Engaging the AQ10 to Predict Professional Burnout or Poor Work-Related Psychological Wellbeing Among Anglican Clergy in Wales.

The ten-item Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ10) is a self-report instrument originally designed to identify referrals for professional diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Recent studies suggest that this instrument may also be tapping more generalised affective disorders. Working with this interpretation, this study examines the predictive power of the AQ10 to account for additional variance, after personal and personality factors have been taken into account, on the two scales of the Francis Burnout Inventory. Data provided by 220 Anglican clergy serving in Wales demonstrated that 8.6% of the participants recorded six or more red flags on the AQ10 (and so qualified for referral for specialist diagnostic assessment) and that higher scores on the AQ10 are associated with significantly lower levels of satisfaction in ministry and with significantly higher levels of emotional exhaustion in ministry. These data suggest that screening with the AQ10 may be helpful in identifying clergy vulnerable to professional burnout and to poor work-related psychological wellbeing, in addition to its primary purpose of screening for ASD.

The Effects of Spiritual Wellbeing on Self-Perceived Health Changes Among Members of the Church of England During the COVID-19 Pandemic in England.

This paper tests whether changes in spiritual wellbeing were correlated with self-rated changes in mental and physical health after controlling for changes in psychological wellbeing in a sample from the Church of England taken during the third national COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. During the third lockdown in England an online survey, named Covid-19 and Church-21, was delivered through the Qualtrics XM platform from 22 January to 23 July 2021. The responses included 1878 Anglicans living in England. The change in spiritual wellbeing scale was produced using self-reported changes in the frequency of key spiritual practices (prayer and Bible reading), trust in God, the quality of spiritual life, and spiritual health. Changes in mental and physical health were assessed using single self-report items. Changes in psychological wellbeing were assessed using the Index of Balanced Affect Change (TIBACh). After controlling for changes in psychological wellbeing, better change in spiritual wellbeing was positively correlated with better change in both mental and physical health. Negative affect may have mediated the relationship between spiritual wellbeing and both mental and physical health, and positive affect may also have mediated the relationship with mental health. The results suggest changes in spiritual wellbeing, as defined within a Christian religious context, may have had positive effects in promoting better mental and physical health during a sudden crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Work-Related Psychological Wellbeing and Conservative Christian Belief Among Methodist Circuit Ministers in Britain: Distinguishing Between Emotional Exhaustion and Satisfaction in Ministry.

Drawing on data provided by 803 Methodist circuit ministers serving in Great Britain, the present study was designed to test the association between conservative Christian belief and work-related psychological wellbeing as operationalised by the balanced affect model proposed by the Francis Burnout Inventory. After taking into account the effects of personal factors, psychological factors, contextual factors, and experience factors, holding conservative Christian belief was associated with a higher level of positive affect (satisfaction in ministry) but independent of negative affect (emotional exhaustion in ministry).

God is in His Heaven, All's Right With the World: Psychological Well-being and Belief in Divine Control During the Third COVID-19 Lockdown Among Anglican Clergy and Laity in England.

Drawing on data provided by 1,841 lay or ordained members of the Anglican Church residing in England during the first half of 2021, this study explores the connection between self-perceived change in psychological well-being during the pandemic and belief in divine control over the pandemic. Change in psychological well-being was assessed by The Index of Balanced Affect Change (TIBACh) that distinguishes between positive affect and negative affect, and divine control was assessed by the God in Control of the Pandemic Scale (GiCoPS). After controlling for personal factors (age and sex), psychological factors (psychological type and emotional volatility), contextual factors (education level and ordination status), and ecclesial factors (conservative doctrine and charismatic influence), the data demonstrated a positive association between belief in divine control and change in positive affect, but no association between belief in divine control and change in negative affect.

How Did the Psychological Well-Being of Church of England Clergy and Laity Change From the First to the Third National COVID-19 Lockdowns?

The balanced affect model of psychological well-being conceptualises positive and negative affect as two separate continua and well-being as the function of these two entities. The COVID-19 pandemic lasted over two years in the United Kingdom and initially caused widespread declines in mental health and well-being. This paper tests whether such declines continued or stabilised as the pandemic lockdowns persisted. The psychological well-being of a religiously committed sample was assessed by perceived changes in affect balance (a function of negative and positive affect) using The Index of Affect Balance Change (TIBACh) from the first to the third COVID-19 lockdowns in the Church of England. The 2020 sample in the first lockdown comprised 792 stipendiary parochial clergy and 2,815 laity who were not in licensed ministry in the Church of England. A repeat survey in the third lockdown in England in 2021 collected responses from 401 equivalent clergy and 1027 equivalent laity. Both clergy and lay people showed increased proportions reporting lower positive affect and increased proportions reporting higher negative affect in the second survey, suggesting psychological well-being had continued to deteriorate as lockdowns persisted.

Exploring Affect Balance: Psychological Well-being of Church of England Clergy and Laity During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Psychological well-being was assessed by affect balance (a function of negative and positive affect) during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 among 4449 clergy and laity in the Church of England. Better well-being was promoted by preference for feeling over thinking in the psychological type judging process, being older, belonging to the Evangelical wing of the Church, and living in rural areas. Psychological well-being was lowered among people with a general tendency toward neuroticism, among those with an Epimethean (Sensing-Judging: SJ) psychological temperament, among Anglo-Catholics, among those living in inner cities, among clergy, and among those living with children under 13. The mitigating effects of relevant support were evident for both clergy and lay people. A key finding was that it was those sources of support that were least often rated highly that may have had the strongest positive effects on well-being, particularly on those groups where well-being was lowest.

The Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Work-Related Psychological Health Among Anglican Clergy in Wales.

This study explores the effect of emotional intelligence (assessed by the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale) on work-related psychological health (assessed by the two scales of the Francis Burnout Inventory) among 364 Anglican clergy serving in the Church in Wales (264 clergymen, 93 clergywomen, and 7 who did not disclose their sex). After controlling for personal factors (sex and age) and for personality dimensions (extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism), the data suggested that higher levels of emotional intelligence enhanced work-related psychological health both in terms of lowering negative affect (emotional exhaustion in ministry) and in terms of increasing positive affect (satisfaction in ministry). These findings suggest that there may be benefits in professional development programmes designed to develop emotional intelligence among clergy.

Religion and Happiness: A Study Among University Students in Turkey.

This study tests the hypothesis that higher levels of positive religious affect are associated with higher levels of personal happiness among a sample of 348 students studying at a state university in Turkey who completed the Ok Religious Attitude Scale (Islam), the Oxford Happiness Inventory, and the short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. The data reported a small but statistically significant association between religiosity and happiness after taking sex and individual differences in personality into account.

The association between church attendance and psychological health in Northern Ireland: a national representative survey among adults allowing for sex differences and denominational difference.

This study extends previous research concerning the association between religion and psychological health in six ways: (1) by focusing clearly on religious attendance (church attendance); (2) by employing a robust measure of psychological distress (GHQ-12); (3) by studying a highly religious culture (Northern Ireland); (4) by taking sex differences into account (male or female); (5) by taking denominational differences into account (Catholic or Protestant); (6) and by obtaining a national representative sample (N = 4,281 adults aged 16 and above). Results from a 2 (sex) by 2 (denomination) ANCOVA demonstrated that Catholics recorded significantly lower levels of psychological health compared to Protestants, and that females showed significantly lower levels of psychological health compared to males. In addition, females reported higher frequency of religious service attendance than males, and Catholics reported higher attendance rates than Protestants. A significant positive association was found between frequency of religious attendance and GHQ-12 scores, and this association was moderated by sex and denomination. In conclusion, the results suggest that there may be sex and denominational differences in further understanding the relationship between frequency of religious attendance and psychological health.

Examining the Connection between Religion and Attitude toward Socio-Economic Human Rights and Attitude toward Euthanasia and Abortion among Romanian Orthodox Adolescents: Contrasting the Effects of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Religiosity.

This study examines the complex connection linking religion, social attitudes, and human rights in Romania, drawing on the classic distinction between extrinsic religiosity (as reflected in church attendance) and intrinsic religiosity (as reflected in personal prayer). The hypothesis that these forms of religiosity may function differently in relation to different areas of social attitudes is tested among Romanian Orthodox adolescents (N = 400), drawing on validated measures developed by the International Empirical Research Program Religion and Human Rights 2.0 to assess attitude toward socio-economic human rights and attitude toward euthanasia and abortion. In respect of attitude toward euthanasia and abortion, church attendance and personal prayer work in the same direction and with cumulative effect. Lowest acceptance of euthanasia and abortion is found among young people who attend church and pray. In respect of attitude toward socio-economic human rights, church attendance and personal prayer work in opposite directions. Frequent church attendance (extrinsic religiosity) is associated with lower endorsement of socio-economic human rights. Frequent prayer (intrinsic religiosity) is associated with higher endorsement of socio-economic human rights.

Attitude toward Christianity and premarital sex.

A Pearson correlation of .55 was found for a sample of 243 female undergraduates in Wales (M age=20.9 yr., SD=4.6) between high scores on the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity and rejection of premarital sex.

Personality and attitude toward Christianity among churchgoers: a replication.

A sample of 158 churchgoers attending eight Anglican churches in the United Kingdom completed the abbreviated Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire together with the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity to replicate a 1996 study by Carter, Kay, and Francis. Data confirm that scores on Attitude toward Christianity were significantly negatively related to Psychoticism, but to neither Extraversion nor Neuroticism scores.

Attitude toward Christianity and paranormal belief among 13- to 16-yr.-old students.

A small but statistically significant positive correlation (r = .17) was found in a sample of 279 13- to 16-yr.-old students in Wales between scores on the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity and on a new Index of Paranormal Belief. These data suggest that there is little common variance between attitude toward Christianity and belief in the paranormal.

Internal consistency reliability of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Alcohol among adolescents in Northern Ireland.

The Francis Scale of Attitude toward Alcohol was completed by 324 adolescents (M= 17.1 yr., SD=3.6) in Northern Ireland to examine reliability of the measure among this age group. These data support its internal consistency (.89) and suggest that the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Alcohol is psychometrically appropriate for use among this age group.

The General Health Questionnaire and Eysenck's three-dimensional model of personality.

A sample of 115 men and women between the ages of 20 and 60 completed the 30-item General Health Questionnaire together with the short-form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data indicate psychological distress so assessed is correlated .43 (p <.001) with Neuroticism and -.26 (p <.01) with Introversion but is unrelated to Psychoticism scores.

Religion and personality among religious studies students: a replication.

To replicate the 1999 work of Francis and Fearn, 360 religious studies students between the ages of 16 and 18 years completed the abbreviated Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity. Analysis confirmed the results of Francis and Fearn and supported the general finding that scores on Psychoticism (r =-.25), but neither those on Extraversion nor Neuroticism, were significantly associated with rated religiosity.

Correlations between attitude toward Christianity, prayer, and church attendance among 9- to 11-yr.-olds.

Data provided by 150 9- to 11-yr.-old primary school pupils in England showed scores on the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity more highly correlated with (personal) prayer (r = .57) than with (public) church attendance (r = .23), providing support for the view that attitude scales access a deeper level of religiosity less contaminated by those contextual and social factors which may influence public church attendance more than personal prayer.

Correlation between religion and happiness: a replication.

For a sample of 89 students in Wales who completed the Oxford Happiness Inventory and the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity scores correlated .38.

Reliability and construct validity for scale of rejection of Christianity.

A sample of 16 male and 30 female undergraduates completed the Greer and Francis Scale of Rejection of Christianity. The data support the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the scale for this sample.

Reliability of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity among 8-yr-olds.

The Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity was completed by 78 8-yr.-olds (40 boys and 38 girls) whose data support reliability measured as the internal consistency of the scale for this young sample.