Stressors of Clergy Children and Couples Scale (SOCC-C)

Abstract

The Stressors of Clergy Children and Couples scale (SOCC-C) is a specialized psychological scale designed to measure the unique sources of stress experienced by families in ministerial roles. Developed by Ostrander, Ceglian, and Fournier (1993), the instrument focuses specifically on the challenges faced by clergy children and their parents, acknowledging that the demands of ministry often create distinctive pressures related to public life, behavioral expectations, and social isolation. The 19-item scale utilizes a Likert-type format to assess how upset or stressed family members feel regarding various situations related to their vocation and personal lives. The SOCC-C is organized around three primary factors: Family’s Public Life, Expectations, and Family Isolation, demonstrating robust internal consistency across its dimensions.

Keywords

SOCC-C, Clergy families, ministerial stress, family adaptation, psychological testing, Expectations, Family Isolation, Stressors

Authors

D. L. Ostrander, C. P. Ceglian, D. G. Fournier

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SOCC-C scale is to systematically identify and quantify the specific sources of stress affecting the family unit of a minister or religious leader. Unlike generic stress inventories, the SOCC-C targets challenges inherent to the ministerial profession, such as the blending of public and private life, intense community scrutiny, and the unique time demands placed on the clergy parent. This instrument was developed to facilitate research into the adaptation, coping mechanisms, and overall well-being of these specific families.

By measuring the degree to which various situations cause “upset” within the family, the scale provides researchers and counselors with a tool to pinpoint areas of greatest vulnerability. The resulting data is crucial for developing targeted interventions aimed at improving family resilience and reducing the negative psychological impact associated with the demanding lifestyle of professional ministry.

Construct

The SOCC-C measures the construct of vocation-specific family stressors. It is founded on the premise that the role of a minister imposes non-normative demands on the spouse and children, which can lead to measurable psychological strain. The construct is multidimensional, encompassing the following three core themes:

• Family’s Public Life: Stressors related to the lack of privacy, public scrutiny, and the requirement for the family to maintain a visible, often idealized, public image within the church or community.
• Expectations: Stressors arising from internal and external pressures regarding behavior, appearance, emotional expression, and adherence to specific moral or religious standards, often resulting in feelings of constraint or being judged.
• Family Isolation: Stressors concerning feelings of loneliness, difficulty forming close friendships, or experiencing difference from peers, often stemming from the family’s unique social position or the minister’s intense professional demands.

Validity

The original validation work conducted by Ostrander, Ceglian, and Fournier (1993) established the initial psychometric soundness of the SOCC-C. The scale demonstrated strong construct validity, as confirmed through factor analysis which successfully isolated the hypothesized dimensions relevant to clergy family life. This differentiation showed that the scale was measuring distinct, yet related, types of stress unique to this population.

Further studies, such as the doctoral research by Wilson (2010), have utilized the SOCC-C, supporting its continued relevance and ability to predict adaptation and quality of life outcomes in adolescent children of clergy, thereby providing additional evidence for the scale’s external and predictive validity across different research contexts.

Reliability

The SOCC-C exhibits high internal consistency, indicating strong reliability among its items. Reliability was primarily assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, with the total scale score and its subscales demonstrating acceptable to excellent coefficients:

• Total Scale: Alpha = 0.86
• Family’s Public Life Subscale: Alpha = 0.749
• Expectations Subscale: Alpha = 0.718
• Family Isolation Subscale: Alpha = 0.82

These values confirm that the items within the total scale and within each subscale consistently measure the intended construct of stress, ensuring the instrument is a dependable measure for assessing the unique pressures faced by clergy families (Wilson, 2010).

Factor Analysis

The factor analysis of the SOCC-C revealed a three-factor structure, which is consistent with the theoretical understanding of stress in ministerial families. These factors, or subscales, allow researchers to analyze specific domains of stress rather than relying solely on a global score. The three dimensions identified are:

1. Family’s Public Life
2. Expectations
3. Family Isolation

This empirical breakdown provides nuance, showing that stress is not monolithic but arises from distinct sources related to the intersection of professional religious life and private family dynamics. The strong alpha values associated with each factor confirm the distinct measurement capability of these subscales.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological Scale / Stress Inventory

Format: 19 items, utilizing a 6-point Likert-type scale. The response options are:

1. 0 = No
2. 1 = Not Upset
3. 2 = Little Upset
4. 3 = Somewhat Upset
5. 4 = Quite Upset
6. 5 = Very Upset

Language Available: English (as per original documentation)

Population Group: Clergy Children and Couples (Ministers’ Families)

Age Group: Applicable to both children (adolescents, based on some research applications) and adult couples/parents within the ministry family.

Population Details: Specifically designed for family members whose primary caregiver or spouse holds a ministerial position, regardless of denomination, who experience unique socio-professional stressors.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate how “upset” or stressed they feel regarding each specific situation or statement listed in the inventory.

Keywords

SOCC-C, psychometric properties, Cronbach’s alpha, pastoral families, emotional strain, vocational demands, family systems theory, psychological measurement

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material. (Primary development occurred at Oklahoma State University.)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was initially developed and validated in the early 1990s, with the primary validation article published in 1993. Initial development work was documented in D. L. Ostrander’s 1991 doctoral dissertation. Information regarding current fees or formal permissions for research use is not explicitly detailed in the source content, though the instrument is widely cited in academic literature concerning pastoral families.

The full text of the instrument can be found in academic repositories. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED374129.pdf. Further details are available at: https://shareok.org/bitstream/handle/11244/11448/Thesis-2000-C989p.pdf?sequence=1 and http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pr0.1993.72.1.271.

Reference’s

• Ostrander, D. L. (1991). Predictors of Adaptation in Ministers’ Families. Oklahoma State University. Doctoral dissertation.
• Ostrander, D. L., Ceglian, C. P., & Fournier, D. G. (1993). The stressors of clergy children and couples: Reliability and validity. Psychological Reports, 72(1), 271-275.
• Ostrander, D., Henry, C., & Fournier, D. (1994). Stress, family resources, coping, and adaptation in ministers’ families. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 13, 50-67.
• Wilson, Cynthia B. (2010). Understanding Stress and the Quality of Life for Adolescent Children of Clergy: A Retrospective Study. Florida State University. Doctoral dissertation.

Items of the Stressors of Clergy Children and Couples scale (SOCC-C)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. The death of a close relative
2. The time our family spends praying/reading the Bible together
3. The parents in our family fight
4. One parent in our family is gone a lot on weekends and on evenings when the children and other parent are home
5. Lack of privacy for our family
6. Now our town/neighborhood think ministers’ families should behave
7. Whether or not minister in our family practices what they preach
8. Another family member’s emotional or mental health
9. Moving
10. Being criticized
11. Both parents work because we need the money
12. Both parents work
13. Whether or not I can ask for help if I feel sick
14. The way I am allowed/or not allowed to be angry or show any other negative emotions (sadness‚ mad‚ hate‚ or such)
15. Being told how to act by people in the church or community [Being told how to act by church people]
16. Feeling all alone or different from other people my age
17. The parent(s) in our family are divorced or talk about getting a divorce
18. Not ha‎ving a really good‚ close friend
19. Whether or not the church or the family is more important to the minister in our family