Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion: Volume 15 (2004)

Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion

Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion Series Editors RALPH L. PIEDMONT DAVID O. MOBERG

VOLUME 15

Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion Volume 15

Edited by

Ralph L. Piedmont and David O. Moberg

BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2005

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is also available on the Library of Congress website: catalog.loc.gov LC control number 89650738

ISSN 1046–8064 ISBN 90 04 14146 4 © Copyright 2005 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. RSSSR is indexed in Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, Religion Index Two: Multi-Author Works, Religions and Theology: Religions and Theology, Social Sciences: Comprehensive Works Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands

CONTENTS

Preface ........................................................................................ Acknowledgements ...................................................................... Manuscript Invitation ................................................................

vii ix xi

Assessing the personality of clergy: Abbreviated Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP-A) .................................................. Leslie J. Francis, Chris Jackson, and Susan H. Jones

1

Killing as trauma: The religious implications of perpetration-induced traumatic stress .................................... Rachel M. MacNair

17

The impact of changing marital status on religious attendance in Australia .......................................................... John M. Armstrong

41

Religious switching: Does parents’ education matter? ............ Amy Adamczyk Burnout among male Anglican parochial clergy in England: Testing a modified form of the Maslach Burnout Inventory ................................................................................ Christopher F.J. Rutledge and Leslie Francis Religious coping moderates the relationship between early maladaptive schema origins and dysphoria .......................... Christian T. Racine and John J. Cecero

51

71

95

Gender differences in stress among Protestant clergy: An exploratory study .............................................................. 117 Stephen J. Fichter Religious choice and the meaning of Church in the lives of evangelical seekers .............................................................. 137 Richard W. Christopherson

vi

contents

Spirituality and religious variables as predictors of well-being in sex offenders ...................................................................... 167 Brendan Geary, Joseph W. Ciarrocchi, and N.J. Scheers Mainline evangelical renewal movements: A preliminary inquiry ...................................................................................... 189 Sean F. Everton Happiness and the varieties of religious experience: Religious support, practices, and spirituality as predictors of well-being ............................................................................ 209 Joseph W. Ciarrocchi and Erin Deneke Temptation bias: Seeing oneself as better able than others to resist temptation ................................................................ 235 Sheila Garos, James K. Beggan, and Annette Kluck The Logoplex as a paradigm for understanding spiritual transcendence .......................................................................... 263 Ralph L. Piedmont Authors’ Biographies .................................................................. 285 Manuscript Reviewers ................................................................ 291 Index of Names .......................................................................... 293 Subject Index .............................................................................. 303

PREFACE

Religion and spirituality cut across all of the activities and underlying ideologies of every domain of human life, whether people recognize their pervasive presence and influence or not. No single profession, academic specialty, or research methodology can completely grasp the richness of their obviously visible occurrences and, much less, their ineffably invisible co-existence. They cannot be wholly comprehended by either empirical sensory observations or rational mental exercises, both of which usually are further limited by occurring inside the narrow confines of only one society with its religious traditions and cultural adaptations of beliefs and practices. Therefore, despite the richness of the store of knowledge already accumulated, our scientific investigations of spirituality and religion still are merely scratching the surface of the intricate entanglements of religion and spirituality that are infused into everything that concerns people collectively and as individuals. This edition of Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion continues its rich heritage of offering original reports of research, theoretical studies, and innovative social scientific analyses of religion and spirituality. Its articles are by both extensively published and beginning authors who reside on three continents. Besides sociology and several branches of psychology, their professional appointments and educational backgrounds include mental health, spiritual direction, marital and sexual therapy, practical theology and the ministry, religious education, pastoral counseling, peace studies, social work, statistics, and other areas of specialization. The articles report studies of the role of religion and spirituality in relationship to many topics of current popular interest, among them happiness, burnout, coping with problems, temptation, the rehabilitation of sex offenders, evangelicalism, the influence of marital status on religious attendance, and experiences in, sources of, and social and mental turmoil associated with the changing of a person’s religious affiliation. On a more technical level are analyses of the posttraumatic stress disorder that is related to killing, simplification of the methods for personality profiling of the clergy, similarities and differences in the stress of male and female clergy, and development

viii

preface

of the Logoplex as a method and model for interpreting spiritual transcendence. The references to related studies that are found in every article help to facilitate the use of RSSSR as a basis for additional research. They also are a beneficial tool for teaching, exploring alternative clinical applications, and other professional work. The Subject Index will lead readers to a large number of topics that are not immediately apparent from a casual survey of only article titles and abstracts, and the Index of Names can help readers locate reports of the work done by numerous researchers and scholars who study religion.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful for the contributions and cooperation of a large number of people without whom publication of RSSSR would not be possible. Most obvious among them are the 21 authors and coauthors of the published articles. A brief biographical sketch of each is provided on pp. 285–289. There were 14 researchers, scholars, and clinicians who have served as anonymous reviewers (see p. 290) of the manuscripts that were received for current publication. They not only have functioned as professional referees evaluating the appropriateness of the respective manuscripts for publication, but they also have given the authors significant suggestions to improve the quality and scope of their future research in the social scientific study of religion and spirituality. Their efforts help to insure a high quality among those reports that are published. Ruth Dennison-Tedesco has valiantly and efficiently served as the editorial assistant for this volume. Her painstaking work has contributed immeasurably to high standards of production. Our academic institutions have provided many critical necessities for the production of this volume. Loyola College in Maryland, especially its graduate Department of Pastoral Counseling, has provided office space, funds for the editorial assistant, telephone services, computer technology, postage, access to its admirable support infrastructure, and related services. Marquette University’s Department of Social and Cultural Sciences similarly has contributed postal expenses and other support. We are grateful, too, to Joed Elich and the production staff of Brill Academic Press who have efficiently published this attractive and useful volume. Brill’s marketing department (www.brill.nl or E-mail [email protected]) is eager to fill orders for either single volumes or on-going subscriptions to RSSSR. Please recommend RSSSR to your professional and academic colleagues. Also support its addition or continuation in your academic, religious, research, and public libraries, for its rich contents are relevant to everyone, both lay and professional, who is interested in keeping up with the rapidly expanding frontiers of scientific knowledge about spirituality and religion. David O. Moberg, Ph.D., and Ralph L. Piedmont, Ph.D., Co-editors

MANUSCRIPT INVITATION

For future volumes we welcome the submission of manuscripts that report on research contributing to the behavioral and social science understanding of religion, whether done by members of those disciplines or other professions. RSSSR is an annual interdisciplinary and international volume that publishes original reports of research, theoretical studies, and other innovative social scientific analyses of religion. (However, we do not include studies that are purely historical or theological.) Manuscripts should be original contributions (not reprints) based upon any of the quantitative or qualitative methods of research or the theoretical, conceptual, or meta-analytical analysis of research on religion in general or on any specific world religion. They should not be under consideration for publication by any other journal or publication outlet and should comply fully with the professional ethical standards of psychology, sociology, and other social science professions. Manuscripts may be submitted at any time during the year, although those received within the calendar year have the best chance of inclusion in the next volume. Send four copies, double-spaced on standard size paper, to: Ralph L. Piedmont, RSSSR Co-editor Dept. of Pastoral Counseling Loyola College in Maryland 8890 McGaw Road, Suite 380 Columbia, MD 21045, USA Manuscripts that are judged by the editors as relevant to the coverage of RSSSR are reviewed anonymously for quality and then either accepted (usually along with constructive suggestions for revision) or rejected. Those accepted for publication must conform to the style guidelines of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition. (Authors of accepted manuscripts who lack access to it may contact Dr. Piedmont for sample materials to help in the final preparation of their papers.) Manuscripts relevant to our subject that are not accepted for publication also receive the benefit

xii

manuscript invitation

of critiques and suggestions that can aid their improvement for submission elsewhere. Inquiries about the suitability of potential contributions or about opportunities to review manuscripts may be sent to Ralph Piedmont at [email protected].

ASSESSING THE PERSONALITY OF CLERGY: ABBREVIATED EYSENCK PERSONALITY PROFILER (EPP-A) Leslie J. Francis, Chris Jackson, and Susan H. Jones *

Abstract Several recent studies have demonstrated the usefulness of the Eysenck Personality Profiler in assessing the personality characteristics of clergy. However, the instrument, which contains 440 items, takes a long time to complete. The present study analyzed responses provided by 1,671 Anglican clergy and by 400 first-year undergraduate students in order to develop an abbreviated form of the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP-A) in which each of the 21 primary scales is assessed by a 6-item scale. The data supported the internal reliability and concurrent validity of these 6-item measures and of the 42-item scales of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism to which the 6-item measures contribute. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the view that the 6-item scales of the EPP-A were similar to the full version.

A series of studies has begun to demonstrate the usefulness of Eysenck’s dimensional model of personality (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985) for understanding individual differences among the clergy, concentrating on such factors as: conflict and dissatisfaction with ministry (Francis & Rodger, 1994a; Francis & Robbins, 1999), choice of stipendiary or nonstipendiary ministry (Francis & Robbins, 1996), AngloCatholic or Evangelical preferences (Francis & Thomas, 1996a), mystical orientation (Francis & Thomas, 1996b; Francis & Louden, 2000), charismatic predisposition (Francis & Thomas, 1997; Robbins, Hair, & Francis, 1999; Kay, 2000; Louden & Francis, 2001), preference for rural ministry (Francis & Lankshear, 1998; Francis & Littler, 2001), perceptions of the selection process (Robbins & Francis, 1999), role prioritization (Robbins & Francis, 2000), stress and burnout (Francis & Rutledge, 2000), baptism policy (Francis, in press), and the clerical persona (Francis, Louden, Robbins, & Rutledge, 2000; Francis, 2003). Another series of studies has employed Eysenck’s * Author Note: All versions of the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP) are available from Chris Jackson: e-mail, [email protected] Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 15 © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2005

2

francis, jackson, and jones

model of personality to explore the ways in which clergy stand out from the population as a whole, including studies of Anglican clergy (Francis & Pearson, 1991; Francis, 1991; Francis & Thomas, 1992; Francis & Rodger, 1994b; Robbins, Francis, & Rutledge, 1997; Robbins, Francis, & Fletcher-Marsh, 2000), Methodist ministers ( Jones & Francis, 1992; Robbins, Francis, Haley, & Kay, 2001), Pentecostal pastors (Francis & Kay, 1995), Catholic priests (Louden & Francis, 1999; Francis & Louden, 2001), and Evangelical clergy (Francis, 2002). These studies have employed one of three instruments: the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ ), developed by Eysenck and Eysenck (1975), the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQR) developed by Eysenck, Eysenck, and Barrett (1985), or the short-form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQR-S) also developed by Eysenck, Eysenck, and Barrett (1985). These instruments, which comprise 90, 100, and 48 items respectively, measure the three higher order orthogonal dimensions of personality, characterized as extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. According to the most recent edition of the test manual, Eysenck and Eysenck (1991) define these three higher order dimensions of personality in the following terms, concentrating in each case on those who record high scores. Individuals who score high on the extraversion scale are sociable, like parties, have many friends, need to have people to talk to, and do not like reading or studying by themselves. They crave excitement, take chances, often stick their necks out, act on the spur of the moment, and are generally impulsive. They are fond of practical jokes, always have a ready answer, and generally like change; they are carefree, easy going, optimistic, and like to “laugh and be merry.” They prefer to keep moving and doing things, tend to be aggressive and lose their temper quickly. Altogether their feelings are not kept under tight control, and they are not always reliable. Individuals who score high on the neuroticism scale are anxious, moody, frequently depressed, and worry a lot. They are likely to sleep badly and suffer from various psychosomatic disorders. They are overly emotional, excessively reactive to all sorts of stimuli, and find it difficult to get back on an even keel after each emotionally arousing experience. Their strong emotional reactions interfere with their proper adjustment, making them react in irrational, sometimes rigid ways. Their main characteristic is constant preoccupation with possible negative outcomes and consequent anxiety.

the personality of clergy

3

Individuals who score high on the psychoticism scale are often solitary, unempathic, and troublesome, not fitting in anywhere. They may be cruel, inhumane, and insensitive. They are hostile to others, even their own kith and kin, and aggressive, even to loved ones. They have a liking for odd and unusual things, and a disregard for danger; they like to make fools of other people and to upset them. Socialization is a concept which is relatively alien to them; empathy, feelings of guilt, sensitivity to other people are notions which are strange and unfamiliar to them. A different strand of Eysenck’s work has focussed on identifying and assessing independently the primary scales which comprise the higher order scales that assess the three major dimensions of personality. In an early study, Eysenck and Wilson (1975) argued that each of the three dimensions of personality could be disaggregated into seven primary scales each, and they proposed 30-item measures for the 21 resultant constructs. More recently, Eysenck, Barrett, Wilson, and Jackson (1992) developed the work of Eysenck and Wilson (1975) further to produce the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP). The Eysenck Personality Profiler proposed 20-item measures for each of the 21 primary scales, together with a 20-item lie scale, making an instrument of 440 items. According to the Eysenck Personality Profiler, the seven primary scales comprising extroversion were defined as activity, sociability, expressiveness, assertiveness, achievement-orientation, dogmatism, and aggressiveness. The seven primary scales comprising neuroticism were defined as low self-esteem, unhappiness, anxiety, dependency, hypochondriasis, guilt, and obsessiveness. The seven primary scales comprising psychoticism were defined as risk-taking, impulsiveness, irresponsibility, manipulation, sensation-seeking, masculinity, and unreflectiveness. Six studies have now reported on the use of the Eysenck Personality Profiler among clergy. In the first two studies Francis, Robbins, Jackson, and Jones (2000) and Francis, Jones, Jackson, and Robbins (2001) examined the personality profile of male clergy against the population norms for men and for women in general. Their data demonstrated that male clergy recorded a characteristically feminine profile in terms of 16 of the 21 primary scales. In the third study, Francis, Jones, Robbins, and Jackson (2003) examined the personality profile of female clergy against the population norms for men and for women in general. Their data demonstrated that the female

4

francis, jackson, and jones

clergy tended to be less extraverted than women in general, less neurotic than women in general, and less tough-minded than women in general. These findings help to clarify the way in which women clergy tend to project a characteristically masculine personality profile in respect to one major dimension of personality (neuroticism), but a characteristically feminine personality profile in respect to the other two major dimensions of personality (psychoticism and extraversion). In the fourth study, Jones and Francis (2000) demonstrated the theoretical and empirical potential in concentrating in depth on just one of the 21 primary scale measures, by focussing on the 20-item index of guilt. Their data demonstrated that male clergy recorded higher scores on the index of guilt in comparison to men in general, while female clergy recorded levels of guilt comparable to women in general. In a fifth study, Jones, Francis, and Jackson (2003) focussed on the primary trait of anxiety assessed by the 21-item index. Their data demonstrated that male clergy recorded higher scores on the index of anxiety than did men in general. Female clergy recorded lower scores on the index of anxiety than did women in general. In a sixth study, Jones and Francis (2003) focused on the primary trait of self-esteem assessed by the 21-item index. Their data demonstrated that male clergy recorded higher scores on the index of low selfesteem than men in general. Female clergy also recorded higher scores on the index of low self-esteem than women in general. The low self-esteem recorded by both male and female Anglican clergy is discussed in the light of the marginalization of the clerical profession within contemporary society. Two important conclusions can be drawn from these six studies. The first conclusion is that there is clearly potential for further studies employing the Eysenck Personality Profiler among clergy in order to understand more about individual differences in clergy aptitude, performance and susceptibility to stress. The second conclusion is that a 440-item personality inventory not only presents a formidable task to the potential respondents, but also seriously weakens the opportunity to employ a personality measure alongside other crucial indices, like measures of job satisfaction, role performance, stress, and burnout. The aim of the present study, therefore, is to propose an abbreviated form of the Eysenck Personality Profiler with satisfactory psychometric properties for use among clergy. There is a well-established history for the development of short forms of other editions of Eysenck’s family of personality tests, although

the personality of clergy

5

there is some variation in what counts as a short form. For example, Eysenck, Eysenck, and Barrett (1985) proposed a short form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire comprised of 12-item scales. Floderus (1974) proposed a short-form of the Eysenck Personality Inventory comprised of 9-item scales. The more general strategy to address this problem, however, focuses on 6-item scales. For example, Eysenck (1958) developed 6-item scales based on the Maudsley Personality Inventory. Eysenck and Eysenck (1964) developed 6-item scales based on the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Francis, Brown, and Philipchalk (1992) developed 6-item scales based on the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Francis and Pearson (1988) developed 6-item scales based on the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire; Francis (1996) developed 6-item scales based on the Revised Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. It seems appropriate, therefore, for the present study to follow this precedent of 6-item scales, which would lead to an instrument of 132 items including the 21 primary scales and the lie scale. There have been two earlier attempts to produce a short form of the Eysenck Personality Profiler. First, Eysenck, Wilson, and Jackson (1996) employed a different rationale from the one generally employed in the development of short forms. Instead of reducing the number of items within each of the 21 scales, they reduced the number of primary scales within each of the three dimensions of personality, with the intention of deriving a better three-factor model. Second, Francis and Jackson (in press) recommended a 12-item short form of the Eysenck Personality Profiler for use among students. The resultant instrument remains overly long at 264 items. The wider literature has been critical of short forms for a number of good reasons (Levy, 1968; Smith & McCarthy, 1995; Smith, McCarthy, & Anderson, 2000). The point is well taken that short forms may be inappropriate in clinical assessment procedures when the classification and treatment of individuals is at stake. With respect to survey style studies, however, the case against short forms is much less substantial. What is required of short forms used in this way is clear evidence of their concurrent validity alongside the parent full form of the scale, and good reliability (both independently and in comparison to the full form). In this sense, short forms need to function as good predictors of scores recorded on the full form. Recent psychometric defenses of short forms have been provided by Scholte and De Bruyn (2001) and by Archer, Tirrell, and Elkins (2001).

6

francis, jackson, and jones

Although the primary aim of this study is to propose an abbreviated form of the Eysenck Personality Profiler for use among clergy, it would be a mistake not to ensure that the instrument functioned with satisfactory psychometric properties in other, more general populations. Consequently, the present analysis includes a second sample of students within which the stability of the new abbreviated scales can be checked. Method Sample and Procedures Sample one The full 440-item Eysenck Personality Profiler (Eysenck, Barrett, Wilson, & Jackson, 1992) was mailed in December 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996 to all men and women ordained as deacons during each respective year within the Anglican Church in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The response rate for the various years varied between 62% and 72%, generating thoroughly completed questionnaires from 1,148 clergymen and 523 clergywomen. Of the male respondents, 18% were in their twenties, 38% in their thirties, 26% in their forties, 13% in their fifties, and 4% were sixty years of age or older. Of the female respondents, 8% were in their twenties, 20% in their thirties, 42% in their forties, 25% in their fifties, and 4% were sixty years of age or older. Sample two The full 440-item Eysenck Personality Profiler (Eysenck, Barrett, Wilson, & Jackson, 1992) was administered to all the incoming students as part of the induction program within a college of higher education in Wales. Almost all the students agreed to participate, generating thoroughly completed questionnaires from 290 females and 110 males. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the respondents were under the age of twenty, 27% were in their twenties, and the remaining 8% were thirty years of age or older. Measures In the present study, unrotated principal component analysis and item-total correlational analysis were employed to identify the best

the personality of clergy

7

sets of 6-items to provide a short form for each of the 21 primary scales. Using these methods, items which recorded low loadings on the first factor of principal component analysis or which had low correlations with the sum total of the other items in the scale were progressively dropped. The short-form scales were developed on the clergy sample and then tested on the student sample. Confirmatory factor analysis was then employed to compare the goodness of fit of the full form with that of the abbreviated form among both samples. Results Table 1 assesses the internal reliability of the 20-item scales and the 6-item scales in terms of the alpha coefficient (Cronbach, 1951), and assesses the concurrent validity of the short form in terms of the correlation with the full form. Taking Kline’s (1993) suggestion that the alpha coefficient should reach .70 for a normal length scale, the following full-length scales failed to reach that baseline: from extraversion, expressiveness, dogmatism, and aggressiveness; from neuroticism, hypochondriasis; and from psychoticism, manipulation, and masculinity. It is unlikely that reliable short forms can be generated from unreliable full forms. While a minimum alpha of .70 might be expected for a full form, a level of .60 is a more realistic target for a 6-item short form. For extraversion, the activity, sociability, assertiveness, achievement-orientation, and aggressiveness scales have alphas above .60, while expressiveness and dogmatism do not. Within neuroticism, only hypochondriasis has an alpha below .60. Within psychoticism, risk-taking, impulsiveness, irresponsibility, sensation-seeking and unreflectiveness, have acceptable reliability while manipulation and masculinity do not. Table 2 presents the same information as Table 1, but in respect of the student sample. A very similar picture emerges from the two samples. According to both studies, satisfactory short-form scales have been produced to assess activity, sociability, assertiveness, achievement-orientation, aggressiveness, low self-esteem, unhappiness, anxiety, dependency, guilt, obsessiveness, risk-taking, impulsiveness, irresponsibility, sensation-seeking and unreflectiveness. According to both studies, less satisfactory short-form scales have been produced to assess expressiveness, dogmatism, hypochondriasis and manipulation. The one difference between the two samples concerns the

active sociable expressive assertive ambitious dogmatic aggressive

inferiority unhappy anxious dependence hypochondriasis guilt obsessive

risk-taking impulsive irresponsible manipulation sensation-seeking toughminded practical

Extraversion activity sociability expressiveness assertiveness achievement-orientation dogmatism aggressiveness

Neuroticism low self-esteem unhappiness anxiety dependency hypochondriasis guilt obsessiveness

Psychoticism risk-taking impulsiveness irresponsibility manipulation sensation-seeking masculinity unreflectiveness

Lie scale

high

scale

scale descriptors

careful controlled responsible empathy unadventurous tenderminded reflective

self-esteem happy calm autonomy sense of health guilt freedom casual

inactive unsociable inhibited submissive unambitious flexible peaceful

low

Table 1. Scale properties among clergy

0.67 0.73 0.71 0.50 0.77 0.56 0.67 0.67

0.74

0.78 0.79 0.79 0.73 0.56 0.75 0.66

0.71 0.76 0.48 0.70 0.71 0.55 0.60

6-item alpha

0.71 0.77 0.71 0.60 0.79 0.61 0.74

0.85 0.86 0.83 0.70 0.64 0.76 0.70

0.78 0.82 0.53 0.75 0.74 0.59 0.62

20-item alpha

0.84

0.80 0.78 0.82 0.64 0.87 0.79 0.79

0.90 0.89 0.87 0.81 0.75 0.87 0.83

0.84 0.84 0.64 0.82 0.84 0.63 0.74

r

8 francis, jackson, and jones

self-esteem happy calm autonomy sense of health guilt freedom casual careful controlled responsible empathy unadventurous tenderminded reflective

inferiority unhappy anxious dependence hypochondriasis guilt obsessive risk-taking impulsive irresponsible manipulation sensation-seeking toughminded practical

low inactive unsociable inhibited submissive unambitious flexible peaceful

scale descriptors

active sociable expressive assertive ambitious dogmatic aggressive

high

Note r: = correlation between 20-item scale and 6-item scale.

Extraversion activity sociability expressiveness assertiveness achievement-orientation dogmatism aggressiveness Neuroticism low self-esteem unhappiness anxiety dependency hypochondriasis guilt obsessiveness Psychoticism risk-taking impulsiveness irresponsibility manipulation sensation-seeking masculinity unreflectiveness Lie scale

scale

Table 2. Scale properties among students

0.74 0.75 0.70 0.64 0.76 0.71 0.75 0.75

0.89 0.90 0.85 0.74 0.73 0.80 0.74

0.77 0.82 0.53 0.78 0.79 0.57 0.76

20-item alpha

0.69 0.71 0.69 0.46 0.74 0.64 0.64 0.65

0.78 0.82 0.80 0.74 0.58 0.74 0.65

0.71 0.75 0.53 0.70 0.75 0.35 0.69

6-item alpha

0.78 0.81 0.80 0.62 0.84 0.81 0.74 0.83

0.92 0.92 0.89 0.83 0.80 0.85 0.85

0.83 0.84 0.66 0.84 0.87 0.58 0.83

r

the personality of clergy 9

francis, jackson, and jones

10

6-item scale of masculinity which produced an alpha coefficient below the .60 threshold among the clergy and above this threshold among the students. So far the analysis has concentrated on generating and testing the twenty-one 6-item primary scales. Eysenck’s theory predicts that these 21 primary scales will combine into the three higher order dimensions of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism (see Eysenck & Wilson, 1975). Table 3, therefore, presents the alpha coefficients for the three 42-item indices of the major dimensions of personality. In both samples, all three higher order scales demonstrate highly satisfactory levels of internal reliability. Table 3. Internal reliability of the higher order dimensions among clergy and students dimension

clergy alpha

student alpha

42-item scale of extraversion 42-item scale of neuroticism 42-item scale of psychoticism

0.80 0.90 0.79

0.79 0.92 0.82

Note r: = correlation between 20-item scale and 6-item scale.

We then used confirmatory factor analysis, by means of structural equation modelling, to determine the goodness of fit of the abbreviated and full-forms of the EPP (see table 4). We compared the three-factor model proposed by Eysenck, Barrett, Wilson, and Jackson (1992) in which seven primary scales composed of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism, and the three factor EPP-S model proposed by Eysenck, Wilson, and Jackson (1996) in which just three primary scales comprise each of the higher order factors. We used five different goodness of fit measures, which each have advantages and disadvantages. The chi-squared goodness of fit is widely utilized, but one assumption is that the variables are normally distributed and the EPP scales do not satisfy this assumption. Moreover, the chisquared test is sensitive to sample size with large samples tending to lead to rejection of otherwise satisfactory models. All models show a relatively poor goodness of fit using the chi-squared test. The Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) measures how much better the model fits the data compared with no model at all. The EPP-S model (both 6- and 20-item versions with both data sets) fits very well (GFI

the personality of clergy

11

approx .90), whereas the seven primary scale models fit more poorly poorer (all between .55 and .81). The Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index is similar to the GFI, but takes into account the degrees of freedom and thereby rewards simpler models. Again, the EPP-S model is satisfactory for both 6- and 20-item versions (AGFI approx .81), whereas the full seven-scale version is much less satisfactory in all cases. The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) is a different kind of measure that concentrates on how precisely the model fits the data. All the models show a relatively poor fit and to a similar degree. In general, we can draw these two conclusions: first, that the 6-item version of the EPP has very similar characteristics to the 20-item version of the EPP from the perspective of confirmatory factor analysis; and second, that the fit of the most simple structural equation model to the EPP is generally poor and in need of improvement. Table 4. Confirmatory factor analysis by structural equation modelling

x2 df p RMSEA p GFI AGFI

clergy EPP EPP-A EPP-S EPP-SA

students EPP EPP-A EPP-S EPP-SA

5748 186 0.00 .13 0.00 .78 .72

1588 186 0.00 .17 0.00 .55 .52

4103 186 0.00 .14 0.00 .81 .76

791 24 0.00 .14 0.00 .90 .82

773 24 0.00 .14 0.00 .91 .83

1040 186 0.00 .13 0.00 .73 .67

153.5 24 0.00 .14 0.00 .89 .79

125 24 0.00 .13 0.00 .91 .82

Note: EPP presents the 7 primary scale solution for each higher order factor comprising 140 items (7 × 20 items) EPP-A presents the 7 primary scale solution for each higher order factor comprising 42 items (7 × 6 items) EPP-S presents the 3 primary scale solution for each higher order factor comprising 60 items (3 × 20 items) EPP-SA presents the 3 primary scale solution for each higher order factor comprising 18 items (3 × 6 items) x 2 = chi-squared goodness of fit test where a non-significant value indicates a good fit RMSEA = Root mean Square Error of Approximation where values N*** B>P** K>N** not shown K>P* not shown

–1.177* (.308) – B>N** B>P+

.853 (2.346)

amy adamczyk

62 Table 2. (cont.)

Model 1

Model 2

–.842** 763

.060* (1.062) –.927** (.396) –.939 (.391) –.012* (.988) .024*** (1.024) –.468* (.626) .163 (1.177) –2.795*** 763

Income Black Other Female Age Bible belt region Married Constant N

Significance +