Measuring Ministry-Specific Stress and Satisfaction: The Psychometric Properties of the Positive and Negative Aspects Inventories

Abstract

This article outlines the creation and validation of a pair of questionnaires that measure both the intensity of potentially positive and negative aspects of Christian ministry life, and the frequency with which these aspects occur. These measures of ministry-specific stress and satisfaction identify life-giving and life-eroding aspects of ministry life that are not typically shared with secular professions and occupations, and also help capture the aspects that either overlap with or differentiate between those who minister inside traditional church settings and those involved in community-based or parachurch ministries. Psychometric testing of the Positive Aspects Inventory (PAI) and Negative Aspects Inventory (NAI) was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved an item and subscale refinement and reliability investigation. The second phase entailed a validity investigation regarding each construct claimed to be measured by the questionnaires, and the establishment of meaningful score ranges for interpretative purposes. The resulting measures have empirical validity and have potential usefulness in further investigations of ministry life wellbeing and stress.

The Well-Being and Resilience of Canadian Christian Clergy

“…The pandemic likely increased both factors for participants, yet their scale responses indicate a moderate level of well-being. However, Proeschold-Bell et al ( 2015 ) and Malcolm et al ( 2019 ) emphasized the role of both stressors and satisfiers in clergy mental health. While there were increased stressors due to the pandemic, perhaps there were also hidden increased satisfiers, such as increased time for personal spiritual practices.…”

“…While there were increased stressors due to the pandemic, perhaps there were also hidden increased satisfiers, such as increased time for personal spiritual practices. Further, Malcolm et al ( 2019 ) emphasized that the absence of stress does not equate to wellness.…”

“…While an understanding of risk factors and adversity that clergy face is essential, Malcolm et al ( 2019 ) emphasized that the absence of stress does not equate to wellness. Also, it is necessary to understand the factors that bring satisfaction in vocational ministry life as these are separate dimensions.…”

“…Also, it is necessary to understand the factors that bring satisfaction in vocational ministry life as these are separate dimensions. Core satisfiers are considered “aspects of ministry life often described as life-giving, enjoyable, satisfying, meaningful, or fulfilling” (Malcolm et al, 2019 , p. 324). In comparison, core stressors are defined as “aspects that are often experienced as unenjoyable, unsatisfying, uncomfortable, meaningless, stressful, discouraging, life- eroding, or frustrating” (Malcolm et al, 2019 , p. 325).…”

The Complexity of Assessing Ministry-Specific Satisfaction and Stress

“…These questionnaires are the positive aspects inventory (PAI) and the negative aspects inventory (NAI). As noted in an earlier publication (Malcolm et al, 2019), the questionnaires were developed from semistructured interviews with over 25 clergy members who were asked to describe what they found most rewarding and most stressful in their ministry life.…”