Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Theodicies and professional quality of life in a nationally representative sample of chaplains in the veterans' health administration.

Currier JM, Drescher KD, Nieuwsma JA, McCormick WH. Theodicies and professional quality of life in a nationally representative sample of chaplains in the veterans' health administration. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in The Community. 2017 Oct 1; 45(4):286-296.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

This study examined the role of theodicies or theological/philosophic attempts to resolve existential dilemmas related to evil and human suffering in chaplains' professional quality of life (ProQOL). A nationally representative sample of 298 VHA chaplains completed the recently developed Views of Suffering Scale (Hale-Smith, Park, and Edmondson, 2012 ) and ProQOL-5 (Stamm, 2010 ). Descriptive results revealed that 20-50% endorsed strong theistic beliefs in a compassionate deity who reciprocally suffers with hurting people, God ultimately being responsible for suffering, and that suffering can provide opportunities for intimate encounters with God and personal growth. Other results indicated that chaplains' beliefs about human suffering were differentially linked with their sense of enjoyment/purpose in working with veterans. These results suggest that theodicies might serve as a pathway to resilience for individuals in spiritual communities and traditions in USA, particularly for clinicians and ministry professionals who are committed to serving the needs of traumatized persons.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.