For this discussion, you should consider various spiritual perspectives in the cause and treatment of substance use/abuse. Keep in mind there are different religious views of whether or not it is right to use substances, including whether or not it’s a sin to drink ANY alcohol, or whether or not marijuana should be legalized for recreational use. Be sure to be considerate of others’ views, as well as open-minded in your discussion. Specifically for this discussion, review the basic principles of most “12-step” programs (from Module seven), including the principles outlined in the program known as “Celebrate Recovery” that is a Christian based 12-step program (https://www.celebraterecovery.com/). Additionally consider several scriptures including I Corinthians 6:12, 9:27, Proverbs 25:28, Titus 2:11-14 and other passages on self-control. How might beliefs contribute to, or prevent substance abuse, and how could they be used in the process of treatment?
Integrity Scores and Analyses
The mean integrity score for the sample was 64.9 (SD5 9.2). Consistent with prior research (Schlenker, 2007), females scored
332 Schlenker, Weigold, & Schlenker
higher than males, F (1, 148)5 7.38, p5 .007, Z2 5 .04 (Females: M5 66.1, SD5 8.29; Males: M5 61.7, SD5 10.63).
Unless otherwise noted, analyses of the dependent measures were
conducted using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure in SAS, with integrity (centered, continuous), sex (effects coded), and
their interaction as predictors. Standard regression, using the same predictors and coding, was used to calculate the beta weights for
effects (when coded identically, as done here, GLM and standard regression produce identical common statistics). None of the report-
ed effects were qualified by sex, which will not be discussed further.
Types of Heroes
Participants named an average of 3.2 heroes (SD5 1.38). Most of the heroes were real people (90.8% were classified as real, 4.2% were fictional, and 5.4% could not be classified) who were personally
known by the respondents (59.2% were personally known, 28.7% could not have been known personally, and 12.4% could not be
unequivocally classified). The largest single category consisted of family members (46.2% of all heroes were members of one’s family),
especially one’s mother or father. Friends, star athletes, and religious or spiritual figures (e.g., Jesus, the Pope, Billy Graham, Mother Theresa, a pastor) each comprised 5% or more of the respondents’
heroes. Integrity scores were unrelated to the total number of heroes who
were named (Fo1, p5 .52) but were related to types of hero. Higher integrity was associated with naming a greater number of spiritual or
religious figures as heroes, F (1, 146)5 12.97, p5 .0004, b5 .29. To ensure that a few people did not simply name a large number of such
figures, chi-squares were calculated on whether low versus high in- tegrity respondents, defined by median split, named none versus one
or more spiritual/religious figures; this measure provides an indica- tion of whether the category itself is spontaneously salient regardless of number of such heroes named. One or more religious figures were
named by only 4.2% of those who scored below the median on in- tegrity but by 26.6% of those who scored above the median in
integrity, w2 (1, N5 150)5 13.91, po.0002. Given that the total number of heroes was comparable for those high versus low in in-
tegrity, one would expect a compensating difference for other types of heroes. Although no other effects reached po.05, there was a
What Makes a Hero? 333
marginal negative relationship between integrity and selecting
athletes as heroes, F (1, 146)5 2.81, p5 .10, b5 � .13. One or more athletes were named by 18.3% of those below the median in
integrity but by 8.9% of those above the median, w2 (1, N5 150)5 2.89, po.09. Those higher in integrity display a clear preference for morally notable heroes, whereas those lower in integ- rity seem to have a slight preference for those noted for impressive
personal achievements.
Spontaneous Descriptions of Heroes
Respondents spontaneously described the qualities they admired in
each of their heroes. An average of 2.82 qualities were listed per hero, or 9.12 qualities (SD5 5.16) possessed by the average set of heroes.
A dichotomous measure of whether or not respondents listed a
category of qualities to describe one or more of their heroes was calculated, and chi square analyses were conducted to see if those
high versus low in integrity (median split) used different categories. As shown in Table 2, participants who were high rather than low in
integrity were more likely to describe their heroes using the catego- ries of honesty, principled conduct, spirituality, and beneficence. In fact, more than twice as many respondents who scored high rather
than low in integrity used the categories of honesty, commitment to principles, and spirituality, and nearly all of those high in integrity
referenced the beneficence of their heroes. There were no other sig- nificant differences involving integrity on the dichotomous measures.
GLM analyses were also conducted on the frequencies with which respondents used each of the categories. These analyses provided
information about the number of times each category was used (which can include multiple instances of a category across heroes or for a specific hero, e.g., helpful, caring, and unselfish reflect three
instances of beneficence), instead of information about whether a category was used (as in the chi square analyses). Identical results
were obtained, with significant main effects of integrity on references to honesty, principles, spirituality, and beneficence (all Fs
(1, 146)44.02, pso.05). No other main effects of integrity or inter- actions of integrity and sex of respondent were significant. These
results show that those who score higher in integrity are more likely to access these qualities in memory when thinking about their heroes