Abstract
Clergy represent a salient group in Western communities, providing a variety of services aimed at supporting diverse members of those communities. Significantly, rates of attrition among clergy are high, suggesting the need to better understand their occupational well-being and factors relevant to it. The present study draws on the quadripolar need achievement framework to hypothesize motivational profiles among clergy and the extent to which these profiles predict occupational well-being, as indicated by low burnout and high engagement. K-means cluster analysis with 200 clergy confirmed a quadripolar motivational profile (success-oriented, overstriving, self-protecting, failure accepting). Using these group profiles as predictors, structural equation modeling identified significant effects on all burnout and engagement factors, with success-oriented, overstriving, self-protecting, and failure accepting groups each reflecting differential occupational well-being profiles. Substantive and applied implications of these findings are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
For the purposes of the present discussion and investigation, clergy are defined as rabbis, ministers, priests, pastors, chaplains, nuns, pastoral counselors, parish nurses, and parish social workers (Weaver et al. 1997).
It should be noted that Cronbach’s alpha gives the lower bound for reliability and is systematically biased against scales with few items (Grayson, 2004).
References
Bakker, A. B., Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Taris, T. (2008). Work engagement: An emerging concept in occupational health psychology. Work & Stress, 22, 187–200.
Boersma, K., & Lindblom, K. (2009). Stability and change in burnout profile overtime: A prospective study in the working population. Work & Stress, 23, 264–283.
Buss, D., & Cantor, N. (1989). Personality psychology: Recent trends and emerging directions. New York: Springer.
Byrne, B. M. (1991). The Maslach Burnout inventory: Validating factorial structure and invariance across intermediate, secondary and university educators. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 26, 583–605.
Byrne, B. M. (1999). The nomological network of teacher burnout: A literature review and empirically validated model. In R. Vandenberg & A. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and preventing teacher burnout. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Clatworthy, J., Buick, D., Hankins, M., Weinman, J., & Horne, R. (2005). The use and reporting of cluster analysis in health psychology: A review. British Journal of Health Psychology, 10, 329–358.
Covington, M. V. (1985). The role of self-processes in applied social psychology. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 15, 355–389.
Covington, M. (1992). Making the grade: A self-worth perspective on motivation and school reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Covington, M. V. (1998). The will to learn: A guide for motivating young people. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Covington, M. V. (2000). Goal theory, motivation, and school achievement: An integrative review. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 171–200.
Covington, M., & Beery, R. (1976). Self-worth and school learning. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Covington, M. V., & Omelich, C. L. (1981). As failures mount: Affective and cognitive consequences of ability demotion in the classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 796–808.
Covington, M., & Roberts, B. (1994). Self-worth and college achievement: Motivational and personality correlates. In P. R. Pintrich, D. R. Brown, & C. E. Weinstein (Eds.), Students motivation, cognition, and learning (pp. 157–188). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Coyne, J., & Racioppo, M. (2000). Never the twain shall meet? Closing the gap between coping research and clinical intervention research. American Psychologist, 55, 655–664.
Crockett, L., Schulenberg, J., & Petersen, A. (1987). Congruence between objective and self-report data in a sample of young adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 2, 383–392.
Deppe, R., & Harackiewicz, J. (1996). Self-handicapping and intrinsic motivation: Buffering intrinsic motivation from the threat of failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 868–876.
Dewe, P. (1991). Primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, and coping: Their role in stressful work encounters. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 64, 331–351.
Dewe, P. (1992). Applying the concept of appraisal to work stressors: Some exploratory analysis. Human Relations, 45, 143.
Dewe, P., & Trenberth, L. (2004). Work stress and coping: Drawing together research and practice. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 32, 143–156.
Dweck, C., & Leggett, E. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95, 256–273.
Fives, H., Hamman, D., & Olivarez, A. (2007). Does burnout begin with student-teaching? Analyzing efficacy, burnout, and support during the student-teaching semester. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 916–934.
Foster, J. J. (2000). Motivation in the workplace. In N. Chmiel (Ed.), Introduction to work and organizational psychology: A European perspective. Oxford: Blackwell.
Francis, L. J., Louden, S. H., & Rutledge, C. J. F. (2004). Burnout among Roman Catholic parochial clergy in England and Wales: Myth or reality? Review of Religious Research, 46, 5–19.
Friedman, I. A. (2000). Burnout in teachers: Shattered dreams of impeccable professional performance. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56, 595–606.
Grayson, D. A. (2004). Some myths and legends in quantitative psychology. Understanding Statistics, 3, 101–134.
Grosch, W. N., & Olsen, D. C. (2000). Clergy burnout: An integrative approach. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56, 619–632.
Guglielmi, R., & Tatrow, K. (1998). Occupational stress, burnout, and health in teachers: A methodological and theoretical analysis. Review of Educational Research, 68, 61–99.
Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 268–279.
Howard, G. (1994). Why do people say nasty things about self-reports? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 399–404.
Jöreskog, K. G. & Sörbom, D. (2006). LISREL 8.80. Chicago: Scientific Software International.
Kaldor, P., Dixon, R., Powell, R., Bellamy, J., Hughes, B., Moore, S., et al. (1999). Taking stock: A profile of Australian church attenders. Adelaide: Openbook.
Lazarus, R. S. (1990). Theory-based stress measurement. Psychological Inquiry, 1, 3–13.
Lazarus, R. S. (1993). Coping theory and research: Past, present, and future. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55, 234–247.
Lazarus, R. S. (2000). Toward better research on stress and coping. American Psychologist, 55, 665–673.
Little, L., Simmons, B., & Nelson, D. (2007). Health among leaders: positive and negative affect, engagement and burnout, forgiveness and revenge. Journal of Management Studies, 44, 243–260.
Lorr, M. (1983). Cluster analysis for social scientists. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Luthans, F., & Martinko, M. (1987). Behavioural approaches to organizations. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology. Chichester: Wiley.
Madlensky, L., Natranajan, L., Flatt, S. W., Faerber, S., Newman, V. A., & Pierce, J. P. (2008). Timing of dietary changes in response to a telephone counseling intervention: Evidence from the WHEL study. Health Psychology, 27, 539–547.
Martin, A. J. (2002). Motivation and academic resilience: Developing a model for student enhancement. Australian Journal of Education, 46, 34–49.
Martin, A. J. (2004a). Perplexity and passion: Further consideration of the role of positive psychology in the workplace. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 24, 203–205.
Martin, A. J. (2004b). The role of positive psychology in enhancing satisfaction, motivation, and productivity in the workplace. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 24, 113–133.
Martin, A. J. (2005). Exploring the effects of a youth enrichment program on academic motivation and engagement. Social Psychology of Education, 8, 179–206.
Martin, A. J. (2007). Examining a multidimensional model of student motivation and engagement using a construct validation approach. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 413–440.
Martin, A. J. (2008a). Motivation and engagement in diverse performance settings: Testing their generality across school, university/college, work, sport, music, and daily life. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 1607–1612.
Martin, A. J. (2008b). Enhancing student motivation and engagement: The effects of a multidimensional intervention. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33, 239–269.
Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2003). Fear of failure: Friend or foe? Australian Psychologist, 38, 31–38.
Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2006). Academic resilience and its psychological and educational correlates: A construct validity approach. Psychology in the Schools, 43, 267–282.
Martin, A. J., Marsh, H. W., & Debus, R. L. (2001). A quadripolar need achievement representation of self-handicapping and defensive pessimism. American Educational Research Journal, 38, 583–610.
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. (1999). Teacher burnout: A research agenda. In R. Vandenberghe & A. M. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and preventing teacher burnout (pp. 295–303). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E., & Leiter, M. P. (1996). Maslach Burnout inventory (MBI) (3 ed.). Palo Alto: University of California: Consulting Psychology Press.
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422.
McDonald, R. P., & Marsh, H. W. (1990). Choosing a multivariate model: Noncentrality and goodness of fit. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 247–255.
Meek, K. J., McMinn, M. R., Brower, C. M., Burnett, T. D., McRay, B. W., Ramey, M. L., et al. (2003). Maintaining personal resiliency: Lessons learned from evangelical Protestant clergy. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 31, 339–347.
Miner, M. H. (2007). Burnout in the first year of ministry: Personality and belief style as important predictors. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 10, 17–29.
Nias, J. (1987). Teaching and the self. Cambridge Journal of Education, 17, 178–185.
Nias, J. (1999). Teachers’ moral purposes: Stress, vulnerability, and strength. In R. Vandenberg & A. Huberman (Eds.), Understanding and preventing teacher burnout: A sourcebook of international research and practice (pp. 223–237). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
O’Mara, A. J., Marsh, H. W., Craven, R. G., & Debus, R. L. (2006). Do self-concept interventions make a difference? A synergistic blend of construct validation and meta-analysis. Educational Psychologist, 41, 181–206.
Parker, P., & Martin, A. (2009). Coping and buoyancy in the workplace: Understanding their effects on teachers’ work-related well-being and engagement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 68–75.
Parker, P. D., Dowson, M., & McInerney, D. (2007). Standards for qualitative research in diverse sociocultural settings. In D. McInerney, S. Van Etten, & M. Dowson (Eds.), Standards in education (pp. 315–330). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Press.
Pines, A. M. (2000). Treating career burnout: A psychodynamic existential perspective. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56, 633–642.
Randall, K. J. (2004). Burnout as a predictor of leaving Anglican parish ministry. Review of Religious Research, 46, 20–26.
Richardson, P. W., & Watt, H. M. G. (2006). Who chooses teaching and why? Profiling characteristics and motivations across three Australian universities. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34, 27–56.
Sanna, L., & Mark, M. (1995). Self-handicapping, expected evaluation, and performance: Accentuating the positive and attenuating the negative. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 64, 84–102.
Schaufeli, W., & Enzman, D. (1998). The burnout companion to study and practice. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.
Schaufeli, W., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., & Bakker, A. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71–92.
Schaufeli, W., Taris, T., & van Rhenen, W. (2008). Workaholism, burnout, and work engagement: Three of a kind or three different kinds of employee well-being? Applied Psychology, 57, 173.
Schmitt, N. (1989). Editorial. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 843–845.
Schmitt, N. (1994). Method bias: The importance of theory and measurement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 393–398.
Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (1996). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Somerfield, M., & McCrae, R. (2000). Stress and coping research: Methodological challenges, theoretical advances, and clinical applications. American Psychologist, 55, 620–625.
Spector, P. (1994). Using self-report questionnaires in OB research: A comment on the use of a controversial method. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 385–392.
Steinley, D., & Brusco, M. (2008). A new variable weighting and selection procedure for K-means cluster analysis. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 43, 77–108.
Taris, T., Cox, T., & Tisserand, M. (2008). Engagement at work: An emerging concept. Work & Stress, 22, 185–186.
Thompson, T. (2004). Failure–avoidance: Parenting, the achievement environment of the home and strategies for reduction. Learning and Instruction, 14, 3–26.
Troup, C., & Dewe, P. (2002). Exploring the nature of control and its role in the appraisal of workplace stress. Work & Stress, 16, 335–355.
Turton, D. W., & Francis, L. J. (2007). The relationship between attitude toward prayer and professional burnout among Anglican parochial clergy in England: Are praying clergy healthier clergy? Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 10, 61–74.
Vogel, W., Baker, R., & Lazarus, R. (1958). The role of motivation in psychological stress. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 56, 105–112.
Vogel, W., Raymond, S., & Lazarus, R. (1959). Intrinsic motivation and psychological stress. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 58, 225–233.
Weaver, A. J., Samford, J. A., Kline, A. E., Lucas, L. A., Larson, D. B., & Koenig, H. G. (1997). What do psychologists know about working with the clergy? An analysis of eight APA journals: 1991–1994. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 28, 471–474.
West, S., Finch, J., & Curran, P. (1995). Structural equation models with nonnormal variables: Problems and remedies. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 56–75). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Parker, P.D., Martin, A.J. Clergy Motivation and Occupational Well-being: Exploring a Quadripolar Model and Its Role in Predicting Burnout and Engagement. J Relig Health 50, 656–674 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-009-9303-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-009-9303-5