(Re)Framing Resilience: A Trajectory-Based Study Involving Emerging Religious/Spiritual Leaders

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique circumstance for the study of resilience, and clergy resilience has garnered increased research attention due to greater recognition that religious/spiritual leaders are at risk for elevated levels of anxiety and burnout. We examined longitudinal patterns of change during the pandemic in a sample of emerging leaders (N = 751;Mage = 32.82;SD 11.37;49.9% female;59.8% White). In doing so, we offered a conceptual and methodological approach based on historical and critical evaluations of the study of resilience. Results revealed a subgroup that exhibited resilience over three waves of data. The labeling of this trajectory was based on established criteria for determining resilience (a) significant adversity in the form of COVID-19 stress at time 1, which included the highest levels of the subjective appraisal of stress;(b) risk in the form of low religiousness/spirituality and greater likelihood of reporting marginalized identifications, relative to those who were flourishing;(c) a protective influence for transformative experiences to promote positive adaptation;and (d) interruption to the trajectory in the form of improvement in levels of symptoms and well-being. Practical implications center on the potential for transformative experiences to clarify emotional experience and construct new meaning. © 2023 by the authors.