Date
5-23-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Stephen Wesley Ford
Keywords
Pastor's Kid, PKs, Pastor, Kid, Self-Concept, God Image, Stressors, Clergy, Religious Commitment, Parenting Style, Stress, Lazurus, Baumrind, Marcia, Cognitive Appraisal. Coping Mechanism
Disciplines
Counseling | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Forbes, Dedra Mikesha, "The Effect of God's Image on the Self Concept of Pastors' Kids (PKs)" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7044.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7044
Abstract
This study explores whether and to what extent the self-concept of Pastor’s Kids (PKs) is affected by their image of God. The effect of God's image is mediated by stress. Previous research has shown that the pressures of living up to expectations have resulted in mental health disorders and emotional disturbances among PKs that manifest as depression and anxiety. Researchers have found that depression and anxiety often result from stress and stressors experienced by PKs, with types of stress that include harm, threat, and challenge. Such stressors are usually derived from pressures to fulfill familial, church, and peer expectations (Pond, 2000; Juergensen, 2000). Parent-child interaction within and outside the household may exacerbate stress and affect the view of God and self-concept among PKs. The literature consists of studies primarily involving Evangelicals, where the participant pool was skewed toward Caucasian Americans and males. This study addresses these gaps by including a sample population that is more evenly distributed among Christian denominations, has Sabbath (Saturday) worshippers, includes African Americans, and is balanced by gender. A sample representative of the population being studied was ensured through a demographic screening survey. The screening survey and subsequent scales, such as the Stressors of Clergy Children Inventory (SCCI), Views on God Assessment (God-10), and Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI-10), were administered through the Survey Monkey survey tool. The data was analyzed and compared thematically to determine God’s image’s effect on PKs' self-concept.
