RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL RESPONSES TO 9/11: EVIDENCE FROM THE ADD HEALTH STUDY

Despite a great deal of public discourse concerning the effect of the September 11th attacks on Americans' religious and spiritual lives, social scientists know very little about the nature, size, and duration of this effect. Using panel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study analyzes the influence of 9/11 on the religious and spiritual lives of American young adults. The results suggest that the 9/11 attacks exerted only modest and short-lived effects on various aspects of young adults' religiosity and spirituality, and these effects were variable across different groups. These findings suggest that no remarkable religious revival occurred among young adults after September 11th, and researchers interested in analyzing religious development across the life course or religious change over time need not worry about sea changes in religiosity and spirituality brought on by 9/11.     

Emotional Themes in Cross-Faith Encounters Among MSW Students

Abstract

Shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, graduate students in an elective course on “Spirituality & Social Work” were given an optional assignment to attend services at another faith for three weeks and keep a journal of their experiences. Most allowed the author to conduct a content analysis of these journals for emotional themes. The most common themes were anxiety, surprise, and appreciation for the assignment. Lesser themes included excitement, empathy for minorities, anger, and embarrassment. These findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for social work education. Recommendations include better preparation through requiring research and clarification of the student's role, debriefing students about counter-transference issues, and achieving spiritual empathy through the recognition of spiritual similarities despite religious differences.     

Attitudes toward Unauthorized Immigration in the Post-9/11 Era

ABSTRACT

This research investigates the relationship between concern over terrorism and negative attitudes toward unauthorized immigration before and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A hierarchical age-period-cohort analysis was conducted using nationally representative cross-sectional data to take into account macro-level influences on individual attitudes. Results suggest that concern over terrorism is positively related to negative attitudes toward immigration. Further, the relationship between concern over terrorism and negative attitudes toward unauthorized immigration became stronger in the decade following the 9/11 attacks. However, the findings do not support the hypothesis that 9/11 directly increased negative attitudes toward immigration.     

African-American Perspectives on 9-11*

Abstract

In the past few years, terrorism has introduced most Americans to trauma on their own soil. However, African-Americans have lived through trauma and terrorism within the U.S. for centuries. African-Americans have very different perceptions of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Historical data reveal that African-Americans have endured various forms of domestic terrorism for hundreds of years. Based on a national survey, most African-Americans have very different perceptions of 9/11 than European-Americans. The authors propose there is a great deal to be learned from African-Americans regarding how to manage terrorism. But, to cull the valuable lessons from African-Americans’ experience of terrorism, there has to be respect for African -American experiences.     

Understanding African American Youth HIV Knowledge

Summary

This article presents the results of a study examining correlates of urban African American youth HIV knowledge. The influence of family level factors (e.g., family communication, parental AIDS knowledge and myths regarding HIV transmission, along with family composition and family income) are examined. In addition, the current study explores the influence of racial socialization processes, specifically the influence of religious/spiritual coping, extended family caring, cultural pride reinforcement and racial awareness teaching (Stevenson, 1994; 1995; 1997) on youth HIV knowledge. Multivariate analyses revealed a significant association between youth HIV knowledge and being reared in a single parent home. Further, in every model, controlling for all types of racial socialization processes, family communication was significantly associated with youth HIV knowledge. Implications are drawn regarding the development of culturally and contextually specific HIV prevention programming for African American youth and their families.     

The Effects of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks on Russian Immigrants

ABSTRACT

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the course of American history. Because of the scope and proportion of the disaster, its impact on witnesses was unprecedented both with regard to the numbers of people who were psychologically affected as well as the intensity of individual reactions. To better understand how different groups of people witnessing the events through the mass media were impacted, we conducted a qualitative study of a sample of Russian immigrants. The data illustrate the emotional and cognitive reactions of the participants and their coping with the traumatic effect of the events. Possible links between the properties of Russian immigrants as a group and their responses to this traumatic effect are discussed.     

The causes of terrorism

Abstract

Terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 and after intensified concerns about a global Jihad and other forms of terrorism, and renewed calls to better understand its causes or roots. There have been divergent views on this question, and terrorism has been argued to be caused by increased poverty, rapid urbanization, declining traditional authority, globalization, and so forth. These differences, reflecting philosophical, religious, political and other differences, are not merely academic; they can affect our understanding of both the threat and of responses to terrorism. This article provides an analytic framework for understanding the limits to understanding the causes of terrorism, identifying what can be known about causation and assessing counterterrorism implications.     

Sources of Personal Meaning Among Mexican and Mexican American Men with HIV/AIDS

ABSTRACT

This study examines one particular form of coping, finding personal meaning in the context of HIV, used by Mexican (M) and Mexican American (MA) HIV-positive men. A total of forty M and MA males who have HIV or AIDS was utilized. Individual interviews were conducted and subsequently transcribed and analyzed through content analysis. The areas most often reported by the M and MA respondents as being sources of personal meaning were as follows: relationships with family members, relationships with lovers/spouses and friends, religious beliefs, helping others, and personal growth. Knowledge of such coping resources used by M and MA men with HIV can contribute to the development of ethnic-sensitive social work practices.     

Religion,spirituality & chronic illness: A scoping review and implications for health care practitioners

ABSTRACT

While the influence of institutional religion has decreased over the last 40–50 years, research suggests that a substantial proportion of those not attending religious services continue to engage in religious and spiritual practices on their own and refer to religion as a very important aspect in their lives, and as linked to more positive health outcomes, particularly for those living with chronic conditions. This article provides a scoping review to not only highlight the research that views religion and spirituality as valuable tools for coping with chronic illness conditions, but also to highlight research that explores those who may experience some religious/spiritual doubts or a gradual loss of religiosity or spirituality with the diagnosis of chronic conditions. Regardless of a clinician’s beliefs, the authors argue that some awareness training of the value of religion and spirituality for some patients, can be beneficial. In a society facing an increasing plurality of faiths, this is deemed to be an invaluable discussion. In the end, clinical implications will be discussed.     

The role of religion in mediating the transition to residential care

PurposeThe move from independent domicile to residential care can be a traumatic experience for the elderly. This study investigated the mediatory role of the individual's religious and spiritual beliefs on coping with this transition.Design and methodsA self-report survey design was used, and questionnaires were administered to 50 individuals who had entered residential care within the previous 12 months.ResultsThe analyses showed that scores on a life satisfaction scale were significantly and positively correlated with those from a spirituality measure (p = .033), from a faith in nature and humanity scale (p = .001), and from an instrument to measure the use of religion as a coping measure (p = .004). Contrary to the hypotheses, there were no such significant relationships with measures of either organised or non-organised religion. The relationships between variables were further explored through a path analysis.ImplicationsThe findings pointed to the benefits of a more personal and subjective belief system than a formal one. We concluded that it is important for all those who work with the elderly to acknowledge and recognise the role that religious and spiritual beliefs may have as a coping mechanism during stressful times.     

Immigration Policy Changes After 9/11

Abstract

Immigrants to the United States face new and significant challenges since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Within a dramatically short time national immigration policy has become oriented more to protecting Americans than welcoming people from other nations. Creation of the Department of Homeland Security, dismantling the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and tightening the rules and enforcement provisions for immigrants were changes designed, not to facilitate the immigration process, but to counter the threat of terrorism and preventing potential terrorists from entering the country. This article discusses the recent policy changes that have affected the immigrant community and reviews how professionals working with immigrants might address these changes to better help their clients.     

Resilience in Arab American couples after September 11, 2001: a systems perspective

Guided by a family resiliency model grounded in systems theory and social constructionism, we conducted in-depth interviews to explore how 18 Arab American couples living in New York and New Jersey perceived and dealt with the terrorist attacks and aftereffects of September 11, 2001. Results are organized around five themes: Making sense of the attacks; the social environment after September 11, 2001; construction of identity: Arab and/or American; how couples cope: reactions and resources; and immigration and acculturation. Clinical recommendations include helping couples to uncover and to explore conflicts in both Arab and American identities, using genograms to deal with family-of-origin histories, recognizing specific couple dynamics linked to traditional gender roles, helping couples connect to religious and cultural communities, and assessing acculturation.     

Factors Affecting Subjective Weil-Being for Rural Elderly Individuals

Abstract

A cross-sectional survey design was used to examine the relationships between spirituality, religiousness, social support, and the subjective well-being in a sample of 215 elderly individuals in the rural counties of West Virginia and North Carolina. The Brief Multidimensional Measures of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) was used to measure various domains of religiousness/spirituality, including daily spiritual experiences, values/beliefs, forgiveness, private religious practice, religious/spiritual coping, and religious support. Multivariate analyses found social support was positively related to life satisfaction and spirituality/religiousness was inversely related to depression. These findings provide health/mental health care providers and social workers with information that can increase their awareness of and sensitivity to services or programs that are congruent with religious/spiritual values and beliefs in order to enhance quality of life among rural elderly individuals.     

Isomorphism,Institutional Parochialism,and the Sociology of Religion

This article investigates whether the field of sociology of religion is occupied by parochial concerns. We characterize institutional parochialism as the degree to which people in an academic field tend to study their own societies. This study employs a content analysis of articles published in The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion and Sociology of Religion from 2001 to 2008, with particular attention paid to the incidences in which Muslim and non-Western groups were studied before and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. There was no change in the rate that “Muslim” communities were studied following the 9/11 attacks, but it appears journal content did change to reflect ongoing debates in the West and in response to mimetic pressures being placed on the field. Overall, if the sociology of religion can be characterized as parochial, we contend that the broader field of American sociology is likely far more so.     

From the Trenches: Attacking First-Time Women Candidates for Congress

SUMMARY

Women candidates in the United States no longer enjoy a “compassion advantage” when running against male candidates. First-time women congressional candidates in open seats are especially vulnerable to excessively aggressive negative attacks from their male opponents because (1) high-tech message delivery systems make attack campaigning easy; (2) attack messages attract more attention than positive messages and get the voters to pay attention; (3) large sums of money can be raised for these attacks from national interest groups by emphasizing the national importance of Congressional races; (4) first-time women candidates who are not elected officials do not have the public record and visibility that could insulate them from the abusive distortions of their views and even of their physical appearance; (5) the press does a poor job of covering suburban-rural races and independent fact checking is virtually nonexistent; and (6) since 9/11, terrorism has become a major issue and women are apt to be portrayed as too inexperienced to be trusted with protecting the national defense.     

Religiousness/Spirituality and Subjective Well-Being Among Rural Elderly Whites,African Americans,and Native Americans

SUMMARY

Little attention has been paid to subjective well-being among non-White elderly in rural areas where medical resources and financial support are deficient. The present study assessed a rural community sample of 215 elderly comprising 85 Caucasians, 75 African Americans, and 55 Native Americans, to examine roles of spirituality/religiousness on their subjective well-being. This study found ethnic differences in the reliance on religiosity/spirituality and a significant association between dimensions of religiousness/spirituality and subjective well-being among all ethnic rural elderly groups. The results of the study suggest that health providers, social workers, and faith communities need to provide rural elderly with religious and spiritual support in order to enhance their life satisfaction and lessen their emotional distress.     

Addressing Spiritual/Religious Issues in Therapy: Potential Problems and Complications

SUMMARY

Recent years have seen a strong interest on the part of mainstream mental health professionals in clients' religious/spiritual concerns. Several phenomena have contributed to this interest and encouraged psychotherapists to address such concerns in therapy. However, the therapist's own personal biases, lack of adequate education, personal discomfort and self-serving needs can contribute to problems and complications in therapy when addressing religious/spiritual issues, ten of which are described and discussed in this article.     

Resisting terror,resisting empire The evolving ethos of American Studies

Abstract

The internationalization of American Studies is a reflection of its evolution from provincialism into a new regionalism. This raises the question of coping with the transnational while problematizing the national, thus landing American Studies in the welter of globalization both as a process and as a discourse. The global engagements of the US have produced global anti-Americanism. Terror in conjunction with globalization appears to have subsumed all other discourses in our times. To pursue American Studies in an environment of terror becomes more complicated by the fact that America itself is perceived by many as a source of global terrorism, evoking the chimera of the return of empire as envisaged in the recent work of Hardt and Negri. Resistance to the global reach of the American Empire and a global percolation of terror appear to be the two most crucial intellectual concerns of American Studies at the moment.     

Spiritual Well-Being and Suicidal Ideation Among College Students

Objective: This study explored whether specific dimensions of spiritual well-being (religious well-being and existential well-being) relate to reduced suicidal ideation, and whether associations persisted after controlling for religiosity and psychosocial variables associated with suicide. Participants: Participants were 457 college students who completed measures that assessed spiritual well-being, religiosity, hopelessness, depression, social support, and suicidal ideation. Methods: The authors used linear regression modeling to assess religious and spiritual correlates of suicidal ideation. Results: After controlling for demographic variables and psychosocial factors, neither involvement in organized religion nor religious well-being significantly contributed to suicidal ideation. However, even after controlling for significant correlates, existential well-being remained a significant predictor of suicidal ideation. Conclusions: This investigation highlighted existential well-being as an important factor associated with lower levels of suicidal ideation among college students. Findings from this study focusing on the association between spiritual well-being and suicidality may prove especially beneficial to suicide prevention efforts.