Spiritual Maturity and Social Support in a National ... - Springer Link

2 downloads 0 Views 172KB Size Report
Feb 23, 2006 - James P. Froehlich,1,6 Geraldine M. Fialkowski,2 N. J. Scheers,3. Peter C. ... (b) Spiritual Maturity Index (SMI; Ellison, 1983), (c) Social Support ...
C 2006) Pastoral Psychology, Vol. 54, No. 5, May 2006 ( DOI: 10.1007/s11089-005-0011-0

Spiritual Maturity and Social Support in a National Study of a Male Religious Order James P. Froehlich,1,6 Geraldine M. Fialkowski,2 N. J. Scheers,3 Peter C. Wilcox,4 and Richard T. Lawrence5 Published online: 23 February 2006

This national study analyzed the relationship of spiritual maturity and valued relationships with social support and life satisfaction using a random sample of male religious from one Roman Catholic order (N = 251). Four measures were used: (a) NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1992), (b) Spiritual Maturity Index (SMI; Ellison, 1983), (c) Social Support Appraisals Scale (SS-A; Vaux, et al., 1986), and (d) Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). Hierarchical regression results showed that Spiritual Maturity was a significant predictor of Perceived Social Support (F (1, 237) = 20.662, p ≤ .001) and Life Satisfaction (F(1, 237) = 13.205, p ≤ .001). The study also showed that valued relationships inside (versus outside) the order predicted Life Satisfaction (F(1, 236) = 4.722, p ≤ .05). These findings demonstrate the importance of spiritual development and peer relationships as a way of enhancing vocational stability and satisfaction in male religious. KEY WORDS: Catholic clergy; religious vocation; religious life; life satisfaction; male intimacy.

1 James

P. Froehlich is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a Ph.D. candidate in Pastoral Counseling, Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. M. Fialkowski is a professor in Pastoral Counseling, Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. 3 N. J. Scheers is an adjunct professor in Pastoral Counseling, Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. 4 Peter C. Wilcox is an adjunct professor in Pastoral Counseling, Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. 5 Richard T. Lawrence, is pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church, Baltimore, Maryland. 6 Address correspondence to James P. Froehlich, Ph.D., LCPC, c/o Province of Saint Augustine, 220 37th St, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15201-1825; e-mail: [email protected]. 2 Geraldine

465 C 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 0031-2789/06/0500-0465/1 

466

Froehlich, Fialkowski, Scheers, Wilcox, and Lawrence

INTRODUCTION The evolution of psychology is marked by a steady interest in spirituality and the study of the soul (Stock, 1967). In the past twenty years, social scientists have noted a sudden growth in the number of instruments being developed to measure the spiritual dimension of humanity and the influence of spirituality on health and well-being (Benner, 2002). Despite this ongoing interest, psycho-spiritual literature has suggested that very little research has been conducted on the spiritual development of professional Christian ministers (Pargament, Tarakeshwar, Ellison, & Wulff, 2001). A review of the literature has indicated that even less research has been conducted on the spiritual development and fraternal lifestyle of male vowed religious in the Catholic Church. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the needed research in the area of the psycho-spiritual development of religious order men in the Catholic Church. It explored the relationship of spiritual maturity with life satisfaction and the subjective assessment of social support from personal friendships, professed relationships (i.e., peers in the order), and other social networks. This research also analyzed the influence of having a most valued relationship inside versus outside the order on the assessment of life satisfaction by male religious. The results from this study were intended to provide valuable information for religious leadership who sought new ways to strengthen the vocational life-satisfaction of male religious. METHOD The study consisted of three hypotheses that theorized how various relationships of spiritual maturity and having a most valued relationship inside versus outside the religious order contributed to the specified outcome variables of perceived social support and life satisfaction over and above selected demographic, situational, and personality variables. The following is a description of the three hypotheses and expected outcomes: Hypothesis I: Spiritual Maturity will contribute positively to Social Support Appraisals over and above selected demographic, situational, and personality variables. Hypothesis II: Spiritual Maturity will contribute positively to Life Satisfaction over and above selected demographic, situational, and personality variables. Hypothesis III: Most Valued Relationship will contribute positively to Life Satisfaction over and above selected demographic, situational, and personality variables. It was expected that this analysis would illustrate that religious whose Most Valued Relationship was inside the Order had a stronger positive association with Life Satisfaction than religious whose Most Valued Relationship was outside the Order.

Spiritual Maturity and Social Support in a National Study

467

Instruments Four scales were used in the study: (a) NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEOFFI); (b) Spiritual Maturity Inventory (SMI); (c) Social Support Appraisals Scale (SS-A); and (d) Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) The NEO-Five Factor Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992) is a 60-item selfreport scale designed for individuals 17 years of age or older to measure five factors of personality: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. The results of a meta-analysis of personality demonstrated good reliability by producing mean internal consistency alphas for each of the five factors that ranged from .73 to .78 (Viswesvaran & Ones, 2000). Costa and McCrae (1992) produced results that supported the convergent and discriminant validity of the NEO with other personality and clinical instruments. Spiritual Maturity Inventory (SMI) The Spiritual Maturity Inventory (Ellison, 1983) is a 30-item self-report scale designed to be an assessment of spiritual maturity operationalized developmentally with qualities similar to psychological maturity. The face validity of the SMI is very high because the items were directly related to Ellison’s conceptualization of spiritual maturity. Bassett et al. (1991) reported the SMI to have an internal reliability of α = .92 and to have concurrent and convergent validity with statistically significant correlations (p < .05) ranging primarily from r = .74 to r = .82. Social Support Appraisals Scale (SS-A) The Social Support Appraisals Scale (Vaux et al., 1986) is a 23-item selfreport scale designed to assess levels of fulfilled social need. The measure assesses subjective perceptions of being loved, valued, and esteemed by family, friends, and others. Reliability and validity for this measure were initially established by its authors from data produced from 10 groups representing a heterogeneous sampling of race, gender, age, educational level, marital status, occupation, and income level. The results demonstrated good internal consistency with only three of the 30 coefficients falling below an alpha of .80. The SS-A was subjected to considerable evaluation of its validity which resulted in good concurrent, predictive, knowngroups, and construct validity (Corcoran & Fischer, 2000). The SS-A is designed to measure three primary social support networks: family, friends, and others. For the purposes of this study, the SS-A was adapted with the permission of the author by transposing all references to “my family” into references to “my provincial fraternity.” For example, the statement, “I don’t feel

468

Froehlich, Fialkowski, Scheers, Wilcox, and Lawrence

close to members of my family” was reworded “I don’t feel close to members of my provincial fraternity.” This adaptation provided the male religious sample with an appraisal measure of the social support network of their professed relationships within the religious order. Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) The Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) consists of five self-report statements that measure subjective well-being. Subjective well-being evaluates the quality of one’s life satisfaction in comparison to an internally-imposed, subjective standard rather than an externally-imposed, pre-defined notion of life satisfaction. Arrindell, Meeuwesen, & Huyse (1991) have shown the SWLS to have a high internal consistency (α = .87). Pavot, Diener, Colvin, & Sandvik (1991) have shown the SWLS to have adequate convergence (average α = .83) with many measures of subjective well-being and life satisfaction, such as Life Satisfaction Index-A (LSI; Neugarten, Havighurst, & Tobin, 1961); Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (Lawton, 1975); and the Fordyce Global Happiness Scale (Fordyce, 1977). Vitaliano, Russo, Young, Becker, & Maiuro (1991) produced results that demonstrated the convergent and discriminant validity of the SWLS. Demographic Questionnaire The demographic questionnaire consisted of six factors: (a) Age; (b) Health; (c) Profession Year; (d) Ordination Status; (e) Local Fraternity Size; and (f) Most Valued Relationship. The response options to these demographic questions had been pre-categorized into ranges to protect the anonymity of the respondent and to increase response rate. Demographic questions such as gender, religion, annual income, marital status, level of achieved education, and race were not included in the demographics of this study either because of the homogeneity of the population or because of their irrelevance to male religious in this order. Procedures A national population of one male religious order was selected for the study. Permission to conduct a national survey of the order was obtained from the head of each of its six English-speaking jurisdictions in the continental United States. A current mailing list was obtained from the headquarters of each jurisdiction. Religious were removed from that listing who (a) lived outside the continental United States, (b) were not formally professed into the order, (c) were currently on leave from the order, (d) were determined to be mentally or physically incapable of responding to a written questionnaire, or (e) were not fluent in English. A

Spiritual Maturity and Social Support in a National Study

469

national listing of the remaining population to be surveyed was compiled and sorted alphabetically (N = 522). A computer generated randomized sample was selected from that listing (N = 350). A questionnaire packet was mailed to each subject in mid-June. A cover letter was enclosed in each packet to address the issues of anonymity and confidentiality and to request voluntary participation. An additional letter was enclosed from the head of the order’s world-wide headquarters in Rome that expressed his personal support of the study and his encouragement for the active participation of each recipient. No efforts were made to code or identify respondents. Follow-up postcards were sent to all participants after the end of second and third weeks to provide contact information for any questions, to offer an additional mailing of the materials, and to encourage the return of all completed instruments as soon as possible. RESULTS Analyses of the Data Response Rate and Internal Reliability The survey had a response rate of 75.14% (N = 263). Twelve data sets were eliminated because of missing instruments or missing responses to 20% or more of any one variable. The remaining data sets formed the sample used in this study (N = 251). The internal reliabilities of the all the measures and subscales used in the study produced Cronbach’s alphas ranging from .71 to .93. This range showed adequate reliability and was comparable with published research. Recoded and Transformed Variables Skewed distribution A frequency analysis of the variables showed Life Satisfaction (SWLS) to be asymmetrical with a negative skew. The distribution was transformed by reflecting the data and then calculating the square root for each value. Missing values Missing values in the scales from no response or from double entry errors (i.e., two radically different answers circled for the same question; such as “strongly agree and strongly disagree”) were replaced with the respondent’s mean value for that scale. Sequential double entries (i.e., where the respondent circled side-by-side responses; such as “agree and disagree” or “agree and strongly agree”) were replaced by the mean of the two selected values. Missing values in the demographics were replaced by imputed values determined by linear or binary logistic regression using significant predictors identified in a bivariate correlational analysis of demographic and scored scale variables. Table 1 provides the correlations from that analysis. Most Valued Relationship (MVR) had

Health

Prof Year

Ord Status

Frat Size MVR

NEON

−.202∗∗ −.842∗∗ .147∗ .349∗∗ .006 −.363∗∗ −.008 −.015 .028 −.207∗∗ .070 −.011 −.052 −.052 .170∗∗ .028 −.195∗∗ −.023 −.067 .018 −.004 −.282∗∗ .288∗∗ .257∗∗ −.007 .074 −.005 −.358∗∗ −.266∗∗ .180∗∗ .210∗∗ −.068 −.018 −.035 −.137∗ −.110 .218∗∗ .077 −.018 .112 −.014 −.377∗∗ .003 .140∗ −.004 .034 .042 −.085 −.244∗∗ .069 .183∗∗ −.051 −.004 .052 .039 −.362∗∗ −.160∗ .188∗∗ .144∗ −.023 .041 −.045 −.275∗∗ −.019 .127∗ .046 −.116 .171∗∗ .206∗∗ −.289∗∗ −.157∗ .178∗∗ .177∗∗ −.026 .065 .097 −.347∗∗ −.118 .187∗∗ .134∗ −.073 .119 .121 −.356∗∗ .015 .196∗∗ .014 .028 −.038 .115 −.494∗∗

Age

Note. N=251 ∗ p < .05, 2-tailed ∗∗ p < .01, 2-tailed

Age Health Prof Yr Ord Stat Frat Size MVR NEO-N NEO-E NEO-O NEO-A NEO-C SMI SS-Friend SS-Prof SS-Other SS-Total SWLS

Scales

NEOO

.270∗∗ .307∗∗ .138∗ .231∗∗ −.040 .219∗∗ .222∗∗ .438∗∗ .210∗∗ .359∗∗ .117 .515∗∗ .180∗∗ .504∗∗ .191∗∗ .360∗∗ .083

NEOE

.250∗∗ .428∗∗ .431∗∗ .374∗∗ .480∗∗ .496∗∗ .169∗∗

NEOA

.324∗∗ .329∗∗ .231∗∗ .288∗∗ .324∗∗ .226∗∗

NEOC

.448∗∗ .357∗∗ .433∗∗ .476∗∗ .371∗∗

SMI

SS Prof

SS Other

SS Total

.403∗∗ .660∗∗ .689∗∗ .761∗∗ .866∗∗ .913∗∗ .273∗∗ .347∗∗ .329∗∗ 377∗∗

SS Friend

Table 1. Bivariate Correlations of Demographic and Scored Scale Variables SWLS

470 Froehlich, Fialkowski, Scheers, Wilcox, and Lawrence

Spiritual Maturity and Social Support in a National Study

471

17 cases using imputed values to replace missing data. Outcome analysis showed no significant change in results when the 17 cases with imputed MVR values were removed from the data set. Transformed variables “Profession Year” was recoded into the new variable “Vatican II Profession” to distinguish between those who were professed into the religious order before/during versus after the reformation in the Catholic Church brought about by the Second Vatican Council which concluded on December 8, 1965 (Trisco, 1967). “Fraternity Size” was recoded into three dummy variables representing the first three responses of (a) 1–2, (b) 3–5, and (c) 6–9. The dummy variables were contrasted with the largest fraternity size response of “10 or more” and were entered together into the regression analyses. Sample Demographic Descriptives and Significance Testing of Scale Mean Scores Demographics. Three quarters of the sample were between the ages of 50 to 79 (75.3%); 19.9% were younger than 50; and 4.8% were 80 or older. The majority of the sample was healthy: 85.2% reported good or very good health with only 3.2% reporting their health to be poor or very poor. More than half were professed before the conclusion of Vatican II (58.6%) which indicated that they had been professed members of the order for 39 years or more. More than three-quarters of the sample were ordained (77.3%). More than half indicated that their most valued relationship was outside their provincial fraternity (55.8%). NEO-Five Factor Inventory. Mean T-scores for the NEO-FFI, based on standardized scoring for adult males (Costa & McCrae, 1992), was normative for Neuroticism (T = 48), Extraversion (T = 51), Openness (T = 50), and Conscientiousness (T = 54). The sample scored slightly higher than the norm for Agreeableness (T = 56). Spiritual Maturity Inventory. Table 2 provides the comparative data used for all the scales regarding significance testing of sample means with means from other studies. Significance testing of means for Spiritual Maturity (SMI) showed the sample mean (M = 134.55, SD = 14.77) to be similar to married adults from various religious backgrounds but significantly lower than means scored by noncatholic seminarians (t = −3.270, p < .01) and Baptist pastors and seminarians (t = −7.820, p < .001). The results from significance testing of SMI mean scores suggest that non-Catholic pastors and seminarians were likely to score higher on Spiritual Maturity than the sample of Catholic male religious whose scores tended to be similar to those of adult laity. This finding was compatible with the research of Bassett et al. (1991) who noted the tendency of many religious instruments to differentiate between Catholics and Protestants with Catholics scoring significantly lower than Protestants.

472

Froehlich, Fialkowski, Scheers, Wilcox, and Lawrence Table 2. Significance Testing of Sample Mean with Means from Other Studies Measure and other study samples

Spiritual Maturity Index (SMI) Married adults (of varied conservatism)a Students from 3 seminariesb 164 seminarians & 104 pastors (Baptist)c Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) Religious Sisters professed > 15 yearsd Contemplative Nuns professed > 15 yearsd Older American adultse Social Support Appraisals Scale (SS-A)f SS-Friend: Males aged 63–93g SS-Familyh : Males aged 63–93g

N

Mean (SD)

tobtained

149

134.19 (18.43)

.203

117 268

140.73 (17.78) 144.36 (13.74)

−3.270 −7.820

68 57

23.70 (8.50) 23.90 (9.00)

1.808 1.426

39

24.20 (6.90)

1.270

111 111

21.5 (2.6) 26.0 (3.6)

5.092 −6.548

∗∗ ∗∗∗

∗∗∗ ∗∗∗

Note. T-scores were calculated using the following formula: (Mean1 −Mean2 ) divided by the square root of ((Variance1 /N1 ) + (Variance2 /N2 )). a Colwell, 1986. b Buhrow, Calkins, Haws, Rost, 1987. c Cooper, 1986. d McGarrahan, 1991. e Pavot et al., 1991. f SS-Other subscale is not ordinarily scored. Published means for SS-Total were unavailable. g Patrick et al., 2001. h T-score represents comparison with current study subscale adaptation SS-Professed. ∗∗ p < .01. ∗∗∗ p < .001.

Satisfaction With Life Scale. Significance testing of means for Life Satisfaction (SWLS) with non-clinical adult samples reported by Pavot and Diener (1993) showed the sample mean score (M = 25.68, SD = 5.87) to be similar to samples of older professed religious and older laity. Social Support Appraisals Scale. Significance testing of means for Social Support (SS-A) with a study of males aged 63–93 (Patrick, Cottrell, & Barnes, 2001) showed the sample scored significantly higher on support from friends (t = 5.092, p < .001) and significantly lower on support from their provincial fraternity/family (t = −6.548, p < .001). Analyses of the Hypotheses Statistical Models Hierarchical linear regression was used to test all three hypotheses. The statistical model designed for all three hypotheses followed the same sequence for the first four steps: step one, universal demographics of Age and Health were entered; step two, religious demographics of Fraternity Size, Vatican II Profession

Spiritual Maturity and Social Support in a National Study

473

Table 3. Hypothesis I: Hierarchical Regression Summary for Total Social Support Hierarchical regression Step 1: universal demographics Step 2: religious demographics Step 3: personality factors Step 4: Spiritual Maturity

R

R2

R2 change

F change

.205 .244 .651 .686

.042 .060 .424 .470

.042 .018 .364 .046

5.415 .921 30.068 20.662

∗∗ ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗

Note. N = 251. Dependent variable: Social Support Appraisals (SS-A) – Total Scores. ∗∗ p < .01. ∗∗∗ p < .001.

(before versus after) and Ordination Status (ordained versus non-ordained) were entered; step three, NEO-Five Factors of personality (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) were entered; and step four, Spiritual Maturity was entered. The statistical model designed for hypothesis three, which analyzed the influence of Most Valued Relationship on Life Satisfaction, continued the regression analysis of the previous hypothesis with step five, in which the Most Valued Relationship groupings (inside versus outside provincial fraternity) were entered. Incremental Validity of Spiritual Maturity and Most Valued Relationship In the regression analysis of hypothesis one, Spiritual Maturity was found to be a significant predictor of Total Social Support. Table 3 provides the model summary of hypothesis one. Universal demographics explained 4.2% of the variance for Total Social Support and were significant (F (2, 248) = 5.415, p < .01). Religious demographics explained slightly more variance (1.8%) but were not significant. Over and above the modest explanatory power of universal and religious demographics, personality explained a major portion of the variance (36.4%) and was significant (F (5, 238) = 30.068, p < .001). At step four, with all previous variables held constant, Spiritual Maturity contributed a unique variance of 4.6% and was significant in predicting Total Social Support (F (1, 237) = 20.662, p < .001) raising the cumulative R2 explained by all the variables in this model to 47%. The regression analysis of this hypothesis suggests that, above and beyond what was explained by all previously entered variables, male religious with higher levels of Spiritual Maturity tended to report slightly higher levels of the total perception of being valued and esteemed by friends, by their provincial fraternity, and by others in general than male religious with lower levels of Spiritual Maturity. In the regression analysis of hypotheses two, Spiritual Maturity was found to be a significant predictor of Life Satisfaction. Table 4 provides the model summary of the analyses of hypotheses two and three. The first four steps of the model summary are identical for both hypotheses. Universal demographics explained 4.8% of the variance for Life Satisfaction and were significant (F (2,

474

Froehlich, Fialkowski, Scheers, Wilcox, and Lawrence Table 4. Hypothesis II & III: Hierarchical Regression Summary for Life Satisfaction

Hierarchical regression Step 1: universal demographics Step 2: religious demographics Step 3: personality factors Step 4: Spiritual Maturity Step 5: Most Valued Relationship

R

R2

R2 change

F change

.218 .226 .574 .604 .614

.048 .051 .329 .365 .377

.048 .004 .278 .035 .012

6.198 .182 19.728 13.205 4.722

∗∗ ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ ∗

Note. N = 251. Dependent variable: Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). ∗ p < .05. ∗∗ p < .01. ∗∗∗ p < .001.

248) = 6.198, p < .01). Religious demographics explained slightly more variance (.4%) but were not significant. Over and above the modest explanatory power of universal and religious demographics, personality explained a major portion of the variance (27.8%) and was significant in predicting Life Satisfaction (F (5, 238) = 19.728, p < .001). Personality explained considerably less variance for Life Satisfaction (27.8%) than it did in the previous model for Total Social Support (36.4%); nevertheless, personality tended to contribute a major portion of the variance for both outcomes. At step four, with all previous variables held constant, Spiritual Maturity contributed a unique variance of 3.5% and was significant in predicting Life Satisfaction (F (1, 237) = 13.205, p < .001). Spiritual Maturity explained less variance for Life Satisfaction (3.5%) than it did in the previous model for Total Social Support (4.6%) yet, in both models, it continued to have significance in making an incremental contribution to both outcomes. The addition of Spiritual Maturity raised the cumulative R2 of all the variables predicting Life Satisfaction at step four in this model to 36.5%. The regression analysis of this hypothesis suggests that, above and beyond what was explained by all previously entered variables, male religious with higher levels of Spiritual Maturity tended to report slightly higher levels of satisfaction with the subjective quality of their overall lives than male religious with lower levels of Spiritual Maturity. Hypothesis three continued the previous analysis by adding step five found in the model summary of Table 4. In hypothesis three, Most Valued Relationship was significant in predicting Life Satisfaction. At step five, with all previous variables held constant, Most Valued Relationship contributed a unique variance of 1.2% and was significant in predicting slightly higher levels of Life Satisfaction (F (1, 236) = 4.722, p < .05). This finding suggests that above and beyond the influences explained by Age, Health, Fraternity Size, Vatican II Profession, Ordination Status, Personality, and Spiritual Maturity, male religious who indicated that their Most Valued Relationship was inside the provincial fraternity showed small but significant higher levels of Life Satisfaction than those who indicated that their Most Valued Relationship was outside the provincial fraternity.

Spiritual Maturity and Social Support in a National Study

475

DISCUSSION Statistical Findings Association of Spiritual Maturity with Social Support and Life Satisfaction The positive association of spiritual maturity with social support and life satisfaction appears to be compatible with the growing body of research that links spirituality with holistic health and well-being. Spirituality has been associated (a) with lower rates of depression, anxiety, and addictive disorders; (b) with higher levels of optimism and positive self-esteem; (c) with greater resilience from disappointment or tragedy; (d) with the broader expansion of social connections; and (e) with maintaining a strong sense of meaning, purpose, and altruism toward others (Beal, 2004). Barrette (2002) suggested that a unique characteristic of Christian spiritual maturity was its tendency to go beyond the boundaries of human, psychological, and emotional maturity. He proposed that the maturity of one’s relationship with God was associated with the maturity of one’s relationship with others. The more people matured in a spiritually-motivated relationship with God, the more people tended to mature in a spiritually-motivated relationship with one another. Vocational stability has been associated with social support and life satisfaction. Psychospiritual research on Catholic clergy has argued that unfulfilled personal needs tended to underlie problems associated vocational instability (Hoge, 2003) as well as mandated celibacy and sexual difficulties (Adams, 2003; ScheperHughes & Devine, 2003). Low levels of professional commitment and poor morale within priesthood have been attributed to the lack of perceived support in the lives of clergy (Gannon, 1981). Loneliness and the lack of social support were shown to add tension and anxiety to the already stressful occupation of the Catholic priest (Hoge, Shields, & Soroka, 1993; Knox, Virginia, & Lombardo, 2002). The findings of this study suggest that spiritual maturity tends to add something unique to the social support networks and life satisfaction of male religious that was not already explained by other specified variables. The results from this study suggest that fostering the ongoing development of a psychologically-healthy, relationally-based spirituality among male religious (a) may reduce difficulties inherent in their unique personal lifestyle, (b) may increase levels of professional morale and commitment to public ministry, and (c) may contribute to their vocational stability. Association of Valued Relationships Within the Order and Life Satisfaction The findings of this study also suggest that a most valued relationship inside the provincial fraternity was a modest incremental predictor of life satisfaction

476

Froehlich, Fialkowski, Scheers, Wilcox, and Lawrence

over and above Age, Health, Vatican II Profession, Ordination Status, Current Fraternity Size, Personality, or even the current level of Spiritual Maturity for male religious. This finding may be notable in light of the fact that the majority of the sample (55.8%) indicated that their most valued relationship was outside their provincial fraternity while 44.2% indicated that their most valued relationship was inside their provincial fraternity. Fostering valued relationships within the order may be beneficial and challenging for male religious. It may be beneficial as a way of enhancing the vocational satisfaction of its members and attracting new vocations drawn to religious orders exhibiting a strong fraternal life. It may be challenging in light of the many socio-cultural prohibitions, preoccupations, and concerns that tend to inhibit adult males from forming more substantive relationships with one another (Orosan & Shilling, 1992). This study suggests that the challenges of forming more valued relationships with one another in male religious orders may be addressed by rooting these substantive relationships with one another in one’s substantive relationship with God. Male religious may be encouraged to develop spiritually-motivated relationships with one another that are reflective of a spiritually-mature relationship with God.

CONCLUSION The spiritual growth and development of male religious need not be relegated solely to the confidential relationship of a male religious with his spiritual director. The topic of the spiritual development of male religious may be addressed as a more public concern in light of its relationship to social support and life satisfaction. Male religious may benefit from a contemporary reformulation of a relational model of spirituality that is rooted in the particular charism of their founder and provides a blueprint for forming a healthy fraternity. The effort of community leadership to address the spiritual development of male religious may be an untapped resource in strengthening the levels of fraternal support and life satisfaction found within their order. Study Limitations and Directions for Future Research The strength and importance of this study is dependent on the reliability of these findings in replication studies with other samples. A limitation of this study may be the strong homogeneity of the current sample and its research focus on just one religious order in the United States. Future studies may want to explore the generalizability of these findings by conducting similar studies with other male religious orders that have been founded on different spiritual charisms and have different interpretations of common life. The results of this study may provide

Spiritual Maturity and Social Support in a National Study

477

a comprehensive base-line by which other religious orders may be compared. A comparative study of women religious might present interesting insight into what proportion of the findings may be attributed to gender and how much may be the result of actually living within the unique lifestyle of the vowed religious. Future research may also be directed toward articulating a standardized developmental model of spiritual maturity that would have reliability and validity across the vast range of Christian denominations and other theocentric religions. This study may be valuable in providing an understanding of the importance of spiritual development and its influence on the social support networks of male vowed religious. It may assist those who are working with male religious to understand the impact of spiritual formation on the development of their fraternal networks. During this time of vocational instability, declining vocations, and contemporary scandals, this study may also stimulate needed ongoing research on the unique lifestyle of male religious in the Roman Catholic Church.

REFERENCES Adams, K. M. (2003). Clergy sex abuse: A commentary on celibacy. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 10 (2–3), 91–92. Arrindell, W. A., Meeuwesen, L., & Huyse, F. J. (1991). The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Psychometric properties in a non-psychiatric medical outpatients sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 117–123. Barrette, G. (2002). Spiritual direction in the Roman Catholic tradition. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 30 (4), 290–302. Bassett, R. L., Camplin, W., Humphrey, D., Dorr, C., Biggs, S., Distaffen, R., et al. (1991). Measuring Christian maturity: A comparison of several scales. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 19, 84–93. Beal, C. (2004). Healthy, wealthy, and wise: Believing in life satisfaction. Baylor Magazine Online: A Publication of Baylor University, 1, 1–2. Retrieved October 31, 2004, from www.baylormag.com/dept.php?id = 000075. Benner, D. G. (2002). Nurturing spiritual growth. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 30, 355–361. Buhrow, W., Calkins, P., Haws, J., & Rost, K. (1987). The Spiritual Maturity Index: A study of reliability and validity. Unpublished manuscript, Alliance Theological Seminary, Nyack, NY. Colwell, J. C. (1986). A correlational study of self-concept and spirituality in seminarians. Dissertation Abstracts International, 47, 4645B. (UMI, 87 – 04711). Cooper, R. L. (1986). An empirical examination of the construct validity of the Spiritual Maturity Index. Dissertation Abstracts International, 47, 4645B. (UMI, 87 – 04712). Corcoran, K. J., & Fischer, J. (2000). Measures for clinical practice: A sourcebook. Vol. 2. Adults. (3rd ed., pp. 201–203). New York: Free Press. Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75. Ellison, C. W. (1983). Spiritual well-being: Conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 11 (4), 330–340. Fordyce, M. W. (1977). The happiness measures: A sixty-second index of emotional well-being and mental health. Unpublished manuscript, Edison Community College, Ft. Myers, FL.

478

Froehlich, Fialkowski, Scheers, Wilcox, and Lawrence

Gannon, T. (1981). Friendship patterns of the American Catholic clergy. Research in the Interweave of Social Roles, 2, 197–217. Hoge, D. R. (2003). Half of ex-priests left for love, sex. Catholic Christian Century, 120 (7), 17–22. Hoge, D. R., Shields, J. L., & Soroka, S. (1993). Sources of stress experienced by Catholic priests. Review of Religious Research, 35, 3–18. Knox, S., Virginia, S., & Lombardo, J. P. (2002). Depression and anxiety in Roman Catholic secular clergy. Pastoral Psychology, 50 (5), 345–358. Lawton, M. P. (1975). The Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale: A revision. Journal of Gerontology, 30, 85–89. McGarrahan, J. F. (1991). Family of origin, antecedents of religious vocation, community experience, and life satisfaction of active and contemplative religious women. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Temple University. Neugarten, B. L., Havighurst, R. J., & Tobin, S. S. (1961). The measurement of life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 16, 134–143. Orosan, P. G., & Shilling, K. M. (1992). Gender differences in college students’ definitions and perceptions of intimacy. Women and Therapy, 12, 201–212. Pargament, K. J., Tarakeshwar, N., Ellison, C. G., & Wulff, K. M. (2001). Religious coping among the religious: The relationships between religious coping and well-being in a national sample of Presbyterian clergy, elders, and members. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40 (3), 497–513. Patrick, J. H., Cottrell, L. E., & Barnes, K. A. (2001). Gender, emotional support, and well-being among rural elderly. Sex Roles, 45 (1–2), 15–29. Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Psychological Assessment, 5, 164–172. Pavot, W., Diener, E., Colvin, C. R., & Sandvik, E. (1991). Further validation of the Satisfaction With Life Scale: Evidence for the cross-method convergence of well-being measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 57, 149–161. Scheper-Hughes, N., & Devine, J. (2003). Priestly celibacy and child sexual abuse. Sexualities, 6 (1), 15–40. Stock, M. E. (1967). Psychology. In New Catholic Encyclopedia (Vol. 11, pp. 963–966). New York: McGraw-Hill. Trisco, R. F. (1967). Vatican Council II. In New Catholic Encyclopedia (Vol. 14, pp. 563–572). New York: McGraw-Hill. Vaux, A., Phillips, J., Holly, L., Thomson, B., Williams, D., & Stewart, D. (1986). The Social Support Appraisals (SSA) Scale: Studies of reliability and validity. American Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 195–219. Viswesvaran, C., & Ones, D. S. (2000). Measurement error in “Big Five factors” personality assessment: Reliability generalization across studies and measures. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60 (2), 224–235. Vitaliano, P. P., Russo, J., Young, H. M., Becker, J., & Maiuro, R. D. (1991). The screen for caregiver burden. The Gerontologist, 31, 76–83.