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Personal Religiosity and Spirituality Associated with Social Work Practitioners' Use of Religious-Based Intervention Practices
Abstract
Social workers (N = 221) in the Southeastern USA responded to survey questions measuring 3 outcome variables, attitude toward religion in social work, the appropriateness of 15 religious-based interventions, utilization of these practices, and 3 dimensions of spirituality: spiritual experiences (spirituality), religious practices (organized religiosity), and religious affiliation. Attitude was generally favorable, and more than half of the interventions were judged appropriate and utilized by over 50% of the respondents. Beyond identifying with no religion, which predicted lower outcome scores, high spirituality strongly predicted attitude and utilization, whereas extrinsic organized religiosity was unimportant. A process model utilizing path analysis suggested that personal spirituality increases utilization resulting in corresponding perceptions of appropriateness and attitude toward religion in practice. More research was recommended on (1) utilization prevalence in other and diverse samples, and (2) the efficacy of religious-based practice.
... Variously operationalized as religious affiliation, participation in communal religious or spiritual services, and/or involvement in private (non-communal) religious or spiritual practices, most were shown to be predictors of higher intervention use (Heyman et al., 2006;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004). However, one study reported mixed findings with either conservative or no religious affiliation predictive of lower intervention use, while higher scores on personal spirituality were associated with higher intervention use (Stewart et al., 2006). ...
... Notably, three investigations reported practitioner attitudes about the appropriateness of spiritually-based interventions as the most powerful predictor of practitioner behaviors (Heyman et al., 2006;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004). A client-related variable (clients' struggle with palliative care) was shown to have the strongest relationship in the fourth study (Dane & Moore, 2005), while personal spirituality was found to be the most influential factor in the fifth study (Stewart et al., 2006). ...
... Findings from this study also suggest that involvement in personal religious and spiritual practices, whether private or communal, may also influence professional behavior. This finding is consistent with previous investigations that also found that intervention use was significantly influenced by similar background variables, such as practitioners' active involvement in private spiritual activity (Heyman et al., 2006;Murdock, 2005), communal type religious participation (Sheridan, 2004) or religious identification (Stewart et al., 2006). It seems that whether social workers identify as being religious, or engage in private or communal practices, personal religiosity or spirituality appears to be influential on their professional behavior. ...
A cross-sectional survey design with disproportionate random sampling was used to gather data from 283 clinical social workers across the United States. Overall, participants had a positive attitude toward the role of religion and spirituality in social work practice and were favorable of social workers helping youth develop spiritually. While practitioners used a wide range of spiritually-derived interventions with this population, the vast majority reported that these issues were rarely, if ever, addressed in their social work education and training. Three attitudinal variables, two practice related variables, and one personal spiritual/religious variable were found to be most predictive of the use of spiritually-based interventions and accounted for 69% of the variance. Implications for social work practice and education are identified and guidelines specific to working with young clients are provided.
... In a study by Stewart et al. (2006), age, gender, race, and job setting were determined to be irrelevant to the utilization of religious-based interventions. Religious group membership and measures of spirituality based on the Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/ Spirituality (MMRS) survey (also in Stewart & Koeske, 2006b) used in this study predicted the utilization of religious-based interventions. ...
... Religious group membership and measures of spirituality based on the Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/ Spirituality (MMRS) survey (also in Stewart & Koeske, 2006b) used in this study predicted the utilization of religious-based interventions. Notably, the Stewart et al. (2006) study indicated that measures of spirituality included a perception of a "spiritual person" as "trying hard to carry the religious beliefs into all my other dealings in life" and identified it "as an intrinsic aspect of religiosity as opposed to participation in church activities and religious practices" (p. 81), which did not predict any measure of religious-based practice. ...
... In the Stewart et al. (2006) study, identifying with a religious group and not having membership in a particular denomination were important predictors of outcome measures of religious-based practice. In addition, extrinsic organized religiosity (going to church, attending church community functions, etc.) was unimportant. ...
With growing recognition of the importance of religious and spiritual concerns in mental health practice, empirical research into spiritually integrated interventions has begun to increase. However, to date, the body of research undertaken in this emerging field has been largely conducted from a Christian perspective. This study aimed to expand the scope of research by exploring the use of spiritually integrated interventions by a cohort of mental health providers who are self-identified members of the Bahá’í Faith, one of the lesser-known but fastest growing religions in the world today.
Utilizing online survey research, this first convenience sample (N=105) study of Bahá’í mental health practitioners explored participants’ intrinsic religious motivation as a measure of their religious identity, their use of spiritually integrated interventions, and their beliefs about these interventions as appropriate or inappropriate for mental health practice. Results of this study indicate that Bahá’í mental health practitioners are intrinsically motivated, showing similar results in measures of motivation and direction in life (Pargament, 1997) and perceptions of practicing spiritual beliefs (Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006) or following a spiritual path in life (Derezotes, 1995). Conceptually, intrinsic motivation seems to project perceptions of spiritual strivings (Baumeister, 1991), concept of meaning and purpose in life (Frankl, 1984), belief in God (Sheridan, Wilmer, and Atcheson, 1994), and measures of religious commitment (Wimberley, 1984). Bahá’í mental health practitioners’ belief in the inherent intrinsic value of a human being (e.g., client) and the synonymous parallelism that all therapeutic work is spiritual in nature were noticeably integrated into their use of spiritually integrated practice.
The Bahá’í mental health practitioners’ responses to RSPBQ Index of 29 interventions showed “often” to “very often” utilization of spiritually integrated interventions in contrast with Frazier and Hansen’s (2009) original survey of professional psychologists indicating “infrequent” responses to the same index. They indicate a willingness to use some evidence-based spiritually integrated interventions to their mostly private practices. Responses to open-ended questions show how Bahá’í respondents respect the ethical guidelines for professional practice. An appreciation for the “universality of human beings’ capacities” informs their practice. Viewing the client as “inherently whole and capable” instead of “someone to be fixed, controlled or cured,” the Bahá’í mental health practitioners use spiritually integrated services to achieve a goal of spiritual integration in therapy while fostering “peace and confidence within” instead of adherence to a specific creed, dogma or rituals.
Future research should explore other diverse perspectives, such as those of Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Native American, and/or non-religious practitioners. The efficacious use of evidence-based spiritually integrated interventions as alternative ways of coping with mental health problems should also be considered for future examination.
... Variously operationalized as religious affiliation, participation in communal religious or spiritual services, and/or involvement in private (non-communal) religious or spiritual practices, most were shown to be predictors of higher intervention use (Heyman et al., 2006;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004). However, one study reported mixed findings with either conservative or no religious affiliation predictive of lower intervention use, while higher scores on personal spirituality were associated with higher intervention use (Stewart et al., 2006). ...
... Notably, three investigations reported practitioner attitudes about the appropriateness of spiritually-based interventions as the most powerful predictor of practitioner behaviors (Heyman et al., 2006;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004). A client-related variable (clients' struggle with palliative care) was shown to have the strongest relationship in the fourth study (Dane & Moore, 2005), while personal spirituality was found to be the most influential factor in the fifth study (Stewart et al., 2006). ...
... Findings from this study also suggest that involvement in personal religious and spiritual practices, whether private or communal, may also influence professional behavior. This finding is consistent with previous investigations that also found that intervention use was significantly influenced by similar background variables, such as practitioners' active involvement in private spiritual activity (Heyman et al., 2006;Murdock, 2005), communal type religious participation (Sheridan, 2004) or religious identification (Stewart et al., 2006). It seems that whether social workers identify as being religious, or engage in private or communal practices, personal religiosity or spirituality appears to be influential on their professional behavior. ...
A cross-sectional survey design with disproportionate random sampling was used to gather data from 283 clinical social workers across the United States. Overall, participants had a positive attitude toward the role of
religion and spirituality in social work practice and were favorable of social workers helping youth develop spiritually. While practitioners used a wide range of spiritually-derived interventions with this population, the
vast majority reported that these issues were rarely, if ever, addressed in their social work education and training. Three attitudinal variables, two practice related variables, and one personal spiritual/religious variable were found to be most predictive of the use of spiritually-based interventions and accounted for 69% of the variance. Implications for social work practice and education are identified and guidelines specific
to working with young clients are provided.
... The purpose of the current paper is to explore some of these ethical concerns by taking a close look at the existing literature in order to answer the following question: ''What are we doing and why?' ' We now have an adequate body of knowledge that allows an initial response to this question, including a number of studies on social work practitioners, students, and faculty. A review of the literature located 26 quantitative and qualitative explorations of social work practitioners, which focused on a variety of topics, including perceptions of definitional issues (Canda, 1988a), perspectives on the integration of spirituality into social work practice (Canda, 1988b;Deresotes, 1995;Deresotes & Evans, 1995;Gilbert, 2000;Heyman, Buchanan, Marlowe, & Sealy, 2006;Holloway, 1996;Joseph, 1988;Sheridan & Bullis, 1991), linkages between spirituality and commitment to social justice (Lee & Barrett, 2007), ethical issues (Canda, Nakashima, & Furman, 2004;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2008), and the use of spiritually based interventions with clients (Bullis, 1996;Canda & Furman, 1999;Furman, Benson, Grimwood, & Canda, 2004;Gilligan & Furness, 2006;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2007;Mattison, Jayaratne, & Croxton 2000;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Sheridan, Bullis, Adcock, Berlin, & Miller, 1992;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). In terms of interventions, six studies go beyond descriptions of practitioner behavior to identify significant predictors of the use of spiritually related interventions 100 M. Sheridan among social workers (Dane & Moore, 2005;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, et al., 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2008a;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart et al., 2006) and two delineate the causal pathways of these predictors (Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2008b;Stewart et al., 2006). ...
... A review of the literature located 26 quantitative and qualitative explorations of social work practitioners, which focused on a variety of topics, including perceptions of definitional issues (Canda, 1988a), perspectives on the integration of spirituality into social work practice (Canda, 1988b;Deresotes, 1995;Deresotes & Evans, 1995;Gilbert, 2000;Heyman, Buchanan, Marlowe, & Sealy, 2006;Holloway, 1996;Joseph, 1988;Sheridan & Bullis, 1991), linkages between spirituality and commitment to social justice (Lee & Barrett, 2007), ethical issues (Canda, Nakashima, & Furman, 2004;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2008), and the use of spiritually based interventions with clients (Bullis, 1996;Canda & Furman, 1999;Furman, Benson, Grimwood, & Canda, 2004;Gilligan & Furness, 2006;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2007;Mattison, Jayaratne, & Croxton 2000;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Sheridan, Bullis, Adcock, Berlin, & Miller, 1992;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). In terms of interventions, six studies go beyond descriptions of practitioner behavior to identify significant predictors of the use of spiritually related interventions 100 M. Sheridan among social workers (Dane & Moore, 2005;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, et al., 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2008a;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart et al., 2006) and two delineate the causal pathways of these predictors (Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2008b;Stewart et al., 2006). The literature also contains 19 quantitative and qualitative investigations of students' attitudes and behaviors relative to religion and spirituality. ...
... A review of the literature located 26 quantitative and qualitative explorations of social work practitioners, which focused on a variety of topics, including perceptions of definitional issues (Canda, 1988a), perspectives on the integration of spirituality into social work practice (Canda, 1988b;Deresotes, 1995;Deresotes & Evans, 1995;Gilbert, 2000;Heyman, Buchanan, Marlowe, & Sealy, 2006;Holloway, 1996;Joseph, 1988;Sheridan & Bullis, 1991), linkages between spirituality and commitment to social justice (Lee & Barrett, 2007), ethical issues (Canda, Nakashima, & Furman, 2004;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2008), and the use of spiritually based interventions with clients (Bullis, 1996;Canda & Furman, 1999;Furman, Benson, Grimwood, & Canda, 2004;Gilligan & Furness, 2006;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2007;Mattison, Jayaratne, & Croxton 2000;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Sheridan, Bullis, Adcock, Berlin, & Miller, 1992;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). In terms of interventions, six studies go beyond descriptions of practitioner behavior to identify significant predictors of the use of spiritually related interventions 100 M. Sheridan among social workers (Dane & Moore, 2005;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, et al., 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2008a;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart et al., 2006) and two delineate the causal pathways of these predictors (Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2008b;Stewart et al., 2006). The literature also contains 19 quantitative and qualitative investigations of students' attitudes and behaviors relative to religion and spirituality. ...
This article provides a review of the literature regarding social workers' use of spiritually based interventions, factors predictive of such use, research on ethical issues, and findings related to educational preparation for spiritually sensitive practice. Results show that both social work practitioners and students are utilizing a substantial number of spiritually based interventions, that workers' personal spirituality is influential in intervention use, that there is no evidence of adherence to specific ethical guidelines, and that the majority of social workers receive little or no instruction on religion and spirituality in their professional programs. Recommendations for social work education, research, and practice are proposed for meeting the ethical challenges suggested by these findings.
... Spiritual interventions-which can be defined as therapeutic strategies that incorporate a spiritual or religious dimension as a central component of the intervention-are commonly used in clinical settings (Hodge, 2006a). Studies have repeatedly found that many, if not most, social workers use spiritual interventions in practice settings (Canda & Furman, 1999;Derezotes, 1995;Furman, Benson, Grimwood, & Canda, 2004;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, Bullis, Adcock, Berlin, & Miller, 1992;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). Among the most widely used spiritual interventions is intercessory prayer. ...
... Similarly, among a sample of direct practitioners affiliated with the New York state chapter of NASW (excluding those residing in New York City) (N = 200), 25% reported praying or meditating with clients (Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006). Among social workers affiliated with a regional (southeastern) chapter of NASW (N = 221), 72% reported praying privately for clients, whereas 29% reported praying or meditating with clients (Stewart et al., 2006). ...
... Although the response rates vary considerably across these studies, ranging from 26% (Canda & Furman, 1999) to 84% (Stewart et al., 2006), the results are relatively consistent across samples. In the United States, most practitioners seem to use prayer as a spiritual intervention in practice settings. ...
Practitioners receive little guidance regarding the use of spiritual interventions such as intercessory prayer during their graduate educational programs. Yet—for better or worse—a surprisingly high percentage of social workers appear to pray verbally with, and/or silently for, their clients. Drawing from an evidence-based perspective, this article attempts to determine (1) if prayer and other forms of positive mental energy should be used in practice settings and (2) if informed consent should be obtained prior to engaging in silent prayer for clients. The evidence suggests, respectively, an equivocal answer and a tentative negative. For practitioners that believe the present research supports the use of prayer, guidelines are provided to help ensure that the practice is conducted in an ethical manner that safeguards client autonomy.
... Perhaps in recognition of the importance of prayer in many clients' lives, substantial percentages of social workers use prayer in their work with clients. A review of studies on social workers' use of spiritually-based interventions reveals that 25% to 72% of respondents report that they have prayed for clients, and 15% to 43% report that they have prayed with clients (Canda & Furman, 1999;Furman, Benson, Grimwood, & Canda, 2004;Gilligan & Furness, 2006;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2007;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Sheridan, Bullis, Adcock, Berlin, & Miller, 1992;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). These findings are particularly significant given the fact that prayer has been identified as one of the most controversial issues noted in discussions about the inclusion of spirituality in social work practice (Canda & Furman, 1999;Canda, Nakashima, & Furman, 2004;Sheridan & Bullis, 1991). ...
... Although findings from the current study do not allow specification as to the particular circumstances underlying these actions by workers, results from previous research suggest that decisions to engage in such behaviors may stem more from the personal beliefs or practices of the practitioner than a professional response to the particular circumstances or needs of the client. Specifically, some aspect of personal religiosity or spirituality has emerged as significant in five of six studies exploring predictors of the use of spiritually-oriented interventions (including prayer) among social workers (Heyman et al., 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, in press;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart et al., 2006). These findings raise troubling questions regarding what is driving practice decisions in this area, including how many social workers are relying on their own views or beliefs versus client-centered factors as most important in determining practitioner behavior. ...
One of the most controversial issues related to the use of spiritually-based social work interventions is the use of prayer by practitioners. The current study explores prayer-related activities and related decision making among a random sample of 204 licensed clinical social workers in a mid-Atlantic state in the United States. A substantial percentage of practitioners report praying for (55%) or praying/meditating with their clients (33%). Furthermore, practitioner responses to four clinical vignettes, reflecting Canda’s (1990) suggested ethical guidelines for practitioner behavior, reveal that the majority do not adhere to such guidelines—either in terms of personal comfort with the use of prayer or views about its ethical use. Implications for practitioners, administrators, and educators are presented.
... Perhaps in recognition of the importance of prayer in many clients' lives, substantial percentages of social workers use prayer in their work with clients. A review of studies on social workers' use of spiritually-based interventions reveals that 25% to 72% of respondents report that they have prayed for clients, and 15% to 43% report that they have prayed with clients (Canda & Furman, 1999;Furman, Benson, Grimwood, & Canda, 2004;Gilligan & Furness, 2006;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2007;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Sheridan, Bullis, Adcock, Berlin, & Miller, 1992;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). These findings are particularly significant given the fact that prayer has been identified as one of the most controversial issues noted in discussions about the inclusion of spirituality in social work practice (Canda & Furman, 1999;Canda, Nakashima, & Furman, 2004;Sheridan & Bullis, 1991). ...
... Although findings from the current study do not allow specification as to the particular circumstances underlying these actions by workers, results from previous research suggest that decisions to engage in such behaviors may stem more from the personal beliefs or practices of the practitioner than a professional response to the particular circumstances or needs of the client. Specifically, some aspect of personal religiosity or spirituality has emerged as significant in five of six studies exploring predictors of the use of spiritually-oriented interventions (including prayer) among social workers (Heyman et al., 2006;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, in press;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart et al., 2006). These findings raise troubling questions regarding what is driving practice decisions in this area, including how many social workers are relying on their own views or beliefs versus client-centered factors as most important in determining practitioner behavior. ...
One of the most controversial issues related to the use of spiritually-based social work interventions is the use of prayer by practitioners. The current study explores prayer-related activities and related decision making among a random sample of 204 licensed clinical social workers in a mid-Atlantic state in the United States. A substantial percentage of practitioners report praying for (55%) or praying/meditating with their clients (33%). Furthermore, practitioner responses to four clinical vignettes, reflecting Canda’s (1990) suggested ethical guidelines for practitioner behavior, reveal that the majority do not adhere to such guidelines—either in terms of personal comfort with the use of prayer or views about its ethical use. Implications for practitioners, administrators, and educators are presented.
... This requirement is consistent with the views of most social work practitioners. research has repeatedly found that the majority of practitioners affirm the importance of conducting a spiritual assessment in practice settings (Canda & Furman, 1999;Carlson, Kirkpatrick, Hecker, & Killmer, 2002;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006;Murdock, 2005;sheridan, 2004;sheridan & Amato-von Hemert, 1999;stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). ...
... As weaver (2004) observed, helping professionals are disproportionately likely to encounter Native American clients in mental health settings. Due to a number of factors, including a history of oppression (weaver & Brave Hart, 1999), Native Americans are disproportionately likely to wrestle with mental health challenges (Beals et al., 2005;Harris, edlund, & Larson, 2005;stiffman et al., 2006). ...
At the turn of the century, the Joint Commission—the nation's largest health care accrediting organization—began requiring
spiritual assessments in hospitals and many other mental health settings frequented by Native Americans. Despite high levels
of service use, culturally unique forms of spirituality, and a history of oppression in mainstream settings, no research has
explored how to best implement this new requirement with Native Americans. Accordingly, this mixed-method study asked recognized
experts in Native American culture (N = 50) to identify the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the new assessment framework and a culturally
valid question protocol to operationalize the requirements. The results indicate that the framework is moderately consistent
with Native American culture, and a number of practice-oriented suggestions and tools are offered to implement the requirements
in a culturally valid manner.
... Některé studie poukázaly na vlivy věku pracovníka, resp. délky praxe (Heyman et al., 2006, Furman et al., 2016Canda, Furman, Canda, 2020), přítomnost s/n ve vzdělání (Oxhandler et al., 2015;Vetvik et al., 2018), jiné na intenzitu pracovníkovy s/n (Murdock, 2005;Oxhandler et al., 2015) a frekvenci soukromých s/n aktivit (Sheridan, 2004;Stewart et al., 2006;Kvarfordt, Sheridan, 2010). ...
Fulltext currently under licence of the publisher: Czech & Slovak Social Work (ISSN 1805-885X), 2024, Nr. 2, pp. 85-103. In the next months fulltext will be available in the databases (Scopus and others).
OBJECTIVES: Our study explores the integration of spiritual sensitivity in social workers' (SWs) practice, their views on its compatibility with the mission and practice of social work, and how personal and professional characteristics influence these attitudes.
THEORETICAL BASE: Our research is grounded in the theory of spirituality's impact on psychosocial functioning, global professional perspectives on spirituality's potential in education and practice, and it draws from the the evolution of secularization in Czech society. METHODS: We conducted a quantitative survey, adapting the research instrument into Czech and assessing the significance of selected variables.
OUTCOMES: Findings indicate that SWs generally have more confidence in the concept of spirituality than in religion. Both are partially integrated into their practice, but about half express uncertainty about their compatibility with the ethical mandates. Most do not consider spirituality significant during assessment. The integration of spirituality and/or religion (s/r) into the education of SWs and their spiritual characteristics significantly correlate with their perceived appropriateness of spirituality.
SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: We recommend enhancing the integration of s/r into SWs´education, particularly considering clients' spiritual diversity, establishing professional standards for ethically integrating these topics into practice, and deepening empirical understanding of how s/r can positively or negatively impact clients' lives and goal achievement.
... Ainsi, plus le travailleur social considère la spiritualité comme importante dans sa vie, plus il aura tendance à l'intégrer dans sa pratique. Ce résultat fait écho à d'autres travaux menés auprès des travailleurs sociaux oeuvrant auprès de personnes âgées (Murdock, 2005), d'enfants et d'adolescents (Kvarfordt et Sheridan, 2010) ou auprès de populations multiples (Larsen, 2011;Mattison et al., 2000;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart et al., 2006). Considérant le fait que l'attitude est composée d'une dimension cognitive et émotionnelle (Pickens, 2005), les résultats apparaissent cohérents, puisqu'en se retrouvant dans des dispositions positives à l'égard de la spiritualité et de l'importance qu'elle revêt dans sa vie personnelle, son intégration est certainement plus naturelle et jugée comme adéquate par ces professionnels. ...
La spiritualité peut avoir plusieurs impacts positifs sur la santé mentale et physique des individus (Koenig, 2008), être un élément central dans le processus de rétablissement (Holloway et Moss, 2010; Lietz et Hodge, 2013) et constituer un important mécanisme d’adaptation face aux difficultés vécues (Canda et al., 2019). À cet égard, l’Ordre des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec (OTSTCFQ) reconnait l’importance de la prendre en compte. Prenant appui sur une étude réalisée dans le cadre d’un mémoire auprès de 40 travailleurs sociaux et travailleuses sociales (TS) oeuvrant au Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean, cet article a pour but d’identifier les facteurs qui influencent l’intégration de la spiritualité dans la pratique. Les résultats présentés proposent de réfléchir à la place de la spiritualité en intervention sociale ainsi qu’au rôle de cette dimension constitutive de la santé globale dans une perspective d’amélioration continue de la qualité des interventions en contexte professionnel et dans les milieux de formation académique.
... For future research Nagai (2008) suggests larger and more diverse samples, as well as Noor (2008), who examined the joint influence of age and religion on the relationship between professional experience and well-being. Stewart et al. (2006) address the issue of religious practice by social assistance professionals and recommend further research on the prevalence of use in other and diverse samples and on the effectiveness of religious practice. Meanwhile, Young Joon Hong (2012) examines the relationship between spirituality in the workplace and the intention to leave employment among community mental health workers. ...
This article presents the results of a systematic literature review (SLR) on religiosity and spirituality, particularly in the work context. We aimed to verify the state-of-the-art of scientific production related to these themes. To achieve the proposed objective, we identified 312 articles published in journals in the period between 1960 and 2018 using a rigourous method of analysis and sorting, which resulted in 52 appropriate studies. The analyses presented are based on the three bibliometric laws: those of (i) Lotka (16:317–323, 1926), (ii) Bradford (137:85–86, 1934) and (iii) Zipf (1949). This article brings contributions that encompass four approaches: (i) measurement scales of spirituality and religiosity; (ii) behavioural benefits of religiosity in individuals; (iii) insertion of religiosity and spirituality in social service practice; and (iv) research directions. This research presents technical and managerial implications to provide theoretical support for the creation of programmes and/or practices of spirituality and religion in the workplace as an effective strategy, towards ethical attitudes. Also, this study contributes to the methodological achievement of SLRs in the field of religion in the workplace, highlighting an effective method for thematic mapping, and holistically identifying new research topics and directions, especially because of the several guidelines presented.
... In keeping with the assessment requirements instituted by the Joint Commission (2012, 2019), most clinicians af rm the importance of administering spiritual assessments in practice settings (Canda & Furman, 2010;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006;Hodge, 2015;Stewart et al., 2006). Yet, in spite of growing recognition of the link between spirituality and effective service provision, most clinicians report receiving little, if any, training in spirituality during their graduate educations (Canda & Furman, 2010;Heyman et al., 2006;Sheridan, 2009). ...
In recent years social work has increasingly focused on spirituality and religion as key elements of cultural competency. The Joint Commission—the nation's largest health care accrediting organization—as well as many other accrediting bodies require spiritual assessments in hospitals and many other mental health settings. Consequently, specific intervention strategies have been fostered in order to provide the most appropriate interventions for religious clients. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest and one of the faster growing churches in the United States. In an effort to facilitate cultural competence with clients who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, a brief spiritual assessment instrument was developed. This mixed-method study asked experts in Church culture (N = 100) to identify the degree of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations of the brief spiritual assessment instrument. Results indicate that the framework is consistent with Church culture and a number of practice-oriented implications are offered.
... Que ce soit une prière d'intercession ou de pétition, celles-ci peuvent être incluses dans les soins de santé dans plusieurs contextes. Par exemple, un pourcentage élevé de travailleurs sociaux aux USA et au Canada semble utiliser la prière d'intercession dans leur travail avec leurs patients [36,37]. Une enquête nationale réalisée auprès de praticiens directs affiliés à l'Association nationale des travailleurs sociaux (NASW : N = 2 069) a révélé que 28 % des personnes interrogées s'étaient engagées dans la prière verbale avec leurs patients, et 57 % avaient prié en privé pour eux [38]. ...
Résumé :
La guérison à distance par l’intermédiaire de la prière d’intercession s’inscrivant comme un des premiers axes thérapeutiques en santé mentale suscite un intérêt grandissant dans le champ de la communauté scientifique. La question de son efficacité se pose. S’agit-il de l’impact de nos croyances et attentes de guérison, soit d’un effet placebo sur notre santé, ou y a-t-il un processus de transmission thérapeutique inconnu de la science actuelle se basant sur des transferts d’énergie ou faisant appel à des interventions d’ordre spirituel. L’objet de cet article est de tenter de faire le point sur cette question par l’intermédiaire d’une revue de littérature précise sur ce sujet regroupant 26 études contrôlées et randomisées depuis 1997 à aujourd’hui. Les résultats font état de 16 études ne montrant pas d’efficacité de la prière, et de 9 études soulignant des résultats intéressants dans lesquelles pour 7 études les patients étaient au courant de la démarche d’aide soulignant ainsi les effets de l’attente de guérison. En conclusion, ce type de travaux fait état de limites méthodologiques très importantes de différentes natures montrant qu’il faut revoir intégralement ce type d’étude de cette approche de soin si l’on veut avoir une vue scientifique rigoureuse de son efficacité thérapeutique. De ce fait, des travaux supplémentaires sont impérativement nécessaires mettant en avant des protocoles d’approches nouveau et plus précis.
Mots clés : prière, guérison à distance, santé mentale, thérapies alternatives
Abstract :
Distance healing through intercessory prayer, which is one of the first mental health therapeutic axes, is attracting increasing interest in the field of the scientific community. The question of its effectiveness arises. Is it the impact of our beliefs and expectations of healing, a placebo effect on our health, or is there a process of therapeutic transmission unknown to current science based on energy or using spiritual interventions. The purpose of this article is to attempt to take stock of this issue through a review of specific literature on this subject gathering 26 randomized controlled studies since 1997 to today. The results report 16 studies showing no efficacy of prayer, and 9 studies highlighting interesting results in which for 7 studies patients were aware of the aid process, thus highlighting the effects of waiting for healing. In conclusion, this type of work reports very important methodological limitations of different kinds showing that we need to completely review this type of study of this approach of care if we want to have a rigorous scientific view of its therapeutic efficacy. As a result, additional work is imperatively needed, highlighting new and more precise approaches protocols.
Keywords: prayer, distance healing, mental health, alternative therapies
... Que ce soit une prière d'intercession ou de pétition, celles-ci peuvent être incluses dans les soins de santé dans plusieurs contextes. Par exemple, un pourcentage élevé de travailleurs sociaux aux USA et au Canada semble utiliser la prière d'intercession dans leur travail avec leurs patients [36,37]. Une enquête nationale réalisée auprès de praticiens directs affiliés à l'Association nationale des travailleurs sociaux (NASW : N = 2 069) a révélé que 28 % des personnes interrogées s'étaient engagées dans la prière verbale avec leurs patients, et 57 % avaient prié en privé pour eux [38]. ...
La guérison à distance par l’intermédiaire de la prière d’intercession s’inscrivant comme un des premiers axes thérapeutiques en santé mentale suscite un intérêt grandissant dans le champ de la communauté scientifique. La question de son efficacité se pose. S’agit-il de l’impact de nos croyances et attentes de guérison, soit d’un effet placebo sur notre santé, ou y a-t-il un processus de transmission thérapeutique inconnu de la science actuelle se basant sur des transferts d’énergie ou faisant appel à des interventions d’ordre spirituel. L’objet de cet article est de tenter de faire le point sur cette question par l’intermédiaire d’une revue de littérature précise sur ce sujet regroupant 26 études contrôlées et randomisées depuis 1997 à aujourd’hui. Les résultats font état de 16 études ne montrant pas d’efficacité de la prière, et de 9 études soulignant des résultats intéressants dans lesquelles pour 7 études, les patients étaient au courant de la démarche d’aide soulignant ainsi les effets de l’attente de guérison. En conclusion, ce type de travaux fait état de limites méthodologiques très importantes de différentes natures montrant qu’il faut revoir intégralement ce type d’étude de cette approche de soin si l’on veut avoir une vue scientifique rigoureuse de son efficacité thérapeutique. De ce fait, des travaux supplémentaires sont impérativement nécessaires mettant en avant des protocoles d’approches nouveaux et plus précis.
Abstract Distance healing through intercessory prayer, which is one of the first mental health therapeutic axes, is attracting increasing interest in the field of the scientific community. The question of its effectiveness arises. Is it the impact of our beliefs and expectations of healing, a placebo effect on our health, or is there a process of therapeutic transmission unknown to current science based on energy or using spiritual interventions. The purpose of this article is to attempt to take stock of this issue through a review of specific literature on this subject gathering 26 randomized controlled studies from 1997 to today. The results report 16 studies showing no efficacy of prayer, and 9 studies highlighting interesting results in which for 7 studies patients were aware of the aid process, thus highlighting the effects of waiting for healing. In conclusion, this type of work reports very important methodological limitations of different kinds showing that we need to completely review this type of study of this care approach if we want to have a rigorous scientific view of its therapeutic efficacy. As a result, additional work is imperatively needed, highlighting new and more precise approaches protocols.
Keywords Prayer; Distance healing; Mental health; Alternative therapies
... Furthermore, it can increase the knowledge base of the relationship of religiousness, personality traits, and psychological well-being in this particular religious culture. Specifically and perhaps more importantly, the findings from this study can not only add to the existing research on religiosity and spirituality in social work practice (Derezotes & Evans, 1995;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006), but also continue to assist social work practitioners with the knowledge and tools needed to work with religiously committed LDS individuals who may need psychological assistance. It offers mental health therapists some helpful tips, guidelines, and strategies when working with this religious population. ...
This study examined religious commitment, the big five personality traits, social interaction anxiety, and anger among 110 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Results suggest the majority of the participants are religious, score high on agreeableness and conscientiousness, and low on social interaction anxiety and anger. Agreeableness mediated the relationship between religious commitment and anger, and extraversion moderated the relationship between religious commitment and social interaction anxiety. Counseling strategies are discussed for social work providers. Implications and future directions are discussed.
... Despite the need for culturally competent practice, research suggests that empirical work on cultural competency with religious or spiritual clients is lacking in social work literature (Canda & Furman, 2010;Hodge, 2015b;Sheridan, 2009). While this is a problem generally in social work practice, it is even more pronounced with specific religious or spiritual groups (Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). As a result, LDS members often become hesitant to seek help from social workers for common problems such as marriage and family conflicts, especially from non-LDS social workers (Koltko, 1990;Walton, Limb, & Hodge, 2011). ...
The importance of providing culturally competent services has been promoted in the social work profession. With the Latter-day Saints (LDS) Church being the fourth largest and one of the faster growing churches in the United States, it is important for social workers to have an evidence-based, working knowledge of how to help members of this religious group. Utilising a mixed method approach, this study examined a complementary set of spiritual assessment tools by looking at five instruments’ level of cultural consistency, strengths, and limitations. Overall, results showed that each of the five spiritual assessment tools were congruent with LDS culture and if appropriately administered could help social workers provide appropriate and effective services that incorporate religion and spirituality. Results of this mixed method study offer an important step at providing evidence-based spiritual assessment tools for social workers seeking to provide culturally competent services to LDS clients.
... A number of studies across helping professions have shown personal RS has directly or indirectly influenced the consideration of RS in practice. Stewart et al. (2006) identified a model that indicated social workers' personal RS was directly related to utilized RS-related interventions, which impacted their perceived appropriateness and attitudes toward RS in practice. Specifically, spirituality was "conceptualized as a general connection with some transcendent force or being and the importance of that connection in daily life" (p. ...
A growing body of research is beginning to identify characteristics that influence or are related to helping professionals' integration of clients' religion and spirituality (RS) in mental health treatment. This article presents Namaste Theory, a new theory for understanding the role of mental health practitioners' RS in clinical practice. Using Glaser's (2008) formal quantitative grounded theory approach, this article describes an emerging theme in the author's line of work—particularly that practitioners' intrinsic religiosity is significantly related to their consideration of clients' RS—and explores the findings of related, interdisciplinary studies. The Hindu term, Namaste, meaning, "the sacred in me recognizes the sacred in you", provided a framework to explain the emerging theme. Specifically, Namaste Theory introduces the concept that as helping professionals infuse their own RS beliefs/practices into their daily lives, deepening their intrinsic religiosity and awareness of what they deem sacred, they tend to consider and integrate clients' RS beliefs/practices, and what clients consider sacred as well. In order words, as the helping professional recognizes the sacred within him or herself, s/he appears to be more open to recognizing the sacred within his/her client. Future directions for research, as well as practice and education implications, are discussed.
... Previous studies have also shown a variety of characteristics that influence the use of and attitudes toward RS practices with clients. Such characteristics include age (Larsen, 2011); identifying with a religious affiliation and his or her spirituality (Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006); as well as prior training, theoretical orientation, personal religiosity and spirituality, and attitudes (Cummings, Ivan, Carson, Stanley, & Pargament, 2014;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2009;Sheridan, 2009). Furthermore, training and intrinsic religiosity have been identified as two predictors for LCSWs' overall orientation toward integrating clients' RS, extending beyond attitudes and behaviors to also include perceived feasibility and self-efficacy (Oxhandler et al., 2015). ...
This article describes the qualitative responses from a national sample of licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) on their views regarding integrating clients' religion and spirituality (RS) in practice. Two open-ended questions were asked to assess what helps or assists LCSWs in assessing and integrating clients' RS in practice and what hinders or prevents LCSWs from considering this area of clients' lives. A total of 329 responded to either item, with 319 responses to the first item and 279 responses to the second. The authors used open-coding procedures, developed a codebook to analyze the data, and reached consensus on each response. Overarching themes that emerged from LCSWs' responses to what helps them consider this area included personal religiosity, education, and having an RS-sensitive practice. Regarding what hinders RS integration, LCSWs reported that nothing hinders such integration; that it was not relevant; or listed various barriers, including a lack of training, client discouraging the discussion, or experiencing fear or perceiving RS as a taboo topic. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for social work education and practice.
... Consistent with prior research (Canda & Furman, 2010;Kvarfordt & Sheridan, 2007;Larsen, 2011;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006), we found that religion and spirituality are personally important to the majority of social workers in this sample. The majority report belief in God or a Higher Power (88.9%), religious affiliation (73%), and describe themselves as either a religious or spiritual person (95.9%), with many labeling themselves as both a religious and spiritual person (49.9%). ...
In order to develop understanding of the meaning of religion and spirituality to social workers, a survey was conducted of a diverse sample of 2,100 practitioners obtained through racial stratification of membership in the National Association of Social Workers. Findings indicate that while a majority of social work practitioners (70.4%–97.9%), regardless of racial group, has a belief in God or some other higher power, their definition of religion and spirituality was complex and individualistic. Religion/spirituality provide significant personal context to participants. This pervasiveness has important implications for social work educators and challenges current practice of separating worker and client beliefs.
... As mentioned earlier, I have not found research from the United States geared towards spiritual/religious clients' attitudes and opinions regarding their own mental health care when discussing spiritual/religious worldview or concerns, though modern research recommends actively engaging clients on the topic (Sheridan, Bullis, Adcock, Berlin, & Miller, 1992;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2008;Dwyer, 2010). Researchers in the Netherlands, Joseph Pieper and Marinus van Uden, have conducted one major study specifically on clients' opinions of the role of religion and spirituality in their mental health care. ...
A project based upon an independent investigation. http://hdl.handle.net/11020/24685
The spiritual and religious life of clients is an important clinical factor in therapy; it holds
significant meaning and may support therapeutic outcome. This study explored client
perceptions of the quality of care they received in therapy when disclosing their
spiritual/religious life to their therapists as well as the factors that might contribute to their
perceptions of care and disclosure. A total of 75 respondents participated in an online survey
tool composed of quantitative and qualitative questions. Qualitative responses were coded and
data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings showed that most clients (73%) shared
some or all of their beliefs; in contrast only 40% shared their spiritual or religious experiences.
Almost all clients (80-90%) have had a significant spiritual/religious experience, most often
describing a feeling of interconnection and well-being, a loss, gain, or change of faith, high
intuition, and/or a sensory experience (auditory, visual, or tactile.) Fifty percent of clients who
shared their beliefs with their therapists were satisfied or very satisfied with the care they
received; 23% were somewhat satisfied or unsatisfied. Of clients who shared their experiences
38% were satisfied and less than 10% were somewhat satisfied or unsatisfied. A poor working
alliance, misattuned responses, lack of engagement, and the therapist’s lack of knowledge on the
subject were reasons for low levels of satisfaction. The study concludes with suggestions on
how to improve the therapeutic quality of care for spiritual or religious clients.
... Smith-Osborne and Rosenwald (2009) found that a majority of religious social workers in their sample still tended to vote Democratic, with a majority of Protestant respondents self-identifying as politically conservative and a majority of Roman Catholic, Jewish, and "other" religion respondents self-identifying as politically liberal. Research suggests that social workers who are religious themselves are more likely to incorporate religious dimensions into their practice (Mattison, Jayaratne, & Croxton, 2000;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). While leveraging Catholic Social Teaching to promote spiritual capital exchanges is promising, Rothschild' s (1999) risk premium of change resistance seems likely among such a diverse group. ...
... In keeping with the assessment requirements instituted by the Joint Commission (Koenig, 2007), most practitioners affirm the importance of administering spiritual assessments in practice settings (Canda & Furman, 1999;Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). Yet, in spite of growing recognition of the link between spirituality and effective service provision, most practitioners report receiving little, if any, training in spirituality during their graduate educations (Canda & Furman, 1999;Heyman et al,2006;Murdock, 2005;Sheridan, 2004). ...
Background and Purpose: The Joint Commissionthe nation's largest healthcare accrediting bodyrequires the administration of spiritual assessments in hospitals, agencies providing addiction services, and other organizations providing services to Native Americans. Although spirituality is linked to health and wellness in many tribal communities, little research has been conducted to ensure that such assessments are administered in a culturally relevant manner. This raises the possibility that helping relationships may be compromised as assessment approaches or tools are used that are incongruent with common Native values. Many conceptually distinct approaches to spiritual assessment have appeared in the literature. If healthcare professionals are required to conduct spiritual assessments with Native clients, it is critical that research be conducted to identify assessment tools that are congruent with common Native American cultural values. Drawing from the concept of social validity (Wolf, 1978), this mixed-method study determined which spirituality assessment approachesat a conceptual levelare most congruent with Native American values.
Methods: In keeping with Pace et al.'s (2006) recommendations for assessing social validity, a hybrid purposive/snowball sampling strategy was used to identify individuals (N=50, 75% response rate) with specialized knowledge of Native American culture. The mean age of the sample was approximately 50, close to two-thirds were female, and the respondents reported a diverse array of tribal, geographic, and spiritual affiliations. The survey instrument described six conceptually unique approaches to spiritual assessment. Quantitative items asked respondents to rank the degree of cultural consistency of each approach on a 0 (no consistency) to 10 scale (complete consistency). Qualitative items explored the strengths and weakness of each approach. After pilot testing, the survey instrument was mailed to potential respondents. For the quantitative data, means, standard deviations, and modes were computed and reported. For the qualitative data, an inductively oriented constant comparative methodology was used to analyze the data (Padgett, 2008). Using this approach, data were examined across cases for similarities, patterns, and common concepts. In a recursive process, these commonalities were continually compared to similar phenomena across cases to identify, classify, and refine the emerging themes.
Results: The quantitative findings indicated that the process of taking a spiritual history represented the approach that was perceived to be most congruent with common Native values (M=7.06). Conversely, genogramsalthough widely used with general European American populationwere perceived to be the least congruent with Native values (M=5.40). The qualitative responses helped illuminate these findings (e.g., genograms provide a poor cultural fit with the complex non-nuclear, family relationships common in many tribal communities).
Conclusions and Implications: Although spirituality is a key variable in health and wellness for many Native clients, certain spiritual assessment approaches were perceived to be more congruent than others with common Native values. These results have distinct implications for practitioners required to administer spiritual assessments. Namely, assessments are likely to be perceived to be more culturally valid by Native clients if clinically salient information is gathered using a spiritual history.
... Across studies, certain practitioner characteristics appear to affect practice behaviors. For example, more religious or older practitioners are more likely to consider religious activities to be appropriate for use in practice, hold positive attitudes toward RS, and make greater use of interventions that integrate clients' RS in practice (Larsen, 2010;Mattison et al., 2000;Sheridan, 2004;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006), findings that echo the evidence from studies of psychologists and marriage and family therapists. In addition, there is a common thread across professions, with practitioners desiring more discussion of RS in their training (Canda & Furman, 2010;Crook-Lyon et al., 2012;Prest et al., 1999). ...
Emerging research on religion, spirituality, health, and mental health has begun to catch the attention of helping professionals.
Some clients are expressing a desire for their health and mental health practitioners to initiate discussion of their religious
or spiritual beliefs as they relate to their case. Social workers are the most represented group among personnel providing
mental health services, so it is important to understand their attitudes, views, and behaviors regarding integrating clients'
religion and spirituality (RS) into practice. Few studies have assessed such an integration; those that are available focus
primarily on practitioner characteristics and use of specific helping activities to integrate clients' RS in treatment. This
article discusses how RS have been integrated into social work practice and education and reviews instruments used to assess
such practices. In addition, the findings from previous studies examining social workers' integration of clients' RS are compared
with those of other helping professions. Finally, implications for education and practice are discussed.
... A survey of 221 social workers in the south-eastern United States revealed that religious-based interventions were judged appropriate by more than 50 percent of respondents and utilized by that percentage as well. High personal spirituality predicted positive attitudes and utilization (Stewart, 2006). A survey of 299 gerontological social workers found that most respondents supported the inclusion of religion and spirituality in education and practice as part of diversity and holistic assessment (Murdock, 2005). ...
Survey on employment capacity of students and graduates in social sector
in Slovakia has been accomplished as part of joint international project. Youth unemployment is a serious problem. Young graduates face considerable
problems
in making
the
transition
from
education
into
employment
due
to
shortage
of
job
offers
mainly.
Survey
discovered
general
satisfaction
with
university
education,
but
also
necessity
to
have
better
capacity
in some
areas
appeared.
Study
analysed
strong
and
weak
parts
of
education
and
issues
of
transfer
from
study
to
work.
Generally
society
is
not
giving
priority
to
social
sector
development.
There
are
sources
for
higher
employment
due
to
rapid
social
changes
within
Slovak
society.
... Using a reduced version of the DSES that was included on the 1998 General Social Survey, Houston and Cartwright (2007) found that people in public service careers scored higher on measures of daily spiritual experiences, as well as other religiosity measures, than people in non-service careers. Stewart et al. (2006) found that social workers who scored high on the DSES were more likely to use religiousbased intervention practices. Zemore and Kaskutas (2004) found that recovering alcoholics who scored high on the DSES were more likely to help other recovering alcoholics and engage in other prosocial activities. ...
This paper examines how the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) relates to range of prosocial behaviors, using a large,
nationally representative U.S. data set. It finds that daily spiritual experiences are a statistically and substantively significant
predictor of volunteering, charitable giving, and helping individuals one knows personally. Daily spiritual experiences better
predict helping to distant others than to friends and family, indicating that they may motivate helping by fostering an extensive
definition of one’s moral community. The relationship between the DSES and helping is not moderated by sympathy and is robust
to the inclusion of most religiosity measures. However, the relationship becomes non-significant for most helping behaviors
when measures of meditation, prayer, and mindfulness are included in a regression equation. The DSES is particularly effective
in predicting helping behaviors among people who do not belong to a religious congregation, indicating that it may measure
spiritual motivations for helping among people who are not conventionally religious.
... A surprisingly high percentage of social workers appear to use intercessory prayer in their work with clients (Heyman, Buchanan, Musgrave, & Menz, 2006;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). One national survey of direct practitioners affiliated with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW; N = 2,069) found that 28% of respondents had engaged in verbal prayer with their clients, whereas 57% prayed privately for their clients (Canda & Furman, 1999). ...
Perhaps surprisingly, many social workers appear to use intercessory prayer in direct practice settings. To help inform practitioners' use of this intervention, this article evaluates the empirical literature on the topic using the following three methods: (a) an individual assessment of each study, (b) an evaluation of intercessory prayer as an empirically supported intervention using criteria developed by Division 12 of the American Psychological Association (APA), and (c) a meta-analysis. Based on the Division 12 criteria, intercessory prayer was classified as an experimental intervention. Meta-analysis indicated small, but significant, effect sizes for the use of intercessory prayer (g =–.171, p =.015). The implications are discussed in light of the APA's Presidential Task Force on Evidence-based Practice.
... Religiosity-Religiosity was measured with the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) (Fetzer Institute, 1999), which has been shown to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing religiosity and spirituality in adolescents (Harris et al, 2007;Stewart, Koeske, & Koeske, 2006). The BMMRS has acceptable levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > .70) ...
Although some evidence indicates that religiosity may be protective against substance use in the urban youth population, limited research has investigated the effects of multiple dimensions of religiosity on substance use in this population. In this study, a sample of 301 urban adolescents was used (a) to test the effects of three dimensions of religiosity (social religiosity, perceived religious support, and private religiosity) as well as proximity to religious institutions and (b) to determine their correlates with tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. It was hypothesized that all three dimensions of religiosity would act as protective factors against all types of substance use and that proximity to religious institutions from adolescents' routine locations would also serve as a protective factor against any type of substance use. Results of logistic regression analysis showed that social religiosity and perceived religious support were protective against marijuana and tobacco use, respectively. Private religiosity was not protective against any type of substance use. Proximity to religious institutions was protective against alcohol use. These findings suggest the importance of examining multiple dimensions of religiosity when investigating substance use in urban youth and offer initial evidence of the importance of proximity to religious institutions as a protective factor against substance use.
... In a study of correlations with being employed in a public service occupation, the combined DSES item, " I feel God's love directly or through others, " was a predictor of working in public service compared with other occupations, even after controlling for religion, whereas a non-DSES general spirituality item was not [49]. High DSE's strongly predicted attitude towards and utilization of religion in social work practice, whereas organized religion measures were not predictive [50]. A study of Protestant ministers in Germany showed more DSE's correlated with diminished burnout [51]. ...
... In a study of correlations with being employed in a public service occupation, the combined DSES item, "I feel God's love directly or through others," was a predictor of working in public service compared with other occupations, even after controlling for religion, whereas a non-DSES general spirituality item was not [49]. High DSE's strongly predicted attitude towards and utilization of religion in social work practice, whereas organized religion measures were not predictive [50]. A study of Protestant ministers in Germany showed more DSE's correlated with diminished burnout [51]. ...
The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) is a 16-item self-report measure designed to assess ordinary experiences of connection with the transcendent in daily life. It includes constructs such as awe, gratitude, mercy, sense of connection with the transcendent and compassionate love. It also includes measures of awareness of discernment/inspiration and a sense of deep inner peace. Originally developed for use in health studies, it has been increasingly used more widely in the social sciences, for program evaluation, and for examining changes in spiritual experiences over time. Also it has been used in counseling, addiction treatment settings, and religious organizations. It has been included in longitudinal health studies and in the U.S. General Social Survey which established random-sample population norms. It has publications on its psychometric validity in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Mandarin Chinese. Translations have been made into twenty languages including Hindi, Hebrew and Arabic and the scale has been effectively used in a variety of cultures. The 16-item scale does not have a psychometrically representative shorter form although a 6-item adaptation has been used. The DSES was developed using extensive qualitative testing in a variety of groups, which has helped its capacity to be useful in a variety of settings. It was constructed to reflect an overlapping circle model of spirituality/religiousness and contains items that are more specifically theistic in nature, as well as items to tap the spiritual experience of those who are not comfortable with theistic language. The scale has been used in over 70 published studies. This paper will provide an overview of the scale itself, describe why it has proved useful, and discuss some studies using the scale. See http://www.dsescale.org/ for more information on the scale.
Equine assisted services (EAS) consist of a complex system of horse, human, and environmental factors which ultimately impact program effectiveness. Despite recognition in the literature that organizational affiliation with spirituality or religion impacts values, practices, and culture, connection between faith, spirituality, and specific religious belief, when combined with EAS is a nascent field of inquiry. Despite preliminary observations that suggest many organizations offering EAS are affiliated with religious institutions or claim their practices are informed by a particular faith, the extent of these non-secular affiliations is unknown in current literature. To explore this, we surveyed 113 EAS organizations to determine the extent and type of non-secular (i.e., faith-based) affiliations and whether these affiliations were professed publicly, to all internal staff and participants, to staff only, or not at all (i.e., level of “transparency”). We collected data on a range of horse characteristics and program practices. We used chi-square analyses to assess associations between secular/non-secular status and characteristics of practices. Of 93 organizations, 71% claimed a non-secular affiliation. Of non-secular organizations, 61% were fully transparent, and 36% were open about their belief system only internally with staff and participants. More non-secular organizations emphasized horses that were sensitive to humans and the environment (p = 0.0063). Non-secular organizations placed more importance on partnering with horses with a history of abuse or neglect (p = 0.0461). Transparency of faith or religious affiliation was associated with selection of horses based on girth, bone, and sturdiness (p = 0.0004). This is the first study to explore how a proxy for organizational-level values is associated with EAS practice differences. Further research is needed to determine if program-level differences in faith affiliation impact outcomes for participants in EAS.
La spiritualité peut avoir plusieurs impacts positifs sur la santé mentale et physique des individus (Koenig, 2008), être un élément central dans le processus de rétablissement (Holloway et Moss, 2010; Lietz et Hodge, 2013) et constituer un important mécanisme d’adaptation face aux difficultés vécues (Oxhandler et Ellor, 2017). Malgré le fait que les liens entre travail social et spiritualité n’ont pas toujours été harmonieux au Canada (Graham et al., 2007) et que son intégration est parfois empreinte d’inconfort (Oxhandler et Pargament, 2014), l’Ordre des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec (OTSTCFQ) reconnaît l’importance de la prendre en compte. Or, nous n’avons aucune donnée québécoise à propos de la propension à l’intégrer dans les interventions menées en travail social. Ce mémoire a comme objectif principal d’évaluer les facteurs (c.-à-d. spiritualité/religiosité personnelle, formation, milieu et contexte de pratique, etc.) qui influencent l’intégration de la dimension spirituelle en intervention chez les travailleurs sociaux (TS) du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. Pour ce faire, cette étude quantitative de nature descriptive emprunte une méthode non probabiliste à l’aide d’un échantillon de volontaires (N=40). Un questionnaire en ligne comportant une fiche sociodémographique, trois questions pour mesurer la religiosité/spiritualité personnelle et une version adaptée de l’anglais au français de la Religious/Spiritually Integrated Practice Assessment Scale (RSIPAS) (40 items) a été soumis aux participants. Cet outil mesure quatre composantes : le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle, les attitudes, la faisabilité perçue et la fréquence d’intégration. Les données ont été traitées et analysées à partir du logiciel spécialisé Statistical Analysis System (SAS, version 9). Les résultats indiquent que la propension générale à intégrer la spiritualité varie en fonction du contexte d’intervention (p=0.040), où le fait d’oeuvrer en santé mentale est associé à une plus grande intégration qu’en contexte de déficience intellectuelle/physique ou en soutien à domicile. L’importance de la spiritualité (p=0.045) est également une variable significative : plus celle-ci occupe de place dans la vie personnelle du TS, plus celui-ci la considère dans sa pratique professionnelle. Pour le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle, l’âge (p=0.0081) et le nombre d’années de pratique (p=0.0063) sont significatifs, tout comme l’importance de la spiritualité (p=0.0298) et le degré de religiosité (p=0.0028). Quant aux attitudes, elles varient en fonction du genre (p=0.0324) où les femmes ont un score significativement plus élevé que les hommes, et en fonction du milieu de pratique (p=0.0206), où les intervenants en milieu scolaire ont un score significativement plus élevé que ceux oeuvrant au sein d’un organisme communautaire ou dans un centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS). La faisabilité perçue est influencée par la formation académique (p=0.0238), où les TS détenant une maîtrise ont un score plus élevé que ceux détenant un baccalauréat. Enfin, la fréquence d’intégration est influencée par le degré de spiritualité (p=0.0426) : plus il est élevé, plus le score obtenu est faible. Ces résultats doivent être interprétés en considérant la principale limite de l’étude, c’est-à-dire le nombre restreint de participants. En dépit de cette considération, ce projet de recherche constitue l’une des seules études utilisant un devis quantitatif pour documenter ce phénomène en contexte québécois. À cet effet, il permet de poser un premier regard sur les facteurs qui influencent la prise en compte de la spiritualité dans les interventions menées en travail social et propose de réfléchir à des moyens de former et de sensibiliser les TS face à cette dimension constitutive de la santé, dans une perspective d’amélioration continue de la qualité des interventions en contexte clinique et dans les milieux de formation académique.
La guérison à distance par l’intermédiaire de la prière d’intercession s’inscrivant comme un des premiers axes thérapeutiques en santé mentale suscite un intérêt grandissant dans le champ de la communauté scientifique. La question de son efficacité se pose. S’agit-il de l’impact de nos croyances et attentes de guérison, soit d’un effet placebo sur notre santé, ou y a-t-il un processus de transmission thérapeutique inconnu de la science actuelle se basant sur des transferts d’énergie ou faisant appel à des interventions d’ordre spirituel. L’objet de cet article est de tenter de faire le point sur cette question par l’intermédiaire d’une revue de littérature précise sur ce sujet regroupant 26 études contrôlées et randomisées depuis 1997 à aujourd’hui. Les résultats font état de 16 études ne montrant pas d’efficacité de la prière, et de 9 études soulignant des résultats intéressants dans lesquelles pour 7 études, les patients étaient au courant de la démarche d’aide soulignant ainsi les effets de l’attente de guérison. En conclusion, ce type de travaux fait état de limites méthodologiques très importantes de différentes natures montrant qu’il faut revoir intégralement ce type d’étude de cette approche de soin si l’on veut avoir une vue scientifique rigoureuse de son efficacité thérapeutique. De ce fait, des travaux supplémentaires sont impérativement nécessaires mettant en avant des protocoles d’approches nouveaux et plus précis.
Client's religion/spirituality (R/S) is considered an important element when working with clients in social work practice. This study aims to explore the variables associated with clinical social worker’s awareness of and notions about integrating client’s R/S into clinical practice in Kuwait. The sample (N = 235) used in the study consisted of clinical social workers in Kuwait. In the current study, the Religious/Spiritually Integrated Practice Assessment Scale (RSIPAS) is used. The findings revealed significant relationships between familiarity and clinical social worker’s awareness of integrating client’s R/S into clinical practice and two of its subscales (Feasibility, Frequency of engaging). In addition, the findings showed a significant relationship between participant's monthly income and the Feasibility to integrate subscale. In addition, the findings of this study showed that personal religiosity is a predictive factor for social worker’s awareness about integrating client’s R/S into clinical practice.
Bu araştırmanın amacı; maneviyat ve sosyal hizmet ilişkisini ortaya koyarak sosyal çalışmacıların, maneviyata ve manevi konulara ilişkin kişisel ve mesleki bakış açılarını keşfetmek ve betimlemektir. Bununla beraber sosyal çalışmacıların, uygulama sürecinde maneviyat konusuna yaklaşımları, maneviyat ile ilgili yöntem ve teknikleri, maneviyatın sürece dâhil olmasıyla ilgili duygu ve düşünceleri ve maneviyat açısından sosyal hizmet eğitim programlarına yönelik görüşleri araştırılmıştır. Yapılan çalışma karma yöntem desenlerinden biri olan "açımlayıcı sıralı desene" göre tasarlanmıştır. İlk aşamada online olarak 218 sosyal çalışmacı ile anket çalışması yapılmıştır. İkinci aşamada 18 sosyal çalışmacıyla yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu çalışma sonucunda, sosyal çalışmacıların maneviyat ve sosyal hizmet uygulaması bağlamında tam anlamıyla donanımlı olmadıkları, maneviyatla ilgili bilgi seviyelerinin düşük olduğu ancak maneviyata ilgi duydukları ve daha çok bilgilenme arzusunda oldukları tespit edilmiştir. Sosyal çalışmacıların maneviyata duyarlı sosyal hizmet ile ilgili düşüncelerini daha çok sosyal hizmetin etik ilke ve prensiplerinden hareketle ortaya koydukları ve çoğunluğunun maneviyatın sosyal hizmet uygulamasına dâhil edilmesi görüşünde olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
Bu araştırmanın amacı; maneviyat ve sosyal hizmet ilişkisini ortaya koyarak sosyal çalışmacıların, maneviyata ve manevi konulara ilişkin kişisel ve mesleki bakış açılarını keşfetmek ve betimlemektir. Bununla beraber sosyal çalışmacıların, uygulama sürecinde maneviyat konusuna yaklaşımları, maneviyat ile ilgili yöntem ve teknikleri, maneviyatın sürece dâhil olmasıyla ilgili duygu ve düşünceleri ve maneviyat açısından sosyal hizmet eğitim programlarına yönelik görüşleri araştırılmıştır. Yapılan çalışma karma yöntem desenlerinden biri olan “açımlayıcı sıralı desene” göre tasarlanmıştır. İlk aşamada online olarak 218 sosyal çalışmacı ile anket çalışması yapılmıştır. İkinci aşamada 18 sosyal çalışmacıyla yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu çalışma sonucunda, sosyal çalışmacıların maneviyat ve sosyal hizmet uygulaması bağlamında tam anlamıyla donanımlı olmadıkları, maneviyatla ilgili bilgi seviyelerinin düşük olduğu ancak maneviyata ilgi duydukları ve daha çok bilgilenme arzusunda oldukları tespit edilmiştir. Sosyal çalışmacıların maneviyata duyarlı sosyal hizmet ile ilgili düşüncelerini daha çok sosyal hizmetin etik ilke ve prensiplerinden hareketle ortaya koydukları ve çoğunluğunun maneviyatın sosyal hizmet uygulamasına dâhil edilmesi görüşünde olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
Increased attention to the intersection between spirituality/religion and social work has led to improved understanding of the importance of these influences in the lives of social workers and the people they serve. The effects of social work practice on practitioner spirituality, however, have not been adequately examined. A sample of social workers were surveyed to explore how their social work practice has influenced their spirituality. Three means of influence were found: practice can serve as a source of spirituality of new spiritual knowledge and growth; practice can support existing, fixed spiritual beliefs and values; and denial of influence of practice on spirituality. The findings suggest needed changes in organizational practice as well as social work education.
Social workers are designated by the Children’s Act No.38 of 2005 to investigate alleged cases of sexual abuse of children. During investigations social workers experience intense feelings that could have an emotional impact on them and their role functioning. The researcher adopted a qualitative approach with the interpretive descriptive research design to explore the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse. Eleven participants participated in the study and data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. It was found that social workers experience unique psychosocial needs which, if not addressed, can lead to negative role functioning.
Social workers are designated by the Children’s Act No.38 of 2005 to investigate alleged cases of sexual abuse of children. During investigations social workers experience intense feelings that could have an emotional impact on them and their role functioning. The researcher adopted a qualitative approach with the interpretive descriptive research design to explore the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse. Eleven participants participated in the study and data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. It was found that social workers experience unique psychosocial needs which, if not addressed, can lead to negative role functioning.
This organizational analysis of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ faith-based organization, Latter-day Saint Charities, adds to the knowledge base regarding international faith-based organizations and their delivery of humanitarian and international development assistance. Qualitative data gathered from interviews with key headquarters staff describe LDS Charities’ organizational structure, guiding philosophies, and service delivery system. The role of social work strategies within faith-based international organizations as well as practice implications are discussed.
In this article we present the findings from a survey of Master of Social Work (MSW) students regarding their attitudes toward religion in social work practice and their feelings of competence when working with clients who are Muslim. Our findings indicated that some students are uncomfortable working with Muslim groups. Interestingly, those students who are minority and non-Christian appear to identify with other oppressed groups and expressed attitudes of greater comfort and tolerance than their White and Christian counterparts. This suggests a need for a more comprehensive view of multicultural practice in social work education perhaps with a focus on cultural humility.
Background and Purpose: In 2010 there were an estimated 2.6 million Muslim adherents, a number that has nearly doubled since 2001. In spite of this increase, the religion of Islam and the culture of its Muslim adherents remain largely misunderstood. In the minds of many Americans, the religion of Islam is closely tied to images of violence, terrorism, and the subjugation of women. Consequently, oppression of this minority group is based upon ideas that are more often cultural and political rather than religious. Nevertheless, spirituality is an integral part of the biopsychosocialspiritual model embraced by the social work profession. With these negative images in mind, can social work practitioners examine spirituality of diverse groups, specifically Muslim clients, in a way that fosters understanding and facilitates a therapeutic relationship? We hypothesize that race and religion will influence a practitioner’s capacity to work with individuals from different religious backgrounds, specifically Muslim clients.
Methods: We present the findings of an electronic survey conducted at an urban mid-Atlantic university using a sample of MSW students [N=126]. The survey instrument was adapted from work by Young, Cashwell, Wiggins-Frame, and Belaire, [2002] and was comprised of three sections. Sections I and II used a 4 point Likert scale to assess student perceptions of religion and spirituality in social work practice [9 items] and perceptions of working with particular religious/spiritual groups such as Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims [10 items]. The third section collected demographic information.
Results: The average age of respondents was 29, 81 percent identified as White, 52.8 percent identified as Christian. Independent samples t-tests were used to compare participant responses; Christians and non-Christians, Whites and non-Whites. The findings suggest that non-Whites feel more confident than Whites in their ability to work with Muslim clients [p<.05]. Non-Christians feel more confident than Christians in assessing the relevance of spirituality in clients’ therapeutic concerns [p<.02 ]and feel better prepared to work with Muslim clients [p<.057]. Non-Christians believe more strongly than Christians in the importance of respecting religious diversity [.019] and are more likely to believe it is inappropriate to share personal spiritual beliefs with clients [p<.016].
Conclusions and Implications: A model of multicultural social work practice prescribes reflection upon personal values and biases, as well as knowledge of cultural barriers that may interfere with the healing process. Racial/cultural identity theory suggests that minorities may find empathy with other minority groups. The findings from this study suggest that, in fact, minority groups in the US, non-Whites and non-Christians, may be better able to understand other oppressed groups than their majority counterparts. This is particularly relevant to the treatment of Muslim clients whose religion is often misrepresented and misunderstood. White and Christian social work practitioners are challenged to demonstrate even greater introspection for this particular group, often vilified in the mainstream media, in order to advance social change. Future studies should examine the extent to which social work education includes content on religious and spiritual diversity and whether such training yields more culturally specific and competent social work practice.
This investigation is a secondary analysis of a data set (N=283) drawn from a national, probability sample of clinical social workers in the United States. The original study used a cross-sectional, correlational survey design to gather information on practitioners' personal religious/spiritual beliefs and practices; professional attitudes, experiences, and behaviors; and professional education and training. Path analysis identified the specific direct and indirect relationships among 6 variables that accounted for nearly 69% of the variance in the use of spiritually based interventions with children and adolescents. The influence of personal background and attitudinal variables in the use of such interventions, coupled with the absence of education and training variables, raise concerns about practitioner decision making and ethical practice.
To explore Australian nursing students' perceptions of spirituality, religiosity, and personal belief.
Spiritual and religious literature support the benefits to patients' physical and mental health. Nurses have an ethical obligation to understand and incorporate patient's spiritual beliefs and values into the care plan.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the 32-item WHO-QOL-SRPB questionnaire.
The sample consisted of 483 undergraduate nursing students in Sydney, Australia.
There were 21% male and 79% female students; age ranged from 18 to 56 years, with a mean age of 26.53 (SD = 7.32). There were no significant difference between male and female nursing students, but there were difference in SRPB scores between first-, second-, and third-year students and between religious affiliations.
Spirituality is multidimensional and multilevel and is interconnected with religiosity and personal belief. Nurses need to understand their own spirituality before they can incorporate spirituality in their patient care.
This article defines and operationalizes the concept of spiritual competence. Most social workers have received little training on spiritual competence, which is a concern for at least three reasons: (1) Most practitioners affirm the importance of addressing spirituality in practice settings; (2) The NASW Code of Ethics requires services that address spirituality to be characterized by cultural competence; and (3) major accrediting agencies, such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), now require practitioners to explore client spirituality. To help practitioners understand and implement spiritual competence in their work with clients, a three-dimensional definition of spiritual competence is delineated, discussed, and illustrated with a three-part case example.
Using the findings of a quantitative and qualitative study, this article discusses the growing interest in how spirituality and religion might relate to clinical practice. From the 126 participants who were gathered from her network of social workers and members of a midwestern National Association of Social Workers chapter, this researcher examined if, and how often, social workers integrate a number of spiritual behaviors with clients in individual therapy. Similar to samples from previous studies, these participants confirmed the hypothesis that social workers would be more likely to integrate indirect ways of engaging spirituality. Among these participants, there were high percentages of acceptance beliefs and spiritual-based practices. This article is a summary of the findings in a Smith School for Social Work exploratory thesis which can be found in its entirety online at http://dspace.nitle.org/bitstream/handle/10090/5880/thesis%20templated.pdf?sequence=1. View all notes
Utilizing a national random sample of 225 members of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), this study examined practitioners' personal spiritual beliefs, their attitudes regarding the role of religion and spirituality in social work, and factors that might predict practitioners' use of religious and spiritual interventions. Findings suggest religion and spirituality plays an important role in respondents' personal and professional lives. A multiple regression analysis indicates that older respondents, with a stronger positive attitude regarding the role of religion and spirituality in social work practice were more likely to utilize spiritual practices or interventions.
This study investigated 208 students from two schools of social work on their views and experiences with religion and spirituality in education and practice. Results revealed a generally favorable stance toward the role of religion and spirituality in social work practice and relatively high endorsement and utilization of spiritually oriented interventions with clients. These findings are striking given that the majority of respondents reported little exposure to content on religion and spirituality in their educational program, thus raising concern about potential harm to clients. Results from the study are compared with previous research on social work practitioners and faculty, and implications for social work education are presented.
This article presents findings from a study that examined the attitudes and behaviors toward religion and spirituality held by 328 randomly selected Virginia licensed clinical social workers, psychologists, and professional counselors. Significant differences were found among the three groups, with social workers generally holding a middle position in comparison with psychologists and professional counselors. As a whole, respondents were found to value the religious or spiritual dimension in their own lives, to respect the function it serves for people in general, and to address, to some extent, religious and spiritual issues in practice. Limited professional training in this area was reported, however, with 79% (n = 259) of the respondents stating that religious or spiritual issues were rarely or never addressed during the course of their graduate education and training. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.
ABSTRACT. Although research has grown considerably on spirituality and social work practice in recent years, there has been little investigation of what practitioners actually do with their clients and what influences their practice behaviors. Current findings from a random sample of 204 licensed clinical social workers indicate considerable focus on religion and spirituality in both assessment and intervention, with over two-thirds of the sample reporting that they had utilized 14 different spiritually-derived techniques with clients. In addition, analyses reveal four factors most predictive of the use of such techniques including:
practitioner attitudes, the percentage of clients presenting religious/spiritual issues, the percentage of clients for whom religion plays a detrimental role, and the level of practitioner participation in religious or spiritual services.
This study investigated 208 students from two schools of social work on their views and experiences with religion and spirituality in education and practice. Results revealed a generally favorable stance toward the role of religion and spirituality in social work practice and relatively high endorsement and utilization of spiritually oriented interventions with clients. These findings are striking given that the majority of respondents reported little exposure to content on religion and spirituality in their educational program, thus raising concern about potential harm to clients. Results from the study are compared with previous research on social work practitioners and faculty, and implications for social work education are presented.
This study analyzed the long-term association between religious attendance and mortality to determine whether the association is explained by improvements in health practices and social connections for frequent attenders.
The association between frequent attendance and mortality over 28 years for 5286 Alameda Country Study respondents was examined. Logistic regression models analyzed associations between attendance and subsequent improvements in health practices and social connections.
Frequent attenders had lower mortality rates than infrequent attenders (relative hazard [RH] = 0.64;95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.53,0.77). Results were stronger for females. Health adjustments had little impact, but adjustments for social connections and health practices reduced the relationship (RH = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.64, 0.93). During follow-up, frequent attenders were more likely to stop smoking, increase exercising, increase social contacts, and stay married.
Lower mortality rates for frequent religious attenders are partly explained by improved health practices, increased social contacts, and more stable marriages occurring in conjunction with attendance. The mechanisms by which these changes occur have broad intervention implications.
The role of religion in mental illness remains understudied. Most prior investigations of this relationship have used measures of religiosity that do not reflect its complexity and/or have examined a small number of psychiatric outcomes. This study used data from a general population sample to clarify the dimensions of religiosity and the relationships of these dimensions to risk for lifetime psychiatric and substance use disorders.
Responses to 78 items assessing various aspects of broadly defined religiosity were obtained from 2,616 male and female twins from a general population registry. The association between the resulting religiosity dimensions and the lifetime risk for nine disorders assessed at personal interview was evaluated by logistic regression. Of these disorders, five were "internalizing" (major depression, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and bulimia nervosa), and four were "externalizing" (nicotine dependence, alcohol dependence, drug abuse or dependence, and adult antisocial behavior).
Seven factors were identified: general religiosity, social religiosity, involved God, forgiveness, God as judge, unvengefulness, and thankfulness. Two factors were associated with reduced risk for both internalizing and externalizing disorders (social religiosity and thankfulness), four factors with reduced risk for externalizing disorders only (general religiosity, involved God, forgiveness, and God as judge), and one factor with reduced risk for internalizing disorders only (unvengefulness).
Religiosity is a complex, multidimensional construct with substantial associations with lifetime psychopathology. Some dimensions of religiosity are related to reduced risk specifically for internalizing disorders, and others to reduced risk specifically for externalizing disorders, while still others are less specific in their associations. These results do not address the nature of the causal link between religiosity and risk for illness.
This third edition provides a comprehensive framework of values, knowledge, and skills for spiritually sensitive and culturally appropriate social work practice with diverse religious and nonreligious people. It includes 40 case examples and stories that illustrate theory and practice related to health, mental health, youth work, gerontology, end of life, and other fields. Each chapter includes learning exercises to promote readers' personal and professional development. Spiritual perspectives include Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Indigenous, Islam, Judaism, Existentialism, and Transpersonal and Deep Ecological Theories. Intersectionalities of diversities of spiritual perspective, culture, gender, disability, and LGBTQI issues are addressed. Skills are presented for spiritual assessment, mindfulness, meditation, ritual, forgiveness, administration, and community collaboration. International surveys and global perspective address social work practices, codes of ethics, and principles for inclusive compassion and justice.
Practitioners identified religious and spiritual issues that emerge in social work practice and that are salient factors during various life stages. The data suggest that attention should be directed to this area of practice so that workers can deal competently with these issues.
This article examines the task of integrating spirituality into professional education today. Significant socio-demographic, cultural, technological, and ideological trends have called for professional intervention with a spiritual dimension of well-being. As an answer to this call, the author endorses a more openminded professional position in which spirituality can be feasibly integrated into the social work curriculum. This position enables social work educators to adequately address professional dilemmas, such as church-state separation, and complexity of conceptualization issues in their teaching through a multidisciplinary lens of social science. Diverse theoretical and methodological approaches toward topics related to spirituality are recommended.
A rationale and methodology for teaching about the spiritual and religious aspects of human behavior in social work curricula is presented. An approach derived from the field of comparative religious studies is described, and its implications for the personal and professional preparation of the social work educator are discussed. (MSE)
Although social work recognizes that spirituality is a basic dimension of human development, little attention is being given to this dimension by social work programs. This study surveys the views of social work faculty on the place, if any, that spirituality should have in the social work curriculum. Results suggest that there is considerable support for a course on this subject. Possible explanations for opposition to such a course also are explored. Suggestions are provided for introducing spirituality content into the curriculum.
This study attempted to identify positive and negative patterns of religious coping methods, develop a brief measure of these religious coping patterns, and examine their implications for health and adjustment. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. positive and negative religious coping patterns were identified in samples of people coping with the Oklahoma City bombing, college students coping with major life stressors, and elderly hospitalized patients coping with serious medical illnesses. A 14-item measure of positive and negative patterns of religious coping methods (Brief RCOPE) was constructed. The positive pattern consisted of religious forgiveness, seeking spiritual support, collaborative religious coping, spiritual connection, religious purification, and benevolent religious reappraisal. The negative pattern was defined by spiritual discontent, punishing God reappraisals, interpersonal religious discontent. demonic reappraisal, and reappraisal of God's powers. As predicted, people made more use of the positive than the negative religious coping methods. Furthermore, the two patterns had different implications for health and adjustment. The Brief RCOPE offers an efficient, theoretically meaningful way to integrate religious dimensions into models and studies of stress, coping, and health.
This study attempted to identify positive and negative patterns of religious coping methods, develop a brief measure of these religious coping patterns, and examine their implications for health and adjustment. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, positive and negative religious coping patterns were identified in samples of people coping with the Oklahoma City bombing, college students coping with major life stressors, and elderly hospitalized patients coping with serious medical illnesses. A 14-item measure of positive and negative patterns of religious coping methods (Brief RCOPE) was constructed. The positive pattern consisted of religious forgiveness, seeking spiritual support, collaborative religious coping, spiritual connection, religious purification, and benevolent religious reappraisal. The negative pattern was defined by spiritual discontent, punishing God reappraisals, interpersonal religious discontent, demonic reappraisal, and reappraisal of God's powers. As predicted, people made more use of the positive than the negative religious coping methods. Furthermore, the two patterns had different implications for health and adjustment. The Brief RCOPE offers an efficient, theoretically meaningful way to integrate religious dimensions into models and studies of stress, coping, and health.
The attitudes of experienced clinicians regarding the inclusion of spirituality in social group work practice and education are examined. Using a focus group format, practitioners concurred that wholistic treatment of clients must embody spiritual issues and that spiritual content should be covered in group work courses. Clinicians identified additional issues including: (a) need for spiritual assessment; (b) necessity of practitioner self-awareness; (c) usefulness of spiritual beliefs and communities as resources; (d) creation of a safe environment; (e) promotion of spiritual diversity in groups; and (f) collaboration with clergy and spiritual leaders. Implications for practice, research, and education are discussed.
The importance of religion and spirituality for the social work profession is evident in many areas, including social work education. There is little empirical evidence that explores the importance of spirituality and religion for their students. This project surveyed three unique schools of social work in university settings in an attempt to provide information concerning the personal religious and spiritual beliefs of social work students as well as their attitudes toward religious and spiritual interventions in social work practice. Results indicate that religious and spiritual beliefs and regional culture are important for predicting attitudes toward use of religious and spiritual interventions.
A THEORY OF SELF-PERCEPTION IS PROPOSED TO PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION FOR SEVERAL OF THE MAJOR PHENOMENA EMBRACED BY FESTINGER'S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE AND TO EXPLICATE SOME OF THE SECONDARY PATTERNS OF DATA THAT HAVE APPEARED IN DISSONANCE EXPERIMENTS. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE ATTITUDE STATEMENTS WHICH COMPRISE THE MAJOR DEPENDENT VARIABLES IN DISSONANCE EXPERIMENTS MAY BE REGARDED AS INTERPERSONAL JUDGMENTS IN WHICH THE O AND THE OBSERVED HAPPEN TO BE THE SAME INDIVIDUAL AND THAT IT IS UNNECESSARY TO POSTULATE AN AVERSIVE MOTIVATIONAL DRIVE TOWARD CONSISTENCY TO ACCOUNT FOR THE ATTITUDE CHANGE PHENOMENA OBSERVED. SUPPORTING EXPERIMENTS ARE PRESENTED, AND METATHEORETICAL CONTRASTS BETWEEN THE "RADICAL" BEHAVIORAL APPROACH UTILIZED AND THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH TYPIFIED BY DISSONANCE THEORY ARE DISCUSSED. (2 P. REF.)
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of social support and religion to mortality after elective open heart surgery in older patients. Of the 232 patients included in the study, 21 died within 6 months of surgery. Three biomedical variables were significant predictors of mortality and selected as adjustment variables for a multivariate analysis: history of previous cardiac surgery; greater impairment in presurgery basic activities of daily living; and older age. Among the social support and religion variables, two were consistent predictors of mortality in the multivariate analyses: lack of participation in social or community groups and absence of strength and comfort from religion. These results suggest that in older persons lack of participation in groups and absence of strength and comfort in religion are independently related to risk for death during the 6-month period after cardiac surgery.
This paper surveys the field that has come to be known as the epidemiology of religion. Epidemiologic study of the impact of religious involvement, broadly defined, has become increasingly popular in recent years, although the existence, meaning and implications of an apparently salutary religious effect on health have not yet been interpreted in an epidemiologic context. This paper attempts to remedy this situation by putting the "epidemiology" into the epidemiology of religion through discussion of existing empirical findings in terms of several substantive epidemiologic concepts. After first providing an overview of key research findings and prior reviews of this field, the summary finding of a protective religious effect on morbidity is examined in terms of three important epidemiologic concepts: the natural history of disease, salutogenesis and host resistance. In addition to describing a theoretical basis for interpreting a religion-health association, this paper provides an enumeration of common misinterpretations of epidemiologic findings for religious involvement, as well as an outline of hypothesized pathways, mediating factors, and salutogenic mechanisms for respective religious dimensions. It is hoped that these reflections will serve both to elevate the status of religion as a construct worthy of social-epidemiologic research and to reinvigorate the field of social epidemiology.
Spirituality and religiousness are gaining increasing attention as health research variables. However, the particular aspects examined vary from study to study, ranging from church attendance to religious coping to meaning in life. This frequently results in a lack of clarity regarding what is being measured, the meaning of the relationships between health variables and spirituality, and implications for action. This article describes the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) and its development, reliability, exploratory factor analyses, and preliminary construct validity. Normative data from random samples and preliminary relationships of health-related data with the DSES also are included. Detailed data for the 16-item DSES are provided from two studies; a third study provided data on a subset of 6 items, and afourth study was done on the interrater reliability of the item subset. A 6-item version was used in the General Social Survey because of the need to shorten the measure for the survey. A rationale for the conceptual underpinnings and item selection is provided, as are suggested pathways for linkages to health and well-being. This scale addresses reported ordinary experiences of spirituality such as awe, joy that lifts one out of the mundane, and a sense of deep inner peace. Studies using the DSES may identify ways in which this element of life may influence emotion, cognition and behavior, and health or ways in which this element may be treated as an outcome in itself a particular component of well-being. The DSES evidenced good reliability across several studies with internal consistency estimates in the .90s. Preliminary evidence showed that daily spiritual experience is related to decreased total alcohol intake, improved quality of life, and positive psychosocial status.
Spirituality and religiosity: Neglected factors in social work practice
- D Derezotes
Derezotes, D. (1995). Spirituality and religiosity: Neglected factors in social work practice. Arete, 20(1), 1-15.
Is religion good for your health?
- H G Koenig
Koenig, H. G. (1997). Is religion good for your health? Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press, Inc.