Spiritual Struggle and Spiritual Growth of Bereft College Students in a Christian Evangelical University

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 129-156
Author(s):  
Melinda Rhoades ◽  
Andrea Walker
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Spiritual Growth ◽  
Change Model ◽  
Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Mixed Methods Design ◽  
Spiritual Struggle ◽  
Daily Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Evangelical University ◽  
Shattered Assumptions

This article examines spiritual struggle in bereft Christian evangelical students and how struggle might potentiate spiritual growth. The death loss of a close person can result in shattered assumptions about the world that trigger spiritual questions and struggle and spiritual struggle can be a catalyst for growth. To our knowledge, spiritual growth has not been measured utilizing the actual voices of those struggling with the loss, nor has it been measured in Christian evangelical populations who may find it more threatening to yield to spiritual questioning. The Spirit-centered Change Model guides our conceptualization of spiritual growth from a Christian evangelical perspective. Utilizing a mixed methods design, bereft college students (n=161) at a Christian evangelical university answered questionnaires about religious coping, daily spiritual experiences, meaning in life, and open-ended questions about their spiritual growth and how students’ beliefs about God had changed after the loss. Compared to non-bereft peers, bereft students reported higher daily spiritual experiences, but bereft students who struggled spiritually reported less meaning and daily spiritual experiences than bereft students who did not struggle. Narrative responses indicated that spiritual struggle simultaneously tended to reflect more expansive beliefs around God and a deepened spirituality, according to the Spirit-centered Change Model. Results reflect a first empirical step toward measuring spiritual growth as epistemological change.

scholarly journals Do Involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous and Religiousness Both Directly and Indirectly through Meaning in Life Lead to Spiritual Experiences?

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 794
Author(s):  
Marcin Wnuk
Keyword(s):  
Alcoholics Anonymous ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Daily Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Self Help Groups ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Purpose In Life Test ◽  
Practical Implications

Spirituality is a key element of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) recovery. However, little is known about the potential religious and secular sources of spiritual experiences in AA fellowship. The aim of the study was to verify if in a sample of AA participants, meaning in life mediates the relationship between their religiousness and spiritual experiences, as well as between their involvement in AA and spiritual experiences. The study sample consisted of 70 Polish AA participants, and the following tools were used: the Alcoholics Anonymous Involvement Scale (AAIS); Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORFQ); Purpose in Life Test (PIL); two one-item measures regarding frequency of prayer and Mass attendance; and the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) duration of AA participation, which was positively related to involvement in addiction self-help groups and religiousness. Involvement in AA and religiousness were positively related to meaning in life, which in turn positively correlated with spiritual experiences. This research indicated that in a sample of AA participants, finding meaning in life partially mediates the relationship between religiousness and spiritual experiences, as well as fully mediating the relationship between involvement in AA and spiritual experiences. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Estimated longevity and changes in spirituality in the context of advanced congestive heart failure

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crystal L. Park
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Congestive Heart Failure ◽  
Multivariate Regression ◽  
Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Life Meaning ◽  
Spiritual Struggle ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Daily Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACTObjective:To examine (1) advanced congestive heart failure (CHF) patients' estimates of their longevity and changes in these estimates over time; (2) clinical, functional, and psychological adjustment correlates of these longevity estimates; and (3) correspondence of changes in longevity and changes in multiple dimensions of spirituality over time.Methods:Longitudinal questionnaire-based study of 111 patients diagnosed with severe CHF assessed at two time points separated by 6 months.Results:Nearly half of the participants estimated their longevity as at least 5–10 years, and there was very little change in estimates across the assessment periods. Longevity estimates were minimally related to clinical or functional indicators, but longer estimates were related to fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of life satisfaction. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that shifting longevity estimates toward less time or toward uncertainty was related to increases in religious life meaning and forgiveness and to decreased spiritual struggle over the 6-month interval. No effects were observed for daily spiritual experiences.Significance of results:Because very little is known about how individuals estimate their remaining life span, these results establish information regarding their basis (i.e., not clinical or functional) and stability, at least in the context of advanced heart failure. In addition, the notion that individuals become more spiritual as they perceive the approach of death was borne out in terms of multiple aspects of spirituality.

scholarly journals Exploring the Roles of Daily Spiritual Experiences, Self-Efficacy, and Gender in Shopping Addiction: A Moderated Mediation Model

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 355
Author(s):  
Edyta Charzyńska ◽  
Magdalena Sitko-Dominik ◽  
Ewa Wysocka ◽  
Agata Olszanecka-Marmola
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Treatment Programs ◽  
Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Moderated Mediation Model ◽  
Daily Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Shopping Addiction

Although spirituality has been considered a protective factor against shopping addiction, the mechanisms involved in this relationship are still poorly recognized. The present study aims to test the association of daily spiritual experiences, self-efficacy, and gender with shopping addiction. The sample consisted of 430 young adults (275 women and 155 men), with a mean age of 20.44 (SD = 1.70). The Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Bergen Shopping Addiction Scale were used to measure the study variables. The results showed that: (1) Daily spiritual experiences had a direct negative effect on shopping addiction; (2) daily spiritual experiences were positively related to self-efficacy, thought the effect was moderated by gender; (3) self-efficacy negatively correlated with a shopping addiction; and (4) the indirect effect of daily spiritual experiences on shopping addiction through self-efficacy was significant for women but insignificant for men. The findings confirm that spirituality protects young adults against developing a shopping addiction. They also suggest that when introducing spiritual issues into shopping addiction prevention or treatment programs, the gender-specific effects of spirituality on shopping addiction via self-efficacy should be considered to adequately utilize young women’s and men’s spiritual resources.

An Exploratory Study of Spiritual Dimensions Among Nursing Students

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary A Wehmer ◽  
Mary T Quinn Griffin ◽  
Ann H. White ◽  
Joyce J. Fitzpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spiritual Practices ◽  
Religion And Spirituality ◽  
Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Daily Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
The Relationship

This exploratory descriptive study of spiritual experiences, well-being, and practices was conducted among 126 nursing students. Participants reported a higher level of spiritual well-being and life scheme than self-efficacy for well-being and life-scheme. Thus, students appeared to view the world and their role in it slightly more positively than their ability to affect their lives and make decisions. The students reported the most frequent spiritual experiences as being thankful for blessings; the next most frequent spiritual experiences having a desire to be close to God, feeling a selfless caring for others, and finding comfort in one’s religion and spirituality. Students used both conventional and unconventional spiritual practices. Further study is necessary to study the relationship among spiritual practices, daily spiritual experiences, and spiritual well-being among nursing students and to evaluate these before and after implementation of specific educational offerings focused on spirituality and spiritual care in nursing.

scholarly journals The influence of daily spiritual experiences and gender on subjective well-being over time in cancer survivors

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-171
Author(s):  
Myriam Rudaz ◽  
Thomas Ledermann ◽  
Joseph G. Grzywacz
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Daily Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Over Time

Cancer survivors are at risk for poor subjective well-being, but the potential beneficial effect of daily spiritual experiences is unknown. Using data from the second and third wave of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, we examined the extent to which daily spiritual experiences at baseline moderate the association between subjective well-being at baseline and approximately 10 years later in cancer survivors ( n = 288). Regression analyses, controlled for age, educational attainment, and religious/spiritual coping, showed that daily spiritual experiences moderated the association between life satisfaction at baseline and follow-up. Specifically, high spiritual experiences enhanced life satisfaction over time in cancer survivors with low life satisfaction at baseline. Also, daily spiritual experiences moderated the association between positive affect at baseline and follow-up, though this moderating effect was different for women and men. No moderating effect emerged for negative affect.

How do Curiosity, Meaning in Life, and Search for Meaning Predict College Students’ Daily Emotional Exhaustion and Engagement?

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Garrosa ◽  
Luis Manuel Blanco-Donoso ◽  
Isabel Carmona-Cobo ◽  
Bernardo Moreno-Jiménez
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Search For Meaning

scholarly journals Meanings and Interpretations of Spirituality in Nursing and Health

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasreen Lalani
Keyword(s):  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Spiritual Growth ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Personal Construct ◽  
Spiritual Experiences ◽  
Conceptual Clarity

Numerous spirituality models and tools have been developed in health education and research, but a gap still exists around the conceptual clarity and articulation of spirituality among nurses and healthcare providers. Nurses and healthcare providers still find it difficult to interpret and apply the concepts of spirituality in their practice settings. This paper provides a concept analysis of spirituality using the Walker and Avant method of conceptual analysis. Several databases including conceptual and empirical literature from various disciplines have been used. The defining attributes of spirituality included spirituality and religion as a separable or mutual construct, spirituality as a personal construct, wholeness and integration, meaning making and purpose, sense of connectedness and relationship, transcendence, inner source of power, energy, and strength. Major antecedents of spirituality found were faith, personal values, and belief systems, and life adversities. Consequences of spirituality included personal/spiritual growth and wellbeing, resilience, and religiousness. Spirituality is a unique and personal human experience, an individualised journey characterised by multiple experiential accounts such as meaning making, purpose, connectedness, wholeness and integration, energy, and transcendence. Spiritual experiences are often difficult to examine and measure using scientific tools and empirical language. Healthcare providers need to fully understand and apply spirituality and spiritual care aspects to provide holistic person-centred care.

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