The role of spiritual and psychological development in the cross-cultural adjustment of missionaries

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship between spiritual development, and both psychological development and cross-cultural adjustment in a group of missionaries. It was hypothesized that spiritual development would be positively related to psychological development as viewed from a relational psychodynamic perspective. It was also hypothesized that spiritual development would be positively related to psychological and sociocultural cross-cultural adjustment, and that it would contribute to the variance of adjustment above and beyond the contributions made by psychological development. One hundred and eighty-one missionaries living in 46 countries completed a questionnaire assessing these variables. Results supported the main hypotheses, and revealed a significant interaction between psychological development and spiritual development in predicting psychological adjustment. Implications for the study of psychological and spiritual development, as well as for the spiritual care of missionaries, are discussed.