The Lazarus Project: a longitudinal study of spiritual transformation among substance abusers

This is a longitudinal study of spiritual transformation at the Lazarus Project (LP), a 12-month Pentecostal-Charismatic residency program for substance abuse. In 2006, we began administering to residents an assessment protocol consisting of psychological (depression, self-esteem, psychopathology, B...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Williamson, W. Paul (Author) ; Hood, Ralph W. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis 2012
In: Mental health, religion & culture
Year: 2012, Volume: 15, Issue: 6, Pages: 611-635
Further subjects:B Pentecostalism
B Religious Orientation
B faith-based drug treatment
B Religious Conversion
B Big 5 personality
B Longitudinal Studies
B spiritual transformation
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary:This is a longitudinal study of spiritual transformation at the Lazarus Project (LP), a 12-month Pentecostal-Charismatic residency program for substance abuse. In 2006, we began administering to residents an assessment protocol consisting of psychological (depression, self-esteem, psychopathology, Big 5 personality markers) and religiosity (fundamentalism, religious orientation, spiritual well-being, mysticism) measures. Assessments were at: (T1) induction; (T2) six months; (T3) graduation; and (T4) one-year post-graduation. We also assessed a membership group from the sponsoring church using the same protocol. Analyses found that general change in graduate scores occurred from T1 to T2 and persisted to T3 and T4. Comparative analyses found that LP graduate score patterns generally agreed with those of LP dropouts at T1, but diverged at T2, becoming more similar to score patterns of church members. Using all measures, a regression analysis found that the personality marker of (less) openness was the most powerful predictor of resident dropout. The preliminary findings suggest that, among chronic substance abusers, the LP helps to facilitate conversion as a form of spiritual transformation that persists at least one-year post-graduation.
ISSN:1469-9737
Contains:Enthalten in: Mental health, religion & culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13674676.2011.608527