Comparing the psychological type profile of churchgoers and non-churchgoers in Italy

Abstract

A series of recent studies in the U.K. and in Australia has drawn attention to the distinctive psychological type profile of churchgoers compared with non-churchgoers or with the general population. This study extends that research to Italy. A sample of 1,155 Italians between the ages of 14 and 80 completed the Italian form of the Francis Psychological Type Scales (translated and tested within the Salesian Pontifical University) together with a measure of their frequency of church attendance. The data demonstrated that intuitive types and thinking types were under-represented in church congregations in Italy. This pattern is broadly consistent with findings from the U.K. and Australia.