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Psychological Well-Being, Occupational Thriving, and Positive Interpersonal Relationships
No full textResearchers have examined the role of positive interpersonal relationships in order to help individuals thrive in a variety of domains. During the late 20th century, interest has been piqued regarding what is required for individuals to maintain an optimal level of productivity and positivity in their vocation of choice. Questions of work performance and psychological well-being have further led to the study of the role of interpersonal relationships in occupational thriving. Specifically, this project focused on clergy’s occupational thriving and psychological well-being. Clergy have typically reported high stress levels, while simultaneously reporting high levels of satisfaction with their vocational choice. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between psychological well-being, occupational thriving, and positive interpersonal relationships. Results indicated that psychological well-being was greatly influenced by an individual’s ability to thrive in their work environment. Additionally, positive interpersonal relationships contributed to an individual’s ability to experience both psychological well-being and occupational thriving
Stress Hormones, Heart Rate Variability, and Resilience in Special Forces
No full textResilience is broadly defined as the ability to preserve healthy physical and psychological functioning in the face of chronic or traumatic stress. Exposure to chronic and traumatic stress signals the autonomic nervous system to activate the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, which triggers the secretion of stress hormones, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), from the adrenal cortex, which is associated with a heightened ability to recruit valuable physiological resources to respond effectively to the stressor. However, prolonged exposure to cortisol can have deleterious effects on the brain and lead to negative physical and psychological outcomes. Antiglucocorticoid effects of DHEA and DHEA-sulfate (DHEA-S) appear to counter the long-term negative effects of cortisol and bolster resilience. The autonomic nervous system also regulates heart rate variability, which also appears to be associated with resilience in the face of environmental stressors. The present studied explored the ratio of DHEA and DHEA-S to cortisol and heart rate variability (HRV) as indices of resilience. Twenty-eight members of the U.S. Army National Guard Special Forces completed resilience questionnaires, provided blood-based DHEA and saliva-based cortisol, and underwent HRV measurement while interacting with a stress inducing virtual environment. Significant relationships and trends toward significance were observed between both biomarkers for resilience and aspects of resilience. The present study provides evidence that both biomarkers can be used as indices for resilience to stress
Academic Functioning in Individuals With Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum
No full textResearch on the academic functioning of individuals with agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) is limited. This study addressed questions related to academic functioning in individuals with ACC using the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-II (WIAT-II; Wechsler, 2005). The WIAT-II is divided into four domains (reading, oral language, written language, and math), providing a comprehensive examination of academic ability within the target population. The scores of persons with ACC (N = 22) on eight of the WIAT-II subtests were compared to the established WIAT-II norms using a series of one-sample t tests. Significant differences from test norms were found on the math reasoning (Cohen’s d = 0.57) and the written expression (Cohen’s d = 0.53) subtests. Individuals with ACC performed significantly worse than expected on both subtests. Additionally, a trend was found on numerical operations (Cohen’s d = 0.39) subtest, with persons with ACC tending to score lower than expected. Further, when individuals with partial ACC were removed from the dataset, the effect sizes increased on math reasoning (Cohen’s d = 0.78), numerical operations (Cohen’s d = 0.65), and written expression (Cohen’s d = 0.80). This suggested that individuals with ACC struggled to reason mathematically, which may be related to deficits in strategy formation and complex novel problem-solving. The differences found on the written expression subtest implied difficulties planning and developing written responses as well as possible struggles with generating creative responses
COLLECTION 0076: Papers of Alex V. BIlls, 1906-1999
Get PDFThe collection consists of 88 boxes of material. Contents date throughout the 20th century, but mostly span the 1970s-1980s. The principal focus of the collection is the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement in the United States. The archival collection includes periodicals, articles, topical research files, conference and ministry documents, audio and video recordings, bibliographies, address books and directories documenting the Pentecostal, Latter Rain, charismatic, and Third Wave movements in American church history. The 4,000 volume book collection has been added to the David Allan Hubbard Library’s Special Collections. The entire collection was originally known as the Charles Parham Collection
Strengthening Our Relationship with God: A Training Strategy for Adult Leaders to Practice Spiritual Exercises
Get PDFSpiritual exercises are valuable practices that come to us through Scripture and Christian tradition. However, these practices have been lost to our own church at a time when perhaps we most need them. Our church, the Great Exchange Covenant Church (GrX) is in the Silicon Valley of California. Our context is marked by innovative technology, creativity and imagination. It is also marked by over-achievement, competition, financial pressure and a pervasive feeling of anxiety. People are overly- busy, pressured and worried, leading to lives of restlessness and frantic activity. The result is a profound disconnection from God, from others and even from a sense of oneself.
In response to the challenges facing the GrX church community and to counter the frenetic culture of Silicon Valley, this doctoral project will seek to help the adult leaders of GrX strengthen their relationship with God, others and themselves through the spiritual exercises of solitude, silence, prayer, study and rest. Spiritual practices found in Scripture and in Christian tradition can be rediscovered. They can also be reimagined to engage the hearts and minds of believers in Silicon Valley who seek to live faithfully amidst this culture.
Part One explores the ministry context and challenges of the people at GrX. Part Two consists of a literature review, engaging the topic of spiritual practices and the need for adults to engage in these practices. Part Two also offers theological reflection and explores more deeply the specific practices of solitude, silence, prayer, study and rest. Part Three delineates the goals and plans for a ministry program focused on spiritual exercises. Part Three also contains the implementation strategy of the ministry program then concludes with an overall program assessment to see if the practice of spiritual exercises helps strengthen one’s connection with God, others and oneself