Life Satisfaction Scale for Apostolic Women Religious (LSSAWR)
Dear Sisters,
My name is Sister Maria Clara Kreis, a Sister of Divine Providence, and I am the LSSAWR Grant Project Coordinator & Lead Researcher at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA). It is with great excitement and in deep gratitude that I can share with you that Duquesne University and I have received a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to promote the development and future use of the “Life Satisfaction Scale for Apostolic Women Religious (LSSAWR).”
The development of the LSSAWR was originally the focus of my dissertation and I am very grateful for the guidance and support of my dissertation committee which included Sr. Janet Mock (St. Joseph Sister from Baden, PA). In fact, the topic of my dissertation was the development of a life satisfaction instrument specifically designed for apostolic women religious. Please note that the term ‘apostolic women religious’, for the purposes of this study, includes all religious who minister in an apostolate (e.g. teaching, pastoral work) regardless of their designation as apostolic religious, evangelical (e.g. Franciscans) or monastic (e.g. Benedictines).
In collaboration, Dr. Cecil Reynolds and I, and with the support of our research team, are currently working on the development of a “Manual” that will guide apostolic women religious in the near future the use of the LSSAWR. Our goal is for the LSSAWR to be used to assist women religious individually and communally as they discern their commitment to religious life and its call to be of service to the world. To this end the grant from the Conrad N Hilton Foundation will also support the translation of the LSSAWR and its manual into the Spanish language as well as the extension of the LSSAWR to the youngest generations in religious life.
We are soliciting your help in initiating this project by sharing the access link of the study with the Sisters in your congregation to complete the LSSAWR online. This survey includes eight sections such as responding to yes/no and rating questions as well as providing short answers to open-ended questions. Prior research (as a part of the dissertation study) has indicated that it can be completed in about 40 to 50 minutes. The outcome of this current study will concentrate on further evaluating and refining the LSSAWR. Additionally, if your congregation participates in our survey we will be able to provide written feedback to both the individual Sisters completing the survey and the congregation’s leadership. For a detailed description of the type of information we can provide to both the individual Sisters and your congregation’s leadership, please see Appendix A that is on page 4 of this document.
With this letter I am asking for your permission to conduct this study with the Sisters in your congregation. In order to conduct this research, I need your written permission as well as your assistance in encouraging the Sisters in your congregation to complete the survey.
For your own review, I have attached the cover letter, informed consent form, and the questionnaire that your Sisters will complete online if they volunteer to participate (Appendix B). Only Sisters who have volunteered their email address because they want to complete the LSSAWR and the Health Screening Questionnaire (HSQ) twice will be contacted so that they can retake the LSSAWR and the HSQ. This will require less time than the standard 40 to 50 minutes we mentioned earlier, probably about 15 minutes.
Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions about this study (see contact information at the end of this letter). If you approve of this study within your congregation, please sign (electronic signature) and attach the “Leadership Agreement Form” and return it to me by email. After receiving your email I will then print and attach both your email and your signed agreement form.
Lastly, I would like to express in advance my gratitude for your willingness to support this endeavor. It is my hope that the results of this study will contribute to the future of religious life in very positive ways.
Sincerely,
Sister Maria Clara Kreis