Pretraining Variables in the Prediction of Missionary Success Overseas

Abstract

A set of twelve variables was obtained statistically in order to predict missionary success from a combination of pretraining data which included elements of personality, interpersonal skill, attitudes, and bio-graphical information. This data was gathered from structured interviews, open-ended references, and psychological tests available from each subject's application file. A screening sample of 111 vocational missionaries who had served overseas a minimum of one year was used to derive the predictors, and a calibration sample of 42 missionaries with the same qualifications was used for cross-validation purposes. The twelve significant variables selected account for 56 percent of the variance of the criterion (success). Cross-validation yielded mixed results.

Spiritual, Family, and Ministry Satisfaction among Missionaries

“…Wickstrom (1978) demonstrated that boarding or nonboarding did not negatively affect a missionary kid's (MK's) self-esteem, but it was significantly affected by relationships with his or her parents. One aspect of Britt's (1983) research correlated the success of a group of missionaries working in Europe and their relationships with their fathers in early life. MK Consultation and Research Team/Committee on Research and Endowment (CART/CORE) identified warmth and closeness to one's father as positively correlated with an MK's return to overseas service as a vocational missionary (Andrews, 1995).…”

Characterizing the global context for cross-cultural healthcare work by regions of the world

“…32 Research on missionary performance has shown anxiety and moodiness as key indicators of performance. [33][34][35][36] More research is needed in the area of mental health of missionaries.…”

The Relationship of Object Relations Development to Cultural Adjustment in a Missionary Sample

“…Humberto de Espinola (1985) found integrated thought processes to be important in cultural adjustment in a group of immigrants to Argentina. Britt (1983) found father absence before age 15 to be negatively related to psychological adjustment in a sample of missionaries. Both poor maternal care and father absence theoretically contribute to difficulties in object relations development.…”

“…Finally, stress tolerance, flexibility, and a low need for control are conceptually related to the level of defense mechanisms used by an individual, and stress tolerance also implies good physical immunity, which has likewise been found to relate to object relations development (Cramer, Ford, & Blatt, 1988;Horner, 1991;McKay, 1991). Other studies (Britt 1983;Hammer, 1992;Redmond & Bunyi, 1993) have addressed the importance of interpersonal skills of various kinds. Object relations development is directly linked to the quality of relationships that a person can have (Fairbairn, 1952(Fairbairn, , 1954Mahler, 1969).…”

“…The importance of psychological development and mental health factors is also indirectly supported by research implicating a number of theoreticallyrelated personality factors in adjustment. Parker and McEvoy (1993) mentioned perceptual accuracy, open-mindedness, cultural empathy, integrity, and stress tolerance as factors contributing to cultural adjustment, and Britt (1983) added to these perseverance/discipline and flexibility, as well as the absence of need for control. Of these, perceptual accuracy has been found to be diminished in individuals with low levels of object relations (Stuart et al, 1990;Westen, Lohr, Silk, Gold, & Kerbel, 1990;Westen, Ludolph, Block, Wixom, & Wiss, 1990;Westen, Ludolph, Lerner, Ruffins, & Wiss, 1990).…”