title: Reactions and Strategies of German Catholic Priests to Cope with Phases of Spiritual Dryness.
abstract: We investigated strategies of 763 Catholic priests (response rate 36%) to deal with phases of spiritual dryness, specifically their reactions toward these feelings, and which strategies were used. Most priests have found strategies to cope with feelings of spiritual dryness. Those who have managed to overcome these phases were stimulated "all the more to help others" and experienced "deeper spiritual clarity and depth." Whatever strategy was chosen (we differentiated eight strategies in various combinations), there were no significant differences for priests' self-efficacy expectation, transcendence perception or life satisfaction. Instead, we found significant differences for social support (F = 6.5; p < 0.0001) and somatization (F = 3.4; p = 0.002).
authors.affiliation: Institute for Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4, 58313, Herdecke, Germany. Arndt.Buessing@uni-wh.de.
authors.forename: Arndt
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5025-7950
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Büssing
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Theology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sautermeister
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropological Psychology, School of Philosophy, Munich, Germany.|Research Centre Spiritual Care, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Eckhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Frick
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Theology, Albert-Ludwig University, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baumann
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002410:Catholicism / Q000523:psychology*; D002977:Clergy / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Catholic priests; Coping; Life satisfaction; Spiritual dryness; Strategies