The spiritual development of emerging adults over the college years: A 4-year longitudinal investigation.

Abstract

Within the past decade, there has been a growing base of research literature on the developmental stage that Jeffrey Arnett ( 2004) termed emerging adulthood. While there is still much to be known about emerging adulthood in general, even less is known about the religious and spiritual lives of emerging adults. To date, few if any studies have specifically sought to explore the spiritual development of Evangelical Christian students attending an explicitly Christian college-an educational context that openly emphasizes matters relating to religion and spirituality as core educational outcomes (e.g., chapels, bible and theology classes). The current study was designed to explore religious and spiritual change over time among Evangelical Christian emerging adults measured at 8 time points across all 4 years of college. Given the paucity of research, the goal of this study was not to test specific hypotheses, but rather to observe and describe this change.

A Longitudinal Study of Spirituality, Character Strengths, Subjective Well-Being, and Prosociality in Middle School Adolescents

“…Items were rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 ( never true ) to 5 ( always true ). Past studies have found this scale to be reliable and valid (e.g., Benson et al, 1993; Hall et al, 2016). In the current study, Cronbach Alphas were acceptable (from 0.93 to 0.95) at the three time points.…”

Changes in Religious Doubt and Physical and Mental Health in Emerging Adulthood

“…For instance, moving out of the parental home to attend college and gaining exposure to higher educational institutions are known to have a secularizing impact on religious beliefs (Schwadel 2011; Uecker, Regnerus, and Vaaler 2007). As the social world of emerging adults change, many may begin to question or doubt their faith (Hall, Edwards, and Wang 2016; Haney and Rollock 2020; Kimball et al. 2016; Liang and Ketcham 2017; Zarzycka and Zietek 2019).…”

The mediating role of self-acceptance in the psychological distress of sexual minority students on Christian college campuses.

“…When it comes to the goal of diminishing psychological distress in faith-based higher education, IR is operationalized in residential life and curricular settings with an awareness of the intrapersonal impact. As Hall et al (2016) found in their longitudinal research with emerging adults, spiritual growth is facilitated through engaging in relationships, developing biblical and theological perspectives, and coming to terms with suffering. These findings are helpful for offices of college student development which seek to provide optimal contexts for personal growth and identity development for all students.…”