Pastoral ministry is a demanding and stressful vocation, and the empirical and anecdotal literature on ministry has often emphasized this negative outlook. More recent work, however, has shifted toward a more positive emphasis on personal characteristics that might help pastors be more resilient. The present study examined the interplay of identity demands, social support, and self-regard in accounting for both positive (positive affect and life satisfaction) and negative (negative affect and burnout) outcomes. Self-compassion, which was measured using the short form of Neff’s (2003) Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-SF), was herein reconceptualized as being comprised of two types of self-regard: self-compassion and self-criticism. Regression analyses with data collected from 200 United Methodist pastors indicated that social support and self-compassion (in descending order of importance) explained a significant proportion of the variance of the positive outcome, while self-criticism, social support, demand, and gender explained the negative.

This study examined the role of both valued living and person–organization values-fit in clergy well-being utilizing an archival sample of 845 Wesleyan clergy in a cross-sectional survey design. Linear regression analysis indicated that clergy successfully living out their values in ministry work was associated with higher ratings of flourishing and lower ratings of burnout. Furthermore, mediation analyses indicated that job engagement is one of the mechanisms for both these main effects. Additionally, moderation analyses indicated that the degree of values fit between clergy and their congregation moderated the association between valued living and flourishing such that valued living was most important in environments of poor fit. Overall, this exploratory study offers important insights into the multiple roles of values in clergy well-being and provides the foundation for further investigation. Implications of the findings, as well as clinical considerations for promoting valued living with clergy, are discussed.

We examined how individuals’ implicit biases and explicit attitudes toward the poor may be associated with the types of social programs people chose to give to. Participants included 112 students. When people believed that poverty is due to internal causes (e.g., people are lazy) or if they held implicit biases that the poor are irresponsible, they were more likely to avoid unconditional cash transfer (UCT) or in-kind donation (IKD) and choose conditional cash transfer. When people believed that poverty is due to external (e.g., poor economy) or cultural causes (e.g., born poor), they were more likely to choose UCT or IKD. People’s affective/positive feelings toward the poor using implicit and explicit measures were not associated with donation choice. Our study highlighted differences between affective feelings versus cognitive beliefs about the poor, and that both implicit and explicit forms of cognitive beliefs can be associated with one’s giving choices.

The study examined the association between religiosity and generosity, and whether it is mediated by secure attachment to God, among Christian young adults. A total of 154 participants (Mean age = 22.75, SD = 6.12) completed self-report measures on religiosity (religious activities and intrinsic religiosity), attachment to God, and generosity (generous behavior and interpersonal generosity). In terms of direct effects, religious activities were positively associated with secure attachment to God and generous behavior, whereas intrinsic religiosity was associated with higher levels of interpersonal generosity. In terms of indirect effects, secure attachment to God mediated the relations between both types of religiosity (religious activities and intrinsic religiosity) and interpersonal generosity. Secure attachment to God did not mediate the relation between religiosity and generous behavior. The results of the study highlight the role of religiosity and secure attachment to God in cultivating generosity among young adults. Implications of the study findings, especially with regard to the potential roles of clinicians and clergy in cultivating generosity among young adults, will be discussed.

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