Paper Session 3: Meaning and Mindfulness

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3.1.) Profiles of Spirituality and Religiosity among Diverse Young Adults: Relationships with Meaning

Caroline C. Kaufman and K. S. Berlin, University of Memphis, Theresa Okwumabua and I. B. Thurston, Texas A&M University

Background: Spirituality and religiosity are salient among young adults and are associated with several positive physical and mental health outcomes. Prior research suggests that these constructs should be assessed multidimensionally in order to gain a full understanding of these phenomena. Informed by the Meaning Making Model, the current study examined patterns of spirituality and religiosity and their associations with meaning-making and sociodemographic factors. Method: Racially diverse, non-university attending young adults (N=199; 74.5% Black, 11.1% White, 10.6% Multiracial, 2% Latinx, 1.5% Other; 49% female) were recruited from a vocational program in the Midsouthern US. Participants completed measures of sociodemographics, spirituality, religiosity, and meaning-making. Latent profile analysis was used to identify profiles of spirituality and religiosity and examine associations between these profiles and meaning-making and sociodemographics. Results: Four profiles emerged, including Class 1 (Average Spirituality/Religiosity, Higher Negative Religious Coping), Class 2 (High Religiosity, Mixed Spirituality), Class 3 (Low Religiosity, Low to Average Spirituality), and Class 4 (Highest Spirituality/Religiosity and Lower Negative Religious Coping). Members of Class 4 had higher meaning-making scores. Identifying as White and identifying as male were significant predictors of class membership. Conclusion: Nuanced patterns of spirituality and religiosity were identified. Results highlight the potential salience of meaning making among young adults with high spirituality and religiosity and low negative religious coping. Findings have potential implications for future work examining mechanisms across spirituality and religiosity and meaning-making. Interventions aimed at improving meaning-making among this population may be enriched by incorporating elements of spirituality and religiosity.

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3.2.) The Meaning Awareness Scale (MAS): Development and Psychometric Analysis of a Measure of Meaning Salience

Kaitlyn M. Vagnini and Kevin S. Masters, University of Colorado Denver, and Stephanie A. Hooker, HealthPartners Institute

Meaning salience was recently introduced into the literature as a construct that may allow for more nuanced investigations of the ways in which meaning in life (MiL) influences health. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a measure of meaning salience, the Meaning Awareness Scale (MAS), which assesses phenomenological salience of MiL. Study 1 included a nationwide sample of adults (N=342) recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and Study 2 included a sample of undergraduate students (N=120) from the University of Colorado Denver. The aim of Study 1 was to conduct item reduction, explore factor structure, assess internal consistency, and evaluate the criterion-related validity of the MAS. The aim of Study 2 was to confirm the factor structure, reassess internal consistency, and continue analysis of the criterion-related validity of the MAS. In both samples, convergent validity was assessed using measures of gratitude, mindfulness, spiritual experience, subjective vitality, positive/negative affect, global MiL, global purpose in life, and life satisfaction. Discriminant validity was assessed using measures of social desirability and search for meaning. Exploratory factor analyses strongly suggested a one-factor structure of the MAS, which accounted for 84.6% of the variance among all items. A single factor solution was confirmed in Study 2. The internal consistency of the scale was high in both samples (a=.92-.96). All measures correlated with the MAS as predicted. Further psychometric development and evaluation of the MAS is warranted, particularly to evaluate its performance as a repeated-use measure in intensive longitudinal designs.

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3.3.) The Effect of Mindfulness on Relationship Health

Justin Laplante, Clark University

Romantic relationships are increasingly recognized as an integral part of the human experience (Harvey & Wizel, 2001), influencing physical health, emotional health, and overall well-being (Proulx, Helms, & Buehler, 2007). Furthermore, most Americans are either in relationships, or would like to be in a relationship (Pew, 2017). Increasing positive relationship functioning therefore has broad-reaching downstream salutary health effects at both the individual and dyadic level. Meditation and mindfulness have recently seen an increase in interest from psychologists, investigating many aspects of this practice (Kabat-Zinn, 1994; Clarke et al., 2018). However, the impact of meditation on romantic relationships is still understudied. Therefore, the present work investigates the influence of a long-term meditation practice on romantic relationships. Given the novel topic, qualitative methods provide useful insight into the relationship between these two variables. Thus, thematic analysis was used, interviewing twenty-five long-term meditation practitioners from a variety of meditation traditions. Two overarching themes emerged from the interviews: individual-level and couple-level influences. Sub-themes included acceptance, emotional non-reactivity, and empathy at the individual level, and communication, sexual functioning, and partner’s (non)practice at the couple level. Negative outcomes of a meditation practice on the relationship are also addressed. Implications for applying these findings to couples with and without a meditation practice are discussed.

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3.4.) Effectiveness of Christian Accommodated Mindfulness in the Clinical Treatment of Shame, Depression and Anxiety: Results of an N of 1 Time Series Study

Tracy Jones, Crosspoint Clinical Services and Liberty University, Fernando Garzon, Regent University, Kristy Ford, Liberty University

Mindfulness-based treatments have shown efficacy in the treatment of a variety of conditions; however, some religious populations may have concerns with the strategies due to the Buddhist roots of the interventions.  Christians suffering with mental health conditions can be reluctant to seek professional services for fear of being given treatments that will contradict or disregard their cultural and spiritual belief systems.  There is a need therefore to adapt evidence-based mindfulness for therapists to meet the cultural needs of such clients. This paper will discuss the results of a study in which explicitly religious constructs were incorporated to create a Christian accommodated mindfulness protocol that was used with a small group of Christian psychotherapy clients seeking treatment for symptoms of depression or anxiety.  Shame, which is often at the root of many mental and spiritual health conditions, was also measured as were a variety of resiliency factors to determine the effectiveness of the Christian Accommodated Mindfulness (CAM) protocol in a real-world, clinical setting.  Results from this N of 1 time series study using 5 subjects revealed significant effect sizes (1.00 Percentage Exceeding the Median effect size for 8 of 9 measures used and 0.83 on the other) that correlate CAM to decreased depression, anxiety, and shame and increased resiliency measures in the sample.  A case example will be given as well as to illustrate the experience of utilizing this strategy.

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3.5.) Does Trait Mindfulness Predict Meaning Salience in the Laboratory? An Examination of the Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory

Mackenzie M. Peckham, Kevin S. Masters, and Jennifer Morozink Boylan, University of Colorado Denver

Background. Research on the mindfulness-to-meaning theory proposes that those with higher degrees mindfulness will find greater meaning in life. Multiple studies have shown a correlation between learned mindfulness and meaning; however, trait mindfulness has not yet been tested with the theory. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to test the mindfulness-to-meaning theory using a quasi-experimental design investigating whether trait mindfulness predicted meaning salience after a meaning induction task. Methods. Participants (M = 37 yrs.) completed surveys measuring demographics, trait mindfulness, and meaning presence. They then attended a laboratory session and were randomized into one of two groups; the meaning induction group (MG) or the control group. The MG completed a reading and writing task to evoke a sense of meaning. The control tasks required attention to written material but did not include meaning induction. Meaning salience was measured before and after the tasks to see whether those with higher trait mindfulness gained greater meaning from the tasks. Results. Regression analyses show that both trait mindfulness and group designation predicted increases in meaning salience (ps < 0.01) and these findings remained significant when controlling for age, gender, and education level. When controlling for meaning presence in the regression, trait mindfulness no longer predicted meaning salience, which provided evidence for a statistical mediator. Conclusions. These results suggest that trait mindfulness predicts meaning salience following a meaningful task, providing support for the mindfulness-to-meaning theory. The findings also show that trait meaning presence could mediate the mindfulness-to-meaning relationship.

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3.6.) Positive Affect as a Mediator of the Association between Trait Mindfulness and Meaning Salience

Jonathan A. Shaffer, Jennifer Morozink Boylan, Kaitlyn Vagnini, and Kevin S. Masters, University of Colorado Denver

The mindfulness-to-meaning theory posits that mindfulness contributes to positive emotion regulation and that this positive emotion facilitates meaning-making. Although the associations between state mindfulness and positive emotion regulation have been investigated, a full mediational model that considers meaning salience, or one’s awareness of meaning in the moment, as an endpoint has not. As such, the current study evaluated the degree to which positive affect explains the association between trait mindfulness and meaning salience. Participants were 141 adults from the community (M(SD)age = 36.8(14.6) years) who completed a measure of trait mindfulness at home followed by a measure of positive affect prior to a laboratory task in which half were randomized to a writing condition intended to invoke meaning and half were randomized to a control condition. Following the laboratory task, participants completed a measure of meaning salience. Consistent with the theory, higher trait mindfulness positively predicted post-task meaning salience (B = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.41-1.49) as did group assignment. Trait mindfulness also positively predicted positive affect (B = 3.22, 95% CI = 1.53-4.90), and positive affect positively predicted post-task meaning salience (B=0.14, 95% CI = 0.08-0.19). In a linear regression with both positive affect and trait mindfulness as predictors of post-task meaning salience, the association between trait mindfulness and meaning salience was significantly attenuated (indirect effect: p = 0.004) but remained significant (B=0.62, 95% CI = 0.07-1.17). Consistent with the mindfulness-to-meaning theory, these findings suggest that trait mindfulness predicts meaning salience in part due to increases in positive affect.

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Paper Session 4: Spirituality in Diverse Groups

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4.1.) Nature, Spirituality, and LGBTQ+ Traumatic Healing

Ris Rodina and Bethany M. Coston, Virginia Commonwealth University

While acceptance of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and otherwise non-heterosexual, non-cisgender) people has increased over time, concerns about LGBTQ+ mental health are still pressing. Since the 1980s, a growing body of literature on LGBTQ+ youth and emerging adults has revealed the negative impacts of interpersonal, community, social, and structural biases on LGBTQ+ young peoples’ rates of anxiety, depression (c)PTSD, suicidality, and maladaptive coping behaviors (such as tobacco use and alcohol consumption). While research on risk factors abounds, there is a lack of understanding of the full range of protective factors involved. One promising emerging field is that of complementary health practices and resilience. A majority of this work focuses on integrating traditional modalities with mind/body practices--e.g., deep breathing, yoga, chiropractic manipulation, massage, and meditation. Collectively, we often name these practices “mindfulness interventions”, and they aim to foster greater awareness of present moment experience and help people to better manage their life experiences and responsibilities. Embedded but often unnamed within the research on mindfulness, though, is the explicit link that it has to spiritual practices and ritual(s). Spirituality is also regarded as a practical tool to achieve self-growth; a way to facilitate movement away from the purely analytical functioning and cognitive processing of the mind to make room for other experiences, such as empathy, curiosity, self-attunement, boundlessness, ultimacy, and interconnectedness. This presentation will discuss the process of planning and implementing a mindfulness and spirituality-based traumatic healing summer program for LGBTQ+ youth and emerging adults. Findings indicate that facilitating mind-body connection and fostering a deeper sense of boundlessness and interconnectedness (e.g. spirituality) improves LGBTQ+ young peoples’ overall wellbeing and serves as a protective mechanism for resilience. Plans for programming sustainability and suggestions for other institutions/organizations will be discussed.

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4.2.) Queer(ing) Spirituality: Voices of Queer Spiritual Practices

Bridget Woods, City University of New York

The nature of spirituality enacts a vision of otherworldliness, one rooted in diverse and varied expectations, rituals, and embodiments. In acting out spiritual practices – in doing spirituality – one takes on a process of queering a facet of their life; of transmuting something steeped in regulations and tradition into a potential manifestation of queer futurity. This endeavor will explore “queer spirituality,” or rather the act of queering through spirituality both to expand the understanding of coming to a radical spiritual consciousness and to explode the often contentious intersection of institutionalized religion and queerness. Through interviews conducted with three queer folks who maintain a spiritual/magick practice outside of mainstream religious practices, I utilized the Listening Guide analysis to explore patterns and journeys of self-discovery in voices that emerged. These voices offer a fantastical idea of what queer spirituality can engender when sought out through community and lived experience, specifically in the context of self and community healing. These voices allow us a different avenue from which to explore the enactment of queerness through ritual in order to transform our understanding of the psychological processes of constructing spiritual practice and spiritual community.

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4.3.) Crisis in Conversion and Religious Radicalism: A Study of US Muslim Converts

Daniel Snook, Ari D. Fodeman, Scott M. Kleinmann, and John G. Horgan, Georgia State University

In North America and Western Europe, converts to Islam participate in Islamist terrorism at much higher rates than Muslims who were born or raised in the faith (Schuurman, Grol, & Flower, 2016; Vidino & Hughes, 2015). Little data exist to explain this effect. However, research suggests that both conversion and the cognitive processes leading to participation in terrorism are similar in that they both involve significant changes in beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors (Kleinmann, 2012) and that both tend to be gradual processes rather than singular events (Rambo, 1993; Taylor & Horgan, 2006). But does how a person converts to a new religion predict whether they are willing to commit illegal and/or violent socio-political actions for that religion? To explore this question, 177 self-identified Muslim converts, all adults residing in the US, responded to the Adult Religious Conversion Experiences Questionnaire (ARCEQ; Kahn & Green, 2004) and the Activism and Radicalism Intentions Scale (ARIS; Moskalenko & McCauley, 2009). The ARCEQ measures the components of conversion as described by Rambo (1993) and the ARIS measures intent to engage in radicalism (illegal and/or violent political actions to protect the rights of one’s group). Using multiple linear regression, we found that, of the seven components of conversion, only crisis was a significant predictor of radicalism, even when statistically accounting for the other components of conversion (β= 0.43, p&lt; 0.001). This result provides evidence that Muslim converts who experience greater crisis in their conversion are more likely to act illegally and violently to defend Islam.

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4.4.) Understanding the Black Religious Experience by Exploring the Distinction between Religiosity and Spirituality

Eric Pickering Boorman, Boston University

Historically, Blacks have been excluded from mainstream religious institutions and have thus navigated their own religious and spiritual experiences independent of Whites.  This separation of Blacks and Whites has led to many unique differences in their theology such as the notion of God siding with the oppressed and marginalized members of society.  When contrasting the differences in the religious experience of Blacks and Whites, a common oversimplification is that the Black religious experience is an “upbeat form of Protestantism”.  This arbitration implies that the Black religious experience is not at all religious but is rather spirituality.  Although ample psychological research has indicated that religiosity and spirituality are separate constructs, researchers can argue that the nature of Black religion does not distinguish religiosity from spirituality.  As such, the purpose of the present study was to determine if spirituality and religiosity are the same constructs for Black Christians.  A sample of Black college students completed the Religious Commitment Inventory and the Spiritual Transcendence Index.  Both instruments have been extensively validated are widely accepted measures of religiosity and spirituality respectively.  Confirmatory Factor Analysis explored if the separate domains of religiosity and spirituality are better conceptualized as one overarching religious/spiritual domain, or rather two separate but related domains of religiosity and spirituality.  Results indicated that the two-factor structure was superior to the one-factor structure.  As such, while there is considerable overlap between religiosity and spirituality in the Black religious tradition, the Black religious experience is not the same as the Black spiritual experience.

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4.5.) The Impact of Private Religious Practices on Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors of LDS Adolescents

Mark D. Ogletree and Bradley McCormick, Brigham Young University

Our purpose is to examine how private religious practices mediate Latter-day Saint internalizing behaviors, such as anxiety and depression, as well as externalizing behaviors, such as media time, sexual deviance, and other aggressive behaviors. Although there is a significant amount of research on adolescents and religion, a minimal amount of exploration has been devoted to the impact of private religious practices on internalizing and externalizing behaviors—especially among Latter-day Saint Adolescents. This study focuses on the following research questions: 1) Among Latter-day Saint adolescents, how does private religious worship affect anxiety and depressive symptoms, and 2) How does private religious worship influence social media use, sexual deviance, and other aggressive behaviors. For example, regarding mental health, many studies have determined that mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression are associated with religion and spirituality. The findings indicate that religion is positively associated with mental health disorders in adolescents and is a significant predictor of lower levels of depression (Sanders, Allen, Fischer, Richards, Morgan & Potts, 2015). Participants in this study are from Wave 1 and Wave 2 of the Family Foundations of Youth Development Project. This study has a primary emphasis on faith development for youth in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) with a comparison group of those from other faiths and no religious affiliation. Preliminary results suggest that there are both positive and negative relationships with these variables. Data and results will be presented at the conference.

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4.6.) The Radical Christianity of Kanye West:  Exploring Perceptions of Religion’s Role in Mental Illness

Derek Blackwell, Prairie View A&M University

In October 2019, hip-hop artist Kanye West released his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King.  While several of his previous works had engaged with religious themes, Jesus Is King was West’s first attempt at a full-fledged ‘gospel' album.  The album’s release coincided with a dramatic shift in West’s personal life.  According to California pastor Adam Tyson, West experienced a spiritual awakening earlier that year and was “radically saved.” Unsurprisingly, this transformation in West’s life and music has garnered mixed reviews.  Yet, beyond the typical scrutiny that often accompanies a high-profile religious conversion, West’s story is further complicated by his highly publicized battle with mental illness prior to his religious rebirth. Known for his erratic behavior, West admitted to suffering from bipolar disorder in 2018, and while he has since walked back this confession, claiming he was misdiagnosed, many speculate that he continues to struggle with mental health issues. Consequently, some critics dismiss Jesus Is King as merely the latest manifestation of West’s mental illness, while Kanye himself describes Christianity as having essentially cured these mental health challenges.  This tension reflects larger debates about the Christian church and its perspective on mental illness. This study uses West’s Jesus Is King to explore (1) Christian understandings of mental illness and (2) secular understandings of Christianity as mental illness.  Through a textual analysis of West’s lyrics and interviews as well as critical reviews of the album, I attempt to unpack these opposing viewpoints on the relationship between religion and mental health.

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Paper Session 5: Psychotherapy and Measurement

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5.1.) What Makes Religion a Protective Factor for Suicidality?

Hanneke Schaap-Jonker, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Bart van den Brink and Matthias Jongkind, Centre for Research and Innovation in Christian Mental Health Care

Many studies and reviews show a substantial inhibitory effect of religion on suicidality. However, the pathway of this resilience, how people actively engage religion to cope with despair in daily life, and avoid suicidality, is unknown, although this information is relevant for customized interventions. In addition, there is also evidence that religion/spirituality is not always protective. Multifactorial longitudinal data and in-depth experience-sampling data are required. In this contribution we will present first results of an Experience Sampling Study, using a mobile app to follow suicidality and religion/spirituality over time (N=30), which gives insight into variability and micro-causality of these factors. Furthermore, results of a longitundinal study investigating different religious factors in relation to suicide among 155 Christian in- and outpatients with major depression will be presented. After controlling for demographic features and severity of depression, both moral objections to suicide (MOS) and a positive, supportive type of God representation had a unique and negative association with suicidal ideation and lifetime history of suicide attempt at baseline. Results suggest that both the bounding and comforting aspects of religion protect against suicide.

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5.2.) Spiritually Integrated Couple Therapy: In Session Reporting of Spiritual Activity

Jennifer S. Ripley, Regent University, Everett L. Worthington, Jr., Virginia Commonwealth University, E. Loewer and V. Kent, Regent University, and J. Chen, Clemson University

Spiritually integrated couple therapy addresses spiritual needs, strivings and struggles as part of a couple’s therapeutic process.  It is common for couples to have spiritual distress that coincides with their relationship distress.  Research has indicated that marital relationships are often perceived as sacred parts of the couple’s life, and therefore offenses to the sacred can hold special significance.  Couples use both positive and negative religious coping in addressing relationship distress and offense.  Prayer is one method of potential positive religious coping to relationship distress.  Several studies have shed light on how prayer can be useful as an intervention to assist couples in using naturally occurring religious coping, in ways that are culturally competent, to address relational distress.  This presentation will present findings from a study of 75 couples in spiritually integrated couple therapy, reporting spiritual events and perspectives of partners and therapists.  A brief preliminary review of the “therapy as usual” Templeton funded Bridges research study of couples data will be presented.  The Bridges study involves clinicians who conduct spiritually integrated couple therapy regularly assessing the couples that they treat for one year.  Descriptive results indicate that there is a wide variety of practices by outpatient therapists who specialize in spiritually integrated couple therapy, and a wide variety of couple perceptions of treatment.  Prayer is the most common intervention but numerous others were observed.  The presentation will conclude with suggestions for ethical and best practices in spiritually integrated couple therapy based on the extant research.

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5.3.) Barriers to Religious, Spiritual and Secular Training and Psychotherapy Consequences

Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Penn State Harrisburg

This talk addresses current psychotherapy training climates in counseling and clinical graduate programs and resulting trainee needs related to religious, spiritual, and secular (RSS) competencies. Training programs do not typically conceptualize RSS issues as multicultural identities (e.g., Magaldi-Dopman, 2014). This likely leads to cultural missteps and microaggressions in psychotherapy as trainees are entering the field without necessary competencies. Failure to acknowledge and account for RSS identities in session can lead to lower psychotherapy alliances and client health outcomes (Owen et al., 2014; Post & Wade, 2009). In Study 1, doctoral students (N = 36) from counseling and clinical psychology students reflected on their personal RSS biases after completing an Implicit Association Task (IAT) linking RSS identities and psychotherapy behaviors (e.g., “openness,” “resistant”; Winkeljohn Black & Gold, 2019). Participant-trainees noted a lack of RSS training and concern that raising RSS issues in classes led to negative evaluations from peers and professors. In Study 2, trainees participated in an microdetection task, where half the participants (N = 71) were randomly assigned to identify microaggressions in an audio-recorded mock-therapy session toward a Muslim client (the other half reviewed a neutral mock-session). Data from Study 2 are currently being analyzed and will be discussed within the context of Study 1’s identified barriers to discussing RSS issues in training contexts. Understanding these patterns in training programs is a systematic first step in promoting the health and well-being of RSS communities: addressing training needs will systematically alter how clinicians address RSS considerations in the field.

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5.4.) Spirituality and Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth among Orthopaedic Nurses: Resilience as Mediator and Moderator

John Bosco Chika Chukwuorji, Lawrence Chijioke Aluma, Peace Nnenna Ibeagha, and John E. Eze, University of Nigeria, and Endurance Avah Zacchaeus, Nasarawa State University

Orthopaedic nurses have been reported to experience positive changes as part of the therapeutic process following their secondary exposure to patients’ trauma, and this experience is known as vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG). Studies have shown that resilience as well as spiritual beliefs and behaviours are implicated in general positive outcomes in the aftermath of trauma exposure. However, there is paucity of literature on the mechanisms through which spirituality as a psychosocial resource influences posttraumatic growth. We examined whether the salutogenic nature of resilience explains the link between spirituality and VPTG. In a cross-sectional study, 200 Nigerian orthopaedic nurses completed the Resilience Scale (RS-14), Spiritual Involvement and Belief Scale – Revised (SIBS-R), and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory – Short Form (PTGI-SF). We found that greater spirituality and resilience were directly associated with increased VPTG. Resilience mediated the relationship between spirituality and VPTG such that spirituality was connected to VPTG by virtue of increasing resilient characteristics. We also found that spirituality was associated with VPTG for nurses who reported moderate and high resilience levels, but not for nurses who reported low resilience. The present study suggests that involvement in spiritual exercises, and attention to spiritual beliefs of individuals may promote positive psychological health outcomes by fostering resilience among those with spiritual beliefs. This finding may be considered relevant for integrative/complementary approaches to trauma.

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5.5.) The Soul: A Review and Content Analysis of Empirical Psychological Research

Kevin A. Harris, Stephanie Silva, and Elise Segui, Our Lady of the Lake University

The soul is arguably one of the most important constructs in human history, synonymous with heart, core, essence, energy, and spirit. Yet for such a key construct, little empirical research has been conducted on the soul, even in the psychology of religion and spirituality. Most psychology articles use the word “soul” or “spirit” as synonymous with spirituality or essence, as synonymous with the mind or cognition, as a synonym for mood (e.g., “in good spirits”), as a reference to a higher power (e.g., the holy spirit) or paranormal beings (e.g., spirit possession), as a metaphor (e.g., “the heart and soul of psychology is cognition”), as an expression (e.g., “soul food,” “free spirits”), or as alcohol (e.g., “I drink spirits”). When the soul is used to refer to something distinct from the mind and spirituality, it is conceptualized theoretically. Empirical research on the soul is surprisingly infrequently. Soul research has been conducted in various areas from philosophy and theology to psychology and neurology. We conducted a literature review of all the published empirical peer-reviewed journal articles in psychology that focused on the soul. A keyword search of five psychology research databases for the keywords “soul,” “spirit,” or “afterlife” turned up 83,225 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, but after eliminating articles that were not about the soul and not written from a psychological perspective, only 193 articles remained — and only 27 of them involved empirical research. We summarize and critique the complete (and small) body of empirical psychological research on the soul.

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5.6.) Examination of the Factor Structures of Two Widely Used Spirituality Measures among University Students

Caroline C. Kaufman, K. S. Berlin, and A. C. Toumayan, University of Memphis, and W. Howie and I. B. Thurston, Texas A&M University

Background: Prior research indicates that the factor structures of two widely used measures of spirituality, the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) and the Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS), may have unique factor structures among university samples. However, researchers have not yet examined these factor structures among non-parochial university students. Thus, the present study examined the joint-factor structure of the DSES and STS in a non-parochial university sample. Secondly, we examined associations between the resultant factors and measures of religiosity. Method: Participants (N = 374) were university students (83.2% female; 24.5% Black, 49.1% White; 3.5% Latinx, 8.5% Asian, 14.3% other) enrolled in this study through a subject pool at a public university in the Mid-Southern United States. Participants completed online questionnaires assessing sociodemographic factors, spirituality, and religiosity. Data was examined using Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) in Mplus to examine the joint-factor structure of the DSES and STS. Results: CFA confirmed a 7-factor structure with the following factors: Theistic Connection (TC), Non-Theistic Connection (NTC), Prayer Salience (PS), Transcendence of Humanity (ToH), Meaning (M), Connection with Humanity (CwH), and Afterlife Spirituality (AS). The TC, NTC, PS, and M factors were significantly associated with religiosity and religious coping. Conclusion: Spirituality is a salient and multidimensional construct among non-parochial university students. Certain spirituality dimensions may be less salient for these students given that model fit improved when items were removed from the DSES and STS. Studies of spirituality should consider using the DSES and STS concurrently as both appear to assess different dimensions of spirituality.

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5.7.) Measuring the Impact of Religious Discrimination Across Religious Groups

David Christy, Loyola University Maryland

This paper presents the initial development and psychometric evaluation of the Religious Identity Discrimination Experiences Scale (RIDES), which can be used to measure the impact of religious stigma and discrimination on psychological well-being. A pool of 77 potential items was created based on the religious discrimination and minority stress literature and consultation with members of the Pagan community. An exploratory factor analysis with 955 participants divided into five religious groups (Christian [n = 305], Pagan [n = 316], Unaffiliated [n = 144], non-Christian non-Pagans [n =141], and Multiple Religions [n = 49]) resulted in a 36 item measure with three factors: microaggressions, identity stressors, and overt discrimination. The RIDES showed good full scale and factor reliability scores across each of these religious groups. The RIDES demonstrated incremental validity over the Everyday Discrimination measure (Williams, Yu, Jackson, & Anderson, 1997) in predicting negative outcomes, even after controlling for personality, social support, coping ability, religion, and spirituality. Non-Christian respondents were found to both expect and experience greater levels of discrimination. Everyday and religious discrimination both made significant contributions in the prediction of several negative mental health outcomes; these effects were also negatively linked to work satisfaction, income, and physical health. Limitations and implications for future research and clinical work are discussed.

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Paper Session 6: Various Issues in Spirituality and Faith

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6.1.) Ready to Meet God? Faithfulness and Sadness at the Death of a Loved One

Douglas S. Krull, Northern Kentucky University

Research suggests that religiosity sometimes predicts better adjustment to the death of a loved one, but there are many inconsistencies and methodological limitations (e.g., Becker, Xander, Blum, Lutterbach, Momm, Gysels, & Higginson, 2007; Wortmann & Park, 2008). The current studies explored one possible moderator—the religious faithfulness of the loved one who died. In study 1, 155 college students read vignettes in which a member of a hypothetical family died. The family member was religious or non-religious and the family was religious or non-religious, creating four vignettes. Participants rated the sadness of each vignette and indicated how sad the hypothetical family would be. Religious participants rated the vignettes as more sad when the family member was non-religious (M=3.85) than religious (M=3.57), unlike non-religious participants (Ms = 3.35, 3.31), interaction F(1,140)=3.90, p=.05, hp2=.027. Participants also indicated that the religious family would be more sad when the family member had been non-religious (M=4.63) than religious (M=4.36), but that the non-religious family would not (Ms=4.50, 4.50), interaction F(1,142)=15.36, p=.001, hp2=.098. In study 2, 59 MTurk participants and 30 church members reported their reactions to the actual deaths of loved ones whose religious view matched or did not match their own. Although both groups found the death of a loved one whose view matched their own easier to cope with, this difference was much greater for the church members (Ms=8.77, 2.43) than for the MTurk participants (Ms=6.24, 5.15), interaction F(1,87)=69.76, p=.001, hp2=.445.

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6.2.) Faith and “My Cold, Dead Hands:” A Study of Religiosity and Guns

Douglas S. Krull, Northern Kentucky University

Research suggests that religiosity is associated with gun ownership and attitudes in complex ways. For example, handgun ownership is positively related to some types of religious affiliation, but religious involvement is negatively related to ownership (Stroope & Tom, 2017; Yamane, 2016). The current study explored religiosity and gun ownership, gun control attitudes, and judgments about guns and self-defense. Participants were college students (143 women, 26 men, 1 missing; M[age]=19.97) and members from the church of Christ (15 women, 29 men; M[age]=36.53). Church members owned more handguns (M=.54 vs .09), F(1,201)=6.36, p=.012, hp2=.031, and more long guns (shotguns, rifles; M=1.29 vs. 0.17), F(1,201)=19.44, p=.001, hp2=.088. Church members were also more in favor of citizens being able to own handguns (M=7.42 vs. 5.94), F(1,201)=11.55, p=.001, hp2=.054, shotguns and rifles (M=7.97 vs. 5.58), F(1,201)=26.70, p=.001, hp2=.117, and assault rifles, although this was viewed less favorably (M=4.51 vs. 2.45), F(1,201)=20.52, p=.001, hp2=.092. However, church members were less likely to indicate that it is morally acceptable to kill someone in self-defense (M=2.92 vs. 6.76), F(1,203)=96.03, p=.001, hp2=.321, or to protect others (M=3.00 vs. 6.33), F(1,202)=74.32, p=.001, hp2=.269. When asked how they thought they would react if an armed gunman began shooting people, church members indicated they would be less likely to shoot the gunman (M=2.57 vs. 3.60), F(1,203)=19.73, p=.001, hp2=.089, more likely to grab the gunman (M=3.39 vs. 2.85), F(1,202)=4.87, p=.029, hp2=.024, and more likely to pray (M=4.56 vs. 3.07), F(1,202)=25.93, p=.001, hp2=.115. There were no differences in warning people or calling the police.

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6.3.) Religious Motivation: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

Sam Hardy, Jenae M. Nelson, and Summer B. Glover, Brigham Young University, and Amber R. C. Nadal, Stanford University

One important dimension of religiousness is religious motivation, which captures why people engage in religious practices. Self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) is a well-known theory of motivation that can be used as a framework for understanding religious motivation. In the present study we refined and validated a measure of religious motivation grounded in self-determination theory. This 15-item scale assesses three types of religious motivation: external religious motivation entails being religious to avoid punishments or seek rewards, introjected religious motivation involves being religious to avoid negative self-evaluative affect (e.g., shame) or seek positive self-evaluative affect (e.g., self-esteem), and identified religious motivation captures being religious because it is internalized and personally important. We analyzed data from five datasets of teens from across the U.S. (N = 348; N = 655; N = 360; N = 357; N = 1264). We first established the psychometrics of the scale. We then examined correlations between the three types of motivation, as well as correlations with other dimensions of religion/spirituality, other self-determination measures of motivation, and various positive and negative youth outcomes. Finally, we ran various regression models to get at unique variance accounted for in outcomes, and to test for possible interactions. In general, external religious motivation was maladaptive, identified religious motivation was adaptive, and introjected religious motivation was mixed (and often neutral). Identified religious motivation uniquely predicted outcomes above the other two types of motivation, as well as above religious involvement, and in some cases it interacted with religious involvement in predicting outcomes.

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6.4.) The Relationship between Religiosity, Cognitive Empathy, Religious Commitment, and Psychopathy

Alyssa Kaucher and Laird Edman, Northwestern College

This study hypothesized about the relationships between intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest religiosity; psychopathy; cognitive empathy; and religious commitment. The unique contribution of religious commitment and differing types of religiosity on psychopathy above and beyond empathy’s effects and vice versa was also hypothesized. Amazon’s Mechanical-Turk website recruited 194 participants, but fourteen participants’ incomplete data was not included. Individuals (122 male, 58 female) ages 21 to 69 with varying education levels, religious affiliations, and races were given the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the New Indices of Religious Orientation Revised scale, the Religious Commitment Inventory-10, and the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale–III. Pearson product-moment correlations supported the inverse relationship between intrinsic religiosity and psychopathy (r = - 0.415, p > 0.01, N = 170) and between extrinsic religiosity and cognitive empathy (r = 0.189, p > 0.05, N = 180). Correlations did not support the direct relationship between extrinsic religiosity and psychopathy (r = -0.490, p > 0.01, N = 173), intrinsic religiosity and cognitive empathy (r = 0.111, p = 0.140, N = 177), religious commitment and perspective-taking (r = -0.119, p = 0.111, N = 180), and cognitive empathy and quest religiosity (r = -0.032, p = 0.681, N = 171). The first regression model was a significant predictor of psychopathy, R2: 0.41, F(3,157) = 7.66, p<.001. Additionally, the second regression model was a significant predictor of cognitive empathy, R2: 0.09, F(3,163) = 4.86, p<.05. Further research could examine the role of gender, social support, and spirituality on religiosity, religious commitment, cognitive empathy, and psychopathy.

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6.5.) “My Mind’s Going Batty — It Won’t Stop, Lord”: An Autoethnographical Analysis of Spirituality and Health in a Personal Journal

Glendon Wiebe, Okanagan College

Drawing from the presenter’s personal journal over a period of 10 years (1993-2003), an autoethnographical analysis of entries related to religion and spirituality was conducted. Journal excerpts focused on spirituality and health reflected a determined yet unsuccessful pursuit of spiritual ideals. Themes of one’s body and behavior as a locus of religious identity, desired exceptionalism, and self-as-failure characterized many journal excerpts exploring issues of spiritual identity and psycho-social health. As journal entries frequently portrayed the practice of spiritual disciplines as ineffective in realizing personal wellbeing and positive emotional states, this paper illustrates specific ways in which components of an evangelical, Protestant faith tradition (in general) and a personal journal medium (in particular) informed and constrained the representation of individual spirituality and wellbeing. Tensions between the presenter’s psychological health and the belief that contentment, for example, was indicative of an inauthentic or uncommitted posture toward faith were expressed throughout the journal entries. Further, journal content almost exclusively reflected an intrapersonally-mediated locus of spiritual identity, as the influences of quotidian events, external relationships, and the wider culture were understood to be in opposition to divinely-inspired beliefs, motivation, and behavior. Over the 10 years of excerpts analyzed, the journal accounting of spirituality and health began as a largely embodied, intrapsychic expression, shifted to a disembodied expression during a period of suboptimal psychological health, and eventually presented a less polarized positioning of self in the representation of individual spirituality and health.

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6.6.) Executive Function, Prayer, and Decision Making

Holly Adams Phillips, Kennesaw State University, and Jorge Salamanca and David Washburn, Georgia State University

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between executive function, prayer, and decision making.  Specifically, two surveys were employed to test whether executive function is associated with an individual’s use of prayer as a decision making strategy. In Study 1, self-report measures (N=6,122), including the Executive Function Index (EFI), were collected and analyzed to identify relations between two subscales of the EFI, Organization and Inhibitory Control, with the use of prayer in decision making. In Study 2, a survey (N=150) employed behavioral measures of inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory capacity as measures of executive function. Results from Study 2 demonstrated an association between one component of executive function, particularly working memory capacity, and the use of prayer in decision making.  Additionally, a correlational analysis was conducted on the self-report measure Executive Function Index (EFI), with cognitive measures previously determined to measure cognitive flexibility, working memory, and executive attention in order to identify variance overlap with executive functioning.  The results of these studies indicate higher working memory capacity is associated with the use of prayer as a decision-making strategy.

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6.7.) Executive Function, Fundamentalism, and Dichotomous Thinking

Holly Adams Phillips, Kennesaw State University, and Jorge Salamanca and David Washburn, Georgia State University

In this study, survey methodology (N=150) was employed to identify associations between executive function and measures of fundamentalism, dogmatism and dichotomous thinking.  Using Miyake and Friedman's Unity/Diversity Model for Executive Function (2000), behavioral measures of working memory capacity, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility were analyzed with self-report measures of fundamentalism, dogmatism, and dichotomous to identify possible associations.  Results indicated some components of executive function -- particularly cognitive flexibility and working memory -- are associated with fundamentalism, dogmatism and dichotomous thinking. Specifically, both higher working memory and cognitive flexibility are associated with less fundamentalism, dogmatism and dichotomous thinking.