Annette Mahoney

Religion and the sanctification of family relationships

Despite ample evidence that global indexes of religiousness are linked to family functioning, the mechanisms by which religion uniquely influences family dynamics are not well understood or empirically documented. To advance the scientific study of religion role in families, we delineate how the construct of sanctification applies to marital and parent-child relationships as well as to the entire family systems according to diverse religious traditions. We define sanctification as a psychological process in which aspects of life are perceived as having spiritual character and significance. We summarize the psychotmetric properties of two sets of measures that we have developed to assess the sanctification of marriage, parent-child relationships, and sexuality: Manifestation of God and Sacred Qualities scales. We hypothesize that sanctification has desirable implications for family life, supporting this assertion with initial empirical findings from our program of research. We also highlight the potential harm that may result from the sanctification of family relationships and discuss circumstances that may present particular risks (unavoidable challenges, violations by family members, loss. conflict, and intrapsychic and institutional barriers). Finally, we discuss future research directions to study more closely the influence of religion and sanctification on family life.

Sacred Matters: Sanctification as a Vital Topic for the Psychology of Religion

In this article and those that follow, we suggest that sacred matters represent a vital interest for the psychology of religion. We note that people can perceive virtually any aspect of their lives as having divine character and significance. Furthermore, people can sanctify objects theistically as a manifestation of their images, beliefs, or experiences of God and nontheistically by investing objects with qualities that characterize divinity. We discuss several implications of sanctification for human functioning: people invest a great deal of time and energy in sacred matters; people go to great lengths to preserve and protect whatever they perceive to be sacred; sacred aspects of life elicit spiritual emotions; sanctification offers a powerful personal and social resource that people can tap throughout their lives; and the loss of the sacred can have devastating effects. We conclude with a call for further studies of sacred matters and specific directions for research.

Physical Violence and Other Forms of Marital Aggression: Links With Children's Behavior Problems

Two studies examined whether physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression (e.g., threats, throwing objects) correlate with childrens behavior problems in families marked by recent spousal violence. Study 1 included 55 families seeking marital therapy. Study 2 included 199 families at battered womens shelters. In the marital therapy sample, both physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with childrens externalizing problems. In the womens shelter sample, physical violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with childrens externalizing and internalizing problems. After accounting for the frequency of physical marital violence, forms of marital aggression other than physical violence still related to childrens externalizing problems in the marital therapy sample and to childrens internalizing problems in the womens shelter sample.

A Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness: Development and Evidence for Reliability and Validity

A 60-item Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness (PMIR) was developed in three stages: (a) Domains of Islam relevant to physical and mental health were identified via theory and semistructured interviews with 25 Muslims; (b) an initial version of PMIR was pilot tested with 64 Muslims from the United States and Israel; and (c) desirable psychometric qualities of the final measure were established based on an international, Internet-solicited sample of 340 Muslims, as follows. The PMIR yielded seven distinct, highly reliable factors: Islamic Beliefs; Islamic Ethical Principles & Universality; Islamic Religious Struggle; Islamic Religious Duty, Obligation & Exclusivism; Islamic Positive Religious Coping & Identification; Punishing Allah Reappraisal; and Islamic Religious Conversion. All scales demonstrated desirable variability and strong discriminant, convergent, predictive, and incremental validity using multiple mental and physical criterion variables. The findings indicate that Islam is central to the well-being of Muslims and the PMIR provides a scientifically based, multidimensional understanding of Islam needed to advance the nearly nonexistent psychological theory, practice, and research focused on Muslims.

The sanctification of nature and theological conservatism: A study of opposing religious correlates of environmentalism

We examined the association of two distinct religious forces, sanctification of nature and theological conservatism, with environmental beliefs (humans take precedence over the environment and human actions hurt nature), willingness to sacrifice personal funds for the environment, and behaviors (participation in green activities) among three samples - members, elders, and clergy affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Across all three samples, greater theologically conservative views were associated with lower care for the environment; conversely, a stronger belief in the sanctification of nature was associated with greater pro-environmental beliefs and willingness to invest personal funds in the environment. Sanctification of nature was also predictive of greater environmentally supportive behaviors among elders and clergy After controlling for demographic variables and theological conservatism, sanctification of nature accounted for unique, though modest, amounts of variance in environmental variables. Moderated regression analyses revealed only a few significant group differences. Specifically, greater belief in sanctification was associated with more pro-environment behavior among clergy than members. Also, theological conservatism had a greater negative effect on pro-environment behaviors of clergy than elders. These findings suggest that religious institutions have the potential to support or discourage care for the environment.

RESEARCH: "At the Crossroads of Sexuality and Spirituality: The Sanctification of Sex by College Students"

This study examines the intersection between spirituality and premarital sexuality. College students from a Midwestern university (N = 151) completed measures of their beliefs about the sanctification of sexual intercourse in loving, nonmarital relationships. A subsample of 65 participants completed parallel measures regarding current sexual relationships. Greater sanctification was related to increased sexual satisfaction in this subgroup. Increased belief in the sanctification of sexual intercourse was related to increased sexual behavior in the total sample. Finally, the sanctification of sexual intercourse demonstrated incremental validity in the prediction of sexual behavior and satisfaction beyond the effects of attitudes toward premarital sex, dating status, and general religiousness. Overall, these results suggest that sanctification is a unique and useful way to examine the connection between sexuality and spirituality.

A randomized controlled evaluation of a spiritually integrated treatment for subclinical anxiety in the Jewish community, delivered via the Internet

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.

The role of religiousness in anxiety, depression, and happiness in a Jewish community sample: A preliminary investigation

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.

RESEARCH: "A Higher Purpose: The Sanctification of Strivings in a Community Sample"

Most adults in a community sample (N = 150; ages 25-56) perceived their top 10 strivings as being connected to God (theistic sanctification) and having sacred, transcendent qualities (nontheistic sanctification), with highest ratings given to religious goals, family relationships, altruistic endeavors, and existential concerns. Greater sanctification of strivings correlated positively with the importance, commitment, longevity, social support, confidence, and internal locus of control of strivings. Based on 5 phone interviews about the prior 48 hr, people invested more time and energy in their 2 most highly sanctified strivings than their 2 least sanctified strivings. Greater sanctification of strivings related to a greater sense of life purpose and meaning and joy yielded by strivings but not fewer psychological or physical health difficulties.

Marital and severe parent-to-adolescent physical aggression in clinic-referred families: Mother and adolescent reports on co-occurrence and links to child behavior problems

This study examined the interplay of marital and severe parental physical aggression, and their links to child behavior problems, in 232 families of clinic-referred adolescents. Combined reports from mothers and adolescents indicated that two thirds of adolescents exposed to marital aggression in the past year had also experienced parental aggression. Mothers and fathers who used and/or were victims of marital aggression were both more likely to direct aggression toward their adolescent. Mother and youth reports of marital aggression were tied to each partys report of greater externalizing problems and to youth reports of greater internalizing problems. Severe parental aggression uniquely predicted maternal reports of both behavior problems, after controlling for marital aggression; the reverse was not true. Also, adolescents exposed to both types of family aggression did not display greater maladjustment than those subjected to only one type of family aggression.