The Relationship between Work-Related Psychological Health and Psychological Type among Clergy Serving in The Presbyterian Church (USA)

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between work-related psychological health and the Jungian model of psychological type among a sample of 748 clergy serving within The Presbyterian Church (USA). Psychological type was assessed by the Francis Psychological Type Scales which provide classification in terms of orientation (extraversion or introversion), perceiving (sensing or intuition), judging (thinking or feeling) and attitude toward the outer world (extraverted judging or extraverted perceiving). Work-related psychological health was assessed by the Francis Burnout Inventory which distinguishes between positive affect (the Satisfaction in Ministry Scale) and negative affect (the Scale of Emotional Exhaustion in Ministry). The data demonstrated that these clergy display high levels of negative affect coupled with high levels of positive affect. The data also confirmed that the main association between work-related psychological health and psychological type is a function of the orientations (the source of psychological energy). Compared with clergy who prefer introversion, clergy who prefer extraversion display both higher levels of satisfaction in ministry and lower levels of emotional exhaustion in ministry. These findings are consistent with the theory that the extraverted nature of ministry requires introverted clergy to operate for considerable periods of time outside their preferred orientations, with the consequent loss of energy and the consequent erosion of psychological rewards. Strategies are suggested for enabling introverted clergy to cope more effectively and more efficiently with the extraverted demands of ministry. In this foundation study, Francis, Kaldor, Robbins, and Castle (2005) drew five main conclusions regarding the work-related psychological health of the clergy across these three nations. First, their data demonstrated that, overall, the clergy enjoy a high level of satisfaction with their ministry. Nine out of every ten clergy say that they are really glad that they entered ministry (89%) and that they feel that their pastoral ministry has a positive influence on people's lives (88%). At least eight out of every ten clergy feel that their ministry is really appreciated by people (85%), gain a lot of personal satisfaction from fulfilling their ministry functions (84%), gain a lot of personal satisfaction from working with people (83%), feel that their teaching ministry has a positive influence on people's faith (83%), and believe that they have accomplished many worthwhile things in their ministry (80%). Nearly eight out of every ten clergy say that they feel very positive about their ministry (79%) and that the ministry gives real purpose and meaning to their lives (79%). Psychological health and psychological type 4Second, their data demonstrated, that although the majority of clergy report high levels of satisfaction in ministry, the number who show some signs of emotional exhaustion in ministry is far from insignificant. Three out of every ten clergy can no longer affirm ...

Work-related psychological health and psychological type: a study among Catholic priests in Italy

“…More importantly, this study has tested and supported the balanced affect model of work-related psychological health by demonstrating how high levels of positive affect serve to offset high levels of negative affect in order to maintain a form of psychological equilibrium. Although a relatively new measure, the Francis Burnout Inventory has already been included in a number of studies concerning clergy workrelated psychological health, including Francis, Wulff, and Robbins (2008), Francis, Robbins, Kaldor, and Castle (2009), Robbins and Francis (2010), Brewster, Francis, andRobbins (2011), Francis, Gubb, and, Robbins, Francis, and Powell (2012), Barnard and Curry (2012), Randall (2013), and Francis, Payne, and Robbins (2013).…”

“…All seven studies have assessed psychological type by means of the Francis Psychological Type Scales (Francis, 2005). These seven studies have been conducted among 748 clergy serving in the Presbyterian Church (USA) by Francis, Wulff, and Robbins (2008) In terms of emotional exhaustion all seven studies reported significantly higher scores recorded by introverts than by extraverts. Four of the seven studies also reported significantly higher scores recorded by thinking types than by feeling types.…”

Psychological Type Profile and Work-Related Psychological Health of Clergy Serving in the Diocese of Chester

“…More importantly, this study has tested and supported the balanced affect model of work-related psychological health by demonstrating how high levels of positive affect serve to offset high levels of negative affect in order to maintain a form of psychological equilibrium. Although a relatively new measure, the Francis Burnout Inventory has already been included in a number of studies concerning clergy work-related psychological health, including Francis, Wulff, and Robbins (2008), Francis, Robbins, Kaldor, and Castle (2009), Robbins and Francis (2010), Brewster, Francis, andRobbins (2011), Francis, Gubb, and, Robbins, Francis, and Powell (2012), Barnard and Curry (2012), Randall (2013), and Francis, Payne, and Robbins (2013).…”

The Science of Clergy Work-Related Psychological Health, Stress, Burnout and Coping Strategies: Introduction to the Special Section

“…A series of studies reported on the application of the Francis Burnout Inventory in the UK Brewster, Francis, & Robbins, 2011;Francis, Gubb, & Robbins, 2012;Randall, 2013;Francis, Payne, & Robbins, 2013). The Francis Burnout Inventory has also been used in studies conducted in the USA (Francis, Wulff, & Robbins, 2008;Barnard & Curry, 2012;Francis, Robbins, & Wulff, 2013a, 2013b, in Australia and New Zealand (Francis, Robbins, Kaldor, & Castle, 2009;Robbins, Francis, & Powell, 2012) and Italy .…”