Koteskey, Little and Matthews:

Koteskey, Ronald L.
Little, Michelle D.
Matthews, Michele V.

In 1991, Kotesky, Little and Matthews published an article about the results of their research and the
title of the article is “Adolescent identity and depression.”
The journal is titled as Journal of Psychology and Christianity Volume #10, Issue#1
And the article’s discussion can be found on pages 48–53.

Adolescent Identity and Depression

Kotesky, Little and Matthews examined the correlation between adolescence and depression among
109 college students (aged 17–27 yrs) using the Beck Depression Inventory and an identity scale.

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)

§ Firstly, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is a self-report questionnaire used to measure the
severity of depression.
§ It can be used to screen for depression and monitor the course of treatment.
§ The BDI is not a diagnostic test, but it can help health care providers make a diagnosis.
§ For the BDI-II, a score of 10 to 18 indicates mild depression, and 30 or above indicates severe
depression.

Identity Scale
§ Secondly, the Identity Scale or Identity status is typically assessed by means of a structured
interview scored with a standardized manual, although sometimes a questionnaire is used.
§ In the light of all the results, the Perception of Identity Scale is used to determine the perception of
identity levels of individuals in adolescence, middle adolescence and adulthood was a valid and
reliable scale.

Depression was negatively correlated with some types of identity.

§ In order for you to understand the research they made, we have to know what depression is.
§ Depression is both biologically and socially constructed.
§ Social relationships play a key role in depression.
§ There is a significant impact of the social environment on a person’s state of being.
§ Charles Cooley’s concept of the looking glass self acknowledges the power of this perception and
examines how the unacceptability of mental illness might be perpetuated.
§ His theory states that we develop a concept of the self in response to our perception of other’s
judgment of us.

Ss who scored higher on community, family, and religious identity scored lower on depression.
Societal Standards/ Social Norms
§ Social norms are the unplanned result of individuals' interaction.
§ Like a grammar, a system of norms specifies what is acceptable and what is not in a society or
group.

Cultural identity was not negatively correlated with depression.

§ Cultural identities are the distinct identities of people or groups in culture or subcultural categories
and social groups.
§ Cultural identity is an important contributor to people's wellbeing.
§ Identifying with a particular culture gives people feelings of belonging and security.
§ Race, gender, sexuality, and ability are socially constructed cultural identities that developed over
time in relation to historical, social, and political contexts. Race, gender, sexuality, and ability are
cultural identities that affect our communication and our relationships.
The creation of adolescence in modern Western culture means that teenagers have lost much control
of their lives relative to work, marriage, and education.
§ Cultural background gives children a sense of who they are.
§ The unique cultural influences children respond to from birth, including customs and beliefs
around food, artistic expression, language, and religion, affect the way they develop emotionally,
socially, physically, and linguistically.

Community inclusion of adolescents in activities could help them gain a stronger sense of
community identity.
§ Social inclusion is important for a person's dignity, security and opportunity to lead a better life.

The church could include adolescents as adults to help them gain a stronger sense of religious
identity.
§ Religion is more likely to play significant role in identity formation in a culture where youth
confront a continually fluctuating social and political milieu.
§ Essentially, the transcendent meaning derived from religious affiliation is important for a youth
identity development and well-being.

Conclusion

The research showed how the correlation between adolescence and depression is. According to the
research conducted, the creation of adolescence in modern Western culture have affected teenagers and
it had lost much control of their lives. Base on the research of The Nation, westernization has been
spread throughout our country because of media.
Westernization fades away our religious values. Media plays a prominent role in ruining the culture
and moral values and is encouraging youth to adopt western culture in the name of modernization.

I’m not pointing out that loving the western culture is a bad thing, but being obsessed with it and slowly
disregarding your culture to adapt to something you would fit in is quite disrespectful, especially if
you act as if you were never a part of it. It’s great to know that you fit in a culture that suits your taste
and personality, but it’s always important to know where you belong to and remember one’s roots.
You can’t just disregard something, you have to accept the fact that you belong to that certain group
and learn to love things the way they are.

Reaching out to God in times of demise, encourages people to have better relationships with
themselves, others, and the unknown. Spirituality can help you deal with stress by giving you a sense
of peace, purpose, and forgiveness. It often becomes more important in times of emotional stress or
illness.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
§ Since the inception in 1879 of what is now known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, its
adherents, called Jehovah’s Witnesses, have had distinctive beliefs that separate them from
mainstream Christianity.
§ They believe that Christ died for the sins of man, but that he was resurrected spiritually rather than
physically. The leadership predicted and believe that the end of the world is soon to come.
§ Members believe that only Jehovah’s Witnesses will be saved when most of the world’s population
is killed at Armageddon.
§ Witnesses use the name “Jehovah” rather than “God,” and they focus their worship on Jehovah
rather than on Jesus, whom they believe was Jehovah’s only direct creation. The Holy Spirit is
believed to be a force rather than a person.

Jehovah’s Witness Practices

§ Jehovah’s Witnesses do not observe holidays they believe to have pagan origins, such as Christmas,
Easter, and birthdays.
§ They do not salute the national flag or sing the national anthem, and they refuse military service.
§ They also refuse blood transfusions, even those that could be lifesaving.
§ The Witnesses’ stand against blood transfusions reflects the significance of blood in their faith. They
hold that blood is sacred and represents life.
§ Members practice baptism and dedication, but there is no tithing or collection; funds are raised
through voluntary contributions.

Life after death?

§ Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that the dead are conscious or that they can have any influence
on the living.
§ Members believe that Jesus Christ paid the ransom of a perfect human life, releasing mankind from
sin and death.
§ One day “death will be no more,” and humans will have the opportunity to enjoy perfect lives.
§ Therefore death is not to be feared as the absolute end, because the dead who are “in God’s
memory” will be resurrected.
§ Funerals are conducted according to scriptural guidelines, and “unclean practices” are strictly
forbidden. If unbelieving relatives proceed with such practices, then “the believing family may
decide to withdraw from the funeral.

Memorial of Christ's Death

§ The most important religious event of the year for Jehovah's Witnesses is the commemoration of
the Memorial of Christ's Death.
§ It takes place on the anniversary of the Last Supper, calculated according to the lunar calendar in
use in Christ's time.
§ They believe that this is the only observance commanded by Christ.

Christian festivals
§ Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas or Easter because they believe that these festivals are based
on pagan customs and religions.
§ They point out that Jesus did not ask his followers to mark his birthday.

Secular festivals
§ Witnesses do not celebrate birthdays or other secular festivals that originate in other religions.
Islam
§ In the Arabic language, the word Islam means “surrender” or “submission” submission to the will
of God.
§ A follower of Islam is called a Muslim, which in Arabic means “one who surrenders to God.”
§ The Arabic name for God, Allah, refers to the same God worshiped by Jews and Christians.
§ Islam also taught that the Christian Bible and the Qur'an were all holy books.
§ According to the Qur'an, the two earlier Scriptures had been altered over time from their original
forms given by God, while the Qur'an would remain perfect, preserved by God from such
distortion.
§ In addition to distinguishing itself from the Hebrew and Christian traditions, the new religion
taught that the God of Islam had provided humanity with the means to know good from evil,
through the prophets and the Qur'an.
§ Therefore, on the Day of Judgment people will be held accountable for their actions.

The Five Pillars are the core beliefs and practices of Islam:
1. Profession of Faith (shahada).
§ The belief that "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God" is
central to Islam.
§ One becomes a Muslim by reciting this phrase with conviction.

2. Prayer (salat).
§ Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and
after dark.
§ Prayer includes a recitation of the opening chapter (sura) of the Qur'an, and is sometimes
performed on a small rug or mat used expressly for this purpose.
§ After the prayer, a sermon focuses on a passage from the Qur'an, followed by prayers by
the imam and a discussion of a particular religious topic.

3. Alms (zakat).
§ In accordance with Islamic law, Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to
community members in need.

4. Fasting (sawm).
§ During the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, all healthy
adult Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink.
§ During Ramadan they share the hunger and thirst of the needy as a reminder of the
religious duty to help those less fortunate.

5. Pilgrimage (hajj).
§ Every Muslim whose health and finances permit it must make at least one visit to the holy
city of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia.
§ The Ka'ba, a cubical structure covered in black embroidered hangings, is at the center of
the Haram Mosque in Mecca.
§ Muslims believe that it is the house Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) built for God, and face
in its direction (qibla) when they pray.
• Akikah.
§ An informal birth ceremony.
§ This ceremony is not practiced widely.

• Shadada.
§ The marking of a young Muslim’s formal entry into Islam.
§ There is no set age for this rite, though it is most commonly celebrated during the teenage
years.

• Marriage Ritual.
§ Witnesses observe the groom’s formal offer of marriage and the brides acceptance of it.
§ The waleemah is the reception which includes music and dancing.

• Funerals and Mourning.

§ This includes the recitation of the janazah (prayers for the dead) at the gravesite and may
include a service at the funeral home.
§ Muslims do not condone cremation and burial of the dead takes place within 24 hours of
death.
§ The official mourning period for a family member is 40 days.

• Ramadan.
§ This Holy Festival takes place in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
§ It is a time of fasting and daily repentance.

o Lailat ul-Qadr
§ The final 10 days of Ramadan.
§ Muslims celebrate Muhammad’s first revelation.

o Id al-Fitr
§ The feast period just after the month long fast of Ramadan.
§ It lasts for three days.

• Al-Isra Wal Miraj.

§ Celebrated on the 27th Day of the 7th month in the Islamic Calendar. It marks
Muhammad’s journey from Mecca.

• Maulid al-Nabi.
§ Celebrates the birth of Muhammad.
Irreligion
§ Irreligion is the lack or rejection of religious beliefs or practices.
§ Irreligion is a broad concept that encompasses many different positions and draws upon an array
of philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, skepticism,
rationalism, and secularism.

Atheism
§ Atheism is either the lack of belief in a god or gods, sometimes called “negative atheism,” or the
disbelief in a god or gods, sometimes called “positive atheism.”
§ Atheism is often specifically contrasted with belief in the existence of a single deity that is
omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent as the God of the Abrahamic religions
(Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) is generally understood.
§ “Narrow” atheists deny the existence of this God but need not take any position on the existence
of the divine more generally. Other “wide” atheists dispute the existence of any god.

Agnosticism
§ Agnosticism is the position that the existence of a god or gods is unknown or unprovable.
§ Agnosticism understood as a personal position of not knowing whether or not the divine exists.
§ It can also be defined as the stronger position of believing that the existence of the divine is entirely
unknowable, such that no positive belief or positive disbelief in a god or gods is rationally justified.
§ Because of these varying definitions, it is possible to be both a negative atheist and an agnostic.
Some agnostics may also be atheists, believing personally or on the basis of faith in a divine power
while acknowledging that there is little basis to claim any knowledge of such a power.

Secularism
§ Secularism, the indifference toward or nonparticipation in religion, is often characteristic of the
social and political life of a polity.
§ People who are secular may or may not identify with a religion personally, but they tend to support
minimizing religion in public life, often to encourage a pluralistic society, where different religious
groups can coexist in a common civilization.

Skepticism
§ Skepticism is the philosophical position of doubting claims that are generally believed to be true.
§ Throughout history skeptics have posed philosophical questions about the nature and extent of
human knowledge and often specifically about human knowledge of the divine.
§ In the modern era the term skepticism is often used to describe an attitude of doubt or a disposition
to incredulity regarding religious beliefs as well as beliefs generally considered to be mystical,
pseudoscientific, or superstitious.

Rationalism
§ Rationalism is the general philosophical position that human knowledge derives from the use of
reason and other natural cognitive faculties rather than, the experience of divine revelation.
§ Throughout the history of Western philosophy rationalism has posed a formidable challenge to
traditional beliefs in the supernatural or the divine, despite the efforts of many philosophers to
devise rationally acceptable arguments for God’s existence.
§ The rationalist stance is thus generally opposed to religions, including Christianity, that assert the
existence of a god or gods or whose claims rely on allegedly supernatural sources.