Social Support Network from the UMC Clergy Health Initiative
Social network data from the Clergy Health Initiative are helping researchers understand how unique the United Methodist Church’s clergy are as a community of social support in several ways. In this memo, our research team outlines three key takeaways about the social support network of UMC clergy in North Carolina. We also describe a few questions that we plan to answer as we continue to obtain this important data from members of the UMC clergy community.
1. Many Supportive Ties
Members of the clergy responding to the CHI survey are asked about the other clergy-members they turn to for social support. The vast majority of clergy named at least one support tie, and many clergy named several key support ties. Figure 1 depicts the network of support ties amongst NC UMC clergy-members in 2021. Each circle, or “node,” is one clergy-member. Each line, or “edge,” is a support connection reported by a member of the clergy. Nodes are bigger for clergy-members who nominate more support ties, or who are nominated more often as support ties by others. Nodes are colored by conference membership.
2. Clergy Connect when Needing or Giving Support
Most social networks have a tendency to exhibit “homophily” - or segregation along demographics, physical health traits, and self-reported indicators of stress and mental health (Figure 2A). While NC UMC clergy are often connected to people who are similar to them in terms of demographic qualities like race and gender, the extreme opposite is true for indicators of stress and anxiety (Figure 2B). There is a greater prevalence of people who are connected to dissimilar others in terms of self-reported stress and anxiety in the NC UMC clergy network.
In other words, people are most likely to be connected in the network when one person is experiencing more stress and anxiety, and their social tie(s) are experiencing lower levels of stress and anxiety (Figure 3). This makes the NC UMC social network very unique: people form ties with others in ways that are associated with their needs - a property that is suggestive of a network that is unique in terms of the beneficence, community-mindedness, and proactive help-seeking behavior of its members.
3. More Support Ties, More Job Satisfaction
Even though people tend to report ties that do not match their current degree of stress or anxiety, clergy-members who name more peers as social support ties are more likely to report higher levels of job satisfaction compared to clergy-members who name fewer social support ties. This result suggests that seeking social support works: those who are able to make more connections with fellow clergy-members appear to be more satisfied with their life in ministry. However, the number of ties tend to vary by clergy type (Figure 4). For example, local pastors often have one fewer connection than all other members of the social support network - perhaps due to the challenges of making and maintaining ties because of the unique challenges of their vital role in the Church.
Our team will continue to explore the data to learn more about the needs of UMC clergy, and to understand how to best support the mental and physical well-being of this unique and important community.
Social Support Network from the UMC Clergy Health Initiative
Social network data from the Clergy Health Initiative are helping researchers understand how unique the United Methodist Church’s clergy are as a community of social support in several ways. In this memo, our research team outlines three key takeaways about the social support network of UMC clergy in North Carolina. We also describe a few questions that we plan to answer as we continue to obtain this important data from members of the UMC clergy community.
1. Many Supportive Ties
Members of the clergy responding to the CHI survey are asked about the other clergy-members they turn to for social support. The vast majority of clergy named at least one support tie, and many clergy named several key support ties. Figure 1 depicts the network of support ties amongst NC UMC clergy-members in 2021. Each circle, or “node,” is one clergy-member. Each line, or “edge,” is a support connection reported by a member of the clergy. Nodes are bigger for clergy-members who nominate more support ties, or who are nominated more often as support ties by others. Nodes are colored by conference membership.
2. Clergy Connect when Needing or Giving Support
Most social networks have a tendency to exhibit “homophily” - or segregation along demographics, physical health traits, and self-reported indicators of stress and mental health (Figure 2A). While NC UMC clergy are often connected to people who are similar to them in terms of demographic qualities like race and gender, the extreme opposite is true for indicators of stress and anxiety (Figure 2B). There is a greater prevalence of people who are connected to dissimilar others in terms of self-reported stress and anxiety in the NC UMC clergy network.
In other words, people are most likely to be connected in the network when one person is experiencing more stress and anxiety, and their social tie(s) are experiencing lower levels of stress and anxiety (Figure 3). This makes the NC UMC social network very unique: people form ties with others in ways that are associated with their needs - a property that is suggestive of a network that is unique in terms of the beneficence, community-mindedness, and proactive help-seeking behavior of its members.
3. More Support Ties, More Job Satisfaction
Even though people tend to report ties that do not match their current degree of stress or anxiety, clergy-members who name more peers as social support ties are more likely to report higher levels of job satisfaction compared to clergy-members who name fewer social support ties. This result suggests that seeking social support works: those who are able to make more connections with fellow clergy-members appear to be more satisfied with their life in ministry. However, the number of ties tend to vary by clergy type (Figure 4). For example, local pastors often have one fewer connection than all other members of the social support network - perhaps due to the challenges of making and maintaining ties because of the unique challenges of their vital role in the Church.
Our team will continue to explore the data to learn more about the needs of UMC clergy, and to understand how to best support the mental and physical well-being of this unique and important community.