Unconditional Acceptance Research Articles

Never walk alone on the way: Friendships of emerging adults

AbstractThis study aimed to comprehend how individuals in emerging adulthood characterize friendship. This study adopted a qualitative design to obtain in‐depth information about the elements in emerging adults' definitions of friendships. The study was conducted with university samples and non‐university samples. As a result of the study, the elements in the friendship definitions of the participants were grouped under five themes: behavioral processes; cognitive processes; emotional processes, structural characteristics, and distinctive features. Accordingly, sharing, fun, assistance, boundaries, and altruism sub‐codes were categorized under behavioral processes; while trust, compatibility, commitment‐fidelity, and respect sub‐codes were categorized under cognitive processes. Intimacy, requirement sub‐codes were categorized under affective processes and openness, homogeneity, heterogeneity, and reciprocity sub‐codes were grouped under structural characteristics themes. Apropos of distinctive features they included the sub‐codes of developmental support, unconditional acceptance, isolation‐vigilant, closeness, friend as a life partner, and network. In addition to the codes in the university sample, “Effects of marriage” was the only code that differed in the non‐university sample.

“Building of Friendship” in Relations of Soviet Union and East Germany (1949—1989)

The attempt to characterize the process of “building of friendship” within the socialist bloc on the example of relations between the USSR and the GDR is made in the article. The leadership of these countries sought to establish the most friendly relations, the basis for which was a memorial consensus based on the unconditional acceptance by the official German side of the Soviet view of the events of World War II. However, at the level of interpersonal contacts, the “negative tail” of the communicative memory of the events of 1941—1945 persisted (moving into the “zone of silence”), even despite the widespread introduction of institutions, practices and rituals of friendship into relations between citizens of the two countries, a vivid example of which was regularly mass festivals of friendship between the youth of the USSR and the GDR, held in the 1970s and 1980s. In general, the author of the article concludes that the project of constructing the Soviet-German friendship was not effective enough not only because of the hidden memorial contradictions, but also because of the lack of a promising picture of a common future. By the 1970s and 1980s, citizens of the two countries, especially young people, had not received a clear, realistic idea of the future joint development of their countries within the framework of the common project of socialist integration, which contributed to the growth of skepticism in this direction and, as a result, became one of the reasons for the collapse of the socialist bloc in the late 1980s.

Nursing Approaches and Perceived Quality of Life in Advanced Stage Huntington's Disease Patients.

Long-term Huntington's disease (HD) care is offered in specialized inpatient nursing home units with a focus on individually perceived quality of life (QoL). This is shaped in daily care and interaction, which is often abstract and intangible. Furthermore, different perspectives are involved and may vary. To explore and describe perceived QoL of HD patients from three perspectives: manifest HD patients, family members, and nursing staff. 36 patients, 11 family members, and 30 nurses participated in this qualitative study by means of individual interviews and systematic qualitative observations on three units. Preservation of identity and autonomy is important for patients. Patients struggle with increasing dependence, and try to cope with the impact, uncertainty, and progressive nature of the disease. All participants emphasize the focus on "being human, not just a patient". Both patients and family members mention the difficulty of dealing with altered behavior and loss of control. Patients are reliant on a relational approach, and an attitude of unconditional acceptance, trust, and understanding support by the nurses. Nursing staff help patients to focus on preserved abilities, and to continue to engage in personalized preferred social activities. Specific qualifications of the nurses were of major influence on QoL for HD patients. This study shows, from the patient as well as family member and nursing staff perspectives, that caring for HD patients requires specific knowledge and skills. Particular nursing approaches and attitude and qualifications of the nursing staff in residential HD care improves the perceived QoL of patients.

REBT 이론 수퍼비전의 개념과 내용에 관한 문헌고찰

In REBT, it is very important to provide education, training, and supervision so that supervisee can lead the counseling process smoothly. According to this necessity, in this study, the concept and content of supervision based on REBT theory was studied by the method of literature review. REBT supervision is a psychotherapy technique-based supervision which can be seen that it is performed in relation to therapist training. Supervision of REBT teaches general clinical and counseling techniques as well as specific techniques that perform allied modes of REBT and CBT Supervision. In order to help understand, the characteristics of REBT theory supervision and the characteristics shared with CBT supervision were identified and organized. The mixed model used in REBT supervision is derived from REBT theory and focuses on utilizing and facilitating distinct educational models using REBT's own techniques as training models. Therefore, early in Supervision, it is important to educate novice supervisee until they become familiar with the ABC model as for the treatment technique, in which the insight is regarded as a therapeutic achievement as a result. In REBT supervision, case conceptualization, multi-method approach, therapeutic relationship, importance of unconditional acceptance, supervision using audio tape and video tape, and evaluation are treated as important as CBT supervision.

REBT 이론 수퍼비전의 개념과 내용에 관한 문헌고찰

In REBT, it is very important to provide education, training, and supervision so that supervisee can lead the counseling process smoothly. According to this necessity, in this study, the concept and content of supervision based on REBT theory was studied by the method of literature review. REBT supervision is a psychotherapy technique-based supervision which can be seen that it is performed in relation to therapist training. Supervision of REBT teaches general clinical and counseling techniques as well as specific techniques that perform allied modes of REBT and CBT Supervision. In order to help understand, the characteristics of REBT theory supervision and the characteristics shared with CBT supervision were identified and organized. The mixed model used in REBT supervision is derived from REBT theory and focuses on utilizing and facilitating distinct educational models using REBT's own techniques as training models. Therefore, early in Supervision, it is important to educate novice supervisee until they become familiar with the ABC model as for the treatment technique, in which the insight is regarded as a therapeutic achievement as a result. In REBT supervision, case conceptualization, multi-method approach, therapeutic relationship, importance of unconditional acceptance, supervision using audio tape and video tape, and evaluation are treated as important as CBT supervision.

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia: Parental counselling and support needs

To define the dimensions of patient-centeredness of prenatal care for parents who had a fetus with isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) by exploring their values, experiences, needs and preferences. In-depth interviews with parents who were faced with the prenatal diagnosis of isolated CDH. Interviews (n=18) identified seven dimensions of patient-centeredness. Parental preferences are respected by unconditional acceptance of parental choices and needs. After diagnosis access to care should occur by swift referral to a specialised centre to prevent parents receiving contradictory information. Information and education help parents to gain some sense of control and cope with the many uncertainties. A multidisciplinary team with a coordinating professional is perceived supportive (coordination and integration), and seamless referral between local and treatment centres reduces parental distress (continuity and transition). Family-centred emotional support helps parents to cope with emotions and distress. Informal support by involvement of family and friends and trusted peer-support is of added value. The impact of the uncertainty of outcome in this condition is tremendous and needs to be considered when providing prenatal care. After initial diagnosis, one should avoid speculation about the severity of the condition and outcome, and provide swift referral to a specialist centre expert in managing CDH. Provision of realistic and comprehensive information helps parents cope. Multidisciplinary and continuous support throughout the full trajectory, but also integrated psychosocial support should become standard-of-care.

Meanings of quality of life among people living with epilepsy in Ghana; a qualitative exploratory study

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the meanings of quality of life among people living with epilepsy (PLWE) in Ghana. MethodsAn exploratory-qualitative study design was adopted. Face-to-face in-depth interviews, using a semi-structured interview guide, were conducted on 15 PLWE who were purposively selected for the study. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The content analysis approach was then used to analyze the data. ResultsFour themes – “acceptance”, “support”, “seizure control”, and “self-reliance” emerged from the study as meanings of Quality of life (QoL). Quality of life meant unconditional acceptance from family, friends, acquaintances at home, school, and work, and by the public despite epilepsy. Receiving support in the form of protection from injury during a seizure, financial assistance to meet individual and family demands, emotional warmth, and spiritual support through prayers and encouragement, was QoL for PLWE. Achievement of control over seizures and being self-reliant in terms of selfcare and daily activities in addition to having some form of financial independence meant QoL. ConclusionMeanings of quality of life among PLWE is associated with being accepted and supported by family and friends as well as being in control of seizures and attaining a status of independence.

State and Authority in the Literature of Socialist Czechoslovakia Ladislav Mňačko’s “The Taste of Power”

This article focuses on attitudes towards state power in Czechoslovak literature in the period 1948–1989, which can be divided into three stages of development. The first decade (from the late 1940s to the late 1950s), when the state actively intervened incultural life and developed methods of artistic creation management, was characterised by an unconditional acceptance and praise in literature of the gains of socialism (including the “industrial novel” and those about collectivization, such as by Alena Bernášková with her novel The Way Is Open; V. Řezač, who vividly expressed the pathos of socialist construction, his dilogy Offensive and Battle; Bohumil Říha; and the poets Jozef Kajnar, Jan Pilář, Vlastimil Školaudi). The second stage (from the late 1950s to the late 1960s) was marked with criticism of dogmatism and the search for a model of “socialism with a human face”, with the dream being a kind of “Czech” or “third way” for Czechoslovakia which could overcome the negative aspects of both Communist and Capitalist systems (Jiří Marek, Josef Nesvadba, Jiří S. Kupka and others). The third stage (1969–1989) was the era of “Normalization”, with the parallel existence of official subcensored literature serving the interests of the state, as well as “samizdat” and émigré literature with harsh criticism and condemnation of totalitarianism (Milan Kundera, Josef Škvorecký, Egon Hostovský, Karel Pecka and others). The majority of attention is paid to the first and second stages since they are less known. The life and work of Ladislav Mňačko, a prominent Slovak journalist and writer is also examined. His work, undeservedly, is little studied. His novel A Taste of Power — is a political pamphlet and a psychological analysis of power and the mechanism of its decay; a harsh and uncompromising judgment of totalitarianism.

Estratégias de deslegitimação e policiamento online de manifestantes durante a pandemia na Polônia

ABSTRACT Introduction: This paper identifies delegitimization strategies that illustrate a range of attitudes of the Polish police towards individuals who resist the government and challenge the state legitimacy. Materials and Methods: The research is embedded in the theories of macro-strategies of delegitimization, out-casting micro-strategies, and is based on qualitative intertextual analysis of police statements in order to explain how the police responded to social opposition and shaped their relations with protesters during the pandemic periods. The study covers the following data: entries on official websites, statements to the public broadcaster TVP Info, and tweets released by the Polish Police Headquarters and the Warsaw Police Headquarters. Results: At the macro-strategy level, the research illuminates the online dimension of the protesters’ discipline process, as well as the policing of protests based on out-casting. These are the predominant resources of delegitimization of the cause. It is argued that its use was based on the categorization of protesters as violators of both law and social norms. In turn, the main micro-strategy applied within out-casting was criminalization formulated in reference to COVID-related law. Delegitimization strategies revealed the nature of moral justifications for negative attitudes towards protesters, as well as threats from and effective use of force. They also allowed the police to legitimize themselves in the public eye and to place their roles as protectors of human life, health, property, public security and order. Discussion: Unconditional acceptance and enforcement of the unconstitutional law established by the government revealed the political bias of the police. The delegitimization of the participants of the anti-government protests and the active and unquestionable acceptance of the pro-government demonstrations confirmed their political favoritism.

“Where I Can Be Myself”: Black Youth Narratives of Their Future Careers

This qualitative study centers on the career narratives of seven Black youth enrolled at an urban public school in the Midwest. We used critical race theory to analyze participants’ responses to a narrative career counseling intervention, My Career Story (Savickas & Hartung, 2012). The four interconnected themes found were (a) persistence against all odds, (b) unconditional acceptance and connections, (c) self-advocacy, and (d) tranquility. We discuss direct implications for school/career counselors and school counselor educators.

EDUCATION OF JUNIOR PUPIL’S PERSONALITY BY MEANS OF ART THERAPY

The article examines the problem of education of junior pupil’s personality by means of art therapy. The reform of education and science requires from modern teachers to use innovative technologies in the educational process of primary school as a mandatory element. An analysis of scientific sources was carried out, which gives grounds for asserting that the use of art therapy provides comprehensive harmonious development of the pupil’s personality. It was determined that art therapy refers to a personally oriented technology of children’s education through a constructive union of the child and art in the process of perceiving already existing or self-created works of art. The use of art therapy in the educational process is a vivid example of humane pedagogy based on unconditional acceptance of each child, awareness of his/her uniqueness and unlimited possibilities of spiritual development. The use of art therapy in lessons in primary school is quite effective mechanism for adjusting pupils to calm down, relax, rest, and change-over from a nervous to a calm state. Within the scope of this study, art therapy is considered as a synthesis of knowledge from art, psychology, psychotherapy and pedagogy, which allows us to understand the process of forming pupil’s personality through the prism of personal, artistic, aesthetic, and cultural development. The origin of art therapy as a term and sphere of application was also clarified. Art therapy as a method allows pupils to learn about the world through art, to reveal their individual characteristics without being ashamed of them. The introduction of art therapy into the educational process of primary school contributes to increasing pupils’ level of motivation, the formation of their positive self-esteem, the perception of their inner “I” and readiness for socialization. The main types of art therapy, which are used by teachers in the process of education are defined, in particular, music therapy, fairy-tale therapy, and visual art therapy. The examples of exercises for each type of art therapy are given.

“A Superior Anthropological Perspective.” On Kant’s Anthropo-cosmological Conception of Ideal

The topic of the ideal, that is, the topic of the possible or impossible human attainment of the absolute is ascribed divergent treatments throughout Kant’s work. Namely, it is either promptly accepted as possible by the critical Kant, and seen as something attainable by a means other than an infinite approximation (which would indeed imply a violation of autonomy, but denies the genuineness of the ideal), or it is rejected as impossible by the non-critical Kant, that is, it is seen as something attainable only through an infinite approximation (which would involve an unconditional acceptance of heteronomy, but safeguards the authenticity of an aspiration to the ideal). Yet, the topic of the ideal receives a new, if not conciliatory, at least mutually explanatory approach in Kant’s Anthropology. Here – such is our proposition – Kant proposes a terminus medius between both conceptions of ideal, insofar as he is led to ponder on the mutual benefits of an autonomic possibility and an heteronomic impossibility of an infinite progression in thought; something which Kant proposes under the form of an almost-infinite, or an almost perennial, yet finite duration, to be endured until the attainment of an almost unreachable, yet indeed reachable practical ideal. A terminus medius which, we hope to prove, is none other than that at the root of Kant’s proposition of Pragmatic Anthropology as a mediating science in Kant’s fundamental scheme of human knowledges, and which therefore may be ultimately seen as the embodiment of Kant’s anthropo-cosmological, or indeed cosmopolitical dimension of thought, as expressed in Kant’s political and/or historical writings.

Религиозное правосознание в условиях цифрового мира и европейский консерватизм

The article proposes to change the view on modern Western Europe, which is predicted crisis and death in the future in connection with its rejection of traditional values. The authors of the article, using the example of legal consciousness and human rights values, try to show that, in fact, digital globalization and the digital transformation of society cause a conservative reaction from religious confessions. The religious consciousness of traditional European confessions is recognized in the article as the most conservative. The authors are convinced that the reaction of the legal consciousness of representatives of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church in relation to artificial intelligence and digital technologies is due to the protection of human rights and dignity of the individual in the new digital era. The article uses the methods of philosophy of law, legal ethnology, legal anthropology, and sociology of law to consider the processes of transformation of legal consciousness. The work, based on anthropological studies of culturologists and sociologists, shows the erroneousness of the forecast regarding the unification and standardization of legal value-normative systems in the process of digital transformation of society and the state. The authors prove that digitalization, in its own way, has “sharpened” the long-standing disputes about the philosophical and legal nature of the categories “dignity of the individual”, “nation state”, “human rights”, “respect for the person”, “legal mentality”, “legal culture”, etc. An important conclusion in the work is the following: practically all Christian traditional confessions negatively assess the synthesis of artificial intelligence technologies and the ideas of digital capitalism. There is also a conflict between the conservative religious consciousness and the views of representatives of the fashionable philosophy of transhumanism. The article emphasizes that representatives of Christian communities pay special attention to threats and risks to children's rights, protection of juvenile rights and freedoms. The authors come to another conclusion: in general, European Christian conservatism adheres to a moderate assessment of new information technologies from the point of view of protecting the dignity of the individual and human rights. These processes provoke protest, since the conflict of values is very dangerous and can lead to a deep civilizational split. At the same time, the loss of the religious and moral foundations of the legal consciousness and legal culture of the inhabitants of the EU countries leads to anarchy and unrest. Rationalism and technocracy of the modern technological order do not unambiguously lead to unconditional acceptance by representatives of the countries that created this order.

The Effectiveness of Positive Thinking Training on Childbirth Fear and Childbirth Self-efficacy in Pregnant Women in Sari

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of positive thinking training on childbirth fear, and childbirth self-efficacy in primiparous pregnant women in Sari. Methods: The present research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group and a follow-up period. The statistical population of this study will be all primiparous pregnant women in Sari in autumn of 98. The sample included 30 pregnant women (15 for the control group and 15 for the experimental group) who were selected by non-random sampling. Data collection tools were unconditional acceptance questionnaire and cognitive-emotional adjustment questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using spss software version 26. In this study, to analyze the data, to investigate all the hypotheses and to determine the impact of intervention on the experimental group and to evaluate the difference between the two groups in the pre-test and post-test intervals, first use KS to normalize the data and then analyze Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used. Results: The results of this study indicate that the training of positive thinking intelligence training has a positive effect on fear of childbirth (F=109.25, P=0.001) and childbirth self-efficacy (F=80.19, P=0.001) in primiparous women. Conclusion: According to the results of the research, it can be said that positive thinking training is an effective treatment for the fear of childbirth and childbirth self-efficacy in pregnant women, which can be used by psychologists and counselors.

Толстой и Достоевский: два образа обретения Бога

The religious opposition of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky was formalized (or even created) and was significantly widened in the works of Russian religious philosophy. The almost unconditional acceptance (or at least sympathy) for Dostoevsky's religiosity, along with distrust and well-known criticism of Tolstoy's later religious works, was firmly entrenched in the Orthodox and general cultural consciousness for more than a century. However, the confrontation was never taken seriously. We want to outline the insurmountable chasm between two images of finding God using the example of the relationship between Raskolnikov and Sonya Marmeladova on the one hand, and Father Sergius (Stepan Kasatsky) and Pashenka (Praskovya Mikhailovna) on the other. These examples are of a paradigmatic nature and can be extended to other artistic and religious (in Dostoevsky's case, journalistic) works of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. From the legacy of Russian religious philosophy for the consideration of the works selected in the article ("Crime and Punishment" and "Father Sergius"), Bulgakov's "The Man-God and the Man-Beast" has the greatest and characteristic value. The opposition set by Bulgakov between Tolstoy (using the example of later works) and Dostoevsky (using the figure of the elder Zosima) is considered a misunderstanding by us. Bulgakov biasedly understands the religious meaning of Tolstoy's later texts. We offer a different reading of "Father Sergius" and raise the question of different images of the attainment (finding) of God in the texts of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky anew.

The Quasi-paranoid Empathy of Healthcare Staff in a Generalized Covid-phobic Context in West Cameroon's Hospital Institutions

The present study raises the problem of empathy of caregivers vis-à-vis patients in a covid/post-covid context. It is based on the observation that health workers are increasingly in-vaded by excessive fear and persistence of COVID-19 contamination. This induces avoidance, a certain suspicion, persecution and indifference/coldness towards patients, and plunges them into a strong insidious emotional deficiency. These attitudes, which are significantly close to paranoid and phobic access, seem to gradually dominate therapeutic interactions within hospitals. Freudian and Rogerian psychoanalysis advocates empathetic/benevolent listening, positive consideration and unconditional acceptance of the patient as ethical and deontological indispensable principles for any therapeutic evolution. Thus, it is predicted that within hospitals, the current non empathetic attitudes of care towards patients have their origin in a generalized covid-phobic atmosphere that develops a quasi-dominant paranoia in caregivers. Using a subscale of caregiver's Covid-phobic quasi-paranoia, and the one of caregiver's empathy in a covid/post-covid context, the data were collected from 126 participants including 55 nursing assistants, 61 state-certified nurses and 10 doctors, chosen at random from the staff of three (03) health facilities in the city of Bafoussam, MIFI department, West Cameroon region, including one (01) public district medical center (CMA) and two (02) private hospitals (clinics). After analysis, the results obtained sufficiently demonstrate that within the health institutions of West Cameroon, the higher the professional level of the caregiver, the more the severity of his quasi-paranoid covid-phobic accesses is significant, and the less he expresses an authentic empathy towards the patients who arrive at the hospital. This implies that in this period of health crisis, caregivers must reinvest in a real function of providers of affectivity and relay of empathy at the bedside of the patient both in hospital and outpatient. Thus, a real sys-tematical vaccination operation may insure their total immunity and better reduce their qua-si-paranoid empathy in this generalized Covid-phobic context.

Psychological Content of Facilitative Interaction

The purpose of this article is to define the main characteristics of the facilitative interaction, to show the socio-genetic mechanism of facilitation, the mechanism of cultural transmission, to provide the principles of facilitative interaction in the process of interpersonal communication, to present facilitation as a phenomenon of interpersonal communication, which greatly enhances the productivity of education or upbringing of the subjects of the educational process due to their harmonious, democratic style of communication and tolerant, empathetic qualities of the teacher’s personality. The following theoretical methods of the research were used to solve the tasks formulated in the article: a categorical method, structural and functional methods, the methods of the analysis, systematization, modeling, generalization. The results of the research. We proved that facilitation is a phenomenon of interpersonal communication, which greatly enhances the productivity of education or upbringing of the subjects of the educational process due to their harmonious, democratic style of communication and tolerant, empathetic qualities of the teacher’s personality. Facilitative communication generates the most positive motives, and such learning motives, in turn, create positive preconditions not only for the student to take a certain conscious position («And I can» or «And I will do this»), but also for harmonious cognitive activity in order to acquire new knowledge, skills, abilities, due to which he/she develops a desire to learn. Facilitating teachers are supposed «to provoke» the independence and to create the conditions for responsible freedom of students. These points must be taken into account when teachers draw up curricula and programs, and when formulating learning objectives, and when evaluating the results of educational activity. All this factors will create the most favorable conditions for independent and meaningful learning of students, activating their cognitive motives, stimulating curiosity, which, above all, will actualize the manifestations of solidarity and cooperation, interaction and mutual assistance in the educational process. All this, in turn, facilitates a high level of cognitive functioning, the whole educational paradigm. We think that the reform of the educational system should be based on the restructuring of stable personal attitudes of the teacher, which are explained in the processes of his/her interpersonal interaction with students. We identify three main guidelines of the teacher-facilitator. The first is «truth» and «openness»; the second setting is described in terms of «acceptance» and «trust»; and finally, the third attitude correlates positively with «empathic understanding». Thus, it is possible to identify certain components of facilitation, which create a microclimate in the team that will ensure personal growth and development. The first component of facilitation is authenticity, «naturalness», sincerity of personality. Another components of facilitation are congruence and empathic understanding. Thus, facilitative interaction is a very specific, active type of transition of behavioral patterns into stable semantic structures that provide a change in the personality of both the student and the teacher. Conclusions. The main factors of the facilitative approach are, firstly, the inner nature (or essence) of a man which is exclusively positive, constructive, moral and social, and secondly, this nature begins to explain itself every time in the relationships of the individual with another person (or other people). In such a way there is an atmosphere of unconditional positive acceptance, empathic understanding and congruent self-presentation. Thus, the facilitative approach emphasizes that a person contains considerable resources for self-knowledge, change of self-concept, purposeful behavior, and complete mastery of these resources, which is possible only if the social group creates a positive microclimate that facilitates the formation of psychological attitudes.

Body image and acceptance of cosmetic surgery in China and the Netherlands: A qualitative study on cultural differences and similarities

There is an established relationship between acceptance of cosmetic surgery and psychological factors, including body image. However, qualitative research among diverse cultural groups is needed to provide a more fine-grained understanding of the influences on women’s attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. In this study, 20 Chinese and 20 Dutch women aged 18-50 years (MChinese = 34.20; MDutch = 34.70) participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. We identified three themes that captured the factors that women perceived to foster favorable attitudes towards cosmetic surgery: (a) sociocultural pressures (e.g., normalization of cosmetic surgery, appearance-focused peers); (b) intrapersonal characteristics (e.g., beauty-ideal internalization, social comparison); and (c) benefits of beauty (e.g., attracting men, socioeconomic benefits). Conversely, two themes captured the factors perceived to reduce favorable attitudes towards cosmetic surgery: (a) intrapersonal characteristics (e.g., unconditional body acceptance, self-confidence); and (b) external considerations (e.g., health risks, financial costs). Overall, Chinese and Dutch participants shared many similarities in their opinions about what might affect cosmetic surgery consideration. The most striking cross-cultural differences concerned perceived socioeconomic benefits of beauty (mainly Chinese women) and women’s conceptualization of body appreciation. This study may enable a more comprehensive understanding about the factors influencing Chinese and Dutch women’s attitudes towards cosmetic surgery, and the nuances in these relationships across these cultures.

Development and Validation of Tawakkul Scale for Muslim Adults in Pakistan.

As a fundamental value in the Islamic belief system, tawakkul is defined as the belief in the sufficiency of God that involves positive efforts to achieve one's goals while accepting the outcomes unconditionally. The present research intended to develop a psychometrically sound measure of tawakkul and it comprised two studies. In study I, an initial item pool of 60 items was developed based on the content analyses of Quranic verses with the root word 'w-k-l' and the findings of two focus group discussions with psychologists, Islamic scholars, and common Muslim adults. This item pool was reviewed by a committee of experts resulting in a 40-item initial draft of the Tawakkul Scale, which was administered on a purposive sample of (N = 300) Pakistani Muslim adults. The findings of the exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure (loadings ranged from .56 to .96) of the Tawakkul Scale that cumulatively explained 76.67% variance. The factors included belief in the sufficiency of God (11 items), unconditional acceptance of God's will (6 items), efforts (4 items), and annihilation of one's own will (3 items). All factors were moderately related to each other with good values of Cronbach's alpha (α ≥ .83). Study II replicated the factorial structure of the Tawakkul Scale through confirmatory factor analysis and established its construct validity in an independent sample of (N = 350) Pakistani Muslim adults. Tawakkul had a positive relationship with secure attachment to God and a negative relationship with insecure attachment to God that affirmed its construct validity. Overall, the findings indicated that the Tawakkul Scale is a psychometrically sound measure that needs to be further studied in Muslim populations across the globe.

A Promise of Unconditional Acceptance: Conversion to Christianity and the struggle for being in Sinja, Nepal

Over the last few decades, Nepal’s Christian population has flourished even in quite remote contexts such as the Sinja Valley, in the north-western district of Jumla. The reasons why people are drawn towards Evangelical Christianity in particular are primarily existential and are intimately related to the problematic situations they are confronted with in their lives, which are rooted in turn in a very specific understanding of personhood. Among local Hindus, the lack of a unitary principle comparable to the Christian soul has important consequences. Far from being a permanent achievement, personhood needs to be constantly actualised in relational interaction with other people, through appropriate actions that match one’s social persona. This can cause a lot of tension, particularly when what happens in someone’s life hinders the fulfilment of social expectations. What seems to make Christianity appealing in Sinja is that, in this religion, one’s self is given a priori by God, thereby ensuring that everyone is of equal worth within the congregation. This promise of unconditional acceptance fosters a state of rediscovered existential peacefulness that many converts describe as the key outcome of their radical choice – a choice that is often facilitated by the occurrence of miracles. At the same time, conversion to Pentecostal Christianity also introduces unprecedented challenges, preventing us from viewing conversion as a simplistic, one-dimensional transition.