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The Relationship between Quest Religious Orientation, Forgiveness, and Mental Health

Messay, Berhane
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1279909464

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, Psychology, Clinical.
Many religious traditions encourage forgiveness but little is known about how religious orientation, specifically Quest, characterized less by dogmatic doctrinal beliefs and more by belief in spiritual development as a journey that involves questioning and doubting, relates to forgiveness. In addition, research on the relationship between Quest and psychological distress has yielded conflicting findings. A possible reason for the inconsistent findings is that previous studies have conceptualized Quest as a unidimensional construct. The purpose of this study was to investigate how Quest and its recently recognized dimensions related to forgiveness and psychological distress. Participants (N=242) were recruited from introductory and upper-level classes at a medium-sized, Midwestern Catholic university. They completed measures of Quest (the Multidimensional Quest Orientation Scale and the Quest Scale), forgiveness (the Forgiveness Scale with additional questions regarding perceived tolerance of offender, and the Forgiveness Likelihood Scale) and psychological distress (the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale). Results suggested that certain dimensions of Quest were better predictors of forgiveness (e.g., Tentativeness, Exploration and Moralistic Interpretation) and distress (e.g., Change, Religious Angst, and Existential Motives). More importantly, results revealed that same dimensions that were positively related to distress were negatively related to forgiveness. Further, the relationship between Quest and forgiveness appears to be moderated by the perceived tolerance/open-mindedness level of the offender.
Lee Dixon (Committee Chair)
Susan Davis (Committee Member)
Melissa Layman-Guadalupe (Committee Member)
Jack Ling (Committee Member)
Behaviorial Sciences; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Religion
Quest religious orientation; multidimensional aspect of Quest; forgiveness; psychological distress; perceived tolerance and open-mindedness level of the offender

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Messay, B. (2010). The Relationship between Quest Religious Orientation, Forgiveness, and Mental Health [Master's thesis, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1279909464

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Messay, Berhane. The Relationship between Quest Religious Orientation, Forgiveness, and Mental Health. 2010. University of Dayton, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1279909464.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Messay, Berhane. "The Relationship between Quest Religious Orientation, Forgiveness, and Mental Health." Master's thesis, University of Dayton, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1279909464

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

dayton1279909464
9,141
© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.