The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence

by Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, Pamela Ebstyne King, Linda M. Wagener, Peter L. Benson

Overview

"With sixty-seven scholars from four continents and many diverse disciplines contributing as authors to the volume; with fourteen scholars from around the world serving as editorial advisors; with financial support provided by the John Templeton Foundation via Search Institute; with frequent conversations occurring with colleagues at Fuller Theological Seminary; and with the careful attention of editorial work provided by Sage publications, this handbook provides a remarkable contribution toward those ends." 

                                                                                  —JOURNAL OF YOUTH AND THEOLOGY

"Research into spiritual development during childhood and adolescence has . . .  yearned for the stimulus of integration, cross-fertilization, and internationalization, across conceptual boundaries, methodological divisions, religious traditions, and local interests.  The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence sets out to meet this need and does so with skill and with authority, by identifying the key themes and by drawing on the best minds to address those themes.  Research communities and faith communities have been well served by this pioneering initiative."  
- The Revd Professor Leslie J Francis PhD, ScD, DD, University of Wales, Bangor, UK     

The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence breaks new ground by articulating the state of knowledge in the area of childhood and adolescent spiritual development. Featuring a rich array of theory and research from an international assortment of leading social scientists in multiple disciplines, this book represents work from diverse traditions and approaches – making it an invaluable resource for scholars across a variety of disciplines and organizations.  

Key Features:

• Presents a wealth of interdisciplinary theory and research, as well as proposals for future areas of inquiry, to help move spiritual development into a mainstream field of learning
• Provides the first comprehensive collection of social science research on spiritual development in childhood and adolescence to introduce the topic engagingly to students
• Features the works of scholars from around the world in multiple disciplines (psychology, sociology, anthropology, medicine, and educational philosophy) to present a diversity of traditions and approaches
• Includes introductions to the volume as well as to each section that provide overviews and syntheses of key concepts

The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence is a key resource for academics, researchers, and students in departments of Psychology, Family Studies, and Religious Studies. It is particularly useful for courses in Developmental Psychology, Human Development (especially child and adolescent development), Psychology of Religion, and Sociology of Religion. It also will be invaluable for professionals working with young people, including educators, religious leaders, and health practitioners.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483384849
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	08/04/2005
Series:	The SAGE Program on Applied Developmental Science
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	560
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Eugene C. Roehlkepartain is senior adviser in the office of the president, Search Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he provides leadership for research, publishing, training, and consulting projects that focus on spiritual development, as well as the institute’s work with congregations of all faiths. Roehlkepartain has written more than 25 books and reports, and numerous newspaper, magazine, and journal articles on youth development, families and parenting, community building, religious and spiritual development, and related issues. In addition to editing this volume, he is a coeditor of Religious Perspectives on Spirituality in Childhood and Adolescence (2005). He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and religion from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Pamela Ebstyne King serves as research assistant professor of psychology in the Center for Research in Child and Adolescent Development in the School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Her primary research and teaching interests include positive youth development, spiritual and moral development, and theological perspectives of development. She is particularly interested in enabling thriving through families, congregations, schools, and youth-serving organizations. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Dr. King has a background in child, youth, and adult ministry; a master’s of divinity; and Ph.D. in family studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. She was a visiting scholar under the Divinity Faculty at Cambridge University and did her postdoctoral work at the Stanford Center on Adolescence. Dr. King is a coauthor of The Reciprocating Self: Human Development in Theological Perspective (2005). Her research has been published in Developmental Psychology, Applied Developmental Science, the Journal of Early Adolescence, and the Journal of Psychology and Christianity. 

Linda M. Wagener is associate professor of psychology and associate dean of the graduate school of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary, where she is also codirector of the Center for Research in Child and Adolescent Development. Her research interests include positive youth development, with a particular focus on the spiritual, religious, and moral development of adolescence. Dr. Wagener is currently a principal investigator on an adolescent violence prevention grant from the United States Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Peter L. Benson is president of Search Institute, which provides leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities. He has written extensively in adolescent development, altruism, spiritual development, and thriving in adolescence. He serves as principal investigator for Search Institute’s initiative on spiritual development in childhood and adolescence. In 1991, he received the William James Award for career contributions to the psychology of religion from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Benson is the author or editor of numerous books and articles, including Developmental Assets and Asset-Building Communities, All Kids Are Our Kids: What Communities Must Do to Raise Caring and Responsible Children and Adolescents, and Religion on Capitol Hill: Myths and Realities. He is general editor for the Search Institute Series on Developmentally Attentive Community and Society, published by Springer. He holds a doctorate in experimental social psychology from the University of Denver.

 

 

Table of Contents

Editors’ Preface
1. Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence: Moving to the Scientific Mainstream - Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, Peter L. Benson, Pamela Ebstyne King, and Linda M. Wagener
PART I FOUNDATIONS FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
Introduction
2. Toward a Developmental Analysis of Religious and Spiritual Development - W. George Scarlett
3. Stages of Faith From Infancy Through Adolescence: Reflections on Three Decades of Faith Development Theory - James W. Fowler and Mary Lynn Dell
4. Spiritual Development: Intersections and Divergence With Religious Development - David Hay, K. Helmut Reich, and Michael Utsch
5. On Making Humans Human: Spirituality and the Promotion of Positive Youth Development - Richard M. Lerner, Amy E. Alberts, Pamela M. Anderson, and Elizabeth M. Dowling
6. Philosophical Issues in Spiritual Education and Development - Hanan A. Alexander and David Carr
7. Measurement and Research Design in Studying Spiritual Development - Richard L. Gorsuch and Donald Walker
PART II DESCRIPTIVE APPROACHES TO SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
8. The Demographics of Spirituality Among Youth: International Perspectives - Laura H. Lippman and Julie Dombrowski Keith
9. The Changing Global Context of Adolescent Spirituality - Suman Verma and Madelene Sta. Maria
10. Spiritual and Religious Pathology in Childhood and Adolescence - Linda M. Wagener and H. Newton Malony
11. Non-Western Approaches to Spiritual Development Among Infants and Young Children: A Case Study From West Africa - Alma Gottlieb
12. Spiritual Experiences and Capacities of Children and Youth - Tobin Hart
PART III SPIRITUALITY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: EXPLORING CONNECTIONS
Introduction
13. A Neuropsychological Perspective of Spiritual Development - Andrew B. Newberg and Stephanie K. Newberg
14. Attachment and Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence - Pehr Granqvist and Jane R. Dickie
15. Cognitive-Cultural Foundations of Spiritual Development - Carl N. Johnson and Chris J. Boyatzis
16. The Relationship Between Moral and Spiritual Development - Lawrence J. Walker and Kevin S. Reimer
17. The Relationship Between Spiritual Development and Civic Development - Thomas M. Donnelly, M. Kyle Matsuba, Daniel Hart, and Robert Atkins
18. The Relation Between Spiritual Development and Identity Processes - Janice L. Templeton and Jacquelynne S. Eccles
19. Personality and Spiritual Development - Teresa T. Kneezel and Robert A. Emmons
PART IV THE ECOLOGIES OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
20. Ethnicity, Culture, and Spiritual Development - Jacqueline S. Mattis, Muninder K. Ahluwalia, Sheri-Ann E. Cowie, and Aria M. Kirkland-Harris
21. The Family as a Context for Religious and Spiritual Development in Children and Youth - Chris J. Boyatzis, David C. Dollahite, and Loren D. Marks
22. Mentors, Friends, and Gurus: Peer and Nonparent Influences on Spiritual Development - Kelly Dean Schwartz, William M. Bukowski, and Wayne T. Aoki
23. Congregations: Unexamined Crucibles for Spiritual Development - Eugene C. Roehlkepartain and Eboo Patel
PART V DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
24. Religious Coping by Children and Adolescents: Unexplored Territory in the Realm of Spiritual Development - Annette Mahoney, Sara Pendleton, and Heidi Ihrke
25. Resilience and Spirituality in Youth - Emily Crawford, Margaret O’Dougherty Wright, and Ann S. Masten
26. Delinquency: A Quest for Moral and Spiritual Integrity? - Ronnie Frankel Blakeney and Charles David Blakeney
27. Spiritual Development and Adolescent Well-Being and Thriving - Pamela Ebstyne King and Peter L. Benson
28. Religion, Spirituality, and Children’s Physical Health - Doug Oman and Carl E. Thoresen
PART VI TOWARD THE FUTURE IN PRACTICE, POLICY, AND RESEARCH
Introduction
29. Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy With Youth: A Child-Centered Approach - Lisa Miller and Brien Kelley
30. Bridging the Gap: From Social Science to Congregations, Researchers to Practitioners - Dean Borgman
31. Integrating Spiritual Development Into Child and Youth Care Programs and Institutions - Daniel G. Scott and Douglas Magnuson
32. Bridging to Public Policy and Civil Society - Steve Hornberger, Roberta Furtick Jones, and Robert L. Miller Jr.
33. Childhood Spirituality: Strengthening the Research Foundation - Donald Ratcliff and Rebecca NyeDonald Ratcliff and Rebecca Nye
34. The Science of Child and Adolescent Spiritual Development: Definitional, Theoretical, and Field-Building Challenges - Peter L. Benson
Author Index
Subject Index
About the Editors
About the Contributors

Editorial Reviews

Research into spiritual development during childhood and adolescence has remained fragmented and yearned for the stimulus of integration, cross-fertilisation, and internationalisation, across conceptual boundaries, methodological divisions, religious traditions, and local interests. The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence sets out to meet this need and does so with skill and with authority, by identifying the key themes and by drawing on the best minds to address those themes. Research communities and faith communities have been well served by this pioneering initiative.“

The Revd Professor Leslie J Francis Ph D

"The editors recognize that spirituality, long neglected by psychologists, has recently come back into fashion. Because of the long exile, many psychologists are illiterate about religious scholarship. These editors know the field and are qualified to serve as guides to assist their psychologist colleagues in gaining an introduction and immersion….Timely and worthwhile. "

James Youniss

"The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence makes a significant contribution to the breadth of interpretation of the multiple realities related to something we identify as spirituality. The strength of this volume is that it does not settle for one description or one definition of spirituality. Instead, it offers insight into the struggle to define spirituality through the multiple perspectives of the social sciences. The edited volume contributes meaningfully to the work of others who also study the content and context of our spiritual development."

Joretta L. Marshall

"With sixty-seven scholars from four continents and many diverse disciplines contributing as authors to the volume; with fourteen scholars from around the world serving as editorial advisors; with financial support provided by the John Templeton Foundation via Search Institute; with frequent conversations occurring with colleagues at Fuller Theological Seminary; and with the careful attention of editorial work provided by Sage publications, this handbook provides a remarkable contribution toward those ends. "  —JOURNAL OF YOUTH AND THEOLOGY

Journal of Youth and Theology (2007) - Chris Kiesling

“Research into spiritual development during childhood and adolescence has remained fragmented and yearned for the stimulus of integration, cross-fertilisation, and internationalisation, across conceptual boundaries, methodological divisions, religious traditions, and local interests. The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence sets out to meet this need and does so with skill and with authority, by identifying the key themes and by drawing on the best minds to address those themes. Research communities and faith communities have been well served by this pioneering initiative.“

The Revd Professor Leslie J Francis PhD