RT Article
T1 The Lazarus Project: a longitudinal study of spiritual transformation among substance abusers
JF Mental health, religion & culture
VO 15
IS 6
SP 611
OP 635
A1 Williamson, W.   Paul
A1 Hood, Ralph   W.
LA English
PB Taylor & Francis
YR 2012
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1838989048
AB 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.
K1 Big 5 personality
K1 Pentecostalism
K1 faith-based drug treatment
K1 Longitudinal Studies
K1 Religious Conversion
K1 Religious Orientation
K1 spiritual transformation
DO 10.1080/13674676.2011.608527