Francis, Leslie J., Williams, Emyr and Robbins, Mandy. (2009) Christianity, paranormal belief and personality: a study among 13- to 16-year-old pupils in England and Wales. Archiv für Religionspsychologie, Vol.31 (No.3). pp. 337-344. ISSN 0084-6724

PDF WRAP_Francis_0673558-ie-170210-paranoramal_christianity.pdf - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader Download (147Kb)

Abstract

Studies concerning the changing landscapes of religiosity and spirituality in the lives of young people in England and Wales draw attention to decline in traditional religiosity and to growth in alternative spiritualities. The present study examined whether such alternative spiritualities occupy the same personality space as traditional religiosity. A sample of 2,950 13- to 16-year-old pupils attending 11 secondary schools in England and Wales completed the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity and an index of paranormal belief, alongside the abbreviated-form Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. The data demonstrated that these two forms of belief were related in different ways to Eysenck's dimensional model of personality space. While attitude toward Christianity occupied the space defined by low psychoticism scores (tendermindedness) and high lie scale scores (social conformity), paranormal belief was related to high psychoticism scores (toughmindedness) and was independent of lie scale scores. These findings support the view that alternative spiritualities may be associated with different personalities.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Institute of Education
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity, Maudsley personality inventory, Teenagers -- Religious life -- Great Britain, Adolescent psychology -- Great Britain, Occultism -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
Journal or Publication Title:	Archiv für Religionspsychologie
Publisher:	Brill
ISSN:	0084-6724
Date:	2009
Volume:	Vol.31
Number:	No.3
Page Range:	pp. 337-344
Identification Number:	10.1163/008467209X12499946199560
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
References:	Bourke, R., & Francis, L. J. (2000). Personality and religion among music students. Pastoral Psychology, 48, 437-444. Boyd, A. (1996). Dangerous obsessions: Teenagers and the occult. London: Marshal Pickering. Brierley, P. (1993). Reaching and keeping teenagers. Tunbridge Wells: MARC. Brierley, P. (2002). Reaching and keeping tweenagers. London: Christian Research. Carter, M., Kay, W. K., & Francis, L. J. (1996). Personality and attitude toward Christianity among committed adult Christians. Personality and Individual Differences, 20, 265-266. Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16, 297-334. Eysenck, H. J. (1975). The structure of social attitudes. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 14, 323-331. Eysenck, H. J. (1976). Structure of social attitudes, Psychological Reports, 39, 463-466. Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1975). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (adult and junior). London: Hodder and Stoughton. Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1991). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Scales. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Francis, L. J. (1991). Personality and attitude towards religion among adult churchgoers in England. Psychological Reports, 69, 791-794. Francis, L. J. (1992). Is psychoticism really a dimension of personality fundamental to religiosity? Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 645-652. Francis, L. J. (1996). The development of an abbreviated form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQR-A) among 13-15 year olds. Personality and Individual Differences, 21, 835-844. Francis, L. J. (1999). Personality and attitude toward Christianity among undergraduates. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 8, 179-195. Francis, L. J., & Bennett, G. A. (1992). Personality and religion among female drug misusers. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 30, 27-31. Francis, L. J., & Kerr, S. (2003). Personality and religion among secondary school pupils in South Africa in the early 1990s. Religion and Theology: A journal of contemporary religious discourse, 10, 224-236. Francis, L.J., & Kwiran, M. (1999). Personality and religion among secondary pupils in Germany. Panorama, 11, 34-44. Francis, L. J., Lewis, C. A., & Ng, P. (2003). Psychological health and attitude toward Christianity among secondary school pupils in Hong Kong. Journal of Psychology in Chinese Societies, 4, 231-245. Francis, L. J., Lewis, J. M., Brown, L. B., Philipchalk, R., & Lester, D. (1995). Personality and religion among undergraduate students in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Canada. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 14, 250-262. Francis, L. J., Lewis, J. M., Philipchalk, R., Lester, D., & Brown, L. B. (1995). Reliability and validity of a short scale of attitude toward Christianity among students in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada. Psychological Reports, 77, 431-434. Francis L. J., & Williams, E. (2007). Drawing back the veil: Paranormal belief among adolescents. Christian Parapsychologist, 17, 170-185. Francis, L. J., & Williams, E. (in press a). Contacting the spirits of the dead: Paranormal belief and the teenage worldview (in preparation). Francis, L. J., & Williams, E. (in press b). Alternative spiritualities: Different personalities? An empirical enquiry among 14- to 16-year-old students, (in preparation). Francis, L. J., Williams, E., & Robbins, M. (in press). Personality, conventional Christian belief and unconventional paranormal belief: A study among teenagers. British Journal of Religious Education. Heelas, P., & Woodhead, L. (2005). The spiritual revolution: Why religion is giving way to spirituality. Oxford: Blackwell. Kay, W. K., & Francis, L. J. (1996). Drift from the churches: Attitude toward Christianity during childhood and adolescence. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. Lester, D. (1993). Paranormal beliefs and psychoticism. Personality and Individual Differences, 14, 739. Lewis, C. A. (1999). Is the relationship between religiosity and personality ‘contaminated’ by social desirability as assessed by the lie scale? A methodological reply to Michael W. Eysenck (1998). Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 2, 105-114. Lewis, C. A. (2000). The religiosity-psychoticism relationship and the two factors of social desirability: A response to Michael W. Eysenck (1999). Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 3, 39-45. Lewis, C. A. and Francis, L. J. (2000). Personality and religion among female university students in France. International Journal of Psychology, 35, 229. Lewis, C. A., & Joseph, S. (1994). Religiosity: psychoticism and obsessionality in Northern Irish university students. Personality and Individual Differences, 17, 685-687. Lewis, C. A., & Maltby, J. (1995). Religiosity and personality among US adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 18, 293-295. Maltby, J. (1997). Personality correlates of religiosity among adults in the Republic of Ireland. Psychological Reports, 81, 827-831. Maltby, J., & Lewis, C. A. (1997). The reliability and validity of a short scale of attitude toward Christianity among USA, English, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 22, 649-654. Peltzer, K. (2002). Paranormal beliefs and personality among black South African students. Social Behaviour and Personality, 30, 391-398. Robbins, M., Francis L. J., & Williams E. (in press). Conventional Christian belief and unconventional paranormal belief among teenagers in Northern Ireland: A personality and individual differences approach. Irish Journal of Psychology. Roman, R. E., & Lester, D. (1999). Religiosity and mental health. Psychological Reports, 85, 1088. Savage, S., Collins-Mayo, S., Mayo, B., & Cray, G. (2006). Making sense of generation Y: The worldview of 15- to- 25-year-olds. London: Church House Publishing. Willging, B. T., & Lester, D. (1997). Paranormal beliefs and personality scores of high school students. Perceptual and Motor Sills, 85, 938. Williams, E., Francis, L.J., & Robbins, M. (2007). Personality and paranormal belief: A study among adolescents. Pastoral Psychology, 56, 9-14. Youtika, A., Joseph, S., & Diduca, D. (1999). Personality and religiosity in a Greek Christian Orthodox sample. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 2, 71-74.
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/2870

Request changes to a record

Actions (login required)

View Item