Research Interests for Laura K. Barnard

Faculty Mentor: Curry

Research Interests:
Religious leaders, specifically clergy, rate themselves as some of the loneliest professionals and they have one of the highest burnout rates. This is one of the contributing factors to a current clergy shortage. Institutional and Individual factors probably have a role in this. I am interested in studying individual factors that might lead to poor self care, poor health, and low satisfaction in the job. I predict that religious leaders may vary significantly from the general population in a variety of personality factors. For instance, it could be that religious leaders tend to have a hard time saying no, tend to like to avoid conflict, and tend to need to please people. I'm interested in if these differences exist. My research always looks to implications and ultimately I will ask how seminaries and religious institutions can be structured to better support their leaders.