Bridges and Barriers in the Development of Faith, Identity, Vocation, and Life Purpose in College Students Katie Byron, Whitney Guthrie, Cindy Miller-Perrin, and Don Thompson Pepperdine University ACSD Annual Conference June 8, 2006 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Bridges and Barriers in the Development of Faith, Identity, Vocation, and Life Purpose in College Students Katie Byron, Whitney Guthrie, Cindy Miller-Perrin, and Don Thompson Pepperdine University ACSD Annual Conference June 8, 2006

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Title: Bridges and Barriers in the Development of Faith, Identity, Vocation, and Life Purpose in College Students Katie Byron, Whitney Guthrie, Cindy Miller-Perrin, and Don Thompson Pepperdine University ACSD Annual Conference June 8, 2006


1
Bridges and Barriers in the Development of Faith,
Identity, Vocation, and Life Purpose in College
Students Katie Byron, Whitney Guthrie, Cindy
Miller-Perrin, and Don ThompsonPepperdine
UniversityACSD Annual ConferenceJune 8, 2006

2
The Pepperdine Research Team
  • Katie Byron
  • 2006 Psychology Graduate
  • Whitney Guthrie
  • 2006 Psychology Graduate
  • Dr. Cindy Miller-Perrin
  • Professor of Psychology
  • Dr. Don Thompson
  • Associate Vice President

3
Presentation Overview
  • Development of faith, identity, and vocation
    across the undergraduate years
  • College seniors Bridges and barriers to life
    purpose
  • Opportunities for influence and impact in the
    college environment

4
Lilly Endowment Sponsored Research at
Pepperdine2002-2006 Summary
  • Student Development
  • Faith, Vocation, Identity Surveys Interviews
  • Autobiographical Writings
  • Vocation Discussion Groups
  • Faculty Development
  • Vocation Survey
  • Vocation Workshops
  • Autobiographical Writings
  • Vocation Discussion Groups
  • Mission Fulfillment
  • Life Purpose, Service, Leadership

5
Development of Faith, Identity, and Vocation
Across the Undergraduate Years
  • College years are critical years in development
  • College years marked by change in individual self
    and religious self

6
Vocational Development
  • College students consider issues associated with
    personal identity, faith beliefs, and career
    options
  • Higher education should help students discover
    and pursue their vocational callings
  • Little empirical work examines the nature and
    development of vocational calling

7
Research Hypotheses
  • Vocation is the place where your deep gladness
    and the worlds deep hunger meet
  • Vocational development is the intersection of
    faith development and identity development
  • Faith, identity, and vocational development are
    not uniform across the college years

8
Method
  • Participants (and Response Rates) from initial
    sample of 300
  • Baseline 113 (38)
  • First-Year 191 (68)
  • Sophomore 111 (64)
  • Junior 132 (83)
  • Senior 114 (70)
  • Overall Demographics
  • 61 female 39 male
  • Age range 18-22 years (X 20.64)
  • 70 White 7 Latino 5 Asian 3 Black 15
    Other

9
Measures
  • Faith Attitudes and Behaviors
  • Vocational Discernment and Action
  • Barriers to Life Purpose

10
Faith Attitudes and Behaviors
Subscales Sample Items
Strength of Belief (alpha .81) I view myself as a religious person. I have doubts about whether my religious beliefs are true.
Faith Behavior (alpha .88) How often do you attend religious services? How often have you read a devotional, religious, or spiritual book in the last year?
Application of Faith (alpha .90) I depend on my faith in God for decision-making and direction. I try hard to carry my religious beliefs into all other dealings in my life.
11
Vocational Discernment and Action
Subscales Sample Items
Discernment and Purpose (alpha .76) I have a good sense for my life purpose. I know of the many ways that I can use my gifts and talents within the context of my professional career. I am unsure about what God is specifically calling me to do.
Service to Others (alpha .68) I am motivated to choose a career that will enable me to provide some type of service to others. I feel a deep sense of responsibility for reducing pain and suffering in the world.
12
Vocational Barriers
Subscales Barriers to life purpose fulfillment
Personal Barriers (alpha .84) Fear Emotional Problems Self-doubt Lack of motivation
Interpersonal Barriers (alpha .86) A parent A friend A boy/girl friend A teacher or professor
Social and Cultural Barriers (alpha .90) Lack of financial resources Feeling pressure or a desire to get married Feeling that my opportunities are limited by the gender stereotypes of society
13
Results
  • Faith Development
  • Identity Development
  • Vocation Discernment and Action
  • Development of Life Purpose Barriers

14
Strength of Belief, Faith Behavior, and
Application of Faith
  • Strength of Belief varied significantly over time
  • Faith Behavior varied significantly over time
  • Application of Faith did not vary significantly
    over time

15
I believe in God.
16
My faith/religion is NOT very important to me.
17
I continually look for ways to strengthen my
faith.
18
Identity Development - Achievement
  • Achieved Identity status varied significantly
    over time

19
Identity Development Moratorium
  • Moratorium Identity status varied over time,
    marginally

20
Identity Development - Foreclosure
  • Foreclosure Identity status varied significantly
    over time

21
Identity Development - Diffused
  • Diffused Identity status did not vary
    significantly over time

22
Vocational Discernment and Action
  • Vocational Discernment did not vary significantly
    over time
  • Vocational Action, as service, did not vary
    significantly over time

23
I have a good sense of Gods purpose for my life.
24
I am unsure about what God is specifically
calling me to do.
25
I am motivated to choose a career that will
provide/fulfill
26
Barriers to Life Purpose
  • Total Personal Barriers scores varied over time,
    marginally

27
Emotional problems prevent me from fulfilling my
life purpose
28
Selfishness prevents me from fulfilling my life
purpose
29
Need for personal control prevents me from
fulfilling my life purpose
30
Barriers to Life Purpose
  • Total Interpersonal Barriers scores did not vary
    significantly over time

31
Barriers to Life Purpose
  • Total Social and Cultural Barriers scores did not
    vary significantly over time

32
Conclusions
  • College students experience significant
    developmental variation over time
  • Strength of faith belief
  • Faith behavior
  • Identity development
  • Foreclosure, Moratorium, Achievement
  • Personal Barriers

33
Bridges and Barriers in the Development of
Faith, Identity, and Life Purpose in College
Seniors
34
Emergence of Positive Psychology
  • Traditionally, the field of psychology has
    focused on individuals maladaptive traits and
    pathologies
  • Positive Psychology explores individual health
    and well-being

35
Life Purpose
  • Life purpose is a popular area of research within
    Positive Psychology
  • Life purpose is linked to well-being
  • Life purpose is a core element in many university
    mission statements

36
What Contributes to Life Purpose?
  • Faith
  • Religion is one context in which we encounter
    commitment to an ultimate concern or purpose
  • Identity
  • Our ongoing life narratives allow us to
    understand who we are and where we belong i.e.
    our life purpose

37
Faith and Life Purpose Bridges
  • Religious conversion
  • Life purpose evolves following conversion
    euphoria, doubt, renewed strength and stability
  • Core experiences
  • Experiences of feeling close with God, including
    the perception that God dwells within, engender a
    sense of life purpose
  • Spiritual strivings
  • Sacred goals that aim for meaningful life
    objectives, pertaining to a persons imago dei,
    contribute to life purpose
  • Mysticism
  • Strong emotional religious experience accompanies
    a strong sense of life purpose
  • God Control
  • The degree to which individuals perceive God as
    being in control of their life can impact life
    direction or purpose

38
Identity and Life Purpose Bridges
  • Developing a sense of identity out of life
    stories and experiences leads to life meaning and
    purpose
  • Identity confusion caused by lack of goals,
    based on lack of direction negatively impacts
    life purpose
  • Development of life purpose helps to resolve
    identity crises

39
Life Purpose Barriers
  • To date, no studies have addressed factors that
    inhibit ones understanding of life purpose
  • For those who experience discrimination, minority
    status is negatively related to personal growth
  • There are many other potential barriers to life
    purpose such as anxiety, financial circumstances,
    personality, etc.

40
Hypotheses Bridges Barriers to Life Purpose
  • Faith development and identity achievement
    positively predict life purpose
  • Specific barriers examined in the current study
    negatively predict life purpose
  • Personality or personal emotions
  • Views and opinions of others
  • Social pressures or personal circumstances

41
Participants
  • 89 undergraduates (mean age 21.53)
  • 60 female, 40 male
  • 67 White, 6 Asian, 6 Latino, 10
    Multiracial/Other
  • 64 Protestant, 14 Catholic, 2 Jewish, 1
    Hindu, 18 Other/None
  • All participants were seniors at a Christian
    university
  • Students were selected from the 2002 entering
    class to participate in a longitudinal survey on
    faith, identity, and vocation. This study
    included 89 of these participants who responded
    to two separate surveys given during their senior
    year

42
Measures Scales
  • General Life Purpose Scale
  • Life Purpose Barriers Scale
  • Identity Scale
  • Ego-Identity Status
  • Faith Scales
  • Faith Maturity
  • Spiritual Transcendence

43
General Life Purpose Scale
  • Designed to measure overall sense of life purpose
  • Sample items
  • I have a good sense of purpose in life
  • I have no sense of direction in life
  • My life is valuable and worthwhile
  • I am making a contribution to society

44
General Life Purpose Responses
45
Life Purpose Barriers Scale
  • Measures factors that can prevent individuals
    from fulfilling their life purpose
  • Yields scores on three subscales
  • Personality or personal emotions
  • Lack of motivation, fear, being uncertain of what
    God wants
  • Views and opinions of others
  • Parents, boyfriend or girlfriend, teachers
  • Social pressures or personal circumstances
  • Financial debt, feeling limited by gender
    stereotypes

46
Life Purpose Barriers Responses
47
Life Purpose Barriers Responses
48
Ego-Identity Status Survey
  • Classifies subjects into one of four identity
    groups
  • Achievement exploration and commitment
  • It took me a while to figure it out, but now I
    really know what I want for a career.
  • Moratorium exploration without commitment
  • Religion is confusing to me right now. I keep
    changing my views on what is right and wrong for
    me.
  • Foreclosure no exploration, but commitment
  • My parents decided a long time ago what I should
    go into for employment and Im following through
    with their plans.
  • Diffusion no exploration or commitment
  • I havent really considered politics. It just
    doesnt excite me much.

49
Ego-Identity Status Responses
50
Faith Maturity Scale
  • Measures values and behavioral manifestations of
    faith
  • Sample items
  • My life is filled with meaning and purpose
  • I have a real sense that God is guiding me
  • My faith shapes how I think and act each and
    every day
  • I devote time to reading and studying the Bible

51
Faith Maturity Responses
52
Faith Maturity Responses
53
Faith Maturity Responses
54
Spiritual Transcendence Scale
  • Measures ability to step outside of oneself and
    immediate surroundings to view life on large
    scale, yielding three subscales
  • Connectedness assesses participants sense of
    community and relationships with others
  • I am concerned about those who will come after me
    in life
  • Prayer Fulfillment assesses participants prayer
    or meditation experience
  • I have experienced deep fulfillment and bliss
    through my prayers or meditations
  • Universality assesses participants sense of a
    greater meaning in life
  • I believe that death is a doorway to another
    plane of existence

55
Spiritual Transcendence Responses
56
Additional Results
  • Barrier Gender Differences
  • Faith Gender Differences
  • Predictors of Life Purpose

57
Gender Differences Personal Barriers
  • Females perceive personal barriers to life
    purpose at higher levels than males

58
Gender Differences Social Pressure Barriers
  • Females perceive social pressure barriers to life
    purpose at higher levels than males

59
Gender Differences Faith Variables
  • Females scored significantly higher on Faith
    Maturity Spiritual Transcendence

60
Best Predictors of Life Purpose
Faith Maturity
Achieved Identity Status
Personal Barriers
Life Purpose
61
Conclusions
  • College students experience significant variation
    in identity, faith, and life purpose development
    over time
  • The sophomore year is a particularly critical
    milestone
  • Barriers to development differ significantly by
    gender
  • Females demonstrate greater faith maturity and
    spirituality than males
  • Faith maturity, achieved identity, and personal
    barriers are optimal predictors of life purpose

62
Lessons Opportunities for Nurturing Student
Development at Christian Universities
  • Engender faith growth mentoring, spiritual
    nourishment, challenges
  • Promote self-discovery leading to achieved
    identity reflective experiences summation as
    well as formation
  • Respect the barriers
  • Understand dynamics of gender
  • Capitalize on opportunities for impact in the
    sophomore year
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