Marital, parental, and life satisfaction in clergy families : work-stressor effects and religious coping styles as moderators

The direct effects of a model comprised of work-related stressors (mobility, compensation, intrusiveness, time- demands, and social support) on marital satisfaction, parental satisfaction, and life satisfaction, and the moderating effects of three styles of religious-problem- solving styles (deferring, self-directing, and collaborative) in clergy families were examined.

A national random sample consisting of 272 clergy husbands and their wives from six denominations was drawn for the study. Criteria for selection included being a male clergy married to a nonclergy person, presently serving as an ordained pastor in a denominationally affiliated parish, and having at least one child under eighteen years of age living at home. The model consisting of five stressors predicted marital satisfaction, parental satisfaction, and life satisfaction for both clergy and their wives. For both clergy and their wives, intrusiveness was the only significant predictor in the model predicting marital satisfaction. Social support was the only significant predictor in the model predicting life satisfaction for both clergy and wives.

A series of hierarchical regression analyses found that the collaborative style of religious-problem-solving was a significant moderator of the relationship between intrusiveness and marital satisfaction for clergy and their wives. The deferring style moderated that relationship for clergy. The collaborative style also moderated the relationship between social support and life satisfaction for wives but not for clergy.