The Efficacy of Christian Devotional Meditation on Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Spiritual Health

148 Pages·2014·1.5 MB·English

by  Jinse Kim

THE EFFICACY OF CHRISTIAN DEVOTIONAL MEDITATION ON STRESS, ANXIETY,
DEPRESSION, AND SPIRITUAL HEALTH WITH KOREAN ADULTS IN THE UNITED
STATES: A RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE STUDY
by
Jinse Kim
Liberty University

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy

Liberty University
May 2014
© Jisne Kim, 2014
THE EFFICACY OF CHRISTIAN DEVOTIONAL MEDITATION ON STRESS, ANXIETY,
DEPRESSION, AND SPIRITUAL HEALTH WITH KOREAN ADULTS IN THE UNITED
STATES: A RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE STUDY

A Dissertation Proposal

Submitted to the
Faculty of Liberty University
in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

by

Jinse Kim

Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia

May 2014

APPROVED, ACCEPTED, AND SIGNED:

________________________________________________
Fernando Garzon, Ph.D., Committee Chair date

________________________________________________
Lisa S. Sosin, Ph.D., Committee Member date
________________________________________________
Melvin E. Pride, Ph.D., Committee Member date
ABSTRACT

THE EFFICACY OF CHRISTIAN DEVOTIONAL MEDITATION ON STRESS, ANXIETY,
DEPRESSION, AND SPIRITUAL HEALTH WITH KOREAN ADULTS IN THE UNITED
STATES: A RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE STUDY
Jinse Kim

Center for Counseling and Family Studies

Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia

Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling
This study investigated the comparative effectiveness of Christian devotional meditation (CDM)
versus progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) on stress, anxiety, depression, and overall spiritual
health among a sample of nonclinical Korean Christian adults in the United States. Seventy nine
individuals at two churches in the northern Virginia area completed the study. At each church,
the subjects were randomly assigned to a two-hour session of CDM training or PMR training.
Each participant then was asked to practice the technique at home at least once a day for two
weeks with audio recorded instructions. The participants’ perceived level of stress, anxiety,
depression, and spiritual health were assessed pre- and post-training. The results of the study
revealed that while both practices were efficacious in decreasing anxiety and depression, CDM
was statistically more efficacious. In addition, only the CDM group showed significant
reductions in stress level and improved spiritual health. Participants also appeared to practice
CDM more than PMR, suggesting CDM may be a culturally appropriate adaptation in counseling
to encourage treatment compliance.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I thank my Heavenly Father for providing me with continual guidance
on this academic journey. My accomplishments would not have been possible without the power
and strength of God. He blessed me in endless ways, encouraging me along this path. Thank you
God, You are the one I live for.
I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to my dissertation chair, Dr. Fernando
Garzon, for all his ongoing patience, encouragement, and support throughout this research
project. Thank you so much for your supervision, guidance, availability, and reassurance.
Without your contribution, this dissertation journey would have never been completed. I will
forever be grateful for all the time and effort you spent in supporting me through this process. I
would also like to thank my other committee members, Dr. Lisa Sosin and Dr. Melvin Pride, for
their input and attention in the completion of this research. Dr. Sosin, you have been an
invaluable supporter not only for this project but for all my years at the Ph.D. program at Liberty
University. Dr. Pride, thank you for your constant willingness to add further insights into my
research project.
At this time, I would like to thank my family and friends for the endless support and love
they added to this research project. I would like thank my father, Seon Cheol Kim, and mother,
Myung Sook Ko, for their invaluable support, not only financially, but in numerous other ways. I
am so blessed to have parents who taught me to believe in God and live by only His will. In
addition, I would like to thank my wife, Dawoom, for her constant patience, commitment, and
encouragement as I completed this project. Words cannot adequately describe how thankful I am
for her. You have gone above and beyond to enable me to complete this long journey. Also, I
would like to thank my son, Ian, my loved one for being so patient while I focused on my
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dissertation project.
I thank Gemma Sohn, my supervisor at Washington Christian Counseling Institute, for
helping me discover who I am as a counselor. I will never forget your endless encouragements.
Thank you, Sung Hoon Kim and Paul Roh, my colleagues in the Ph.D. program, for all your
priceless support and friendship. I would also like to express my appreciation to Christine Huh
and Anna Grace Cary who spent hours editing and proofreading portions of my research paper.
Thank you, Chul Hyun Park, for assisting me with the recordings of the training audio
instructions. Lastly, I thank each and every participant of this research for their willingness to
give up their time and effort in making this study possible.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................1
Background to the Problem .............................................................................................................1
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................................3
Research Question ...........................................................................................................................4
Limitations .......................................................................................................................................5
Definition of Terms..........................................................................................................................5
Christian Devotional Meditation..........................................................................................5
Progressive Muscle Relaxation ............................................................................................6
Significance of the Study .................................................................................................................6
Theoretical and Conceptual Framework ..........................................................................................9
Organization of Remaining Chapters.............................................................................................11

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .................................................................12
Various Stress Management Strategies ..........................................................................................12
Progressive Muscle Relaxation ......................................................................................................15
Historical Background .......................................................................................................15
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Theoretical and Conceptual Basis ......................................................................................17
Rationale ................................................................................................................17
Protocol ..................................................................................................................18
Additional considerations ......................................................................................19
Empirical Research Outcomes ...........................................................................................21
Christian Devotional Meditation....................................................................................................25
Biblical References ............................................................................................................25
Historical Background .......................................................................................................26
The third and fourth centuries ................................................................................27
The fifth to tenth centuries .....................................................................................28
The eleventh to fifteenth centuries .........................................................................29
The sixteenth to nineteenth centuries .....................................................................31
The twentieth century to the present ......................................................................34
Theoretical and Conceptual Basis ......................................................................................36
Definitions..............................................................................................................36
Purposes .................................................................................................................38
Primary focuses ......................................................................................................40
Empirical Research Outcomes ...........................................................................................41
Eastern meditation .................................................................................................41
Christian devotional meditation .............................................................................43
Attachment to God .................................................................................................45
Summary ........................................................................................................................................46
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS ..................................................................................................48
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Research Design.............................................................................................................................48
Selection of Participants ................................................................................................................48
Instrumentation ..............................................................................................................................49
The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale ...............................................50
The Brief Symptom Inventory-18 ......................................................................................50
The Attachment to God Scale ............................................................................................51
The Perceived Stress Scale ................................................................................................53
The Theistic Spirituality Outcome Survey ........................................................................54
Research Procedures ......................................................................................................................55
Recruitment and Random Assignment ..............................................................................55
Interventions ......................................................................................................................56
Christian devotional meditation .............................................................................56
Progressive muscle relaxation................................................................................56
Log Recording and Debriefing ..........................................................................................56
Research Processing and Analysis .................................................................................................58
Data Handling Safeguards .................................................................................................58
Analysis..............................................................................................................................60
Summary .......................................................................................................................................61

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS ......................................................................................................62
Restatement of the Purpose ............................................................................................................62
Descriptive Statistics ......................................................................................................................62
Results of Hypotheses Testing .......................................................................................................69
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Assumptions of ANCOVA ................................................................................................69
Analysis for Hypothesis One .............................................................................................71
Analysis for Hypothesis Two.............................................................................................72
Analysis for Hypothesis Three...........................................................................................73
Analysis for Hypothesis Four ............................................................................................75
Analysis for Hypothesis Five .............................................................................................78
Analysis for Hypothesis Six...............................................................................................79
Additional Findings ...........................................................................................................79
Summary ........................................................................................................................................83

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, & RECOMMENDATIONS ........................85
Summary .......................................................................................................................................85
Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................85
Alternative Hypothesis One ...............................................................................................85
Alternative Hypothesis Two ..............................................................................................86
Alternative Hypothesis Three ............................................................................................86
Alternative Hypothesis Four ..............................................................................................87
Alternative Hypothesis Five ..............................................................................................87
Alternative Hypothesis Six ................................................................................................88
Interaction with the Empirical Literature .......................................................................................88
Implications for Practice ................................................................................................................91
Implications for Research ..............................................................................................................92
Recommendations for Future Research .........................................................................................93
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