sweeney, Hannah, and Snider (2007) is used to identify several psychological structures and processes that facilitate the development of the human spirit. From this model, an educational, computer-based program has been developed to promote spiritual resilience. This program consists of three tiers: (a) building awareness of the self and the human spirit, (b) building awareness of resources to cultivate the human spirit, and (c) building awareness of the human spirit of others. Further research will be needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this innovative and potentially important program.
    Publication American Psychologist
    Volume 66
    Issue 1
    Pages 58-64
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0021657
    ISSN 0003-066X
    Short Title Building Spiritual Fitness in the Army
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 6:54:51 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:52 AM

    Tags:

    • Prevention
    • resilience
    • spiritual struggles
    • spirituality
    • values
  • Religious coping methods as predictors of psychological, physical and spiritual outcomes among medically ill elderly patients: a two-year longitudinal study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenneth I Pargament
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Author Nalini Tarakeshwar
    Author June Hahn
    Abstract A total of 268 medically ill, elderly, hospitalized patients responded to measures of religious coping and spiritual, psychological and physical functioning at baseline and follow-up two years later. After controlling for relevant variables, religious coping was significantly predictive of spiritual outcome, and changes in mental and physical health. Generally, positive methods of religious coping (e.g. seeking spiritual support, benevolent religious reappraisals) were associated with improvements in health. Negative methods of religious coping (e.g. punishing God reappraisal, interpersonal religious discontent) were predictive of declines in health. Patients who continue to struggle with religious issues over time may be particularly at risk for health-related problems.
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 9
    Issue 6
    Pages 713-730
    Date Nov 2004
    Journal Abbr J Health Psychol
    DOI 10.1177/1359105304045366
    ISSN 1359-1053
    Short Title Religious coping methods as predictors of psychological, physical and spiritual outcomes among medically ill elderly patients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15367751
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 1:03:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15367751
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Motor Activity
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • A total of 268 medically ill, elderly, hospitalized patients responded to measures of religious coping and spiritual, psychological and physical functioning at baseline and follow-up two years later. After controlling for relevant variables, religious coping was significantly predictive of spiritual outcome, and changes in mental and physical health.

  • Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Crystal L. Park
    Abstract Interest in meaning and meaning making in the context of stressful life events continues to grow, but research is hampered by conceptual and methodological limitations. Drawing on current theories, the author first presents an integrated model of meaning making. This model distinguishes between the constructs of global and situational meaning and between “meaning-making efforts” and “meaning made,” and it elaborates subconstructs within these constructs. Using this model, the author reviews the empirical research regarding meaning in the context of adjustment to stressful events, outlining what has been established to date and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current empirical work. Results suggest that theory on meaning and meaning making has developed apace, but empirical research has failed to keep up with these developments, creating a significant gap between the rich but abstract theories and empirical tests of them. Given current empirical findings, some aspects of the meaning-making model appear to be well supported but others are not, and the quality of meaning-making efforts and meanings made may be at least as important as their quantity. This article concludes with specific suggestions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Psychological Bulletin
    Volume 136
    Issue 2
    Pages 257-301
    Date March 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0018301
    ISSN 0033-2909
    Short Title Making sense of the meaning literature
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive Processes
    • cognitive processing
    • Life Experiences
    • meaning making
    • Meaningfulness
    • Stress
    • stressful life events
    • Trauma
    • World View
    • world views
  • Asian Medicine and Holistic Aging.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kwang-hee Park
    Abstract This article introduces a holistic model of care for the elderly from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a body-spirit-social-environment perspective, deeply influenced by Chinese religions, which laid the foundation of Chinese health beliefs and practices. The author evaluates practices that promote health, longevity, and quality of life, and support end of life care. Insights address care for Chinese and other ethnic Asian older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 60
    Issue 1
    Pages 73-83
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-010-0305-8
    ISSN 00312789
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

    Tags:

    • Aging
    • China
    • CHINA -- Religion
    • Health Behavior
    • HOLISTIC medicine
    • MEDICINE, Chinese
    • OLDER people -- Care
    • Pastoral Care
    • Quality of Life
    • SOCIAL context
  • Religiousness/spirituality and health: a meaning systems perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author Crystal L Park
    Abstract The existence of links between religion and spirituality (R/S) and health appear to be firmly established, but much less is known about how these various aspects of R/S are translated into health outcomes. Within a meaning systems framework, this article reviews and integrates findings regarding the many pathways through which R/S may influence physical health and well-being. In particular, evidence for the pathways of body sanctification, meaning in life, social support, health locus of control, health behaviors, positive and negative affect and stress moderation, treatment adherence, and coping is examined. The article concludes with suggestions for future research.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 30
    Issue 4
    Pages 319-328
    Date Aug 2007
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-007-9111-x
    ISSN 0160-7715
    Short Title Religiousness/spirituality and health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17522971
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:44:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17522971
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Affect
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Religion and Psychology
    • social support
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This article reviews and integrates findings regarding the many pathways through which R/S may influence physical health and well-being. In particular, evidence for the pathways of body sanctification, meaning in life, social support, health locus of control, health behaviors, positive and negative affect and stress moderation, treatment adherence, and coping is examined.

  • Ayurvedic medicine for rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jongbae Park
    Author Edzard Ernst
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To systematically review all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of Ayurvedic medicine for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Computerized literature searches for all RCTs of Ayurvedic medicine for RA in the following databases: Medline (March 1969 to March 2003), Embase (February 1985 to February 2003), AMED (March 1980 to March 2003), Cochrane Controlled Trial Register (October 1997 to March 2003), and the abstract service of Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS; 1976 to March 2003). Hand searches were performed in 1 Sri Lankan and 3 Indian journals and the authors' personal files. Key data of included studies were extracted and reviewed. The methodological quality of all studies was evaluated with the Jadad scale. RESULTS: Seven studies met our inclusion criteria. Trials tested either Ayurvedic medicine against placebo or other Ayurvedic medicines. In general, patient and physician global assessments on the severity of pain, and morning stiffness were used as endpoints. Of 3 placebo-controlled RCTs, 1 high-quality trial did not show benefit of the active treatment against placebo, while another incompletely reported study indicated beneficial effects of an Ayurvedic medicine. A further incompletely reported study showed no significant difference. The remaining 4 trials were difficult to interpret because they tested an Ayurvedic medicine against other Ayurvedic medicines whose effects were not proven. CONCLUSION: There is a paucity of RCTs of Ayurvedic medicines for RA. The existing RCTs fail to show convincingly that such treatments are effective therapeutic options for RA.
    Publication Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism
    Volume 34
    Issue 5
    Pages 705-713
    Date Apr 2005
    Journal Abbr Semin. Arthritis Rheum
    DOI 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2004.11.005
    ISSN 0049-0172
    Short Title Ayurvedic medicine for rheumatoid arthritis
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/15846585
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 2:32:49 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15846585
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Antirheumatic Agents
    • Arthritis, Rheumatoid
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Medicine, Ayurvedic
    • Pain Measurement
    • Phytotherapy
    • Prognosis
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Range of Motion, Articular
    • Risk Assessment
    • Sensitivity and Specificity
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Objective: To systematically review all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of Ayurvedic medicine for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Conclusion: The existing RCTs fail to show convincingly that such treatments are effective therapeutic options for RA.

  • The link between religion and HAART adherence in pediatric HIV patients.

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Park
    Author Sharon Nachman
    Abstract HIV is a chronic illness that requires strict adherence to medication regimens. This study attempts to examine the patterns of highly active antiretroviral therapy adherence relative to religious beliefs in a population of perinatally HIV-infected adolescents. Eligible subjects included perinatally HIV-infected youth aged 14-22 years who knew their HIV status. Assessment tools included an antiretroviral adherence form, a standardized depression questionnaire, and a religious observance questionnaire. All of these forms were completed at the time of study enrollment. Twenty subjects met entry criteria and were enrolled. Subjects who had excellent adherence had significantly higher religious belief scores than those who had poor adherence (3.46+/-0.46 vs. 2.34+/-0.69, p<0.05). Those with excellent adherence also had higher religious practice scores than those with poor adherence (2.66+/-1.02 vs. 2.23+/-1.45, p=0.46). Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-II depression score was also lower in those with excellent adherence versus those with poor adherence (4.64+/-3.41 vs. 8.86+/-9.77, p=0.39). Physicians may be able to consider spirituality as a factor that may influence medication adherence in pediatric HIV patients. As perinatally HIV-infected youth age into adulthood, future studies will be needed to explore the ongoing intimate relationship between a patient's religious views and their compliance to medical regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication AIDS Care
    Volume 22
    Issue 5
    Pages 556-561
    Date May 2010
    DOI 10.1080/09540120903254013
    ISSN 09540121
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 9:49:23 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • COMMUNICABLE diseases -- Transmission -- Prevention
    • DISEASE management
    • HIV infections -- Prevention
    • HIV-positive persons -- Medical care
    • HIV-positive youth
    • NEEDS assessment
    • OUTCOME assessment (Medical care)
    • Patient Compliance

    Notes:

    • This study attempts to examine the patterns of highly active antiretroviral therapy adherence relative to religious beliefs in a population of perinatally HIV-infected adolescents. Eligible subjects included perinatally HIV-infected youth aged 14–22 years who knew their HIV status.

  • Religiousness/spirituality and health behaviors in younger adult cancer survivors: does faith promote a healthier lifestyle?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Crystal L. Park
    Author Donald Edmondson
    Author Amy Hale-Smith
    Author Thomas O. Blank
    Abstract Positive health behaviors are crucial to cancer survivors’ well-being, yet little is known about the personal factors that may facilitate positive health behaviors. The current study focuses on the association of religion/spirituality (R/S) and health behaviors, examining links between health behaviors and religious attendance, daily spiritual experiences, and religious struggle in a sample of 167 younger adult survivors of a variety of cancers. The extent to which positive affect (self-assurance) and negative affect (guilt/shame) mediate these links was also investigated. Results revealed that religious attendance had little impact on health behaviors, but that daily spiritual experiences were related to greater performance of health behaviors, while religious struggle was related to less. Self-assurance partially mediated the effects of daily spiritual experiences, while guilt/shame partially mediated the effects of religious struggle. The findings suggest that aspects of R/S may play important and different roles in the lifestyle choices of cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 32
    Issue 6
    Pages 582-591
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-009-9223-6
    ISSN 01607715
    Short Title Religiousness/spirituality and health behaviors in younger adult cancer survivors
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45362476&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:20:56 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Tags:

    • CANCER -- Patients
    • CANCER -- Study & teaching
    • Emotions
    • GUILT
    • Health Behavior

    Notes:

    • Positive health behaviors are crucial to cancer survivors’ well-being, yet little is known about the personal factors that may facilitate positive health behaviors. The current study focuses on the association of religion/spirituality (R/S) and health behaviors, examining links between health behaviors and religious attendance, daily spiritual experiences, and religious struggle in a sample of 167 younger adult survivors of a variety of cancers. The extent to which positive affect (self-assurance) and negative affect (guilt/shame) mediate these links was also investigated. Results revealed that religious attendance had little impact on health behaviors, but that daily spiritual experiences were related to greater performance of health behaviors, while religious struggle was related to less. Self-assurance partially mediated the effects of daily spiritual experiences, while guilt/shame partially mediated the effects of religious struggle. The findings suggest that aspects of R/S may play important and different roles in the lifestyle choices of cancer survivors.

  • Religiousness/spirituality and health behaviors in younger adult cancer survivors: does faith promote a healthier lifestyle?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Crystal Park
    Author Donald Edmondson
    Author Amy Hale-Smith
    Author Thomas Blank
    Abstract Positive health behaviors are crucial to cancer survivors' well-being, yet little is known about the personal factors that may facilitate positive health behaviors. The current study focuses on the association of religion/spirituality (R/S) and health behaviors, examining links between health behaviors and religious attendance, daily spiritual experiences, and religious struggle in a sample of 167 younger adult survivors of a variety of cancers. The extent to which positive affect (self-assurance) and negative affect (guilt/shame) mediate these links was also investigated. Results revealed that religious attendance had little impact on health behaviors, but that daily spiritual experiences were related to greater performance of health behaviors, while religious struggle was related to less. Self-assurance partially mediated the effects of daily spiritual experiences, while guilt/shame partially mediated the effects of religious struggle. The findings suggest that aspects of R/S may play important and different roles in the lifestyle choices of cancer survivors.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Date Jul 29, 2009
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-009-9223-6
    ISSN 1573-3521
    Short Title Religiousness/spirituality and health behaviors in younger adult cancer survivors
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19639404
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:10:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19639404
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The current study focuses on the association of religion/spirituality (R/S) and health behaviors, examining links between health behaviors and religious attendance, daily spiritual experiences, and religious struggle in a sample of 167 younger adult survivors of a variety of cancers. Results revealed that religious attendance had little impact on health behaviors, but that daily spiritual experiences were related to greater performance of health behaviors, while religious struggle was related to less.

  • Religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships of parents raising a typically developing child or a child with a disability

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jessica A Parker
    Author Barbara Mandleco
    Author Susanne Olsen Roper
    Author Donna Freeborn
    Author Tina Taylor Dyches
    Abstract In order to discover if differences or relationships exist between religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships, 111 parents raising a child with a disability (CWD) and 34 parents raising typically developing children independently completed self-report questionnaires assessing religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships. Parents raising typically developing children scored higher on private and public religiosity and marital satisfaction than parents raising a CWD; mothers scored higher on religiosity variables than fathers. Mothers' ratings of spirituality and family type (disability or typically developing child) predicted their ratings of marital conflict. Higher spirituality and raising typically developing children were associated with higher ratings of marital satisfaction for both mothers and fathers. However, spirituality also moderated the relationship between private/public religiosity and marital satisfaction only for fathers. This information helps improve interventions for families raising CWD and adds to the literature on the interplay of religiosity/spirituality/marital relationship.
    Publication Journal of Family Nursing
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 82-104
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr J Fam Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/1074840710394856
    ISSN 1552-549X
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:26:29 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21343623
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
  • Soldier and family wellness across the life course: a developmental model of successful aging, spirituality, and health promotion, Part II

    Type Journal Article
    Author M W Parker
    Author G F Fuller
    Author H G Koenig
    Author J M Bellis
    Author M A Vaitkus
    Author W F Barko
    Author J Eitzen
    Abstract As an alternative to the current Department of Defense approach to health promotion and related research, which is critiqued in Part I of this article, the authors present a new, integrative health promotion and wellness model. This age-graded model incorporates successful aging, targeted health promotion, and spirituality in the context of the developmental perspective provided by life course constructs. By using an age-graded, multidisciplinary system of assessment, intervention, and follow-up in the context of preparing military personnel and families for the next season of life, this model advocates the prevention of disease and disability, active engagement with life, the maximization of high cognitive and physical functioning, and positive spirituality. Preliminary, selected illustrations from a variation of this model at the U.S. Army War College are provided. Progressive extrapolation of the model to other military leadership schools is proposed as a more efficacious health promotion strategy for the Department of Defense.
    Publication Military Medicine
    Volume 166
    Issue 7
    Pages 561-570
    Date Jul 2001
    Journal Abbr Mil Med
    ISSN 0026-4075
    Short Title Soldier and family wellness across the life course
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11469025
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:03:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11469025
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aging
    • Algorithms
    • Body Weight
    • Family
    • Health promotion
    • Human Development
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Military Personnel
    • Program Evaluation
    • religion
    • Smoking
    • Stress, Psychological
    • United States

    Notes:

    • The primary purposes of this article are to (1) highlight current challenges facing health promotion advocates within the military and civilian culture; (2) present the strengths and weaknesses of the current Army approach to health promotion and preventive medicine; and (3) present several unifying themes that contribute to enhanced progress within the field of health promotion.

  • Soldier and family wellness across the life course: a developmental model of successful aging, spirituality, and health promotion. Part I

    Type Journal Article
    Author M W Parker
    Author G F Fuller
    Author H G Koenig
    Author M A Vaitkus
    Author J M Bellis
    Author W F Barko
    Author J Eitzen
    Author V R Call
    Abstract The primary purposes of this article are to (1) highlight current challenges facing health promotion advocates within the military and civilian culture; (2) present the strengths and weaknesses of the current Army approach to health promotion and preventive medicine; and (3) present several unifying themes that contribute to enhanced progress within the field of health promotion. A conceptual model that links common goals across the fields of successful aging, health promotion, spirituality and health, and life course is advocated to maximize efficacious interventions and to transform the current Army approach to health promotion. A companion article will describe an integrative model of health promotion and wellness that responds to the challenges and incorporates the unifying themes described in this article.
    Publication Military Medicine
    Volume 166
    Issue 6
    Pages 485-489
    Date Jun 2001
    Journal Abbr Mil Med
    ISSN 0026-4075
    Short Title Soldier and family wellness across the life course
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11413724
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:03:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11413724
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aging
    • Family
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Military Personnel
    • Program Evaluation
    • religion

    Notes:

    • As an alternative to the current Department of Defense approach to health promotion and related research, which is critiqued in Part I of this article, the authors present a new, integrative health promotion and wellness model.

  • Near death experiences in cardiac arrest: visions of a dying brain or visions of a new science of consciousness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sam Parnia
    Author Peter Fenwick
    Abstract Very little is known about the dying process and in particular the state of the human mind at the end of life. Cardiac arrest is the final step in the dying process irrespective of cause, and is also the closest physiological model of the dying process. Recent studies in cardiac arrest survivors have indicated that although the majority of cardiac arrest survivors have no memory recall from the event, nevertheless approximately 10% develop memories that are consistent with typical near death experiences. These include an ability to 'see' and recall specific detailed descriptions of the resuscitation, as verified by resuscitation staff. Many studies in humans and animals have indicated that brain function ceases during cardiac arrest, thus raising the question of how such lucid, well-structured thought processes with reasoning and memory formation can occur at such a time. This has led to much interest as regards the potential implications for the study of consciousness and its relationship with the brain, which still remains an enigma. In this article, we will review published research examining brain physiology and function during cardiac arrest as well as its potential relationship with near death experiences during this time. Finally, we will explore the contribution that near death experiences during cardiac arrest may make to the wider understanding of human consciousness.
    Publication Resuscitation
    Volume 52
    Issue 1
    Pages 5-11
    Date Jan 2002
    Journal Abbr Resuscitation
    DOI 10.1016/S0300-9572(01)00469-5
    ISSN 0300-9572
    Short Title Near death experiences in cardiac arrest
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11801343
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:49:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11801343
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Brain
    • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
    • Consciousness
    • Fantasy
    • Female
    • Heart Arrest
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Recall
    • Parapsychology
    • Vision, Ocular

    Notes:

    • Very little is known about the dying process and in particular the state of the human mind at the end of life. Cardiac arrest is the final step in the dying process irrespective of cause, and is also the closest physiological model of the dying process. Recent studies in cardiac arrest survivors have indicated that although the majority of cardiac arrest survivors have no memory recall from the event, nevertheless approximately 10% develop memories that are consistent with typical near death experiences. These include an ability to ‘see’ and recall specific detailed descriptions of the resuscitation, as verified by resuscitation staff. Many studies in humans and animals have indicated that brain function ceases during cardiac arrest, thus raising the question of how such lucid, well-structured thought processes with reasoning and memory formation can occur at such a time. This has led to much interest as regards the potential implications for the study of consciousness and its relationship with the brain, which still remains an enigma. In this article, we will review published research examining brain physiology and function during cardiac arrest as well as its potential relationship with near death experiences during this time. Finally, we will explore the contribution that near death experiences during cardiac arrest may make to the wider understanding of human consciousness.

  • Near death experiences, cognitive function and psychological outcomes of surviving cardiac arrest

    Type Journal Article
    Author S. Parnia
    Author K. Spearpoint
    Author P.B. Fenwick
    Abstract Summary Cardiac arrest is associated with a number of cognitive processes as well as long term psychological outcomes. Recent studies have indicated that approximately 10-20% of cardiac arrest survivors report cognitive processes, including the ability to recall specific details of their resuscitation from the period of cardiac arrest. In addition it has been demonstrated that these cognitive processes are consistent with the previously described near death experience and that those who have these experiences are left with long term positive life enhancing effects. There have also been numerous studies that have indicated that although the quality of life for cardiac arrest survivors is generally good, some are left with long term cognitive impairments as well as psychological sequelae such as post-traumatic stress disorder. This paper will review near death experiences, cognitive function and psychological outcomes in survivors of cardiac arrest.
    Publication Resuscitation
    Volume 74
    Issue 2
    Pages 215-221
    Date August 2007
    DOI 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2007.01.020
    ISSN 0300-9572
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6T19-4NFR5RB-1/2/2cfafc2dc822e4b3ec62b07171643dbf
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:30:49 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cardiac arrest
    • Cognition
    • Near death experiences
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder
    • Psychological

    Notes:

    • Cardiac arrest is associated with a number of cognitive processes as well as long term psychological outcomes. Recent studies have indicated that approximately 10-20% of cardiac arrest survivors report cognitive processes, including the ability to recall specific details of their resuscitation from the period of cardiac arrest. In addition it has been demonstrated that these cognitive processes are consistent with the previously described near death experience and that those who have these experiences are left with long term positive life enhancing effects. There have also been numerous studies that have indicated that although the quality of life for cardiac arrest survivors is generally good, some are left with long term cognitive impairments as well as psychological sequelae such as post-traumatic stress disorder. This paper will review near death experiences, cognitive function and psychological outcomes in survivors of cardiac arrest.

  • A qualitative and quantitative study of the incidence, features and aetiology of near death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author S Parnia
    Author D G Waller
    Author R Yeates
    Author P Fenwick
    Abstract AIM: To carry out a prospective study of cardiac arrest survivors to understand the qualitative features as well as incidence, and possible aetiology of near death experiences (NDEs) in this group of patients. METHOD: All survivors of cardiac arrests during a 1 year period were interviewed within a week of their arrest, regarding memories of their unconscious period. Reported memories were assessed by the Greyson NDE Scale. The postulated role of physiological, psychological and transcendental factors were studied. Physiological parameters such as oxygen status were extracted from the medical notes. Patients' religious convictions were documented in the interviews and hidden targets were used to test the transcendental theories on potential out of body claims. Those with memories were compared to those without memories. RESULTS: 11.1% of 63 survivors reported memories. The majority had NDE features. There appeared to be no differences on all physiological measured parameters apart from partial pressure of oxygen during the arrest which was higher in the NDE group. CONCLUSIONS: Memories are rare after resuscitation from cardiac arrest. The majority of those that are reported have features of NDE and are pleasant. The occurrence of NDE during cardiac arrest raises questions about the possible relationship between the mind and the brain. Further large-scale studies are needed to understand the aetiology and true significance of NDE.
    Publication Resuscitation
    Volume 48
    Issue 2
    Pages 149-156
    Date Feb 2001
    Journal Abbr Resuscitation
    DOI 10.1016/S0300-9572(00)00328-2
    ISSN 0300-9572
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11426476
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:54:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11426476
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Death
    • Female
    • Great Britain
    • Heart Arrest
    • Humans
    • Incidence
    • Male
    • Polymerase Chain Reaction
    • Prospective Studies
    • Sensitivity and Specificity
    • Survivors

    Notes:

    • AIM: To carry out a prospective study of cardiac arrest survivors to understand the qualitative features as well as incidence, and possible aetiology of near death experiences (NDEs) in this group of patients. Method: All survivors of cardiac arrests during a 1 year period were interviewed within a week of their arrest, regarding memories of their unconscious period. Reported memories were assessed by the Greyson NDE Scale. The postulated role of physiological, psychological and transcendental factors were studied. Physiological parameters such as oxygen status were extracted from the medical notes. Patients’ religious convictions were documented in the interviews and hidden targets were used to test the transcendental theories on potential out of body claims. Those with memories were compared to those without memories. Results: 11.1% of 63 survivors reported memories. The majority had NDE features. There appeared to be no differences on all physiological measured parameters apart from partial pressure of oxygen during the arrest which was higher in the NDE group. Conclusions: Memories are rare after resuscitation from cardiac arrest. The majority of those that are reported have features of NDE and are pleasant. The occurrence of NDE during cardiac arrest raises questions about the possible relationship between the mind and the brain. Further large-scale studies are needed to understand the aetiology and true significance of NDE.

  • Exploring religion, race and gender as factors in the life satisfaction and religiosity of young South African adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author CJ Patel
    Author S Ramgoon
    Author Z Paruk
    Abstract We explored differences in religious and existential well-being, religiosity, and life satisfaction among university students across religion, race, and gender, by using an adapted version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), the Religious Orientation Test (ROT), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). A convenience sample of 235 students participated in the study. The females (n = 188) reported significantly higher levels of religiosity and religious well-being than the males (n = 47). The white students (n = 43) were found to have lower religiosity levels than their black (n = 59) and Indian (n = 133) counterparts and higher life satisfaction scores than the black students. In the Indian sub-sample, the Muslim (n = 24) as well as the Christian (n = 29) students had higher levels of religiosity than the Hindu (n = 80) students. The Christian (Indian) students had significantly higher religious well-being scores than the Hindu (Indian) students. In line with past research, the correlations between life satisfaction, religiosity, and religious well-being were significant. As scores on the SWLS increased, levels of religiosity and religious well-being also increased. The implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are discussed.
    Publication South African Journal of Psychology
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 266-274
    Date SEP 2009
    ISSN 0081-2463
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=AdvancedSearch&…
    Accessed Sunday, November 01, 2009 11:28:49 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Health is a spiritual thing: perspectives of health care professionals and female Somali and Bangladeshi women on the health impacts of fasting during Ramadan.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rubini Pathy
    Author Kelsey E. Mills
    Author Sharon Gazeley
    Author Andrea Ridgley
    Author Tara Kiran
    Abstract Objective. To explore perspectives of health care professionals and female Somali and Bangladeshi Muslim women on practices related to fasting during Ramadan, the impact of fasting on health and the role of health professionals during Ramadan. Design. A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted. Two culturally specific focus groups were conducted with six Somali and seven Bangladeshi Muslim women who observed Ramadan and lived in an inner-city neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 health care professionals practicing in this inner-city area (three of whom were Muslim). Data were analysed using thematic qualitative analysis. Results. Both Muslim women and health care professionals recognised the spiritual significance of the Ramadan fast. Muslim participants considered the fast to be beneficial to health overall, whereas health care professionals tended to reflect on health concerns from fasting. Many health care professionals were not fully aware of fasting practices during Ramadan and some found it challenging to counsel patients about the health effects of fasting. Muslim women expressed disagreement regarding which medical interventions were permitted during fasting. They generally agreed that health care professionals should not specifically advise against fasting, but instead provide guidance on health maintenance while fasting. Both groups agreed that guidelines developed by the health care and faith communities together would be useful. Conclusion. There are a variety of health beliefs and observances among female Muslim Somali and Bangladeshi women and a range of knowledge, experience and opinions among health care professionals related to fasting during Ramadan and health. Overall, there is a need for improved communication between members of the Muslim community and health professionals in Canada about health issues related to fasting during Ramadan. Strategies could include published practice guidelines endorsed by the Muslim community; patient education materials developed in collaboration with health and religious experts; or further qualitative research to help professionals understand the beliefs and observances of Muslim people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Ethnicity & Health
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 43-56
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13557858.2010.523780
    ISSN 13557858
    Short Title Health is a spiritual thing
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

    Tags:

    • BANGLADESHIS
    • Fasting
    • FASTING -- Religious aspects -- Islam
    • ISLAM
    • MEDICAL personnel
    • MUSLIM women
    • ONTARIO
    • RAMADAN
    • TORONTO (Ont.)
    • WOMEN, Somali
  • Effectiveness of mindfulness meditation (Vipassana) in the management of chronic low back pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sangram G Patil
    Abstract SUMMARY: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is challenging to treat with its significant psychological and cognitive behavioural element involved. Mindfulness meditation helps alter the behavioural response in chronic pain situations. Significant body of research in the filed of mindfulness meditation comes from the work of Dr Kabat-Zinn. The current evidence in the field, though not grade one, shows that there is a place for mindfulness meditation in managing chronic pain conditions including CLBP. Further research to test the usefulness of mindfulness in CLBP should involve good quality randomized controlled trials of pure mindfulness based technique in matched subjects.
    Publication Indian Journal of Anaesthesia
    Volume 53
    Issue 2
    Pages 158-163
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr Indian J Anaesth
    ISSN 0976-2817
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:30:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20640116
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
  • Positive impact of cyclic meditation on subsequent sleep

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sanjib Patra
    Author Shirley Telles
    Abstract Cyclic meditation (CM) is a technique that combines yoga postures interspersed with supine rest. This combination is based on ancient texts and is considered easier for beginners to practice< Whole-night polysomnographic measures and the self-rating of sleep were studied on the night following a day in which 30 male participants practiced CM twice (ca. 23 minutes each time). This was compared with another night when they had had two sessions of supine rest (SR) of equal duration on the preceding day. The sessions were one day apart and the order of the sessions was randomized. Recordings were from the F4, C4, and O2 electrode sites referenced to linked earlobes and bipolar electroculography and electromyography sites In the night following CM, the percentage of slow-wave sleep (SWS) was significantly higher than in the night following SR, whereas the percentage of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and the number of awakenings per hour were less. Following CM the self-rating of sleep based on visual analog scales showed an increase in the feeling that the sleep was refreshing, an increase in feeling "good" in the morning, an overall increase in sleep duration, and decreases in the degree to which sleep was influenced by being in a laboratory as well as any associated discomfort. Practicing cyclic meditation twice a day appeared to improve the objective and subjective quality of sleep on the following night.
    Publication Medical Science Monitor: International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research
    Volume 15
    Issue 7
    Pages CR375-381
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Med. Sci. Monit
    ISSN 1643-3750
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19564829
    Accessed Friday, February 04, 2011 11:17:04 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19564829
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Polysomnography
    • Rest
    • Sleep
    • yoga
  • Heart Rate Variability During Sleep Following the Practice of Cyclic Meditation and Supine Rest

    Type Journal Article
    Author S. Patra
    Author S. Telles
    Abstract Day time activities are known to influence the sleep on the following night. Cyclic meditation (CM) has recurring cycles. Previously, the low frequency (LF) power and the ratio between low frequency and high frequency (LF/HF ratio) of the heart rate variability (HRV) decreased during and after CM but not after a comparable period of supine rest (SR). In the present study, on thirty male volunteers, CM was practiced twice in the day and after this the HRV was recorded (1) while awake and (2) during 6 h of sleep (based on EEG, EMG and EGG recordings). This was similarly recorded for the night's sleep following the day time practice of SR. Participants were randomly assigned to the two sessions and all of them practiced both CM and SR on different days. During the night following day time CM practice there were the following changes; a decrease in heart rate, LF power (n.u.), LF/HF ratio, and an increase in the number of pairs of Normal to Normal RR intervals differing by more than 50 ms divided by total number of all NN intervals (pNN50) (P < 0.05, in all cases, comparing sleep following CM compared with sleep following SR). No change was seen on the night following SR. Hence yoga practice during the day appears to shift sympatho-vagal balance in favor of parasympathetic dominance during sleep on the following night.
    Publication Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
    Volume 35
    Issue 2
    Pages 135-140
    Date JUN 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10484-009-9114-1
    ISSN 1090-0586
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:50:56 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Positive impact of cyclic meditation on subsequent sleep

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sanjib Patra
    Author Shirley Telles
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Cyclic meditation (CM) is a technique that combines yoga postures interspersed with supine rest. This combination is based on ancient texts and is considered easier for beginners to practice. MATERIAL/METHODS: Whole-night polysomnographic measures and the self-rating of sleep were studied on the night following a day in which 30 male participants practiced CM twice (ca. 23 minutes each time). This was compared with another night when they had had two sessions of supine rest (SR) of equal duration on the preceding day. The sessions were one day apart and the order of the sessions was randomized. Recordings were from the F4, C4, and O2 electrode sites referenced to linked earlobes and bipolar electroculography and electromyography sites. RESULTS: In the night following CM, the percentage of slow-wave sleep (SWS) was significantly higher than in the night following SR, whereas the percentage of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and the number of awakenings per hour were less. Following CM the self-rating of sleep based on visual analog scales showed an increase in the feeling that the sleep was refreshing, an increase in feeling "good" in the morning, an overall increase in sleep duration, and decreases in the degree to which sleep was influenced by being in a laboratory as well as any associated discomfort. CONCLUSIONS: Practicing cyclic meditation twice a day appeared to improve the objective and subjective quality of sleep on the following night.
    Publication Medical Science Monitor: International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research
    Volume 15
    Issue 7
    Pages CR375-381
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Med. Sci. Monit
    ISSN 1643-3750
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19564829
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:47:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19564829
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Polysomnography
    • Rest
    • Sleep
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • Background: Cyclic meditation (CM) is a technique that combines yoga postures interspersed with supine rest. This study examines the effects of CM on sleep quality. Conclusions: Practicing cyclic meditation twice a day appeared to improve the objective and subjective quality of sleep on the following night.

  • The Book of Job: a 2,500-year-old current guide to the practice of oncology: the nexus of medicine and spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stephen Patterson
    Author Lodovico Balducci
    Author Russell Meyer
    Abstract GOALS: To establish the role of ancient literature and religious tradition to the modern practice of oncology; foster awareness of practicing in a historical context resulting from different traditions; and propose a spiritual context for the practice of oncology and explore methods to highlight this perspective in cancer education. METHOD: Contextual and content analysis of a religious text shared by the most common religious traditions of the West (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). RESULTS: The origin of suffering eludes all logical explanations. All religious traditions affirm that the sufferer should be heard, cared for, and kept part of the human consortium, and under no circumstances blamed for the disease. In terms of oncology practice this means that the treatment should be negotiated with the patient according to his or her need; that physicians' obligations for care continues after the treatment fails, and that patients' lifestyles or poor compliance should not be blamed for poor outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The Book of Job supports a spiritual perspective in oncology practice, indicating that patient care is a holistic endeavor. This perspective is the key to dealing with common interactive problems, such as adversarial relations between patient and provider in face of death and suffering, and more important, may promote care beyond treatment of the disease.
    Publication Journal of Cancer Education: The Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Education
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 237-240
    Date 2002
    Journal Abbr J Cancer Educ
    ISSN 0885-8195
    Short Title The Book of Job
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/12556063
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:46:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12556063
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Bible
    • Humans
    • Medical Oncology
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • Religion and Medicine

    Notes:

    • GOALS: To establish the role of ancient literature and religious tradition to the modern practice of oncology; foster awareness of practicing in a historical context resulting from different traditions; and propose a spiritual context for the practice of oncology and explore methods to highlight this perspective in cancer education. Conclusions: The Book of Job supports a spiritual perspective in oncology practice, indicating that patient care is a holistic endeavor.

  • Integration of religion into cognitive-behavioral therapy for geriatric anxiety and depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amber L Paukert
    Author Laura Phillips
    Author Jeffrey A Cully
    Author Sheila M Loboprabhu
    Author James W Lomax
    Author Melinda A Stanley
    Abstract Religion is important to most older adults, and research generally finds a positive relationship between religion and mental health. Among psychotherapies used in the treatment of anxiety and depression in older adults, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has the strongest evidence base. Incorporation of religion into CBT may increase its acceptability and effectiveness in this population. This article reviews studies that have examined the effects of integrating religion into CBT for depression and anxiety. These studies indicate that improvement in depressive and anxiety symptoms occurs earlier in treatment when CBT incorporates religion, although effects are equivalent at follow-up. The authors present recommendations for integrating religious beliefs and behaviors into CBT based on empirical literature concerning which aspects of religion affect mental health. A case example is also included that describes the integration of religion into CBT for an older man with cognitive impairment experiencing comorbid generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. It is recommended that clinicians consider the integration of religion into psychotherapy for older adults with depression or anxiety and that studies be conducted to examine the added benefit of incorporating religion into CBT for the treatment of depression and anxiety in older adults.
    Publication Journal of Psychiatric Practice
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 103-112
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr J Psychiatr Pract
    DOI 10.1097/01.pra.0000348363.88676.4d
    ISSN 1538-1145
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:29:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19339844
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Aging
    • Anxiety
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Comorbidity
    • depression
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Psychology
  • Systematic review of the effects of religion-accommodative psychotherapy for depression and anxiety.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amber L. Paukert
    Author Laura L. Phillips
    Author Jeffrey A. Cully
    Author Catherine Romero
    Author Melinda A. Stanley
    Abstract Integrating religion into psychotherapy may improve treatment for depression and anxiety. This review systematically examines clinical trials of religion-accommodative psychotherapy for depression or anxiety. Results indicate that integrating religion into psychotherapy does not lead to significantly more improvements in depression or anxiety than equivalent therapy without religious components. However, when compared with less stringent control groups, such as supportive psychotherapy, religion-accommodative therapy may be more effective, at least immediately post-treatment. Results from the 11 studies reviewed indicate that psychotherapy integrating religion is at least as effective for treating depression and anxiety as other forms of psychotherapy. Conclusions were limited by lack of power, comparable control groups, focus on anxiety, and treatment manuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy
    Volume 41
    Issue 2
    Pages 99-108
    Date June 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s10879-010-9154-0
    ISSN 0022-0116
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • depression
    • Major Depression
    • religion
    • religion-accommodative psychotherapy
    • Supportive Psychotherapy
  • The Last Watch of the Night

    Type Book
    Author Paul Monette
    Place Fort Washington
    Publisher Harvest
    Date 1994
    Date Added Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:54:53 PM
    Modified Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:54:53 PM
  • Religiousness and recovery from inpatient geriatric depression: Findings from the PEJAMA Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Vahid Payman
    Author Bridget Ryburn
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine whether religiousness, in particular intrinsic religiosity, influences the prognosis of elderly inpatients with major depression, and, if so, whether this effect is related to social support. METHOD: A total of 94 patients (71% women; mean age = 76) with DSM-IV major depression were assessed on admission to a psychogeriatric unit in Melbourne, and then reviewed at 6, 12 and 24 months. Depression was measured using the Geriatric Depression Rating Scale - short form, religiousness, using the five-item Duke University Religion Index, and social support using the Social Support Questionnaire. RESULTS: Just over one-third of the sample was highly intrinsically religious. High intrinsic religiosity on admission predicted lower depression scores at 24 months (standardised beta = 0.252; P < 0.05). Intrinsic religiosity's effect was independent of social support as well as other demographic, treatment and health variables. CONCLUSION: Intrinsic religiosity (i.e. a person's commitment to and motivation by religious beliefs) predicts lower depression scores over time among inpatients with geriatric depression. Psychogeriatricians should consider a patient's religious history in order to make informed judgements about depression prognosis.
    Publication The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
    Volume 44
    Issue 6
    Pages 560-567
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Aust N Z J Psychiatry
    DOI 10.3109/00048671003606078
    ISSN 1440-1614
    Short Title Religiousness and recovery from inpatient geriatric depression
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:31:20 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20482415
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Variations in pastors' perceptions of the etiology of depression by race and religious affiliation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jennifer Shepard Payne
    Abstract Depression is a major, preventable problem in the United States, yet relatively few individuals seek care in traditional mental health settings. Instead, many choose to confide in friends, family, or clergy. Thus, it is important to discover how clergy perceive the definition of and etiology of depression. The author conducted a survey with 204 Protestant pastors in California. Multinomial logistic regression revealed a statistically significant difference in how depression is perceived based on race. Caucasian American pastors more readily agreed with the statement that depression was a biological mood disorder, while African American pastors more readily agreed that depression was a moment of weakness when dealing with trials and tribulations. Also, mainline Protestants more frequently disagreed with statements about spiritual causes of depression than Pentecostals and non-denominational pastors. The findings suggest that racial and religious affiliational influences shape how pastors view, and ultimately intervene, in the area of depression.
    Publication Community Mental Health Journal
    Volume 45
    Issue 5
    Pages 355-365
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Community Ment Health J
    DOI 10.1007/s10597-009-9210-y
    ISSN 1573-2789
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19533347
    Accessed Wednesday, November 04, 2009 9:59:35 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19533347
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Spirituality and health: empirically based reflections on recovery

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michelle J Pearce
    Author Clark M Rivinoja
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Abstract In this chapter, we explore the spiritual functioning and well-being of individuals and how this relates to mental health and recovery from alcoholism within the conceptual framework of Alcoholics Anonymous. We raise the question of whether the spiritually oriented focus of AA is a critical factor in achieving recovery. We suggest that examining the findings from a large body of research on religion and mental health may provide further insight into this question. Specifically, we assert that the mechanisms through which the spiritual focus of AA may influence recovery from alcoholism may be similar to the mechanisms through which spirituality may influence mental health. These potential explanatory mechanisms include the provision of a community, a narrative framework for meaning-making, a means of coping through submission and redemption, and prescribed lifestyle behaviors.
    Publication Recent Developments in Alcoholism: An Official Publication of the American Medical Society on Alcoholism, the Research Society on Alcoholism, and the National Council on Alcoholism
    Volume 18
    Pages 187-208
    Date 2008
    Journal Abbr Recent Dev Alcohol
    ISSN 0738-422X
    Short Title Spirituality and health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19115770
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:46:05 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19115770
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Affect
    • Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Alcoholism
    • Anxiety
    • Convalescence
    • depression
    • empirical research
    • GUILT
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Life Style
    • spirituality
    • Suicide

    Notes:

    • In this chapter, we explore the spiritual functioning and well-being of individuals and how this relates to mental health and recovery from alcoholism within the conceptual framework of Alcoholics Anonymous.

  • Longing: the lived experience of spirituality in adolescents with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shelley-Rae Pehler
    Author Martha Craft-Rosenberg
    Abstract Although much has been written regarding ill adolescents, research has not described their spiritual response. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of spirituality in adolescents with Duchenne muscular dystrophy using van Manen's phenomenological method. Findings from nine teens showed that the essential theme of spirituality was "longing," the strong desire for something unattainable. Consistent with Reed's (1992) paradigm for understanding spirituality, participants mediated their longing through "Connecting with others, self, and beyond self." These findings support the need for nursing to assess spirituality in teens and determine developmentally appropriate interventions to ameliorate longing.
    Publication Journal of Pediatric Nursing
    Volume 24
    Issue 6
    Pages 481-494
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pediatr Nurs
    DOI 10.1016/j.pedn.2008.06.008
    ISSN 1532-8449
    Short Title Longing
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19931146
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 2:56:19 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19931146
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Influence of religion on sexual self-perception and sexual satisfaction in patients suffering from schizophrenia and depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Marija Vucic Peitl
    Author Vjekoslav Peitl
    Author Eduard Pavlovic
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: It is well documented that religion has an impact on mental health of both healthy people and mental health patients. However, scientific research regarding the influence of religion on sexual experiences and sexual self-perception in mental health patients and healthy people is very scarce. GOAL: Therefore, our goal was to research how and in what measure religious and atheistic views of patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia and healthy people influence their sexual functions and sexual self-perception. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This research was conducted on 100 patients suffering from schizophrenia and 100 patients suffering from depression, while 100 healthy individuals served as a control group. DMS-IV criteria were used when diagnosing schizophrenia and depression. In order to research the aspects of sexual self-perception we used Bezinović's questionnaire and Arizona sexual experience scale (ASEX) to research the aspects of sexual intercourse. RESULTS: Results show that Roman-Catholic patients suffering from schizophrenia experience greater sexual satisfaction than Eastern-Orthodox or atheist schizophrenic patients. Among patients suffering from depression in regard to their differing religious views there were no significant differences regarding sexual satisfaction or the aspects of sexual self-perception. Furthermore, there is a significant difference among healthy individuals when taking into consideration religious views. We established that Muslims have a significantly stronger sexual drive then atheists, Roman-Catholic or Eastern-Orthodox individuals. Compared to Roman-Catholic and Eastern-Orthodox individuals, atheists have better consciousness of their own sexuality. CONCLUSION: We can conclude that religious views have an influence on sexual functioning and sexual self-perception of patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia and also healthy individuals. Thus, further research on a bigger sample of participants--not only of those religious denominations covered in this research, but also of those that are less present in our society and of other mental health disorders and illnesses--is needed.
    Publication International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
    Volume 39
    Issue 2
    Pages 155-167
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychiatry Med
    ISSN 0091-2174
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:35:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19860074
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Catholicism
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Eastern Orthodoxy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • ISLAM
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Reference Values
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Religion and Sex
    • Schizophrenia
    • Schizophrenic Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • Sexuality
  • Religious Conversion in a Psychotic Individual

    Type Journal Article
    Author Julie B. Penzner
    Author Kevin V. Kelly
    Author Michael H. Sacks
    Abstract The authors describe the case of a man who appeared to have psychotic symptoms, including self-injurious behavior, but who understood his own experience as a religious conversion. The symptoms, clinical course, and treatment response are described with reference to the works of Kurt Schneider and William James. Empirical studies of the attitudes of psychiatrists, psychiatric patients, and clergypersons about the relationship between religious belief and psychiatric illness are described, and various theoretical models used to understand this relationship are articulated.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 351-360
    Date 3/2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9245-y
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:56:32 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • Spiritual absence and 1-year mortality after hematopoietic stem cell transplant

    Type Journal Article
    Author Deidre B Pereira
    Author Lisa M Christian
    Author Seema Patidar
    Author Michelle M Bishop
    Author Stacy M Dodd
    Author Rebecca Athanason
    Author John R Wingard
    Author Vijay S Reddy
    Abstract Religiosity and spirituality have been associated with better survival in large epidemiologic studies. This study examined the relationship between spiritual absence and 1-year all-cause mortality in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients. Depression and problematic compliance were examined as possible mediators of a significant spiritual absence-mortality relationship. Eighty-five adults (mean = 46.85 years old, SD = 11.90 years) undergoing evaluation for allogeneic HSCT had routine psychologie evaluation prior to HSCT admission. The Millon Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic was used to assess spiritual absence, depression, and problematic compliance, the psychosocial predictors of interest. Patient status at 1 year and survival time in days were abstracted from medical records. Cox regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the psychosocial factors of interest and mortality after adjusting for relevant biobehavioral factors. Twenty-nine percent (n = 25) of participants died within 1 year of HSCT. After covarying for disease type, individuals with the highest spiritual absence and problematic compliance scores were significantly more likely to die 1-year post-HSCT (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.49, P = .043 and HR = 3.74, P = .029, respectively), particularly secondary to infection, sepsis, or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (HR = 4.56, P = .01 and HR = 5.61, P = .014), relative to those without elevations on these scales. Depression was not associated with 1-year mortality, and problematic compliance did not mediate the relationship between spiritual absence and mortality. These preliminary results suggest that both spiritual absence and problematic compliance may be associated with poorer survival following HSCT. Future research should examine these relations in a larger sample using a more comprehensive assessment of spirituality.
    Publication Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation: Journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
    Volume 16
    Issue 8
    Pages 1171-1179
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr Biol. Blood Marrow Transplant
    DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2010.03.003
    ISSN 1523-6536
    Accessed Tuesday, August 17, 2010 8:26:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20227510
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
  • Heart rate dynamics in different levels of Zen meditation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Caroline Peressutti
    Author Juan M. Martín-González
    Author Juan García-Manso
    Author Denkô Mesa
    Abstract The dynamic interactions among physiological rhythms imbedded in the heart rate signal can give valuable insights into autonomic modulation in conditions of reduced outward attention. Therefore, in this study we analyzed the heart rate variability (HRV) in different levels of practice in Zen meditation (Zazen). Nineteen subjects with variable experience took part in this study. In four special cases we collected both HRV and respiration data. The time series were analyzed in frequency domain and also using the Continuous Wavelet Transform, which detects changes in the time domain and in the frequency domain simultaneously. The shifts in the respiratory modulation of heart rate, or respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), reflect the different levels of practice among practitioners with variable experience in Zazen; in turn the modulation of the RSA may reflect changes in the breathing pattern as in the parasympathetic outflow related to the quality and focus of attention in each stage.
    Publication International Journal of Cardiology
    Volume 145
    Issue 1
    Pages 142-146
    Date November 5, 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ijcard.2009.06.058
    ISSN 0167-5273
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T16-4WV5BC4-4/2/ffd196b6a045356405d9333b82d524d3
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:29:00 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Heart rate variability
    • Low frequency oscillations
    • Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia
    • Wavelet analysis
    • Zen meditation
  • Spirituality and depressive symptoms in a school-based sample of adolescents: a longitudinal examination of mediated and moderated effects

    Type Journal Article
    Author John E Pérez
    Author Todd D Little
    Author Christopher C Henrich
    Abstract PURPOSE: To prospectively examine whether personal agency beliefs and direct coping mediate the association between spirituality and depressive symptoms in a school-based sample of adolescents, and whether gender, race, or grade level moderate this model. METHOD: Students (N = 1096) from sixth through ninth grades in a northeastern public school system were administered self-report instruments in group format at baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 1-year follow-up. Demographic variables and constructs of spirituality, personal agency, direct coping, and depressive symptoms were assessed. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling was used to examine the longitudinal associations among the constructs while controlling for socioeconomic status and baseline depressive symptoms. For the total sample, the model predicted 21% of the variance in depressive symptoms over 1 year. The model was moderated by gender but not by race or grade level. The model explained 28% of the variance in depressive symptoms for girls and 16% of the variance in depressive symptoms for boys. Moreover, there was an indirect effect of spirituality on depressive symptoms for girls but not for boys. CONCLUSION: These results suggest mechanisms by which spirituality may maintain lower levels of depressive symptoms among adolescent girls during periods of transition to middle and high school.
    Publication The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
    Volume 44
    Issue 4
    Pages 380-386
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Adolesc Health
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.08.022
    ISSN 1879-1972
    Short Title Spirituality and depressive symptoms in a school-based sample of adolescents
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:32:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19306797
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • New England
    • Prospective Studies
    • Self Efficacy
    • spirituality
  • Differential effects on pain intensity and unpleasantness of two meditation practices

    Type Journal Article
    Author David M Perlman
    Author Tim V Salomons
    Author Richard J Davidson
    Author Antoine Lutz
    Abstract Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that can be regulated by many different cognitive mechanisms. We compared the regulatory qualities of two different meditation practices during noxious thermal stimuli: Focused Attention, directed at a fixation cross away from the stimulation, which could regulate negative affect through a sensory gating mechanism; and Open Monitoring, which could regulate negative affect through a mechanism of nonjudgmental, nonreactive awareness of sensory experience. Here, we report behavioral data from a comparison between novice and long-term meditation practitioners (long-term meditators, LTMs) using these techniques. LTMs, compared to novices, had a significant reduction of self-reported unpleasantness, but not intensity, of painful stimuli while practicing Open Monitoring. No significant effects were found for FA. This finding illuminates the possible regulatory mechanism of meditation-based clinical interventions like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Implications are discussed in the broader context of training-induced changes in trait emotion regulation.
    Publication Emotion (Washington, D.C.)
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 65-71
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr Emotion
    DOI 10.1037/a0018440
    ISSN 1931-1516
    Accessed Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:06:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20141303
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Power up your brain : the neuroscience of enlightenment

    Type Book
    Author David Perlmutter
    Author Alberto Villoldo
    Place Carlsbad, Calif.
    Publisher Hay House
    Date 2011
    ISBN 9781401928179
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
  • “Die before you die”: Death Meditation as Spiritual Technology of the Self in Islam and Buddhism

    Type Journal Article
    Author Todd LeRoy Perreira
    Abstract The author reports on the demand of the transformation of the self as a living subject and moral agent at the time of death in Islam and Buddhism. These two call for the acquisition of a certain knowledge of the self, of understanding the spiritual necessity and urgency of “dying” before dying, and the realization that such a “death” must be achieved while one is still very much alive here.
    Publication The Muslim World
    Volume 100
    Issue 2-3
    Pages 247-267
    Date 04/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1478-1913.2010.01319.x
    ISSN 00274909
    URL http://blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1478-1913.2010.01319.x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • People who report religious experiences may also display enhanced temporal-lobe signs

    Type Journal Article
    Author M A Persinger
    Abstract Religious and god-related experiences have been hypothesized to be a portion of the continuum of phenomena that are generated by endogenous, transient electrical stimulation within deep structures of the temporal lobe. According to this hypothesis, normal people, without psychiatric history, who report intense religious experiences should also demonstrate a wide range of temporal lobe-related private behaviors. To test this prediction, a self-report inventory that contained 140 temporal-lobe-relevant information, opinion-belief, and sampled MMPI statements was administered to two separate groups (n = 108; n = 41) of male and female first-year university students. In Study I, subjects who had reported religious experiences, particularly those who did not attend church regularly, scored significantly higher on a variety of statement clusters (n = 7 to 14 items) that contained temporal-lobe symptomology relative to groups who did not report religious experiences and did not attend church regularly. In Study II subjects, regardless of church attendance, who reported religious experiences scored significantly higher on the temporal-lobe clusters. People who reported religious experiences were more likely to have kept a dairy and to enjoy poetry reading or writing. However, religious experiments and churchgoers did not score higher (in either experiment) on clusters that contained mundane psychological or proprioceptive statements, descriptions of odd sensations, or modified portions of the Lie scale from the MMPI.
    Publication Perceptual and Motor Skills
    Volume 58
    Issue 3
    Pages 963-975
    Date Jun 1984
    Journal Abbr Percept Mot Skills
    ISSN 0031-5125
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/6473043
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:46:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 6473043
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Parapsychology
    • Proprioception
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Temporal Lobe

    Notes:

    • Religious and god-related experiences have been hypothesized to be a portion of the continuum of phenomena that are generated by endogenous, transient electrical stimulation within deep structures of the temporal lobe. According to this hypothesis, normal people, without psychiatric history, who report intense religious experiences should also demonstrate a wide range of temporal lobe-related private behaviors. To test this prediction, a self-report inventory that contained 140 temporal-lobe-relevant information, opinion-belief, and sampled MMPI statements was administered to two separate groups (n = 108; n = 41) of male and female first-year university students. In Study I, subjects who had reported religious experiences, particularly those who did not attend church regularly, scored significantly higher on a variety of statement clusters (n = 7 to 14 items) that contained temporal-lobe symptomology relative to groups who did not report religious experiences and did not attend church regularly. In Study II subjects, regardless of church attendance, who reported religious experiences scored significantly higher on the temporal-lobe clusters. People who reported religious experiences were more likely to have kept a dairy and to enjoy poetry reading or writing. However, religious experiments and churchgoers did not score higher (in either experiment) on clusters that contained mundane psychological or proprioceptive statements, descriptions of odd sensations, or modified portions of the Lie scale from the MMPI.

  • Religious and mystical experiences as artifacts of temporal lobe function: a general hypothesis

    Type Journal Article
    Author M A Persinger
    Abstract Mystical and religious experiences are hypothesized to be evoked by transient, electrical microseizures within deep structures of the temporal lobe. Although experiential details are affected by context and reinforcement history, basic themes reflect the inclusion of different amygdaloid-hippocampal structures and adjacent cortices. Whereas the unusual electrical coherence allows access to infantile memories of parents, a source of good expectations, specific stimulation evokes out-of-body experiences, space-time distortions, intense meaningfulness, and dreamy scenes. The species-specific similarities in temporal lobe properties enhance the homogeneity of cross-cultural experiences. They exist along a continuum that ranges from "early morning highs" to recurrent bouts of conversion and dominating religiosity. Predisposing factors include any biochemical or genetic factors that produce temporal lobe lability. A variety of precipitating stimuli provoke these experiences, but personal (life) crises and death bed conditions are optimal. These temporal lobe microseizures can be learned as responses to existential trauma because stimulation is of powerful intrinsic reward regions and reduction of death anxiety occurs. The implications of these transients as potent modifiers of human behavior are considered.
    Publication Perceptual and Motor Skills
    Volume 57
    Issue 3 Pt 2
    Pages 1255-1262
    Date Dec 1983
    Journal Abbr Percept Mot Skills
    ISSN 0031-5125
    Short Title Religious and mystical experiences as artifacts of temporal lobe function
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/6664802
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:47:51 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 6664802
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Culture
    • Death
    • Humans
    • Mysticism
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Seizures
    • Temporal Lobe

    Notes:

    • Mystical and religious experiences are hypothesized to be evoked by transient, electrical microseizures within deep structures of the temporal lobe. Although experiential details are affected by context and reinforcement history, basic themes reflect the inclusion of different amygdaloid-hippocampal structures and adjacent cortices. Whereas the unusual electrical coherence allows access to infantile memories of parents, a source of good expectations, specific stimulation evokes out-of-body experiences, space-time distortions, intense meaningfulness, and dreamy scenes. The species-specific similarities in temporal lobe properties enhance the homogeneity of cross-cultural experiences. They exist along a continuum that ranges from “early morning highs” to recurrent bouts of conversion and dominating religiosity. Predisposing factors include any biochemical or genetic factors that produce temporal lobe lability. A variety of precipitating stimuli provoke these experiences, but personal (life) crises and death bed conditions are optimal. These temporal lobe microseizures can be learned as responses to existential trauma because stimulation is of powerful intrinsic reward regions and reduction of death anxiety occurs. The implications of these transients as potent modifiers of human behavior are considered.

  • Striking EEG profiles from single episodes of glossolalia and transcendental meditation

    Type Journal Article
    Author M A Persinger
    Abstract Transient, focal, epileptic-like electrical changes in the temporal lobe, without convulsions, have been hypothesized to be primary correlates of religious experiences. Given these properties, direct measurement of these phenomena within the laboratory should be rare. However, two illustrated instances have been recorded. The first case involved the occurrence of a delta-wave-dominant electrical seizure for about 10 sec. from the temporal lobe only of a Transcendental Meditation teacher during a peak experience within a routine TM episode. The second case involved the occurrence of spikes within the temporal lobe only during protracted intermittent episodes of glossolalia by a member of a pentecostal sect . Neither subject had any psychiatric history. These observations are commensurate with the hypothesis that religious experiences are natural correlates of temporal lobe transients that can be detected by routine EEG measures.
    Publication Perceptual and Motor Skills
    Volume 58
    Issue 1
    Pages 127-133
    Date Feb 1984
    Journal Abbr Percept Mot Skills
    ISSN 0031-5125
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/6371700
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:47:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 6371700
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Electroencephalography
    • Evoked Potentials
    • Female
    • Frontal Lobe
    • Humans
    • Occipital Lobe
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Temporal Lobe

    Notes:

    • Transient, focal, epileptic-like electrical changes in the temporal lobe, without convulsions, have been hypothesized to be primary correlates of religious experiences. Given these properties, direct measurement of these phenomena within the laboratory should be rare. However, two illustrated instances have been recorded. The first case involved the occurrence of a delta-wave-dominant electrical seizure for about 10 sec. from the temporal lobe only of a Transcendental Meditation teacher during a peak experience within a routine TM episode. The second case involved the occurrence of spikes within the temporal lobe only during protracted intermittent episodes of glossolalia by a member of a pentecostal sect . Neither subject had any psychiatric history. These observations are commensurate with the hypothesis that religious experiences are natural correlates of temporal lobe transients that can be detected by routine EEG measures.

  • Secrets of long life: cross-cultural explorations in sustainably enhancing vitality and promoting longevity via elders' practice wisdom

    Type Journal Article
    Author Todd Pesek
    Author Ronald Reminick
    Author Murali Nair
    Abstract In searching for different patterns of practice, lifestyle, and environment supportive of optimal health, we look to our elders around the world, who in the wisdom that has sustained them, we learn from with careful attention. Thirty-seven elders who live by their traditions participated in the present study. They assisted in the refinement of the methodology and collections and preparation of these data. These participants are well-respected, representative elders and traditional healers of their regions. These data, from study sites of the Eastern Afromontane and Albertine Rift region of Ethiopia, Africa; the Maya Mountains region of Belize, Central America; the Western Ghats region of India; and the Appalachian Mountains region of the United States, were grouped into three major categories: (1) philosophy, attitudes, and outlook, (2) lifestyle practices, and (3) dietary and nutritional practices. These elders demonstrate a relatively comprehensive but simple set of practices that can enhance our vitality and promote longevity sustainably. In essence, these practices, or practice wisdom, of our longest living elders, promote propagation of healthful lifestyles by following traditional ways and taking care of body, mind, spirit and our environment. Further field research among a larger cohort is required to fully generalize the findings of this study, but much of it is consistent with what we already know should be done. These data begin illustration of practice wisdom for implementation and serve to engage our universities, our hospitals, our industries, and our students, who we must position toward social change.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 6
    Issue 6
    Pages 352-358
    Date 2010 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2010.08.003
    ISSN 1878-7541
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21040883
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:19:19 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
  • Struggles with God: Transference and religious countertransference in the treatment of a trauma survivor.

    Type Journal Article
    Author John R. Peteet
    Abstract Transference and countertransference in treatment situations where the patient and the therapist share religious faith can be complex. This article discusses the course of therapy of a Christian woman with a history of trauma and depression by a therapist who shared her religious orientation. Counter-transference reactions shaped the therapist's responses to the patient's struggles, and eventually contributed to a new level of trust in their shared God. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis & Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 165-174
    Date 2009
    Series The God representation in the psychoanalytic relationship
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.165
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Short Title Struggles with God
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • countertransference
    • depression
    • Emotional Trauma
    • God Concepts
    • Major Depression
    • Psychotherapeutic Processes
    • Psychotherapeutic Transference
    • Religious Beliefs
    • religious countertransferences
    • religious faith
    • transferences
    • trauma survivors
    • treatments
  • Depression and the soul : a guide to spiritually integrated treatment

    Type Book
    Author John Peteet
    Place New York
    Publisher Routledge
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780415878951
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
  • Measuring spiritual well-being in people with cancer: the functional assessment of chronic illness therapy--Spiritual Well-being Scale (FACIT-Sp)

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy H Peterman
    Author George Fitchett
    Author Marianne J Brady
    Author Lesbia Hernandez
    Author David Cella
    Abstract A significant relation between religion and better health has been demonstrated in a variety of healthy and patient populations. In the past several years, there has been a focus on the role of spirituality, as distinctfrom religion, in health promotion and coping with illness. Despite the growing interest, there remains a dearth of well-validated, psychometrically sound instruments to measure aspects of spirituality. In this article we report on the development and testing of a measure of spiritual well-being, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp), within two samples of cancer patients. The instrument comprises two subscales--one measuring a sense of meaning and peace and the other assessing the role offaith in illness. A total score for spiritual well-being is also produced. Study 1 demonstrates good internal consistency reliability and a significant relation with quality of life in a large, multiethnic sample. Study 2 examines convergent validity with 5 other measures of religion and spirituality in a sample of individuals with mixed early stage and metastatic cancer diagnoses. Results of the two studies demonstrate that the FACIT-Sp is a psychometrically sound measure of spiritual well-being for people with cancer and other chronic illnesses.
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 24
    Issue 1
    Pages 49-58
    Date 2002
    Journal Abbr Ann Behav Med
    ISSN 0883-6612
    Short Title Measuring spiritual well-being in people with cancer
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12008794
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:29:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12008794
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Chronic Disease
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Self Concept

    Notes:

    • In this article we report on the development and testing of a measure of spiritual well-being, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp), within two samples of cancer patients. The instrument comprises two subscales--one measuring a sense of meaning and peace and the other assessing the role of faith in illness.

  • Religiosity, Anxiety, and Meaning and Purpose: Religion's Consequences for Psychological Well-Being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Larry R. Petersen
    Author Anita Roy
    Abstract Several theoretical rationales were developed which link two types of psychological well-being (anxiety and meaning and purpose) to several aspects of religious commitment. These rationales were tested using a sample drawn from the general population in a large southern city. Of the five religiosity variables included in the study, only one (religious salience) had a significant independent effect on meaning and purpose, and only one (church attendance) had a significant independent effect on anxiety. The implications these findings have for the theoretical rationales and for future research are discussed.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 27
    Issue 1
    Pages 49-62
    Date Sep., 1985
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Religiosity, Anxiety, and Meaning and Purpose
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3511937
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 4:01:28 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1985 / Copyright © 1985 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Several theoretical rationales were developed which link two types of psychological well-being (anxiety and meaning and purpose) to several aspects of religious commitment. These rationales were tested using a sample drawn from the general population in a large southern city. Of the five religiosity variables included in the study, only one (religious salience) had a significant independent effect on meaning and purpose, and only one (church attendance) had a significant independent effect on anxiety.

  • Family and religious characteristics' influence on delinquency trajectories from adolescence to young adulthood.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard J. Petts
    Abstract This study takes a life-course approach to examine whether family and religious characteristics influence individual-level delinquency trajectories from early adolescence through young adulthood. Based on data from the NLSY79, results suggest that residing with two parents deters youths from becoming delinquent and that supportive parenting practices reduce their likelihood of becoming involved in delinquent behavior early in adolescence. There is also evidence that family and religion interact to predict delinquency trajectories. Religion enhances the effect of parental affection in deterring delinquent behavior and mitigates the increased risk of high levels of delinquent behavior among youths in single-parent families. Moreover, the findings indicate that delinquency trajectories are not immutable; family transitions are associated with increases in delinquency, but religious participation throughout adolescence and marriage are associated with declines in delinquent behavior. Overall, results suggest that family and religious characteristics continually influence the extent to which youths commit delinquent acts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication American Sociological Review
    Volume 74
    Issue 3
    Pages 465-483
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1177/000312240907400307
    ISSN 0003-1224
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent Development
    • Adult Development
    • Family
    • Juvenile Delinquency
    • life course
    • life span
    • parenting style
    • religion
    • religious characteristics
    • supportive parenting practices
  • Religious coping and use of intensive life-prolonging care near death in patients with advanced cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Andrea C Phelps
    Author Paul K Maciejewski
    Author Matthew Nilsson
    Author Tracy A Balboni
    Author Alexi A Wright
    Author M Elizabeth Paulk
    Author Elizabeth Trice
    Author Deborah Schrag
    Author John R Peteet
    Author Susan D Block
    Author Holly G Prigerson
    Abstract <AbstractText Label="CONTEXT" NlmCategory="BACKGROUND">Patients frequently rely on religious faith to cope with cancer, but little is known about the associations between religious coping and the use of intensive life-prolonging care at the end of life.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="OBJECTIVE" NlmCategory="OBJECTIVE">To determine the way religious coping relates to the use of intensive life-prolonging end-of-life care among patients with advanced cancer.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS" NlmCategory="METHODS">A US multisite, prospective, longitudinal cohort of 345 patients with advanced cancer, who were enrolled between January 1, 2003, and August 31, 2007. The Brief RCOPE assessed positive religious coping. Baseline interviews assessed psychosocial and religious/spiritual measures, advance care planning, and end-of-life treatment preferences. Patients were followed up until death, a median of 122 days after baseline assessment.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES" NlmCategory="METHODS">Intensive life-prolonging care, defined as receipt of mechanical ventilation or resuscitation in the last week of life. Analyses were adjusted for demographic factors significantly associated with positive religious coping and any end-of-life outcome at P &lt; .05 (ie, age and race/ethnicity). The main outcome was further adjusted for potential psychosocial confounders (eg, other coping styles, terminal illness acknowledgment, spiritual support, preference for heroics, and advance care planning).</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="RESULTS" NlmCategory="RESULTS">A high level of positive religious coping at baseline was significantly associated with receipt of mechanical ventilation compared with patients with a low level (11.3% vs 3.6%; adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.81 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.03-7.69]; P = .04) and intensive life-prolonging care during the last week of life (13.6% vs 4.2%; AOR, 2.90 [95% CI, 1.14-7.35]; P = .03) after adjusting for age and race. In the model that further adjusted for other coping styles, terminal illness acknowledgment, support of spiritual needs, preference for heroics, and advance care planning (do-not-resuscitate order, living will, and health care proxy/durable power of attorney), positive religious coping remained a significant predictor of receiving intensive life-prolonging care near death (AOR, 2.90 [95% CI, 1.07-7.89]; P = .04).</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="CONCLUSIONS" NlmCategory="CONCLUSIONS">Positive religious coping in patients with advanced cancer is associated with receipt of intensive life-prolonging medical care near death. Further research is needed to determine the mechanisms for this association.</AbstractText>
    Publication JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
    Volume 301
    Issue 11
    Pages 1140-1147
    Date Mar 18, 2009
    Journal Abbr JAMA
    DOI 10.1001/jama.2009.341
    ISSN 1538-3598
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:34:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19293414
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Advance Care Planning
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Death
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Resuscitation Orders
    • spirituality
    • Terminal Care
    • Withholding Treatment

    Notes:

    • The objective of this study is to determine the way religious coping relates to the use of intensive life-prolonging end-of-life care among patients with advanced cancer.

  • Religious coping and use of intensive life-prolonging care near death in patients with advanced cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Andrea C Phelps
    Author Paul K Maciejewski
    Author Matthew Nilsson
    Author Tracy A Balboni
    Author Alexi A Wright
    Author M Elizabeth Paulk
    Author Elizabeth Trice
    Author Deborah Schrag
    Author John R Peteet
    Author Susan D Block
    Author Holly G Prigerson
    Abstract CONTEXT: Patients frequently rely on religious faith to cope with cancer, but little is known about the associations between religious coping and the use of intensive life-prolonging care at the end of life. OBJECTIVE: To determine the way religious coping relates to the use of intensive life-prolonging end-of-life care among patients with advanced cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A US multisite, prospective, longitudinal cohort of 345 patients with advanced cancer, who were enrolled between January 1, 2003, and August 31, 2007. The Brief RCOPE assessed positive religious coping. Baseline interviews assessed psychosocial and religious/spiritual measures, advance care planning, and end-of-life treatment preferences. Patients were followed up until death, a median of 122 days after baseline assessment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intensive life-prolonging care, defined as receipt of mechanical ventilation or resuscitation in the last week of life. Analyses were adjusted for demographic factors significantly associated with positive religious coping and any end-of-life outcome at P < .05 (ie, age and race/ethnicity). The main outcome was further adjusted for potential psychosocial confounders (eg, other coping styles, terminal illness acknowledgment, spiritual support, preference for heroics, and advance care planning). RESULTS: A high level of positive religious coping at baseline was significantly associated with receipt of mechanical ventilation compared with patients with a low level (11.3% vs 3.6%; adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.81 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.03-7.69]; P = .04) and intensive life-prolonging care during the last week of life (13.6% vs 4.2%; AOR, 2.90 [95% CI, 1.14-7.35]; P = .03) after adjusting for age and race. In the model that further adjusted for other coping styles, terminal illness acknowledgment, support of spiritual needs, preference for heroics, and advance care planning (do-not-resuscitate order, living will, and health care proxy/durable power of attorney), positive religious coping remained a significant predictor of receiving intensive life-prolonging care near death (AOR, 2.90 [95% CI, 1.07-7.89]; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Positive religious coping in patients with advanced cancer is associated with receipt of intensive life-prolonging medical care near death. Further research is needed to determine the mechanisms for this association.
    Publication JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
    Volume 301
    Issue 11
    Pages 1140-1147
    Date Mar 18, 2009
    Journal Abbr JAMA
    DOI 10.1001/jama.2009.341
    ISSN 1538-3598
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19293414
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:58:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19293414
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Advance Care Planning
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Death
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Resuscitation Orders
    • spirituality
    • Terminal Care
    • Withholding Treatment

    Notes:

  • Something Wicked This Way Comes Trauma, Dissociation, and Conflict: The Space Where Psychoanalysis, Cognitive Science and Neuroscience Overlap Psychoanalytic Psychology

    Type Journal Article
    Author Phillip Bromberg
    Publication Psychoanalytic Psychology
    Volume 20
    Pages 16
    Date 2003
    Date Added Tuesday, October 11, 2011 9:29:29 PM
    Modified Tuesday, October 11, 2011 9:29:29 PM

    Tags:

    • Dissociation
    • Emotional Trauma
    • Interdisciplinary Treatment Approach
    • Psychotherapeutic Processes
  • God's will, God's punishment, or God's limitations? Religious coping strategies reported by young adults living with serious mental illness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Russell E Phillips
    Author Catherine H Stein
    Abstract Qualitative research has demonstrated that religious meaning-making coping, defined as attributions of a stressful life event that involve the sacred, is particularly relevant to persons with serious mental illness. However, recent research advances in the study of religious coping have yet to be employed in clinical samples. This longitudinal study examines religious meaning-making coping in a sample of 48 young adults diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder over a one-year period. Young adults with mental illness generally reported using religious meaning-making coping in levels comparable to nonpsychiatric samples. Reports of benevolent religious reappraisals were associated with perceptions of positive mental health, whereas punishing God reappraisals and reappraisals of God's power were associated with self-reported distress and personal loss. Religious coping variables accounted for variation in adults' reports of psychiatric symptoms and personal loss one year later over and above demographic and global religious variables. Implications of findings for clinical practice are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 63
    Issue 6
    Pages 529-540
    Date Jun 2007
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20364
    ISSN 0021-9762
    Short Title God's will, God's punishment, or God's limitations?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17457851
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:38:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17457851
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Internal-External Control
    • Male
    • Power (Psychology)
    • Punishment
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Schizophrenia
    • Schizophrenic Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Volition

    Notes:

    • Recent research has suggested that religion and spirituality can be a resource or a burden for those with serious mental illness (SMI). This study describes an innovative program for people with SMI who are dealing with spiritual/religious issues.

  • Spiritual Coping in American Buddhists: An Exploratory Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Russell E. Phillips
    Author Clara Michelle Cheng
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author Carmen Oemig
    Author Sonya D. Colvin
    Author Ashley N. Abarr
    Author Michael W. Dunn
    Author Ashlee S. Reed
    Abstract Researchers in the United States have examined spiritual coping in Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Muslims, but rarely Buddhists. Using qualitative methodology, the present study represents an initial investigation into Buddhist forms of coping. Twenty-four Buddhists from across the United States were interviewed by phone, examining how their spirituality is used to cope with stress. Thematic analyses revealed six forms of Buddhist coping—right understanding, meditation, mindfulness, spiritual struggles, morality, and finding support in one's sangha. Implications of the study are discussed, including possibilities for future research on Buddhist coping.
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 19
    Issue 4
    Pages 231-243
    Date October 2009
    DOI 10.1080/10508610903143263
    ISSN 1050-8619
    Short Title Spiritual Coping in American Buddhists
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/10508610903143263
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 9:40:11 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Development and implementation of a spiritual issues psychoeducational group for those with serious mental illness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Russell E Phillips
    Author Rebecca Lakin
    Author Kenneth I Pargament
    Abstract Recent research has suggested that religion and spirituality can be a resource or a burden for those with serious mental illness (SMI). Investigators have begun to explore the nature and impact of interventions that focus on spiritual issues in this population. This study describes an innovative program for people with SMI who are dealing with spiritual/religious issues. The program was a seven-week semistructured, psychoeducational intervention in which participants discussed religious resources, spiritual struggles, forgiveness, and hope. This paper also reviews participants' feedback about the group intervention. Suggestions are made that may add to the clinical utility of this program in the future.
    Publication Community Mental Health Journal
    Volume 38
    Issue 6
    Pages 487-495
    Date Dec 2002
    Journal Abbr Community Ment Health J
    ISSN 0010-3853
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12474936
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:54:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12474936
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Community Mental Health Services
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This longitudinal study examines religious meaning-making coping in a sample of 48 young adults diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder over a one-year period. Religious coping variables accounted for variation in adults’ reports of psychiatric symptoms and personal loss one year later over and above demographic and global religious variables.

  • Mortality among California Seventh-Day Adventists for selected cancer sites.

    Type Journal Article
    Author R.L. Phillips
    Author L. Garfinkel
    Author J.W. Kuzma
    Author W.L. Beeson
    Author T. Lotz
    Author B. Brin
    Abstract In previous reports concerning cancer among Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA), comparisons were made only with the general population. This report compared California SDA to a sample of non-SDA who were demographically similar to SDA. The study consisted of 17 years of follow-up (1960--76) on 22,940 white California SDA and 13 years of follow-up (1960--72) on 112,725 white California non-SDA. Both groups completed the same base-line questionnaire in 1960. Deaths were ascertained by annual contacts with each study member and by computer-assisted record linkage with the California State death certificate file. Results indicated that, with the exception of colon-rectal cancer and smoking-related cancers, the difference in risk of fatal cancer between SDA and non-SDA was substantially reduced when SDA were compared with a more socioeconomically similar population. The persistence of the low risk for colon-rectal cancer can probably be attributed to some aspect of the diet or life-style of the SDA.
    Publication Journal of the National Cancer Institute
    Volume 65
    Issue 5
    Pages 1097-1107
    Date Nov. 1980
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This report compared California SDA to a sample of non-SDA who were demographically similar to SDA. Results indicated that, with the exception of colon-rectal cancer and smoking-related cancers, the difference in risk of fatal cancer between SDA and non-SDA was substantially reduced when SDA were compared with a more socioeconomically similar population. The persistence of the low risk for colon-rectal cancer can probably be attributed to some aspect of the diet or life-style of the SDA.

  • Incorporating religion and spirituality to improve care for anxiety and depression in older adults.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laura L. Phillips
    Author Amber L. Paukert
    Author Melinda A. Stanley
    Author Mark E. Kunik
    Abstract Recent research has suggested that religion/spirituality may be linked to improved physical and emotional health, although the patient's motivation and method of using religious/spiritual beliefs appear to be a key factor in obtaining benefit. Studies have shown that there is a high level of religion/spirituality among older adults in the United States and significant patient-reported desire to include such beliefs in health care settings. This article provides a brief overview of the support for considering religion/spirituality in the health care of older adults and reviews potential drawbacks and methods for providers to assess and use patient beliefs to improve anxiety/depression.
    Publication Geriatrics
    Volume 64
    Issue 8
    Pages 15-18
    Date 2009
    URL http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?
    &contentSet=IAC-Documents&…
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged_Health aspects
    • Anxiety_Care and treatment
    • Care and treatment
    • Depression, Mental_Care and treatment
    • Health aspects
    • Spirituality_Health aspects

    Notes:

    • Studies have shown that there is a high level of religion/spirituality among older adults in the United States and significant patient-reported desire to include such beliefs in health care settings. This article provides a brief overview of the support for considering religion/spirituality in the health care of older adults and reviews potential drawbacks and methods for providers to assess and use patient beliefs to improve anxiety/depression.

  • Spirituality and health in older Thai persons in the United States

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sumon Pincharoen
    Author JoAnn G Congdon
    Abstract Health and spiritual phenomena are viewed differently depending on the cultural perspective. This study describes spirituality as perceived and experienced by older Thai persons. Specific aims were to describe how spirituality helped older Thai persons maintain their health and to describe what they valued most as they aged. A qualitative, descriptive study informed by ethnographic methods was utilized. The sample included 9 older Thai persons from an urban U.S. community. Data were generated using ethnographic interviews and participant observation. Data analysis incorporated coding, categorizing, and theme development. Rigor was guided by Lincoln and Guba. Five major themes emerged from the data: Connecting with spiritual resources provided comfort and peace, finding harmony through a healthy mind and body, living a valuable life, valuing tranquil relationships with family and friends, and experiencing meaning and confidence in death. For these Thai participants, health and spirituality coexisted and were linked to all of life.
    Publication Western Journal of Nursing Research
    Volume 25
    Issue 1
    Pages 93-108;
    Date Feb 2003
    Journal Abbr West J Nurs Res
    ISSN 0193-9459
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12584966
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:08:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12584966
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Death
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • spirituality
    • Thailand
    • United States

    Notes:

    • This study describes spirituality as perceived and experienced by older Thai persons. Specific aims were to describe how spirituality helped older Thai persons maintain their health and to describe what they valued most as they aged. Five major themes emerged from the data: Connecting with spiritual resources provided comfort and peace, finding harmony through a healthy mind and body, living a valuable life, valuing tranquil relationships with family and friends, and experiencing meaning and confidence in death.

  • Nurse leader mindfulness meditation program for stress management: a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Teri Britt Pipe
    Author Jennifer J Bortz
    Author Amylou Dueck
    Author Debra Pendergast
    Author Vicki Buchda
    Author Jay Summers
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to rigorously evaluate a brief stress management intervention for nurse leaders. BACKGROUND: Despite the nursing shortage, evidence-based workplace approaches addressing nurse stress have not been well studied. METHODS: Nurse leaders (n = 33) were randomly assigned to brief mindfulness meditation course (MMC) or leadership course (control). Self-report measures of stress were administered at baseline and within 1 week of course completion. RESULTS: Among MMC participants, change scores (from baseline to postintervention) on several subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised showed significantly more improvement in self-reported stress symptoms relative to controls. Mindfulness meditation course participants had significantly more improvement in Positive Symptom Distress Index (P = 0.010; confidence interval [CI] = -0.483 to -0.073) and Global Severity Index (P = 0.019; CI = -0.475 to -0.046) and nearly significantly more improvement in Positive Symptom Total (P = 0.066; CI = -16.66 to 0.581) compared with controls. CONCLUSION: Results support preliminary effectiveness of a 4-week MMC in reducing self-reported stress symptoms among nursing leaders.
    Publication The Journal of Nursing Administration
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 130-137
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr J Nurs Adm
    DOI 10.1097/NNA.0b013e31819894a0
    ISSN 1539-0721
    Short Title Nurse leader mindfulness meditation program for stress management
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:44:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19590469
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Burnout, Professional
    • depression
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Leadership
    • Meditation
    • Nurses
    • Program Development
    • Stress, Psychological
  • Do medical models of mental illness relate to increased or decreased stigmatization of mental illness among orthodox Jews?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steven Pirutinsky
    Author Daniel D Rosen
    Author Rachel Shapiro Safran
    Author David H Rosmarin
    Abstract Research suggests that attributing mental illness to moral causes and perceiving it as dangerous relates to greater stigma, whereas belief in biomedical factors is associated with less. Within the family-centric Orthodox Jewish community, mental illness is perceived as a risk to family functioning and future generations, and is therefore stigmatizing of the individual and their family. Since biomedical models may exacerbate these concerns, we hypothesized that unlike within the general population, biological causal attributions would relate to increased stigma among Orthodox Jews. Consequently, we also examined the attitudinal correlates of stigmatization of obsessive-compulsive disorder within the Orthodox community, as measured by both social distance and family/marriage concerns. Results indicated that, unlike previous research, biological models were associated with greater marriage/family stigma, and did not predict less social distance. This suggests that biomedical approaches may increase salient aspects of stigma within the Orthodox community, and clinical practice should be sensitive to these concerns.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 198
    Issue 7
    Pages 508-512
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181e07d99
    ISSN 1539-736X
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:00:09 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20611054
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Health
    • Culture
    • Family Relations
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Jews
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • Middle Aged
    • OBSESSIVE-compulsive disorder
    • prejudice
    • Rejection (Psychology)
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Social Desirability
    • Social Distance
    • Young Adult
  • “Killing the Messenger”: Religious Black Gay Men's Neutralization of Anti-Gay Religious Messages

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard N. Pitt
    Abstract Interviews with 34 black gay Christian men revealed that they managed to reconcile their religious and sexual identities by focusing accusations of illegitimacy on the speaker rather than the doctrine, and by denigrating the speakers’ knowledge, morality, focus, and motivations. In this way, they neutralized the sting of churches’ negative messages by neutralizing the moral authority of the churches’ messengers, allowing them to maintain their identity in the face of stigmatizing rhetoric.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 49
    Issue 1
    Pages 56-72
    Date 03/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01492.x
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title “Killing the Messenger”
    URL http://blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01492.x
    Accessed Wednesday, March 24, 2010 4:39:20 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Notes:

    • Bearing on mental health and religious stances on homosexuality. Desxcribes how religous gay black men reconcile their religious beliefs in the face of stigmatizing church rhetoric by denigrating the authority of the church officiaIs and preachers but not scripture or doctrine itself.

  • The effect of mortality salience and belief in afterlife on the manifestation of homonegativity.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Troy Piwowarski
    Author Andrew Christopher
    Author Mark Walter
    Abstract If derogation of out-groups serves the function of bolstering self-esteem, it is possible that this effect can be counteracted by means of existential relief. Two variables were presented in a 2 × 2 factorial to a population of primarily college students: a mortality salience (MS) variable and an afterlife variable, in which participants read 'scientific' accounts that either supported or denied the existence of a literal afterlife. Homonegativity was utilised as a dependent measure of out-group derogation. In the predicted manner, mortality salience and afterlife variables interacted to predict significantly different levels of homonegativity. When participants were subconsciously primed with MS, their psychological need to derogate dissimilar others was significantly lowered if they were assured of an afterlife. These results demonstrate that the effects of MS can be attenuated by presenting existential relief through assurance of literal afterlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 14
    Issue 3
    Pages 271-279
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903487393
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • Analysis of Variance
    • ATTITUDE (Psychology)
    • CORRELATION (Statistics)
    • death attitudes
    • GAYS
    • MIDDLE West
    • religion
    • SCALE analysis (Psychology)
    • sex
    • T-test (Statistics)
    • UNIVERSITIES & colleges
  • Contemplative practices in action : spirituality, meditation, and health

    Type Book
    Author Thomas Plante
    Place Santa Barbara
    Publisher Praeger
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780313382567
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • Shamans and conventional care: are we prepared?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gregory A Plotnikoff
    Author Charles Numrich
    Author Deu Yang
    Author Chu Yongyuan Wu
    Author Phua Xiong
    Publication HEC Forum: An Interdisciplinary Journal on Hospitals' Ethical and Legal Issues
    Volume 14
    Issue 3
    Pages 271-278
    Date Sep 2002
    Journal Abbr HEC Forum
    ISSN 0956-2737
    Short Title Shamans and conventional care
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12405049
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:06:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12405049
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Cultural Diversity
    • Ethics Committees
    • Female
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Infant
    • Laos
    • Male
    • Minnesota
    • Patient Advocacy
    • Shamanism
    • spirituality
  • Hmong shamanism. Animist spiritual healing in Minnesota

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gregory A Plotnikoff
    Author Charles Numrich
    Author Chu Wu
    Author Deu Yang
    Author Phua Xiong
    Abstract Hmong cultural attitudes, values, and behaviors influence when, where, why, and with whom a Hmong person will use Western medicine. Understanding the practices and importance of Hmong healing traditions will help majority-culture physicians provide respectful and effective health care to Hmong patients. The foremost Hmong traditional healer is the shaman (tu txiv neeb, pronounced "too tse neng"). There is no equivalent health professional in Western biomedicine, and the scope of the shaman as a healer extends beyond the capacities and expertise of physicians. Despite 25 years of Hmong acculturation in the United States and conversion to Christianity, Hmong shamanism maintains its traditional role in health and healing. Many Hmong who see physicians also rely on shamans for restoring health and balance to their body and soul. Thus, the Hmong shaman can be considered a powerful complement to Western health care professionals. This article presents the results of semistructured interviews with 11 Hmong shamans (5 males, 6 females, ranging in age from 35 to 85) and 32 nonrandomly selected Hmong patients (14 males, 18 females ranging in age from 21 to 85). The shamans described their spiritual perspectives, training and skills, and professional activities. Patients described their beliefs about spiritual healing and health care. These interviews suggest that Shamanism is considered effective care by many Hmong, irrespective of age, gender, or degree of acculturation. The article also includes summary charts of Hmong healing practices and concludes with a set of questions designed to help practicing physicians access the assumptions and beliefs of their Hmong patients so that they can provide efficient, effective, and satisfactory care.
    Publication Minnesota Medicine
    Volume 85
    Issue 6
    Pages 29-34
    Date Jun 2002
    Journal Abbr Minn Med
    ISSN 0026-556X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12092436
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:41:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12092436
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Acculturation
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Asian Americans
    • Chronic Disease
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Minnesota
    • Patient Care Team
    • Shamanism
    • Spiritual Therapies

    Notes:

    • Hmong cultural attitudes, values, and behaviors influence when, where, why, and with whom a Hmong person will use Western medicine. Understanding the practices and importance of Hmong healing traditions will help majority-culture physicians provide respectful and effective health care to Hmong patients.

  • Psychiatric severity and spirituality, helping, and participation in alcoholics anonymous during recovery

    Type Journal Article
    Author Douglas L Polcin
    Author Sarah Zemore
    Abstract Although helping others is a critical part of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and many treatment programs, measures for assessing helping and describing its relationship with sobriety are lacking. A sample of 200 subjects completed a Helper Therapy Scale including three subscales: Recovery Helping (alpha = 0.78), Life Helping (alpha = 0.62), and Community Helping (alpha = 0.60). A previous analysis using structural equation modeling found that length of sobriety predicted measures of spirituality, helping, and AA participation. The analysis reported here examined whether psychiatric severity was associated with these variables. Results indicated significant relationships between psychiatric severity and measures of spirituality (Self Transcendence, Forgiveness, Positive Coping, and Negative Coping) and AA Achievement (defined as completing the 12 steps and serving as a sponsor). However, no relationships were found between psychiatric severity and length of sobriety, the three Helper Therapy subscales, or AA involvement. The findings suggest that individuals with higher psychiatric severity may need assistance from their peers or professional service providers to develop a spiritual life, serve as a sponsor for others, or complete the steps of AA.
    Publication The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
    Volume 30
    Issue 3
    Pages 577-592
    Date Aug 2004
    Journal Abbr Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse
    ISSN 0095-2990
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15540494
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 1:07:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15540494
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Alcoholism
    • Female
    • Helping Behavior
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Personality Inventory
    • Psychometrics
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
    • Temperance
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • A sample of 200 subjects completed a Helper Therapy Scale including three subscales: Recovery Helping (alpha = 0.78), Life Helping (alpha = 0.62), and Community Helping (alpha = 0.60). Results indicated significant relationships between psychiatric severity and measures of spirituality (Self Transcendence, Forgiveness, Positive Coping, and Negative Coping) and AA Achievement (defined as completing the 12 steps and serving as a sponsor). However, no relationships were found between psychiatric severity and length of sobriety, the three Helper Therapy subscales, or AA involvement.

  • Divine Relations, Social Relations, and Well-Being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melvin Pollner
    Abstract The social support literature focuses on the effects of networks composed of "real" or concrete individuals on psychological well-being. Persons interact in imagination, however, with a wide range of others who may or may not actually exist. In modern societies as in traditional societies, persons experience, interact with, and appeal to spiritual or divine beings. Using data from the NORC General Social Survey, this study examines the extent to which relationships with "divine others" affect psychological well-being. Regression analysis reveals that divine relationships have a significant effect on several measures of well-being (controlling for sociodemographic background variables and church attendance). Hypotheses regarding the impact of stress, social relationships, cognitive resources, and images of the divine on the effect of divine relationships are also considered.
    Publication Journal of Health and Social Behavior
    Volume 30
    Issue 1
    Pages 92-104
    Date Mar., 1989
    ISSN 00221465
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2136915
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 2:09:30 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 1989 / Copyright © 1989 American Sociological Association
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Using data from the NORC General Social Survey, this study examines the extent to which relationships with “divine others” affect psychological well-being. Regression analysis reveals that divine relationships have a significant effect on several measures of well-being.

  • Religious domains and general well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Margaret M. Poloma
    Author Brian F. Pendleton
    Abstract With only a few notable exceptions, studies on quality of life or general well-being have failed to deal with religiosity in general, and the development of more refined measures of religious meaning and belonging in particular. Data measuring subjective perceptions of well-being for various domains of life, including neighborhood, employment, work at home, education, friends, household members, marital status, standard of living, health and religion were used to form a number of domain scales. Relationships between the multidimensional concepts of well-being and religiosity are explored and the importance of religiosity in defining well-being is tested. Religious satisfaction was found to be important for general life satisfaction and existential well-being. Among the eight indicators and scales of religiosity, various combinations of religious satisfaction, frequency of prayer, prayer experience, and relationship with God, were important predictors of general life satisfaction, existential well-being, and overall happiness. Under no circumstance did any measure of religosity contribute to negative affect.
    Publication Social Indicators Research
    Volume 22
    Issue 3
    Pages 255-276
    Date May 01, 1990
    DOI 10.1007/BF00301101
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00301101
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 4:05:33 PM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Data measuring subjective perceptions of well-being for various domains of life were used to form a number of domain scales. Relationships between the multidimensional concepts of well-being and religiosity are explored and the importance of religiosity in defining well-being is tested. Religious satisfaction was found to be important for general life satisfaction and existential well-being.

    Attachments

    • SpringerLink Snapshot
  • Exploring Types of Prayer and Quality of Life: A Research Note

    Type Journal Article
    Author Margaret M. Poloma
    Author Brian F. Pendleton
    Abstract A review of social science literature reveals that, although most Americans claim to pray, little interest has been shown by researchers in the relationship between types of prayer and quality of life. Survey data that focus on subjective perceptions of quality of life and items measuring the frequency of prayer and forms of religiosity are used to investigate the influence of types of prayer on five quality of life indices. Four distinct types of prayer were revealed through a factor analysis of fifteen prayer activity items, each of which relate differently to the five quality of life measures. Prayer, like its parent concept of religiosity, is clearly multidimensional and contributes to profiling quality of life.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 31
    Issue 1
    Pages 46-53
    Date Sep., 1989
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Exploring Types of Prayer and Quality of Life
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3511023
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 4:04:10 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 1989 / Copyright © 1989 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A review of social science literature reveals that, although most Americans claim to pray, little interest has been shown by researchers in the relationship between types of prayer and quality of life. Survey data that focus on subjective perceptions of quality of life and items measuring the frequency of prayer and forms of religiosity are used to investigate the influence of types of prayer on five quality of life indices.

    Attachments

    • JSTOR Full Text PDF
  • Efficacy and tolerability of yoga breathing in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Luca Pomidori
    Author Federica Campigotto
    Author Tara Man Amatya
    Author Luciano Bernardi
    Author Annalisa Cogo
    Abstract PURPOSE: Yoga-derived breathing has been reported to improve gas exchange in patients with chronic heart failure and in participants exposed to high-altitude hypoxia. We investigated the tolerability and effect of yoga breathing on ventilatory pattern and oxygenation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: Patients with COPD (N = 11, 3 women) without previous yoga practice and taking only short-acting beta2-adrenergic blocking drugs were enrolled. Ventilatory pattern and oxygen saturation were monitored by means of inductive plethysmography during 30-minute spontaneous breathing at rest (sb) and during a 30-minute yoga lesson (y). During the yoga lesson, the patients were requested to mobilize in sequence the diaphragm, lower chest, and upper chest adopting a slower and deeper breathing. We evaluated oxygen saturation (SaO2%), tidal volume (VT), minute ventilation (E), respiratory rate (i>f), inspiratory time, total breath time, fractional inspiratory time, an index of thoracoabdominal coordination, and an index of rapid shallow breathing. Changes in dyspnea during the yoga lesson were assessed with the Borg scale. RESULTS: During the yoga lesson, data showed the adoption of a deeper and slower breathing pattern (VTsb L 0.54[0.04], VTy L 0.74[0.08], P = .01; i>fsb 20.8[1.3], i>fy 13.8[0.2], P = .001) and a significant improvement in SaO2% with no change in E (SaO2%sb 91.5%[1.13], SaO2%y 93.5%[0.99], P = .02; Esb L/min 11.2[1.1], Ey L/min 10.2[0.9]). All the participants reported to be comfortable during the yoga lesson, with no increase in dyspnea index. CONCLUSION: We conclude that short-term training in yoga is well tolerated and induces favorable respiratory changes in patients with COPD.
    Publication Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention
    Volume 29
    Issue 2
    Pages 133-137
    Date 2009 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev
    DOI 10.1097/HCR.0b013e31819a0227
    ISSN 1932-7501
    Short Title Efficacy and tolerability of yoga breathing in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:33:03 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19305239
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Oxygen
    • Pilot Projects
    • Plethysmography
    • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
    • Respiratory Function Tests
    • yoga
  • Theology as Queen and Psychology as Handmaid: The Authority of Theology in Integrative Endeavors.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steve L. Porter
    Abstract In discussions of the integration of theology and psychology, the issue of the relative epistemic authority of the deliverances of theological method and the deliverances of psychological method must be addressed. It is often assumed that the fallible interpretations of Scripture are on an equal footing with the fallible interpretations of psychological research. But this poses a problem for the integrationist in cases in which our best interpretations of Scripture conflict to some degree with our best interpretations of the psychological research. This article presents an epistemological argument for the higher authority of wellgrounded theological claims.
    Publication Journal of Psychology & Christianity
    Volume 29
    Issue 1
    Pages 3-14
    Date 2010
    DOI Article
    ISSN 07334273
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM

    Tags:

    • BIBLE
    • PSYCHOLOGY -- Research
    • PSYCHOLOGY & religion
    • THEOLOGY
    • VIRTUE epistemology
  • Qi Gong and physiotherapy: A narrative review and conceptual synthesis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Posadzki
    Abstract Background The practice of Qi Gong is based on the following assumptions: complexity and multidimensionality, various positive influences on an individual's wholeness through the mind, body, and the relationships between them. In a similar vein, the essence of physiotherapy as a multifaceted process requires teamwork and the efforts of various specialists such as psychologists, sociologists, occupational therapists, and nurses if patients are to benefit.Aims This paper aims to present the conceptual integration of Qi Gong and physiotherapy when considering the essence of their underlying principles. The author also emphasizes the usefulness of Qi Gong practice in clinical units and explains how Qi Gong might be extrapolated and incorporated into the theoretical principles of the physiotherapy process.Methods This paper reviews Qi Gong literature in a narrative manner. Consequently, during the discourse analysis some information regarding Qi Gong's and physiotherapy's essence is derived from the presented data to reveal the underlying core principles and the conceptual interface of both practices on the level of abstraction grounded in the qualitative approaches.Results Within the scope of this article the existence of several similarities between these two `concepts' has been suggested in terms of their multidisciplinary approach toward patients and complexity of holistic care.Discussion Researchers, physiotherapists and their patients as well as Qi Gong practitioners can obtain valuable and additional arguments through the cross-fertilization of ideas across presented studies united by shared, underlying concepts.Conclusion Such conceptual enrichment may be a useful source of inspiration for physiotherapists concerned about their patients' overall health on a daily basis.
    Publication European Journal of Integrative Medicine
    Volume 1
    Issue 3
    Pages 139-144
    Date October 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.eujim.2009.07.001
    ISSN 1876-3820
    Short Title Qi Gong and physiotherapy
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B984N-4X7PPWN-1/2/05bba08dc3d88bb3abff7bc5c4362cc7
    Accessed Wednesday, October 28, 2009 11:17:46 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Concept formation
    • Physiotherapy
    • Qi Gong
    • Review
  • Tai chi and meditation: A conceptual (re)synthesis?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Posadzki
    Author Samantha Jacques
    Abstract The aim of this article is to review the literature on Tai Chi and meditation. A coherent construct is developed that includes a comparative analysis and conceptual synthesis of existing theories. The authors discuss a set of assumptions that justify this synthesis; they also argue that this construct would facilitate greater understanding of Tai Chi from the perspective of meditation. Such synthesis may bring "additional" benefits to Tai Chi practitioners as they could recognize that this mind-body technique holds the essence of meditation. Within the scope of this article, the evidence shows a majority of common features when concerning Tai Chi and meditation. These mutual similarities should be taken into account when performing this type of mind-body medicine by patients and/or therapists. Finally, the authors suggest that this inspiring compilation of movements and mindfulness can be used for practical purposes.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 27
    Issue 2
    Pages 103-114
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0898010108330807
    ISSN 0898-0101
    Short Title Tai chi and meditation
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19443697
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:19:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19443697
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Chronic Disease
    • Coronary Disease
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Mind-Body Therapies
    • Musculoskeletal Diseases
    • Pain
    • Self Efficacy
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Tai Ji

    Notes:

    • The aim of this article is to review the literature on Tai Chi and meditation. A coherent construct is developed that includes a comparative analysis and conceptual synthesis of existing theories. The authors discuss a set of assumptions that justify this synthesis; they also argue that this construct would facilitate greater understanding of Tai Chi from the perspective of meditation. Such synthesis may bring “additional” benefits to Tai Chi practitioners as they could recognize that this mind-body technique holds the essence of meditation. Within the scope of this article, the evidence shows a majority of common features when concerning Tai Chi and meditation. These mutual similarities should be taken into account when performing this type of mind-body medicine by patients and/or therapists. Finally, the authors suggest that this inspiring compilation of movements and mindfulness can be used for practical purposes.

  • Yoga and qigong in the psychological prevention of mental health disorders: a conceptual synthesis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Posadzki
    Author Sheetal Parekh
    Author Nel Glass
    Abstract The study proposes to explore two alternative medicine therapies-qigong and yoga for balancing the essential duo of holistic mind-body and consequently offer a solution for stress, uncertainty, anxiety and depression. Qualitative research methods have been used to create a conceptual synthesis of yoga and qigong. It is suggested that an increased sense of control is the interface between these two modalities. This conceptual congruence of qigong and yoga is thought to be a selective, curative method, a prescription for ideal living and a ground of human essence existence. Furthermore, this essence is thought to enhance the mind's self-regulatory processes and prevent mental health disorders. The two alternative therapies can prevent mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression and, minimize mental health disruptions such as stress and poor quality of life. It is suggested that patients and/or clients can benefifi t from this fusion.
    Publication Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine
    Date Sep 15, 2009
    Journal Abbr Chin J Integr Med
    DOI 10.1007/s11655-009-9002-2
    ISSN 1672-0415
    Short Title Yoga and qigong in the psychological prevention of mental health disorders
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19756398
    Accessed Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:31:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19756398
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The study proposes to explore two alternative medicine therapies-qigong and yoga for balancing the essential duo of holistic mind-body and consequently offer a solution for stress, uncertainty, anxiety and depression.

  • Bidirectional relations of religious orientation and depressive symptoms in adolescents: A short-term longitudinal study.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Patrick Pössel
    Author Nina C. Martin
    Author Judy Garber
    Author Aaron W. Banister
    Author Natalie K. Pickering
    Author Martin Hautzinger
    Abstract Religious orientation can be divided into intrinsic and extrinsic: intrinsically oriented individuals “live their religion,” whereas extrinsically oriented individuals practice religion mainly to gain external benefits. In adults, depression has been found to correlate negatively with intrinsic religious orientation and positively with extrinsic orientation. Studies of the relation between religiosity and depression typically have not been longitudinal, conducted with adolescents, controlled for the influence of other factors associated with depression (i.e., negative cognitions), or examined the reverse relation of depression predicting religious orientation. Our 4-month longitudinal study of 273 ninth-grade students addressed these issues. Results showed that higher intrinsic religious orientation measured at baseline significantly predicted lower self-reported depressive symptoms 4 months later, controlling for initial level of depressive symptoms and cognitive style; in contrast, extrinsic orientation and the interaction between religious orientation and life events did not significantly predict later depressive symptoms. Self-reported depressive symptoms, however, did not predict either intrinsic or extrinsic religious orientation 4 months later. Factors contributing to different findings for adolescents versus adults in the relation between extrinsic religious orientation and depression are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 3
    Issue 1
    Pages 24-38
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0019125
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Short Title Bidirectional relations of religious orientation and depressive symptoms in adolescents
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent Development
    • Adolescent Psychopathology
    • adolescents
    • cognitive style
    • depression
    • Experiences (Events)
    • Major Depression
    • negative life events
    • religiosity
    • religious orientation
  • Religion and spirituality in psychotherapy: a practice-friendly review of research.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brian C. Post
    Author Nathaniel G. Wade
    Abstract The role of religion and spirituality in psychotherapy has received growing attention in the last two decades, with a focus on understanding the ways that religion and spirituality relate to therapists, clients, and treatment methods. The authors reviewed recent empirical research on religion and spirituality in psychotherapy to inform practitioners about effective ways to incorporate the sacred into their clinical work. Three main areas are covered: religion/spirituality and therapists, religion/spirituality and clients, and religious/spiritual interventions. Research indicates that therapists are open to religious/spiritual issues, that clients want to discuss these matters in therapy, and that the use of religious/spiritual interventions for some clients can be an effective adjunct to traditional therapy interventions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 65:131–146, 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 131-146
    Date February 2009
    ISSN 00219762
    Short Title Religion and spirituality in psychotherapy
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • MEDICAL care -- Religious aspects
    • MEDICINE -- Religious aspects
    • MEDICINE -- Research
    • PATIENTS -- Religious life
    • Psychotherapy
    • Spiritual healing
    • spirituality
  • Religion and spirituality. Linkages to physical health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lynda H Powell
    Author Leila Shahabi
    Author Carl E Thoresen
    Abstract Evidence is presented that bears on 9 hypotheses about the link between religion or spirituality and mortality, morbidity, disability, or recovery from illness. In healthy participants, there is a strong, consistent, prospective, and often graded reduction in risk of mortality in church/service attenders. This reduction is approximately 25% after adjustment for confounders. Religion or spirituality protects against cardiovascular disease, largely mediated by the healthy lifestyle it encourages. Evidence fails to support a link between depth of religiousness and physical health. In patients, there are consistent failures to support the hypotheses that religion or spirituality slows the progression of cancer or improves recovery from acute illness but some evidence that religion or spirituality impedes recovery from acute illness. The authors conclude that church/service attendance protects healthy people against death. More methodologically sound studies are needed.
    Publication The American Psychologist
    Volume 58
    Issue 1
    Pages 36-52
    Date Jan 2003
    Journal Abbr Am Psychol
    ISSN 0003-066X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12674817
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:19:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12674817
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cardiovascular Diseases
    • Confounding Factors (Epidemiology)
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Death
    • Disease Progression
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • morbidity
    • mortality
    • Neoplasms
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Risk Factors
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Evidence is presented that bears on 9 hypotheses about the link between religion or spirituality and mortality, morbidity, disability, or illness. In healthy participants, there is a strong, consistent, prospective, and often graded reduction in risk of mortality in church/service attenders. Evidence fails to support a link between depth of religiousness and physical health. In patients, there are consistent failures to support the hypotheses that religion or spirituality slows the progression of cancer or improves recovery from acute illness but some evidence that religion or spirituality impedes recovery from acute illness.

  • Effect of yoga relaxation techniques on performance of digit-letter substitution task by teenagers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Balaram Pradhan
    Author H R Nagendra
    Abstract BACKGROUND/AIMS Memory and selective attention are important skills for academic and professional performance. Techniques to improve these skills are not taught either in education or company training courses. Any system which can systematically improve these skills will be of value in schools, universities, and workplaces. Aims:To investigate possible improvements in memory and selective attention, as measured by the Digit-Letter Substitution Task (DLST), due to practice of Cyclic Meditation (CM), a yoga relaxation technique, as compared to Supine Rest (SR). MATERIALS AND METHODS Subjects consisted of 253 school students, 156 boys, 97 girls, in the age range 13-16 years, who were attending a 10-day yoga training course during summer vacation. The selected subjects had English as their medium of instruction in school and they acted as their own controls. They were allocated to two groups, and tested on the DLST, immediately before and after 22.5 minutes practice of CM on one day, and immediately before and after an equal period of SR on the other day. The first group performed CM on day 9 and SR on day 10. For the second group, the order was reversed. RESULTS Within each group pre-post test differences were significant for both the relaxation techniques. The magnitude of net score improvement was greater after SR (7.85%) compared to CM (3.95%). Significance levels were P < 0.4 × 10(-9)for SR and P < 0.1 × 10(-3) for CM. The number of wrong attempts also increased significantly on both interventions, even after removing two outlier data points on day 1 in the SR group. CONCLUSIONS Both CM and SR lead to improvement in performance on the DLST. However, these relaxation techniques lead to more wrong cancellation errors.
    Publication International Journal of Yoga
    Volume 2
    Issue 1
    Pages 30-34
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Yoga
    DOI 10.4103/0973-6131.43293
    ISSN 0973-6131
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21234213
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21234213
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
  • Immediate effect of two yoga-based relaxation techniques on attention in children

    Type Journal Article
    Author Balaram Pradhan
    Author Hr Nagendra
    Abstract To investigate the effect of two yoga-based relaxation techniques, namely, cyclic meditation (CM) and supine rest (SR), using the six letter cancellation task (SLCT). The subjects consisted of 208 school students, (132 boys, 76 girls) in the age range of 13 - 16 years. The subjects were assessed on SLCT before and immediately after both yoga-based relaxation techniques. After both practices, the total and net scores were significantly increased, although the magnitude of change was more after CM than after SR in the net scores (14.5 versus 11.31%). The net score change in the CM session was significantly larger than the change in the SR, whereas, there was no significant change in the wrong cancellation score. After either practice, the total and net scores were significantly increased, irrespective of gender and age. Both CM and SR led to improvement in performance, as assessed by SLCT, but the change caused by CM was larger than SR.
    Publication International Journal of Yoga
    Volume 3
    Issue 2
    Pages 67-69
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Int J Yoga
    DOI 10.4103/0973-6131.72632
    ISSN 0973-6131
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/21170232
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:19:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21170232
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
  • Immediate effect of slow pace bhastrika pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tapas Pramanik
    Author Hari Om Sharma
    Author Suchita Mishra
    Author Anurag Mishra
    Author Rajesh Prajapati
    Author Smriti Singh
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the immediate effect of slow pace bhastrika pranayama (respiratory rate 6/min) for 5 minutes on heart rate and blood pressure and the effect of the same breathing exercise for the same duration of time (5 minutes) following oral intake of hyoscine-N-butylbromide (Buscopan), a parasympathetic blocker drug. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Heart rate and blood pressure of volunteers (n = 39, age = 25-40 years) was recorded following standard procedure. First, subjects had to sit comfortably in an easy and steady posture (sukhasana) on a fairly soft seat placed on the floor keeping head, neck, and trunk erect, eyes closed, and the other muscles reasonably loose. The subject is directed to inhale through both nostrils slowly up to the maximum for about 4 seconds and then exhale slowly up to the maximum through both nostrils for about 6 seconds. The breathing must not be abdominal. These steps complete one cycle of slow pace bhastrika pranayama (respiratory rate 6/min). During the practice the subject is asked not to think much about the inhalation and exhalation time, but rather was requested to imagine the open blue sky. The pranayama was conducted in a cool, well-ventilated room (18-20 degrees C). After 5 minutes of this breathing practice, the blood pressure and heart rate again were recorded in the aforesaid manner using the same instrument. The other group (n = 10) took part in another study where their blood pressure and heart rate were recorded following half an hour of oral intake of hyoscine-N-butylbromide 20 mg. Then they practiced the breathing exercise as stated above, and the abovementioned parameters were recorded again to study the effect of parasympathetic blockade on the same pranayama. RESULTS: It was noted that after slow bhastrika pranayamic breathing (respiratory rate 6/min) for 5 minutes, both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly with a slight fall in heart rate. No significant alteration in both blood pressure and heart rate was observed in volunteers who performed the same breathing exercise for the same duration following oral intake of hyoscine-N-butylbromide. DISCUSSION: Pranayama increases frequency and duration of inhibitory neural impulses by activating pulmonary stretch receptors during above tidal volume inhalation as in Hering Bruer reflex, which bring about withdrawal of sympathetic tone in the skeletal muscle blood vessels, leading to widespread vasodilatation, thus causing decrease in peripheral resistance and thus decreasing the diastolic blood pressure. After hyoscine-N-butylbromide, the parasympathetic blocker, it was observed that blood pressure was not decreased significantly as a result of pranayama, as it was observed when no drug was administered. CONCLUSIONS: Vagal cardiac and pulmonary mechanisms are linked, and improvement in one vagal limb might spill over into the other. Baroreceptor sensitivity can be enhanced significantly by slow breathing (supported by a small reduction in the heart rate observed during slow breathing and by reduction in both systolic and diastolic pressure). Slow pace bhastrika pranayama (respiratory rate 6/min) exercise thus shows a strong tendency to improving the autonomic nervous system through enhanced activation of the parasympathetic system.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 15
    Issue 3
    Pages 293-295
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0440
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:43:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19249921
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Autonomic Nervous System
    • Blood Pressure
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Female
    • Forced Expiratory Volume
    • Heart Rate
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Reference Values
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Vital Capacity
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • The objective of this study was to evaluate the immediate effect of slow pace bhastrika pranayama (respiratory rate 6/min) for 5 minutes on heart rate and blood pressure and the effect of the same breathing exercise for the same duration of time (5 minutes) following oral intake of hyoscine-N-butylbromide (Buscopan), a parasympathetic blocker drug. Results showed that Vagal cardiac and pulmonary mechanisms are linked, and improvement in one vagal limb might spill over into the other. Baroreceptor sensitivity can be enhanced significantly by slow breathing (supported by a small reduction in the heart rate observed during slow breathing and by reduction in both systolic and diastolic pressure). Slow pace bhastrika pranayama (respiratory rate 6/min) exercise thus shows a strong tendency to improving the autonomic nervous system through enhanced activation of the parasympathetic system.

  • The Frequency of Prayer, Meditation and Holistic Interventions in Addictions Treatment: A National Survey

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul E. Priester
    Author Josh Scherer
    Author Jesse A. Steinfeldt
    Author Asma Jana-Masri
    Author Terri Jashinsky
    Author Janice E. Jones
    Author Cher Vang
    Abstract 91% percent of substance abuse treatment centers studied endorsed a twelve step approach to recovery; 26% actively used prayer; 58% used meditation; and 33% used some form of a self-designated holistic technique.
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 58
    Issue 3
    Pages 315-322
    Date 3/2009
    Journal Abbr Pastoral Psychol
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0196-8
    ISSN 0031-2789
    URL http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s11089-009-0196-8
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
  • The Frequency of Prayer, Meditation and Holistic Interventions in Addictions Treatment: A National Survey.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Priester
    Author Josh Scherer
    Author Jesse Steinfeldt
    Author Asma Jana-Masri
    Author Terri Jashinsky
    Author Janice Jones
    Author Cher Vang
    Abstract This study examines the prevalence of endorsing the twelve step approach and the use of prayer, meditation, and holistic techniques in a national sample of 139 substance abuse treatment centers. Ninety one percent of the programs endorsed a twelve step orientation. Twenty six percent of the programs actively used prayer and 58% used meditation as a component of treatment. Thirty three percent of the programs used some form of a self-designated holistic technique. There was a divergent range of techniques that were used by programs, falling into four broad categories: (1) nutrition, exercise, relaxation and physical health; (2) recreation and adventure-based activities; (3) religious and spiritual practices; and (4) the use of specific therapy modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 58
    Issue 3
    Pages 315-322
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0196-8
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title The Frequency of Prayer, Meditation and Holistic Interventions in Addictions Treatment
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • ADDICTIONS
    • Exercise
    • Meditation
    • prayer
    • RECOVERY movement
    • RECREATION
    • TWELVE-step programs
  • The frequency of prayer, meditation and holistic interventions in addictions treatment: A national survey.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul E. Priester
    Author Josh Scherer
    Author Jesse A. Steinfeldt
    Author Asma Jana-Masri
    Author Terri Jashinsky
    Author Janice E. Jones
    Author Cher Vang
    Abstract This study examines the prevalence of endorsing the twelve step approach and the use of prayer, meditation, and holistic techniques in a national sample of 139 substance abuse treatment centers. Ninety one percent of the programs endorsed a twelve step orientation. Twenty six percent of the programs actively used prayer and 58% used meditation as a component of treatment. Thirty three percent of the programs used some form of a self-designated holistic technique. There was a divergent range of techniques that were used by programs, falling into four broad categories: (1) nutrition, exercise, relaxation and physical health; (2) recreation and adventure-based activities; (3) religious and spiritual practices; and (4) the use of specific therapy modalities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 58
    Issue 3
    Pages 315-322
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0196-8
    ISSN 0031-2789
    Short Title The frequency of prayer, meditation and holistic interventions in addictions treatment
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2009-07075-007&…
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:09:43 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • addictions treatment
    • Drug Addiction
    • Drug Rehabilitation
    • Holistic Health
    • holistic intervention
    • intervention
    • Meditation

    Notes:

    • This study examines the prevalence of endorsing the twelve step approach and the use of prayer, meditation, and holistic techniques in a national sample of 139 substance abuse treatment centers. There was a divergent range of techniques that were used by programs, falling into four broad categories: (1) nutrition, exercise, relaxation and physical health; (2) recreation and adventure-based activities; (3) religious and spiritual practices; and (4) the use of specific therapy modalities.

  • Impact of integrative restoration (iRest) meditation on perceived stress levels in multiple sclerosis and cancer outpatients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Pritchard
    Author Patt Elison-Bowers
    Author Bobbie Birdsall
    Abstract Stress is a common occurrence in many chronically ill patients, and researchers are calling for cost-effective stress-reduction interventions. Meditation techniques have demonstrated a host of benefits for chronically ill patients. The present study examined the effects of a 6-week Yoga Nidra meditation programme on perceived stress in multiple sclerosis and cancer patients. Overall stress was significantly reduced over the course of the programme
    Publication Stress and Health
    Volume 26
    Issue 3
    Pages 233-237
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Stress and Health
    DOI 10.1002/smi.1290
    ISSN 15323005
    URL http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/smi.1290
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • Voices of Experienced Meditators: The Impact of Meditation Practice on Intimate Relationships.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Irene T. Pruitt
    Author Eric E. McCollum
    Abstract Using a qualitative methodology, we explored advanced meditators’ understandings of the effect of the meditation traits on close relationships. Seven participants were interviewed. The meditative traits that the participants identified were (1) awareness of body sensations and emotions; (2) disidentification from emotions and thoughts; (3) acceptance of situations, oneself, and others; and (4) compassion and loving kindness for oneself and others. The relational effects of these traits were (1) less reactivity in relationships; (2) greater freedom and safety in relationships; and (3) a new understanding of the nature of connection between people, marked by unity, separation, intimacy and independence. Implications for further research and for clinical practice are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Contemporary Family Therapy
    Volume 32
    Issue 2
    Pages 135-154
    Date June 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10591-009-9112-8
    ISSN 08922764
    Short Title Voices of Experienced Meditators
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 5:24:01 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • CONCORD
    • Emotions
    • INTIMACY (Psychology)
    • MAN-woman relationships
    • Meditation
    • SENSES & sensation
  • Ageing, Disability and Spirituality: Addressing the Challenge of Disability in Later Life.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Barbara Prynn
    Abstract The article reviews the book "Ageing, Disability and Spirituality: Addressing the Challenge of Disability in Later Life," edited by Elizabeth MacKinlay.
    Publication Journal of Interprofessional Care
    Date Jul 29, 2009
    Journal Abbr J Interprof Care
    DOI 10.1080/13561820903078199
    ISSN 1469-9567
    Short Title Ageing, Disability and Spirituality
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19657940
    Accessed Friday, September 18, 2009 6:31:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19657940
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Sunday, November 27, 2011 6:36:38 AM

    Tags:

    • 1-2
    • prepub

    Notes:

    • <dl id="citationFields" class="citation-fields"><dd><span>The article reviews the book "Ageing, Disability and Spirituality:</span><span> Addressing the Challenge of Disability in Later Life," edited by Elizabeth MacKinlay.</span></dd></dl>

  • Improving the quality of spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care: the report of the Consensus Conference

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christina Puchalski
    Author Betty Ferrell
    Author Rose Virani
    Author Shirley Otis-Green
    Author Pamela Baird
    Author Janet Bull
    Author Harvey Chochinov
    Author George Handzo
    Author Holly Nelson-Becker
    Author Maryjo Prince-Paul
    Author Karen Pugliese
    Author Daniel Sulmasy
    Abstract A Consensus Conference sponsored by the Archstone Foundation of Long Beach, California, was held February 17-18, 2009, in Pasadena, California. The Conference was based on the belief that spiritual care is a fundamental component of quality palliative care. This document and the conference recommendations it includes builds upon prior literature, the National Consensus Project Guidelines, and the National Quality Forum Preferred Practices and Conference proceedings.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 12
    Issue 10
    Pages 885-904
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2009.0142
    ISSN 1557-7740
    Short Title Improving the quality of spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19807235
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 8:07:09 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19807235
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • A profile of the belief system and attitudes to end-of-life decisions of senior clinicians working in a National Health Service Hospital in the United Kingdom

    Type Journal Article
    Author E J Pugh
    Author R Song
    Author V Whittaker
    Author J Blenkinsopp
    Abstract There is evidence from outside the United Kingdom to show that physicians' religious beliefs influence their decision making at the end of life. This UK study explores the belief system of consultants, nurse key workers and specialist registrars and their attitudes to decisions which commonly must be taken when caring for individuals who are dying. All consultants (N = 119), nurse key workers (N = 36) and specialist registrars (N = 44) working in an acute hospital in the north-east of England were asked to complete a postal questionnaire. In all, 65% of consultants, 67% of nurse key workers and 41% of specialist registrars responded. Results showed that consultants' religion and belief systems differed from those of nurses and the population they served. Consultants and nurses had statistically significant differences in their attitudes to common end of life decisions with consultants more likely to continue hydration and not withdraw treatment. Nurses were more sympathetic to the idea of physician-assisted suicide for unbearable suffering. This study shows the variability in belief system and attitudes to end of life decision making both within and between clinical groups. This may have practical implications for the clinical care given and the place of care. The personal belief system of consultants was not shown to affect their overall attitudes to withdrawing life-sustaining treatment or physician-assisted suicide.
    Publication Palliative Medicine
    Volume 23
    Issue 2
    Pages 158-164
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1177/0269216308100248
    ISSN 1477-030X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19073784
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19073784
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude of Health Personnel
    • Attitude to Death
    • Communication
    • Decision Making
    • Female
    • Great Britain
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Medical Staff, Hospital
    • Middle Aged
    • National Health Programs
    • Nursing Staff, Hospital
    • Palliative Care
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Suicide, Assisted
    • Terminal Care
    • Withholding Treatment
    • Young Adult
  • Religious Practice and Spirituality in the Psychological Adjustment of Survivors of Breast Cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jason Q Purnell
    Author Barbara L Andersen
    Author James P Wilmot
    Abstract Religion and spirituality are resources regularly used by patients with cancer coping with diagnosis and treatment, yet there is little research that examines these factors separately. This study investigated the relationships between religious practice and spirituality and quality of life (QoL) and stress in survivors of breast cancer. The sample included 130 women assessed 2 years following diagnosis. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, the authors found that spiritual well-being was significantly associated with QoL and traumatic stress, whereas religious practice was not significantly associated with these variables. The results suggest that it may be helpful for clinicians to address spirituality, in particular with survivors of breast cancer.
    Publication Counseling and Values
    Volume 53
    Issue 3
    Pages 165
    Date Apr 1, 2009
    Journal Abbr Couns Values
    ISSN 0160-7960
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:32:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20098664
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
  • A forty-five year follow-up EEG study of Qigong practice

    Type Journal Article
    Author Zhen Qin
    Author Yi Jin
    Author Shin Lin
    Author Neal S Hermanowicz
    Abstract A follow-up EEG study was conducted on a subject with 50 years of experiences in Qigong. Resting EEG at present showed frontally dominant alpha-1 as compared to occipitally dominant alpha-2 described in 1962. During the Qigong practice alph-1 enhanced quickly and became far more prominent than 50 years ago. Compared with baseline, these activities remained to be higher at rest after the Qigong practice. These results suggest that extended practice in meditation may change the EEG pattern and its underlying neurophysiology. It remains to be explored as to what biological significance and clinical relevance do these physiological changes might mean.
    Publication The International Journal of Neuroscience
    Volume 119
    Issue 4
    Pages 538-552
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Int. J. Neurosci
    DOI 10.1080/00207450802325520
    ISSN 1563-5279
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19229721
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:01:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19229721
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Brain
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Electroencephalography
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation

    Notes:

    • A follow-up EEG study was conducted on a subject with 50 years of experiences in Qigong. Resting EEG at present showed frontally dominant alpha-1 as compared to occipitally dominant alpha-2 described in 1962. During the Qigong practice alph-1 enhanced quickly and became far more prominent than 50 years ago. Compared with baseline, these activities remained to be higher at rest after the Qigong practice. These results suggest that extended practice in meditation may change the EEG pattern and its underlying neurophysiology. It remains to be explored as to what biological significance and clinical relevance do these physiological changes might mean.

  • The relationship between religiosity and health behaviors in female caregivers of older adults with dementia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yaron G Rabinowitz
    Author Brent T Mausbach
    Author Philip J Atkinson
    Author Dolores Gallagher-Thompson
    Abstract The current study explored the relationship between three dimensions of religiosity: (a) organizational religiosity (e.g. attendance at religious events), (b) non-organizational religiosity (e.g. prayer), and (c) subjective religiosity (e.g. importance of religion) and caregiver health behavior patterns in a sample of Latina and Caucasian female caregivers of older adult relatives with dementia. It was hypothesized that religiosity would have a significant association with reduced cumulative health risk as determined by an index of health behaviors. It was also hypothesized that, when examining the individual health behaviors subsumed in the overarching index, religiosity would be positively associated with adaptive health behaviors like exercise and negatively associated with health risk behaviors like smoking. Amongst Caucasians, increased subjective religiosity was related to increased cumulative health risk. Conversely, in Latinas, non-organizational religiosity was positively correlated with improved dietary practices (reduced dietary restriction). Increased levels of subjective religiosity were significantly associated with decreased maintenance of a routine exercise regimen across ethnic groups. Recommendations for clinicians and religious leaders, and avenues of future research are discussed.
    Publication Aging & Mental Health
    Volume 13
    Issue 6
    Pages 788-798
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Aging Ment Health
    DOI 10.1080/13607860903046446
    ISSN 1364-6915
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19888699
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:58:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19888699
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Is religious coping associated with cumulative health risk? An examination of religious coping styles and health behavior patterns in Alzheimer’s Dementia caregivers.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yaron G. Rabinowitz
    Author Mark G. Hartlaub
    Author Ericka C. Saenz
    Author Larry W. Thompson
    Author Dolores Gallagher-Thompson
    Abstract The current study explored the relationship between religious coping and cumulative health risk associated with health behavior patterns in a sample of 256 Latina and Caucasian female caregivers of elderly relatives with dementia. Primary analyses examined the relationship between religious coping (both positive and negative) and an overall index of cumulative health risk. Secondary analyses were conducted on the individual health behaviors subsumed in the broader index. Findings revealed that negative religious coping was significantly associated with increased cumulative health risk. Positive religious coping was predictive of decreased cumulative health risk among Latina caregivers but not among Caucasians. Negative religious coping was significantly associated with both an increased likelihood for weight gain and increased dietary restriction. Positive religious coping was associated with decreased likelihood for weight gain in Latinas. Implications for both caregivers and clinicians are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 498-512
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9300-8
    ISSN 0022-4197
    Short Title Is religious coping associated with cumulative health risk?
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Tags:

    • Alzheimer’s Dementia caregivers
    • Alzheimer's Disease
    • Caregivers
    • Coping Behavior
    • cumulative health risk
    • Dementia
    • Health Behavior
    • health behavior patterns
    • religious coping styles
    • Risk Assessment
  • Mindfulness and reduced cognitive reactivity to sad mood: evidence from a correlational study and a non-randomized waiting list controlled study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Filip Raes
    Author David Dewulf
    Author Cees Van Heeringen
    Author J Mark G Williams
    Abstract Cognitive Reactivity (CR) refers to the degree to which a mild dysphoric state reactivates negative thinking patterns, and it has been found to play a key causal role in depressive relapse. Although Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) directly aims to address this mechanism of CR, the relationship between mindfulness and CR has not been tested to date. Using a cross-sectional design (Study 1; n = 164) and a non-randomized waiting list controlled design (Study 2; MBCT [n = 18] vs. waiting list [n = 21]), the authors examined the relationship between naturally occurring levels of mindfulness (Study 1) and MBCT (Study 2) on the one hand, and CR on the other hand. In line with predictions, it was found that (a) trait mindfulness is significantly negatively correlated with CR, even when controlled for current depressive symptoms and prior history of depression (Study 1), and that (b) MBCT, compared to a matched control group, significantly reduces CR, and that this effect of MBCT on reduction of CR is mediated by a positive change in mindfulness skills (Study 2). Results provide first evidence for the claim that mindfulness practices in MBCT are designed to address the process of CR.
    Publication Behaviour Research and Therapy
    Volume 47
    Issue 7
    Pages 623-627
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Behav Res Ther
    DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2009.03.007
    ISSN 1873-622X
    Short Title Mindfulness and reduced cognitive reactivity to sad mood
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:24:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19362705
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
  • Active survival in the lives of unaccompanied minors: coping strategies, resilience, and the relevance of religion

    Type Journal Article
    Author Muireann Ní Raghallaigh
    Author Robbie Gilligan
    Abstract Asylum-seeking unaccompanied minors contend with numerous challenges as they adjust to living in a new country. Although increasing attention has been paid to their capacity for resilience, little research has been done on the exact manner in which they cope. This paper describes some of the insights gleaned from a qualitative study undertaken with unaccompanied minors living in Ireland. Six different coping strategies are identified, namely: (1) Maintaining continuity in a changed context, (2) Adjusting by learning and changing, (3) Adopting a positive outlook, (4) Suppressing emotions and seeking distraction, (5) Acting independently, and (6) Distrusting. These are described in turn. Particular attention is paid to the role of religion in relation to the participants' coping strategies.
    Publication Child & Family Social Work
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 226-237
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2206.2009.00663.x
    Short Title Active survival in the lives of unaccompanied minors
    Accessed Saturday, May 08, 2010 4:26:55 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Stress reduction programs in patients with elevated blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maxwell V Rainforth
    Author Robert H Schneider
    Author Sanford I Nidich
    Author Carolyn Gaylord-King
    Author John W Salerno
    Author James W Anderson
    Abstract Substantial evidence indicates that psychosocial stress contributes to hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous meta-analyses of stress reduction and high blood pressure (BP) were outdated and/or methodologically limited. Therefore, we conducted an updated systematic review of the published literature and identified 107 studies on stress reduction and BP. Seventeen trials with 23 treatment comparisons and 960 participants with elevated BP met criteria for well-designed randomized controlled trials and were replicated within intervention categories. Meta-analysis was used to calculate BP changes for biofeedback, -0.8/-2.0 mm Hg (P = NS); relaxation-assisted biofeedback, +4.3/+2.4 mm Hg (P = NS); progressive muscle relaxation, -1.9/-1.4 mm Hg (P = NS); stress management training, -2.3/-1.3 mm (P = NS); and the Transcendental Meditation program, -5.0/-2.8 mm Hg (P = 0.002/0.02). Available evidence indicates that among stress reduction approaches, the Transcendental Meditation program is associated with significant reductions in BP. Related data suggest improvements in other CVD risk factors and clinical outcomes.
    Publication Current Hypertension Reports
    Volume 9
    Issue 6
    Pages 520-528
    Date Dec 2007
    Journal Abbr Curr. Hypertens. Rep
    ISSN 1522-6417
    Short Title Stress reduction programs in patients with elevated blood pressure
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18350109
    Accessed Thursday, September 03, 2009 12:55:23 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18350109
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Biofeedback (Psychology)
    • Blood Pressure
    • Cardiovascular Diseases
    • Evidence-Based Medicine
    • Humans
    • Hypertension
    • Meditation
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • Substantial evidence indicates that psychosocial stress contributes to hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous meta-analyses of stress reduction and high blood pressure (BP) were outdated and/or methodologically limited. Therefore, we conducted an updated systematic review of the published literature and identified 107 studies on stress reduction and BP. Seventeen trials with 23 treatment comparisons and 960 participants with elevated BP met criteria for well-designed randomized controlled trials and were replicated within intervention categories. Meta-analysis was used to calculate BP changes for biofeedback, -0.8/-2.0 mm Hg (P = NS); relaxation-assisted biofeedback, +4.3/+2.4 mm Hg (P = NS); progressive muscle relaxation, -1.9/-1.4 mm Hg (P = NS); stress management training, -2.3/-1.3 mm (P = NS); and the Transcendental Meditation program, -5.0/-2.8 mm Hg (P = 0.002/0.02). Available evidence indicates that among stress reduction approaches, the Transcendental Meditation program is associated with significant reductions in BP. Related data suggest improvements in other CVD risk factors and clinical outcomes.

  • Spirituality and depression: the role of spirituality in the process of recovering from depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sarojni Rajakumar
    Author Carol Jillings
    Author Margaret Osborne
    Author Paula Tognazzini
    Abstract Although there is increasing recognition of the influence of spirituality in health and healing, the understanding and provision of spiritual care in psychiatric practice, especially how spirituality helps in recovering from depression, has not kept pace with this trend. This study explored the role of spirituality in the process of recovering from depression. The findings revealed that spirituality played a significant role for participants in their recovery from depression and that it was experienced as connections. Connections enabled participants to form relationships with God/Higher Power, self, others and nature, and through these relationships participants found meaning and purpose in their lives. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
    Publication Spirituality and Health International
    Volume 9
    Issue 2
    Pages 90-101
    Date 2008
    DOI 10.1002/shi.333
    Short Title Spirituality and depression
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/shi.333
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 10:54:58 AM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study explored the role of spirituality in the process of recovering from depression. The findings revealed that spirituality played a significant role for participants in their recovery from depression and that it was experienced as connections. Connections enabled participants to form relationships with God/Higher Power, self, others and nature, and through these relationships participants found meaning and purpose in their lives.

  • Effects of integrated yoga on quality of life and interpersonal relationship of pregnant women.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Abbas Rakhshani
    Author Satyapriya Maharana
    Author Nagarathna Raghuram
    Author Hongasandra R. Nagendra
    Author Padmalatha Venkatram
    Abstract Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of integrated yoga on the quality of life and interpersonal relationships in normal pregnant women. Methods: One hundred and two pregnant women between 18 and 20 weeks of gestation who met the inclusion criteria were recruited from the obstetric units in Bangalore and were randomly assigned to two groups of yoga ( n = 51) and control ( n = 51). Women with medical conditions that could potentially lead to pregnancy complications and those with abnormal fetal parameters were excluded. The yoga group received integrated yoga while control group received standard antenatal exercises, both for 1-h three times a week from 20th to 36th week of gestation. Pre and post assessments were done using WHOQOL-100 and FIRO-B questionnaires. Results: Of the six domains of WHOQOL-100, between groups analysis showed significant improvements in the yoga group compared to the control in the physical ( P = 0.001), psychological ( P < 0.001), social ( P = 0.003), and environmental domains ( P = 0.001). In FIRO-B, the yoga group showed significant improvements in 'Expressed Inclusion' ( P = 0.02) and 'Wanted Control' ( P = 0.009) domains compared to the control group. Conclusion: The integrated yoga is an efficacious means of improving the quality of life of pregnant women and enhancing certain aspects of their interpersonal relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Quality of Life Research
    Volume 19
    Issue 10
    Pages 1447-1455
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s11136-010-9709-2
    ISSN 09629343
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Tags:

    • Interpersonal Relations
    • MAN-woman relationships
    • Pregnancy
    • Quality of Life
    • WOMEN -- Health & hygiene
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • This study finds that integrated yoga has positive effects on the quality of life and some aspects of interpersonal relations of pregnant women.  The study does not address how these results might compare to non-pregnant women or men who undertake such practices.

  • Development of the Multidimensional Hope Scale

    Type Journal Article
    Author E H Raleigh
    Author S Boehm
    Abstract In this psychometric study, a scale to measure hope in chronically ill patients was developed and evaluated. Four hundred fifty participants with a variety of chronic diagnoses completed two forms of the Multidimensional Hope Scale (MHS) (state and trait) and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). High levels of internal consistency (alpha = .95) and test-retest reliability (r = .82, p < .001) were estimated for the state form. Good concurrent validity was also indicated with a significant negative correlation between the MHS and the BHS (r = -.45, p < .001). Factor analysis using principal axis factoring and oblimin rotation identified six factors: Resource to Others, Civic Interest, Spirituality, Health, Social Support, and Self-Actualization. The psychometric data suggest a promising tool for measuring hopefulness in physically ill individuals.
    Publication Journal of Nursing Measurement
    Volume 2
    Issue 2
    Pages 155-167
    Date 1994
    Journal Abbr J Nurs Meas
    ISSN 1061-3749
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7780770
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:19:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 7780770
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Chronic Disease
    • Evaluation Studies as Topic
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Morale
    • Psychometrics
    • Questionnaires
    • Reproducibility of Results

    Notes:

    • In this psychometric study, a scale to measure hope in chronically ill patients was developed and evaluated. The psychometric data suggest a promising tool for measuring hopefulness in physically ill individuals.

  • Conversion Studies, Pastoral Counseling, and Cultural Studies: Engaging and Embracing a New Paradigm

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lewis R. Rambo
    Abstract This paper is an invitation to explore ways in which the study of conversion, pastoral counseling, and cultural studies may be mutually enriching. The author will provide a survey of contemporary conversion studies with the goal of encouraging pastoral counselors and psychotherapists to include the study of conversion as an integral part of their agenda. It will also suggest means by which the field of pastoral counseling may be beneficial to conversion scholars during a time when the study of conversion is not only enjoying a rebirth of interest, but also an astonishing transformation of meanings, methods, and paradigms. Since conversion studies, once the province of evangelical Christians and rather specialized scholars in the psychology and sociology of religion, now involve anthropologists, historians, theologians, religious studies researchers, and new approaches to the phenomenon within psychology and sociology have emerged, this paper will explore some of these developments. It is time for pastoral theologians and pastoral counselors to re-engage both the phenomenon and study of conversion. It will also argue for an interdisciplinary approach inclusive of various perspectives, one that focuses on specific domains of research and theoretical critique and refinement.
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 59
    Issue 4
    Pages 433-445
    Date 2010 August
    Journal Abbr Pastoral Psychol
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-009-0202-1
    ISSN 0031-2789
    URL http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s11089-009-0202-1
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
  • Religious and spiritual beliefs of gynecologic oncologists may influence medical decision making

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lois Ramondetta
    Author Alaina Brown
    Author Gwyn Richardson
    Author Diana Urbauer
    Author Premal H Thaker
    Author Harold G Koenig
    Author Jacalyn B Gano
    Author Charlotte Sun
    Abstract BACKGROUND Religious (R) and spiritual (S) beliefs often affect patients' health care decisions, particularly with regard to care at the end of life. Furthermore, patients desire more R/S involvement by the medical community; however, physicians typically do not incorporate R/S assessment into medical interviews with patients. The effects of physicians' R/S beliefs on willingness to participate in controversial clinical practices such as medical abortions and physician-assisted suicide has been evaluated, but how a physician's R/S beliefs may affect other medical decision-making is unclear. METHODS Using SurveyMonkey, an online survey tool, we surveyed 1972 members of the International Gynecologic Oncologists Society and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists to determine the R/S characteristics of gynecologic oncologists and whether their R/S beliefs affected their clinical practice. Demographics, religiosity, and spirituality data were collected. Physicians were also asked to evaluate 5 complex case scenarios. RESULTS : Two hundred seventy-three (14%) physicians responded. Sixty percent "agreed" or "somewhat agreed" that their R/S beliefs were a source of personal comfort. Forty-five percent reported that their R/S beliefs ("sometimes," "frequently," or "always") play a role in the medical options they offered patients, but only 34% "frequently" or "always" take a R/S history from patients. Interestingly, 90% reported that they consider patients' R/S beliefs when discussing end-of-life issues. Responses to case scenarios largely differed by years of experience, although age and R/S beliefs also had influence. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that gynecologic oncologists' R/S beliefs may affect patient care but that most physicians fail to take an R/S history from their patients. More work needs to be done to evaluate possible barriers that prevent physicians from taking a spiritual history and engaging in discussions over these matters with patients.
    Publication International Journal of Gynecological Cancer: Official Journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society
    Volume 21
    Issue 3
    Pages 573-581
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr Int. J. Gynecol. Cancer
    DOI 10.1097/IGC.0b013e31820ba507
    ISSN 1525-1438
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21436706
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:02:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21436706
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM

    Notes:

    • A study on how a physician's religious and spiritual beliefs may affect other medical decision-making. The study surveyed 1972 members of the International Gynecologic Oncologists Society and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists to determine the religious/spirituality characteristics of gynecologic oncologists and whether their religious/spiritual beliefs affected their clinical practice. Demographics, religiosity, and spirituality data were collected.

  • Impact of Yoga Nidra on psychological general wellbeing in patients with menstrual irregularities: A randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Khushbu Rani
    Author Sc Tiwari
    Author Uma Singh
    Author Gg Agrawal
    Author Archana Ghildiyal
    Author Neena Srivastava
    Abstract BACKGROUND Yogic relaxation therapy (Yoga Nidra) has been effectively prescribed in conjunction with other medical and yogic procedures in the management of severe psychosomatic diseases, including cancer, bronchial asthma, colitis, peptic ulcer and menstrual irregularities. AIM OF THE STUDY To assess the impact of Yoga Nidra on psychological problems in patients with menstrual disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients were recruited from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, C.S.M. Medical University (erstwhile KGMU), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. A total of 150 female subjects were randomly divided into two groups: 1) group of 75 subjects (with yogic intervention) and 2) a control group of 75 subjects (without yogic intervention). Assessment of psychological general wellbeing (tool) was used for all the subjects Assessment of psychological general well being (tool) was used for all the subjects (Cases and controls). This assessment was done twice first time in the beginning (baseline) and then after six months. RESULTS Anxiety decreased significantly (P<0.003) and depression decreased significantly (P<0.01) in the Yoga group. Positive wellbeing and general health improved significantly (P<0.02), and vitality improved significantly (P<0.01) after six months of Yoga therapy (Yoga Nidra) in the Yoga group compared with the control group. CONCLUSION The current findings suggest that patients with menstrual irregularities having psychological problems improved significantly in the areas of their wellbeing, anxiety and depression by learning and applying a program based on Yogic intervention (Yoga Nidra).
    Publication International Journal of Yoga
    Volume 4
    Issue 1
    Pages 20-25
    Date Jan 2011
    Journal Abbr Int J Yoga
    DOI 10.4103/0973-6131.78176
    ISSN 0973-6131
    Short Title Impact of Yoga Nidra on psychological general wellbeing in patients with menstrual irregularities
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21654971
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21654971
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
  • Health care-seeking among Latino immigrants: blocked access, use of traditional medicine, and the role of religion

    Type Journal Article
    Author H Edward Ransford
    Author Frank R Carrillo
    Author Yessenia Rivera
    Abstract Barriers to health care and use of cultural alternatives are studied from open-ended interviews of 96 Latino immigrants, 12 hometown association leaders, and five pastors and health outreach workers. Frequently mentioned barriers to approaching hospitals and clinics included problems in communication, establishing financial eligibility, and extremely long waits for service. We found frequent use of cultural alternatives, such as herbal medications, obtaining care from Mexican doctors, and some use of traditional healers. The role of religiosity is studied: prayer is viewed as fundamental to health, but the church is not perceived as an aid in physical health-seeking. Health care for Latino immigrants often involves a blend of mainstream and traditional medicine; the study discusses examples of respondents who navigate between the two systems within the interplay of culture and structure.
    Publication Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
    Volume 21
    Issue 3
    Pages 862-878
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr J Health Care Poor Underserved
    DOI 10.1353/hpu.0.0348
    ISSN 1548-6869
    Short Title Health care-seeking among Latino immigrants
    Accessed Monday, August 30, 2010 5:00:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20693732
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
  • Anxiolytic effects of a yoga program in early breast cancer patients undergoing conventional treatment: a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Raghavendra Rao
    Author Nagarathna Raghuram
    Author H R Nagendra
    Author K S Gopinath
    Author B S Srinath
    Author Ravi B Diwakar
    Author Shekar Patil
    Author S Ramesh Bilimagga
    Author Nalini Rao
    Author S Varambally
    Abstract OBJECTIVES This study compares the anxiolytic effects of a yoga program and supportive therapy in breast cancer outpatients undergoing conventional treatment at a cancer centre. METHODS Ninety-eight stage II and III breast cancer outpatients were randomly assigned to receive yoga (n=45) or brief supportive therapy (n=53) prior to their primary treatment i.e., surgery. Only those subjects who received surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy and six cycles of chemotherapy were chosen for analysis following intervention (yoga, n=18, control, n=20). Intervention consisted of yoga sessions lasting 60min daily while the control group was imparted supportive therapy during their hospital visits as a part of routine care. Assessments included Speilberger's State Trait Anxiety Inventory and symptom checklist. Assessments were done at baseline, after surgery, before, during, and after radiotherapy and chemotherapy. RESULTS A GLM-repeated measures ANOVA showed overall decrease in both self-reported state anxiety (p<0.001) and trait anxiety (p=0.005) in yoga group as compared to controls. There was a positive correlation between anxiety states and traits with symptom severity and distress during conventional treatment intervals. CONCLUSION The results suggest that yoga can be used for managing treatment-related symptoms and anxiety in breast cancer outpatients.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Medicine
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-8
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctim.2008.05.005
    ISSN 1873-6963
    Short Title Anxiolytic effects of a yoga program in early breast cancer patients undergoing conventional treatment
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19114222
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19114222
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anti-Anxiety Agents
    • Anxiety
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • COMBINED modality therapy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • This study compares the anxiolytic effects of a yoga program and supportive therapy in breast cancer outpatients undergoing conventional treatment at a cancer centre.

  • Spirituality, religion and suicidal behavior in a nationally representative sample

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel T Rasic
    Author Shay-Lee Belik
    Author Brenda Elias
    Author Laurence Y Katz
    Author Murray Enns
    Author Jitender Sareen
    Abstract BACKGROUND Studies show that religion and spirituality are associated with decreased rates of mental illness. Some studies show decreased rates of suicide in religious populations, but the association between religion, spirituality and suicidal behaviors in people with mental illness are understudied. Few studies have examined the influence of social supports in these relationships. METHODS Data were drawn from the Canadian Community Health Survey 1.2. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between spiritual values and religious worship attendance with twelve-month suicidal ideation and attempts. Regressions were adjusted for sociodemographic factors and social supports. Interaction variables were then tested to examine possible effect modification by presence of a mental disorder. RESULTS Identifying oneself as spiritual was associated with decreased odds of suicide attempt (adjusted odds ratio-1 [AOR-1]=0.65, CI: 0.44-0.96) but was not significant after adjusting for social supports. Religious attendance was associated with decreased odds of suicidal ideation (AOR-1=0.64, 95% CI: 0.53-0.77) but not after adjusting for social supports. Religious attendance was associated with decreased odds of suicide attempt and remained significant after adjusting for social supports (AOR-2=0.38, 95% CI: 0.17-0.89). No significant interaction effects were observed between any of the tested mental disorders and religion, spirituality and suicidal behavior. LIMITATIONS This was a cross-sectional survey and causality of relationships cannot be inferred. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that religious attendance is associated with decreased suicide attempts in the general population and in those with a mental illness independent of the effects of social supports.
    Publication Journal of Affective Disorders
    Volume 114
    Issue 1-3
    Pages 32-40
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Affect Disord
    DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2008.08.007
    ISSN 1573-2517
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18799219
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18799219
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Canada
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Odds Ratio
    • Risk Assessment
    • Risk Factors
    • social support
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • spirituality
    • Suicide
    • Suicide, Attempted
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This study suggests that religious attendance is associated with decreased suicide attempts in the general population and in those with a mental illness independent of the effects of social supports.

  • Longitudinal relationships of religious worship attendance and spirituality with major depression, anxiety disorders, and suicidal ideation and attempts: Findings from the Baltimore epidemiologic catchment area study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel Rasic
    Author Jennifer A. Robinson
    Author James Bolton
    Author O. Joseph Bienvenu
    Author Jitender Sareen
    Abstract <p><br/>We present findings on the longitudinal relationships of religious worship attendance and seeking spiritual comfort with subsequent major depression, anxiety disorders and suicidal ideation/attempts using data from Waves 3 and 4 of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study (N = 1091). Respondents who attended religious services at least once per year had decreased odds of subsequent suicide attempts compared with those who did not attend religious services (AOR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.13-0.84). Seeking spiritual comfort at baseline was associated with decreased odds of suicidal ideation (AOR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.31-0.99). These finding were independent of the effects of the presence of the suicidal ideation/attempts, comorbid mental disorders, social supports and chronic physical conditions at baseline. These results suggest that religious attendance is possibly an independent protective factor against suicide attempts.</p>
    Publication Journal of Psychiatric Research
    Volume 45
    Issue 6
    Pages 848-854
    Date June 2011
    DOI 16/j.jpsychires.2010.11.014
    ISSN 0022-3956
    Short Title Longitudinal relationships of religious worship attendance and spirituality with major depression, anxiety disorders, and suicidal ideation and attempts
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395610003407
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 7:03:22 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Major Depression
    • religion
    • Religious attendance
    • Social supports
    • spirituality
    • Suicide
  • Spirituality, religion and suicidal behavior in a nationally representative sample

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel T Rasic
    Author Shay-Lee Belik
    Author Brenda Elias
    Author Laurence Y Katz
    Author Murray Enns
    Author Jitender Sareen
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Studies show that religion and spirituality are associated with decreased rates of mental illness. Some studies show decreased rates of suicide in religious populations, but the association between religion, spirituality and suicidal behaviors in people with mental illness are understudied. Few studies have examined the influence of social supports in these relationships. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Canadian Community Health Survey 1.2. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between spiritual values and religious worship attendance with twelve-month suicidal ideation and attempts. Regressions were adjusted for sociodemographic factors and social supports. Interaction variables were then tested to examine possible effect modification by presence of a mental disorder. RESULTS: Identifying oneself as spiritual was associated with decreased odds of suicide attempt (adjusted odds ratio-1 [AOR-1]=0.65, CI: 0.44-0.96) but was not significant after adjusting for social supports. Religious attendance was associated with decreased odds of suicidal ideation (AOR-1=0.64, 95% CI: 0.53-0.77) but not after adjusting for social supports. Religious attendance was associated with decreased odds of suicide attempt and remained significant after adjusting for social supports (AOR-2=0.38, 95% CI: 0.17-0.89). No significant interaction effects were observed between any of the tested mental disorders and religion, spirituality and suicidal behavior. LIMITATIONS: This was a cross-sectional survey and causality of relationships cannot be inferred. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that religious attendance is associated with decreased suicide attempts in the general population and in those with a mental illness independent of the effects of social supports.
    Publication Journal of Affective Disorders
    Volume 114
    Issue 1-3
    Pages 32-40
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Affect Disord
    DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2008.08.007
    ISSN 1573-2517
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18799219
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:28:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18799219
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Canada
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Odds Ratio
    • Risk Assessment
    • Risk Factors
    • social support
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • spirituality
    • Suicide
    • Suicide, Attempted
    • Young Adult
  • Scientific naturalism and the neurology of religious experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Matthew J. Ratcliffe
    Abstract In this paper, I consider V. S. Ramachandran's in-principle agnosticism concerning whether neurological studies of religious experience can be taken as support for the claim that God really does communicate with people during religious experiences. Contra Ramachandran, I argue that it is by no means obvious that agnosticism is the proper scientific attitude to adopt in relation to this claim. I go on to show how the questions of whether it is (1) a scientifically testable claim and (2) a plausible hypothesis, serve to open up some important philosophical issues concerning interpretive backgrounds that are presupposed in the assessment of scientific hypotheses. More specifically, I argue that naturalism or scientific objectivism in its various forms is not simply a neutral or default methodological backdrop for empirical inquiry but involves acceptance of a specific ontology, which functions as an implicit and unargued constitutive commitment. Hence, these neurological studies can be employed as a lever with which to disclose something of the ways in which different frameworks of interpretation, both theistic and atheistic, serve differently to structure and give meaning to empirical findings.
    Publication Religious Studies
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 323-345
    Date 2003
    ISSN 0034-4125
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001526321&…
    Accessed Sunday, October 11, 2009 2:12:36 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Agnosticism
    • EMPIRICISM
    • Experience (Religion)
    • Neurosciences
    • peer reviewed
    • Ramachandran, V S.
    • Science and religion
    • Science--Methodology

    Notes:

    • In this paper, I consider V. S. Ramachandran’s in-principle agnosticism concerning whether neurological studies of religious experience can be taken as support for the claim that God really does communicate with people during religious experiences. Contra Ramachandran, I argue that it is by no means obvious that agnosticism is the proper scientific attitude to adopt in relation to this claim. I go on to show how the questions of whether it is (1) a scientifically testable claim and (2) a plausible hypothesis, serve to open up some important philosophical issues concerning interpretive backgrounds that are presupposed in the assessment of scientific hypotheses. More specifically, I argue that naturalism or scientific objectivism in its various forms is not simply a neutral or default methodological backdrop for empirical inquiry but involves acceptance of a specific ontology, which functions as an implicit and unargued constitutive commitment. Hence, these neurological studies can be employed as a lever with which to disclose something of the ways in which different frameworks of interpretation, both theistic and atheistic, serve differently to structure and give meaning to empirical findings.

  • Scientific ways to study intercessory prayer as an intervention in clinical research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Linda L Rath
    Abstract The purpose of this article is to share a "research journey" to study the somewhat controversial subject of Christian intercessory prayer (CIP) utilized as a clinical intervention, and the knowledge gained along the way. This article will explore the steps in the development and implementation of clinical research to scientifically examine a phenomenon that many say cannot--and should not--be studied. The sequential steps in developing this area of study are detailed and explained from the conception of the initial idea through utilization of concept analysis and literature review to develop the researchable topic. The subsequent development of both qualitative and quantitative pilot studies to investigate CIP in depth is presented to illustrate how the intervention of CIP can successfully be incorporated into clinical research. This article provides guidelines for future researchers who may want to utilize CIP as an intervention.
    Publication The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing
    Volume 23
    Issue 1
    Pages 71-77
    Date 2009 Jan-Mar
    Journal Abbr J Perinat Neonatal Nurs
    DOI 10.1097/JPN.0b013e3181968673
    ISSN 1550-5073
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:52:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19209063
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Evidence-Based Medicine
    • Faith Healing
    • Humans
    • Infant Care
    • Infant, Newborn
    • Infant, Newborn, Diseases
    • Mental Healing
    • Neonatal Nursing
    • Pilot Projects
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Research Design
    • spirituality
  • Development of a scale to assess the meditation experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nicola Reavley
    Author Julie F. Pallant
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 47
    Issue 6
    Pages 547-552
    Date 10/2009
    Journal Abbr Personality and Individual Differences
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2009.05.007
    ISSN 01918869
    URL http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0191886909002128
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Demystifying Self-Transcendence for Mental Health Nursing Practice and Research

    Type Journal Article
    Author PG Reed
    Abstract Because human development is an integral aspect of life, pathways to mental health necessarily involve developmentally based issues or resources. This column provides an overview of self-transcendence as one developmentally based resource for mental health. The Self-Transcendence Scale is presented to encourage its use in mental health nursing practice and research. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
    Publication Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
    Volume 23
    Issue 5
    Pages 397-400
    Date OCT 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.apnu.2009.06.006
    ISSN 0883-9417
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Friday, December 04, 2009 4:24:32 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Selection Effects in Studies of Religious Influence

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mark D. Regnerus
    Author Christian Smith
    Abstract Much has been made of religious influences on a variety of human behaviors and outcomes. However, some researchers choose to attribute religious influences to selection effects or underlying personality traits. They suggest scholars should pay more attention to what underlies religiosity than what effects it may have. This manuscript engages the fundamental debate about the real influence of religious participation and salience in people's lives. We consider in this study the implications of selection effects for studies of religious influences, first by examining previous research evidence, and second by our own exploration of the effects of religion on three diverse outcomes during adolescence - family relations, health, and delinquency. The evidence suggests that two common measures of religiosity are indeed subject to selection processes, but that this does not appear easily to alter or diminish their independent effects. There is also evidence for a strategic inclination to be more religious, but this too fails to mitigate religious influences. Finally, skepticism in the form of reciprocal effects appears more plausible than selection effects.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 47
    Issue 1
    Pages 23-50
    Date Sep., 2005
    DOI 10.2307/4148279
    ISSN 0034673X
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/4148279
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:45:36 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 2005 / Copyright © 2005 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This manuscript engages the fundamental debate about the real influence of religious participation and salience in people’s lives. We consider in this study the implications of selection effects for studies of religious influences, first by examining previous research evidence, and second by our own exploration of the effects of religion on three diverse outcomes during adolescence - family relations, health, and delinquency.

  • Capturing presence moments: the art of mindful practice in occupational therapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Denise Reid
    Abstract BACKGROUND: This paper explores theoretical and practical views of mindfulness and phenomena of presence moments. The potential for altering life and enabling change through lived experience of mindful presence moments has relevance for occupational therapy practice. PURPOSE: To suggest ways for occupational therapists to become mindfully present during practice. Based on theoretical perspectives drawn from the fields of psychology, philosophy, psychoanalysis, neuroscience, and education, a four-fold approach will be outlined for occupational therapists to practice mindfully and experience presence moments. KEY ISSUES: This approach emphasizes key concepts of awareness, non-judgment, reflection, curiosity, and commitment to practice. A clinical scenario is used to illustrate the approach. IMPLICATIONS: The ideas raised in this paper need to be incorporated into daily practice by occupational therapists so that a culture of mindful practice can be cultivated. Suggestions are provided throughout the paper for an agenda of potential research studies to address aspects of mindfulness and presence moments more fully.
    Publication Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. Revue Canadienne D'ergothérapie
    Volume 76
    Issue 3
    Pages 180-188
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr Can J Occup Ther
    ISSN 0008-4174
    Short Title Capturing presence moments
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:42:58 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19630308
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Awareness
    • Humans
    • Occupational Therapy
  • Mindfulness and flow in occupational engagement: presence in doing

    Type Journal Article
    Author Denise Reid
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Flow is a psychological state that might be viewed as desirable, and it occurs when a person is aware of his or her actions but is not being aware of his or her awareness. Mindfulness is viewed not as the achievement of any particular state, but as intentional awareness of what is, being aware of awareness. PURPOSE: To examine theoretical perspectives and empirical research on flow and mindfulness, and offer suggestions about the relevance of these concepts to occupational engagement. KEY ISSUES: Both flow and mindfulness involve being present, actively engaged, and attentive. The experience and practice of flow and mindfulness are relevant to the experience of occupational engagement. IMPLICATIONS: Understanding flow and mindfulness may help occupational therapists improve the therapeutic occupational engagement process with their clients through enhancing depth and meaning of occupational experiences, as well as health and well-being.
    Publication Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. Revue Canadienne D'ergothérapie
    Volume 78
    Issue 1
    Pages 50-56
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Can J Occup Ther
    ISSN 0008-4174
    Short Title Mindfulness and flow in occupational engagement
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:21:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21395198
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
  • Preterm labour and clinical hypnosis.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joscha Reinhard
    Author Helga Huesken-Janßen
    Author Hendrike Hatzmann
    Author Sven Schiermeier
    Abstract Hypnosis may play an important role in reducing preterm labour for patients who have higher levels of psychosocial stress. This study examines the rate of late-preterm birth in a hypnosis group (directed to all women) and a historical control group. From July 2007 all women (n = 64), who were in their 28th to 34th weeks' gestation, were offered self-hypnosis training using the hypnoreflexogenous protocol after Hüsken-Janßen and Schauble. Expectant mothers with uncertain anticipated days of delivery were excluded. All women who delivered after 31 weeks' gestation served as a control group (n = 2135) from January 2006 till June 2007. In the hypnosis group there were three preterm deliveries (4.7%) (before 37 + 0 weeks' gestation) whereas in the control group there were 220 preterm deliveries (10.3%) (p = 0.01). Average cigarette usage during the current pregnancy was lower in the hypnosis group (p = 0.02). Higher work-educated employments (p = 0.01), higher age of the mother (p < 0.001) and fewer previous pregnancies (p < 0.03) were found in the hypnosis group. Preterm birth correlated with the number of previous pregnancies (-0.38; p < 0.001) but not with smoking. Hypnosis was shown to be effective therapy without side-effects, which can reduce preterm delivery. This clinical study showed a significant prevention of preterm delivery. Prospective randomized controlled studies are required to evaluate fully the preventive value of clinical hypnosis. Copyright © 2009 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Contemporary Hypnosis
    Volume 26
    Issue 4
    Pages 187-193
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1002/ch.387
    ISSN 09605290
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45516187&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 4:37:42 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Tags:

    • HYPNOTISM -- Therapeutic use
    • HYPNOTISM in obstetrics
    • PREGNANT women -- Employment
    • PREGNANT women -- Tobacco use
    • PREMATURE infants -- Prevention
    • PREMATURE labor

    Notes:

    • This study finds that hypnosis is an effective therapy, without side effects, to reduce preterm labor, and suggests that randomized controlled trials are warranted to further investigate this finding.  The group who participated in the hypnosis were found to have higher work-educated employments, to be older, and to have had fewer previous pregnancies, all of which may have also been contributing factors to their having fewer preterm labors, and thus necessitating the further studies.

  • Spirituality, schizophrenia, and state hospitals: program description and characteristics of self-selected attendees of a spirituality therapeutic group

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nadine Revheim
    Author William M Greenberg
    Author Leslie Citrome
    Abstract Spiritual matters can be an important part in the recovery process of patients with schizophrenia. A spirituality-based therapeutic group was developed for patients hospitalized on a research specialty unit jointly operated by a state hospital and a research institute. This report offers a description of this program and examines potential associations between spirituality and coping in patients with schizophrenia who either attended or did not attend the inpatient spirituality group. We compared group attendees (n = 20) with non-attendees (n = 20) cross-sectionally, using measures of spirituality, self-efficacy (i.e. the confidence in one's ability), quality of life, and hopefulness, and religious/personal demographic profiles. For the total sample, spirituality status was significantly correlated with self-efficacy for both social functioning and negative symptoms. Significant differences were found between group attendees and non-attendees for spirituality status, but not for self-efficacy or quality of life. For group attendees, spirituality status was significantly correlated with self-efficacy for positive symptoms, negative symptoms and social functioning. Group attendees were significantly more hopeful than non-attendees and hopefulness was significantly associated with degree of spirituality status. These findings lend support for offering spirituality groups and positive coping during recovery from psychiatric disabilities.
    Publication The Psychiatric Quarterly
    Volume 81
    Issue 4
    Pages 285-292
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychiatr Q
    DOI 10.1007/s11126-010-9137-z
    ISSN 1573-6709
    Short Title Spirituality, schizophrenia, and state hospitals
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20407829
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:05:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20407829
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • A systematic review of associations among religiosity/spirituality and adolescent health attitudes and behaviors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lynn Rew
    Author Y Joel Wong
    Abstract PURPOSE: To systematically review and synthesize literature concerning the relationships among religiosity, spirituality, health attitudes, and health behaviors in adolescents. METHODS: Forty-three studies between 1998 and 2003 were systematically reviewed to (a) determine if the studies were based on conceptual or theoretical frameworks, (b) identify the types of religiosity and spirituality measures used as well as their effects on health attitudes and behaviors, (c) evaluate the quality of these measures, (d) determine categories and frequency of measures of health attitudes and behaviors, (e) evaluate the quality of the research designs, and (f) determine the effects of religiosity or spirituality on adolescent health attitudes and behaviors. RESULTS: Over half (n = 26) the studies were atheoretical or had an unclear framework and the other half were based on a wide variety of conceptual and theoretical models. A total of 37 distinct religiosity/spirituality variables were identified and varied in specificity. Less than half (n = 21) reported reliability of the measures and only seven contained information about validity of the measures. All 43 studies included measures of health-risk behaviors and/or attitudes but only seven addressed health-promoting behaviors. Most studies (84%) showed that measures of religiosity/spirituality had positive effects on health attitudes and behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The variety of studies and measures indicate that religiosity and spirituality may be important correlates of adolescent health attitudes and behaviors. Although the majority of the studies reviewed were well designed, there was no consistency in the theoretical bases and operational definitions of religiosity/spirituality phenomena.
    Publication The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
    Volume 38
    Issue 4
    Pages 433-442
    Date Apr 2006
    Journal Abbr J Adolesc Health
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.02.004
    ISSN 1879-1972
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16549305
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:43:59 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16549305
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Behavior
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Humans
    • Male
    • religion
    • Research Design
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To systematically review and synthesize literature concerning the relationships among religiosity, spirituality, health attitudes, and health behaviors in adolescents. Conclusions: The variety of studies and measures indicate that religiosity and spirituality may be important correlates of adolescent health attitudes and behaviors.

  • The role of spirituality healing with perceptions of the medical encounter among Latinos

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carlos A Reyes-Ortiz
    Author Michael Rodriguez
    Author Kyriakos S Markides
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Little is known about the relationship between spirituality healing and perceptions about the medical encounter among Latinos. OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between spirituality healing and attitudes of self-reported perceptions about the medical encounter. DESIGN: A cross-sectional telephone survey. PARTICIPANTS: 3,728 Latinos aged >or=18 years residing in the United States from Wave 1 of the Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Latino Health Survey. MEASUREMENTS: Dependent variables were ever prayed for healing (yes/no), ever asked others to pray for healing (yes/no), considered important spiritual healing (very vs. somewhat or not important), and ever consulted a 'curandero' (folk healer in Latin America) (yes/no). The primary independent variables were feelings about the last time seeing a Doctor (confused by information given, or frustrated by lack of information) and perception of quality of medical care (excellent, good, fair or poor) within the past 12 months. RESULTS: Six percent of individuals reported that they had ever consulted a curandero, 60% prayed for healing, 49% asked others to pray for healing, and 69% considered spiritual healing as very important. In multivariable analyses, feeling confused was associated with increased odds of consulting a curandero (OR = 1.58; 95% CI, 1.02-2.45), praying for healing (OR = 1.30; 95% CI, 1.03-1.64), asking others to pray for healing (OR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.03-1.62), and considering spiritual healing as very important (OR = 1.30; 95% CI, 1.01-1.66). Feeling frustrated by a lack of information was associated with asking others to pray for healing (OR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.04-1.60). A better perception of quality of medical care was associated with lower odds of consulting a curandero (OR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.70-0.98). CONCLUSION: Feelings about the medical encounter were associated with spirituality healing, praying for healing, and asking others to pray for healing. Feeling confused and perception of poor quality of medical care were associated with consulting a curandero.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 24
    Issue Suppl 3
    Pages 542-547
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    DOI 10.1007/s11606-009-1067-9
    ISSN 1525-1497
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19842004
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:30:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19842004
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • The Art of Meditation

    Type Book
    Author Matthieu Ricard
    Place New York
    Publisher Atlantic Books
    Date 2010-01-01
    ISBN 1848870752
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • The need for evidence-based, spiritually oriented psychotherapies.

    Type Journal Article
    Author P. Scott Richards
    Author Everett L. Jr. Worthington
    Abstract Despite a proliferation of spiritually oriented psychotherapies during the past 2 decades in the mental health professions, outcome research is lacking. In this present article, 6 published outcome reviews that shed light on the efficacy of these psychotherapies are discussed. Although there is general support for the efficacy of spiritually oriented treatment approaches, the data base is relatively small and has methodological limitations. Spiritually oriented cognitive approaches for religious clients with depression and anxiety meet evidence-based standards of efficacy. Several other spiritually oriented approaches are probably efficacious but need additional investigation. Methodological recommendations for improving the quality of future studies in this domain are made. Philosophically and methodologically pluralistic research strategies that do not reduce spiritual phenomena into a naturalistic and materialistic framework are recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Professional Psychology: Research and Practice
    Volume 41
    Issue 5
    Pages 363-370
    Date October 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0019469
    ISSN 0735-7028
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • efficacy
    • evidence based
    • Evidence Based Practice
    • Psychotherapeutic Techniques
    • Psychotherapy
    • spiritual
    • spirituality
    • Treatment Effectiveness Evaluation
  • A theistic spiritual treatment for women with eating disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author P Scott Richards
    Author Melissa H Smith
    Author Michael E Berrett
    Author Kari A O'Grady
    Author Jeremy D Bartz
    Abstract The authors describe a psychological treatment for women with eating disorders who have theistic spiritual beliefs and illustrate its application with a case report. They begin by briefly summarizing a theistic view of eating disorders. Then they illustrate how a theistic approach can complement traditional treatment by describing the processes and outcomes of their work with a 23-year-old Christian woman receiving inpatient treatment for an eating disorder not otherwise specified and a major depressive disorder (recurrent severe).
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 172-184
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20564
    ISSN 1097-4679
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19132738
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:09:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19132738
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • eating disorders
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Psychotherapy
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult
  • A Theistic spiritual treatment for women with eating disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author P. Scott Richards
    Author Melissa H. Smith
    Author Michael E. Berrett
    Author Kari A. O'Grady
    Author Jeremy D. Bartz
    Abstract The authors describe a psychological treatment for women with eating disorders who have theistic spiritual beliefs and illustrate its application with a case report. They begin by briefly summarizing a theistic view of eating disorders. Then they illustrate how a theistic approach can complement traditional treatment by describing the processes and outcomes of their work with a 23-year-old Christian woman receiving inpatient treatment for an eating disorder not otherwise specified and a major depressive disorder (recurrent severe). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 65:172-184, 2009.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 172-184
    Date February 2009
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20564
    URL http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1002/jclp.20564
    Accessed Tuesday, September 15, 2009 12:13:26 AM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The authors describe a psychological treatment for women with eating disorders who have theistic spiritual beliefs and illustrate its application with a case report. They begin by briefly summarizing a theistic view of eating disorders. Then they illustrate how a theistic approach can complement traditional treatment by describing the processes and outcomes of their work with a 23-year-old Christian woman receiving inpatient treatment for an eating disorder not otherwise specified and a major depressive disorder (recurrent severe).

  • Reconsidering Aesthetic and Religious Experience: A Companion View

    Type Journal Article
    Author John W. Richmond
    Publication Journal of Aesthetic Education
    Volume 33
    Issue 4
    Pages 29-49
    Date Winter, 1999
    ISSN 00218510
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/3333720
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Issue Title: Special Issue: Musings: Essays in Honor of Bennett Reimer / Full publication date: Winter, 1999 / Copyright © 1999 University of Illinois Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • The use of mind-body medicine and prayer among adult patients with chronic hepatitis C

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jacqueline A. Richmond
    Author Donald E. Bailey
    Author John G. McHutchison
    Author Andrew J. Muir
    Abstract The use of mind-body medicine by patients with chronic hepatitis C has not been reported. The prevalence and reasons for using mind-body medicine and prayer among a cohort of patients with chronic hepatitis C are described. Use of mind-body medicine and prayer was investigated as a component of a larger exploratory, descriptive study of the use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with hepatitis C attending a tertiary healthcare facility in the United States. An investigator-designed self-administered questionnaire (n = 149) and semistructured interview (n = 28) were completed by participants. Eighty-eight percent (n = 105) of participants had used mind-body medicine in the past 12 months. The most commonly used therapies were prayer for health reasons (90%), deep breathing (29%), and meditation (29%). Mind-body medicine was most commonly used to relieve tension and promote general well-being. The use of mind-body medicine was widespread among patients with chronic hepatitis C. To provide patient-centered healthcare, health providers need to be aware of the alternative support strategies, including mind-body medicine, used by patients.
    Publication Gastroenterology Nursing
    Volume 33
    Issue 3
    Pages 210-216
    Date 2010 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Gastroenterol Nurs
    DOI 10.1097/SGA.0b013e3181e01a7b
    ISSN 1538-9766
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 10:21:37 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20531108
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Pilot study of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for trainee clinical psychologists.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Katharine A. Rimes
    Author Janet Wingrove
    Abstract Background: It is recommended that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) instructors should undertake MBCT themselves before teaching others. Aim: To investigate the impact of MBCT (modified for stress not depression) on trainee clinical psychologists. Method: Twenty trainees completed questionnaires pre- and post-MBCT. Results: There was a significant decrease in rumination, and increases in self-compassion and mindfulness. More frequent home practice was associated with larger decreases in stress, anxiety and rumination, and larger increases in empathic concern. Only first-year trainees showed a significant decrease in stress. Content analysis of written responses indicated that the most commonly reported effects were increased acceptance of thoughts/feelings (70%), increased understanding of what it is like to be a client (60%), greater awareness of thoughts/feelings/behaviours/bodily sensations (55%) and increased understanding of oneself and one's patterns of responding (55%). Participants reported increased metacognitive awareness and decentring in relation to negative thoughts. Eighty-five percent reported an impact on their clinical work by the end of the course. Conclusions: Trainee psychologists undergoing MBCT experienced many of the psychological processes/effects that they may eventually be helping to cultivate in clients using mindfulness interventions, and also benefits in their general clinical work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 39
    Issue 2
    Pages 235-241
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1017/S1352465810000731
    ISSN 1352-4658
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:31 AM

    Tags:

    • Clinical Methods Training
    • Clinical Psychologists
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Mindfulness
    • Teaching
    • trainee clinical psychologists
  • The relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health, mental health, and pain in a chronic pain population

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth A Rippentrop
    Author Elizabeth M Altmaier
    Author Joseph J Chen
    Author Ernest M Found
    Author Valerie J Keffala
    Abstract This study sought to better understand the relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health and mental health in 122 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The current study conceptualized religion/spirituality as a multidimensional factor, and measured it with a new measure of religion/spirituality for research on health outcomes (Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religion/Spirituality). Pain patients' religious and spiritual beliefs appear different than the general population (e.g. pain patients feel less desire to reduce pain in the world and feel more abandoned by God). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed significant associations between components of religion/spirituality and physical and mental health. Private religious practice (e.g. prayer, meditation, consumption of religious media) was inversely related to physical health outcomes, indicating that those who were experiencing worse physical health were more likely to engage in private religious activities, perhaps as a way to cope with their poor health. Forgiveness, negative religious coping, daily spiritual experiences, religious support, and self-rankings of religious/spiritual intensity significantly predicted mental health status. Religion/spirituality was unrelated to pain intensity and life interference due to pain. This study establishes relationships between religion/spirituality and health in a chronic pain population, and emphasizes that religion/spirituality may have both costs and benefits for the health of those with chronic pain.
    Publication Pain
    Volume 116
    Issue 3
    Pages 311-321
    Date Aug 2005
    Journal Abbr Pain
    DOI 10.1016/j.pain.2005.05.008
    ISSN 0304-3959
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15979795
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:14:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15979795
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Health
    • Chronic Disease
    • DEMOGRAPHY
    • Disability Evaluation
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Pain Measurement
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • social support

    Notes:

    • This study sought to better understand the relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health and mental health in 122 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

  • The protective influence of spirituality and "Health-as-a-Value" against monthly substance use among adolescents varying in risk

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anamara Ritt-Olson
    Author Joel Milam
    Author Jennifer B Unger
    Author Dennis Trinidad
    Author Lorena Teran
    Author Clyde W Dent
    Author Steve Sussman
    Abstract PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of two potentially protective factors, Health-as-a-Value and spirituality, on monthly alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in two multiethnic groups of adolescents varying in risk. METHODS: Three-hundred-eighty-two students from continuation/alternative high school, a population considered at risk for drug use, participated in the study. The other sample of 260 students was drawn from a medical magnet high school, and is considered to be at lower risk. Similar surveys containing measures of spirituality, "Health-as-a-Value," and monthly substance use, were distributed. Logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: The analyses revealed that spirituality was protective against monthly alcohol use and marijuana use in the lower risk sample. In the higher risk sample, spirituality was protective against all monthly use. "Health-as-a-Value" (HAV) was protective against monthly alcohol use in the low risk sample, and protective against all monthly use in the higher risk sample. Importantly, when both constructs were entered into the same model, spirituality and HAV were independently protective of all monthly use for the higher risk sample and of monthly alcohol use in the lower risk sample. CONCLUSIONS: These findings extend earlier work on protective factors. "Health-as-a-Value" and spirituality may be protective against substance use in environments with different levels of use. Future studies should explore these findings in longitudinal analyses.
    Publication The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
    Volume 34
    Issue 3
    Pages 192-199
    Date Mar 2004
    Journal Abbr J Adolesc Health
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2003.07.009
    ISSN 1054-139X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14967342
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:44:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14967342
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Male
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To investigate the influence of two potentially protective factors, Health-as-a-Value and spirituality, on monthly alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in two multiethnic groups of adolescents varying in risk. Results: The analyses revealed that spirituality was protective against monthly alcohol use and marijuana use in the lower risk sample. In the higher risk sample, spirituality was protective against all monthly use.

  • Sacred space, analytic space, the self, and god

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ana-María Rizzuto
    Abstract Parental figures influence the type of religious experiences a person may have. Clinical material from the analysis of a young woman documents the importance of having an actual sacred space in which one can be oneself in religious life and a psychoanalytic space during treatment to progressively experience oneself.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 175-188
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.175
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:20:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364268
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Christianity
    • dreams
    • Ego
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Individuation
    • Parent-Child Relations
    • Personal Space
    • Psychoanalytic Interpretation
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Transference (Psychology)
  • The desert-mountain experience : the two faces of encounter with God.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Martha Robbins
    Abstract This article shows the importance of negotiating elemental or primordial images that arise in inner religious experiences in order to consciously appropriate the knowledge and energy that they offer to the person who experiences them. The author uses a case study to illustrate the above process by applying sound psychological principles as tools for interpreting the case study psychologically. She interprets the religious dimension of the case study in terms of biblical images and events, especially the Christ-event. In the light of the insights offered by both of these perspectives, she re-interprets the elemental symbolism described in the case study in a constructive manner.
    Publication Journal of Pastoral Care
    Volume 35
    Issue 1
    Pages 18-35
    Date March 1981
    ISSN 0022-3409
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=rfh&…
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Archetypes
    • Deserts--Religious aspects
    • Experience (Religion)
    • God--Knowableness
    • Mountains--Religious aspects--Christianity
    • Peer reviewed
    • Psychology and religion
    • Retreats
    • Spiritual direction
    • Symbolism, Christian

    Notes:

    • This article shows the importance of negotiating elemental or primordial images that arise in inner religious experiences in order to consciously appropriate the knowledge and energy that they offer to the person who experiences them. The author uses a case study to illustrate the above process by applying sound psychological principles as tools for interpreting the case study psychologically. She interprets the religious dimension of the case study in terms of biblical images and events, especially the Christ-event. In the light of the insights offered by both of these perspectives, she re-interprets the elemental symbolism described in the case study in a constructive manner.

  • Three religious orientations and five personality factors: an exploratory study among adults in England.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mandy Robbins
    Author Leslie Francis
    Author David McIlroy
    Author Rachel Clarke
    Author Lowri Pritchard
    Abstract In order to explore the power of the five-factor model of personality to explain individual differences recorded on measures of the three religious orientations, a sample of 198 adults in England completed established measures of the three religious orientations (intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest) and the big five personality factors (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness). The data demonstrated that individual differences in the three religious orientations were largely independent of the five personality factors, apart from a significant positive correlation between intrinsic religiosity and agreeableness. These findings support Piedmont's contention that religiosity is largely independent of personality when personality is operationalised in terms of the big five factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 771-775
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674676.2010.519468
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • Do entheogen-induced mystical experiences boost the immune system? Psychedelics, peak experiences, and wellness

    Type Journal Article
    Author T B Roberts
    Abstract Daily events that boost the immune system (as indicated by levels of salivary immunoglobulin A), some instances of spontaneous remission, and mystical experiences seem to share a similar cluster of thoughts, feelings, moods, perceptions, and behaviors. Entheogens--psychedelic drugs used in a religious context--can also produce mystical experiences (peak experiences, states of unitive consciousness, intense primary religious experiences) with the same cluster of effects. When this happens, is it also possible that such entheogen-induced mystical experiences strengthen the immune system? Might spontaneous remissions occur more frequently under such conditions? This article advances the so called "Emxis hypothesis"--that entheogen-induced mystical experiences influence the immune system.
    Publication Advances in Mind-Body Medicine
    Volume 15
    Issue 2
    Pages 139-147
    Date 1999
    Journal Abbr Adv Mind Body Med
    DOI 10.1054/ambm.1999.0069
    ISSN 1470-3556
    Short Title Do entheogen-induced mystical experiences boost the immune system?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/10367499
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:40:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10367499
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Ego
    • Hallucinogens
    • Health
    • Humans
    • Immunoglobulin G
    • Models, Theoretical
    • Mysticism
    • Neuroimmunomodulation
    • Psychoneuroimmunology
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Remission, Spontaneous
    • Saliva

    Notes:

    • Daily events that boost the immune system (as indicated by levels of salivary immunoglobulin A), some instances of spontaneous remission, and mystical experiences seem to share a similar cluster of thoughts, feelings, moods, perceptions, and behaviors. Entheogens--psychedelic drugs used in a religious context--can also produce mystical experiences (peak experiences, states of unitive consciousness, intense primary religious experiences) with the same cluster of effects. When this happens, is it also possible that such entheogen-induced mystical experiences strengthen the immune system? Might spontaneous remissions occur more frequently under such conditions? This article advances the so called “Emxis hypothesis”--that entheogen-induced mystical experiences influence the immune system.

  • Mindfulness and Health Behaviors: Is Paying Attention Good for You?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kimberly C. Roberts
    Author Sharon Danoff-Burg
    Abstract Objective: The investigators examined relations between mindfulness and health behaviors in college students, as well as the role of stress in mediating these effects. Participants: Participants were 553 undergraduates (385 females; mean age = 18.8 years, SD = 2.1) recruited from a university in the northeastern United States. Methods: Participants completed questionnaires assessing mindfulness, perceived health, health behaviors, health-related activity restriction, and stress. Data were collected from September 2007 through December 2007. Results: Overall perceived health and health-related activity restriction, as well as some health behaviors (eg, binge eating, sleep quality, and physical activity) were related to the Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire and were partially mediated by stress. Conclusions: These results suggest that mindfulness is related to decreased stress, which in turn contributes to increased positive health perceptions and health behaviors. The findings support the utility of mindfulness in promoting physical and psychological health in college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of American College Health
    Volume 59
    Issue 3
    Pages 165-173
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/07448481.2010.484452
    ISSN 07448481
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • Attention
    • COLLEGE students -- Conduct of life
    • COLLEGE students -- Health & hygiene
    • Health Behavior
    • HEALTH promotion -- Universities & colleges
    • STRESS (Psychology)
    • STUDENT surveys
  • Intercessory prayer for the alleviation of ill health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Leanne Roberts
    Author Irshad Ahmed
    Author Steve Hall
    Author Andrew Davison
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Prayer is amongst the oldest and most widespread interventions used with the intention of alleviating illness and promoting good health. Given the significance of this response to illness for a large proportion of the world's population, there has been considerable interest in recent years in measuring the efficacy of intercessory prayer for the alleviation of ill health in a scientifically rigorous fashion. The question of whether this may contribute towards proving or disproving the existence of God is a philosophical question lying outside the scope of this review of the effects of prayer. This revised version of the review has been prepared in response to feedback and to reflect new methods in the conduct and presentation of Cochrane reviews. OBJECTIVES: To review the effects of intercessory prayer as an additional intervention for people with health problems already receiving routine health care. SEARCH STRATEGY: We systematically searched ten relevant databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE (June 2007). SELECTION CRITERIA: We included any randomised trial comparing personal, focused, committed and organised intercessory prayer with those interceding holding some belief that they are praying to God or a god versus any other intervention. This prayer could be offered on behalf of anyone with health problems. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We extracted data independently and analysed it on an intention to treat basis, where possible. We calculated, for binary data, the fixed-effect relative risk (RR), their 95% confidence intervals (CI), and the number needed to treat or harm (NNT or NNH). MAIN RESULTS: Ten studies are included in this updated review (7646 patients). For the comparison of intercessory prayer plus standard care versus standard care alone, overall there was no clear effect of intercessory prayer on death, with the effect not reaching statistical significance and data being heterogeneous (6 RCTs, n=6784, random-effects RR 0.77 CI 0.51 to 1.16, I(2) 83%). For general clinical state there was also no significant difference between groups (5 RCTs, n=2705, RR intermediate or bad outcome 0.98 CI 0.86 to 1.11). Four studies found no effect for re-admission to Coronary Care Unit (4 RCTs, n=2644, RR 1.00 CI 0.77 to 1.30).Two other trials found intercessory prayer had no effect on re-hospitalisation (2 RCTs, n=1155, RR 0.93 CI 0.71 to 1.22). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: These findings are equivocal and, although some of the results of individual studies suggest a positive effect of intercessory prayer,the majority do not and the evidence does not support a recommendation either in favour or against the use of intercessory prayer. We are not convinced that further trials of this intervention should be undertaken and would prefer to see any resources available for such a trial used to investigate other questions in health care.
    Publication Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Online)
    Issue 2
    Pages CD000368
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Cochrane Database Syst Rev
    DOI 10.1002/14651858.CD000368.pub3
    ISSN 1469-493X
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:19:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19370557
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Faith Healing
    • Humans
    • Patient Care
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Religion and Medicine
  • The Spiritual Competency Scale.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Linda A. Robertson
    Abstract This study describes the development of the Spiritual Competency Scale, which was based on the Association for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling's original Spiritual Competencies. Participants were 662 counseling students from religiously based and secular universities nationwide. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 22-item, 6-factor solution with internal consistency. The data highlighted areas for remediation, suggested that a stand-alone spirituality in counseling course may be the most effective instructional strategy, and provided a template for revisions to the Spiritual Competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Counseling & Values
    Volume 55
    Issue 1
    Pages 6-24
    Date October 2010
    ISSN 01607960
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM

    Tags:

    • Counseling
    • factor analysis
    • religion
    • REMEDIATION
    • spirituality
  • Counseling clients with chronic pain: A religiously oriented cognitive behavior framework.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Linda A. Robertson
    Author Heather L. Smith
    Author Shannon L. Ray
    Author K. Dayle Jones
    Abstract The experience of chronic pain is largely influenced by core schemas and cognitive processes, including those that are religious in nature. When these schemas are negative, they contribute to the exacerbation of pain and related problems. A framework is presented for the identification of problematic religious schemas and their modification through cognitive behavior strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Counseling & Development
    Volume 87
    Issue 3
    Pages 373-379
    Date 2009
    ISSN 0748-9633
    Short Title Counseling clients with chronic pain
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Chronic pain
    • Cognitive Assessment
    • cognitive behavior framework
    • cognitive behavior strategies
    • Cognitive Processes
    • core schemas
    • Counseling
    • counseling clients
    • religion
    • Religious Practices
    • Schema
    • strategies
  • Explaining the relation between religiousness and reduced suicidal behavior: social support rather than specific beliefs

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alee Robins
    Author Amy Fiske
    Abstract Religiousness has been associated with decreased risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and completed suicide, but the mechanisms underlying these associations are not well characterized. The present study examined the roles of religious beliefs and social support in that relation. A survey measuring religiousness, social support, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts was administered to 454 undergraduate students. Involvement in public, but not private, religious practices was associated with lower levels of both suicidal ideation and history of suicide attempts. Social support mediated these relations but religious beliefs did not. Results highlight the importance of social support provided by religious communities.
    Publication Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior
    Volume 39
    Issue 4
    Pages 386-395
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Suicide Life Threat Behav
    DOI 10.1521/suli.2009.39.4.386
    ISSN 0363-0234
    Short Title Explaining the relation between religiousness and reduced suicidal behavior
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19792980
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 9:50:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19792980
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Linear Models
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Mid-Atlantic Region
    • Models, Psychological
    • Religion and Psychology
    • social support
    • Suicide
    • Suicide, Attempted
  • Can we consider religiousness as a protective factor against doping behavior in sport?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jelena Rodek
    Author Damir Sekulic
    Author Emir Pasalic
    Abstract Religiousness is rarely studied in relation to doping behaviors in sport. In this study, we sampled 27 weightlifting/powerlifting athletes from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Using the originally developed questionnaire and by means of Spearman's correlation, we interpreted data and discussed relationships between (a) social, religious, sport, and educational factors, and (b) substance use criteria, including cigarettes, alcohol, analgesics, nutritional supplementation, and doping behaviors. In conclusion, we found (1) that religiousness can be considered as a potential protective factor against doping, but also (2) that religious subjects tend to deny and underestimate the doping behaviors in their sport. Both of these findings should be extensively studied in future investigations.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 445-453
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9207-9
    ISSN 1573-6571
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19890720
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 1:12:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19890720
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • The reality of death experiences. A personal perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author E A Rodin
    Abstract In recent years, there has been a marked increase in reports of the subjective experience of individuals in severe life-threatening circumstances. These have been used to suggest that scientific facts are now in agreement with religious beliefs as to the survival of the personality after physical death. This paper presents a personal death experience viewed by the author as a "subjective reality". This is contrasted with "shared subjective reality," i.e., commonly held beliefs among groups of individuals which do not necessarily lend themselves to scientific verification and scientifically derived objective reality. Subjectively real death experiences are regarded as corollary to a toxic psychosis. The content of the psychosis, which is not under voluntary control, determines the subjective experience of having entered either heaven or hell.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 168
    Issue 5
    Pages 259-263
    Date May 1980
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/7365486
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:49:15 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 7365486
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Brain
    • Consciousness
    • Death
    • delusions
    • dreams
    • Electroencephalography
    • Humans
    • Hypoxia, Brain
    • Parapsychology
    • Psychoses, Substance-Induced
    • Religion and Psychology

    Notes:

    • In recent years, there has been a marked increase in reports of the subjective experience of individuals in severe life-threatening circumstances. These have been used to suggest that scientific facts are now in agreement with religious beliefs as to the survival of the personality after physical death. This paper presents a personal death experience viewed by the author as a “subjective reality”. This is contrasted with “shared subjective reality,” i.e., commonly held beliefs among groups of individuals which do not necessarily lend themselves to scientific verification and scientifically derived objective reality. Subjectively real death experiences are regarded as corollary to a toxic psychosis. The content of the psychosis, which is not under voluntary control, determines the subjective experience of having entered either heaven or hell.

  • Pathways to distress: the multiple determinants of depression, hopelessness, and the desire for hastened death in metastatic cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gary Rodin
    Author Christopher Lo
    Author Mario Mikulincer
    Author Allan Donner
    Author Lucia Gagliese
    Author Camilla Zimmermann
    Abstract We tested a model in which psychosocial and disease-related variables act as multiple protective and risk factors for psychological distress in patients with metastatic cancer. We hypothesized that depression and hopelessness constitute common pathways of distress, which mediate the effects of psychosocial and disease-related factors on the desire for hastened death. This model was tested on a cross-sectional sample of 406 patients with metastatic gastrointestinal or lung cancer recruited at outpatient clinics of a Toronto cancer hospital, using structural equation modeling. The results supported the model. High disease burden, insecure attachment, low self-esteem, and younger age were risk factors for depression. Low spiritual well-being was a risk factor for hopelessness. Depression and hopelessness were found to be mutually reinforcing, but distinct constructs. Both depression and hopelessness independently predicted the desire for hastened death, and mediated the effects of psychosocial and disease-related variables on this outcome. The identified risk factors support a holistic approach to palliative care in patients with metastatic cancer, which attends to physical, psychological, and spiritual factors to prevent and treat distress in patients with advanced disease.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 68
    Issue 3
    Pages 562-569
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.10.037
    ISSN 0277-9536
    Short Title Pathways to distress
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19059687
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:40:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19059687
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Anxiety
    • Attitude to Death
    • Attitude to Health
    • Cancer Care Facilities
    • Cost of Illness
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms
    • Humans
    • Lung Neoplasms
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Neoplasm Metastasis
    • Neoplasm Staging
    • ONTARIO
    • Risk Factors
    • Self Concept
    • Sickness Impact Profile
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • We tested a model in which psychosocial and disease-related variables act as multiple protective and risk factors for psychological distress in patients with metastatic cancer. We hypothesized that depression and hopelessness constitute common pathways of distress, which mediate the effects of psychosocial and disease-related factors on the desire for hastened death. The results supported the model. High disease burden, insecure attachment, low self-esteem, and younger age were risk factors for depression. Low spiritual well-being was a risk factor for hopelessness.

  • Religion and Subjective Well-Being in Japan

    Type Journal Article
    Author MK Roemer
    Abstract For several decades, U.S.-based studies have indicated significant, positive associations between religiousness and subjective well-being. Despite the importance of this research. samples are limited predominantly to Christians, and we cannot tell whether such relationships extend to other populations. Using data from huge, nationally representative probability samples of Japanese adults, this study reveals that religious devotion and affiliation with certain religions are positively and significantly correlated with life satisfaction and happiness in Japan. Multiple regression analysis shows cross-cultural similarities between subjective religiousness and subjective well-being. The effects of religious affiliation (an objective measure), however, vary In addition, findings show that religious devotion buffers the negative effects of unemployment on life satisfaction and happiness and the effects of low class status on happiness.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 51
    Issue 4
    Pages 411-427
    Date JUN 2010
    ISSN 0034-673X
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 6:00:41 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation Difficulties in Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Preliminary Evidence for Independent and Overlapping Contributions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lizabeth Roemer
    Author Jonathan K. Lee
    Author Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault
    Author Shannon M. Erisman
    Author Susan M. Orsillo
    Author Douglas S. Mennin
    Publication Behavior Therapy
    Volume 40
    Issue 2
    Pages 142-154
    Date 06/2009
    Journal Abbr Behavior Therapy
    DOI 10.1016/j.beth.2008.04.001
    ISSN 00057894
    Short Title Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation Difficulties in Generalized Anxiety Disorder
    URL http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0005789408000658
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:42:05 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
  • Perceived Benefits of Meditative Movement in Older Adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carol Rogers
    Author Colleen Keller
    Author Linda K. Larkey
    Abstract In a review of 37 studies (n = 1,856) regarding the perceived psychosocial benefits and health outcomes of meditative movement (MM) such as Tai chi (TC) and Qigong, the authors found that older persons initiated MM because of perceived benefits to health and with a desire to exercise in a group setting for socialization. Perceived improved function and quality of life related to chronic diseases were the most common reasons for initiating the TC classes. Perceived safety was also critical to the initiation and maintenance of an exercise intervention for older adults.
    Publication Geriatric Nursing
    Volume 31
    Issue 1
    Pages 37-51
    Date 01/2010
    Journal Abbr Geriatric Nursing
    DOI 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2009.10.002
    ISSN 01974572
    URL http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0197457209004170
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • A review of clinical trials of tai chi and qigong in older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carol E Rogers
    Author Linda K Larkey
    Author Colleen Keller
    Abstract Initiation and maintenance of physical activity (PA) in older adults is of increasing concern as the benefits of PA have been shown to improve physical functioning, mood, weight, and cardiovascular risk factors. Meditative movement forms of PA, such as tai chi and qigong (TC & QG), are holistic in nature and have increased in popularity over the past few decades. Several randomized controlled trials have evaluated TC & QG interventions from multiple perspectives, specifically targeting older adults. The purpose of this report is to synthesize intervention studies targeting TC & QG and identify the physical and psychological health outcomes shown to be associated with TC & QG in community dwelling adults older than 55. Based on specific inclusion criteria, 36 research reports with a total of 3,799 participants were included in this review. Five categories of study outcomes were identified, including falls and balance, physical function, cardiovascular disease, and psychological and additional disease-specific responses. Significant improvement in clusters of similar outcomes indicated interventions utilizing TC & QG may help older adults improve physical function and reduce blood pressure, fall risk, and depression and anxiety. Missing from the reviewed reports is a discussion of how spiritual exploration with meditative forms of PA, an important component of these movement activities, may contribute to successful aging.
    Publication Western Journal of Nursing Research
    Volume 31
    Issue 2
    Pages 245-279
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr West J Nurs Res
    DOI 10.1177/0193945908327529
    ISSN 0193-9459
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19179544
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:02:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19179544
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Physical Fitness
    • Postural Balance
    • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
    • Tai Ji

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this report is to synthesize intervention studies targeting TC & QG and identify the physical and psychological health outcomes shown to be associated with TC & QG in community dwelling adults older than 55.

  • Health index, sense of coherence scale, brief religious coping scale and spiritual perspective scale: psychometric properties

    Type Journal Article
    Author Camelia Rohani
    Author Sedigheh Khanjari
    Author Heidar-Ali Abedi
    Author Fatemeh Oskouie
    Author Ann Langius-Eklöf
    Abstract This paper is a report of a study to translate one Swedish and three English instruments into the Persian language, and to estimate their validity and reliability. The Sense of Coherence Scale, Health Index, Brief Religious Coping Scale and Spiritual Perspective Scale are all well tested instruments for use in nursing research. Since there was no Persian translation of these instruments, they had to be translated and cross-culturally adapted for nursing research in the Iranian culture. After the translation process, sampling for psychometric tests was done. A sample of healthy Iranian people (n = 375) was selected to response to the instruments in 2006, at baseline and 1 month later. Cronbach's alpha values and intra-class correlations were high. Tests of criterion-related validity showed that six of the ten hypotheses were confirmed, and the four rejected hypotheses did not imply a threat to validity. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that sense of coherence was the strongest predictor of well-being (Health Index scores) both at baseline and 1 month later. There is a sound psychometric basis for using the Iranian versions of these instruments in nursing research with the Iranian population. The Sense of Coherence Scale proved to be as valid and reliable as in Western countries, which supports its cross-cultural applicability.
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 66
    Issue 12
    Pages 2796-2806
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05409.x
    ISSN 1365-2648
    Short Title Health index, sense of coherence scale, brief religious coping scale and spiritual perspective scale
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20722813
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:59:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20722813
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
  • The association of religiosity, spirituality, and ethnic background with ego-pathology in acute schizophrenia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Frank Röhricht
    Author Raphaela Basdekis-Jozsa
    Author Juggy Sidhu
    Author Amer Mukhtar
    Author Iris Suzuki
    Author Stefan Priebe
    Abstract Studies have highlighted the impact of ego-consciousness, religiosity and spirituality on psychotic symptoms, although so far no study has investigated if and how these factors may be interrelated. In this exploratory cross-sectional study, involving 42 patients with a diagnosis of acute paranoid schizophrenia (DSM-IV), we assessed religiosity (Religious Orientation Test) spirituality (Spiritual Transcendence Scale) and ego-pathology (Ego Pathology Inventory) and analysed any relationship with these and psychopathological symptoms (Positive and Negative Symptom Scale). The subjects were divided into four ethnic groups (Caucasian, Afro-Caribbean, African, and Asian) and a structured, qualitative interview on religious needs and self-concepts was also conducted. Using a multivariate analysis, we found statistically significant negative associations between the scores on ego and common pathology and religiosity and spirituality as covariates. This was seen across all ethnic groups. The findings are discussed in respect of the potential clinical importance of ethnic, religious and spiritual factors for assessment and management of patients with schizophrenia.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 6
    Pages 515-526
    Date September 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902800133
    ISSN 1367-4676
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/13674670902800133
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 9:32:41 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Religious participation and HIV-disclosure rationales among people living with HIV/AIDS in rural Swaziland

    Type Journal Article
    Author R Root
    Abstract Despite the cultural salience of Christianity in many parts of Africa and the expansion of antiretroviral treatment, few studies have examined experiences of religious participation among HIV-positive individuals. Correspondingly, most studies of HIV self-disclosure in sub-Saharan Africa focus primarily on disclosure to sexual partners. Addressing both concerns, the central concern of this article is HIV self-disclosure in church settings, where disclosure rationales functioned as a key heuristic to explore experience of HIV-positivity, religiosity, and church participation. Given 39.2% antenatal HIV prevalence in Swaziland - the highest in the world - and an estimated 6 500 local congregations, this article draws on a medical anthropological project in Swaziland to investigate experiences of church participation among HIV-positive individuals. The data were derived from semi-structured interviews with 28 HIV-positive individuals across three domains: 1) pre- and post-diagnosis religiosity; 2) HIV stigma and support in church settings; and 3) decisions around HIV disclosure. Field research and open-ended interviews with individuals close to people living with HIV, health personnel, and pastors provided important contextual data. A grounded theory analysis showed that HIV disclosure in church settings is a highly reflexive process, mediated by subjective religiosity, the social dynamics of church networks, and broader structural vulnerabilities. Church participation often entailed significant stigma, which negatively affected self-disclosure and help-seeking practices; however, a rhetoric of 'courage' emerged to describe individuals who voluntarily disclosed their HIV-positive status. Pastors and pastors' wives were key protagonists in disclosure strategies. A church-based defense of the meaning of personhood for people living with HIV was among the most important findings. Given that congregations in much of Africa are predominantly female, and because women comprised the majority of the sample, the study productively problematised church settings as sites of analysis where gender, poverty, and religion intersect disease epidemiology in ways that may have untapped programmatic implications.
    Publication AJAR - African Journal of AIDS Research
    Volume 8
    Issue 3
    Pages 295-309
    Date OCT 2009
    DOI 10.2989/AJAR.2009.8.3.6.927
    ISSN 1608-5906
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Friday, December 04, 2009 3:09:02 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Bypass surgery with psychological and spiritual support (the By.pass study): Study design and research methods

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jenny Rosendahl
    Author Katharina Tigges-Limmer
    Author Jan Gummert
    Author Ralf Dziewas
    Author Johannes Maximilian Albes
    Author Bernhard Strauss
    Abstract Effects of psychological as well as spiritual interventions on outcome in cardiac surgery have mostly been studied with a focus on presurgical interventions. Systematically controlled analyses of the effects of psychological and spiritual interventions depending on the patients' preference have not been performed so far, although these studies would help to assign patients to an adequate support. The By.pass study is a bicenter, controlled trial of patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery and coronary bypass surgery combined with valve replacement surgery in 2 different German hospitals. Patients are assigned to 1 of 5 conditions, mainly according to their personal therapeutic preference: preference for psychological interventions (group 1), preference for spiritual interventions (group 2), or preference for no intervention (group 5). Patients who are open for any kind of intervention are randomly assigned either to psychological (group 3) or spiritual interventions (group 4). Six months before the start and 6 months after the end of the treatment phase, patients were assigned to the control groups. These were asked about their subjective preference (psychological, spiritual, no intervention, or no specific preference) as well but received no interventions. Patients will be enrolled from October 2006 to December 2009. The 6-month follow-up will be completed in July 2010.
    Publication American Heart Journal
    Volume 158
    Issue 1
    Pages 8-14.e1
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.ahj.2009.04.017
    ISSN 0002-8703
    Short Title Bypass surgery with psychological and spiritual support (the By.pass study)
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6W9H-4WJH0Y8-5/2/c236f195f4a345cfcce97863e473f509
    Accessed Monday, September 14, 2009 10:58:53 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Notes:

    • The By.pass study is the first controlled trial systematically examining the effects of either psychological or spiritual support considering patient's preference and preoperative psychosocial risk on recovery after coronary bypass surgery.

  • Effects of transcendental meditation in veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom with posttraumatic stress disorder: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Joshua Z Rosenthal
    Author Sarina Grosswald
    Author Richard Ross
    Author Norman Rosenthal
    Abstract We conducted an uncontrolled pilot study to determine whether transcendental meditation (TM) might be helpful in treating veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Five veterans were trained in the technique and followed for 12 weeks. All subjects improved on the primary outcome measure, the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (mean change score, 31.4; p = 0.02; df = 4). Significant improvements were also observed for 3 secondary outcome measures: Clinician's Global Inventory-Severity (mean change score, 1.60; p < 0.04; df = 4), Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (mean change score, -13.00; p < 0.01; df = 4), and the PTSD Checklist-Military Version (mean change score, 24.00; p < 0.02; df = 4). TM may have helped to alleviate symptoms of PTSD and improve quality of life in this small group of veterans. Larger, placebo-controlled studies should be undertaken to further determine the efficacy of TM in this population.
    Publication Military Medicine
    Volume 176
    Issue 6
    Pages 626-630
    Date Jun 2011
    Journal Abbr Mil Med
    ISSN 0026-4075
    Short Title Effects of transcendental meditation in veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom with posttraumatic stress disorder
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21702378
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:11:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21702378
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction for chronic pain conditions: Variation in treatment outcomes and role of home meditation practice

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steven Rosenzweig
    Author Jeffrey M. Greeson
    Author Diane K. Reibel
    Author Joshua S. Green
    Author Samar A. Jasser
    Author Denise Beasley
    Abstract Objective This study compared changes in bodily pain, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and psychological symptoms during an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program among groups of participants with different chronic pain conditions.Methods From 1997-2003, a longitudinal investigation of chronic pain patients (n=133) was nested within a larger prospective cohort study of heterogeneous patients participating in MBSR at a university-based Integrative Medicine center. Measures included the Short-Form 36 Health Survey and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. Paired t tests were used to compare pre-post changes on outcome measures. Differences in treatment effect sizes were compared as a function of chronic pain condition. Correlations were examined between outcome parameters and home meditation practice.Results Outcomes differed in significance and magnitude across common chronic pain conditions. Diagnostic subgroups of patients with arthritis, back/neck pain, or two or more comorbid pain conditions demonstrated a significant change in pain intensity and functional limitations due to pain following MBSR. Participants with arthritis showed the largest treatment effects for HRQoL and psychological distress. Patients with chronic headache/migraine experienced the smallest improvement in pain and HRQoL. Patients with fibromyalgia had the smallest improvement in psychological distress. Greater home meditation practice was associated with improvement on several outcome measures, including overall psychological distress, somatization symptoms, and self-rated health, but not pain and other quality of life scales.Conclusion MBSR treatment effects on pain, HRQoL and psychological well-being vary as a function of chronic pain condition and compliance with home meditation practice.
    Publication Journal of Psychosomatic Research
    Volume 68
    Issue 1
    Pages 29-36
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2009.03.010
    ISSN 0022-3999
    Short Title Mindfulness-based stress reduction for chronic pain conditions
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 12:56:36 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Chronic pain
    • Compliance
    • Effect size
    • Health-related quality of life
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
    • Psychological distress

    Notes:

    • This study compared changes in bodily pain, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and psychological symptoms during an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program among groups of participants with different chronic pain conditions.From 1997-2003, a longitudinal investigation of chronic pain patients (n=133) was nested within a larger prospective cohort study of heterogeneous patients participating in MBSR at a university-based Integrative Medicine center. Measures included the Short-Form 36 Health Survey and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. Paired t tests were used to compare pre–post changes on outcome measures. Differences in treatment effect sizes were compared as a function of chronic pain condition. Correlations were examined between outcome parameters and home meditation practice.Outcomes differed in significance and magnitude across common chronic pain conditions. Diagnostic subgroups of patients with arthritis, back/neck pain, or two or more comorbid pain conditions demonstrated a significant change in pain intensity and functional limitations due to pain following MBSR. Participants with arthritis showed the largest treatment effects for HRQoL and psychological distress. Patients with chronic headache/migraine experienced the smallest improvement in pain and HRQoL. Patients with fibromyalgia had the smallest improvement in psychological distress. Greater home meditation practice was associated with improvement on several outcome measures, including overall psychological distress, somatization symptoms, and self-rated health, but not pain and other quality of life scales.MBSR treatment effects on pain, HRQoL and psychological well-being vary as a function of chronic pain condition and compliance with home meditation practice.

  • The role of religiousness in anxiety, depression, and happiness in a Jewish community sample: A preliminary investigation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author David H. Rosmarin
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author Annette Mahoney
    Abstract Although social scientists have convincingly demonstrated relationships between religious beliefs/practices and mental health, almost none of the empirical findings or related theory apply specifically to Jews. To address this limitation, we investigated the role of Jewish religiousness in anxiety, depression, and happiness, in a large Jewish community sample (n = 565). Several facets of global Jewish religiousness were examined, as well as a theoretically based Jewish religious variable, trust in God. A self-report measure of trust in God was created, and factor analyses yielded two reliable and valid subscales: trust in God and mistrust in God. Contrary to our hypotheses, global Jewish religiousness was on the whole unrelated to mental-health functioning. As expected, higher levels of trust in God were associated with less anxiety and depression, and greater personal happiness, whereas inverse associations emerged for the unanticipated but robust mistrust subscale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 2
    Pages 97-113
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802321933
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title The role of religiousness in anxiety, depression, and happiness in a Jewish community sample
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • ANXIETY -- Religious aspects
    • BELIEF & doubt -- Psychological aspects
    • HAPPINESS -- Religious aspects
    • JEWS -- Psychology
    • JUDAISM -- Customs & practices
    • MENTAL health -- Religious aspects
    • PSYCHOLOGY & religion
    • TRUST in God
  • Are religious beliefs relevant to mental health among Jews?

    Type Journal Article
    Author David H. Rosmarin
    Author Steven Pirutinsky
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author Elizabeth J. Krumrei
    Abstract Although considerable evidence has linked religious beliefs to mental health among Protestant Christians, previous theory and research has emphasized that practices play a more important role than beliefs for Jews. Beliefs about God’s benevolence may be salient for Orthodox Jews, however, as such beliefs are central to traditional Jewish doctrine. Two studies were conducted to compare the extent to which religious beliefs predicted depression and anxiety for Orthodox Jews, non-Orthodox Jews, and Protestants. Results indicated that beliefs were salient for Orthodox Jews and Protestants, and less relevant for non-Orthodox Jews. Among Orthodox Jews, religious beliefs remained a significant predictor of anxiety and depression after controlling for religious practices. Implications for clinical treatment of Jewish individuals are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 1
    Issue 3
    Pages 180-190
    Date August 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Rel Spiritua
    DOI 10.1037/a0016728
    ISSN 1941-1022
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pdh&AN=rel-1-3-180&…
    Accessed Saturday, September 12, 2009 6:43:52 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • Christians
    • depression
    • God
    • God Concepts
    • Jews
    • Major Depression
    • mental health
    • Protestant Christians
    • Protestants
    • religion
    • Religious Beliefs
    • Religious Practices
  • A randomized controlled evaluation of a spiritually integrated treatment for subclinical anxiety in the Jewish community, delivered via the Internet

    Type Journal Article
    Author David H. Rosmarin
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author Steven Pirutinsky
    Author Annette Mahoney
    Abstract Objective This study evaluated the efficacy of a spiritually integrated treatment (SIT) for subclinical anxiety in the Jewish community.Method One hundred and twenty-five self-reported religious Jewish individuals with elevated levels of stress and worry received SIT (n = 36), progressive muscle relaxation (PMR, n = 42), or a waitlist control condition (WLC, n = 47). SIT and PMR participants accessed Internet-based treatment on a daily basis for a period of 2 weeks. All participants completed self-report assessments at pre-treatment (T1), post-treatment (T2), and 6-8-week follow-up (T3).Results SIT participants reported large improvements in primary (stress and worry) and secondary (depression and intolerance of uncertainty) outcomes, and moderate improvements in spiritual outcomes (positive/negative religious coping; trust/mistrust in God). SIT participants reported greater belief in treatment credibility, greater expectancies from treatment and greater treatment satisfaction than PMR participants. SIT participants also reported better improvements in both primary outcomes (stress and worry), one of two secondary outcomes (intolerance of uncertainty), and two of four spiritual outcomes (positive religious coping and mistrust in God) compared to the WLC group, whereas PMR and WLC participants did not differ on most outcomes.Conclusions Results of this investigation offer initial support for the efficacy of SIT for the treatment of subclinical anxiety symptoms among religious Jews. Results further suggest that it is important to incorporate spiritual content into treatment to help facilitate the delivery of psychotherapy to religious individuals.
    Publication Journal of Anxiety Disorders
    Volume 24
    Issue 7
    Pages 799-808
    Date October 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.05.014
    ISSN 0887-6185
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VDK-508K819-1/2/5bf1be738d3afd981429a6fbc473175b
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:24:26 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Jewish community
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • Stress
    • Worry

    Notes:

  • Religion as a predictor of psychological distress in two religious communities

    Type Journal Article
    Author David H Rosmarin
    Author Elizabeth J Krumrei
    Author Gerhard Andersson
    Abstract Although spirituality and religion play a role in the lives of many North Americans, the relationship of these variables to symptoms of affective disorders has not been rigorously studied. The authors, therefore, evaluated the extent to which religious factors predicted symptoms of distress in a large community sample of 354 individuals (120 Christian and 234 Jewish). Results indicated that religious denomination was a poor predictor of distress. However, general religiousness (e.g. importance of religion), religious practices (e.g. frequency of prayer), and positive religious core beliefs predicted lower levels of worry, trait anxiety, and depressive symptoms, whereas negative religious core beliefs predicted increased symptoms. These variables accounted for a small but significant portion of the variance in reported symptoms after controlling for covariates. These findings are taken to indicate that religion is an important factor to consider when evaluating and treating distress in religious individuals. Implications for clinical practice of empirically supported treatments with religious individuals are explored.
    Publication Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
    Volume 38
    Issue 1
    Pages 54-64
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Cogn Behav Ther
    DOI 10.1080/16506070802477222
    ISSN 1651-2316
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:47:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19235602
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Christianity
    • Culture
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Judaism
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult
  • Do Spiritual Struggles Predict Poorer Physical/Mental Health Among Jews?

    Type Journal Article
    Author David H. Rosmarin
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author Kevin J. Flannelly
    Abstract Although spirituality and religion are generally associated with higher levels of physical and mental well-being, spiritual struggles, which involve tension in regard to spiritual issues, have been identified as a risk factor for poorer physical and mental health, especially among individuals with greater levels of personal religiousness. However, studies in this area have utilized predominantly Christian samples and the importance of spiritual struggles to Jews is not known. We proposed and tested two competing models in an adult Jewish community sample: (a) the Universal Effects model in which spiritual struggles were proposed to be associated with decreased levels of physical/mental health, and more problematic for more religious Jews, and (b) the Differential Effects model in which spiritual struggles were proposed to be generally unrelated to the physical/mental health of Jews, and even less impactful on religious Jews. We found some support for both models. Spiritual struggles were modestly associated with lower levels of physical/mental health in the sample as a whole, even after controlling for demographic covariates. However, at the highest levels of spiritual struggle, Orthodox Jews exhibited an increase in physical and mental health whereas non-Orthodox Jews' health continued to decrease.
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 19
    Issue 4
    Pages 244-258
    Date October 2009
    DOI 10.1080/10508610903143503
    ISSN 1050-8619
    URL http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1080/10508610903143503
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 9:41:03 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Spiritual and religious issues in behavior change: Introduction.

    Type Journal Article
    Author David H. Rosmarin
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author Harold B. Robb
    Abstract Spiritual and religious beliefs and practices are commonplace in the general population of North America today. In recognition of this fact, research on the interplay of spirituality, religion, and psychological variables increased substantially over the past 3 decades; a recent PsycInfo search identified over 28,000 scientific contributions to this area. However, the relevance of spirituality and religion to clinical practice remains poorly understood. As a result, many practitioners of empirically supported treatments may be reticent to address spirituality and religion in the course of their work. The intent of this special series is to help demystify this topic with the hope of increasing dissemination of spiritually sensitive, empirically supported treatments. The authors in this series cast some light on this understudied topic by highlighting several salient spiritual and religious issues in behavior change. Moreover, based on case material, the authors illustrate how to assess for and address both adaptive and maladaptive utilizations of spirituality and religion in the practice of cognitive behavior therapy. This introductory paper presents a rationale for why it is important to address this topic, and provides an overview of recent research developments in the creation of spiritually integrated psychosocial treatments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 343-347
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.02.007
    ISSN 1077-7229
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • Behavior Change
    • Clinical Practice
    • Cognitive Behavior Therapy
    • cultural sensitivity
    • Psychotherapy
    • religion
    • spiritual sensitivity
    • spirituality
  • Religion and Psychological Distress

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine E. Ross
    Abstract The positive emotional function of religion has been well accepted, but the evidence has not been conclusive. Furthermore, research has rarely made explicit comparisons to persons who claim to have no religion. Using a representative sample of Illinois residents (and controlling for sociodemographics and willingness to express feelings), I found that the stronger a person's religious belief, the lower the level of psychological distress. This supports the idea that religion reduces demoralization and provides hope and meaning. However, I also found that persons with no religion likewise had low levels of distress. Thus, there was a curvilinear effect of religious belief on distress. In addition, I found that Protestants had the lowest distress levels, followed by Catholics, Jews, and others. Differences in belief systems, however, especially a belief in the American Protestant ethic, did not explain differences in distress among religious groups. Strength of religious beliefs appears to be more important than content in explaining the effect of religion on psychological distress.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 29
    Issue 2
    Pages 236-245
    Date Jun., 1990
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1387431
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 12:05:49 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1990 / Copyright © 1990 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Using a representative sample of Illinois residents (and controlling for sociodemographics and willingness to express feelings), I found that the stronger a person’s religious belief, the lower the level of psychological distress. This supports the idea that religion reduces demoralization and provides hope and meaning. However, I also found that persons with no religion likewise had low levels of distress. Thus, there was a curvilinear effect of religious belief on distress.

  • The relationship of intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest religious orientations to Jungian psychological type among churchgoers in England and Wales.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christopher F. J. Ross
    Author Leslie J. Francis
    Abstract Employing the New Indices of Religious Orientation (NIRO), this study examines the theory that different religious orientations are related to individual differences in psychological type as developed by Carl Jung and operationalized by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Data provided by 481 weekly churchgoing Christians who completed the MBTI and the NIRO demonstrated that quest religious orientation scores were higher among intuitives than among sensers, but were unrelated to introversion and extraversion, thinking and feeling, or judging and perceiving; that intrinsic religious orientation scores were higher among extraverts than introverts, higher among sensers than intuitives and higher among feelers than thinkers, but unrelated to judging and perceiving; and that extrinsic religious orientation scores were unrelated to any of the four components of psychological type. The findings relating to Jungian psychological type differences are applied in order to elucidate the psychological significance of extrinsic, intrinsic, and quest orientations to religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 805-819
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802207462
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • The relationship between religion and religious coping: religious coping as a moderator between religion and adjustment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Keisha Ross
    Author Paul J Handal
    Author Eddie M Clark
    Author Jillon S Vander Wal
    Abstract This study examined the relationship between and among religion, religious coping, and positive/negative psychological adjustment and investigated whether the four religious coping styles of Self-Directing, Deferring, Collaborative, and Turning to Religion would significantly moderate the relationship between religion and psychological adjustment. Each of the four religious coping measures were significant moderators between religion and positive and negative adjustment. However, the high self-directing and high religion group showed opposite results from the other three coping styles, in that they were the most maladjusted and least satisfied with life compared to the other three integration and religious coping groups. The participants high on religion and high deferring, high collaborative, and high turning to religion groups were less maladjusted and more satisfied than the other three groups in each of these religious coping styles.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 454-467
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9199-5
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title The relationship between religion and religious coping
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19890721
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 12:13:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19890721
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Prayer and self-reported health among cancer survivors in the United States, National Health Interview Survey, 2002

    Type Journal Article
    Author Louie E Ross
    Author Ingrid J Hall
    Author Temeika L Fairley
    Author Yhenneko J Taylor
    Author Daniel L Howard
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: At least 10.8 million living Americans have been diagnosed with cancer, and about 1.5 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2008. The purpose of this study was to examine prayer for health and self-reported health among a sample of men and women with a personal history of cancer. METHODS: We used data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, which collected information on complementary and alternative medicine practices. RESULTS: Among 2262 men and women with a history of cancer, 68.5% reported having prayed for their own health and 72% reported good or better health status. Among cancer survivors, praying for one's own health was associated with several sociodemographic variables including being female, non-Hispanic black, and married. Compared to persons with a history of skin cancer, persons with a history of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, a cancer with a short survival period (e.g., pancreatic cancer), or other cancers were more likely to pray for their health. Persons who reported good or better health were more likely to be female, younger, have higher levels of education and income, and have no history of additional chronic disease. Overall, praying for one's own health was inversely associated with good or better health status. CONCLUSIONS: Data from this nationally representative sample indicate that prayer for health is commonly used among people with a history of cancer and that use of prayer varies by cancer site. The findings should add to the current body of literature that debates issues around spirituality, decision-making about treatment, and physician care.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 14
    Issue 8
    Pages 931-938
    Date Oct 2008
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2007.0788
    ISSN 1557-7708
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18925865
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:30:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18925865
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Faith Healing
    • Female
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Neoplasms
    • religion
    • Self Care
    • spirituality
    • Survivors
    • United States

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to examine prayer for health and self-reported health among a sample of men and women with a personal history of cancer. Conclusions: Data indicate that prayer for health is commonly used among people with a history of cancer and that use of prayer varies by cancer site.

  • Is religiosity a protective factor against substance use in young adulthood? Only if you're straight!

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sharon S Rostosky
    Author Fred Danner
    Author Ellen D B Riggle
    Abstract PURPOSE: Previous research has documented that substance use peaks during young adulthood and that religiosity provides a protective effect against binge drinking, marijuana use, and cigarette smoking. The majority of these studies do not examine sexual identity as it relates to these factors. Drawing on social influence and developmental theories, we tested the hypothesis that religiosity would provide a protective effect for heterosexual but not sexual minority young adults. METHOD: Waves 1 and 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health provided data for the study. Three young adult sexual identity groups were formed: sexual minorities who did not report same-sex attraction at Wave 1 (NA), sexual minorities who did report same-sex attraction at Wave 1 (SSA), and heterosexuals (HET) (sample n = 764). RESULTS: Religiosity measured at baseline had no significant effect on past-year substance use, measured six years later in sexual minority young adults. For heterosexual young adults, each unit increase in religiosity reduced the odds of binge drinking by 9%, marijuana use by 20%, and cigarette smoking by 13%. CONCLUSIONS: Religiosity was not protective against substance use in sexual minority young adults, cautioning against over-generalizing previous findings about the protective effects of religiosity. Future studies that 1) consider the social context for sexual identity development, 2) model both risk and protective factors, and 3) use multidimensional measures of religiosity (and spirituality) and sexual identity are needed to build the necessary knowledge base for effective health promotion efforts among sexual minority youth and young adults.
    Publication The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
    Volume 40
    Issue 5
    Pages 440-447
    Date May 2007
    Journal Abbr J Adolesc Health
    DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.11.144
    ISSN 1879-1972
    Short Title Is religiosity a protective factor against substance use in young adulthood?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17448402
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:37:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17448402
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Age Distribution
    • Attitude to Health
    • Child
    • Cohort Studies
    • CONFIDENCE intervals
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Minority Groups
    • Odds Ratio
    • Prevalence
    • Probability
    • Psychosexual Development
    • religion
    • Risk Assessment
    • Sex Distribution
    • Sexual Partners
    • spirituality
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Drawing on social influence and developmental theories, we tested the hypothesis that religiosity would provide a protective effect for heterosexual but not sexual minority young adults. Conclusions: Religiosity was not protective against substance use in sexual minority young adults, cautioning against over-generalizing previous findings about the protective effects of religiosity.

  • Looking at infertility through the lens of religion and spirituality: a review of the literature

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robab Latifnejad Roudsari
    Author Helen T Allan
    Author Pam A Smith
    Abstract In spite of the growing body of literature that has focused on medical, psychological, social, and cultural consequences of infertility, issues such as religious and spiritual dimensions of infertility have received little attention. Considering that infertility is a multifaceted problem and results in multiple losses, we argue that health professionals need to consider all aspects of holistic care when caring for women with fertility problems. Holistic care considers not only the psychological, social and cultural needs of individuals, but also their religious and spiritual needs. Women may use their religious/spiritual beliefs to cope with crisis, and to find meaning and hope in their suffering. This article reviews the literature on religion/spirituality and infertility using Medline, CINAHL, PBSC, IBSS and ISI Web of Knowledge from 1985 to the present. It focuses on religious and spiritual care as one aspect of holistic care of women with fertility problems, and draws attention to the religious perspectives of infertility and reproductive technologies. It highlights the spiritual dimension of the infertility experience in previous research, and concludes with a discussion on the gaps in the literature and the implications of including religious and spiritual issues in infertile women's care.
    Publication Human Fertility (Cambridge, England)
    Volume 10
    Issue 3
    Pages 141-149
    Date Sep 2007
    Journal Abbr Hum Fertil (Camb)
    DOI 10.1080/14647270601182677
    ISSN 1464-7273
    Short Title Looking at infertility through the lens of religion and spirituality
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17786646
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:54:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17786646
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Faith Healing
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Infertility
    • MEDLINE
    • religion
    • Reproductive Techniques
    • social support
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This article reviews the literature on religion/spirituality and infertility using Medline, CINAHL, PBSC, IBSS and ISI Web of Knowledge from 1985 to the present. It focuses on religious and spiritual care as one aspect of holistic care of women with fertility problems, and draws attention to the religious perspectives of infertility and reproductive technologies.

  • "Driving the devil away": qualitative insights into miraculous cures for AIDS in a rural Tanzanian ward

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maria Roura
    Author Ray Nsigaye
    Author Benjamin Nhandi
    Author Joyce Wamoyi
    Author Joanna Busza
    Author Mark Urassa
    Author Jim Todd
    Author Basia Zaba
    Abstract ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The role of religious beliefs in the prevention of HIV and attitudes towards the infected has received considerable attention. However, little research has been conducted on Faith Leaders' (FLs) perceptions of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the developing world. This study investigated FLs' attitudes towards different HIV treatment options (traditional, medical and spiritual) available in a rural Tanzanian ward. METHODS: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 FLs purposively selected to account for all the denominations present in the area. Data was organised into themes using the software package NVIVO-7. The field work guidelines were tailored as new topics emerged and additional codes progressively added to the coding frame. RESULTS: Traditional healers (THs) and FLs were often reported as antagonists but duality prevailed and many FLs simultaneously believed in traditional healing. Inter-denomination mobility was high and guided by pragmatism. Praying for the sick was a common practice and over one third of respondents said that prayer could cure HIV. Being HIV-positive was often seen as "a punishment from God" and a consequence of sin. As sinning could result from "the work of Satan", forgiveness was possible, and a "reconciliation with God" deemed as essential for a favourable remission of the disease. Several FLs believed that "evil spirits" inflicted through witchcraft could cause the disease and claimed that they could cast "demons" away. While prayers could potentially cure HIV "completely", ART use was generally not discouraged because God had "only a part to play". The perceived potential superiority of spiritual options could however lead some users to interrupt treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The roll-out of ART is taking place in a context in which the new drugs are competing with a diversity of existing options. As long as the complementarities of prayers and ART are not clearly and explicitly stated by FLs, spiritual options may be interpreted as a superior alternative and contribute to hampering adherence to ART. In contexts where ambivalent attitudes towards the new drugs prevail, enhancing FLs understanding of ART's strengths and pitfalls is an essential step to engage them as active partners in ART scale-up programs.
    Publication BMC Public Health
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 427
    Date Jul 20, 2010
    Journal Abbr BMC Public Health
    DOI 10.1186/1471-2458-10-427
    ISSN 1471-2458
    Short Title "Driving the devil away"
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:45:40 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20646300
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • The neurobiology of Meditation and its clinical effectiveness in psychiatric disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author Katya Rubia
    Abstract This paper reviews the evidence for changes of Meditation on body and brain physiology and for clinical effectiveness in disorders of psychiatry. The aim of Meditation is to reduce or eliminate irrelevant thought processes through training of internalised attention, thought to lead to physical and mental relaxation, stress reduction, psycho-emotional stability and enhanced concentration. Physiological evidence shows a reduction with Meditation of stress-related autonomic and endocrine measures, while neuroimaging studies demonstrate the functional up-regulation of brain regions of affect regulation and attention control. Clinical studies show some evidence for the effectiveness of Meditation in disorders of affect, anxiety and attention. The combined evidence from neurobiological and clinical studies seems promising. However, a more thorough understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of action and clinical effectiveness of the different Meditative practices is needed before Meditative practices can be leveraged in the prevention and intervention of mental illness.
    Publication Biological Psychology
    Volume 82
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-11
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr Biol Psychol
    DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.04.003
    ISSN 1873-6246
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:16:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19393712
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Mental Disorders
    • Negotiating
    • Neurobiology
  • Spirituality in well and ill adolescents and their parents: the use of two assessment scales

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel Rubin
    Author Melissa Dodd
    Author Neelam Desai
    Author Bradley Pollock
    Author John Graham-Pole
    Abstract The literature supporting a relationship between religion/spirituality and physical/mental health has led to recommendations that health professionals attend to these issues in patient assessment and intervention. Many studies indicate that spiritual issues are important to adolescents, especially those with physical and/or psychological health concerns. Although several instruments have been developed to measure religion/spirituality in adults, no validated instrument currently exists for assessing this concept in children or adolescents. The applicability of two adult scales, the SIBS and the SWBS, were assessed to explore the spiritual well-being of adolescents by comparing spirituality scores of 38 chronically ill and 38 healthy adolescents and their parents. No significant difference was found between ill and well adolescents on either scale. Parents scored significantly higher than adolescents on both scales. Although this could indicate that parents have greater spiritual well-being than their children, these two findings taken together suggest these measures may be insufficiently sensitive measures of spirituality in childhood. This is supported by the finding that most adolescents and their parents felt both scales to be ineffective measures of adolescent spirituality. The authors concluded that a more specific scale should be developed for measuring spirituality in the young, especially those with chronic illness. Such an instrument might best be developed through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
    Publication Pediatric Nursing
    Volume 35
    Issue 1
    Pages 37-42
    Date 2009 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr Pediatr Nurs
    ISSN 0097-9805
    Short Title Spirituality in well and ill adolescents and their parents
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:17:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19378572
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Case-Control Studies
    • Child
    • Chronic Disease
    • Humans
    • Parents
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • spirituality
  • Spirituality in well and ill adolescents and their parents: the use of two assessment scales

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel Rubin
    Author Melissa Dodd
    Author Neelam Desai
    Author Bradley Pollock
    Author John Graham-Pole
    Abstract The literature supporting a relationship between religion/spirituality and physical/mental health has led to recommendations that health professionals attend to these issues in patient assessment and intervention. Many studies indicate that spiritual issues are important to adolescents, especially those with physical and/or psychological health concerns. Although several instruments have been developed to measure religion/spirituality in adults, no validated instrument currently exists for assessing this concept in children or adolescents. The applicability of two adult scales, the SIBS and the SWBS, were assessed to explore the spiritual well-being of adolescents by comparing spirituality scores of 38 chronically ill and 38 healthy adolescents and their parents. No significant difference was found between ill and well adolescents on either scale. Parents scored significantly higher than adolescents on both scales. Although this could indicate that parents have greater spiritual well-being than their children, these two findings taken together suggest these measures may be insufficiently sensitive measures of spirituality in childhood. This is supported by the finding that most adolescents and their parents felt both scales to be ineffective measures of adolescent spirituality. The authors concluded that a more specific scale should be developed for measuring spirituality in the young, especially those with chronic illness. Such an instrument might best be developed through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
    Publication Pediatric Nursing
    Volume 35
    Issue 1
    Pages 37-42
    Date 2009 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr Pediatr Nurs
    ISSN 0097-9805
    Short Title Spirituality in well and ill adolescents and their parents
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19378572
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:59:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19378572
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Case-Control Studies
    • Child
    • Chronic Disease
    • Humans
    • Parents
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The applicability of two adult scales, the SIBS and the SWBS, were assessed to explore the spiritual well-being of adolescents by comparing spirituality scores of 38 chronically ill and 38 healthy adolescents and their parents. No significant difference was found between ill and well adolescents on either scale. Parents scored significantly higher than adolescents on both scales. These two findings taken together suggest these measures may be insufficiently sensitive measures of spirituality in childhood.

  • Delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia: sociocultural and religious background

    Type Journal Article
    Author Palmira Rudalevičienė
    Author Virginija Adomaitienė
    Author Thomas Stompe
    Author Andrius Narbekovas
    Author Kazimieras Meilius
    Author Nijole Raškauskienė
    Author Jurgis Rudalevičius
    Author Robertas Bunevičius
    Abstract This article presents data on the phenomenology of delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia and determines parallels between sociodemographic status and personal religiosity and this type of delusions. We have studied the content of delusions in patients with schizophrenia looking for persecution and poisoning themes using Fragebogen fuer psychotische Symptome (FPS). A total of 295 patients suffering from schizophrenia participated in this study; 74.7% reported delusions of persecution. The proportion of female patients (81.9%) who felt persecuted was almost one-third higher than the proportion of male patients (66.9%). The prevalence of delusions of persecution was lower in the group of persons for whom their faith was personally important (73.4%) than in the atheistic group (86.7%). Delusions of persecution and poisoning were strongly intercorrelated. Delusions of poisoning were reported by 57.8% of respondents: 54.8% by male and 60.6% by female patients. In multivariate analysis, delusions of persecution were more prevalent in women compared to men; in those with a chronic course of illness compared to those with periodic course; in those with small size of family compared to those with large family. The presence of delusions of being poisoned was related to older age of the patient, higher than secondary education, chronic course of schizophrenia, and younger parental age. Personal importance of the faith was not associated with prevalence of delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia.
    Publication Medicina
    Volume 46
    Issue 3
    Pages 185-192
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Medicina (Kaunas)
    ISSN 1648-9144
    Short Title Delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 6:02:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20516758
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Religious subgroups influencing vaccination coverage in the Dutch Bible belt: an ecological study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Wilhelmina Lm Ruijs
    Author Jeannine LA Hautvast
    Author Koos van der Velden
    Author Sjoerd de Vos
    Author Hans Knippenberg
    Author Marlies Ejl Hulscher
    Abstract ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The Netherlands has experienced epidemics of vaccine preventable diseases largely confined to the Bible belt, an area where -among others- orthodox protestant groups are living. Lacking information on the vaccination coverage in this minority, and its various subgroups, control of vaccine preventable diseases is focused on the geographical area of the Bible belt. However, the adequacy of this strategy is questionable. This study assesses the influence of presence of various orthodox protestant subgroups (orthodox protestant denominations, OPDs) on municipal vaccination coverage in the Bible belt. METHODS: We performed an ecological study at municipality level. Data on number of inhabitants, urbanization level, socio-economical status, immigration and vaccination coverage were obtained from national databases. As religion is not registered in the Netherlands, membership numbers of the OPDs had to be obtained from church year books and via church offices. For all municipalities in the Netherlands, the effect of presence or absence of OPDs on vaccination coverage was assessed by comparing mean vaccination coverage. For municipalities where OPDs were present, the effect of each of them (measured as membership ratio, the number of members proportional to total number of inhabitants) on vaccination coverage was assessed by bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis in a model containing the determinants immigration, socio-economical status and urbanization as well. RESULTS: Mean vaccination coverage (93.5% ± 4.7) in municipalities with OPDs (n = 135) was significantly lower (p < 0.001) than in 297 municipalities without OPDs (96.9% ± 2.1). Multiple regression analyses showed that in municipalities with OPDs 84% of the variance in vaccination coverage was explained by the presence of these OPDs. Immigration had a significant, but small explanatory effect as well. Membership ratios of all OPDs were negatively related to vaccination coverage; this relationship was strongest for two very conservative OPDs. CONCLUSION: As variance in municipal vaccination coverage in the Bible belt is largely explained by membership ratios of the various OPDs, control of vaccine preventable diseases should be focused on these specific risk groups. In current policy part of the orthodox protestant risk group is missed.
    Publication BMC Public Health
    Volume 11
    Issue 1
    Pages 102
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr BMC Public Health
    DOI 10.1186/1471-2458-11-102
    ISSN 1471-2458
    Short Title Religious subgroups influencing vaccination coverage in the Dutch Bible belt
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:18:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21320348
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
  • Toward understanding the usefulness of complementary and alternative medicine for individuals with serious mental illnesses: classification of perceived benefits

    Type Journal Article
    Author Zlatka Russinova
    Author Dane Cash
    Author Nancy J Wewiorski
    Abstract Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been gaining interest among individuals with serious mental illnesses. Yet, very little is known about how CAM may be beneficial to mental health. This study explored the specific benefits attributed to CAM by a national sample of 255 individuals with a serious mental illness who experienced CAM as having a positive impact on their mental health. Data about the CAM benefits were gathered through open-ended questions embedded in a mail survey that examined the patterns of CAM use in this population. Qualitative analysis revealed a wide spectrum of benefits that encompassed all major areas of human functioning, including physical, emotional, cognitive, self, social, spiritual, and overall functioning, and addressed both the improvement of psychiatric symptomatology and the promotion of functional recovery. Study findings provide useful information that can guide both everyday clinical practice and future research on the efficacy of CAM for psychiatric populations.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 197
    Issue 1
    Pages 69-73
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31819251fe
    ISSN 1539-736X
    Short Title Toward understanding the usefulness of complementary and alternative medicine for individuals with serious mental illnesses
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19155814
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:49:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19155814
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Cognition
    • Complementary Therapies
    • Emotions
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Recovery of Function
    • Self Concept
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This study explored the specific benefits attributed to CAM by a national sample of 255 individuals with a serious mental illness who experienced CAM as having a positive impact on their mental health.

  • Things will get better: the anxiety-buffering qualities of progressive hope

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bastiaan T Rutjens
    Author Joop van der Pligt
    Author Frenk van Harreveld
    Abstract Terror management theory argues that people can cope with the psychological threat of their own death by bolstering faith in their cultural worldviews. Based on the notion that-since the Age of Enlightenment-belief or faith in progress has become one of the defining qualities of modern Western thinking, we expected that this belief serves as a buffer against mortality concerns. Three experiments were conducted to test the relationship between existential anxiety and belief in progress. Results of Experiment 1 show that mortality salience increased participants' disagreement with an essay on the illusory notion of human progress. The same essay increased death-thought accessibility in Experiment 2. In Experiment 3, belief in progress and mortality salience were manipulated. Results show that bolstering belief in progress buffered the effects of mortality salience on death-thought accessibility and diminished subsequent defensive reactions to a cultural worldview-threatening essay.
    Publication Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
    Volume 35
    Issue 5
    Pages 535-543
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Pers Soc Psychol Bull
    DOI 10.1177/0146167208331252
    ISSN 0146-1672
    Short Title Things will get better
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:47:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19234297
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Anxiety
    • Attitude to Death
    • Culture
    • Defense Mechanisms
    • Dental Anxiety
    • existentialism
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Motivation
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Social Values
    • spirituality
    • Technology
    • Young Adult
  • Means-Ends Spirituality Questionnaire: Reliability, Validity and Relationship to Psychological Well-Being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathleen Ryan
    Author Basil Fiorito
    Abstract Research on the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being is increasingly focused on identifying aspects of religious/spiritual involvement that have a salutary effect on mental health and those that do not. The current study proposes that it matters to one's well-being what religious/spiritual goals are sought and which means are used to attain those goals. The current study examines the functional relationship between spiritual/religious means and ends in regards to psychological well-being. Study 1 examines the reliability and validity of a new spirituality means-ends questionnaire (M-E SQ); Study 2 examines the utility of the instrument in predicting psychological well-being. Three dimensions of spiritual goal strivings were assessed: approach-avoidance orientation, ordinary-unseen reality, and autonomous-external control. Results indicated one of two latent means factors, devotional but not transformational means, was associated with high levels of well-being. Two ends dimensions of avoidance and ordinary goals were associated with low levels of well-being. Interestingly, the deleterious effects of avoidance and ordinary goals appear to be moderated by how one scores on devotional or transformational means, or approach goals. The present study demonstrates the utility of a means-ends framework for identifying relevant spiritual variables to add to our understanding of the religion-mental health link.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 45
    Issue 2
    Pages 130-154
    Date Dec., 2003
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Means-Ends Spirituality Questionnaire
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3512579
    Accessed Friday, September 25, 2009 1:12:24 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 2003 / Copyright © 2003 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Research on the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being is increasingly focused on identifying aspects of religious/spiritual involvement that have a salutary effect on mental health and those that do not. The current study proposes that it matters to one’s well-being what religious/spiritual goals are sought and which means are used to attain those goals.

  • Exercise, yoga, and meditation for depressive and anxiety disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sy Atezaz Saeed
    Author Diana J Antonacci
    Author Richard M Bloch
    Abstract Anxiety and depression are among the most common conditions cited by those seeking treatment with complementary and alternative therapies, such as exercise, meditation, tai chi, qigong, and yoga. The use of these therapies is increasing. Several studies of exercise and yoga have demonstrated therapeutic effectiveness superior to no-activity controls and comparable with established depression and anxiety treatments (e.g., cognitive behavior therapy, sertraline, imipramine). High-energy exercise (i.e., weekly expenditure of at least 17.5 kcal per kg) and frequent aerobic exercise (i.e., at least three to five times per week) reduce symptoms of depression more than less frequent or lower-energy exercise. Mindful meditation and exercise have positive effects as adjunctive treatments for depressive disorders, although some studies show multiple methodological weaknesses. For anxiety disorders, exercise and yoga have also shown positive effects, but there are far less data on the effects of exercise on anxiety than for exercise on depression. Tai chi, qigong, and meditation have not shown effectiveness as alternative treatments for depression and anxiety.
    Publication American Family Physician
    Volume 81
    Issue 8
    Pages 981-986
    Date Apr 15, 2010
    Journal Abbr Am Fam Physician
    ISSN 1532-0650
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 5:36:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20387774
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Yoga and mindfulness: Clinical aspects of an ancient mind/body practice.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Salmon
    Author Elizabeth Lush
    Author Megan Jablonski
    Author Sandra E. Sephton
    Abstract The use of Yoga and other complementary healthcare interventions for both clinical and non-clinical populations has increased substantially in recent years. In this context, we describe the implementation of Hatha Yoga in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program of Kabat-Zinn and colleagues. This is embedded in a more general consideration of Yoga’s place in complementary healthcare. In providing this overview, we comment on the nature and quality of current research on Yoga, summarize current physiological and psychological explanations of its effects, and discuss practical issues related to teacher training and experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 59-72
    Date February 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.cbpra.2008.07.002
    ISSN 1077-7229
    Short Title Yoga and mindfulness
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • clinical aspects
    • colleagues
    • Dualism
    • healthcare interventions
    • intervention
    • mind body practice
    • Mindfulness
    • mindfulness based stress reduction
    • Personnel Training
    • Primary Health Care
    • Stress
    • teacher training
    • teachers
    • Teaching
    • teaching experience
    • yoga
  • A controlled study of the effect of a mindfulness-based stress reduction technique in women with multiple chemical sensitivity, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tara Sampalli
    Author Elizabeth Berlasso
    Author Roy Fox
    Author Mark Petter
    Abstract BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to examine the effect of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on women diagnosed with conditions such as multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and fibromyalgia (FM). METHODS The intervention group underwent a 10-week MBSR program. Symptoms Checklist Inventory (SCL-90R) was used as outcome measure and was administered before the start of the program (pre-), immediately upon completion (post-) and at three-month follow-up. Women on the wait list to receive treatment at the Nova Scotia Environmental Health Centre were used as control subjects for the study. RESULTS A total of 50 participants in the intervention group and 26 in the wait-list controls group were recruited for this study. Global scores in the intervention group reached statistical significance pre-post (<0.0001) and at pre-follow-up (<0.0001) while the global scores in the control group remained the same. Five of nine and eight of nine subscales of the SCL-90R showed improvement of statistical significance in MBSR group following treatment and at three-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS The study showed the importance of complementary interventions such as MBSR techniques in the reduction of psychological distress in women with chronic conditions.
    Publication Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
    Volume 2
    Pages 53-59
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Multidiscip Healthc
    ISSN 1178-2390
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21197347
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21197347
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Fibromyalgia
    • MBSR
    • mindfulness based stress reduction
  • A randomized trial of a church-based diabetes self-management program for African Americans with type 2 diabetes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carmen D Samuel-Hodge
    Author Thomas C Keyserling
    Author Sola Park
    Author Larry F Johnston
    Author Ziya Gizlice
    Author Shrikant I Bangdiwala
    Abstract PURPOSE: This study developed and tested a culturally appropriate, church-based intervention to improve diabetes self-management. Research Design and Methods This was a randomized trial conducted at 24 African American churches in central North Carolina. Churches were randomized to receive the special intervention (SI; 13 churches, 117 participants) or the minimal intervention (MI; 11 churches, 84 participants). The SI included an 8-month intensive phase, consisting of 1 individual counseling visit, 12 group sessions, monthly phone contacts, and 3 encouragement postcards, followed by a 4-month reinforcement phase including monthly phone contacts. The MI received standard educational pamphlets by mail. Outcomes were assessed at 8 and 12 months; the primary outcome was comparison of 8-month A1C levels. RESULTS: At baseline, the mean age was 59 years, A1C 7.8%, and body mass index 35.0 kg/m(2); 64% of participants were female. For the 174 (87%) participants returning for 8-month measures, mean A1C (adjusted for baseline and group randomization) was 7.4% for SI and 7.8% for MI, with a difference of 0.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.1-0.6, P = .009). In a larger model adjusting for additional variables, the difference was 0.5% (95% CI, 0.2-0.7, P < .001). At 12 months, the difference between groups was not significant. Diabetes knowledge and diabetes-related quality of life significantly improved in the SI group compared with the MI group. Among SI participants completing an acceptability questionnaire, intervention components and materials were rated as highly acceptable. CONCLUSIONS: The church-based intervention was well received by participants and improved short-term metabolic control.
    Publication The Diabetes Educator
    Volume 35
    Issue 3
    Pages 439-454
    Date 2009 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Diabetes Educ
    DOI 10.1177/0145721709333270
    ISSN 0145-7217
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:17:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19383882
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • African Continental Ancestry Group
    • Blood Pressure
    • Body Weight
    • Counseling
    • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
    • Diabetic Diet
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated
    • Humans
    • Income
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Pamphlets
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Self Care
  • Spirituality and Quality of Life in Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy (RT) at a NCI-designated Cancer Center: Preliminary Report from the Knight Cancer Institute Patient-related Outcomes (PRO) Database

    Type Journal Article
    Author B.T. Samuelson
    Author E.K. Fromme
    Author T.L. McDonald
    Author J.G. Waller
    Author C.D. Fuller
    Author C.R. Thomas
    Abstract Purpose/Objective(s) Spirituality is important but poorly understood. This study evaluates the impact of radiation therapy (RT) on spiritual well-being and quality of life (QOL). Materials/Methods A retrospective, IRB-approved chart review was performed of 722 patients receiving RT for any cancer diagnosis between 1/1/2006 and 12/31/2008. Subjects completed the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy General (FACT-G) and Spirituality (Sp-12) questionnaires before and after radiation therapy as part of the department's efforts to incorporate Patient Reported Outcomes into clinical care. Pre- and immediately post-RT course scores were compared using student t-tests with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons (8 comparisons, alpha = .00625). Results A total of 722 of 1369 (52.7%) possible patients participated in the PRO database. Of these, complete pre and post RT spirituality data were available for 406 (56.2%). Of these patients, 270 (66.5%) were male and 136 (33.5%) were female, 340 (83.7%) received definitive treatment and 64 (15.8) received palliative treatment. The average age was 61.1 years. Global QOL declined between pre and post-RT (81.3 to 78.9 (p < .001). This was caused largely by declines in physical wellbeing (22.1 to 19.4 (p < .001) while emotional well being (18.4 to 19.3 (p < .001) improved and social/family wellbeing (22.7 to 22.6, p = .544) and functional (18.1 to 17.63 (p = 0.063) wellbeing remained constant. Overall spirituality remained constant (35.7 to 36.5, p = .023) including both the faith and meaning/peace subscales. In exploratory subgroup analyses, women's scores on the faith subscale increased significantly (10.92 to 11.87, p = .001) although their meaning/peace subscale increase was not significant. Conclusions Spiritual wellbeing, like social/family wellbeing and functional wellbeing, did not change between pre and post RT, while physical wellbeing worsened and emotional wellbeing improved. Patient reported outcomes like QOL and spirituality should be routinely embedded into therapeutic-based clinical trials involving RT, including emerging technologies, in order to better understand their true impact.
    Publication International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics
    Volume 78
    Issue 3, Supplement 1
    Pages S604-S605
    Date November 1, 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2010.07.1407
    ISSN 0360-3016
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T7X-514GTCR-1P6/2/facb478bd5fbf49c1339494208d257de
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:42:00 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM

    Notes:

    • This study evaluates the impact of radiation therapy on spiritual well-being and quality of life.

  • Forgiveness, spiritual instability, mental health symptoms, and well-being: Mediator effects of differentiation of self.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steven J. Sandage
    Author Peter J. Jankowski
    Abstract The present study tested the theoretical formulation based on Bowenian theory and Volfian theology that differentiation of self (DoS) serves as a mediator variable by which dispositional forgiveness is associated with indices of spiritual and mental health. Data were collected in a sample (N = 213) of graduate students (mean age = 34.46 years) at a Protestant-affiliated university. Results supported the hypotheses with DoS mediating the relationship between dispositional forgiveness and (a) spiritual instability, (b) mental health symptoms, and (c) psychological well-being. Implications are considered for future research on forgiveness, DoS, and spirituality, as well as clinical interventions related to self-regulation and trauma symptoms.
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 2
    Issue 3
    Pages 168-180
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    DOI 10.1037/a0019124
    ISSN 1943-1562
    URL http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?
    doi=10.1037/a0019124
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • Quest and spiritual development moderated by spiritual transformation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steven Sandage
    Author Peter Jankowski
    Author Deborah C. Link
    Abstract A relational model of spirituality and transformation (Shults & Sandage, 2006; Sandage & Shults, 2007) based on the dialectic of spiritual dwelling and seeking (Wuthnow, 1998) was tested in a sample of Christian graduate seminary students (N = 181). Spiritual dwelling was operationalized using a developmental measure of realistic acceptance (RA)(Hall & Edwards, 2002), and spiritual seeking was measured with the Quest Scale (Batson & Schoenrade, 1991a, 1991b). Results included modest positive correlations between Quest and Spiritual Instability, Spiritual Disappointment, and Mental Health Symptoms and modest negative correlations between both RA and Mental Health Symptoms. The report of a recent spiritual transformation moderated the curvilinear relationship between Quest and RA supporting the relational spirituality model. Implications are considered for future research on dialectical understandings of spiritual development and for training programs in the helping professions.
    Publication Journal of Psychology and Theology
    Volume 38
    Issue 1
    Pages 15-31
    Date SPR 2010
    ISSN 0091-6471
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 7:04:22 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • The Spiritual Experience in Recovery: A Closer Look

    Type Journal Article
    Author Charles J. Sandoz
    Publication Journal of Ministry in Addiction & Recovery
    Volume 6
    Issue 2
    Pages 53
    Date 1999
    DOI 10.1300/J048v06n02_05
    ISSN 1053-8755
    Short Title The Spiritual Experience in Recovery
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1300/J048v06n02_05
    Accessed Thursday, October 22, 2009 10:46:33 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Psychotherapy: What's metaphysical got to do with it?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Randy A. Sansone
    Author Lori A. Sansone
    Abstract Clinicians have a number of treatment options for dealing with the emotional ills of patients, including psychoeducation, psychotherapy, and pharmacotherapy. However, after years of experience in the clinical field, we have recognized that these treatment options may not be sufficient to adequately address the problems of some patients. We have found that adding a metaphysical/spiritual component may be helpful, particularly for those patients with histories of childhood trauma. In this edition of The Interface, we discuss four metaphysical techniques for facilitating patient healing—1) refocusing on the present, 2) reframing adversity, 3) practicing surrender, and 4) meditation. These approaches can be mutually integrated and compliment a psychological treatment in either the psychiatric or primary care setting, regardless of whether or not the patient has formal religious beliefs.
    Publication Psychiatry
    Volume 6
    Issue 12
    Pages 26-31
    Date January 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychiatry (Edgmont)
    ISSN 1550-5952
    Library Catalog PubMed Central
    Extra PMID: 20104289 PMCID: 2811141
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Yoga for chronic low back pain in a predominantly minority population: a pilot randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert B Saper
    Author Karen J Sherman
    Author Diana Cullum-Dugan
    Author Roger B Davis
    Author Russell S Phillips
    Author Larry Culpepper
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Several studies suggest yoga may be effective for chronic low back pain; however, trials targeting minorities have not been conducted. PRIMARY STUDY OBJECTIVES: Assess the feasibility of studying yoga in a predominantly minority population with chronic low back pain. Collect preliminary data to plan a larger powered study. STUDY DESIGN: Pilot randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Two community health centers in a racially diverse neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty English-speaking adults (mean age 44 years, 83% female, 83% racial/ethnic minorities; 48% with incomes < or = $30,000) with moderate-to-severe chronic low back pain. INTERVENTIONS: Standardized series of weekly hatha yoga classes for 12 weeks compared to a waitlist usual care control. OUTCOME MEASURES: Feasibility measured by time to complete enrollment, proportion of racial/ethnic minorities enrolled, retention rates, and adverse events. Primary efficacy outcomes were changes from baseline to 12 weeks in pain score (0=no pain to 10=worst possible pain) and back-related function using the modified Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (0-23 point scale, higher scores reflect poorer function). Secondary efficacy outcomes were analgesic use, global improvement, and quality of life (SF-36). RESULTS: Recruitment took 2 months. Retention rates were 97% at 12 weeks and 77% at 26 weeks. Mean pain scores for yoga decreased from baseline to 12 weeks (6.7 to 4.4) compared to usual care, which decreased from 7.5 to 7.1 (P=.02). Mean Roland scores for yoga decreased from 14.5 to 8.2 compared to usual care, which decreased from 16.1 to 12.5 (P=.28). At 12 weeks, yoga compared to usual care participants reported less analgesic use (13% vs 73%, P=.003), less opiate use (0% vs 33%, P=.04), and greater overall improvement (73% vs 27%, P=.03). There were no differences in SF-36 scores and no serious adverse events. CONCLUSION: A yoga study intervention in a predominantly minority population with chronic low back pain was moderately feasible and may be more effective than usual care for reducing pain and pain medication use.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 15
    Issue 6
    Pages 18-27
    Date 2009 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    Short Title Yoga for chronic low back pain in a predominantly minority population
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19943573
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 2:41:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19943573
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM

    Notes:

    • Several studies suggest yoga may be effective for chronic low back pain; however, trials targeting minorities have not been conducted. PRIMARY STUDY OBJECTIVES: Assess the feasibility of studying yoga in a predominantly minority population with chronic low back pain. Collect preliminary data to plan a larger powered study. Pilot randomized controlled trial. Two community health centers in a racially diverse neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Thirty English-speaking adults (mean age 44 years, 83% female, 83% racial/ethnic minorities; 48% with incomes < or = $30,000) with moderate-to-severe chronic low back pain. Standardized series of weekly hatha yoga classes for 12 weeks compared to a waitlist usual care control.Feasibility measured by time to complete enrollment, proportion of racial/ethnic minorities enrolled, retention rates, and adverse events. Primary efficacy outcomes were changes from baseline to 12 weeks in pain score (0=no pain to 10=worst possible pain) and back-related function using the modified Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (0-23 point scale, higher scores reflect poorer function). Secondary efficacy outcomes were analgesic use, global improvement, and quality of life (SF-36).Recruitment took 2 months. Retention rates were 97% at 12 weeks and 77% at 26 weeks. Mean pain scores for yoga decreased from baseline to 12 weeks (6.7 to 4.4) compared to usual care, which decreased from 7.5 to 7.1 (P=.02). Mean Roland scores for yoga decreased from 14.5 to 8.2 compared to usual care, which decreased from 16.1 to 12.5 (P=.28). At 12 weeks, yoga compared to usual care participants reported less analgesic use (13% vs 73%, P=.003), less opiate use (0% vs 33%, P=.04), and greater overall improvement (73% vs 27%, P=.03). There were no differences in SF-36 scores and no serious adverse events. A yoga study intervention in a predominantly minority population with chronic low back pain was moderately feasible and may be more effective than usual care for reducing pain and pain medication use. 

  • Effect of integrated yoga on stress and heart rate variability in pregnant women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maharana Satyapriya
    Author Hongasanda R Nagendra
    Author Raghuram Nagarathna
    Author Venkatram Padmalatha
    Abstract OBJECTIVE To study the effect of integrated yoga practice and guided yogic relaxation on both perceived stress and measured autonomic response in healthy pregnant women. METHOD The 122 healthy women recruited between the 18th and 20th week of pregnancy at prenatal clinics in Bangalore, India, were randomized to practicing yoga and deep relaxation or standard prenatal exercises 1-hour daily. The results for the 45 participants per group who completed the study were evaluated by repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS Perceived stress decreased by 31.57% in the yoga group and increased by 6.60% in the control group (P=0.001). During a guided relaxation period in the yoga group, compared with values obtained before a practice session, the high-frequency band of the heart rate variability spectrum (parasympathetic) increased by 64% in the 20th week and by 150% in the 36th week, and both the low-frequency band (sympathetic), and the low-frequency to high-frequency ratio were concomitantly reduced (P<0.001 between the 2 groups). Moreover, the low-frequency band remained decreased after deep relaxation in the 36th week in the yoga group. CONCLUSION Yoga reduces perceived stress and improves adaptive autonomic response to stress in healthy pregnant women.
    Publication International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics: The Official Organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics
    Volume 104
    Issue 3
    Pages 218-222
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Gynaecol Obstet
    DOI 10.1016/j.ijgo.2008.11.013
    ISSN 1879-3479
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19110245
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19110245
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Autonomic Nervous System
    • Electrocardiography
    • Female
    • Galvanic Skin Response
    • Heart Rate
    • Humans
    • India
    • Intervention Studies
    • Pregnancy
    • Prospective Studies
    • Relaxation
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Stress, Physiological
    • Stress, Psychological
    • yoga
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This study finds that "Yoga reduces perceived stress and improves adaptive autonomic response to stress in healthy pregnant women."  One significant problem with this study is that only 45 out of the 122 women who were recruited for the study saw it through to completion.

  • Measuring the discrepancy between current and ideal spiritual and religious functioning in problem drinkers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stephen M Saunders
    Author Valerie Lucas
    Author Lesley Kuras
    Abstract The idea that spiritual and religious functioning (SRF) is associated with alcohol misuse is generally supported, but problems with typical research methods limit the utility of findings. Problems in SRF were conceptualized as discrepancies between current and ideal SRF. Two separate studies were conducted to develop and evaluate a scale to measure the subjective importance and adequacy of aspects of SRF that seem to be associated with alcohol problems. The 1st study suggested that a questionnaire developed to evaluate self-reported ratings of current and ideal SRF is both internally consistent and temporally stable. In the 2nd study, the questionnaire was administered to persons seeking treatment for alcohol problems and persons who indicated that they had never sought treatment for an alcohol problem. Results indicate that those with a drinking problem were more likely to report substantial discrepancies between current and ideal SRF, supporting the validity of the measure as an indicator of problems in SRF. The usefulness of this method for treatment and research is discussed.
    Publication Psychology of Addictive Behaviors: Journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors
    Volume 21
    Issue 3
    Pages 404-408
    Date Sep 2007
    Journal Abbr Psychol Addict Behav
    DOI 10.1037/0893-164X.21.3.404
    ISSN 0893-164X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17874891
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:57:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17874891
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Alcoholism
    • Culture
    • Female
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Personality Inventory
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Students

    Notes:

    • The idea that spiritual and religious functioning (SRF) is associated with alcohol misuse is generally supported, but problems with typical research methods limit the utility of findings. Problems in SRF were conceptualized as discrepancies between current and ideal SRF. Two separate studies were conducted to develop and evaluate a scale to measure the subjective importance and adequacy of aspects of SRF that seem to be associated with alcohol problems.

  • The neural substrates of religious experience

    Type Journal Article
    Author J L Saver
    Author J Rabin
    Abstract Religious experience is brain-based, like all human experience. Clues to the neural substrates of religious-numinous experience may be gleaned from temporolimbic epilepsy, near-death experiences, and hallucinogen ingestion. These brain disorders and conditions may produce depersonalization, derealization, ecstasy, a sense of timelessness and spacelessness, and other experiences that foster religious-numinous interpretation. Religious delusions are an important subtype of delusional experience in schizophrenia, and mood-congruent religious delusions are a feature of mania and depression. The authors suggest a limbic marker hypothesis for religious-mystical experience. The temporolimbic system tags certain encounters with external or internal stimuli as depersonalized, derealized, crucially important, harmonious, and/or joyous, prompting comprehension of these experiences within a religious framework.
    Publication The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
    Volume 9
    Issue 3
    Pages 498-510
    Date 1997
    Journal Abbr J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci
    ISSN 0895-0172
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/9276850
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:53:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9276850
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Epilepsy
    • Hallucinations
    • Humans
    • Nervous System Physiological Phenomena
    • Religion and Psychology

    Notes:

    • Religious experience is brain-based, like all human experience. Clues to the neural substrates of religious-numinous experience may be gleaned from temporolimbic epilepsy, near-death experiences, and hallucinogen ingestion. These brain disorders and conditions may produce depersonalization, derealization, ecstasy, a sense of timelessness and spacelessness, and other experiences that foster religious-numinous interpretation. Religious delusions are an important subtype of delusional experience in schizophrenia, and mood-congruent religious delusions are a feature of mania and depression. The authors suggest a limbic marker hypothesis for religious-mystical experience. The temporolimbic system tags certain encounters with external or internal stimuli as depersonalized, derealized, crucially important, harmonious, and/or joyous, prompting comprehension of these experiences within a religious framework.

  • An investigation of the relationships between spirituality, health status and quality of life in adolescents.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard Sawatzky
    Author Anne Gadermann
    Author Barbara Pesut
    Abstract This study examines the relationships between six spirituality-related attributes and quality of life (QOL) in adolescents, and the extent to which these relationships are mediated by perceived physical and mental health status and five important life domains (family, friends, living environment, school experiences, and perception of self). The data were obtained via a cross-sectional health survey of 8,225 adolescents in British Columbia, Canada. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. All spiritual attributes are significantly associated with three or more of the life domains, and four of the attributes significantly explain global QOL after controlling for the other variables in the multivariate model. The attributes indicative of adolescents’ feelings about their future and other existential matters were found to be relatively most explanatory with respect to global QOL. The predominant mediators include adolescents’ satisfaction with their family, their perceived self, and their perceived mental health status. Spirituality is important with respect to adolescents’ QOL. The multivariate model provides preliminary insights into the relevance of several attributes of spirituality and the possible mechanisms by which these attributes may contribute to adolescents’ QOL. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Applied Research in Quality of Life
    Volume 4
    Issue 1
    Pages 5-22
    Date March 2009
    Series Religion/Spirituality and Quality of Life
    DOI 10.1007/s11482-009-9065-y
    ISSN 1871-2584
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Health
    • Health Status
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality
  • Health and the black church

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alfonso Scandrett
    Abstract Abstract The purpose of this review is to provide the reader with a religiously based examination of the literature that may suggest a relationship between Black people and their health behavior. Comparisons are made that suggest a relationship between increases in church attendance and a decrease in blood pressure, stress, coronary health disease, and promiscuity. This review is broken down into four areas: 1) Historical and philosophical; 2) church attendance; 3) the church as a depositor of health information, and 4) scriptural influence and related literature. Scriptural references are provided that support the dialogue over health behavior and the church. There are numerous health references within all 66 books of the Bible. The Black church, as with so many other race classifications, supports the notion of presenting itself as a depositor of health information. However, the literature does suggest some resistance to the actual receiving of health care. This review of the literature emphasizes using Scripture as a basis for giving health information to church attendees. Resistance to health care among certain ethnic minorities may be lessened with the use of the church, and of health-related Scripture. This review suggests possibilities for further research and provides a scriptural road map for the dissemination of different health topics using Bible as a source.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 35
    Issue 3
    Pages 231-244
    Date 1996
    DOI 10.1007/BF02354953
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02354953
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 3:07:00 PM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this review is to provide the reader with a religiously based examination of the literature that may suggest a relationship between Black people and their health behavior.

  • Religiousness, religious coping, and psychological well-being in nursing home residents

    Type Journal Article
    Author Karen Glasser Scandrett
    Author Susan L Mitchell
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: To measure the importance of religion among nursing home residents, describe their use of religious coping strategies, and examine the association between religiousness, religious coping, and psychological well-being. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Two nursing facilities in Boston, Massachusetts. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred forty cognitively intact to moderately impaired long-stay nursing home residents. MEASUREMENTS: Subjects rated religion as either "not important," "somewhat important," or "very important." Use of religious coping strategies was measured using the 14-item Brief RCOPE. The outcome measure, psychological well-being, was measured with the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale. Covariates included demographic variables and a measure of social engagement, comorbidity, functional status, and mental status. Linear regression was used to examine the association between religious importance and psychological well-being after adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: Subjects rated the importance of religion as follows: very important (54%), somewhat important (27%), and not important (19%). The mean score on the Affect Balance Scale was 5.9 +/- 2.1 (SD) (range 2-9). After multivariate adjustment, viewing religion as somewhat or very important (versus not important, P=.0019) and absence of negative religious coping strategies (P=.0083) were associated with better psychological well-being (with higher scores on the Affect Balance Scale) (P=.007). CONCLUSION: Religion was important to most older residents living in 2 religiously affiliated long-term care facilities. Residents for whom religion was somewhat or very important and who did not use negative religious coping strategies are more likely to have better psychological well-being.
    Publication Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
    Volume 10
    Issue 8
    Pages 581-586
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Med Dir Assoc
    DOI 10.1016/j.jamda.2009.06.001
    ISSN 1538-9375
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19808157
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 7:25:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19808157
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • The benefits of working with a "dead" patient: hypnotically facilitated pseudo near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author P W Schenk
    Abstract The literature on near-death experiences is consistent in describing how such events are typically transformative. Utilizing standard hypnotic techniques, therapists can approximate many of the therapeutic aspects of such experiences, without the life-or-death crisis, to facilitate both first and second order change in psychotherapy. This article explores the use of hypnotically facilitated waking dreams as an interactive projective technique. The focus is on the varied ways that the dream components that correlate with near-death experiences can evoke durable change.
    Publication The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis
    Volume 42
    Issue 1
    Pages 36-49
    Date Jul 1999
    Journal Abbr Am J Clin Hypn
    ISSN 0002-9157
    Short Title The benefits of working with a "dead" patient
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/10570851
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:57:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10570851
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Death
    • dreams
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hypnosis
    • Projective Techniques

    Notes:

    • The literature on near-death experiences is consistent in describing how such events are typically transformative. Utilizing standard hypnotic techniques, therapists can approximate many of the therapeutic aspects of such experiences, without the life-or-death crisis, to facilitate both first and second order change in psychotherapy. This article explores the use of hypnotically facilitated waking dreams as an interactive projective technique. The focus is on the varied ways that the dream components that correlate with near-death experiences can evoke durable change.

  • The Sense of Divine Control and the Self-Concept: A Study of Race Differences in Late Life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Scott Schieman
    Author Tetyana Pudrovska
    Author Melissa A. Milkie
    Abstract Using data from adults aged 65 and older in the District of Columbia and two adjoining counties in Maryland, this study examines the relationship between the sense of divine control and two self-concepts: self-esteem and mastery. Perceived divine control involves the extent to which an individual perceives that God controls the direction and outcomes of life. Among Whites only, divine control is associated negatively with mastery. Adjustments for socioeconomic status, other forms of religiosity, and stressors contribute to that race-contingent association. In addition, among Blacks, divine control is associated positively with self-esteem--especially among Black women. That effect remains net of socioeconomic and other controls. Conversely, among white men, divine control is associated negatively with self-esteem, although adjustment for socioeconomic status explains most of that association. The authors discuss these findings in the context of the ongoing debate about the psychological effects of different forms of religiosity.
    Publication Research on Aging
    Volume 27
    Issue 2
    Pages 165-196
    Date March 1, 2005
    DOI 10.1177/0164027504270489
    Short Title The Sense of Divine Control and the Self-Concept
    URL http://roa.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/27/2/165
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 1:59:58 PM
    Library Catalog Sage Journals Online
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Using data from adults aged 65 and older in the District of Columbia and two adjoining counties in Maryland, this study examines the relationship between the sense of divine control and two self-concepts: self-esteem and mastery.

  • The impact of the sweat lodge ceremony on dimensions of well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeannette Wagemakers Schiff
    Author Kerrie Moore
    Abstract The importance of traditional healing practices for First Nations people has created interest in traditional ceremonies, including sweat lodges, which are increasingly incorporated into programs serving Aboriginal people. Despite the fact that traditional healing practices have always been valued by Aboriginal people, there is virtually no research on their efficacy. The results of a pilot study that measured the impact of the sweat lodge ceremony on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual domains of individual participants indicated that an increase in spiritual and emotional well-being of participants was directly attributable to the ceremony.
    Publication American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research (Online)
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 48-69
    Date 2006
    Journal Abbr Am Indian Alsk Native Ment Health Res
    ISSN 1533-7731
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17602408
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:48:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17602408
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Alberta
    • American Native Continental Ancestry Group
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Ceremonial Behavior
    • Female
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Medicine, Traditional
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Pilot Projects
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The results of a pilot study that measured the impact of the sweat lodge ceremony on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual domains of individual participants indicated that an increase in spiritual and emotional well-being of participants was directly attributable to the ceremony.

  • Effect of a 12-week yoga intervention on fear of falling and balance in older adults: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arlene A Schmid
    Author Marieke Van Puymbroeck
    Author David M Koceja
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine whether fear of falling (FoF) and balance improved after a 12-week yoga intervention among older adults. DESIGN: A 12-week yoga intervention single-armed pilot study. SETTING: A retirement community in a medium-sized university town in the Midwest. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of adults (N=14) over the age of 65 years who all endorsed an FoF. INTERVENTION: Each participant took part in a biweekly 12-week yoga intervention. The yoga sessions included both physical postures and breathing exercises. Postures were completed in sitting and standing positions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured FoF with the Illinois FoF Measure and balance with the Berg Balance Scale. Upper- and lower-body flexibility were measured with the back scratch test and chair sit and reach test, respectively. RESULTS: FoF decreased by 6%, static balance increased by 4% (P=.045), and lower-body flexibility increased by 34%. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that yoga may be a promising intervention to manage FoF and improve balance, thereby reducing fall risk for older adults. Rehabilitation therapists may wish to explore yoga as a modality for balance and falls programming; however, future research is needed to confirm the use of yoga in such programming.
    Publication Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
    Volume 91
    Issue 4
    Pages 576-583
    Date Apr 2010
    Journal Abbr Arch Phys Med Rehabil
    DOI 10.1016/j.apmr.2009.12.018
    ISSN 1532-821X
    Short Title Effect of a 12-week yoga intervention on fear of falling and balance in older adults
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 5:38:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20382290
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Spirit possession and trance : new interdisciplinary perspectives

    Type Book
    Author Bettina Schmidt
    Author Lucy Huskinson
    Series Continuum Advances in Religious Studies
    Place London; New York
    Publisher Continuum
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780826435743
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Treating fibromyalgia with mindfulness-based stress reduction: results from a 3-armed randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stefan Schmidt
    Author Paul Grossman
    Author Barbara Schwarzer
    Author Susanne Jena
    Author Johannes Naumann
    Author Harald Walach
    Abstract Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a structured 8-week group program teaching mindfulness meditation and mindful yoga exercises. MBSR aims to help participants develop nonjudgmental awareness of moment-to-moment experience. Fibromyalgia is a clinical syndrome with chronic pain, fatigue, and insomnia as major symptoms. Efficacy of MBSR for enhanced well-being of fibromyalgia patients was investigated in a 3-armed trial, which was a follow-up to an earlier quasi-randomized investigation. A total of 177 female patients were randomized to one of the following: (1) MBSR, (2) an active control procedure controlling for nonspecific effects of MBSR, or (3) a wait list. The major outcome was health-related quality of life (HRQoL) 2 months post-treatment. Secondary outcomes were disorder-specific quality of life, depression, pain, anxiety, somatic complaints, and a proposed index of mindfulness. Of the patients, 82% completed the study. There were no significant differences between groups on primary outcome, but patients overall improved in HRQoL at short-term follow-up (P=0.004). Post hoc analyses showed that only MBSR manifested a significant pre-to-post-intervention improvement in HRQoL (P=0.02). Furthermore, multivariate analysis of secondary measures indicated modest benefits for MBSR patients. MBSR yielded significant pre-to-post-intervention improvements in 6 of 8 secondary outcome variables, the active control in 3, and the wait list in 2. In conclusion, primary outcome analyses did not support the efficacy of MBSR in fibromyalgia, although patients in the MBSR arm appeared to benefit most. Effect sizes were small compared to the earlier, quasi-randomized investigation. Several methodological aspects are discussed, e.g., patient burden, treatment preference and motivation, that may provide explanations for differences. In a 3-armed randomized controlled trial in female patients suffering from fibromyalgia, patients benefited modestly from a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention.
    Publication Pain
    Volume 152
    Issue 2
    Pages 361-369
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Pain
    DOI 10.1016/j.pain.2010.10.043
    ISSN 1872-6623
    Short Title Treating fibromyalgia with mindfulness-based stress reduction
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:29:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21146930
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
  • The relationship between religion and cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality in the women's health initiative observational study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eliezer Schnall
    Author Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller
    Author Charles Swencionis
    Author Vance Zemon
    Author Lesley Tinker
    Author Mary Jo O'Sullivan
    Author Linda Van Horn
    Author Mimi Goodwin
    Abstract Some studies suggest that religiosity may be related to health outcomes. The current investigation, involving 92,395 Women's Health Initiative Observational Study participants, examined the prospective association of religious affiliation, religious service attendance, and strength and comfort from religion with subsequent cardiovascular outcomes and death. Baseline characteristics and responses to religiosity questions were collected at enrollment. Women were followed for an average of 7.7 years and outcomes were judged by physician adjudicators. Cox proportional regression models were run to obtain hazard ratios (HR) of religiosity variables and coronary heart disease (CHD) and death. After controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and prior health variables, self-report of religious affiliation, frequent religious service attendance, and religious strength and comfort were associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality [HR for religious affiliation = 0.84; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.75-0.93] [HR for service attendance = 0.80; CI: 0.73-0.87] [HR for strength and comfort = 0.89; CI: 0.82-0.98]. However, these religion-related variables were not associated with reduced risk of CHD morbidity and mortality. In fact, self-report of religiosity was associated with increased risk of this outcome in some models. In conclusion, although self-report measures of religiosity were not associated with reduced risk of CHD morbidity and mortality, these measures were associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality.
    Publication Psychology & Health
    Volume 25
    Issue 2
    Pages 249-263
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychol Health
    DOI 10.1080/08870440802311322
    ISSN 1476-8321
    Accessed Wednesday, April 21, 2010 5:09:19 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20391218
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • "No matter what has been done wrong can always be redone right": spirituality in the lives of imprisoned battered women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rachel Zimmer Schneider
    Author Kathryn M Feltey
    Abstract In this article, the authors explore the religious and spiritual experiences and beliefs of incarcerated battered women who killed abusive intimate partners or (step)fathers. Through in-depth interviews with 12 imprisoned battered women, the authors examine the role that religion and spirituality played in the women's lives before and during their incarceration. Regardless of their religious upbringing, most had what they described as spiritual experiences during their time in prison. For them, participation in the support group for battered women and their spiritual experiences "freed them" by giving them a way to reconstruct and reinterpret their victimization, perpetration of violence, and subsequent incarceration.
    Publication Violence Against Women
    Volume 15
    Issue 4
    Pages 443-459
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr Violence Against Women
    DOI 10.1177/1077801208331244
    ISSN 1077-8012
    Short Title "No matter what has been done wrong can always be redone right"
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:48:15 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19223663
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Anecdotes as Topic
    • Battered Women
    • Crime Victims
    • Faith Healing
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Pastoral Care
    • prisoners
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
    • Women's Health
  • When Is Faith Enough? The Effects of Religious Involvement on Depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jason Schnittker
    Abstract Although most scholars find that religious involvement is negatively related to depression, questions still remain regarding how individuals benefit from such involvement and evidence from nationally representative samples is rare. In this paper, I expand upon previous research by considering three types of general religious involvement (attendance at religious services, religious salience, and spiritual help-seeking) and three types of effects (linear, curvilinear, and stress-buffering). Using Americans' Changing Lives (House 1989)--a large, nationally representative, and longitudinal data set--I find a U-shaped effect of religious salience on depression, no significant independent effect of service attendance, and a positive effect of spiritual help-seeking. I also find that spiritual help-seeking and religious salience exhibit significant stress-buffering effects, but that these occur only when individuals experience multiple negative life events, and not when they experience any single type of discrete event. The theoretical implications of these effects are discussed, both as they contribute to research on the life stress paradigm and research on the psychology of religion.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 40
    Issue 3
    Pages 393-411
    Date Sep., 2001
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title When Is Faith Enough?
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/1388095
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:46:42 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep., 2001 / Copyright © 2001 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This paper expands upon previous research by considering three types of general religious involvement (attendance at religious services, religious salience, and spiritual help-seeking) and three types of effects (linear, curvilinear, and stress-buffering). The author finds a U-shaped effect of religious salience on depression, no significant independent effect of service attendance, and a positive effect of spiritual help-seeking.

  • Spirituality, demographic and disease factors, and adjustment to cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author R A Schnoll
    Author L L Harlow
    Author L Brower
    Abstract PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between demographic-disease variables, spirituality, and psychosocial adjustment in a heterogeneous sample of patients with cancer. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: Participants (N = 83) accrued through the Rhode Island Hospital and the American Cancer Society completed questionnaires, and structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships among disease and demographic factors, spirituality, and psychosocial adjustment to cancer. RESULTS: Of five models tested, a mediational model received the strongest support (chi-square(35)-66.61; P = .005; comparative fix index = .90; root mean square error of approximation = .09), explaining 64% of the variance in psychosocial adjustment. Being a woman, having a longer illness duration, and having a lower disease stage were related to greater levels of purpose in life and religious beliefs, which, in turn, were associated with higher levels of family and social adjustment and psychological health. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The results indicate that spirituality can influence how patients with cancer adjust to their diagnosis and treatment and, thus, support the need for interventions that target spirituality to promote psychosocial adjustment in this population.
    Publication Cancer Practice
    Volume 8
    Issue 6
    Pages 298-304
    Date 2000 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Cancer Pract
    ISSN 1065-4704
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11898147
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:17:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11898147
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Attitude to Health
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • existentialism
    • Factor Analysis, Statistical
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • NEEDS assessment
    • Neoplasm Staging
    • Neoplasms
    • Pastoral Care
    • Questionnaires
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Rhode Island
    • Sampling Studies
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between demographic-disease variables, spirituality, and psychosocial adjustment in a heterogeneous sample of patients with cancer.

  • Exploring the mystery of near-death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author S B Schoenbeck
    Publication The American Journal of Nursing
    Volume 93
    Issue 5
    Pages 42-46
    Date May 1993
    Journal Abbr Am J Nurs
    ISSN 0002-936X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/8488901
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:15:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 8488901
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Death
    • Child
    • Female
    • Hallucinations
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Nursing Staff
    • Patient Care Planning
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Spiritualism
    • Terminal Care
  • Faith Moves Mountains: an Appalachian cervical cancer prevention program

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nancy E Schoenberg
    Author Jennifer Hatcher
    Author Mark B Dignan
    Author Brent Shelton
    Author Sherry Wright
    Author Kaye F Dollarhide
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To provide a conceptual description of Faith Moves Mountains (FMM), an intervention designed to reduce the disproportionate burden of cervical cancer among Appalachian women. METHODS: FMM, a community-based participatory research program designed and implemented in collaboration with churches in rural, southeastern Kentucky, aims to increase cervical cancer screening (Pap tests) through a multiphase process of educational programming and lay health counseling. RESULTS: We provide a conceptual overview to key elements of the intervention, including programmatic development, theoretical basis, intervention approach and implementation, and evaluation procedures. CONCLUSIONS: After numerous modifications, FMM has recruited and retained over 400 women, 30 churches, and has become a change agent in the community.
    Publication American Journal of Health Behavior
    Volume 33
    Issue 6
    Pages 627-638
    Date 2009 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Am J Health Behav
    ISSN 1945-7359
    Short Title Faith Moves Mountains
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19320612
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:58:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19320612
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Appalachian Region
    • Community Networks
    • Counseling
    • Female
    • Health Education
    • Health promotion
    • Health Services Research
    • Health Status Disparities
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Program Development
    • Religion and Medicine
    • United States
    • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
    • Vaginal Smears
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • To provide a conceptual description of Faith Moves Mountains (FMM), an intervention designed to reduce the disproportionate burden of cervical cancer among Appalachian women.

  • Image of god: effect on coping and psychospiritual outcomes in early breast cancer survivors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Judith A Schreiber
    Abstract Purpose/Objectives: To examine the effect of breast cancer survivors' views of God on religious coping strategies, depression, anxiety, stress, concerns about recurrence, and psychological well-being.Design: Exploratory, cross-sectional, comparative survey.Setting: Outpatients from community and university oncology practices in the southeastern United States.Sample: 130 early breast cancer survivors (6-30 months postdiagnosis).Methods: Self-report written survey packets were mailed to practice-identified survivors.Main Research Variables: Image of God, religious coping strategies, depression, anxiety, stress, concerns about recurrence, and psychological well-being.Findings: Women who viewed God as highly engaged used more coping strategies to promote spiritual conservation in proportion to coping strategies that reflect spiritual struggle. Women who viewed God as highly engaged maintained psychological well-being when either spiritual conservation or spiritual struggle coping styles were used. No differences in variables were noted for women who viewed God as more or less angry.Conclusions: The belief in an engaged God is significantly related to increased psychological well-being, decreased psychological distress, and decreased concern about recurrence.Implications for Nursing: Addressing survivors' issues related to psychological adjustment and concern about recurrence within their world view would allow for more personalized and effective interventions. Future research should be conducted to establish how the view that God is engaged affects coping and psychological adjustment across diverse groups of cancer survivors and groups with monotheistic, polytheistic, and naturalistic world views. This could lead to a practical method for examining the influence of these world views on individuals' responses to cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.
    Publication Oncology Nursing Forum
    Volume 38
    Issue 3
    Pages 293-301
    Date May 1, 2011
    Journal Abbr Oncol Nurs Forum
    DOI 10.1188/11.ONF.293-301
    ISSN 1538-0688
    Short Title Image of god
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21531680
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:32:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21531680
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM

    Notes:

    • To examine the effect of breast cancer survivors' views of God on religious coping strategies, depression, anxiety, stress, concerns about recurrence, and psychological well-being.

  • Measuring the Muse: Reflections on the Use of Survey Methods in the Study of Religious Phenomena

    Type Journal Article
    Author W. Widick Schroeder
    Abstract Foundational problems inherent in the collection, analysis and interpretation of interview and questionnaire data used in the social scientific study of human religious experience are discussed. These foundational problems include: the ambiguity of linguistic symbols, the relation of the causal past to the emerging present, the relation of a whole to its constituent parts, the role of creative minorities in human societies, and the use of a method of difference in data analysis and interpretation. These problematic issues are interpreted from the point of view of process philosophy. An appeal is made to common sense to act as a restraint on specialists who circumscribe too narrowly their grounds for model building and/or overanalyze inherently vague linguistic data. Interpretations of survey research data denying the authenticity of religious experience or ignoring a consideration of the question by appealing implicity or explicitly to a factvalue disjunction in human experience are challenged.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 18
    Issue 2
    Pages 148-162
    Date Winter, 1977
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Measuring the Muse
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3509649
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:55:39 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Winter, 1977 / Copyright © 1977 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Foundational problems inherent in the collection, analysis and interpretation of interview and questionnaire data used in the social scientific study of human religious experience are discussed. These foundational problems include: the ambiguity of linguistic symbols, the relation of the causal past to the emerging present, the relation of a whole to its constituent parts, the role of creative minorities in human societies, and the use of a method of difference in data analysis and interpretation. These problematic issues are interpreted from the point of view of process philosophy. An appeal is made to common sense to act as a restraint on specialists who circumscribe too narrowly their grounds for model building and/or overanalyze inherently vague linguistic data. Interpretations of survey research data denying the authenticity of religious experience or ignoring a consideration of the question by appealing implicity or explicitly to a factvalue disjunction in human experience are challenged.

  • Is learning mindfulness associated with improved affect after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maya J. Schroevers
    Author Rob Brandsma
    Abstract The increased popularity of mindfulness-based interventions and the growing body of empirical evidence confirming the positive effects of these interventions on well-being warrant more research to determine if the effects are indeed related to learning mindfulness. The present study extends previous studies, by examining whether and how changes in five core aspects of mindfulness are related to changes in the report of negative and positive affect during an 8-week course of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. The study was performed in 64 individuals from the community with mild to moderate psychological problems. Data were collected by self-report questionnaires before and directly after the training. Results showed significant decreases in negative affect and increases in positive affect. We also found significant increases in four of the five aspects of mindfulness. Importantly, changes in mindfulness were significantly associated with improved affect, with a distinct pattern found for positive and negative affect. Hereby, our findings extend previous research by showing that learning distinct aspects of mindfulness is differently related to an improved positive affect and a decreased negative affect. Future randomized controlled trials with a larger sample and longer follow-up period are needed to replicate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication British Journal of Psychology
    Volume 101
    Issue 1
    Pages 95-107
    Date February 2010
    DOI 10.1348/000712609X424195
    ISSN 00071269
    Accessed Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:35:11 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive Therapy
    • PUBLIC opinion
    • RANDOMIZED controlled trials
    • RATIONAL-emotive psychotherapy
    • WELL-being -- Psychological aspects
  • Is learning mindfulness associated with improved affect after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Maya J Schroevers
    Author Rob Brandsma
    Abstract The increased popularity of mindfulness-based interventions and the growing body of empirical evidence confirming the positive effects of these interventions on well-being warrant more research to determine if the effects are indeed related to learning mindfulness. The present study extends previous studies, by examining whether and how changes in five core aspects of mindfulness are related to changes in the report of negative and positive affect during an 8-week course of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. The study was performed in 64 individuals from the community with mild to moderate psychological problems. Data were collected by self-report questionnaires before and directly after the training. Results showed significant decreases in negative affect and increases in positive affect. We also found significant increases in four of the five aspects of mindfulness. Importantly, changes in mindfulness were significantly associated with improved affect, with a distinct pattern found for positive and negative affect. Hereby, our findings extend previous research by showing that learning distinct aspects of mindfulness is differently related to an improved positive affect and a decreased negative affect. Future randomized controlled trials with a larger sample and longer follow-up period are needed to replicate these findings.
    Publication British Journal of Psychology (London, England: 1953)
    Volume 101
    Issue Pt 1
    Pages 95-107
    Date Feb 2010
    Journal Abbr Br J Psychol
    DOI 10.1348/000712609X424195
    ISSN 0007-1269
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:30:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19327220
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Attention
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Questionnaires
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Pathways to Posttraumatic Growth: The Contributions of Forgiveness and Importance of Religion and Spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jessica M. Schultz
    Author Benjamin A. Tallman
    Author Elizabeth M. Altmaier
    Abstract Posttraumatic growth may follow the experience of being significantly hurt by another person. This study examines the roles of forgiveness and the importance of religion and spirituality in posttraumatic growth after a significant interpersonal transgression among a diverse sample of 146 adults. Results demonstrated that transgression severity was negatively related to forgiveness: the more distressing the event, the more revenge and avoidance were endorsed in response to the offender. Regression analyses revealed that benevolence toward the offender predicted growth in the area of relating to others. The positive relationship between forgiveness and posttraumatic growth was mediated by importance of religion and spirituality; however, the relationship between unforgiveness and lack of growth was not similarly mediated. Results suggest that religious and spiritual variables influence how individuals respond to significant interpersonal transgressions through positive processes.
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 2
    Issue 2
    Pages 104-114
    Date May 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0018454
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Short Title Pathways to Posttraumatic Growth
    Accessed Friday, June 04, 2010 9:52:25 AM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Forgiveness
    • Positive Psychology
    • posttraumatic growth
    • religion
    • spirituality
  • The meaning of spirituality for individuals with disabilities

    Type Journal Article
    Author Emily K Schulz
    Abstract PURPOSE: To examine the experiences of people with disabilities regarding their spirituality and its meaning for them. This study asked: What are the differences in the meaning of spirituality in the lives of individuals with childhood onset disabilities when compared to those with adult onset disabilities? METHOD: This qualitative study involved semi-structured individual interviews of 12 adults, six with childhood onset and six with adult onset disabilities. Member checking of both transcribed data and open coding was done to ensure trustworthiness. Data was analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. RESULTS: Findings suggested that the two groups held different perceptions about the meaning of spirituality. For childhood onset participants, two categories of 'connecting and expressing for purpose and meaning in life', and 'disability as a vehicle to discover god's purpose' were generated. For adult onset participants, two categories of 'connecting and expressing through feelings and actions', and 'disability as a catalyst for spiritual awakening' were derived from the data. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with childhood and adult onset disabilities perceive and experience spirituality differently. Therefore, different approaches to using spirituality in practice need to be employed for the two groups. Suggestions are provided for incorporating spirituality into occupational therapy practice.
    Publication Disability and Rehabilitation
    Volume 27
    Issue 21
    Pages 1283-1295
    Date Nov 15, 2005
    Journal Abbr Disabil Rehabil
    DOI 10.1080/09638280500076319
    ISSN 0963-8288
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16298931
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:30:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16298931
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Age of Onset
    • Attitude to Health
    • Disabled Persons
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Purpose: To examine the experiences of people with disabilities regarding their spirituality and its meaning for them. Conclusions: Individuals with childhood and adult onset disabilities perceive and experience spirituality differently.

  • Low mindfulness predicts pain catastrophizing in a fear-avoidance model of chronic pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert Schütze
    Author Clare Rees
    Author Minette Preece
    Author Mark Schütze
    Abstract The relationship between persistent pain and self-directed, non-reactive awareness of present-moment experience (i.e., mindfulness) was explored in one of the dominant psychological theories of chronic pain - the fear-avoidance model [53]. A heterogeneous sample of 104 chronic pain outpatients at a multidisciplinary pain clinic in Australia completed psychometrically sound self-report measures of major variables in this model: Pain intensity, negative affect, pain catastrophizing, pain-related fear, pain hypervigilance, and functional disability. Two measures of mindfulness were also used, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale [4] and the Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire [1]. Results showed that mindfulness significantly negatively predicts each of these variables, accounting for 17-41% of their variance. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that mindfulness uniquely predicts pain catastrophizing when other variables are controlled, and moderates the relationship between pain intensity and pain catastrophizing. This is the first clear evidence substantiating the strong link between mindfulness and pain catastrophizing, and suggests mindfulness might be added to the fear-avoidance model. Implications for the clinical use of mindfulness in screening and intervention are discussed.
    Publication Pain
    Volume 148
    Issue 1
    Pages 120-127
    Date January 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.pain.2009.10.030
    ISSN 0304-3959
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 12:56:51 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Acceptance
    • Attention
    • Catastrophizing
    • Chronic pain
    • Cognition
    • Fear-avoidance
    • Mindfulness

    Notes:

    • The relationship between persistent pain and self-directed, non-reactive awareness of present-moment experience (i.e., mindfulness) was explored in one of the dominant psychological theories of chronic pain – the fear-avoidance model [53]. A heterogeneous sample of 104 chronic pain outpatients at a multidisciplinary pain clinic in Australia completed psychometrically sound self-report measures of major variables in this model: Pain intensity, negative affect, pain catastrophizing, pain-related fear, pain hypervigilance, and functional disability. Two measures of mindfulness were also used, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale [4] and the Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire [1]. Results showed that mindfulness significantly negatively predicts each of these variables, accounting for 17–41% of their variance. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that mindfulness uniquely predicts pain catastrophizing when other variables are controlled, and moderates the relationship between pain intensity and pain catastrophizing. This is the first clear evidence substantiating the strong link between mindfulness and pain catastrophizing, and suggests mindfulness might be added to the fear-avoidance model. Implications for the clinical use of mindfulness in screening and intervention are discussed.

  • "Moved by the spirit": does spirituality moderate the interrelationships between subjective well-being subscales?

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Schuurmans-Stekhoven
    Abstract Despite the recent escalation of research into the spirituality and well-being link, past efforts have been plagued by methodological problems. However, the potential for measurement error within psychometric instruments remains largely unexplored. After reviewing theory and evidence suggesting spirituality might represent an affective misattribution, moderation modeling-with each subjective well-being (SWB) subscale as a dependent variable as predicted by the remaining SWB subscales-is utilized to test the assumption of scale invariance. These interrelationships were shown to vary in conjunction with spirituality; that is the analysis revealed significant spirituality x subscale interactions. Importantly, in all models the spirituality main effect was either nonsignificant or accounted for by other predictors. In combination, the findings suggest the interrelationship between the subscales rather than the level of SWB varies systematically with spirituality and casts considerable doubt on the previously reported "belief-as-benefit" effect.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 66
    Issue 7
    Pages 709-725
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20694
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title "Moved by the spirit"
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 10:24:14 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20527052
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • Nonlocality and exceptional experiences: a study of genius, religious epiphany, and the psychic

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stephan A Schwartz
    Abstract Two hundred years of reductive materialism has failed to explain the extraordinary experiences we know as moments of genius, religious epiphany, and psychic insight. This paper proposes that these three experiences are in essence the same experience, differentiated only by intention and context. It reaches this conclusion based on well-conducted experimental research across the continuum of science--work that proposes a new interdependent model of consciousness that takes into consideration a nonlocal linkage or entanglement, as an aspect of consciousness not limited by space and time. The paper surveys some of the most important relevant research from quantum biology, physics, psychology, medicine, anthropology, and parapsychology. It proposes that more attention should be paid to the autobiographies, correspondence, and journals of men and women to whom history unequivocally accords the designation of genius, saint, or psychic, offering examples from these sources. And it presents comparisons between ethnohistorical material and spiritual traditions, suggesting they arrive at a similar worldview. Finally, it proposes that meditation research, some examples of which are cited, be seen in the context of psychophysical self-regulation, and that it offers one powerful avenue for producing these exceptional experiences.
    Publication Explore
    Volume 6
    Issue 4
    Pages 227-236
    Date 2010 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2010.04.008
    ISSN 1878-7541
    Short Title Nonlocality and exceptional experiences
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:49:57 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20633837
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • Helping Others Shows Differential Benefits on Health and Well-being for Male and Female Teens.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carolyn E. Schwartz
    Author Penelope M. Keyl
    Author John P. Marcum
    Author Rita Bode
    Abstract From data collected from 457 teens (mean age = 15.6, recruited through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)), researchers found that altruism is positively associated with health for females and with well-being for both males and females. No association was found between providing emotional support and psychosocial health. Family helping was the most salient aspect of altruism for males, showing associations with positive social relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. For females, self-reported General Helping Behavior was associated with positive social relations, and Helping Orientation was associated with better purpose in life. Family Helping was associated with better physical health in females, but not for males. The only correlates of altruism were higher age, more physical activity, and engaging in positive religious coping.
    Publication Journal of Happiness Studies
    Volume 10
    Issue 4
    Pages 431-448
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10902-008-9098-1
    ISSN 13894978
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=43169020&…
    Accessed Thursday, October 22, 2009 1:09:18 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Altruism
    • Health
    • Quality of Life
    • TEENAGERS
    • Well-Being
  • Complementary and alternative medicine for multiple sclerosis

    Type Journal Article
    Author S Schwarz
    Author C Knorr
    Author H Geiger
    Author P Flachenecker
    Abstract We analyzed characteristics, motivation, and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine in a large sample of people with multiple sclerosis. A 53-item survey was mailed to the members of the German Multiple Sclerosis Society, chapter of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Surveys of 1573 patients (48.5 +/- 11.7 years, 74% women, duration of illness 18.1 +/- 10.5 years) were analyzed. In comparison with conventional medicine, more patients displayed a positive attitude toward complementary and alternative medicine (44% vs 38%, P < 0.05), with 70% reporting lifetime use of at least one method. Among a wide variety of complementary and alternative medicine, diet modification (41%), Omega-3 fatty acids (37%), removal of amalgam fillings (28%), vitamins E (28%), B (36%), and C (28%), homeopathy (26%), and selenium (24%) were cited most frequently. Most respondents (69%) were satisfied with the effects of complementary and alternative medicine. Use of complementary and alternative medicine was associated with religiosity, functional independence, female sex, white-collar job, and higher education (P < 0.05). Compared with conventional therapies, complementary and alternative medicine rarely showed unwanted side effects (9% vs 59%, P < 0.00001). A total of 52% stated that the initial consultation with their physician lasted less than 15 min. To conclude, main reasons for the use of complementary and alternative medicine include the high rate of side effects and low levels of satisfaction with conventional treatments and brief patients/physicians contacts.
    Publication Multiple Sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
    Volume 14
    Issue 8
    Pages 1113-1119
    Date Sep 2008
    Journal Abbr Mult. Scler
    DOI 10.1177/1352458508092808
    ISSN 1352-4585
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18632773
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:58:34 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18632773
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Antioxidants
    • Complementary Therapies
    • Diet
    • Disability Evaluation
    • Educational Status
    • Female
    • Germany
    • Health Surveys
    • Homeopathy
    • Humans
    • Income
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Occupations
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Vitamins
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • We analyzed characteristics, motivation, and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine in a large sample of people with multiple sclerosis.

  • The stranger's voice : Julia Kristeva's relevance for a pastoral theology for women struggling with depression

    Type Book
    Author Carol Schweitzer
    Series Practical Theology
    Place New York
    Publisher P. Lang
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9781433108846
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • P2.160 The effects of a yoga program on Parkinson's disease

    Type Journal Article
    Author M. Scott
    Author M. Masterson
    Author L. Elmer
    Author L. Coca
    Author E. Jarouche
    Author A. Krumdieck
    Author E. Kovar
    Abstract Subjects: Nine subjects with PD participated (2females, 7males; mean age = 67.875 years; mean time since PD diagnosis = 4.67 years). Inclusion criteria included theability to ambulate independently and medical clearance to participate. Instrumentation: Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Functional ReachTest (FRT), timed tandem stance (TS), timed single leg stance (SLS), repeated chair stand test, the GAITRiteWalking System, Geriat Depression Scale(GDS),the University of Illinois at Chicago Fear Falling Measure (FOF), and the PDQ-39 questionnaire. Procedures: Testing was completed prior to and after participati in a 12-week, twice weekly yoga program. Seventy-five minu classes were led by a certified yoga instructor with modifications in postures according to the participants limitations in mobility. Results: The chair stand test, FRT and GDS scores were significantly improved after the yoga program. Trends towards improvement were seen in all other physical and affective variables, although not statistically significant. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that yoga may be an effective way to address both physical and affective factors associated with PD.
    Publication Parkinsonism & Related Disorders
    Volume 15
    Issue Supplement 2
    Pages S133
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1016/S1353-8020(09)70511-5
    ISSN 1353-8020
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6TB9-4XXN49M-KR/2/63ecf90e42b292bcc4cae3df2b7e6531
    Accessed Wednesday, December 30, 2009 12:09:38 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • I think therefore I om: cognitive distortions and coping style as mediators for the effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, positive and negative affect, and hope

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sharon Sears
    Author Sue Kraus
    Abstract This study examined cognitive distortions and coping styles as potential mediators for the effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, negative affect, positive affect, and hope in college students. Our pre- and postintervention design had four conditions: control, brief meditation focused on attention, brief meditation focused on loving kindness, and longer meditation combining both attentional and loving kindness aspects of mindfulness. Each group met weekly over the course of a semester. Longer combined meditation significantly reduced anxiety and negative affect and increased hope. Changes in cognitive distortions mediated intervention effects for anxiety, negative affect, and hope. Further research is needed to determine differential effects of types of meditation.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 6
    Pages 561-573
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20543
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title I think therefore I om
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:47:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19241400
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Affect
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anxiety
    • Attention
    • Cognition Disorders
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Culture
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Love
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This study examined cognitive distortions and coping styles as potential mediators for the effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, negative affect, positive affect, and hope in college students.

  • I think therefore I om: cognitive distortions and coping style as mediators for the effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, positive and negative affect, and hope

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sharon Sears
    Author Sue Kraus
    Abstract This study examined cognitive distortions and coping styles as potential mediators for the effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, negative affect, positive affect, and hope in college students. Our pre- and postintervention design had four conditions: control, brief meditation focused on attention, brief meditation focused on loving kindness, and longer meditation combining both attentional and loving kindness aspects of mindfulness. Each group met weekly over the course of a semester. Longer combined meditation significantly reduced anxiety and negative affect and increased hope. Changes in cognitive distortions mediated intervention effects for anxiety, negative affect, and hope. Further research is needed to determine differential effects of types of meditation.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 6
    Pages 561-573
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20543
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title I think therefore I om
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19241400
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:18:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19241400
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Affect
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anxiety
    • Attention
    • Cognition Disorders
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Culture
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Love
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Young Adult
  • Impact of spirituality on palliative care physicians: personally and professionally

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dori Seccareccia
    Author Judith Belle Brown
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Modern palliative care defines four key domains fundamental to a patients' holistic care: physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. Regardless of the symptom being addressed, all four domains of care may need to be addressed to reduce suffering and encourage healing. Yet, despite the spiritual domain consistently being asserted as an integral part of palliative care, more is written on how to provide the physical, emotional, and social aspects of care than on how to provide spiritual care. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore the perspectives and experiences of palliative care physicians regarding the spiritual domain of care and to identify the role of this domain both personally and professionally. DESIGN: This study recruited a purposeful sample of palliative care physicians and utilized the qualitative method of phenomenology to elicit palliative care physician's perspectives and experiences regarding the importance of spirituality in providing palliative care to patients. RESULTS: Themes that emerged from the study in relation to palliative care physicians' perspectives and experiences regarding the spiritual domain of care included the concept of spirituality and the difference between spirituality and religion. The overarching theme was the concept of how the participant's own spirituality impacted their practice and their practice impacted their spirituality. These were inextricably woven together. CONCLUSION: Addressing spirituality was fundamental to a palliative care physician providing compassionate and holistic care. The impact of a physician's personal spirituality on practice and practice on spirituality were inextricably woven together.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 12
    Issue 9
    Pages 805-809
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2009.0038
    ISSN 1557-7740
    Short Title Impact of spirituality on palliative care physicians
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19624268
    Accessed Friday, September 18, 2009 6:31:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19624268
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Doctors
    • faith
    • Palliative Care
    • religion
    • spirituality
  • Religiosity/spirituality and health. A critical review of the evidence for biological pathways

    Type Journal Article
    Author Teresa E Seeman
    Author Linda Fagan Dubin
    Author Melvin Seeman
    Abstract The authors review evidence regarding the biological processes that may link religiosity/spirituality to health. A growing body of observational evidence supports the hypothesis that links religiosity/spirituality to physiological processes. Although much of the earliest evidence came from cross-sectional studies with questionable generalizability and potential confounding, more recent research, with more representative samples and multivariate analysis, provides stronger evidence linking Judeo-Christian religious practices to blood pressure and immune function. The strongest evidence comes from randomized interventional trials reporting the beneficial physiological impact of meditation (primarily transcendental meditation). Overall, available evidence is generally consistent with the hypothesis that religiosity/spirituality is linked to health-related physiological processes--including cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune function--althogh more solid evidence is needed.
    Publication The American Psychologist
    Volume 58
    Issue 1
    Pages 53-63
    Date Jan 2003
    Journal Abbr Am Psychol
    ISSN 0003-066X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12674818
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:18:56 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12674818
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Blood Pressure
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The authors review evidence regarding the biological processes that may link religiosity/spirituality to health. Available evidence is generally consistent with the hypothesis that religiosity/spirituality is linked to health-related physiological processes--including cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune function.

  • Meditation training and essential hypertension: A methodological study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Seer
    Author John M. Raeburn
    Abstract Meditation training appears to be a promising psychological approach to the control of hypertension. However, most studies to date have had serious deficiencies. This study attempted to correct many of these deficiencies. Forty-one unmedicated hypertensives referred by general practitioners were randomly allocated to three groups. The treatment group (SRELAX) underwent training procedures based on Transcendental Meditation; a placebo control group (NSRELAX) underwent identical training but without a mantra. Both procedures were compared with a no-treatment control group. The results showed modest reductions in blood pressure in both SRELAX and NSRELAX groups, compared with the no-treatment controls, with diastolic percentage reductions reaching significance (p<0.05). There was considerable subject variation in response, with overall a mean decline in diastolic blood pressure of 8–10% on 3-month follow-up. Possible indicators to predict the response of subjects are considered and reasons for the similarity in the effectiveness of the SRELAX and NSRELAX conditions are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 3
    Issue 1
    Pages 59-71
    Date March 01, 1980
    DOI 10.1007/BF00844914
    Short Title Meditation training and essential hypertension
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00844914
    Accessed Thursday, September 03, 2009 1:09:17 AM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study investigates the effects of mantra-based vs. non-mantra-based meditation on hypertension.

  • The measurement of spirituality in palliative care and the content of tools validated cross-culturally: a systematic review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lucy Selman
    Author Richard Harding
    Author Marjolein Gysels
    Author Peter Speck
    Author Irene J Higginson
    Abstract CONTEXT Despite the need to assess spiritual outcomes in palliative care, little is known about the properties of the tools currently used to do so. In addition, measures of spirituality have been criticized in the literature for cultural bias, and it is unclear which tools have been validated cross-culturally. OBJECTIVES This systematic review aimed to identify and categorize spiritual outcome measures validated in advanced cancer, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or palliative care populations; to assess the tools' cross-cultural applicability; and for those measures validated cross-culturally, to determine and categorize the concepts used to measure spirituality. METHODS Eight databases were searched to identify relevant validation and research studies. An extensive search strategy included search terms in three categories: palliative care, spirituality, and outcome measurement. Tools were evaluated according to two criteria: 1) validation in advanced cancer, HIV, or palliative care and 2) validation in an ethnically diverse context. Tools that met Criterion 1 were categorized by type; tools that also met Criterion 2 were subjected to content analysis to identify and categorize the spiritual concepts they use. RESULTS One hundred ninety-one articles were identified, yielding 85 tools. Fifty different tools had been reported in research studies; however, 30 of these had not been validated in palliative care populations. Thirty-eight tools met Criterion 1: general multidimensional measures (n=21), functional measures (n=11), and substantive measures (n=6). Nine measures met Criterion 2; these used spiritual concepts relating to six themes: Beliefs, practices, and experiences; Relationships; Spiritual resources; Outlook on life/self; Outlook on death/dying; and Indicators of spiritual well-being. A conceptual model of spirituality is presented on the basis of the content analysis. Recommendations include consideration of both the clinical and cultural population in which spiritual instruments have been validated when selecting an appropriate measure for research purposes. Areas in need of further research are identified. CONCLUSION The nine tools identified in this review are those that have currently been validated in cross-cultural palliative care populations and, subject to appraisal of their psychometric properties, may be suitable for cross-cultural research.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 41
    Issue 4
    Pages 728-753
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.06.023
    ISSN 1873-6513
    Short Title The measurement of spirituality in palliative care and the content of tools validated cross-culturally
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21306866
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:04:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21306866
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
  • Physiological mechanisms involved in religiosity/spirituality and health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin S Seybold
    Abstract During the last two decades of the 20th century, psychological science rediscovered religiosity/spirituality (R/S) as a legitimate subject matter in understanding the human experience. In large measure, this renewed interest was motivated by the positive association between this variable and health (physical and mental) reported in much of the literature. If the described relationship between R/S and health is accurate, the question of how such an influence might be realized becomes important and subject to empirical investigation. The present paper develops a rationale for why such an outcome might be expected and describes various physiological mechanisms that could mediate the effect of R/S on health.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 30
    Issue 4
    Pages 303-309
    Date Aug 2007
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-007-9115-6
    ISSN 0160-7715
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17549618
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:45:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17549618
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Brain
    • Endocrine System
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Immune System
    • Neurotransmitter Agents
    • Psychophysiology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • If the described relationship between R/S and health is accurate, the question of how such an influence might be realized becomes important and subject to empirical investigation. The present paper develops a rationale for why such an outcome might be expected and describes various physiological mechanisms that could mediate the effect of R/S on health.

  • The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Mental and Physical Health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin S. Seybold
    Author Peter C. Hill
    Abstract An increased interest in the effects of religion and spirituality on health is apparent in the psychological and medical literature. Although religion in particular was thought, in the past, to have a predominantly negative influence on health, recent research suggests this relationship is more complex. This article reviews the literature on the impact of religion and spirituality on physical and mental health, concluding that the influence is largely beneficial. Mechanisms for the positive effect of religion and spirituality are proposed.
    Publication Current Directions in Psychological Science
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 21-24
    Date Feb., 2001
    ISSN 09637214
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182684
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:43:29 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Feb., 2001 / Copyright © 2001 Association for Psychological Science
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article reviews the literature on the impact of religion and spirituality on physical and mental health, concluding that the influence is largely beneficial. Mechanisms for the positive effect of religion and spirituality are proposed.

  • Spiritually oriented psychodynamic psychotherapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Edward P Shafranske
    Abstract Spiritually oriented psychodynamic psychotherapy pays particular attention to the roles that religious and spiritual beliefs, practices, and experiences play in the psychological life of the client. Contemporary psychoanalytic theorists offer multiple approaches to understand the functions of religious experience. Spirituality provides a means to address existential issues and provide a context to form personal meaning. Religious narratives present schemas of relationship and models of experiences salient to mental health, such as hope. God images or other symbolic representations of the transcendent have the power to evoke emotions, which in turn, influence motivation and behavior. While employing theories and techniques derived from psychodynamic psychotherapy, this therapeutic approach encourages the analysis of the functions religion and spirituality serve, while respecting the client's act of believing in faith. Psychotherapists address a client's spirituality by exploring the psychological meaning of such personal commitments and experiences and refrain from entering into discussion of faith claims.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 147-157
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20565
    ISSN 1097-4679
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19123234
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:13:46 PM
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    Extra PMID: 19123234
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Catholicism
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Psychotherapy
    • spirituality
  • Correlates of self-perceptions of spirituality in American adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Leila Shahabi
    Author Lynda H Powell
    Author Marc A Musick
    Author Kenneth I Pargament
    Author Carl E Thoresen
    Author David Williams
    Author Lynn Underwood
    Author Marcia A Ory
    Abstract To advance knowledge in the study of spirituality and physical health, we examined sociodemographic, behavioral, and attitudinal correlates of self-perceptions of spirituality. Participants were a nationally representative sample of 1,422 adult respondents to the 1998 General Social Survey. They were asked, among other things, to rate themselves on the depth of their spirituality and the depth of their religiousness. Results indicated that, after adjustment for religiousness, self-perceptions of spirituality were positively correlated with being female (r = .07, p < .01), having a higher education (r = .12, p < .001), and having no religion (r = .10, p < .001) and inversely correlated with age (r = -.06, p < .05) and being Catholic (r = -.08, p < .01). After adjustment for these sociodemographic factors, self-perceptions of spirituality were associated with high levels of religious or spiritual activities (range in correlations = .12-.38, all p < .001), low cynical mistrust, and low political conservatism (both r = -.08, p < .01). The population was divided into 4 groups based on their self-perceptions of degree of spirituality and degree of religiousness. The spiritual and religious group had a higherfrequency of attending services, praying, meditating, reading the Bible, and daily spiritual experience than any of the other 3 groups (all differences p < .05) and had less distress and less mistrust than the religious-only group (p < .05 for both). However, they were also more intolerant than either of the nonreligious groups (p < .05 for both) and similar on intolerance to the religious-only group. We conclude that sociodemographicfactors could confound any observed association between spirituality and health and should be controlled. Moreover, individuals who perceive themselves to be both spiritual and religious may be at particularly low risk for morbidity and mortality based on their good psychological status and ongoing restorative activities.
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 24
    Issue 1
    Pages 59-68
    Date 2002
    Journal Abbr Ann Behav Med
    ISSN 0883-6612
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12008795
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:29:23 PM
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    Extra PMID: 12008795
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude
    • Educational Status
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Self Concept
    • Sex Factors

    Notes:

    • After adjustment for religiousness, self-perceptions of spirituality were positively correlated with being female (r = .07, p < .01), having a higher education (r = .12, p < .001), and having no religion (r = .10, p < .001) and inversely correlated with age (r = -.06, p < .05) and being Catholic (r = -.08, p < .01). Self-perceptions of spirituality were associated with high levels of religious or spiritual activities, low cynical mistrust, and low political conservatism (both r = -.08, p < .01). We conclude that sociodemographic factors could confound any observed association between spirituality and health and should be controlled.

  • "If you don't believe it, it won't help you": use of bush medicine in treating cancer among Aboriginal people in Western Australia

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shaouli Shahid
    Author Ryan Bleam
    Author Dawn Bessarab
    Author Sandra C Thompson
    Abstract ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Little is known about the use of bush medicine and traditional healing among Aboriginal Australians for their treatment of cancer and the meanings attached to it. A qualitative study that explored Aboriginal Australians' perspectives and experiences of cancer and cancer services in Western Australia provided an opportunity to analyse the contemporary meanings attached and use of bush medicine by Aboriginal people with cancer in Western Australia METHODS: Data collection occurred in Perth, both rural and remote areas and included individual in-depth interviews, observations and field notes. Of the thirty-seven interviews with Aboriginal cancer patients, family members of people who died from cancer and some Aboriginal health care providers, 11 participants whose responses included substantial mention on the issue of bush medicine and traditional healing were selected for the analysis for this paper. RESULTS: The study findings have shown that as part of their healing some Aboriginal Australians use traditional medicine for treating their cancer. Such healing processes and medicines were preferred by some because it helped reconnect them with their heritage, land, culture and the spirits of their ancestors, bringing peace of mind during their illness. Spiritual beliefs and holistic health approaches and practices play an important role in the treatment choices for some patients. CONCLUSIONS: Service providers need to acknowledge and understand the existence of Aboriginal knowledge (epistemology) and accept that traditional healing can be an important addition to an Aboriginal person's healing complementing Western medical treatment regimes. Allowing and supporting traditional approaches to treatment reflects a commitment by modern medical services to adopting an Aboriginal-friendly approach that is not only culturally appropriate but assists with the cultural security of the service.
    Publication Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
    Volume 6
    Issue 1
    Pages 18
    Date Jun 23, 2010
    Journal Abbr J Ethnobiol Ethnomed
    DOI 10.1186/1746-4269-6-18
    ISSN 1746-4269
    Short Title "If you don't believe it, it won't help you"
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:42:04 AM
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    Extra PMID: 20569478
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • A qualitative study that explored Aboriginal Australians' perspectives and experiences of cancer and cancer services in Western Australia provided an opportunity to analyse the contemporary meanings attached and use of bush medicine by Aboriginal people with cancer in Western Australia

  • Laughter yoga versus group exercise program in elderly depressed women: a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mahvash Shahidi
    Author Ali Mojtahed
    Author Amirhossein Modabbernia
    Author Mohammad Mojtahed
    Author Abdollah Shafiabady
    Author Ali Delavar
    Author Habib Honari
    Abstract BACKGROUND Laughter Yoga founded by M. Kataria is a combination of unconditioned laughter and yogic breathing. Its effect on mental and physical aspects of healthy individuals was shown to be beneficial. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Kataria's Laughter Yoga and group exercise therapy in decreasing depression and increasing life satisfaction in older adult women of a cultural community of Tehran, Iran. METHODS Seventy depressed old women who were members of a cultural community of Tehran were chosen by Geriatric depression scale (score>10). After completion of Life Satisfaction Scale pre-test and demographic questionnaire, subjects were randomized into three groups of laughter therapy, exercise therapy, and control. Subsequently, depression post-test and life satisfaction post-test were done for all three groups. The data were analyzed using analysis of covariance and Bonferroni's correction. RESULTS Sixty subjects completed the study. The analysis revealed a significant difference in decrease in depression scores of both Laughter Yoga and exercise therapy group in comparison to control group (p<0.001 and p<0.01, respectively). There was no significant difference between Laughter Yoga and exercise therapy groups. The increase in life satisfaction of Laughter Yoga group showed a significant difference in comparison with control group (p<0.001). No significant difference was found between exercise therapy and either control or Laughter Yoga group. CONCLUSION Our findings showed that Laughter Yoga is at least as effective as group exercise program in improvement of depression and life satisfaction of elderly depressed women.
    Publication International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
    Volume 26
    Issue 3
    Pages 322-327
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr Int J Geriatr Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1002/gps.2545
    ISSN 1099-1166
    Short Title Laughter yoga versus group exercise program in elderly depressed women
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20848578
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:48:36 PM
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    Extra PMID: 20848578
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Kundalini yoga meditation for complex psychiatric disorders : techniques specific for treating the psychoses, personality, & pervasive development disorders

    Type Book
    Author David Shannahoff-Khalsa
    Place London; New York
    Publisher W. W. Norton
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780393705683
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Effects of external qi of qigong with opposing intentions on proliferation of Escherichia coli

    Type Journal Article
    Author Linxiang Shao
    Author Junping Zhang
    Author Le Chen
    Author Xiaofeng Zhang
    Author Kevin W Chen
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The existence and characteristics of external qi (EQ) in qigong therapy has long been subject to scientific debate and rigorous examination. The therapist's intent has played an important role in many studies. This study investigates the effect of EQ with opposing intentions on the proliferation of Escherichia coli. METHODS: We performed two studies with the same design. In study 1, 75 5-mL tubes containing test samples (3 mL each) were randomly divided into three groups: control, promoted, and inhibited group (25 each). In study 2, three 96-well plates with test samples (200 microL each) were randomly designated as control, promoted, or inhibited. Test samples were placed 60 cm apart on a bench with control in the middle. A qigong therapist performed EQ with either promoting or killing intent for 15 minutes each on the treatment groups. After incubation for 24 hours, optical density of the E. coli samples was measured at 600 nm (OD(600)). RESULTS: In the initial experiment of both studies, the OD(600) value of the promoted group was significantly higher than that of control (p < 0.05), while the OD(600) value of the inhibited group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.01), suggesting that the healer's intent played a critical role in the effects of EQ on E.coli proliferation. However, subsequent experiments did not replicate the initial finding in either study and showed a pattern of declining effect. CONCLUSION: A healer's intent may affect the proliferation of microbes with specificity and directivity, so future studies of bioenergy healing should take the role of intention into consideration. The circumstances surrounding replication of the results in such biofield studies need further exploration.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 15
    Issue 5
    Pages 567-571
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0408
    ISSN 1557-7708
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19425820
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:00:12 PM
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    Extra PMID: 19425820
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
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    Tags:

    • Breathing Exercises
    • Escherichia coli
    • Escherichia coli Infections
    • Humans
    • Intention
    • Qi
    • Random Allocation

    Notes:

    • The authors of this study examined the effects of qigong healer’s intent on the proliferation of bacteria in cultures. The healer’s intent appeared to have a measurable effect, but this result was unable to be replicated in later studies.

  • The moderation of Mindfulness-based stress reduction effects by trait mindfulness: Results from a randomized controlled trial.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shauna L. Shapiro
    Author Kirk Warren Brown
    Author Carl Thoresen
    Author Thomas G. Plante
    Abstract Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has shown effectiveness for a variety of mental health conditions. However, it is not known for whom the intervention is most effective. In a randomized controlled trial ( N = 30), we explored whether individuals with higher levels of pretreatment trait mindfulness would benefit more from MBSR intervention. Results demonstrated that relative to a control condition ( n = 15), MBSR treatment ( n = 15) had significant effects on several outcomes, including increased trait mindfulness, subjective well-being, and empathy measured at 2 and 12 months after treatment. However, relative to controls, MBSR participants with higher levels of pretreatment mindfulness showed a larger increase in mindfulness, subjective well-being, empathy, and hope, and larger declines in perceived stress up to 1 year after treatment. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 00:1-11, 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 67
    Issue 3
    Pages 267-277
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20761
    ISSN 00219762
    Short Title The moderation of Mindfulness-based stress reduction effects by trait mindfulness
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • Empathy
    • mental health
    • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
    • RANDOMIZED controlled trials
    • STRESS (Psychology)
    • Well-Being
  • The moderation of Mindfulness-based stress reduction effects by trait mindfulness: results from a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shauna L Shapiro
    Author Kirk Warren Brown
    Author Carl Thoresen
    Author Thomas G Plante
    Abstract Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has shown effectiveness for a variety of mental health conditions. However, it is not known for whom the intervention is most effective. In a randomized controlled trial (N = 30), we explored whether individuals with higher levels of pretreatment trait mindfulness would benefit more from MBSR intervention. Results demonstrated that relative to a control condition (n = 15), MBSR treatment (n = 15) had significant effects on several outcomes, including increased trait mindfulness, subjective well-being, and empathy measured at 2 and 12 months after treatment. However, relative to controls, MBSR participants with higher levels of pretreatment mindfulness showed a larger increase in mindfulness, subjective well-being, empathy, and hope, and larger declines in perceived stress up to 1 year after treatment.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 67
    Issue 3
    Pages 267-277
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20761
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title The moderation of Mindfulness-based stress reduction effects by trait mindfulness
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:16:38 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21254055
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
  • Contextualizing Alternative Medicine: The Exotic, the Marginal and the Perfectly Mundane

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ursula Sharma
    Publication Anthropology Today
    Volume 9
    Issue 4
    Pages 15-18
    Date Aug., 1993
    ISSN 0268540X
    Short Title Contextualizing Alternative Medicine
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/2783450
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:10:18 AM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Aug., 1993 / Copyright © 1993 Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Notes:

    • In this article an anthropologist takes account of developments in alternative medicine.  The author acknowledges a diversity in approaches of alternative medicine and considers ways to classify healing practices, always maintaining what she calls the "suspicious" hermeneutic of the anthropologist.

  • Practicing the awareness of embodiment in qualitative health research: methodological reflections

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sonya Sharma
    Author Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham
    Author Marie Cochrane
    Abstract Although the importance of the researcher's embodiment has been noted in health and social sciences research, in many instances, more attention has been paid to the embodiment of the researched. Thus, more in-depth analysis of the embodied researcher can illuminate qualitative inquiry. The influence of the embodied researcher became visible in a recent critical ethnographic study examining the negotiation of religious, spiritual, and cultural plurality in health care. In this article, we do not present research findings per se, but rather methodological reflections. As researchers, we highlight emotional and bodily ways of knowing and experiences of difference such as culture, race, and religion as embodied and a part of researcher-participant encounters. We aim to elucidate the awareness of being embodied researchers, and with this elucidation, we consider implications for knowledge generation for health and social sciences.
    Publication Qualitative Health Research
    Volume 19
    Issue 11
    Pages 1642-1650
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Qual Health Res
    DOI 10.1177/1049732309350684
    ISSN 1049-7323
    Short Title Practicing the awareness of embodiment in qualitative health research
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19843972
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:38:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19843972
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Effectiveness of integrated yoga therapy in treatment of chronic migraine: randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author N. Sharma
    Author S. Sharma
    Author A. Verma
    Abstract Question: Does the integrated yoga therapy program help reducing pain measures and depression in chronic migraine patients. Methods: To test the effectiveness of a integrated yoga therapy program for chronic migraine treatment in a low cost, nonclinical setting, a prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in Jaipur, India. Subjects aged 18–65 years with 15 or more headache days per month, at least half of which were migraine/migrainous headaches, were randomized 1:1 to either yoga therapy or standard management. Seventy men and women were randomly assigned. The intervention group went through individualized yoga treatment for 12-weeks with four consecutive therapeutic sessions a week. Each therapy session lasting for about 60 min focusing on strengthening, relaxation, releasing muscular tension and increasing self efficacy. The control group consisted of standard care with the patient's physician. Outcome measures included self-perceived pain intensity, frequency, and duration; functional status; depression; prescription and nonprescription medication use. Outcomes were measured at the end of the 12-week intervention and at a 6-month follow-up. Results: Thirty-one of 35 patients from the intervention group and all 35 patients from the control group completed the study. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups before intervention. Intention to treat analysis revealed that the intervention group experienced statistically significant changes in self-perceived pain frequency (P = .000), pain intensity (P = .001), pain duration (P = .000), functional status (P = .000), medication used (P < 0.01) and depression (P = .000); these differences retained their significance at the 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: Positive health related outcomes in chronic migraine can be obtained with a low cost, group, integrated yoga in a community based nonclinical setting.
    Publication European Journal of Integrative Medicine
    Volume 2
    Issue 4
    Pages 194
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.eujim.2010.09.047
    ISSN 1876-3820
    Short Title Effectiveness of integrated yoga therapy in treatment of chronic migraine
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B984N-51FXHXR-2N/2/0efe288e87738461f4ae529428c812d3
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:06:05 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Notes:

    • To test the effectiveness of a integrated yoga therapy program for chronic migraine treatment in a low cost, nonclinical setting, a prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in Jaipur, India. Subjects aged 18–65 years with 15 or more headache days per month, at least half of which were migraine/migrainous headaches, were randomized 1:1 to either yoga therapy or standard management. Seventy men and women were randomly assigned. The intervention group went through individualized yoga treatment for 12-weeks with four consecutive therapeutic sessions a week. Each therapy session lasting for about 60 min focusing on strengthening, relaxation, releasing muscular tension and increasing self efficacy. The control group consisted of standard care with the patient's physician. Outcome measures included self-perceived pain intensity, frequency, and duration; functional status; depression; prescription and nonprescription medication use. Outcomes were measured at the end of the 12-week intervention and at a 6-month follow-up.

      Positive health related outcomes in chronic migraine can be obtained with a low cost, group, integrated yoga in a community based nonclinical setting.

      Results: Thirty-one of 35 patients from the intervention group and all 35 patients from the control group completed the study. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups before intervention. Intention to treat analysis revealed that the intervention group experienced statistically significant changes in self-perceived pain frequency (P = .000), pain intensity (P = .001), pain duration (P = .000), functional status (P = .000), medication used (P < 0.01) and depression (P = .000); these differences retained their significance at the 6-month follow-up.

       

  • Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: an efficacious community-based group intervention for depression and anxiety in a sample of cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Greg R Sharplin
    Author Simeon B W Jones
    Author Barbara Hancock
    Author Vikki E Knott
    Author Jacqueline A Bowden
    Author Hayley S Whitford
    Abstract OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of an 8-week structured mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) program on individuals experiencing distress as a consequence of cancer. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective study of 16 participants with a history of cancer and five carers of people with cancer recruited from August 2008 to February 2009 through calls to the Cancer Council South Australia Helpline. Participants were assessed for anxiety and depression before and after undergoing a course in MBCT between 30 September and 18 November 2008 and 20 February and 10 April 2009. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Depression, anxiety and mindfulness as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), respectively, and a consumer-centred evaluation. RESULTS There were significant reductions in depression (F[1,24] = 6.37; P = 0.012; partial-eta2 = 0.27) and anxiety (F[2,34] = 9.43; P = 0.001, partial-eta2 = 0.36) and mindfulness (F[2,32] = 8.36; P = 0.001; partial-eta2 = 0.34) following the intervention, and these effects were sustained at the 3-month follow-up. Reliable change indices further support these findings. Participants' scores on measures of depression and anxiety decreased as a function of increased mindfulness, as reflected by significant (P < 0.05) negative correlations between FMI scores and BDI-II scores (ranging from r = -0.46 to r = -0.79) and STAI scores (ranging from r = -0.46 to r = -0.50) scores at all time points. CONCLUSION The MBCT program appears to be an efficacious intervention for use among people affected by cancer who also experience symptoms of depression and anxiety.
    Publication The Medical Journal of Australia
    Volume 193
    Issue 5 Suppl
    Pages S79-82
    Date Sep 6, 2010
    Journal Abbr Med. J. Aust
    ISSN 0025-729X
    Short Title Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21542452
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:59:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21542452
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Causality
    • Cognition
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • Comorbidity
    • depression
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Prospective Studies
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Quality of Life
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • social support
    • South Australia
    • Treatment Outcome
  • A pathway to spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jon A Shaw
    Abstract The phenomenology of mystical experiences has been described throughout all the ages and in all religions. All mystical traditions identify some sense of union with the absolute as the ultimate spiritual goal. I assume that the pathway to both theistic and secular spirituality and our readiness to seek a solution in a psychological merger with something beyond the self evolves out of our human experience. Spirituality is one of man's strategies for dealing with the limitations of the life cycle, separation and loss, biological fragility, transience, and non-existence. Spirituality may serve as the affective component to a belief system or myth that is not rooted in scientific evidence but is lived as if it is true. Spirituality may take many forms, but I will suggest that in some instances it may serve as a reparative process in which one creates in the external world, through symbolic form, a nuance or facet of an internalized mental representation which has become lost or is no longer available to the self; or it may represent the continuity of the self-representation after death through a self-object merger. Lastly I will illustrate from the writings of two of our greatest poets, Dante Alighieri and William Wordsworth, how their poetry became interwoven with a profound spirituality. In Dante we will see the elaboration of a religious spirituality, while in the writings of Wordsworth a secular spirituality emerges interwoven with nature and belatedly his identification with "tragic man" as his mythos.
    Publication Psychiatry
    Volume 68
    Issue 4
    Pages 350-362
    Date 2005
    Journal Abbr Psychiatry
    ISSN 0033-2747
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/16599401
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:20:59 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16599401
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Attitude
    • Humans
    • Literature
    • Social Identification
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The phenomenology of mystical experiences has been described throughout all the ages and in all religions. All mystical traditions identify some sense of union with the absolute as the ultimate spiritual goal. I assume that the pathway to both theistic and secular spirituality and our readiness to seek a solution in a psychological merger with something beyond the self evolves out of our human experience. Spirituality is one of man’s strategies for dealing with the limitations of the life cycle, separation and loss, biological fragility, transience, and non-existence. Spirituality may serve as the affective component to a belief system or myth that is not rooted in scientific evidence but is lived as if it is true. Spirituality may take many forms, but I will suggest that in some instances it may serve as a reparative process in which one creates in the external world, through symbolic form, a nuance or facet of an internalized mental representation which has become lost or is no longer available to the self; or it may represent the continuity of the self-representation after death through a self-object merger. Lastly I will illustrate from the writings of two of our greatest poets, Dante Alighieri and William Wordsworth, how their poetry became interwoven with a profound spirituality. In Dante we will see the elaboration of a religious spirituality, while in the writings of Wordsworth a secular spirituality emerges interwoven with nature and belatedly his identification with “tragic man” as his mythos.

  • Eastern and Western Approaches to Healing: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Knowledge

    Type Book
    Author Anees A Sheikh
    Author Katharina S Sheikh
    Series Wiley series on health psychology/behavioral medicine
    Place New York
    Publisher Wiley
    Date 1989
    ISBN 0471628905
    Short Title Eastern and Western Approaches to Healing
    Library Catalog library.bu.edu Library Catalog
    Call Number R726.5 .E27 1989
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Tags:

    • Cross-Cultural Comparison
    • Medicine and psychology
    • Medicine, Ayurvedic
    • Medicine, Oriental
    • Medicine, Oriental Traditional
    • Mind and body
    • Psychiatry
    • Psychiatry, Transcultural
    • Psychology
    • Psychotherapy

    Notes:

    • This interdisciplinary work addresses the differences--and similarities--between Eastern and Western approaches to healing.  The author examines ancient practices, while revealing the ways Eastern practices are being integrated into Western methods. The text covers topics that include the mind-body problem, hypnosis, biofeedback and self-regulation, cerebral bilaterality, meditation and transcultural psychotherapy.

  • Prospective study of religious coping among patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Allen C Sherman
    Author Thomas G Plante
    Author Stephanie Simonton
    Author Umaira Latif
    Author Elias J Anaissie
    Abstract Considerable attention has focused on relationships between religious or spiritual coping and health outcomes among cancer patients. However, few studies have differentiated among discrete dimensions of religious coping, and there have been surprisingly few prospective investigations. Negative or conflicted aspects of religious coping, in particular, represent a compelling area for investigation. This prospective study examined negative religious coping, positive religious coping, and general religious orientation among 94 myeloma patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation. Participants were assessed during stem cell collection, and again in the immediate aftermath of transplantation, when risks for morbidity are most elevated. Outcomes included Brief Symptom Inventory anxiety and depression and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant (FACT-BMI) scales. Negative religious coping at baseline predicted worse post-transplant anxiety, depression, emotional well-being, and transplant-related concerns, after controlling for outcome scores at baseline and other significant covariates. Post-transplant physical well-being was predicted by an interaction between baseline positive and negative religious coping. Results suggest that religious struggle may contribute to adverse changes in health outcomes for transplant patients, and highlight the importance of negative or strained religious responses to illness.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 32
    Issue 1
    Pages 118-128
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-008-9179-y
    ISSN 0160-7715
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18855130
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:23:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18855130
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Statistical
    • Multiple Myeloma
    • Prospective Studies
    • Regression Analysis
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Stem Cell Transplantation
    • Transplantation, Autologous
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Competing Selves: Negotiating the Intersection of Spiritual and Sexual Identities

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alissa Sherry
    Author Andrew Adelman
    Author Margaret R. Whilde
    Author Daniel Quick
    Abstract Psychotherapy has sometimes been seen as incongruent with religion and spirituality. This fact is even more pronounced when counseling lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients, who feel as if their sexual orientation places them at odds with religious doctrine that is experienced as antigay. Postmodern theory provides a context for understanding socially constructed identities that may be in conflict with one another and may also provide some insight into how therapists may approach religious issues with LGB clients. The current study uses a mixed method design to investigate the relation between religious and sexuality variables in a sample of 422 LGB respondents. Quantitative results indicated that conservative religious beliefs were related to higher levels of shame, guilt, and internalized homophobia. Qualitative results appeared to highlight eight themes, the more dominant of which indicated that issues around sexual orientation were the catalyst for questioning or changing religious affiliation or beliefs.
    Publication Professional Psychology: Research and Practice
    Volume 41
    Issue 2
    Pages 112-119
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1037/a0017471
    ISSN 0735-7028
    Short Title Competing Selves
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:02:14 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • gay
    • homosexual
    • lesbian
    • religion
    • spirituality
  • Religiosity influences on bereavement adjustments of older widows in Taiwan

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shaw-Nin Shih
    Author Sue Turale
    Author Fu-Jin Shih
    Author Jen-Chen Tsai
    Abstract To describe difficulties encountered by older widows in Taiwan and the impact of intrinsic or extrinsic religiosity on their coping strategies during early widowhood. Background. There is very limited information about how Taiwan's widows cope with their bereavement and no studies reporting the relationship between religious beliefs and healthy adjustment during this distressing period. Design. Between-method qualitative and quantitative triangulation was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcribed data were analysed by critical thematic analysis. Results. Twenty women in Taiwan, > 65 years old, (mean = 72 center dot 95) were interviewed within three years of being widowed. There were two informant groups: those with intrinsic religious beliefs and those with extrinsic religious beliefs. They all reported intrapersonal and interpersonal problems. Several major coping strategies arose: 'practising positive or negative attitudes for adaptation'; 'using person-focused actions'; and 'taking the initiative or passively seeking help from others or helping others'. Informants with intrinsic religious beliefs reported fewer coping problems by holding positive attitudes and taking multiple actions for adaptation. The extrinsic religious group had more negative adaptation attitudes, such as withdrawal and low self-esteem and practised less faith religious activities in worshipping ancestors, experiencing fatalism and using divination. They reported more coping problems than the intrinsic religious group. Conclusion. Widows in Taiwan have different coping problems and strategies in postbereavement adjustment, affected by their different religious beliefs systems. More research is required to establish the generalisabilty of these findings. Relevance to clinical practice. Widows in Taiwan need to be assessed for their religious belief systems and how this affects their ability to cope during bereavement. Clinicians should actively provide grief support and encourage new methods of social adaptation, especially with widows with extrinsic religious beliefs who may have less self-esteem and negative adaptation behaviours. Document Type: Article
    Publication Journal of Clinical Nursing
    Volume 19
    Issue 5-6
    Pages 856-866
    Date 03/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.02947.x
    ISSN 09621067
    URL http://blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.02947.x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Spiritual needs of Taiwan's older patients with terminal cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Fu-Jin Shih
    Author Hung-Ru Lin
    Author Meei-Ling Gau
    Author Ching-Huey Chen
    Author Szu-Mei Hsiao
    Author Shaw-Nin Shih
    Author Shuh-Jen Sheu
    Abstract PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To explore the core constitutive patterns from the perspective of the older patient with terminal cancer, the major foci of spiritual needs, and professional actions that manifest tangibly as spiritual care. DESIGN Hermeneutic inquiry. SETTING Two leading teaching hospitals in Taiwan. SAMPLE 35 older patients with terminal cancer with a life expectancy of three months. METHODS Participatory observation and in-depth interviews were the major data collection strategies. Hermeneutic inquiry was used to disclose, document, and interpret participants' lived experiences. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES The perceptions of older Taiwanese patients with terminal cancer and their particular healthcare needs across various transition stages. FINDINGS Two constitutive patterns, "caring for the mortal body" and "transcending the worldly being," each with three themes and a related transformational process emerged from the data analysis. Two foci of spiritual needs were discovering patients' concerns about their dying bodies and their worldly being and facilitating the transcendence of the spiritual being from the physical realm. CONCLUSIONS Caring for older Taiwanese patients with terminal cancer and helping them transcend the fear of the unknown when they give up worldly being can produce insights into patients' primary concerns, perceptions, and spiritual needs to help them achieve a "good" death. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING The knowledge gained in this study and the six major spiritual care actions identified may empower oncology nurse educators to develop culturally valid spiritual care courses. Research-based guidance for nurse clinicians who are taking care of older Taiwanese patients with terminal cancer will be provided.
    Publication Oncology Nursing Forum
    Volume 36
    Issue 1
    Pages E31-38
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Oncol Nurs Forum
    DOI 10.1188/09.ONF.E31-E38
    ISSN 1538-0688
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19136329
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:09:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19136329
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Death
    • Culture
    • Emotions
    • Female
    • Funeral Rites
    • Hospitals, Teaching
    • Humans
    • Life Expectancy
    • Male
    • Neoplasms
    • Nurse-Patient Relations
    • Professional-Family Relations
    • spirituality
    • Taiwan
    • Terminal Care
    • Terminally Ill
    • Trust

    Notes:

    • To explore the core constitutive patterns from the perspective of the older patient with terminal cancer, the major foci of spiritual needs, and professional actions that manifest tangibly as spiritual care.

  • When nurses grieve: spirituality's role in coping

    Type Journal Article
    Author Christina G Shinbara
    Author Lynn Olson
    Abstract This study explored spirituality as an aspect of support for nurses grieving the loss of patients. Previous research has sought to understand the grief support needs of nurses; spirituality is one support nurses describe. Fifty-eight nurses responded to questions related to spirituality from a Needs Assessment Questionnaire (NAQ) designed to study grief support for nurses. Nurses reported spirituality as important in their daily lives (75%) and in helping them cope with patient-related grief (70%), and cited spiritual-based resources as beneficial in coping. Spirituality can play an important role in coping with grief and should be included in nurses' support.
    Publication Journal of Christian Nursing: A Quarterly Publication of Nurses Christian Fellowship
    Volume 27
    Issue 1
    Pages 32-37
    Date 2010 Jan-Mar
    Journal Abbr J Christ Nurs
    ISSN 0743-2550
    Short Title When nurses grieve
    Accessed Sunday, January 24, 2010 5:16:51 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20088294
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • The prevalence and characteristics of young and mid-age women who use yoga and meditation: Results of a nationally representative survey of 19,209 Australian women

    Type Journal Article
    Author David Sibbritt
    Author Jon Adams
    Author Pamela van der Riet
    Abstract <p>SummaryObjective<br/>To determine the characteristics of yoga and meditation users and non-users amongst young and mid-aged Australian women.Design and setting<br/>The research was conducted as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) which was designed to investigate multiple factors affecting the health and well being of women over a 20-year period.Participants<br/>The younger (28-33 years) (n = 8885) and mid-aged (56-61 years) (n = 10,324) cohorts of the ALSWH who completed Survey 5 in 2006 and 2007 respectively.Main outcome measure<br/>Use of yoga.Results<br/>This study estimates that 35% of Australian women aged 28-33 and 27% of Australian women aged 56-61 use yoga or meditation. Younger women with back pain (OR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.52) and allergies (OR = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.49) were more likely to use yoga or meditation, while younger women with migraines or headaches (OR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.87) were less likely to use yoga or meditation. Mid-age women with low iron (OR = 1.68; 95% CI: 1.29, 2.19) and bowel problems (OR = 1.37; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.65) were more likely to use yoga or meditation, while mid age women with hypertension (OR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.52, 0.76) were less likely to use yoga or meditation.Conclusion<br/>A large percentage of the female population are using yoga or meditation. Given that women who regularly use yoga or meditation positively associated with measures of mental and physical health, there is a need for further research to examine the experiences and potential benefits of these mind-body practices for women's health.</p>
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Medicine
    Volume 19
    Issue 2
    Pages 71-77
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctim.2010.12.009
    ISSN 0965-2299
    Short Title The prevalence and characteristics of young and mid-age women who use yoga and meditation
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WCS-524F636-1/2/71028ad54645b6ba9c81c4400d6ddffb
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:19:25 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM

    Tags:

    • Meditation
    • Women's Health
    • yoga
  • The Perceived Benefits of Religious and Spiritual Coping among Older Adults Living with HIV/AIDS

    Type Journal Article
    Author Karolynn Siegel
    Author Eric W. Schrimshaw
    Abstract Although religious and spiritual beliefs and practices have been frequently associated with greater psychological well-being among illness populations, little is known about the specific benefits individuals perceive they receive from these beliefs and practices. This issue was examined in interviews with 63 older HIV-infected adults. Participants reported a variety of benefits from their religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, including: (1) evokes comforting emotions and feelings; (2) offers strength, empowerment, and control; (3) eases the emotional burden of the illness; (4) offers social support and a sense of belonging; (5) offers spiritual support through a personal relationship with God; (6) facilitates meaning and acceptance of the illness; (7) helps preserve health; (8) relieves the fear and uncertainty of death; (9) facilitates self-acceptance and reduces self-blame. These perceived benefits suggest potential mechanisms by which religion/spirituality may affect psychological adjustment.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 41
    Issue 1
    Pages 91-102
    Date Mar., 2002
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/1387714
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 1:48:49 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Mar., 2002 / Copyright © 2002 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Although religious and spiritual beliefs and practices have been frequently associated with greater psychological well-being among illness populations, little is known about the specific benefits individuals perceive they receive from these beliefs and practices. This issue was examined in interviews with 63 older HIV-infected adults.

  • Moral thought–action fusion and OCD symptoms: The moderating role of religious affiliation.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jedidiah Siev
    Author Dianne L. Chambless
    Author Jonathan D. Huppert
    Abstract The empirical literature on the relationship between moral thought–action fusion (TAF) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by mixed findings. Previous studies have reported religious group differences in moral TAF and the relationship between moral TAF and religiosity. In light of those studies and considering the apparent role of moral TAF in scrupulosity, the purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the possible role of religion as a moderator of the relationship between moral TAF and OCD symptoms. The results revealed that (a) Christians endorsed higher levels of moral TAF than did Jews independent of OCD symptoms; (b) religiosity was correlated with moral TAF in Christians but not in Jews, suggesting that Christian religious adherence is related to beliefs about the moral import of thoughts; and (c)moral TAF was related to OCD symptoms only in Jews. That is, for Christians,moral TAF was related to religiosity but not OCD symptoms, and for Jews, moral TAF was related to OCD symptoms but not religiosity. These results imply that moral TAF is only a marker of pathology when such beliefs are not culturally normative (e.g., as a function of religious teaching or doctrine). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Anxiety Disorders
    Volume 24
    Issue 3
    Pages 309-312
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.01.002
    ISSN 0887-6185
    Short Title Moral thought–action fusion and OCD symptoms
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:30:30 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Christianity
    • Christians
    • Cognitions
    • Jews
    • Judaism
    • moral thought-action fusion
    • Morality
    • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
    • OBSESSIVE-compulsive disorder
    • religiosity
    • religious affiliation
    • religious group differences
    • SYMPTOMS
  • Spirituality and prayer research: a select annotated bibliography

    Type Journal Article
    Author M C Silva
    Abstract As the world has become more complex, so too have our ethical conceptualizations about it. In the 1970s, ethical theories and principle-based bioethics dominated. Then clinicians and scholars began to experience the limitations of these two approaches when used alone. In the 1980s, women's voices began to be heard through both feminist ethics and the ethic of care. In addition, virtue ethics and casuistry again gained recognition. During the 1990s and as we are about to enter the 21st century, ethics has expanded to capture the concepts of narrative ethics and spirituality. This select annotated bibliography focuses on spirituality and on prayer research.
    Publication Plastic Surgical Nursing: Official Journal of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgical Nurses
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 45-46
    Date 1999
    Journal Abbr Plast Surg Nurs
    ISSN 0741-5206
    Short Title Spirituality and prayer research
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10478131
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 7:42:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10478131
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Ethics, Nursing
    • Feminism
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Pastoral Care
    • religion

    Notes:

    • This select annotated bibliography focuses on spirituality and on prayer research.

  • Meditation and yoga in psychotherapy: techniques for clinical practice

    Type Book
    Author Annellen Simpkins
    Place Hoboken N.J.
    Publisher John Wiley
    ISBN 9780470562413
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • Near death experience: a concept analysis as applied to nursing

    Type Journal Article
    Author S M Simpson
    Abstract BACKGROUND: A concept is a thought or complicated mental illustration of a phenomenon. Concepts are essential in research development as they are described as the building blocks of theory. The occurrence of near death experiences (NDEs) is not an innovative subject. Parallels have existed as early as the Bible and Plato's Republic. The NDE was given further consideration in 1975 by Dr Raymond Moody who initiated an interest from the general public and researchers alike, with his book Life after Life. METHOD: This paper will use the strategy of concept analysis to find a working definition for the concept of the NDE and the implications it has for nursing. CONCLUSION: This paper will attest that the number of people who have claimed to have a NDE is phenomenal and overwhelming. In addition, it claims that the numbers of those who have experienced this phenomenon may be underestimated because of the persons' feeling of insecurity in talking with others about their paranormal incident. Therefore, it is vital that nurses become aware of the NDE and how to support the client who has had the experience. The following paper will summarize the different stages of a NDE, the consequences that one experiences, both positive and negative, and nursing implications.
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 36
    Issue 4
    Pages 520-526
    Date Nov 2001
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    ISSN 0309-2402
    Short Title Near death experience
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11703546
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:52:09 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11703546
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Aged
    • Death
    • Humans
    • Leukemia
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Nursing
    • Surgical Procedures, Operative

    Notes:

    • Background: A concept is a thought or complicated mental illustration of a phenomenon. Concepts are essential in research development as they are described as the building blocks of theory. The occurrence of near death experiences (NDEs) is not an innovative subject. Parallels have existed as early as the Bible and Plato’s Republic. The NDE was given further consideration in 1975 by Dr Raymond Moody who initiated an interest from the general public and researchers alike, with his book Life after Life. Method: This paper will use the strategy of concept analysis to find a working definition for the concept of the NDE and the implications it has for nursing. Conclusion: This paper will attest that the number of people who have claimed to have a NDE is phenomenal and overwhelming. In addition, it claims that the numbers of those who have experienced this phenomenon may be underestimated because of the persons’ feeling of insecurity in talking with others about their paranormal incident. Therefore, it is vital that nurses become aware of the NDE and how to support the client who has had the experience. The following paper will summarize the different stages of a NDE, the consequences that one experiences, both positive and negative, and nursing implications.

  • What are the core elements of oncology spiritual care programs?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shane Sinclair
    Author Marlene Mysak
    Author Neil A Hagen
    Abstract OBJECTIVE:Tending to the spiritual needs of patients has begun to be formally recognized by professional spiritual care providers, health care councils, and health delivery systems over the last 30 years. Recognition of these programs has coincided with evidence-based research on the effect of spirituality on health. Palliative care has served as a forerunner to an integrated professional spiritual care approach, recognizing the importance of addressing the spiritual needs of the dying from its inauguration within Western medicine almost 50 years ago. Oncology programs have also begun to recognize the importance of spirituality to patients along the cancer continuum, especially those who are approaching the end of life. Although standards and best practice guidelines have been established and incorporated into practice, little is known about the actual factors affecting the practice of spiritual care programs or professional chaplains working within an oncology setting.METHODS:Participant observation and interactive interviews occurred at five cancer programs after we conducted a literature search.RESULTS:This study identified underlying organizational challenges, cultural and professional issues, academic program development challenges, administrative duties, and therapeutic interventions that determined the success of oncology spiritual care programs in practice.SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS:Although spiritual care services have developed as a profession and become recognized as a service within oncology and palliative care, organizational and operational issues were underrecognized yet significant factors in the success of oncology spiritual care programs. Spiritual care programs that were centrally located within the cancer care center, reported and provided guidance to senior leaders, reflected a multifaith approach, and had an academic role were better resourced, utilized more frequently, and seen to be integral members of an interdisciplinary care team than those services who did not reflect these characteristics.
    Publication Palliative & Supportive Care
    Volume 7
    Issue 4
    Pages 415-422
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Palliat Support Care
    DOI 10.1017/S1478951509990423
    ISSN 1478-9523
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19939304
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 2:59:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19939304
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Notes:

    • Tending to the spiritual needs of patients has begun to be formally recognized by professional spiritual care providers, health care councils, and health delivery systems over the last 30 years. Recognition of these programs has coincided with evidence-based research on the effect of spirituality on health. Palliative care has served as a forerunner to an integrated professional spiritual care approach, recognizing the importance of addressing the spiritual needs of the dying from its inauguration within Western medicine almost 50 years ago. Oncology programs have also begun to recognize the importance of spirituality to patients along the cancer continuum, especially those who are approaching the end of life. Although standards and best practice guidelines have been established and incorporated into practice, little is known about the actual factors affecting the practice of spiritual care programs or professional chaplains working within an oncology setting. Participant observation and interactive interviews occurred at five cancer programs after we conducted a literature search

  • Can adult offenders with intellectual disabilities use mindfulness-based procedures to control their deviant sexual arousal?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nirbhay N. Singh
    Author Giulio E. Lancioni
    Author Alan S. W. Winton
    Author Ashvind N. Singh
    Author Angela D. Adkins
    Author Judy Singh
    Abstract Adults with intellectual disability who commit sexual offences against children are prosecuted and sometimes diverted to mental health facilities for training and treatment. Of the few treatment modalities used with this population, cognitive-behavioral approaches appear to hold most promise. In a preliminary study, we assessed whether three adult sexual offenders with intellectual disability could learn to control their deviant sexual arousal. Using a multiple-baseline design, we evaluated the individuals' ability to use self-control methods, Meditation on the Soles of the Feet, and a Mindful Observation of Thoughts meditation procedure to control their deviant sexual arousal when given relevant printed stimulus materials. Our data show that the individuals were minimally successful when they used their own self-control strategies, more effective with Meditation on the Soles of the Feet, and most effective with Mindful Observation of Thoughts meditation. We discuss the limitations of the study, as well as some reasons why mindfulness-based procedures may be worthy of future investigation for adult sexual offenders with intellectual disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Psychology, Crime & Law
    Volume 17
    Issue 2
    Pages 165-179
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1080/10683160903392731
    ISSN 1068316X
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • ADULTHOOD
    • Criminals
    • DEVIANT behavior
    • Disabilities
    • INTELLECT
    • Self-control
    • SEXUAL excitement
  • Effects of a mindfulness-based smoking cessation program for an adult with mild intellectual disability

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nirbhay N Singh
    Author Giulio E Lancioni
    Author Alan S W Winton
    Author Ashvind N A Singh
    Author Judy Singh
    Author Angela D A Singh
    Abstract Smoking is a major risk factor for a number of health conditions and many smokers find it difficult to quit smoking without specific interventions. We developed and used a mindfulness-based smoking cessation program with a 31-year-old man with mild intellectual disabilities who had been a smoker for 17 years. The mindfulness-based smoking cessation program consisted of three components: intention, mindful observation of thoughts, and Meditation on the Soles of the Feet. A changing-criterion analysis showed that this man was able to fade his cigarette smoking from 12 at baseline to 0 within 3 months, and maintain this for a year. Follow-up data, collected every 3 months following the maintenance period, showed he was able to abstain from smoking for 3 years. Our study suggests that this mindfulness-based smoking cessation program merits further investigation.
    Publication Research in Developmental Disabilities
    Volume 32
    Issue 3
    Pages 1180-1185
    Date 2011 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Res Dev Disabil
    DOI 10.1016/j.ridd.2011.01.003
    ISSN 1873-3379
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21288689
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:37:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21288689
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
  • Assessing Quality of Life (QOL), Spiritual Well-Being, and Use of Resources Throughout the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) Process

    Type Journal Article
    Author J.A. Sirilla
    Author S.A. Ezzone
    Author C. Kirkendall
    Author J. Buck
    Publication Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation
    Volume 17
    Issue 2, Supplement 1
    Pages S193
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2010.12.127
    ISSN 1083-8791
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:47:07 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
  • Is religiosity a protective factor against attempted suicide: a cross-cultural case-control study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Merike Sisask
    Author Airi Värnik
    Author Kairi Kõlves
    Author José M. Bertolote
    Author Jafar Bolhari
    Author Neury J Botega
    Author Alexandra Fleischmann
    Author Lakshmi Vijayakumar
    Author Danuta Wasserman
    Abstract This cross-cultural study investigates whether religiosity assessed in three dimensions has a protective effect against attempted suicide. Community controls (n = 5484) were more likely than suicide attempters (n = 2819) to report religious denomination in Estonia (OR = 0.5) and subjective religiosity in four countries: Brazil (OR = 0.2), Estonia (OR = 0.5), Islamic Republic of Iran (OR = 0.6), and Sri Lanka (OR = 0.4). In South Africa, the effect was exceptional both for religious denomination (OR = 5.9) and subjective religiosity (OR = 2.7). No effects were found in India and Vietnam. Organizational religiosity gave controversial results. In particular, subjective religiosity (considering him/herself as religious person) may serve as a protective factor against non-fatal suicidal behavior in some cultures.
    Publication Archives of Suicide Research: Official Journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research
    Volume 14
    Issue 1
    Pages 44-55
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Arch Suicide Res
    DOI 10.1080/13811110903479052
    ISSN 1543-6136
    Short Title Is religiosity a protective factor against attempted suicide
    Accessed Thursday, March 04, 2010 9:08:33 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20112143
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Community based yoga classes for type 2 diabetes: an exploratory randomised controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lana Skoro-Kondza
    Author Sharon See Tai
    Author Ramona Gadelrab
    Author Desanka Drincevic
    Author Trisha Greenhalgh
    Abstract Background Yoga is a popular therapy for diabetes but its efficacy is contested. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of researching community based yoga classes in Type 2 diabetes with a view to informing the design of a definitive, multi-centre trial Methods The study design was an exploratory randomised controlled trial with in-depth process evaluation. The setting was two multi-ethnic boroughs in London, UK; one with average and one with low mean socio-economic deprivation score. Classes were held at a sports centre or GP surgery. Participants were 59 people with Type 2 diabetes not taking insulin, recruited from general practice lists or opportunistically by general practice staff. The intervention group were offered 12 weeks of a twice-weekly 90-minute yoga class; the control group was a waiting list for the yoga classes. Both groups received advice and leaflets on healthy lifestyle and were encouraged to exercise. Primary outcome measure was HbA1c. Secondary outcome measures included attendance, weight, waist circumference, lipid levels, blood pressure, UKPDS cardiovascular risk score, diabetes-related quality of life (ADDQoL), and self-efficacy. Process measures were attendance at yoga sessions, self-reported frequency of practice between taught sessions, and qualitative data (interviews with patients and therapists, ethnographic observation of the yoga classes, and analysis of documents including minutes of meetings, correspondence, and exercise plans). Results Despite broad inclusion criteria, around two-thirds of the patients on GP diabetic registers proved ineligible, and 90% of the remainder declined to participate. Mean age of participants was 60 +/- 10 years. Attendance at yoga classes was around 50%. Nobody did the exercises regularly at home. Yoga teachers felt that most participants were unsuitable for 'standard' yoga exercises because of limited flexibility, lack of basic fitness, co-morbidity, and lack of confidence. There was a small fall in HbA1c in the yoga group which was not statistically significant and which was not sustained six months later, and no significant change in other outcome measures. Conclusion The benefits of yoga in type 2 diabetes suggested in some previous studies were not confirmed. Possible explanations (apart from lack of efficacy) include recruitment challenges; practical and motivational barriers to class attendance; physical and motivational barriers to engaging in the exercises; inadequate intensity and/or duration of yoga intervention; and insufficient personalisation of exercises to individual needs. All these factors should be considered when designing future trials.
    Publication BMC Health Services Research
    Volume 9
    Pages 33
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr BMC Health Serv Res
    DOI 10.1186/1472-6963-9-33
    ISSN 1472-6963
    Short Title Community based yoga classes for type 2 diabetes
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:48:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19228402
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Community Health Services
    • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
    • Feasibility Studies
    • Female
    • Focus Groups
    • Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated
    • Humans
    • London
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Multicenter Studies as Topic
    • Muscle Stretching Exercises
    • Research Design
    • yoga
  • Theta phase synchrony and conscious target perception: impact of intensive mental training

    Type Journal Article
    Author Heleen A Slagter
    Author Antoine Lutz
    Author Lawrence L Greischar
    Author Sander Nieuwenhuis
    Author Richard J Davidson
    Abstract The information processing capacity of the human mind is limited, as is evidenced by the attentional blink-a deficit in identifying the second of two targets (T1 and T2) presented in close succession. This deficit is thought to result from an overinvestment of limited resources in T1 processing. We previously reported that intensive mental training in a style of meditation aimed at reducing elaborate object processing, reduced brain resource allocation to T1, and improved T2 accuracy [Slagter, H. A., Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Francis, A. D., Nieuwenhuis, S., Davis, J., et al. Mental training affects distribution of limited brain resources. PloS Biology, 5, e138, 2007]. Here we report EEG spectral analyses to examine the possibility that this reduction in elaborate T1 processing rendered the system more available to process new target information, as indexed by T2-locked phase variability. Intensive mental training was associated with decreased cross-trial variability in the phase of oscillatory theta activity after successfully detected T2s, in particular, for those individuals who showed the greatest reduction in brain resource allocation to T1. These data implicate theta phase locking in conscious target perception, and suggest that after mental training the cognitive system is more rapidly available to process new target information. Mental training was not associated with changes in the amplitude of T2-induced responses or oscillatory activity before task onset. In combination, these findings illustrate the usefulness of systematic mental training in the study of the human mind by revealing the neural mechanisms that enable the brain to successfully represent target information.
    Publication Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
    Volume 21
    Issue 8
    Pages 1536-1549
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr J Cogn Neurosci
    DOI 10.1162/jocn.2009.21125
    ISSN 0898-929X
    Short Title Theta phase synchrony and conscious target perception
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18823234
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:43:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18823234
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Attentional Blink
    • Brain Mapping
    • Consciousness
    • Contingent Negative Variation
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Negotiating
    • Photic Stimulation
    • Reaction Time
    • Theta Rhythm
    • Time Factors
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • The information processing capacity of the human mind is limited, as is evidenced by the attentional blink-a deficit in identifying the second of two targets (T1 and T2) presented in close succession. This deficit is thought to result from an overinvestment of limited resources in T1 processing. We previously reported that intensive mental training in a style of meditation aimed at reducing elaborate object processing, reduced brain resource allocation to T1, and improved T2 accuracy [Slagter, H. A., Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Francis, A. D., Nieuwenhuis, S., Davis, J., et al. Mental training affects distribution of limited brain resources. PloS Biology, 5, e138, 2007]. Here we report EEG spectral analyses to examine the possibility that this reduction in elaborate T1 processing rendered the system more available to process new target information, as indexed by T2-locked phase variability. Intensive mental training was associated with decreased cross-trial variability in the phase of oscillatory theta activity after successfully detected T2s, in particular, for those individuals who showed the greatest reduction in brain resource allocation to T1. These data implicate theta phase locking in conscious target perception, and suggest that after mental training the cognitive system is more rapidly available to process new target information. Mental training was not associated with changes in the amplitude of T2-induced responses or oscillatory activity before task onset. In combination, these findings illustrate the usefulness of systematic mental training in the study of the human mind by revealing the neural mechanisms that enable the brain to successfully represent target information.

  • Religious Commitment, Skepticism, and Struggle Among U.S. College Students: The Impact of Majority/Minority Religious Affiliation and Institutional Type.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jenny L. Small
    Author Nicholas A. Bowman
    Abstract Using a longitudinal sample of over 14,000 undergraduate students, this study explores whether and how students' religious transformations during the college years are associated with their religious affiliation, religious experiences, and the institutional characteristics of their college or university. Hierarchical linear modeling reveals that students from religious majority groups (i.e., mainline and evangelical Protestants) generally experience increased religious commitment and decreased religious skepticism as compared with students from religious minority groups. Interestingly, though, students from these majority groups also report greater levels of religious struggle compared to minority group students. Moreover, institutional religious affiliation and an inclusive campus religious climate often attenuate the relationship between students' religious affiliation and their religious transformation. Environments at both the macro (campus) and micro (friendship groups) levels contribute critically to young adults' religious commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 50
    Issue 1
    Pages 154-174
    Date March 2011
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01557.x
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Religious Commitment, Skepticism, and Struggle Among U.S. College Students
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM

    Tags:

    • BELIEF & doubt
    • COLLEGE students -- Religious life
    • EVANGELICALISM
    • Experience (Religion)
    • RELIGIOUS behaviors
    • religious minorities
  • Fully present : the science, art, and practice of mindfulness

    Type Book
    Author Susan Smalley
    Place Cambridge Mass.
    Publisher Da Capo Lifelong
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780738213248
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • Psychotherapeutic effects of transcendental meditation with controls for expectation of relief and daily sitting

    Type Journal Article
    Author J C Smith
    Publication Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
    Volume 44
    Issue 4
    Pages 630-637
    Date Aug 1976
    Journal Abbr J Consult Clin Psychol
    ISSN 0022-006X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/939847
    Accessed Saturday, September 05, 2009 2:15:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 939847
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Anxiety
    • Arousal
    • Aspirations (Psychology)
    • Attention
    • Cognition
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Muscle Tonus
    • Psychotherapy
    • Relaxation
  • An evidence-based review of yoga as a complementary intervention for patients with cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kelly B Smith
    Author Caroline F Pukall
    Abstract OBJECTIVE To conduct an evidence-based review of yoga as an intervention for patients with cancer. Specifically, this paper reviewed the impact of yoga on psychological adjustment among cancer patients. METHODS A systematic literature search was conducted between May 2007 and April 2008. Data from each identified study were extracted by two independent raters; studies were included if they assessed psychological functioning and focused on yoga as a main intervention. Using a quality rating scale (range = 9-45), the raters assessed the methodological quality of the studies, and CONSORT guidelines were used to assess randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Effect sizes were calculated when possible. In addition, each study was narratively reviewed with attention to outcome variables, the type of yoga intervention employed, and methodological strengths and limitations. RESULTS Ten studies were included, including six RCTs. Across studies, the majority of participants were women, and breast cancer was the most common diagnosis. Methodological quality ranged greatly across studies (range = 15.5-42), with the average rating (M = 33.55) indicating adequate quality. Studies also varied in terms of cancer populations and yoga interventions sampled. CONCLUSIONS This study provided a systematic evaluation of the yoga and cancer literature. Although some positive results were noted, variability across studies and methodological drawbacks limit the extent to which yoga can be deemed effective for managing cancer-related symptoms. However, further research in this area is certainly warranted. Future research should examine what components of yoga are most beneficial, and what types of patients receive the greatest benefit from yoga interventions.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 5
    Pages 465-475
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1411
    ISSN 1099-1611
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18821529
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18821529
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Complementary Therapies
    • Humans
    • Neoplasms
    • Questionnaires
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • A evidence-based study review of yoga as an intervention for patients with cancer. Specifically, this paper reviewed the impact of yoga on psychological adjustment among cancer patients.

  • Who is willing to use complementary and alternative medicine?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bruce W Smith
    Author Jeanne Dalen
    Author Kathryn T Wiggins
    Author Paulette J Christopher
    Author Jennifer F Bernard
    Author Brian M Shelley
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify individual differences associated with the willingness to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). DESIGN: A questionnaire was administered and the relationship between individual differences and the willingness to use CAM was examined using correlation and multiple regression analyses. PARTICIPANTS: The sample consisted of 276 undergraduate students (64% female) of diverse ethnicity (43% white, 33% Hispanic, 8% Native American, 16% other) and a wide range of incomes. MEASURES: The willingness to use 16 types of CAM was assessed for six categories: whole medical systems, mind-body medicine, biologically based practices, manipulative and body-based practices, energy medicine, and spiritually based practices. The individual differences assessed included age, gender, income, ethnicity, the Big Five personality characteristics, optimism, spirituality, religiosity, and three aspects of emotional intelligence: mood attention, mood clarity, and mood repair. RESULTS: The individual differences accounted for approximately one fifth of the variance in overall willingness to use CAM. Openness to experience, spirituality, and mood attention were the strongest predictors of overall willingness to use CAM and were related to the willingness to use most of the individual types of CAM. Older age or female gender was related to greater willingness to use most of the mind-body medicines. Hispanic ethnicity was related to greater willingness to use curanderismo, and Native American ethnicity was related to greater willingness to use Native American medicine and a spiritual/faith healer.
    Publication Explore (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 4
    Issue 6
    Pages 359-367
    Date 2008 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Explore (NY)
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2008.08.001
    ISSN 1550-8307
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18984547
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:33:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18984547
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Choice Behavior
    • Complementary Therapies
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Ethnic Groups
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Care
    • United States

    Notes:

    • A questionnaire was administered and the relationship between individual differences and the willingness to use CAM was examined using correlation and multiple regression analyses. The sample consisted of 276 undergraduate students (64% female) of diverse ethnicity. Measures: The willingness to use 16 types of CAM was assessed for six categories. The individual differences assessed included age, gender, income, ethnicity, the Big Five personality characteristics, optimism, spirituality, religiosity, and three aspects of emotional intelligence. Results: The individual differences accounted for approximately one fifth of the variance in overall willingness to use CAM.

  • Spirituality in Older Adulthood: Existential Meaning, Productivity, and Life Events.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jill Snodgrass
    Author Siroj Sorajjakool
    Abstract The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship of spirituality and older adulthood, especially focusing on factors that may result in an increased spirituality among the elderly. Older adulthood, as the accumulation of insight gleaned from difficult lessons learned through life, offers the opportunity to embrace human finitude, to recognize life's continuity and to grow in clarity about God and God's presence. Wisdom gained through the experiences of vulnerability and transition serves as a resource to self and others. This article draws on the reflections of William M. Clements, Ph.D., Edna and Lowell Craig Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at the Claremont School of Theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Pastoral Psychology
    Volume 60
    Issue 1
    Pages 85-94
    Date February 2011
    DOI 10.1007/s11089-010-0282-y
    ISSN 00312789
    Short Title Spirituality in Older Adulthood
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

    Tags:

    • DEVELOPMENTAL psychology
    • EXISTENTIAL psychology
    • FINITE, The
    • OLDER people -- Religious life
    • Pastoral Care
    • PRESENCE of God
    • spirituality
    • Time
  • A study of the effect of yoga training on pulmonary functions in patients with bronchial asthma

    Type Journal Article
    Author Candy Sodhi
    Author Sheena Singh
    Author P K Dandona
    Abstract The role of yoga breathing exercises, as an adjunct treatment for bronchial asthma is well recognized. One hundred twenty patients of asthma were randomized into two groups i.e Group A (yoga training group) and Group B (control group). Each group included sixty patients. Pulmonary function tests were performed on all the patients at baseline, after 4 weeks and then after 8 weeks. Majority of the subjects in the two groups had mild disease (34 patients in Group A and 32 in Group B). Group A subjects showed a statistically significant increasing trend (P < 0.01) in % predicted peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced mid expiratory flow in 0.25-0.75 seconds (FEF25-75) and FEV1/FVC% ratio at 4 weeks and 8 weeks as compared to Group B. Thus, yoga breathing exercises used adjunctively with standard pharmacological treatment significantly improves pulmonary functions in patients with bronchial asthma.
    Publication Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
    Volume 53
    Issue 2
    Pages 169-174
    Date 2009 Apr-Jun
    Journal Abbr Indian J. Physiol. Pharmacol
    ISSN 0019-5499
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:31:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20112821
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Anti-Asthmatic Agents
    • Asthma
    • Breathing Exercises
    • COMBINED modality therapy
    • Female
    • Forced Expiratory Volume
    • Humans
    • Lung
    • Male
    • Maximal Midexpiratory Flow Rate
    • Middle Aged
    • Peak Expiratory Flow Rate
    • Recovery of Function
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Time Factors
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Vital Capacity
    • yoga
    • Young Adult
  • Effect of meditation on immune cells

    Type Journal Article
    Author E. E. Solberg
    Author R. Halvorsen
    Author A. Holen
    Abstract The objective of this study was to assess the influence of long term meditation on runners' immune status at rest, after exercise and after 2 h recovery. Ten males, who had practised meditation for a long time and were participating in a half-marathon race, were studied in a case-control design. The control group was drawn from the pool of applicants to the race who did not practise meditation. Blood samples were taken before, immediately after and 2 h after the race. Immune and blood analysis were conducted. Runners practising meditation had lower lymphocyte counts at rest before the race (p&lt;0.02). Just after the race, both groups more than doubled their white blood cell (wbc) counts (p&lt;0.01); however, no significant effects were observed on the immune cells, neither was any difference between groups seen in the post-exercise period. Long term practice of meditation may influence absolute lymphocyte counts at rest. No effect was observed in the immune response to exercise stress. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
    Publication Stress Medicine
    Volume 16
    Issue 3
    Pages 185-190
    Date 2000
    DOI 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1700(200004)16:3<185::AID-SMI852>3.0.CO;2-C
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1700(200004)16:3<185::AID-SMI852>3.0.CO;2-C
    Accessed Friday, September 04, 2009 2:06:34 PM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The objective of this study was to assess the influence of long term meditation on runners’ immune status at rest, after exercise and after 2 h recovery. Runners practising meditation had lower lymphocyte counts at rest before the race. Just after the race, both groups more than doubled their white blood cell (wbc) counts; however, no significant effects were observed on the immune cells, neither was any difference between groups seen in the post-exercise period. Long term practice of meditation may influence absolute lymphocyte counts at rest. No effect was observed in the immune response to exercise stress.

  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Marital Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Forgiveness.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Zahava Solomon
    Author Rachel Dekel
    Author Gadi Zerach
    Abstract The study assessed the effects of war captivity on posttraumatic stress symptoms and marital adjustment among Prisoners of War (POWs) from the Yom Kippur War. It was hypothesized that men's perception of level of forgiveness mediates the relation between posttraumatic symptoms and marital adjustment. The sample consisted of 157 Israeli veterans divided into 3 groups: 21 POWs with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 58 former POWs without PTSD, and 70 control veterans. The findings indicated that former POWs with PTSD reported lower levels of marital satisfaction and forgiveness than veterans in the other 2 groups. In addition, men's perception of level of forgiveness mediated the relationship between their posttraumatic symptoms and their marital adjustment. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Family Process
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 546-558
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2009.01301.x
    ISSN 00147370
    Short Title Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Marital Adjustment
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45393408&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:19:15 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • Forgiveness
    • MAN-woman relationships
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder
    • PRISONERS of war
    • WAR victims
  • Relationships between psychosocial-spiritual well-being and end-of-life preferences and values in African American dialysis patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mi-Kyung Song
    Author Laura C Hanson
    Abstract The objective of the study was to examine whether psychosocial and spiritual well-being is associated with African American dialysis patients' end-of-life treatment preferences and acceptance of potential outcomes of life-sustaining treatment. Fifty-one African Americans with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and interview with measures of symptom distress, health-related quality of life, psychosocial and spiritual well-being, and preferences and values related to life-sustaining treatment choices. The subjects were stratified by end-of-life treatment preferences and by acceptance of life-sustaining treatment outcomes, and compared for psychosocial and spiritual well-being, as well as sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Individuals who desired continued use of life-sustaining treatment in terminal illness or advanced dementia had significantly lower spiritual well-being (P=0.012). Individuals who valued four potential outcomes of life-sustaining treatment as unacceptable showed a more positive, adaptive well-being score in the spiritual dimension compared with the group that valued at least one outcome as acceptable (P=0.028). Religious involvement and importance of spirituality were not associated with end-of-life treatment preferences and acceptance of treatment outcomes. African Americans with ESRD expressed varied levels of psychosocial and spiritual well-being, and this characteristic was associated with life-sustaining treatment preferences. In future research, the assessment of spirituality should not be limited to its intensity or degree but extended to other dimensions.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 38
    Issue 3
    Pages 372-380
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2008.11.007
    ISSN 1873-6513
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:25:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19356896
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • Renal Dialysis
    • social support
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • Terminal Care
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Relationships between psychosocial-spiritual well-being and end-of-life preferences and values in African American dialysis patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mi-Kyung Song
    Author Laura C Hanson
    Abstract The objective of the study was to examine whether psychosocial and spiritual well-being is associated with African American dialysis patients' end-of-life treatment preferences and acceptance of potential outcomes of life-sustaining treatment. Fifty-one African Americans with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and interview with measures of symptom distress, health-related quality of life, psychosocial and spiritual well-being, and preferences and values related to life-sustaining treatment choices. The subjects were stratified by end-of-life treatment preferences and by acceptance of life-sustaining treatment outcomes, and compared for psychosocial and spiritual well-being, as well as sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Individuals who desired continued use of life-sustaining treatment in terminal illness or advanced dementia had significantly lower spiritual well-being (P=0.012). Individuals who valued four potential outcomes of life-sustaining treatment as unacceptable showed a more positive, adaptive well-being score in the spiritual dimension compared with the group that valued at least one outcome as acceptable (P=0.028). Religious involvement and importance of spirituality were not associated with end-of-life treatment preferences and acceptance of treatment outcomes. African Americans with ESRD expressed varied levels of psychosocial and spiritual well-being, and this characteristic was associated with life-sustaining treatment preferences. In future research, the assessment of spirituality should not be limited to its intensity or degree but extended to other dimensions.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 38
    Issue 3
    Pages 372-380
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2008.11.007
    ISSN 1873-6513
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19356896
    Accessed Friday, November 12, 2010 6:31:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19356896
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • Renal Dialysis
    • social support
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • Terminal Care
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Relationships between psychosocial-spiritual well-being and end-of-life preferences and values in African American dialysis patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mi-Kyung Song
    Author Laura C Hanson
    Abstract The objective of the study was to examine whether psychosocial and spiritual well-being is associated with African American dialysis patients' end-of-life treatment preferences and acceptance of potential outcomes of life-sustaining treatment. Fifty-one African Americans with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and interview with measures of symptom distress, health-related quality of life, psychosocial and spiritual well-being, and preferences and values related to life-sustaining treatment choices. The subjects were stratified by end-of-life treatment preferences and by acceptance of life-sustaining treatment outcomes, and compared for psychosocial and spiritual well-being, as well as sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Individuals who desired continued use of life-sustaining treatment in terminal illness or advanced dementia had significantly lower spiritual well-being (P=0.012). Individuals who valued four potential outcomes of life-sustaining treatment as unacceptable showed a more positive, adaptive well-being score in the spiritual dimension compared with the group that valued at least one outcome as acceptable (P=0.028). Religious involvement and importance of spirituality were not associated with end-of-life treatment preferences and acceptance of treatment outcomes. African Americans with ESRD expressed varied levels of psychosocial and spiritual well-being, and this characteristic was associated with life-sustaining treatment preferences. In future research, the assessment of spirituality should not be limited to its intensity or degree but extended to other dimensions.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 38
    Issue 3
    Pages 372-380
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2008.11.007
    ISSN 1873-6513
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19356896
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:59:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19356896
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The objective of the study was to examine whether psychosocial and spiritual well-being is associated with African American dialysis patients’ end-of-life treatment preferences and acceptance of potential outcomes of life-sustaining treatment.

  • Interventions for educating traditional healers about STD and HIV medicine

    Type Journal Article
    Author Katherine Sorsdahl
    Author Jonathan C. Ipser
    Author Dan J. Stein
    Abstract BACKGROUND: For the treatment of HIV/AIDS, individuals may consult traditional healers because they possess a shared sociocultural background, meet the needs and expectations of the patients, and pay special attention to social and spiritual matters. Various intervention strategies have been adopted to educate traditional healers in various aspects of Western medicine, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions for educating traditional healers in the fundamentals of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV medicine. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, Pubmed, Embase, Gatway and AIDSearch from the period of 1980 to 2008. We also handsearched the reference lists of the retrieved articles, located conference proceedings of international conferences related to AIDS studies and contacted key personnel and organizations working in HIV/AIDS intervention programs in developing countries. SELECTION CRITERIA: All intervention studies using a controlled design that have evaluated the effect of educational interventions on any one of the outcome measures specified were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility of potentially relevant studies and extracted data from and assessed study quality of included studies. A meta-analysis of study outcomes was not possible given the small number of included studies and the heterogeneity in methodological designs and outcome measures. MAIN RESULTS: We included two studies (one RCT and one CBA study) in this review (n = 311). Both of these studies indicated that a training workshop increased the knowledge about HIV/AIDS of traditional healers. With regards to behaviour change, Peltzer 2006 detected a significant difference in traditional healers' reports of managing their patients; however, there was no evidence of a reduction of HIV/STI risk behaviours and referral practices, as assessed by self-report. The study by Poudyal 2003 did not assess this outcome. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Two studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Although these studies reported some positive outcomes, the few studies and methodological heterogeneity limits the conclusions that can be drawn about the effectiveness of HIV training programs aimed at traditional healers. More rigorous studies (i.e. those employing rigorous randomisation procedures, reliable outcome measures and larger sample sizes) are needed to provide better evidence of the impact of HIV training programs aimed at traditional healers.
    Publication Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Online)
    Issue 4
    Pages CD007190
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Cochrane Database Syst Rev
    DOI 10.1002/14651858.CD007190.pub2
    ISSN 1469-493X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19821399
    Accessed Monday, October 19, 2009 8:15:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19821399
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Notes:

    • For the treatment of HIV/AIDS, individuals may consult traditional healers because they possess a shared sociocultural background, meet the needs and expectations of the patients, and pay special attention to social and spiritual matters. Various intervention strategies have been adopted to educate traditional healers in various aspects of Western medicine, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS. This study evaluates the effectiveness of interventions for educating traditional healers in the fundamentals of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV medicine.

  • Traditional healers in the treatment of common mental disorders in South Africa.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Katherine Sorsdahl
    Author Dan J. Stein
    Author Anna Grimsrud
    Author Soraya Seedat
    Author Alan J. Flisher
    Author David R. Williams
    Author Landon Myer
    Abstract There are few population-level insights into the use of traditional healers and other forms of alternative care for the treatment of common mental disorders in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the extent to which alternative practitioners are consulted, and predictors of traditional healer visits. A national survey was conducted with 3651 adult South Africans between 2002 and 2004, using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to generate DSM-IV diagnoses for common mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. A minority of participants with a lifetime DSM-IV diagnosis obtained treatment from Western (29%) or alternative (20%) practitioners. Traditional healers were consulted by 9% of the respondents and 11% consulted a religious or spiritual advisor. Use of traditional healers in the full sample was predicted by older age, black race, unemployment, lower education, and having an anxiety or a substance use disorder. Alternative practitioners, including traditional healers and religious advisors, appear to play a notable role in the delivery of mental health care in South Africa. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 197
    Issue 6
    Pages 434-441
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181a61dbc
    ISSN 0022-3018
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • General Practitioners
    • Mental Disorders
    • practitioners
    • South Africa
    • traditional healers
    • treatment
  • Heavenly Bodies: Religious Issues in Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Eating Disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author Diane L. Spangler
    Abstract Minimal attention has been given to the role that religion may play in the development, maintenance, and treatment of eating disorders. Many religions espouse specific doctrines about the nature and purpose of the body as well as prescribe particular body grooming and eating practices. These doctrines and practices influence individuals' schemas and experiences of the body and eating, which can either contribute to or provide protection from eating disorders. This paper describes pathways through which religious beliefs and practices may impact risk for and maintenance of eating disorders. Methods for integrating religious concepts, practices, and resources into standard cognitive-behavioral treatment for eating disorders are discussed, including interventions that address purported religiously oriented contributory and protective factors. Treatment of a religious client with an eating disorder is described to illustrate the incorporation of religiously oriented interventions in practice.
    Publication Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 358-370
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.05.004
    ISSN 1077-7229
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7XMX-4YCS08C-1/2/9073e2654176b9e75ccafd8c932d7e4b
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:33:32 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
  • Discussion of a symposium: the God representation in the psychoanalytic relationship: When is three a crowd?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Moshe Halevi Spero
    Author Mariam Cohen
    Abstract A discussion is offered of some of the central trends and unique ideas that can be discerned among the 14 essays presented in a symposium dedicated to the role of religious imagery, particularly representations of God or divinity, within the psychoanalytic process. The symposium focused upon the beliefs and images of the analyst as well as the analysand, based on the view that an image or concept identified as "God" is probably an ineluctable element of the development of the human representational mind and its boundaries, regardless of whatever else this image may point to, theologically speaking. The authors were asked to use clinical material to address the hypothesis that the dynamic roots and potential of such representations would be expressed in the countertransference to the degree that such representations are involved within the conflicts and deeper forms of unrest that bring the individual to treatment. In this essay, the symposium coeditors discuss the degree to which the authors approached this kind of understanding, accepting, challenging, or simply veering away from acknowledging it.
    Publication The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 219-239
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1521/jaap.2009.37.1.219
    ISSN 1546-0371
    Short Title Discussion of a symposium
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:19:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19364270
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Countertransference (Psychology)
    • Humans
    • Imagination
    • Psychoanalytic Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
  • A program of research on spirituality and American Indian alcohol use

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Spicer
    Author Marjorie Bezdek
    Author Spero M Manson
    Author Jan Beals
    Abstract In this brief report we summarize a pattern of findings that has emerged from our research on American Indian (AI) alcohol use and spirituality. With funds from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Fetzer Institute (AA 13 053; P. Spicer, PI) we have used both epidemiologic and ethnographic methods to develop a more complete understanding of the role that spirituality and religion play in changes in drinking behavior among AIs. We begin by first situating the importance of research on spirituality in the more general literature on the AI experience with alcohol before highlighting our published findings in this area. We then close with some speculation about possible next steps in this research program to address what remains one of the most compelling sources of health disparities in the first nations of the United States.
    Publication Southern Medical Journal
    Volume 100
    Issue 4
    Pages 430-432
    Date Apr 2007
    Journal Abbr South. Med. J
    ISSN 0038-4348
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17458417
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:39:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17458417
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Alcohol Drinking
    • Biomedical Research
    • Humans
    • Indians, North American
    • Prevalence
    • Program Evaluation
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality
    • United States
  • Facing Death: Where Culture, Religion, and Medicine Meet

    Type Book
    Author Howard M Spiro
    Author Mary G. McCrea Curnen
    Author Lee Palmer Wandel
    Contributor Yale University
    Contributor Goethe-Institut (Boston, Mass.)
    Place New Haven
    Publisher Yale University Press
    Date 1996
    ISBN 0300063490
    Short Title Facing Death
    Library Catalog library.bu.edu Library Catalog
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Tags:

    • Death
    • Ethics, Professional
    • Moral and ethical aspects
    • Psychological aspects
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religious aspects
    • Terminal Care
    • Terminally Ill

    Notes:

    • This work aims to help medical personnel and patients to view death as a defining part of life.  It acknowledges that technology has, in part, functioned to keep death at bay. This has resulted in making people less informed about how to face death and how to understand or articulate the emotional or spiritual need of the dying.  

  • Do improvements in emotional distress correlate with becoming more mindful? A study of older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kate Splevins
    Author Alistair Smith
    Author Jane Simpson
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: The study aimed (1) to investigate changes in older adults' emotional wellbeing (specifically depression, anxiety and stress levels) and mindful ability following a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) course; (2) to explore correlations between mindfulness (measured as an overall ability and as individual components; observe, describe, act with awareness and accept without judgement) and changes in depression, anxiety and stress levels. METHOD: Twenty-two participants took an eight-week MBCT course. Levels of depression, anxiety and stress were recorded pre- and post-intervention, as was mindfulness ability (measured both as an overall ability and as individual components). RESULTS: Significant improvements in emotional wellbeing and mindfulness were reported post-MBCT, with large to moderate effect sizes. Increased mindfulness was moderately and significantly associated with improved emotional wellbeing. Increases on all four components of mindfulness were positively associated with greater emotional wellbeing, however only act with awareness and accept without judgement were significantly correlated (with reduced depression). Older adults in our sample reported higher scores on observe and act with awareness than other populations. CONCLUSION: This study adds to a growing evidence-base indicating the efficacy of MBCT for depression, anxiety and stress, and extends these finding to older adults. This study found older adults to have elevated levels of certain facets of mindfulness and recommendations are made for researching the possibility that mindfulness may be an extension of the developmental process.
    Publication Aging & Mental Health
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 328-335
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Aging Ment Health
    DOI 10.1080/13607860802459807
    ISSN 1364-6915
    Short Title Do improvements in emotional distress correlate with becoming more mindful?
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:01:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19484596
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Attention
    • Awareness
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Do improvements in emotional distress correlate with becoming more mindful? A study of older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kate Splevins
    Author Alistair Smith
    Author Jane Simpson
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: The study aimed (1) to investigate changes in older adults' emotional wellbeing (specifically depression, anxiety and stress levels) and mindful ability following a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) course; (2) to explore correlations between mindfulness (measured as an overall ability and as individual components; observe, describe, act with awareness and accept without judgement) and changes in depression, anxiety and stress levels. METHOD: Twenty-two participants took an eight-week MBCT course. Levels of depression, anxiety and stress were recorded pre- and post-intervention, as was mindfulness ability (measured both as an overall ability and as individual components). RESULTS: Significant improvements in emotional wellbeing and mindfulness were reported post-MBCT, with large to moderate effect sizes. Increased mindfulness was moderately and significantly associated with improved emotional wellbeing. Increases on all four components of mindfulness were positively associated with greater emotional wellbeing, however only act with awareness and accept without judgement were significantly correlated (with reduced depression). Older adults in our sample reported higher scores on observe and act with awareness than other populations. CONCLUSION: This study adds to a growing evidence-base indicating the efficacy of MBCT for depression, anxiety and stress, and extends these finding to older adults. This study found older adults to have elevated levels of certain facets of mindfulness and recommendations are made for researching the possibility that mindfulness may be an extension of the developmental process.
    Publication Aging & Mental Health
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 328-335
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr Aging Ment Health
    DOI 10.1080/13607860802459807
    ISSN 1364-6915
    Short Title Do improvements in emotional distress correlate with becoming more mindful?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19484596
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:21:47 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19484596
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Attention
    • Awareness
    • Cognitive Therapy
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Psychotherapy, Group
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Objectives The study aimed (1) to investigate changes in older adults’ emotional wellbeing (specifically depression, anxiety and stress levels) and mindful ability following a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) course; (2) to explore correlations between mindfulness (measured as an overall ability and as individual components; observe, describe, act with awareness and accept without judgement) and changes in depression, anxiety and stress levels.

  • Religion and assisted and non-assisted suicide in Switzerland: National Cohort Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Adrian Spoerri
    Author Marcel Zwahlen
    Author Matthias Bopp
    Author Felix Gutzwiller
    Author Matthias Egger
    Abstract In the 19th century, eminent French sociologist Emile Durkheim found suicide rates to be higher in the Protestant compared with the Catholic cantons of Switzerland. We examined religious affiliation and suicide in modern Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal. The 2000 census records of 1,722,456 (46.0%) Catholics, 1,565,452 (41.8%) Protestants and 454,397 (12.2%) individuals with no affiliation were linked to mortality records up to December 2005. The association between religious affiliation and suicide, with the Protestant faith serving as the reference category, was examined in Cox regression models. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were adjusted for age, marital status, education, type of household, language and degree of urbanization. Suicide rates per 100,000 inhabitants were 19.7 in Catholics (1664 suicides), 28.5 in Protestants (2158 suicides) and 39.0 in those with no affiliation (882 suicides). Associations with religion were modified by age and gender. Compared with Protestant men aged 35-64 years, HRs (95% CI) for all suicides were 0.80 (0.73-0.88) in Catholic men and 1.09 (0.98-1.22) in men with no affiliation; and 0.60 (0.53-0.67) and 1.96 (1.69-2.27), respectively, in men aged 65-94 years. Corresponding HRs in women aged 35-64 years were 0.90 (0.80-1.03) and 1.46 (1.25-1.72); and 0.67 (0.59-0.77) and 2.63 (2.22-3.12) in women aged 65-94 years. The association was strongest for suicides by poisoning in the 65-94-year-old age group, the majority of which was assisted: HRs were 0.45 (0.35-0.59) for Catholic men and 3.01 (2.37-3.82) for men with no affiliation; 0.44 (0.36-0.55) for Catholic women and 3.14 (2.51-3.94) for women with no affiliation. In Switzerland, the protective effect of a religious affiliation appears to be stronger in Catholics than in Protestants, stronger in older than in younger people, stronger in women than in men, and particularly strong for assisted suicides.
    Publication International Journal of Epidemiology
    Volume 39
    Issue 6
    Pages 1486-1494
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Int J Epidemiol
    DOI 10.1093/ije/dyq141
    ISSN 1464-3685
    Short Title Religion and assisted and non-assisted suicide in Switzerland
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/20841328
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:59:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20841328
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • Religious and cultural influences on contraception

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amirrtha Srikanthan
    Author Robert L Reid
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the religious and cultural influences that may affect the acceptance and use of various methods of contraception, including emergency contraception. METHODS: Literature searches were conducted to identify religious teachings related to family, sexual relations, and family planning for Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese religious traditions. Religious scholars from each of the major religions were consulted for additional information regarding how various subgroups within that religion may interpret and apply religious teachings in specific circumstances. RESULTS: Religious and cultural factors have the potential to influence the acceptance and use of contraception by couples from different religious backgrounds in very distinct ways. Within religions, different sects may interpret religious teachings on this subject in varying ways, and individual women and their partners may choose to ignore religious teachings. Cultural factors are equally important in couples' decisions about family size and contraception. CONCLUSION: When new immigrants are faced with the challenges of acclimating to a new society and a new way of life, they may anchor strongly to traditional religious and cultural expectations regarding family, sexuality, and fertility. While health care providers must be cautious not to attribute stereotypical religious, social, and cultural characteristics to women seeking advice about contraception, they do need to recognize that different value systems may influence contraception decision-making in couples of different faiths. This increased cultural awareness needs to be tempered by the understanding that each patient encounter is unique. The values that an individual woman holds may not be in keeping with the official teachings of her religion or the cultural norms reported by other members of the same culture.
    Publication Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada: JOGC = Journal D'obstétrique Et Gynécologie Du Canada: JOGC
    Volume 30
    Issue 2
    Pages 129-137
    Date Feb 2008
    Journal Abbr J Obstet Gynaecol Can
    ISSN 1701-2163
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18254994
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:26:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18254994
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Contraception
    • Culture
    • Family Planning Services
    • Female
    • Humans
    • religion

    Notes:

    • Objective: To elucidate the religious and cultural influences that may affect the acceptance and use of various methods of contraception, including emergency contraception.

  • Religion, Race and Psychological Well-Being.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arthur St. George
    Author Patrick H. McNamara
    Abstract Previous research has neglected an important area of inquiry, the relationship of religiosity and psychological well-being. The present study attempts to rectify this deficiency It examines this relationship using data from the 1972-1982 NORC General Social Survey (Davis, 1972) Focusing on the issue of race, the sample was broken down into blacks and whites Religiosity was found to be a better predictor of well-being than previous research had indicated Religiosity did especially well in predicting the well-being of black men and women As measured by the items used in the quality-of-life studies, religiosity is differentially meaningful for Americans. No overall generalizations for the American population as a whole are possible. For most, we can say religiosity has little to do with their subjective sense of well-being. But for specific groups, it may. Black Americans are an example. We believe our study also raises a methodological issue. The overall bland relationship between quality-of-life, religiosity measures, and sense of well-being for the population at large is at least partially related, we believe, to the way religiosity is operationally defined. What is essential is to measure the degree of engagement of individuals' beliefs with the way they look at life and feel about it. To do this requires questions that go beyond frequency of church attendance and strength of religious preference. Robert and Helen Merrill Lynd sought this deeper degree of engagement in the original Middletown study; in the fifty-years-later replication the same kinds of questions were asked. For example, "What difference would it make in your daily life if you became convinced that there was no loving God caring for you?" (Caplow, Bahr, & Chadwick, 1981: 35). How would answers to this kind of question correlate with measures of psychological well-being?
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 23
    Issue 4
    Pages 351-363
    Date December 1984
    DOI Article
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=4893346&…
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 4:08:26 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • AFRICAN Americans -- Psychology
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • MAN-woman relationships
    • RELIGIOUS behaviors
    • Religiousness
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Previous research has neglected an important area of inquiry, the relationship of religiosity and psychological well-being. The present study examines this relationship using data from the 1972-1982 NORC General Social Survey (Davis, 1972). Focusing on the issue of race, the sample was broken down into blacks and whites. Religiosity was found to be a better predictor of well-being than previous research had indicated, especially in predicting the well-being of black men and women.

  • Types of Prayer, Heart Rate Variability, and Innate Healing

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ruth Stanley
    Abstract Spiritual practices such as prayer have been shown to improve health and quality of life for those facing chronic or terminal illness. The early Christian healing tradition distinguished between types of prayer and their role in healing, placing great emphasis on the healing power of more integrated relational forms of prayer such as prayers of gratitude and contemplative prayer. Because autonomic tone is impaired in most disease states, autonomic homeostasis may provide insight into the healing effects of prayer. I report on observations in five volunteers engaging in five types of prayer. Using heart rate variability as a measure of autonomic tone and adaptability, I review the potential correlation of type of prayer with autonomic rebalance as measured specifically by psychophysiological coherence ratios. The five types2014supplication, devotion, intercession, gratefulness, and contemplative prayer2014elicited varying degrees of improvements in heart rate variability and corresponding psychophysiological coherence. These observations suggest a correlation of innate healing to prayer type that is consistent with teachings from the Christian healing tradition and with modern research. Further research is warranted to verify these hypotheses.
    Publication Zygon
    Volume 44
    Issue 4
    Pages 825-846
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2009.01036.x
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2009.01036.x
    Accessed Saturday, November 28, 2009 8:26:14 AM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Inner night and inner light: a Quaker model of pastoral care for the mentally ill

    Type Journal Article
    Author Janelle Stanley
    Abstract The same theological principles that motivated Quakers in institutional reform work continue to influence uniquely Quaker approaches to pastoral care for the mentally ill today. This unity of psychological and spiritual care, inspired by George Fox, was first apparent in the work of the Religious Society of Friends asylum reforms in the nineteenth century. These principles matured during the early twentieth century as they entered into dialogue with Jung and Jungian psychology and continue to inspire Quaker pastoral care models today. This paper will examine how theological concepts affect the way Friends approach mental health care, historically and in contemporary times.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 547-559
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-009-9312-4
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Inner night and inner light
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:03:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20012487
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
  • Older adults' preferences for religion/spirituality in treatment for anxiety and depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melinda A Stanley
    Author Amber L Bush
    Author Mary E Camp
    Author John P Jameson
    Author Laura L Phillips
    Author Catherine R Barber
    Author Darrell Zeno
    Author James W Lomax
    Author Jeffrey A Cully
    Abstract Objectives: To examine patient preferences for incorporating religion and/or spirituality into therapy for anxiety or depression and examine the relations between patient preferences and religious and spiritual coping styles, beliefs and behaviors. Method: Participants (66 adults, 55 years or older, from earlier studies of cognitive-behavioral therapy for late-life anxiety and/or depression in primary care) completed these measures by telephone or in-person: Geriatric Anxiety Inventory, Client Attitudes Toward Spirituality in Therapy, Patient Interview, Brief Religious Coping, Religious Problem Solving Scale, Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith, and Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality. Spearman's rank-order correlations and ordinal logistic regression examined religious/spiritual variables as predictors of preferences for inclusion of religion or spirituality into counseling. Results: Most participants (77-83%) preferred including religion and/or spirituality in therapy for anxiety and depression. Participants who thought it was important to include religion or spirituality in therapy reported more positive religious-based coping, greater strength of religious faith, and greater collaborative and less self-directed problem-solving styles than participants who did not think it was important. Conclusion: For individuals like most participants in this study (Christians), incorporating spirituality/religion into counseling for anxiety and depression was desirable.
    Publication Aging & Mental Health
    Volume 15
    Issue 3
    Pages 334-343
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr Aging Ment Health
    DOI 10.1080/13607863.2010.519326
    ISSN 1364-6915
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21491218
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 7:02:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21491218
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:49 AM
  • Effectiveness of CAM therapy: understanding the evidence

    Type Journal Article
    Author Roland Staud
    Abstract By definition, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) attempts to diagnose and treat illnesses in unconventional ways. CAM has been classified as: (1) alternative medical systems (eg, traditional Chinese medicine [including acupuncture], naturopathic medicine, ayurvedic medicine, and homeopathy); (2) biologic-based therapies (eg, herbal, special dietary, and individual biologic treatments); (3) energy therapies (eg, Reiki, therapeutic touch, magnet therapy, Qi Gong, and intercessory prayer); (4) manipulative and body-based systems (eg, chiropractic, osteopathy, and massage); and (5) mind-body interventions (eg, meditation, biofeedback, hypnotherapy, and the relaxation response). This review focuses on how to assess the effectiveness of CAM therapies for chronic musculoskeletal pains, emphasizing the role of specific and nonspecific analgesic mechanisms, including placebo.
    Publication Rheumatic Diseases Clinics of North America
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 9-17
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Rheum. Dis. Clin. North Am
    DOI 10.1016/j.rdc.2010.11.009
    ISSN 1558-3163
    Short Title Effectiveness of CAM therapy
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:29:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21220082
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
  • Religion, spirituality and cancer: Current status and methodological challenges

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael Stefanek
    Author Paige Green McDonald
    Author Stephanie A. Hess
    Abstract The role of religion and spirituality in health has received increasing attention in the scientific and lay literature. While the scientific attention to this issue has expanded, there continue to be methodological and measurement concerns that often prevent firm conclusions about health and adjustment benefits.Limited attention has been provided to the role of spirituality and religion in cancer. This is true when both disease outcome and adjustment are considered. A recent "levels of evidence" review examining the link between physical health and religion or spirituality found little overall support for the hypotheses that religion or spirituality impact cancer progression or mortality. Studies examining their impact on quality of life and adjustment are decidedly mixed. In sum, research specifically focusing on the role of religion or spirituality on cancer outcomes has been surprisingly sparse. Such research presents a number of methodological and measurement challenges. Due to these unmet challenges in the literature to date, it is premature to determine what role religion and spirituality play in disease, adjustment, or quality of life outcomes in cancer. A number of suggestions are made for continued research in this area.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 14
    Issue 6
    Pages 450-463
    Date 2005
    DOI 10.1002/pon.861
    Short Title Religion, spirituality and cancer
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pon.861
    Accessed Monday, September 07, 2009 10:57:22 AM
    Library Catalog Wiley InterScience
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Research specifically focusing on the role of religion or spirituality on cancer outcomes has been surprisingly sparse. Such research presents a number of methodological and measurement challenges. Due to these unmet challenges in the literature to date, it is premature to determine what role religion and spirituality play in disease, adjustment, or quality of life outcomes in cancer.

  • Can “sense of presence” experiences in bereavement be conceptualised as spiritual phenomena?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Edith Steffen
    Author Adrian Coyle
    Abstract This article explores the possibility of conceptualising the frequently occurring experience of “sensing the presence of the deceased” in bereavement as a spiritual phenomenon and examines how such a conceptualisation can be related to two recent perspectives in the field of bereavement research, “continuing bonds” and “meaning-making.” It is argued that “sense of presence” experiences are expressions of the continuing relationship with the deceased that can be spiritually understood but that pose various challenges for their meaningful integration into the bereaved person's worldview or meaning structures-something that may need to be more explicitly incorporated into current theoretical frameworks. It is suggested that these experiences can be the catalyst for “post-traumatic growth” through a socially mediated and interactive narrative exploration and that this has important implications for bereavement counselling and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 273-291
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903357844
    ISSN 13674676
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:27:24 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Bereavement
    • Counseling
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • LOSS (Psychology)
    • STRUCTURAL frames
  • Making Meaning from Personal Loss: Religious, Benefit Finding, and Goal-oriented Attributions.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine H. Stein
    Author Kristen M. Abraham
    Author Erin E. Bonar
    Author Christine E. McAuliffe
    Author Wendy R. Fogo
    Author David A. Faigin
    Author Hisham Abu Raiya
    Author Danielle N. Potokar
    Abstract This study examined the role of religious, benefit finding, and goal-oriented meaning making strategies used by 111 young adults in response to their experience of personal loss. Death of a loved one and relationship loss were the two types of loss most frequently reported by participants. In general, young adults reported being affected by their loss experience, loss impacted their personal strivings and goals, and both religious and benefit finding strategies were used to derive meaning from loss. Religious, benefit finding, and goal-oriented meaning making strategies were differentially related to young adults' reports of depressed mood and interpersonal loneliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Journal of Loss & Trauma
    Volume 14
    Issue 2
    Pages 83-100
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1080/15325020802173819
    ISSN 15325024
    Short Title Making Meaning from Personal Loss
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • ADULTHOOD
    • Death
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Religiousness
    • SOCIAL institutions
    • Social Isolation
    • Socialization
    • Young adults
    • youth
  • Religiosity, Well-Being, and Weltanschauung Among the Elderly.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lucy Y. Steinitz
    Abstract Four measures of religiosity drawn from the NORC General Social Survey, 1972-1977 (N = 1493 @ 65+) were examined to determine how well they predicted thirteen self-report questions on personal well-being, life satisfaction, and world-view of elderly persons Only the measure of FREQUENCY OF CHURCH ATTENDANCE--which may be more closely tied to physical health than to religious feeling--resulted in consistent associations with well-being, especially among older women and whites. By contrast, BELIEF IN LIFE AFTER DEATH was shown to be a much stronger and more discriminating predictor of both well-being and Weltanschauung. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion is the property of Blackwell Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts)
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 60
    Date March 1980
    DOI Article
    ISSN 00218294
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=4897684&…
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 4:09:46 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • BELIEF & doubt
    • Church attendance
    • OLDER people -- Psychology
    • Religiousness
    • SOCIAL sciences -- Research
    • SOCIAL surveys

    Notes:

    • Four measures of religiosity drawn from the NORC General Social Survey, 1972-1977 (N = 1493 @ 65+) were examined to determine how well they predicted thirteen self-report questions on personal well-being, life satisfaction, and world-view of elderly persons. Only the measure of FREQUENCY OF CHURCH ATTENDANCE--which may be more closely tied to physical health than to religious feeling--resulted in consistent associations with well-being, especially among older women and whites. By contrast, BELIEF IN LIFE AFTER DEATH was shown to be a much stronger and more discriminating predictor of both well-being and Weltanschauung.

  • Levels of spirituality and treatment outcome: a preliminary examination

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert C Sterling
    Author Stephen Weinstein
    Author Peter Hill
    Author Edward Gottheil
    Author Susan M Gordon
    Author Kerry Shorie
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to examine whether admission differences in levels of spirituality predisposed alcohol-dependent individuals to favorable or unfavorable outcomes following admission to facilities that differed in the degree to which spirituality was emphasized. It was hypothesized that individuals whose admission level of spirituality was congruent with the treatment program's orientation and who as such were considered optimally placed (i.e., "matched") for treatment would evince better in-treatment outcomes. METHOD: Four hundred and five participants completed measures of spirituality and psychosocial well-being at intake and at end of treatment. RESULTS: In examining the entire sample, no matching effects were observed on discharge status, abstinence efficacy, or desire to drink. When analyses were restricted to those cases scoring in the upper or lower quartiles in spirituality, we observed a paradoxical effect, as individuals recording lower levels of spirituality at the less spiritual program evinced significantly poorer outcomes (i.e., less abstinence efficacy, greater desire to drink). CONCLUSIONS: These findings hint at the importance of spirituality in the environment of care, indicating that individuals low in spirituality were at risk for poorer outcomes, but exposure to a program that emphasized spirituality lowered that risk.
    Publication Journal of Studies on Alcohol
    Volume 67
    Issue 4
    Pages 600-606
    Date Jul 2006
    Journal Abbr J. Stud. Alcohol
    ISSN 0096-882X
    Short Title Levels of spirituality and treatment outcome
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16736080
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:33:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16736080
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Alcoholism
    • Behavior Therapy
    • Female
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Spiritual Therapies
    • spirituality
    • Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Objective: The primary aim of this study was to examine whether admission differences in levels of spirituality predisposed alcohol-dependent individuals to favorable or unfavorable outcomes following admission to facilities that differed in the degree to which spirituality was emphasized. Conclusions: These findings hint at the importance of spirituality in the environment of care, indicating that individuals low in spirituality were at risk for poorer outcomes, but exposure to a program that emphasized spirituality lowered that risk.

  • Binge drinking in African American males from adolescence to young adulthood: the protective influence of religiosity, family connectedness, and close friends' substance use

    Type Journal Article
    Author Danelle Stevens-Watkins
    Author Sharon Rostosky
    Abstract We examined the contribution of culturally relevant protective factors (i.e., adolescent religiosity, family connectedness, and perceived close friends' substance use) to the probability of young adult binge drinking among African American males. Participants (n = 1,599) drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were high school age adolescents (14-18 years, M = 16) at Wave 1 and young adults (18-26, M = 22) at Wave 3. Adolescent binge drinking was associated with all three protective factors. Perceived close friends' substance use in adolescence was a protective factor in later binge drinking during young adulthood, and was moderated by age such that the effect was stronger for younger adolescents. Implications for culturally relevant research and prevention are discussed.
    Publication Substance Use & Misuse
    Volume 45
    Issue 10
    Pages 1435-1451
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr Subst Use Misuse
    DOI 10.3109/10826081003754765
    ISSN 1532-2491
    Short Title Binge drinking in African American males from adolescence to young adulthood
    Accessed Tuesday, August 17, 2010 9:14:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20438340
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • Association of Strength of Religious Adherence with Attitudes regarding Glaucoma or Ocular Hypertension

    Type Journal Article
    Author William C Stewart
    Author Elizabeth D Sharpe
    Author Caroline J Kristoffersen
    Author Lindsay A Nelson
    Author Jeanette A Stewart
    Abstract Background: To evaluate the impact of religious adherence on a patient's outlook on disease in a glaucoma population. Methods: A prospective survey analysis of patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension evaluating self-reported global religious adherence, adherence to specific basic activities and knowledge of faith ('maturity') and 'comfort' (ability to cope, attitude toward glaucoma, motivation to take medication and God's concern). This specific analysis was limited to self-professed Christians. Results: 248 patients were included and religious adherence was correlated to religious activity and knowledge (p < 0.0001). Patients who scored as adherent on at least 1 of 4 maturity questions had greater benefit than less adherent patients from each of the 5 comfort questions (p < 0.0001). We found an increased statistical separation on each of the 5 comfort questions between religiously adherent and less adherent individuals for patients who scored as adherent on any 2 (n = 40), 3 (n = 50) or all 4 (n = 57) of the maturity questions (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study suggests, at least for the Christian faith, that religious patients are subjectively more prone to cope with treatment and that religiosity increases the self-confidence, and possibly the quality of life, of patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Whether this necessarily translates into better glaucoma practices remains to be demonstrated by further studies.
    Publication Ophthalmic Research
    Volume 45
    Issue 1
    Pages 53-56
    Date Aug 11, 2010
    Journal Abbr Ophthalmic Res
    DOI 10.1159/000313986
    ISSN 1423-0259
    Accessed Monday, August 30, 2010 4:56:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20714192
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
  • A Comparative Survey of Aotearoa New Zealand and UK Social Workers on the Role of Religion and Spirituality in Practice

    Type Journal Article
    Author B. Stirling
    Author L. D. Furman
    Author P. W. Benson
    Author E. R. Canda
    Author C. Grimwood
    Abstract Increasingly, social work is being challenged to consider the role of spirituality and religion in practice and education as the profession has witnessed an expanding interest in the integration of spirituality, motivated by the recognition of spiritual diversity as an important component of human experience, cultural competency and anti-racist social work practice. In response to the lack of international empirical research in general, and relating to spirituality in particular, cross-national survey research was conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ) and the UK as part of a larger multi-national study of social workers' attitudes about the role of spirituality in their practice. Although the two countries share some cultural similarities due to the impact of secularization, British settlement and colonization in ANZ, there are also significant differences related to the unique multicultural make-up of ANZ, emphasizing the indigenous Maori and the centrality of spirituality within a Maori worldview.
    Publication British Journal of Social Work
    Volume 40
    Issue 2
    Pages 602-621
    Date MAR 2010
    DOI 10.1093/bjsw/bcp008
    ISSN 0045-3102
    Accessed Thursday, March 25, 2010 1:19:56 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • This article analyzes the role of spirituality in social work in Aotearoa New Zealand and the United Kingdom and considers specifically social worker's attitudes about the role of spirituality in their practice. 

  • A spiritual screening tool for older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Susan Stranahan
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this non-experimental study was to investigate the reliability and validity of a self-administered screening tool for spiritual distress in older adults. The tool was unique in that items were consistent with a conceptual definition of spirituality presented in the professional literature and supported by theories of behavioral development for older adults. METHODS: Questionnaires were distributed to residents of a continuing care retirement community participating in a class on spirituality. RESULTS: The split-half reliability coefficient was found to be 0.776. Construct validity was established and a cutoff value for spiritual distress was determined. DISCUSSION: Tests for reliability and validity demonstrated confidence in use of the tool to screen for spiritual distress in older adults.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 47
    Issue 4
    Pages 491-503
    Date Dec 2008
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    ISSN 0022-4197
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19093676
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:43:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19093676
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Female
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Reproducibility of Results
    • Self Efficacy
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • Objective: The purpose of this non-experimental study was to investigate the reliability and validity of a self-administered screening tool for spiritual distress in older adults.

  • The social-psychology of religious experience: a naturalistic approach

    Type Journal Article
    Author Roger A. Straus
    Abstract Religious experiences present a seeming paradox: they are felt to be direct, unmediated experiences of the Absolute, yet substantive religious experiences differ from one another in details and imagery in a way that clearly relates to their sociocultural, biographical and situational contexts. A naturalistic "sociological" social psychological approach is described in which this problem is resolved by differentiating conceptual interpretation from perceptual analogizing and then examining the emergence of expectation, perceptual and intellectual metaphors, and the definition of the situation as a subject moves through his/her biographical experience toward the episode of triggering and having the actual ecstatic peak experience.
    Publication Sociological Analysis
    Volume 42
    Issue 2
    Pages 57-67
    Date April 1981
    URL http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/ehost/resultsadvanced?
    vid=5&hid=3&…
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:32:44 PM
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Religious experiences present a seeming paradox: they are felt to be direct, unmediated experiences of the Absolute, yet substantive religious experiences differ from one another in details and imagery in a way that clearly relates to their sociocultural, biographical and situational contexts. A naturalistic “sociological” social psychological approach is described in which this problem is resolved by differentiating conceptual interpretation from perceptual analogizing and then examining the emergence of expectation, perceptual and intellectual metaphors, and the definition of the situation as a subject moves through his/her biographical experience toward the episode of triggering and having the actual ecstatic peak experience.

  • Religiosity and Attitudes Toward Diversity: A Potential Workplace Conflict?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Judy P. Strauss
    Author Olukemi Sawyerr
    Abstract The study investigates relationships between 2 measures of religiosity (immanence orientation and religious fundamentalism) and 2 measures of attitudes toward diversity (universal-diverse orientation and attitudes toward gay men and lesbians). As expected, different conceptualizations of religiosity relate differently to diversity attitudes. Immanence orientation related positively and religious fundamentalism related negatively with both measures of diversity attitudes. However, when both measures were included in the hierarchical regression equation, immanence orientation no longer related significantly with attitudes toward lesbians and gay men; and religious fundamentalism no longer related significantly with universal-diverse orientation. Finally, gender and immanence interacted to predict universal-diverse orientation. Implications are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Applied Social Psychology
    Volume 39
    Pages 2626-2650
    Date November 2009
    DOI 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00541.x
    Short Title Religiosity and Attitudes Toward Diversity
    URL http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/jasp/2009/00000039/00000011/art00005
    Accessed Wednesday, December 02, 2009 9:22:21 PM
    Library Catalog IngentaConnect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • 1
  • Frequent Attendance at Religious Services and Mortality over 28 Years

    Type Journal Article
    Author William J. Strawbridge
    Author Richard D. Cohen
    Author Sarah J. Shema
    Author George A. Kaplan
    Abstract Objectives: This study analyzed the long-term association between religious attendance and mortality to determine whether the association is explained by improvements in health practices and social connections for frequent attenders., Methods: The association between frequent attendance and mortality over 28 years for 5286 Alameda County Study respondents was examined. Logistic regression models analyzed associations between attendance and subsequent improvements in health practices and social connections., Results: Frequent attenders had lower mortality rates than infrequent attenders (relative hazard [RH] = 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.53, 0.77). Results were stronger for females. Health adjustments had little impact, but adjustments for social connections and health practices reduced the relationship (RH = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.64, 0.93). During follow-up, frequent attenders were more likely to stop smoking, increase exercising, increase social contacts, and stay married., Conclusions: Lower mortality rates for frequent religious attenders are partly explained by improved health practices, increased social contacts, and more stable marriages occurring in conjunction with attendance. The mechanisms by which these changes occur have broad intervention implications. (Am J Public Health. 1997;87:957-961)., Copyright (C) 1997 by the American Public Health Association, Inc.
    Publication Journal of Public Health June 1997
    Volume 87
    Issue 6
    Pages 957-961
    Date 1997
    ISSN 0090-0036
    Library Catalog Ovid (Journals@Ovid)
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Behavioral & Social Sciences

    Notes:

    • The association between frequent attendance and mortality over 28 years for 5286 Alameda County Study respondents was examined. Frequent attenders had lower mortality rates than infrequent attenders. Results were stronger for females. Health adjustments had little impact, but adjustments for social connections and health practices reduced the relationship. During follow-up, frequent attenders were more likely to stop smoking, increase exercising, increase social contacts, and stay married.

  • The Religious Schema Scale: Construction and Initial Validation of a Quantitative Measure for Religious Styles.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Heinz Streib
    Author Ralph W. Hood
    Author Constantin Klein
    Abstract This article presents the Religious Schema Scale (RSS). Its conceptual background is the model of religious styles. After a conceptual discussion of the relation between religious styles and religious schemata, the steps of scale construction are reported. Based on 822 responses from research participants in the United States and Germany to a preliminary 78-item version, we used construct-oriented iterative and factor-analytic procedures for reducing the RSS to a 15-item version that consists of three 5-item subscales with acceptable reliabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates that the RSS has a robust 3-factor structure, which is cross-culturally valid in both the United States and Germany. We report correlations of the RSS with the Big Five, Psychological Well-Being, Religious Fundamentalism, and Right-Wing Authoritarianism. We also present predictive characteristics of the RSS in regard to Fowler's stages of faith. Finally, we report results on the incremental validity of the RSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 20
    Issue 3
    Pages 151-172
    Date Jul-Sep2010 July 2010
    DOI 10.1080/10508619.2010.481223
    ISSN 10508619
    Short Title The Religious Schema Scale
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:42:40 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • Disappointment With God and Well-Being: The Mediating Influence of Relationship Quality and Dispositional Forgiveness.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Strelan
    Author Collin Acton
    Author Kent Patrick
    Abstract This study examined the extent to which disappointment with God Influenced the psychological and spiritual well being of 160 churchgoers, and the potential mediating influences of relationship quality (spiritual maturity and relationship commitment) and dispositional forgiveness Disappointment with God was positively related to depression and stress and negatively related to spiritual well being, dispositional forgiveness, spiritual maturity, and relationship commitment. The latter 3 were negatively related to depression and stress and positively associated with spiritual well-being. The results suggest an explanation for why religious individuals disappointed with God tend to experience reduced well being outcomes. Counseling implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Counseling & Values
    Volume 53
    Issue 3
    Pages 202-213
    Date April 2009
    ISSN 01607960
    Short Title Disappointment With God and Well-Being
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Counseling
    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • HUMAN biology
    • Psychology
    • spirituality
    • STRESS (Psychology)
  • Spirituality in children confronting death

    Type Journal Article
    Author Margaret L Stuber
    Author Beth M Houskamp
    Abstract This article uses a developmental framework to consider common spiritual issues raised by children and adolescents who are confronting death. The literature exploring the role of children's spirituality in addressing death is used to illustrate specific areas of concern and topics deserving further research. Clinical examples are offered to illustrate the types of situations encountered by mental health professionals dealing with seriously ill children and their families. Recommendations are offered for concrete approaches for mental health professionals dealing with families confronting the death of a child.
    Publication Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 127-136, viii
    Date Jan 2004
    Journal Abbr Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am
    ISSN 1056-4993
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14723304
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:35:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14723304
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Attitude to Death
    • Bereavement
    • Child
    • Child, Preschool
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Infant
    • Male
    • Patient Care Team
    • Psychotherapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Religious Philosophies
    • Sick Role
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This article uses a developmental framework to consider common spiritual issues raised by children and adolescents who are confronting death. The literature exploring the role of children’s spirituality in addressing death is used to illustrate specific areas of concern and topics deserving further research. Clinical examples are offered to illustrate the types of situations encountered by mental health professionals dealing with seriously ill children and their families.

  • Religiosity and Sexual Risk Behavior among Croatian College Students, 1998-2008

    Type Journal Article
    Author Aleksandar Stulhofer
    Author Damir Soh
    Author Nika Jelaska
    Author Valerio Bacak
    Author Ivan Landripet
    Abstract A substantial increase in religious identification has been observed in most European post-communist countries. As religiosity has been associated with sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV vulnerability among young people, this article examined the impact of religious upbringing and personal religiosity (religiousness) on sexual risks among University of Zagreb first-year undergraduate students, using data collected in 1998, 2003, and 2008. Female participants who reported strict religious upbringing were less knowledgeable about human sexuality than other women. Religiousness was negatively correlated with basic knowledge of human sexuality, but again only among women. Contrary to expectations, no significant associations were found between religious upbringing or religiousness and condom use. Both measures of religiosity, however, were related to decreased odds of sexual debut among young women. In the case of male participants, the impact of religiosity was marginal. Religious upbringing was associated (negatively) with sexual literacy and sexual debut—but only at the beginning of the observed period. Overall, religiosity does not seem to substantially reduce STI- and HIV-related risk-taking, particularly among men. Since the observed increase in the proportion of sexually active students during the 1998 through 2008 period was not matched by an increase in condom use, reducing STI and HIV vulnerability among Croatian youth remains an essential task.
    Publication Journal of Sex Research
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 360-371
    Date 7/2011
    Journal Abbr J. of Sex Res.
    DOI 10.1080/00224499.2010.494257
    ISSN 0022-4499
    URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2010.494257
    Accessed Thursday, July 14, 2011 5:33:16 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
  • Effect of two yoga-based relaxation techniques on memory scores and state anxiety

    Type Journal Article
    Author Pailoor Subramanya
    Author Shirley Telles
    Abstract ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: A yoga practice involving cycles of yoga postures and supine rest (called cyclic meditation) was previously shown to improve performance in attention tasks more than relaxation in the corpse posture (shavasana). This was ascribed to reduced anxiety, though this was not assessed. METHODS: In fifty-seven male volunteers (group average age +/- S.D., 26.6 +/- 4.5 years) the immediate effect of two yoga relaxation techniques was studied on memory and state anxiety. All participants were assessed before and after (i) Cyclic meditation (CM) practiced for 22:30 minutes on one day and (ii) an equal duration of Supine rest (SR) or the corpse posture (shavasana), on another day. Sections of the Wechsler memory scale (WMS) were used to assess; (i) attention and concentration (digit span forward and backward), and (ii) associate learning. State anxiety was assessed using Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in the scores of all sections of the WMS studied after both CM and SR, but, the magnitude of change was more after CM compared to after SR. The state anxiety scores decreased after both CM and SR, with a greater magnitude of decrease after CM. There was no correlation between percentage change in memory scores and state anxiety for either session. CONCLUSION: A cyclical combination of yoga postures and supine rest in CM improved memory scores immediately after the practice and decreased state anxiety more than rest in a classical yoga relaxation posture (shavasana).
    Publication BioPsychoSocial Medicine
    Volume 3
    Pages 8
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Biopsychosoc Med
    DOI 10.1186/1751-0759-3-8
    ISSN 1751-0759
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19674483
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:07:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19674483
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Background: A yoga practice involving cycles of yoga postures and supine rest (called cyclic meditation) was previously shown to improve performance in attention tasks more than relaxation in the corpse posture (shavasana). This was ascribed to reduced anxiety, though this was not assessed. Methods: In fifty-seven male volunteers (group average age +/- S.D., 26.6 +/- 4.5 years) the immediate effect of two yoga relaxation techniques was studied on memory and state anxiety. All participants were assessed before and after (i) Cyclic meditation (CM) practiced for 22:30 minutes on one day and (ii) an equal duration of Supine rest (SR) or the corpse posture (shavasana), on another day. Sections of the Wechsler memory scale (WMS) were used to assess; (i) attention and concentration (digit span forward and backward), and (ii) associate learning. State anxiety was assessed using Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: There was a significant improvement in the scores of all sections of the WMS studied after both CM and SR, but, the magnitude of change was more after CM compared to after SR. The state anxiety scores decreased after both CM and SR, with a greater magnitude of decrease after CM. There was no correlation between percentage change in memory scores and state anxiety for either session. Conclusion: A cyclical combination of yoga postures and supine rest in CM improved memory scores immediately after the practice and decreased state anxiety more than rest in a classical yoga relaxation posture (shavasana).

  • Changes in midlatency auditory evoked potentials following two yoga-based relaxation techniques

    Type Journal Article
    Author Pailoor Subramanya
    Author Shirley Telles
    Abstract Practicing meditation while focusing on a sound or a symbol influenced midlatency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEPs). Cyclic meditation (CM) is a technique combining yoga postures with meditation while supine, which has influenced the P300 event-related potential. The effects of CM on MLAEPs have not been previously studied. The MLAEPs were studied before and after the practice of CM compared to an equal duration of supine rest (SR) in 47 male volunteers (group mean age 26.5 +/- 4.4 years), recorded from the vertex referenced to linked earlobes. The sessions were one day apart and subjects were randomly assigned to each session. The Pa wave peak latency and Nb wave peak latency significantly increased following CM compared to before CM (repeated measures ANOVA, post-hoc analysis with least significant difference, p<0.05). There was a significant increase in the peak amplitude of the Nb wave (p<0.05) compared to before CM. Post SR there was a significant increase in the peak latency of the Na wave (p<0.05) compared to before SR. In conclusion following CM the latencies of neural generators corresponding to cortical areas is prolonged, whereas following SR a similar change occurs at mesencephalic-diencephalic levels.
    Publication Clinical EEG and Neuroscience: Official Journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS)
    Volume 40
    Issue 3
    Pages 190-195
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Clin EEG Neurosci
    ISSN 1550-0594
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19715182
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:45:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19715182
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Practicing meditation while focusing on a sound or a symbol influenced midlatency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEPs). Cyclic meditation (CM) is a technique combining yoga postures with meditation while supine, which has influenced the P300 event-related potential. The effects of CM on MLAEPs have not been previously studied. The MLAEPs were studied before and after the practice of CM compared to an equal duration of supine rest (SR) in 47 male volunteers (group mean age 26.5 +/- 4.4 years), recorded from the vertex referenced to linked earlobes. The sessions were one day apart and subjects were randomly assigned to each session. The Pa wave peak latency and Nb wave peak latency significantly increased following CM compared to before CM (repeated measures ANOVA, post-hoc analysis with least significant difference, p<0.05). There was a significant increase in the peak amplitude of the Nb wave (p<0.05) compared to before CM. Post SR there was a significant increase in the peak latency of the Na wave (p<0.05) compared to before SR. In conclusion following CM the latencies of neural generators corresponding to cortical areas is prolonged, whereas following SR a similar change occurs at mesencephalic-diencephalic levels.

  • Geophysical variables and behavior: XCVI. "Experiences" attributed to Christ and Mary at Marmora, Ontario, Canada may have been consequences of environmental electromagnetic stimulation: implications for religious movements

    Type Journal Article
    Author L A Suess
    Author M A Persinger
    Abstract Since the year 1992 individuals and groups of people have reported religious experiences near Marmora, Ontario, Canada. The experiences, attributed to Christ or Mary, have occurred near the top of a hill adjacent to an open pit magnetite mine that has been accumulating about 15 million gallons of water per month for more than a decade. During the period between 1992 and 1997 epicentres for local seismic events moved significantly closer to this site. Most of the messages attributed to spiritual beings by "sensitive" individuals occurred one or two days after increased global geomagnetic activity. We suggest that conditions produced by local geophysical and geological properties created the odd lights and induced physiological changes within the thousands of people who visited the area. Direct measurements indicated that weak (0.1 microTesla to 1 microTesla) complex magnetic fields, the temporal patterns of which were similar to the experimental fields we have employed to evoke the sensed presence and altered states within the laboratory, may have been generated within the area.
    Publication Perceptual and Motor Skills
    Volume 93
    Issue 2
    Pages 435-450
    Date Oct 2001
    Journal Abbr Percept Mot Skills
    ISSN 0031-5125
    Short Title Geophysical variables and behavior
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11769900
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 5:37:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11769900
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Catholicism
    • Disasters
    • Electromagnetic fields
    • Ferrosoferric Oxide
    • Humans
    • Iron
    • Magic
    • Mining
    • ONTARIO
    • Oxides
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Since the year 1992 individuals and groups of people have reported religious experiences near Marmora, Ontario, Canada. The experiences, attributed to Christ or Mary, have occurred near the top of a hill adjacent to an open pit magnetite mine that has been accumulating about 15 million gallons of water per month for more than a decade. During the period between 1992 and 1997 epicentres for local seismic events moved significantly closer to this site. Most of the messages attributed to spiritual beings by “sensitive” individuals occurred one or two days after increased global geomagnetic activity. We suggest that conditions produced by local geophysical and geological properties created the odd lights and induced physiological changes within the thousands of people who visited the area. Direct measurements indicated that weak (0.1 microTesla to 1 microTesla) complex magnetic fields, the temporal patterns of which were similar to the experimental fields we have employed to evoke the sensed presence and altered states within the laboratory, may have been generated within the area.

  • Phenomenology of delusions and hallucinations in schizophrenia by religious convictions.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kausar Suhail
    Author Shabnam Ghauri
    Abstract This study was conducted to assess the impact of religious affiliations on the phenomenology of delusions and hallucinations. Fifty-three Pakistani Muslim patients with schizophrenia were interviewed using the Present State Examination and Religiosity Index. The results indicated that the more religious patients had greater themes of grandiose ability and identity. These differences were more obvious in groups divided on the basis of practice of Islam. Similar results were obtained in the content of hallucinations. More religious patients were more likely to hear voices of paranormal agents and had visions of the same. The results of this study have strong implications for mental health professionals who, without reinforcing threatening and pathological beliefs of patients, can utilise this knowledge to create and maintain a therapeutic alliance with the patients as well as to more effectively manage the disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 3
    Pages 245-259
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903313722
    ISSN 13674676
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:26:07 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognition Disorders
    • PHENOMENOLOGY
    • Philosophy, Modern
    • PSYCHOLOGY, Pathological
    • Schizophrenia
  • Continuing Bonds in Bereaved Pakistani Muslims: Effects of Culture and Religion.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kausar Suhail
    Author Naila Jamil
    Author Jan Oyebode
    Author Mohammad Asir Ajmal
    Abstract This study explores the bereavement process and continuing bond in Pakistani Muslims with the focus on how culture and religion influence these processes. Ten participants were interviewed and their transcribed interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Three main domains were identified from the narratives expressed by the participants: death and the process of grieving, continuing the link with the deceased, and influencing agents. The findings indicated that Pakistani Muslims maintained their link with the deceased through cultural and religious rituals, such as performing prayers, reciting holy verses, talking and dreaming about the deceased, doing charity, visiting graves, and arranging communal gatherings. The prime purpose of many of these practices was the forgiveness of the deceased. Grief reactions seemed to be determined by the nature of death, prior relationships with the deceased, reaction of society and gender of the bereaved. Religion provided a strong basis for coping and adjustment of the bereaved, through rationalizing and accepting the death. This study has important implications for counselors and family therapists who can use religious affiliations to reduce the impact of loss and complicated bereavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Death Studies
    Volume 35
    Issue 1
    Pages 22-41
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1080/07481181003765592
    ISSN 07481187
    Short Title Continuing Bonds in Bereaved Pakistani Muslims
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • ADAPTABILITY (Psychology)
    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Bereavement
    • CONTENT analysis (Communication)
    • Culture
    • DATA analysis
    • Family Relations
    • GROUNDED theory
    • INTERVIEWING
    • INTERVIEWS
    • ISLAM
    • Pakistan
    • RESEARCH -- Methodology
    • SOUND recordings
  • Mortality Differentials and Religion in the United States: Religious Affiliation and Attendance

    Type Journal Article
    Author Allison R. Sullivan
    Abstract Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, I examine the relationship between adult mortality and religious affiliation. I test whether mortality differences associated with religious affiliation can be attributed to differences in socioeconomic status (years of education and household wealth), attendance at religious services, or health behaviors, particularly cigarette and alcohol consumption. A baseline report of attendance at religious services is used to avoid confounding effects of deteriorating health. Socioeconomic status explains some but not all of the mortality difference. While Catholics, evangelical Protestants, and black Protestants benefit from favorable attendance patterns, attendance (or lack of) at services explains much of the higher mortality of those with no religious preference. Health behaviors do not mediate the relationship between mortality and religion, except among evangelical Protestants. Not only does religion matter, but studies examining the effect of “religiosity” need to consider differences by religious affiliation.
    Publication Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    Volume 49
    Issue 4
    Pages 740-753
    Date 12/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01543.x
    ISSN 00218294
    Short Title Mortality Differentials and Religion in the United States
    URL http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01543.x
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:23:03 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
  • Healing and restoring : health and medicine in the world's religious traditions

    Type Book
    Author Lawrence Sullivan
    Place New York
    Publisher Macmillan
    Date 1989
    ISBN 9780029237915
    Short Title Healing and restoring
    Library Catalog Open WorldCat
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Notes:

    • In the quest for well-being and health, this book aims to understand, explore, and educate about different cultural methods of healing.  It includes reviews of Buddhist, Chinese Buddhist, Hawaiian, Indian Ayurvedic, Islamic, and Aztec traditions.

  • Recoiling, regrouping, and recovering: first-person accounts of the role of spirituality in the course of serious mental illness

    Type Journal Article
    Author W P Sullivan
    Abstract Because many consumers view spirituality as important in their recovery, mental health professionals can benefit from a clearer understanding of the role of religion from the consumer's perspective.
    Publication New Directions for Mental Health Services
    Issue 80
    Pages 25-33
    Date 1998
    Journal Abbr New Dir Ment Health Serv
    ISSN 0193-9416
    Short Title Recoiling, regrouping, and recovering
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9855756
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:48:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9855756
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Humans
    • Mental Disorders
    • Mental Healing
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Schizophrenia
    • Schizophrenic Psychology
    • social support

    Notes:

    • Because many consumers view spirituality as important in their recovery, mental health professionals can benefit from a clearer understanding of the role of religion from the consumer’s perspective.

  • The Buddhist Health Study: Meditation on Love and Compassion as Features of Religious Practice

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bruce M. Sullivan
    Author Bill Wiist
    Author Heidi Wayment
    Abstract In an effort to contribute to the understanding of contemporary Western Buddhism, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Northern Arizona University wrote a set of questions to elicit data from Buddhist practitioners. In addition to demographic questions, we included questions on health and health-related practices, and psychological characteristics, drawing from previously used measures (see Wiist et al. 2010). For the Buddhist practices segment of the survey, all the questions were written by the researchers. With the religious practices segment of the survey, we sought (among other things) to test four hypotheses concerning contemporary Western Buddhist practitioners: * 1  Contemporary Western Buddhist practitioners are more likely to identify themselves as Buddhist than as members of other religious traditions and to have marked that identity in a formal way such as pronouncing the Three Refuges formula. * 2  Contemporary Western Buddhist practitioners are more likely to engage in meditation than to attend Buddhist religious services supervised by clergy. * 3  Contemporary Western Buddhist practitioners who engage in meditation are more likely to engage in a variety of meditative practices, practices that they regard as identifiably distinct, than to engage in a single meditative technique. * 4  Buddhist practitioners today engage in conscious efforts to increase loving-kindness and compassion through meditation practices.
    Publication CrossCurrents
    Volume 60
    Issue 2
    Pages 185-207
    Date 06/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1939-3881.2010.00119.x
    ISSN 00111953
    URL http://blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1939-3881.2010.00119.x
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • The Support, Education, and Research in Chronic Heart Failure Study (SEARCH): a mindfulness-based psychoeducational intervention improves depression and clinical symptoms in patients with chronic heart failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author Martin J Sullivan
    Author Laura Wood
    Author Jennifer Terry
    Author Jeff Brantley
    Author Ann Charles
    Author Vicky McGee
    Author Diane Johnson
    Author Mitchell W Krucoff
    Author Beth Rosenberg
    Author Hayden B Bosworth
    Author Kirkwood Adams
    Author Michael S Cuffe
    Abstract BACKGROUND The Support, Education, and Research in Chronic Heart Failure (SEARCH) study was designed to assess the impact of a mindfulness-based psychoeducational intervention on clinical outcomes, depression, and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Although research has shown that psychosocial factors including depression are important risk factors for adverse events in patients with CHF, no large clinical trials have investigated the efficacy of psychosocial interventions to reduce these factors in this population. METHODS This was a prospective cohort study of 208 adults with left ventricular ejection fraction < or =40% and CHF geographically assigned to treatment or control groups with follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months. Treatment groups met weekly for 8 consecutive weeks for training in mindfulness meditation, coping skills, and support group discussion. RESULTS Subjects had a mean age of 61 years, left ventricular ejection fraction 26%, and median New York Heart Association class II. The majority were treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (80%) and beta-blockers (86%). At baseline, patients in the treatment group had more severe CHF with higher New York Heart Association class (P = .0209) and more severe psychological distress (Center of Epidemiology - Depression, Profile of Mood States; P < .05). When compared with controls, treatment resulted in lower anxiety (Profile of Mood States, P = .003), depression (Center of Epidemiology - Depression, P = .05), improved symptoms (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire symptom scale, P = .033) and clinical scores (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire clinical score, P = .024) over time. There were no treatment effects on death/rehospitalization at 1 year. CONCLUSIONS An 8-week mindfulness-based psychoeducational intervention reduced anxiety and depression; this effect was attenuated at 1 year. Importantly, the intervention led to significantly better symptoms of CHF at 12 months compared to control subjects. Our results suggest that interventions of this type might have a role in optimal therapy for CHF.
    Publication American Heart Journal
    Volume 157
    Issue 1
    Pages 84-90
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr Am. Heart J
    DOI 10.1016/j.ahj.2008.08.033
    ISSN 1097-6744
    Short Title The Support, Education, and Research in Chronic Heart Failure Study (SEARCH)
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19081401
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19081401
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Chronic Disease
    • depression
    • Female
    • Heart Failure
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Patient Education as Topic
    • Prospective Studies
    • Psychotherapy
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • The Support, Education, and Research in Chronic Heart Failure (SEARCH) study was designed to assess the impact of a mindfulness-based psychoeducational intervention on clinical outcomes, depression, and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Although research has shown that psychosocial factors including depression are important risk factors for adverse events in patients with CHF, no large clinical trials have investigated the efficacy of psychosocial interventions to reduce these factors in this population.

  • A biopsychosocial-spiritual model for the care of patients at the end of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel P Sulmasy
    Abstract PURPOSE: This article presents a model for research and practice that expands on the biopsychosocial model to include the spiritual concerns of patients. DESIGNS AND METHODS: Literature review and philosophical inquiry were used. RESULTS: The healing professions should serve the needs of patients as whole persons. Persons can be considered beings-in-relationship, and illness can be considered a disruption in biological relationships that in turn affects all the other relational aspects of a person. Spirituality concerns a person's relationship with transcendence. Therefore, genuinely holistic health care must address the totality of the patient's relational existence-physical, psychological, social, and spiritual. The literature suggests that many patients would like health professionals to attend to their spiritual needs, but health professionals must be morally cautious and eschew proselytizing in any form. Four general domains for measuring various aspects of spirituality are distinguished: religiosity, religious coping and support, spiritual well-being, and spiritual need. A framework for understanding the interactions between these domains is presented. Available instruments are reviewed and critiqued. An agenda for research in the spiritual aspects of illness and care at the end of life is proposed. IMPLICATIONS: Spiritual concerns are important to many patients, particularly at the end of life. Much work remains to be done in understanding the spiritual aspects of patient care and how to address spirituality in research and practice.
    Publication The Gerontologist
    Volume 42 Spec No 3
    Pages 24-33
    Date Oct 2002
    Journal Abbr Gerontologist
    ISSN 0016-9013
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12415130
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:05:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12415130
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Models, Psychological
    • Professional-Patient Relations
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • spirituality
    • Terminal Care

    Notes:

    • This article presents a model for research and practice that expands on the biopsychosocial model to include the spiritual concerns of patients.

  • The culture of faith and hope: patients' justifications for their high estimations of expected therapeutic benefit when enrolling in early phase oncology trials

    Type Journal Article
    Author Daniel P Sulmasy
    Author Alan B Astrow
    Author M Kai He
    Author Damon M Seils
    Author Neal J Meropol
    Author Ellyn Micco
    Author Kevin P Weinfurt
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Patients' estimates of their chances of therapeutic benefit from participation in early phase trials greatly exceed historical data. Ethicists worry that this therapeutic misestimation undermines the validity of informed consent. METHODS: The authors interviewed 45 patients enrolled in phase 1 or 2 oncology trials about their expectations of therapeutic benefit and their reasons for those expectations. They used a phenomenological, qualitative approach with 1 primary coder to identify emergent themes, verified by 2 independent coders. RESULTS: Median expectations of therapeutic benefit varied from 50% to 80%, depending on how the question was asked. Justifications universally invoked hope and optimism, and 27 of 45 participants used 1 of these words. Three major themes emerged: 1) optimism as performative, that is, the notion that positive thoughts and expressions improve chances of benefit; 2) fighting cancer as a battle; and 3) faith in God, science, or both. Many participants described a culture in which optimism was encouraged and expected, such that trial enrollment became a way of reflecting this expectation. Many reported they had been told few patients would benefit and appeared to understand the uncertainties of clinical research, yet expressed high expected personal therapeutic benefit. More distressed participants were less likely to invoke performative justifications for their expectations (50% vs 84%; P=.04). CONCLUSIONS: Expressions of high expected therapeutic benefit had little to do with reporting knowledge and more to do with expressing optimism. These results have implications for understanding how to obtain valid consent from participants in early phase clinical trials.
    Publication Cancer
    Volume 116
    Issue 15
    Pages 3702-3711
    Date Aug 1, 2010
    Journal Abbr Cancer
    DOI 10.1002/cncr.25201
    ISSN 0008-543X
    Short Title The culture of faith and hope
    Accessed Monday, September 13, 2010 9:00:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20564120
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Health
    • Clinical Trials as Topic
    • Comprehension
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Informed Consent
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Patient Selection
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Therapeutic Misconception

    Notes:

    • Patients' estimates of their chances of therapeutic benefit from participation in early phase trials greatly exceed historical data. Ethicists worry that this therapeutic misestimation undermines the validity of informed consent. The authors interviewed 45 patients enrolled in phase 1 or 2 oncology trials about their expectations of therapeutic benefit and their reasons for those expectations. They used a phenomenological, qualitative approach with 1 primary coder to identify emergent themes, verified by 2 independent coders.

  • The benefits of meditation practice in the correctional setting

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melvina T Sumter
    Author Elizabeth Monk-Turner
    Author Charlie Turner
    Abstract This research examined the impact of a structured meditation program intervention on female detainees, comparing an experimental group and a control group for medical symptoms, emotions, and behaviors before and after the intervention. A 2 1/2-hour meditation session was held once a week for 7 weeks. Study participants completed a medical symptoms checklist before the program began and after it ended. At the posttest period, the experimental group experienced fewer sleeping difficulties, less desire to throw things or hit people, and less nail or cuticle biting; were more hopeful about their future; and felt less guilt. Meditation was beneficial for this population and may be a cost-effective tool for inmates and administrators. Meditation effects, especially among inmates, merit further research attention.
    Publication Journal of Correctional Health Care: The Official Journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care
    Volume 15
    Issue 1
    Pages 47-57; quiz 81
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr J Correct Health Care
    DOI 10.1177/1078345808326621
    ISSN 1940-5200
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:02:18 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19477811
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Behavior
    • Emotions
    • Family Characteristics
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Nail Biting
    • prisons
    • Sleep
    • Socioeconomic Factors
    • Violence
  • Effects of a prenatal yoga programme on the discomforts of pregnancy and maternal childbirth self-efficacy in Taiwan

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yi-Chin Sun
    Author Ya-Chi Hung
    Author Yuanmay Chang
    Author Su-Chen Kuo
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: to evaluate a yoga programme provided to primigravidas in the third trimester of pregnancy with the aim of decreasing the discomforts associated with pregnancy and increasing childbirth self-efficacy. DESIGN: non-randomised controlled experimental study. SETTING: a hospital in northern Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: the target population was primigravidas at 26-28 weeks of gestation (no high-risk pregnancies) who had not engaged in regular exercise or yoga for at least one year. The study included 88 individuals; 43 in the control group and 45 in the experimental group who took part in the prenatal yoga programme. INTERVENTION: the duration of the prenatal yoga programme was 12-14 weeks, with at least three sessions per week. Each workout lasted for 30 minutes. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: women who took part in the prenatal yoga programme reported significantly fewer pregnancy discomforts than the control group (38.28 vs 43.26, z=-2.58, p=0.01) at 38-40 weeks of gestation. The subjects who participated in the yoga programme exhibited higher outcome and self-efficacy expectancies during the active stage of labour (104.13 vs 83.53, t=3.24, p=0.002; 99.26 vs 77.70, t=3.99, p ≤ 0.001) and the second stage of labour (113.33 vs 88.42, t=3.33, p=0.002; 102.19 vs 79.40, t=3.71, p ≤ 0.001) compared with the control group. KEY CONCLUSIONS: the provision of booklets and videos on yoga during pregnancy may contribute to a reduction in pregnancy discomforts and improved childbirth self-efficacy. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: this yoga programme provides health-care professionals with an evidence-based intervention.
    Publication Midwifery
    Volume 26
    Issue 6
    Pages e31-36
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Midwifery
    DOI 10.1016/j.midw.2009.01.005
    ISSN 1532-3099
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19246136
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:03:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19246136
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Notes:

    • This study finds that pregnant women who participate in yoga exercises three times per week for 12-14 weeks at the end of the pregnancy for 30 minutes per session had reduced pregnancy discomfort and increased childbirth self-efficacy by comparison with the control group.

  • Racial Differences in Perceived Burden of Rural Dementia Caregivers: The Mediating Effect of Religiosity

    Type Journal Article
    Author F. Sun
    Author J. I. Kosberg
    Author J. Leeper
    Author A. V. Kaufman
    Author L. Burgio
    Abstract This study explores whether religiosity explains racial differences in caregiving burden for a rural sample of dementia family caregivers. Data are from a probability sample of 74 non-Hispanic White and 67 African American dementia caregivers in rural Alabama. SPSS macros for estimating indirect effects in multiple mediator models are used to test the mediation effects of religiosity. White caregivers report higher burden, are less likely to use religious coping, and less likely to engage in organized religion than do African American caregivers. Church attendance is found to significantly (B = -.57, p<.05) mediate the racial differences on caregiving burden (R-2=.07). Religious involvement in general, and church attendance in particular, seem to provide both spiritual and social psychological benefits to dementia caregivers. Thus, supplementing formal services with the services provided by religious organizations may be important in rural areas where formal resources are scarce.
    Publication Journal of Applied Gerentology
    Volume 29
    Issue 3
    Pages 290-307
    Date JUN 2010
    DOI 10.1177/0733464809343205
    ISSN 0733-4648
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 6:42:21 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • The spiritual dimension of cancer care

    Type Journal Article
    Author Antonella Surbone
    Author Lea Baider
    Abstract Spirituality is more about constant questioning than about providing fixed or final answers. Cancer patients do not expect spiritual solutions from oncology team members, but they wish to feel comfortable enough to raise spiritual issues and not be met with fear, judgmental attitudes, or dismissive comments. Spiritual needs may not be explicit in all illness phases, yet spirituality is not only confined to the areas of palliative or end-of-life care. Sensitive and effective methods to assess and address spiritual needs of cancer patients are being developed and qualitative research on the topic is underway. In addition, formal education and training in communication about cancer patients' spiritual issues and in how to assess and address them in the clinical context is being increasingly provided. Spirituality can be a major resource for both patients and physicians, yet it can never be imposed but only shared. Those oncology professionals who are familiar with their own spirituality will be better at recognizing, understanding and attending to their patients' spiritual needs and concerns.
    Publication Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology
    Volume 73
    Issue 3
    Pages 228-235
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr Crit. Rev. Oncol. Hematol
    DOI 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2009.03.011
    ISSN 1879-0461
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:13:59 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19406661
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Neoplasms
    • Physician-Patient Relations
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Spirituality is more about constant questioning than about providing fixed or final answers. Cancer patients do not expect spiritual solutions from oncology team members, but they wish to feel comfortable enough to raise spiritual issues and not be met with fear, judgmental attitudes, or dismissive comments. Spiritual needs may not be explicit in all illness phases, yet spirituality is not only confined to the areas of palliative or end-of-life care. Sensitive and effective methods to assess and address spiritual needs of cancer patients are being developed and qualitative research on the topic is underway. In addition, formal education and training in communication about cancer patients’ spiritual issues and in how to assess and address them in the clinical context is being increasingly provided. Spirituality can be a major resource for both patients and physicians, yet it can never be imposed but only shared. Those oncology professionals who are familiar with their own spirituality will be better at recognizing, understanding and attending to their patients’ spiritual needs and concerns.

  • A guide to orthodox psychotherapy: the science, theology, and spiritual practice behind it and its clinical application.

    Type Journal Article
    Author John Eric Swenson III
    Abstract The article reviews the book "A Guide to Orthodox Psychotherapy: The Science, Theology and Spiritual Practice Behind It and Its Clinical Application."
    Publication Journal of Psychology & Christianity
    Volume 28
    Issue 2
    Pages 183-184
    Date Summer2009 2009
    ISSN 07334273
    Short Title A GUIDE TO ORTHODOX PSYCHOTHERAPY
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • BOOKS -- Reviews
    • GUIDE to Orthodox Psychotherapy: The Science, Theology & Spiritual Practice Behind It & Its Clinical Application, A (Book)
    • NONFICTION
    • PSYCHOTHERAPY -- Religious aspects

    Notes:

    • The article reviews the book "A Guide to Orthodox Psychotherapy: The Science, Theology and Spiritual Practice Behind It and Its Clinical Application."

  • The impact of religiosity and attribution theory on attitudes toward addiction and cancer.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brandon Switzer
    Author Guy A. Boysen
    Abstract Little is known about the relation between religiosity and illness stigma. This study examined the relationship between religiosity and stigmatizing attitudes toward the mental illness of addiction and the physical illness of cancer. Participants (N = 120) completed a measure of religiosity and evaluated a vignette describing either a person with addiction or cancer. The results indicated that attitudes were more negative toward a person with addiction than a person with cancer, which is consistent with attribution theory. However, religiosity was generally unrelated to stigmatizing attitudes. These results suggest that religiosity may be a less powerful determinant of stigmatizing attitudes than attributions about the illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 3
    Pages 241-245
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802428449
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • ADDICTIONS
    • ATTRIBUTION (Social psychology)
    • CANCER -- Patients
    • CHRISTIAN life
    • Religiousness
    • STIGMA (Social psychology)

    Notes:

    • Little is known about the relation between religiosity and illness stigma. This study examined the relationship between religiosity and stigmatizing attitudes toward the mental illness of addiction and the physical illness of cancer. Participants (N = 120) completed a measure of religiosity and evaluated a vignette describing either a person with addiction or cancer. The results indicated that attitudes were more negative toward a person with addiction than a person with cancer, which is consistent with attribution theory. However, religiosity was generally unrelated to stigmatizing attitudes. These results suggest that religiosity may be a less powerful determinant of stigmatizing attitudes than attributions about the illness.

  • Modeling the effects of spirituality/religion on patients' perceptions of living with HIV/AIDS

    Type Journal Article
    Author Magdalena Szaflarski
    Author P Neal Ritchey
    Author Anthony C Leonard
    Author Joseph M Mrus
    Author Amy H Peterman
    Author Christopher G Ellison
    Author Michael E McCullough
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Spirituality/religion is an important factor in health and illness, but more work is needed to determine its link to quality of life in patients with HIV/AIDS. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the direct and indirect effects of spirituality/religion on patients' perceptions of living with HIV/AIDS. DESIGN: In 2002 and 2003, as part of a multicenter longitudinal study of patients with HIV/AIDS, we collected extensive demographic, clinical, and behavioral data from chart review and patient interviews. We used logistic regression and path analysis combining logistic and ordinary least squares regression. SUBJECTS: Four hundred and fifty outpatients with HIV/AIDS from 4 sites in 3 cities. MEASURES: The dependent variable was whether patients felt that life had improved since being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Spirituality/religion was assessed by using the Duke Religion Index, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being-Expanded, and Brief RCOPE measures. Mediating factors included social support, self-esteem, healthy beliefs, and health status/health concerns. RESULTS: Approximately one-third of the patients felt that their life was better now than it was before being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. A 1-SD increase in spirituality/religion was associated with a 68.50% increase in odds of feeling that life has improved--29.97% due to a direct effect, and 38.54% due to indirect effects through healthy beliefs (29.15%) and health status/health concerns (9.39%). Healthy beliefs had the largest effect on feeling that life had improved; a 1-SD increase in healthy beliefs resulted in a 109.75% improvement in feeling that life changed. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with HIV/AIDS, the level of spirituality/religion is associated, both directly and indirectly, with feeling that life is better now than previously. Future research should validate our new conceptual model using other samples and longitudinal studies. Clinical education interventions should focus on raising awareness among clinicians about the importance of spirituality/religion in HIV/AIDS.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 21 Suppl 5
    Pages S28-38
    Date Dec 2006
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    DOI 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00646.x
    ISSN 1525-1497
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17083497
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:57:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17083497
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • Models, Psychological
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Concept
    • Social perception
    • social support
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Objective: To estimate the direct and indirect effects of spirituality/religion on patients’ perceptions of living with HIV/AIDS. Conclusions: In patients with HIV/AIDS, the level of spirituality/religion is associated, both directly and indirectly, with feeling that life is better now than previously.

  • Examining Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: Perceptions from Minority Older Adults Residing in a Low-income Housing Facility

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sarah L Szanton
    Author Jennifer Wenzel
    Author Amy B Connolly
    Author Rachel L Piferi
    Abstract ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs are becoming increasingly common, but have not been studied in low income minority older populations. We sought to understand which parts of MBSR were most important to practicing MBSR members of this population, and to understand whether they apply their training to daily challenges. METHODS: We conducted three focus groups with 13 current members of an MBSR program. Participants were African American women over the age of 60 in a low-income housing residence. We tape recorded each session and subsequently used inductive content analysis to identify primary themes. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Analysis of the focus group responses revealed three primary themes: stress management, applying mindfulness, and the social support of the group meditation. The stressors they cited using MBSR with included growing older with physical pain, medical tests, financial strain, and having grandchildren with significant mental, physical, financial or legal hardships. We found that participants particularly used their MBSR training for coping with medical procedures, and managing both depression and anger. CONCLUSION: A reflective stationary intervention delivered in-residence could be an ideal mechanism to decrease stress in low-income older adult's lives and improve their health.
    Publication BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
    Volume 11
    Issue 1
    Pages 44
    Date May 31, 2011
    Journal Abbr BMC Complement Altern Med
    DOI 10.1186/1472-6882-11-44
    ISSN 1472-6882
    Short Title Examining Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21627807
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 4:51:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21627807
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
  • Do religious coping styles moderate or mediate the external and internalized racism-distress links?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dawn M. Szymanski
    Author Oluwafunmilayo Obiri
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the potential moderating and mediating roles of positive and negative religious coping styles in the relationship between external and internalized racism and African American persons’ psychological distress. Participants included 269 African Americans who completed a web-based Internet survey. Results revealed that negative religious coping styles partially mediated the relationships between racist events and internalized racism and psychological distress. No support was found for the mediating role of positive religious coping or for the moderating roles of positive and negative religious coping in the links between racist events and internalized racism and psychological distress. Research and practice implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication The Counseling Psychologist
    Volume 39
    Issue 3
    Pages 438-462
    Date April 2011
    DOI 10.1177/0011000010378895
    ISSN 0011-0000
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Blacks
    • Coping Behavior
    • Distress
    • Experiences (Events)
    • externalized & internalized racism
    • Internalization
    • Psychological distress
    • RACISM
    • racist events
    • religiosity
    • religious coping styles
  • Mindful exercise, quality of life, and survival: a mindfulness-based exercise program for women with breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anna M Tacón
    Author Jacalyn McComb
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The purpose of this article is to describe the rationale and protocol for a pilot study in women with breast cancer that integrates the two complementary therapies of mindfulness and exercise. DESIGN: A sample of 30 women diagnosed with breast cancer within the previous 12 months who have completed initial treatment for their disease will be recruited from oncology physicians' offices. The pilot will be a pre-post design, and the study will occur within a hospital counseling center for 2 h one day/week for 8 weeks. Participants will complete pre-and post-questionnaires on anxiety, depression, quality of life, and the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) checklist. Patients will receive audiotapes and pedometers and will keep detailed logs of their weekly homework assignments. OUTCOME: Appropriate statistical analyses will be carried out to arrive at data-driven results. If results show significant benefit for the participants, the program will be revised as needed for improvement. DIRECTIONS: Future directions will be based on findings of the proposed pilot, which will dictate how to proceed after completion of the pilot study. A future goal, if preliminary findings and a replication study are encouraging, will be the development of a Mindfulness-based Exercise Program Manual for dissemination and use by researchers and clinicians to help empower patients with cancer.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 15
    Issue 1
    Pages 41-46
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2008.0255
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Short Title Mindful exercise, quality of life, and survival
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:38:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19769475
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • depression
    • Exercise
    • Exercise Therapy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Research Design
    • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
    • Walking

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this article is to describe the rationale and protocol for a pilot study in women with breast cancer that integrates the two complementary therapies of mindfulness and exercise.

  • A pilot study of gentle yoga for sleep disturbance in women with osteoarthritis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Diana M Taibi
    Author Michael V Vitiello
    Abstract OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and acceptability of a gentle yoga intervention for sleep disturbance in older women with osteoarthritis (OA) and to collect initial efficacy data on the intervention. METHODS All participants completed an 8-week yoga program that included 75-min weekly classes and 20min of nightly home practice. Participants were women with OA and symptoms consistent with insomnia. Symptom questionnaires and 1week of wrist actigraphy and sleep diaries were completed for 1week pre- and post-intervention. RESULTS Fourteen women were enrolled of whom 13 completed the study (mean age 65.2±6.9years). Participants attended a mean of 7.2±1.0 classes and practiced at home 5.83±1.66nights/week. The Insomnia Severity Index and diary-reported sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency, and number of nights with insomnia were significantly improved at post-intervention versus pre-intervention (p<.05). Other sleep outcomes (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, diary-reported total sleep time and wake after sleep onset) showed improvement on mean scores at post-intervention, but these were not statistically significant. Actigraphic sleep outcomes were not significantly changed. CONCLUSIONS This study supports the feasibility and acceptability of a standardized evening yoga practice for middle-aged to older women with OA. Preliminary efficacy findings support further research on this program as a potential treatment option for OA-related insomnia.
    Publication Sleep Medicine
    Volume 12
    Issue 5
    Pages 512-517
    Date May 2011
    Journal Abbr Sleep Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.sleep.2010.09.016
    ISSN 1878-5506
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21489869
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:37:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21489869
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
  • Facilitating congruence between religious beliefs and sexual identity with mindfulness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Erica S N Tan
    Author Mark A Yarhouse
    Abstract With the increasing relevance of sexual minority concerns, including the process of navigating sexual and religious identities, clinical practice has focused on helping sexual minorities address methods of self-expression that are most congruent with the client's values. Sexual Identity Therapy (SIT), (Throckmorton & Yarhouse, 2006) has been developed to assist individuals who are seeking to address potential conflicts between religious and sexual identities by focusing on personal congruence. To facilitate this process, the practice of mindfulness is applied. As an adaptation from its spiritual origins, mindfulness is used to facilitate the treatment of various disorders, such as chronic pain, substance abuse, and depression. It has also been the crux of several different third-wave cognitive and behavioral therapies that consider the "… context and functions of psychological phenomena" (Hayes, 2004, p. 5) for the purpose of helping clients to develop "… broad, flexible and effective repertoires" (p. 6). In this instance, mindfulness is applied to SIT to assist individuals with same-sex attraction to become nonjudgmentally aware of their thoughts and feelings related to same-sex attraction such that they are able to experience their attractions in an open and honest manner without feeling compelled to either dismiss or augment these attractions. Mindful awareness of same-sex attraction facilitates congruence because there is less emphasis on changing behaviors, thoughts or feelings, but rather, changing the relationship the individual has to their experiences of same-sex attraction so that they are experienced as neutral, as opposed to aversive.
    Publication Psychotherapy
    Volume 47
    Issue 4
    Pages 500-511
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychotherapy (Chic)
    DOI 10.1037/a0022081
    ISSN 1939-1536
    Accessed Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:38:40 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21198238
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
  • Facilitating congruence between religious beliefs and sexual identity with mindfulness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Erica S N Tan
    Author Mark A Yarhouse
    Abstract With the increasing relevance of sexual minority concerns, including the process of navigating sexual and religious identities, clinical practice has focused on helping sexual minorities address methods of self-expression that are most congruent with the client's values. Sexual Identity Therapy (SIT), (Throckmorton & Yarhouse, 2006) has been developed to assist individuals who are seeking to address potential conflicts between religious and sexual identities by focusing on personal congruence. To facilitate this process, the practice of mindfulness is applied. As an adaptation from its spiritual origins, mindfulness is used to facilitate the treatment of various disorders, such as chronic pain, substance abuse, and depression. It has also been the crux of several different third-wave cognitive and behavioral therapies that consider the "… context and functions of psychological phenomena" (Hayes, 2004, p. 5) for the purpose of helping clients to develop "… broad, flexible and effective repertoires" (p. 6). In this instance, mindfulness is applied to SIT to assist individuals with same-sex attraction to become nonjudgmentally aware of their thoughts and feelings related to same-sex attraction such that they are able to experience their attractions in an open and honest manner without feeling compelled to either dismiss or augment these attractions. Mindful awareness of same-sex attraction facilitates congruence because there is less emphasis on changing behaviors, thoughts or feelings, but rather, changing the relationship the individual has to their experiences of same-sex attraction so that they are experienced as neutral, as opposed to aversive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).
    Publication Psychotherapy (Chicago, Ill.)
    Volume 47
    Issue 4
    Pages 500-511
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychotherapy (Chic)
    DOI 10.1037/a0022081
    ISSN 1939-1536
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/21198238
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:05:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21198238
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • Hypnosis Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gabriel Tan
    Author Tenley Fukui
    Author Mark Jensen
    Author John Thornby
    Author Karen Waldman
    Abstract Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a significant healthcare problem, and many individuals with CLBP remain unresponsive to available interventions. Previous research suggests that hypnosis is effective for many chronic pain conditions; however, data to support its efficacy for CLBP are outdated and have been limited primarily to case studies. This pilot study indicated that a brief, 4-session standardized self-hypnosis protocol, combined with psycho-education, significantly and substantially reduced pain intensity and pain interference. Significant session-to-session improvements were also noted on pain ratings and mood states; however, follow-up data suggest that these benefits may not have been maintained across time in this sample. These findings need to be replicated and confirmed in a larger clinical trial, which could also assess the long-term effects of this treatment.
    Publication International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
    Volume 58
    Issue 1
    Pages 53-68
    Date 1/2010
    Journal Abbr Int. J. of Clinical & Expt. Hypnosis
    DOI 10.1080/00207140903310824
    ISSN 0020-7144
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?
    genre=article&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

  • Limitations for measuring religion in a different cultural context--The case of Japan

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kimiko Tanaka
    Abstract The article points out the limitations in surveys measuring religiosity and spirituality using the measures developed in Christian or Western contexts. Japanese people think of religion (shukyo) as revealed religion such as Christianity that has specific doctrinal belief and faith. Through their history of religious regulation, Japanese people came to consider themselves "non-religious" as a way of survival, not to be punished by political authorities and not to be stigmatized in their community. Thus they tend to answer that they consider themselves "non-religious" in surveys, while performing ritual performances for their ancestors in Buddhist temples and Buddhist altars not only to thank ancestors but also to ease the psychological fear people have toward muenbotoke, restless ancestors who have no legitimate offspring to take care of them. To extend the study of spirituality or religiousness in the Japanese context, qualitative studies are necessary not to misinterpret religiousness and spirituality in Japanese context.
    Publication The Social Science Journal
    Volume 47
    Issue 4
    Pages 845-852
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.soscij.2010.07.010
    ISSN 0362-3319
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:12:40 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM

    Tags:

    • History
    • Japan
    • religion
    • Survey
  • The Effect of Divorce Experience on Religious Involvement: Implications for Later Health Lifestyle

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kimiko Tanaka
    Abstract This study reviewed evidence that divorce, rather than being a single event, is a process with effects that linger even after remarriage, including effects on religious involvement. The author presents divorce as an active or passive choice that some individuals make in their life course and the life event influences their social behaviors in later life, which could provide another possible explanation why divorce can negatively influence health even after remarriage.
    Publication Journal of Divorce & Remarriage
    Volume 51
    Issue 1
    Pages 1-15
    Date 1/2010
    Journal Abbr J. of Divorce & Remarriage
    DOI 10.1080/10502550903423149
    ISSN 1050-2556
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?
    genre=article&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Central and autonomic nervous system interaction is altered by short-term meditation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yi-Yuan Tang
    Author Yinghua Ma
    Author Yaxin Fan
    Author Hongbo Feng
    Author Junhong Wang
    Author Shigang Feng
    Author Qilin Lu
    Author Bing Hu
    Author Yao Lin
    Author Jian Li
    Author Ye Zhang
    Author Yan Wang
    Author Li Zhou
    Author Ming Fan
    Abstract Five days of integrative body-mind training (IBMT) improves attention and self-regulation in comparison with the same amount of relaxation training. This paper explores the underlying mechanisms of this finding. We measured the physiological and brain changes at rest before, during, and after 5 days of IBMT and relaxation training. During and after training, the IBMT group showed significantly better physiological reactions in heart rate, respiratory amplitude and rate, and skin conductance response (SCR) than the relaxation control. Differences in heart rate variability (HRV) and EEG power suggested greater involvement of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the IBMT group during and after training. Imaging data demonstrated stronger subgenual and adjacent ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity in the IBMT group. Frontal midline ACC theta was correlated with high-frequency HRV, suggesting control by the ACC over parasympathetic activity. These results indicate that after 5 days of training, the IBMT group shows better regulation of the ANS by a ventral midfrontal brain system than does the relaxation group. This changed state probably reflects training in the coordination of body and mind given in the IBMT but not in the control group. These results could be useful in the design of further specific interventions.
    Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    Volume 106
    Issue 22
    Pages 8865-8870
    Date Jun 2, 2009
    Journal Abbr Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A
    DOI 10.1073/pnas.0904031106
    ISSN 1091-6490
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:07:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19451642
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Autonomic Nervous System
    • Brain
    • Brain Mapping
    • Exercise
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Relaxation
    • Skin Physiological Phenomena
    • Young Adult
  • Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yi-Yuan Tang
    Author Yinghua Ma
    Author Junhong Wang
    Author Yaxin Fan
    Author Shigang Feng
    Author Qilin Lu
    Author Qingbao Yu
    Author Danni Sui
    Author Mary K Rothbart
    Author Ming Fan
    Author Michael I Posner
    Abstract Recent studies suggest that months to years of intensive and systematic meditation training can improve attention. However, the lengthy training required has made it difficult to use random assignment of participants to conditions to confirm these findings. This article shows that a group randomly assigned to 5 days of meditation practice with the integrative body-mind training method shows significantly better attention and control of stress than a similarly chosen control group given relaxation training. The training method comes from traditional Chinese medicine and incorporates aspects of other meditation and mindfulness training. Compared with the control group, the experimental group of 40 undergraduate Chinese students given 5 days of 20-min integrative training showed greater improvement in conflict scores on the Attention Network Test, lower anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue, and higher vigor on the Profile of Mood States scale, a significant decrease in stress-related cortisol, and an increase in immunoreactivity. These results provide a convenient method for studying the influence of meditation training by using experimental and control methods similar to those used to test drugs or other interventions.
    Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    Volume 104
    Issue 43
    Pages 17152-17156
    Date Oct 23, 2007
    Journal Abbr Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A
    DOI 10.1073/pnas.0707678104
    ISSN 0027-8424
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17940025
    Accessed Thursday, September 03, 2009 1:22:45 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17940025
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attention
    • Case-Control Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Psychological Tests
    • Social Control, Informal
    • Time Factors

    Notes:

    • Recent studies suggest that months to years of intensive and systematic meditation training can improve attention. However, the lengthy training required has made it difficult to use random assignment of participants to conditions to confirm these findings. This article shows that a group randomly assigned to 5 days of meditation practice with the integrative body-mind training method shows significantly better attention and control of stress than a similarly chosen control group given relaxation training. The training method comes from traditional Chinese medicine and incorporates aspects of other meditation and mindfulness training. Compared with the control group, the experimental group of 40 undergraduate Chinese students given 5 days of 20-min integrative training showed greater improvement in conflict scores on the Attention Network Test, lower anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue, and higher vigor on the Profile of Mood States scale, a significant decrease in stress-related cortisol, and an increase in immunoreactivity. These results provide a convenient method for studying the influence of meditation training by using experimental and control methods similar to those used to test drugs or other interventions.

  • Central and autonomic nervous system interaction is altered by short-term meditation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yi-Yuan Tang
    Author Yinghua Ma
    Author Yaxin Fan
    Author Hongbo Feng
    Author Junhong Wang
    Author Shigang Feng
    Author Qilin Lu
    Author Bing Hu
    Author Yao Lin
    Author Jian Li
    Author Ye Zhang
    Author Yan Wang
    Author Li Zhou
    Author Ming Fan
    Abstract Five days of integrative body-mind training (IBMT) improves attention and self-regulation in comparison with the same amount of relaxation training. This paper explores the underlying mechanisms of this finding. We measured the physiological and brain changes at rest before, during, and after 5 days of IBMT and relaxation training. During and after training, the IBMT group showed significantly better physiological reactions in heart rate, respiratory amplitude and rate, and skin conductance response (SCR) than the relaxation control. Differences in heart rate variability (HRV) and EEG power suggested greater involvement of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the IBMT group during and after training. Imaging data demonstrated stronger subgenual and adjacent ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity in the IBMT group. Frontal midline ACC theta was correlated with high-frequency HRV, suggesting control by the ACC over parasympathetic activity. These results indicate that after 5 days of training, the IBMT group shows better regulation of the ANS by a ventral midfrontal brain system than does the relaxation group. This changed state probably reflects training in the coordination of body and mind given in the IBMT but not in the control group. These results could be useful in the design of further specific interventions.
    Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    Volume 106
    Issue 22
    Pages 8865-8870
    Date Jun 2, 2009
    Journal Abbr Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A
    DOI 10.1073/pnas.0904031106
    ISSN 1091-6490
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19451642
    Accessed Tuesday, September 08, 2009 4:46:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19451642
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Autonomic Nervous System
    • Brain
    • Brain Mapping
    • Exercise
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Relaxation
    • Skin Physiological Phenomena
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Five days of integrative body-mind training (IBMT) improves attention and self-regulation in comparison with the same amount of relaxation training. This paper explores the underlying mechanisms of this finding. We measured the physiological and brain changes at rest before, during, and after 5 days of IBMT and relaxation training. During and after training, the IBMT group showed significantly better physiological reactions in heart rate, respiratory amplitude and rate, and skin conductance response (SCR) than the relaxation control. Differences in heart rate variability (HRV) and EEG power suggested greater involvement of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the IBMT group during and after training. Imaging data demonstrated stronger subgenual and adjacent ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity in the IBMT group. Frontal midline ACC theta was correlated with high-frequency HRV, suggesting control by the ACC over parasympathetic activity. These results indicate that after 5 days of training, the IBMT group shows better regulation of the ANS by a ventral midfrontal brain system than does the relaxation group. This changed state probably reflects training in the coordination of body and mind given in the IBMT but not in the control group. These results could be useful in the design of further specific interventions.

  • The effects of the transcendental meditation program on mindfulness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melissa A Tanner
    Author Fred Travis
    Author Carolyn Gaylord-King
    Author David A F Haaga
    Author Sarina Grosswald
    Author Robert H Schneider
    Abstract Mindfulness is associated with low levels of neuroticism, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as high levels of self-esteem and satisfaction with life (Brown & Ryan, 2003). As part of a 3-month randomized waitlist-controlled trial of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program on university students (N=295), we examined the impact of TM practice on mindfulness as measured by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS; Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004). A repeated measures ANOVA on total KIMS scores showed a significant timextreatment interaction, with the TM participants reporting greater increases in mindfulness than the waitlist participants. All KIMS subscales were positively intercorrelated at pretreatment, and there were no differences over time or as a function of treatment condition in subscale intercorrelations. Therefore, previously published findings of a positive correlation between subscales measuring the skills of observing and accepting-without-judgment one's inner experiences only among those with meditation experience may have reflected a self-selection effect rather than a change in the relation of these mindfulness components resulting directly from meditation practice.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 6
    Pages 574-589
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20544
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:47:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19241401
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Attention
    • Awareness
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Questionnaires
    • Students
    • Young Adult
  • The effects of the transcendental meditation program on mindfulness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Melissa A Tanner
    Author Fred Travis
    Author Carolyn Gaylord-King
    Author David A F Haaga
    Author Sarina Grosswald
    Author Robert H Schneider
    Abstract Mindfulness is associated with low levels of neuroticism, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as high levels of self-esteem and satisfaction with life (Brown & Ryan, 2003). As part of a 3-month randomized waitlist-controlled trial of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program on university students (N=295), we examined the impact of TM practice on mindfulness as measured by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS; Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004). A repeated measures ANOVA on total KIMS scores showed a significant timextreatment interaction, with the TM participants reporting greater increases in mindfulness than the waitlist participants. All KIMS subscales were positively intercorrelated at pretreatment, and there were no differences over time or as a function of treatment condition in subscale intercorrelations. Therefore, previously published findings of a positive correlation between subscales measuring the skills of observing and accepting-without-judgment one's inner experiences only among those with meditation experience may have reflected a self-selection effect rather than a change in the relation of these mindfulness components resulting directly from meditation practice.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 6
    Pages 574-589
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20544
    ISSN 1097-4679
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19241401
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:17:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19241401
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Attention
    • Awareness
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Questionnaires
    • Students
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Mindfulness is associated with low levels of neuroticism, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as high levels of self-esteem and satisfaction with life (Brown & Ryan, 2003). As part of a 3-month randomized waitlist-controlled trial of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program on university students (N=295), we examined the impact of TM practice on mindfulness as measured by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS; Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004). A repeated measures ANOVA on total KIMS scores showed a significant timextreatment interaction, with the TM participants reporting greater increases in mindfulness than the waitlist participants. All KIMS subscales were positively intercorrelated at pretreatment, and there were no differences over time or as a function of treatment condition in subscale intercorrelations. Therefore, previously published findings of a positive correlation between subscales measuring the skills of observing and accepting-without-judgment one’s inner experiences only among those with meditation experience may have reflected a self-selection effect rather than a change in the relation of these mindfulness components resulting directly from meditation practice.

  • Exploratory randomised controlled trial of a mindfulness-based weight loss intervention for women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Katy Tapper
    Author Christine Shaw
    Author Joanne Ilsley
    Author Andrew J Hill
    Author Frank W Bond
    Author Laurence Moore
    Abstract To explore the efficacy of a mindfulness-based weight loss intervention for women. Sixty-two women (ages 19-64; BMI 22.5-52.1) who were attempting to lose weight were randomised to an intervention or control condition. The former were invited to attend four 2-h workshops, the latter were asked to continue with their normal diets. Data were collected at baseline, 4 and 6 months. BMI, physical activity, mental health. At 6 months intervention participants showed significantly greater increases in physical activity compared to controls (p<.05) but no significant differences in weight loss or mental health. However, when intervention participants who reported 'never' applying the workshop principles at 6 months (n=7) were excluded, results showed both significantly greater increases in physical activity (3.1 sessions per week relative to controls, p<.05) and significantly greater reductions in BMI (0.96 relative to controls, equivalent to 2.32 kg, p<0.5). Reductions in BMI were mediated primarily by reductions in binge eating. Despite its brevity, the intervention was successful at bringing about change. Further refinements should increase its efficacy.
    Publication Appetite
    Volume 52
    Issue 2
    Pages 396-404
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr Appetite
    DOI 10.1016/j.appet.2008.11.012
    ISSN 1095-8304
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19101598
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19101598
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Awareness
    • Body Mass Index
    • Bulimia
    • Cognition
    • Emotions
    • Energy Intake
    • Feeding Behavior
    • Female
    • Humans
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Patient Selection
    • Questionnaires
    • Self Concept
    • Weight Loss
    • Young Adult
  • Religious coping is associated with the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nalini Tarakeshwar
    Author Lauren C Vanderwerker
    Author Elizabeth Paulk
    Author Michelle J Pearce
    Author Stanislav V Kasl
    Author Holly G Prigerson
    Abstract BACKGROUND: For patients confronting a life-threatening illness such as advanced cancer, religious coping can be an important factor influencing their quality of life (QOL). OBJECTIVE: The study's main purpose was to examine the association between religious coping and QOL among 170 patients with advanced cancer. Both positive religious coping (e.g., benevolent religious appraisals) and negative religious coping (e.g., anger at God) and multiple dimensions of QOL (physical, physical symptom, psychological, existential, and support) were studied. DESIGN: Structured interviews were conducted with 170 patients recruited as part of an ongoing multi-institutional longitudinal evaluation of the prevalence of mental illness and patterns of mental health service utilization in advanced cancer patients and their primary informal caregivers. MEASUREMENTS: Patients completed measures of QOL (McGill QOL questionnaire), religious coping (Brief Measure of Religious Coping [RCOPE] and Multidimensional Measure of Religion/ Spirituality), self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale), and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: Linear regression analyses revealed that after controlling for sociodemographic variables, lifetime history of depression and self-efficacy, greater use of positive religious coping was associated with better overall QOL as well as higher scores on the existential and support QOL dimensions. Greater use of positive religious coping was also related to more physical symptoms. In contrast, greater use of negative religious coping was related to poorer overall QOL and lower scores on the existential and psychological QOL dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show that religious coping plays an important role for the QOL of patients and the types of religious coping strategies used are related to better or poorer QOL.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 9
    Issue 3
    Pages 646-657
    Date Jun 2006
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2006.9.646
    ISSN 1096-6218
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16752970
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:34:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16752970
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Quality of Life
    • Regression Analysis
    • religion

    Notes:

    • Objective: The study’s main purpose was to examine the association between religious coping and quality of life (QOL) among 170 patients with advanced cancer. Conclusions: Findings show that religious coping plays an important role for the QOL of patients and the types of religious coping strategies used are related to better or poorer QOL.

  • The association between religious beliefs and mental health amongst medical students

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amir Ali Tavabi
    Author Elham Iran-Pour
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between religious beliefs (RB) and mental health (MH) among medical students alongwith assessment of correlations of RB and MH with age, gender, marital status and academic success. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried on 200 randomly selected Muslim medical students of Islamic Azad University-Tehran Medical Branch between June and July 2006. MH and RB were assessed through General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the modified validated questionnaire, respectively. Data were analyzed by statistical methods such as Independent Sample T-test, Chi-square and one-way ANOVA methods. P-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: Of a total of 200 students, 75 (37.5%) were male and 125 (62.5%) were female with mean age of 18.98 +/- 0.956 years. A statistically significant association was found between RB and MH (P=0.0001). The stronger the RB, the higher the academic success (P=0.017). Similarly a significant association of academic success was also detected with MH (P=0.000). However, there was no association of age, gender and marital status either with RB or MH. CONCLUSION: Stronger RB results in good mental health and academic progress. However, further investigations are required to achieve more reliable results.
    Publication JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
    Volume 61
    Issue 2
    Pages 135-138
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr J Pak Med Assoc
    ISSN 0030-9982
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:26:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21375160
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Educational Status
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Iran
    • ISLAM
    • Male
    • Marital Status
    • mental health
    • PERSONALITY tests
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Students, Medical
    • Young Adult
  • Knowing Through the Body: Dissociative Religious Experience in the African- and British-American Methodist Traditions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ann Taves
    Publication The Journal of Religion
    Volume 73
    Issue 2
    Pages 200-222
    Date Apr., 1993
    ISSN 00224189
    Short Title Knowing Through the Body
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1204878
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:51:29 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Apr., 1993 / Copyright © 1993 The University of Chicago Press
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • A "good death": perspectives of Muslim patients and health care providers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mohamad A Tayeb
    Author Ersan Al-Zamel
    Author Muhammed M Fareed
    Author Hesham A Abouellail
    Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Twelve "good death" principles have been identified that apply to Westerners. This study aimed to review the TFHCOP good death perception to determine its validity for Muslim patients and health care providers, and to identify and describe other components of the Muslim good death perspective. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Participants included 284 Muslims of both genders with different nationalities and careers. We used a 12-question questionnaire based on the 12 principles of the TFHCOP good death definition, followed by face-to-face interviews. We used descriptive statistics to analyze questionnaire responses. However, for new themes, we used a grounded theory approach with a "constant comparisons" method. RESULT: On average, each participant agreed on eight principles of the questionnaire. Dignity, privacy, spiritual and emotional support, access to hospice care, ability to issue advance directives, and to have time to say goodbye were the top priorities. Participants identified three main domains. The first domain was related to faith and belief. The second domain included some principles related to self-esteem and person's image to friends and family. The third domain was related to satisfaction about family security after the death of the patient. Professional role distinctions were more pronounced than were gender or nationality differences. CONCLUSION: Several aspects of "good death," as perceived by Western communities, are not recognized as being important by many Muslim patients and health care providers. Furthermore, our study introduced three novel components of good death in Muslim society.
    Publication Annals of Saudi Medicine
    Volume 30
    Issue 3
    Pages 215-221
    Date 2010 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Ann Saudi Med
    DOI 10.4103/0256-4947.62836
    ISSN 0975-4466
    Short Title A "good death"
    Accessed Sunday, May 30, 2010 11:48:56 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20427938
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Notes:

    • Identifies "good death" principles as determined by a diverse survey of Muslim interlocutors. proffers collectively agreed-upon principles relating to beliefs, community, and legacy. Introduces "uniquely Muslim" "good death" values.

  • Church Members as a Source of Informal Social Support

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert Joseph Taylor
    Author Linda M. Chatters
    Abstract Socio-demographic and religious factors were examined as predictors of the receipt of support from church members among a national sample of black Americans (n= 2,107). Among the religious variables, church attendance, church membership, subjective religiosity, and religious affiliation were all significantly related to the receipt of support. Demographic differences were apparent with men and younger respondents being more likely, while divorced respondents were less likely to receive support. Having a higher income and residency in rural areas were associated with never needing assistance from church members versus simply never receiving aid. The discussion focused on further areas of investigation for church-based support networks and their interface with family and friend networks.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 30
    Issue 2
    Pages 193-203
    Date Dec., 1988
    ISSN 0034673X
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3511355
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 4:13:40 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec., 1988 / Copyright © 1988 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Socio-demographic and religious factors were examined as predictors of the receipt of support from church members among a national sample of black Americans (n= 2,107). Among the religious variables, church attendance, church membership, subjective religiosity, and religious affiliation were all significantly related to the receipt of support.

  • Efficacy of a self-study programme to teach spiritual care

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth Johnston Taylor
    Author Iris Mamier
    Author Khaled Bahjri
    Author Triin Anton
    Author Floyd Petersen
    Abstract AIM AND OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the efficacy of a self study programme designed to teach nurses about how to talk with patients about spirituality, and to identify factors predicting this learning. Furthermore, the study investigated whether there were differences in learning between students and practicing clinicians, and between those in a religious or non-religious institution. BACKGROUND: Although USA and UK accrediting bodies mandate nurses learn how to assess and support patient spiritual health, there is a paucity of evidence to guide educators regarding how to teach spiritual care to nurses. Indeed, it is unknown if aspects of spiritual care can be taught using formal approaches. DESIGN: A pretest-posttest pre-experimental design was used to study how attitude toward spiritual care, ability to create empathic verbal responses to expressed spiritual pain, personal spiritual experience, and knowledge about communication for spiritual caregiving changed from before to after programme completion. METHODS: Study participants, 201 nursing students and RNs, independently completed the mailed self-study programme (i.e. workbook with supplemental DVD) and self-report study instruments (i.e. Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, Spiritual Care Perspective Scale-Revised, Response Empathy Scale, Communicating for Spiritual Care Test, and Information about You form). RESULTS: Significant differences were seen between the before and after scores measuring attitude, ability, spiritual experience, and knowledge. An interaction effect of time between students and registered nurses for both spiritual care attitude and personal spiritual experience was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest learning occurred for both students and RNs, regardless of whether they were at a religious institution or not. Relevance to clinical practice. These data indicate that this self-study programme was an effective approach to teach nurses about how to converse with patients about spirituality.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Nursing
    Volume 18
    Issue 8
    Pages 1131-1140
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02526.x
    ISSN 1365-2702
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:52:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19207790
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Education, Nursing, Continuing
    • Great Britain
    • Self Efficacy
    • spirituality
  • Meditators and non-meditators: EEG source imaging during resting

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shisei Tei
    Author Pascal L Faber
    Author Dietrich Lehmann
    Author Takuya Tsujiuchi
    Author Hiroaki Kumano
    Author Roberto D Pascual-Marqui
    Author Lorena R R Gianotti
    Author Kieko Kochi
    Abstract Many meditation exercises aim at increased awareness of ongoing experiences through sustained attention and at detachment, i.e., non-engaging observation of these ongoing experiences by the intent not to analyze, judge or expect anything. Long-term meditation practice is believed to generalize the ability of increased awareness and greater detachment into everyday life. We hypothesized that neuroplasticity effects of meditation (correlates of increased awareness and detachment) would be detectable in a no-task resting state. EEG recorded during resting was compared between Qigong meditators and controls. Using LORETA (low resolution electromagnetic tomography) to compute the intracerebral source locations, differences in brain activations between groups were found in the inhibitory delta EEG frequency band. In the meditators, appraisal systems were inhibited, while brain areas involved in the detection and integration of internal and external sensory information showed increased activation. This suggests that neuroplasticity effects of long-term meditation practice, subjectively described as increased awareness and greater detachment, are carried over into non-meditating states.
    Publication Brain Topography
    Volume 22
    Issue 3
    Pages 158-165
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Brain Topogr
    DOI 10.1007/s10548-009-0107-4
    ISSN 1573-6792
    Short Title Meditators and non-meditators
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19653090
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 2:58:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19653090
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • pre

    Notes:

    • Many meditation exercises aim at increased awareness of ongoing experiences through sustained attention and at detachment, i.e., non-engaging observation of these ongoing experiences by the intent not to analyze, judge or expect anything. Long-term meditation practice is believed to generalize the ability of increased awareness and greater detachment into everyday life. We hypothesized that neuroplasticity effects of meditation (correlates of increased awareness and detachment) would be detectable in a no-task resting state. EEG recorded during resting was compared between Qigong meditators and controls. Using LORETA (low resolution electromagnetic tomography) to compute the intracerebral source locations, differences in brain activations between groups were found in the inhibitory delta EEG frequency band. In the meditators, appraisal systems were inhibited, while brain areas involved in the detection and integration of internal and external sensory information showed increased activation. This suggests that neuroplasticity effects of long-term meditation practice, subjectively described as increased awareness and greater detachment, are carried over into non-meditating states.

  • Heart rate variability changes during high frequency yoga breathing and breath awareness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shirley Telles
    Author Nilkamal Singh
    Author Acharya Balkrishna
    Abstract UNLABELLED ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND Pre and post comparison after one minute of high frequency yoga breathing (HFYB) suggested that the HFYB modifies the autonomic status by increasing sympathetic modulation, but its effect during the practice was not assessed. METHODS Thirty-eight male volunteers with group average age ± S.D., 23.3 ± 4.4 years were each assessed on two separate days in two sessions, (i) HFYB and (ii) breath awareness. Each session was for 35 minutes, with 3 periods, i.e., pre (5 minutes), during HFYB or breath awareness (15 minutes) and post (5 minutes). RESULTS There was a significant decrease in NN50, pNN50 and the mean RR interval during and after HFYB and after breath awareness, compared to the respective 'pre' values (p < 0.05) (repeated measures ANOVA followed by post-hoc analysis). The LF power increased and HF power decreased during and after breath awareness and LF/HF ratio increased after breath awareness (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION The results suggest that there was reduced parasympathetic modulation during and after HFYB and increased sympathetic modulation with reduced parasympathetic modulation during and after breath awareness.
    Publication BioPsychoSocial Medicine
    Volume 5
    Pages 4
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr Biopsychosoc Med
    DOI 10.1186/1751-0759-5-4
    ISSN 1751-0759
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21486495
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 6:59:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21486495
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM

    Notes:

    • A study on the Pre and post comparison after one minute of high frequency yoga breathing (HFYB) suggested that the HFYB modifies the autonomic status by increasing sympathetic modulation, but its effect during the practice was not assessed. Thirty-eight male volunteers with group average age ± S.D., 23.3 ± 4.4 years were each assessed on two separate days in two sessions, (i) HFYB and (ii) breath awareness. Each session was for 35 minutes, with 3 periods, i.e., pre (5 minutes), during HFYB or breath awareness (15 minutes) and post (5 minutes). Results showed that there was a significant decrease in NN50, pNN50 and the mean RR interval during and after HFYB and after breath awareness, compared to the respective 'pre' values (p < 0.05) (repeated measures ANOVA followed by post-hoc analysis). The LF power increased and HF power decreased during and after breath awareness and LF/HF ratio increased after breath awareness (p < 0.05). The results suggest that there was reduced parasympathetic modulation during and after HFYB and increased sympathetic modulation with reduced parasympathetic modulation during and after breath awareness.

  • Effect of one week of yoga on function and severity in rheumatoid arthritis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shirley Telles
    Author Kalkuni V Naveen
    Author Vaishali Gaur
    Author Acharya Balkrishna
    Abstract UNLABELLED ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that yoga practice improved the hand grip strength in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). FINDINGS Sixty-four participants with RA (group average age ± S.D., 46.5 ± 9.6 years; 47 females) were assessed at the beginning and end of a one week yoga program. The Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), hand grip strength, rheumatoid factor, and C-reactive protein levels were assessed on the first and last day and compared using a t-test for paired data. All participants showed reduced disability scores of the HAQ and rheumatoid factor levels, with an increase in bilateral hand grip strength in male participants alone. CONCLUSIONS This single group study indicated that a brief intensive yoga program was beneficial in RA, with decreased disability, better functionality and changes in the rheumatoid factor levels suggesting improvement.
    Publication BMC Research Notes
    Volume 4
    Pages 118
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr BMC Res Notes
    DOI 10.1186/1756-0500-4-118
    ISSN 1756-0500
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21481278
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 6:59:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21481278
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
  • Post traumatic stress symptoms and heart rate variability in Bihar flood survivors following yoga: a randomized controlled study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shirley Telles
    Author Nilkamal Singh
    Author Meesha Joshi
    Author Acharya Balkrishna
    Abstract BACKGROUND: An earlier study showed that a week of yoga practice was useful in stress management after a natural calamity. Due to heavy rain and a rift on the banks of the Kosi river, in the state of Bihar in north India, there were floods with loss of life and property. A week of yoga practice was given to the survivors a month after the event and the effect was assessed. METHODS: Twenty-two volunteers (group average age +/- S.D, 31.5 +/- 7.5 years; all of them were males) were randomly assigned to two groups, yoga and a non-yoga wait-list control group. The yoga group practiced yoga for an hour daily while the control group continued with their routine activities. Both groups' heart rate variability, breath rate, and four symptoms of emotional distress using visual analog scales, were assessed on the first and eighth day of the program. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in sadness in the yoga group (p < 0.05, paired t-test, post data compared to pre) and an increase in anxiety in the control group (p < 0.05, paired t-test, post data compared to pre). CONCLUSIONS: A week of yoga can reduce feelings of sadness and possibly prevent an increase in anxiety in flood survivors a month after the calamity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials Registry of India: CTRI/2009/091/000285.
    Publication BMC Psychiatry
    Volume 10
    Pages 18
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr BMC Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1186/1471-244X-10-18
    ISSN 1471-244X
    Short Title Post traumatic stress symptoms and heart rate variability in Bihar flood survivors following yoga
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:15:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20193089
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Effect of a yoga practice session and a yoga theory session on state anxiety

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shirley Telles
    Author Vaishali Gaur
    Author Acharya Balkrishna
    Abstract Yoga techniques practiced for varying durations have been shown to reduce state anxiety. In this study, there were 300 naive-to-yoga persons of both sexes who were attending a yoga therapy center in north India for stress relief as day visitors and were not residing at the center. They were assigned to two groups, yoga practice and yoga theory, and their state anxiety was assessed before and after a 2-hr. yoga session. A significant reduction in scores on state anxiety was found in the yoga practice group (14.7% decrease), as well as in the yoga theory group (3.4% decrease). The difference in scores following the sessions was statistically significant. Hence, yoga practice as well as learning about theoretical aspects of yoga appear to reduce state anxiety, with a greater reduction following yoga practice.
    Publication Perceptual and Motor Skills
    Volume 109
    Issue 3
    Pages 924-930
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Percept Mot Skills
    ISSN 0031-5125
    Accessed Thursday, March 04, 2010 8:49:16 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20178291
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Short term health impact of a yoga and diet change program on obesity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shirley Telles
    Author Visweswaraiah K Naveen
    Author Acharya Balkrishna
    Author Sanjay Kumar
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Obese persons often find physical activity difficult. The effects of a yoga and diet change program, emphasizing breathing techniques practiced while seated, was assessed in obese persons. MATERIAL/METHODS: A single group of 47 persons were assessed on the first and last day of a yoga and diet change program, with 6 days of the intervention between assessments. The assessments were: body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumferences, mid-arm circumference, body composition, hand grip strength, postural stability, serum lipid profile and fasting serum leptin levels. Participants practiced yoga for 5 hours every day and had a low fat, high fiber, vegetarian diet. Last and first day data were compared using a t-test for paired data. RESULTS: Following the 6-day residential program, participants showed a decrease in BMI (1.6 percent), waist and hip circumferences, fat-free mass, total cholesterol (7.7 percent decrease), high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (8.7 percent decrease), fasting serum leptin levels (44.2 percent decrease) and an increase in postural stability and hand grip strength (p<0.05, all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: A 6-day yoga and diet change program decreased the BMI and the fat-free mass. Total cholesterol also decreased due to reduced HDL levels. This suggests that a brief, intensive yoga program with a change in diet can pose certain risks. Benefits seen were better postural stability, grip strength (though a 'practice effect' was not ruled out), reduced waist and hip circumferences and a decrease in serum leptin levels.
    Publication Medical Science Monitor: International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages CR35-40
    Date Jan 2010
    Journal Abbr Med. Sci. Monit
    ISSN 1643-3750
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 11:30:42 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20037492
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Effect of yoga on musculoskeletal discomfort and motor functions in professional computer users

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shirley Telles
    Author Manoj Dash
    Author K V Naveen
    Abstract The self-rated musculoskeletal discomfort, hand grip strength, tapping speed, and low back and hamstring flexibility (based on a sit and reach task) were assessed in 291 professional computer users. They were then randomized as Yoga (YG; n=146) and Wait-list control (WL; n=145) groups. Follow-up assessments for both groups were after 60 days during which the YG group practiced yoga for 60 minutes daily, for 5 days in a week. The WL group spent the same time in their usual recreational activities. At the end of 60 days, the YG group (n=62) showed a significant decrease in the frequency, intensity and degree of interference due to musculoskeletal discomfort, an increase in bilateral hand grip strength, the right hand tapping speed, and low back and hamstring flexibility (repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc analysis with Bonferroni adjustment). In contrast, the WL group (n=56) showed an increase in musculoskeletal discomfort and a decrease in left hand tapping speed. The results suggest that yoga practice is a useful addition to the routine of professional computer users.
    Publication Work (Reading, Mass.)
    Volume 33
    Issue 3
    Pages 297-306
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Work
    DOI 10.3233/WOR-2009-0877
    ISSN 1051-9815
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:39:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19759428
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Computers
    • Female
    • Hand Strength
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Motor Activity
    • Muscle Fatigue
    • Occupational Diseases
    • Pain
    • Pain Measurement
    • Range of Motion, Articular
    • Treatment Outcome
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • The self-rated musculoskeletal discomfort, hand grip strength, tapping speed, and low back and hamstring flexibility (based on a sit and reach task) were assessed in 291 professional computer users. They were then randomized as Yoga (YG; n=146) and Wait-list control (WL; n=145) groups. Follow-up assessments for both groups were after 60 days during which the YG group practiced yoga for 60 minutes daily, for 5 days in a week. The WL group spent the same time in their usual recreational activities. At the end of 60 days, the YG group (n=62) showed a significant decrease in the frequency, intensity and degree of interference due to musculoskeletal discomfort, an increase in bilateral hand grip strength, the right hand tapping speed, and low back and hamstring flexibility (repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc analysis with Bonferroni adjustment). In contrast, the WL group (n=56) showed an increase in musculoskeletal discomfort and a decrease in left hand tapping speed. The results suggest that yoga practice is a useful addition to the routine of professional computer users.

  • Effects of scheduled qigong exercise on pupils' well-being, self-image, distress, and stress

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yvonne Terjestam
    Author John Jouper
    Author Caroline Johansson
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Psychologic problems is increasing among pupils and has become a major problem in Sweden as well as in other Western countries. The aim of this study was to explore whether scheduled qigong exercise could have an effect on well-being at school, psychologic distress, self-image, and general stress. SUBJECTS: Pupils, 13-14 years, were assigned to either a qigong group or a control group. INTERVENTION: The qigong group had scheduled qigong 2 times a week for 8 weeks. MEASURES: Self-reported well-being at school, psychologic distress, self-image, and stress were measured pre- and postintervention. RESULTS: The control group had reduced well-being at school during the semester and the qigong group was stable. The qigong group reduced psychologic distress and stress, and had a tendency to improved self-image, whereas no changes were found in the control group. Self-image explains 47% (R(2) = 0.47) of well-being at school, and stress explains 29% (R(2) = 0.29) of psychologic distress. Conclusions: Scheduled qigong, meditative movement, is a possible way to improve well-being at school.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 16
    Issue 9
    Pages 939-944
    Date Sep 2010
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2009.0405
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:50:25 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20738165
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • Virginity pledgers are just as likely as matched nonpledgers to report premarital intercourse.

    Type Journal Article
    Author J. Thomas
    Abstract Reviews the article, Patient teenagers? A comparison of the sexual behavior of virginity pledgers and matched nonpledgers by J. E. Rosenbaum (2009). Youth who took a virginity pledge reported a similar level of sexual intercourse to that of closely matched nonpledging youth in a longitudinal study that assessed outcomes five years after pledging. Three-fourths of both pledgers and nonpledgers had had intercourse by the five-year follow-up, and the mean age at first sex for both groups was 21. The researcher points out that this study has several possible limitations. At Wave 1, the matched sample was more religious and sexually conservative than the general adolescent population, and consequently at Wave 3, the sample reported more conservative sexual behavior than did most adolescents. Additionally, pledgers may have underreported their sexual activity, and some youth classifi ed as nonpledgers at Wave 2 reported having taken a pledge at the last interview. Furthermore, the analysis did not assess whether taking a pledge had any causal association with later sexual activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
    Publication Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
    Volume 41
    Issue 1
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1363/4106309
    ISSN 1538-6341
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent Pregnancy
    • matched nonpledgers
    • patient teenagers
    • Premarital Intercourse
    • Psychosexual Behavior
    • Sexual behavior
    • SEXUAL intercourse
    • Sexual Intercourse (Human)
    • Virginity
    • virginity pledgers
  • Self-transcendence, spiritual well-being, and spiritual practices of women with breast cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeani C Thomas
    Author Mattie Burton
    Author Mary T Quinn Griffin
    Author Joyce J Fitzpatrick
    Abstract As women recover from the experience of breast cancer and its treatment, it is important for them to find meaning in their lives and to understand their experiences from a holistic perspective. Purpose: This study was designed to provide additional information about how women and their experiences recovering from breast cancer. The specific purpose was to describe the relationship between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being, and to identify the spiritual practices used by older women recovering from breast cancer. The theoretical framework for this study was Reed's theory of self-transcendence. Sample: A total of 87 community-residing women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer within the past 5 years participated in the study. Results: There was a significant positive relationship between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being. The women used a mean of 9.72 spiritual practices with the most frequent being exercise, visiting a house of worship, and praying alone. Conclusions: The study results provide further support for the theory of self-transcendence. Future research recommendations are to expand the research to include a larger, more diverse group of women of all ages and backgrounds who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 28
    Issue 2
    Pages 115-122
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0898010109358766
    ISSN 1552-5724
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:46:56 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20644178
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM

    Notes:

    • This study was designed to provide additional information about how women and their experiences recovering from breast cancer. The specific purpose was to describe the relationship between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being, and to identify the spiritual practices used by older women recovering from breast cancer. The theoretical framework for this study was Reed’s theory of self-transcendence.

  • The effects of a manualized group-psychotherapy intervention on client God images and attachment to God: A pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author MJ Thomas
    Author GL Moriarty
    Author EB Davis
    Author EL Anderson
    Abstract The goal of this pilot study was to examine the effects of an 8-week, manualized, outpatient group-psychotherapy intervention on client god images and attachment to God. Participants were 26 adults who reported a Christian religious affiliation and who sought religiously based, group-psychotherapy treatment for difficulties in their emotional experience of God (i.e., negative god images). The treatment protocol reflected a psychotherapy-integrationist approach to treating god-image difficulties. Treatment chiefly included psychoeducational, dynamic-interpersonal, and cognitive interventions, although it also included allegorical-bibliotherapy and art/music interventions. The pre- and post-test questionnaire included the Attachment to God Inventory (R. Beck & McDonald, 2004) and a brief God adjective-checklist, along with several open-ended questions. Participants reported experiencing adaptive shifts in their god images and attachment to God. Specifically, when pre- and post-questionnaire ratings were compared, they reported experiencing God emotionally as more accepting, intimate, and supportive and as less disapproving, distant, and harsh. In addition, they reported experiencing significantly both less attachment anxiety with God and less attachment avoidance with God. Furthermore, they reported experiencing more congruence between their emotional experience of God (god images) and their theological beliefs about God (god concepts). The interventions that were deemed the most therapeutically effective were the allegorical-bibliotherapy and the cognitive-restructuring interventions. Clinical implications and limitations are discussed.
    Publication JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY AND THEOLOGY
    Volume 39
    Issue 1
    Pages 44-58
    Date SPR 2011
    ISSN 0091-6471
    Short Title THE EFFECTS OF A MANUALIZED GROUP-PSYCHOTHERAPY INTERVENTION ON CLIENT GOD IMAGES AND ATTACHMENT TO GOD
    Accessed Thursday, June 09, 2011 6:25:52 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
  • Bodies at Motion and at Rest

    Type Book
    Author Thomas Lynch
    Place New York
    Publisher W.W. Nortnon & Company
    Date 2001
    Date Added Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:59:25 PM
    Modified Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:59:25 PM
  • Effects of a Brief, Comprehensive, Yoga-Based Program on Quality of Life and Biometric Measures in an Employee Population: A Pilot Study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Barbara S. Thomley
    Author Siddiqi H. Ray
    Author Stephen S. Cha
    Author Brent A. Bauer
    Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to determine whether a comprehensive, yoga-based wellness program could positively affect multiple markers of health and wellness in an employee population.Design Self-selected employees who enrolled in a new wellness class were invited to participate in a yoga-based wellness program. Participants met six days per week (Monday through Saturday) at 5:10 am. Sessions lasted for at least one hour, and the program was six weeks long. Each session consisted of power yoga interwoven with philosophical concepts and instruction about the benefits of mindfulness, breath, and meditation. Certain classes each week incorporated large and small group sharing, journal writing, and mindful eating exercises. Main outcome measures were biometric measures (height, weight, blood pressure, flexibility, body fat) and quality-of-life measures (physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being).Results Fifty-nine employees were invited to join the program; 50 consented to participate, of which 37 (74%) attended more than 90% of classes. Participant age ranged from 24 to 76 years. Statistically significant improvements were observed in weight (-4.84 ± 5.24 kg; P < .001), diastolic blood pressure (-2.66 ±8.31 mm/Hg; P = .03), flexibility score (relative change 11% ± 20.92; P <.001), body fat percentage (-1.94 ±2.68; P < .001), and overall quality of life (linear analog self-assessment [LASA] score 3.73 ± 8.11; P = .03).Conclusions This pilot study suggests that a yoga-based, comprehensive wellness program is both feasible and efficacious in creating positive, short-term improvements in multiple domains of health and wellness for a population of employees.
    Publication EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing
    Volume 7
    Issue 1
    Pages 27-29
    Date January
    DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2010.10.004
    ISSN 1550-8307
    Short Title Effects of a Brief, Comprehensive, Yoga-Based Program on Quality of Life and Biometric Measures in an Employee Population
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 6:55:11 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • employee health
    • Health promotion
    • Meditation
    • yoga
  • Distance delivery of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: Project UPLIFT

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nancy J. Thompson
    Author Elizabeth Reisinger Walker
    Author Natasha Obolensky
    Author Ashley Winning
    Author Christina Barmon
    Author Colleen DiIorio
    Author Michael T. Compton
    Abstract This study evaluated the efficacy of a newly developed, home-based depression intervention for people with epilepsy. Based on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), the eight-session, weekly intervention was designed for group delivery via the Internet or telephone. Forty participants were randomly assigned to intervention or waitlist. Depressive symptoms and other outcomes were measured at baseline, after intervening in the intervention group (~ 8 weeks), and after intervening in the waitlist group (~ 16 weeks). Depressive symptoms decreased significantly more in the intervention group than the waitlist group; Internet and telephone did not differ. This effect persisted over the 8 weeks when those waitlisted received the intervention. Knowledge/skills increased significantly more in the intervention than the waitlist group. All other changes, though not significant, were in the expected direction. Findings indicate that distance delivery of group MBCT can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression in people with epilepsy. Directions for future research are proposed.
    Publication Epilepsy & Behavior
    Volume 19
    Issue 3
    Pages 247-254
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.07.031
    ISSN 1525-5050
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WDT-512DT02-1/2/5b396892e9a3c6b160754f8c2af67aea
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:35:46 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive behavioral therapy
    • Depression
    • Distance delivery
    • Epilepsy
    • Mindfulness
  • Peaceful Play Program: Yoga for hematology/oncology inpatient children and their parents

    Type Journal Article
    Author M. Thygeson
    Author M.C. Hooke
    Abstract Objective Yoga is being used increasingly in the medical field as a healing modality for adult patients experiencing serious illness and for those undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a single 45-min yoga intervention on pediatric hematology/oncology inpatients and their parents facing a life-threatening disease and hospitalization.Methods The study included a cohort of 16 patients, ages 7-16, who were receiving inpatient treatment for cancer or blood disorders. There were 6 females and 10 males; 11 were ages 7-11, and 5 were ages 13-16. The parent cohort included 33 parents of children receiving inpatient treatment for cancer. There were 23 mothers and 10 fathers. The Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to measure subjects' anxiety and a general sense of well-being. Measurements were administered immediately before and after the yoga class. The adult version was used for the adolescents and the parents; and the child version was used for the children.Results In the child group (n=11), a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test showed that the pre-class STAI score (Md=31) evidenced little change. In the adolescent group (n=5), anxiety and sense of well-being significantly improved with the median STAI score decreasing from pre-class (Md=41) to post-class (Md=28), z=-2.03, p=0.042. In the parent cohort (n=33), STAI scores showed a decrease in anxiety and increase in well-being, with the median STAI score decreasing from pre-class (Md=45) to post-class (Md=30) z=-5.00, p<.001. An open-ended question administered at the end of class reflected a greatly improved sense of relaxation and ease.Conclusion Yoga is a feasible intervention in a hospital setting. Children, adolescents and parents were enthusiastic about class participation. There was a significant improvement in the sense of well-being in adolescents and parents, while well-being in children remained constant. The majority of participants enjoyed yoga as a family activity. Parents reported how meaningful it was to engage in a healthy activity with their ill child. As a mind body experience, adolescent patients appeared to be more sensitive to the benefits of yoga than the younger patients. This may be due to developmental differences and merits further investigation. Yoga is a beneficial activity for parents, who are stressed by the hospitalization of their chronically ill child.
    Publication European Journal of Integrative Medicine
    Volume 1
    Issue 4
    Pages 207-208
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.eujim.2009.08.121
    ISSN 1876-3820
    Short Title Peaceful Play Program
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B984N-4XNT3MD-1V/2/a2485ead30aae13f5054ee6b2fafeded
    Accessed Wednesday, December 30, 2009 12:09:16 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Peaceful play yoga: serenity and balance for children with cancer and their parents

    Type Journal Article
    Author Megan V Thygeson
    Author Mary C Hooke
    Author Jeanine Clapsaddle
    Author Angela Robbins
    Author Kristin Moquist
    Abstract Children with a cancer diagnosis experience symptom distress, including anxiety, because of the disease and its treatment. Parents experience stress and anxiety because of the uncertainty of the disease as well as the suffering of their children. Yoga is a complementary intervention that has physiological and psychological benefits in healthy children and healthy and chronically ill adults. On an inpatient hematology/oncology unit, 11 children aged 6 to 12 years, 5 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, and 33 parents participated in a single yoga session tailored to the needs and abilities of the patients and parents. Sense of well-being pre- and postclass was measured with the Spielberger State Anxiety Scale. Children had normal anxiety scores preclass that did not change. Adolescents and parents experienced significant decreases in anxiety scores, and all cohorts gave positive feedback about the experience. The authors conclude that yoga is a feasible intervention for this population and is beneficial to adolescents and parents.
    Publication Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing: Official Journal of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses
    Volume 27
    Issue 5
    Pages 276-284
    Date 2010 Sep-Oct
    Journal Abbr J Pediatr Oncol Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/1043454210363478
    ISSN 1532-8457
    Short Title Peaceful play yoga
    Accessed Wednesday, October 06, 2010 8:52:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20639346
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:17 AM
  • Measuring satisfaction with religiosity and its contribution to the Personal Well-Being Index in a Muslim sample.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Habib Tiliouine
    Abstract This research aims to explore Satisfaction with Religiosity/Spirituality (SR/S) in a large sample of Muslims (1,388 males, 1,172 females) from Algeria. It also provides empirical evidence for the addition of a SR/S Domain item to the Personal Well-Being Index (PWI). A questionnaire dealing with satisfaction with a range of personal and societal domains was used. Results support previous findings (Wills Journal of Happiness Studies 10(1):49–69, 2009), and are in agreement with the recommendations of the International Well-being Group (Group discussion, 2006; IWG 2006). The new domain item makes a statistically significant—albeit a slight—contribution in predicting general satisfaction with life (SWL). Notably, higher satisfaction with religiosity/spirituality is found in women compared to men, married individuals compared to single ones, and inhabitants of the Sahara desert locations compared to people from other regions of Algeria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Applied Research in Quality of Life
    Volume 4
    Issue 1
    Pages 91-108
    Date March 2009
    Series Religion/Spirituality and Quality of Life
    DOI 10.1007/s11482-009-9074-x
    ISSN 1871-2584
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Muslim
    • MUSLIMS
    • Personal Well–Being Index
    • religiosity
    • Satisfaction
    • satisfaction with religiosity
    • satisfaction with spirituality
    • spirituality
    • well being
  • Associations of religiousness with 12-month prevalence of drug use and drug-related sex.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Loren Toussaint
    Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that religious affiliation, attendance at religious services, and religious importance would be negatively associated with substance use and sexual behavior related to substance use. An additional hypothesis was tested to determine if age-related differences in the magnitude of these associations was present. Data from the National Survey of Family Growth were utilized to examine these hypotheses in 12,571 women and men. Results showed expected associations between religiousness and substance use and sexual behavior. No age differences in the magnitude of these associations were identified. Religiousness may offer protection from health risks, and faith-based public health efforts would do well to continue to develop education for both young and middle age individuals that incorporate key aspects of their faith and religious beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
    Volume 7
    Issue 2
    Pages 311-323
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s11469-008-9171-3
    ISSN 1557-1874
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • attendance
    • drug related sex
    • Drug Usage
    • drug use
    • Psychosexual Behavior
    • religious affiliation
    • Religious Beliefs
    • religious services
    • Religiousness
    • Sexual behavior
    • Sexuality
    • substance use
  • Do spirituality and faith make a difference? Report from the Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study Group

    Type Journal Article
    Author Luzia Travado
    Author Luigi Grassi
    Author Francisco Gil
    Author Cristina Martins
    Author Cidália Ventura
    Author Joana Bairradas
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: In the last decade, some attention has been given to spirituality and faith and their role in cancer patients' coping. Few data are available about spirituality among cancer patients in Southern European countries, which have a big tradition of spirituality, namely, the Catholic religion. As part of a more general investigation (Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study--SEPOS), the aim of this study was to examine the effect of spirituality in molding psychosocial implications in Southern European cancer patients. METHOD: A convenience sample of 323 outpatients with a diagnosis of cancer between 6 to 18 months, a good performance status (Karnofsky Performance Status > 80), and no cognitive deficits or central nervous system (CNS) involvement by disease were approached in university and affiliated cancer centers in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland (Italian speaking area). Each patient was evaluated for spirituality (Visual Analog Scale 0-10), psychological morbidity (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale--HADS), coping strategies (Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer--Mini-MAC) and concerns about illness (Cancer Worries Inventory--CWI). RESULTS. The majority of patients (79.3%) referred to being supported by their spirituality/faith throughout their illness. Significant differences were found between the spirituality and non-spirituality groups (p ≤ 0.01) in terms of education, coping styles, and psychological morbidity. Spirituality was significantly correlated with fighting spirit (r = -0.27), fatalism (r = 0.50), and avoidance (r = 0.23) coping styles and negatively correlated with education (r = -0.25), depression (r = -0.22) and HAD total (r = -0.17). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Spirituality is frequent among Southern European cancer patients with lower education and seems to play some protective role towards psychological morbidity, specifically depression. Further studies should examine this trend in Southern European cancer patients.
    Publication Palliative & Supportive Care
    Volume 8
    Issue 4
    Pages 405-413
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Palliat Support Care
    DOI 10.1017/S147895151000026X
    ISSN 1478-9523
    Short Title Do spirituality and faith make a difference?
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:05:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20875203
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM

    Notes:

    • The aim of this study was to examine the effect of spirituality in molding psychosocial implications in Southern European cancer patients.

  • Focused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending: Categories to organize meditations from Vedic, Buddhist and Chinese traditions

    Type Journal Article
    Author Fred Travis
    Author Jonathan Shear
    Abstract This paper proposes a third meditation-category--automatic self-transcending--to extend the dichotomy of focused attention and open monitoring proposed by Lutz. Automatic self-transcending includes techniques designed to transcend their own activity. This contrasts with focused attention, which keeps attention focused on an object; and open monitoring, which keeps attention involved in the monitoring process. Each category was assigned EEG bands, based on reported brain patterns during mental tasks, and meditations were categorized based on their reported EEG. Focused attention, characterized by beta/gamma activity, included meditations from Tibetan Buddhist, Buddhist, and Chinese traditions. Open monitoring, characterized by theta activity, included meditations from Buddhist, Chinese, and Vedic traditions. Automatic self-transcending, characterized by alpha1 activity, included meditations from Vedic and Chinese traditions. Between categories, the included meditations differed in focus, subject/object relation, and procedures. These findings shed light on the common mistake of averaging meditations together to determine mechanisms or clinical effects.
    Publication Consciousness and Cognition
    Volume 19
    Issue 4
    Pages 1110-1118
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Conscious Cogn
    DOI 10.1016/j.concog.2010.01.007
    ISSN 1090-2376
    Short Title Focused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:58:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20167507
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
  • Reply to Josipovic: Duality and non-duality in meditation research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Frederick Travis
    Author Jonathan Shear
    Abstract We agree with Josipovic that a fundamental differentiating feature of meditation techniques is whether they remain within the dualistic subject-object cognitive structure, or they transcend this structure to reveal an underlying level of non-dual awareness. Further discussion is needed to delineate the basic non-dual experience in meditation, where all phenomenal content is absent, from the more advanced experience of non-duality in daily life, where phenomenal content is obviously present as well. In this discussion, it is important to recognize that the experiencer-object relation makes the experience dual or non-dual, rather than the nature of the object experienced.
    Publication Consciousness and Cognition
    Volume 19
    Issue 4
    Pages 1122-1123
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.concog.2010.04.003
    ISSN 1053-8100
    Short Title Reply to Josipovic
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:05:59 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:46 AM

    Tags:

    • Automatic self-transcending
    • focus attention
    • Meditation
    • Non-dual experiences
    • Open monitoring
  • Effects of Transcendental Meditation practice on brain functioning and stress reactivity in college students

    Type Journal Article
    Author Fred Travis
    Author David A F Haaga
    Author John Hagelin
    Author Melissa Tanner
    Author Sanford Nidich
    Author Carolyn Gaylord-King
    Author Sarina Grosswald
    Author Maxwell Rainforth
    Author Robert H Schneider
    Abstract This randomized controlled trial investigated effects of Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice on Brain Integration Scale scores (broadband frontal coherence, power ratios, and preparatory brain responses), electrodermal habituation to 85-dB tones, sleepiness, heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and P300 latencies in 50 college students. After pretest, students were randomly assigned to learn TM immediately or learn after the 10-week posttest. There were no significant pretest group differences. A MANOVA of students with complete data (N=38) yielded significant group vs treatment interactions for Brain Integration Scale scores, sleepiness, and habituation rates (all p<.007). Post hoc analyses revealed significant increases in Brain Integration Scale scores for Immediate-start students but decreases in Delayed-start students; significant reductions in sleepiness in Immediate-start students with no change in Delayed-start students; and no changes in habituation rates in Immediate-start students, but significant increases in Delayed-start students. These data support the value of TM practice for college students.
    Publication International Journal of Psychophysiology: Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
    Volume 71
    Issue 2
    Pages 170-176
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr Int J Psychophysiol
    DOI 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.09.007
    ISSN 1872-7697
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18854202
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:23:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18854202
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Acoustic Stimulation
    • Adult
    • Brain
    • Electroencephalography
    • Event-Related Potentials, P300
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Galvanic Skin Response
    • Heart Rate
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Photic Stimulation
    • Reaction Time
    • Retrospective Studies
    • Statistics as Topic
    • Stress, Psychological
    • Students
    • Time Factors
    • Universities
    • Young Adult
  • The potential impact of mindfulness on exposure and extinction learning in anxiety disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael Treanor
    Abstract <p><br/>Mindfulness based approaches have shown promise in the treatment of various anxiety disorders. However, further research is needed to more precisely elucidate mechanisms of action through which mindfulness practice may enhance treatment for anxiety. Given centrality of exposure-based procedures in the treatment of anxiety, it is important to consider ways in which mindfulness may affect exposure and extinction processes. In fact, numerous findings in the basic science of extinction point to the possible ways in which mindfulness may facilitate extinction learning. The present paper aims to critically review the literature surrounding mindfulness and extinction learning in order to more fully explore the ways in which mindfulness-based treatments may positively impact exposure and extinction processes in the treatment of anxiety disorders. This will provide a unique synthesis of newer, acceptance-based behavior therapies with established principles of effective behavioral treatments.</p>
    Publication Clinical Psychology Review
    Volume 31
    Issue 4
    Pages 617-625
    Date June 2011
    DOI 16/j.cpr.2011.02.003
    ISSN 0272-7358
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735811000286
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:31:51 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:12 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • Exposure
    • Extinction
    • Mindfulness
  • Disability, spiritual beliefs and the church: the experiences of adults with disabilities and family members

    Type Journal Article
    Author Linda L Treloar
    Abstract AIMS: This paper reports the findings of a qualitative interpretive study that explored how people with disabilities and family members use their spiritual beliefs to establish meaning for disability, and to respond to the challenges of lived experience with disability. The participants' perceptions of the evangelical Christian church's influence on their spiritual experiences related to disability suggest recommendations for improved integration by the church. Applications are drawn for helping professionals and religious leaders who provide holistic care. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: Although there is a well-established literature on coping in families with disabled children, little is known about how people use spiritual beliefs to establish meaning for and respond to life with disability. Even less is known about how people with a particular set of shared spiritual beliefs make meaning for lived experience with disability. DESIGN/METHODS: The author interviewed 30 persons, comprising two major groups: 13 parents of children with mixed developmental disabilities and nine adults with physical disabilities. Predominantly white, the participants lived in a south-western metropolitan area in the United States of America (USA) in 1998. FINDINGS: Trial or difficulty contributed to spiritual challenge, the breaking of self, reliance on God, and strengthened faith in God. The participants chose to live with thankfulness and joy despite difficulties common to experience with disability. The participants' spiritual beliefs stabilized their lives, providing meaning for the experience of disability, assistance with coping and other benefits. The participants' recommendations include increased assistance by the church in promoting theological understanding of disability, and religious support using a continuing model of caring. CONCLUSIONS: Although the study design limits the generalizability of the findings, applications can be drawn for helping professionals and religious leaders who provide holistic care
    Publication Journal of Advanced Nursing
    Volume 40
    Issue 5
    Pages 594-603
    Date Dec 2002
    Journal Abbr J Adv Nurs
    ISSN 0309-2402
    Short Title Disability, spiritual beliefs and the church
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12437609
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:56:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12437609
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Christianity
    • Clergy
    • Disabled Persons
    • Female
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Models, Psychological
    • Nurse's Role
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Parents
    • Pastoral Care
    • Religion and Psychology
    • social support
    • Southwestern United States
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This paper reports the findings of a qualitative interpretive study that explored how people with disabilities and family members use their spiritual beliefs to establish meaning for disability, and to respond to the challenges of lived experience with disability.

  • Minds and Gods: The Cognitive Foundations of Religion

    Type Book
    Author Todd Tremlin
    Publisher Oxford University Press
    Date 2006-03-02
    ISBN 0195305345
    Short Title Minds and Gods
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Around the world and throughout history, in cultures as diverse as ancient Mesopotamia and modern America, human beings have been compelled by belief in gods and developed complex religions around them. But why? What makes belief in supernatural beings so widespread? And why are the gods of so many different people so similar in nature? This provocative book explains the origins and persistence of religious ideas by looking through the lens of science at the common structures and functions of human thought.

      The first general introduction to the “cognitive science of religion,” Minds and Gods presents the major themes, theories, and thinkers involved in this revolutionary new approach to human religiosity. Arguing that we cannot understand what we think until we first understand how we think, the book sets out to study the evolutionary forces that modeled the modern human mind and continue to shape our ideas and actions today. Todd Tremlin details many of the adapted features of the brain -- illustrating their operation with examples of everyday human behavior -- and shows how mental endowments inherited from our ancestral past lead many people to naturally entertain religious ideas. In short, belief in gods and the social formation of religion have their genesis in biology, in powerful cognitive processes that all humans share.

      In the course of illuminating the nature of religion, this book also sheds light on human nature: why we think we do the things we do and how the reasons for these things are so often hidden from view. This discussion ranges broadly across recent scientific findings in areas such as paleoanthropology, primate studies, evolutionary psychology, early brain development, and cultural transmission. While these subjects are complex, the story is told here in a conversational style that is engaging, jargon free, and accessible to all readers. With Minds and Gods, Tremlin offers a roadmap to a fascinating and growing field of study, one that is sure to generate interest and debate and provide readers with a better understanding of themselves and their beliefs.

  • Religious coping and physiological, psychological, social, and spiritual outcomes in patients with HIV/AIDS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kelly M. Trevino
    Author Kenneth I. Pargament
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Anthony C. Leonard
    Author June Hahn
    Author Carol Ann Caprini-Faigin
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Abstract The present study investigated the relationships between positive religious coping (e.g., seeking spiritual support) and spiritual struggle (e.g., anger at God) versus viral load, CD4 count, quality of life, HIV symptoms, depression, self-esteem, social support, and spiritual wellbeing in 429 patients with HIV/AIDS. Data were collected through patient interview and chart review at baseline and 12–18 months later from four clinical sites. At baseline, positive religious coping was associated with positive outcomes while spiritual struggle was associated with negative outcomes. In addition, high levels of positive religious coping and low levels of spiritual struggle were associated with small but significant improvements over time. These results have implications for assessing religious coping and designing interventions targeting spiritual struggle in patients with HIV/AIDS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication AIDS and Behavior
    Volume 14
    Issue 2
    Pages 379-389
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1007/s10461-007-9332-6
    ISSN 1090-7165
    Short Title Religious coping and physiological, psychological, social, and spiritual outcomes in patients with HIV/AIDS
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:28:05 PM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • AIDS
    • Coping Behavior
    • HIV
    • HIV patients
    • longitudinal findings
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • PATIENTS
    • physiological outcomes
    • Quality of Life
    • Religious Beliefs
    • Religious Coping
    • Self Esteem
    • social outcomes
    • social support
    • spiritual outcomes
    • spiritual wellbeing
    • well being

    Notes:

    • The present study investigated the relationships between positive religious coping (e.g., seeking spiritual support) and spiritual struggle (e.g., anger at God) versus viral load, CD4 count, quality of life, HIV symptoms, depression, self-esteem, social support, and spiritual wellbeing in 429 patients with HIV/AIDS. Data were collected through patient interview and chart review at baseline and 12–18 months later from four clinical sites.

  • Changes in spirituality among ayahuasca ceremony novice participants

    Type Journal Article
    Author Stephen Trichter
    Author Jon Klimo
    Author Stanley Krippner
    Abstract Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant brew from the Amazon basin used as part of healing ceremonies by the local indigenous people of the region for centuries, is now being consumed by growing numbers of people throughout the world. Anecdotal evidence and previous research suggest that there are spiritual effects experienced among participants who take part in ayahuasca ceremonies. The current study examined whether novice participants' spirituality was affected through participation in an ayahuasca ceremony, and if so, how. A mixed-design method was used, comparing those participating in an ayahuasca ceremony to those who did not participate. This investigation used the Peak Experience Profile, the Spiritual Well-being Scale, and the Mysticism Scale as quantitative measures. Participant interviews and written accounts of ceremony experiences were analyzed. Results showed that neither the SWB score nor the M-Scale score increased significantly after participating in an ayahuasca ceremony. However, it was found that the higher the PEP score, the greater the positive change in SWB and M-Scale scores. Qualitative data revealed common spiritual themes in many of the participants' interviews and written accounts. Experiential differences were displayed within the ayahuasca ceremony group, warranting continued investigation into, and identification of, various confounding variables that prompt reported changes in spirituality within some participants while not in others.
    Publication Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
    Volume 41
    Issue 2
    Pages 121-134
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Psychoactive Drugs
    ISSN 0279-1072
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:40:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19705674
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Banisteriopsis
    • Ceremonial Behavior
    • Female
    • Hallucinogens
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mysticism
    • Plant Preparations
    • spirituality
  • Religious teachings and influences on the ABCs of HIV prevention in Malawi

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jenny Trinitapoli
    Abstract This study examines the relationship between religion and HIV risk behaviors in rural Malawi, giving special attention to the role of religious congregations, the organizations with which rural Africans have most immediate contact. It draws on 2004 data from a household survey in 3 districts (N=3386), and quantitative and qualitative data collected in 2005 from 187 leaders of religious congregations previously identified in the survey. The first aim is descriptive--to identify overall patterns and variations in what religious leaders in rural Malawi teach about HIV and about sexual behavior in light of the epidemic. The second aim is to assess how religious organizations impact the behavior of individual members. I examine three outcomes that correspond with the ABCs of HIV prevention: abstinence (for never married persons), fidelity (for married persons), and condom use (among sexually active persons). Multi-level models reveal that religious affiliation and involvement are not correlated with the sexual behavior of congregation members, but that beliefs about appropriate sexual behavior and particular congregational characteristics are associated with adherence to A, B, and C. Individuals belonging to congregations led by clergy who 1) frequently deliver formal messages about HIV, 2) monitor the sexual behavior of members, and 3) privately encourage condom use report greater adherence to the ABCs of HIV prevention, suggesting that religious congregations are relevant for the sexual behavior of members and for better understanding the forces shaping individual behavior in the context of the African AIDS epidemic.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 69
    Issue 2
    Pages 199-209
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.04.018
    ISSN 1873-5347
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:08:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19447536
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Christianity
    • Condoms
    • Data Collection
    • Female
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • ISLAM
    • Malawi
    • Male
    • Marriage
    • Middle Aged
    • Religion and Sex
    • Safe Sex
    • Sexual Abstinence
    • social support
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • This study examines the relationship between religion and HIV risk behaviors in rural Malawi, giving special attention to the role of religious congregations, the organizations with which rural Africans have most immediate contact. It draws on 2004 data from a household survey in 3 districts (N = 3386), and quantitative and qualitative data collected in 2005 from 187 leaders of religious congregations previously identified in the survey.

  • Review of cancer among 4 religious sects: Evidence that life-styles are distinctive sets of risk factors

    Type Journal Article
    Author Henry Troyer
    Abstract The occurrence of various types of cancer have been reviewed and evaluated in 4 religious groups. These patterns have been critically assessed in light of the distinctive life-style features of these groups. All 4 religious groups considered in this paper have reduced overall rates of cancer, suggesting that the life-style of all 4 groups have merit in terms of reducing the overall risk of cancer. The rate of smoling among these groups is nearly nil, and the lung cancer rate in all 4 of these religious groups is strikingly low. Cancer of the oral structures, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus is also generally quite low. Amish and Hutterites have unusually high rates of breast cancer and juvenile leukemia. Reproductive factors frequently mentioned as risk factors for breast cancer cannot explain the excess breast cancer in the Amish and Hutterite women because they should have had the effect of reducing the rate. None of the numerous risk factors, normally suggested for leukemia, are consistent with this observation. The observations on ovarian cancer tend to confirm low parity and late age at first birth as risk factors, although the evidence is not entirely consistent. Also, contrary to common observations, the pattern of ovarian cancer contrasts greatly with the breast cancer pattern, suggesting dissimilar risk factors. Their low rate of cervical cancer is consistent with promiscuity being a strong risk factor, but other frequently suggested risk factors were generally inconsistent with the observations. Cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, urinary bladder and prostate, in these 4 religious groups, are not readily explained by the risk factors commonly implicated in cancer of these sites. The patterns of a few types of cancers were consistent with the prevailing opinions of risk factors, but some cancers were poorly explained and, in some cases, the cancer patterns contradicted commonly held opinions concerning risk factors. Religions that provide strong directives for the personal lives of adherents result in distinctive life-style, reflecting multiple disease related factors (risk factors and protective factors). Disease related factors are related to each other in simple or more complex ways (e.g. additive, multiplicative or even more complex). Therefore, when dealing with distinctive life-styles, it may be unwarranted to attempt to isolate individual risk factors.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 26
    Issue 10
    Pages 1007-1017
    Date 1988
    DOI 10.1016/0277-9536(88)90218-3
    ISSN 0277-9536
    Short Title Review of cancer among 4 religious sects
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6VBF-4665DPJ-S6/2/b5acdd5d982ce77577f04aa2220a83aa
    Accessed Friday, October 30, 2009 8:53:46 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Cancer
    • life-style
    • religion
    • Risk Factors

    Notes:

    • The occurrence of various types of cancer have been reviewed and evaluated in 4 religious groups. These patterns have been critically assessed in light of the distinctive life-style features of these groups. Religions that provide strong directives for the personal lives of adherents result in distinctive life-style, reflecting multiple disease related factors (risk factors and protective factors).

  • Qigong improving physical status in middle-aged women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yi-Kuei Tsai
    Author Hsing-Hsia Chen
    Author I-Hsin Lin
    Author Mei-Ling Yeh
    Abstract Regular exercise has been shown to benefit its practitioners and prevent and control diseases. Muscle/Tendon Change Classic (MTCC) qigong, characterized by simple, slow, and full-body exercise, is appropriate for the middle-age population. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the MTCC qigong program in improving physical status for middle-aged women. A quasi-experimental design was used. The experimental group (n = 37) received an 8-week MTCC qigong program, whereas the control group (n = 34) received none. Physiological parameters of muscular performance, body composition, and bone strength were measured before and after the program. The average age was 49 +/- 4.13 years for the experimental group and 50 +/- 4.74 years for the control group. The demographic characteristics were homogeneous between the two groups. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in muscular endurance, body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index at the completion of 8-week MTCC qigong program. The MTCC qigong could improve muscle endurance and body composition but not bone strength for middle-aged women, thereby demonstrating the qigong practice has certain health-preserving effects on women in this stage of life.
    Publication Western Journal of Nursing Research
    Volume 30
    Issue 8
    Pages 915-927
    Date Dec 2008
    Journal Abbr West J Nurs Res
    DOI 10.1177/0193945908319991
    ISSN 0193-9459
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/18612090
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:05:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18612090
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adipose Tissue
    • Age Factors
    • Body Mass Index
    • Bone Density
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • Clinical Nursing Research
    • Female
    • Hand Strength
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Physical Endurance
    • Physical Fitness
    • Taiwan
    • Treatment Outcome
    • Waist-Hip Ratio
    • WOMEN

    Notes:

    • This study aims to evaluate the effect of the MTCC qigong program in improving physical status for middle-aged women. The MTCC qigong could improve muscle endurance and body composition but not bone strength for middle-aged women, thereby demonstrating the qigong practice has certain health-preserving effects on women in this stage of life.

  • Predictors of colorectal cancer knowledge and screening among church-attending African Americans and Whites in the Deep South

    Type Journal Article
    Author Tung-Sung Tseng
    Author Cheryl L Holt
    Author Michele Shipp
    Author Mohamad Eloubeidi
    Author Kristi Britt
    Author Maria Norena
    Author Mona N Fouad
    Abstract This study examined colorectal cancer (CRC) knowledge and the relationship between knowledge, risk factors and screening behaviors among African Americans and Whites in the Deep South. One hundred and twenty three African Americans and Whites age-eligible for CRC screening were interviewed by telephone survey as part of a church-based CRC educational intervention. CRC knowledge was lower among those with less education, unemployed, Medicaid, Medicare, and less family income. Generally, participants who had more CRC knowledge were more likely to have engaged in screening behaviors. Participants who had a family history of CRC were more likely to have had a fecal occult blood test (OR = 2.55, 0.99-6.60) or barium enema (OR = 3.84, 1.44-10.24) than those without. Whites were more likely to have had a flexible sigmoidoscopy (OR = 4.17, 1.09-16.67), colonoscopy (OR = 7.14, 1.72-25) or barium enema (OR = 6.25, 1.67-25) than African Americans. Church-based CRC screening intervention programs should target African Americans, those with no family history of CRC, and those with less education.
    Publication Journal of Community Health
    Volume 34
    Issue 2
    Pages 90-97
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Community Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10900-008-9128-2
    ISSN 1573-3610
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18941876
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:23:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18941876
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Alabama
    • Colorectal Neoplasms
    • Diagnostic Tests, Routine
    • European Continental Ancestry Group
    • Female
    • Forecasting
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • religion

    Notes:

    • This study examined colorectal cancer (CRC) knowledge and the relationship between knowledge, risk factors and screening behaviors among African Americans and Whites in the Deep South.

  • Wisdom and method: extraordinary practices for the realization of longevity and optimal health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Geshe Ngawang Tsondu
    Author Brooke Dodson-Lavelle
    Abstract The focus in our discussion of longevity-enhancement has centered on developing techniques and technologies to control the environment as well as the physical body and its functions. The Tibetan contemplative and medical sciences offer a sophisticated view of the mind-body complex in which efforts to control the external world are insufficient without the development of "inner" technologies to train the mind. From the Tibetan perspective, training the mind is in fact essential to the realization of extraordinary levels of longevity, happiness, and optimal health.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 344-347
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04408.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title Wisdom and method
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735254
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:41:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735254
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • Awareness
    • Happiness
    • Health promotion
    • Humans
    • Longevity
    • Medicine, Tibetan Traditional
    • Meditation
  • Spiritual well-being and health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ming T Tsuang
    Author John C Simpson
    Author Karestan C Koenen
    Author William S Kremen
    Author Michael J Lyons
    Abstract Data on empirical associations between religious variables and health outcomes are needed to clarify the complex interplay between religion and mental health. The aim of this study was to determine whether associations with health variables are primarily attributable to explicitly religious aspects of spiritual well-being (SWB) or to "existential" aspects that primarily reflect a sense of satisfaction or purpose in life. Three hundred forty-five pairs of twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry completed a diagnostic interview and questionnaires containing the 2-factor SWB Scale and general health items. Observed associations between SWB and health outcomes were uniquely explained by the SWB subscale of existential well-being, with much less of a unique explanatory contribution from religious well-being or "spiritual involvement." We concluded that studies of SWB and health should continue to distinguish between explicitly religious variables and others that more closely approximate the psychological construct of personal well-being.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 195
    Issue 8
    Pages 673-680
    Date Aug 2007
    Journal Abbr J. Nerv. Ment. Dis
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e31811f4062
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17700300
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:52:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17700300
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
    • existentialism
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Mental Disorders
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • North Carolina
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Personality Inventory
    • Principal Component Analysis
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Psychometrics
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Registries
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Research Design
    • spirituality
    • Twins, Dizygotic
    • Twins, Monozygotic

    Notes:

    • The aim of this study was to determine whether associations with health variables are primarily attributable to explicitly religious aspects of spiritual well-being (SWB) or to “existential” aspects that primarily reflect a sense of satisfaction or purpose in life. We concluded that studies of SWB and health should continue to distinguish between explicitly religious variables and others that more closely approximate the psychological construct of personal well-being.

  • The effects of distant healing performed by a spiritual healer on chronic pain: a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenjiro Tsubono
    Author Paul Thomlinson
    Author C Norman Shealy
    Abstract CONTEXT: Many individuals suffer from various kinds of chronic pain. Some controlled studies on distant healing for chronic pain exist, but no definitive conclusion has been established. OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of distant healing performed by a professional Japanese healer on chronic pain. DESIGN: A double-blind randomized controlled study. SETTING: Holos University, Fair Grove, Missouri. SUBJECTS: People suffering from chronic pain (not caused by clear organic diseases or that persists long after a reasonable period of healing following injuries or surgery) were recruited through local radio and newspaper advertising. Subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment group or control group using a double-blind procedure. INTERVENTIONS: All subjects met the healer at the initial session at Holos University. At the session, a 20-minute group meditation was performed. The healer went back to Japan after the session and started distant healing only to the treatment group for a 2-month period. All participants were asked to meditate for 20 minutes every day during this 2-month period. OUTCOME MEASURES: The visual analog scale and McGill Pain Questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 17 subjects were recruited, and 16 subjects completed the study. Comparison of pretreatment and posttreatment visual analog scale indicated a slightly significant effect of distant healing (P=.056). The Present Pain Intensity Scale showed significant improvement in the treatment group compared to the control group (P=.0016). The Pain Rating Index showed improvement in the treatment group, but the difference between both groups was not statistically significant (P=.12).
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 15
    Issue 3
    Pages 30-34
    Date 2009 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    Short Title The effects of distant healing performed by a spiritual healer on chronic pain
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:03:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19472862
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Chronic Disease
    • Double-Blind Method
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Pain Measurement
    • Spiritual Therapies
  • The effects of distant healing performed by a spiritual healer on chronic pain: a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kenjiro Tsubono
    Author Paul Thomlinson
    Author C Norman Shealy
    Abstract CONTEXT: Many individuals suffer from various kinds of chronic pain. Some controlled studies on distant healing for chronic pain exist, but no definitive conclusion has been established. OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of distant healing performed by a professional Japanese healer on chronic pain. DESIGN: A double-blind randomized controlled study. SETTING: Holos University, Fair Grove, Missouri. SUBJECTS: People suffering from chronic pain (not caused by clear organic diseases or that persists long after a reasonable period of healing following injuries or surgery) were recruited through local radio and newspaper advertising. Subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment group or control group using a double-blind procedure. INTERVENTIONS: All subjects met the healer at the initial session at Holos University. At the session, a 20-minute group meditation was performed. The healer went back to Japan after the session and started distant healing only to the treatment group for a 2-month period. All participants were asked to meditate for 20 minutes every day during this 2-month period. OUTCOME MEASURES: The visual analog scale and McGill Pain Questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 17 subjects were recruited, and 16 subjects completed the study. Comparison of pretreatment and posttreatment visual analog scale indicated a slightly significant effect of distant healing (P=.056). The Present Pain Intensity Scale showed significant improvement in the treatment group compared to the control group (P=.0016). The Pain Rating Index showed improvement in the treatment group, but the difference between both groups was not statistically significant (P=.12).
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 15
    Issue 3
    Pages 30-34
    Date 2009 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    Short Title The effects of distant healing performed by a spiritual healer on chronic pain
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19472862
    Accessed Tuesday, September 15, 2009 12:38:47 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19472862
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Chronic Disease
    • Double-Blind Method
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Pain
    • Pain Measurement
    • Spiritual Therapies

    Notes:

    • To study the effects of distant healing performed by a professional Japanese healer on chronic pain. Results: A total of 17 subjects were recruited, and 16 subjects completed the study. Comparison of pretreatment and posttreatment visual analog scale indicated a slightly significant effect of distant healing (P=.056). The Present Pain Intensity Scale showed significant improvement in the treatment group compared to the control group (P=.0016). The Pain Rating Index showed improvement in the treatment group, but the difference between both groups was not statistically significant (P=.12).

  • Spirituality and stress management in healthy adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Inez Tuck
    Author Renee Alleyne
    Author Wantana Thinganjana
    Abstract The purposes of this longitudinal, descriptive pilot study were to (a) test the acceptability and feasibility of a 6-week spiritual intervention; (b) determine the relationship between spirituality and stress; (c) explore the effects of the intervention on measures of perceived stress, spiritual perspective, and spiritual well-being; and (d) explore the meaning of spirituality. The sample consisted of 27 community-dwelling adults. Six categories emerged from the qualitative data as descriptors of the meaning and significance of spirituality. The survey data indicated that there were significant negative correlations between perceived stress and spiritual well-being at three time intervals, a significant decline in the levels of perceived stress, and a significant increase in spiritual perspective from the pretest to the 6-week follow-up. There were no significant changes in spiritual well-being. The intervention proved effective in reducing stress in this healthy adult sample.
    Publication Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
    Volume 24
    Issue 4
    Pages 245-253; discussion 254-255
    Date Dec 2006
    Journal Abbr J Holist Nurs
    DOI 10.1177/0898010106289842
    ISSN 0898-0101
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17098877
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:58:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17098877
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Health Status
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Reference Values
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • The purposes of this longitudinal, descriptive pilot study were to (a) test the acceptability and feasibility of a 6-week spiritual intervention; (b) determine the relationship between spirituality and stress; (c) explore the effects of the intervention on measures of perceived stress, spiritual perspective, and spiritual well-being; and (d) explore the meaning of spirituality.

  • Religious or spiritual problem. A culturally sensitive diagnostic category in the DSM-IV.

    Type Journal Article
    Author R.P. Turner
    Author D. Lukoff
    Author R.T. Barnhouse
    Author F.G. Lu
    Abstract A new diagnostic category entitled religious or spiritual problem has been included in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) under Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention. Along with several other changes, this category contributes significantly to the greater cultural sensitivity incorporated into DSM-IV. The authors review the approval process, including the changes that were made in both the proposed new category and the former V Code section of DSM-III-R. In addition, the definition, assessment methods, types, and clinical significance of religious and spiritual problems are clarified, along with the differential diagnostic issues raised by the definitional changes in the former V Code section. Finally, clinical issues involving cultural sensitivity and the implications for future research are addressed. The new category could help to promote a new relationship between psychiatry and the fields of religion and spirituality that will benefit both mental health professionals and those who seek their assistance.
    Publication Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 183
    Issue 7
    Pages 435-44
    Date July 1995
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • A new diagnostic category entitled religious or spiritual problem has been included in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) under Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention. The authors review the approval process, including the changes that were made in both the proposed new category and the former V Code section of DSM-III-R.

  • The impact of mental health problems and religiosity on African-American girls' HIV-risk

    Type Journal Article
    Author Wadiya Udell
    Author Geri Donenberg
    Author Erin Emerson
    Abstract We investigated the relationship between religiosity, mental health problems, and two sexual risk behaviors-condom use and number of partners. Participants were 80 sexually active African American girls in psychiatric care and their caregivers. Results indicated differential relationships, depending on parent versus youth report. Mother's religiosity was positively related to girls' condom use and not to girls' number of partners. Controlling for other predictors in the models, mother's religiosity explained as much as 15% of the variance in girls' condom use. Whereas parent and adolescent reports of girls' depression/anxiety and rule-breaking were positively associated with number of partners, reports of aggression were associated with having fewer partners. Neither parent nor youth reports of girls' mental health problems were associated with condom use. Controlling for other predictors in the models, girls' mental health problems accounted for as much as 31% of the variance in number of partners. Findings underscore the importance of adopting an ecological framework to understand both the risk and promotive factors for sexual risk taking among troubled girls. The roles of specific aspects of psychopathology and religiosity in relation to sexual risk behavior among African American girls in psychiatric care are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).
    Publication Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology
    Volume 17
    Issue 2
    Pages 217-224
    Date Apr 2011
    Journal Abbr Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0023243
    ISSN 1099-9809
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21604846
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:44:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21604846
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM

    Notes:

    • This study investigated the relationship between religiosity, mental health problems, and two sexual risk behaviors-condom use and number of partners. Participants were 80 sexually active African American girls in psychiatric care and their caregivers.

  • Hatha yoga for depression: critical review of the evidence for efficacy, plausible mechanisms of action, and directions for future research

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lisa A Uebelacker
    Author Gary Epstein-Lubow
    Author Brandon A Gaudiano
    Author Geoffrey Tremont
    Author Cynthia L Battle
    Author Ivan W Miller
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The purpose of this article is to review the evidence for the efficacy of hatha yoga for depression and possible mechanisms by which yoga may have an impact on depression, and to outline directions for future research. METHODS: Literature review and synthesis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A literature search for clinical trials examining yoga for depression uncovered eight trials: 5 including individuals with clinical depression, and 3 for individuals with elevated depression symptoms. Although results from these trials are encouraging, they should be viewed as very preliminary because the trials, as a group, suffered from substantial methodological limitations. We would argue, however, that there are several reasons to consider constructing careful research on yoga for depression. First, current strategies for treating depression are not sufficient for many individuals, and patients have several concerns about existing treatments. Yoga may be an attractive alternative to or a good way to augment current depression treatment strategies. Second, aspects of yoga-including mindfulness promotion and exercise-are thought to be "active ingredients" of other successful treatments for depression. Third, there are plausible biological, psychological, and behavioral mechanisms by which yoga may have an impact on depression. We provide suggestions for the next steps in the study of yoga as a treatment for depression.
    Publication Journal of Psychiatric Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 22-33
    Date Jan 2010
    Journal Abbr J Psychiatr Pract
    DOI 10.1097/01.pra.0000367775.88388.96
    ISSN 1538-1145
    Short Title Hatha yoga for depression
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 11:30:11 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20098228
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Open trial of Vinyasa yoga for persistently depressed individuals: evidence of feasibility and acceptability

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lisa A Uebelacker
    Author Geoffrey Tremont
    Author Gary Epstein-Lubow
    Author Brandon A Gaudiano
    Author Tom Gillette
    Author Zornitsa Kalibatseva
    Author Ivan W Miller
    Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of Vinyasa yoga as an adjunctive treatment for depressed patients who were not responding adequately to antidepressant medication. The authors also planned to ask participants for qualitative feedback on their experience of the class and to assess change over time in depression and in possible mediating variables. The authors recruited 11 participants in 1 month for an 8-week open trial of yoga classes. They found that 10 participants completed follow-up assessments, 9 of 10 were positive about their experience, and all provided feedback about what was and was not helpful about yoga, as well as barriers to class attendance. Over the 2-month period, participants exhibited significant decreases in depression symptoms and significant increases in an aspect of mindfulness and in behavior activation. This pilot study provided support for continuing to investigate Vinyasa yoga as an adjunct treatment for depression. The next step required is a rigorous randomized clinical trial.
    Publication Behavior Modification
    Volume 34
    Issue 3
    Pages 247-264
    Date May 2010
    Journal Abbr Behav Modif
    DOI 10.1177/0145445510368845
    ISSN 1552-4167
    Short Title Open trial of Vinyasa yoga for persistently depressed individuals
    Accessed Sunday, May 30, 2010 11:49:18 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20400694
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
  • Effects of yoga on balance and gait properties in women with musculoskeletal problems: a pilot study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ozlem Ulger
    Author Naciye Vardar Yağlı
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of yoga on balance and gait properties in women with musculoskeletal problems. DESIGN: Twenty-seven women (30-45 years old) with musculoskeletal problems, such as osteoarthritis and low-back pain, were included in the present study. The patients participated in 8 sessions (twice weekly for 4 weeks) of a yoga program which included asanas, stretching exercises, and breathing techniques. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients' static balance measurements and gait parameters were determined before and after the study using a stabilometer and a gait trainer, respectively. RESULTS: Post-study values of patients' gait parameters were found to be statistically higher than their pre-study values (p < 0.05) The values of patients' balance addressed anterior and right positions with patients' eyes open and subsequently closed pre-treatment. However, it was notable that balance post-treatment was minimal when subjects eyes were open or closed. Anterior-posterior values and right-left values were almost equal after treatment. DISCUSSION: The results showed that yoga has a positive effect on balance and gait parameters of women with gait and balance disturbances that are caused by musculoskeletal problems. It is feasible to conclude that asanas and stretching exercises included in the yoga program brought about such a positive effect, and therefore it is possible to use yoga programs to solve problems caused by musculoskeletal disorders.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 1
    Pages 13-15
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Clin Pract
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.06.006
    ISSN 1873-6947
    Short Title Effects of yoga on balance and gait properties in women with musculoskeletal problems
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:21:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21168108
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:57 AM
  • Effects of yoga on the quality of life in cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Özlem Ülger
    Author Naciye Vardar Yağli
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: This study sought to investigate the effects of yoga on the quality of life in patients with breast cancer. DESIGN: Twenty patients between 30 and 50 years of age presently under treatment for breast cancer were included in the study. The physical characteristics of the patients were recorded and general physiotherapy assessments performed. Eight sessions of a yoga program including warming and breathing exercises, asanas, relaxation in supine position, and meditation were applied to participants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The pre- and post-yoga quality of life assessments for the patients were conducted using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Patients' stress levels were assessed using the STAI-I and STAI-II anxiety inventory. Their satisfaction levels about the yoga program was evaluated using the visual analog scale (VAS). RESULTS: It was found that patients' quality of life scores after the yoga program were better than scores obtained before the yoga program (p < 0.05). After sessions, there was a statistically significant decrease in their STAI-I (measuring the reactions of anxiety) scores and STAI-II (measuring the permanence of anxiety) scores (p < 0.05). It was found out that the satisfaction score concerning the yoga program was considerably increased after the yoga program (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that yoga is valuable in helping to achieve relaxation and diminish stress, helps cancer patients perform daily and routine activities, and increases the quality of life in cancer patients. This result was positively reflected in patients satisfaction with the yoga program.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 2
    Pages 60-63
    Date May 2010
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Clin Pract
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctcp.2009.10.007
    ISSN 1873-6947
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:12:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20347834
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • This study sought to investigate the effects of yoga on the quality of life in patients with breast cancer.

  • The daily spiritual experience scale: development, theoretical description, reliability, exploratory factor analysis, and preliminary construct validity using health-related data

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lynn G Underwood
    Author Jeanne A Teresi
    Abstract Spirituality and religiousness are gaining increasing attention as health research variables. However, the particular aspects examined vary from study to study, ranging from church attendance to religious coping to meaning in life. This frequently results in a lack of clarity regarding what is being measured, the meaning of the relationships between health variables and spirituality, and implications for action. This article describes the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) and its development, reliability, exploratory factor analyses, and preliminary construct validity. Normative data from random samples and preliminary relationships of health-related data with the DSES also are included. Detailed data for the 16-item DSES are provided from two studies; a third study provided data on a subset of 6 items, and afourth study was done on the interrater reliability of the item subset. A 6-item version was used in the General Social Survey because of the need to shorten the measure for the survey. A rationale for the conceptual underpinnings and item selection is provided, as are suggested pathways for linkages to health and well-being. This scale addresses reported ordinary experiences of spirituality such as awe, joy that lifts one out of the mundane, and a sense of deep inner peace. Studies using the DSES may identify ways in which this element of life may influence emotion, cognition and behavior, and health or ways in which this element may be treated as an outcome in itself a particular component of well-being. The DSES evidenced good reliability across several studies with internal consistency estimates in the .90s. Preliminary evidence showed that daily spiritual experience is related to decreased total alcohol intake, improved quality of life, and positive psychosocial status.
    Publication Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 24
    Issue 1
    Pages 22-33
    Date 2002
    Journal Abbr Ann Behav Med
    ISSN 0883-6612
    Short Title The daily spiritual experience scale
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12008791
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:31:14 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12008791
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Observer Variation
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Reproducibility of Results

    Notes:

    • This article describes the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) and its development, reliability, exploratory factor analyses, and preliminary construct validity. Normative data from random samples and preliminary relationships of health-related data with the DSES also are included. Preliminary evidence showed that daily spiritual experience is related to decreased total alcohol intake, improved quality of life, and positive psychosocial status.

  • Veiled yet vulnerable. Breast cancer screening and the Muslim way of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author S M Underwood
    Author L Shaikha
    Author D Bakr
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: While multiple reports have been published in the literature that describe the effect of religion and spirituality on healthcare practices, few have been reported that attempt to describe the effect of the fundamental beliefs and customs of the followers of Islam. A qualitative study aimed toward gaining an understanding of the degree to which Islamic beliefs and customs influence followers' breast cancer screening practices was, therefore, undertaken. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was designed with semistructured focus groups as the primary means of gathering data. A purposefully selected sample of nine Muslim women were recruited to participate in the study. Throughout the focus group, attempts were made to engage the women in a manner that stimulated in-depth discussion of the beliefs and customs influencing breast cancer screening. RESULTS: Data revealed that the religious beliefs and customs of the Muslim women participating in the focus group significantly influenced their participation in breast cancer screening. Despite their knowledge of the benefits of regular breast cancer screening, the women indicated that they choose not to participate in available breast cancer screening programs, given that they were not structured in a manner that was consistent with the beliefs and customs of Islam. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates the manner and degree to which Islamic beliefs and customs can influence the breast cancer screening behavior of Muslim women and the importance of carefully designing breast health programs tailored to the needs of this population of women.
    Publication Cancer Practice
    Volume 7
    Issue 6
    Pages 285-290
    Date 1999 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Cancer Pract
    ISSN 1065-4704
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10732525
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:35:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10732525
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Attitude to Health
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Female
    • Focus Groups
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • ISLAM
    • Mass Screening
    • Middle Aged
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Questionnaires

    Notes:

    • A qualitative study aimed toward gaining an understanding of the degree to which Islamic beliefs Data revealed that the religious beliefs and customs of the Muslim women participating in the focus group significantly influenced their participation in breast cancer screening.

  • “Broken Together”: Spirituality and Religion as Coping Strategies for Couples Dealing with the Death of a Child: A Literature Review with Clinical Implications

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ileana Ungureanu
    Author Jonathan G. Sandberg
    Abstract The death of a child is an event that can fall into the category of uncontrollable life events, testing the limits of the ability to control of bereaved parents. The literature reviewed showed that religious/spiritual coping is a unique way of coping and may be particularly important for couples who have lost a child. When assessing the couples’ coping strategies, marital therapists would be wise to look for religious/spiritual mechanisms that can be employed in the therapeutic process. Furthermore, the reviewers propose Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (Johnson, 2004, The practice of emotionally focused couple therapy: Creating connection, Routledge, New York) as well suited for helping couples grieving the death of their child.
    Publication Contemporary Family Therapy
    Volume 32
    Issue 3
    Pages 302-319
    Date 6/2010
    Journal Abbr Contemp Fam Ther
    DOI 10.1007/s10591-010-9120-8
    ISSN 0892-2764
    URL http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s10591-010-9120-8
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Wednesday, November 30, 2011 7:23:39 PM

    Notes:

    • A lit review concluding in the aggregate that religious/spiritual mechanisms should be employed in the therapeutic process. Describes a particularly effective "emotionally-focused" therapeutic method to aid grieving parents.

  • Different Types of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being in Relation to Personality and Subjective Well-Being.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Human-Friedrich Unterrainer
    Author Karl Heinz Ladenhauf
    Author Sandra Johanna Wallner-Liebmann
    Author Andreas Fink
    Abstract In this study the authors attempt to present different types of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (RSWB) and discuss their relation to personality and psychological well-being. The Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being 48 is employed for this study, which consists of 6 subscales. To find different types of RSWB, an agglomerative cluster analysis on these subscales was performed based on the responses obtained in a nonclinical adult sample (n = 463). A 4-cluster solution was accepted. The clusters were labeled as Religious/Spiritual High, Religiously Oriented, Existentially Oriented, and Religious/Spiritual Low, and were found to be substantially related to Sense of Coherence (n = 263) and Six Factors of Personality (n = 200) in two different subsamples. By presenting a first empirical model for a 4-field typology of RSWB, we hope to further contribute to the ongoing discussion on how to deal with religious/spiritual issues in personality research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 21
    Issue 2
    Pages 115-126
    Date Apr-Jun2011 April 2011
    DOI 10.1080/10508619.2011.557003
    ISSN 10508619
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM

    Tags:

    • Cluster Analysis
    • PERSONALITY -- Religious aspects
    • Personality Assessment
    • RELIGIOUSNESS -- Psychological aspects
    • SENSE of coherence
    • WELL-being -- Religious aspects
  • Dimensions of Religious/Spiritual Well-Being and their relation to Personality and Psychological Well-Being

    Type Journal Article
    Author H.-F. Unterrainer
    Author K.H. Ladenhauf
    Author M.L. Moazedi
    Author S.J. Wallner-Liebmann
    Author A. Fink
    Abstract This study aims at investigating the relationship between Religious/Spiritual Well-Being and indicators of Psychological Well-Being (Global Religiosity, Hierarchy of Needs, Sense of Coherence) and the Big Five personality dimensions (including “Piety”). Religiosity/spirituality was measured by means of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being which consists of six different subscales dealing with different facets of religiosity and spirituality (e.g. General Religiosity, Forgiveness or Hope). We observed evidence that Religious/Spiritual Well-Being is substantially correlated with different aspects of Psychological Well-Being and personality (e.g. Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness). Taken together, the findings of this study support the idea of a salutogenic function of religiosity/spirituality. In addition, this study provides evidence that religiosity and spirituality may represent important aspects of human personality. We hope that this study contributes to the ongoing discussion concerning the consideration of religiosity/spirituality as an important personality trait in the context of Psychological Well-Being.
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 192-197
    Date 08/2010
    Journal Abbr Personality and Individual Differences
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2010.03.032
    ISSN 01918869
    Accessed Tuesday, August 31, 2010 7:07:32 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • Demographic, behavioral, and health correlates of complementary and alternative medicine and prayer use among midlife women: 2002

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dawn M Upchurch
    Author Claire E Dye
    Author Laura Chyu
    Author Ellen B Gold
    Author Gail A Greendale
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the demographic, behavioral, and health correlates of the most frequently used types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapy and the use of prayer for health among midlife women. We also examined the extent to which women used CAM for treatment of health conditions, including menopausal symptoms, and for general health and well-being. METHODS: Data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a cross-sectional, household survey representative of the U.S. civilian adult population, were used. Midlife women aged 40-59 years (n = 5849) were analyzed. Bivariate prevalence estimates were obtained, and binomial logistic regression models were estimated; all analyses were weighted. RESULTS: Overall, 46% of midlife women used any type of CAM in the past 12 months, and 54% reported using prayer for health reasons. The top five specific CAM therapies used were herbs and natural products; relaxation techniques; chiropractic care; yoga, tai chi, or qi gong; and massage. Multivariate results demonstrated different patterns of association between demographic, health, and behavioral characteristics and specific CAM therapies. A higher percentage of women used chiropractic care for an existing health condition than those using relaxation techniques, and few women used CAM specifically for menopausal symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: CAM and prayer are frequently used by midlife women, and herbs and natural supplements are the mostly frequently used. The findings underscore the importance, particularly in the clinical setting, of asking women about their use of individual CAM therapies. Such clinical assessment is also important because of the potential for interactions of CAM therapies with prescribed therapies.
    Publication Journal of Women's Health (2002)
    Volume 19
    Issue 1
    Pages 23-30
    Date Jan 2010
    Journal Abbr J Womens Health (Larchmt)
    DOI 10.1089/jwh.2008.1096
    ISSN 1931-843X
    Short Title Demographic, behavioral, and health correlates of complementary and alternative medicine and prayer use among midlife women
    Accessed Sunday, January 24, 2010 5:48:19 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20088655
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Religious Influences on the Risk of Marital Dissolution

    Type Journal Article
    Author ML Vaaler
    Author CG Ellison
    Author DA Powers
    Abstract This study examined multiple dimensions of religious involvement and the risk of divorce among a nationwide sample of 2,979 first-time married couples. Multivariate proportional hazards modeling was used to analyze two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. Results indicated that although each partner's religious attendance bore a modest relationship to marital dissolution, the risk of divorce was lower if husbands had conservative theological beliefs and when both partners belonged to mainline Protestant denominations. Conversely, the risk of divorce was elevated if husbands attended services more frequently than their wives and if wives were more theologically conservative than their husbands. These patterns withstood controls for sociodemographic covariates, marital duration, and marital quality. Directions for future research are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Marriage and the Family
    Volume 71
    Issue 4
    Pages 917-934
    Date NOV 2009
    ISSN 0022-2445
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&…
    Accessed Friday, December 04, 2009 4:23:18 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • A conceptual analysis of spirituality at the end of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mélanie Vachon
    Author Lise Fillion
    Author Marie Achille
    Abstract The definition of spirituality is the subject of endless debates in the empirical literature. This content analysis sought to: (1) exhaustively review the empirical literature on end-of-life spirituality to extract definitional elements of this concept and (2) elaborate on these definitional elements to create an integrative and inclusive definition of end-of-life spirituality based on the items retrieved. A search of the literature on spirituality published in the last 10 years was conducted via the the PsychINFO and MEDLINE databases. Seventy-one articles were selected based on specific inclusion criteria. A qualitative thematic analysis yielded 11 dimensions for the concept of end-of-life spirituality, namely: (1) meaning and purpose in life, (2) self-transcendence, (3) transcendence with a higher being, (4) feelings of communion and mutuality, (5) beliefs and faith, (6) hope, (7) attitude toward death, (8) appreciation of life, (9) reflection upon fundamental values, (10) the developmental nature of spirituality, and (11) its conscious aspect. The definition derived from this concept analysis, after being tested empirically, may be useful in informing the development of new measures of spirituality and new protocols to assess spirituality in clinical settings.
    Publication Journal of Palliative Medicine
    Volume 12
    Issue 1
    Pages 53-59
    Date Jan 2009
    Journal Abbr J Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1089/jpm.2008.0189
    ISSN 1557-7740
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:38:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19284263
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Attitude to Death
    • Humans
    • spirituality
    • Terminally Ill
  • Effects of yoga program on quality of life and affect in early breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy: a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author H S Vadiraja
    Author M Raghavendra Rao
    Author Raghuram Nagarathna
    Author H R Nagendra
    Author M Rekha
    Author N Vanitha
    Author K S Gopinath
    Author B S Srinath
    Author M S Vishweshwara
    Author Y S Madhavi
    Author B S Ajaikumar
    Author S Ramesh Bilimagga
    Author Nalini Rao
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: This study compares the effects of an integrated yoga program with brief supportive therapy in breast cancer outpatients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy at a cancer centre. METHODS: Eighty-eight stage II and III breast cancer outpatients were randomly assigned to receive yoga (n = 44) or brief supportive therapy (n = 44) prior to their radiotherapy treatment. Intervention consisted of yoga sessions lasting 60 min daily while the control group was imparted supportive therapy once in 10 days. Assessments included European Organization for Research in the Treatment of Cancer-Quality of Life (EORTCQoL C30) functional scales and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Assessments were done at baseline and after 6 weeks of radiotherapy treatment. RESULTS: An intention to treat GLM repeated measures ANOVA showed significant difference across groups over time for positive affect, negative affect and emotional function and social function. There was significant improvement in positive affect (ES = 0.59, p = 0.007, 95%CI 1.25 to 7.8), emotional function (ES = 0.71, p = 0.001, 95%CI 6.45 to 25.33) and cognitive function (ES = 0.48, p = 0.03, 95%CI 1.2 to 18.5), and decrease in negative affect (ES = 0.84, p<0.001, 95%CI -13.4 to -4.4) in the yoga group as compared to controls. There was a significant positive correlation between positive affect with role function, social function and global quality of life. There was a significant negative correlation between negative affect with physical function, role function, emotional function and social function. CONCLUSION: The results suggest a possible role for yoga to improve quality of life and affect in breast cancer outpatients.
    Publication Complementary Therapies in Medicine
    Volume 17
    Issue 5-6
    Pages 274-280
    Date 2009 Oct-Dec
    Journal Abbr Complement Ther Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.ctim.2009.06.004
    ISSN 1873-6963
    Short Title Effects of yoga program on quality of life and affect in early breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 11:31:59 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19942107
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • This study compares the effects of an integrated yoga program with brief supportive therapy in breast cancer outpatients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy at a cancer centre.The results suggest a possible role for yoga to improve quality of life and affect in breast cancer outpatients.

  • Effects of a yoga program on cortisol rhythm and mood states in early breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy: a randomized controlled trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author H S Vadiraja
    Author Rao M Raghavendra
    Author Raghuram Nagarathna
    Author H R Nagendra
    Author M Rekha
    Author N Vanitha
    Author K S Gopinath
    Author B S Srinath
    Author M S Vishweshwara
    Author Y S Madhavi
    Author B S Ajaikumar
    Author Bilimagga S Ramesh
    Author Rao Nalini
    Author Vinod Kumar
    Abstract <AbstractText Label="UNLABELLED">Objectives. This study compares the effects of an integrated yoga program with brief supportive therapy in breast cancer outpatients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy at a cancer center.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="METHODS" NlmCategory="METHODS">Eighty-eight stage II and III breast cancer outpatients are randomly assigned to receive yoga (n = 44) or brief supportive therapy (n = 44) prior to radiotherapy treatment. Assessments include diurnal salivary cortisol levels 3 days before and after radiotherapy and self-ratings of anxiety, depression, and stress collected before and after 6 weeks of radiotherapy.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="RESULTS" NlmCategory="RESULTS">Analysis of covariance reveals significant decreases in anxiety (P &lt; .001), depression (P = .002), perceived stress (P &lt; .001), 6 a.m. salivary cortisol (P = .009), and pooled mean cortisol (P = .03) in the yoga group compared with controls. There is a significant positive correlation between morning salivary cortisol level and anxiety and depression.</AbstractText> <AbstractText Label="CONCLUSION" NlmCategory="CONCLUSIONS">Yoga might have a role in managing self-reported psychological distress and modulating circadian patterns of stress hormones in early breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy.</AbstractText>
    Publication Integrative Cancer Therapies
    Volume 8
    Issue 1
    Pages 37-46
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr Integr Cancer Ther
    DOI 10.1177/1534735409331456
    ISSN 1534-7354
    Short Title Effects of a yoga program on cortisol rhythm and mood states in early breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:53:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19190034
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Affect
    • Analysis of Variance
    • Anxiety
    • Breast Neoplasms
    • Circadian Rhythm
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Hydrocortisone
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasm Staging
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Radiotherapy, Adjuvant
    • Saliva
    • Stress, Psychological
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • This study compares the effects of an integrated yoga program with brief supportive therapy in breast cancer outpatients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy at a cancer center. Methods. Eighty-eight stage II and III breast cancer outpatients are randomly assigned to receive yoga (n = 44) or brief supportive therapy (n = 44) prior to radiotherapy treatment. Assessments include diurnal salivary cortisol levels 3 days before and after radiotherapy and self-ratings of anxiety, depression, and stress collected before and after 6 weeks of radiotherapy. Results. Analysis of covariance reveals significant decreases in anxiety (P < .001), depression (P = .002), perceived stress (P < .001), 6 a.m. salivary cortisol (P = .009), and pooled mean cortisol (P = .03) in the yoga group compared with controls. There is a significant positive correlation between morning salivary cortisol level and anxiety and depression. Conclusion. Yoga might have a role in managing self-reported psychological distress and modulating circadian patterns of stress hormones in early breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant radiotherapy.

  • Correlates of spirituality in older women.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ipsit V. Vahia
    Author Colin A. Depp
    Author Barton W. Palmer
    Author Ian Fellows
    Author Shahrokh Golshan
    Author Wesley Thompson
    Author Matthew Allison
    Author Dilip V. Jeste
    Abstract Introduction: The role of spirituality in the context of mental health and successful aging is not well understood. In a sample of community-dwelling older women enrolled at the San Diego site of the Women's Health Initiative study, we examined the association between spirituality and a range of variables associated with successful cognitive and emotional aging, including optimism, resilience, depression, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods: A detailed cross-sectional survey questionnaire on successful aging was completed by 1973 older women. It included multiple self-reported measures of positive psychological functioning (e.g., resilience and optimism), as well as depression and HRQoL. Spirituality was measured using a five-item self-report scale constructed using two items from the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiosity/Spirituality and three items from Hoge's Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale. Results: Overall, 40% women reported regular attendance in organized religious practice, and 53% reported engaging in private spiritual practices. Several variables were significantly related to spirituality in bivariate associations; however, using model testing, spirituality was significantly associated only with higher resilience, lower income, lower education, and lower likelihood of being in a marital or committed relationship. Conclusions: Our findings point to a role for spirituality in promoting resilience to stressors, possibly to a greater degree in persons with lower income and education level. Future longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these associations.
    Publication Aging & Mental Health
    Volume 15
    Issue 1
    Pages 97-102
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1080/13607863.2010.501069
    ISSN 13607863
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
  • The natural history of male mental health: health and religious involvement

    Type Journal Article
    Author George Vaillant
    Author Janice Templeton
    Author Monika Ardelt
    Author Stephanie E Meyer
    Abstract In prior studies, the effect of religious involvement upon physical health has shown generally positive results, but these studies have been marred by confounders. The 65-year-old US prospective Study of Adult Development has offered an opportunity to repeat these studies with somewhat better control over confounders. The physical and mental health of 224 Harvard University sophomores was monitored for 65 years. Their religious involvement from church attendance to private spirituality was prospectively monitored every 2-4 years from age 47 to 85. In this analysis we focus on the male respondent. We found that religious involvement, no matter how measured was uncorrelated with their late life physical, mental and social well-being. The exception was that the 44 men with major depression or with multiple negative life events were twice as likely to manifest high religious involvement as men with the least "stress." If these findings can be generalized, they suggest that religious involvement may exert the greatest mental health benefits on people with the fewest alternative social and personal resources.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine (1982)
    Volume 66
    Issue 2
    Pages 221-231
    Date Jan 2008
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.09.011
    ISSN 0277-9536
    Short Title The natural history of male mental health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17997000
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:18:13 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17997000
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Aging
    • depression
    • Health Status
    • Health Surveys
    • Humans
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • religion
    • Stress, Psychological

    Notes:

    • The physical and mental health of 224 Harvard University sophomores was monitored for 65 years. Their religious involvement from church attendance to private spirituality was prospectively monitored every 2-4 years from age 47 to 85. We found that religious involvement, no matter how measured, was uncorrelated with their late life physical, mental and social well-being. The exception was that the 44 men with major depression or with multiple negative life events were twice as likely to manifest high religious involvement as men with the least “stress.” If these findings can be generalized, they suggest that religious involvement may exert the greatest mental health benefits on people with the fewest alternative social and personal resources.

  • Self-compassion is a better predictor than mindfulness of symptom severity and quality of life in mixed anxiety and depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nicholas T. Van Dam
    Author Sean C. Sheppard
    Author John P. Forsyth
    Author Mitch Earleywine
    Abstract Mindfulness has received considerable attention as a correlate of psychological well-being and potential mechanism for the success of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Despite a common emphasis of mindfulness, at least in name, among MBIs, mindfulness proves difficult to assess, warranting consideration of other common components. Self-compassion, an important construct that relates to many of the theoretical and practical components of MBIs, may be an important predictor of psychological health. The present study compared ability of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) to predict anxiety, depression, worry, and quality of life in a large community sample seeking self-help for anxious distress (N = 504). Multivariate and univariate analyses showed that self-compassion is a robust predictor of symptom severity and quality of life, accounting for as much as ten times more unique variance in the dependent variables than mindfulness. Of particular predictive utility are the self-judgment and isolation subscales of the SCS. These findings suggest that self-compassion is a robust and important predictor of psychological health that may be an important component of MBIs for anxiety and depression.
    Publication Journal of Anxiety Disorders
    Volume 25
    Issue 1
    Pages 123-130
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.08.011
    ISSN 0887-6185
    Accessed Tuesday, February 15, 2011 6:59:18 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • Anxiety
    • depression
    • Mindfulness
    • Quality of Life
    • self-compassion
    • Well-Being
  • Measuring mindfulness? An Item Response Theory analysis of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nicholas T. Van Dam
    Author Mitch Earleywine
    Author Ashley Borders
    Abstract The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) is one of the most popular measures of mindfulness, exhibiting promising psychometric properties and theoretically consistent relationships to brain activity, mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) outcomes, and mediation of MBI effects. The present study investigated the response patterns and scale properties in a large sample of undergraduate students (N = 414) using Item Response Theory analyses. The findings suggest that general statements of "automatic inattentiveness" or "automatic pilot" confer greater statistical information about the underlying latent trait. Evidence of limited abilities to report on mindlessness and of response bias to "mindfulness-absent" items suggests challenges to the construct validity of the MAAS. The current findings, along with pre-existing data, suggest that reverse-scoring the scale may be inadequate to represent intentional attention or awareness. Further research is needed to determine which variations, components, and correlates of the numerous operationalizations of mindfulness are theoretically consistent and most salient to positive outcomes, especially in psychopathology.
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 49
    Issue 7
    Pages 805-810
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2010.07.020
    ISSN 0191-8869
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9F-50RMPGB-2/2/c5b51a992a23b45c29271ae96371ec0f
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:42:31 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Construct validity
    • Item Response Theory
    • MAAS
    • Meta-consciousness
    • Mindfulness
    • Psychometrics
  • The relationship between parental religiosity and mental health of pre-adolescents in a community sample: the TRAILS study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Willeke van der Jagt-Jelsma
    Author Margreet de Vries-Schot
    Author Rint de Jong
    Author Frank C Verhulst
    Author Johan Ormel
    Author René Veenstra
    Author Sophie Swinkels
    Author Jan Buitelaar
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between parental religiosity, parental harmony on the subject of religiosity, and the mental health of pre-adolescents. In a community-based sample of 2,230 pre-adolescents (10-12 years), mental health problems were assessed using self-report (Youth Self-Report, YSR), parental report (Child Behavior Checklist, CBCL) as well as teacher report (Teacher Checklist for Psychopathology, TCP). Information about the religiosity of mother, the religiosity of father and religious harmony between the parents was obtained by parent report. The influence of maternal religiosity on internalizing symptoms depended on the religious harmony between parents. This was particularly apparent on the CBCL. Higher levels of internalizing symptoms were associated with parental religious disharmony when combined with passive maternal religiosity. Boys scored themselves as having more externalizing symptoms in case of religiously disharmonious parents. The levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in pre-adolescents were not influenced by parental religiosity. Religious disharmony between parents is a risk factor for internalizing problems when the mother is passive religious. Religious disharmony is a risk factor on its own for externalizing problems amongst boys. Parental religious activity and parental harmony play a role in the mental health of pre-adolescents.
    Publication European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
    Volume 20
    Issue 5
    Pages 253-260
    Date May 2011
    Journal Abbr Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1007/s00787-011-0171-7
    ISSN 1435-165X
    Short Title The relationship between parental religiosity and mental health of pre-adolescents in a community sample
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21479848
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 6:57:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21479848
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:40 AM
  • The relationship between parental religiosity and mental health of pre-adolescents in a community sample: the TRAILS study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Willeke van der Jagt-Jelsma
    Author Margreet de Vries-Schot
    Author Rint de Jong
    Author Frank C Verhulst
    Author Johan Ormel
    Author René Veenstra
    Author Sophie Swinkels
    Author Jan Buitelaar
    Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between parental religiosity, parental harmony on the subject of religiosity, and the mental health of pre-adolescents. In a community-based sample of 2,230 pre-adolescents (10-12 years), mental health problems were assessed using self-report (Youth Self-Report, YSR), parental report (Child Behavior Checklist, CBCL) as well as teacher report (Teacher Checklist for Psychopathology, TCP). Information about the religiosity of mother, the religiosity of father and religious harmony between the parents was obtained by parent report. The influence of maternal religiosity on internalizing symptoms depended on the religious harmony between parents. This was particularly apparent on the CBCL. Higher levels of internalizing symptoms were associated with parental religious disharmony when combined with passive maternal religiosity. Boys scored themselves as having more externalizing symptoms in case of religiously disharmonious parents. The levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in pre-adolescents were not influenced by parental religiosity. Religious disharmony between parents is a risk factor for internalizing problems when the mother is passive religious. Religious disharmony is a risk factor on its own for externalizing problems amongst boys. Parental religious activity and parental harmony play a role in the mental health of pre-adolescents.
    Publication European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
    Volume 20
    Issue 5
    Pages 253-260
    Date May 2011
    Journal Abbr Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1007/s00787-011-0171-7
    ISSN 1435-165X
    Short Title The relationship between parental religiosity and mental health of pre-adolescents in a community sample
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21479848
    Accessed Wednesday, June 08, 2011 6:32:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21479848
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:05 AM
  • The relationship of religious coping and spirituality to adjustment and psychological distress in urban early adolescents.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Cydney J. Van Dyke
    Author David S. Glenwick
    Author John J. Cecero
    Author Se-Kang Kim
    Abstract The present study explored the relation of religious coping and spirituality to adjustment and psychological distress in urban early adolescents. The participants were 76 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students attending Catholic day schools in the New York City area. They completed a set of self-report measures assessing religious coping, daily spiritual experiences, positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and psychological distress. Correlational and regression analyses found positive religious coping and daily spiritual experiences to be associated with positive affect and life satisfaction, while negative religious coping was associated with negative affect and psychological distress. The relations generally were more robust among males, and their overall robustness decreased with age. Implications of the findings for research and clinical practice are offered to address the gap (compared to adults) in the literature on youth religious coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 4
    Pages 369-383
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902737723
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)
    • CORRELATION (Statistics)
    • DISTRESS (Psychology)
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • NEW York (N.Y.)
    • religion
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • spirituality
    • TEENAGERS
  • Images of god in relation to coping strategies of palliative cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hanneke W. M. van Laarhoven
    Author Johannes Schilderman
    Author Kris C Vissers
    Author Constans A H H V M Verhagen
    Author Judith Prins
    Abstract CONTEXT: Religious coping is important for end-of-life treatment preferences, advance care planning, adjustment to stress, and quality of life. The currently available religious coping instruments draw on a religious and spiritual background that presupposes a very specific image of God, namely God as someone who personally interacts with people. However, according to empirical research, people may have various images of God that may or may not exist simultaneously. It is unknown whether one's belief in a specific image of God is related to the way one copes with a life-threatening disease. OBJECTIVES: To examine the relation between adherence to a personal, a nonpersonal, and/or an unknowable image of God and coping strategies in a group of Dutch palliative cancer patients who were no longer receiving antitumor treatments. METHODS: In total, 68 palliative care patients completed and returned the questionnaires on Images of God and the COPE-Easy. RESULTS: In the regression analysis, a nonpersonal image of God was a significant positive predictor for the coping strategies seeking advice and information (?=0.339, P<0.01), seeking moral support (?=0.262, P<0.05), and denial (?=0.26, P<0.05), and a negative predictor for the coping strategy humor (?=-0.483, P<0.01). A personal image of God was a significant positive predictor for the coping strategy turning to religion (?=0.608, P<0.01). Age was the most important sociodemographic predictor for coping and had negative predictive value for seeking advice and information (?=-0.268, P<0.05) and seeking moral support (?=-0.247, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: A nonpersonal image of God is a more relevant predictor for different coping strategies in Dutch palliative cancer patients than a personal or an unknowable image of God.
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 40
    Issue 4
    Pages 495-501
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr J Pain Symptom Manage
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.02.021
    ISSN 1873-6513
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20678886
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:08:18 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:31 AM

    Notes:

    • To examine the relation between adherence to a personal, a nonpersonal, and/or an unknowable image of God and coping strategies in a group of Dutch palliative cancer patients who were no longer receiving antitumor treatments.

  • Perspectives on Death and an Afterlife in Relation to Quality of Life, Depression, and Hopelessness in Cancer Patients Without Evidence of Disease and Advanced Cancer Patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hanneke W.M. van Laarhoven
    Author Johannes Schilderman
    Author Constans A.H.H.V.M. Verhagen
    Author Kris C. Vissers
    Author Judith Prins
    Abstract <p>Context<br/>It is unknown whether cancer patients with different life expectancies have different attitudes and emotions toward death and an afterlife. Also, it is unclear whether these attitudes and emotions toward death and afterlife influence patients' distress.Objectives<br/>To assess the relationship of attitudes and emotions towards death and an afterlife with quality of life, depression and hopelessness in cancer patients without evidence of disease and advanced cancer patients facing death.Methods<br/>Ninety-one cancer patients without evidence of disease and 57 advanced cancer patients completed the Dutch Attitudes Toward Death and Afterlife Scale. Emotions toward death were measured using the Self-Confrontation Method. Quality of life was measured with the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life Questionnaire. Depression and hopelessness were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care and the Beck Hopelessness Scale.Results<br/>Average scores on attitudes and emotions toward death and an afterlife were not significantly different between the two groups. However, in the no evidence of disease group, a negative association between negative emotions and social functioning was observed, which was not present in the advanced cancer group. In the advanced cancer group, associations were observed that were not present in the no evidence of disease group: positive associations between an explicitly religious attitude and global health status and between reincarnation belief and role and cognitive functioning, and a negative association between other-directed emotions and social functioning.Conclusion<br/>Patients without evidence of disease and advanced cancer patients do not differ in attitudes or emotions toward death, but the relationship between these attitudes and emotions and aspects of quality of life varies. When there is no evidence of disease, negative emotions play the most important role, whereas in the advanced cancer situation, attitudes toward death and an afterlife, which may provide meaning and value, become more prominent.</p>
    Publication Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
    Volume 41
    Issue 6
    Pages 1048-1059
    Date June 2011
    DOI 16/j.jpainsymman.2010.08.015
    ISSN 0885-3924
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885392411000133
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 7:03:01 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Tags:

    • afterlife
    • Death
    • depression
    • hopelessness
    • Palliative Care
    • Quality of Life

    Notes:

    • To assess the relationship of attitudes and emotions towards death and an afterlife with quality of life, depression and hopelessness in cancer patients without evidence of disease and advanced cancer patients facing death.

  • Age effects on attentional blink performance in meditation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sara van Leeuwen
    Author Notger G Müller
    Author Lucia Melloni
    Abstract Here we explore whether mental training in the form of meditation can help to overcome age-related attentional decline. We compared performance on the attentional blink task between three populations: A group of long-term meditation practitioners within an older population, a control group of age-matched participants and a control group of young participants. Members of both control groups had never practiced meditation. Our results show that long-term meditation practice leads to a reduction of the attentional blink. Meditation practitioners taken from an older population showed a reduction in blink as compared to a control group taken from a younger population, whereas, the control group age-matched to the meditators' group revealed a blink that was comparatively larger and broader. Our results support the hypothesis that meditation practice can: (i) alter the efficiency with which attentional resources are distributed and (ii) help to overcome age-related attentional deficits in the temporal domain.
    Publication Consciousness and Cognition
    Volume 18
    Issue 3
    Pages 593-599
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr Conscious Cogn
    DOI 10.1016/j.concog.2009.05.001
    ISSN 1090-2376
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19515578
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:31:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19515578
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Here we explore whether mental training in the form of meditation can help to overcome age-related attentional decline. We compared performance on the attentional blink task between three populations: A group of long-term meditation practitioners within an older population, a control group of age-matched participants and a control group of young participants. Members of both control groups had never practiced meditation. Our results show that long-term meditation practice leads to a reduction of the attentional blink. Meditation practitioners taken from an older population showed a reduction in blink as compared to a control group taken from a younger population, whereas, the control group age-matched to the meditators’ group revealed a blink that was comparatively larger and broader. Our results support the hypothesis that meditation practice can: (i) alter the efficiency with which attentional resources are distributed and (ii) help to overcome age-related attentional deficits in the temporal domain.

  • Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands

    Type Journal Article
    Author P van Lommel
    Author R van Wees
    Author V Meyers
    Author I Elfferich
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Some people report a near-death experience (NDE) after a life-threatening crisis. We aimed to establish the cause of this experience and assess factors that affected its frequency, depth, and content. METHODS: In a prospective study, we included 344 consecutive cardiac patients who were successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest in ten Dutch hospitals. We compared demographic, medical, pharmacological, and psychological data between patients who reported NDE and patients who did not (controls) after resuscitation. In a longitudinal study of life changes after NDE, we compared the groups 2 and 8 years later. FINDINGS: 62 patients (18%) reported NDE, of whom 41 (12%) described a core experience. Occurrence of the experience was not associated with duration of cardiac arrest or unconsciousness, medication, or fear of death before cardiac arrest. Frequency of NDE was affected by how we defined NDE, the prospective nature of the research in older cardiac patients, age, surviving cardiac arrest in first myocardial infarction, more than one cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during stay in hospital, previous NDE, and memory problems after prolonged CPR. Depth of the experience was affected by sex, surviving CPR outside hospital, and fear before cardiac arrest. Significantly more patients who had an NDE, especially a deep experience, died within 30 days of CPR (p<0.0001). The process of transformation after NDE took several years, and differed from those of patients who survived cardiac arrest without NDE. INTERPRETATION: We do not know why so few cardiac patients report NDE after CPR, although age plays a part. With a purely physiological explanation such as cerebral anoxia for the experience, most patients who have been clinically dead should report one.
    Publication Lancet
    Volume 358
    Issue 9298
    Pages 2039-2045
    Date Dec 15, 2001
    Journal Abbr Lancet
    DOI 10.1016/S0140-6736(01)07100-8
    ISSN 0140-6736
    Short Title Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/11755611
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 3:47:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 11755611
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Age Distribution
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Death
    • Death
    • Female
    • Heart Arrest
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Memory
    • Middle Aged
    • Netherlands
    • Prospective Studies
    • Questionnaires
    • Resuscitation
    • Sex Distribution

    Notes:

    • Background: Some people report a near-death experience (NDE) after a life-threatening crisis. We aimed to establish the cause of this experience and assess factors that affected its frequency, depth, and content. Methods: In a prospective study, we included 344 consecutive cardiac patients who were successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest in ten Dutch hospitals. We compared demographic, medical, pharmacological, and psychological data between patients who reported NDE and patients who did not (controls) after resuscitation. In a longitudinal study of life changes after NDE, we compared the groups 2 and 8 years later. Findings: 62 patients (18%) reported NDE, of whom 41 (12%) described a core experience. Occurrence of the experience was not associated with duration of cardiac arrest or unconsciousness, medication, or fear of death before cardiac arrest. Frequency of NDE was affected by how we defined NDE, the prospective nature of the research in older cardiac patients, age, surviving cardiac arrest in first myocardial infarction, more than one cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during stay in hospital, previous NDE, and memory problems after prolonged CPR. Depth of the experience was affected by sex, surviving CPR outside hospital, and fear before cardiac arrest. Significantly more patients who had an NDE, especially a deep experience, died within 30 days of CPR (p<0.0001). The process of transformation after NDE took several years, and differed from those of patients who survived cardiac arrest without NDE. INTERPRETATION: We do not know why so few cardiac patients report NDE after CPR, although age plays a part. With a purely physiological explanation such as cerebral anoxia for the experience, most patients who have been clinically dead should report one.

  • Religion, senescence, and mental health: the end of life is not the end of hope

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter H Van Ness
    Author David B Larson
    Abstract The authors review epidemiological and survey research relevant to the relationships between religiousness/spirituality and mental health in people at the end of life, with the end of helping psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals dealing with older Americans. They give special attention to well-being, religious coping, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, depression, and suicide, and consider the extent to which hope is a mediator of the purported salutary effects of religiousness. Studies were selected from the comprehensive and systematic review of 20th-century scientific literature concerning religion and health. Authors also review current studies relevant to religion and end-of-life issues. Religious persons reported generally higher levels of well-being. The review also found fairly consistent inverse associations of religiousness with rates of depression and suicide. There was some negative association between religious participation and cognitive dysfunction, but the association with anxiety was inconsistent, with some studies showing a correlation between higher levels of religion and anxiety. Religion's effects on mental health are generally protective in direction but modest in strength.
    Publication The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
    Volume 10
    Issue 4
    Pages 386-397
    Date 2002 Jul-Aug
    Journal Abbr Am J Geriatr Psychiatry
    ISSN 1064-7481
    Short Title Religion, senescence, and mental health
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12095898
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:41:09 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12095898
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Aged
    • Aging
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • mental health
    • Religion and Psychology

    Notes:

    • The authors review epidemiological and survey research relevant to the relationships between religiousness/spirituality and mental health in people at the end of life, with the end of helping psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals dealing with older Americans. Religion’s effects on mental health are generally protective in direction but modest in strength.

  • Religion, risk, and medical decision making at the end of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter H Van Ness
    Author Virginia R Towle
    Author John R O'Leary
    Author Terri R Fried
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to present empirical evidence about whether religious patients are more or less willing to undergo the risks associated with potentially life-sustaining treatment. METHODS: At least every 4 months 226 older community-dwelling persons with advanced cancer, congestive heart failure, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were asked questions about several dimensions of religiousness and about their willingness to accept potentially life-sustaining treatment. RESULTS: Results were mixed but persons who said that during their illness they grew closer to God (odds ratio [OR] = 1.79; 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 1.15, 2.78) or those grew spiritually (OR = 1.61; 95% CI = 1.03, 2.52) were more willing to accept risk associated with potentially life-sustaining treatment than were persons who did not report such growth. DISCUSSION: Not all dimensions of religiousness have the same association with willingness to undergo potentially life-sustaining treatment. Seriously ill older, religious patients are not especially predisposed to avoid risk and resist treatment.
    Publication Journal of Aging and Health
    Volume 20
    Issue 5
    Pages 545-559
    Date Aug 2008
    Journal Abbr J Aging Health
    DOI 10.1177/0898264308317538
    ISSN 0898-2643
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18443144
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:54:05 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18443144
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Decision Making
    • Heart Failure
    • Humans
    • Life Support Care
    • Neoplasms
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk
    • spirituality
    • Terminal Care
    • Terminally Ill
    • United States

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study is to present empirical evidence about whether religious patients are more or less willing to undergo the risks associated with potentially life-sustaining treatment. Results: Results were mixed but persons who said that during their illness they grew closer to God (odds ratio [OR] = 1.79; 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 1.15, 2.78) or those grew spiritually (OR = 1.61; 95% CI = 1.03, 2.52) were more willing to accept risk associated with potentially life-sustaining treatment than were persons who did not report such growth.

  • Religious involvement, social support, and health among African-American women on the east side of Detroit

    Type Journal Article
    Author Juliana van Olphen
    Author Amy Schulz
    Author Barbara Israel
    Author Linda Chatters
    Author Laura Klem
    Author Edith Parker
    Author David Williams
    Abstract BACKGROUND: A significant body of research suggests that religious involvement is related to better mental and physical health. Religion or spirituality was identified as an important health protective factor by women participating in the East Side Village Health Worker Partnership (ESVHWP), a community-based participatory research initiative on Detroit's east side. However, relatively little research to date has examined the mechanisms through which religion may exert a positive effect on health. OBJECTIVE: The research presented here examines the direct effects of different forms of religious involvement on health, and the mediating effects of social support received in the church as a potential mechanism that may account for observed relationships between church attendance and health. DESIGN: This study involved a random sample household survey of 679 African-American women living on the east side of Detroit, conducted as part of the ESVHWP. MAIN RESULTS: Results of multivariate analyses show that respondents who pray less often report a greater number of depressive symptoms, and that faith, as an important source of strength in one's daily life, is positively associated with chronic conditions such as asthma or arthritis. Tests of the mediating effect of social support in the church indicated that social support received from church members mediates the positive relationship between church attendance and specific indicators of health. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that one of the major ways religious involvement benefits health is through expanding an individual's social connections. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 18
    Issue 7
    Pages 549-557
    Date Jul 2003
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    ISSN 0884-8734
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12848838
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:26:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12848838
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Community-Institutional Relations
    • Female
    • Health Services Research
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Michigan
    • Middle Aged
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • religion
    • social support
    • Urban Health
    • Urban Population

    Notes:

    • The research presented here examines the direct effects of different forms of religious involvement on health, and the mediating effects of social support received in the church as a potential mechanism that may account for observed relationships between church attendance and health. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that one of the major ways religious involvement benefits health is through expanding an individual’s social connections.

  • Happiness and financial satisfaction in Israel: Effects of religiosity, ethnicity, and war

    Type Journal Article
    Author Bernard M.S. Van Praag
    Author Dmitri Romanov
    Author Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell
    Abstract We analyze individual satisfaction with life as a whole and satisfaction with the personal financial situation for Israeli citizens of Jewish and Arab descent. Our data set is the Israeli Social Survey (2006). We are especially interested in the impact of the religions Judaism, Islam and Christianity, where we are able to differentiate between individuals who vary in religiosity between secular and ultra-orthodox. We find a significant effect of religiosity on happiness. With respect to Jewish families it is most striking that the impact of family size on both life and financial satisfaction seems to vary with religiosity. This might be a reason for differentiation in family equivalence scales. For Arab families we did not find this effect. First-generation immigrants are less happy than second-generation immigrants, while there is no significant difference between second-generation families and native families. The effect of the Lebanon war is much less than expected.
    Publication Journal of Economic Psychology
    Volume 31
    Issue 6
    Pages 1008-1020
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.joep.2010.08.008
    ISSN 0167-4870
    Short Title Happiness and financial satisfaction in Israel
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6V8H-50YF6CV-1/2/582f9e0f178c7dc4854010a61f4be0b0
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 8:06:24 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM

    Tags:

    • Financial satisfaction
    • Happiness
    • Immigration
    • Israel
    • religion
    • Subjective well-being
    • Terrorism
  • The religious life during suicide bereavement: a description

    Type Journal Article
    Author Larry Vandercreek
    Author Kenneth Mottram
    Abstract This exploratory study gathered narratives from 10 female suicide survivors, exploring 3 dimensions of their religious life during bereavement: (a) the function of the survivor's personal religion; (b) the function of religious support from family and friends; and (c) the function of established religious communities. Ten themes emerged from the narratives: afterlife destiny of the loved one, a more spiritual perspective, the impact on religious beliefs, support from family and friends, survivors' contribution to emotionally distant relationships, long-term and in-depth spiritual support, religious support from congregants, the ministry of clergy, the funeral service, and the return to public worship services. The participants believed that religion played an important role in their bereavement process. The results suggest future research questions, including: (a) what is the perceived role of God in the suicide and the bereavement; (b) what is the relationship between the survivor's participation in a religious community and the care received from that community; and (c) what postvention do survivors wish from clergy?
    Publication Death Studies
    Volume 33
    Issue 8
    Pages 741-761
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr Death Stud
    ISSN 0748-1187
    Short Title The religious life during suicide bereavement
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19697484
    Accessed Monday, September 28, 2009 11:43:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19697484
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Bereavement
    • Clergy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Montana
    • Pastoral Care
    • Religion and Psychology
    • social support
    • spirituality
    • Suicide
    • Survivors
  • Impact of self-hypnosis in women on select physiologic and psychological parameters

    Type Journal Article
    Author Leona VandeVusse
    Author Lisa Hanson
    Author Margaret A. Berner
    Author Jill M White Winters
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To examine physiologic and psychologic effects of hypnosis in healthy women. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental, within-subject, repeated measures. SETTING: Private laboratory setting in an urban Midwestern College of Nursing. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 30 healthy, female volunteers who were nonpregnant, predominantly White, college students. METHOD: Participants listened to a 30-minute recording of relaxing, affirming hypnotic suggestions while sitting comfortably in a recliner. Hypnotizability and trait anxiety were measured at baseline. Tension-anxiety was measured at baseline and following the hypnotic induction. Heart rate, respiratory rate, and heart rate variability were collected before, during, and following the hypnotic experience. RESULTS: Paired t tests revealed significantly reduced heart rate (p<.001), respiratory rate (p<.001), low-to-high frequency heart rate variability ratio (p<.001), and tension-anxiety (p<.001), whereas high frequency heart rate variability was increased (p<.001) after the 30-minute hypnotic session. CONCLUSIONS: Hypnosis is an innovative, low-technology, self-modulated approach that may contribute to stress reduction and health promotion. Parameters demonstrated increased parasympathetic nervous system activity associated with relaxation during and immediately after the hypnosis experience. Findings from this study suggest that nurses can include hypnosis information when advising healthy women about available stress reduction approaches, as well as tailor their nursing care for women who present using this alternative approach.
    Publication Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing
    Volume 39
    Issue 2
    Pages 159-168
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs
    DOI 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2010.01103.x
    ISSN 1552-6909
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 5:26:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20409116
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Influence of prayer and prayer habits on outcome in patients with severe head injury

    Type Journal Article
    Author Prasad Vannemreddy
    Author Kris Bryan
    Author Anil Nanda
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of prayers on the recovery of the unconscious patients admitted after traumatic brain injury. MATERIAL AND RESULTS: A retrospective study of patients with severe head injury was conducted. The Glasgow Coma Scale and Glasgow Outcome Scale scores were examined along with age, gender, smoking, and alcohol intake. There were 13 patients who received prayer and 13 who did not receive prayer during the hospital stay with almost identical mean Glasgow Coma Scale score. The prayer group stayed in the hospital for more days (P = .03). On multivariate analysis, patients' age (P = .01), admission Glasgow Coma Scale score (P = .009), and prayer habits (P = .007) were significant factors. CONCLUSION: Patients with prayers habits recovered better following severe head injury. The role of intercessory prayer needs further studies in larger groups.
    Publication The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care
    Volume 26
    Issue 4
    Pages 264-269
    Date 2009 Aug-Sep
    Journal Abbr Am J Hosp Palliat Care
    DOI 10.1177/1049909109331885
    ISSN 1938-2715
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:48:09 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19229065
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Brain Injuries
    • Child
    • Female
    • Glasgow Coma Scale
    • Glasgow Outcome Scale
    • Habits
    • Hospital Mortality
    • Humans
    • Length of Stay
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Quality of Life
    • religion
    • Retrospective Studies
    • Statistics, Nonparametric
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Religion and HIV/AIDS stigma: Implications for health professionals in Puerto Rico

    Type Journal Article
    Author N Varas-Díaz
    Author T B Neilands
    Author S Malavé Rivera
    Author E Betancourt
    Abstract HIV/AIDS stigma continues to be a barrier for prevention efforts. Its detrimental effects have been documented among people living with HIV/AIDS and encompass loss of social support and depression. When it is manifested by health professionals, it can lead to sub-optimal services. Although strides have been made to document the effects of HIV/AIDS stigma, much needs to be done in order to understand the structural factors that can foster it. Such is the case of religion's role on HIV/AIDS stigma in Puerto Rico. The Caribbean Island has a Judeo-Christian-based culture due to years of Spanish colonisation. This religious influence continued under Protestantism as part of the Island's integration as a non-incorporated territory of the USA. The main objective of this study was to explore the role of religion in HIV/AIDS stigma manifested by Puerto Rican health professionals in practice and in training. Through a mixed-method approach, 501 health professionals completed qualitative interviews (n=80) and self-administered questionnaires (n=421). Results show that religion plays some role in conceptualisations of health and illness among participants in the study. Furthermore, the importance placed on religion and participation in such activities was related to higher levels of HIV/AIDS stigma.
    Publication Global Public Health
    Volume 5
    Issue 3
    Pages 295-312
    Date Jan 19, 2010
    Journal Abbr Glob Public Health
    DOI 10.1080/17441690903436581
    ISSN 1744-1706
    Short Title Religion and HIV/AIDS stigma
    Accessed Saturday, January 23, 2010 11:56:38 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20087809
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Notes:

    • The main objective of this study was to explore the role of religion in HIV/AIDS stigma manifested by Puerto Rican health professionals in practice and in training. Through a mixed-method approach, 501 health professionals completed qualitative interviews (n=80) and self-administered questionnaires (n=421). Results show that religion plays some role in conceptualisations of health and illness among participants in the study. Furthermore, the importance placed on religion and participation in such activities was related to higher levels of HIV/AIDS stigma.

  • Cultural, ethical, and spiritual implications of natural disasters from the survivors' perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shainy B Varghese
    Abstract Cultural, ethical, and spiritual implications of disaster depend on various factors. The impact of a disaster on a particular culture depends on the people in that culture and the strength and resilience of the culture. Disasters may slow cultural development; however, typically the customs, beliefs, and value systems remain the same even if the outward expressions of culture change. Critical to survivors is the implication of aid that is culturally sensitive. Ethical questions and dilemmas associated with disasters and their management are profound. Adhering to ethical principles does not solve all of the issues related to disaster management, but awareness of their utility is important. People affected by a disaster may not be capable of responding to human rights violations, so it is the first responders who must be cognizant of their responsibility to protect the victims’ dignity and rights. Ethical treatment of survivors entails a crucial blend of knowledge about ethnic culture, religious beliefs, and human rights. A strong awareness of ethical principles is merely a beginning step to well-informed decision making in disaster situations. The literature also suggests that during a crisis, spirituality helps victims to cope. Important to any catastrophic event is the understanding that every disaster creates unique circumstances that require relief responses tailored to the specific situation.
    Publication Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America
    Volume 22
    Issue 4
    Pages 515-522
    Date Dec 2010
    Journal Abbr Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am
    DOI 10.1016/j.ccell.2010.09.005
    ISSN 1558-3481
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/21095559
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:58:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21095559
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
  • Yoga and menopausal transition

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nirmala Vaze
    Author Sulabha Joshi
    Abstract With increased life expectancy, today, women spend one-third of their life after menopause. Thus more attention is needed towards peri- and post-menopausal symptoms. Estrogen replacement therapy is the most effective treatment, however, it has its own limitations. The present need is to explore new options for the management of menopausal symptoms. Yogic life style is a way of living which aims to improve the body, mind and day to day life of individuals. The most commonly performed Yoga practices are postures (asana), controlled breathing (pranayama), and meditation (dhyana). Yoga has been utilized as a therapeutic tool to achieve positive health and control and cure diseases. The exact mechanism as to how Yoga helps in various disease states is not known. There could be neuro-hormonal pathways with a selective effect in each pathological situation. There have been multiple studies that have combined the many aspects of Yoga into a general Yoga session in order to investigate its effects on menopausal symptoms. Integrated approach of Yoga therapy can improve hot flushes and night sweats. There is increasing evidence suggesting that even the short-term practice of Yoga can decrease both psychological and physiological risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies conclude that our age old therapy, Yoga, is fairly effective in managing menopausal symptoms.
    Publication Journal of Mid-Life Health
    Volume 1
    Issue 2
    Pages 56-58
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr J Midlife Health
    DOI 10.4103/0976-7800.76212
    ISSN 0976-7819
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21716773
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21716773
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
  • A Christian Humanist Implicit Association Test: Validity and test−retest reliability.

    Type Journal Article
    Author W. Larry Ventis
    Author Christopher T. Ball
    Author Claudia Viggiano
    Abstract The logical tension between humanistic views and traditional deity-centered religious beliefs represents an important psychological conflict for many traditionally religious individuals. Because this conflict can generate anxiety, many people may avoid it, and only encounter the issues unconsciously. We created a Christian Humanist Implicit Association Test to assess implicit evaluative responses to Humanist beliefs among Christian students. We administered the test to 233 students (96 men and 137 women) and also examined test–retest reliability on a subsample (n = 31). Validity of the test received support in correlations with established religious measures. Examples include the correlations with the Rejection of Christianity Scale (r = −.31, p < .001), and with an explicit rating of Warmth to Christianity (r = .38, p < .001). Future research should compare implicit and explicit attitudes toward humanism of differing religions and differing Christian denominations, as well as exploring religious orientations which may more comfortably integrate Christian and Humanist perspectives.
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 2
    Issue 3
    Pages 181-189
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    DOI 10.1037/a0018456
    ISSN 1943-1562
    URL http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?
    doi=10.1037/a0018456
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
  • Psychoneuroimmunology: application to ocular diseases

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lori M Ventura
    Abstract Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is a relatively new discipline within the field of neuroscience which researches the relationship between emotional states, the central and peripheral nervous systems, and the endocrine and immune systems. Negative psychological states, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, may alter immune system regulation and modulation of peripheral cytokines. A plethora of PNI studies have shown that increased psychological stress and depression are associated with an alteration of immune functioning and worsened health outcomes for many conditions. To date, application of PNI methodology has not been reported for ocular diseases. This article provides an historical perspective on the origins of the rift between the emotional and spiritual from physical aspects of disease. A review of how stress is mediated through sympathetic adrenomedullary and hypothalamic pituitary axis activation with shifts in immunity is provided. The literature which supports spirituality in healing is presented. Finally, ocular diseases which would be most amenable to a PNI approach are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Ocular Biology, Diseases, and Informatics
    Volume 2
    Issue 2
    Pages 84-93
    Date Jun 2009
    Journal Abbr J Ocul Biol Dis Infor
    DOI 10.1007/s12177-009-9028-4
    ISSN 1936-8445
    Short Title Psychoneuroimmunology
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:41:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19672468
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
  • Functional well-being is positively correlated with spiritual well-being in women who have spontaneous premature ovarian failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author June L Ventura
    Author O Ray Fitzgerald
    Author Deloris E Koziol
    Author Sharon N Covington
    Author Vien H Vanderhoof
    Author Karim A Calis
    Author Lawrence M Nelson
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between spiritual well-being and functional well-being in women who have spontaneous premature ovarian failure. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: The Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center at the US National Institutes of Health. PATIENT(S): Women diagnosed with spontaneous premature ovarian failure (N = 138) at a median age of 28 years. INTERVENTION(S): Administration of validated self-reporting instruments. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Functional Well-Being, Spiritual Well-Being, Meaning/Peace, and Faith scores. RESULT(S): We found a significant positive correlation between overall spiritual well-being and functional well-being scores. The Meaning/Peace subscale strongly correlated with functional well-being, explaining approximately 62% of the variance. In contrast, the Faith subscale was less strongly correlated with functional well-being, explaining only 7% of the variance. In multiple regression analysis evaluating the relative subscale contributions to functional well-being, only Meaning/Peace remained statistically significant. We found no significant associations between either spiritual well-being or functional well-being and age; age at diagnosis; time since diagnosis; or partner, children, or racial status. CONCLUSION(S): This study provides cross-sectional data supporting the need for prospective controlled studies. Strategies to improve spiritual well-being in the domains of meaning, purpose, and inner peace may provide a therapeutic approach to reduce the emotional suffering that accompanies the life-altering diagnosis of premature ovarian failure.
    Publication Fertility and Sterility
    Volume 87
    Issue 3
    Pages 584-590
    Date Mar 2007
    Journal Abbr Fertil. Steril
    DOI 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2006.07.1523
    ISSN 1556-5653
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17258712
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:13:32 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17258712
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Ovarian Failure, Premature
    • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
    • Quality of Life
    • religion
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Objective: To examine the relationship between spiritual well-being and functional well-being in women who have spontaneous premature ovarian failure. RESULT(S): We found a significant positive correlation between overall spiritual well-being and functional well-being scores. The Meaning/Peace subscale strongly correlated with functional well-being, explaining approximately 62% of the variance. In contrast, the Faith subscale was less strongly correlated with functional well-being, explaining only 7% of the variance.

  • Subjective Sleep Quality and hormonal modulation in long-term yoga practitioners

    Type Journal Article
    Author Francisca M Vera
    Author Juan M Manzaneque
    Author Enrique F Maldonado
    Author Gabriel A Carranque
    Author Francisco M Rodriguez
    Author Maria J Blanca
    Author Miguel Morell
    Abstract Yoga represents a fascinating mind-body approach, wherein body movements (asana), breathing exercises (pranayama) and meditation are integrated into a single multidimensional practice. Numerous beneficial mental and physical effects have been classically ascribed to this holistic ancient method. The purpose of the present study has been to examine the effects of long-term yoga practice on Subjective Sleep Quality (SSQ) and on several hormonal parameters of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Twenty-six subjects (16 experimental and 10 controls) were recruited to be part of the study. Experimental subjects were regular yoga practitioners with a minimum of 3 years of practice. Blood samples for the quantification of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) were drawn from all subjects. Likewise, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was employed to assess SSQ. As statistical analysis, Mann-Whitney U-test was performed. The yoga group displayed lower PSQI scores and higher blood cortisol levels than control subjects. Therefore, it can be concluded that long-term yoga practice is associated with significant psycho-biological differences, including better sleep quality as well as a modulatory action on the levels of cortisol. These preliminary results suggest interesting clinical implications which should be further researched.
    Publication Biological Psychology
    Volume 81
    Issue 3
    Pages 164-168
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Biol Psychol
    DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.03.008
    ISSN 1873-6246
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19482233
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:45:36 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19482233
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
    • Adult
    • Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate
    • Female
    • Hormones
    • Humans
    • Hydrocortisone
    • Immunoassay
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Sleep
    • Statistics, Nonparametric
    • yoga

    Notes:

    • Yoga represents a fascinating mind-body approach, wherein body movements (asana), breathing exercises (pranayama) and meditation are integrated into a single multidimensional practice. Numerous beneficial mental and physical effects have been classically ascribed to this holistic ancient method. The purpose of the present study has been to examine the effects of long-term yoga practice on Subjective Sleep Quality (SSQ) and on several hormonal parameters of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Twenty-six subjects (16 experimental and 10 controls) were recruited to be part of the study. Experimental subjects were regular yoga practitioners with a minimum of 3 years of practice. Blood samples for the quantification of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) were drawn from all subjects. Likewise, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was employed to assess SSQ. As statistical analysis, Mann-Whitney U-test was performed. The yoga group displayed lower PSQI scores and higher blood cortisol levels than control subjects. Therefore, it can be concluded that long-term yoga practice is associated with significant psycho-biological differences, including better sleep quality as well as a modulatory action on the levels of cortisol. These preliminary results suggest interesting clinical implications which should be further researched.

  • Religion and psychiatry

    Type Book
    Author Peter Verhagen
    Place Oxford
    Publisher Wiley-Blackwell
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780470694718
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Evaluation of intrapsychic factors, coping styles, and spirituality of patients affected by tumors.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anna Vespa
    Author Paul B. Jacobsen
    Author Liana Spazzafumo
    Author Lodovico Balducci
    Abstract Background: In this study, we consider spirituality in terms of interpersonal, transpersonal, and intrapsychic processes. The goal of this study is to establish whether a spiritual perspective is correlated with more effective coping skills and intrapsychic processes. Methodology: Patients: Lung ( n = 88, n. (age 62.8±10.1)) and large bowel cancer ( n = 56; age (age 60.1±11.4)) (all stages). Tests: SASB Questionnaire by L.S. Benjamin-intrapsychic processes; Scale of Coping Styles by A. Jalowiech; Brief Measure of Spirituality (BMMS); Spiritual Well Being Index by T. Daaleman and B. Bruce. Results: There is a significant correlation among inner spirituality (IS) (Cronbach's α = 0.692), spiritual coping (SC) (Cronbach's α = 0.935) (described total variability-BMMS) and Spiritual Well Being (SWB) (Cronbach's α = 0.759). (Significant correlation among the three scales, Cronbach's α = 0.676.) The patients with high spirituality are more prone to develop their potentialities and capacities. They (with IS and SC) have more effective coping mechanisms with stressful situations (SASB Cl 3: Self-supporting and appreciate and IS = p<0.002; and SC = p<0.001. They care for themselves by developing their own capacities and potentialities-SASB Cl 5: Self-control and IS p = 0.033; and SC p = 0.037. The profile of patients with lower intrinsic spirituality and SC scores suggest ineffective coping with high risk of depression, self-neglect both in the physical and emotional dimensions, and of self-abuse (SASB Cl 8: Self-criticism and IS p = 0.033; SC p = 0.044). Conclusion: The presence of a spiritual dimension may be a marker of patients with a good adaptation to cancer treatment. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 20
    Issue 1
    Pages 5-11
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1719
    ISSN 10579249
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:43 AM

    Tags:

    • DEPRESSION, Mental
    • LIFE skills
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • TUMORS -- Patients
    • Well-Being
  • Long-term meditation is associated with increased gray matter density in the brain stem

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Vestergaard-Poulsen
    Author Martijn van Beek
    Author Joshua Skewes
    Author Carsten R Bjarkam
    Author Michael Stubberup
    Author Jes Bertelsen
    Author Andreas Roepstorff
    Abstract Extensive practice involving sustained attention can lead to changes in brain structure. Here, we report evidence of structural differences in the lower brainstem of participants engaged in the long-term practice of meditation. Using magnetic resonance imaging, we observed higher gray matter density in lower brain stem regions of experienced meditators compared with age-matched nonmeditators. Our findings show that long-term practitioners of meditation have structural differences in brainstem regions concerned with cardiorespiratory control. This could account for some of the cardiorespiratory parasympathetic effects and traits, as well as the cognitive, emotional, and immunoreactive impact reported in several studies of different meditation practices.
    Publication Neuroreport
    Volume 20
    Issue 2
    Pages 170-174
    Date Jan 28, 2009
    Journal Abbr Neuroreport
    DOI 10.1097/WNR.0b013e328320012a
    ISSN 1473-558X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19104459
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19104459
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Brain Stem
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Linear Models
    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Neuronal Plasticity
  • Long-term meditation is associated with increased gray matter density in the brain stem

    Type Journal Article
    Author Peter Vestergaard-Poulsen
    Author Martijn van Beek
    Author Joshua Skewes
    Author Carsten R Bjarkam
    Author Michael Stubberup
    Author Jes Bertelsen
    Author Andreas Roepstorff
    Abstract Extensive practice involving sustained attention can lead to changes in brain structure. Here, we report evidence of structural differences in the lower brainstem of participants engaged in the long-term practice of meditation. Using magnetic resonance imaging, we observed higher gray matter density in lower brain stem regions of experienced meditators compared with age-matched nonmeditators. Our findings show that long-term practitioners of meditation have structural differences in brainstem regions concerned with cardiorespiratory control. This could account for some of the cardiorespiratory parasympathetic effects and traits, as well as the cognitive, emotional, and immunoreactive impact reported in several studies of different meditation practices.
    Publication Neuroreport
    Volume 20
    Issue 2
    Pages 170-174
    Date Jan 28, 2009
    Journal Abbr Neuroreport
    DOI 10.1097/WNR.0b013e328320012a
    ISSN 1473-558X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19104459
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 2:52:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19104459
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Brain Stem
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Linear Models
    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Middle Aged
    • Neuronal Plasticity

    Notes:

    • Extensive practice involving sustained attention can lead to changes in brain structure. Here, we report evidence of structural differences in the lower brainstem of participants engaged in the long-term practice of meditation. Using magnetic resonance imaging, we observed higher gray matter density in lower brain stem regions of experienced meditators compared with age-matched nonmeditators. Our findings show that long-term practitioners of meditation have structural differences in brainstem regions concerned with cardiorespiratory control. This could account for some of the cardiorespiratory parasympathetic effects and traits, as well as the cognitive, emotional, and immunoreactive impact reported in several studies of different meditation practices.

  • Do Mindfulness Meditation Participants Do Their Homework? And Does It Make a Difference? A Review of the Empirical Evidence

    Type Journal Article
    Author Lisa Christine Vettese
    Author Tony Toneatto
    Author Jonathan N. Stea
    Author Linda Nguyen
    Author Jenny Jing Wang
    Abstract Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to alleviate symptoms of a wide range of physical and mental health conditions. Regular between-session practice of mindfulness meditation is among the key factors proposed to produce the therapeutic benefits of mindfulness-based programs. This article reviews the mindfulness intervention literature with a focus on the status of home practice research and the relationship of practice to mindfulness program outcomes. Of 98 studies reviewed, nearly one-quarter (N = 24) evaluated the associations between home practice and measures of clinical functioning, with just over half (N = 13) demonstrating at least partial support for the benefits of practice. These findings indicate a substantial disparity between what is espoused clinically and what is known empirically about the benefits of mindfulness practice. Improved methodologies for tracking and evaluating the effects of home practice are recommended.
    Publication Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy
    Volume 23
    Pages 198-225
    Date August 2009
    DOI 10.1891/0889-8391.23.3.198
    Short Title Do Mindfulness Meditation Participants Do Their Homework?
    URL http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/springer/jcogp/2009/00000023/00000003/art00003
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:00:31 PM
    Library Catalog IngentaConnect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Homework
    • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
    • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
    • Practice
  • ABC of Complementary Medicine: Herbal Medicine

    Type Journal Article
    Author Andrew Vickers
    Author Catherine Zollman
    Publication BMJ: British Medical Journal
    Volume 319
    Issue 7216
    Pages 1050-1053
    Date Oct. 16, 1999
    ISSN 09598138
    Short Title ABC of Complementary Medicine
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/25186102
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:28:08 AM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Oct. 16, 1999 / Copyright © 1999 BMJ Publishing Group
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Notes:

    • This article constitutes a review of the use of plants, as herbs, for healing purposes.  It discusses both the cultural evolution of the use of herb as well as what kind of herbal prescriptions work to treat specific illnesses.

  • Support for religio-political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza: part II: neuroendocrinological findings

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeff Victoroff
    Author Samir Quota
    Author Janice R Adelman
    Author Barbara Celinska
    Author Naftali Stern
    Author Rand Wilcox
    Author Robert M Sapolsky
    Abstract Hormones seem to play important roles in the regulation of human aggression. Multiple studies have confirmed that testosterone (T) levels exhibit complex relationships with aggression, dominance, and/or risk-taking behavior. Some evidence suggests that cortisol (CORT) interacts with T and may also be associated with aspects of mood and aggression. However, almost no research to date has investigated the possibility that these neuroendocrine factors are associated with variations in political attitudes or with political aggression. During the second intifada, we tested the hypothesis that morning salivary T and/or salivary CORT levels might be associated with self-rated aggression or with support for religio-political aggression (RPA) among 14-year-old Palestinian boys living in Gaza. We obtained and averaged weekly 09:00 hr salivary measures of T and CORT for more than 1 month. Averaged morning T levels did not correlate with self-rated aggression, but were positively associated with agreement with the statement "religious ends justify any means," (r = .355, P = .014) and marginally associated with a composite measure of support for RPA (r = .247, P = .094). Average CORT levels were inversely correlated with self-rated aggression (r = -.328, P = .037) and with anger (r = -.373, P = .016), but CORT levels were not associated with support for RPA or with the statement "religious ends justify any means." Acknowledging that a modest sample size and methodological issues necessarily limit confidence in our conclusions, these results may represent the first findings regarding neurobiological correlates of support for political aggression.
    Publication Aggressive Behavior
    Volume 37
    Issue 2
    Pages 121-132
    Date 2011 Mar-Apr
    Journal Abbr Aggress Behav
    DOI 10.1002/ab.20376
    ISSN 1098-2337
    Short Title Support for religio-political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21274850
    Accessed Monday, April 04, 2011 7:46:40 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21274850
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:56:20 AM
  • Support for religio-political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza: Part I: psychological findings

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jeff Victoroff
    Author Samir Quota
    Author Janice R Adelman
    Author Barbara Celinska
    Author Naftali Stern
    Author Rand Wilcox
    Author Robert M Sapolsky
    Abstract Politically aggressive militant groups usually rely on support from a larger community, although evidence suggests that only some members of that larger community support that aggression. A major subtype of political aggression is that associated with religious differences--or Religio-Political Aggression (RPA). Little previous research has explored demographic or psychological factors that might distinguish supporters from non-supporters of RPA. In an exploratory study, we investigated whether factors previously associated with aggression might correlate with support for RPA in the case of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. During the second intifada, fifty-two 14-year-old Palestinian boys in Gaza completed self-report measures of life events, emotional status, and political attitudes. Teenaged boys who reported family members having been wounded or killed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) expressed greater support for RPA (t(50) = -2.30, P = .026). In addition, boys who felt their group was treated unjustly reported greater support for RPA compared with those who did not (t(50) = -2.273, P = .027). Implications of these preliminary data are discussed.
    Publication Aggressive Behavior
    Volume 36
    Issue 4
    Pages 219-231
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Aggress Behav
    DOI 10.1002/ab.20348
    ISSN 1098-2337
    Short Title Support for religio-political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:13:16 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20540161
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:34 AM
  • An insight into the afterlife? Informing patients about near death experiences

    Type Journal Article
    Author M Vinter
    Abstract 1. Patients often feel better able to confide in nurses than doctors on 'difficult' subjects. 2. Research has rejected conventional hallucinatory effects as a conclusive explanation for NDEs. 3. Nurses may legitimately agree that current research at least points to the possibility of continuation of life after death. 4. Research on energy conservation, thermodynamics and behaviour of subatomic particles suggests there is a wavelength of reality beyond the reach of normal sensory perception.
    Publication Professional Nurse (London, England)
    Volume 10
    Issue 3
    Pages 171-173
    Date Dec 1994
    Journal Abbr Prof Nurse
    ISSN 0266-8130
    Short Title An insight into the afterlife?
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/7862685
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:08:06 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 7862685
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Death
    • Humans
    • Patient Education as Topic
    • Philosophy
    • religion

    Notes:

    • 1. Patients often feel better able to confide in nurses than doctors on ‘difficult’ subjects. 2. Research has rejected conventional hallucinatory effects as a conclusive explanation for NDEs. 3. Nurses may legitimately agree that current research at least points to the possibility of continuation of life after death. 4. Research on energy conservation, thermodynamics and behaviour of subatomic particles suggests there is a wavelength of reality beyond the reach of normal sensory perception.

  • Spirituality and well-being in cancer patients: a review

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anja Visser
    Author Bert Garssen
    Author Ad Vingerhoets
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: Cancer places many demands on the patient and threatens the person's sense of meaning to life. It has been shown that cancer patients use their spirituality to cope with these experiences. The present literature review summarizes the research findings on the relationship between spirituality and emotional well-being. Special attention is given to the strength of the research findings. METHODS: A literature search was performed in Pubmed and Web of Science. Spirituality does not necessarily coincide with religiosity. Therefore, studies were excluded that focused on religiosity. Forty publications met the inclusion criteria: Twenty-seven studies that investigated the relationship between spirituality and well-being, and 13 publications that explored the relationship between meaning in life and well-being. RESULTS: The majority of the cross-sectional studies (31 of 36) found a positive association between spirituality and well-being. The four studies with a longitudinal design showed mixed results. The significance of the findings is challenged, because most spirituality questionnaires contain several items that directly refer to emotional well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Despite that the majority of the studies concluded that spirituality was associated with higher well-being, no definitive conclusions on this relationship can be drawn due to major methodological shortcomings of these studies. Longitudinal research utilizing spirituality and well-being measures that do not overlap in content is recommended.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 19
    Issue 6
    Pages 565-572
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1626
    ISSN 1099-1611
    Short Title Spirituality and well-being in cancer patients
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:42:52 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19916163
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • The present literature review summarizes the research findings on the relationship between spirituality and emotional well-being. Special attention is given to the strength of the research findings.

  • Measures of spiritual issues for palliative care patients: a literature review

    Type Journal Article
    Author B Vivat
    Abstract Members of the Quality of Life Group (QLG) of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) are developing a stand-alone functional measure of spiritual well being for palliative care patients, which will have both a clinical and a measurement application. This article discusses data from a literature review, conducted at two time points as part of the development process of this instrument. The review identified 29 existing measures of issues relating to patients' spirituality or spiritual well being. Twenty two are stand-alone measures of which 15 can be categorised as substantive (investigating the substance of respondents' beliefs) and seven as functional (exploring the function those beliefs serve). However, perhaps owing to the lack of consensus concerning spirituality or spiritual well being, the functional measures all have different (although sometimes overlapping) dimensions. In addition, they were all developed in a single cultural context (the United States), often with predominantly Christian participants, and most were not developed with palliative care patients. None is, therefore, entirely suitable for use with palliative care patients in the United Kingdom or continental Europe.
    Publication Palliative Medicine
    Volume 22
    Issue 7
    Pages 859-868
    Date Oct 2008
    Journal Abbr Palliat Med
    DOI 10.1177/0269216308095990
    ISSN 1477-030X
    Short Title Measures of spiritual issues for palliative care patients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18755826
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:11:10 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18755826
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Neoplasms
    • Palliative Care
    • Quality of Life
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Review Literature as Topic
    • spirituality
    • Terminal Care
    • Terminally Ill

    Notes:

    • Members of the Quality of Life Group (QLG) of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) are developing a stand-alone functional measure of spiritual well being for palliative care patients, which will have both a clinical and a measurement application. This article discusses data from a literature review, conducted at two time points as part of the development process of this instrument.

  • Eastern Meditation Groups: Why Join?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ernest Volinn
    Abstract This paper examines membership in a certain type of New Religious group-viz. those whose members leave the larger society of their own volition in order to participate in meditation and other practices from the East. The data include field observations, responses from a structure interview, and semi-structured, tape-recorded interviews. A model of membership is proposed: individuals with IA) a psychotherapeutic orientation who are IB) structurally available for II) in depth drug experimentation III) seek an alternative to the drug highs without the lows. In the great majority of societies, there is some built-in way of entering a meditative state, some release from the here-and-now other than drugs or alcohol. This society is one of the few exceptions. Members of New Religious groups such as the ashram may be seen as those who have found, in a corner of this society, a way of entering a meditative state.
    Publication Sociological Analysis
    Volume 46
    Issue 2
    Pages 147-156
    Date Summer, 1985
    ISSN 00380210
    Short Title Eastern Meditation Groups
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3711057
    Accessed Sunday, November 08, 2009 11:34:24 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Summer, 1985 / Copyright © 1985 Association for the Sociology of Religion, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This paper examines membership in a certain type of New Religious group-viz. those whose members leave the larger society of their own volition in order to participate in meditation and other practices from the East. The data include field observations, responses from a structure interview, and semi-structured, tape-recorded interviews. A model of membership is proposed: individuals with IA) a psychotherapeutic orientation who are IB) structurally available for II) in depth drug experimentation III) seek an alternative to the drug highs without the lows. In the great majority of societies, there is some built-in way of entering a meditative state, some release from the here-and-now other than drugs or alcohol. This society is one of the few exceptions. Members of New Religious groups such as the ashram may be seen as those who have found, in a corner of this society, a way of entering a meditative state.

  • Existential well-being predicts perceived control in adults with heart failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael W Vollman
    Author Lynda L LaMontagne
    Author Kenneth A Wallston
    Abstract This study examined the relationship between spiritual well-being (SWB) and perceived control (PC) in adult patients with heart failure (HF). The sample included 75 adults ranging in age from 27 to 82 years. Participants verbally completed study questionnaires in a clinic room selected for privacy. Multiple linear regression results indicated that increased existential spiritual well-being (a subscale of SWB) predicted increased PC. Thus, patients with HF who adjust to personal changes and who also connect with others may develop meaning and purpose in life and may perceive increased control over their heart disease.
    Publication Applied Nursing Research: ANR
    Volume 22
    Issue 3
    Pages 198-203
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Appl Nurs Res
    DOI 10.1016/j.apnr.2008.02.001
    ISSN 1532-8201
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19616168
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:08:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19616168
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Heart Failure
    • Holistic Nursing
    • Humans
    • Linear Models
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Power (Psychology)
    • Predictive Value of Tests
    • Questionnaires
    • Social Behavior
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This study examined the relationship between spiritual well-being (SWB) and perceived control (PC) in adult patients with heart failure (HF).

  • Qigong and exercise therapy for elderly patients with chronic neck pain (QIBANE): a randomized controlled study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Philipp von Trott
    Author Anna Maria Wiedemann
    Author Rainer Lüdtke
    Author Anett Reishauer
    Author Stefan N Willich
    Author Claudia M Witt
    Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of qigong compared with exercise therapy and no treatment. Elderly patients with chronic neck pain (>6 months) were randomly assigned to qigong or exercise therapy (each 24 sessions over a period of 3 months) or to a waiting list control. Patients completed standardized questionnaires at baseline and after 3 and 6 months. The main outcome measure was average neck pain on the visual analogue scale after 3 months. Secondary outcomes were neck pain and disability (NPAD) and quality of life (SF-36). One hundred seventeen patients (age, 76 +/- 8 years, 95% women) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The average duration of neck pain was 19.0 +/- 14.9 years. After 3 months, no significant differences were observed between the qigong group and the waiting list control group (visual analogue scale mean difference, -11 mm [CI, -24.0; 2.1], P = .099) or between the qigong group and the exercise therapy group (-2.5 mm [ - 15.4; 10.3], P = .699). Results for the NPAD were similar (qigong vs waiting list -6.7 (-15.4; 2.1), P = .135; qigong vs exercise therapy 2.3 (-6.2; 10.8); P = .600). We found no significant effect after 3 months of qigong or exercise therapy compared with no treatment. Further studies should include outcomes more suitable to elderly patients, longer treatment, and patients with less chronic pain. PERSPECTIVE: In a randomized controlled study, we evaluated whether a treatment of 24 qigong sessions over a period of 3 months is (1) superior to no treatment and (2) superior to the same amount of exercise therapy in elderly patients (age, 76 +/- 8 years, 95% women) with long-term chronic neck pain (19.0 +/- 14.9 years). After 3 and 6 months, we found no significant differences for pain, neck pain, disability, and quality of life among the 3 groups.
    Publication The Journal of Pain: Official Journal of the American Pain Society
    Volume 10
    Issue 5
    Pages 501-508
    Date May 2009
    Journal Abbr J Pain
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpain.2008.11.004
    ISSN 1528-8447
    Short Title Qigong and exercise therapy for elderly patients with chronic neck pain (QIBANE)
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19231298
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:01:37 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19231298
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Chronic Disease
    • Data Interpretation, Statistical
    • Exercise Therapy
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Middle Aged
    • Neck Pain
    • Pain Measurement
    • Quality of Life
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of qigong compared with exercise therapy and no treatment. We found no significant effect after 3 months of qigong or exercise therapy compared with no treatment.

  • Targeting Acceptance, Mindfulness, and Values-Based Action in Chronic Pain: Findings of Two Preliminary Trials of an Outpatient Group-Based Intervention

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kevin E. Vowles
    Author Julie Loebach Wetherell
    Author John T. Sorrell
    Abstract Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for chronic pain is effective, although a number of issues in need of clarification remain, including the processes by which CBT works, the role of cognitive changes in the achievement of outcomes, and the formulation of a coherent theoretical model. Recent developments in psychology have attempted to address these issues by focusing specifically on processes of acceptance, present-focused awareness (e.g., mindfulness), and values-based action. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), perhaps the most widely researched of these developing approaches. Initial evidence suggests that ACT-consistent treatments for chronic pain are effective, although there is a need to study treatment in more traditional pain-management settings, where treatment is generally time-limited, unidisciplinary, and outpatient. Data from two pilot studies are presented. Results support the feasibility of treatment and suggest that effectiveness rates compare favorably with more established forms of treatment, in this case, CBT. Although these data are preliminary, they set a foundation upon which more intensive evaluations can take place.
    Publication Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
    Volume 16
    Issue 1
    Pages 49-58
    Date February 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.cbpra.2008.08.001
    ISSN 1077-7229
    Short Title Targeting Acceptance, Mindfulness, and Values-Based Action in Chronic Pain
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7XMX-4TX18CX-1/2/7a5a539dfbf8853072ab5eb394151950
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:34:28 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Notes:

    • Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for chronic pain is effective, although a number of issues in need of clarification remain, including the processes by which CBT works, the role of cognitive changes in the achievement of outcomes, and the formulation of a coherent theoretical model. Recent developments in psychology have attempted to address these issues by focusing specifically on processes of acceptance, present-focused awareness (e.g., mindfulness), and values-based action. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), perhaps the most widely researched of these developing approaches. Initial evidence suggests that ACT-consistent treatments for chronic pain are effective, although there is a need to study treatment in more traditional pain-management settings, where treatment is generally time-limited, unidisciplinary, and outpatient. Data from two pilot studies are presented. Results support the feasibility of treatment and suggest that effectiveness rates compare favorably with more established forms of treatment, in this case, CBT. Although these data are preliminary, they set a foundation upon which more intensive evaluations can take place.

  • Feasibility and short-term outcomes of a shamanic treatment for temporomandibular joint disorders

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nancy H Vuckovic
    Author Christina M Gullion
    Author Louise A Williams
    Author Michelle Ramirez
    Author Jennifer Schneider
    Abstract CONTEXT: Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) are chronic, recurrent, non-progressive pain conditions affecting the jaw and face. Patients least likely to respond to allopathic treatment are those with the most marked biological responsiveness to external stressors and concomitant emotional and psychosocial difficulties. These characteristics describe individuals who are "dispirited" and may benefit from shamanic healing, an ancient form of spiritual healing. OBJECTIVE: This phase 1 study tested feasibility and safety of shamanic healing for TMDs. DESIGN: Participants were randomized to 1 of 4 shamanic practitioners and attended 5 shamanic healing sessions. Self-reported pain and disability were recorded at baseline and each treatment visit and at 1, 3, 6, and 9-month follow-ups. Participants also were clinically evaluated at baseline and end of treatment. In-depth interviews, part of our mixed methods design, were conducted at baseline and end of treatment to evaluate acceptability and nonclinical changes associated with treatment. SETTING: Portland, Oregon. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-three women with diagnosed TMDs. INTERVENTION: Shamanic treatment carried out during 5 treatment visits. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change from baseline to posttreatment in diagnosis of TMDs by Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) exam and participant self-ratings on the "usual" pain, "worst" pain, and functional impact of TMDs subscales of the RDC Axis II Pain Related Disability and Psychological Status Scale. This paper reports on outcomes at end of treatment. RESULTS: This study demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of clinical trials of shamanic healing. The mean of usual pain went from 4.96 to 2.70, P<.0001; worst pain from 7.48 to 3.60, P<.0001, and functional impact of TMDs from 3.74 to 1.15, P<.0052. Only 4 women were clinically diagnosed with TMDs at the end of treatment.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 13
    Issue 6
    Pages 18-29
    Date 2007 Nov-Dec
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17985808
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:16:55 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17985808
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Facial Pain
    • Feasibility Studies
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Oregon
    • Pain Measurement
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Shamanism
    • spirituality
    • Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Context: Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) are chronic, recurrent, non-progressive pain conditions affecting the jaw and face. Objective: This phase 1 study tested feasibility and safety of shamanic healing for TMDs. Results: This study demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of clinical trials of shamanic healing.

  • Mindfulness-based acceptance and posttraumatic stress symptoms among trauma-exposed adults without axis I psychopathology

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anka A Vujanovic
    Author Nicole E Youngwirth
    Author Kirsten A Johnson
    Author Michael J Zvolensky
    Abstract The present investigation examined the incremental predictive validity of mindfulness-based processes, indexed by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills, in relation to posttraumatic stress symptom severity among individuals without any axis I psychopathology. Participants included 239 adults who endorsed exposure to traumatic life events. Results indicated that the Accepting without Judgment subscale was significantly incrementally associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms; effects were above and beyond the variance accounted for by negative affectivity and number of trauma types experienced. The Acting with Awareness subscale was incrementally associated with only posttraumatic stress-relevant re-experiencing symptoms; and no other mindfulness factors were related to the dependent measures. Findings are discussed in relation to extant empirical and theoretical work relevant to mindfulness and posttraumatic stress.
    Publication Journal of Anxiety Disorders
    Volume 23
    Issue 2
    Pages 297-303
    Date Mar 2009
    Journal Abbr J Anxiety Disord
    DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.08.005
    ISSN 1873-7897
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18834701
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:29:00 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18834701
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Attitude to Health
    • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Severity of Illness Index
    • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
    • Young Adult
  • What physicians should know about spirituality and chronic pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author AB Wachholtz
    Author FJ Keefe
    Publication SOUTHERN MEDICAL JOURNAL
    Volume 99
    Issue 10
    Pages 1174-1175
    Date OCT 2006
    ISSN 0038-4348
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Sunday, September 06, 2009 11:16:57 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Migraines and meditation: does spirituality matter?

    Type Journal Article
    Author AB Wachholtz
    Author KI Pargament
    Abstract Migraine headaches are associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety (Waldie and Poulton Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 72: 86-92, 2002) and feelings of low self-efficacy (French et al. Headache, 40: 647-656, 2000). Previous research suggests that spiritual meditation may ameliorate some of the negative traits associated with migraine headaches (Wachholtz and Pargament Journal of behavioral Medicine, 30: 311-318, 2005). This study examined two primary questions: (1) Is spiritual meditation more effective in enhancing pain tolerance and reducing migraine headache related symptoms than secular meditation and relaxation? and, (2) Does spiritual meditation create better mental, physical, and spiritual health outcomes than secular meditation and relaxation techniques? Eighty-three meditation naive, frequent migraineurs were taught Spiritual Meditation, Internally Focused Secular Meditation, Externally Focused Secular Meditation, or Muscle Relaxation which participants practiced for 20 min a day for one month. Pre-post tests measured pain tolerance (with a cold pressor task), headache frequency, and mental and spiritual health variables. Compared to the other three groups, those who practiced spiritual meditation had greater decreases in the frequency of migraine headaches, anxiety, and negative affect, as well as greater increases in pain tolerance, headache-related self-efficacy, daily spiritual experiences, and existential well being.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 31
    Issue 4
    Pages 351-366
    Date AUG 2008
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-008-9159-2
    ISSN 0160-7715
    Short Title Migraines and meditation
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Sunday, September 06, 2009 11:16:50 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study examined two primary questions: (1) Is spiritual meditation more effective in enhancing pain tolerance and reducing migraine headache related symptoms than secular meditation and relaxation? and, (2) Does spiritual meditation create better mental, physical, and spiritual health outcomes than secular meditation and relaxation techniques?

  • Is Spirituality a Critical Ingredient of Meditation? Comparing the Effects of Spiritual Meditation, Secular Meditation, and Relaxation on Spiritual, Psychological, Cardiac, and Pain Outcomes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy Wachholtz
    Author Kenneth Pargament
    Abstract This study compared secular and spiritual forms of meditation to assess the benefits of a spiritual intervention. Participants were taught a meditation or relaxation technique to practice for 20 min a day for two weeks. After two weeks, participants returned to the lab, practiced their technique for 20 min, and placed their hand in a cold-water bath of 2°C for as long as they could endure it. The length of time that individuals kept their hand in the water bath was measured. Pain, anxiety, mood, and the spiritual health were assessed following the two-week intervention. Significant interactions occurred (time × group); the Spiritual Meditation group had greater decreases in anxiety and more positive mood, spiritual health, and spiritual experiences than the other two groups. They also tolerated pain almost twice as long as the other two groups.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 28
    Issue 4
    Pages 369-384
    Date 2005
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-005-9008-5
    Short Title Is Spirituality a Critical Ingredient of Meditation?
    URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10865-005-9008-5
    Accessed Saturday, September 05, 2009 1:23:40 PM
    Library Catalog SpringerLink
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This study compared secular and spiritual forms of meditation to assess the benefits of a spiritual intervention. Participants were taught a meditation or relaxation technique to practice for 20 min a day for two weeks. After two weeks, participants returned to the lab, practiced their technique for 20 min, and placed their hand in a cold-water bath of 2°C for as long as they could endure it. The length of time that individuals kept their hand in the water bath was measured. Pain, anxiety, mood, and the spiritual health were assessed following the two-week intervention. Significant interactions occurred (time × group); the Spiritual Meditation group had greater decreases in anxiety and more positive mood, spiritual health, and spiritual experiences than the other two groups. They also tolerated pain almost twice as long as the other two groups.

  • Migraines and meditation: does spirituality matter?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy B Wachholtz
    Author Kenneth I Pargament
    Abstract Migraine headaches are associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety (Waldie and Poulton Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 72: 86-92, 2002) and feelings of low self-efficacy (French et al. Headache, 40: 647-656, 2000). Previous research suggests that spiritual meditation may ameliorate some of the negative traits associated with migraine headaches (Wachholtz and Pargament Journal of behavioral Medicine, 30: 311-318, 2005). This study examined two primary questions: (1) Is spiritual meditation more effective in enhancing pain tolerance and reducing migraine headache related symptoms than secular meditation and relaxation? and, (2) Does spiritual meditation create better mental, physical, and spiritual health outcomes than secular meditation and relaxation techniques? Eighty-three meditation naïve, frequent migraineurs were taught Spiritual Meditation, Internally Focused Secular Meditation, Externally Focused Secular Meditation, or Muscle Relaxation which participants practiced for 20 min a day for one month. Pre-post tests measured pain tolerance (with a cold pressor task), headache frequency, and mental and spiritual health variables. Compared to the other three groups, those who practiced spiritual meditation had greater decreases in the frequency of migraine headaches, anxiety, and negative affect, as well as greater increases in pain tolerance, headache-related self-efficacy, daily spiritual experiences, and existential well being.
    Publication Journal of Behavioral Medicine
    Volume 31
    Issue 4
    Pages 351-366
    Date Aug 2008
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-008-9159-2
    ISSN 0160-7715
    Short Title Migraines and meditation
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18551362
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:00:33 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18551362
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adolescent
    • Anxiety
    • depression
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Illness Behavior
    • Internal-External Control
    • Male
    • Meditation
    • Migraine Disorders
    • Pain Measurement
    • Personality Inventory
    • Quality of Life
    • Relaxation Therapy
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Self Efficacy
    • spirituality
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Migraine headaches are associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety (Waldie and Poulton Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 72: 86-92, 2002) and feelings of low self-efficacy (French et al. Headache, 40: 647-656, 2000). Previous research suggests that spiritual meditation may ameliorate some of the negative traits associated with migraine headaches (Wachholtz and Pargament Journal of behavioral Medicine, 30: 311-318, 2005). This study examined two primary questions: (1) Is spiritual meditation more effective in enhancing pain tolerance and reducing migraine headache related symptoms than secular meditation and relaxation? and, (2) Does spiritual meditation create better mental, physical, and spiritual health outcomes than secular meditation and relaxation techniques? Eighty-three meditation naïve, frequent migraineurs were taught Spiritual Meditation, Internally Focused Secular Meditation, Externally Focused Secular Meditation, or Muscle Relaxation which participants practiced for 20 min a day for one month. Pre-post tests measured pain tolerance (with a cold pressor task), headache frequency, and mental and spiritual health variables. Compared to the other three groups, those who practiced spiritual meditation had greater decreases in the frequency of migraine headaches, anxiety, and negative affect, as well as greater increases in pain tolerance, headache-related self-efficacy, daily spiritual experiences, and existential well being.

  • Does spirituality as a coping mechanism help or hinder coping with chronic pain?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy B Wachholtz
    Author Michelle J Pearce
    Abstract Chronic pain is a complex experience stemming from the interrelationship among biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. Many chronic pain patients use religious/spiritual forms of coping, such as prayer and spiritual support, to cope with their pain. This article explores empirical research that illustrates how religion/spirituality may impact the experience of pain and may help or hinder the coping process. This article also provides practical suggestions for health care professionals to aid in the exploration of spiritual issues that may contribute to the pain experience.
    Publication Current Pain and Headache Reports
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 127-132
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr Curr Pain Headache Rep
    ISSN 1534-3081
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:38:50 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19272278
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Chronic Disease
    • Health Personnel
    • Humans
    • Pain
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • Treatment Outcome
  • Does spirituality as a coping mechanism help or hinder coping with chronic pain?

    Type Journal Article
    Author AB Wachholtz
    Author MJ Pearce
    Abstract Chronic pain is a complex experience stemming from the interrelationship among biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. Many chronic pain patients use religious/spiritual forms of coping, such as prayer and spiritual support, to cope with their pain. This article explores empirical research that illustrates how religion/spirituality may impact the experience of pain and may help or hinder the coping process. This article also provides practical suggestions for health care professionals to aid in the exploration of spiritual issues that may contribute to the pain experience.
    Publication Current Pain and Headache Reports
    Volume 13
    Issue 2
    Pages 127-132
    Date APR 2009
    Journal Abbr Curr Pain Headache Rep
    DOI 10.1007/s11916-009-0022-0
    ISSN 1531-3433
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Sunday, September 06, 2009 11:16:49 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Many chronic pain patients use religious/spiritual forms of coping, such as prayer and spiritual support, to cope with their pain. This article explores empirical research that illustrates how religion/spirituality may impact the experience of pain and may help or hinder the coping process.

  • National Trends in Prayer Use as a Coping Mechanism for Health Concerns: Changes From 2002 to 2007

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy Wachholtz
    Author Usha Sambamoorthi
    Abstract <p><br/>The objective of this research was to analyze national trends in the use of prayer to cope with health concerns. Data are from the Alternative Medicine Supplement of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2002 (N = 30,080) and 2007 (N = 22,306). We categorized prayer use into 3 groups: never prayed, prayed in the past 12 months, and did not pray in the past 12 months. Chi-square tests and multinomial logistic regressions were performed to analyze prayer use over time. All analyses adjusted for the complex sample design of the NHIS and were conducted in SAS-callable SUDAAN. Recent use (within 12 months) of prayer for health concerns significantly increased from 43% in 2002 to 49% in 2007. After adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic status, health status, and lifestyle behaviors, prayer use was more likely in 2007 than 2002 (adjusted odds ratio = 1.21, 95% CI [1.14, 1.28]). Across time, individuals reporting dental pain were more likely to use prayer to cope compared with those with no pain. The adjusted odds ratios were 1.2 (95% CI [1.09, 1.33]) in 2002 and 1.16 (95% CI [1.03, 1.3]) in 2007. Other predictors of prayer, including gender, race, psychological distress, changing health status, and functional limitations, remained consistent across both time periods. Overall, prayer use for health concerns increased between 2001 and 2007. The escalating positive association between pain and prayer use for health concerns over time suggests that it is critical for mental and physical health treatment providers to be aware of the prevalence of this coping resource.</p>
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 3
    Issue 2
    Pages 67-77
    Date May 2011
    DOI 37/a0021598
    ISSN 1941-1022
    Short Title National Trends in Prayer Use as a Coping Mechanism for Health Concerns
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S194110221160006X
    Accessed Thursday, June 09, 2011 6:07:17 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM

    Tags:

    • Coping
    • Health
    • Pain
    • prayer
    • spirituality
  • Exploring the relationship between spirituality, coping, and pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author AB Wachholtz
    Author MJ Pearce
    Author H Koenig
    Abstract There is growing recognition that persistent pain is a complex and multidimensional experience stemming from the interrelationship among biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. Chronic pain patients use a number of cognitive and behavioral strategies to cope with their pain, including religious/spiritual forms of coping, such as prayer, and seeking spiritual support to manage their pain. This article will explore the relationship between the experience of pain and religion/spirituality with the aim of understanding not only why some people rely on their faith to cope with pain, but also how religion/spirituality may impact the experience of pain and help or hinder the coping process. We will also identify future research priorities that may provide fruitful research in illuminating the relationship between religion/spirituality and pain.
    Publication Journal of Behavorial Medicine
    Volume 30
    Issue 4
    Pages 311-318
    Date Aug 2007
    Journal Abbr J Behav Med
    DOI 10.1007/s10865-007-9114-7
    ISSN 0160-7715
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Sunday, September 06, 2009 11:16:53 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This article explores the relationship between the experience of pain and religion/spirituality with the aim of understanding not only why some people rely on their faith to cope with pain, but also how religion/spirituality may impact the experience of pain and help or hinder the coping process.

  • Development of Wagle Health-Specific Religiousness Scale

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ann M. Wagle
    Author Victoria L. Champion
    Author Kathleeen M. Russell
    Author SM Rawl
    Abstract African American women have a lower rate of regular mammography screening, resulting in higher incidence of advanced-stage breast cancer at diagnosis and a lower 5-year survival rate as compared with white women. Researchers have demonstrated that several health beliefs relate to mammography screening in African American women, but little attention has been paid to the importance of religiousness. Although some authors have attempted to determine a link between religiousness and health, we lack a valid and reliable instrument to measure religiousness that can be found in the context of health behaviors. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and psychometric testing of the Wagle Health-Specific Religiousness (WHSR) scale, an instrument used to measure religious beliefs and the influence of those beliefs on mammography screening for African American women. A sample of 344 low-income African American women who were nonadherent to mammography at accrual participating In a randomized trial completed the WHSR. Data from this trial were used to determine the validity and reliability of the WHSR. The 19-Item WHSR scale had a Cronbach alpha of .94. Construct validity was supported via factor analysis and analysis of theoretical relationships. Although further testing is warranted, this analysis indicates that the concept of religiousness is an important component of mammography behavior in African American women.
    Publication Cancer Nursing
    Volume 32
    Issue 5
    Pages 418-425
    Date SEP-OCT 2009
    ISSN 0162-220X
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=AdvancedSearch&…
    Accessed Sunday, November 01, 2009 11:31:59 AM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • One method for objective adherence measurement in mind-body medicine

    Type Journal Article
    Author Helané Wahbeh
    Author Heather Zwickey
    Author Barry Oken
    Abstract Abstract Objectives: Home practice is frequently prescribed as part of mind-body medicine interventions, although rarely objectively measured. This brief methods report describes one method for objectively measuring home practice adherence using a custom monitoring software program. Design: Methods for objectively measuring adherence were developed as part of a randomized controlled trial on the mechanisms of mindfulness meditation. Settings/location: The study was conducted at Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon. Subjects: The subjects comprised 11 combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Interventions: The method used was mindfulness meditation. Outcome measures: There were subjective and objective adherence measurements of mindfulness meditation home practice. Results: The first iteration of objective adherence monitoring used an iPod device and had limitations in participant usage and correctly capturing data. In the second iteration, objective data were easily collected, uploaded, and viewed using the custom software application, iMINDr. Participants reported that iMINDr was straightforward to use, and they returned the monitoring units as directed. Conclusions: The iMINDr is an example of a simple objective adherence measurement system that may help mind-body researchers examine how home practice adherence may affect outcomes in future clinical trials.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 17
    Issue 2
    Pages 175-177
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2010.0316
    ISSN 1557-7708
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:26:11 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21281126
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
  • Religion and spirituality in rehabilitation outcomes among individuals with traumatic brain injury.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brigid Waldron-Perrine
    Author Lisa J. Rapport
    Author Robin A. Hanks
    Author Mark Lumley
    Author Sarah-Jane Meachen
    Author Paul Hubbarth
    Abstract Objective: The long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury affect millions of Americans, many of whom report using religion and spirituality to cope. Little research, however, has investigated how various elements of the religious and spiritual belief systems affect rehabilitation outcomes. The present study sought to assess the use of specifically defined elements of religion and spirituality as psychosocial resources in a sample of traumatically brain injured adults. Participants: The sample included 88 adults with brain injury from 1 to 20 years post injury and their knowledgeable significant others (SOs). The majority of the participants with brain injury were male (76%), African American (75%) and Christian (76%). Measures: Participants subjectively reported on their religious/spiritual beliefs and psychosocial resources as well as their current physical and psychological status. Significant others reported objective rehabilitation outcomes. Analyses: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to determine the proportion of variance in outcomes accounted for by demographic, injury related, psychosocial and religious/spiritual variables. Results: The results indicate that religious well-being (a sense of connection to a higher power) was a unique predictor for life satisfaction, distress and functional ability whereas public religious practice and existential well-being were not. Conclusions: The findings of this project indicate that specific facets of religious and spiritual belief systems do play direct and unique roles in predicting rehabilitation outcomes whereas religious activity does not. Notably, a self-reported individual connection to a higher power was an extremely robust predictor of both subjective and objective outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)
    Publication Rehabilitation Psychology
    Volume 56
    Issue 2
    Pages 107-116
    Date May 2011
    DOI 10.1037/a0023552
    ISSN 0090-5550
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:49 AM

    Tags:

    • Psychosocial Factors
    • psychosocial variables
    • REHABILITATION
    • rehabilitation outcomes
    • religion
    • spirituality
    • traumatic brain injury
    • Treatment Outcomes
  • Young people's mental health: the spiritual power of fairy stories, myths and legends

    Type Journal Article
    Author Steven Walker
    Abstract Children and young people have the capacity to conjure feelings of faith and hope when experiencing emotional and psychological distress. World myths, legends and fairy stories as part of early child development offer a rich source of material to draw from and enlist in the therapeutic endeavour. Fairies often act in a healing capacity in mythology, or they appear as agents between the world of human affairs and the invisible forces of nature. Mythological beings also possess helping powers in advance of mortals achieving superhuman tasks, but they can also when used as metaphor, frighten children and potentially cause psychological harm. This paper suggests that mental health practitioners can utilise such powerful narratives therapeutically and in a culturally respectful and spiritually innovative way. Harnessing the child's imagination can be a powerful vehicle for a transforming experience at the psychic level with consequent positive benefits for emotional well-being.
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 1
    Pages 81
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670903196721
    ISSN 1367-4676
    Short Title Young people's mental health
    URL http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/13674670903196721
    Accessed Monday, January 11, 2010 3:25:06 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Changes in Personal Religion/Spirituality During and After Childhood Abuse: A Review and Synthesis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Donald F. Walker
    Author Henri Webb Reid
    Author Tiffany O'Neill
    Author Lindsay Brown
    Abstract Psychologists have begun to consider the potential role of traumatic experiences on the victim's spirituality and religiousness as well as the role personal religious and spiritual faith might have in recovery from abuse. In this review, the authors were particularly interested in these issues as they pertain to childhood abuse. The authors identified 34 studies of child abuse as they relate to spirituality and religiosity that included information on a total of 19, 090 participants. The studies were classified according to both the form of abuse and the form of religiousness or spirituality that were examined. The majority of studies indicated either some decline in religiousness or spirituality (N = 14) or a combination of both growth and decline (N = 12). Seven studies gave preliminary indications that religiousness/spirituality can moderate the development of posttraumatic symptoms or symptoms associated with other Axis I disorders. The authors discuss implications for both therapy and future research.
    Publication Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
    Volume 1
    Issue 2
    Pages 130-145
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1037/a0016211
    ISSN 1942-9681
    Short Title Changes in Personal Religion/Spirituality During and After Childhood Abuse
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B9845-4WTJYVG-5/2/69990efad0e393a082ae381930cd9f51
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:52:15 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • childhood abuse
    • religion and spirituality
  • Religious Commitment and Expectations About Psychotherapy Among Christian Clients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Donald F. Walker
    Author Everett L. Worthington Jr.
    Author Aubrey L. Gartner
    Author Richard L. Gorsuch
    Author Evalin Rhodes Hanshew
    Abstract <p><br/>To assist psychotherapists in understanding client religiousness, Richards and Bergin (2005) have suggested assessing clients' religiousness at a broad level initially, using ecumenical measures, followed by a more detailed assessment that uses measures particular to the client's religious affiliation. In this study, the utility of this approach was tested in predicting expectations about psychotherapy of Christian clients (N = 176). Their religious commitment was considered in comparison to religious beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors. Client religiousness was positively associated with ratings of therapist expertise and attractiveness, desire to discuss religious issues in psychotherapy, and desire to see a Christian therapist. This suggests that assessing religious commitment is important, and that measuring religious beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors add accuracy to assessment.</p>
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 3
    Issue 2
    Pages 98-114
    Date May 2011
    DOI 37/a0021604
    ISSN 1941-1022
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1941102211600083
    Accessed Thursday, June 09, 2011 6:07:23 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:16 AM

    Tags:

    • expectations about psychotherapy
    • religious commitment
  • Formative and process evaluations of a cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness intervention for people with epilepsy and depression

    Type Journal Article
    Author Elizabeth Reisinger Walker
    Author Natasha Obolensky
    Author Sheila Dini
    Author Nancy J. Thompson
    Abstract People with chronic diseases are at high risk for depression, resulting in a need for effective and accessible treatment options. Project UPLIFT is a program based on cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness that is aimed at reducing depressive symptoms among people with epilepsy. It is designed to be delivered to small groups of people over the phone or Internet. This study describes the formative and process evaluations of Project UPLIFT; the purpose of these evaluations was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the program, looking at both the program components and delivery methods. The formative evaluation, conducted prior to program implementation, included nine participants in three focus groups. The process evaluation included qualitative comments and responses to the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire from 38 Project UPLIFT pilot study participants. Overall, the results from both evaluations indicate that participants felt that Project UPLIFT was acceptable and perceived to be beneficial.
    Publication Epilepsy & Behavior
    Volume 19
    Issue 3
    Pages 239-246
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.07.032
    ISSN 1525-5050
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WDT-511CBC3-1/2/621afcbde9d28a76e8b8000dbcbb1db6
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:35:41 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM

    Tags:

    • Cognitive-behavioral therapy
    • Depression treatment
    • Epilepsy
    • Mindfulness
    • Process evaluation
  • Religiosity and substance use: test of an indirect-effect model in early and middle adolescence

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carmella Walker
    Author Michael G Ainette
    Author Thomas A Wills
    Author Don Mendoza
    Abstract The authors tested hypothesized pathways from religiosity to adolescent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) with data from samples of middle school (n = 1,273) and high school students (n = 812). Confirmatory analysis of measures of religiosity supported a 2-factor solution with behavioral aspects (belonging, attendance) and personal aspects (importance, value, spirituality, forgiveness) as distinct factors. Structural modeling analyses indicated inverse indirect effects of personal religiosity on substance use, mediated through more good self-control and less tolerance for deviance. Religiosity was correlated with fewer deviant peer affiliations and nonendorsement of coping motives for substance use but did not have direct effects on these variables. Parental support and parent-child conflict also had significant effects (with opposite direction) on substance use, mediated through self-control and deviance-prone attitudes. Implications for prevention research are discussed.
    Publication Psychology of Addictive Behaviors: Journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors
    Volume 21
    Issue 1
    Pages 84-96
    Date Mar 2007
    Journal Abbr Psychol Addict Behav
    DOI 10.1037/0893-164X.21.1.84
    ISSN 0893-164X
    Short Title Religiosity and substance use
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17385958
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:31:54 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17385958
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Behavior
    • Child
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Models, Theoretical
    • Parent-Child Relations
    • Parents
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Students
    • Substance-Related Disorders

    Notes:

    • The authors tested hypothesized pathways from religiosity to adolescent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) with data from samples of middle school (n = 1,273) and high school students (n = 812). Confirmatory analysis of measures of religiosity supported a 2-factor solution with behavioral aspects (belonging, attendance) and personal aspects (importance, value, spirituality, forgiveness) as distinct factors.

  • The Physiological Effects of Transcendental Meditation; a Proposed Fourth Major State of Consciousness

    Type Book
    Author Robert Keith Wallace
    Edition 3d ed.
    Place Los Angeles
    Publisher Students' International Meditation Society
    Date 1973
    Library Catalog fcaw.library.umass.edu:8991 Library Catalog
    Call Number BL627
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Psychophysiology
    • Transcendental Meditation
  • Bodies in skin: a philosophical and theological approach to genetic skin diseases

    Type Journal Article
    Author Angelika Walser
    Abstract This contribution evolved from my work in a European network and is dedicated to the rare genetic skin diseases. To gain a deeper knowledge about the question, what it means to suffer from a genetic skin disease, I have discussed the concepts of skin in philosophical and theological anthropology. Presuming that ancient interpretations of skin diseases (moral and cultical impurity) are still relevant today, feminist Christian theology shows the ways of deconstructing stigmatizing paradigma by using the body as a hermeneutic category. Skin becomes the "open borderline" of the human being, pointing out both the social vulnerability and the transcendent capacity of the human person.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 49
    Issue 1
    Pages 96-104
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9233-7
    ISSN 1573-6571
    Short Title Bodies in skin
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19148755
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:09:28 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19148755
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Anthropology
    • Bible
    • Christianity
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Skin Diseases
    • Theology
  • Spiritual Diversity: Multifaith Perspectives in Family Therapy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Froma Walsh
    Abstract This paper addresses the growing diversity and complexity of spirituality in society and within families. This requires a broadly inclusive, multifaith approach in clinical training and practice. Increasingly, individuals, couples, and families seek, combine, and reshape spiritual beliefs and practices—within and among faiths and outside organized religion—to fit their lives and relationships. With rising faith conversion and interfaith marriages, the paper examines challenges in multifaith families, particularly with marriage, childrearing, and the death of a loved one. Clinical guidelines, cautions, and case examples are offered to explore the role and significance of spiritual beliefs and practices in couple and family relationships; to identify spiritual sources of distress and relational conflict; and to draw potential spiritual resources for healing, well-being, and resilience, fitting client values and preferences.
    Publication Family Process
    Volume 49
    Issue 3
    Pages 330-348
    Date 09/2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01326.x
    ISSN 00147370
    Short Title Spiritual Diversity
    URL http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01326.x/abstract
    Accessed Monday, October 11, 2010 11:50:34 AM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:29 AM
  • Predicting individual differences in mindfulness: The role of trait anxiety, attachment anxiety and attentional control

    Type Journal Article
    Author James J. Walsh
    Author Marc G. Balint
    Author David R. Smolira SJ
    Author Line Kamstrup Fredericksen
    Author Stine Madsen
    Abstract Two correlational studies sought to identify possible predictors of individual differences in naturally occurring mindfulness. In study one, trait anxiety and attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance, were negatively predictive of mindfulness. In study two, trait anxiety (-) and attentional control (+), but not openness or parental nurturance, predicted mindfulness. In addition, there was evidence of a partial mediation effect of attentional control on the association between trait anxiety and mindfulness. Key features of trait anxiety such as attentional and interpretative processing biases, as well as those of attachment anxiety such as rumination and hypersensitivity, are at odds with mindfulness characteristics such as attention to what is present coupled with an attitude of openness and acceptance. Thus, whether generalised or specific, anxiety appears to be antagonistic to mindfulness; control over one's attentional resources may form part of the underlying explanation.
    Publication Personality and Individual Differences
    Volume 46
    Issue 2
    Pages 94-99
    Date January 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2008.09.008
    ISSN 0191-8869
    Short Title Predicting individual differences in mindfulness
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9F-4TRR8MC-1/2/b5cdd4e8e58cbf2b8ed7575c9501ee5c
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 7:46:43 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Attachment anxiety
    • Attentional control
    • Mindfulness
    • Trait anxiety
  • Role of Spirituality in HIV-Infected Mothers

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rosemary N Walulu
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to describe the processes by which HIV-infected mothers manage mothering. A semi-structured guide was used to facilitate discussion from a convenience sample of 15 mothers. The core category was "The Process of Living for My Children." "Leaning on God" was a part of "Taking Care of Myself" and reflected the ways in which the mothers used spiritual aspects to manage mothering and live with HIV infection. Leaning on God was an important tool in managing mothering and self-care. Health care providers can enhance this tool by being aware of their own values and beliefs.
    Publication Issues in Mental Health Nursing
    Volume 32
    Issue 6
    Pages 382-384
    Date 2011
    Journal Abbr Issues Ment Health Nurs
    DOI 10.3109/01612840.2011.568160
    ISSN 1096-4673
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21692577
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:15:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21692577
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to describe the processes by which HIV-infected mothers manage mothering. A semi-structured guide was used to facilitate discussion from a convenience sample of 15 mothers. The core category was "The Process of Living for My Children." "Leaning on God" was a part of "Taking Care of Myself" and reflected the ways in which the mothers used spiritual aspects to manage mothering and live with HIV infection. Leaning on God was an important tool in managing mothering and self-care. Health care providers can enhance this tool by being aware of their own values and beliefs.

  • Religious Fundamentalism, Religious Coping, and Preference for Psychological and Religious Treatment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rachel Wamser
    Author Brian Vandenberg
    Author Rachel Hibberd
    Abstract Religion may not be simply another variable in the assessment of treatment-seeking but an alternative worldview about the nature of suffering and its appropriate treatment. This study examines the relation of religious fundamentalism and religious coping on relative preference for psychological or religious help-seeking in 142 undergraduate students. Higher levels of religious fundamentalism and deferred religious coping were found to be associated with greater preference for religious rather than psychological help-seeking. The results suggest that religious issues need to be included in the investigation of help-seeking.
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 21
    Issue 3
    Pages 228-236
    Date 06/2011
    Journal Abbr International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    DOI 10.1080/10508619.2011.581582
    ISSN 1050-8619
    URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10508619.2011.581582
    Accessed Thursday, July 14, 2011 5:30:47 PM
    Library Catalog CrossRef
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:53:56 AM
  • Spirituality: The Key to Recovery from Alcoholism.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert D. Warfield
    Author Marc B. Goldstein
    Publication Counseling and Values
    Volume 40
    Issue 3
    Pages 196-205
    Date 1996
    Journal Abbr Counseling and Values
    ISSN ISSN-0160-7960
    Short Title Spirituality
    Library Catalog ERIC
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • 12 Step Programs
    • Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Negative Affect
    • relapse
    • Spiritual Needs
  • Five dimensions of faith and spiritually of older African American women transitioning out of homelessness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Olivia G M Washington
    Author David P Moxley
    Author Lois Garriott
    Author Jennifer P Weinberger
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Homelessness among older African American women is emerging as a serious social problem. The increasing cost of living, diminishing community resources, and shrinking retirement benefits, as well as reduced social services are resulting in greater numbers of older minority women becoming homeless. AIMS: This investigation explores the relevance of faith and spirituality to an advocacy assessment designed to help participants resolve issues that operate as barriers to their leaving and staying out of homelessness. METHODS: A substudy of a larger research and development project was undertaken, in which qualitative interview methods were used to illuminate the role of faith and spirituality resources in the lives of 84 older homeless African American women. Comparative thematic analysis of illustrative cases was undertaken to better understand the role of faith and spirituality in the women's lives and in how they used faith and spirituality in coping with homelessness. FINDINGS: Five dimensions of faith and spirituality, (a) identity and beliefs; (b) affiliation and membership; (c) involvement; (d) practices; and (e) benefits, served as promising resources in understanding life spaces of homeless minority women and identified promising advocacy strategies. Two cases describe the realities of homelessness for older minority women endeavoring to transition out of homelessness and illustrate how faith and spirituality can buffer stress, facilitate coping, and sustain motivation. CONCLUSIONS: How older homeless African American women use their faith and spiritual resources to cope with demands of homelessness, challenges of transition, and recovery from the multiple traumas resulting from being homeless makes the assessment of faith and spirituality an important part of the advocacy process.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 431-444
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9198-6
    ISSN 1573-6571
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19890719
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 2:57:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19890719
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • Utilization of religious coping strategies among African American women at increased risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Benita Weathers
    Author Lisa Kessler
    Author Aliya Collier
    Author Jill E. Stopfer
    Author Susan Domchek
    Author Chanita Hughes Halbert
    Abstract This observational study evaluated utilization of religious coping strategies among 95 African American women who were at increased risk for having a BRCA1/BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) mutation. Overall, women reported high levels of collaborative coping; however, women with fewer than 2 affected relatives (beta = -1.97, P = 0.04) and those who had a lower perceived risk of having a BRCA1/2 mutation (beta = -2.72, P = 0.01) reported significantly greater collaborative coping. These results suggest that African American women may be likely to use collaborative strategies to cope with cancer-related stressors. It may be important to discuss utilization of religious coping efforts during genetic counseling with African American women.
    Publication Family & Community Health
    Volume 32
    Issue 3
    Pages 218-227
    Date 2009 Jul-Sep
    Journal Abbr Fam Community Health
    DOI 10.1097/FCH.0b013e3181ab3b53
    ISSN 1550-5057
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:56:01 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19525703
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
  • Religion and spirituality in three major general medical journals from 1998 to 2000

    Type Journal Article
    Author Andrew J Weaver
    Author Kevin J Flannelly
    Author David B Case
    Author Karen G Costa
    Abstract OBJECTIVES: Religion and spirituality provide the means by which many individuals and their families cope with illness. Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that health outcomes may be influenced by patients' religious beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. METHODS: We examined three representative nonspecialty journals (Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet, and the New England Journal of Medicine) between 1998 and 2000 for references to the role of religion/spirituality. Of the 2,385 studies found, only 20 (0.8%) examined some aspect of spirituality (n = 5), religion (n = 13), or both (n = 2). Spirituality was treated as a dependent variable in all seven articles in which it was studied. RESULTS: The effect of religion was analyzed in 11 of the 15 articles in which it was measured, and its effect was statistically significant in 8 of the 11 studies in which it was analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: Although religious variables were a key element of most of the studies in which they were measured, overall, little attention appears to be paid to these concepts in general medical journals, even though they may be useful for refining outcomes research.
    Publication Southern Medical Journal
    Volume 97
    Issue 12
    Pages 1245-1249
    Date Dec 2004
    Journal Abbr South. Med. J
    ISSN 0038-4348
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15646764
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 2:19:23 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 15646764
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Great Britain
    • Periodicals as Topic
    • Religion and Medicine
    • spirituality
    • United States

    Notes:

    • We examined three representative nonspecialty journals between 1998 and 2000 for references to the role of religion/spirituality. Of the 2,385 studies found, only 20 (0.8%) examined some aspect of spirituality (n = 5), religion (n = 13), or both (n = 2). Spirituality was treated as a dependent variable in all seven articles in which it was studied. Results: The effect of religion was analyzed in 11 of the 15 articles in which it was measured, and its effect was statistically significant in 8 of the 11 studies in which it was analyzed.

  • Forgiveness, health, and problematic drinking among college students in southern Appalachia.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jon R. Webb
    Author Ken Brewer
    Abstract Evidence is growing regarding the salutary relationships between spirituality and health, including alcohol problems, yet little is known about spirituality and health in the context thereof. Cross-sectional associations between forgiveness and health were examined among college student problematic drinkers (n = 126; female = 60%; M age = 22) in Southern Appalachia. Controlling for demographic variables (including religiosity), dimensions of forgiveness accounted for 7—33 percent of the variance in the health-related variables in a salutary fashion. Forgiveness of Self appears to be the most important dimension of forgiveness measured, yet the most difficult to develop.
    Publication Journal of Health Psychology
    Volume 15
    Issue 8
    Pages 1257-1266
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1177/1359105310365177
    ISSN 1359-1053
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:00 AM

    Tags:

    • Alcoholism
    • Appalachia
    • COLLEGE students
    • FORGIVENESS
    • Health
    • problematic drinking
    • spirituality
  • Divorce, religious coping, and depressive symptoms in a conservative protestant religious group.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy Pieper Webb
    Author Christopher G. Ellison
    Author Michael J. McFarland
    Author Jerry W. Lee
    Author Kelly Morton
    Author James Walters
    Abstract A long tradition of research demonstrates that divorce is a risk factor for depressive symptoms. Although a growing literature examines links between religious factors and marital quality and stability, researchers have neglected the role of religion in successful or problematic coping following divorce. Building on Pargament’s seminal work on religious coping, we outline relevant theory concerning several specific religious coping styles. Hypotheses are then tested using data from a large sample of members of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Results indicate that several types of religious coping bear a direct inverse association with depressive symptoms and also buffer the deleterious effects of divorce on this outcome. Several promising future directions and suggestions for practitioners are identified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies
    Volume 59
    Issue 5
    Pages 544-557
    Date December 2010
    DOI 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2010.00622.x
    ISSN 0197-6664
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:36 AM

    Tags:

    • conservative protestant religious groups
    • Coping Behavior
    • depressive symptoms
    • divorce
    • Major Depression
    • Religious Coping
    • RELIGIOUS groups
    • Risk Factors
    • SYMPTOMS
  • Forgiveness and alcohol problems among people entering substance abuse treatment

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jon R Webb
    Author Elizabeth A R Robinson
    Author Kirk J Brower
    Author Robert A Zucker
    Abstract Forgiveness is argued to be highly relevant to problematic substance use, yet supportive empirical evidence is lacking. Findings are presented from a longitudinal study exploring the relationship between religiousness and spirituality (RS) variables and alcohol use disorders. We examined forgiveness of self (ForSelf), of others (ForOthers), and by God (ByGod), hypothesizing positive relationships with RS and negative relationships with alcohol use and consequences, at both baseline (N = 157) and six-month follow-up (N = 126). ForSelf scores were significantly lower than ForOthers and ByGod scores, and ForOthers scores increased modestly over time. ByGod was most consistently associated with other RS variables. ForSelf and ForOthers were associated with alcohol-related variables at both time points, and baseline ForSelf and ForOthers were associated with fewer drinking consequences at follow-up, but not after controlling for other pertinent variables. ForSelf may be most difficult to achieve and thus most important to recovery, thereby preventing full recovery and fostering relapses.
    Publication Journal of Addictive Diseases
    Volume 25
    Issue 3
    Pages 55-67
    Date 2006
    Journal Abbr J Addict Dis
    ISSN 1055-0887
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16956870
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:50:57 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16956870
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Alcoholism
    • Community Mental Health Services
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Follow-Up Studies
    • Humans
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Male
    • Prevalence
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Social perception
    • Social Values
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Findings are presented from a longitudinal study exploring the relationship between religiousness and spirituality (RS) variables and alcohol use disorders. We examined forgiveness of self (ForSelf), of others (ForOthers), and by God (ByGod), hypothesizing positive relationships with RS and negative relationships with alcohol use and consequences, at both baseline (N = 157) and six-month follow-up (N = 126). ForSelf may be most difficult to achieve and thus most important to recovery, thereby preventing full recovery and fostering relapses.

  • Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for bipolar disorder: a feasibility trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author B Weber
    Author F Jermann
    Author M Gex-Fabry
    Author A Nallet
    Author G Bondolfi
    Author J-M Aubry
    Abstract BACKGROUND: The present open study investigates the feasibility of Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in groups solely composed of bipolar patients of various subtypes. MBCT has been mostly evaluated with remitted unipolar depressed patients and little is known about this treatment in bipolar disorder. METHODS: Bipolar outpatients (type I, II and NOS) were included and evaluated for depressive and hypomanic symptoms, as well as mindfulness skills before and after MBCT. Patients' expectations before the program, perceived benefit after completion and frequency of mindfulness practice were also recorded. RESULTS: Of 23 included patients, 15 attended at least four MBCT sessions. Most participants reported having durably, moderately to very much benefited from the program, although mindfulness practice decreased over time. Whereas no significant increase of mindfulness skills was detected during the trial, change of mindfulness skills was significantly associated with change of depressive symptoms between pre- and post-MBCT assessments. CONCLUSIONS: MBCT is feasible and well perceived among bipolar patients. Larger and randomized controlled studies are required to further evaluate its efficacy, in particular regarding depressive and (hypo)manic relapse prevention. The mediating role of mindfulness on clinical outcome needs further examination and efforts should be provided to enhance the persistence of meditation practice with time.
    Publication European Psychiatry: The Journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
    Volume 25
    Issue 6
    Pages 334-337
    Date Oct 2010
    Journal Abbr Eur. Psychiatry
    DOI 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2010.03.007
    ISSN 1778-3585
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20561769
    Accessed Monday, November 15, 2010 3:09:18 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:59 AM
  • A multi-method examination of the effects of mindfulness on stress attribution, coping, and emotional well-being

    Type Journal Article
    Author Netta Weinstein
    Author Kirk W. Brown
    Author Richard M. Ryan
    Abstract Mindful individuals orient to ongoing events and experiences in a receptive, attentive manner. This experiential mode of processing suggests implications for the perception of and response to stress situations. Using laboratory-based, longitudinal, and daily diary designs, four studies examined the role of mindfulness on appraisals of and coping with stress experiences in college students, and the consequences of such stress processing for well-being. Across the four studies (n's = 65 - 141), results demonstrated that mindful individuals made more benign stress appraisals, reported less frequent use of avoidant coping strategies, and in two studies, reported higher use of approach coping. In turn, more adaptive stress responses and coping partially or fully mediated the relation between mindfulness and well-being. Implications for the role of mindfulness in stress and well-being are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Research in Personality
    Volume 43
    Issue 3
    Pages 374-385
    Date June 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.008
    ISSN 0092-6566
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WM0-4V7MSF8-1/2/e7861b975e05604c78ef470fb5ba6cc0
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:52:21 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Avoidance
    • Coping
    • MAAS
    • Mindfulness
    • Stress
    • Well-Being

    Notes:

    • Four studies assess mindfulness practices in college students and find a correlation between mindfulness practice, decreased avoidance coping and increased approach coping and thus increased reports of well-being. 

  • Incorporating Religion/Spirituality Into Treatment for Serious Mental Illness

    Type Journal Article
    Author Amy G. Weisman de Mamani
    Author Naomi Tuchman
    Author Eugenio A. Duarte
    Abstract This paper examines whether religion and spirituality (R/S) should be incorporated into treatment for patients with serious mental illness. This question merits attention, especially in light of the strong presence of R/S in the United States and, in particular, among members of ethnic minorities. While the literature is somewhat mixed, prior research supports the view that incorporating adaptive R/S elements into treatment for patients with serious mental illness is beneficial, particularly for patients who do not exhibit severe psychotic symptoms. Drawing from our experiences in developing a family-focused Culturally-Informed Therapy for Schizophrenia (CIT-S), we will also highlight the importance of addressing spiritual issues within minority populations. In the second half of this paper, we will present several case illustrations of how R/S issues were used in CIT-S to help patients make sense of adverse situations and obtain much-needed support and coping resources outside the treatment room. Findings from this study indicate that religion and spirituality can often be incorporated into treatment in a way that coalesces with patients' values and enhances treatment gains. Future research should investigate how therapists' own R/S values interact with those of their clients, and whether congruency in R/S values has any impact on treatment efficacy.
    Publication Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 348-357
    Date November 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.05.003
    ISSN 1077-7229
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7XMX-4YC8118-1/2/4c0c2498a8d16ebbc073a491058eb0c2
    Accessed Monday, December 13, 2010 8:33:29 PM
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:09 AM
  • The effect of religiosity and campus alcohol culture on collegiate alcohol consumption

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gayle M Wells
    Abstract Religiosity and campus culture were examined in relationship to alcohol consumption among college students using reference group theory. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: College students (N = 530) at a religious college and at a state university complete questionnaires on alcohol use and religiosity. Statistical tests and logistic regression were utilized to examine alcohol use, religiosity, and campus environment. RESULTS: Alcohol consumption was significantly higher among students at the university (M = 26.9 drinks) versus students at the religious college (M = 11.9 drinks). University students also had lower religiosity scores (M = 23.8) than students at the religious college (M = 26.5). Students who attend a secular university are 4 times more likely to be moderate or heavy drinkers compared to students attending a religiously affiliated college. Students with the least religiosity were 27 times more likely to be a heavy alcohol user and 9 times more likely to be a moderate alcohol user compared to students with greater religiosity.
    Publication Journal of American College Health: J of ACH
    Volume 58
    Issue 4
    Pages 295-304
    Date 2010 Jan-Feb
    Journal Abbr J Am Coll Health
    DOI 10.1080/07448480903380250
    ISSN 1940-3208
    Accessed Thursday, March 04, 2010 8:57:56 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20159753
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • The use of prayer beads in psychotherapy.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Uri Wernik
    Abstract The history and the varieties of positive thinking interventions in psychotherapy are discussed. It is suggested that the measures used to install positive self statements are limited. Until now there are no reports of using prayer beads for this purpose. The use of prayer beads in different cultures and religions is described and three cases of using prayer beads in therapy are presented. The promising results are understood in terms of ritual. Further directions of research are proposed. The very process of preparing prayer beads benefits the therapeutic relationship, creating an opportunity for playful and creative interaction between client and therapist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 4
    Pages 359-368
    Date May 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902732781
    ISSN 13674676
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • BEADS
    • CLINICAL sociology
    • HEALING -- Religious aspects
    • Psychotherapy
    • PUBLIC worship
    • RELIGION & culture
    • RITES & ceremonies
    • Spiritual healing
    • Spiritualism
  • Is there a role for complementary therapy in the management of leukemia?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathleen M Wesa
    Author Barrie R Cassileth
    Abstract Paper lists complementary therapies appropriate for use by patients with leukemia, along with some treatments that may be risky.
    Publication Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy
    Volume 9
    Issue 9
    Pages 1241-1249
    Date 09/2009
    Journal Abbr Expert Rev Anticancer Ther
    DOI 10.1586/era.09.100
    ISSN 1473-7140
    URL http://www.expert-reviews.com/doi/abs/10.1586/era.09.100
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Notes:

  • Is there a role for complementary therapy in the management of leukemia?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kathleen M Wesa
    Author Barrie R Cassileth
    Abstract Patients with leukemia often seek additional treatments not prescribed by their oncologist in an effort to improve their cancer treatment outcome or to manage symptoms. Complementary therapies are used in conjunction with traditional cancer treatments to decrease symptoms and side effects associated with cancer or cancer treatment, and to improve patients' overall quality of life. Complementary therapies are distinct from so-called 'alternative' therapies, which are unproven, ineffective and may postpone or interfere with mainstream cancer treatment. Complementary therapies are pleasant, inexpensive, nonpharmacologic and effective. For patients with leukemia, the complementary therapies that are always appropriate include mind-body interventions, such as self-hypnosis, meditation, guided imagery and breath awareness. Massage and reflexology (foot massage) decrease symptoms with effects lasting at least 2 days following treatment. Acupuncture is very beneficial for symptom management without adverse consequences. Physical fitness with regular exercise and healthy dietary habits can significantly decrease side effects of cancer treatments and may prolong survival. Botanical extracts and vitamin supplements may interfere with active cancer treatments, and should be discussed with the oncologist or pharmacist before use.
    Publication Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy
    Volume 9
    Issue 9
    Pages 1241-1249
    Date Sep 2009
    Journal Abbr Expert Rev Anticancer Ther
    DOI 10.1586/era.09.100
    ISSN 1744-8328
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19761428
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:32:30 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19761428
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Complementary therapies are distinct from so-called ‘alternative’ therapies, which are unproven, ineffective and may postpone or interfere with mainstream cancer treatment. Complementary therapies are pleasant, inexpensive, nonpharmacologic and effective. For patients with leukemia, the complementary therapies that are always appropriate include mind-body interventions, such as self-hypnosis, meditation, guided imagery and breath awareness. Massage and reflexology (foot massage) decrease symptoms with effects lasting at least 2 days following treatment.

  • Sinful and/or possessed? Religious beliefs and mental illness stigma.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eric D. Wesselmann
    Author William G. Grazuano
    Abstract Stigma—a serious problem for persons with mental illness—is related to reductions in the quality of employment, housing, and social support. Many empirical studies showed common beliefs about persons with mental illness but little was known about how Christian religious beliefs affect perceptions of people with mental illness, or whether beliefs are specific to certain denominations. These two studies (one lab, one Internet-based) assessed religious beliefs about mental illness and their relations to known negative beliefs about mental illness. Our data suggest religious beliefs about mental illness appear as two separate but related dimensions. These dimensions focused on beliefs about sin/morality and spiritually-oriented causes/treatments, and were related to negative secular beliefs about mental illness. They were also related to other individual differences that predict prejudice toward stigmatized groups. Data also suggest these religious beliefs are endorsed differently depending upon religious affiliation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology
    Volume 29
    Issue 4
    Pages 402-437
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1521/jscp.2010.29.4.402
    ISSN 0736-7236
    Short Title Sinful and/or possessed?
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:22:09 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Mental Disorders
    • Mental Illness (Attitudes Toward)
    • mental illness stigma
    • negative beliefs about mental illness
    • Religious Beliefs
    • stigma
  • Spiritual Well-Being, Spiritual Practices, and Depressive Symptoms among Elderly Patients Hospitalized with Acute Heart Failure

    Type Journal Article
    Author MA Whelan-Gales
    Author MTQ Griffin
    Author J Maloni
    Author JJ Fitzpatrick
    Abstract Spirituality, including both spiritual wellbeing and spiritual practices, is important to assess in older persons hospitalized with acute heart failure. Depressive symptoms in this population are commonly exhibited but infrequently assessed. The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe spiritual well-being and spiritual practices in hospitalized older heart failure patients and relate spiritual well-being to depression. The sample included 24 hospitalized older adults diagnosed with Class III or IV heart failure. The spiritual practices used most by the older persons were identified. There was a significant negative correlation between spiritual well-being and depression: those who had more depressive symptoms had a lower level of spiritual well-being. Implications for future research and clinical practice are addressed. (Geriatr Nurs 2009;30:312-317)
    Publication Geriatric Nursing
    Volume 30
    Issue 5
    Pages 312-317
    Date SEP-OCT 2009
    DOI 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2009.04.001
    ISSN 0197-4572
    URL http://apps.isiknowledge.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/full_record.do?
    product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&…
    Accessed Friday, December 04, 2009 3:07:14 PM
    Library Catalog ISI Web of Knowledge
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Atheism and mental health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Rob Whitley
    Abstract The exploration of the impact of religiosity on mental health is an enduring, if somewhat quiet, tradition. There has been virtually no exploration, however, of the influence of atheism on mental health. Though not a "religion," atheism can be an orienting worldview that is often consciously chosen by its adherents, who firmly believe in the "truth" of atheism-a phenomenon known as "positive atheism." Atheism, especially positive atheism, is currently enjoying something of a renaissance in the Western liberal democracies-a trend often referred to as the "new atheism." I argue that atheism, especially positive atheism, should be treated as a meaningful sociocultural variable in the study of mental health. I argue that atheism (just like theism) is an appropriate domain of study for social and cultural psychiatrists (and allied social scientists) interested in exploring socio-environmental stressors and buffers relating to mental health. Specifically, I argue that (1) atheism needs to be accurately measured as an individual-level exposure variable, with the aim of relating that variable to psychiatric outcomes, (2) there needs to be greater systematic investigation into the influence of atheism on psychiatry as an institution, and (3) the relation of atheism to mental health needs to be explored by examining atheistic theory and its practical application, especially as it relates to the human condition, suffering, and concepts of personhood.
    Publication Harvard Review of Psychiatry
    Volume 18
    Issue 3
    Pages 190-194
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Harv Rev Psychiatry
    DOI 10.3109/10673221003747674
    ISSN 1465-7309
    Accessed Wednesday, April 28, 2010 2:03:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20415634
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Prayer and Subjective Well-Being: An Examination of Six Different Types of Prayer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Brandon L. Whittington
    Author Steven J. Scher
    Abstract Participants (N = 430) were recruited online and completed a measure of 6 prayer types (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, reception, and obligatory prayer). Measures of subjective well-being (self-esteem, optimism, meaning in life, satisfaction with life) were also administered. Three forms of prayer (adoration, thanksgiving, reception) had consistently positive relations with well-being measures, whereas the other three forms of prayer had negative or null relations with the well-being measures. The prayer types having positive effects appear to be less ego-focused, and more focused on God, whereas the negative types have an opposite nature.
    Publication International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
    Volume 20
    Issue 1
    Pages 59
    Date 2010
    DOI 10.1080/10508610903146316
    ISSN 1050-8619
    Short Title Prayer and Subjective Well-Being
    Accessed Friday, January 29, 2010 4:38:30 PM
    Library Catalog Informaworld
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • Current concepts in limb regeneration: a hand surgeon's perspective

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jordan Wicker
    Author Kenneth Kamler
    Abstract Cognitive-behavioral practices such as meditation and yoga have long been viewed as methods of reaching states of peace and relaxation, but recent research has focused on the role of these practices in reducing endogenous mediators of stress and inflammation that would otherwise be harmful to our bodies. Further, these stress-related factors play major roles in inflammation, acting as barriers to wound healing and tissue regeneration. Fractures, denervation, tendon and ligament rupture, and cartilage degradation are morbidities associated with injury and often act as an impediment for healing. Studies of human fingertip regeneration exist; however, the underlying molecular and environmental changes have yet to be completely elucidated. Studying the regenerative capabilities of lower organisms and fetal wound healing has allowed scientists to understand the mechanisms behind regeneration, coming closer to a human application. Much research relies on the idea that the developing embryo shares a great deal in common with regenerating appendages of organisms such as the salamander. This review will cover historical perspectives of regeneration biology and current topics in limb regeneration, with particular interest given to the upper extremity, including the commonalities between human embryological development and amphibian regeneration, growth factors and pathways that show correlation with development and regeneration, recently discovered differences in fetal and adult wound healing, and current research and knowledge regarding human extremity tissue regeneration. With a greater understanding of the mechanisms and mediators involved in regeneration, the application of cognitive-behavioral practices may assist in seeing the future goals of regeneration come to fruition.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 95-109
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04413.x
    ISSN 1749-6632
    Short Title Current concepts in limb regeneration
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19735243
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:42:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19735243
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Animals
    • Biomedical Research
    • Extremities
    • Hand
    • Humans
    • Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
    • Physicians
    • Regeneration
    • Signal Transduction
    • Wound Healing

    Notes:

    • This review will cover historical perspectives of regeneration biology and current topics in limb regeneration, with particular interest given to the upper extremity, including the commonalities between human embryological development and amphibian regeneration, growth factors and pathways that show correlation with development and regeneration, recently discovered differences in fetal and adult wound healing, and current research and knowledge regarding human extremity tissue regeneration.

  • Post-traumatic growth and spirituality in burn recovery

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shelley Wiechman Askay
    Author Gina Magyar-Russell
    Abstract For decades, research on long-term adjustment to burn injuries has adopted a deficit model of focusing solely on negative emotions. The presence of positive emotion and the experience of growth in the aftermath of a trauma have been virtually ignored in this field. Researchers and clinicians of other health and trauma populations have frequently observed that, following a trauma, there were positive emotions and growth. This growth occurs in areas such as a greater appreciation of life and changed priorities; warmer, more intimate relations with others; a greater sense of personal strength, recognition of new possibilities, and spiritual development. In addition, surveys of trauma survivors report that spiritual or religious beliefs played an important part in their recovery and they wished more healthcare providers were comfortable talking about these issues. Further evidence suggests that trauma survivors who rely on spiritual or religious beliefs for coping may show a greater ability for post-traumatic growth (PTG). This article reviews the literature on these two constructs as it relates to burn survivors. We also provide recommendations for clinicians on how to create an environment that fosters PTG and encourages patients to explore their spiritual and religious beliefs in the context of the trauma.
    Publication International Review of Psychiatry
    Volume 21
    Issue 6
    Pages 570-579
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr Int Rev Psychiatry
    DOI 10.3109/09540260903344107
    ISSN 1369-1627
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19919210
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 1:09:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19919210
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • The faith, activity, and nutrition (FAN) program: design of a participatory research intervention to increase physical activity and improve dietary habits in African American churches

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sara Wilcox
    Author Marilyn Laken
    Author Allen W Parrott
    Author Margaret Condrasky
    Author Ruth Saunders
    Author Cheryl L Addy
    Author Rebecca Evans
    Author Meghan Baruth
    Author May Samuel
    Abstract BACKGROUND: African Americans are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer morbidity and mortality. Physical activity and healthy dietary practices can reduce this risk. The church is a promising setting to address health disparities, and community-based participatory research is a preferred approach. OBJECTIVES: Using a community-based participatory approach and the social ecologic model, the FAN trial aims to increase self-reported moderate-intensity physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption and reduce blood pressure in African American church members. Secondary aims are to increase objectively measured moderate-intensity physical activity and fiber/whole grain consumption and reduce fat consumption. DESIGN: FAN is a group randomized trial (GRT) with two levels of clustering: participants (N=1279; n=316 accelerometer subgroup) within church and church within church cluster. In the first wave, seven clusters including 23 churches were randomized to an immediate intervention or delayed intervention. In subsequent waves, 51 churches were randomized to an immediate or delayed intervention. METHODS: Church committee members, pastors, and cooks participate in full-day trainings to learn how to implement physical activity and dietary changes in the church. Monthly mailings and technical assistance calls are delivered over the 15-month intervention. Members complete measurements at baseline and 15 months. A detailed process evaluation is included. SUMMARY: FAN focuses on modifying the social, cultural, and policy environment in a faith-based setting. The use of a community-based participatory research approach, engagement of church leaders, inclusion of a detailed process evaluation, and a formal plan for sustainability and dissemination make FAN unique.
    Publication Contemporary Clinical Trials
    Volume 31
    Issue 4
    Pages 323-335
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Contemp Clin Trials
    DOI 10.1016/j.cct.2010.03.011
    ISSN 1559-2030
    Short Title The faith, activity, and nutrition (FAN) program
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:15:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20359549
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:48 AM
  • The evolving self: finding meaning in near-death experiences using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

    Type Journal Article
    Author David J. Wilde
    Author Craig D. Murray
    Abstract Near-death experiences (NDEs) have become a topic of increasing interest to medical and psychological researchers over the last 35 years. During the course of this research agenda, several studies have focused on the phenomenology of the experience and its after-effects, mostly from a nomothetic stance. The aim of this study was to investigate the experience of having an NDE and what meaning NDErs attribute to that experience and its resultant after-effects by taking an idiographic, phenomenological approach. Three female participants took part in recorded face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis found that to more deeply understand the impact of NDEs it is crucial to consider how the experience fits within the biographical context of an individual's life. Rather than being an overall influence on personal and spiritual growth, individuals may choose elements of an experience which are most personally meaningful for them and take that into their later lives. Each participant in some way came to a new understanding in their lives as a result of their NDE. In addition, the process of integration was helped or hindered by physical and psychological factors concomitant at the time of the NDE. Also evident were the challenges the NDE, or elements therein, have on the individual's sense of self and how they maintain and develop that self in the years succeeding the event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 3
    Pages 223-239
    Date April 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802334910
    ISSN 13674676
    Short Title The evolving self
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:07:00 AM

    Tags:

    • DEATH, Apparent
    • MATURATION (Psychology)
    • MEDICAL research personnel
    • NEAR-death experiences
    • PHENOMENOLOGICAL psychology
    • PSYCHOLOGICAL factors
    • PSYCHOLOGICAL research personnel
    • SPIRITUAL formation
    • SPIRITUAL life
  • The religiosity/spirituality of Latina breast cancer survivors and influence on health-related quality of life

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kimberly A Wildes
    Author Alexander R Miller
    Author Sandra San Miguel de Majors
    Author Amelie G Ramirez
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The study evaluated the association of religiosity/spirituality (R/S) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Latina breast cancer survivors (BCS) in order to determine whether R/S would be positively correlated with HRQOL and whether R/S would significantly influence HRQOL. METHODS: The cross-sectional study utilized self-report data from 117 Latina BCS survivors. R/S was measured with the Systems of Belief Inventory-15 Revised (SBI-15R) and HRQOL was measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G). Analyses included calculation of descriptive statistics, t-tests, bivariate correlations, and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Latina BCS had very high levels of R/S and generally good HRQOL. The SBI-15R total score was positively correlated with FACT-G social well-being (SWB) (r=0.266, p=0.005), relationship with doctor (RWD) (r=0.219, p=0.020), and functional well-being (FWB) (r=0.216, p=0.022). Multivariate analyses revealed that SBI-15R was a significant predictor of FACT-G FWB (p=0.041) and satisfaction with the relationship with the doctor (p=0.050), where higher levels of R/S predicted higher levels of well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Latina BCS had very high levels of R/S, which were significantly, positively correlated with dimensions of HRQOL (SWB, FWB, RWD). Furthermore, these high levels of R/S predicted better FWB and satisfaction with the patient-doctor relationship while controlling for potentially confounding variables. Implications are discussed.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 8
    Pages 831-840
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1475
    ISSN 1099-1611
    Accessed Friday, September 18, 2009 6:31:20 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19034922
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
  • The internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the New Indices of Religious Orientation (NIRO) among cathedral worshippers in the United Kingdom.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Emyr Williams
    Abstract Building on the work of Francis among a sample of students, this study examined the psychometric properties of The New Indices of Religious Orientation among 432 worshippers in five Anglican cathedrals in England and Wales. The data demonstrated that all the indices achieved satisfactory alpha coefficients for both the full scale (extrinsic, 0.79; intrinsic, 0.76; and quest, 0.75) and the short form (extrinsic, 0.70, intrinsic, 0.79; and quest, 0.70). The construct validity of the New Indices of Religious Orientation was supported by examination against self-reported frequency of personal prayer. These findings suggest that the scales provide a satisfactory measure of religious orientation among a religious sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 829-832
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802113439
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
  • Spiritual therapeutic landscapes and healing: A case study of St. Anne de Beaupre, Quebec, Canada.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Allison Williams
    Abstract Very little work has addressed spirituality in relation to health and well-being using the therapeutic landscape framework. Certainly the larger geographical literature, and specifically that of cultural geography, has identified the spiritual aspects of landscapes/places, and in so doing, has highlighted their importance for both secular groups and broader society alike. The increased recognition of the positive relationship between being spiritually active and health begs the examination of spiritual places reputed for their healing and healthful qualities. This paper provides a case study, conducted in 2006–2007, of a Christian pilgrimage site named St. Anne de Beaupre (Quebec, Canada); the analysis contributes to filling the spirituality gap in the therapeutic landscapes literature and offers a number of suggested research directions to better understand spiritual landscapes/places and their association with health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 70
    Issue 10
    Pages 1633-1640
    Date May 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.01.012
    ISSN 0277-9536
    Short Title Spiritual therapeutic landscapes and healing
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:03:13 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Canada
    • Case Report
    • case study
    • Faith Healing
    • healing
    • RELIGIOUS groups
    • secular groups
    • spiritual therapeutic landscapes
    • spirituality
  • Perspectives on spirituality at the end of life: a meta-summary

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anna-Leila Williams
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: A meta-summary of the qualitative literature on spiritual perspectives of adults who are at the end of life was undertaken to summarily analyze the research to date and identify areas for future research on the relationship of spirituality with physical, functional, and psychosocial outcomes in the health care setting. METHODS: Included were all English language reports from 1966 to the present catalogued in PubMed, Medline, PsycInfo, and CINAHL, identifiable as qualitative investigations of the spiritual perspectives of adults at the end of life. The final sample includes 11 articles, collectively representing data from 217 adults. RESULTS: The preponderance of participants had a diagnosis of cancer; those with HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, and ALS were also represented. Approximately half the studies were conducted in the United States; others were performed in Australia, Finland, Scotland, and Taiwan. Following a process of theme extraction and abstraction, thematic patterns emerged and effect sizes were calculated. A spectrum of spirituality at the end of life encompassing spiritual despair (alienation, loss of self, dissonance), spiritual work (forgiveness, self-exploration, search for balance), and spiritual well-being (connection, self-actualization, consonance) emerged. SIGNIFICANCE: The findings from this meta-summary confirm the fundamental importance of spirituality at the end of life and highlight the shifts in spiritual health that are possible when a terminally ill person is able to do the necessary spiritual work. Existing end-of-life frameworks neglect spiritual work and consequently may be deficient in guiding research. The area of spiritual work is fertile ground for further investigation, especially interventions aimed at improving spiritual health and general quality of life among the dying.
    Publication Palliative & Supportive Care
    Volume 4
    Issue 4
    Pages 407-417
    Date Dec 2006
    Journal Abbr Palliat Support Care
    ISSN 1478-9515
    Short Title Perspectives on spirituality at the end of life
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17133899
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:03:21 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17133899
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Death
    • Cardiovascular Diseases
    • HIV Infections
    • Hospices
    • Humans
    • Interviews as Topic
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Medicine
    • Research
    • Research Design
    • spirituality
    • Terminally Ill

    Notes:

    • Objective: A meta-summary of the qualitative literature on spiritual perspectives of adults who are at the end of life was undertaken to summarily analyze the research to date and identify areas for future research on the relationship of spirituality with physical, functional, and psychosocial outcomes in the health care setting. Results: A spectrum of spirituality at the end of life encompassing spiritual despair (alienation, loss of self, dissonance), spiritual work (forgiveness, self-exploration, search for balance), and spiritual well-being (connection, self-actualization, consonance) emerged.

  • Religion and Mental Health: A Hermeneutic Reconsideration

    Type Journal Article
    Author Richard N. Williams
    Author James E. Faulconer
    Abstract This paper argues that the question of the relationship between religiosity and mental health has been miscast because both religiosity and mental health have been understood in the discipline from a distinctly modernist perspective. This modernist perspective is characterized by a metaphysic of substances and by empiricism, and it insists that all scientifically interesting relationships must be efficient causal relationships among substances. From this perspective the only legitimate questions revolve around which way the causal arrow points. The paper argues that this framing of the question and the modernist perspective which gives rise to it fail as adequate accounts of either phenomenon and, thus, of their relation. Further, in some fundamental sense the perspective fails to take either religiosity or psychopathology seriously.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 35
    Issue 4
    Pages 335-349
    Date Jun., 1994
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Religion and Mental Health
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3511734
    Accessed Tuesday, October 13, 2009 12:20:41 AM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1994 / Copyright © 1994 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • This paper argues that the question of the relationship between religiosity and mental health has been miscast because both religiosity and mental health have been understood in the discipline from a distinctly modernist perspective. The paper argues that this framing of the question and the modernist perspective which gives rise to it fail as adequate accounts of either phenomenon and, thus, of their relation.

  • Spirituality, Religion and Health: Evidence and Research Directions

    Type Journal Article
    Author David R Williams
    Author Michelle J Sternthal
    Publication The Medical Journal of Australia
    Volume 186
    Issue 10
    Pages S47-S50
    Date 2007-05-21
    ISSN 0025-729X
    Short Title Spirituality, Religion and Health
    URL http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/186_10_210507/wil11060_fm.html
    Accessed Thursday, October 22, 2009 4:22:24 PM
    Library Catalog eMJA
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between spiritual experience and current health status and between spiritual experience and subjective experience of symptom interference. The Index of Core Spiritual Experiences and the Medical Symptoms Checklist were administered. The percentage-bend correlation between Index scores and scores for interference of symptoms in daily life was significant ((r)Pb = -.33, p = .02). These results suggest that the report of core spiritual experiences may be related to better current health status, although the direction of causation is unclear.

    Attachments

    • eMJA PDF
    • eMJA Snapshot
  • Womanist Spirituality as a Response to the Racism-Sexism Double Bind in African American Women.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Carmen Braun Williams
    Author Marsha I. Wiggins
    Abstract Many African American women begin counseling stigmatized by race and gender and may be targets of additional discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, class, age, and other social variables. In this article, the authors discuss "womanist" spirituality as a means for African American women to cope with racism, sexism, and multiple social stigmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Counseling & Values
    Volume 54
    Issue 2
    Pages 175-186
    Date April 2010
    ISSN 01607960
    Accessed Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:06:57 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:19 AM

    Tags:

    • AFRICAN American women
    • RACISM
    • SEXISM
    • SEXUAL orientation
    • SOCIAL classes
    • STIGMA (Social psychology)
  • Relations of intrinsic spirituality with health status and symptom interference

    Type Journal Article
    Author Linda Williams
    Author Sheila Reed
    Author Charles Nelson
    Author Andrea Brose
    Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between spiritual experience and current health status and between spiritual experience and subjective experience of symptom interference. Symptom interference is the extent to which symptoms of physical or psychological illness limited participants' activities of daily living. Participants were 49 volunteers who were enrolled in a spiritual fitness class at a variety of denominational Christian churches in Plano, Texas. The sample ranged in age from 22 to 65 years, and 84% were women. The Index of Core Spiritual Experiences and the Medical Symptoms Checklist were administered. Current health status and symptom interference were utilized from the self-report checklist. It was predicted that Index scores would be significantly different based on participants' health status and that Index scores would correlate significantly with participants' ratings of symptom interference. Analysis indicated that Index scores were significantly higher (p = .02) for participants with no current medical diagnosis than for those currently experiencing either a life-threatening or a chronic medical or psychological disorder. Also, the percentage-bend correlation between Index scores and scores for interference of symptoms in daily life was significant ((r)Pb = -.33, p = .02). These results suggest that the report of core spiritual experiences may be related to better current health status. These findings have implications for understanding the role of spirituality in the prevention of illness and in an individual's ability to cope with illness.
    Publication Psychological Reports
    Volume 91
    Issue 2
    Pages 618-626
    Date Oct 2002
    Journal Abbr Psychol Rep
    ISSN 0033-2941
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12416856
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:04:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 12416856
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Christianity
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between spiritual experience and current health status and between spiritual experience and subjective experience of symptom interference.  49 volunteers who were enrolled in a spiritual fitness class at a variety of denominational Christian churches in Plano, Texas participated. The sample ranged in age from 22 to 65 years, and 84% were women. The Index of Core Spiritual Experiences and the Medical Symptoms Checklist were administered. Results of the study suggest that the report of core spiritual experiences may be related to better current health status. These findings have implications for understanding the role of spirituality in the prevention of illness and in an individual's ability to cope with illness.

  • Longitudinal analyses of religious and spiritual development among seminary students.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ian Todd Williamson
    Author Steven J. Sandage
    Abstract We conducted a longitudinal study of spiritual development among a sample of graduate-level seminary students (N = 119) at a religiously affiliated university in the Midwest. Seven longitudinal hypotheses were tested based on a relational model of spirituality (Shults & Sandage, 2006). Over time, we expected that the seminary context would facilitate increases in students' questing, intrinsic religiosity, spiritual well-being, spiritual openness, and spiritual activity. Furthermore, increases in intrinsic religiosity were hypothesised to lead to improvements in spiritual well-being, spiritual openness, realistic acceptance, and spiritual activity. Finally, we proposed that increases in spiritual questing would lead to greater spiritual openness and activity but decreased spiritual well-being. The results provide general support for these hypotheses and an empirical picture that differentiates intrinsic religiosity from questing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 12
    Issue 8
    Pages 787-801
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1080/13674670902956604
    ISSN 13674676
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45427287&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:27:06 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM

    Tags:

    • LONGITUDINAL method
    • Reasoning
    • Religiousness
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • spirituality
  • The Intratextual Fundamentalism Scale: cross-cultural application, validity evidence, and relationship with religious orientation and the Big 5 factor markers.

    Type Journal Article
    Author W. Paul Williamson
    Author Ralph Hood
    Author Aneeq Ahmad
    Author Mahmood Sadiq
    Author Peter C. Hill
    Abstract This paper introduces a new five-item cross-cultural fundamentalism scale based on the principle of intratextuality. Free of belief content and concerns with militancy, each of the five items taps into a different facet of intratextuality that collectively assess the attitudes that fundamentalists maintain toward their sacred text-namely, a persuasion that it is divine in origin, inerrant, privileged above all other texts, authoritative, and unchanging as the embodiment of timeless truth. In this article, we present three studies concerned with the Intratextual Fundamentalism Scale (IFS). Study 1 introduces the development, confirmatory factor analysis, and convergent validity of the IFS based on a sample of 119 Christians in the US as well as examines its relationship to religious orientation. Study 2 replicates the findings of the first study with a sample of 220 Muslims from Pakistan. Study 3 again confirms the structure of the IFS, addresses divergent validity, and investigates its relationship with religious orientation and Goldberg's Big 5 factor markers in a sample of 227 US Christians. Findings of all three studies suggest that the IFS is a psychometrically sound instrument that economically assesses religious fundamentalism without religious content bias or concern for aggression. Results also indicate that, only for Americans, fundamentalism, as measured by the IFS, is significantly related to intrinsic (r = 0.35; r = 0.51) and extrinsic-personal (r = 0.33; r = 0.23) religious orientations, but not extrinsic-social orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Mental Health, Religion & Culture
    Volume 13
    Issue 7/8
    Pages 721-747
    Date Nov November 2010
    DOI 10.1080/13674670802643047
    ISSN 13674676
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:59:19 AM
  • Spirituality and subjective well-being: Evidences for a new domain in the Personal Well-Being Index.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Eduardo Wills
    Abstract Subjective well-being explores the evaluations, both positive and negative, of how people experience their lives. Research in the field inquires how people perceive their well-being in different settings, including different cultures, regions and cities. A large number of different measures have been designed to capture subjective well-being. One of the most used SWB measure is the Personal Well-being Index (PWI), an evaluation of life developed by Cummins et al [(2003). Social Indicators Research, 64, 159–190] which proposes that satisfaction with life consists of seven different life-domains. Theoretical considerations of the contribution of spirituality and religiosity to life satisfaction, from a eudaimonic (from the Greek, it consists of the word "eu" (good or well-being) and the word ‘‘daemon’’ (spirit)) point of view, led to test the contribution of this new domain in the prediction of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI) in Bogotá, Colombia. Empirical results confirm the construct validity and reliability of the scale. The contribution of the new domain—satisfaction with spirituality and religiosity—to PWI was found significant. Based on these results the paper explores conceptually the role of spirituality contributing to satisfaction with life. The finding stresses the importance of interpreting satisfaction with life as a whole from the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia. New questions for research in this important area are proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Journal of Happiness Studies
    Volume 10
    Issue 1
    Pages 49-69
    Date March 2009
    DOI 10.1007/s10902-007-9061-6
    ISSN 1389-4978
    Short Title Spirituality and subjective well-being
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Life Experiences
    • Life Satisfaction
    • Personal Well Being Index
    • Psychometrics
    • spirituality
    • subjective well being
    • Test Reliability
    • Test Validity
    • well being
  • Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society

    Type Book
    Author David Sloan Wilson
    Publisher University Of Chicago Press
    Date 2003-10-01
    ISBN 0226901351
    Short Title Darwin's Cathedral
    Library Catalog Amazon.com
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Spiritual change in drug treatment: utility of the christian inventory of spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Liliane Cambraia Windsor
    Author Clay Shorkey
    Abstract The current study used data from reliability testing of the Christian Inventory of Spirituality (CIS) to (1) assess the utility of CIS in detecting differences in level of spirituality in residents of residential Christian faith-based substance abuse programs (RCFBSAPs); (2) test the hypothesis that residents who have been in the program for longer periods of time will have significantly higher levels of spirituality after controlling for relevant demographic characteristics; and (3) test the hypothesis that residents of programs that only use unlicensed staff and place higher importance on spirituality will have significantly higher levels of spirituality. A purposive sample of the cross-sectional data from the reliability testing of the CIS was used (n = 253). Analysis supported the hypothesis. Demographic characteristics were not associated with level of spirituality. The CIS proved to be useful in discriminating levels of spirituality. Further research is needed to examine spiritual change using randomized pre-post test designs.
    Publication Substance Abuse: Official Publication of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse
    Volume 31
    Issue 3
    Pages 136-145
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Subst Abus
    DOI 10.1080/08897077.2010.495650
    ISSN 1547-0164
    Short Title Spiritual change in drug treatment
    Accessed Tuesday, August 17, 2010 7:58:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20687002
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:57 AM
  • Religiousness, spirituality, and psychosocial functioning in late adulthood: findings from a longitudinal study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Paul Wink
    Author Michele Dillon
    Abstract This study used longitudinal data to examine the relations among religiousness, spirituality, and 3 key domains of psychosocial functioning in late adulthood: (a) sources of well-being, (b) involvement in tasks of everyday life, and (c) generativity and wisdom. Religiousness and spirituality were operationalized as distinct but overlapping dimensions of individual difference. In late adulthood, religiousness was positively related to well-being from positive relations with others, involvement in social and community life tasks, and generativity. Spirituality was positively related to well-being from personal growth, involvement in creative and knowledge-building life tasks, and wisdom. Neither religiousness nor spirituality was associated with narcissism. The relations between religiousness, spirituality, and outcomes in late adulthood were also observed using religiousness scored in early and spirituality scored in late middle adulthood. All analyses were controlled for gender, cohort, social class, and the overlap between religiousness and spirituality.
    Publication Psychology and Aging
    Volume 18
    Issue 4
    Pages 916-924
    Date Dec 2003
    Journal Abbr Psychol Aging
    DOI 10.1037/0882-7974.18.4.916
    ISSN 0882-7974
    Short Title Religiousness, spirituality, and psychosocial functioning in late adulthood
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14692876
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 12:38:08 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 14692876
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Activities of Daily Living
    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aging
    • Child
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Knowledge
    • Longitudinal Studies
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Narcissism
    • Quality of Life
    • religion
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • This study used longitudinal data to examine the relations among religiousness, spirituality, and 3 key domains of psychosocial functioning in late adulthood: (a) sources of well-being, (b) involvement in tasks of everyday life, and (c) generativity and wisdom.

  • The psychological outcome of religious coping with stressful life events in a Swiss sample of church attendees

    Type Journal Article
    Author Urs Winter
    Author Dimitri Hauri
    Author Stefan Huber
    Author Josef Jenewein
    Author Ulrich Schnyder
    Author Bernd Kraemer
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Recent research suggested that religious coping, based on dispositional religiousness and spirituality (R/S), is an important modulating factor in the process of dealing with adversity. In contrast to the United States, the effect of R/S on psychological adjustment to stress is a widely unexplored area in Europe. METHODS: We examined a Swiss sample of 328 church attendees in the aftermath of stressful life events to explore associations of positive or negative religious coping with the psychological outcome. Applying a cross-sectional design, we used Huber's Centrality Scale to specify religiousness and Pargament's measure of religious coping (RCOPE) for the assessment of positive and negative religious coping. Depressive symptoms and anxiety as outcome variables were examined by the Brief Symptom Inventory. The Stress-Related Growth Scale and the Marburg questionnaire for the assessment of well-being were used to assess positive outcome aspects. We conducted Mann-Whitney tests for group comparisons and cumulative logit analysis for the assessment of associations of religious coping with our outcome variables. RESULTS: Both forms of religious coping were positively associated with stress-related growth (p < 0.01). However, negative religious coping additionally reduced well-being (p = 0.05, beta = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.27-0.99) and increased anxiety (p = 0.02, beta = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.10-3.39) and depressive symptoms (p = 0.01, beta = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.27-4.06). CONCLUSIONS: The effects of religious coping on the psychological adjustment to stressful life events seem relevant. These findings should be confirmed in prospective studies.
    Publication Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
    Volume 78
    Issue 4
    Pages 240-244
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychother Psychosom
    DOI 10.1159/000219523
    ISSN 1423-0348
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:04:38 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19468258
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Culture
    • Depressive Disorder
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Life Change Events
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Personality Inventory
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Resilience, Psychological
    • spirituality
    • Switzerland
    • Young Adult
  • Preferences for life-prolonging medical treatments and deference to the will of god

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laraine Winter
    Author Marie P Dennis
    Author Barbara Parker
    Abstract We defined and measured a dimension of religiosity frequently invoked in end-of-life (EOL) research-deference to God's Will (GW)-and examined its relationship to preferences for life-prolonging treatments. In a 35-min telephone interview, 304 older men and women (60 +) were administered the 5-item GW scale, sociodemographic questions, three attitude items regarding length of life, and measures of two health indices, depression, and life-prolonging treatment preferences. The GW scale demonstrated internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .94) and predictive and discriminant validity. Higher scores indicative of greater deference to GW were associated with stronger life-prolonging treatment preferences in poor-prognosis scenarios. Implications for the role of religiosity in medical decision-making are discussed.
    Publication Journal of Religion and Health
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 418-430
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J Relig Health
    DOI 10.1007/s10943-008-9205-y
    ISSN 1573-6571
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19890718
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 1:13:05 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19890718
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Religiosity and preferences for life-prolonging medical treatments in African-American and white elders: a mediation study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laraine Winter
    Author Marie P Dennis
    Author Barbara Parker
    Abstract Research on end-of-life treatment preferences has documented robust racial differences, with African-Americans preferring more life-prolonging treatment than Whites. Although little research has attempted to explain these racial differences systematically, speculation has centered on religiosity. We examined a dimension of religiosity frequently invoked in end-of-life research-guidance by God's will-as a potential mediator of racial differences in such treatment preferences. Three hundred African-American and White men and women aged 60 or older participated in a 35-minute telephone interview that elicited preferences for four common life-prolonging treatments in each of nine health scenarios. The questionnaire included the five-item God's will (GW) scale, a health conditions checklist, a depression measure, and sociodemographic questions. GW mediated racial differences at least partially for most treatments and in most health scenarios. Implications are discussed for understanding end-of-life treatment preferences and why races tend to differ.
    Publication Omega
    Volume 56
    Issue 3
    Pages 273-288
    Date 2007-2008
    Journal Abbr Omega (Westport)
    ISSN 0030-2228
    Short Title Religiosity and preferences for life-prolonging medical treatments in African-American and white elders
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18300651
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 6:44:17 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 18300651
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • African Americans
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Death
    • Cultural Characteristics
    • Cultural Diversity
    • depression
    • European Continental Ancestry Group
    • Female
    • Health Behavior
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Life Support Care
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Patient Satisfaction
    • Philadelphia
    • social support
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Research on end-of-life treatment preferences has documented robust racial differences, with African-Americans preferring more life-prolonging treatment than Whites. Although little research has attempted to explain these racial differences systematically, speculation has centered on religiosity. We examined a dimension of religiosity frequently invoked in end-of-life research-guidance by God’s will-as a potential mediator of racial differences in such treatment preferences.

  • Religion and Subjective Well-Being in Adulthood: A Quantitative Synthesis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Robert A. Witter
    Author William A. Stock
    Author Morris A. Okun
    Author Marilyn J. Haring
    Abstract What is the strength and direction of the relation between religion and subjective well-being in adulthood? We addressed this question by performing a quantitative research synthesis (meta-analysis). The dependent variable was zero-order correlations between religion and subjective well-being. Independent variables were measure, sample, and study characteristics. We found that religion was significantly, positively related to subjective well-being. The relation between religion and subjective well-being is stronger for religious activity than for religiosity measures. The relation is stronger for samples of older than younger adults. The strength of the religion/subjective well-being relation has decreased over time. Religion accounts for between 2 and 6 percent of the variance in adult subjective well-being.
    Publication Review of Religious Research
    Volume 26
    Issue 4
    Pages 332-342
    Date Jun., 1985
    ISSN 0034673X
    Short Title Religion and Subjective Well-Being in Adulthood
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/3511048
    Accessed Saturday, October 17, 2009 4:15:53 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Jun., 1985 / Copyright © 1985 Religious Research Association, Inc.
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • What is the strength and direction of the relation between religion and subjective well-being in adulthood? We addressed this question by performing a quantitative research synthesis (meta-analysis). We found that religion was significantly, positively related to subjective well-being. The relation between religion and subjective well-being is stronger for religious activity than for religiosity measures. The relation is stronger for samples of older than younger adults. The strength of the religion/subjective well-being relation has decreased over time.

    Attachments

    • JSTOR Full Text PDF
  • A systematic review of recent research on adolescent religiosity/spirituality and mental health

    Type Journal Article
    Author Y Joel Wong
    Author Lynn Rew
    Author Kristina D Slaikeu
    Abstract There is accumulating evidence that religiosity/spirituality (R/S) are important correlates of mental health in adult populations. However, the associations between R/S and mental heath in adolescent populations have not been systematically studied. The purpose of this article is to report on a systematic review of recent research on the relationships between adolescent R/S and mental health. Twenty articles between 1998 and 2004 were reviewed. Most studies (90%) showed that higher levels of R/S were associated with better mental health in adolescents. Institutional and existential dimensions of R/S had the most robust relationships with mental health. The relationships between R/S and mental health were generally stronger or more unique for males and older adolescents than for females and younger adolescents. Recommendations for future research and implications for mental health nursing are discussed.
    Publication Issues in Mental Health Nursing
    Volume 27
    Issue 2
    Pages 161-183
    Date 2006 Feb-Mar
    Journal Abbr Issues Ment Health Nurs
    DOI 10.1080/01612840500436941
    ISSN 0161-2840
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16418077
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 3:34:27 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 16418077
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adolescent Behavior
    • Adolescent Psychology
    • Age Factors
    • Anxiety
    • Data Interpretation, Statistical
    • depression
    • existentialism
    • Female
    • Health Services Needs and Demand
    • Health Status
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Nurse's Role
    • Nursing Research
    • Psychiatric Nursing
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Research Design
    • Self Concept
    • Sex Factors
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this article is to report on a systematic review of recent research on the relationships between adolescent R/S and mental health. The relationships between R/S and mental health were generally stronger or more unique for males and older adolescents than for females and younger adolescents.

  • Development, refinement, and psychometric properties of the Attitudes Toward God Scale (ATGS-9).

    Type Journal Article
    Author Benjamin T. Wood
    Author Everett L. Worthington
    Author Julie Juola Exline
    Author Ann Marie Yali
    Author Jamie D. Aten
    Author Mark R. McMinn
    Abstract Perceived relationships with God can be a source of comfort or struggle. To advance the study of spiritual comfort and struggle, we develop the nine-item Attitudes toward God Scale (ATGS-9), and we describe six studies (2,992 total participants) reporting its development and psychometrics. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified two factors: (1) Positive Attitudes toward God and (2) Disappointment and Anger with God. Subscale scores showed good estimated internal consistency, 2-week temporal stability, and evidence for construct and discriminant validity. Positive Attitudes toward God correlated with measures of religiosity and conscientiousness. Disappointment and Anger with God correlated with negative religious coping, lower religious participation, more distress, higher neuroticism, and entitlement. These results support the ATGS-9 as a brief measure of attitudes toward God.
    Publication Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    Volume 2
    Issue 3
    Pages 148-167
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
    DOI 10.1037/a0018753
    ISSN 1943-1562
    URL http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?
    doi=10.1037/a0018753
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
  • Coming to peace with psychology: what Christians can learn from psychological science

    Type Book
    Author Everett Worthington
    Place Downers Grove Ill.
    Publisher IVP Academic
    Date 2010
    ISBN 9780830838820
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
  • Psychotherapy with religious and spiritual clients: an introduction

    Type Journal Article
    Author Everett L, Jr Worthington
    Author Jamie D Aten
    Abstract This invited issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session is devoted to psychotherapy with religious and spiritual clients. After offering definitions of religion and spirituality, noting areas of potential convergence and differentiating nuances, the authors highlight the prevalence and types of spirituality among both clients and mental health professionals. They describe the historical and current context for examining approaches to psychotherapy with clients who endorse religion, experience spirituality within their religion, or define themselves as spiritual even if not religious. They then summarize the subsequent articles in this issue, which offer practical guidance for practitioners.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 65
    Issue 2
    Pages 123-130
    Date Feb 2009
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20561
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Short Title Psychotherapy with religious and spiritual clients
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19090533
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19090533
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Humans
    • Journalism
    • Psychotherapy
    • spirituality
  • Religion and spirituality

    Type Journal Article
    Author Everett L Worthington
    Author Joshua N Hook
    Author Don E Davis
    Author Michael A McDaniel
    Abstract Many clients highly value religious and spiritual (R/S) commitments, and many psychotherapists have accommodated secular treatments to R/S perspectives. We meta-analyzed 51 samples from 46 studies (N = 3,290) that examined the outcomes of religious accommodative therapies and nonreligious spirituality therapies. Comparisons on psychological and spiritual outcomes were made to a control condition, an alternate treatment, or a subset of those studies that used a dismantling design (similar in theory and duration of treatment, but including religious contents). Patients in R/S psychotherapies showed greater improvement than those in alternate secular psychotherapies both on psychological (d =.26) and on spiritual (d = .41) outcomes. Religiously accommodated treatments outperformed dismantling-design alternative treatments on spiritual (d = .33) but not on psychological outcomes. Clinical examples are provided and therapeutic practices are recommended.
    Publication Journal of Clinical Psychology
    Volume 67
    Issue 2
    Pages 204-214
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr J Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1002/jclp.20760
    ISSN 1097-4679
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:26:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21108313
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:05 AM
  • Cardiorespiratory phase synchronization during normal rest and inward-attention meditation

    Type Journal Article
    Author Shr-Da Wu
    Author Pei-Chen Lo
    Abstract The cardiac and respiratory systems can be viewed as two self-sustained oscillators with various interactions between them. In this study, the cardiorespiratory phase synchronization (CRPS) quantified by synchrogram was investigated to explore the phase synchronization between these two systems. The synchrogram scheme was applied to electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration signals. Particular focus was the distinct cardiac-respiratory regulation phenomena intervened by inward-attention meditation and normal relaxation. Four synchronization parameters were measured: frequency ratio, lasting length, number of epochs, and total length. The results showed that normal rest resulted in much weaker CRPS. Statistical analysis reveals that the number of synchronous epochs and the total synchronization length significantly increase (p = 0.024 and 0.034 respectively) during meditation. Furthermore, a predominance of 4:1 and 5:1 rhythm-ratio synchronizations was observed during meditation. Consequently, this study concludes that CRPS can be enhanced during meditation, compared with normal relaxation, and reveals a predominance of specific frequency ratios.
    Publication International Journal of Cardiology
    Volume 141
    Issue 3
    Pages 325-328
    Date June 11, 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.ijcard.2008.11.137
    ISSN 0167-5273
    Accessed Tuesday, July 27, 2010 1:46:45 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM

    Tags:

    • Cardiorespiratory interaction
    • Cardiorespiratory phase synchronization (CRPS)
    • Inward-attention meditation
    • Self-sustained oscillator
    • Synchrogram
  • Effects of qigong on late-stage complex regional pain syndrome

    Type Journal Article
    Author W H Wu
    Author E Bandilla
    Author D S Ciccone
    Author J Yang
    Author S C Cheng
    Author N Carner
    Author Y Wu
    Author R Shen
    Abstract CONTEXT: Despite the growing popularity of qigong in the West, few well-controlled studies using a sham master to assess the clinical efficacy of qigong have been conducted. OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of qigong on treatment-resistant patients with late-stage complex regional pain syndrome type I. DESIGN: Block-random placebo-controlled clinical trial. SETTING: Pain Management Center at New Jersey Medical School. PATIENTS: 26 adult patients (aged 18 to 65 years) with complex regional pain syndrome type I. INTERVENTIONS: The experimental group received qi emission and qigong instruction (including home exercise) by a qigong master. The control group received a similar set of instructions by a sham master. The experimental protocol included 6 forty-minute qigong sessions over 3 weeks, with reevaluation at 6 and 10 weeks. Assessment included comprehensive medical history, physical exam, psychological evaluation, necessary diagnostic testing. Symptom Check List 90, and the Carleton University Responsiveness to Suggestion Scale. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Thermography, swelling, discoloration, muscle wasting, range of motion, pain intensity rating, medication usage, behavior assessment (activity level and domestic disability), frequency of pain awakening, mood assessment, and anxiety assessment. RESULTS: 22 subjects completed the protocol. Among the genuine qigong group, 82% reported less pain by the end of the first training session compared to 45% of control patients. By the last training session, 91% of qigong patients reported analgesia compared to 36% of control patients. Anxiety was reduced in both groups over time, but the reduction was significantly greater in the experimental group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Using a credible placebo to control for nonspecific treatment effects, qigong training was found to result in transient pain reduction and long-term anxiety reduction. The positive findings were not related to preexperimental differences between groups in hypnotizability. Future studies of qigong should control for possible confounding influences and perhaps use clinical disorders more responsive to psychological intervention.
    Publication Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
    Volume 5
    Issue 1
    Pages 45-54
    Date Jan 1999
    Journal Abbr Altern Ther Health Med
    ISSN 1078-6791
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/9893315
    Accessed Tuesday, October 20, 2009 9:32:49 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 9893315
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adolescent
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Middle Aged
    • Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
    • Time Factors
    • Treatment Outcome

    Notes:

    • Objective: To study the effect of qigong on treatment-resistant patients with late-stage complex regional pain syndrome type I. INTERVENTIONS: The experimental group received qi emission and qigong instruction (including home exercise) by a qigong master. Results: 82% reported less pain by the end of the first training session compared to 45% of control patients. Anxiety was reduced in both groups over time, but the reduction was significantly greater in the experimental group than in the control group.

  • Functional Connectivity at Meditation State

    Type Journal Article
    Author C.W. Wu
    Author C.H. Hsieh
    Author C.W. Li
    Author J.H. Chen
    Abstract Introduction Meditation means a mental training practice for the meditators to strengthen attentional focus and achieve a tranquil state (Brefczynski-Lewis JA, 2007). The engagement of such process on experienced meditators was reported combining with the increase of attention and improvement of perception (Jha A, 2007 and Carter OL, 2005). However, mapping the brain functions during meditation is arduous for experimental designs since the normal meditation usually last for a long time, comparing to timing of traditional cognitive task design. Therefore, in this work we applied the resting-state fMRI analyses (Biswal B, 1995) on the comparison between normal resting conditions and traditional Chinese meditation states. Methods Eight healthy experienced mediators participated in the experiments on a 3T Bruker Medspec system. A typical gradient-echo EPI sequence was used to collect imagings for 21 minutes (630 measurements, TR=2s). Images were acquired on the whole cerebrum (24 slices) along the AC-PC line, with FOV of 256 mm, MTX of 64×64, and slice thickness of 4mm. At first, subjects were instructed to close their eyes and stayed in a relaxing resting status during the beginning of 9-minute scan. Subsequently, the subjects were asked to read mantra and prepared to perform meditation, which lasted for no longer than 3 minutes. Subsequently, the subjects remained at meditation for the rest of the scan time (not, vert, similar 9 min, as shown in fig. 1). Data were pre-processed with motion correction, detrending, and low-pass filtered (<0.1 Hz) using MATLAB, and then underwent spatial normalization (resampled to an isotropic resolution 3×3×3 mm3), smoothing (Gausian kernel = 6 mm) and statistical analyses by AFNI. Physiological noise and motion artifacts were regressed out during individual calculation of cross-correlation. Spherical seeds with 6 mm diameter were placed on the right primary motor cortex (M1) [36, −28, 54] and right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) [38, 28, 26] in the normalized MNI/Talairach space to observe the connectivity in sensori-motor and attentional networks, respectively. A group-level analysis of correlation maps was performed to reveal significant functional connectivity (p <10−4, cluster = 529 mm3). Results Fig.2 shows the group results of functional connectivity maps on both motor and attention networks, overlaid on an averaged anatomical image. With seeds placed on right M1, strong connections are observed in the supplementary motor area (SMA) and contralateral M1, formatting the structure of sensori-motor networks. However, such connection was suppressed, or even disappeared in some brain area during the meditation state, such as the contralateral M1. When putting seeds on the right MFG, only ipsilateral connections to precentral gyrus (PCG) and middle temporal gyrus (MTG) are explicit under the resting state; however, under the meditation state, the contralateral side of MFG, and MTG are aroused, showing the concentration during performing meditation practices. Conclusions Functional connectivity analysis was first time adopted in the research of meditation in the current work. Such experimental design is more reliable and feasible for meditators without interruption of experimental interests. In contrast to resting status of the same group, the functional connectivity of motor and attention networks was indeed modulated by the practice of meditation.
    Publication NeuroImage
    Volume 47
    Issue Supplement 1
    Pages S42
    Date July 2009
    DOI 10.1016/S1053-8119(09)70006-0
    ISSN 1053-8119
    URL http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/science/article/B6WNP-4X3PHYG-6/2/3e7feb6276eecd7ce199962b262e68dd
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:29:40 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Introduction: Meditation means a mental training practice for the meditators to strengthen attentional focus and achieve a tranquil state (Brefczynski-Lewis JA, 2007). The engagement of such process on experienced meditators was reported combining with the increase of attention and improvement of perception (Jha A, 2007 and Carter OL, 2005). However, mapping the brain functions during meditation is arduous for experimental designs since the normal meditation usually last for a long time, comparing to timing of traditional cognitive task design. Therefore, in this work we applied the resting-state fMRI analyses (Biswal B, 1995) on the comparison between normal resting conditions and traditional Chinese meditation states. Methods: Eight healthy experienced mediators participated in the experiments on a 3T Bruker Medspec system. A typical gradient-echo EPI sequence was used to collect imagings for 21 minutes (630 measurements, TR=2s). Images were acquired on the whole cerebrum (24 slices) along the AC-PC line, with FOV of 256 mm, MTX of 64×64, and slice thickness of 4mm. At first, subjects were instructed to close their eyes and stayed in a relaxing resting status during the beginning of 9-minute scan. Subsequently, the subjects were asked to read mantra and prepared to perform meditation, which lasted for no longer than 3 minutes. Subsequently, the subjects remained at meditation for the rest of the scan time (not, vert, similar 9 min, as shown in fig. 1). Data were pre-processed with motion correction, detrending, and low-pass filtered (<0.1 Hz) using MATLAB, and then underwent spatial normalization (resampled to an isotropic resolution 3×3×3 mm3), smoothing (Gausian kernel = 6 mm) and statistical analyses by AFNI. Physiological noise and motion artifacts were regressed out during individual calculation of cross-correlation. Spherical seeds with 6 mm diameter were placed on the right primary motor cortex (M1) [36, −28, 54] and right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) [38, 28, 26] in the normalized MNI/Talairach space to observe the connectivity in sensori-motor and attentional networks, respectively. A group-level analysis of correlation maps was performed to reveal significant functional connectivity (p <10−4, cluster = 529 mm3). Results: Fig.2 shows the group results of functional connectivity maps on both motor and attention networks, overlaid on an averaged anatomical image. With seeds placed on right M1, strong connections are observed in the supplementary motor area (SMA) and contralateral M1, formatting the structure of sensori-motor networks. However, such connection was suppressed, or even disappeared in some brain area during the meditation state, such as the contralateral M1. When putting seeds on the right MFG, only ipsilateral connections to precentral gyrus (PCG) and middle temporal gyrus (MTG) are explicit under the resting state; however, under the meditation state, the contralateral side of MFG, and MTG are aroused, showing the concentration during performing meditation practices. Conclusions: Functional connectivity analysis was first time adopted in the research of meditation in the current work. Such experimental design is more reliable and feasible for meditators without interruption of experimental interests. In contrast to resting status of the same group, the functional connectivity of motor and attention networks was indeed modulated by the practice of meditation.

  • Pilot study to assess HIV knowledge, spirituality, and risk behaviors among older African Americans

    Type Journal Article
    Author Anthony K Wutoh
    Author Gloria Nichols English
    Author Marlon Daniel
    Author Karima A Kendall
    Author Ewan K Cobran
    Author Veronica Clarke Tasker
    Author Glenda Hodges
    Author Ashanta P Brady
    Author Annet Mbulaiteye
    Abstract A pilot study was conducted in anticipation of implementation of a larger project to assess human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors among older African Americans. A cross-sectional methodology was employed, including 33 African Americans aged more than 50 years in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area. The average age of the participants was 66 years old, with an age range from 51 to 86 years. Data were collected utilizing previously validated instruments that were administered using an audio computer-assisted survey instrument. There was relatively high knowledge regarding HIV, with female participants scoring significantly higher compared to male participants (p=.003). Another specific finding of the preliminary study was the association between higher levels of spirituality and lower levels of HIV sexual risk behaviors (Spearman's correlation=-0.369, p=.035). Results of this pilot study suggest that older African American females may be more knowledgeable regarding HIV than older African American males. This may suggest that educational and behavioral interventions developedfor this group may need to be structured based upon the targeted gender of the audience. The association between increased spirituality and decreased risk behaviors may suggest that spiritually-based interventions may provide some benefit regarding reduction of HIV risk behaviors in this population. However, the small sample size in this study warrants caution in the conclusions and highlights the need for further research in this population.
    Publication Journal of the National Medical Association
    Volume 103
    Issue 3
    Pages 265-268
    Date Mar 2011
    Journal Abbr J Natl Med Assoc
    ISSN 0027-9684
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21671530
    Accessed Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:11:45 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21671530
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:54:25 AM

    Notes:

    • A pilot study was conducted in anticipation of implementation of a larger project to assess human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors among older African Americans. A cross-sectional methodology was employed, including 33 African Americans aged more than 50 years in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area. The average age of the participants was 66 years old, with an age range from 51 to 86 years.

  • Complementary therapy use among older cancer patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author G K Wyatt
    Author L L Friedman
    Author C W Given
    Author B A Given
    Author K C Beckrow
    Abstract PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the use of complementary therapies among older cancer patients, to report patterns of use, and to understand who is more likely to use complementary therapies. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: A survey was conducted of 699 older cancer patients at 4 weeks and 6 weeks into cancer treatment. All participants were 64 years of age or older, had received a diagnosis of breast, colorectal, prostate, or lung cancer, and were recruited from community cancer treatment centers throughout Michigan. Measures of interest included self-reported physical symptoms, depressive symptomatology, optimism, spirituality, and use of conventional and complementary health services. RESULTS: Approximately 33% of older cancer patients reported using complementary therapies. These individuals were more likely to be women, to be breast cancer patients, and to have a higher level of education. The three most frequently used therapies were exercise, herbal therapy, and spiritual healing. Complementary therapy users were significantly more optimistic than nonusers. Also, there were significant differences between users and nonusers on types of physical symptoms experienced, but no differences on reported depressive symptomatology or spirituality. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Oncology providers need to be aware that one third of their older patients are likely to supplement conventional care with complementary therapies. Therefore, providers should be knowledgeable about the safety and efficacy, in particular, of various exercise programs, herbal and vitamin therapies, and spiritual healing. It would be beneficial to develop a system within cancer centers by which patients could easily report on their use of complementary therapies, allowing providers to work in partnership with their patients.
    Publication Cancer Practice
    Volume 7
    Issue 3
    Pages 136-144
    Date 1999 May-Jun
    Journal Abbr Cancer Pract
    ISSN 1065-4704
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10352076
    Accessed Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:27:42 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 10352076
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Complementary Therapies
    • depression
    • Educational Status
    • Female
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Neoplasms
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Questionnaires

    Notes:

    • The purpose of this study was to assess the use of complementary therapies among older cancer patients, to report patterns of use, and to understand who is more likely to use complementary therapies. Approximately 33% of older cancer patients reported using complementary therapies. These individuals were more likely to be women, to be breast cancer patients, and to have a higher level of education.

  • A qualitative review of the role of qigong in the management of diabetes

    Type Journal Article
    Author Liu Xin
    Author Yvette D Miller
    Author Wendy J Brown
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To review the evidence relating to the effectiveness of qigong in the management of diabetes. METHODS: We performed a systematic literature review of qigong intervention studies published in English or Chinese since 1980, retrieved from English-language databases and Chinese journals. Qigong intervention studies conducted with adults with diabetes, which reported both preintervention and postintervention measures of fasting blood glucose and/or hemoglobin A(1c)(HbA(1c)) were included. Sample characteristics, intervention frequency/duration, and metabolic outcomes were reviewed. RESULTS: Sixty-nine intervention studies were located. Of these, only 11 met the criteria for inclusion. There were consistent and statistically significant positive associations between participation in qigong and fasting and 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test results, blood glucose, and triglycerides and total cholesterol. Effects on insulin and HbA(1c) were inconsistent. There was no evidence of any effect of qigong on weight. Most of the studies were of short duration, involved small samples, and did not include a control group. CONCLUSIONS:Although qigong has beneficial effects on some of the metabolic risk factors for type 2 diabetes, methodologic limitations make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the benefits reported. Randomized controlled trials are required to confirm the potential beneficial effects of qigong on the management of type 2 diabetes.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 13
    Issue 4
    Pages 427-433
    Date May 2007
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2006.6052
    ISSN 1075-5535
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17532735
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:08:31 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17532735
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Blood Glucose
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
    • Evidence-Based Medicine
    • Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated
    • Humans
    • Research Design
    • Self Care

    Notes:

    • Objective: To review the evidence relating to the effectiveness of qigong in the management of diabetes. Conclusions:Although qigong has beneficial effects on some of the metabolic risk factors for type 2 diabetes, methodologic limitations make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the benefits reported.

  • Does meditation enhance cognition and brain plasticity?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Glen L Xiong
    Author P Murali Doraiswamy
    Abstract Meditation practices have various health benefits including the possibility of preserving cognition and preventing dementia. While the mechanisms remain investigational, studies show that meditation may affect multiple pathways that could play a role in brain aging and mental fitness. For example, meditation may reduce stress-induced cortisol secretion and this could have neuroprotective effects potentially via elevating levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Meditation may also potentially have beneficial effects on lipid profiles and lower oxidative stress, both of which could in turn reduce the risk for cerebrovascular disease and age-related neurodegeneration. Further, meditation may potentially strengthen neuronal circuits and enhance cognitive reserve capacity. These are the theoretical bases for how meditation might enhance longevity and optimal health. Evidence to support a neuroprotective effect comes from cognitive, electroencephalogram (EEG), and structural neuroimaging studies. In one cross-sectional study, meditation practitioners were found to have a lower age-related decline in thickness of specific cortical regions. However, the enthusiasm must be balanced by the inconsistency and preliminary nature of existing studies as well as the fact that meditation comprises a heterogeneous group of practices. Key future challenges include the isolation of a potential common element in the different meditation modalities, replication of existing findings in larger randomized trials, determining the correct "dose," studying whether findings from expert practitioners are generalizable to a wider population, and better control of the confounding genetic, dietary and lifestyle influences.
    Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
    Volume 1172
    Pages 63-69
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci
    DOI 10.1196/annals.1393.002
    ISSN 1749-6632
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19743551
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:40:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19743551
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Brain
    • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
    • Clinical Trials as Topic
    • Cognition
    • Electroencephalography
    • Humans
    • Meditation
    • Meta-Analysis as Topic
    • Models, Biological
    • Neurodegenerative Diseases
    • Neuronal Plasticity

    Notes:

    • Meditation practices have various health benefits including the possibility of preserving cognition and preventing dementia. While the mechanisms remain investigational, studies show that meditation may affect multiple pathways that could play a role in brain aging and mental fitness. For example, meditation may reduce stress-induced cortisol secretion and this could have neuroprotective effects potentially via elevating levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Meditation may also potentially have beneficial effects on lipid profiles and lower oxidative stress, both of which could in turn reduce the risk for cerebrovascular disease and age-related neurodegeneration. Further, meditation may potentially strengthen neuronal circuits and enhance cognitive reserve capacity. These are the theoretical bases for how meditation might enhance longevity and optimal health. Evidence to support a neuroprotective effect comes from cognitive, electroencephalogram (EEG), and structural neuroimaging studies. In one cross-sectional study, meditation practitioners were found to have a lower age-related decline in thickness of specific cortical regions. However, the enthusiasm must be balanced by the inconsistency and preliminary nature of existing studies as well as the fact that meditation comprises a heterogeneous group of practices. Key future challenges include the isolation of a potential common element in the different meditation modalities, replication of existing findings in larger randomized trials, determining the correct “dose,” studying whether findings from expert practitioners are generalizable to a wider population, and better control of the confounding genetic, dietary and lifestyle influences.

  • Use of alternative medicine in Israeli chronic rhinosinusitis patients

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arkadi Yakirevitch
    Author Lev Bedrin
    Author Lela Migirov
    Author Michael Wolf
    Author Yoav P Talmi
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The worldwide interest in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been established in multiple surveys. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is often an unremitting disease with frequent troubling relapses, and despite wide use of endoscopic sinus surgery, conventional medicine may have a smaller contribution than expected. Because of prevalent use of CAM among patients, it is important that physicians acquire basic knowledge of this subject. We studied the prevalence of CAM use among CRS patients in Israel. DESIGN: Use of CAM was evaluated in a cohort of consecutive adult patients with CRS. SETTING: An outpatient clinic in a tertiary medical centre. METHODS: Patients were asked to fill out an anonymous questionnaire containing demographic data and data pertaining to allergy, traditional medical and surgical treatment use of CAM, and modalities used. RESULTS: Ninety patients were included. Nineteen of them (21%) reported CAM use. This included herbal medicine, vitamins, homeopathy, acupuncture, massage, reflexology, yoga, and chiropractics. There was a tendency, although not statistically significant, for patients with allergy and a history of sinus surgery to use CAM. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CAM use among patients with CRS in Israel is high and may correlate with the presence of allergies and a history of sinus surgery.
    Publication Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery = Le Journal D'oto-Rhino-Laryngologie Et De Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale
    Volume 38
    Issue 4
    Pages 517-520
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
    ISSN 1916-0216
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19755095
    Accessed Monday, September 28, 2009 11:51:44 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19755095
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is often an unremitting disease with frequent troubling relapses, and despite wide use of endoscopic sinus surgery, conventional medicine may have a smaller contribution than expected. Conclusions: The prevalence of CAM use among patients with CRS in Israel is high and may correlate with the presence of allergies and a history of sinus surgery.

  • Facets of spirituality as predictors of adjustment to cancer: relative contributions of having faith and finding meaning

    Type Journal Article
    Author Betina Yanez
    Author Donald Edmondson
    Author Annette L Stanton
    Author Crystal L Park
    Author Lorna Kwan
    Author Patricia A Ganz
    Author Thomas O Blank
    Abstract Spirituality is a multidimensional construct, and little is known about how its distinct dimensions jointly affect well-being. In longitudinal studies (Study 1, n = 418 breast cancer patients; Study 2, n = 165 cancer survivors), the authors examined 2 components of spiritual well-being (i.e., meaning/peace and faith) and their interaction, as well as change scores on those variables, as predictors of psychological adjustment. In Study 1, higher baseline meaning/peace, as well as an increase in meaning/peace over 6 months, predicted a decline in depressive symptoms and an increase in vitality across 12 months in breast cancer patients. Baseline faith predicted an increase in perceived cancer-related growth. Study 2 revealed that an increase in meaning/peace was related to improved mental health and lower cancer-related distress. An increase in faith was related to increased cancer-related growth. Both studies revealed significant interactions between meaning/peace and faith in predicting adjustment. Findings suggest that the ability to find meaning and peace in life is the more influential contributor to favorable adjustment during cancer survivorship, although faith appears to be uniquely related to perceived cancer-related growth.
    Publication Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
    Volume 77
    Issue 4
    Pages 730-741
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr J Consult Clin Psychol
    DOI 10.1037/a0015820
    ISSN 1939-2117
    Short Title Facets of spirituality as predictors of adjustment to cancer
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19634965
    Accessed Friday, September 18, 2009 6:31:46 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19634965
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Tags:

    • cancer
    • faith
    • meaning
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • The authors examined 2 components of spiritual well-being (i.e., meaning/peace and faith) and their interaction, as well as change scores on those variables, as predictors of psychological adjustment. In Study 1, higher baseline meaning/peace, as well as an increase in meaning/peace over 6 months, predicted a decline in depressive symptoms and an increase in vitality across 12 months in breast cancer patients. Baseline faith predicted an increase in perceived cancer-related growth. Study 2 revealed that an increase in meaning/peace was related to improved mental health and lower cancer-related distress. An increase in faith was related to increased cancer-related growth. Both studies revealed significant interactions between meaning/peace and faith in predicting adjustment. Findings suggest that the ability to find meaning and peace in life is the more influential contributor to favorable adjustment during cancer survivorship, although faith appears to be uniquely related to perceived cancer-related growth.

  • The effect of meditation on physical and mental health in junior college students: a quasi-experimental study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Ke-Ping Yang
    Author Whei-Ming Su
    Author Chen-Kuan Huang
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Physical stress and mental stress are increasingly common phenomena in our rapidly changing and stressful modern society. Research has found meditation to produce positive and demonstrable stress reduction effects on brain and immune functions. This study is grounded in traditional Chinese philosophical mores that teach a process summarized by the keynote activities of "calm, still, quiet, consider, and get" and the potential of this process to reduce stress in adolescents. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of meditation on the physical and mental health of junior college students. METHODS: This research employed a quasi-experimental design. Participants included 242 freshmen from a junior college in Taiwan selected using a convenience sampling technique. Participants were then randomly separated into experimental (n = 119) and control (n = 123) groups. The project duration was 18 weeks, during which the experimental group received 2 hours of meditation treatment per week, for a total of 36 hours. Both groups completed pretest and posttest Life Adaptation Scale forms, which included questionnaires addressing information on physical and mental distress and positive and negative coping strategies. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance. RESULTS: Findings showed that the effect of the experiment treatment was significant when student physical and mental distress pretest scores were controlled. Physical and mental symptoms in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Meditation can help students to adapt to life stressors. This study also provides support for traditional Chinese wisdom, which promotes meditation as one way to improve health.
    Publication The Journal of Nursing Research
    Volume 17
    Issue 4
    Pages 261-269
    Date Dec 2009
    Journal Abbr J Nurs Res
    DOI 10.1097/JNR.0b013e3181c17f77
    ISSN 1948-965X
    Short Title The effect of meditation on physical and mental health in junior college students
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19955882
    Accessed Monday, December 28, 2009 11:57:16 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19955882
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:08 AM
  • Effects of a Taiji and Qigong intervention on the antibody response to influenza vaccine in older adults

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yang Yang
    Author Jay Verkuilen
    Author Karl S Rosengren
    Author Rachel A Mariani
    Author Michael Reed
    Author Scott A Grubisich
    Author Jeffrey A Woods
    Abstract Previous studies have suggested that Taiji practice may improve immune function. This study was intended to examine whether 5 months of moderate Taiji and Qigong (TQ) practice could improve the immune response to influenza vaccine in older adults. Fifty older adults (mean age 77.2 +/- 1.3 years) participated in this study (TQ N = 27; wait-list control [CON] N = 23). Baseline pre-vaccine blood samples were collected. All subjects then received the 2003-2004 influenza vaccine during the first week of the intervention. Post-vaccine blood samples were collected 3, 6 and 20 weeks post-intervention for analysis of anti-influenza hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers. We found a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the magnitude and duration of the antibody response to influenza vaccine in TQ participants when compared to CON. The vaccination resulted in a 173, 130, and 109% increase in HI titer at 3, 6, and 20 weeks post-vaccine, respectively, in the TQ group compared to 58, 54, and 10% in CON. There was a significant between group difference at 3 and 20 weeks post-vaccine and at 20 weeks the TQ group had significantly higher titers compared to the pre-vaccine time point, whereas the CON group did not. A higher percentage of TQ subjects also responded to the influenza A strains with a protective (> 40HI) antibody response (37% TQ vs. 20% CON for the H1N1 strain and 56% TQ vs. 45% CON for the H3N2 strain), but the differences between groups were not statistically significant. Traditional TQ practice improves the antibody response to influenza vaccine in older adults, but further study is needed to determine whether the enhanced response is sufficient to provide definitive protection from influenza infection.
    Publication The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
    Volume 35
    Issue 4
    Pages 597-607
    Date 2007
    Journal Abbr Am. J. Chin. Med
    ISSN 0192-415X
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17708626
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:07:29 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 17708626
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Aging
    • Antibodies, Viral
    • Antibody Formation
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Exercise
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype
    • Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype
    • Influenza Vaccines
    • Influenza, Human
    • Intervention Studies
    • Male
    • Tai Ji

    Notes:

    • This study was intended to examine whether 5 months of moderate Taiji and Qigong (TQ) practice could improve the immune response to influenza vaccine in older adults. There was a significant between group difference at 3 and 20 weeks post-vaccine and at 20 weeks the TQ group had significantly higher titers compared to the pre-vaccine time point, whereas the CON group did not. Traditional TQ practice improves the antibody response to influenza vaccine in older adults, but further study is needed to determine whether the enhanced response is sufficient to provide definitive protection from influenza infection.

  • Hypnotically catalyzing experiential learning across treatments for depression: actions can speak louder than moods

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael D Yapko
    Abstract A number of psychotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of major depression have received empirical support in the literature, most notably cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal therapies. Recent studies have shown the therapeutic value of the behavioral activation component of such interventions. Depressed individuals actively learning and applying new skills on their own behalf is widely considered a critical component of recovery. This article describes the use of hypnosis to catalyze experiential learning and to encourage behavioral activation in the depressed client by directly addressing and transforming cognitive and perceptual patterns that can impede such behavioral activation, especially global thinking and ruminative coping styles.
    Publication The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
    Volume 58
    Issue 2
    Pages 186-201
    Date Apr 2010
    Journal Abbr Int J Clin Exp Hypn
    DOI 10.1080/00207140903523228
    ISSN 1744-5183
    Short Title Hypnotically catalyzing experiential learning across treatments for depression
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 5:33:12 PM
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    Extra PMID: 20390690
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
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  • Influences of spiritual well-being and coping on mental health of family caregivers for elders

    Type Journal Article
    Author Pi-Ming Yeh
    Author Margaret Bull
    Abstract The purpose of the study was to describe spiritual well-being of family caregivers of elders with congestive heart failure and examine the relationships among family caregivers' spiritual well-being, coping, and mental health. A descriptive, correlational research design was used, and data were collected from a convenience sample of 50 family caregivers. The findings indicated that positive spiritual well-being was inversely related to negative mental health. Examination of the spiritual well-being subscales suggested that faith/belief systems and life satisfaction contributed to the significant correlation. Positive coping strategies were inversely related to negative mental health. Examination of the coping subscales suggested that scores on Problem Solving and Coping, Alternative Perception of Events, and Dealing with Stress Symptoms contributed to the significant correlation with mental health scores. It is vital to identify processes that contribute to family caregivers' mental health to support them in their role.
    Publication Research in Gerontological Nursing
    Volume 2
    Issue 3
    Pages 173-181
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Res Gerontol Nurs
    DOI 10.3928/19404921-20090421-08
    ISSN 1940-4921
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:32:02 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20078007
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Attitude to Health
    • Caregivers
    • Cost of Illness
    • Cross-Sectional Studies
    • Female
    • Heart Failure
    • Home Nursing
    • Humans
    • Male
    • mental health
    • Middle Aged
    • Midwestern United States
    • Models, Psychological
    • Nursing Methodology Research
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Problem Solving
    • Religion and Psychology
    • spirituality
    • Stress, Psychological
  • Tai chi exercise in patients with chronic heart failure: a randomized clinical trial

    Type Journal Article
    Author Gloria Y Yeh
    Author Ellen P McCarthy
    Author Peter M Wayne
    Author Lynne W Stevenson
    Author Malissa J Wood
    Author Daniel Forman
    Author Roger B Davis
    Author Russell S Phillips
    Abstract BACKGROUND Preliminary evidence suggests that meditative exercise may have benefits for patients with chronic systolic heart failure (HF); this has not been rigorously tested in a large clinical sample. We sought to investigate whether tai chi, as an adjunct to standard care, improves functional capacity and quality of life in patients with HF. METHODS A single-blind, multisite, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial evaluated 100 outpatients with systolic HF (New York Heart Association class I-III, left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%) who were recruited between May 1, 2005, and September 30, 2008. A group-based 12-week tai chi exercise program (n = 50) or time-matched education (n = 50, control group) was conducted. Outcome measures included exercise capacity (6- minute walk test and peak oxygen uptake) and disease-specific quality of life (Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire). RESULTS Mean (SD) age of patients was 67 (11) years; baseline values were left ventricular ejection fraction, 29% (8%) and peak oxygen uptake, 13.5 mL/kg/min; the median New York Heart Association class of HF was class II. At completion of the study, there were no significant differences in change in 6-minute walk distance and peak oxygen uptake (median change [first quartile, third quartile], 35 [-2, 51] vs 2 [-7, 54] meters, P = .95; and 1.1 [-1.1, 1.5] vs -0.5 [-1.2, 1.8] mL/kg/min, P = .81) when comparing tai chi and control groups; however, patients in the tai chi group had greater improvements in quality of life (Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire, -19 [-23, -3] vs 1 [-16, 3], P = .02). Improvements with tai chi were also seen in exercise self-efficacy (Cardiac Exercise Self-efficacy Instrument, 0.1 [0.1, 0.6] vs -0.3 [-0.5, 0.2], P < .001) and mood (Profile of Mood States total mood disturbance, -6 [-17, 1] vs -1 [-13, 10], P = .01). CONCLUSION Tai chi exercise may improve quality of life, mood, and exercise self-efficacy in patients with HF. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00110227.
    Publication Archives of Internal Medicine
    Volume 171
    Issue 8
    Pages 750-757
    Date Apr 25, 2011
    Journal Abbr Arch. Intern. Med
    DOI 10.1001/archinternmed.2011.150
    ISSN 1538-3679
    Short Title Tai chi exercise in patients with chronic heart failure
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21518942
    Accessed Monday, May 09, 2011 6:57:24 PM
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    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:55:31 AM
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    Notes:

    • This study aimed to investigate whether tai chi, as an adjunct to standard care, improves functional capacity and quality of life in patients with heart failure.

  • Health, religion, and meaning: a culture-centered study of Druze women

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nadine A. Yehya
    Author Mohan J. Dutta
    Abstract Against the backdrop of contesting the mainstream biomedical models of health communication, the culture-centered approach suggests dialogic research methodologies to coconstruct meanings of health through direct engagement with cultural communities. In this project, we engaged in in-depth interviews and informal conversations with elderly Druze women and their caregiver daughters to develop an understanding of the intersections of religion and health meanings in the context of aging women in this Lebanese community. Attending to the cultural constructions of health, particularly in religious contexts, opens up the discursive spaces of health communication to alternative cosmologies of health, illness, healing, and curing. Four themes emerged as a result of our grounded theory analysis: health as faith; mistrust, privacy, and modern medicine; polymorphic health experiences; and health as structure. These themes serve as the backdrop for playing out the competing tensions between the local and the global in the realm of interpretations of health meanings.
    Publication Qualitative Health Research
    Volume 20
    Issue 6
    Pages 845-858
    Date Jun 2010
    Journal Abbr Qual Health Res
    DOI 10.1177/1049732310362400
    ISSN 1049-7323
    Short Title Health, religion, and meaning
    Accessed Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:43:11 AM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20181823
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
  • Youth religiosity and substance use: a meta-analysis from 1995 to 2007

    Type Journal Article
    Author Jerf W K Yeung
    Author Yuk-Chung Chan
    Author Boris L K Lee
    Abstract In this meta-analysis, the magnitude of the protective effects of religiosity on youth involvement in substance use was investigated. Based on 22 studies in peer-reviewed journals published between 1995 and 2007, the average weighted mean correlation was Zr = .16, significant regardless of the definitions of religiosity. The homogeneity test of variance showed consistent protective effects of religiosity on four types of substance use, namely, alcohol, cigarette, marijuana, and other illicit drugs.
    Publication Psychological Reports
    Volume 105
    Issue 1
    Pages 255-266
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychol Rep
    ISSN 0033-2941
    Short Title Youth religiosity and substance use
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19810452
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 9:54:06 PM
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    Extra PMID: 19810452
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • Religion, spirituality, and depressive symptoms in patients with HIV/AIDS

    Type Journal Article
    Author Michael S Yi
    Author Joseph M Mrus
    Author Terrance J Wade
    Author Mona L Ho
    Author Richard W Hornung
    Author Sian Cotton
    Author Amy H Peterman
    Author Christina M Puchalski
    Author Joel Tsevat
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Depression has been linked to immune function and mortality in patients with chronic illnesses. Factors such as poorer spiritual well-being has been linked to increased risk for depression and other mood disorders in patients with HIV. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine how specific dimensions of religion, spirituality, and other factors relate to depressive symptoms in a contemporary, multi-center cohort of patients with HIV/AIDS. DESIGN: Patients were recruited from 4 medical centers in 3 cities in 2002 to 2003, and trained interviewers administered the questionnaires. The level of depressive symptoms was measured with the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD-10) Scale. Independent variables included socio-demographics, clinical information, 8 dimensions of health status and concerns, symptoms, social support, risk attitudes, self-esteem, spirituality, religious affiliation, religiosity, and religious coping. We examined the bivariate and multivariable associations of religiosity, spirituality, and depressive symptoms. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We collected data from 450 subjects. Their mean (SD) age was 43.8 (8.4) years; 387 (86.0%) were male; 204 (45.3%) were white; and their mean CD4 count was 420.5 (301.0). Two hundred forty-one (53.6%) fit the criteria for significant depressive symptoms (CESD-10 score > or = 10). In multivariable analyses, having greater health worries, less comfort with how one contracted HIV, more HIV-related symptoms, less social support, and lower spiritual well-being was associated with significant depressive symptoms (P<.05). CONCLUSION: A majority of patients with HIV reported having significant depressive symptoms. Poorer health status and perceptions, less social support, and lower spiritual well-being were related to significant depressive symptoms, while personal religiosity and having a religious affiliation was not associated when controlling for other factors. Helping to address the spiritual needs of patients in the medical or community setting may be one way to decrease depressive symptoms in patients with HIV/AIDS.
    Publication Journal of General Internal Medicine
    Volume 21 Suppl 5
    Pages S21-27
    Date Dec 2006
    Journal Abbr J Gen Intern Med
    DOI 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00643.x
    ISSN 1525-1497
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17083496
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 4:56:18 PM
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    Extra PMID: 17083496
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Adult
    • Causality
    • Cohort Studies
    • Comorbidity
    • depression
    • Female
    • Health Status
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Marital Status
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Prevalence
    • Religion and Psychology
    • United States

    Notes:

    • Objective: We sought to determine how specific dimensions of religion, spirituality, and other factors relate to depressive symptoms in a contemporary, multi-center cohort of patients with HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: A majority of patients with HIV reported having significant depressive symptoms. Poorer health status and perceptions, less social support, and lower spiritual well-being were related to significant depressive symptoms, while personal religiosity and having a religious affiliation was not associated when controlling for other factors.

  • Effect of prayer on osteoarthritis and osteoporosis

    Type Journal Article
    Author Sema Yilmaz
    Author Hamide Kart-Köseoglu
    Author Ozgen Guler
    Author Eftal Yucel
    Abstract Prayer is one kind of worship that is composed of repetitive action during praying in Islam. The prayer is performed five times a day, every Friday, bairams and death ceremonies. The aim of this study is to search the role of this repetitive action on knee, hip osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. Forty-six patients who had been performing the prayer at least for 10 years, and 40 patients who had not performed the prayer, were included in this prospective study. Each patient was evaluated with standard questionnaire form, joint examination was done and various laboratory parameters were studied. Anterior-posterior radiography of the pelvis and weight-bearing knees of each patient were examined. Each film was evaluated by two investigators separately and first scored by using Kellgren and Lawrence (K&L) scale, then the width of the joint space of hips and knees were measured directly using a steel ruler and recorded to the nearest half millimeter. Bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar spine and femur was measured. Patients having Heberden's nodes, Bouchard's nodes, and carpometacarpal disease were frequent in worshiper group. Joint space width measurements and assessment according to K&L scale did not differ between worshipers and non-worshipers. BMD of lumbar spine was decreased in worshipers and also decreased with patients having Heberden's nodes, Bouchard's nodes, female gender and age. Prayer has no effect on knee and hip osteoarthritis, and may be related with hand osteoarthritis. It seems to have negative effect on lumbar BMD, but further investigations are needed.
    Publication Rheumatology International
    Volume 28
    Issue 5
    Pages 429-436
    Date Mar 2008
    Journal Abbr Rheumatol. Int
    DOI 10.1007/s00296-007-0466-7
    ISSN 0172-8172
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/17926039
    Accessed Monday, November 02, 2009 1:29:46 PM
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    Extra PMID: 17926039
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Bone Density
    • Cohort Studies
    • Female
    • Hip Joint
    • Humans
    • ISLAM
    • Knee Joint
    • Male
    • Middle Aged
    • Motor Activity
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Osteoporosis
    • Severity of Illness Index

    Notes:

    • Prayer is one kind of worship that is composed of repetitive action during praying in Islam. The prayer is performed five times a day, every Friday, bairams and death ceremonies. The aim of this study is to search the role of this repetitive action on knee, hip osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

  • Adult smokers' perception of the role of religion and religious leadership on smoking and association with quitting: a comparison between Thai Buddhists and Malaysian Muslims

    Type Journal Article
    Author Hua-Hie Yong
    Author Stephen L Hamann
    Author Ron Borland
    Author Geoffrey T Fong
    Author Maizurah Omar
    Abstract In recent years, attempts have been made to incorporate religion into tobacco control efforts, especially in countries like Malaysia and Thailand where religion is central to the lives of people. This paper is a prospective examination of the perceived relevance and role of religion and religious authorities in influencing smoking behaviour among Muslims in Malaysia and Buddhists in Thailand. Data were collected from 1482 Muslim Malaysian and 1971 Buddhist Thai adult smokers who completed wave 1 (early 2005) of the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Survey (ITC-SEA). Respondents were asked about the role of religion and religious leadership on smoking at Wave 1 and among those recontacted, quitting activity at Wave 2. Results revealed that over 90% of both religious groups reported that their religion guides their day-to-day behaviour at least sometimes, but Malaysian Muslims were more likely to report that this was always the case. The majority (79% Muslims and 88% Buddhists) of both groups believed that their religion discourages smoking. About 61% of the Muslims and 58% of the Buddhists reported that their religious leaders had encouraged them to quit before and a minority (30% and 26%, respectively) said they would be an influential source to motivate them to quit. Logistic regression models suggest that these religious factors had a clear independent association with making quitting attempts in both countries and this translated to success for Malaysian Muslims but not for the Thai Buddhists. Taken together, results from this study indicate that religion and religious authorities are both relevant and important drivers of quitting, but whether this is always enough to guarantee success is less clear. Religion can be a culturally relevant vehicle to complement other tobacco control efforts.
    Publication Social Science & Medicine
    Volume 69
    Issue 7
    Pages 1025-1031
    Date Oct 2009
    Journal Abbr Soc Sci Med
    DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.07.042
    ISSN 1873-5347
    Short Title Adult smokers' perception of the role of religion and religious leadership on smoking and association with quitting
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19695758
    Accessed Monday, September 28, 2009 10:35:53 PM
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    Extra PMID: 19695758
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
  • The impact of religiousness, spirituality, and social support on psychological well-being among older adults in rural areas

    Type Journal Article
    Author Dong Pil Yoon
    Author Eun-Kyoung Othelia Lee
    Abstract This paper presents the results of a study on the impact of spirituality, religiousness, and social support on the psychological well-being among rural elderly. With a rural community sample of 215 older adults, hierarchical regression analyses found significant associations between dimensions of spirituality/religiousness, social support, and psychological well-being, with spirituality/religiousness inversely related to depression and social support, positively related to life satisfaction. Findings of this study suggest that practitioners need to develop programs or services that are congruent with religious/spiritual beliefs and practices in order to better enhance the psychosocial well-being and improve the quality of life among older persons in rural areas.
    Publication Journal of Gerontological Social Work
    Volume 48
    Issue 3-4
    Pages 281-298
    Date 2007
    Journal Abbr J Gerontol Soc Work
    ISSN 0163-4372
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17210533
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 5:10:52 PM
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    Extra PMID: 17210533
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • Age Factors
    • Aged
    • Aged, 80 and over
    • Female
    • Geriatric Assessment
    • Holistic Health
    • Humans
    • Male
    • North Carolina
    • Personal Satisfaction
    • Pilot Projects
    • Quality of Life
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Rural Health
    • social support
    • Social Work, Psychiatric
    • spirituality
    • West Virginia

    Notes:

    • This paper presents the results of a study on the impact of spirituality, religiousness, and social support on the psychological well-being among rural elderly.

  • OCD cognitions and symptoms in different religious contexts

    Type Journal Article
    Author Orçun Yorulmaz
    Author Tülin Gençöz
    Author Sheila Woody
    Abstract Religious themes commonly feature in obsessions. Some theorists view religiosity as a potential risk factor, due to the hypothesized influence of religious acculturation on appraisals of unwanted intrusive thoughts. Several studies revealed that the relationship between religiosity and some OCD cognitions might change among various religions, possibly because of the differences in religious doctrines and teachings. The present study examined the relationship between religiosity and OCD symptoms and cognitions in different religious contexts. In this study, Muslim and Christian subjects from Turkey and Canada, respectively, were compared on OCD features by taking their level of religiosity into consideration. The results showed that having scored higher in OCD symptoms, Muslim participants reported more concerns on their thoughts and controlling them, and they also seemed to use worry strategy to manage their unwanted thoughts. On the other hand, regardless of religion category, high religious subjects reported to experience more obsessional thoughts and checking, while sensitivity on thoughts and emphases on control of thoughts and psychological fusion in morality were more salient for this group. Indeed, degree of religiosity also made a significant difference on thought-action fusion in morality domain especially for Christian subjects. In line with previous findings, the results of the present study support the association between religiosity and OCD even across two monotheistic religions. Besides, the characteristics of the religion might account for the differences in OCD cognitions and symptoms across both religions.
    Publication Journal of Anxiety Disorders
    Volume 23
    Issue 3
    Pages 401-406
    Date Apr 2009
    Journal Abbr J Anxiety Disord
    DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.11.001
    ISSN 1873-7897
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19108983
    Accessed Monday, March 28, 2011 6:18:24 PM
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    Extra PMID: 19108983
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Christianity
    • Cognition Disorders
    • Female
    • Humans
    • ISLAM
    • Male
    • OBSESSIVE-compulsive disorder
    • Questionnaires
    • religion
    • Young Adult
  • Spirituality, depression, living alone, and perceived health among Korean older adults in the community

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kwang Soo You
    Author Hae-Ok Lee
    Author Joyce J Fitzpatrick
    Author Susie Kim
    Author Eiji Marui
    Author Jung Su Lee
    Author Paul Cook
    Abstract Both theoretical and empirical studies have documented the protective effect of religiosity and spirituality on general health in older adults in community and hospital settings; however, no study has documented the relationship between spirituality and depression among older adults living alone in communities in Korea. We tested two hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: Korean older adults living alone would be more depressed and less healthy than older adults living with family, and Hypothesis 2: Individuals who are more religious and spiritual would report a lower level of depression and a higher level of general health even when other demographic and living status variables are controlled. A descriptive, comparative, and correlational design with a convenience sampling method was conducted among community-dwelling Korean older adults in Chounbook Providence, South Korea. This study included 152 men and women older than 65 years old. Hypothesis 1 was supported as Korean older adults living alone were significantly more depressed than were older adults living with family (P<.01). However, for Hypotheses 2, only spirituality activities and Spirituality Index of Well-Being scores were significantly associated with general health and/or depression (P<.01), but there were no relationships between the variables of attendance and importance of religion with general health and depression.
    Publication Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
    Volume 23
    Issue 4
    Pages 309-322
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Arch Psychiatr Nurs
    DOI 10.1016/j.apnu.2008.07.003
    ISSN 1532-8228
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19631109
    Accessed Friday, September 18, 2009 6:31:48 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19631109
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:50 AM
  • Spirituality, depression, living alone, and perceived health among Korean older adults in the community

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kwang Soo You
    Author Hae-Ok Lee
    Author Joyce J Fitzpatrick
    Author Susie Kim
    Author Eiji Marui
    Author Jung Su Lee
    Author Paul Cook
    Abstract Both theoretical and empirical studies have documented the protective effect of religiosity and spirituality on general health in older adults in community and hospital settings; however, no study has documented the relationship between spirituality and depression among older adults living alone in communities in Korea. We tested two hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: Korean older adults living alone would be more depressed and less healthy than older adults living with family, and Hypothesis 2: Individuals who are more religious and spiritual would report a lower level of depression and a higher level of general health even when other demographic and living status variables are controlled. A descriptive, comparative, and correlational design with a convenience sampling method was conducted among community-dwelling Korean older adults in Chounbook Providence, South Korea. This study included 152 men and women older than 65 years old. Hypothesis 1 was supported as Korean older adults living alone were significantly more depressed than were older adults living with family (P<.01). However, for Hypotheses 2, only spirituality activities and Spirituality Index of Well-Being scores were significantly associated with general health and/or depression (P<.01), but there were no relationships between the variables of attendance and importance of religion with general health and depression.
    Publication Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
    Volume 23
    Issue 4
    Pages 309-322
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Arch Psychiatr Nurs
    DOI 10.1016/j.apnu.2008.07.003
    ISSN 1532-8228
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19631109
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 8:09:09 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19631109
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • We tested two hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: Korean older adults living alone would be more depressed and less healthy than older adults living with family, and Hypothesis 2: Individuals who are more religious and spiritual would report a lower level of depression and a higher level of general health even when other demographic and living status variables are controlled.

  • Mindfulness meditation: a primer for rheumatologists

    Type Journal Article
    Author Laura A Young
    Abstract Over the past decade, there has been an increasing interest in meditation as a mind-body approach, given its potential to alleviate emotional distress and promote improved well being in a variety of populations. The overall purpose of this review is to provide the practicing rheumatologist with an overview of mindfulness and how it can be applied to Western medical treatment plans to enhance both the medical and psychological care of patients.
    Publication Rheumatic Diseases Clinics of North America
    Volume 37
    Issue 1
    Pages 63-75
    Date Feb 2011
    Journal Abbr Rheum. Dis. Clin. North Am
    DOI 10.1016/j.rdc.2010.11.010
    ISSN 1558-3163
    Short Title Mindfulness meditation
    Accessed Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2:29:26 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21220086
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM
  • Innocent intentions: a correlation between forgiveness for accidental harm and neural activity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Liane Young
    Author Rebecca Saxe
    Abstract Contemporary moral psychology often emphasizes the universality of moral judgments. Across age, gender, religion and ethnicity, people's judgments on classic dilemmas are sensitive to the same moral principles. In many cases, moral judgments depend not only on the outcome of the action, but on the agent's beliefs and intentions at the time of action. For example, we blame agents who attempt but fail to harm others, while generally forgiving agents who harm others accidentally and unknowingly. Nevertheless, as we report here, there are individual differences in the extent to which observers exculpate agents for accidental harms. Furthermore, we find that the extent to which innocent intentions are taken to mitigate blame for accidental harms is correlated with activation in a specific brain region during moral judgment. This brain region, the right temporo-parietal junction, has been previously implicated in reasoning about other people's thoughts, beliefs, and intentions in moral and non-moral contexts.
    Publication Neuropsychologia
    Volume 47
    Issue 10
    Pages 2065-2072
    Date Aug 2009
    Journal Abbr Neuropsychologia
    DOI 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.03.020
    ISSN 1873-3514
    Short Title Innocent intentions
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:04:41 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19467357
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:37 AM

    Tags:

    • Accidents
    • Adolescent
    • Brain
    • Brain Mapping
    • Female
    • Humans
    • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
    • Intention
    • Interpersonal Relations
    • Judgment
    • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    • Male
    • Morals
    • Oxygen
    • Reaction Time
    • Statistics as Topic
    • Young Adult
  • The effect of mindfulness meditation on cough reflex sensitivity

    Type Journal Article
    Author E C Young
    Author C Brammer
    Author E Owen
    Author N Brown
    Author J Lowe
    Author C Johnson
    Author R Calam
    Author S Jones
    Author A Woodcock
    Author J A Smith
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Chronic cough is common, and medical treatment can be ineffective. Mindfulness is a psychological intervention that aims to teach moment-to-moment non-judgemental awareness of thoughts, feelings and sensations. METHOD: 30 healthy subjects and 30 patients with chronic cough were studied in two sequential trials. For both studies, cough reflex sensitivity to citric acid (C5) was measured on two occasions, with urge to cough rated following each inhalation; between challenges subjects were randomised to (1) no intervention, (2) mindfulness or (3) no intervention but modified cough challenge (subjects suppress coughing). For the healthy volunteers, measures were 1 h apart and mindfulness was practised for 15 min. For the patients with chronic cough measures were 1 week apart and mindfulness was practised daily for 30 min. RESULTS: In healthy volunteers, median change (interquartile range (IQR)) in cough reflex sensitivity (logC5) for no intervention, mindfulness and suppression was +1.0 (0.0 to +1.3), +2.0 (+1.0 to +3.0) and +3.0 (+2.8 to +3.0) doubling concentrations (p = 0.003); there were significant reductions for both mindfulness (p = 0.043) and suppression (p = 0.002) over no intervention. In patients with cough, median change (IQR) in logC5 for no intervention, mindfulness training and voluntary suppression was 0.0 (-1.0 to +1.0), +1.0 (-0.3 to +1.0) and +1.0 (+1.0 to +2.0) doubling concentrations (p = 0.046); there was a significant reduction for suppression (p = 0.02) but not mindfulness (p = 0.35). Urge to cough did not change after mindfulness compared with control in either healthy subjects (p = 0.33) or those with chronic cough (p = 0.47). CONCLUSION: Compared with control, mindfulness decreased cough reflex sensitivity in healthy volunteers, but did not alter cough threshold in patients with chronic cough. Both groups were able to suppress cough responses to citric acid inhalation.
    Publication Thorax
    Volume 64
    Issue 11
    Pages 993-998
    Date Nov 2009
    Journal Abbr Thorax
    DOI 10.1136/thx.2009.116723
    ISSN 1468-3296
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19679578
    Accessed Monday, November 23, 2009 7:51:04 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19679578
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:55 AM
  • The Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on Cough Reflex Sensitivity

    Type Journal Article
    Author Emma Claire Young
    Author Chris Brammar
    Author Emily Owen
    Author Nailah Brown
    Author John Lowe
    Author Collette Johnson
    Author Rachel Calam
    Author Steve Jones
    Author Ashley Woodcock
    Author Jaclyn A Smith
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Chronic cough is common and medical treatment can be ineffective. Mindfulness is a psychological intervention that aims to teach moment-to-moment non-judgemental awareness of thoughts, feelings and sensations. Method: 30 healthy subjects and 30 chronic cough patients were studied in two sequential trials. For both studies, cough reflex sensitivity to citric acid (C5) was measured on two occasions with urge-to-cough rated following each inhalation; between challenges subjects were randomised to (i) no intervention (ii) mindfulness or (iii) no intervention but modified cough challenge (subjects suppress coughing). For the healthy volunteers, measures were one hour apart and mindfulness was practiced for 15 minutes. For the chronic cough patients measures were 1 week apart and mindfulness practiced daily for 30 minutes. RESULTS: In healthy volunteers, median change (IQR) in cough reflex sensitivity (logC5) for no intervention, mindfulness and suppression was +1.0(0.0 to +1.3), +2.0(+1.0 to +3.0) and +3.0(+2.8 to +3.0) doubling concentrations (dc) (p=0.003); significant reductions for both mindfulness (p=0.043) and suppression (p=0.002) over no intervention. In cough patients, median change (IQR) in logC5 for no intervention, mindfulness training and voluntary suppression was 0.0(-1.0 to +1.0), +1.0(-0.3 to +1.0) and +1.0(+1.0 to +2.0)dc, (p=0.046); significant reduction for suppression (p=0.02) but not mindfulness (p=0.35). Urge-to-cough did not change after mindfulness compared to control in either healthy (p=0.33) or chronic cough subjects (p=0.47). CONCLUSION: Compared to control, mindfulness decreased cough reflex sensitivity in healthy volunteers, but did not alter cough threshold in chronic cough patients. Both groups were able to suppress cough responses to citric acid inhalation.
    Publication Thorax
    Date Aug 12, 2009
    Journal Abbr Thorax
    DOI 10.1136/thx.2009.116723
    ISSN 1468-3296
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19679578
    Accessed Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:36:52 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19679578
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • prepub

    Notes:

    • This study examines the effects of mindfulness meditation on chronic cough. The results indicated that MM reduced the cough threshold for healthy volunteers, but not for patients with chronic cough.

  • Religious Experience and Philosophy

    Type Journal Article
    Author Francis Younghusband
    Publication Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society
    Volume 28
    Pages 117-134
    Date 1927 - 1928
    ISSN 00667374
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/4544133
    Accessed Friday, October 09, 2009 4:49:22 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: 1927 - 1928 / Copyright © 1927 The Aristotelian Society
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
  • Positive family relationships and religious affiliation as mediators between negative environment and illicit drug symptoms in American Indian adolescents

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mansoo Yu
    Author Arlene R Stiffman
    Abstract The present study tests how positive family relationships and religious affiliation mediate between negative familial and social environments, and adolescent illicit drug abuse/dependence symptoms. The theoretical framework is based on an integration of two theories: the ecological model of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and the social development model (Hawkins & Weis, 1985). We used a stratified random sample of 401 American Indian adolescents. A path analysis tested the integrative theoretical model. Findings showed that positive family relationships mediated the negative impact of addicted family members, violence victimization, and negative school environment on illicit drug abuse/dependence symptoms. Religious affiliation mediated the negative effect of deviant peers on positive family relationships. Intervention and prevention efforts may benefit from promoting positive family relationships and religious affiliation to reduce the impact of complex familial and social problems on illicit drug symptoms.
    Publication Addictive Behaviors
    Volume 35
    Issue 7
    Pages 694-699
    Date Jul 2010
    Journal Abbr Addict Behav
    DOI 10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.03.005
    ISSN 1873-6327
    Accessed Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:05:12 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20359830
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:23 AM
  • Spiritual-transpersonal hypnosis.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Arnon Zahi
    Abstract The field of spiritual and transpersonal psychotherapy and hypnotherapy can be divided into three major categories: research of near-death and out-of-body experiences; past life experiences; and spiritual interpretations in accordance with the patient's beliefs. The present article suggests a fourth category, spiritual interpretations not in accordance with the patient's beliefs. Three cases are reported, and the curative force of the interpretations is discussed. Copyright © 2009 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    Publication Contemporary Hypnosis
    Volume 26
    Issue 4
    Pages 263-268
    Date December 2009
    DOI 10.1002/ch.392
    ISSN 09605290
    URL http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/login.aspx?
    direct=true&db=pbh&AN=45516182&…
    Accessed Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:34:29 AM
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:21 AM

    Tags:

    • HYPNOTISM -- Therapeutic use
    • NEAR-death experiences
    • PSYCHOTHERAPY -- Research
    • REINCARNATION
    • SPIRITUAL life
    • TRANSPERSONAL psychology
  • Perceptions of the importance placed on religion and folk medicine by non-Mexican-American Hispanic adults with diabetes.

    Type Journal Article
    Author A Zaldivar
    Author J Smolowitz
    Abstract The high incidence of diabetes and diabetes-related complications in Hispanic adults in the United States continues to be of concern among healthcare providers. The underutilization of screening services and early treatment centers by Hispanic adults seems to contribute to the problem. This survey examined whether religious, spiritual, and folk medicine beliefs play a role in the participants' view of diabetes and treatment choices. One hundred four non-Mexican-American Hispanic adults with diabetes were surveyed using a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that 78% of patients believed they had diabetes because it was God's will; 17% of patients reported using herbs to treat their diabetes. This survey demonstrates the importance of addressing religion and spirituality when dealing with the issues of disease and health in this population.
    Publication The Diabetes Educator
    Volume 20
    Issue 4
    Pages 303-306
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Notes:

    • The high incidence of diabetes and diabetes-related complications in Hispanic adults in the United States continues to be of concern among healthcare providers. This survey examined whether religious, spiritual, and folk medicine beliefs play a role in the participants’ view of diabetes and treatment choices.

  • The effects of slow breathing on affective responses to pain stimuli: An experimental study

    Type Journal Article
    Author Alex J. Zautra
    Author Robert Fasman
    Author Mary C. Davis
    Author Arthur D. (Bud) Craig
    Abstract This study examined whether breathing rate affected self-reported pain and emotion following thermal pain stimuli in women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FM: n = 27) or age-matched healthy control women (HC: n = 25). FM and HC were exposed to low and moderate thermal pain pulses during paced breathing at their normal rate and one-half their normal rate. Thermal pain pulses were presented in four blocks of four trials. Each block included exposure to both mild and moderate pain trials, and periods of both normal and slow paced breathing. Pain intensity and unpleasantness were recorded immediately following each pain trial, and positive and negative affect were assessed at the end of each block of trials. Compared to normal breathing, slow breathing reduced ratings of pain intensity and unpleasantness, particularly for moderately versus mildly painful thermal stimuli. The effects of slow breathing on pain ratings were less reliable for FM patients than for HCs. Slow versus normal breathing decreased negative affect ratings following thermal pain pulses for both groups, and increased positive affect reports, but only for healthy controls with high trait negative affect. Participants who reported higher levels of trait positive affect prior to the experiment showed greater decreases in negative affect as a result of slow versus normal breathing. These experimental findings provide support for prior reports on the benefits of yogic breathing and mindful Zen meditation for pain and depressed affect. However, chronic pain patients may require more guidance to obtain therapeutic benefit from reduced breathing rates.
    Publication Pain
    Volume 149
    Issue 1
    Pages 12-18
    Date April 2010
    DOI 10.1016/j.pain.2009.10.001
    ISSN 0304-3959
    Short Title The effects of slow breathing on affective responses to pain stimuli
    Accessed Friday, May 07, 2010 3:01:53 PM
    Library Catalog ScienceDirect
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Tags:

    • Affect
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Pain
    • Slow breathing

    Notes:

    • This study examined whether breathing rate affected self-reported pain and emotion following thermal pain stimuli in women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FM: n=27) or age-matched healthy control women (HC: n=25). FM and HC were exposed to low and moderate thermal pain pulses during paced breathing at their normal rate and one-half their normal rate. Thermal pain pulses were presented in four blocks of four trials. Each block included exposure to both mild and moderate pain trials, and periods of both normal and slow paced breathing. Pain intensity and unpleasantness were recorded immediately following each pain trial, and positive and negative affect were assessed at the end of each block of trials. Compared to normal breathing, slow breathing reduced ratings of pain intensity and unpleasantness, particularly for moderately versus mildly painful thermal stimuli. The effects of slow breathing on pain ratings were less reliable for FM patients than for HCs. Slow versus normal breathing decreased negative affect ratings following thermal pain pulses for both groups, and increased positive affect reports, but only for healthy controls with high trait negative affect. Participants who reported higher levels of trait positive affect prior to the experiment showed greater decreases in negative affect as a result of slow versus normal breathing. These experimental findings provide support for prior reports on the benefits of yogic breathing and mindful Zen meditation for pain and depressed affect. However, chronic pain patients may require more guidance to obtain therapeutic benefit from reduced breathing rates.

  • Spirituality and quality of life in low-income men with metastatic prostate cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Wassel Zavala
    Author Sally L Maliski
    Author Lorna Kwan
    Author Arlene Fink
    Author Mark S Litwin
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine how spirituality is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in an ethnically diverse cohort of low-income men with metastatic prostate cancer. METHODS: Eighty-six participants in a state-funded program that provides free prostate cancer treatment to uninsured, low-income men completed written surveys and telephone interviews containing validated measures of spirituality, and general and disease-specific HRQOL. Assessments were made following diagnosis of metastatic disease. We used multivariate analyses to assess the effect of spirituality and its two subscales, faith and meaning/peace, on HRQOL. RESULTS: African American and Latino men, and men with less than a high-school education had the highest spirituality scores. Spirituality was significantly associated with general and disease-specific HRQOL. We also found a significant interaction between faith and meaning/peace in the physical and pain domains. CONCLUSION: Greater spirituality was associated with better HRQOL and psychosocial function. Meaning/peace closely tracks with HRQOL. Higher faith scores, in the absence of high meaning/peace scores, are negatively associated with HRQOL.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 7
    Pages 753-761
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1460
    ISSN 1099-1611
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.bu.edu/pubmed/19061194
    Accessed Friday, September 18, 2009 6:31:22 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19061194
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:05:38 AM

    Notes:

    • To determine how spirituality is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in an ethnically diverse cohort of low-income men with metastatic prostate cancer.

  • Spirituality and quality of life in low-income men with metastatic prostate cancer

    Type Journal Article
    Author Mary Wassel Zavala
    Author Sally L Maliski
    Author Lorna Kwan
    Author Arlene Fink
    Author Mark S Litwin
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine how spirituality is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in an ethnically diverse cohort of low-income men with metastatic prostate cancer. METHODS: Eighty-six participants in a state-funded program that provides free prostate cancer treatment to uninsured, low-income men completed written surveys and telephone interviews containing validated measures of spirituality, and general and disease-specific HRQOL. Assessments were made following diagnosis of metastatic disease. We used multivariate analyses to assess the effect of spirituality and its two subscales, faith and meaning/peace, on HRQOL. RESULTS: African American and Latino men, and men with less than a high-school education had the highest spirituality scores. Spirituality was significantly associated with general and disease-specific HRQOL. We also found a significant interaction between faith and meaning/peace in the physical and pain domains. CONCLUSION: Greater spirituality was associated with better HRQOL and psychosocial function. Meaning/peace closely tracks with HRQOL. Higher faith scores, in the absence of high meaning/peace scores, are negatively associated with HRQOL.
    Publication Psycho-Oncology
    Volume 18
    Issue 7
    Pages 753-761
    Date Jul 2009
    Journal Abbr Psychooncology
    DOI 10.1002/pon.1460
    ISSN 1099-1611
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19061194
    Accessed Friday, November 13, 2009 7:40:34 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19061194
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:55:15 PM

    Tags:

    • Adaptation, Psychological
    • African Americans
    • Cohort Studies
    • Educational Status
    • European Continental Ancestry Group
    • Hispanic Americans
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Neoplasm Metastasis
    • Neoplasm Staging
    • Pain
    • Personality Inventory
    • Poverty
    • Prostatic Neoplasms
    • Quality of Life
    • spirituality

    Notes:

    • Objective: To determine how spirituality is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in an ethnically diverse cohort of low-income men with metastatic prostate cancer. Results: African American and Latino men, and men with less than a high-school education had the highest spirituality scores. Spirituality was significantly associated with general and disease-specific HRQOL.

  • The effects of brief mindfulness meditation training on experimentally induced pain

    Type Journal Article
    Author Fadel Zeidan
    Author Nakia S. Gordon
    Author Junaid Merchant
    Author Paula Goolkasian
    Abstract This study investigated the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training on ratings of painful electrical stimulation. In Experiment 1, we used a 3-day (20 min/d) mindfulness meditation intervention and measured pain ratings before and after the intervention. Participants' numerical ratings of pain to "low" and "high" electrical stimulation significantly decreased after meditation training. Pain sensitivity, measured by change in stimulus intensity thresholds, also decreased after training. We investigated, in Experiment 2, how well relaxation and a math distraction task attenuated experimental pain. Math distraction but not relaxation reduced high pain ratings. There was no reduction in pain sensitivity in these participants. In Experiment 3, we directly compared the effects of meditation with math distraction and relaxation conditions. Our findings indicated significant effects of both meditation and math distraction. Consistent with what was observed in Experiment 1, these participants also demonstrated a decrease in pain sensitivity after meditation training. Changes in the mindfulness and anxiety assessments suggest that meditation's analgesic effects are related to reduced anxiety and the enhanced ability to focus on the present moment. PERSPECTIVE: Our findings indicate that a brief 3-day mindfulness meditation intervention was effective at reducing pain ratings and anxiety scores when compared with baseline testing and other cognitive manipulations. The brief meditation training was also effective at increasing mindfulness skills.
    Publication The Journal of Pain
    Volume 11
    Issue 3
    Pages 199-209
    Date Mar 2010
    Journal Abbr J Pain
    DOI 10.1016/j.jpain.2009.07.015
    ISSN 1528-8447
    Accessed Monday, March 22, 2010 8:37:51 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19853530
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

    Notes:

    • This study investigated the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training on ratings of painful electrical stimulation. In Experiment 1, we used a 3-day (20 min/d) mindfulness meditation intervention and measured pain ratings before and after the intervention. Participants' numerical ratings of pain to “low” and “high” electrical stimulation significantly decreased after meditation training. Pain sensitivity, measured by change in stimulus intensity thresholds, also decreased after training. We investigated, in Experiment 2, how well relaxation and a math distraction task attenuated experimental pain. Math distraction but not relaxation reduced high pain ratings. There was no reduction in pain sensitivity in these participants. In Experiment 3, we directly compared the effects of meditation with math distraction and relaxation conditions. Our findings indicated significant effects of both meditation and math distraction. Consistent with what was observed in Experiment 1, these participants also demonstrated a decrease in pain sensitivity after meditation training. Changes in the mindfulness and anxiety assessments suggest that meditation's analgesic effects are related to reduced anxiety and the enhanced ability to focus on the present moment.

  • Effects of brief and sham mindfulness meditation on mood and cardiovascular variables

    Type Journal Article
    Author Fadel Zeidan
    Author Susan K Johnson
    Author Nakia S Gordon
    Author Paula Goolkasian
    Abstract Abstract Objectives: Although long-term meditation has been found to reduce negative mood and cardiovascular variables, the effects of a brief mindfulness meditation intervention when compared to a sham mindfulness meditation intervention are relatively unknown. This experiment examined whether a 3-day (1-hour total) mindfulness or sham mindfulness meditation intervention would improve mood and cardiovascular variables when compared to a control group. Methods: Eighty-two (82) undergraduate students (34 males, 48 females), with no prior meditation experience, participated in three sessions that involved training in either mindfulness meditation, sham mindfulness meditation, or a control group. Heart rate, blood pressure, and psychologic variables (Profile of Mood States, State Anxiety Inventory) were assessed before and after the intervention. Results: The meditation intervention was more effective at reducing negative mood, depression, fatigue, confusion, and heart rate, when compared to the sham and control groups. Conclusions: These results indicate that brief meditation training has beneficial effects on mood and cardiovascular variables that go beyond the demand characteristics of a sham meditation intervention.
    Publication Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.)
    Volume 16
    Issue 8
    Pages 867-873
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr J Altern Complement Med
    DOI 10.1089/acm.2009.0321
    ISSN 1557-7708
    URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20666590
    Extra PMID: 20666590
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:02:43 AM
  • Association of religious participation with mortality among Chinese old adults.

    Type Journal Article
    Author Yi Zeng
    Author Danan Gu
    Author Linda K. George
    Abstract This research examines the association of religious participation with mortality using a longitudinal data set collected from 9,017 oldest-old aged 85+ and 6,956 younger elders aged 65 to 84 in China in 2002 and 2005 and hazard models. Results show that adjusted for demographics, family/social support, and health practices, risk of dying was 24% (p < 0.001) and 12% (p < 0.01) lower among frequent and infrequent religious participants than among nonparticipants for all elders aged 65+. After baseline health was adjusted, the corresponding risk of dying declined to 21% (p < 0.001) and 6% (not significant), respectively. The authors also conducted hazard models analysis for men versus women and for young-old versus oldest-old, respectively, adjusted for single-year age; the authors found that gender differentials of association of religious participation with mortality among all elderly aged 65+ were not significant; association among young-old men was significantly stronger than among oldest-old men, but no such significant young-old versus oldest-old differentials in women were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
    Publication Research on Aging
    Volume 33
    Issue 1
    Pages 51-83
    Date January 2011
    DOI 10.1177/0164027510383584
    ISSN 0164-0275
    Library Catalog EBSCOhost
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:35 AM

    Tags:

    • Age differences
    • Aging
    • Chinese Cultural Groups
    • Chinese older adults
    • Death and Dying
    • Gender differences
    • Human Sex Differences
    • mortality
    • Participation
    • Racial and Ethnic Differences
    • Religious Participation
    • Religious Practices
  • Religious Participation, Gender Differences, and Cognitive Impairment among the Oldest-Old in China

    Type Journal Article
    Author Wei Zhang
    Abstract This study examines if religious participation in China is associated with cognitive functioning among the oldest-old and whether positive psychological feelings and leisure activity engagement explain the association, and gender moderates the association. Logistic regressions were used to analyze the Chinese Healthy Longevity Survey. A significant negative association between religious participation and cognitive impairment was found among the oldest-old and much of the association was mediated by positive psychological feelings and leisure activities. Women reported higher proportion of religious participation, but the cognitive benefits of religious participation were stronger for men. Findings indicate that (a) religious participation is significantly correlated with cognitive functioning in part because the religious oldest-old are more likely to be optimistic and happy and engage in more cognitively stimulating activities; (b) there might be gender differences in religious participation such that the oldest-old men may engage in religious activities that are particularly relevant to cognitive functioning.
    Publication Journal of Aging Research
    Volume 2010
    Pages 160294
    Date 2010
    Journal Abbr J Aging Res
    DOI 10.4061/2010/160294
    ISSN 2090-2212
    Accessed Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:19:39 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 21152194
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:58:27 AM
  • Spirituality and disabilities: implications for special education

    Type Journal Article
    Author Kaili C Zhang
    Abstract Although researchers in the health and social care professions have suggested that spirituality is a fundamental human need and a human right that is a necessary component of both mental and physical health (e.g., George, Ellison, & Larson, 2000), spirituality is still a neglected area and underused resource in special education. Little work has focused directly on the significance of spirituality in the lives of students with disabilities, and there are few, if any, explicit references to the spiritual development in the students. In addition, teachers often have difficulties learning how best to understand and enable the spiritual development of students with disabilities (Foster, 2000). In this perspective, I address issues related to disability and spirituality, consider the impact of spirituality on children with disabilities, and suggest some practical strategies teachers can use to help foster the spiritual development of students with disabilities. I propose that spirituality has the power to foster the holistic development of children with disabilities and to give them a sense of identify and purpose in life.
    Publication Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
    Volume 48
    Issue 4
    Pages 299-302
    Date Aug 2010
    Journal Abbr Intellect Dev Disabil
    DOI 10.1352/1934-9556-48.4.299
    ISSN 1934-9491
    Short Title Spirituality and disabilities
    Accessed Monday, August 30, 2010 4:54:43 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 20722483
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:03:07 AM

    Notes:

    • This article discusses how spirituality makes a presence in a classroom for special education students.

  • Out-of-Body Experiences and Physical Body Activity and Posture

    Type Journal Article
    Author Nancy L. Zingrone
    Author Carlos S. Alvarado
    Author Etzel Cardeña
    Abstract Results from surveys of persons who have had out-of-body experiences (OBEs) indicate that OBEs were associated with low physical activity and being in a supine position. Those who had experiences under these conditions also obtained a higher number of OBE features than those who were active and standing at the time of the OBE.
    Publication The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    Volume 198
    Issue 2
    Pages 163-165
    Date 02/2010
    Journal Abbr The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
    DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181cc0d6d
    ISSN 0022-3018
    URL http://content.wkhealth.com/linkback/openurl?
    sid=WKPTLP:landingpage&…
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM
  • ABC of Complementary Medicine: What Is Complementary Medicine?

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine Zollman
    Author Andrew Vickers
    Publication BMJ: British Medical Journal
    Volume 319
    Issue 7211
    Pages 693-696
    Date Sep. 11, 1999
    ISSN 09598138
    Short Title ABC of Complementary Medicine
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/25185762
    Accessed Sunday, November 08, 2009 11:21:00 PM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep. 11, 1999 / Copyright © 1999 BMJ Publishing Group
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Notes:

    • This article briefly explains and reviews common complementary therapies to biomedical medicine.  Complementary medicine includes modalities such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, Homeopathy, and Yoga.

  • ABC of Complementary Medicine: Complementary Medicine and the Doctor

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine Zollman
    Author Andrew Vickers
    Publication BMJ: British Medical Journal
    Volume 319
    Issue 7224
    Pages 1558-1561
    Date Dec. 11, 1999
    ISSN 09598138
    Short Title ABC of Complementary Medicine
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/25186616
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:29:04 AM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Dec. 11, 1999 / Copyright © 1999 BMJ Publishing Group
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Notes:

    • This article reviews the response of the biomedical world, specifically of doctors, to the use of complementary medicine. It also educates readers on how to safely approach complementary medicine, specifically detailing how to chose a practitioner and how to practice this kind of medicine.

  • ABC of Complementary Medicine: Users and Practitioners of Complementary Medicine

    Type Journal Article
    Author Catherine Zollman
    Author Andrew Vickers
    Publication BMJ: British Medical Journal
    Volume 319
    Issue 7213
    Pages 836-838
    Date Sep. 25, 1999
    ISSN 09598138
    Short Title ABC of Complementary Medicine
    URL http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/25185898
    Accessed Monday, November 09, 2009 12:28:42 AM
    Library Catalog JSTOR
    Extra ArticleType: primary_article / Full publication date: Sep. 25, 1999 / Copyright © 1999 BMJ Publishing Group
    Date Added Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM
    Modified Saturday, October 01, 2011 4:51:22 PM

    Notes:

    • This article surveys how and who uses complementary healing practices.  It discusses the reasons why diverse populations employ complementary medicine and discusses what kind of conditions are treated.

  • Religion and HIV in Tanzania: influence of religious beliefs on HIV stigma, disclosure, and treatment attitudes

    Type Journal Article
    Author James Zou
    Author Yvonne Yamanaka
    Author Muze John
    Author Melissa Watt
    Author Jan Ostermann
    Author Nathan Thielman
    Abstract Background Religion shapes everyday beliefs and activities, but few studies have examined its associations with attitudes about HIV. This exploratory study in Tanzania probed associations between religious beliefs and HIV stigma, disclosure, and attitudes toward antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. Methods A self-administered survey was distributed to a convenience sample of parishioners (n = 438) attending Catholic, Lutheran, and Pentecostal churches in both urban and rural areas. The survey included questions about religious beliefs, opinions about HIV, and knowledge and attitudes about ARVs. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess how religion was associated with perceptions about HIV, HIV treatment, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Results Results indicate that shame-related HIV stigma is strongly associated with religious beliefs such as the belief that HIV is a punishment from God (p < 0.01) or that people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) have not followed the Word of God (p < 0.001). Most participants (84.2%) said that they would disclose their HIV status to their pastor or congregation if they became infected. Although the majority of respondents (80.8%) believed that prayer could cure HIV, almost all (93.7%) said that they would begin ARV treatment if they became HIV-infected. The multivariate analysis found that respondents' hypothetical willingness to begin ARV treatme was not significantly associated with the belief that prayer could cure HIV or with other religious factors. Refusal of ARV treatment was instead correlated with lack of secondary schooling and lack of knowledge about ARVs. Conclusion The decision to start ARVs hinged primarily on education-level and knowledge about ARVs rather than on religious factors. Research results highlight the influence of religious beliefs on HIV-related stigma and willingness to disclose, and should help to inform HIV-education outreach for religious groups.
    Publication BMC Public Health
    Volume 9
    Pages 75
    Date 2009
    Journal Abbr BMC Public Health
    DOI 10.1186/1471-2458-9-75
    ISSN 1471-2458
    Short Title Religion and HIV in Tanzania
    Accessed Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:42:47 PM
    Library Catalog NCBI PubMed
    Extra PMID: 19261186
    Date Added Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM
    Modified Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:18 AM

    Tags:

    • Adult
    • Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
    • Chi-Square Distribution
    • Cultural Characteristics
    • Culture
    • Developing Countries
    • Female
    • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
    • HIV Infections
    • Humans
    • Logistic Models
    • Male
    • Multivariate Analysis
    • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
    • Population Surveillance
    • Probability
    • Questionnaires
    • Religion and Psychology
    • Risk Factors
    • Social Isolation
    • Stereotyping
    • Tanzania
    • Urban Population
    • Young Adult

    Notes:

    • Religion shapes everyday beliefs and activities, but few studies have examined its associations with attitudes about HIV. This exploratory study in Tanzania probed associations between religious beliefs and HIV stigma, disclosure, and attitudes toward antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.