Understanding the Stresses and Coping Resources of Filipino Clergy Families: A Multiple-Case Study

• Main Authors: Guzman, Nina Evita Q, Teh, Lota A
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2016
• Subjects: Clergy family dynamics; Clergy family stress; Clergy family coping; Family systems; Hill’s ABC-X model; Christianity; Family, Life Course, and Society; Liturgy and Worship; Psychology
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/psychology-faculty-pubs/352; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11089-016-0698-0
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

This study looked into the experiences of five Filipino Protestant clergy families, focusing on the stresses they experience, their coping resources, and their perceptions of their situation. The interview and questionnaire methods were used in data collection. Consistent with the clergy literature in the West, it was found that Filipino clergy families experience the following stresses: balancing time between work and family, living up to expectations of church members, financial difficulties, and lack of an external support system, especially for the clergy wives. Coping resources of the respondents include spiritual resources, such as prayer and faith in God, and the support of their own family and church members. The participants view their stressful situation as something that God is in control of and believe it can be managed because of their faith in God and sense of family unity. Implications for interventions to help clergy families and recommended future research in view of current findings are discussed.