Sin, as an act of rebellion against God, is a theological concept which also has its psychological determinants and consequences. Psychology is concerned with understanding and treating the latter. Sacramental Confession besides offering forgiveness of sins, also has the potential to offer psychological aid for the feelings of guilt or unworthiness, which are experienced by the penitent seeking forgiveness. Confession has as its aim a reuniting with both God and man. The Priest is perceived as an agent of Divine mercy and as a significant authority figure. The penitent’s perception of his Confessor plays a role in his attitude toward Confession. If pastoral endeavors are to succeed a clear understanding of the psychological impact of pastoral care is needed. This can only be determined through empirical research into these psychological (cognitive, affective or behavioral) factors. Psychological inquiry does not serve to establish theological knowledge, but helps understand the subjective reception of practical pastoral activity based on these theological or moral foundations, and can serve to promote pastoral care, that is both in accord with Church teaching and more effectively meets the spiritual and psychological needs of the faithful.
This paper describes the development of a short 20-item scale (presented in the appendix) to measure the intensity of positive attitude to Confession among those who go to Confession. Items were selected from a pilot study(N = 100) which gathered responses to open-ended questions. A panel of judges with both theological and psychological backgrounds selected a set of 20 representative and relevant items. These were then included in a larger questionnaire of Confession. In a sample of 460 adults (230 men; 230 women) with an average age of 35, more positive attitude to confession was correlated with frequency of confession (r = 0,40). The scale displayed good psychometric qualities with an average item-scale correlation of r = 0,88. Only two of the 20 items had significantly different mean scores for men and women. The scale appears to differentiate adequately between penitents with indifferent and strongly positive attitudes toward Confession. Further research is needed to determine the sources and psychological correlates of a positive attitude to Confession.
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Vol. 1990 (1991)
Published: 2024-02-05
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