Assessment Profile of the Strength and Weakness of Candidates into Religious Life

Transcription

1 American Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences 2015; 2(3): Published online May 10, 2015 ( Assessment Profile of the Strength and Weakness of Candidates into Religious Life Ifeacho C. I. 1, Aroyewun B. A. 2, *, Ndukaihe I. 1 1 Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria 2 Clinical Services Department, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Uselu, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria address goodnewsafolabi@yahoo.com (Aroyewun B. A.) To cite this article Ifeacho C. I., Aroyewun B. A., Ndukaihe I.. Assessment Profile of the Strength and Weakness of Candidates into Religious Life. American Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. Vol. 2, No. 3, 2015, pp Abstract The current investigation evaluated psychological and personality profiles of applicants into Roman Catholic religious order. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 was administered to 115 applicants between 2011and 2013.Descriptive and analytical statistics was used to analyze data. There were no significant differences on gender on the MMPI-2 scales among the applicants. Results indicated that these applicants were generally well-adjusted as well as socially responsible and interpersonally sensitive. Findings also suggest some tendency for defensiveness and repression. Furthermore, dealing with perceived stress, anxiety and somatic complaints such as chronic pains and headache may also be a concern for many of these applicants. Keywords Assessment Profile, Strength, Weakness, Candidates, Religious Life 1. Introduction Formation of priests, religious and lay ministers is as vital a responsibility as any facing today s faith communities. A critical and at times daunting aspect of formation has been assessment, it has been discovered over the years that when assessment is neglected or crudely rendered, the community and the candidates suffer. Some unfit candidates enter ministry and do damage to themselves and the churches, while others suitable but inadequately prepared candidates struggle unnecessarily to gain insights and skills that could have been taught, had the needs been clearly known (Rowan, 2011). Given the important role of the religious, it is critical that they be psychologically fit to manage and be entrusted with the responsibilities of contemporary ministry. Yet surprisingly, to the best of our knowledge, no published research has appeared in professional referred outlets regarding the Roman Catholic religious and priest in Nigeria using MMPI-2. However, there has been several personality studies of already ordained Anglican Clergy mostly located in the United Kingdom (Musson, 2002). The Catholic Religious Vocation is certainly an extra-ordinary work choice, with its emphasis on chastity, obedience and poverty. The religious profession is described as a state of consecration to God which is aimed at the building up of the body of Christ and has a liturgical action associated to it (Vatican Council II). Drawing from Canon 599, the obligations of the Evangelical Counsels of chastity as professed in the consecrated life are not the same as chastity normally required of persons who are not married or single, in which they have not professed this counsel in a consecrated life style. However, the Evangelical Counsel of chastity involves bodily sexual abstinence like that recurred of those who are not married. It also entails in a unique way permanent celibacy and perfect continence. Chastity is not only expected to refrain from marriage, but also to abstain from behaviours directly related to genital sexual activity as well as behaviour that tend to stimulate such activity or are intended directly or indirectly to gratify genital sexual feeling (MC Donough, 1998). The Evangelical Counsel of poverty is a grace of totality and a complete dedication and consecration in the mystery of Christian poverty (Cole and Conner, 1997). According to Hara (1993), the Evangelical Counsel of poverty is on poverty life style and the limitation in the use of temporary goods. It involves the renunciation of possession that is, the acquiring of personal belonging and a complete dependence

2 American Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences 2015; 2(3): upon divine authority in the use of material thing. The role of the Roman Catholic priest includes preaching, presiding at liturgical celebrations, pastoral counseling and administering the sacraments. However, the female religious has the primary function of praying, doing penance and to radiate or give example of holiness. A true religious is the sign post of the life and holiness of the church. Given the recent sexual abuse scandal that has come to light within the Roman Catholic Church in America and elsewhere (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2004; Plante, 2004), It is imperative that data be gathered regarding the psychological functioning of the priests and religious to ensure that they are psychologically healthy for ministry and tend not to exhibit psychiatric risk factors or psychopathology that might lead them to harm others. Both general psychological health and a lack of significant psychiatric risk factors for potential problematic behaviour must be assessed among applicants into religious life. The urgency of this study lies in the fact that something must be done and done quickly, to stem the tide of psychological disorders in the religious settings or else the church and the nation as a whole may face both national and international show-down and ridicule Purpose The overall aim of the present study is to determine the general psychological health and significant psychiatric risk factors for potential problematic behaviour among applicants into Catholic religious life Personality The term personality has many meanings and connotations to different people. To a psychologist, it comprises a composite of mental abilities, interests, attitude, temperaments and other variable characterizing thoughts, feelings and behaviours (Aiken, 1979). The most acceptable and widely used definition of personality among psychologist is the one given by Allport (1937) which he later modified in He defined personality as the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristics, behaviour and thought. Dynamic organization implies that personality is not constant but changes over time. Psychophysical refers to habits, attitudes and traits. Characteristics involve the uniqueness of each individual s behaviours. Behaviour and thought refer to anything and individual does for survival and growth. Research indicates that a person s personality depends on the temperament he / she is born with and on his/her experiences during life, particularly during childhood (Carey, 2003) differences in personality may influence what type of spiritual or religious interest a person has Theoretical Background on Personality There are many theories of personality, but in this study, attention focused on psycho-analytic, humanistic and learning the antecedently background provided by the adults and the society in which the child was born and bred. On personality dynamics, Freud theorized that our mental process (personality) consists of three levels the conscious, the unconscious and the pre-conscious. Later in 1923, Freud revised this personality dynamics (structure) and introduced three basic personality structures namely the id, ego and superego. Thus, Freud sees one s personality as the outcome of the continued struggle (conflict) for dominance among these three mini-structures the id, ego, and superego. The humanistic theory of personality sees human beings as unique and involved in the ongoing process of human development encapsulated with human needs that must be reduced (Maslow, 1970). Rogerian Version of this theory while acknowledging the uniqueness of the individuals also recognizes the significant influence of human self perceptual orientation arising from what Rogers (1961) regards as an individual phenomenal field, out o which human behaviours are released. Finally, the learning theory of personality regards human behaviour patterns and manifestations as being environmentally influenced through a process of learning. This learning theory of personality is a sine qua non for effecting a behaviour change which is the main focus and concern of human learning on the S-R (Stimulus-Response) paradigm (Okoye, Chine and Okoye, 2007). 2. Method 2.1. Participants Participants in this study were 115 candidates referred for psychological assessment between June 2011 to March 2013, of these applicants 72(62.6%) female are aspirants,43(29.6%) male Postulants and 9(7.8%) seminarians. The ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 36 with a mean age of and standard deviation of All were single, Christians and literate (with at least secondary school education) and were able to communicate in English. An aspirant refers to a hopeful candidate or applicant into the training program for religious life, apostulant: a person in the first phase (9-12 months) of the training program for religious life and a seminarian; a person in the final phase (9-10 years) of the training program Instrument The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory II (MMPI-2; Butcher et al, 1989) is the most commonly used and research psychological self-report measure available. It includes 567 true-false items that comprise several validity scales, ten basic clinical scales and over 50 supplementary and additional subscales. The MMPI-2 provides personality assessment and more importantly, screening for psychopathology. The instrument evaluates psychological functioning and psychopathology assessing constructs such as anxiety, depression, antisocial behaviour, substance abuse risks, schizophrenia, social introversion and other indicators of psychological functioning. The MMPI-2 also includes

3 94 Ifeacho C. I. et al.: Assessment Profile of the Strength and Weakness of Candidates into Religious Life validity measures such as lying and defensiveness that are useful in religious assessment. The questionnaire is widely used and considered highly reliable and valid (Camara et al, 2000). Furthermore, the MMPI-2 has been shown to be reliable for use with clergy samples (Putman, Kurtz & Houts, 1996) Procedure The MMPI-2 was administered in English following instructions from the booklet and scored manually. The psychologist described the purpose and procedures involved in the testing program and asked the applicant to sign a release form. They were provided with the answer sheet and themmpi-2 booklet. The participants were individually administered the MMPI-2 between June March Result Table 1. Validity and Clinical Scale T-score Mean and Standard Deviation Males Female Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD F L K S Hs D Hy Pd Mf Pa Pt Sc Ma Si Table 2. Summary table of one-way ANOVA comparing levels of training on various MMPI-2 scales Source of variance Df F P L-Scale Within <0.05 Hs-Scale Within <0.05 Ma-Scale Within <0.05 Si-Scale Within <0.05 *P is significant at <0.05 Applicants tend to be defensive with significant elevations on the MMPI-2 Lie (L), secondly, subjects were likely to be vulnerable to sickness and had excessive bodily concerns, a tendency to make unnecessary visits to the doctors when under stress with elevations on Hypochondriasis (Hs}. Third, subjects tend to score high on Mania (Ma} which indicates being energetic, active, very self-confident, have many projects going at once, and creative. Finally, subjects tend to show generally good adjustment with significantly low scores on a variety of clinical measures. In order to examine differences among the subgroups of applicants into religious life, a two by three way analysis of variance (ANOVA} was conducted examining MMPI-2 scores using gender (i.e. males and females} and level of training (i.e., aspirants, postulants and seminarians} as grouping variables in the analyses. These results demonstrate no significant gender differences on the MMPI-2 scales. A significant level of training difference on the MMPI-2 L scale (measures defensiveness), F (1, 112} = 8.71, p<.05} such that the seminarians scored highest followed by the aspirants than the postulants. Result also found a significant level of training difference on Hs scale (which measures denial of psychological problems and somatic complaints} F (1,112} = 6.45, p<.05} such that the seminarians scored highest, followed by the aspirants than the postulants. Scale Ma was also significant with the postulants scoring higher than aspirants and seminarians F (1,112} 7.6, p<.05}. Finally, results found significant level of training interactions on the MMPI-2 Si scale (measures social introversion} F (1,112} 5.05, p<.05} such that the postulants maintained the lowest scores than the aspirants and seminarians. 4. Discussion In this study, there were no gender differences on both validity and clinical scales on MMPI-2. The findings were not consistent with several other research studies (e.g., Beit- Hallahmi &Argyle 1997; Musson 1998, 2002, Rhee, 2010). Cardwell (1996} & Sullender (1993} reported that there were gender differences between the male and female seminary students on MMPI-2. The males scored high on O-H, K and Mf more than the female seminary students. However, this present study is consistent with several previous studies (MacDonald& Holland, 2003, Dillon, 1983, Bohrnstedt, Borgatta & Evans, 1968, Kim, 2005}. The result of this finding can be explained within the context of Christian values and Spirituality. As a result of the trainings and teachings they get from the church, formation houses and seminary schools, both genders tend to present themselves in a more favourable light. Both genders are likely to participate in the same religious activities perhaps are faced with similar conditions or life experiences than those not involved. It is an established fact that there is a positive relationship between spirituality and general mental health (MacDonald & Holland, 2003}. However, these applicants into religious life understanding their vocation as a divine call and also reading the lives of the saints and witnessing the recent beatification and canonization of some saints of our time enables them to adjust properly to certain emotional or psychiatric problems. This believe that they have a master (Jesus Christ} whom they are serving and looking unto as a model who carries their burden shield them from manifesting less or no clinical symptoms on the MMPI-2 scales.

4 American Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences 2015; 2(3): The findings of this study also are generally consistent with previous research completed with Roman Catholic applicants to the priesthood and diaconate (Plante, Aldridge & Louie, 2005; Plante, 2007; Plante& Apodaca, 2010) as well as with research that has examined already ordained Anglican clergy (Musson, 1998, 2002) that they are defensive and tend to present themselves in a more favourable light. The possible explanation one can proffer for this result can be attributed to their frequency of church attendance, personal prayers and religiosity. Duris, Bjorck, and Gorsuch (2007) raised a question about the validity of the L scale for Christians based on the earlier reports that Christians scored higher in the L scale than the general population. The L scale is intended for identifying those who would not admit to minor weaknesses in order to present oneself in a more favorable light. Their study confirmed that their sample of Protestant Christians scored differently in some items of the MMPI-2 L scale than the general population. Duris et al. concluded that committed Christians failed to interpret some items as they were intended to measure for the general population. Instead, the committed Christians judged the items according to their Christian values. For example, denying one s desire to talk behind a friend s back could be considered as lying for the general population, with an assumption that the general population is likely to engage in such behavior at times. However, the committed Christian, believing that talking behind a friend s back is un-christian, would rather strive to maintain an honest relationship. Thus, the same item could be perceived in light of Christian values, and confirmation or disconfirmation of such an item could involve their personal identity as Christians. Their answer would have more to do with their Christian values than with their efforts to present themselves in a favorable light. Results showed that there is a significant difference in the manifestation of hypochondriasis among the aspirants, postulants and seminarians. This is in line with the findings of (Hillsa, Francisb, Aegylea & Jacksone, 2002} in their study to examine the relationship between Eysencks primary personality factors and various aspects of religious orientation and practice. They discovered that those who are religious inclined tend towards hypochondrias and display obsessive traits. According to Freud (1907) those who are religious, at least those who engage in religious ritual, just like the aspirants, postulants and seminarians are afflicted with an obsessional neurosis, which leads to the prediction that religious individuals would score more highly than the non-religious on the neuroticism dimension of which hypochondrias is a symptom. James (1902) view of the incidence of psychological distress among intensely religious individuals points in the same direction. Numerous studies have failed to find any relationship between various measures of religious behaviour and neuroticism (Choudhary, 1989; Francis & Pearson, 1987; Lewis & Maltby, 1995). However, Hills and Argyle (1998) found significantly lower neuroticism scores among church members than among nonchurch members. An Indian study (Singh & Gupta, 1996) found that neuroticism was positively related to religious values. A recent meta-analysis (Saroglou, 2002) has found that extrinsic religiosity is associated with high levels of neuroticism of which hypochondriasis are a symptom. There was also a significant difference among the three levels of training on mania (Ma}.The postulants had the highest mean score with the seminarians having the lowest mean score. This would mean that these applicants reported themselves to be confident and have no difficulties that are significantly more than the general population. The interplay of psychosocial and spiritual factors like social support from classmates, parishioners, friends, family members and the kind of training they are receiving from the formation houses can be responsible for the significant mania. As they see their life as a life of sacrifice and share in mission work which involves the church, they need to be strong and energetic to face the challenges ahead of them. Finally, on social introversion (Si} scale, the aspirants had the highest mean score, followed by the seminarians with the postulants having the lowest mean score. Conversely, in a review of past studies, Nauss (1973) found that clergy and clergy trainees inclined towards extraversion. However, other studies (Argyle & Hills, 2000; Francis, Lewis, Brown, & Philipchalk, 1995; Hills & Argyle, 1998; Roman & Lester, 1999; Taylor & MacDonald, 1999) have failed to identify any significant relationships with extraversion. Based upon the theory of social learning and the knowledge that introverts are more easily socialised than extraverts, Eysenck(1954) proposed that introverts would be more sympathetic to ethical and religious ideas. A Polish study found that for the inhabitants of one particular town, both men and women involved in religious activity were highly introverted (Chlewinski, 1984). People that are intrinsic tend towards dogmatism, frequently attend church, say prayers, appear peaceable, risk averse, non-aggressive, autonomous rather than dependent (Hillsa et. al., 2002}. It seems reasonable to suggest that such a person would be attracted towards the ritual elements of public and private worship and be comfortable about accepting and adopting the received wisdom of religious teachings. Overall, applicants to religious life into Roman Catholic Church are generally well adjusted and functioning, confident, and psychologically healthy. They tend to be open to change, emotionally stable, and trusting as well. However, the writings of Jung (1933, 1952) suggest that a religious outlook is restorative of and conducive to psychological wellbeing. Implications for ministry may include being thoughtful about how defensiveness, somatic complaints, hysterical reactions to stress may become manifested in the applicants. Generally psychologically healthy, applicants may be at some risk for transference and counter transference issues associated with their role in congregations as well as their tendency for defensiveness. Of course, future research that examines these issues among applicants into religious life over time is needed to better understand how these dynamics may unfold among them. There is need to reevaluate the interpretation of L scale for the religious

5 96 Ifeacho C. I. et al.: Assessment Profile of the Strength and Weakness of Candidates into Religious Life groups or Christians Limitations of this study include the fact that results were drawn from a fairly small sample of ministry applicants and the study was descriptive in nature. No follow up information regarding the outcome of their training, formation, or ministry was available and won t be for the near future. Furthermore, the large number of analyses in relation to the fairly small number of participants suggests that the probability of Type I errors or false positive findings are high. Thus, results must be viewed with great caution and additional research is clearly needed. References [1] Argyle, M., & Hills, P. (2000). Religious experiences and their relationships with happiness and personality. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 10, [2] Allport, G.W. (1937). Personality: A psychological interpretation. London: Constable. [3] Beit-Hallahmi, B., & Argyle, M. (1997). The psychology of religious behaviour, beliefs, and experience. New York: Routledge. [4] Bohrnstedt, G.W., Borgatta, E.F., & Evans, R.R. (1968). Religious affiliation, religiosity, and MMPI scores. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 7, [5] Butcher, J. N., Dahlstrom, W. G., Graham, J. R., Tellegen, A., & Kraemmer, B. (1989). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2): Manual for administration and scoring. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. [6] Camara, W., Nathan, J., & Puente, A. (2000). Psychological test usage: implications in professional psychology. Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, 31, [7] Cardwell, S. W. (1996). Seminary norms for the MMPI-2. The Journal of Pastoral Care, 50, [8] CCC, (1999). Catechism of the Catholic Church. London: Geoffrey Chapman. [9] Chlewinski, Z. (1984). Religijnosc a neurotyzm i ekstrawersja (Badania mieszkancow wsi Zacisze). (Religiousness versus neuroticism and extraversion: studies on the inhabitants of Zacisze). Studia Socjologiczne, 94, [10] Choudhary, S. (1989). A study of the relationship between neuroticism and religiosity. Journal of Personality and Clinical Studies, 5, [11] Cole, B. & Conner, P. (1997). Christian Totality: Theology of the consecrated life. Bandra-Mumbai, 149. [12] Dillon, D. (1983). Personality characteristics of evangelical missionaries as measured by the MMPI. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 11, [13] Duris, M., Bjorck, J.P., & Gorsuch, R.L. (2007). Christian subcultural differences in item perceptions of the MMPI-2 lie scale. Journal ofpsychology and Christianity, 26, [14] Eysenck, H. J. (1954). The psychology of politics. London: Routledge & Keegan Paul. [15] Francis, L. J., & Pearson, P. R. (1987). Religiosity and the short-scale EPQ-R indices of E, N and L, compared with the JEPI, JEPQ and EPQ. Personality and Individual Differences, 9, [16] Francis, L. J., Lewis, J.M., Brown, L. B., & Philipchalk, R. (1995). Personality and religion among undergraduate students in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Canada. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 14, [17] Freud, S. (1907). Obsessive acts and religious practices. In J. Strachey (Ed.), The standard edition of the complete works of Sigmund Freud. London: Hogarth Press. [18] Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (1998). Positive moods derived from leisure and their relationship to happiness and personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 25, [19] Hillsa, P., Francisb, L.J., Argylea & Jacksone, C.J Primary personality trait correlates of religious practice and orientation [20] James, W. (1902). The varieties of religious experience. New York: Longman. [21] John Jay College of Criminal Justice (2004). The nature and scope of the problem of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests and deacons in the United States. NY: Author. [22] Jung, C. G. (1933). Modern man in search of a soul. New York: Harcourt Brace. [23] Jung, C. G. (1952). Symbols of transformation: an analysis of the prelude to a case of schizophrenia. In H. Read. [24] Kim, S. (2005). MMPI characteristics of seminary students. Unpublished master s thesis. Chongsin University, Seoul. [25] Lewis, C. A., & Maltby, J. (1995). Religiosity and personality among U.S. adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 18, [26] McDonough, E. (1998). The Evangelical Counsel of Chastity, Review of Religious (march-april, ). [27] McDonald, D.A. & Holland, D. (2003). Spirituality and the MMPI-2. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59, [28] Musson, D. J. (1998). The personality of male Anglican clergy in England: The 16PF. Personality and Individual Differences, 25, [29] Musson, D. J. (2002). Personality of male Anglican clergy in England: revisited using the 16PF5. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 5, [30] Nauss, A. (1973). The ministerial personality: myth or reality. Journal of Religion and Health, 12, [31] O Hara, E. (1995). Norm s common to all institutes of consecrated life. A handbook on Canons, the Liturgical Press, [32] Plante, T. G. (Ed.) (2004). Sin against the innocents: sexual abuse by priests and the role of the catholic church. Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood. [33] Plante, T. G., Aldridge, A., & Louie, C. (2005). Are successful applicants to the priesthood psychologically healthy? Pastoral Psychology, 54, [34] Plante, T. (2007). Homosexual applicants to the priesthood: how many and are they psychologically healthy? Pastoral Psychology, 55,

6 American Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences 2015; 2(3): [35] Plante, T.& Apodaca, C. (2010). Episcopal Applicants to Ordained Ministry: Are They [36] Psychological Healthy? Pastoral Psychology, 60: [37] Putnam, S.H., Kurtz, J.E. & Houts, D. C (1996). 4 Month tesretest reliability of the MMPI-2 with normal male clergy. Journal of personality Assessment, 67, [38] Roman, R. E., & Lester, D. (1999). Religiosity and mental health. Psychological Reports, 85, [39] Rowan, D. (2011) Psychological Screening of Candidates for Ministry. Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute: A National Resource for Behavioral Healthcare, Evaluation Treatment and Rehabilitation. [40] Saroglou, V. (2002). Religion and the five factors of personality: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, [41] Singh, A. K., & Gupta, A. S. (1996). Some personality determinants of value and intelligence. Indian Journal of Psychometry and Education, 27, [42] Sullender, R.S. (1993). Clergy candidates MMPI profiles: Comparing gender and age variables. The Journal of Pastoral Care, 47, [43] Taylor, A., & MacDonald, D. A. (1999). Religion and the five factor model of personality: an exploratory investigation using a Canadian university sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, [44] Vatican Council (11) Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium, n.45.