Religion, Spirituality, and Health Status in Geriatric Outpatients Essay

Daaleman, Perrera and Studenski wished to re-examine the effect of phantasmalism and church property on acquaintances of older persons, operationalized as geriatric off perseverings.The authors proceeded from dickens conceptual constructs.  The premiere is that self-reported riseness term is central to ageing research.  The old know whereof they speak.  Self-ratings be validated because they correlate well with wellness status everywhere time and, consequently, health value utilization.  The piece construct is that, no affair how mor bothy they lived as young adults, those in late middle age accompany to embrace holiness and spirituality with more than fervor.Prior research had scrutinized the relationship amongst religion and health perceptions.  nigh results were inconclusive, an vector sum that the authors attributed to failure to control for such covariates as spirituality.Definitions vary, the authors acknow directged, but they propose d defining apparitionalism as principally revolving on organized confidence while spirituality has more to do with giving humans meaning, purpose, or motive for individually one from within or from a transcendent source.  In turn, the helpless multivariate was eyeshaded by a single-item ball-shaped health from the Years of Healthy brio (YOHL) scale, a self-assessment of general health (would you register your health in general is ) and a 5-item Likert response from excellent to poor.Fieldwork consisted of including a 5-item measure of religionism15 and a 12-item spirituality instrument in a 36-month health service utilization, health status, and functional status study among 492 outpatients of a VA and HMO network, all residents of the Kansas City metropolitan argona.The authors were remiss in non officially articulating their hypotheses for the study though 1 gleans that the choice supposition could have stated, Structured religion, a deep sense of spiritualit y, psychogenic status and mobility, and personal and demographic variables materially beguile measures of health status and corporeal functioning.In the end, the data was subjected to univariate and multivariate best-fit statistics.  The key conclusions accede 2. Predictors of Self-Reported Good Health   Status (N = 277)      cipher*Unadjusted OR (95% CL  alter OR (95% CI)  Age0.94(0.890.99)  Male0.72(0.411.25)   pureness race2.79(1.515.17)3.32(1.338.30)Grade civilize0.1(0.020.49)  Some juicy inculcate0.28(0.061.44)  High school graduate0.24(0.051.14)  Technical/business school0.29(0.061.43)  Some college0.31(0.061.49)  Not depressed (GDS)32.4(4.03261)  strong-arm functioning(SF36-PFI)1.04(1.031.05)1.03(1.011.04)Quality of life (EuroQol)1.69(1.412.01)1.36(1.091.70)Religiosity (NORC)0.93(0.851.02)   church property (SIWB)1.15(1.101.21)1.09(1.021.16)OR = odds ratio CI = confi dence interval GDS = Geriatric Depression carapace SF36-PFI= Physical Functioning Index from SF-36 NORC = field Opinion Research CenterSIWB = church property Index of Well-Being.   *Referent brokers age-1 year younger female, nonwhite college graduate GDS score of0-9 PFI-index of 1 slight EuroQol-score of 0.1 less SIWB-score of 1 less. P = .01.      P = NS.      P <.01.      P <.05.     After adjusting for all covariates, the authors tentatively think that spirituality was an grave explanatory doer for perceptions of ones own physical well- cosmos.  That religiosity did not seem statistically relevant, the authors concede, could be ascribable to having defined the variable referencely as attendance at religious services, a appearance possible only if the patient was functional and ambulant.  Still, the authors argue, they did include some other measur es of religiosity and the regression simulation did hold being functional constant.While the study did pee-pee a relationship between self-perceptions of health and spirituality, the authors themselves point out the possibility that the two variables are not independent.  The conceptual cloth of the SIWB spirituality measure includes a high ground level of overconfident intentionality, which strikes one as very similar to health optimism as independent variable.Article 2 spiritual get by and psychological functioning in a correctional populationLonczak, Clifasefi1, Marlatt, Blume, & antiophthalmic factor. Donovan tested the relationship among religious rearing, contend and mental health outcomes in the admittedly- disagreeable prison house house environment.This time, the authors do not mince words.  They enter the literature review with the majoritys belief in God (or somewhat higher being) as the core tantrum of religiosity.  Second, they point out that two classify meta-analysis carried out in 1983 and 2003 showed mixed results for a relationship between religiosity and heading.  Perhaps, they argue, this is because religious coping has negative-coping aspects, such as the confidence that all ones troubles are due to abandonment by God.Since a search of the literature had revealed only one study concerning prisoners the positive effect of venture on recidivism psychological symptoms in India Lonczak et al. thought to embark on this study of a neglected population.  Secondly, the authors hoped to advance possible action by defining religious coping more specifically than had ever been done.There were denary hypotheses attending this studyThat the high degree of stress experienced by prisoners triggers an augment in religious coping behaviors (e.g., prayer, reading, spirituality, attendance in religious activities, etc.).That the positive coping encouraged by religiosity brings somewhat comfort and solace and hence i ncreases the likeliness of adaptive outcomes.That a religious upbringing provides individuals a repertoire of positive coping behaviors from which to draw strength.Coming to data bear upon and statistical tests, Longczak et al. employed principal division analyses using Varimax rotation.  The result was a four-factor model with their respective Cronbach alpha reliability estimates church property (0.97)Good deeds and active interest in coping related activities (0.89) pleading (0.83) and,Discontentment (0.74).In addition, the researchers administered the Brief mark Inventory to measure four dimensions depression, anxiety, somatization and hostility.At the first stage of analysis, relationships between religiosity on one hand and either sexual activity or cultural collection on the other were tested for in bivariate correlations, t-tests, ANOVAs, or chi unbowed tests.Subsequently analyses needd four hierarchic linear regressions (one for each outcome) including both ge nder and stressful life events by each of the five religion measures.  In ready to examine the relationships between religion- focus predictors and outcomes with and without separate statistical adjustment for sociodemographic variables, variables were processed in a minded(p) sequence (below) and non-significant terms take away from later analyses.Religious upbringing, participation, spirituality, pleading and discontentedness in the first blockGender, ethnic group, age, education, and stressful life events in the second block and,Interaction terms in the third and fourth blocks.The findings provided support for the hypothesis that an upbringing characterized by formal or structured religion has positive mental health ramifications, including less depression and hostility.  Secondly, women are more adversely affected by discontentment-based coping.  Religious pleading notwithstanding, thirdly, prisoners who had experienced stressful life events were more likely to give tongue to depression and hostility.Article 4 solution of religion on self-annihilation attempts in outpatients with dementia praecox or schizo-affective disorders compared with inpatients with non-psychotic disordersHuguelet et al. also focused on religion, this time in relation to psychosis and, specifically the propensity to suicide. Among the 115 patients with schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorders covered by the study, 43% had previously attempted suicide.  Broadly speaking, the squad wished to find out whether religion was a protective or impelling factor in these suicide attempts.Suicide deserves heed, the authors maintained, because over 9 in 10 suicides are accompanied by a diagnosis of psychiatric illness.  Over the lifetime of a schizophrenic, in particular, meta-analysis has shown a 0.049 probability of goal by suicide.Given the importance of step-down suicidal behavior, it seemed encouraging that spirituality and religious activities had amelior ate the risk.  Prior research on piety and spirituality had conjure uped that the coping mechanisms could involve both a more positive world view and a racing shell against stress.HYPOTHESIS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSISNo relationship could be found for devoutness and the tendency to attempt suicide.  Twenty-five part of all the study subjects acknowledged that religion inhibited them from considering suicide versus only one in ten that articulated an motivator role for religion.Overview of FindingsThe four articles explored different facets of spirituality and religiosity.  Daaleman, Perrera and Studenski related spirituality to health perceptions.  Lonczak et al.turned their attention to whether a religious upbringing helped adults parcel out better with a stressful environment, custody in this case.  In the case of Huguelet et al., the doubtfulness was whether present religious beliefs encouraged suicide or strengthened coping mechanisms for resisting suic idal compulsions.After adjusting for all covariates, Daaleman, Perrera and Studenski tentatively concluded that spirituality was an important explanatory factor for perceptions of ones own physical well-being.  Religiosity was not a factor, for reasons already explained.  One doubts this will be the coda word on the matter, however, since the study lacked rigor.Nonetheless, the finding about spirituality is helpful given that therapy is a way of expanding awareness and identity.  As well, Transactional digest recognizes the spiritual dimension of each person as an important part of the therapeutic process (Trautman, 2003).  On the other hand, one realizes the limitations of analyzing spirituality vis--vis health perception when the two variables overlap, at least on the aspect of optimism.One is therefore led to wonder, might it not advance therapy theory and praxis if a) Spirituality and religiosity were qualitatively tested as a compound, interconnected variable and, b) Health-related research include design measures of well-being as the realistic dependent variable?For Lonczak et al. the implications for counseling have more to do with discontent and religious pleading. focus might address the roots and implications of religious distress and assist patients in growth more adaptive coping strategies.  merely the focus on a tightly defined population segment (older adults remand for alcohol- and drug-related offenses), the authors are correct to point out the immense social good clinicians and prison administrators could foster if low-cost religious or spirituality-enhancing programs did contribute to significant reductions in behavior management problems, psychological impairment, and subsequent recidivism.Similarly, the findings of Huguelet et al. suggest that suicide rates among psychotic patients could well be reduced if therapy embraced reinforcement or revival of religious beliefs. ReferencesTrautmann, R. (2003) Psychothe rapy and spirituality. Transactional Analysis Journal, 33, (1) 32-36.