Hans Stifoss-Hanssen
Biographic Data
| ID | 4224042 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Hans Stifoss-Hanssen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Hans |
| FAMILY NAME | Stifoss-Hanssen |
| SIGNATURE | STIFOSS-HANSSEN H |
| AFFILIATIONS | VID Specialized University |
| ORCID | 0009-0009-0986-6445 |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1993 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Existential care in a pluralistic healthcare context
This article examines how hospital chaplains in Norwegian specialist healthcare support patients at risk of suicide, with particular attention to existential care within a pluralistic society. Based on qualitative data from four focus group interviews involving 16 chaplains across somatic and psychiatric units, the study explores how chaplains understand, experience, and reflect on their role in existential conversations. Three main themes emerge…
Meaning in life and identity in patients with severe dementia in Norway
Care for persons with severe dementia in highly specialised healthcare in Norway is guided by person-centred care. However, little research has explored healthcare professionals’ perspectives on meaning in life in this patient group. This qualitative study investigated how healthcare professionals recognise experiences of meaning in life among patients with severe dementia. The research question was: How do healthcare professionals, working in a …
Porous Pastoral Care
Although local parishes are prominent arenas for pastoral care conversations (PCC) in Scandinavia, little empirical research has been conducted on this practice. The present study qualitatively investigates priests’ and deacons’ experiences of their PCC in local parishes within the Church of Norway. We conducted and thematically analyzed five focus-group interviews (total N = 58). The results indicate that PCC are regarded as an important part of…
Experiences of meaning in life in urban and rural Zambia
Meaning in life has become an important topic in empirical research in the psychology of religion. Although it has been studied and found applicable in many different contexts, research on meaning in life and sources of meaning in African countries is scarce. This study qualitatively investigates understandings and experiences of meaning in life and sources of meaning among urban and village dwellers with different educational backgrounds in Zamb…
“If you and I and our Lord . . .”
Religious coping and spiritual struggles were qualitatively analyzed in 15 semi-structured interviews with Norwegian Hodgkin’s disease survivors. We asked, How is religious coping expressed in 15 Norwegian Hodgkin’s disease survivors? The analyses were theory-driven, using religious coping and spiritual struggles theories as explorative tools. Especially we focused on coping processes, coping dynamics, coping styles, and coping activities. The an…
Participation in Existential Groups Led by Norwegian Healthcare Chaplains—Relations to Psychological Distress, Crisis of Meaning and Meaningfulness
Spirituality groups led by healthcare chaplains have been found to aid patients’ recovery processes in US psychiatric units. In Norway, existential groups (EGs) led by healthcare chaplains and co-led by healthcare staff members are offered at psychiatric units; these groups share commonalities with spirituality groups, group psychotherapy, existential therapy and clinical pastoral care, facilitating patients’ reflections regarding existential, sp…
Addressing the existential dimension in treatment settings
Research has shown that addressing and integrating the existential dimension in treatment settings reduce symptoms like anxiety, depression and substance abuse. Healthcare chaplains are key personnel in this practice. A nationwide, cross-sectional survey influenced by a mixed-methods approach was used to examine the attitudes, practices, understanding and perceptions of mental health professionals, including healthcare chaplains, regarding the va…
The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire in the Norwegian Context
The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe) offers dimensional measures of meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and 26 sources of meaning. It allows for a clearer understanding of the variety of existential orientations, which are known to be linked to both mental and physical health. The Norwegian version of the SoMe was validated by testing 925 randomly selected individuals who were representative for the Norwegian population.…
Existential group practice run by mental healthcare chaplains in Norway
Existential groups run by healthcare chaplains within mental healthcare have a long tradition in Norway. By using a national cross-sectional survey design, this study explored and described both quantitatively and qualitatively these groups’ characteristics. Quantitative data were analysed by descriptive statistics and content analysis inspired by Graneheim and Lundman was used to analyse the qualitative data. The current existential group practi…
Religion and Spirituality
This article presents a discussion of and a reaction to Pargament's article, The Psy- chology of Religion and Spirituality: Yes and No. I acknowledge the great importance of the issues raised by Pargament concerning the basic understanding of psy- chology of religion. I agree that psychology of religion needs to relate to the phenomena commonly denoted as spirituality. Whereas Pargament prefers to see spirituality as part of religion, based on an…
Existential Questions and Health
Standardizing Measures of Religiosity for Norwegians
Although the literature is replete with measures of religiosity developed for other cultures (cf. Batson & Ventis, 1982), heretofore there has existed no scale of proven applicability to Norwegians. This study attempted to meet that need by assessing some of the psychometric properties of a 358-item questionnaire on a Norwegian sample of 471 self-identified Christians. Initially two sources for scale items were identified: unique Norwegian tradit…
Religion and Spirituality
This article presents a discussion of and a reaction to Pargament's article, The Psy- chology of Religion and Spirituality: Yes and No. I acknowledge the great importance of the issues raised by Pargament concerning the basic understanding of psy- chology of religion. I agree that psychology of religion needs to relate to the phenomena commonly denoted as spirituality. Whereas Pargament prefers to see spirituality as part of religion, based on an…
Standardizing Measures of Religiosity for Norwegians
Although the literature is replete with measures of religiosity developed for other cultures (cf. Batson & Ventis, 1982), heretofore there has existed no scale of proven applicability to Norwegians. This study attempted to meet that need by assessing some of the psychometric properties of a 358-item questionnaire on a Norwegian sample of 471 self-identified Christians. Initially two sources for scale items were identified: unique Norwegian tradit…
The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire in the Norwegian Context
The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe) offers dimensional measures of meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and 26 sources of meaning. It allows for a clearer understanding of the variety of existential orientations, which are known to be linked to both mental and physical health. The Norwegian version of the SoMe was validated by testing 925 randomly selected individuals who were representative for the Norwegian population.…
Standardizing Measures of Religiosity for Norwegians
Although the literature is replete with measures of religiosity developed for other cultures (cf. Batson & Ventis, 1982), heretofore there has existed no scale of proven applicability to Norwegians. This study attempted to meet that need by assessing some of the psychometric properties of a 358-item questionnaire on a Norwegian sample of 471 self-identified Christians. Initially two sources for scale items were identified: unique Norwegian tradit…
Existential Questions and Health
Religion and Spirituality
This article presents a discussion of and a reaction to Pargament's article, The Psy- chology of Religion and Spirituality: Yes and No. I acknowledge the great importance of the issues raised by Pargament concerning the basic understanding of psy- chology of religion. I agree that psychology of religion needs to relate to the phenomena commonly denoted as spirituality. Whereas Pargament prefers to see spirituality as part of religion, based on an…
Existential group practice run by mental healthcare chaplains in Norway
Existential groups run by healthcare chaplains within mental healthcare have a long tradition in Norway. By using a national cross-sectional survey design, this study explored and described both quantitatively and qualitatively these groups’ characteristics. Quantitative data were analysed by descriptive statistics and content analysis inspired by Graneheim and Lundman was used to analyse the qualitative data. The current existential group practi…
The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire in the Norwegian Context
The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe) offers dimensional measures of meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and 26 sources of meaning. It allows for a clearer understanding of the variety of existential orientations, which are known to be linked to both mental and physical health. The Norwegian version of the SoMe was validated by testing 925 randomly selected individuals who were representative for the Norwegian population.…
Addressing the existential dimension in treatment settings
Research has shown that addressing and integrating the existential dimension in treatment settings reduce symptoms like anxiety, depression and substance abuse. Healthcare chaplains are key personnel in this practice. A nationwide, cross-sectional survey influenced by a mixed-methods approach was used to examine the attitudes, practices, understanding and perceptions of mental health professionals, including healthcare chaplains, regarding the va…
“If you and I and our Lord . . .”
Religious coping and spiritual struggles were qualitatively analyzed in 15 semi-structured interviews with Norwegian Hodgkin’s disease survivors. We asked, How is religious coping expressed in 15 Norwegian Hodgkin’s disease survivors? The analyses were theory-driven, using religious coping and spiritual struggles theories as explorative tools. Especially we focused on coping processes, coping dynamics, coping styles, and coping activities. The an…
Participation in Existential Groups Led by Norwegian Healthcare Chaplains—Relations to Psychological Distress, Crisis of Meaning and Meaningfulness
Spirituality groups led by healthcare chaplains have been found to aid patients’ recovery processes in US psychiatric units. In Norway, existential groups (EGs) led by healthcare chaplains and co-led by healthcare staff members are offered at psychiatric units; these groups share commonalities with spirituality groups, group psychotherapy, existential therapy and clinical pastoral care, facilitating patients’ reflections regarding existential, sp…
Porous Pastoral Care
Although local parishes are prominent arenas for pastoral care conversations (PCC) in Scandinavia, little empirical research has been conducted on this practice. The present study qualitatively investigates priests’ and deacons’ experiences of their PCC in local parishes within the Church of Norway. We conducted and thematically analyzed five focus-group interviews (total N = 58). The results indicate that PCC are regarded as an important part of…
Experiences of meaning in life in urban and rural Zambia
Meaning in life has become an important topic in empirical research in the psychology of religion. Although it has been studied and found applicable in many different contexts, research on meaning in life and sources of meaning in African countries is scarce. This study qualitatively investigates understandings and experiences of meaning in life and sources of meaning among urban and village dwellers with different educational backgrounds in Zamb…
Existential care in a pluralistic healthcare context
This article examines how hospital chaplains in Norwegian specialist healthcare support patients at risk of suicide, with particular attention to existential care within a pluralistic society. Based on qualitative data from four focus group interviews involving 16 chaplains across somatic and psychiatric units, the study explores how chaplains understand, experience, and reflect on their role in existential conversations. Three main themes emerge…
Meaning in life and identity in patients with severe dementia in Norway
Care for persons with severe dementia in highly specialised healthcare in Norway is guided by person-centred care. However, little research has explored healthcare professionals’ perspectives on meaning in life in this patient group. This qualitative study investigated how healthcare professionals recognise experiences of meaning in life among patients with severe dementia. The research question was: How do healthcare professionals, working in a …
Psychology (8 works) · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology (8 works) · Norwegian (6 works) · Existentialism (5 works) · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health (5 works) · Health care (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Clinical Psychology (4 works) · Meaning (existential (4 works) · Medicine (4 works)