MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Kent Alan Beausoleil, S.J. Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Director Judy L. Rogers Reader Elisa Abes Reader Kathleen Goodman Graduate School Representative M. Elise Radina ABSTRACT TRANSFORMING LIVES: ATTENDING TO THE SPIRIT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM DYSFUNCTIONAL AND/OR ABUSIVE YOUNG ADULT FORMATIONAL EXPERIENCES by Kent Alan Beausoleil, S.J. Despite the prevalence of college students who have been a victim of abuse and/or complex dysfunctional experiences, higher education typically ignores the spiritual life of its students in regards to treating the effects of abuse and/or dysfunction. This study examines efforts at four Jesuit universities to offer spiritual programs that attend to the spirit of this particular group of students. The purpose of this phenomenologically grounded research is to understand the nature of the relationship between the practice of Ignatian (Catholic/Christian) spiritual direction and growth toward spiritual intelligence of college-age students and recent college graduates. Participants in this study came from physically, sexually, and/or emotionally abusive homes, dysfunctional childhood experiences, or challenging young adult formational experiences. Each participant was also engaged in Ignatian spiritual direction and Ignatian spiritual programming at the Jesuit universities they attended. This study examined the life stories of sixteen upper class college students and/or recent college graduates. Each participant was interviewed twice in an open conversational style for a total of thirty-two interviews. The aim of the research was to develop a richer understanding of the impact of Ignatian spiritual direction in light of the effects of their formational experiences. The research questioned whether or not engaging in this particular type of spiritual programming made a significant, positive impact in participants’ spiritual development and growth toward spiritual intelligence. The findings of this research revealed that Ignatian spiritual direction did indeed lead to developmental growth toward spiritual intelligence for participants along sixteen key spiritual intelligence indicators. Participants experienced these spiritual indicators as a progressive movement that fostered interpersonal healing and wholeness, healthier ways of being and relating to others, and a more positive outlook toward their future as spiritual leaders. This research further demonstrated that attending to college students’ spirit is an important part of their overall holistic development and spiritual intelligence growth. TRANSFORMING LIVES: ATTENDING TO THE SPIRIT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM DYSFUNCTIONAL AND/OR ABUSIVE YOUNG ADULT FORMATIONAL EXPERIENCES A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Educational Leadership by Kent Alan Beausoleil, S.J. Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2014 Dissertation Director: Dr. Judy L. Rogers Dissertation Readers: Dr. Elisa Abes, Dr. Kathleen Goodman, and Dr. Elise Radina © 2014 Kent Alan Beausoleil, S. J. Table of Contents ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... I TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. III LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ IX DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... X ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... XI CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE MOVEMENT TO HOLISTIC STUDENT LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT............................................................................................................................. 1 THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF COLLEGE STUDENT LEARNING AND GROWTH............................. 2 Defining Spirituality – Creating a Working Definition for Research ..................................... 4 General Definition and Purpose of Spiritual Direction........................................................... 6 THE REALITY OF CHILDHOOD ABUSE AND ITS EFFECTS .............................................................. 7 MY JOURNEY TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RESEARCH PURPOSE AND QUESTION ............... 8 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................... 12 SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT AND SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE THEORY .......................................... 12 SIX BENEFITS OF SPIRITUALITY FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS ......................................................... 16 Identity Formation ................................................................................................................ 17 Communal Connection and Community Building ............................................................... 17 Coping ................................................................................................................................... 17 Equanimity ............................................................................................................................ 18 Leadership ............................................................................................................................. 18 Well-Being ............................................................................................................................ 19 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL DIRECTION (CSD) .................................................................................. 20 The Transformative Nature of Ignatian Spiritual Direction (ISD) ....................................... 22 CHILDHOOD AND YOUNG ADULT ABUSE IN THE UNITED STATES: PERVASIVENESS, POSSIBILITIES, AND PROBLEMS .................................................................................................. 25 Pervasiveness ........................................................................................................................ 26 Personal and Developmental Harm ...................................................................................... 27 iii College Campus and Community Concerns ......................................................................... 27 A JUSTIFICATION FOR RESEARCH AND A RESTATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION ............. 29 CHAPTER III: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK, METHODOLOGY, AND METHODS....... 31 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................... 32 METHODS – SAMPLING .............................................................................................................. 33 Selected Institutions .............................................................................................................. 33 The Interview Location(s) ..................................................................................................... 34 The Recruitment Process ...................................................................................................... 34 Setback to the Recruitment Process ...................................................................................... 35 Second Site Visits ................................................................................................................. 36 METHODS – AFFECTIVITY, SUBJECTIVE BIAS, AND BRACKETING .............................................. 38 Personal Experience with Abuse .......................................................................................... 39 Spiritual Director versus Researcher Role-Switching .......................................................... 39 Insecurities of a Novice Researcher ...................................................................................... 40 METHODS – DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................ 40 ETHICAL ISSUES ......................................................................................................................... 42 TRUSTWORTHINESS/RAPPORT .................................................................................................... 44 METHODS -- DATA ANALYSIS .................................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER IV: PRESENTATION OF PARTICIPANTS’ LIFE STORIES ................................ 50 MATTHEW .................................................................................................................................. 50 Textural Description of Dysfunction and/or Abuse .............................................................. 50 Structural Description of the Effects of Abuse ..................................................................... 51 Textural Description of Spiritual Direction .......................................................................... 51 Structural Description of the Effects of Spiritual Direction ................................................. 52 RUTH ........................................................................................................................................