The role of spirituality in later life

• Autor(a) principal: Casanova, Giuliana
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/39695
• topic: Spirituality; Aging; Subjective well-being; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais

Title: The role of spirituality in later life: a study of older adult university students. Objectives: Longevity and increased life expectancy have created a greater need for research in the areas of spirituality and it ́s relation to successful aging. Previous research has discovered that spirituality can impact people ́s health; reduce depression, increase resilience, and aide to cope with loss and illness. Currently, the country with the most publications in the area is the United States; creating a need to explore the european perspective. In Portugal, little has been done to investigate spirituality and its impact in later life. This study aims to discover whether or not spirituality contributes to successful aging in the lives of Portuguese older adults, focusing in the area of subjective well-being. Methodology: This mixed-methods research study is based in Porto, Portugal. The sample size is 58 participants students from various universities of the third age, ranging from the ages of 65 to 89 with no cognitive deficit. Data was collected by using a demographic questionnaire, Pinto & Pais-Ribeiro Spirituality Scale as well as Carol Ryff ́s Scale of Psychological Well- Being followed by a mix method questionnaire. The quantitative instruments of this study were analyzed using descriptive statistics by using R (version 3.6.1) in RStudio (version 1.1.456). The mix-methods questionnaire was analyzed by performing a thematic analysis. Results: results showed the participants rated high in both the spirituality scale and the psychological well-being scale. More specifically the researcher conducted a Spearman ́s rank correlation between spiritual/religious beliefs and hope/optimism and found there is a significant correlation between the average score on spiritual religious beliefs and the average score on hope/optimism. The data also showed the existence of a statistically significant and positive relationship between the dimension of hope/optimism and the dimension of autonomy of the PWB scale; as well as a statistically significant and positive relationship between global spirituality and the dimension of autonomy from the PWB scale. The mix-methods questionnaire showed 90% of the participants believe in God or a higher power, 81% considered themselves spiritual/religious while 89.4% felt spirituality has always been a part of their lives. The three most significant themes that emerged from the thematic analysis were connection to a higher power/divine, personal well-being and the importance of spirituality throughout lifetime. Discussion: Spirituality demonstrated to be correlated with the participants ability and perception of autonomy and independence; having their spirituality/religion as a coping mechanism to deal with life ́s adversities while being able to look at the future with optimism. Spirituality and religion are often terms that are intertwined in the discourse of the participants of this sample, both concepts carry on a special meaning and can provide purpose, guidance and meaning in the later years of life. One limitation of this research study is that it cannot be generalized to the entire Portuguese elderly population. Further research can provide a deeper understanding of spirituality and open a platform for discussion amongst professionals in the field.