Influence of Psychosocial Motivation on Psychological Wellbeing among Catholic Priests: A Study of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province, Nigeria

Priesthood is a profession known by the general public as a priest in the Catholic Church (Adiwena, Suvianita & Hartanti, 2016).As such, priests are ordained mainly to offer sacraments to the congregation. Whilst Catholic priests should fulfil religious and spiritual ministry, latest studies have shown that priesthood has become less attractive due to declining psychosocial motivation (Adiwena et al., 2016). The present study focused on the influence of psychosocial motivation on psychological wellbeing of Catholic priests in Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province, Nigeria. The study used survey quantitative research design applying both stratified and simple random sampling methodologies to select 193 participants, where data was collected using developed social-demographic questionnaire and standardized questionnaires. Self-determination Theory and Psychological Wellbeing Theory were adopted in understanding the influence of psychosocial motivation on psychological wellbeing. The results of the study emerged that psychosocial motivation positively and significantly predicted psychological wellbeing of priests (β = 0.882, p<.05); indicating that need for competence, relatedness and autonomy leads to better psychological wellbeing of priests in Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province (Nigeria). The results of the study should therefore, raise awareness to mental health specialists and superiors of the Catholic religious communities that the psychological wellbeing of the priests needs to be closely monitored. Similarly, early diagnostics during recruitment of seminarians is essential in providing personalized solutions to priests.