Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
net/publication/319219667
CITATIONS READS
11 332
4 authors, including:
Nanyamka Redmond
Fuller Theological Seminary
2 PUBLICATIONS 12 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
All content following this page was uploaded by Sarah Schnitker on 16 April 2019.
Based on insights from the psychology of religion, positive psychology, personality psychology, and
theology, a theoretical model relating the virtue of patience to religion and spirituality is proposed.
Patience is conceptualized as a hybrid personality construct related to effective emotion regulation
strategies coupled with transcendent narrative identity. An initial empirical test of the model is conducted
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
in a sample of ethnically diverse adolescents (N ⫽ 406) who are primarily Christian or nonreligious.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
Religiousness and spirituality are predictors of the virtue of patience, which then predicts use of the
emotion regulation strategy of cognitive reappraisal; all these variables are then tested as direct and
indirect predictors of regulated behavior and well-being. Overall, results support our theoretical model
that spirituality and religion predict higher patience, which facilitates the employment of adaptive
emotion regulation strategies that predict better life outcomes. Implications and future research questions
stemming from the theoretical model are discussed.
Since its beginning in the late 1990s, the field of positive religious meaning-systems to understand real-world manifesta-
psychology has been criticized by detractors as contributing to tions of the virtue of patience. MacIntyre (2007) argues that virtues
a cultural milieu in which suffering is ignored or avoided in a can only be enacted in the context of a community-based narrative
Pollyanna-ish pursuit of personal happiness. Although this is supporting their importance. We argue that patience, in particular,
not a completely accurate representation of the field, there are requires a self-transcendent narrative in which suffering has mean-
ways in which positive psychology could better integrate a ing or is explained. Religious communities are one of the primary
philosophy and psychology of suffering into its conceptualiza- locales of rich meaning-systems that can promote countercultural
tion of the “good life.” In particular, the virtue of patience has narratives about suffering. Building on research from the psychol-
been notably absent in character strength research spurred by ogy of religion and McAdams and Pals’s tripartite personality
the movement. Only a few psychological studies have examined theory (2006), we propose a model of patience in which patience
what it means to be a patient person (Schnitker, 2012; Schnitker is a hybrid personality construct that emerges when characteristic
& Emmons, 2007), and to our knowledge, there are no empir- adaptations related to regulating emotions are imbued with a
ical studies on patience in the period of adolescence. The field particular narrative that becomes a part of one’s identity. We argue
would be greatly enriched by more fully researching and pro- that religion generally, and Christianity in our particular sample,
moting this virtue so integrally related to suffering. provides people with spiritual narrative identities that promote the
Given the general dearth of cultural narratives related to the
development of virtues like patience. This is particularly important
purpose of suffering, we hypothesize that positive psychologists
during adolescence, which is an active time of identity formation
will find that it is essential to consider people’s spiritual and
(Steinberg & Morris, 2001) and spiritual development (King,
Ramos, & Clardy, 2013).
Because patience has long been neglected in Western cultural
dialogue, few theoretical resources are available to positive
Editor’s Note. Ralph L. Piedmont served as the action editor for this psychologists who wish to better understand the virtue of pa-
article.—RLP tience. Thus, it is necessary to move beyond the present culture
to mine insights from other cultures or historical eras. Although
Sarah A. Schnitker, Benjamin Houltberg, and Nanyamka Redmond, ideas may be extracted from a plethora of religious traditions to
Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary; William build a theoretical understanding of patience (Schnitker &
Dyrness, Graduate School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary. Emmons, 2007), we focus on the Christian tradition in the
This publication was made possible through the support of a grant from present paper as it is the predecessor of secularized Western
the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication culture today and is the primary religious affiliation of religious
are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John
individuals in our participant sample. A major goal of the
Templeton Foundation.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sarah A. present work, then, is to generate a theoretical model and
Schnitker, Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary, testable hypotheses related to the virtue of patience built upon
180 North Oakland Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101. E-mail: sschnitker@ insights from theology in addition to the current resources in
fuller.edu positive psychology and psychology of religion. Finally, we
264
PATIENCE AND CHRISTIANITY 265
will examine the role of patience in understanding the link strates discriminant validity from these constructs, indicating dis-
between spirituality/religiousness and positive youth outcomes tinctiveness of the virtue.
(i.e., cognitive reappraisal, daily regulatory behavior, well- At its core, patience involves a certain type of response (i.e.,
being) in a diverse sample of adolescents. calm acceptance or tolerance) to suffering, broadly conceived. In
fact, the word patience is derived from the Latin root pati, which
means “to suffer” (Oxford University Press, n.d.-a). Furthermore,
Research From Positive Psychology on Patience the word suffer, defined as “to experience or be subjected to
and Suffering something bad or unpleasant” or “to tolerate,” is derived from the
Latin roots sub- “from below, under” and ferre “to bear” (Oxford
The field of positive psychology has been controversial since its
University Press, n.d.-b). Thus, we conceptualize patience as a
inception. Most criticism has focused on research related to hedo-
willingness to suffer—to bear under or tolerate—what are per-
nic well-being, maintaining that the field’s narrow focus on hap-
ceived as negative circumstances. The three empirically validated
piness disregards the value of meaningful human experiences that
factors of patience all involve a person’s response to various types
involve negative emotions (Lazarus, 2003). Although there are
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Pals, 2006; McCrae & Costa, 2008) conceive at least three levels Research From Psychology of Religion on Building the
or units of personality: basic tendencies or traits; contextualized Virtue of Patience
middle-level units called characteristic adaptations; and personal
identity narratives (McAdams & Pals) or self-concept (McCrae &
Costa). Although character strengths have been described as trait- Building Virtues Through Transcendent Narratives
like (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), classical conceptualizations of
Psychologists who study psychology of religion and spirituality
virtue, classically known as habitus, postulate that virtues are
have long been committed to understanding how humans construe
habits acquired across time through intentional practices (MacIn-
and interact with the transcendent. Although different religions and
tyre, 2007; Brown, Spezio, Reimer, Van Slyke, & Peterson, 2013).
other various forms of spiritual practice have idiosyncratic narra-
This description, as well as McAdams and Pals’s (2006) own
tives surrounding the sacred, a universal feature spanning these
designation, indicate that virtues would be better classified as instantiations is engagement with a transcendent object or purpose.
characteristic adaptations, which are the transactional units of Piedmont calls this psychological phenomenon spiritual transcen-
personality that describe what personality “does,” in contrast to
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Spiritual Transcendence and Patience ing. Although we argue that spiritual transcendence is a universal
feature across religions, religions have particular narratives that
Given the general connection between spiritual transcendence, construe suffering and patience in ways that may diverge. Thus, it
religious practice, and virtue development, how might spiritual is important to attend to the actual narratives provided by a religion
transcendence and transcendent narratives specifically promote the in addition to universal factors like spiritual transcendence. A
development of patience? Initial evidence supports a positive pluralistic approach that takes seriously the “thick” and contextu-
relation between patience and spirituality/religiousness. Patience alized meanings ascribed by a religious tradition while also exam-
was positively correlated with frequency of prayer and spiritual ining more universal psychological variables avoids reductionism
transcendence, and a survey of major world religions supported the while also reaping the benefits of clear operationalization of def-
centrality of the virtue across the narratives of various religious initions (Slife, Hope, & Nebeker, 1999). Even though a survey of
traditions (Schnitker & Emmons, 2007). how various religions converge and diverge in narratives related to
No studies have yet examined the mechanisms by which spiritual patience and suffering or a qualitative study of patience in reli-
transcendence might affect patience, but research on religious coping gious narratives are beyond the scope of this paper, we are able to
and meaning-making from the psychology of religion literature points
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness . . . forgiving iniquity A New Model for Understanding Patience and
and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty” Spirituality and Initial Empirical Test
(Exodus 34:6, 7). This view is echoed throughout the biblical
writings in the call to wait upon God, who will make all things Given these insights from positive psychology, theology, per-
right. Waiting for God becomes a central theme of biblical faith sonality science, and psychology of religion, we propose a new
(Hebrews 11), so that even creation itself is described as groaning theoretical model for conceptualizing the virtue of patience and
while waiting for the “redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:22– how religion and spirituality influence it. A pictorial representation
24). Clearly, patience in the Christian tradition has strong redemp- of the model is displayed in Figure 1. The virtue of patience is
tive elements: patience is not just the acceptance of present reality, depicted as emerging from a transcendent narrative identity and
but also includes hope for some future state where things are characteristic adaptations that support adaptive emotion regulation.
redeemed. Religiosity and spirituality variables are shown as predictors of the
narrative identity or characteristic adaptations that comprise pa-
tience, with spiritual transcendence predicting change at the level
Patience and Agency: The Importance of Humility
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Figure 1. Theoretical model of how religion and spirituality relate to the virtue of patience.
43.6% Caucasian, 21.7% Asian/Asian American, 14.5% Hispanic/ and quality of a participant’s spirituality using a 6-point Likert
Latino, 8.1% African/African American, and 10.3% Other. Partic- scale (1 ⫽ strongly disagree to 6 ⫽ strongly agree) on items such
ipant religious affiliation was mostly Protestant (n ⫽ 265). The as “Maintaining my spirituality is a priority for me.”
remaining religious affiliations were as follows: Catholic (n ⫽ 50), Youth religious commitment. The Religious Commitment
Mormon (n ⫽ 1), Buddhist (n ⫽ 3), Jewish (n ⫽ 1), Agnostic (n ⫽ Inventory (RCI-10) by Worthington et al. (2003) is a 2-factor
17), and spiritual but not religious (n ⫽ 16). There were 45 10-item scale of religious allegiance and dedication. Rated on a
participants who stated they were religious “other,” and 8 partic- 5-point Likert scale (1 ⫽ not at all true of me to 5 ⫽ totally true
ipants chose not to state their religious affiliation. More generally, of me), items measure both interpersonal religious commitment
85% of the participants believed in some sort of higher power or (e.g., “I often read books and magazines about my faith”) and
God compared to 14% who stated they did not believe in a God. intrapersonal religious commitment (e.g., “My religious beliefs lie
behind my whole approach to life”).
Measures
Youth Patience
Youth reports were used on all variables of interest, and de-
scriptive statistics and internal reliabilities of measures are re- The 11-item 3-Factor Patience Questionnaire (3-FPQ; Schnit-
ported in Table 1. ker, 2012) was used to assess patience in regard to the interper-
sonal domain (“My friends would say I’m a very patient friend”),
life hardships (“I find it pretty easy to be patient with a difficult life
Religious Commitment and Spirituality
problem or illness”), and daily hassles (“Although they’re annoy-
Youth spiritual transcendence. The 8-item Spiritual Tran- ing, I don’t get too upset when stuck in a traffic jam”). Items were
scendence Index (STI; Seidlitz et al., 2002) measured the meaning rated from 1 (not like me at all) to 5 (very much like me).
270 SCHNITKER, HOULTBERG, DYRNESS, AND REDMOND
Table 1
Bivariate Correlations and Descriptive Statistics
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
ⴱⴱ ⴱⴱ ⴱⴱ ⴱⴱ ⴱⴱ ⴱⴱ ⴱⴱ
1. Spiritual transcendence — .81 .72 .15 .05 ⫺.02 .26 .17 .19 .20 ⫺.04 .07 .10ⴱ
2. Intrapersonal religious commitment .84ⴱⴱ .20ⴱⴱ .08 .01 .19ⴱⴱ .19ⴱⴱ .17ⴱⴱ .17ⴱⴱ .04 .04 .10
3. Interpersonal religious commitment .19ⴱⴱ .08 .02 .20ⴱⴱ .13ⴱⴱ .19ⴱⴱ .13ⴱⴱ .07 .03 .11ⴱ
4. Interpersonal patience .49ⴱⴱ .41ⴱⴱ .30ⴱⴱ .39ⴱⴱ .25ⴱⴱ .17ⴱⴱ .04 .09 .01
5. Life hardships patience .32ⴱⴱ .22ⴱⴱ .24ⴱⴱ .22ⴱⴱ .22ⴱⴱ .10ⴱ .03 ⫺.05
6. Daily hassles patience .11ⴱ .25ⴱⴱ .09 .05 ⫺.11ⴱ .07 ⫺.02
7. Reappraisal .20ⴱⴱ .25ⴱⴱ .26ⴱⴱ ⫺.05 .02 .05
8. Regulatory behavior .15ⴱⴱ .17ⴱⴱ ⫺.09 .02 ⫺.05
9. Positive affectivity .33ⴱⴱ ⫺.02 ⫺.05 ⫺.05
10. Life satisfaction .03 ⫺.13ⴱⴱ
11. Youth age ⫺.11ⴱ .17ⴱⴱ
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Youth Cognitive Reappraisal Muthén, 1998 –2012) to empirically test the proposed model that
included latent factors of youth religion and spirituality, patience,
Gross and John’s (2003) Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and well-being and observed variables of cognitive reappraisal and
(ERQ) was used to measure individual differences in the emotion regulatory behavior. The measurement model with all latent fac-
regulation strategy of cognitive reappraisal (e.g., “I control my tors was tested first and then the structural pathways were in-
emotions by changing the way I think about the situation I’m in”). cluded. Specifically, regulatory behavior and the latent factor of
Five items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly well-being were regressed on cognitive reappraisal and the latent
disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). factors of patience and religion/spirituality. Cognitive reappraisal
was regressed on patience and religion/spirituality, and patience
Youth General Regulatory Behavior was regressed on religion/spirituality. Nonsignificant links were
A questionnaire based on Oaten and Cheng’s (2006) study items trimmed to create a more parsimonious final model (Kline, 2011;
measuring everyday regulatory behaviors, including cigarette Figure 2). Model goodness of fit was considered acceptable if it
smoking, alcohol and caffeine consumption, dietary habits, self- had a nonsignificant chi-square test (2), a root mean square error
care habits, spending habits, emotion control, study habits, obedi- of approximation near .06, and a standardized root-mean-square
ence of rules, energy conservation, and turning in assignments, residual (SRMR) close to .08 (Marsh, Hau, & Wen, 2004).
was used. Participants rated how often they engaged in behaviors Next, indirect effects of the final model were examined for
in the past week on a scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (almost always). statistical significance using bootstrap methodology to calculate
standard errors and 95% biased-corrected confidence intervals of
these coefficients (MacKinnon, 2008). Finally, a multiple group
Youth Well-Being analysis was used to examine whether there were adolescent age,
Life satisfaction. This 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale gender, and ethnic differences in the pattern of effects (Kline,
(Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) was used to measure 2011). Specifically, we first tested for measurement invariance by
global life satisfaction. Items such as “In most ways, my life is constraining the variances of the latent variables to be equal across
close to my ideal” were rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) groups. Next, all path coefficients in the structural models were
to 7 (strongly agree). constrained and individually relaxed based on theory and improve-
Positive affectivity. The Positive and Negative Affect Sched- ment in model fit according to the chi-square difference (⌬2) test
ule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988; 20 items) was used to assess of nested models.
the extent to which participants felt positive (e.g., enthusiastic,
excited) and negative (hostile, irritable) emotions on a scale of 1
Results
(very slightly or not at all) to 5 (extremely). Only the positive
emotions subscale was used in analyses.
Descriptive Statistics and Bivariate Correlation
Analytic Approach
The pattern of associations within and between domains was
First, bivariate correlations and descriptive statistics for the generally consistent with expectations (see Table 1). The indica-
study variables were computed (see Table 1). Next, structural tors of latent factors were highly correlated as would be expected
equation modeling (SEM) was conducted in Mplus 7.3 (Muthén & by the proposed model. Regarding the correlations involving the
PATIENCE AND CHRISTIANITY 271
Life Hardships
Interpersonal Daily Hassles
.60**
.83** .49**
.83**
.98** .73** .15*
.21**
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
.59** .56**
Positive Life
Affectivity Satisfaction
Figure 2. The effects of religious framework on youth regulatory behavior and well-being. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01, ⴱ p ⬍ .05.
adolescent demographic variables, the results showed that older (see Figure 2), 2(27) ⫽ 38.99, p ⫽ .06, CFI ⫽ .99, RMSEA ⫽ .03,
adolescents reported significantly higher levels of life hardships 90% CI [.00, .06]; SRMR ⫽ .03. Consistent with our hypotheses,
and daily hassles patience. In addition, boys were older, and there adolescent religiousness/spirituality was positively associated with
were more girls that were European American. European Ameri- patience, cognitive reappraisal, regulatory behavior, and well-
cans reported higher levels of life satisfaction compared with being. Additionally, patience was positively and significantly
ethnic minority adolescents, but ethnic minority adolescents re- linked to cognitive reappraisal, regulatory behavior, and well-
ported higher levels of spiritual transcendence and interpersonal being.
religiosity. Next, we used MacKinnon’s asymmetric distribution of prod-
ucts test to determine the significance of indirect effects
Final Model: Model Trimming and Indirect Effects (MacKinnon, 2008). This approach allows for examining more
than one pathway simultaneously (e.g., Cui, Morris, Criss, Hoult-
The proposed model was tested to examine direct and indirect berg, & Silk, 2014). The spirituality/religiousness latent factor was
(via patience and cognitive reappraisal) pathways between the indirectly related to youth well-being via cognitive reappraisal,
spirituality/religiousness factor and youth outcomes (i.e., regula- ab ⫽ .03, 95% CI [.01, .06], via patience, ab ⫽ .03, 95% CI [.00,
tory behavior and well-being). A latent factor of spirituality/reli- .06], and via patience and cognitive reappraisal, abc ⫽ .01, 95% CI
giousness was created using spiritual transcendence, intrapersonal [.00, .02]. Moreover, spirituality/religiousness was indirectly re-
religious commitment, and interpersonal religious commitment as lated to regulatory behavior through patience, ab ⫽ .05, 95% CI
three indicators; a patience latent factor was created using interper- [.00, .10]. Spirituality/religiousness was also directly related to
sonal, life hardships, and daily hassles as three indicators; and a regulatory behavior, ab ⫽ .08, 95% CI [.01, .15], and well-being,
well-being latent factor was created using life-satisfaction and ab ⫽ .11, 95% CI [.04, .20], after bootstrapping. Furthermore,
positive affectivity as two indicators. Cognitive reappraisal and patience was directly related to well-being after bootstrapping,
regulatory behavior were observed variables in the model. The ab ⫽ .23, 95% CI [.10, .38]. This suggests that the latent factor of
measurement model fit the data adequately when the indicators of spirituality/religiousness was both directly and indirectly related to
interpersonal and intrapersonal religiosity were allowed to covary, adolescent outcomes.
2(16) ⫽ 26.78, p ⫽ .04; CFI ⫽ .99; RMSEA ⫽ .04, 90% CI [.01,
.07]; SRMR ⫽ .03. Second, a structural model was examined, Examining Adolescent Age, Gender, and Ethnicity as
which fit the data well, 2(26) ⫽ 38.82, p ⫽ .05; CFI ⫽ .99;
Moderators
RMSEA ⫽ .04, 90% CI [.00, .06]; SRMR ⫽ .03.
The only structural path coefficient that was nonsignificant and For the next research goal, we examined whether the pattern of
lacked empirical support (cognitive reappraisal to regulatory be- findings varied by youth age, gender, and ethnicity. Measurement
havior) was trimmed in favor of a more parsimonious model invariance across groups was tested first, and equality constraints
(Kline, 2011). The trimmed and final model with an additional across groups were released before the multigroup structural
degree of freedom demonstrated good model fit and was retained model was tested. There were very few differences across age,
272 SCHNITKER, HOULTBERG, DYRNESS, AND REDMOND
gender, and ethnicity for the measurement model and no differ- we were able to demonstrate the utility of the model in rela-
ences among pathways in the multigroup structural model. To tionship to actual real-world behavior and outcomes (regulated
examine age differences, we recoded youth age to a dichotomous behavior and well-being) in adolescents.
variable (via median split): younger youth (n ⫽ 256; ages 13–16 Our empirical model testing provides initial support for our
years; M age ⫽ 15.15 years) and older youth (n ⫽ 149; ages 17–18 theoretical model. Religion and spirituality (conceptualized as
years; M age ⫽ 17.44 years). Modification indices suggested that providing a transcendent narrative identity) related to the virtue
the intercepts of spiritual transcendence and daily hassles patience of patience, which was associated with higher use of cognitive
were invariant and should be freed, which resulted in good mea- reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy (a characteristic
surement model fit, 2(49) ⫽ 68.52, p ⫽ .04, CFI ⫽ .98, RM- adaptation). All three were significant correlates of adolescent
SEA ⫽ .04, 90% CI [.01, .07]; SRMR ⫽ .08. The structural model well-being, and religion/spirituality and patience were associ-
with constraints on all pathways demonstrated good model fit, ated with regulated behavior. Although previous research has
suggesting there were no differences among pathways based on the found a relationship between reappraisal and more behavioral
age of the adolescent, 2(79) ⫽ 100.18, p ⫽ .05, CFI ⫽ .99, indicators of regulation (e.g., substance use or externalizing
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
RMSEA ⫽ .04, SRMR ⫽ .07. symptoms in adolescents; Hsieh, 2010; Watson, 2007), reap-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
Next, we explored possible differences based on gender (fe- praisal was not significantly related to regulated behavior in the
males: n ⫽ 236; males: n ⫽ 165). The fully constrained measure- present analyses. This may be because many of the actions
ment model demonstrated good model fit, 2(51) ⫽ 72.02, p ⫽ assessed in the regulatory behavior questionnaire were not
.03, CFI ⫽ .97, RMSEA ⫽ .05, 90% CI [.02, .07]; SRMR ⫽ .06. necessarily related to emotionally salient stimuli (e.g., turning
In the next step, constraints were placed on the structural model things in on time, regulating caffeine). It may also be that
which revealed no gender differences among pathways and the reappraisal is not a consistent predictor of regulated behavior or
model fit indices suggested adequate fit, 2(69) ⫽ 95.08, p ⫽ .03, more external behaviors. For instance, one study found that
CFI ⫽ .98, RMSEA ⫽ .04, 90% CI [.02, .06]; SRMR ⫽ .06. reappraisal was unrelated to externalizing problems in adoles-
Finally, we analyzed whether the links in the theoretical model cents even though it was associated with internalizing symp-
were moderated by adolescent ethnicity (European Americans: toms (Garnefski, Kraaij, & van Etten, 2005). We anticipate that
n ⫽ 177; Ethnic minorities: n ⫽ 227). Testing of measurement reappraisal would significantly predict behavioral indicators
invariance indicated good fit, 2(51) ⫽ 74.27, p ⫽ .02, CFI ⫽ .98, more closely related to emotional expression and interpersonal
RMSEA ⫽ .05, 90% CI [.02, .07]; SRMR ⫽ .06. Multigroup testing interactions where emotions play a larger role.
of the structural model suggested that there was a difference in
covarying indicators of spiritual transcendence and intrapersonal Clarifying the Conceptualization of Suffering in
religiousness. For European American adolescents, there was a
Relation to Patience
significant association,  ⫽ .58, p ⬍ .01, between spiritual tran-
scendence and intrapersonal religiousness, whereas this relation- Integral to our new theoretical model and present analyses is the
ship was not significant for ethnic minority adolescents. Again, premise that patience is intricately connected to suffering. At
there were no differences among pathways and the model fit was present, suffering is defined as any experience perceived by a
acceptable, 2(79) ⫽ 100.55, p ⫽ .05, CFI ⫽ .99, RMSEA ⫽ .04, person to be bad, unpleasant, or burdensome. Although the
90% CI [.00, .06]; SRMR ⫽ .06. Overall, there were very few 3-Factor Patience scale (Schnitker, 2012) separates out types of
substantial differences in our model based on the age, gender, and patience based on the sources of suffering, all perceptions of
ethnicity of the adolescent. suffering are basically treated as equal. What constitutes a long-
term hardship, daily hassle, or an interpersonal difficulty is defined
by the individual, and there is no differentiation among patience
Discussion
based on a more objective judgment of the severity of the suffering
The purpose of this article is twofold: to propose a theoretical stimulus.
model for conceptualizing the virtue of patience in relation to For example, one participant may be thinking about the long-
religion/spirituality and to provide an initial empirical test of term hardship of dealing with recurring but mild allergies whereas
the model in an adolescent sample. Significant strides were another may be referencing the hardship of dealing with cystic
made toward both aims. Drawing on resources from positive fibrosis when responding to the patience measure. From an out-
psychology, psychology of religion, and personality psychol- sider’s perspective, one of these hardships involves a much greater
ogy, we proposed a theoretical model that conceptualizes pa- magnitude of suffering than the other. However, there is no em-
tience as a hybrid personality construct related to effective pirical evidence at this point indicating the extent to which an
emotion regulation strategies coupled with a transcendent nar- “objective” assessment of the suffering stimulus is related to how
rative identity (see Figure 1). Given the model’s emphasis on patience is enacted in response to that stimulus. Recent studies
the narrative surrounding suffering provided by religion, we from the stress and coping literature suggest that it may actually be
also surveyed teachings on the virtue of patience from the people’s perceptions of stress rather than objective levels of stress
Christian tradition, which was the primary religious affiliation that are most important in determining behavioral and physiolog-
of participants in our sample. The model was supported in our ical outcomes (e.g., Crum, Salovey, & Achor, 2013; Kilby &
preliminary empirical test with a sample of adolescents. Reli- Sherman, 2016). The same may be true of suffering and patience,
giousness and spirituality were related to the virtue of patience but this has not been tested. Given this gap in the research, future
and the emotion regulation strategy of cognitive reappraisal—a research on patience should (a) assess in greater detail the sources
key characteristic adaptation underlying patience. Moreover, of suffering for stimuli eliciting patience and (b) procure both
PATIENCE AND CHRISTIANITY 273
participant and objective rater judgments of the severity of the Utility of the Theoretical Model to Promote Research
eliciting stimuli. on Patience
Given the complexities of the theoretical model and constructs
Initial Empirical Test: Strengths and Limitations involved, it is unlikely that one study will be able to test all the
potential research questions generated by the model. We do sug-
Strengths. These findings are seminal in building our under- gest initial tests of the mechanisms specified in the model. How-
standing of the mechanisms by which religion and spirituality ever, a variety of research questions and hypotheses can be derived
affect the virtue of patience, well-being, and behavior in adoles- from the model beyond the mechanisms depicted. Though not a
cents, an understudied population in psychology of religion. They comprehensive list, the following are some research questions that
demonstrate that a pathway by which religion and spirituality might be developed from the model:
affect positive life outcomes is through the virtue of patience, and • What is the best way to assess the virtue of patience as a
patience is closely connected to the emotion regulation strategy of hybrid construct? Do current measures and methods accu-
reappraisal. Although previous research has demonstrated separate
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
cial behaviors. Social Development, 21, 667– 685. http://dx.doi.org/10 Lambert, N. M., Fincham, F. D., Stillman, T. F., Graham, S. M., & Beach,
.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00660.x S. R. H. (2010). Motivating change in relationships: Can prayer increase
Crum, A. J., Salovey, P., & Achor, S. (2013). Rethinking stress: The role forgiveness? Psychological Science, 21, 126 –132. http://dx.doi.org/10
of mindsets in determining the stress response. Journal of Personality .1177/0956797609355634
and Social Psychology, 104, 716 –733. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ Laufer, A., Solomon, Z., & Levine, S. Z. (2010). Elaboration on posttrau-
a0031201 matic growth in youth exposed to terror: The role of religiosity and
Cui, L., Morris, A. S., Criss, M. M., Houltberg, B. J., & Silk, J. S. (2014). political ideology. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 45,
Parental psychological control and adolescent adjustment: The role of 647– 653. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0106-5
adolescent emotion regulation. Parenting: Science and Practice, 14, Lazarus, R. S. (2003). Does the positive psychology movement have legs?
47– 67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2014.880018 Psychological Inquiry, 14, 93–109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The S15327965PLI1402_02
satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71– Leffel, G. M. (2011). Beyond meaning: Spiritual transformation in the
75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13 paradigm of moral intuitionism. A new direction for the psychology of
Falkenroth, U., & Brown, C. (1976). makrothymia [patience, longsuffer- spiritual transformation. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Re-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
ing]. In C. Brown (Ed.), The new international dictionary of New ligion, 22, 25–125.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
Testament theology (Vol. 2, pp. 768 –772). Grand Rapids, MI: Zonder- Linley, P. A., Joseph, S., Harrington, S., & Wood, A. M. (2006). Positive
van. psychology: Past, present, and (possible) future. The Journal of Positive
Gable, S. L., & Haidt, J. (2005). What (and why) is positive psychology? Psychology, 1, 3–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760500372796
Review of General Psychology, 9, 103–110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ MacIntyre, A. (2007). After virtue: A study in moral theory. Notre Dame,
1089-2680.9.2.103 IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Garnefski, N., Kraaij, V., & van Etten, M. (2005). Specificity of relations MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis.
between adolescents’ cognitive emotion regulation strategies and Inter- New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group/Erlbaum.
nalizing and Externalizing psychopathology. Journal of Adolescence, Marsh, H. W., Hau, K. T., & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules:
28, 619 – 631. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2004.12.009 Comment on hypothesis-testing approaches to setting cutoff values for
Graham, J., & Haidt, J. (2010). Beyond beliefs: Religions bind individuals
fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999).
into moral communities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14,
findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11, 320 –341. http://dx.doi.org/
140 –150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1088868309353415
10.1207/s15328007sem1103_2
Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion
Marx, K. (1996). Later political writings (T. Carver, Trans. & Ed.).
regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/
being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 348 –362.
CBO9780511810695
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
McAdams, D. P., & Pals, J. L. (2006). A new Big Five: Fundamental
Hampson, P. (2012). By knowledge and by love: The integrative role of
principles for an integrative science of personality. American Psychol-
habitus in Christian psychology. Edification, 6, 5–18.
ogist, 61, 204 –217. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.61.3.204
Harned, D. B. (1997). Patience: How we wait upon the world. Cambridge,
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (2008). The five-factor theory of personality.
MA: Cowley Publications.
In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of
Horst, J. (1967). makrothymia. In G. Kittel, (Ed.), & G. W. Bromiley
personality: Theory and research (pp. 159 –181). New York, NY: Guil-
(Trans. & Ed.), Theological dictionary of the New Testament (Vol. 4,
ford Press.
pp. 374 –387). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
McCullough, M. E., & Willoughby, B. L. (2009). Religion, self-regulation,
Houltberg, B. J., Morris, A. S., Cui, L., Henry, C., & Criss, M. (2014). The
role of youth anger in explaining links between parenting and early and self-control: Associations, explanations, and implications. Psycho-
adolescent prosocial and antisocial behavior. The Journal of Early logical Bulletin, 135, 69 –93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0014213
Adolescence, 36, 297–318. Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., Myers, S. S., & Robinson, L. R.
Hsieh, M. (2010). The relations among emotion regulation strategies, (2007). The role of the family context in the development of emotion
self-concept, and adolescents’ problem behaviors (Doctoral disserta- regulation. Social Development, 16, 361–388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/
tion). Indiana University, IN. Retrieved from http://gradworks.umi.com/ j.1467-9507.2007.00389.x
34/08/3408094.html Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998 –2012). Mplus user’s guide (7th
Kilby, C. J., & Sherman, K. A. (2016). Delineating the relationship ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Author.
between stress mindset and primary appraisals: Preliminary findings. Nietzsche, F. (1967). The will to power (W. Kaufmann & R. J. Hollingdale,
SpringerPlus, 5, 336. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40064-016-1937-7 Trans.). New York, NY: Random House.
King, P. E., Clardy, C. E., & Ramos, J. R. (2014). Adolescent spiritual Noftle, E. E., Schnitker, S. A., & Robins, R. W. (2011). Character and
exemplars: Exploring adolescent spirituality among diverse youth. Jour- personality: Connections between positive psychology and personality
nal of Adolescent Research, 29, 186 –212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ psychology. In K. M. Sheldon, T. B. Kashdan, & M. F. Steger (Eds.),
0743558413502534 Designing the future of positive psychology: Taking stock and moving
King, P. E., Ramos, J. S., & Clardy, C. E. (2013). Searching for the sacred: forward (pp. 207–227). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. http://
Religious and spiritual development among adolescents. In K. I. Parga- dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373585.003.0014
ment, J. Exline, & J. Jones (Eds.), APA handbook of psychology, religion Oaten, M., & Cheng, K. (2006). Improved self-control: The benefits of a
and spirituality (pp. 513–528). Washington, DC: American Psycholog- regular program of academic study. Basic and Applied Social Psychol-
ical Association. ogy, 28, 1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15324834basp2801_1
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation mod- Oxford University Press. (n.d.-a). Patience. In Oxford English Dictionary
eling (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press. online. Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://www.oxforddictionaries
Kunz, G. (2002). Simplicity, humility, patience. In E. E. Gantt & R. N. .com/us/definition/american_english/patience
Williams (Eds.), Psychology for the other: Levinas, ethics and the Oxford University Press. (n.d.-b). Suffer. In Oxford English Dictionary
practice of psychology (pp. 118 –142). Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne Uni- online. Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://www.oxforddictionaries
versity Press. .com/us/definition/american_english/suffer
PATIENCE AND CHRISTIANITY 275
Pargament, K. I., Smith, B. W., Koenig, H. G., & Perez, L. (1998). Patterns of religion and spirituality. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2,
of positive and negative religious coping with major life stressors. 104 –114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018454
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37, 710 –724. http://dx.doi Seidlitz, L., Abernethy, A. D., Duberstein, P. R., Evinger, J. S., Chang,
.org/10.2307/1388152 T. H., & Lewis, B. (2002). Development of the spiritual transcendence
Park, C. L. (2006). Exploring relations among religiousness, meaning, and index. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41, 439 – 453. http://
adjustment to lifetime and current stressful encounters in later life. dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-5906.00129
Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 19, 33– 45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ Shaver, P. R., & Mikulincer, M. (2007). Adult attachment strategies and
10615800600581259 the regulation of emotion. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion
Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative regulation (pp. 446 – 465). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life Slife, B. D., Hope, C., & Nebeker, R. S. (1999). Examining the relationship
events. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 257–301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ between religious spirituality and psychological science. Journal of
a0018301 Humanistic Psychology, 39, 51– 85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/
Park, C. L. (2013). Religion and meaning. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park 0022167899392005
(Eds.), The handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (2nd Steinberg, L., & Morris, A. S. (2001). Adolescent development. Annual
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
ed., pp. 357–379). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Review of Psychology, 52, 83–110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev
Park, C. L., Edmondson, D., & Blank, T. (2009). Religious and non- .psych.52.1.83
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
religious pathways to stress-related growth in cancer survivors. Applied Thomas, R. M., & Schnitker, S. A. (2016). Modeling the effects of
Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 1, 321–335. within-person characteristic and goal-level attributes on personal project
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and pursuit over time. Manuscript submitted for publication. http://dx.doi
virtues: A handbook of classification. Washington, DC: American Psy- .org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.06.012
chological Association. Vanstone, W. H. (1982). The stature of waiting. London, UK: Darton,
Piedmont, R. L. (1999). Does spirituality represent the sixth factor of Longman and Todd.
personality? Spiritual transcendence and the Five-Factor Model. Journal Waterman, A. S. (2008). Reconsidering happiness: A eudaimonist’s per-
of Personality, 67, 985–1013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494 spective. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 3, 234 –252. http://dx.doi
.00080 .org/10.1080/17439760802303002
Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (1998). The contours of positive human health. Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and vali-
Psychological Inquiry, 9, 1–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s1532 dation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS
7965pli0901_1 scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.
Schnitker, S. A. (2012). An examination of patience and well-being. The http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063
Journal of Positive Psychology, 7, 263–280. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ Watson, E. B. (2007). Emotion regulation in affluent adolescents: Inves-
17439760.2012.697185 tigating the relationship between regulation and functioning. (Doctoral
Schnitker, S. A., & Emmons, R. A. (2007). Patience as a virtue: Religious dissertation). Columbia University, NY. Retrieved from http://
and psychological perspectives. Research in the Social Scientific Study gradworks.umi.com/32/85/3285193.html
of Religion, 18, 177–208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004158511.i- Worthington, E. L., Jr., Wade, N. G., Haidt, T. L., Ripley, J. S., Mc-
301.69 Cullough, M. E., Berry, J. W., . . . O’Connor, L. (2003). The Religious
Schnitker, S. A., Felke, T. J., Barrett, J. L., & Emmons, R. A. (2014). Commitment Inventory-10: Development, refinement, and validation of
Longitudinal study of religious and spiritual transformation in adoles- a brief scale for research and counseling. Journal of Counseling Psy-
cents attending Young Life summer camp: Assessing the epistemic, chology, 50, 84 –96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.50.1.84
intrapsychic, and moral sociability functions of conversion. Psychology
of Religion and Spirituality, 6, 83–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/
a0035359 Received January 30, 2016
Schultz, J. M., Tallman, B. A., & Altmaier, E. M. (2010). Pathways to Revision received May 12, 2016
posttraumatic growth: The contributions of forgiveness and importance Accepted June 7, 2016 䡲