Date
2-7-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Scott Edgar
Keywords
Pastor’s Kids, Clergy, Emotional Support, Lived Experiences, Children of the Clergy, Expectations, Pressures
Disciplines
Counseling | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Bennett, Tabitha L., "Emotional Turbulence of Children of the Clergy, the Lived Experiences and Emotional Development of Adult Children of the Clergy: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6469.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6469
Abstract
The current study is a Phenomenological qualitative approach to understanding the lived experience of adult Children of the Clergy and exploring the various pressures and expectations faced by Children of the Clergy versus other church members. Everyone experiences external and internal pressures, but this will delve into whether it is an added layer simply from being a child of the clergy. The current study will investigate multiple families to understand family dynamics and the effects of growing up as Children of the Clergy into adulthood. Through phenomenological testing, utilizing the Bowen Family Theory and a sub-theory of the Labeling theory, this study will speak to the challenges faced by adult Children of the Clergy. The current study will investigate the perspective of Children of the Clergy, the lack of boundaries the clergy may encounter, the emotional toil for Children of the Clergy, and the overall impact on their mental health simply because they did choose. However, they were chosen to be Children of the Clergy. Clergy children speak about their struggles with the pressures and unfair expectations placed on them by their families and extend into the church congregation. The current study investigates the congregation’s role in the lack of support and understanding of pastor’s kids, as well as the impact they have on the outlook on lived experiences of these pastors’ kids. Pastors’ kids can be stereotyped, misunderstood, overlooked, and expected always to be good representatives of their families. The current study will find many sources to discover whether this is a phenomenon for all Children of the Clergy or just a few.
