Spiritual Struggles and Psychological Distress: Is There a Dark Side of Religion?

A growing literature examines the correlates and sequelae of spiritual struggles. Particular attention has been focused on three specific types of such struggles: (a) divine, or troubled relationships with God; (b) interpersonal, or negative social encounters in religious settings; and (c) intrapsychic, or chronic religious doubting. To date, however, this literature has focused primarily on one or another type, leaving open the possibility that these are highly correlated and may tap a single, underlying dimension. Further, because studies have relied mostly on small, specialized samples, it is not clear whether the associations between spiritual struggles and psychological functioning vary across key subgroups in the US population. Using data from the 1998 NORC General Social Survey we address these issues. Findings reveal strong and independent associations between each type of spiritual struggle and psychological distress, and they also show that these patterns are robust across most population subgroups, except for variations by age and marital status. Implications, study limitations, and directions for further research are identified.     

Transformational leadership and leader moral orientation: Contrasting an ethic of justice and an ethic of care

Previous research on the moral foundations of transformational leadership has focused on a Kohlbergian (1969, 1976) ethic of justice. However, proposed associations between level of justice reasoning and transformational leadership have received only partial support. We reasoned that an ethic of care would be more consistent with the nature of transformational leadership than would be an ethic of justice. Multilevel regression analyses on data obtained from a sample of leaders (N = 55) and followers (N = 391) at a Canadian university supported our predictions. Specifically, leader propensity toward using an ethic of care was significantly, positively related to follower perceptions of transformational (but not transactional) leadership. Leader propensity toward an ethic of justice was significantly, positively related to follower perceptions of transactional (but not transformational) leadership. Conceptual, research, and practical implications are discussed.     

In memory of Bernie Zilbergeld 1939–2002

This study examined perceptions of sexual harassment based on belief in women's use of token resistance and a victim's physical or verbal resistance to unwanted sexual attention, described in experimentally manipulated vignettes. Findings from 541 undergraduates revealed that a stronger belief in token resistance was associated with weaker perceptions of sexual harassment. Results showed that any type of resistance led to stronger perceptions of sexual harassment than no resistance at all, except for those with a stronger belief in women's use of token resistance. Perceptions among those with a stronger belief strengthened only when there were two forms of resistance offered simultaneously. These findings extend the literature by investigating the influence of physical resistance on sexual harassment perceptions.     

An evaluation of repertory grid technique in social work education

Social work educators need to develop a repertoire of methods to help students and practitioners reflect on and learn from practice. A matched subjects experimental research design was used to evaluate the use of repertory grid technique with cohorts of students from two social work qualifying courses. Students found completing and discussing computer analyses of grids a useful adjunct to conventional supervision. Grid completion was also associated with improved course performance.     

Does Anti‐Hispanic Bias Motivate Opposition to Non‐English Languages?*

Contemporary political debates about language policy in the United States focus on three primary policy issues: bilingual education in public schools, English‐only legislation, and the access of non‐English speaking citizens to political rights. Using the “Multi‐Ethnic United States” module from the 2000 General Social Survey (GSS), this article tests multiple attitudinal, behavioral, demographic, and contextual hypotheses for how Anglos and African Americans view bilingual policy issues. We examine the role of linguistic contact, self‐interest, group threat, and discriminatory views of Latinos, finding that the latter—as measured by the “Three Ds” (Derogation, Disrespect, and Distance)—are the strongest predictors of attitudes toward bilingualism. Distance (social distance from Latinos) is consistently significant, disrespect (doubts about Latino contributions to the United States.) is mostly significant, and derogation (Latino stereotypes) is occasionally significant. Also, political ideology and knowledge of a non‐English language play important roles in the formation of favorable bilingualism opinions. However, the self‐interest and group threat variables were largely insignificant. Taken together, these findings indicate the importance of understanding how policy views may be structured by opinions about out‐group individuals and cultures. Language can serve as a proxy for immigrants themselves, as negative attitudes toward Latinos are associated with negative attitudes toward bilingualism.     

Home‐start and the delivery of family support

The publication of Child Protection: Messages from Research (Department of Health, 1995) and of the ‘Supporting Families’ Green Paper (Home Office, 1998) have both highlighted the importance of developing family support services, in keeping with the word and the spirit of the Children Act, 1989. This article presents some of the findings of a three year study of a voluntary organisation, Home‐Start, which offers support to mothers with children under five through volunteer home visiting. The article makes connections between the activities of Home‐Start and the wider debate about family support in the United Kingdom. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using auxiliary data for parameter estimation with non-ignorably missing outcomes

We propose a method for estimating parameters in generalized linear models when the outcome variable is missing for some subjects and the missing data mechanism is non-ignorable. We assume throughout that the covariates are fully observed. One possible method for estimating the parameters is maximum likelihood with a non-ignorable missing data model. However, caution must be used when fitting non-ignorable missing data models because certain parameters may be inestimable for some models. Instead of fitting a non-ignorable model, we propose the use of auxiliary information in a likelihood approach to reduce the bias, without having to specify a non-ignorable model. The method is applied to a mental health study.