| Titel: | The psychological development and spiritual development of women: An empirical study |
|---|---|
| Autor: | Cannon, MM |
| Mediengruppe: | --- |
| Herausgeber: | --- |
| Zeitschrift: | Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Jahr: | 1995 |
| Band: | 55 |
| Heft: | 11 |
| Seiten: | 3663 |
| Sprache: | englisch |
| Abstract: | This study was to provide empirical data that would establish a relationship between women's psychological and spiritual development. A continuum of women (N = 168) including less traditional (acupuncturists), moderately traditional (pastoral counselors), and more traditional (members of Christian churches in the Annapolis area) participated in the study. Loevinger's (1970) Sentence Completion Test (SCT) was used as a measure of psychological maturity and Genia's (1991) Spiritual Experience Index (SEI) was used as a measure of spiritual maturity. Multiple regression modeled relationships of spiritual maturity using age, education, marital status, participation in therapy, group affiliation, and psychological maturity. Secondary variables of religious affiliation and perceived nurturance from religious affiliation were also considered as factors. The original model used a forced order, hierarchical multiple regression that explained 35% of the variance in spiritual maturity. The only variables that significantly explained spiritual maturity were participation in therapy, group affiliation, and psychological maturity. Participation in therapy was found to be the most important variable in explaining spiritual maturity. Interestingly, group affiliation was strongly associated with religious affiliation. The majority of Acupuncturists described themselves as 'Other', the majority of Pastoral Counselors as 'Catholic', and the majority of Church Members as 'Protestant'. Acupuncturists scored as high as Pastoral Counselors on both measures and both Acupuncturists and Pastoral Counselors scored significantly higher than Church Members. Data point to an emerging trend in which less traditional women seek to nourish their spirituality in less traditional ways (contemplation, yoga, meditation) instead of through organized religions. |