Addressing parental spirituality as part of the problem and solution in family psychotherapy.

Abstract

For years, critics of corporal punishment have pointed out that parents may lean on Bible passages such as these to justify harsh or physically abusive parenting (Dyslin & Thomsen, 2005). Yet parental spirituality encompasses more than isolated disciplinary beliefs or practices shored up by narrow interpretations of sacred scriptures. Broadly speaking, spirituality can be part of the problem or the solution when dysfunctional parenting occurs within families referred for psychotherapy. Moreover, numerous studies of non-clinicreferred families have shown that greater parental spirituality tends to predict better parenting in national or community samples of married heterosexual people and single mothers (Mahoney, 2010;Mahoney, Pargament, Swank, & Tarakeshwar, 2001). For example, greater importance of religion or spirituality in one's life and religious attendance correlate with greater maternal self-efficacy and positive parenting methods by single, adolescent mothers and with a lower risk of child maltreatment in low-income and minority families (e.g., Carothers, Borkowski, Lefever, & Whitman, 2005

Neighborhood disorder, spiritual well-being, and parenting stress in African American women.

“…The study also has several implications for practice. There is increasing recognition of the need for family interventions to target spiritual well-being (Mahoney, LeRoy, Kusner, Padgett, & Grimes, 2013). Doing so requires the family psychologist to convey respect for spirituality as a resilience factor that supports positive coping, regardless of his or her own religious persuasion and level of spirituality (Constantine, Lewis, Conner, & Sanchez, 2000).…”

A qualitative study of parenting and religiosity/spirituality in LBGTQ families.

“…While some LGBTQ parents may have had struggles with religious and/or spiritual individuals and institutions, their religious identities and spiritual values may be an important source of support for themselves and their children. Practitioners can help LGBTQ parents gain insight into how their own R/S backgrounds and experiences have shaped their parenting goals and practices (Mahoney, LeRoy, Kusner, Padgett, & Grimes, 2013), including how minority stress may have influenced their R/S development and family life.…”

Healing after traumatic events: Aligning interventions with cultural background and religious and spiritual beliefs

“…Though often overlooked, particularly in school settings, R/S beliefs play an important role in how children process and express feelings associated with grief (Jerome, 2011; Walker & Hathaway, 2013). Highly influenced by parents' beliefs, children's R/S beliefs must be considered when selecting interventions to address grief (Cohen et al, 2017; Mahoney, LeRoy, Kusner, Padgett, & Grimes, 2013).…”