Religious/spiritual experiences, quality of life and satisfaction with life of hospitalized octogenarians

ABSTRACT Objectives: to assess quality of life (QoL) and satisfaction with life (SWL) indices and verify whether the frequency of religious and spiritual experiences is associated with QoL and SWL in hospitalized octogenarians. Method: this is a cross-sectional study, with 128 octogenarians. World Health Organization QoL instruments and Scales applied: Daily Spiritual Experience (DSES) and Satisfaction With Life (SWLS). Results: more committed domains related to QoL and SWL: autonomy and physical capacity. The higher the score in DSES, the higher the scores in the psychological domains and past, present, and future QoL activities. The higher the score in DSES, the higher the score in the social involvement aspect. Conclusion: the results of this study showed that the higher frequency of religious and spiritual experiences of hospitalized elderly people was associated with better QoL and SWL. It is emphasized that religious and spiritual experiences should be explored in the hospital therapeutic context.

Pengalaman Spiritual dan Kebahagiaan menurut Nyai Hajah Masriyah Amva

<p class="06IsiAbstrak">This study aims to describe spiritual experiences and happiness according to Nyai Hajah Masriyah Amva, a female cleric and caregiver at the Kebon Jambu Al-Islamy Islamic Boarding School in Ciwaringin, Cirebon, West Java. This research is included in library research using qualitative methods. The results of this study prove that the spiritual experience carried out by Nyai Hajah Masriyah Amva has led her to true happiness. The happiness that Masriyah Amva gets is an empirical process she goes through and then pushes her to do a 'hijrah' or self-transcendence that goes beyond the physical world or the real environment to the Supreme Reality, God. By making God the pinnacle of transcendence, Masriyah finds true happiness. With God, he feels that he is always near to Him and at the same time becomes his support so that he feels no longer alone anywhere and anytime.</p>

Methodological Innovations for the Study of Spirituality

One of the most important decisions in any study of spirituality is the method used to collect information about spiritual life. This methodological choice frames later conceptual analysis—making possible some types of conclusions but preventing others. Accordingly, methodological innovation in the study of spiritualty holds the promise of conceptual innovation. This chapter puts forth three methodological innovations available to spirituality researchers. They are (1) using smartphones to collect experience-sampling method data about day-to-day spiritual experiences, (2) conducting field experiments in which spiritual experiences are randomly assigned, and (3) analyzing big data to observe societal-wide trends and patterns in spiritual expressions. Each of these methods promises to produce rich and novel data that hold the potential for conceptual breakthroughs in our understanding of spiritual processes.

Relationships Between Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Spirituality in Japan

Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) consists of two factors: authoritarianism—the tendency to venerate and submit to established authorities—and conventionalism—the propensity to protect traditional values. By focusing on ancestor and nature worship in Japan, this study highlighted the construct of RWA in terms of two aspects of spirituality: feelings of respect for and connectedness to higher order entities, and feelings of universality and oneness with others. Study 1 (cross-sectional) indicated that the tendencies of ancestor worship predicted higher levels of authoritarianism, while those of nature worship predicted lower levels of conventionalism, even when controlling for general attitudes toward religious symbols. Study 2 (experimental) showed that while the recollection of spiritual experiences did not directly affect RWA, indirect routes via feelings of spirituality existed. Specifically, the recollection of an ancestor worship experience increased feelings of respect/connectedness for ancestors, which were related to higher levels of authoritarianism, and that of a nature worship experience increased feelings of universality/oneness under nature, which were associated with lower levels of conventionalism. These results provide a more nuanced understanding of RWA through demonstrating that RWA might be specifically associated with these two aspects of spirituality.

The Indirect Relationship Between Spiritual Experiences and Subjective Wellbeing Through Hope? A Sample of Chilean Students

Spirituality and religiousness are important factors for adolescents wellbeing. Little is known about the mechanisms underlying the positive relationship between spirituality as well as religiousness and subjective wellbeing. This study aimed to verify, whether, in a sample of Chilean students, religiousness is indirectly related to hope through spiritual experiences, and whether spiritual experiences are indirectly related to subjective wellbeing via hope. The sample consisted of 177 Chilean students and the following measures were applied: the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, the Herth Hope Index, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and one item measuring the frequencies of prayer and Mass attendance. According to obtained results religiousness was indirectly, positively related to hope through spiritual experiences. In turn spiritual experiences were indirectly, positively related to subjective wellbeing through hope. Conducted research confirmed the beneficial role of religious practices, spiritual experiences, and hope for Chilean students' subjective wellbeing and the presence of mechanisms underlying the relationships between religiousness as well as spirituality and subjective wellbeing.

Spiritual Struggle and Spiritual Growth of Bereft College Students in a Christian Evangelical University

This article examines spiritual struggle in bereft Christian evangelical students and how struggle might potentiate spiritual growth. The death loss of a close person can result in shattered assumptions about the world that trigger spiritual questions and struggle and spiritual struggle can be a catalyst for growth. To our knowledge, spiritual growth has not been measured utilizing the actual voices of those struggling with the loss, nor has it been measured in Christian evangelical populations who may find it more threatening to yield to spiritual questioning. The Spirit-centered Change Model guides our conceptualization of spiritual growth from a Christian evangelical perspective. Utilizing a mixed methods design, bereft college students (n=161) at a Christian evangelical university answered questionnaires about religious coping, daily spiritual experiences, meaning in life, and open-ended questions about their spiritual growth and how students’ beliefs about God had changed after the loss. Compared to non-bereft peers, bereft students reported higher daily spiritual experiences, but bereft students who struggled spiritually reported less meaning and daily spiritual experiences than bereft students who did not struggle. Narrative responses indicated that spiritual struggle simultaneously tended to reflect more expansive beliefs around God and a deepened spirituality, according to the Spirit-centered Change Model. Results reflect a first empirical step toward measuring spiritual growth as epistemological change.

Religious Experience and Clinical-EEG Aspects in Adult People with Epilepsy

Spirituality and religiosity are complex cognitive phenomena; however, the relationship between spiritual experiences and epilepsy continues to be debated. Methods. Data from the daily spiritual experience scale (DSES) were related to EEG data and clinical variables of 100 adult people with epilepsy (PWEs). DSES scores were compared to 51 normal individuals (control group [CG]), with a significance level of P < .05. Results. The total score in the DSES was 36.1 ± 14 and 37.6 ± 13.2, respectively, in the PWEs and in the CG. In the PWEs, there was a correlation between DSES and age (Pearson's correlation; −0.22; P = .027) and educational level (0.207; P = .039). PWEs with ≥one seizure/month have a lower frequency of daily spiritual experiences than those with better controlled seizures ( T-test; 39.2 ± 16.2 vs 31.7 ± 7.6; P = .038). EEG epileptiform activity (EA) in the right hemisphere was associated with a higher frequency of spiritual experiences than those with left-hemisphere EA (29.8 ± 9.0 vs 38.5 ± 17.5; P = .010). Conclusion. Demographic aspects, EA in the right hemisphere, and lower seizure frequency are associated with daily spiritual experiences in epilepsy, suggesting an association between aspects of spirituality, epilepsy, and neurobiological correlates.

Religious–spiritual experiences of family members and caregivers of children and adolescents with cancer

This integrative literature review aimed to identify the religious and spiritual experiences of family members and caregivers of children and adolescents with cancer. Through systematized searches in the databases/libraries CINAHL, PsycINFO, Pubmed, SciELO, and Lilacs, 69 articles produced between 2010 and 2020 were retrieved. There was a predominance of studies with parents developed in hospital facilities. The caregivers’ religious and spiritual experiences helped them to cope with childhood cancer, especially in maintaining hope, reducing stress and anxiety symptoms, as well as in providing psychological and social support. Negative outcomes such as questioning faith, the feeling of punishment, and disruption with the religious and spiritual group were also perceived. It is recommended to include religiosity and spirituality for the provision of more humanized and comprehensive care, as well as further investigation of the negative experiences regarding religiosity and spirituality in this public.