The Psychological Phenomena of Burnout and Engagement in the Indian Catholic Diocesan Clergy: An Integrative Approach

Eugene Newman JosephThe Psychological Phenomena of Burnout and Engagement in the Indian Catholic Diocesan Clergy: An Integrative ApproachPromotors: Prof. Dr. Hans De Witte, Prof. Dr. Jozef CorveleynCo-promotor: Prof. Dr. Patrick LuytenProefschrift aangeboden tot het verkrijgen van de graad van Doctor in the Psychologische Wetenschappen Burnout is a metaphor that is commonly used to describe a state of mental weariness (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004) characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment among thosewho do people work of some kind (Maslach & Jackson, 1986). Engagement on the other hand, is a positive, fulfilling, work related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003). The population of Catholic clergy offers a unique perspective on the burnout and engagement phenomena since they are clearly involved with ministering to the people, working not only for them, but also with them. The mission of a priest is idealistic for it fosters the spiritual, emotional and in a poor country like India, even the social and material well-being and growth of individuals and communities which have varied demands. The ironic reality is that when confronted with the sametype of work, place and situation some priests are burned out, while some thrive. What could be the possible reasons?For those priests for whom actually being helpful turns out to be more difficult than they had anticipated with more demands and less resources, priestly ministry and even priestly life can become harsh, manifestingitself in a variety of ways ranging from exhaustion, depersonalization,and reduced personal accomplishment (Maslach & Jackson, 1986). Those for whom resources are more available, eventually ministry becomes more engaging, fulfilling and meaningful. They are satisfied with what they do and expend their resources and energy with vigor, dedication and absorption (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003). The aim of this study was to analyze thefollowing broad questions: Are the Indian Catholic diocesan priests vulnerable to burnout or are they engaged? What are the work-related, personal and religious antecedents and consequences that are related to burnout and engagement among priests in the Indian context? We hypothesized that the presence of ministerial demands, absence of ministerial resources, personal and religious factors will be associated in the prediction of burnout. On the other hand, we hypothesized that the presence of ministerial resources, personal and religious factors will be associated in the prediction of engagement. Participants were 511 priests from 16Catholic dioceses of South India.The results of our study confirmed that 16.04% were burned out and 40.5% were engaged. The results also provided evidence for the fact that ministerial demands and lack of ministerial resources predicted burnout, while the available ministerial resources predicted engagement. With regard to personality traits, high neuroticism and low extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness were associated with burnout. On the other hand, low neuroticism and high extraversion and conscientiousness were associated with engagement. With regard to unrealistic expectations,high scores on ideal way of life and anthropocentric egoism predicted burnout. On the other hand, low scores on anthropocentric egoism and highscores on anthropocentric altruism predicted engagement. With regard toreligious attitudes symbolic inclusion predicted burnout, while symbolic exclusion and literal exclusion predicted engagement. Finally, with regard to the spirituality antecedents , lack of commitment to celibacy predicted burnout, while priestly identity, hours spent for various ministries and commitment to celibacy predicted engagement. The outcomes of burnout were negative while the outcomes of engagement were positive. Burnout significantly decreased the possibility of good physical and mental health and the levels of both ministerial commitment and ministerial satisfaction and increased cognitive and behavioral stress. Engagement predicted high levels of physical health, ministerial satisfaction and ministerial commitment and low levels of cognitive stress.nrpages: 400status: publishe