Personality Typologies for Conservative Christians in Intensive Marital Therapy

Abstract

In our study we used a two-step cluster analytic approach to identify personality typologies for conservative Christians seen in intensive marital therapy (N = 207). Sixteen Personality Factor Fifth Edition results revealed significant personality differences based on gender as well as five significantly different personality clusters: (1) abstract, deferential, trusting, and tolerates disorder; (2) reactive and deferential; (3) reserved, abstract, serious, grounded, traditional, and self-reliant; (4) grounded; and (5) socially bold, abstracted, forthright, and open to change. Conclusions are drawn related to how these results compare with other personality studies in the literature and how these differing personality types might fit together in Christian marriage dyads.

KEYWORDS:

• Christianity
• marital therapy
• personality
• typology

Notes

Note. ^a,b,c,d Cluster means with different letters are significantly different at p < .05 and cluster means with same letter are not significantly different. *p < .001.

Note. One participant who was assigned to Cluster 3 was excluded from this table in that her spouse was not part of the study due to missing data.

We designed our study similar to Craig and Olson (1995), the only other 16PF study we found in the literature that uses a cluster analytic approach in examining the personalities of couples seen in marital therapy.

Although Shiota and Levenson (2007) found that personality similarities in long-term couples on the Adjective Check List predicted negative slopes in marital satisfaction trajectories (N = 134), to date, most research has supported the likeness hypothesis of marital stability (see Cattell & Nesselroade, 1967).

Several studies, however, have found that negativity in marriage may have beneficial results (see Gottman & Krokoff, 1989; Karney & Bradbury, 1995).