MARCH 2022

VOlUME 05 ISSUE 03 MARCH 2022
The Development of The Occult-Demonic Syndrome Scale (ODSS-1)
Dr. Zlatko Šram
Grgura Ninskog 5, 22000 Šibenik, Croatia
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2689-5706
DOI : https://doi.org/10.47191/ijsshr/v5-i3-04

Google Scholar Download Pdf
ABSTRACT

Among many Christians and other religious and spiritual (R/S) groups belief in the demonic is common. Yet no measures exist that enable study of this phenomenon. For theoretical, practical, and research purposes such a measure seems essential. This study reports the development and preliminary psychometric properties of a measure designed to serve this purpose. Four items each in the domains of subjective experience and behavioral engagement were developed. We reasoned that these were interrelated domains. Factor analysis yielded two strongly related factors of four items each that corresponded to subjective feelings and behavioral engagement, accounted for 56.55% of the total variance and correlated 0.62. The measure showed good internal consistency and fits our theoretical model.

KEYWORDS:

measurement, Christian, occult, demonic

REFERENCES

1. American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC & London: American Psychiatric Publishing.

2. Amorth, G. (1999). An exorcist tells his story. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.

3. Amorth, G. (2005). Egzorcisti i psihijatri (Exorcists and psychiatrists). Jelsa: B. Medvid.

4. Ashraf, A., Krishnan, R., Wudneh, E., Acharya, A., & Tohid, H. (2016). Dissociatve identity disorder: A Pathophysiological phenomena. Journal of Cell: Science & Theory, 7 (5), 1-3. https://doi: 10.4172/2157-7013.1000251

5. Bufford, R. K. (1989). Demonic influence and mental disorders. Faculty publications– Graduate School of Clinical Psychology. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gscp_fac/57.

6. Bufford, R. K. (2008). Demonic influence and the Christian: Issues and implications for counseling. Faculty publications–Graduate School of Clinical Psychology. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gscp_fac/40.

7. Campos, S. R. (2018). The fine line between demonic influence and illnesses. Pittsburgh, PA: Dorrance Publishing Company.

8. Crooks, M. (2018). On the psychology of demon possession: The occult personality. The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 39 (4), 1-73, Autumn (Special issue)

9. Brace, N., Kemp, R., & Snelgar, R. (2009). SPSS for psychologists. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

10. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum Associates.

11. Exline, J. J. & Rose, E. D. (2013). Religion and spiritual struggles. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (eds.), Handbook of psychology of religion and spirituality, 2nd edition, (pp. 380-398). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

12. Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

13. Fraune, C. D. (2019). Slaying dragons: What exorcists see & what we should know (2nd ed.). The Retreat Box Press.

14. Gallagher, R. (2020). Demonic foes. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

15. Hays, P. A. (1996). Addressing the complexities of culture and gender in counseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 74, 332–338. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1996.tb01876.x.

16. Hemphill, J. F. (2003). Interpreting the magnitudes of correlation coefficients. American Psychologist, 58 (1), 78–79. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.58.1.78.

17. Hunter, J. (2015). “Between realness and unrealness”: Anthropology, parapsychology, and the ontology of non-ordinary realities. Diskus. The Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions, 17 (2), 4-20. https://doi:10.18792/diskus.v17i2.68.

18. Irmak, M. K. J. (2014). Schizophrenia or possession? Journal of Religion and Health, 53 (3), 773-777. https://doi:10.1007/s10943-012-9673-y.

19. Isaacs, C. T. (2018). In bondage to evil. A psycho-spiritual understanding of possession. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications.

20. Legare, C. H., & Gelman, S. A. (2008). Bewitchment, biology, or both: The coexistence of natural and supernatural explanatory frameworks across biological development. Cognitive Science, 32, 607-642. DOI: 10.1080/03640210802066766.

21. Lozano, N. (2018). Oduprijeti se đavlu. Katolički pogled na oslobađanje (Resisting the devil: A catholic perspective on deliverance). Zagreb: Magnum Opus.

22. Lucadou, von W., & Wald, F. (2014). Extraordinary experiences in its cultural and theoretical context. International Review of Psychiatry, 26 (3), 324-334. https://doi: 10.3109/09540261.2014.885411.

23. MacNutt, F. (2009). Deliverance from evil spirits: A practical manual. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Chosen Books.

24. Martin, W., Rische, J. M., & Van Gorden, K. (2008). The kingdom of the occult. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

25. Moreland, J. P., & Craig, W. L. (2017). Philosophical foundations for a Christian worldview (2nd ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

26. Ripperger, C. (2013). Introduction to the science of mental health. Sensus Traditionis Press.

27. Rossetti, S. J. (2021). Diary of an American exorcist: Demons, possession, and the modern-day battle against an ancient evil. Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press.

28. Shultman, A., & Legare, C. H. (2019). Competing explanations of competing explanations: Accounting for conflict between scientific and folk explanations. Topics in Cognitive Science. 1-26. DOI: 10.111/tops.12483

29. Sire, J. W. (2015). Naming the elephant: Worldviews as a concept (2nd Ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

30. Šram, Z. (2017). Psychopathy and depression as predictors of the Satanic syndrome. Open Theology, 3 (1), 90-106. https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2017-0007.

31. Taves, A., Asprem, E., & Ihm, E. (2018). Psychology, meaning making, and the study of worldviews: Beyond religion and non-religion. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 10, 207-217. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000201.

32. Virkler, H. A. (1999). Demonic influence, sin, and psychopathology. In D. G. Benner & P. C. Hill (Eds.). Baker's encyclopedia of psychology and counseling (2nd Ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

VOlUME 05 ISSUE 03 MARCH 2022

Indexed In

Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar Avatar