Crea, G. and Francis, Leslie J. (2022) Purpose in life as protection against professional burnout among Catholic priests and religious in Italy : testing the insights of logotherapy. Pastoral Psychology, 71 . pp. 471-483. doi:10.1007/s11089-022-01009-z ISSN 0031-2789.

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Abstract

Logotherapy, grounded in the insights of Viktor Frankl, suggests that meaning-making and the sense of purpose in life is central to healthy human functioning. This thesis was tested among a sample of 156 Catholic priests and religious sisters in Italy; their healthy human functioning was assessed through the two indices of positive affect (satisfaction in ministry) and negative affect (emotional exhaustion in ministry) proposed by the Francis Burnout Inventory. After controlling for personal factors (age and sex) and for psychological factors (emotionality and extraversion/introversion), the data demonstrated that higher scores on the Purpose in Life Scale were associated with both higher scores on the Satisfaction in Ministry Scale and lower scores on the Scale of Emotional Exhaustion in Ministry. These findings suggest that professional burnout and poor work-related psychological health among priests and religious sisters may, at least in part, be attributed to a poor sense of purpose in life. In light of this empirical evidence, therapeutic techniques developed by logotherapy may be relevant to addressing the problem of professional burnout and poor work-related psychological health among Catholic priests and religious sisters.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Alternative Title:
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BX Christian Denominations R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Logotherapy, Burn out (Psychology) -- Religious aspects -- Catholic Church -- Italy, Burn out (Psychology), Affect (Psychology), Catholic Church -- Clergy -- Psychology, Catholic Church -- Clergy -- Job stress, Pastoral psychology -- Italy
Journal or Publication Title:	Pastoral Psychology
Publisher:	Springer New York LLC
ISSN:	0031-2789
Official Date:	August 2022
Dates:	Date Event August 2022 Published 7 July 2022 Available 8 April 2020 Accepted
Volume:	71
Page Range:	pp. 471-483
DOI:	10.1007/s11089-022-01009-z
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access (Creative Commons)
Date of first compliant deposit:	13 May 2020
Date of first compliant Open Access:	20 July 2022
Related URLs:	Publisher

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