P. Scott Richards

Outcomes of religious and spiritual adaptations to psychotherapy: A meta-analytic review

Abstract The use of spiritually oriented psychotherapies has increased dramatically during the past decade. This article reports a meta-analysis of 31 outcome studies of spiritual therapies conducted from 1984 to 2005 with clients suffering from a variety of psychological problems. Across the 31 studies, the random-effects weighted average effect size was 0.56. This finding provides some empirical evidence that spiritually oriented psychotherapy approaches may be beneficial to individuals with certain psychological problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, eating disorders). Recommendations for future research in this domain are offered.

The Effect of Prolonged Implementation of Cooperative Learning on Social Support Within the Classroom

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to determine whether cooperative learning experiences are related to social support in the classroom. The relationship between cooperative learning and social support, the impact of prolonged implementation of cooperative learning on social support, and the effect of different frequency of cooperative learning experiences on social support in the classroom were investigated. An instrument measuring social support was administered in November and in January to 91 eighth-grade students from a suburban school district in the Midwest. The results indicate that cooperative learning was highly related to social support within the classroom and that the longer and more frequently students engaged in cooperative learning, the greater the social support within the classroom.

The prevention of cigarette smoking in children: Two- and three-year follow-up comparisons of four prevention strategies

Recent studies have suggested that a prevention program that addresses the social influences that encourage smoking can be effective in deterring cigarette use by adolescents. This study presents 1-, 2-, and 3-year follow-up results from two studies which evaluated three variations of the social influences curriculum and compared them to a health consequences program and a usual-care comparison group. These results suggest that a peer-led, social influences program can restrain smoking among both baseline nonsmokers and baseline experimental smokers at 2 years postintervention. Analyses of attrition data suggest no evidence to threaten the internal validity of these findings, although their generalizability to baseline smokers may be limited.

Religious devoutness in college students: Relations with emotional adjustment and psychological separation from parents.

The relation between religious orientation and mental health was investigated. Measures of religious orientation and devoutness, depression, shame and guilt, existential well-being, and psychological separation from parents were administered to 268 undergraduate students. Four groups were formed

Intrinsic Religiousness and Spiritual Well-Being as Predictors of Treatment Outcome Among Women with Eating Disorders

This study investigated the relationship of religious orientation, religious affiliation, and spiritual well-being with treatment outcomes in an eating disorder inpatient treatment program. Participants were 251 women diagnosed with an eating disorder. Gain scores on the Eating Attitudes Test, Body Shape Questionnaire, Outcome Questionnaire 45.2, and therapist improvement ratings were used as outcome measures. Multiple regression analyses revealed that neither intrinsic religiousness nor religious affiliation were associated with treatment outcomes. Pearson correlations revealed that improvements in spiritual well-being during treatment were significantly associated with positive gains in eating attitudes, less body shape concerns, and positive psychological and social functioning.

Religious Bias in Moral Development Research: A Psychometric Investigation

The present article reports two studies in which the validity of the Defining Issues Test (DI[T; Rest 1979) for conservative religious people was examined. In Study 1 we found that from 16 to 25 (of 72) DIT items had differential functioning; that is, the items were measuring a different construct for conservative religious subjects. Study 2 provided evidence that a large proportion of the differential item functioning observed in Study 1 was due to the religious connotations these items had for the religious subjects. We concluded that the DIT is not completely valid for people from some conservative religious cultures. Our studies join with other research in providing evidence that Kohlbergs theory of moral development is to some extent religiously and culturally limited.

Construct validation of the Self-Control Schedule ☆

Abstract The present paper describes an investigation of the construct validity of the English version of M. Rosenbaums (1980, Behavior Therapy, 11, 109–121) Self-Control Schedule (SCS). A total of 121 Brigham Young University students took the SCS and several other measures. t tests were conducted between the Brigham Young University student SCS means and the SCS means of samples from two midwestern universities. Pearson correlations between the SCS, the SCS subscales, Rotters I-E scale, the Manifest Anxiety scale, and the Religious Orientation scale were computed. Reliability analyses were conducted on the SCS subscales. The results (a) provide additional normative data about the SCS, (b) further establish the comparability of the Hebrew and English versions of the SCS, (c) expand the nomological network and support the construct validity of the SCS, and (d) indicate that the SCS may have potential as a multidimensional instrument.

Examining the relationship between religious orientation and eating disturbances

The relationship between religion and eating concerns is receiving increasing empirical attention. The current investigation sought to examine the relationship between eating attitudes and religious orientation, utilizing the fourfold typology of religious orientation. A curvilinear relationship was found between religious orientation and eating attitudes among a subclinical college population and a clinical population of individuals receiving inpatient treatment for eating disorders, particularly among extrinsically orientated individuals with diagnosis of bulimia nervosa.

Spiritual issues and interventions in the treatment of patients with eating disorders

Abstract This article examines the roles of religion and sprituality in the etiology and treatment of eating disorders. After briefly reviewing the relevant research, we discuss the most common and significant religious and spiritual issues that we have observed with patients with eating disorders, including negative images or perceptions of God, feelings of spiritual unworthiness and shame, and fear of abandonment by God. We briefly describe process considerations for sing spiritual interventions and conclude by describing seven spiritual interventions that we have found especily useful in treating eating disorderpatients, including spiritual teachings, spiritual bibliotherapy, and pmyer.

Binge and Purge Processes in Bulimia Nervosa: A Qualitative Investigation

This study explored the nature and functions of the binge and purge processes of those who suffer from bulimia nervosa. Using a qualitative research design, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with eight affected women, asking them to discuss their bingeing and purging experiences. Use of an emergent data analysis method revealed participants behaviors as attempts to cope and control, to improve self-regard and social status, to regulate emotion, and to provide physiological reinforcement. Implications of the findings for clinical practice are discussed.