Research on resilience has shown that resilient individuals possess a variety of internal characteristics (e.g., hardiness and reflectiveness) and a mixture of external characteristics (e.g., social contact and relationship recruiting) that interact to promote resilience. This research examined the relationship between social support of friends, social support of family, and resiliency to further understand the impact of social contact on psychological health and wellbeing. Study 1 showed that in the face of self-reported difficult life circumstances, friend support (but not family support) predicts most aspects of psychological wellbeing. Similarly, Study 2 found that previous reports of friend (but not family) support predicted positive affect for participants in a simulated achievement rejection experimental condition. Taken together, these studies suggest that among adults, perceived social support from friends may be more impactful than social support from family.
Recent research has demonstrated that individuals' relationships with God are attachment-based. However, research has not yet investigated differences in attachment to God by parents' marital status. Thus, the goal of the present study was to examine these links. To do so, 288 undergraduate students completed measures assessing family structure, attachment to fathers, attachment to mothers, and attachment to God. Results suggest support for the correspondence theory of attachment to God (i.e., individuals project their attachment to parents onto their attachments to God) for participants with married parents. In contrast, the compensation hypothesis (i.e., individuals seek relationships with God to fulfill unreliable relationships with parents) was supported for participants with divorced parents.
The life and work of Stanley Hauerwas are discussed in light of what his theological work might mean for clinicians in the fields of psychology and counseling. In particular, three broad themes are considered. The first theme highlights the manner in which Hauerwas critiques the assumptions of liberalism and argues for the story-formed nature of ethics and character. The second theme develops the way in which Hauerwas understands the role of tradition, narrative, grammar, practice, and virtue in shaping character specifically as it applies to his understanding of the Christian tradition. The last theme addresses how Hauerwas understands the church to be a political and subversive witness that embodies an alternative conception of life and of being human. Implications of Hauerwas’ thought for psychotherapy are considered for each theme as well as potential questions that might emerge for clinicians as they interact with Hauerwas’ work.
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