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The Relationship Between Personality,Burnout, and Engagement Among theIndian ClergyEugene Newman Joseph a , Patrick Luyten a , Jozef Corveleyn a &Hans De Witte aa Department of Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven,Belgium

Available online: 11 Oct 2011

To cite this article: Eugene Newman Joseph, Patrick Luyten, Jozef Corveleyn & Hans De Witte(2011): The Relationship Between Personality, Burnout, and Engagement Among the Indian Clergy,International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 21:4, 276-288

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The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 21:276–288, 2011

Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 1050-8619 print/1532-7582 online

DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2011.607412

RESEARCH

The Relationship Between Personality, Burnout,and Engagement Among the Indian Clergy

Eugene Newman Joseph, Patrick Luyten, Jozef Corveleyn, andHans De Witte

Department of Psychology

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Leuven, Belgium

This study examined the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions, burnout, and

engagement among 511 Indian Catholic diocesan priests. We expected that Neuroticism would

be positively associated with burnout and negatively associated with engagement. Moreover, we

expected Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness to be negatively associated

with burnout and positively associated with engagement. Hierarchical regression analyses largely

confirmed these expectations. Results are discussed in the context of the broader literature on

burnout and engagement, as well as the literature on priesthood.

INTRODUCTION

Priestly ministry is a challenging vocation. Several studies suggest that levels of burnout among

priests are relatively high (Evers & Tomic, 2003; Louden & Francis, 2003; Miner, 2007;

Randall, 2007). At the same time, however, many priests seem to thrive in their vocation. It is

not surprising that research on burnout and engagement has exclusively focused on work-related

characteristics, because it is defined as a work-related state of mind (Maslach, Schaufeli, &

Leiter, 2001; Schaufeli & Buunk, 2003). However, one of the intriguing questions that remains

unanswered is why some individuals report high levels of burnout or engagement, whereas

others working in the same environment do not. Does personality or individual differences

Correspondence should be sent to Eugene Newman Joseph, Department of Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit

Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. E-mail: uginjoe@hotmail.com

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RELATIONSHIP AMONG INDIAN CLERGY 277

have something to do with the way individuals confront work? Besides situational factors, there

is an increasing interest in the role of personality traits in the prediction of burnout (Bakker,

Van Der Zee, Lewig, & Dollard, 2006) and engagement (Langelaan, Bakker, Schaufeli, Van

Rhenen, & Van Doornen, 2006). The population of Catholic clergy offers a unique perspective

on the burnout and engagement phenomena, as 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 that have varied demands. The

ironic reality is that when confronted with the same type of work, place, and situation, some

priests are burned out, whereas some thrive. Congruent with the interest evinced in the study

of personality in relation to burnout and engagement (Bakker et al., 2006; Francis, Louden,

& Rutledge, 2004; Langelaan et al., 2006; Rodgerson & Piedmont, 1998), the present study

based on empirical research attempts to answer this question by arguing that personal traits

could have a significant role in the prediction of burnout and engagement in an Indian Catholic

sample of (male) clergy.

Burnout and Engagement

Burnout can be described as “a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and

reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals, who do people work

of some kind” (Maslach, 1982, p. 3). Since the beginning of the 21st century, following

the general trend in psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), scholars have become

increasingly interested in the opposite phenomenon, that is, engagement. Engagement is “a

positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and

absorption” (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma, & Bakker, 2002, p. 74). In line with these

definitions, clergy burnout can be seen as a feeling of being devoured from within, feeling

emotionally exhausted and ministering from a posture of nothing left to give (Maslach &

Jackson, 1986), that is, a decline in the ability to experience joy or to feel and care for others

(Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980). It is a sense wherein the priest feels he is giving a great

deal of energy and compassion to others over time yet is not able to get enough back to reassure

himself that he is accomplishing something worthwhile (Maslach, 1993). On the other hand,

clergy engagement is likely to be associated with a willingness to offer oneself wholeheartedly

and to invest effort in one’s ministry even in the midst of difficulties and trying situations,

leading to a sense of fulfilment (Schaufeli et al., 2002). Over the past 60-odd years, empirical

and anecdotal research that have focused widely on the mental health and well-being of priests

have acknowledged that ministering to the people is an extremely demanding task (Brouwer,

1995; Dittes, 1970; Fichter, 1965; Sanford, 1982) and have explored the negative outcomes of

priestly life and ministry. This study for the first time has employed a positive approach of

not only viewing the negative aspects of ministry but also examining the positive outcomes of

priestly life and ministry.

Personality

As noted, most of the studies on clergy burnout have limited the study of personal factors

to demographic variables (Chiaramonte, 1983; Evers & Tomic, 2003; Francis, Louden, &

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278 JOSEPH ET AL.

Rutledge, 2004; Louden & Francis, 2003; Raj & Dean, 2005; Sanford, 1982), rather than

broader personality variables, such as the Big Five personality factors. Some studies, for

instance, regarding burnout and engagement have focused on one or two (Francis et al., 2004;

Langelaan et al., 2006) of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality dimensions. The few

studies on personality traits and burnout among clergy in Australia, England and Wales, and

United States (Francis et al., 2004; Miner, 2007; Rodgerson & Piedmont, 1998) have reported

a significant association between personality traits and burnout.

The present study aims at extending these studies by focusing on all of the FFM personality

factors simultaneously, to analyze to what extent individual differences could make a difference

in the prediction of both burnout and engagement in Indian Catholic Diocesan Priests. Based

on the literature of the FFM; previous research; and taking into account the nature of priestly

ministry in India, which is characterized by high and continuous pressures on priests to provide

not only spiritual but also emotional and even material needs (Manalel, 2006), the following

predictions were made.

First, as Neuroticism is characterized by a tendency to be emotionally unstable, fearful, and

irritable (Costa & McRae, 1980), previous research has found Neuroticism to be consistently

related to burnout (Bakker et al., 2006; Cano-García, Padilla-Munoz, & Carrasco-Ortiz, 2005;

Zellars, Perrewe, & Hochwarter, 2000) and engagement (Langelaan et al., 2006) in general. At

least two studies among clergy have reported that Neuroticism is positively related to burnout

among clergy (Francis et al., 2004; Rodgerson & Piedmont, 1998). Ministry in the church

means service. In line with the teachings of Christ, who said, “I have not come to be served,

but to serve and give my life as a ransom for others” (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45), a priest who

is appointed the leader of the community has the primary task of serving the people. Serving

the people in India has its own pros and cons. On the positive side, priestly ministry would

be satisfying and fulfilling, but on the negative side, it could be exhausting and frustrating due

to the various unanticipated demands and challenges a priest has to confront on a daily basis.

Based on the findings, and taking into account the nature of priestly ministry in India, which is

people oriented—wherein priests participate in the daily lives of the people directly, unlike the

clergy in the West, who have the staff at the rectory—we expect Neuroticism to be positively

associated with burnout and negatively associated with engagement.

Second, concerning Extraversion, which is characterized by a tendency to be self-confident,

dominant, active, and excitement seeking, some studies (Bakker et al., 2006) have found

Extraversion to be a negatively associated with burnout and positively associated with engage-

ment (Langelaan et al., 2006). The few empirical studies among clergy (Francis et al., 2004;

Rodgerson & Piedmont, 1998) found a negative association between Extraversion and burnout.

Pastoral ministry in India involves constantly being with, guiding, and leading the people

(Manalel, 2006; Ponnore, 2001; Thoppil, 2004). Catholic priests are called to be shepherds

of the people entrusted to their pastoral care (Manalel, 2006). They are also called to be

the father figures of the community they are appointed to serve. Pastoral ministry in India

involves constantly being with and for the people. Hence, it would be rather likely that priests

scoring high on Extraversion would naturally get along with the people with ease than priests

who are low on Extraversion. Thus, it would be rather conducive for priests scoring high on

Extraversion to get along with the people with more ease than for priests who are low on

Extraversion. In line with the literature and research, we assumed that Extraversion would be

negatively associated with burnout and positively associated with engagement.

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RELATIONSHIP AMONG INDIAN CLERGY 279

Third, there are only a few studies that have investigated the relationship between burnout

and Openness to experience, which is characterized by a tendency to be creative, intelligent,

and open to new ideas (Costa & McCrae, 1992). Zellars and colleagues (2000) reported a

positive association among health care workers between Openness to experience and per-

sonal accomplishment and a negative association with depersonalization, but they found no

significant association with emotional exhaustion. Deary and colleagues (1996) reported a

positive association among consultant doctors between Openness and emotional exhaustion

but found no significant association with depersonalization and personal accomplishment. A

longitudinal study among Australian clergy reported that Openness was negatively associated

with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (Miner, 2007). Some studies (Bakker et al.,

2006; Piedmont, 1993; Rodgerson & Piedmont, 1998) found no significant relationship between

Openness and burnout dimensions. In general, Catholic diocesan priests are entrusted to care for

a community with diligence and prudence. A community in India naturally comprises various

types of people (not excluding people of other religious faiths) with different temperaments

approaching religion with their own preconceived convictions and ideas, moods and feelings,

and problems and tribulations. To cater to all at the same time without harming their faith and

offending their religious sentiments requires a lot of flexibility and creativity on the part of the

priest. In addition, the vast majority of the people, especially in rural India, are uneducated

and struggle even to make a decent living. Hence, a priest has to adjust himself and respond

more openly and creatively to the needs, legitimate desires, and wants of the people rather than

being rigid and strict in his dealings with them. To attend to the needs of all the people in

a community, priests ideally need to be flexible and open to the experiences and opinions of

others. Taking into account the characteristics associated with Openness and the situation of

priestly ministry in India, we expect Openness to experience to be negatively associated with

burnout and positively associated with engagement.

Agreeableness, in turn, is characterized by the tendency to be most concerned with inter-

personal relationships (Mathew & Deary, 1998). Previous research among consultant doctors

(Deary et al., 1996), health care professionals (Zellars et al., 2000), volunteer counselors

(Bakker et al., 2006), and nurses (Deary, Watson, & Hogston, 2003) reported a significant nega-

tive association between Agreeableness and depersonalization but found no significant associa-

tion with emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment. A study among American Baptist

clergy (Rodgerson & Piedmont, 1998) reported a significant relationship between Agreeableness

and burnout. However, studies on the association between Agreeableness and engagement are

lacking. Pastoral ministry in general is an arduous task for priests; however, because of the

sociocultural and religious situation prevalent in India, ministering is even more challenging

in the sense that people incessantly approach the priests for anything and everything, ranging

from personal, psychological, social, spiritual, marital, and even financial problems. Learning

to be concerned about the welfare of the people, being considerate, friendly, generous, and

helpful are essential characteristics of priestly ministry in India. Taking into account the nature

of priestly ministry in India and based on previous research, we expect Agreeableness to be

negatively associated with burnout and positively associated with engagement.

The construct of Conscientiousness, represents the drive to accomplish something, and

it contains the characteristics necessary in such a pursuit: being organized, self-disciplined,

systematic, efficient, practical, and steady (De Raad, 2000). Studies regarding the association

between Conscientiousness and burnout are scarce, and the few studies that have investigated

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280 JOSEPH ET AL.

this relation have shown equivocal results. Some studies found significant associations with

only one or two dimensions of burnout, namely, the study among consultant doctors (Deary

et al., 1996) and health care professionals (Piedmont, 1993, reported that Conscientiousness

was associated with personal accomplishment alone). A study among nursing students reported

that Conscientiousness had a positive relationship with depersonalization and personal accom-

plishment (Deary et al., 2003), whereas Bakker and colleagues (2006) found no significant

association between Conscientiousness and burnout among volunteer counselors. A study

among American Baptist pastors found a negative relation between Conscientiousness and

burnout (Rodgerson & Piedmont, 1998). As a pastoral leader, ministering in India is strenuous

because a priest has to deal constantly with people who are poor, downtrodden, uneducated,

and unemployed with various social, financial, and cultural burdens. Unless he has some set

goals and targets to help the people, he could become burned out from meeting all the demands.

Furthermore, systematic planning could alleviate confusion and unnecessary stress in a bid to

alleviate the plight of the people. The necessary characteristics required for a priest to achieve

such clarity in ministry necessitates that he be a man who is organized, systematic, efficient,

practical, steady, and persistent. He should purposefully plan things ahead of time for the well-

being of the individuals entrusted to his care. Unless he has some set goals and gets organized

to help the people, he could end up frustrated. Although the results of the studies are mixed with

regard to Conscientiousness and burnout and there is a dearth of research on Conscientiousness

and engagement, taking into consideration the multicultural Indian society in which a priest

ministers, we expect Conscientiousness to be negatively associated with burnout and positively

associated with engagement.

METHOD

Procedure

The main geographic focus was South India, which comprises Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,

Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. The

present empirical study was conducted in the Catholic Latin dioceses of the regions previously

mentioned during the months of February to May 2007. Before embarking on the distribution

of the questionnaires, a feasible method to reach the priests was devised. First, as the clergy

population in South India is widely dispersed, the sampling method adopted was by randomly

choosing the dioceses in the four ecclesiastical regions of South India, namely, Tamil Nadu

(14 dioceses), Karnataka (5 dioceses), Andhra Pradesh (1 diocese), and Kerala (1 diocese).

Second, priest delegates in the dioceses chosen, all of whom extended positive assurances

that they would lend a hand in the distribution and collection of the questionnaires, were

contacted. Thirty priest delegates from 21 dioceses,1 with a clergy population of around 1,800,

came forward. The questionnaires were mailed to them in packets containing 20, 30, or 50,

in accordance with their requests. As instructed the delegates distributed the questionnaires to

1Alwaye, Bangalore, Bellary, Chikmagalur, Chingelpet, Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Kottar, Kumbakonam,

Madras-Mylapore, Mysore, Ootacamund, Palayamkottai, Pondicherry, Salem, Shimoga, Sivagangai, Thanjavur, Trichy,

and Vizag.

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RELATIONSHIP AMONG INDIAN CLERGY 281

all the priests who resided and ministered in the area in which the delegate had his residence.

Hence, no specific criteria were followed for selecting the priests to fill out the questionnaire

or in the distribution of the questionnaire as such, for every priest could be part of the sample.

Most of the delegates personally visited the priests, explained the nature of the research,

and distributed the questionnaires on behalf of the researcher. By the end of February 2007,

800 questionnaires were distributed.

Participants

Overall, 540 questionnaires were returned from 16 Catholic dioceses, for a response rate of

67.5%, including those who responded but declined to participate (n D 28) and those whose

data were incomplete (n D 1). Of the 67.5% (540) who returned their questionnaires, 63.9%

(511) were complete and therefore usable for the study. The age of the participants in our sample

varied between 27 and 88 years, with a mean age of 43.2 years (SD D 11.8). The participants’

ministerial experience varied from 1 to 58 years, with a mean of 14.9 years (SD D 11.9). With

respect to participants’ level of education in our study, 43.2% had bachelor’s degrees, 44.4%

obtained a master’s degree, 11.5% had acquired a Ph.D., and 4 participants did not indicate

their educational qualification. In this study, 28.2% of the participants lived alone without a

companion priest, 26.4% had 1 priest companion, 16.8% had 2, 8.4% had 3, and the remaining

20.2% lived with between 5 and 38 companion priests. A vast majority of the participants lived

in towns or semiurban and rural areas, 33.5% of the priests ministered in rural areas, 49.7%

worked in town areas, and 16.8% worked in metropolitan cities. In our study, 74.4% of the

priests were engaged in parish ministry, 25.6% worked in institutions (seminaries, colleges,

schools and commissions at the national, regional and diocesan levels), and 3.7% worked in

the diocesan curia.

Measures

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach, 1986). The MBI is a self-report

questionnaire developed to assess the three aspects of the burnout syndrome: emotional ex-

haustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. Each aspect is measured

by a separate subscale. Higher scores in the first two subscales and lower scores in the third

subscale indicate greater levels of burnout. Emotional exhaustion is assessed by nine items that

measure feelings of being emotionally overextended and exhausted by one’s work (e.g., “I feel

emotionally drained from my ministry”; ˛2

D .91). Depersonalization is assessed by five items

and measures an unfeeling and impersonal response toward recipients of one’s care. (e.g., “I

feel I treat some parishioners/people in the institution as if they are impersonal objects”; ˛ D

.83). Personal accomplishment is assessed by eight items that appraises feelings of competence

and successful achievement in one’s work with people (e.g., “I can easily understand how my

parishioners/people in the institution feel about things”; ˛ D .81). All 22 items of the MBI

scale use a 7-point Likert scale from 0 (never) to 6 (everyday), indicating the frequency of a

feeling or perception.

2The Cronbach alphas mentioned in this section are based on the present study among the Indian Catholic priests.

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282 JOSEPH ET AL.

Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; Schaufeli et al., 2002). UWES is a self-

report questionnaire with 17 items assessing work engagement. Engagement is characterised as

possessing high levels of vigor, dedication, and absorption (e.g., “At my work, I feel bursting

with energy”; ˛ D .89). Subjecting our data to a factor analysis using PCA3 with iteration and

varimax rotation, factor loadings below .40 were suppressed. All items loaded on one factor,

which is in line with Sonnentag’s (2003) study that reported a single factor structure, settling

for the total composite score of the UWES as a measure for work engagement. In our study,

we have employed the one factor fit of engagement.

The NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1992). NEO-FFI is an

abbreviated 60-item version of the 240-item NEO-PI-R assessing Neuroticism, Extraversion,

Openness to experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. The anchoring for all the

60 items varies from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). Neuroticism (12 items) assesses

the negative affect and self-reproach (e.g., Sometimes I feel completely worthless; ˛ D .72).

Extraversion (12 items) assesses positive affect, sociability, and activity (e.g., I like to have

a lot of people around me; ˛ D .72). Openness to experience (12 items) assesses aesthetic

and intellectual interests and unconventionality (e.g., I am intrigued by the patterns I find in

art and nature; ˛ D .46). Agreeableness (12 items) assesses nonantagonistic orientation and

pro-social orientation (e.g., I try to be courteous to everyone I meet; ˛ D .75). Conscientious-

ness (12 items) assesses orderliness, goal striving, and dependability (e.g., When I make a

commitment, I can always be counted on to follow; ˛ D .81). Openness to experience had

no significant relationship with the other subscales. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for all

the subscales in our study range from .72 to .81, which are acceptable (Nunnally & Bernstein,

1994), with the exception of Openness to experience (˛ D .46). Because of the low reliability

and lack of significant relations with other scales, Openness to experience is excluded from

further analyses.

Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations) were used to describe the sample charac-

teristics. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to investigate the relationship between the

study variables. To examine the unique association between personality traits, burnout, and

engagement, a series of hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed for each of the

dependent variables (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, and

engagement) in two steps. Several relevant demographic variables were controlled, namely,

age, education, companions, place, and residence. Education (bachelor’s, master’s, & PhD)

was recoded into two dummy variables with those who have completed master’s as the

reference group. Place (rural, town, and metro) was recoded into two dummy variables with

town as reference group, and residence (parish and institution) was recoded into one dummy

variable with institution as reference group. In each of these regressions, demographic variables

were entered in the model in the first step to control for their influence on burnout and

engagement. In the second step, the four personality variables (Neuroticism, Extraversion,

3PCA–Principal Component Analysis

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RELATIONSHIP AMONG INDIAN CLERGY 283

TABLE 1

Correlations, Means, and Standard Deviation of Burnout and Engagement and Personality Traits

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M SD

1 EE 1 2.00 1.35

2 DP .85** 1 1.84 1.40

3 PA �.22** �.22** 1 3.61 1.18

4 EN �.63** �.62** .56** 1 4.02 1.42

5 N .53** .50** �.44** �.50** 1 2.82 .55

6 E �.34** �.32** .33** .48** �.31** 1 3.35 .46

7 O .00 �.03 �.01 �.02 �.05 .09 1 2.94 .29

8 A �.51** �.56** .32** .48** �.56** .46** .08 1 3.40 .53

9 C �.33** �.31** .35** .44** �.34** .37** �.02 .37** 1 3.72 .53

Note. EE D Emotional Exhaustion; DP D Depersonalization; PA D Personal Accomplishment; EN D

Engagement; N D Neuroticism; E D Extraversion; O D Openness to Experience; A D Agreeableness; C D

Conscientiousness.

**p < .01.

Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) were entered. A test of the change in R2 indicates

whether personality traits add to the explanation of the dependent variable after controlling for

demographics.

RESULTS

Preliminary Analysis

Table 1 provides the means, standard deviations, and correlations of burnout, engagement, and

FFM personality traits. Neuroticism was positively related to emotional exhaustion and deper-

sonalization and negatively related to personal accomplishment and engagement. Extraversion,

Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were negatively related to emotional exhaustion and

depersonalization and positively to personal accomplishment and engagement.

Hierarchical Regression Analyses

The results in Table 2 show that among the demographic variables, age and residence were

negatively associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and positively associated

with engagement; in addition, the level of education was negatively associated with engagement.

The inclusion of personality traits in Step 2 led to a significant increase in the explained

variance for all the three subscales of burnout and the scale of engagement. Neuroticism was

positively associated, whereas Extraversion and Agreeableness were negatively associated, with

emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. On the other hand, Neuroticism was negatively

associated, whereas Extraversion and Conscientiousness were positively associated, with per-

sonal accomplishment. With regard to engagement, Neuroticism was negatively associated, and

Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were positively associated.

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284 JOSEPH ET AL.

TABLE 2

Results of Regression Analysis With Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization,

Lack of Personal Accomplishment, and Engagement as Dependent Variables and Demographic

Characteristics, Personality Traits, and Unrealistic Expectations as Predictors (N D 511)

Emo. Exhaustion Depersonalization P. Accomplish Engagement

Predictors Step 1 Step 2 Step 1 Step 2 Step 1 Step 2 Step 1 Step 2

Age �.11* �.09** �.13** �11** .01 .01 .06 .07*

Bachelor’s .04 .01 .03 .01 �.02 .01 �.02 .01

Ph.D. .06 .11** .06 .09* .05 �.02 �.01 �.09*

Companions �.10 �.07 �.10 �.07 �.03 �.05 .08 .06

Rural �.03 �.04 �.07 �.08* �.03 �.00 �.03 .01

Metro .02 �.03 �.08 �.06 �.02 �.02 .03 .02

Residence �.13* �.10* �.12* �.09* .02 .01 .10 .09*

Neuroticism .31*** .23*** �.34*** �.28***

Extraversion �.12** �.09* .15*** .29***

Agreeableness �.24*** �.34*** .00 .10**

Conscientiousness �.10* .07 .19*** .20***

R .22*** .63*** .27*** .64*** .08 (ns) .50*** .22*** .66***

R2 .05 .39 .07 .41 .01 .26 .05 .44

F value 3.48 28.63 5.51 30.67 .39 15.49 3.40 34.53

df (7, 495) (11, 491) (7, 495) (11, 481) (7, 493) (11, 489) (7, 493) (11, 489)

Change in R2 .05*** .34*** .07*** .34*** .01 (ns) .25*** .05*** .39***

Note. Emo D Emotional; P. Accomplish D Personal Accomplishment.

*p � .05. **p � .01. ***p � .001.

DISCUSSION

Priestly ministry always involves relationships with other people and is a highly social pro-

fession. Taking into consideration the multireligious situation in which a Catholic priest is

called to minister, we assumed that personality traits could determine in part levels of burnout

and engagement. This study therefore investigated the associations between personality traits,

burnout, and engagement among Indian diocesan Catholic clergy.

With regard to Neuroticism, as expected, the results of our study were in line with previous

research among human service professionals (Bakker et al., 2006; Deary et al., 1996; Deary

et al., 2003; Matthew & Deary, 1998) and clergy (Francis et al., 2004; Rodgerson & Piedmont,

1998) that reported a positive association between Neuroticism and burnout (refer to Table 2)

and a negative association with engagement (Langelaan et al., 2006). Priestly ministry in

India involves constant interaction with people in their day-to-day struggles, which could

emotionally exhaust priests, particularly those that have a proneness to experience negative

affect, such as priests with high levels of Neuroticism. It is not unexpected that priests in India

are confronted by people who seek assistance for their various needs (material, emotional,

spiritual, educational, and medical). Most often priests do not possess the resources or the

solutions to alleviate all the problems of the countless numbers who approach them. Such

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challenging circumstances would be difficult even for normal individuals to deal with and

manage. Taking into consideration the priestly call and the Indian context in particular where

the priest is incessantly thronged by the people, it is likely that priests who are not too anxious,

easily frustrated, annoyed, and irritated would be able to deal with and manage the challenges of

priestly life and ministry more effectively. The results of our data reflect this notion emphatically

that priests who score low on Neuroticism tend to be calm, emotionally stable, and free from

persistent negative feelings (Costa & McCrae, 1980) and feel engaged in their priestly ministry.

On the other hand, priests who exhibit neurotic characteristics in their priestly life and ministry

are burned out.

With regard to Extraversion, the results of our study revealed that Extraversion had a

significant negative association with burnout and a positive association with engagement.

These findings support the literature and previous empirical research among other occupational

groups (Bakker et al., 2006; Deary et al., 1996; Matthew & Deary, 1998) and clergy (Francis

et al., 2004; Jackson, 1983; Rodgerson & Piedmont, 1998) that reported a negative association

between Extraversion and burnout and a positive association with engagement (Langelaan et al.,

2006). Priestly ministry is challenging everywhere in the world, however, the exercise of priestly

ministry can be more challenging in India where Catholics are an impoverished minority. Often

challenges come unanticipated from sudden explosions of communal violence; persecution of

Christians by fanatical Hindu movements (Shourie, 1999); eruptions of natural disasters like

earthquakes, floods, and so on; “sheep stealing” by other denominational congregations; anti-

Christian attitudes and policies from the government (Chellakan, 2006); and so on. Unless a

priest is optimistic and enthusiastic about his priestly role, it would be hard for him to guard,

guide, and lead the people entrusted to his care. Ministry basically involves interacting with the

people and participating in their struggles on a daily basis, which necessarily requires constant

vigilance; fearless courage; patient love; and, above all, immense optimism. Therefore, it is

necessary that the priest be action oriented and people oriented, which are the characteristics

of Extraversion. It is evident from our results that priests who score low on Extraversion are

exhausted and frustrated in trying to meet these demands and eventually burn out and that

those with high scores on Extraversion are engaged.

With regard to Agreeableness, the results of our study showed that it was negatively

associated with only two dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization),

which is in line with previous research that reported that Agreeableness was associated with

one or two dimensions of burnout, namely, depersonalization (Deary et al., 1996; Deary et al.,

2003; Zellars et al., 2000) and personal accomplishment (Bakker et al., 2006). Priestly ministry

in India is intense because people value the presence of the priest in every aspect of their lives.

Knowledge of the nature of priestly ministry in India could be vital in understanding the

relationship between Agreeableness and burnout. Catholics in India live in a multireligious

context with the Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and other religious groups who are

devoted to their religious beliefs, practices, customs, and ceremonies. The priests and leaders of

these religious groups play a vital role in lives of the people. Catholics also, to a great extent,

expect the presence and the blessing of their priest in all their endeavours and undertakings

(Manalel, 2006). In addition, there are several Christian denominational groups who are eagerly

waiting for opportunities to attract Catholics to their congregational gatherings and prayer

meetings. Hence, it is imperative for the Catholic priests to be generally concerned with the

well-being and welfare of the people involved in their lives, and extend themselves more

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generously by being considerate, friendly, and helpful to the people, which are some of the basic

characteristics of the Agreeableness trait. Therefore, a priest who scores low on Agreeableness

and feels that being with the people is cumbersome is exhausted and depersonalized; on the

other hand, a priest who scores high on Agreeableness is engaged in priestly ministry.

With regard to Conscientiousness, our results were in line with the study among American

Baptist clergy (Rodgerson & Piedmont, 1998) that reported a negative association between

Conscientiousness and burnout. As noted earlier, in India where illiteracy and poverty loom

large, priests have a multitude of concerns ranging from generating funds to keep the parish or

institution alive; construction and maintenance of the church or rectory; helping the poor in their

educational, medical, and housing needs; channelizing government grants that aim at the welfare

of poor, orphaned, and downtrodden; and so on. To achieve all this involves meticulous planning

and systematic organization, which are the basic characteristics of a conscientious individual,

and appears to protect Indian priests against burnout. In addition, the priest is the person who is

sought after to deal with most of the concerns that transpire in the lives of the Catholics, ranging

from personal to psychological to marital problems. When priests are inundated incessantly with

the cares of the people, we assumed that priests who are not organized, systematic, efficient,

practical, and steady would be tired and exhausted in accomplishing their priestly ministry.

The results of our study have confirmed the assumption true beyond doubt. On the other hand,

because conscientious individuals achieve their target through purposeful organized planning

and persistence, it is not surprising that they are engaged in their priestly ministry.

The lack of significant results for the Openness to experience scale in our study can be

accounted for the following: The factor structure was collapsed, and the reliability score for the

Openness scale was very low (˛ D .46). A similar blurred factor structure has been witnessed

by a study among Australian adolescents (N D 459) that used the NEO-FFI. The study reported

that with the exception of Openness, the other factors had good internal consistency. However,

statistical indices for factor structure did not support an FFM (Sneed, Gullone, & Moore,

2002). The lexical hypothesis could provide a plausible explanation for the collapsed factor

structure for the NEO-FFI in the Indian sample of priests. According to the lexical hypothesis,

personality traits are represented in natural language. This hypothesis has been reported to

have cross-cultural relevance and support (Saucier & Golberg, 1996). Given this hypothesis,

the NEO-FFI may not contain adjectives or behavioral descriptions relevant to an FFM for the

sample of Indian priests (cf. Church & Katigbak, 1988; Sneed et al., 2002). Indeed this could

be due to the homogeneous sample of priests raised in the traditional Indian religious society

and culture and formed in a seminary environment, which could also have a significant impact.

Notwithstanding, a factor structure could have emerged if the participants had completed the

NEO-PI-R that includes several more behavioral descriptions that may have led to a discernible

FFM. A study by Lodhi, Deo, and Belhekar (2002) using an Indian (Marathi) adaptation of the

NEO-PI-R among 214 college students report that factor analyses supported the FFM. Because

this proposition needs further research on the FFM with priest samples and because our study

attempts to establish only the relevance and association of burnout and engagement with the

personality traits, we did not delve into establishing the statistical criteria not supporting the

FFM for the NEO-FFI. As the NEO-FFI is an internationally validated and accepted scale, we

decided to work with the original four dimensional version, excluding the Openness scale.

Yet, clearly, the results of this study need to be interpreted in the context of several

important limitations. These include the cross-sectional design and the reliance on self-report.

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Longitudinal studies, though, cannot guarantee yet could aid in establishing causal relationships

between personality factors and burnout and engagement in Indian priests. Moreover, given the

specific cultural context, results may not generalize to other priests in other parts of the world.

In addition, the Openness to experience scale had low reliability and was not significantly

related to burnout, engagement, or the other four personality traits. Perhaps this is due to social

desirability bias and/or the fact that this factor has a different meaning in this sample. Future

studies should perhaps use the NEO-PI-R, which includes several more behavioral descriptions

of the FFM dimensions.

Yet, despite these limitations, this study may have important practical implications, partic-

ularly for the selection and training of priests. More specifically, future priests in India should

be screened for personality issues, and those with high levels of Neuroticism and low levels of

Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness should be identified and assisted in helping

them to overcome these personality issues through further training and/or personal therapy.

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