Pink, Behind Bars: A Study of Basic Needs and Life Satisfaction among Two Communities of the Sister-Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration

Abstract

This study sought to determine whether the basic physical and psychological needs of contemplative nuns are continued to be satisfied within the confines of the cloister. It also explored how need satisfaction may denote overall life satisfaction. Alongside these objectives, the study looked into other aspects such as the nuns’ pre-vocational backgrounds, reasons for entering nunhood, and actual life within the cloister. The study population consisted of two communities of the Sister-Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration (Pink Sisters) from Tagaytay City and Quezon City. A survey instrument was used as the study’s primary data gathering tool along with additional methods such as non-participant observation and some informal “small talk” conversations with available respondents. Data gathering was conducted in two phases and made use of two surveys. All respondents from the two communities participated in the first phase while a number of available respondents participated as representatives for the second phase. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used for data analysis. Quantitative data was lifted from the respondents’ socio-demographic information and, more importantly, their answers to a 36-item Satisfaction Scale constructed by the researcher to measure the satisfaction of physical needs as well as the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Qualitative data was primarily obtained from the respondents’ answers to open-ended questions found in the surveys. Results reveal that the Pink Sisters are highly satisfied in all basic needs, with physical needs being the most satisfied and the relatedness being the least. Need satisfaction scores were compared with the nuns’ responses indicating life satisfaction, and it was revealed that the Pink Sisters were highly satisfied not only in terms of their basic needs, but with life in an overall sense. Despite these findings, slight differences between need satisfaction and life satisfaction scores may indicate the presence of other influencing factors to life satisfaction besides physical and psychological dimensions. Most of the Pink Sisters entered nunhood between the ages of 26 to 29 years old. Most have reached college and have former occupations either from academic or office settings. Majority of the respondents have narrated leading happy lives before entering their religious vocation, however they felt a “strong calling” inviting them to live a more fulfilling and meaningful life by serving a higher purpose: contemplative nunhood. Thus, their lives took a radical change when they entered the congregation of the Sister- Servants and adjusted to a life structured in prayer, reflection, and work. Though there were occasional problems encountered, such as interpersonal conflicts and some occasions when the respondents missed their families, coping was primarily done through prayer and reflection. Because the study was conducted on only two representative communities of cloistered nuns, it is recommended that further studies be conducted on all other contemplative communities throughout the Philippines in order to gamer conclusive generalizations with regards to their overall health and wellbeing.