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Spiritual belief and quality of life: the experience of older bereaved spouses

Spiritual belief and quality of life: the experience of older bereaved spouses
Spiritual belief and quality of life: the experience of older bereaved spouses
Spiritual wellbeing is a neglected aspect of quality of life in British research on ageing. US research emphasises the health and other benefits of religious belief for American older people. However, whereas the US is still a strongly religious society, in Britain there has been a steady erosion of membership of Christian churches, accompanied by a loss of respect for the authority of the church and an increased freedom of expression in belief. In an exploratory study the implications of spiritual belief for adjustment have been studied in a sample of 28 older bereaved spouses, who have been followed from the first to the second anniversary of the death. Using a recently developed measure of strength of spiritual belief, a clear pattern was found of greater depressive symptomatology and lower perception of personal meaning among those of moderate belief; ie those who still held to a belief in a spiritual power outside of themselves but who were not sure of its efficacy. Investigation of this group of 11 moderate believers provided many illustrations of spiritual questioning, uncertainty and unease. It appears likely that a substantial proportion of the older population in Britain has become isolated from their churches of origin, yet maintains forms of spiritual belief, often hesitant in character. Some may benefit from renewed contact. Statutory health and welfare agencies need to consider their own role in promoting such re-engagement.
1471-7794
20-26
Coleman, Peter
1c55586e-c367-470c-b14b-832edb75c0ce
McKierna, Fionnuala
dee46bdd-53bf-4eed-b235-ede51d5ae40a
Mills, Marie
51e3e2c0-d45e-422e-b916-75b59ecda1da
Speck, Peter
9bf64da2-145c-4dbb-92db-2d52976580fd
Coleman, Peter
1c55586e-c367-470c-b14b-832edb75c0ce
McKierna, Fionnuala
dee46bdd-53bf-4eed-b235-ede51d5ae40a
Mills, Marie
51e3e2c0-d45e-422e-b916-75b59ecda1da
Speck, Peter
9bf64da2-145c-4dbb-92db-2d52976580fd

Coleman, Peter, McKierna, Fionnuala, Mills, Marie and Speck, Peter (2002) Spiritual belief and quality of life: the experience of older bereaved spouses. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 3 (1), 20-26. (doi:10.1108/14717794200200004).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Spiritual wellbeing is a neglected aspect of quality of life in British research on ageing. US research emphasises the health and other benefits of religious belief for American older people. However, whereas the US is still a strongly religious society, in Britain there has been a steady erosion of membership of Christian churches, accompanied by a loss of respect for the authority of the church and an increased freedom of expression in belief. In an exploratory study the implications of spiritual belief for adjustment have been studied in a sample of 28 older bereaved spouses, who have been followed from the first to the second anniversary of the death. Using a recently developed measure of strength of spiritual belief, a clear pattern was found of greater depressive symptomatology and lower perception of personal meaning among those of moderate belief; ie those who still held to a belief in a spiritual power outside of themselves but who were not sure of its efficacy. Investigation of this group of 11 moderate believers provided many illustrations of spiritual questioning, uncertainty and unease. It appears likely that a substantial proportion of the older population in Britain has become isolated from their churches of origin, yet maintains forms of spiritual belief, often hesitant in character. Some may benefit from renewed contact. Statutory health and welfare agencies need to consider their own role in promoting such re-engagement.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 2000
Published date: 2002
Organisations: Faculty of Medicine

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 39964
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/39964
ISSN: 1471-7794
PURE UUID: 968e6716-22b1-4e1c-bb06-a4c501584e73

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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 08:16

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Contributors

Author: Peter Coleman
Author: Fionnuala McKierna
Author: Marie Mills
Author: Peter Speck

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