Well-Being and Help-Seeking of Baptist Ministers and Spouses in the United States

This article presents two studies on the well-being and help-seeking attitudes of those in ministry. Study 1 examined Baptist ministers and Study 2 explored Baptist ministry spouses and paired couples data to test whether well-being can be predicted from interpersonal variables. Key findings include significant relationships between well-being variables and one’s number of close friends; significant positive relationships between resilience, satisfaction in ministry, and occupational distress and psychological well-being in ministry spouses; and a partner effect between a pastor’s levels of occupational distress and his spouse’s spiritual well-being without the reverse being true. These studies add to the clergy well-being literature with a denominational group not frequently studied in the past. The article provides suggestions for future research and implications for denominational leaders as well as counselors working with clergy populations.