Exploring Affect Balance: Psychological Well-being of Church of England Clergy and Laity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Psychological well-being was assessed by affect balance (a function of negative and positive affect) during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 among 4449 clergy and laity in the Church of England. Better well-being was promoted by preference for feeling over thinking in the psychological type judging process, being older, belonging to the Evangelical wing of the Church, and living in rural areas. Psychological well-being was lowered among people with a general tendency toward neuroticism, among those with an Epimethean (Sensing-Judging: SJ) psychological temperament, among Anglo-Catholics, among those living in inner cities, among clergy, and among those living with children under 13. The mitigating effects of relevant support were evident for both clergy and lay people. A key finding was that it was those sources of support that were least often rated highly that may have had the strongest positive effects on well-being, particularly on those groups where well-being was lowest.