Clergy Wives and Well-Being: The Impact of Perceived Congregational Perfectionism and Protective Factors

Abstract

Clergy wives often face high congregational expectations that impact their psychological well-being. This study investigates the impact of perceived congregational perfectionism on the psychological well-being of 215 Asian clergy wives and explores the moderating effects of self-compassion, social support, and communion with God. The results indicated that the two perceived congregational perfectionism dimensions—perceived congregational standards and judgment—were positively associated with depression, emotional exhaustion, and loneliness. Contrary to the previous literature, high congregational standards alone (without critical judgment) were associated with negative psychological outcomes. Additionally, self-compassion and communion with God emerged as significant buffers against depression associated with congregational perfectionism. However, these protective factors did not significantly prevent ministry burnout or loneliness. This study highlights the maladaptive nature of congregational perfectionism in clergy wives and emphasizes the importance of protective factors like communion with God and self-compassion. It also suggests the need for further research on diverse samples and additional protective factors while providing insights for clinicians and ministry organizations in developing coping strategies that emphasize self-compassion and spiritual practices.

1. Introduction

Clergy wives are historically seen as part of a “two-person” career, working alongside their husbands in various ministerial capacities (Morris and Blanton 1994; Murphy-Geiss 2011). Clergy wives often encounter high expectations from their congregations in relation to their personal, interpersonal, and professional lives beyond their spouse’s ministry. These high standards and expectations often lead to adverse psychological effects (Hileman 2008; Van Dyke Platt and Moss 1976). Therefore, understanding clergy wives’ experiences and identifying protective factors are crucial in fostering an environment that supports their well-being.

The current study examines the experiences of clergy wives, specifically focusing on how these women perceive perfectionistic expectations from their congregations and how this connects to their psychological well-being. Additionally, the current study identifies factors that may mitigate the negative psychological impact of these perceived demands. The literature review will begin with an overview of the role of clergy wives and the stressors they often encounter, followed by an exploration of the psychological construct of perfectionism, well-being indicators, and potential protective factors.

1.1. Clergy Wives—An Understudied Population

Clergy wives represent a significantly understudied group (Hileman 2008). There are a few examples of older studies on the demographic, such as Morris and Blanton’s (1994) study, which found clergy wives generally report better well-being when they perceive lower demands from their husbands’ work environments, or Van Dyke Platt and Moss’s (1976) study, which found clergy wives’ higher expectations for themselves exacerbate feelings of emotional distress.

However, the recent literature is sparse. To illustrate, when searching in PsycINFO for peer-reviewed articles after 2010 with keywords, such as [clergy], [pastor], [minister], and [reverend], combined with [wife] or [spouse] in the title, only 19 relevant articles were identified. Of these studies, half primarily emphasized male clergy or their families, relegating clergy wives to a minor aspect of the research. Despite some dissertations delving into the experiences and well-being of clergy wives, the recent research literature still lacks emphasis on this population, which contrasts with the identified need for further study (Brackin 2001; Luedtke and Sneed 2018; Pittman 2019).

1.2. Unique Challenges Faced by Clergy Wives

Research has highlighted the diverse challenges faced by clergy wives. These include involuntary relocation, pressure to fill leadership or volunteer gaps, addressing the emotional and relational needs of the congregation, lack of social support, financial difficulties, demanding time commitments, intrusive boundaries, intense scrutiny of their personal life, and often excessive or unrealistic expectations (Chan and Wong 2018; Frame and Shehan 1994; Hileman 2008; Lee 2007; Luedtke and Sneed 2018; Morris and Blanton 1994). Van Dyke Platt and Moss (1976) highlighted that congregational expectations are deeply intertwined with the life of a clergy wife, given her role is often seen as an extension of her husband’s ministry and closely linked to the church’s relational network. Clergy wives are often viewed by the congregation not as individuals with their own identities, talents, and callings, but rather as subordinate extensions of their spouses (Kurtz 2017). Furthermore, Lee (2007) found that pastors generally have access to more extensive social support networks than their wives. Despite findings that support networks as a key coping mechanism (Roberts et al. 2006), clergy wives often lack social support within their ministry context and instead turn to family or external sources (Guzman and Teh 2016; Van Dyke Platt and Moss 1976).

1.3. Congregational Expectations and Perceived Perfectionism

The pervasive experience of high standards and unrealistic expectations placed upon clergy wives by their congregations has been well-documented (Blanton and Morris 1999; Frame and Shehan 1994; Hileman 2008; Lee 1999; Luedtke and Sneed 2018; Van Dyke Platt and Moss 1976; Zoba 1997). The origin of these expectations in Christian communities can be traced to the pursuit of a “biblical” culture that echoes the scriptural admonition to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48), although the definition of perfection varies based on the particular culture, tradition, and context (Clarke 2003). Both of these congregational expectations and the clergy wives’ perceptions of these expectations align closely with other-oriented and socially prescribed dimensions of perfectionism, as described by Hewitt and Flett (1991, p. 457). This former form of perfectionism involves holding unrealistic standards for significant others, placing a high value on their perfection, and rigorously assessing their performance, which can extend to the congregation’s expectations of clergy wives. The latter refers to perceived perfectionism imposed by others and serves as an apt construct for understanding the high expectations clergy wives perceive from their congregational communities.

Perfectionism is a multifaceted construct, and various studies have sought to understand its dimensions, including its valence, orientation, and application domains. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale by Hewitt and Flett (1991) examines the directionality of perfectionism, categorizing it into three dimensions: self-oriented perfectionism that involves high personal standards and is often understood as an expression of personality; other-oriented perfectionism that involves high standards for others; and socially prescribed perfectionism, where one perceives a need to meet others’ expectations. This model reveals that socially prescribed perfectionism has the strongest correlation with negative emotional states and psychopathology, including anxiety, dysthymia, and psychotic depression (Hewitt and Flett 1991), which is further confirmed by later studies (Birch et al. 2019; Senra et al. 2018). This has significant implications for clergy wives, who often experience socially prescribed perfectionism within the ministry context. Wang et al. (2018) further extended the scope of perceived perfectionism to the religious realm and developed the Perceived Perfectionism from God Scale (GGPS). This scale found that Perceived Standards from God were positively associated with positive affect, while Perceived Judgment from God was linked to negative affect, shame, and guilt.

In this study, we will adapt items from the GGPS (Wang et al. 2018) to measure perceived perfectionism from the congregation and its impact on clergy wives’ well-being. Additionally, we will use socially prescribed perfectionism and perceived perfectionism interchangeably to denote one’s perception of others’ expectations and the felt need to meet them.

1.4. Perceived Perfectionism and Well-Being among Clergy Wives

Research has consistently highlighted the negative psychological effects of perceived perfectionism, such as burnout, loneliness, and depression (Childs and Stoeber 2012; Hewitt and Flett 1991). Grosch and Olsen (2000) noted that clergy burnout is often fueled by the need to meet ideal congregational expectations, which tend to escalate over time. Warner and Carter (1984) found that clergy and clergy wives, compared to laypeople, reported higher levels of loneliness and burnout, marked by significant emotional exhaustion that could be attributed to the high demands and expectations they face. In a study on Finnish parents, Sorkkila and Aunola (2019) discovered a significant link between socially prescribed perfectionism and parental burnout, especially in terms of emotional exhaustion. Notably, mothers reported higher levels of perceived socially prescribed perfectionism and burnout compared to fathers, indicating a gender disparity in these experiences. This suggests that burnout and perceived perfectionism may be experienced differently between male clergy and their wives, warranting further research into the unique experiences of clergy wives with regard to congregational expectations and burnout.

Additionally, high demands from congregations have been linked to feelings of isolation and loneliness among clergy wives (Luedtke and Sneed 2018; Zoba 1997). The pressure to adhere to “biblical” standards defined through the lens of a particular social imagination rather than the original intent of Matthew 5:48 for believers to imitate Jesus’ all- embracing love and seek maturity (Eaton 2020; Stott 2016) and portray an ideal image often hinders clergy wives from sharing personal struggles with their congregations, particularly regarding marital, family, and spiritual matters (Frame and Shehan 1994; Zoba 1997). Luedtke and Sneed (2018) found that, in addition to perceived expectations, most participants described their experience in ministry as “lonely”, as there is also a perceived need to be extra cautious with confidential information. Similarly, a study in China found that clergy wives experienced significant loneliness that stems from their spouses’ busy schedules and the inability to share personal struggles with others (Chan and Wong 2018). Thus, this study will also explore the relationship between perceived congregational perfectionism and feelings of loneliness among clergy wives.

1.5. Relational Protective Factors

1.5.1. Relating to God and Others

Understanding the protective factors that enable clergy wives to effectively manage stressors and perceived high expectations is crucial. McMinn et al. (2005) identified two primary coping strategies used by clergy and their wives: intrapersonal and interpersonal. Intrapersonal coping includes strategies that are solitary in nature, like spirituality, healthy habits, and self-care efforts. Interpersonal coping involves drawing support from family or the community. Further research by McMinn et al. (2008) found that clergy wives with “exemplary emotional and spiritual health” primarily relied on interpersonal support outside of the immediate family and church and spiritual practices like prayer, Bible study, and meditation (p. 447). Interestingly, spirituality as a coping mechanism is not limited to private practices like Bible reading but also includes one’s perception of and relationship with God, highlighting the multifaceted nature of spirituality (Pargament et al. 2000; Guzman and Teh 2016; Fetzer Institute and National Institute on Aging 1999). Taken together, the forms of coping utilized by healthier clergy wives can be understood through a relational lens; that is, one’s style of relating to self, others, and God.

In this study, we will use the construct communion with God (Knabb and Wang 2021) to measure the relationship with God as it encompasses spiritual practices and perceived closeness and interaction with God. This approach conceptualizes one’s relationship with God as a distinct protective factor. Additionally, this study will employ quantitative measures to assess communion with God, addressing a gap in predominantly qualitative research in this area (Knabb and Wang 2021). In terms of other protective factors, this study will measure perceived social support and explore the impact of self-compassion—a positive, kind attitude towards oneself—as a potential protective factor for clergy wives. This exploration will contribute to our understanding of how clergy wives relate to themselves and the psychological impacts of these relationships.

1.5.2. Relating to Self

Research suggests that self-compassion acts as a protective factor against the harmful effects of negative perfectionism. Self-compassion, as conceptualized by Neff (2003), is a multidimensional construct encompassing self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Neff’s study found that individuals with less self-compassion are more likely to experience perfectionist distress. Further, Ferrari et al. (2018) discovered that self-compassion can mitigate the negative impact of maladaptive perfectionism on depression. Richardson et al. (2020) also found that self-compassion partially moderates the relationship between negative aspects of perfectionism and depression and burnout.

Despite these insights, there remains a gap in research specifically addressing the impact of self-compassion on socially prescribed perfectionism and mental health outcomes. While studies have examined self-compassion in relation to imperfection concealment in a Christian community (Brodar et al. 2015) and its impact on pastors facing identity demand (Lee and Rosales 2020), there is a lack of research focusing on self-compassion and perfectionism among clergy wives. Therefore, this study will also explore the moderating effect of self-compassion on the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and various psychological well-being variables among clergy wives.

1.6. The Current Study

The aims of this study are to explore (a) the relationships between demographic variables and clergy wives’ levels of perceived congregational perfectionism and outcome variables; (b) the relationship between perceived congregational perfectionism and psychological well-being variables measured by depression, burnout, and loneliness; and (c) the effects of protective factors (self-compassion (positive relationship with self), social support (relationship with others), and communion with God (relationship with God)) on the relationship between perceived congregational perfectionism and negative psychological outcomes.

We adapted the PPGS items to measure two dimensions of perceived congregational perfectionism (i.e., standards and judgment) and then examined the association between perceived congregational perfectionism and psychological well-being variables (i.e., ministry burnout, loneliness, and depression). We then examined the moderation effects of self-compassion, social support, and communion with God. The hypotheses of this study are as follows:

• Higher levels of perceived congregational judgment (viewed as maladaptive) will be associated with higher levels of ministry burnout, depression, and loneliness (how perceived congregational standards associate with the study variables was exploratory);
• Self-compassion, social support, and communion with God will function as protective factors to buffer the effects of perceived congregational perfectionism on ministry burnout, depression, and loneliness.

2. Results

2.1. Participants

The sample consisted of 215 individuals who self-identified as Asian across 12 geographical locations, including Taiwan (n = 179), US/Canada (n = 19), Europe (Germany and the UK, n = 2), other Asian countries, including Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia (n = 10), Australia/New Zealand (n = 4), and 1 unreported. There were more than 30 denominations/traditions represented in this study, including Presbyterian, Baptist, Lutheran, Bread of Life, and Independent churches. Regarding language, 93% of the participants (n = 200) responded in Chinese and 7% (n = 15) in English. The age of the participants ranged from 28 to 75 years old, and the mean age was 52.14 (SD = 10.05), with 86.4% (n = 185) reporting having children and 13.6% (n = 29) with no children. The years of being a pastor’s wife ranged from 1 to 50 years, with a mean of 16.05 years (SD = 11.25). In addition, participants reported spending an average of 25.55 hours weekly (SD = 18.73) in ministry, with some participants reporting that they would serve as much as needed and therefore did not indicate an actual number of hours they spend in ministry work. Moreover, 28.8% (n = 62) of the participants reported being employed full-time and 9.8% (n = 21) part-time by their church. Lastly, 17% (n = 21) of the participants reported holding a full-time job outside of church ministry, and 20% (n = 43) held a part-time job outside of ministry.

2.2. Data Analytic Plan

First, missing data were examined across all study variables (PCPS, DEP, FBI, ULS-8, CGS, MSPSS, and SCS-SF), and participants who had more than 10% (≥8 items) of overall missing data were removed. In addition, due to the majority of participants being Asian (n = 215, 98.62%), non-Asian participants (one black and two whites) were removed from the dataset to allow for a more clearly defined sample. Second, we conducted bivariate correlation analyses among demographic and study variables. Lastly, we used Hayes’ PROCESS macro to examine the moderation effects of self-compassion, social support, and communion with God on the links between perceived congregational perfectionism and outcome variables.

2.3. Bivariate Correlations

Bivariate correlations across demographic variables (e.g., age, years of being a clergy wife, and number of hours spent in ministry) and study variables are presented in

Table 1. Descriptive statistics and correlations for study variables.

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Age	—
2. Years—CW	0.56 ***	—
3. Hours/wk—Ministry	0.29 ***	0.10	—
4. PCPS-Standard	−0.00	0.02	0.04	0.87
5. PCPS-Judgment	0.05	0.06	−0.07	0.65 ***	0.90
6. Depression	−0.15 *	−0.02	−0.09	0.27 ***	0.41 ***	0.88
7. Exhaustion	−0.30 ***	−0.16 *	−0.12	0.28 ***	0.44 ***	0.67 ***	0.88
8. Loneliness	−0.09	−0.05	−0.04	0.18 **	0.35 ***	0.45 ***	0.55 ***	0.84
9. CwG	0.23 **	0.11	0.08	−0.07	−0.20 **	−0.42 ***	−0.49 ***	−0.33 ***	0.94
10. Social support	0.04	−0.02	−0.09	−0.22 **	−0.35 ***	−0.34 ***	−0.35 ***	−0.62 ***	0.35 ***	0.95
11. Self-compassion	0.19 **	0.12	0.15 *	−0.19 **	−0.34 ***	−0.55 ***	−0.58 ***	−0.61 ***	0.44 ***	0.38 ***	0.84
n	203	214	191	215	215	215	215	214	215	215	215
M	52.14	16.95	25.55	3.44	2.51	1.35	2.33	2.10	4.23	5.34	3.34
SD	10.05	11.25	18.73	1.25	1.10	0.43	0.64	0.57	0.51	0.95	0.49

Notes. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Years—CW = years of being a clergy wife; Hours/wk—Ministry = number of hours per week spent in ministry; exhaustion = emotional exhaustion in ministry; CwG = communion with God; Cronbach alpha is included for study and outcome variables.

. The results indicated that participants’ age was positively associated with communion with God and self-compassion and negatively associated with emotional exhaustion in ministry. In addition, the length of time being a clergy wife was negatively associated with emotional exhaustion in ministry. Thus, these two variables were used as covariates for the moderation analyses. Lastly, the number of hours the participant works in the church was positively associated with self-compassion. Of note, the number of hours was not included as a covariate for the moderation analyses because it was not significantly associated with any of the three well-being outcome variables for this study.

Bivariate correlations also shed light on the associations between perceived congregational perfectionism and psychological study variables. The results of perceived standards contradicted previous research, as they showed that perceived standards (PCPS-Standards) were positively associated with depression, emotional exhaustion in ministry, and loneliness. In addition, standards were negatively associated with social support and self-compassion. Furthermore, PCPS-Judgment was found to be positively associated with depression, emotional exhaustion in ministry, and loneliness and negatively associated with communion with God, social support, and self-compassion.

Lastly, an asymptotic z-test of the difference between the relative strength of correlations of the two PCPS subscales (i.e., PCPS-Standards and PCPS-Judgment) with study variables was conducted using Lee and Preacher’s (2013) online calculator. Z-scores were compared in a two-tailed fashion to the unit normal distribution, and p-values indicate whether there were statistically significant differences in how the two PCPS dimensions correlated with a certain study variable. The Z-score results showed that PCPS-Judgment had significantly stronger correlations with depression (p = 0.006), emotional exhaustion in ministry (p = 0.001), loneliness (p = 0.001), communion with God (p = 0.015), social support (p = 0.006), and self-compassion (p = 0.003) compared to PCPS-Standards.

2.4. Demographic Differences in Perceived Congregational Perfectionism

One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to compare the difference in perceived congregational perfectionism and outcome variables across different church sizes, as categorized based on the Church Size Theory (Rothauge 1982), employment status, and whether the participants have children. The results of the ANOVA showed that perceived congregational perfectionism and well-being variables did not differ based on church size or whether or not they hold a job outside of church or have children.

2.5. Moderation Analyses of Protective Factors

A total of 18 sets of moderation effects were examined through Model 1 of the PROCESS macros (version 4.2 beta; Hayes 2017) in SPSS. These included a combination of two predictors (i.e., PCPS-Standards and PCPS-Judgment), three moderators (i.e., self-compassion, social support, and communion with God), and three outcome variables (i.e., depression, ministry burnout, and loneliness). Five out of the eighteen tested moderations emerged as significant after controlling for the effects of two covariates (i.e., age and years of being a clergy wife).

Specifically, communion with God [B = −0.13, SE = 0.04, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (−0.20, −0.05)] and self-compassion [B = −0.15, SE = 0.04, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (−0.23, −0.08)] had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between perceived congregation standards and depression. Additionally, communion with God [B = −0.09, SE = 0.04, p = 0.016, 95% C.I. (−0.16, −0.02)], self-compassion [B = −0.23, SE = 0.04, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (−0.30, −0.15)], and social support [B = −0.06, SE = 0.02, p = 0.004, 95% C.I. (−0.10, −0.02)] all had significant moderating effects on the relationship between perceived congregational judgment and depression.

The interactions are plotted in Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4 and Figure 5 with separate lines indicating high (1 SD above mean) and low (1 SD below mean) levels. In particular, the association between PCPS-Standards and depression was significant when communion with God was low [B = 0.15, SE = 0.03, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (0.09, 0.20)] but not for those with high levels of communion with God (See Figure 1). In addition, the simple slopes for the relationship between PCPS-Judgment and depression were significant for both levels of communion with God, but there was a stronger association when communion with God was high [B = 0.17, SE = 0.03, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (12, 0.23)] compared to low [B = 0.08, SE = 0.03, p = 0.010, 95% C.I. (0.02, 0.14)] (see Figure 2). Additionally, when social support was high (see Figure 3), the association between PCPS-Judgment and depression was significant [B = 0.17, SE = 0.03, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (12, 0.23)], but it was not significant when low. In terms of the moderating effect of self-compassion, the association between PCPS-Standards and depression was only significant when self-compassion was high [B = 0.13, SE = 0.03, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (0.08, 0.18)] (See Figure 4). Lastly, the association between PCPS-Judgment and depression was significant only when self-compassion [B = 0.16, SE = 0.02, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (0.11, 0.21)] was low (see Figure 5). There were no significant moderation effects on the association between perceived congregational perfectionism and other outcome variables (e.g., ministry burnout and loneliness) besides depression.

3. Discussion

3.1. Maladaptive Nature of Congregational Perfectionism

This study yielded two main findings. First, consistent with the hypothesis, the results indicated that higher levels of perceived congregational judgment correlated with increased depression, ministry burnout, and loneliness. This suggests that when clergy wives feel they are being critically judged based on unrealistic standards set by the congregation, their psychological well-being suffers. This aligns with the existing literature that indicates high demands and unrealistic expectations can lead to adverse psychological effects in clergy wives, including loneliness and burnout (Blanton and Morris 1999; Hileman 2008; Warner and Carter 1984). Moreover, this result supports previous findings on the link between socially prescribed perfectionism and symptoms of depression and emotional exhaustion (Childs and Stoeber 2012; Hewitt and Flett 1991; Lee 1999; Senra et al. 2018; Wang 2010; Sorkkila and Aunola 2019).

Additionally, a novel finding emerged from this study that contrasts with earlier research (Wang 2010; Wang et al. 2018): a positive relationship was observed between perceived congregational standards and depression, emotional exhaustion, and loneliness. This is contrary to prior studies, where perfectionistic standards were seen as either adaptive or neutral. In this study, the mere perception of high congregational standards, irrespective of critical judgment, was positively associated with negative outcomes in clergy wives. This suggests that congregational standards in themselves can be maladaptive, possibly due to the clergy wives’ heightened awareness of social evaluation and their self-imposed high expectations, which are linked to negative psychological outcomes, like burnout and depression (Hewitt and Flett 1991; Sorkkila and Aunola 2019; Van Dyke Platt and Moss 1976). Moreover, the findings indicate that the negative effects of perceived congregational judgment on well-being are more pronounced than those of standards, underscoring the particularly harmful impact of negative appraisal and disapproval from the congregation on the psychological health of clergy wives. This is in line with previous research suggesting that perceived negative appraisal based on externally imposed perfectionistic standards is a strong predictor of psychopathology (Birch et al. 2019; Hewitt and Flett 1991).

3.2. Protective Factors

The second major finding of this study was the partial support for the hypothesis that communion with God, social support, and self-compassion mitigate the adverse effects of perceived congregational perfectionism on psychological outcomes. Specifically, these protective factors significantly alleviated the association between perceived congregational perfectionism and depression but not emotional exhaustion or loneliness, even though each was significantly related to all three outcomes. This suggests that a strong relationship with God, high levels of self-compassion, and robust social support can diminish symptoms of depression in the face of high congregational expectations. This might be due to depression being a psychological condition that can be influenced by internal cognitive and emotional processes. Protective factors like self-compassion directly address these internal processes by fostering a more compassionate and less critical self-view, which can alleviate depressive symptoms. Burnout and loneliness, on the other hand, are often more influenced by external factors, such as workload, social isolation, or the quality of social interactions, which might not be as directly impacted by these protective factors.

This study confirmed the moderating role of communion with God in the relationship between perceived congregational perfectionism and depression. However, communion did not significantly impact feelings of ministry exhaustion or loneliness. Communion with God, as a form of spiritual coping, can provide significant emotional relief and a sense of connection (with God), which is particularly effective against depressive symptoms. However, it may not address the practical and relational aspects that contribute to burnout and loneliness, such as excessive workload and difficulty with sharing personal struggles within the ministry context. This finding might also explain why clergy wives tend to rely on spiritual coping strategies (Frame and Shehan 1994), as they provide relief from emotional distress.

Furthermore, the study revealed that high social support buffers the impact of congregational judgment on depression. Clergy wives with a strong support network are less likely to experience depressive symptoms under high congregational expectations. This aligns with the existing literature on the moderating role of social support in the relationship between perfectionism and psychological stressors like depression and anxiety (Dunkley et al. 2000; Zhou et al. 2013). However, like the effects of communion with God, social support did not significantly moderate the relationship between congregational perfectionism and emotional exhaustion or loneliness. Social support may help alleviate depressive symptoms by providing emotional validation and a sense of belonging, but it might not directly impact the stressors that lead to burnout or the deeper feelings of loneliness that clergy wives often experience due to the challenges with sharing personal issues in their ministry setting (Guzman and Teh 2016; Van Dyke Platt and Moss 1976).

Finally, the study found that self-compassion significantly reduces the negative impact of perceived congregational perfectionism on depression, particularly when levels of self-compassion are high. While previous research on self-compassion’s moderating effect on the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and depression has shown mixed results, this study highlights the protective role of self-compassion in reducing distress related to perfectionism (Ferrari et al. 2018; Ong et al. 2021). It is possible that self-compassion can help an individual reframe their internal dialogue and self-perception, which is closely related to depressive symptoms. Burnout and loneliness, however, are often a result of interpersonal dynamics and external demands, which may not be as effectively addressed by intrapersonal strategies alone.

3.3. Other Factors Associated with Clergy Wives’ Well-Being

The bivariate correlations between demographic variables and outcomes in this study revealed that age was inversely related to emotional exhaustion in ministry. It seems that within the context of Asian churches, older clergy wives appear less prone to ministry burnout. This may stem from the cultural emphasis on respecting elders in Asian culture, where institutions often adhere to a hierarchical structure favoring older members (Chao and Huang 2016). Therefore, as clergy wives age, they likely require less effort to gain the congregation’s respect and trust, leading to reduced exhaustion.

3.4. Limitations and Future Directions

This study has several limitations. First, the participants of this study were recruited based on convenience sampling using the researcher’s personal connections and not entirely randomly recruited. As such, most participants either self-identified as Taiwanese, resided in Taiwan, or participated in the traditional Chinese language. This could limit generalizability to the larger clergy wives population from both ethnicity and non-representative sampling perspectives. Future researchers may wish to recruit more diverse participants in terms of language, culture, and geographical location to increase generalizability. Second, this study only focused on the female spouse of a male clergy member in a heterosexual marriage, and future studies may wish to consider the diverse makeup of clergy couples in the modern church context in order to address different experiences based on gender or sexuality, such as, for example, husbands of female clergy or clergy wives who are themselves a full-time clergy member in the same church. Furthermore, it would be helpful to investigate views of gender roles in the participants’ church tradition or denomination and how they impact their experience. Third, this study was cross-sectional, and whether depression, loneliness, and emotional exhaustion are the causes or results of perceived congregational perfectionism cannot be concluded. Lastly, this study only found a moderating effect on the link between perceived congregational perfectionism and depression, and future studies might explore other protective factors, such as other forms of intrapersonal coping against emotional exhaustion (e.g., healthy habits or special efforts (McMinn et al. 2005)) and loneliness (e.g., help-seeking, such as therapy or support groups for clergy wives) in the context of high congregational perfectionism. Additionally, due to the number of moderation analyses conducted, there is an increased risk of family-wise errors. This should be carefully considered when interpreting the effectiveness of protective factors in mitigating the link between perceived congregational perfectionism and depression.

3.5. Practical Implications

Despite these limitations, this study contributes to the current research literature by increasing awareness of the detrimental effect of perceived congregational perfectionism on clergy wives’ well-being both in the form of high standards and judgment. It also provides insight into the buffering effect of communion with God, social support, and self-compassion on depressive symptoms, which offers direction for clinicians and ministry organizations when they help clergy wives develop positive coping strategies and decrease negative psychological outcomes. Specifically, considering the moderating role of self-compassion, clinicians might wish to help clergy wives develop skills to recognize over-identification with congregational expectations and judgments and to instead cultivate loving kindness towards themselves (Ferrari et al. 2018). Furthermore, treatment could also focus on developing meaningful social relationships and spiritual practices as well as exploring how clergy wives’ vertical and horizontal relationships impact their psychological functioning, particularly in relation to perfectionistic expectations they face in ministry.

4. Materials and Methods

4.1. Procedure

Approval was obtained for this study from the IRB committee of Fuller Theological Seminary. An online survey was designed in both the English and Chinese languages and disseminated through Qualtrics. Demographic questions including age, race, ethnicity, denomination, type of church (i.e., immigrant or bilingual), geographical location of the church (i.e., country and city), church size, clergy’s role at church, clergy wife’s role at church, occupation, years of being a clergy wife, time spent in ministry per week, income, and number of children were included in the survey. Participants were recruited through (a) online social media platforms (e.g., Facebook and LINE) and (b) a snowball method initiated through personal networks, church networks, and clergy wives’ ministry networks. To participate in this study, participants were required to meet the eligibility criteria of (a) being 18 years old or older and (b) self-identifying as a clergy wife in the Christian faith.

4.2. Item Development

In order to gather data from both English and Chinese speakers, all of the measures in this study included the traditional Chinese version. The authors used the existing Chinese translated scales for the SAPS, SCS-SF, ULS-8, and DASS-21. In addition, the first author translated four scales, including PCPS, CODI, CGS, and FBI, and included a team of reviewers consisting of one psychology professor, one psychology doctoral student, and two theology students to review and revise the survey questions to enhance clarity and applicability in the Chinese-speaking ministry context.

4.2.1. Perceived Congregation Perfectionism Scale (PCPS)

The PCPS items were developed by altering the Standards and Judgment items from the Perceived Perfectionism from God Scale (PPGS; Wang et al. 2018) to reflect the level of perceived high expectations and critical concerns from congregation members. For example, the PPGS-Standards item “God sets very high standards for me” was modified into “my congregation sets very high standards for me” for the PCPS. The PPGS-Judgment item “God is hardly ever satisfied with my performance” was modified into “my congregation is hardly ever satisfied with my performance.” The PCPS has a total of 10 items, and responses are rated on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 = “Strongly Disagree” to 7 = “Strongly Agree”. The Cronbach’s alpha for the PPGS in a sample of 437 Christian adults was 0.95 (Wang et al. 2018). The internal consistency of the PCPS in this current study was α = 0.91, with Cronbach’s alphas of 0.87 for PCPS-Standards and 0.90 for PCPS-Judgment.

4.2.2. Communion with God Scale (CGS)

The CGS (Knabb and Wang 2021) is a 12-item Christian-specific scale that measures a Christian’s perceived relationship with God. The CGS utilizes a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = “never true for me” to 5 = “always true for me.” Sample items include “I pray to fellowship with God” and “Having a relationship with God brings me pleasure.” The CGS has good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alphas being 0.95 for a sample of 219 and another sample of 218 Christian adults in the United States. In terms of validity, the CGS was positively associated with daily spiritual experience and mental well-being (Knabb and Wang 2021). In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.94.

4.2.3. The Depression Scale from the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales—21 (DASS-21)

The DASS-21 (Henry and Crawford 2005) is a 21-item measure with a 3-factor model, including depression, stress, and anxiety. Each dimension has seven items, and responses are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 = “did not apply to me at all” to 3 = “applied to me very much, or most of the time”. Sample items include “I felt that life was meaningless” (Depression), “I found it difficult to relax” (Stress), and “I felt I was close to panic” (Anxiety). For the current study, we only utilized the Depression subscale. For a sample of 1794 general adults in the United Kingdom, the Depression subscale showed good internal consistency (α = 0.88). Evidence has showed that the DASS-21 has good convergent and discriminant validity as it correlates strongly with other empirically validated measures of depression and anxiety (Henry and Crawford 2005). In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha for the Depression subscale was 0.88.

4.2.4. Francis Burnout Inventory (FBI)

The FBI (Francis et al. 2005) consists of two 11-item subscales that assess clergy’s ministry-related experiences and psychological health. The FBI draws from a model of balancing affect, measuring positive affect through the Satisfaction in Ministry Scale (SIMS) and negative affect through the Scale of Emotional Exhaustion in Ministry (SEEM). A sample item of the SIMS is “I gain a lot of personal satisfaction from working with people in my current ministry”. A sample item of the SEEM is “I am feeling negative or cynical about the people with whom I work”. The FBI utilizes a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = “disagree strongly” to 5 = “agree strongly”. The FBI demonstrates good internal consistency for both subscales. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.81 for the SIMS and 0.79 for the SEEM for Catholic priests in Rome (Francis et al. 2017). In addition, the SEEM significantly correlated with the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and ministry satisfaction was found to have a great ameliorating effect on burnout when there were higher levels of emotional exhaustion (Francis et al. 2017). In the current study, only the SEEM was utilized, and Cronbach’s alpha for the SEEM was 0.88.

4.2.5. Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS)

The MSPSS (Zimet et al. 1988) is a 12-item scale that measures three sources of social support, including (a) Family, (b) Friends, and (c) Significant Other, with four items in each subscale. Sample items include “My family really tries to help me” (Family), “I can count on my friends when things go wrong” (Friends), and “There is a special person who is around when I am in need” (Significant Other). Items are rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = “strongly disagree” to 7 = “very strongly agree”. The MSPSS shows good international consistency for the composite score (α = 0.88) (Zimet et al. 1988). In terms of construct validity, the MSPSS composite score and Family, Friends, and Significant Other subscales were all negatively associated with depression, and the Family subscale was also negatively associated with anxiety (Zimet et al. 1988). In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.95 for the composite score.

4.2.6. Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form (SCS-SF)

The SCS-SF (Raes et al. 2011) is a short version of the original 26-item Self-Compassion scale (Neff 2003). The SCS-SF has twelve items consisting of six subscales, each with two items, measuring the three main dimensions of self-compassion: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Sample items include “I try to be understanding and patient towards those aspects of my personality I don’t like” (Self-Kindness), “I am disapproving and judgmental about my own flaws and inadequacies” (Self-Judgment), “I try to see my failings as part of the human condition” (Common Humanity), “When I fail at something that’s important to me, I tend to feel alone in my failure” (Isolation), “When something upsets me I try to keep my emotions in balance” (Mindfulness), and “When I’m feeling down I tend to obsess and fixate on everything that’s wrong” (Over-Identification). Participants endorsed their agreement on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = “almost never” to 5 = “almost always”. The SCS-SF composite score showed good internal consistency (α = 0.85; Hayes et al. 2016) and a strong correlation with the original SCS (α = 0.85; Hayes et al. 2016). In addition, the composite score of SCS-SF was significantly related to the Almost Perfect Scale—Revised (APS-R) Discrepancy scores (Hayes et al. 2016). In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.84.

4.2.7. UCLA Loneliness Scale—Short Form (ULS-8)

The ULS-8 (Hays and DiMatteo 1987) is an 8-item scale modified from the original 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-20) developed by Russell and colleagues (Russell et al. 1980). Responses are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from “never” to “always”, with some items reverse-coded. Sample items include “I lack companionship” and “There is no one I can turn to”. The ULS-8 showed strong internal consistency (α = 0.81–0.85) among a sample of international students in the United States across three time points (Tsai et al. 2017). As for validity, the ULS-8 has strong correlations with the ULS-20 (r = 0.91) and a significant correlation with social anxiety (Hays and DiMatteo 1987). In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.84.