Janice Bell Meisenhelder

Bio: Janice Bell Meisenhelder is an academic researcher from MGH Institute of Health Professions. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mental health & Coping (psychology). The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 19 publications receiving 691 citations. Previous affiliations of Janice Bell Meisenhelder include Emmanuel College (Massachusetts).

Altruistic social interest behaviors are associated with better mental health.

Abstract: Objective This study investigated whether altruistic social interest behaviors such as engaging in helping others were associated with better physical and mental health in a stratified random sample of 2016 members of the Presbyterian Church throughout the United States. Methods Mailed questionnaires evaluated giving and receiving help, prayer activities, positive and negative religious coping, and self-reported physical and mental health. Results Multivariate regression analysis revealed no association between giving or receiving help and physical functioning, although the sample was highly skewed toward high physical functioning. Both helping others and receiving help were significant predictors of mental health, after adjusting for age, gender, stressful life events, income, general health, positive and negative religious coping, and asking God for healing (R2 =.27). Giving help was a more important predictor of better reported mental health than receiving help, and feeling overwhelmed by others' demands was an independent predictor of worse mental health in the adjusted model. Significant predictors of giving help included endorsing more prayer activities, higher satisfaction with prayer life, engaging in positive religious coping, age, female gender, and being a church elder. Frequency of prayer and negative religious coping were not related to giving help. Conclusions Helping others is associated with higher levels of mental health, above and beyond the benefits of receiving help and other known psychospiritual, stress, and demographic factors. The links between these findings and response shift theory are discussed, and implications for clinical interventions and future research are described.

Frequency of Prayer and Functional Health in Presbyterian Pastors

Abstract: The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship of frequency of prayer to eight subcategories of physical and mental health. As part of the ongoing Presbyterian Panel, 1,412 active Presbyterian pastors drawn from a national, random sample were surveyed by mail regarding their frequency of prayer and self-perceptions of health outcomes. The results indicated a high level of functioning overall for all eight categories of physical and mental health. Predictably, frequency of prayer was extremely skewed towards high frequency. Despite a lack of variation in both health and prayer, high frequency of prayer was significantly related to higher scores in three health outcomes: vitality, general health, and mental health. These relationships remained significant in the analysis even after controlling for the influence of demographic variables, such as gender and age. Various explanations of the results are explored.

Responses of Clergy to 9/11: Posttraumatic Stress, Coping, and Religious Outcomes

Abstract: This study examines posttraumatic stress, religious coping, and nonreligious coping in relation to positive religious outcomes following the tragedies of 9/11. In November 2001, a mailed survey of 814 active, ordained ministers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) measured posttraumatic stress, perceived threat, coping activities, positive and negative religious coping, positive religious outcomes, and perceived congregational responses. A majority of the respondents (75 percent) experienced some posttraumatic stress symptoms, with 63 percent feeling threatened for their personal safety. Nonreligious coping behaviors included contributing money (60 percent) and displaying the flag (56 percent). Looking to God for strength, support, and guidance was the most frequently used strategy; increased prayer was second. High stress was associated with higher frequency of coping strategies, both religious and nonreligious. More frequent positive religious coping was related to less severe stress symptoms of numbness and avoidance, and higher positive religious outcomes. Although religion failed to provide protection against stress in a population of religiously dedicated individuals, it provided a pathway for positive and effective coping strategies that resulted in positive religious outcomes.

Terrorism, posttraumatic stress, and religious coping.

Abstract: The events of September 11, 2001 triggered a widespread national response that was two-fold: a posttraumatic stress reaction and an increase in attendance in religious services and practices immediately following the tragic events. The following discussion traces the existing research to distinguish this posttraumatic stress reaction from posttraumatic stress disorder as a recognized psychiatric diagnosis. This disaster reaction is then examined in light of the research on religious coping, delineating both its positive and negative aspects and the respective outcomes. A conceptual model illustrates the benefits in seeking religious comfort for managing a postdisaster stress response. Nursing implications for practice are discussed.

Spirituality and Health Outcomes in the Elderly

Abstract: The purpose of this mail survey was to examine the relationship of attitudinal and behavioral measures of spirituality to physical and mental health outcomes in a sample of elderly community residents. Frequency of prayer, importance of faith, and reliance on religion for their coping were compared for their association with eight categories of physical and mental health. All three measures, prayer, faith and religious coping, correlated strongly with positive mental health, but not with the other seven physical health categories. Multiple regression analyses indicated importance of one's faith had the strongest association with positive mental health, even after controlling for the effect of other significant variables, age and education. The behavioral measure of prayer was a component of importance of faith to mental health, with no independent impact. This study highlights attitudes rather than practices, as the stronger spiritual variables related to mental health in the elderly.

Childhood and Society.

Abstract: Erik Eriksen is a remarkable individual. He has no college degrees yet is Professor of Human Development at Harvard University. He came to psychology via art, which explains why the reader will find him painting contexts and backgrounds rather than stating dull facts and concepts. He has been a training psychoanalyst for many years as well as a perceptive observer of cultural and social settings and their effect on growing up. This is not just a book on childhood. It is a panorama of our society. Anxiety in young children, apathy in American Indians, confusion in veterans of war, and arrogance in young Nazis are scrutinized under the psychoanalytic magnifying glass. The material is well written and devoid of technical jargon. The theme of the volume is that it is human to have a long childhood which will leave a lifelong residue of emotional immaturity in man. Primitive groups and

Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications

Abstract: This paper provides a concise but comprehensive review of research on religion/spirituality (R/S) and both mental health and physical health. It is based on a systematic review of original data-based quantitative research published in peer-reviewed journals between 1872 and 2010, including a few seminal articles published since 2010. First, I provide a brief historical background to set the stage. Then I review research on R/S and mental health, examining relationships with both positive and negative mental health outcomes, where positive outcomes include well-being, happiness, hope, optimism, and gratefulness, and negative outcomes involve depression, suicide, anxiety, psychosis, substance abuse, delinquency/crime, marital instability, and personality traits (positive and negative). I then explain how and why R/S might influence mental health. Next, I review research on R/S and health behaviors such as physical activity, cigarette smoking, diet, and sexual practices, followed by a review of relationships between R/S and heart disease, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, immune functions, endocrine functions, cancer, overall mortality, physical disability, pain, and somatic symptoms. I then present a theoretical model explaining how R/S might influence physical health. Finally, I discuss what health professionals should do in light of these research findings and make recommendations in this regard.

When helping helps: autonomous motivation for prosocial behavior and its influence on well-being for the helper and recipient.

Abstract: Self-determination theory posits that the degree to which a prosocial act is volitional or autonomous predicts its effect on well-being and that psychological need satisfaction mediates this relation. Four studies tested the impact of autonomous and controlled motivation for helping others on well-being and explored effects on other outcomes of helping for both helpers and recipients. Study 1 used a diary method to assess daily relations between prosocial behaviors and helper well-being and tested mediating effects of basic psychological need satisfaction. Study 2 examined the effect of choice on motivation and consequences of autonomous versus controlled helping using an experimental design. Study 3 examined the consequences of autonomous versus controlled helping for both helpers and recipients in a dyadic task. Finally, Study 4 manipulated motivation to predict helper and recipient outcomes. Findings support the idea that autonomous motivation for helping yields benefits for both helper and recipient through greater need satisfaction. Limitations and implications are discussed.