Date of Award

6-1986

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

Abstract

This study sought to measure the relationship between religiosity and psychopathology in an evangelical seminary. A sample of 55 randomly selected male Masters of Divinity students was selected from the first through third year classes at a prominent evangelical seminary during the spring quarter of 1984. This study was one facet of a larger research project which addressed adjustment in this seminary population from different perspectives (Neder 1985; Powers 1985). The sample was given a demographic questionnaire, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and three measures of religiosity. These were the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB), the Spiritual Maturity Index (SMI), and the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS). The analysis of the data was primarily correlational in nature with some use of multiple and stepwise regressions. Statistical analysis of the data produced several interesting results. No positive correlations between religiosity and psychopathology were found in the highly religious sample. This finding suggests that the preconception that religious interests contribute to psychopathology needs to be reassessed. Additionally, the Existential Well-Being (EWB) subscale of the SWB and the demographic question Wife's Perceived Attitude About Seminary Involvement (WAS) were found to have an ability to predict psychopathology as measured by MMPI code-type T-scores. This suggests that in addition to several variables studied by Neder (1985) and Powers (1985), EWB and WAS may be helpful in the assessment and training of seminarians. An implication of the findings is that when dealing with clients, both the clinical student and practitioner need to respect the viability of their client's religious world view as well as being sensitive to their own.

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