Abstract
Background: The well-being of older, widowed persons is of concern to aging practitioners, including those in faith-based organizations. Some have suggested that engaging in religious/spiritual activities may mitigate the negative effects of widowhood for older adults. This cross-sectional study examined predictors of self-assessed well-being of widowed and married elders. The aim of this study was to determine whether participation in religious/spiritual activities mediated the relationship between marital status and well-being after controls were instituted. Method: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected for the National Opinion Research Center's 1998 General Social Survey. Analyses are based on 150 married and 120 widowed persons aged 60 or older. We regressed married/widowed status, demographic characteristics, self-reported health, and four measures of religious/spiritual activity on a four-item index of self-assessed well-being. Results: Widowed elders reported lower levels of well-being than married elders, even after we controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, self-perceived health, and measures of religious/spiritual activity. Socioeconomic status (SES) and self-perceived health had positive relationships with well-being, and frequency of prayer had a negative relationship with well-being. Conclusion: Congregations wishing to improve well-being among widowed and married elders should consider focusing on ministries to improve financial well-being and health and advocacy for programs that benefit low income elders. Church-based programs targeting widowed elders should focus on positive religious coping and prayer.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 43-59 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2007 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Religion
- Spirituality
- Well-being
- Widowhood
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Life-span and Life-course Studies
Cite this
Widowhood, religiousness, and self-Assessed well-Being among older adults. / Roff, Lucinda Lee; Durkin, Daniel; Sun, Fei; Klemmack, David L.
In: Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging, Vol. 19, No. 4, 2007, p. 43-59.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Widowhood, religiousness, and self-Assessed well-Being among older adults
AU - Roff, Lucinda Lee
AU - Durkin, Daniel
AU - Sun, Fei
AU - Klemmack, David L.
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Background: The well-being of older, widowed persons is of concern to aging practitioners, including those in faith-based organizations. Some have suggested that engaging in religious/spiritual activities may mitigate the negative effects of widowhood for older adults. This cross-sectional study examined predictors of self-assessed well-being of widowed and married elders. The aim of this study was to determine whether participation in religious/spiritual activities mediated the relationship between marital status and well-being after controls were instituted. Method: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected for the National Opinion Research Center's 1998 General Social Survey. Analyses are based on 150 married and 120 widowed persons aged 60 or older. We regressed married/widowed status, demographic characteristics, self-reported health, and four measures of religious/spiritual activity on a four-item index of self-assessed well-being. Results: Widowed elders reported lower levels of well-being than married elders, even after we controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, self-perceived health, and measures of religious/spiritual activity. Socioeconomic status (SES) and self-perceived health had positive relationships with well-being, and frequency of prayer had a negative relationship with well-being. Conclusion: Congregations wishing to improve well-being among widowed and married elders should consider focusing on ministries to improve financial well-being and health and advocacy for programs that benefit low income elders. Church-based programs targeting widowed elders should focus on positive religious coping and prayer.
AB - Background: The well-being of older, widowed persons is of concern to aging practitioners, including those in faith-based organizations. Some have suggested that engaging in religious/spiritual activities may mitigate the negative effects of widowhood for older adults. This cross-sectional study examined predictors of self-assessed well-being of widowed and married elders. The aim of this study was to determine whether participation in religious/spiritual activities mediated the relationship between marital status and well-being after controls were instituted. Method: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected for the National Opinion Research Center's 1998 General Social Survey. Analyses are based on 150 married and 120 widowed persons aged 60 or older. We regressed married/widowed status, demographic characteristics, self-reported health, and four measures of religious/spiritual activity on a four-item index of self-assessed well-being. Results: Widowed elders reported lower levels of well-being than married elders, even after we controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, self-perceived health, and measures of religious/spiritual activity. Socioeconomic status (SES) and self-perceived health had positive relationships with well-being, and frequency of prayer had a negative relationship with well-being. Conclusion: Congregations wishing to improve well-being among widowed and married elders should consider focusing on ministries to improve financial well-being and health and advocacy for programs that benefit low income elders. Church-based programs targeting widowed elders should focus on positive religious coping and prayer.
KW - Religion
KW - Spirituality
KW - Well-being
KW - Widowhood
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34748852434&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34748852434&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1300/J496v19n04_04
DO - 10.1300/J496v19n04_04
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34748852434
VL - 19
SP - 43
EP - 59
JO - Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging
JF - Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging
SN - 1552-8030
IS - 4
ER -