Date
2-28-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Scott Edgar
Keywords
Children of clergy, African American, PK’s, mental health, spiritual health, preachers kid, black church, behavioral health
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Staton, Chantel Danielle, "The Lived Experiences of African American Children of Clergy: What Has Become of Them in Their Adulthood?" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6536.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6536
Abstract
It is noticeable that there are stereotypes associated with being African American due to prejudice and racism. It is identifiable, as well, that there are stereotypes associated with being a child of the clergy due to their expectations being higher than nonclergy children. How do the two coexist? This phenomenological study aims to understand how the lived experiences of African American children of clergy have impacted their adulthood. How has being an African American child growing up in the home of a pastor impacted how that child now copes mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as an adult? This study is designed to incorporate diversity into the study of children of clergy and how their livelihood has been impacted. Specifically, this study looks at the African American perspective, as there are limited studies done on the specific population. The theory guiding this study is Systems Theory developed by theorist Karl Ludwig Von Bertalanffy: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts (Bertalanffy, 1969). The idea of systems theory is that an individual is affected not only by their family dynamic but also by all the communities they are a part of (i.e., race, ethnicity, culture, religion, religious or educational institutions, etc.). The relationship between this theory and the focus of this research is that being an African American child of a clergy differs from simply being a child of the clergy. Several systems pressure the studied individuals: family, culture, religious institution, and the African American community. This study will interview adult African American children of clergy. This author intends to record and transcribe the interviews for research purposes. By identifying the interviewees' similarities and differences in their lived experiences, the researcher hopes to lay a basis for more available literature to fill the research gap associated with African American children of clergy.
