Gender Differences in the Integration Literature: A Content Analysis of JPT and JPC by Gender and Integration Type

Abstract

The current project asks the questions: Do “women's ways of knowing,” particularly women's ways of knowing God as evidenced in the literature on women's spirituality, imply that women have a unique contribution to make to the integration literature? Do feminine perspectives on integration provide a necessary ‘corrective’ to the largely theoretica literature? Based on a review of feminist contributions to theology, spirituality, philosophy, and psychology, it was hypothesized that female authors' contributions to the integration literature would emphasize practical, clinical, and experiential integration. A content analysis of the past ten years of integration articles in the Journal of Psychology and Theology and the Journal of Psychology and Christianity was conducted to examine the relationship between gender and type of integration. Significant variations in the frequency of male and female first authorship across types of integration were found. Gender differences in the frequency of interdisciplinary, intradisciplinary-clinical, and faith-praxis integration articles contributed most towards the variations: Female authors were more likely to author clinical and faith-praxis integration articles, and male authors were more likely to author interdisciplinary integration articles. Implications are explored regarding the benefits of including feminine thought as an integral partner in the task of integration and spiritual formation.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychological Association (1999). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Fourth Edition). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Aries

(1997). Women and men talking: Are they worlds apart? In Walsh

M. R.

, (Ed.) Women, men, and gender: Ongoing debates. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Ballou

(1995). Women and spirit: Two nonfits in psychology. Women & Therapy, 16(2/3), 9–20.

Belenky

, Clinchy

, Goldberger

, & Tarule

(1986). Women's ways of knowing: The development of self, voice, and mind. New York: Basic Books.

Bouma-Prediger

(1990). The task of integration: A modest proposal. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 18, 21–31.

Brabeck

, & Larned

(1997). What we do not know about women's ways of knowing. In Walsh

M. R.

, (Ed.) Women, men, and gender: Ongoing debates. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Brokaw

(1997). Applying theory in clinical practice: Clinical integration of psychology and theology. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25, 81–85.

Carr

, & Schuurman

(1996). Religion and feminism: A reformed Christian analysis. In Carr

, & Van Leeuwen

, (Eds.) Religion, feminism, and the family. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.

Charry

E. T.

(1997). By the renewing of your minds: The pastoral function of Christian doctrine. New York: Oxford University Press.

10.

Gilligan

(1982). In a different voice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

11.

Goldberger

(1997). Ways of knowing: Does gender matter? In Walsh

M. R.

, (Ed.) Women, men, and gender: Ongoing debates. New Haven: Yale University Press.

12.

Hunt

(1995). Psychological implications of women's spiritual health. Women & Therapy, 16(2/3), 21–32.

13.

Jordan

J. V.

, Kaplan

A. G.

, Miller

J. B.

, Stive

I. P.

, & Surrey

J. L.

(1991). Women's growth in connection. New York: Guilford Press.

14.

Lott

(1997). Cataloging gender differences: Science or politics. In Walsh

M. R.

, (Ed.) Women, men, and gender: Ongoing debates. New Haven: Yale University Press.

15.

Moon

(1997). Training tomorrow's integrators in today's busy intersection: Better look four ways before crossing. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25, 284–293.

16.

Neal

, & Mangis

(1995). Unwanted sexual experiences among christian college women: Saying no on the inside. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 23, 171–179.

17.

Patelis

, & Sorenson

(1997). The “silence” of women in integration: Exploratory qualitative research. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25, 188–198.

18.

Sorenson

(1996). “Where are the nine?” Journal of Psychology and Theology, 24, 179–196.

19.

Stafford

(1999, February). The new theologians. Christianity Today, 38–48.

20.

Tannen

(1990). You just don't understand: Women and men in conversation. New York: Ballantine Books.

21.

Van Leeuwen

(1993). After eden: Facing the challenge of gender reconciliation. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

22.

Van Leeuwen

(1993). Private versus public life: A case for degendering. In Van Leeuwen, M., Knoppers, A., Koch, M., Schuurman, D., & Sterk, H. (1993), After Eden: Facing the challenge of gender reconciliation. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

23.

Willard

(2000). Spiritual Formation in Christ: A perspective on what it is and how it might be done. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 28, 254–258.