Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 Community Marriage Initiatives and Clergy: The Impact of Support and Involvement on Clergy's Premarital Education Practices Tabitha R. (Tabitha Renee) Staier Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN SCIENCES COMMUNITY MARRIAGE INITIATIVES AND CLERGY: THE IMPACT OF SUPPORT AND INVOLVEMENT ON CLERGY’S PREMARITAL EDUCATION PRACTICES By TABITHA R. STAIER A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2007 The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Tabitha Staier defended on June 11, 2007. Robert E. Lee, III Professor Directing Dissertation David Gussak Outside Committee Member B. Kay Pasley Committee Member Christine Readdick Committee Member Received: Robert E. Lee, III, Program Director, Marriage and Family Therapy B. Kay Pasley, Chair, Department of Family and Child Sciences Approved: Billie Collier, Dean, College of Human Sciences The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend a special thank you to the faculty in the Department of Family and Child Sciences for allowing me the opportunity to come to Tallahassee and be a part of The Florida State University family. This season of my life has been filled with an immeasurable amount of learning and tremendous professional and personal growth. I would also like to thank Dr. Robert Lee for his enduring guidance throughout the dissertation process, and the other members on my dissertation committee, Dr. Kay Pasley, Dr. Christine Readdick, and Dr. David Gussak for their assistance. I appreciate all of your input and diligence throughout this process. I would also like to thank Dr. Tom Cornille, for his constant support, encouragement, and belief in me. I want to thank all of the Community Marriage Initiative leaders that participated in the study and made it possible. Thank you, Steven Brown, for your statistical assistance. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their continued support throughout my academic career. To my parents, Sonny and Renee, I could not have made it this far without you. Thank you for your unending love and encouragement, for demonstrating what a healthy marriage really looks like, and for providing such a strong foundation for me to build my life upon. To my siblings, Tim, Dannah, and David, thanks for your constant support. Thanks to my aunt, Norma Jean Howard, for supporting me as I pursued this degree. Finally, I want to thank God for bringing me this far. I could not have made it without Him. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables.................................................................................................................................vi List of Figures ..............................................................................................................................vii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................viii Abstract..........................................................................................................................................ix 1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................1 Purpose of the Study...........................................................................................................2 Definitions..............................................................................................................................2 Theory....................................................................................................................................5 Research questions and Hypothesis ............................................................................. 11 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................................. 13 Premarital Education........................................................................................................ 14 Clergy and Church............................................................................................................ 20 Training for Clergy............................................................................................................ 26 Community Marriage Initiatives ...................................................................................... 29 3. METHODOLOGY................................................................................................................. 35 Instrument Development.................................................................................................. 36 Measures............................................................................................................................ 36 Procedure........................................................................................................................... 40 Description of Participants............................................................................................... 46 Missing Data ...................................................................................................................... 48 Data Analyses.................................................................................................................... 51 4. RESULTS ........................................................................................................................... 53 Description of Variables ................................................................................................... 53 Research Findings and Hypothesis ............................................................................... 53 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION............................................................................... 70 Discussion.......................................................................................................................... 70 Limitations .......................................................................................................................... 72 Implications ........................................................................................................................ 74 Additional Suggestions for Future Research................................................................ 79 iv Conclusion.......................................................................................................................... 80 APPENDICES............................................................................................................................. 81 REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................117 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.....................................................................................................127 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Community Marriage Initiative Participation by Region and Division................. 42 Table 2. Number of Clergy Receiving Emails........................................................................ 45 Table 3. Sample and Response Rate Based on Region..................................................... 45 Table 4. Demographic Characteristics ................................................................................... 47 Table 5. Additional Demographic Characteristics................................................................. 47 Table 6. Missing Data Due to Nonresponse.......................................................................... 49 Table 7. Frequency of Involvement with CMI’s Supportive Efforts .................................... 54 Table 8. Number of Trainings Which Clergy Were Aware and Subsequent Training Attendance................................................................................................................... 55 Table 9. Frequency of Use of Programs in Premarital Education Following Training.... 56 Table 10. Use of Inventories in Premarital Education Following Training....................... 57 Table 11. Barriers to Training Attendance in Frequency and Percent* (N = 274)........... 58 Table 12. Clergy’s Use of Premarital Education Programs................................................. 59 Table 13. Clergy’s Use of Premarital Inventories ................................................................. 60 Table 14. Topics Covered in Premarital Education in Frequency and Percent (N = 452).................................................................................................................... 61 Table 15. Use of Efficacious Programs Based on Training ................................................ 63 Table 16. Frequency of Program Use Based on Training................................................... 64 Table 17. Use of Research-Based/Recommended Inventories Based on Training........ 67 Table 18. Frequency of Inventory Use based on Training.................................................. 68 Table 19. Community Marriage Initiatives Divided by the United States Bureau (2000a) Regions and Divisions.............................................................................. 81 Table 20. Emails Sent by Each Community Marriage