Predictors of Self-Reported Growth Following Religious and Spiritual Struggles: Exploring the Role of Wholeness

Religious/spiritual struggles and whole person functioning among Colombian university students: Longitudinal evidence of mutual influence

This prospective study examined the primary, secondary and complex conceptual models of religious/spiritual struggles with 18 indicators of whole person functioning across five domains: psychological well-being, psychological distress, social well-being, physical well-being and character. We used three waves of longitudinal data (Wave 1: August/September 2021, Wave 2: October/November 2021, Wave 3: February 2022) from Colombian university students (N = 2878, Mage = 20.88 ± 4.05 years). Adjusting for covariates assessed in Wave 1, our primary analysis applied the analytic templates for outcome-wide and lagged exposure-wide designs to estimate two sets of lagged linear regression models. Religious/spiritual struggles in Wave 2 were associated with a small-to-medium-sized decline in subsequent functioning on 17/18 indicators in Wave 3, and worse functioning on 16/18 indicators in Wave 2 was associated with very small-to-medium-sized increases in subsequent religious/spiritual struggles in Wave 3. The results provided evidence in favour of the complex conceptual model for 16/18 indicators of whole person functioning. Our findings extend existing evidence on the reciprocal association between religious/spiritual struggles and individual functioning to a wide range of indicators, reinforcing the need for practitioners to consider the dynamic interplay between religious/spiritual struggles and individual functioning as they work with younger populations.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disappointment: Disappointment and Its Role in PTSD

Disappointment is an under-studied concept in the field of PTSD; it is nevertheless apparent in testimonies of individuals diagnosed with PTSD. Self-disappointment, disappointment with others, and disappointment with the Sublime are mentioned in the literature yet were not studied and described in the context of PTSD and spiritual recovery. This study aims to fill this gap; 50 individuals of varying backgrounds who recovered from PTSD and attributed their recovery to spirituality were interviewed. Participants underwent a variety of traumas, had different piety levels, and used different recovery methods. Findings revealed a mechanism where individuals diagnosed with PTSD experience three-dimensional disappointment (TDD) with self, others, and the Sublime, and that this disappointment breeds a sense of disconnection and helplessness. Findings suggest also that disappointment plays a significant role in both creating PTSD and intensifying the suffering from it. Implications for caregivers, therapists, and individuals with PTSD are discussed.

Learning a Lesson: Spiritual Attributions of Sexual Trauma and Revictimization

This study aims to explore how individuals with affiliation to spirituality and victimization attribute sexual trauma and revictimization to spiritual principles and its perceived impact on victim assistance. A phenomenological research was conducted with 36 participants divided into three groups: female survivors who turned to spirituality as part of their recovery process (n = 17), spiritually oriented therapists who treat survivors (n = 10), and spiritual leaders and teachers who are often consulted by survivors and their close ones (n = 9). Findings show three prominent themes: (a) ephemeral and eternal components of existence; (b) learning a lesson; and (c) Tikkun Olam (Hebrew: world's repairment). The findings contribute theoretical and practical applications: they offer deep insights into the spiritual reason for revictimization and its cessation, and suggest innovative external explanations anchored in ancient knowledge that can alleviate survivors' suffering from self-blame. The study lays the foundation for an upcoming theory entitled Spiritual Victimology.

Spiritual Victimology: Basic Principles

This study aims to describe the spiritual characteristics of sexual victimization and the recovery journey of survivors via applying spiritual principles, in order to harness the findings for the development of the theory of Spiritual Victimology. Two research questions were asked: what spiritual principles characterize victimization and recovery from it, and how can spiritual perceptions assist survivors? In a phenomenological study, 17 sexual trauma survivors who view their recovery as a spiritual journey, 10 spiritually-oriented therapists, and 9 spiritual leaders were interviewed. Findings show that a unique, victimized self-centeredness characterized sexual trauma, attaching survivors to a victim identity. By applying spiritual principles, the survivors were gradually opened up to love and developed a new, spiritual sense of self, with better inter- and intra-personal connections, as well as a transpersonal one. This connection was perceived as highly important to survivors' recovery, freeing them from loneliness and isolation, and helping them to restore some order to the chaos which the trauma and its consequences had imposed on their lives.

Inner Peace in a Global Crisis: A Case Study of Supported Spiritual Individuation in Acute Onset Phase of COVID-19

Emerging-adult undergraduates (ages 18-25) are at increased risk for mental illness, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, emerging adults face developmental tasks including identity development, finding meaning and purpose, and spiritual individuation. A case study approach is used to elucidate processes of undergraduates coping with collective trauma as a potential pathway to trauma-related spiritual growth via Awakened Awareness for Adolescents (AA-A) and emerging adults, a spiritual-mind-body wellness intervention. Awakened Awareness for Adolescents fosters enhanced spiritual perception to support spiritual individuation for improved mental health and well-being. Processes of spiritual individuation supported by AA-A during the COVID-19 pandemic from February to May 2020 are presented using students' qualitative data and self-report measures of psychopathology, spiritual well-being, emotional regulation, and cognition. Shared cohort (N = 15) themes and one in-depth case (1) reveal ideographic processes of personal transformation and spiritual growth, (2) generate hypotheses around pathways of trauma-related spiritual growth and spiritual individuation for future research.

Religious/spiritual struggles and psychological distress: A test of three models in a longitudinal study of adults with chronic health conditions

OBJECTIVE

This study tested three conceptual explanatory models that have been theorized to account for the linkages between religious/spiritual (R/S) struggles and psychological distress: the primary model (i.e., R/S struggles lead to psychological distress), the secondary model (i.e., psychological distress leads to R/S struggles), and the complex model (i.e., R/S struggles and psychological distress reciprocally exacerbate each other).

METHODS

Using prospective data from a sample of US adults living with chronic health conditions (n = 302), we performed a cross-lagged panel analysis with three timepoints to test for evidence of potential causal relations between R/S struggles and psychological distress.

RESULTS

Consistent with the complex conceptual model of R/S struggles, we found evidence of positive reciprocal associations between R/S struggles and psychological distress.

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight the importance of attending to the dynamic interplay between R/S struggles and psychological distress when working with adults who have chronic health conditions.