Brian F. Pendleton

Religious domains and general well-being

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.

EXPLORING TYPES OF PRAYER AND QUALITY OF LIFE: A RESEARCH NOTE'

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 ofprayer 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 ofprayer were revealed through a factor analysis of

The Effects of Prayer and Prayer Experiences on Measures of General Weil-Being

fteen 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.

Scales for Investigation of the Dual-Career Family.

Although some 90% of all Americans claim to pray, a review of social science literature will reveal that researchers have shown little interest in the topic. The 1985 Akron Area Survey which focused on religiosity and subjective perceptions of well-being included items measuring the frequency of prayer, prayer experiences, and different forms of prayer, together with more standard measures of religiosity. The results demonstrate significant relationships between the varying measures of prayer and the different well-being measures included in this survey. A factor analysis of 15 prayer activity items identified four types of prayer which relate differently to the well-being measures. Prayer, like its parent concept religiosity, is clearly multidimensional and contributes to a profiling of well-being.

Correlated Denominators in Multiple Regression and Change Analyses

Research on the dual-career family has primarily been qualitative and has used relatively small samples. Although much has been learned, questions about the representativeness and generalizability of findings remain. This study uses data collected from 53 career wives and has three purposes: to suggest six analytical areas for dualcareer research (marriage type, domestic responsibility, satisfaction, self-image, career salience, and career line); to provide questions that may be utilized in a largescale survey research project; and to quantitatively analyze scale types by using reliability and Guttman procedures. The scales are supported and provide useful direction for future dual-career family research.

Personality traits of convicted male batterers

Sociological and demographic research often uses variables computed as ratios. When the denominators are highly correlated, or identical, and the ratios are used in correlation or regression analysis, a statistical dependency is formed. Interpre tations and inferences may be difficult to make and misleading. This article has two basic purposes. The first is to show how this problem expands from bivariate correlation and regression to partial correlation and multiple regression. The second purpose is to review advantages and disadvantages of selected alternative change models, focusing on path analysis and the problem of correlated denomi nators in change and path analyses. It is suggested that, when an identical denomi nator exists, it can be used as an independent control variable in standard least- squares regression equations constructed from the numerators. When, however, the denominators are highly correlated but not identical, as is found in most cross- sectional research and is virtually inescapable in longitudinal research, the use of residual analysis is suggested as a solution to the problem of correlated denomi nators.

Gender and response effects in telephone interviews about gender characteristics

The purpose of this investigation is to determine if select psychological variables are associated with abusive behavior of convicted male batterers. The sample included a treatment group of 75 court-referred abusers who were individually administered the Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis (T-JTA) instrument. Explored were: (1) the relationships among personality variables and sociological and demographic characteristics, (2) possible behavioral disorders in our study group of spouse abusers, (3) whether major bipolar personality variables could distinguish our study group from the general population. Results revealed the Taylor-Johnson behavioral disorder types were not useful in identifying distinctions among our spouse abusers. However, a two-factor rotation (Internal/Emotional Balance and Social Interaction) produced results which should be of interest to programs treating batterers as well as provide a suggestive lead for future research. Battering men were found to have a restless proclivity for interaction that will be competitive and conflict-oriented in style. Their impulsiveness further suggests that their interactions will be negative in terms of evocation.

Assessing the Impact on Patient–Physician Interaction When Physicians Use Personal Digital Assistants: A Northeastern Ohio Network (NEON®) Study

This study investigates the effect of gender on responses to questions about sex role orientations. Literature on gender effects in survey interviews, job interviews and counseling studies, and experiments leads to hypotheses that male interviewers will elicit more response effects than female interviewers, especially from females; that female respondents will show desirability effects more than males; and that respondents, especially female respondents, will disclose liberal orientations more to female than to male interviewers. Findings show that male interviewers do not elicit more response effects, especially among females, and there seem to be desirability effects operating instead of conformity effects, especially for female interviewers. Females, and low-power, highly educated males exhibit more liberal responses to female interviewers. This study demonstrates that in areas where interviewer—respondent question content is related to salient dimensions, response effects are observed and constitute potentially damaging sources of error.

Religious Experiences, Evangelism, and Institutional Growth within the Assemblies of God

Background: The effects of the use of technological devices on dimensions that affect the physician-patient relationship need to be well understood. Objectives: Determine patients’ perceptions of physicians’ personal digital assistant (PDA) use, comparing the results across 8 physician-patient dimensions important to clinical interactions. Results: Patients completed anonymous surveys about their perceptions of physician PDA use. Data were collected during 2006 and 2007 at 12 family medicine practices. Survey items included physician sex, patient demographics, if physicians explained why they were using the PDA, and Likert ratings on 8 dimensions of how a PDA can influence physician-patient interactions (surprise, confidence, feelings, comfort, communication, relationship, intelligence, and satisfaction). The survey response rate was 78%. Physicians explained to their patients what they were doing with the PDA 64% of the time. Logistic regression analyses determined that patients of male physicians, patients attending private practices and underserved sites, patients with Medicaid insurance, and patients who observed their physician using a PDA during both the index visit and at least one prior visit were more likely to receive an explanation of PDA use. Most importantly, physician-patient communication was rated significantly more positive if an explanation of PDA use was offered. Conclusion: Patients rate interactions with their physicians more positively when physicians explain their PDA use.

Socioeconomic development and mortality levels in less developed countries.

The role that religious experiences may play in the origin and growth of a religious movement has been largely ignored by social scientists. This study used a survey of 1,275 Assemblies of God adherents to explore the significance of Pentecostal religious experiences for the vitality of the denomination. The Assemblies of God, at present the twelfth largest Protestant denomination inr the United States, has grown steadily during the twentieth century to its present record of 2.2 million adherents in the United States and more than 14 million abroad. Using survey data collected from 16 different congregations in six states, we tested the importance of Pentecostal experiences such as glossolalia, prophecy, being slain in the Spirit, and divine healing in accounting for the personal evangeListic efforts of members. We maintain that ecstatic religious experience is an important factoiin evangelistic activities that undoubtedly promote church growth.