Symposium II
Dimension of Sprituality in Abilities and Disabilities
Friday, May 13, 2016, 10:30 - 12:00
Chair: Arndt Büssing
1. Religiosity, Spirituality and Cognitive Abilities – Research Review and Theoretical Reflections
Emilia Wroclawska-Warchala, Michal Warchala
Negative correlation between religiosity and intelligence is a well-replicated research result in psychology; so is a similar relation between educational level and religiosity in sociology. However, one may find interesting studies showing positive relations between certain types of cognitive abilities and some dimensions of religiosity or spirituality; these relations may correspond, to a certain degree, to different levels of religious commitment among representatives of different scholarly disciplines. The aim of the paper is to overview recent (2005-2015) research on the subject and to show possible directions of further research. First focus of the paper will be to present brief overview of recent studies on relations between various types of academic (rational) intelligence, emotional intelligence and religiosity/spirituality; second focus will be to outline relations between creativity and religiosity/spirituality; the third one – a critical comparative analysis of the concepts “wisdom”, “spiritual intelligence” and “existential intelligence” which try to build a bridge between religiosity/spirituality and intelligence.
2. Dimensions of Spirituality in Persons with Down Syndrome - Who Cares?
Arndt Büssing, Silke Broghammer
Individuals with mental handicaps are often regarded as `deficient´, although they may experience high life satisfaction and a deep sense of spirituality.
We intended to identify emotional and behavioral aspects of spirituality (operationalized as connectedness with and turning to others, conscious awareness, feelings of gratitude and awe, and religious issues) which are of relevance for individuals with Down Syndrome (DS), and how these are related to their life satisfaction.
This based on a cross-sectional survey among 65 persons with DS (29±9 years of age; 59% women; 52% living with their parents) using 19 grammatically and linguistically adjusted items taken from already validated scales (i.e., SpREUK-P, ASP, SpNQ).
Some experiences and activities were made or were performed often, others not. Feelings of wondering awe were stated rather seldom, similarly praying or church attendance. In contrast, the experience that the heart is “laughing” when listening to beautiful music, or the general perception that the heart is full of joy, were made quite often. Similarly, the experience of gratefulness or the awareness for positive/ good experiences in their life was made quite often.
The mean scores of all items did not significantly differ for gender. However, the mean scores of several variables differed significantly.
3. Dimensions of Spirituality in Persons with Down Syndrome in Poland - Who Cares?
Piotr Krakowiak, Arndt Büssing, Janusz Surzykiewicz
Individuals with mental handicaps are often regarded as lacking capacities to express their various needs, such us spiritual. Clinical practice shows that they may experience high life satisfaction, which can be connected with deep sense of spirituality and meaning. Inspired by studies done by Arndt Büssing in Germany, the team of researchers has been invited to study individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) in Poland, who for the first time answered for their spiritual needs in this research.
We intended to identify emotional and behavioral aspects of spirituality (operationalized as connectedness with and turning to others, conscious awareness, feelings of gratitude and awe, and religious issues) which are of relevance for individuals with Down Syndrome (DS), and how these are related to their life satisfaction.
This is based on a cross-sectional survey among 40 persons with DS have used 19 grammatically and linguistically adjusted items taken from already validated scales (i.e., SpREUK-P, ASP, SpNQ). Translation process of German tool was carefully carried by Arndt Büssing, Janusz Surzykiewicz and Piotr Krakowiak.
Some experiences and activities were made or were performed often, others not. Feelings of wondering awe were stated rather seldom, similarly praying or church attendance. In contrast, the experience that the heart is “laughing” when listening to beautiful music, or the general perception that the heart is full of joy, were made quite often. Similarly, the experience of gratefulness or the awareness for positive/ good experiences in their life was made quite often. Life satisfaction have scored high in most persons.
Persons living without their parents were more in need for concrete persons and they rely on transcendent sources of help, indicating a relational and emotional `deficiency´. Their life satisfaction correlated best with feelings that God is at their side, which implies that God provides emotional support. When for person´s with DS particularly the relational aspects of spirituality were of importance, who can help to support these essential needs when several of them lack reliable family structures?
4. Effectiveness of Spiritual Issues Training on Life Satisfaction of Persian Orphan Adolescents
Seyed Mohammad Kalantarkousheh, Marziyeh Rouholamini, Enayat Sharifi
This study was performed with the purpose of determining the effectiveness of spiritual issues training on life satisfaction of Persian orphan adolescents. The study population was from female adolescents of two orphanages located in Kerman, Iran. They were randomly divided into two experimental and two control groups (each group including 10 members). The experimental groups were received the spiritual training in ten sessions (spiritual training included issues such as image of God, relationship with God, Tawwakul, searching for meaning during difficulties and pain), whereas the control groups were in the waiting list. Life satisfaction questionnaire was completed by one experimental and one control group before the training; and also after it, all four groups filled out the mentioned questionnaire. The Analysis of Covariance on the results revealed that spiritual issues training had a significant positive effect on life satisfaction of the experimental groups in comparison with the control groups. Lastly, discussion, conclusion, some suggestions and directions were indicated.