Christian ministry work can be gratifying, but it also carries a risk of burnout. Despite research documenting clergy stress and wellness, few questionnaires measure ministry life aspects that contribute to clergy burnout or wellness. To fill this gap, we developed the positive aspects (PAI) and negative aspects (NAI) inventories. These questionnaires measure the intensity and frequency of positive and negative aspects of ministry life. The present research further tests the viability of the PAI and NAI. Confirmatory factor analyses suggest that the PAI is best represented by 17 factors, whereas 12 factors best characterize the NAI. Importantly, correlation patterns between PAI and NAI scores and indices of burnout suggest distinct patterns of burnout. Furthermore, exploratory tests of PAI and NAI scores by gender, ordination status, and years in ministry demonstrated crucial differences. This research advances the understanding of clergy wellness and has implications for assessment and intervention.
AdekolaB. (2010). Gender differences in the experience of work burnout among university staff. African Journal of Business Management, 4(6), 886–889.
2.
BakkerA. B.DemeroutiE.SchaufeliW. B. (2002). Validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory—General survey: An Internet study. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 15(3), 245–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/1061580021000020716
3.
BerryA.FrancisL. J.RolphJ.RolphP. (2012). Ministry and stress: Listening to Anglican clergy in Wales. Pastoral Psychology, 61(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-011-0388-x
4.
CaseA. D.KeyesC. L. M.HuffmanK. F.SittserK.WallaceA.KhatiwodaP.ParnellH. E.Proeschold-BellR. J. (2020). Attitudes and behaviors that differentiate clergy with positive mental health from those with burnout. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 48(1), 94–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/10852352.2019.1617525
5.
CrawfordE. R.LePineJ. A.RichB. L. (2010). Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: A theoretical extension and meta-analytic test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(5), 834–848. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019364
6.
FrancisL.LaycockP.BrewsterC. (2017). Work-related psychological wellbeing: Testing the balanced affect model among Anglican clergy. Religions, 8(7), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8070118
7.
FreudenbergerH. J. (1980). Burnout: The high cost of high achievement. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
8.
FunderD. C.OzerD. J. (2019). Evaluating effect size in psychological research: Sense and nonsense. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 2(2), 156–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245919847202
9.
GoldenJ.PiedmontR. L.CiarrocchiJ. W.RodgersonT. (2004). Spirituality and burnout: An incremental validity study. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 32(2), 115–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/009164710403200204
10.
HeadeyB.HolmstromE.JuneR. (1985). Models of well-being and ill-being. Social Indicators Research, 17(3), 211–234.
LeiterM. P.MaslachC. (2016). Latent burnout profiles: A new approach to understanding the burnout experience. Burnout Research, 3(4), 89–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burn.2016.09.001
14.
MalcolmW. (2003). The Clergy Wellness Project (Unpublished report prepared for the Anglican Diocese of Toronto). Toronto, ON.
15.
MalcolmW. M.CoetzeeK. L.FisherE. A. (2019). Measuring ministry-specific stress and satisfaction: The psychometric properties of the positive and negative aspects inventories. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 47(4), 313–327. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091647119837018
16.
MarkusC.DanielaB.PaulJ.MarkusB.AndreasF.KathrinB.SilkeL.ManuelaP.HartmannH.Bliem HaraldR.PeterS.IlonaP.WeissE. M. (2018). Gender differences in different dimensions of common burnout symptoms in a group of clinical burnout patients. Neuropsychiatry, 8, 1967–1976.
17.
MaslachC.JacksonS.E.LeiterM.P. (2016). Maslach Burnout Inventory (4th ed.). Menlo Park, CA: Mind Garden.
MeekK. R.McMinnM. R.BrowerC. M.BurnettT. D.McRayB. W.RameyM. L.SwansonD. W.VillaD. D. (2003). Maintaining personal resiliency: Lessons learned from Evangelical Protestant Clergy. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 31(4), 339–347. https://doi.org/10.1177/009164710303100404
20.
MinerM. H.DowsonM.SterlandS. (2010). Ministry orientation and ministry outcomes: Evaluation of a new multidimensional model of clergy burnout and job satisfaction. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(1), 167–188. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317909X414214
21.
MoellerJ.IvcevicZ.WhiteA. E.MengesJ. I.BrackettM. A. (2018). Highly engaged but burned out: Intra-individual profiles in the US workforce. Career Development International, 23(1), 86–105. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-12-2016-0215
22.
NerstadC. G. L.WongS. I.RichardsenA. M. (2019). Can engagement go awry and lead to burnout? The moderating role of the perceived motivational climate. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16111979
23.
PargamentK. I.MahoneyA. (2005). Theory: “Sacred matters: Sanctification as a vital topic for the psychology of religion.”International Journal of Phytoremediation, 21(1), 179–198. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327582ijpr1503_1
24.
PayneJ. N. (1990). A study of demographics, role stress, and hardiness in the prediction of burnout among ministers. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Mississippi. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing). UMI.
25.
Proeschold-BellR. J.EisenbergA.AdamsC.SmithB.LegrandS.WilkA. (2015). The Glory of God is a human being fully alive: Predictors of positive versus negative mental health among clergy. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 54(4), 702–721. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12234
26.
Proeschold-BellR. J.YangC.TothM.Corbitt RiversM.CarderK. (2014). Closeness to God among those doing God’s work: A spiritual well-being measure for clergy. Journal of Religion and Health, 53(3), 878–894. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-013-9682-5
27.
Proeschold-BellR. J. H.LegrandS. (2010). High rates of obesity and chronic disease among United Methodist clergy. Obesity, 18(9), 1867–1870. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2010.102
28.
PurvanovaR. K.MurosJ. P. (2010). Gender differences in burnout: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(2), 168–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.04.006
TurtonD. W.FrancisL. J. (2007). The relationship between attitude toward prayer and professional burnout among Anglican parochial clergy in England: Are praying clergy healthier clergy?Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 10(1), 61–74.
31.
WallaceA. C.Proeschold-BellR. J.LeGrandS.JamesJ.SwiftR.TooleD.TothM. (2012). Health programming for clergy: An overview of protestant programs in the United States. Pastoral Psychology, 61(1), 113–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-011-0382-3
32.
WellsC. R. (2013). The effects of work-related and boundary-related stress on the emotional and physical health status of ordained clergy. Pastoral Psychology, 62(1), 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-012-0455-y
33.
WilsonJ.Jr. (2003). Emotional Labor and Burnout among Church of Christ Ministers in the mid—Atlantic Region of the United States (Order No. 3090487). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (305214236).
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
