Ward Davis

Biography

Dr. Ward Davis (Psy.D., Regent University) is a Professor of Psychology and directs the Psychology and Spirituality Research Lab in the Wheaton doctoral psychology programs. Previously, Dr. Davis was an Assistant Professor in the Rosemead School of Psychology (Biola University), where he received the Sorenson Outstanding Faculty Award in 2012. In 2020, Dr. Davis also received the Margaret Gorman Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) Division 36 (Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality). In 2022 he received Wheaton College’s Senior Scholarship Achievement Award, and in 2024 he received the APA Division 36’s Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Davis has over 100 publications and 100 professional presentations, mostly focusing on God representations (how people view and experience God), positive psychology (the science and practice of virtues, strengths, and flourishing), and the psychology of religion and spirituality (the science and practice of people’s search for sacred meaning and connection). He has been the Co-Principal Investigator on numerous research grants with the John Templeton Foundation, studying natural disaster survivors ($1.9 million), humility in humanitarian aid leaders ($220,000), divine forgiveness experiences ($292,000), virtual religious worship experiences ($500,000), and open science practices in the psychology of religion/spirituality field ($668,000). In addition, he has been a Co-Investigator on other Templeton grants studying character virtue development in higher education contexts ($2.7 million), humility in religious leaders ($22,000), and science-engaged theology in practice ($1.7 million).

Dr. Davis also is a licensed clinical psychologist and serves on the Editorial Board of three journals: Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (PRS, Associate Editor), Spirituality in Clinical Practice (SCP, Consulting Editor), and Journal of Psychology and Theology (JPT, Editorial Board). At Wheaton College, Dr. Davis teaches doctoral-level classes in clinical practice and research.

Education

Biola University
Postdoctoral Psychology Fellowship, Biola University and the Biola Counseling Center, La Mirada, CA, 2012

Southern Louisiana Internship Consortium, LSU
Predoctoral Psychology Internship, Baton Rouge, LA, 2010

Regent University
Psy.D., Clinical Psychology, 2010

Regent University
M.A., Clinical Psychology, 2007

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A. with Highest Honors, Psychology, 2002

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
B.A. with Highest Distinction, History, 2002

Areas of Expertise

Psychology of Spirituality and Religion
Positive Psychology
Assessment Psychology
Multicultural Psychology

Professional Affiliations

American Psychological Association (APA)
APA Division 36 (Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality)
Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS)
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (PRS), Associate Editor
Spirituality in Clinical Practice (SCP), Consulting Editor

Courses Taught

PSYC 714 Professional Development Seminar and Ethics I (PsyD)
PSYC 716 Clinical Interviewing (PsyD)
PSYC 743 Psychological Assessment I: Cognitive Assessment and Psychometrics (PsyD)
PSYC 744 Psychological Assessment II: Personality Assessment (PsyD)
PSYC 746 Clinical Research and Statistics I: Statistics and Research Methods (PsyD)
PSYC 761 Psychology and Spirituality Research Lab (PsyD)
PSYC 797 Practicum Seminar (PsyD)
PSYC 882 Advanced Practicum Seminar (PsyD)
CMHC 641 Assessment in Counseling (Clinical Mental Health Counseling)

Research

Dr. Davis directs the Psychology and Spirituality Research Lab (PSRL), which is a research team in the Wheaton College School of Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy. PSRL is comprised of Wheaton graduate and undergraduate psychology students. The mission of PSRL is to advance the scientific study of spirituality to promote health and well-being. PSRL research and resources focus on the intersections between psychology and spirituality, with an emphasis on Christian spirituality.

More narrowly, Dr. Davis’s research interests center on relational spirituality--that is, the ways people view and relate to God. In particular, his research focuses on the scientific study of God representations, including how people conceptually view and experientially relate to God (e.g., doctrinal representations ["head knowledge"] and experiential representations ["heart knowledge"], respectively). His other research interests include positive psychology, multicultural psychology, and assessment psychology.

Grants

Van Cappellen, P., Davis, E. B. (Co-principal Investigators), (Jan. 2024 - Dec. 2027). Worship 2.0: Testing the Benefits and Challenges of Virtual Worship Participation for Flourishing. Funded: $620,000.

Fincham, F., Rudaz, M., (Jan. 2023 - Dec. 2025). The Nature, Expressions, and Functions of Divine Forgiveness in Theistic Relational Spirituality (a subcontract project in “Psychological Perspectives on Divine Forgiveness,” Funded: $3.4 million. Co-Principal Investigators: Currier, J., Davis, E. B.

Sharp, S., Jones, S., New Perspectives on Social Psychology and Religious Cognition for Theology: Training and Developing Science-Engaged Theologians. Funded: $1.7 million. Consultants: Davis, E. B., Brandt, P., Johnson, K., Richert, R., Hill, P. C., Fincham, F.D.

Davis, E. B. (Co-Principal Investigator), LaBouff, J., Van Elk, M., & Ladd, K. (Jan. 2022 - Dec. 2024). The Open Science of Religion Project: Advancing Open Science Practices and Registered Reports in the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Field. Funded: $650,000.

Schnitker, S., Glanzer, P., Hansen, A., Dougherty, K., Davis, E. B. (Co-Investigator), et al. (Dec. 2021 - Nov. 2024). Character Virtue Development in Higher Education. Funded: $2.7 million.

Aten, J. D. & Davis, E. B. (Co-Principal Investigator) (Dec. 2016 - Aug. 2019). Humility in the Context of Humanitarian Aid Work Leadership (a $220,000 subcontract project in Developing Humility in Leadership, Co-Principal Investigators: Peter C. Hill, Joshua N. Hook, & Don E. Davis, Funded: $1.9 million).

Aten, J. D., Davis, E. B. (Co-Principal Investigator), Boan, D., Van Tongeren, D. R., Davis, D. E., Hook, J. N. (Aug. 2015 - July 2018). Earth as a School: Finding Meaning, Relating to God, and Experiencing Growth After a Natural Disaster. Funded: $1.9 million.

Cuthbert, A. D., Davis, E. B. (Co-Investigator), Aten, J. D., & Yarborough, C. A. (2014 – 2016). A Church-Based Humility Intervention Study. John Templeton Foundation. Funded: $22,000. Consultants: Worthington, Jr., E. L, Davis, Jr., D. E., Hook, J. N., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Lavelock, C. R.

Selected Publications

(* = student coauthor)

An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the association between religion/spirituality and health/well-being. [Manuscript accepted for publication]. In J. R. Webb (Ed.), Handbook of spirituality, health, and well-being: A psychological perspective. Routledge.
Davis, E. B., Chen, Z. J., Cowden, R. G., VanderWeele, T., Oberg, S., Bivens, G.*, Newcity, C.*, Song, E.*, & Koenig, H. G. (2025).

Cultivating Christian character and virtues: A meta-theory of change. In K. Melton, A. Hansen, P. Glanzer, & S. Schnitker (Eds.), Cultivating character: A toolkit for assessing virtues in college students. PressBooks.
Davis, E. B., Cockle, T. F., Hansen, A. Z., Melton, K. K., Glanzer, P., & Schnitker, S. A. (2024).

Virtues in positive psychology and the psychology of religion and spirituality: Existing overlap and promising possibilities. In L. J. Miller (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of psychology and spirituality (2^nd ed., pp. 209–224). Oxford University Press.
Worthington, E. L., Jr., Cowden, R. G., Davis, E. B., & Exline, J. J. (2024).

Find peace with religious, sexual, and gender conflicts. In A. L. Beckstead, J. Cheng, S. Giwa, M. A. Yarhouse, & I. Zegura (Eds.), Feel secure in yourself: A guidebook for LGBTQIA+ people and those with a different label or no label (pp. 107-124).
Rowman & Littlefield. Davis, E. B., Lefevor, G. T., Giwa, S., Jacobsen, J., Paulez, J.*, Latimer, S. E., Murphy, A. P., Harris, H., Dean, J. B., Jackson-Vann, J. T., & Beckstead, A. L. (2024).

Religion/spirituality, stress, and resilience among sexual and gender minorities: The religious/spiritual stress and resilience model. Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Lefevor, G. T., Etengoff, C., Davis, E. B., Skidmore, S. J.*, Rodriguez, E. M., McGraw, J. S.*, & Rostowsky,
S. (2023).

The trust signaling hypothesis of humility: How humble leaders elicit greater monetary contributions. Journal of Positive Psychology.
Van Tongeren, D. R., Teahan, K.*, Davis, E. B., Aten, J. D., Wang, D. C., Hall, E. L., Shannonhouse, L.,
Kojima, Y.*, & Severino, M.* (2023).

Broadening the scope and refining the precision of theistic relational spirituality. Religion, Brain, & Behavior.
Davis, E. B., & Granqvist, P. (2023).

Development and initial validation of the Persevering Hope Scale: Measuring wait-power in four independent samples. Journal of Personality Assessment.
Rueger, S. Y., Worthington, E. L., Jr., Davis, E. B., Chen, Z. J., Cowden, R. G., Moloney, J. M., Eveleigh, E., Stone, L. B.*, Glowiak, K. J.*, & Lemke, A. W.* (2023).

Religious/spiritual struggles and life satisfaction among sexual minorities. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Paulez, J. A., Johnson, B. D., Davis, E. B., Lacey, E. K.*, Sullivan, J.*, & Brandys, T.* (2022).

Do religious/spiritual resources moderate the association between suffering and religious/spiritual struggles? A three-wave longitudinal study of U.S. adults with chronic illness. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 61(3-4), 642–662.
Kent, B. V., Cowden, R. G., Counted, V., Davis, E. B., Rueger, S. Y., & Worthington, E. L., Jr. (2022).

Religiousness and psychotic experiences among young adult college students in the United States. International Journal of Social Psychiatry.
Oh, H., Davis, E. B., Klaunig, M., Narita, Z., Koyanagi, A., & Karcher, N.* (2022).

Sixty years of studying the sacred: Auditing and advancing the psychology of religion and spirituality. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Davis, E. B., Lacey, E. K.*, Heydt, E. J.*, LaBouff, J. P., Barker, S. B.*, Van Elk, M., & Ladd, K. L. (2022).

Exploring the roles of God representations in spiritual struggles among Christians seeking spiritually integrated psychotherapies. Spirituality in Clinical Practice.
Currier, J. M., Stevens, L. S., McDermott, R. C., Hinkel, H. M., Salcone, S.*, Davis, E. B., Lacey, E. K.*, & Park, C. L. (2022).

Resource loss and mental health during COVID-19: Psychosocial protective factors amount U.S. older adults and those with chronic disease, International Journal of Psychology, 57(1), 127-135.
McElron-Heltzel, S., Shannonhouse, L. R., Davis, E. B., Lemke, A. W.*, Mize, M. C.*, Aten, J. D., Fullen, M. C., Hook, J. N., Van Tongeren, D. R., Davis, D. E., & Miskis, C.* (2022).

The role of spiritual fortitude in search for meaning and mental health symptoms following a natural disaster, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Zhang, H., Hook, J. N., Van Tongeren, D. R., Davis, D. E., McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Davis, E. B., & Aten, J. D. (2022).

Broadening the scope and refining the precision of theistic relational spirituality. Religion, Brain, & Behavior. Davis, E. B., & Granqvist, P. (2022). Manuscript accepted for publication.

Understanding religious attachment among Christians seeking spiritually integrated psychotherapies: A mixed methods study. Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Currier, J. M., Stevens, L. T.*, Hinkel, H. M.*, Davis, E. B., & Park, C. L. (2022).

Religious/spiritual struggles and depression during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in the global south: Evidence of moderation by positive religious coping and hope. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. Captari, L. E.*, Cowden, R. G., Sandage, S. J., Davis, E. B., Bechara, A. O., Joynt, S., & Counted, V. (2022).

Religiousness and minority stress in conservatively religious sexual minorities: Lessons from Latter-Day Saints. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion.
Lefevor, G. T., Skidmore, S. J.*, McGraw, J. S.*, Davis, E. B., & Mansfield, T. R. (2022).

Resource loss, positive religious coping, and suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective cohort study of U.S. adults with chronic illness. Mental Health, Religion, & Culture, 25(3), 288-304.
Cowden, R. G., Rueger, S. Y., Davis, E. B., Counted, V., Kent, B. V., Chen, Y., VanderWeele, T. J., Rim, M.*, Lemke, A. W.*, & Worthington, E. L., Jr. (2021).

Theistic relational spirituality: Development, dynamics, health, and transformation. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Davis, E. B., Granqvist, P., & Sharp, C. (2021).

The relationship between religiousness and health among sexual minorities: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin.
Lefevor, G. T., Davis, E. B., Paiz, J. Y.*, & Smack, A. C. P.* (2021).

Psychological and spiritual outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective longitudinal study of U.S. adults with chronic disease, Health Psychology.
Davis, E. B., McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Lemke, A. W.*, Cowden, R., VanderWeele, T. J.,... Aten, J. D. (2021).

Existentially threatening stimuli increase religious cognitive dissonance among the less intrinsically religious, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 13(3), 298-303.
Van Tongeren, D. R., Davis, E. B., Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E. & Aten, J.D. (2021).

Measures of God representations: Theoretical framework and critical review, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 13(3), 340-357.
Sharp, C. A., Davis, E. B., George, K., Cuthbert, A. D.*, Zahl, B. P., Davis, D. E., Hook, J. N., & Athen, J. D. (2021).

Religious/spiritual struggles and psychological distress: A test of three models in a longitudinal study of adults with chronic health conditions, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 78(4), 544-558.
Cowden, R. G., Pargament, K. I., Chen, Z. J., Davis, E. B., Lemke, A. W.*, Glowiak, K. J.*, Rueger, S. Y., & Worthington, E. L, Jr. (2021).

Suffering, mental health, and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study of U.S. adults with chronic health conditions, Wellbeing, Space, & Society, 2, 100048.
Cowden, R. G., Davis, E. B., Counted, V., Chen, Y., Rueger, S. Y., VanderWeele, T. J., Lemke, A. W.*, Glowiak, K. J.*, & Worthington, E. L., Jr., (2021).

Resource loss, positive religious coping, and suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective cohort study of U.S. adults with chronic illness. Mental Health, Religion, & Culture, 25(3), 288-304.
Cowden, R. G., Rueger, S. Y., Davis, E. B., Counted, V., Kent, B. V., Chen, Y., VanderWeele, T. J., Rim, M.*, Lemke, A. W.*, & Worthington, E. L., Jr. (2021).

Spiritual fortitude: A systematic review of the literature and implications for COVID-19 coping, Spirituality in Clinical Practice.
Zhang, H.*, Hook, J. N., Van Tongeren, D. R., Davis, E. B., Aten, J. D., McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Davis, D. E., Jr., & Shannonhouse, I. (2021).

The role of civility and cultural humility in navigating controversial areas in psychology, Spirituality in Clinical Practice.
Davis, E. B., Plante, T. G., Grey, M. J., Kim, C. L., Freeman-Coppadge, D.,… Glowiak, K.* (2021).

Spiritually oriented expressive writing and promoting positive outcomes after a natural disaster, The Counseling Psychologist.
Mosher, D. K.*, Hook, J. N., Captari, L. E.*, Hodge, A.*, Bellegarde, N.*,… Davis, E. B., & Aten, J. D. (2021).

Why leader humility is vital to effective humanitarian aid leadership: A review of the literature, Disasters.
Wang, D. C., Hall, M. E. L., Shannonhouse, L. R., Mize, M., Aten, J. D.,… Davis, E. B., & Annan, K. (2021).

Perceived and actual posttraumatic growth in religiousness and spirituality following disasters, Journal of Personality.
Davis, E. B., Van Tongeren, D. R., McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Davis, D. E., Rice, K. G.,… Lemke, A. W.* (2021).

Trauma and well-being in Columbian disaster contexts: Effects of religious coping, forgiveness, and hope, Journal of Positive Psychology.
Chen, Z. J., Bechara, A. O., Worthington, E. L., Jr., Davis, E. B., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2021).

Functional social support moderates stress on depression in individuals with CID during the COVID-19 pandemic: A two-wave study, International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings
Moak, E.*, Morgan, G., Cowden, R. G., Davis, E. B., Glowiak, K. J.*,… Stamatis, A. (2021).

Religious coping and depression: A five-wave study during the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with chronic illness and disease, International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings
McHenry, R.*, Morgan, G. B., Cowden, R. G., Davis, E. B., Glowiak, K. J.*,… Stamatis, A. (2021).

Including multiculturalism, social justice, and peace within the integration of psychology and theology: Barriers and a call to action, Journal of Psychology & Theology.
McConnell, J. M., Bacote, V., Davis, E. B., Brown, E. M., Fort, C. J.,… Davis, D. E. (2021).

A practice-based investigation of God representations in spiritually integrated psychotherapies, Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Currier, J. M., McDermott, R. C., Stevens, L. T.*, Isaak, S. L.*, Davis, E. B.,… Stefurak, J. T. (2021).

Spiritual, religious, and existential processes of posttraumatic growth: Seeking, struggle and transformation, Routledge international handbook on posttraumatic growth.
Captari, L.*, Sandage, S., Davis, E. B., Aten, J., Cowden, R. G.,… & Van Tongeren, D. R. (2021).

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger? Or does it?, Psychology Today.
Davis, E. B. (2020 May).

Does adversity really make us stronger? Usually not, Character in Context.
Davis, E. B., Priebe, C.*, & Van Tongeren, D. R. (2020 March).

Virtues in positive psychology and the psychology of religion and spirituality: Existing overlap and promising possibilities, The Oxford handbook of psychology and spirituality (2^nd ed.).
Worthington, E. L., Jr., Cowden, R. G., Davis, E. B., & Exline, J. J., in press.

Spiritual first aid for COVID-19, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Aten, J. D., Shannonhouse, L. R., Davis, D. E., Davis, E. B., Hook, J. N., Van Tongeren, D. R., Zhao, J. H., McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Schruba, A., Annan, K., & Mize, M. C.* (2020).

Clergy attitudes about ways to support the mental health of sexual and gender minorities, Journal of Religion & Health.
Raedel, D.*, Wolff, J., Davis, E. B., & Ji, P. (2020).

Resource loss and stress following conflict in Africa: Conservation of resources theory in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Journal of Traumatic Stress.
Snyder, J. D.*, Boan, D., Aten, J. D., Davis, E. B., Van Grinsven, L.*, … & Liu, T. (2020).

The effectiveness of trauma-informed wilderness therapy with adolescents: A pilot study, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy.
Johnson, E. G.*, Davis, E. B., Johnson, J., Pressley, J., Sawyer, S., & Spinazzola, J. (2020).

Re-imagining integration: Student and faculty perspectives on integration training at Christian doctoral psychology programs, Journal of Psychology and Theology.
Neff, M. A.*, Peterson, M. A., McMinn, M. R., Kuhnhausen, B., Dunkerley, J.,... Davis, E. B., & Ripley, J. S. (2020).

Existentially threatening stimuli increase religious cognitive dissonance among the less intrinsically religious, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Van Tongeren, D. R., Davis, E. B., Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., & Aten, J. D. (2019).

Religious/spiritual struggles alter God representations, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Van Tongeren, D. R., Sanders, M., Edwards, M., Davis, E. B., Aten, J. D., . . . Davis, D. E. (2019).

Religious meaning making and attachment in a disaster context: A longitudinal qualitative study of flood survivors, Journal of Positive Psychology.
Davis, E. B., Kimball, C. N., Aten, J. D., Andrews, B., Van Tongeren, D. R., . . . Park, C. L. (2019).

The behaviors, benefits, and barriers of humanitarian aid leader humility, Journal of Psychology and Theology.
Shannonhouse, L. R., Mize, M. C. B., Hall, M. E. L., Aten, J. D., Wang, D. C., Davis, E. B., & Tongeren, D. R. (2019).

Measures of God representations: Theoretical framework and critical review, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Sharp, C. A., Davis, E. B., George, K., Cuthbert, A. D., Zahl, B. P., . . . Aten, J. D. (2019).

Religious factors and global meaning violation in Louisiana flood survivors, Traumatology.
Dispenza, F., Davis, E. B., McElroy, S. E., Davis, D. E., Zeligman, M. R., . . . Hook, J. N. (2019).

Prejudicial and welcoming attitudes toward Syrian refugees: The roles of cultural humility and moral foundations, Journal of Psychology & Theology.
Captari, L. E.*, Hook, J. N., Aten, J. D., Davis, E. B., Hook, J. M., … & Shannonhouse, L. R. (2019).

We welcome refugees? Understanding the relationship between religious orientation, religious commitment, personality, and prejudicial attitudes toward Syrian refugees, International Journal for the Psychology of Religion.
Carlson, M. M.*, McElroy-Heltzel, Aten, J.D., Davis, E. B., Van Tongeren, D. R., … & Davis, D. E. (2019).

“Mere” Christian forgiveness: An ecumenical Christian conceptualization of forgiveness through the lens of stress-and-coping theory, Religions.
Worthington, E. L., Jr., Rueger, S., Davis, E. B., & Wortham, J. (2019).

Religious support buffers the indirect negative psychological effects of mass shooting in church-affiliated individuals, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
San Roman, L., Mosher, D. K.*, Hook, J. N., Captari, L. E.*, Aten, J. D., Davis, E. B., … & Campbell, C. D. (2019).

Faith in the wake of disaster: A longitudinal qualitative study of religious attachment following a catastrophic flood, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
Davis, E. B., Kimball, C. N., Aten, J. D., Hamilton, C., Andrews, B., . . . Chung, J. (2019).

Development and validation of a measure of spiritual fortitude, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
Van Tongeren, D. R., Aten, J. D., McElroy, S., Davis, D. E., Shannonhouse, L., Davis, E. B., & Hook, J. N. (2019).

The psychological study of religion and spirituality in a disaster context: A systematic review, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
Aten, J. D., Smith, W., Davis, E. B., Van Tongeren, D. R., Hook, J. N., . . . Hill, P. (2019).

Posttraumatic growth and trauma in flood survivors: Contributions of attitudes toward God, Journal of Mental Health Counseling.
Zeligman, M., McElroy, S. E., Davis, E. B., Davis, D. E., & Dispenza, F. (2019).

Conserving resources after a chronic disaster: Impacts of religious and meaning-focused coping on Botswana drought survivors, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy.
Shannonhouse, L., Bialo, J.*, Majuta, A.*, Zeligman, M., Davis, D. E., Davis, E. B.,… & Hook, J. N. (2019).

Embodied spirituality following disaster: Exploring intersections of religious and place attachment in resilience and meaning-making, Psychology of religion and place: Emerging perspectives.
Captari, L. E.*, Hook, J. N., Aten, J. D., Davis, E. B., & Tisdale, T. (2019).

Religion, spirituality, and meaning in the wake of disasters, In S. E. Schulenberg (Ed.), Disaster mental health and positive psychology.
Van Tongeren, D. R., Aten, J. D., Davis, E. B., Davis, D. E., & Hook, J. N. (2018).

How faith impacts post-disaster resilience—and what the church can do, Facts & Trends.
Aten, J. D., & Davis, E. B. (2018 October 11).

Cultivating humility in religious leaders: The effectiveness of a spiritually integrated positive psychology intervention, Spirituality in Clinical Practice.
Cuthbert, A. D., Davis, E. B., Aten, J. D., Short, A., Yarborough, C. A., . . . Van Tongeren, D. R. (2018).

Theistic relational spirituality: Development, dynamics, health, and transformation, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Davis, E. B., Granqvist, P., & Sharp, C. (2018).

Religious coping, dispositional forgiveness, and posttraumatic outcomes in adult survivors of the Liberian civil war, Spirituality in Clinical Practice.
Ochu, A. C., Davis, E. B., Magyar-Russell, G., O’Grady, K. A., & Aten, J. D. (2018).

Disasters, religion, and spirituality [Special issue}, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Davis, E. B., & Aten, J. D. (Eds.) (2018).

An introduction to the special issue on “disasters, religion, and spirituality.”, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Davis, E. B., & Aten, J. D. (2018).

Benevolent theodicies protect against PTSD following a natural disaster, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Davis, E. B., Davis, D. E., Aten, J., Hook, J. N., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Hwang, J. (2018).

The role of spiritual fortitude and positive religious coping in meaning in life and spiritual well-being following Hurricane Matthew, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Van Tongeren, D. R., Gazaway, S.*, Ordaz, A.*, Davis, D. E., Davis, E. B.,… & Stargell, N. A. (2018).

Negative religious coping and burnout among national humanitarian aid workers following Typhoon Haiyan, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Captari, L. E.*, Hook, J. N., Mosher, D. K.*, Boan, D., Aten, J. D., Davis, E. B.,… & Van Tongeren, D. R. (2018).

A grounded theory of the practice of disaster spiritual and emotional care: The central role of practical presence, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Schruba, A. N., Aten, J. D., Davis, E. B., & Shannonhouse, L. R. (2018).

Psychological first aid and the role of scientific evidence Christians’ provision of disaster spiritual and emotional care, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Schruba, A. N.*, Davis, E. B., Aten, J. D., Wang, D. C., Entwistle, D. N., & Boan, D. (2018).

The Humanitarian Disaster Institute: A training model for graduate-level psychology and counseling programs, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Aten, J. D., Boan, D., Davis, E. B., & Schruba, A. N. (2018).

Advancing scientific research on disasters, religion, and spirituality, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Davis, E. B., Aten, J. D., Van Tongeren, D., Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., & Shannonhouse, L. R. (2018).

Students in faith-based doctoral psychology programs: Religious/spiritual struggles moderate the effect of distress from clinical work on negative affect, Journal of Psychology and Theology.
Strosky, D., Wang, D., Hill, P. C., Long, J., Davis, E. B., & Cuthbert, A. D. (2018).

The meaning as a buffer hypothesis: Spiritual meaning attenuates the effect of disaster-related resource loss on posttraumatic stress, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Haynes, W. C., Van Tongeren, D. R., Aten, J. D., Davis, E. B., Davis, D. E., Hook, J. N., Boan, D., & Johnson, T. (2017).

Collaboration between clergy and mental health professionals in disaster contexts: Lessons from the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, Spirituality in Clinical Practice.
Curtis, J. B., Aten, J. D., Smith, W., Davis, E. B., Hook, J. N., . . . Cuthbert, A. D. (2017).

Attachment avoidance to God exacerbates the negative effect of tangible resource loss on psychological resource loss, Mental Health, Religion, & Culture.
Massengale, M., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., Zelaya, D. G., Shannonhouse, L.,… & Hill, P. (2017).

Faith and disaster mental health: Research, theology, and practice, In H. Gingrich & F. Gingrich (Eds.), Treating trauma in Christian counseling and psychotherapy.
Aten, J. D., Schruba, A., Entwistle, D., Davis, E. B., Ranter, J., Hwang, J., . . . & Van Tongeren, D. R. (2017).

Humility and psychotherapist effectiveness: Humility, the therapy relationship, and psychotherapy outcomes, In E. L. Worthington, Jr., D. E. Davis, & J. N. Hook (Eds.). Handbook of humility: Theory, research, and application.
Davis, E. B., & Cuthbert, A. D. (2017).

Psychoanalysis, Dictionary of Christianity and Science.
Davis, E. B., & Cuthbert, A. D.* (2017).

Sigmund Freud, Dictionary of Christianity and Science.
Davis, E. B., & Cuthbert, A. D.* (2017).

Culturally adapted spiritually oriented trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for child survivors of Restavek, Spirituality in Clinical Practice .
Wang, D. C., Aten, J. D., Boan, D., Jean-Charles, W., Griff, K. P., Valcin, V., Davis, E. B., . . . & Wang, A. (2016).

God image narrative therapy: A mixed-methods investigation of a controlled group-based spiritual intervention, Spirituality in Clinical Practice.
Olson, T., Tisdale, T. C., Davis, E. B., Park, E., Nam, J., Moriarty, G. L., Davis, D. E., Thomas, M. J., Cuthbert, A. D., & Hays, L. W. (2016).

Ebola as an existential threat? Experimentally primed Ebola reminders intensify national-security concerns among extrinsically religious individuals, Journal of Psychology and Theology.
Van Tongeren, D. R., Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., Aten, J. D., & Davis, E. B. (2016).

Qualitative and mixed methods research on relational spirituality [Special section], Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Davis, E. B., & Tisdale, T. C. (Eds.). (2016).

Enlarging the psychology of religion and spirituality research paradigm: Introduction to the special section on qualitative and mixed methods, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Davis, E. B., & Tisdale, T. C. (2016).

Using qualitative and mixed methods to study relational spirituality, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Davis, E. B., Cuthbert, A. D.*, Hays, L. W.*, Aten, J. D., Van Tongeren, D. R.,… & Boan, D. (2016).

Efficacy of religion-accommodative strategic hope-focused theory applied to couples therapy, Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice.
Ripley, J. S., Leon, C., Worthington, E. L., Jr., Berry, J. W., Davis, E. B., Smith, A., Atkinson, A., & Sierra, T. (2014).

Relational spirituality and forgiveness: Appraisals that may hinder forgiveness, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Davis, D. E., Van Tongeren, D. R., Hook, J. N., Davis, E. B., Worthington, E. L., Jr., & Foxman, S. (2014).

Spiritual formation training in the Wheaton College Psy.D. program: Nurturing the growth of servant-oriented practitioner-scholars, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Flanagan, K. S., Pressley, J. D., Davis, E. B., Aten, J. D., Sanders, M., Carter, J. C., Jackson, A., & Kent, J. (2013).

God images and god concepts: Definitions, development, and dynamics, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Davis, E. B., Moriarty, G. L., & Mauch, J. C. (2013).

Evidence-based principles from psychodynamic and process-experiential psychotherapies, Evidence-based practices for Christian counseling and psychotherapy.
Edwards, K. J., & Davis, E. B. (2013).

Promoting the career well-being of religiously/spiritually oriented employees by supporting their emotional resilience and spiritual fitness, Psychology of religion and workplace spirituality.
Davis, E. B., & Hill, P. C. (2012).

Client God images: Theory, research, and clinical practice, In J. Aten, K. O’Grady, & E. Worthington, Jr. (Eds.), The psychology of religion and spirituality for clinicians: Using research in your practice.
Moriarty, G. L., & Davis, E. B. (2012).

The effects of a manualized group-psychotherapy intervention on client god images and attachment to God: A pilot study, Journal of Psychology and Theology.
Thomas, M. J., Moriarty, G. L., Davis, E. B., & Anderson, E. L.* (2011).

The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual: A potential adjunctive tool for diagnosis, case formulation, and treatment, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Davis, E. B., & Strawn, B. D. (2010).

The false self in Christian contexts: A Winnicottian perspective, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Parker, S., & Davis, E. B. (2009).

Intact marriages in which on partner experiences same-sex attraction: A five-year follow-up study, The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families.
Yarhouse, M. A., Gow, C. H., & Davis, E. B. (2009).

A developmental model of supervisee religious and spiritual development, Journal of Psychology and Christianity.
Ripley, J. S., Jackson, L. D., Tatum, R. L., & Davis, E. B. (2007).

Correlates and consequences of exposure to video game violence: Hostile personality, empathy, and aggressive behavior, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Bartholow, B. D., Sestir, M. A., & Davis, E. B. (2005).

Research Labs

Dr. Ward Davis directs the Psychology and Spirituality Research Lab (PSRL), which is a research team in the School of Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy at Wheaton College. PSRL is comprised of Wheaton graduate and undergraduate psychology students.　The mission of PSRL is to advance the scientific study of spirituality to promote health and well-being. At PSRL our research and resources focus on the intersections between psychology and spirituality, with an emphasis on Christian spirituality. Our activities primarily include: (a) writing scholarly articles and book chapters; (b) conducting original research and disseminating our findings; and (c) offering downloadable resources for use by scholars, scientists, practitioners, and leaders, as well as the interested public.

Ward Davis, PsyD