<p> This study investigated the manifestations of the dead mother complex in chaplains. Dead mother complex is a phrase coined by Andre Green (2005) to describe the internal psychodynamic process of a person, who, during his or her formative years, experienced psychic absence from a primary caregiver. The research focused on hospital and hospice chaplains because of their possible affinity to the complex. The research questions for this dissertation were: What are chaplains' experiences of the dead mother complex (a) in their early formation, (b) in their significant relationships, (c) in their work as chaplains, and (d) in their relationship with God? This research sought to utilize reproducible methods of data collection regarding the dead mother complex. The phenomenological format and active imagination were used to procure data. Phenomenological methods of analyzing data resulted in a description of manifestations of dead mother complex experienced by chaplains. The findings provide new specific examples of the chaplains' lived experiences useful for psychologists and psychoanalysts who have patients with the dead mother complex. The importance of the role of presence is uncovered. This research also offers insights for chaplains regarding how their inner worlds relate to their vocations. Some pertinent myths and symbols are reviewed as they relate to the complex. . </p>

<p> The present study examined factors for priestly commitment and the relationship between priestly commitment and well-being of Catholic priests and seminarians. While evidence for the effectiveness of assessment in identifying the suitability of applicants to the priesthood and evaluating the general psychological health of priests and seminarians has been well documented, the effectiveness of assessment in predicting commitment to the priesthood remains under question. This study addressed such an issue by identifying the individual and sets of factors for priestly commitment using a sample of 120 priests and 52 seminarians. </p><p> Through Hierarchical Multiple Regression analyses, the present study examined the extent to which demographic factors (e.g., age and vocational status), social factors (e.g., parental environment, family religiosity, and religious experience), psychological factors (e.g., big five personality traits, defensiveness, gender characteristics, and loneliness), and religious factors (e.g., religious orientation, religious coping, spiritual support, sacred view of the priesthood, and relationship with bishop/superior) affect priestly commitment. And, through Multiple Regression, this study examined a correlation between priestly commitment and well-being. </p><p> The results indicated that, when demographic, social, and psychological variables were controlled, an increased level of agreeableness, defensiveness, masculinity, intrinsic religious orientation, sacred view of the priesthood, and relationship with bishop/superior were associated with an increased level of affective commitment, whereas the increased level of parental care, extraversion, and loneliness were associated with a decreased level of affective commitment. Parental overprotection, extraversion, and loneliness positively correlated with thought of leaving the priesthood, whereas masculinity, sacred view of the priesthood, and relationship with bishop/superior had negative correlations. Extrinsic religious orientation had a positive correlation with continuance commitment. In contrast to the previous studies, demographic variables were insignificant. The study also found indirect effects of religious variables on the significant correlations between parental care and affective commitment and between agreeableness and affective commitment. </p><p> Specific to well-being, this study found that affective commitment was positively correlated with affect balance, psychological well-being, and religious well-being, while continuance commitment and thought of leaving the priesthood had negative correlations with psychological well-being. Finally, thought of leaving the priesthood was correlated negatively with affect balance.</p>

It is a well-known fact that: a) Ministers conduct their work under enormous pressure b) They carry a burdensome workload trying to meet unrealistic expectations from their congregations and the community at large c) This also impacts negatively upon their own families who tend to suffer neglect and lack of quality time. The inevitable result is descent into a state of burnout and stress. This dissertation: 1) Analyses this predicament 2) Suggests ways of overcoming it. 3) It draws on the insights of both secular wisdom and Biblical scripture. 4) It aims to bring about healing and restoration to the beleaguered minister so that he can once again resume his life’s calling in a state of wholeness. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

Three late Victorian novels provide significant insight into the Victorian crisis of faith because of their singleminded focus on an Anglican clergyman facing the issues that undermined received belief after 1860. William Winwood Reade's The Outcast (1875), Mrs. Humphry Ward's Robert Elsmere (1888), and George MacDonald's Thomas Wingfold, Curate (1876) cast the theme of doubt in a fresh light by systematically exploring what happens when a clergyman entertains doubt and investigates issues of faith and the ideas of evolutionary theory and higher criticism.Each novelist's distinctive perspective on the Victorian crisis of faith clearly shapes the delineation of the protagonist's crisis, determines which aspects of his crisis receive emphasis, and reflects the novelist's purpose for exploring doubt in a clergyman. Of deep interest is what these novelists achieve by exploring an Anglican clergyman's crisis of faith. First, using an Anglican clergyman as protagonist allows the novelists to explore the impact of doubt on the Established Church and the ramifications of doubt for a clergyman. Second, exploring a clergyman's crisis of faith allows the novelists to comment on how the Church failed to respond adequately to the Victorian crisis of faith. Third, the redefinition of faith advocated by all three novelists is best portrayed through an Anglican clergyman.In The Outcast Edward Mordaunt loses his traditional faith because of science, and through him, Reade suggests that the rejection of orthodoxy is the natural result of accepting the scientists' claims. He offers natural religion as a substitute for Christianity and uses the experience of his protagonist to criticize orthodox belief and intolerance. In Robert Elsmere Mrs. Ward defends intellectuals who accommodated their belief to new knowledge. She uses Robert Elsmere to show that accommodation is both possible and necessary and to accentuate the potential for social change when a sincere clergyman comes to terms with the claims of historical criticism. In Thomas Wingfold, Curate MacDonald acknowledges that the claims of science and higher criticism should be considered but suggests that they are not enough reason not to believe. He uses Thomas Wingfold to demonstrate a desirable approach to doubt and to argue for change from within the Church. / Department of English

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Ph.D in Community Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2003. / The ministry is regarded by many as one of the most stressful vocations. Researchers highlight the need for clergy self care as a strategy in the management of stress and the prevention of burnout. This research study documents the design, implementation and evaluation of a clergy stress management programme as a health promotion intervention. A series of one day workshops was facilitated amongst forty five ministers from various denominations selected by their membership of the ministers fraternals in Stanger, Richards Bay, Tongaat and Secunda communities. The effectiveness of the clergy stress management programme was evaluated using a phenomenological approach. There was unanimous report of high satisfaction levels related to clergy experience of the workshops. The most common themes reported by participants were that the workshop provided them with an opportunity for personal empowerment in that it challenged some of their faulty thinking about ministry life and calling, encouraged personal insight for new behaviour, improved their knowledge of stress and gave them practical tools to manage personal stress. The stress management intervention was also described as an opportunity for renewal and restoration. This study confirms the need for holistic health promotion interventions amongst the clergy as an important group of helping professionals.

M.Phil. / This research focuses on aspects of burnout amongst ministers of religion in the Dutch • Reformed Church ("NG Kerk") Synod of Southern Transvaal. Burnout is a common metaphor for a state of mental exhaustion, usually work-related. It is described as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do 'people work' of some kind. Research literature describes the general symptomatology of the syndrome, its preconditions, as well as the domain in which it occurs. From the literature it becomes apparent that burnout is a persistent, negative, work-related state of mind in 'normal' individuals that is primarily characterised by exhaustion, which is accompanied by distress, a sense of reduced effectiveness, decreased motivation, and the development of dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours at work. This psychological condition develops gradually but may remain unnoticed for a long time by the individual involved. It results from a misfit between intentions and reality at the job. Often burnout is selfperpetuating because of inadequate coping strategies that are associated with the syndrome. The research design can be typified as exploratory, descriptive and quantitative. The central hypothesis of this study is that burnout is the product of specific factors in the person-work environment interaction of ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church. With the aim of the study in mind, the following research process was followed: A literature review as theoretical grounding for burnout in general, as well as the analysis of literature specifically on burnout amongst ministers of religion. The development of a questionnaire, based on the review of literature, as self-report measure for burnout amongst ministers. After a field investigation, with the questionnaire as a method of data collection (on two occasions, 20 months apart), the data were analysed, consolidated, displayed and interpreted. The consolidated data were also interpreted in the broader perspective of the theoretical framework and recommendations were made about aspects of burnout amongst ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church. Possible causes, negative outcomes, ways of coping, interventions and support were explicated. The most important findings on aspects of burnout amongst ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church, as shown in this study, are: low horizontal mobility, quantitative work overload, time pressure, negative personal experience of the work situation, a negative evaluation of training and the negative evaluation of personal well-being because of the work situation. It can be concluded that ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church are at risk of burnout, caused by unique stressors in their work environment.

A survey instrument was mailed to a random sampling of wives of graduates of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, from 1982 to 1986. The purpose of the survey was to determine if wives of seminary graduates have ministry-related educational needs during the first five years of professional ministry that can be met by an educational program. Furthermore, demographic and attitudinal variables were investigated as potential contributing factors. Finally, suggestions were sought from the wives themselves for the implementation of an education program. For each wife, a total educational need score was calculated from her responses. Of the 240 respondents who completed the entire survey document, almost 42% of the respondents indicated a high educational need score with 5% producing a very high need score. Of the top twenty educational needs, only one was from the Theological/Christian Education category; the top three were all from Self Needs regarding stress management, dealing with criticism, and conflict resolution. The Chi Square Test for Independence was used to identify contributing factors, both demographic and attitudinal. The following were validated at the .05 level (unless indicated otherwise) as having a relationship to the wives' scores: Year of Husband's Graduation, Husband's Degree, Size of Community (.06), Wife's Age, Wife's Field of Highest Degree, Age of Youngest Child, Type of Wife's Most Recent Position, Number of Educational Opportunities Participated in while at the Seminary, Satisfaction with Current Roles, and Perceived Education Gap. Variables for which there was not sufficient evidence of the existence of a relationship were: Number of Years of Husband's Full-time Ministry, Husband's Most Recent Position in Ministry, Size of Largest Congregation, Highest Level of the Wife's Education, Date of Marriage: Before or After Seminary, Number of Children, Age of Oldest Child, Employment during Seminary, Current Employment, Primary Reason for Current Employment, Number of Current Leadership Roles, View of Role of Minister's Wife, Satisfaction with Previous Training, and Satisfaction with Current Training.

This dissertation is a comparative analysis of selected pastors' personality profiles and their conflict management styles. As pastors understand their personalities, this will decrease conflict within themselves and with church members. This research presents three theological presuppositions. They are shared and examined by detailed biblical word studies and biblical examples. It was determined that this research presents the unique study of relationship using the DISC personality profile and Speed Leas' "Discover Your Conflict Management Style." Similar studies were examined and critiqued. The study involved 1,532 pastors in East Texas. The correlation coefficient Pearson (r) was utilized to examine relationships of pastors in their relationship of personality profile and conflict management style, along with scatter plots, and the Chi-square. The significance of the study is that there is a relationship between pastors' personalities and their conflict management styles. Pastors who are (D)ominance in personality tend to have a Persuade conflict management style. Pastors who are (I)nfluencing in personality tend to exhibit a Collaborate conflict management style. Pastors who are (S)teadiness in their personality tend toward a Collaborate style of conflict management. Lastly, those pastors who are (C)ompliance in personality tend to have a Persuade conflict management style. The research found that years in the ministry have little or no effect upon pastors' personalities. Those with less than six years experience and those with twenty-one or more years experience tend to be Collaborate in their conflict management style. All other pastors are inclined to be Persuade. Another significant finding of the research is that the more conflict a pastor faces, the more likely he is to be Persuade in his conflict management style. The education of a pastor affected his conflict management style if he obtained a doctoral degree, making him more likely than any other group to be Persuade. The research will be helpful to pastors to better understand who they are and how they respond to conflict. The research can serve as a resource for churches in leadership development. The research can provide valuable information for church pastor search committees. The committee could administer the survey to a prospective pastor, and together they could discuss his personality and conflict management style as it pertains to the needs of that church. The research can serve as a foundation for future research in this area. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

D.Phil. / This study investigates the management of burnout among ministers of religion in the Dutch Reformed Church ("NG Kerk") Synod of Southern Transvaal. Burnout is a common metaphor for a state of mental exhaustion, usually work-related. The traditional, and most frequently used definition describes burnout as "a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do 'people work' of some kind" (Maslach & Jackson, 1986: 1). Research literature describes the general symptomatology of the syndrome, its preconditions, and the domain in which it occurs. From the literature it becomes apparent that burnout is a persistent, negative, work-related state of mind in 'normal' individuals that is primarily characterised by exhaustion, which is accompanied by distress, a sense of reduced effectiveness, decreased motivation, and the development of dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours at work. This psychological condition develops gradually but may remain unnoticed for a long time by the individual involved. Often burnout is self-perpetuating because of inadequate coping strategies associated with the syndrome. The more recent multidimensional theory describes burnout as an individual's stress experience embedded in a context of social relationships involving the person's conception of both the self and others. According to this view burnout is a psychological syndrome of emotional exhaustion (stress component), depersonalization (otherevaluation component), and reduced personal accomplishment (self-evaluation component), the product of a major mismatch between the nature of the job and of the person who does the job, and the index of the dislocation between what people are and what they have to do. Six areas of organizational life are identified which can cause the imbalance, mismatch or misfit between the person and work: Workload, control, reward, sense of community, fairness and values. According to the multidimensional view burnout is also seen as a syndrome of exhaustion, negativity, hostility, cynicism and distance, and inefficiency on one side of a continuum, while the opposite and positive side of the continuum is represented by a state of engagement, characterised by energy, positive and supportive involvement and a sense of efficacy and accomplishment. Burnout is not a trivial problem but an important barometer of a major social dysfunction in the workplace that says more about the conditions of their job than it does about the workers. It is therefore not only a problem of the individual worker, but involves the complex interaction between organization and employees, on personal and interpersonal level, and also of specific working conditions and the context in which the work is being done. This interaction shapes the way people see and do their work, and impacts on the well-being of the workers and the organization. Burnout is therefore not only related to negative outcomes for the individual, including depression, a sense of failure, fatigue, and loss of motivation, but also to negative outcomes for the organization, including absenteeism, turnover rates, and lowered productivity.

It is the purpose of this study to investigate the personality patterns of a group of applicants who have been under the auspices of the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas and have received a psychiatric and psychological evaluation. The various aspects of their examinations will be investigated to determine what personality types have been more acceptable in this diocese and subsequent success in their vocation.