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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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The importance of religious orientation and purpose in life for dying well
— evidence form three case studies | | Author(s) | Monika Ardelt, Cynthia S Koenig |
| Journal title | Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, vol 19, no 4, 2007 |
| Publisher | Binghamton, NY, 2007 |
| Pages | pp 61-80 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Spiritual characteristics [elderly] ; Religion ; Well being ; Dying ; Case studies ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | As older people approach the end of life, it is not uncommon to find a decrease in subjective well-being. However, a number of studies have indicated that elders with an intrinsic rather than extrinsic religious orientation are often able to keep a high level of subjective well-being even if their close to death. In a previous qualitative study, only intrinsic religiosity was indirectly and positively related to subjective well-being in a sample of 103 relatively healthy older people and 19 hospice patients (aged 61+) mediated by shared spiritual activities and purpose in life. By contrast, extrinsic religiosity was indirectly and negatively related to subjective well-being. To explore in greater depth how religious orientation might influence subjective well-being at the end of life, the authors used the method of objective hermeneutics to examine semi-structured qualitative interviews with three older male hospice patients (aged 79, 80 and 98) on religion or spirituality and attitudes about death and dying. Results of the analysis revealed that the intrinsically religious respondent maintained his sense of cosmic purpose in life, which continued to be a source of satisfaction for him, unaffected by his terminal illness. However, the two extrinsically religious respondents did not find solace in their religion, and hence were unable to cope with their physical and emotional dependence and vulnerability. The findings suggest that an intrinsic religious orientation is most likely to be related to a cosmic sense of purpose in life, which facilitates subjective well-being, even in the face of death. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-071127211 A |
| Classmark | EX: TR: D:F:5HH: CX: 69P: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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