/library/oar/handle/123456789/328 Sat, 27 Dec 2025 19:39:15 GMT 2025-12-27T19:39:15Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/141000 Title: Sex and the clergy : an insider perspective on attitudes towards celibacy Authors: Catania, Andrea; Lauri, Mary Anne Abstract: Sexuality is an important part of the human experience. It can be considered a sensitive topic especially in a religious context. Manliness, on the other hand, has been emphasised by the Catholic Church for many years (van Es, 2021). One example of this is through the support of male-dominant gender hierarchies in the Church (Gerber, 2015). Men and masculinities seem to be understudied in the religious sphere and studies on gender and religion tend to centre around women (Romeo Mateo, 2021). There is literature about celibacy and loneliness, however, many of these studies are among involuntary celibates known as incels (Sparks et al., 2023). Research on the intersection of sexuality, masculinity, and religion among clergy is lacking. This is surprising, since celibacy is a notable pillar of priesthood in the Catholic Church. It is especially so in the Maltese context where the ratio of priests in the community is high compared to other secularized societies. It is therefore important to understand what part sexuality plays in the life of a celibate person, especially in the context of hegemonic masculinity. This is because priests tend to fall between two male stereotypes: the hegemonic man and the biblical man (Roger, 2019). Hence, the aim of the study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between celibacy, manhood beliefs and loneliness. A survey will be carried out among a sample of Roman Catholic priests living in Malta. Questions from three scales will be used in the questionnaire: the Commitment to Celibacy Scale (Joseph et al., 2010), the Loneliness Scale (de Jong Grievald & Van Tilburg, 2006), and a manhood beliefs scale. The expected sample size is 150 male priests. There is an expected association between attitudes towards celibacy and manhood beliefs, as well as between attitudes towards celibacy and loneliness. However, the direction of the relationship will be determined by the results of the study. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/141000 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/140996 Title: Pastor or manager? Young priests placed into a role they did not sign up for Authors: Catania, Gottfried; Mifsud, Andre Abstract: The number of young persons attracted to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic church in Europe has been steadily declining over the past few decades. Persons attracted to this role usually view it as a vocation, with the main occupational aspects of the role they are interested in being addressing the pastoral needs of their congregation, both from a spiritual and a personal/social perspective, and their involvement in the rites that are important to them and their faith. The number of persons interested in becoming priests or pastors has been steadily decreasing in most religions. As a result, in Malta, persons studying for the priesthood are thrust into the role of vice parish priest as soon as they are ordained and can expect to be “promoted” to parish priest soon after. The role of a parish priest is however much more managerial rather than pastoral, with incumbents expected to perform a number of managerial roles such as paying the bills and managing accounts, coordinating and leading various types and levels of meetings, and ensuring the smooth running of the parish as a whole. In most other organizations managers are surrounded by a dedicated team of people who have usually been specifically selected according to certain criteria, are a good fit with the organizational culture, and are all committed to the same goals. Parish workers, however, usually mostly include volunteers with limited availability of time and expertise, and at times having agendas which are at odds with the main agenda of the parish. Priests are not given any managerial training in their formative years, with training mainly focused on theology. Young priests have expressed concern at having to take up such an important role which they do not feel prepared for, and which is somewhat at odds with what they originally expected to be doing as priests. This qualitative study will interview young priests from an organizational psychology perspective, focusing on their perception of how what they are actually doing matches what they expected to be doing, with its possible consequent effects on motivation, job satisfaction, and attrition. Six to eight young priests will be interviewed, and data will be analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. [excerpt] Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/140996 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/140806 Title: The effectiveness of video feedback intervention on mother-infant interactional quality for women with perinatal mental health illnesses : protocol for a pilot randomised control trial Authors: Buhagiar, Rachel; Bettenzana, Kristina; Barlow, Jane Abstract: Background: The literature strongly suggests that early parent-child relational interventions for at-risk dyads can support healthy infant development and attachment security. Video Feedback (VF) is a widely used attachment-based intervention, but evidence for its effectiveness with mother-baby dyads where there is maternal psychopathology remains limited. Methods: This study constitutes a two-armed pilot randomised controlled trial aimed at evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary benefits of Video Interaction Guidance (VIG), a type of VF, on mother-child dyadic interactional quality for postpartum women and their infants in Malta. Participants must be mothers with a baby aged 0-12 months who meet criteria for one or more mental health disorders on diagnostic interview. Exclusions are severe maternal mental illness, active drug dependence, being in receipt of in-patient care or therapy, or inability to speak English or Maltese. Consenting, eligible mothers are randomly allocated (minimised by infant age, relationship and employment status, and number of children at home), to either 3 cycles of one-to-one VIG intervention and treatment-as-usual (TAU), or to TAU only. Outcome assessors are blind to study arm allocation. The primary outcomes are parental sensitivity and dyadic synchrony coded using the CARE-index. Secondary outcomes are maternal depression and anxiety, bonding experience, capacity for reflective functioning, and well-being. Conclusions: This is the first study on the preliminary effectiveness of VIG within perinatal services in Malta. Findings should guide future larger scale, definitive RCTs and subsequently inform health policy and management decisions in perinatal and infant mental health care. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/140806 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/140714 Title: How trauma is represented on social media : analysis of #trauma content on tiktok Authors: O’Connor, Cliodhna; Brown, Giulia; Debono, Julienne; Suty, Lauren; Joffe, Helene Abstract: The ways that mental health concepts are represented on social media could have significant implications for lay understandings and behavior. The current article reports an analysis of how trauma is represented on TikTok, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. Method: Following a search for content using the hashtag #trauma, 143 videos were subjected to qualitative content analysis to characterize the profiles of their producers, intended function, and trauma-related content. Results: Results show that most videos were produced by young White people, who drew on their personal experience of trauma to generate confessional narratives or raise awareness of trauma. Trauma was most often attributed to childhood adversity or relationship difficulties. A diverse range of behaviors and experiences were positioned as evidence of trauma. Conclusions: Findings are consistent with prior suggestions that trauma’s boundaries are expanding in the form of “concept creep,” but also draw attention to the role of humor and irony in social media invocations of the concept. Given the current near-ubiquity of social media consumption, particularly among young people, establishing the implications of exposure to this content should be a priority for future research. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/140714 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z