Religiosity, Spirituality, and Death Anxiety Among Filipino Older Adults: A Correlational Study

2020 ◽  
pp. 003022282094731
Author(s):  
Gil P. Soriano ◽  
Kathyrine A. Calong Calong

The concept of death anxiety is expected of older persons as they age and are nearing their end-of-life. This study examined the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and death anxiety among Filipino older adults. A convenience sample of 125 Filipino older adults were recruited in the study. Data were collected using the Spirituality Scale, Revised Death Anxiety Scale, and Dimensions of Religiosity Scale. Results of the study revealed that spirituality (r=-0.168, p = 0.061) and religiosity (r=-0.044, p = 0.623) had an inverse relationship with death anxiety. However, even with the inverse relationship, spirituality and religiosity were not significantly correlated with death anxiety, although participants were well aware of the importance of these concepts on their lives. It is suggested that assessing spirituality and religiosity of this age group can inform nurses to engage in quality nursing practice, by affirming the vulnerability, and preserving the personhood of older persons as they near their end-of-life.

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaxi Zhang ◽  
Jiaxi Peng ◽  
Pan Gao ◽  
He Huang ◽  
Yunfei Cao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Death anxiety is a common phenomenon in all societies. Older adults may be more prone to death anxiety than their younger counterparts; however, death anxiety among older adults is not well understood. This study explores the relationship between meaning in life, self-esteem, and death anxiety in senior citizens in China. Methods A total of 283 older adults participated in this study; data were collected via the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Death Anxiety Scale. Results Results show that the dimensions of meaning in life, presence of meaning (r = − 0.43, p < 0.01), search for meaning (r = − 0.31, p < 0.01), and self-esteem (r = − 0.54, p < 0.01) were each negatively correlated with death anxiety. Regression analysis reveals that meaning in life significantly predicted self-esteem and death anxiety (F = 45.70, p < 0.01; R2 = 0.33). Path analysis indicated that self-esteem either completely or partially mediated the effects of meaning in life on death anxiety in older adults. Conclusions Overall, meaning in life appears to be significantly correlated with death anxiety in older adults, and self-esteem can mediate this effect.


1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia P. Galt ◽  
Bert Hayslip

The current study explored the relationship between conscious (overt) and unconscious (covert) death anxiety and chronological age, wherein composite scores as well as factor scores were used in the comparison of younger and older adults. Results indicated that there were reliable age differences in both overt and covert levels of death fear. Contrary to previous literature, older adults evidenced higher levels of overt fear, while younger adults' covert fears were greater. These data further substantiate the distinction between overt and covert levels of death anxiety in adulthood, where cumulative differential loss experiences over the course of a lifetime most likely lessen the need to deny fears of one's own death, while sensitizing older persons to the loss of intimate relationships with others.


GeroPsych ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 246-251
Author(s):  
Gozde Cetinkol ◽  
Gulbahar Bastug ◽  
E. Tugba Ozel Kizil

Abstract. Depression in older adults can be explained by Erikson’s theory on the conflict of ego integrity versus hopelessness. The study investigated the relationship between past acceptance, hopelessness, death anxiety, and depressive symptoms in 100 older (≥50 years) adults. The total Beck Hopelessness (BHS), Geriatric Depression (GDS), and Accepting the Past (ACPAST) subscale scores of the depressed group were higher, while the total Death Anxiety (DAS) and Reminiscing the Past (REM) subscale scores of both groups were similar. A regression analysis revealed that the BHS, DAS, and ACPAST predicted the GDS. Past acceptance seems to be important for ego integrity in older adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 17-17
Author(s):  
Yifan Lou ◽  
Nan Jiang ◽  
Katherine Ornstein

Abstract Background: Quality of life (QoL) during last stage of life has raised expanded interests as an important aspect of person-centered care. Last place of care (LPC), refer to the last place decedents received their formal end-of-life care (EOLC), has been identified as a key indicator of older adults’ end-of-life QoL, but the relationship was understudied. This study explores the association between LPC and end-of-life QoL among American older adults. Methods: Data used seven waves of Last Month of Life data with a total sample of 3068 Medicare decedents in NHATS. Outcome is end-of-life QoL assessed by eleven measures on four domains: pain and symptoms management (SP), quality of healthcare encounter (HE), person-centered care (PC), and overall quality of care (QC). LPC was categorized into home, hospital, nursing home, and residential hospice. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationship with covariates. Results: LPC varied by most demographic characteristics, except immigration status and education. Older adults whose LPC is hospital, compared to those who had home-care, were less likely to have great experiences on HE, PC, and QC. People dying at nursing homes are more likely to receive care meeting their dyspnea and spiritual needs. Residential hospice is negatively related to respected care, clear coordination, and keeping family informed, but are more likely to provide PS and spiritual care. Discussion: Home-based end-of-life care has certain advantages but still has room to improve on SP and religious concerns. Hospitals should keep reforming their service delivery structure to improve patients’ QoL.


2003 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhold Vieth ◽  
Yasmin Ladak ◽  
Paul G. Walfish

Vitamin D requirements are thought to vary with age, but there is little comparative evidence for this. One goal in establishing a vitamin D requirement is to avoid secondary hyperparathyroidism. We studied 1741 euthyroid, thyroid clinic outpatients without evidence of calcium abnormalities, ranging in age from 19 to 97 yr, whose serum and urine had been analyzed for calcium, vitamin D, and parathyroid status. We found no effect of age on the 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration associated with specific vitamin D intakes, and there was no relationship between 25(OH)D and 1,25hydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D]. In every age group, serum 1,25(OH)2D declined with increasing creatinine (P &lt; 0.001). What changed with age included creatinine, which correlated with 25(OH)D (r = 0.146, P &lt; 0.001) only in the youngest age group (19–50 yr) but not in the older age groups (P &gt; 0.1). Creatinine did not correlate with PTH in the youngest age group, but the relationship became significant as age increased (e.g. for the elderly, r = 0.365, P &lt; 0.001). Linear regression of log PTH vs. log 25(OH)D agreed with the natural shape of the relationship observed with scatterplot smoothing, and this showed no plateau in PTH as 25(OH)D increased. We compared PTH concentrations among age groups, based on 20 nmol/liter increments in 25(OH)D. Mean PTH in adults older than 70 yr was consistently higher than in adults younger than 50 yr (P &lt; 0.05 by ANOVA and Dunnett’s t test). PTH levels of the elderly who had 25(OH)D concentrations greater than 100 nmol/liter matched PTH of younger adults having 25(OH)D concentrations near 70 nmol/liter. This study shows that all age groups exhibit a high prevalence of 25(OH)D insufficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Older adults are just as efficient in maintaining 25(OH)D, but they need more vitamin D to produce the higher 25(OH)D concentrations required to overcome the hyperparathyroidism associated with their diminishing renal function.


2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1289-1306 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHANG-MING HSIEH

ABSTRACTAlthough the factors that influence people's perception of happiness have long been a focus for scholars, research to date has not offered conclusive findings on the relationships between income, age and happiness. This study examined the relationship between money and happiness across age groups. Analysing data from United States General Social Surveys from 1972 to 2006, this study finds that even after controlling for all the major socio-demographic variables, income (whether household income or personal equivalised income) had a significant positive association with happiness for young and middle-age adults, but it was not the same case with older adults. After controlling for the major socio-demographic variables, there was no evidence of a significant relationship between income (whichever definition) and happiness for older adults. The results also showed that the effect of household income on happiness was significantly smaller for older adults than for young or middle-age adults in the model controlling for major socio-demographic variables. The relationship between household income and happiness no longer differed significantly across age groups after social comparison variables were included. The relationship between equivalised income and happiness did not vary significantly by age group after controlling for the major socio-demographic variables.


2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 1346-1370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Kamo ◽  
Tammy L. Henderson ◽  
Karen A. Roberto

Guided by an ecological perspective, the authors examined event, individual, structural/cultural, and family/community factors that shaped the psychological well-being of older adults displaced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. The authors first established the negative effects of displacement on psychological well-being by comparing displaced older adults with permanent Baton Rouge residents. Displaced older persons’ psychological well-being was positively related to their age and physical health. Older displaced women coped with displacement better than men. Avoidant coping was negatively related to the older adults’ well-being, whereas spiritual coping showed no effect. The functioning of older persons’ family was positively related to their psychological well-being, whereas dependence on people outside immediate family showed a negative relationship. Income, education, and race were largely unrelated to psychological well-being. Findings provide implications for future studies regarding the relationship between disaster and psychological well-being and provide practitioners with suggestions for work with older adults displaced by disasters.


Author(s):  
Lee Greenblatt-Kimron ◽  
Miri Kestler-Peleg ◽  
Ahuva Even-Zohar ◽  
Osnat Lavenda

Death anxiety and loneliness are major issues for older people. The present study aimed to broaden the understanding of factors that are linked with increased loneliness in old age by examining the association between death anxiety and loneliness, and the role of an unexplored variable among older adults, namely, parental self-efficacy. A convenience sample of 362 Israeli parents over the age of 65 was recruited through means of social media. Participants completed self-reported questionnaires, which included background characteristics, death anxiety, parental self-efficacy, and loneliness measures. The findings showed that death anxiety was positively associated with loneliness among older adults. The findings also confirmed that parental self-efficacy moderated this association in this population. We concluded that the combination of death anxiety and low parental self-efficacy identified a group of older adults that are at higher risk of developing increased loneliness levels. Mental health professionals should consider intergenerational relationships as a fundamental component of older adults’ daily lives, focusing on parental self-efficacy in old age, as this appears to be a resilience resource.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1080-1090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Morin ◽  
Jonas W Wastesson ◽  
Marie-Laure Laroche ◽  
Johan Fastbom ◽  
Kristina Johnell

Background: The high burden of disease-oriented drugs among older adults with limited life expectancy raises important questions about the potential futility of care. Aim: To describe the use of drugs of questionable clinical benefit during the last 3 months of life of older adults who died from life-limiting conditions. Design: Longitudinal, retrospective cohort study of decedents. Death certificate data were linked to administrative and healthcare registries with national coverage in Sweden. Setting: Older adults (≥75 years) who died from conditions potentially amenable to palliative care between 1 January and 31 December 2015 in Sweden. We identified drugs of questionable clinical benefit from a set of consensus-based criteria. Results: A total of 58,415 decedents were included (mean age, 87.0 years). During their last 3 months of life, they received on average 8.9 different drugs. Overall, 32.0% of older adults continued and 14.0% initiated at least one drug of questionable clinical benefit (e.g. statins, calcium supplements, vitamin D, bisphosphonates, antidementia drugs). These proportions were highest among younger individuals (i.e. aged 75–84 years), among people who died from organ failure and among those with a large number of coexisting chronic conditions. Excluding people who died from acute and potentially unpredictable fatal events had little influence on the results. Conclusion: A substantial share of older persons with life-limiting diseases receive drugs of questionable clinical benefit during their last months of life. Adequate training, guidance and resources are needed to rationalize and deprescribe drug treatments for older adults near the end of life.


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