An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis study: The Children of Black Southern Protestant Theological Leaders, and mental health implications

According to Lee (2015), most PKs have their own personal stories about their complicated relationship with the church. The kids of Pastors experience pressure to satisfy their parents, peers, and the congregation. They also experience scrutiny and feel they are living “life in the fishbowl” (Benjamin et al., 2021). Meaning their lives and life decisions are constantly on display and discussed or questioned by onlookers; especially the community and members of their congregation (Benjamin et al., 2021). Meanwhile, they are trying to understand who they are, separate from who their parents are, and who society and the congregation thinks they should be. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Black Southern Protestant Pastors’ Kids. This study sought to explore the lived experiences of PKs from childhood through adulthood. It explored mental wellness implications for PKs, specifically Black Southern Protestant Pastors’ kids. Bronfenbrenner believes that through our experiences, we are always learning and developing (Shelton, 2019). Therefore, this framework was a useful tool in examining the lived experiences of PKs. This study included Five participants: three females, two males, all African-American that were raised and grew up in the South as Children of Black Protestant Pastors. The Five participants were interview through semi-structured interviews, and IPA analysis was conducted and seven superordinate themes were derived. The seven super-ordinate themes derived from this study were (a) Childhood and Family dynamics, (b) Duties, Expectations, Pressures (c), Privacy and Boundaries (d) Perfectionism and Image (e)Stressors, Trauma, and mental health (f) Identity and Self Discovery and (g) Hindsight. Implications for counselors, counselor educators, the mental health field, and policy makers are discussed.