Authors: Phinehas Ng’ang’a Kamande and Florence S. A. K’Okul
Department of Psychology (Counseling Psychology)
Mount Kenya University, P. O. Box 342-01000, Thika, Kenya
Co-responding Author Email: ngangaphinehas@gmail.com
Abstract: Pastors’ wives are an important group of people in the society ;they are not only looked upon by their families and congregations for inspiration but they also act as role model for the women in the society. In Laikipia County cases of pastors’ wives suffering from depression, burnout, and chronic physical health issues have been on the rise. This has not only affected their individual health but also it has affected their marriages, families and their relationship with the society. The problem is not the stressors but the coping strategies which they have employed such as prayer, avoidance, withdrawal and hope that things will still workout, which have escalated their stress rather than alleviating it. Positive work-related stress coping strategy such as Health Exercise has not been majorly explored. Therefore, this study sought to examine the influence of health exercise on reducing stress among pastors’ wives in Pentecostal churches in Laikipia County, Kenya.The study employed descriptive survey research design. The population comprised 166 Pentecostal churches operating in Laikipia County and focused on the wives of the senior pastors of the respective churches. A multi-stage sampling was used; the churches were divided into zones and membership categories. Simple random sampling was used to select fifty churches and fifty pastors’ wives from the selected churches. A total of 50 senior pastors’ wives were sampled, which was approximately 30 % of the accessible population. Data for the study was collected by use of self-administered questionnaires and guided interview schedule . Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and T-test analyses were utilized for data analysis. The study established a negative correlation between health exercise and stress among pastors’ wives. Besides an independent-samples T-test indicated that stress levels for pastors’ wives exhibiting inadequate health exercise was significantly higher than for their counterparts displaying adequate health exercise. Therefore, the pastors’ wives who embraced exercise had lower stress levels. Therefore, the study concluded that health exercise was significantly associated with stress among pastors’ wives in Pentecostal churches. It was recommended that the church leadership should avail materials on stress and its remedies to the pastors’ wives, the governing organ of Pentecostal churches should organize training for pastors’ wives on their church role and work-life balance, Pastors’ wives should be encouraged to pursue training opportunities that would aid them effectively discharge their church role and also being educated on the need to create time for physical exercise as it is an effective remedy to stress alleviation.
Keywords: Stress reduction, health exercise, coping strategy, Pentecostal Pastors’ wives stress reduction
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Suggested Citation
Ng’ang’a, P.K., K’Okul, F.S. (2024). Influence of Health Exercise on Reducing Stress among Pastors’ Wives in Pentecostal Churches in Laikipia County, Kenya. African Research Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 11(2), 1-11. Available online at http://arjess.org/social-sciences-research/influence-of-health-exercise-on-reducing-stress-among-pastors-wives-in-pentecostal-churches-in-laikipia-county-kenya.pdf
