Dark Times and Second Chances: Perceived Growth From Adversity

Abstract

Using a lifespan perspective, we investigated a neglected aspect of research on religion, namely, whether perceptions of growth from adversity might strengthen religious worldviews, thus accounting for feelings about one's own death in old age. A directed content analysis of in-depth interviews from 16 adults aged 65+ focused on life events, religious worldviews, and death. Findings suggested that participants’ religious worldview beliefs were associated with positive reinterpretation of lifespan adversities such that stressors functioned as opportunities for spiritual growth. Participants’ views of and beliefs about death were without fear, indicating the potential influence of highly individualized and deeply spiritual religious worldview beliefs on the abatement of death fear.

Keywords

adversity lifespan development posttraumatic growth religion spirituality

Numerous theories and philosophies address the human predilection to seek cosmic order despite apparent chaos. Some of these revolve around religious practices and spiritual beliefs, which can be central to understanding loss, trauma, and decline (Pargament, 1997). Individuals’ religious worldview belief systems help them make meaning of otherwise overwhelming circumstances and can provide strength in times of struggle, most compelling of which is the threat of death. As a means to death transcendence through religious belief in salvation, religious worldviews can obviate death fear by making a good friend of a great terror. Nevertheless, the connection between religious worldviews and perceptions of death has received little research attention, even though understanding this association could uncover a powerful influence on well-being. To inform this body of research, the current study explores how lifespan experiences with adversity may incite religious worldview adaptations and resilience that bolster against the prospect of one's own death.

In describing the triumph of life's limitations, Becker (1973) characterized worldview beliefs as “more than merely an outlook on life: it is an immortality formula” (p. 255). Becker's work informed the development of terror management theory (TMT; Greenberg et al., 1986; Solomon et al., 1991) as a framework for understanding the relationship between the prospect of one's death and religious worldview belief systems. TMT describes the human need for self-preservation through cultural worldview development, which includes religious worldviews. Theorists argue that religious worldviews can ameliorate the negative psychological effects of loss- and death-related stressors by contributing to something greater than oneself, thus transcending death. At the same time, God may serve as an attachment figure to whom those experiencing lifespan adversities may turn for feelings of support and safety (Kirkpatrick, 2005). The perceived availability and responsiveness of God to provide a safe haven may allow individuals to confront adversities with confidence and security, thus bolstering religious worldviews. With its focus on the individual as static and unchanging, however, TMT's limited elaboration of the possibility for individual change over time does little to address how one's worldview in old age might differ from that held earlier in life. Literature reveals that older people respond differently to the prospect of death than younger people do (Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999), with Cicirelli (2002) arguing that change in worldview beliefs over time is the source of this age difference.

One approach to understanding potential age-related influences on worldview belief systems is through the lens of posttraumatic growth. Research on posttraumatic growth suggests that experiencing significant stressors across the course of one's life may present opportunities for self-discovery and psychological development. Perceived changes in self that result from growth from adversity include emotional maturity, feelings of self-reliance, and strength for future traumas. Further, spiritual growth may be possible through coping with loss and making meaning of suffering using spiritual belief systems (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) and a deepening connection with God and the sacred (Kirkpatrick, 2005).

Growth from adversity has also been studied as resilience, which Ramsey and Blieszner (2012) view as the ability to transcend and grow from adversity. Masten and Wright (2010) proposed that protective systems such as worldview beliefs support resilience across the lifespan. Resilience may be manifested as transformation after trauma and adversity, particularly for individuals who use religious schemas to make meaning of suffering. Persons with a history of some lifetime adversity report lower distress, fewer posttraumatic stress symptoms (Castro & Rocha, 2013), and higher life satisfaction than both those with no history of adversity and those with extensive history of adversity (Seery et al., 2010).

A review of 54 studies of potentially traumatic events such as military involvement, civilian trauma/accidents, loss, and other major life events found that resilience was the modal response across studies. That is, these events were more likely to elicit resilience and growth than they were to evoke other trajectories such as delayed symptomology or chronic symptomology (Galatzer-Levy et al., 2018). These findings support the possibility that individuals who are able to cope with adversity across the lifespan are better equipped to confront loss later in life through previously cultivated social and psychological resources (Ogińska-Bulik & Kobylarczyk, 2017). This approach, emphasizing the influence of past experiences on future adversities within the purview of religious worldviews and attachment to God, is consistent with posttraumatic growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) and helps explain older persons’ differential responses to the prospect of death compared to younger participants (Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999; Maxfield et al., 2007).

Posttraumatic growth is inherently developmental and is complemented by developmental perspectives that emphasize the influence of past stressors on present and future beliefs and perceptions. Baltes’ (1987) lifespan developmental theory explores adaptation to gains and losses across an individual's entire life and posits that old age can be as fruitful for personal development as young age because individuals may respond positively to adversity. Experiences with adversity and subsequent adaptations may incite changes in worldview beliefs, enabling people to integrate such experiences into their religious worldview belief systems, thus providing a catalyst for more responsive and individualized worldviews. Major life events such as changes in health (Braudy Harris, 2008), the loss of a spouse or older parent (Bennett, 2010), and surviving a natural disaster (Cherry et al., 2017) may necessitate change in self and one's worldview, enabling older adults to develop mechanisms with which to confront the end of life in ways that are not available to younger adults, possibly in the form of worldview adaptation.

For the current study, we integrated key elements of TMT and posttraumatic growth with Baltes’ developmental perspective to examine the association of life-long experiences with religious worldview beliefs and the potential for responding positively to adversity. We argue that the accumulation of age-related experiences across the lifespan may incite worldview adaptations and resilience that bolster against the effects of subsequent stressors, such as the prospect of one's own death. We focused on older adults who were reinforced by experiences and exceptional faith that, according to this model of development, could defend against the psychological threat of death. We sought to understand how older people with strong religious beliefs perceived the impact of lifespan events on worldviews, and how religious worldviews defended against subsequent stressors. The research questions were: How do older adults integrate experiences with adversity into worldview belief systems? What is the role of lifespan experiences in worldview adaptations? How do older people with strong religious worldviews reflect on the prospect of death?

Method

Sample, Recruitment, and Data Collection

These data originate from a previous study that sought to explore the ways in which older adults have been empowered by their religious faith throughout their lives. This intentional sample was appropriate for the present study because it permitted examination of the associations among strong religious worldview beliefs, the perceived impact of life experiences, and thoughts and beliefs about the prospect of one's own death. The analytic sample comprised all 16 participants from the original data set. They were lifelong Lutherans aged 65–93 years from the United States and Germany (four men and four women from each country). Recruitment involved a two-part process consisting of focus group discussions with potential participants followed by face-to-face interviews with selected individuals who were particularly articulate about their faith. Open-ended questions addressed life events, relationships with God and significant others, Christian teachings, and personal renewal. Participant characteristics are presented in Table 1.

Table 1.

Personal Characteristics of Research Participants.

Pseudonym	Age	Marital status	Family	Health	Occupation	Spirituality
Americans
Alex	79	Married	7 daughters, 1 son, several grandchildren, including 2 adopted from China	Some health limitations due to previous stroke	Retired church administrator	Strong personal relationship with God and sense of servanthood in work and personal life
Frank	74	Married	8th of 9 children growing up; 5 children, 10 grandchildren	No identified health problems	Retired business manager and accountant	Extensive involvement with the church; turns to God in times of major decisions
Lovey	89	Widowed 12 years	1 son, 1 daughter, 6 grandchildren, 9–10 great-grandchildren; kept house for father for 10 years before he remarried; reared younger sister	No identified health problems; passed away shortly after interview and her interview comments were read at her funeral	Farmer; retired laundry worker and meat packer	Views her many losses and difficulties as having brought her closer to God through transcendent experiences, very important social connections to fellow church members
Martha	77	Single	No children, lives alone, lives near sister and brother-in-law	No identified health problems	Farmer; retired secretary	Questioned God during difficult times of life but also found strength in her faith, believes her ability to continue working on the farm comes from God
Miriam	80	Widowed 16 years	No children, caregiver for mother and husband for many years before they died	Back surgery years ago; walks better now, difficulty sitting	Retired factory worker	Remains optimistic and close to God despite extensive losses, states that she felt especially close to God when coping with those difficulties and was enriched by those experiences
Rebecca	93	Widowed 19 years	Husband had disabling stroke 5 years after they married, no children	Legally blind 11 years due to retinal deterioration, mobility limitations due to hip fracture and stroke, bladder condition, hearing loss	Retired telephone company worker; cared for disabled husband for 48 years before his death	Current role is to pray on behalf of anyone who requests prayers as well as for the betterment of the world, expresses much gratitude for her blessings and never questioned God despite her difficulties
Tom	80	Married	2 daughters, 5 grandchildren	Heart bypass surgery 3 years prior to interview	Retired guidance counselor	Experienced God as close when he and wife both had heart surgery; has experienced doubts yet perceives relationship with God as continuing to grow
Winston	83	Married	2 sons	Health limitations due to irregular heartbeat	Retired church business administrator	Believes he has a mature and constantly developing relationship with God that does not necessarily require regular participation at church services
Germans
Anna	76	Widowed 16 years	2 daughters, 3 sons, 3 grandchildren; husband's parents lived with them; fostered a boy from Tehran beginning at age 68	No identified health problems	Community leader. Retired from local government (mayor for 4 years)	Expresses faith as a handrail to hold onto throughout life, a source of guidance and morals, a source of love and hope during challenges such as experiences during World War II that deepened her faith
Elizabeth	65	Married	1 son, 1 daughter, several grandchildren	Previous hip surgeries	Poet; retired military worker, post office employee, farmer, and nuclear power plant worker.	Believes she has a clearer understanding of God at this stage of life, finds that worries affect her less now than before, feels that God has been with her throughout life
Emma	68	Widowed 4 years	5 children, several grandchildren	No identified health problems	Retired teacher	Did not have a relationship with God until after her husband's death, accepts that she may never understand God, yet feels close to God when praying, experiencing happiness, values Christian community highly now
Hans	75	Married	1 adopted son, parents lived with his family for 20 years, provided long-term support for a child in India	No identified health problems	Upholsterer	Experiences growing joy from his beliefs, prays with his wife daily, very disciplined in religious practices
Inge	74	Widowed 24 years	1st son died in infancy due to World War II, 2 daughters, 1 son; husband ill for 15 years before he died	No identified health problems	Church sexton; retired clock and jewelry store owner, court clerk, and secretary	Finds deep joy in the church community and activities, persists in extensive involvement in church activities despite feeling mistreated by the pastor who refused to bury her unbaptized infant son when he died during World War II
Karl	70	Widowed, remarried, divorced	1st wife died at age 34, 2 children & stepson, parents lived with them, still friends with ex-wife	No identified health problems	Retired factory worker	Did not recognize God's presence during difficult times in the past, yet now feels that God was there all along and has a plan for him even if he does not understand it, finds comfort in knowing that eternal life is assured through his relationship with God
Werner	75	Married	Has children and grandchildren	No identified health problems	Retired professor of biology	Very grounded in his Christian upbringing, interprets several life events during World War II as rebirth opportunities
Wilhelm	80	Married	Father was clergy, mother died very young, raised by father's younger sister; has children and grandchildren	Prostate cancer survivor	Retired doctor of internal medicine	Considers the Christian community to be very important, his faith mitigates worries, he used his beliefs to guide his preparation for a serious surgery that might have led to death

Note. Adapted from Spiritual resiliency and aging: Hope, relationality, and the creative self (pp. 229–232), by J. L. Ramsey and R. Blieszner, 2012, Baywood Publishing Company, Inc. Copyright 2012 by Taylor & Francis. Adapted with permission.

Data Analysis

We used the Hsieh and Shannon (2005) content analysis technique to examine data from existing interview transcripts and used the three theoretical frameworks to formulate the research questions, identify sensitizing concepts, and develop an initial coding scheme. The deductive directed analysis began with reading all 16 transcripts three times and was followed by a three-phase coding process in conjunction with whole text analysis: Phase 1, highlighted all instances of phenomena of interest to increase trustworthiness by avoiding imposition of theoretically predetermined codes; Phase 2, applied predetermined codes as directed analysis; Phase 3, developed needed new codes for other theoretically relevant text. A priori, theory-generated codes were subsumed under the categories adversity, death perceptions, and worldview. ATLAS.ti was used for data management, including coding passages in the transcripts and recording thematic, theoretical, and methodological memos. This program allowed for flexible, systematic coding while also capturing key concepts related to the guiding frameworks at the quotation level and organizing memos and notes with their respective source materials.

Key concepts. Adversity was defined as changes in health functioning (Braudy Harris, 2008), changing social roles, loss of a spouse or parent (Bennett, 2010), or any traumatic or stressful experience that presents an opportunity for growth and self-discovery (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). Expressions of faith and religious practices were exemplars of worldview beliefs, revealing meanings participants ascribed to life experiences. Possible perceptions of death range from death avoidance and fear or anxiety to death acceptance. We adopted an open understanding of the possible ways in which death may be viewed and experienced. We noted both reflections on past experiences with death as well as beliefs and feelings about the prospect of future death.

Rigor

The sample was selected only from Lutheran congregations because denominational homogeneity controls for variation in religious doctrine and practices that could influence worldview beliefs. Including both American and German participants extends the veridicality of the findings. Aaron M. Ogletree read the transcripts and completed the directed content analysis. Then Rosemary Blieszner reviewed coding categories, notes, and memos to ensure accuracy in coding and interpretation. The authors regularly discussed theoretically-based codes and related texts as well as emerging themes and relationships among categories. Differences in interpretation were resolved by consensus. Aaron M. Ogletree engaged in reflexivity to document assumptions and biases that may have influenced data interpretation (Creswell & Miller, 2000). Trustworthiness was enhanced by triangulation of theories, identification of disconfirming evidence in coding Phase 3, use of an audit trail, and peer debriefing with a third person not involved in this study.

Results

The research questions addressed the impact of life's experiences on perceptions of change in religious worldview belief, the integration of adversity into worldview beliefs, and the prospect of future death. Overall, the results revealed ways in which adversity, including the death of a spouse, involvement in war, and changes in health functioning, contributed to perceptions of deeper religious belief. Such perceptions of changes in religious worldview manifested as a closer relationship with God, increased church attendance, and statements of beliefs about personal growth through faith-based practices. While death was a prevalent theme in the transcripts, there were no instances in which participants reflected on the prospect of their own mortality with fear.

Experiences With Adversity

All participants spontaneously reported adversity in their lives, ranging from prolonged sickness in old age to the loss of spouses and other close persons. Of particular interest were the ways in which they integrated adversity into worldview beliefs, and the potential for experiences with adversity to influence religious worldviews. As a normative and increasingly age-graded life event, all participants had experiences with death. Miriam (American, 80) reported that deaths of her father and brother led to mental health problems for her mother, for whom she ended up caring for the rest of her life. Miriam said, “So we had it pretty hard…the Lord was on my side…and I feel like I’ve been enriched by it [the death of her father and brother].” Her reflection illustrates how death may be experienced within the context of religious belief and provides insight into not only the impact of adversity on worldview beliefs—that of being enriched and strengthened—but also one way in which experiences with adversity might prompt a reflection on one's own mortality.

Indeed, while participants frequently reflected on religious worldviews as sources of strength and endurance in times of loss, they also believed that experiences with death served as a second chance. For example, Emma (German, 68) reported this second chance: “It came 100% after my husband's death.” Emma, like others, believed that this loss was an opportunity to “start over” both spiritually and interpersonally. Thus, personal experiences with death, because they may prompt a reflection on one's own mortality, can effect change in religious worldviews.

World War II was another source of adversity, particularly for the Germans. Karl (German, 70) explained how the family home was mostly destroyed by fire and described the incessant American warplanes flying overhead as “nerve wracking.” Although Anna (German, 76) reflected on the economic impact of wartime, saying, “…Not only the people [were] dying, but the savings, too,” she believed that experiencing war led to a unique perspective: “When one gets older, one gets more critical and sees that one was lucky to have gotten her husband back, to work again, to live, to have healthy kids, and that's important.” Anna's view was supported by age as well as experiences with adversity. Another respondent, Emma, situated wartime adversity within the purview of religious worldview-seeking behaviors. She recounted imprisonment of her father by Polish forces and “bomb attacks” and “rapes.” Emma believed that the war contributed to increased church attendance, saying, “The churches were full then! [T]he people realized, we’re at the end.” Emma's observation embeds religious worldview beliefs within a sociohistorical context.

Decline in health functioning and prolonged sickness also increased the salience of mortality and reliance on religious worldview belief. Participants described negative changes in health as intensely emotional, referring to them as a “dark time” (Inge, German, 74) at which “everything is over” (Elisabeth, German, 65). But, as Miriam explained, it is possible to make meaning of adversities using schemas consistent with religious worldviews. She observed, “I’ve had several operations, but I’m still able to be up and about. I feel like I’ve been blessed.”

Participants’ responses to adversity connected trauma and crises with the potential for benefits, such as posttraumatic growth. Karl experienced a shift in worldview faith after the death of his wife, reporting, “How do I come to trust or have faith? How do I get there?…I didn't get it. And then…my wife died, then I went beyond that, intensified. Intensified.” His experience with finding God in response to adversity was common in participants’ accounts. Emma recounted the impact of her husband's death on inciting a transformation in her understanding of her faith, saying, “I didn't actually live with Jesus until after my husband died. It was through this frantic bereavement that…I really realized what one means by ‘I can't fall deeper than in God's hands.’ When one is so alone you really get that.” Experiences with adversity and death may make salient the reality of one's own death, thus prompting a change in perspective to address the increased need for functioning worldview beliefs. This could represent one way in which beliefs change over time in response to life experiences and lead to differential conceptions of death in later life.

Change in Self and Worldview

For these older people, changes in oneself accompanied changes in worldview belief. These perceived adaptations, prompted by experiences with trauma and adversity, supported a perceived closer relationship with God. The practice of religion in families and with others also supported development of religious worldviews. These factors are important for understanding how responses to and growth from adversity can lead to changes in religious worldviews that are supported by religious others and contribute to an internalized faith. This internalized worldview offered a perspective that came with age and led to improved defenses against death-threat.

Inge explained how her religious commitment changed after the death of her husband, stating that she went from being “no regular churchgoer” to being there “always…whenever the door is open.” Miriam expressed how the death of her mother freed her to attend religious services more regularly, which allowed Miriam to expand her worldview faith. While talking about modeling his faith, Winston (American, 83) reflected on how it has changed during his life, saying, “Maybe [it] becomes more personal all the time.”

Consistent with previous research (Karlin et al., 2012), participants perceived positive worldview adaptations and changes in self with increasing age. They reported that their outlook matured due to transformed belief systems, while also noting an enhanced perspective occurring while growing older. They reflected openness to learning and development, becoming “ripe with age” (Wilhem; German, 80) and more focus on family through a deeper understanding of life's finitude. Emma explained how the intersection of aging and worldview belief provided a new perspective: “Each person has to experience his belief for himself … he [should] be open to it … I believe that one really grasps that when one is older … I’ve had such a long life that I’ve experienced how God helps, how He stands near us, how I can pray and He hears me…” Emma's long life and varied experiences allowed her to know God and her religious worldview belief in a way that, she asserted, differed from what is possible when younger. This age–experience dynamic may account for the difference in mortality salience between younger and older people.

Miriam believed that she came to know God, and thus better integrate her religious worldview belief with her lived experience, through adversity: “… until you’ve lost something [referencing death] and been through a lot of trials and troubles, you really don't know… it's all for a purpose, which I know is true. I think it helped my faith grow, I really do…maybe I’ve grown stronger in faith with all those troubles…” This “looking back” perspective was also described by others. Emma and Elisabeth believed that their present outlook, had they held it earlier in life, may have prevented them from being disheartened and thrown about by worries when they were young.

This developmental approach to worldview belief suggests that outlook and perspective are dynamic and contingent upon life's experiences, both positive and negative. Further, participants perceived a stark contrast in their present worldviews and those of their younger selves. The accumulation of experiences, in the context of religious worldviews, fostered worldview belief change.

Death

Our final goal was to understand how the participants, as individuals exhibiting deeply complex and personal religious worldviews, reflected on the prospect of their own deaths. Three-fourths of the 16 participants discussed their own death, revealing multidimensional conceptions about the ways in which death may be experienced in connection with God and religious others. None of these 12 reported fear, anxiety, or avoidance related to dying or death. Instead, death was rational and comforting, offering connection to others who had already passed. A rational view of death was a taken-for-granted part of living. Anna noted that “everyone has to leave this world…Every day could be my last.” Similarly, Tom (American, 80) reflected on how experiences with adversity, such as wartime involvement, provided exposure to death-related thought, which may have prompted worldview responses that abated death fear. He explained, “…when we were at sea we never knew when we would be torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. But you live your life with the idea that it could happen and you can't sit around and fret about it.”

Participants also anticipated comfort in death. For Rebecca (American, 93) and Winston, death was a release from suffering caused by health decline, so the reality of death was salient. Winston explained, “my next step at this point [is death], but I feel comfortable in that.” Alternatively, Emma viewed death as integral to her worldview faith, suggesting the capacity for religious worldviews to provide access to immortality. She found comfort in knowing that religious peers “will have it better” after death. Thus, comfort in death through religious worldview belief was also supported by connection with others. Believing that fellowship continued beyond physical death lessened the impact of death threat. Other participants also believed they would reconnect with loved ones who had died previously. Martha (American, 77) felt that knowing she would see her family again made it “easy to give them up.” Miriam believed that through death, she could be with her family again and described the possibility as “wonderful.” About her own death, she said, “I’m ready [to see the others], but I’m not in no big hurry.”

Rather than focusing wholly on unknown aspects of death after it happens, some participants reflected on the dying process. Lovey (American, 89) reported that she desired to die in the same way as her husband did—quickly and painlessly. The death of Miriam's husband similarly influenced how she viewed the prospect of her own death: “I found him dead in the bed. I hope that will be the way the Lord takes me, but we don't have our druthers.” These reflections add further nuance to the impact of past death experiences on the prospect of self-death.

These findings suggest that older adults who have realized a deep understanding of their life experiences, thus of their religious worldviews, may have done so through processes of growth from adversity. This possibility points to an integration of growth from adversity, worldview beliefs, and the view of one's own death. Adversity can prompt more adaptive and robust religious worldviews which, strengthened through adversity, lead to less fear of death (Cicirelli, 2002).

Discussion

The goal of this study, grounded in lifespan development, TMT, and posttraumatic growth frameworks, was to increase understanding of processes by which life events, particularly those involving adversity, contribute to the development of religious worldviews that may bolster a tendency toward positive appraisals of death in later life. Three questions guided the inquiry: How do older adults integrate experiences with adversity into worldview belief systems? What is the role of lifespan experiences in worldview adaptations? and How do older people with strong religious worldviews reflect on the prospect of death?

The results suggest that for these older adults, experiences with and growth from adversity such as loss of a family member, health decline, and involvement in war contributed to adaptations in religious worldview belief. In keeping with TMT, scholars have argued, “each individual creates his or her individualized version of the cultural worldview by integrating the multitude of experiences to which they have been exposed” (McCoy et al., 2000, p. 53). Inasmuch as the older people in this sample experienced trauma and adversity across their lives, they, too, were provided opportunities for spiritual growth through faith-based meaning making. The findings are consistent with a meta-analysis of 103 studies, which showed that religious coping was a stronger predictor of posttraumatic growth than traits like optimism and resources like social support (Prati & Pietrantoni, 2009). In our study, the resulting mature and highly personalized religious worldviews sustain a hardiness that serves to abate death fear and leads to enhanced appraisals of death threat.

Experiences with adversity are analogous to Baltes’ (1987) notion of developmental losses and gains. Responses to losses reported by our participants constitute gains—growth in self and worldview. This strength-based approach demonstrates how lifetime adversities contribute to hardiness and resilience and promote wisdom-based knowledge that reflects an “understanding and management of existential issues such as death and suffering” in old age (Baltes et al., 1995, p. 157).

The lifespan perspective holds that effective adaptation to change is a central challenge throughout development that becomes increasingly important in old age when losses may increase and gains decrease. In this study, losses were manifest as experiences with death that signaled forfeiture of close relationships and decline in health. Wartime experiences constituted another source of adversity for these individuals, demonstrating the historical embeddedness of life events. The intersection of individual factors such as religious worldview belief with the sociocultural influence of war led to unique opportunities for growth tempered by religious experience.

Several findings support the conclusion that experiences with adversity and loss contributed to gains and personal growth: participants’ responses to adversity that led to changes in worldview belief, changes in relationship with God, and changes in self. They often viewed experiences with adversity as providing a “second chance.” This pattern of meaning making within the context of religion is concordant with past research (Pargament, 1997) and suggests that experiences with adversities may be mechanisms through which spiritual resilience can be achieved (Masten & Wright, 2010). Indeed, many participants reported that the loss of a partner or close other led to an increased connectedness with God and the sacred, and presented new opportunities for deepening of religious belief and faith-based practices. Thus, God served as an attachment figure who provided comfort and support in times of loneliness (Kirkpatrick, 2005).

Finally, participants indicated that lifespan experiences contributed to changes in self wherein growth was synonymous with enhanced life perspective. Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996) argued that this improved outlook on life is contingent upon emotional growth, feelings of self-reliance, and strength for future traumas. Participants’ beliefs and experiences resonated with each of these foci: they believed their present perspective would have benefitted them earlier in life, indicating perceived emotional growth; they reported that self-reliance was attainable through God who acted as a guide and “foothold” in their lives; and they indicated strength for future life events, such as death of significant others, when they reflected on the indeterminate nature of future time. This strength for meeting future adversities is descriptive of hardiness through spiritual resilience and was indeed present among the older men and women in this study.

The central argument for religious worldview development across the lifespan, through adaptation to losses and growth from adversity, was its hypothesized capacity to abate death fear and address existential crises. In line with previous studies (Cicirelli, 2002; Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999), these respondents’ intrinsic, spiritual worldviews led to an absence of reported death fear and anxiety. Rowatt and Kirkpatrick (2002) also showed that a secure attachment to God led to stronger feelings of symbolic immortality, which complements TMT's assertion that religious worldviews may serve to abate death fear. Our participants viewed death rationally and believed it to be a comfort that provided connection with others who had already died. Baltes and colleagues (1995) upheld this rational understanding of death and suffering as inherent to wisdom-based knowledge. It speaks to the perspective and enhanced outlook that these older people reported, which further supports the connection between religious worldview development and wisdom-based knowledge cultivated as a result of lifespan experiences. These lifespan experiences with losses and adversity supported a realization of developmental gains that were spiritual, social, and psychological, and led to an absence of death fear among participants.

Study Limitations

Because our selection of participants from one religious denomination was intentional, in contrast to approaches that do not acknowledge the role of denomination in forming and sustaining religious worldviews, the present findings may not represent the views of older adults holding other religious beliefs or espousing nonreligious belief systems. We also note that previous work utilized structured scales to measure fear of death among older adults (e.g., Cicirelli, 2002). While that approach is typical in the TMT literature, strictly quantitative assessments may overlook important nuances and conceptual relationships that can only be uncovered using open-ended, in-depth questioning via qualitative research designs. We assert that our divergences from previous investigations increase awareness of the role of religious worldview beliefs in mitigating fear of death among those who embrace religion and spirituality.

Conclusion

These results offer an enhanced perspective of optimum spiritual development across the lifespan. Where TMT research has been limited in addressing how old age might lead to an absence of death fear, this study utilized posttraumatic growth and expressions of attachment to God to understand lifespan experiences that bolster later-life strengths. Indeed, the results suggest that lifespan adversities are opportunities for spiritual growth that enhance outlook and abate conscious death anxiety. Our strength-based approach to the study of lifespan stressors and death perceptions challenges typical deficit-based approaches wherein experiences with adversity are explored only in relation to negative outcomes such as frailty and depression. Instead, because our study focused on adversities as opportunities for spiritual growth, these findings can be leveraged to help clinicians, ministers, and social workers enhance services provided to individuals experiencing adversity or loss. A few questions remain, however. First, what is the role of personal control in developing worldview adaptations that bolster against experiences with adversity? Second, are perceptions of death in old age contingent upon lifetime exposures to adversity, or are they developmentally normative regardless of lifetime exposures to adversity? Exploration of these questions can uncover additional explanatory mechanisms and processes that illuminate the complexities of religious worldview adaptations. Further theoretical expansion should incorporate the impact of linked lives on religious worldview formation and defenses, while also addressing ontogenetic development in the context of a longitudinal design. Employing this study's conceptual framework with older adults who hold varying perspectives on religious participation and worldview beliefs would extend knowledge about effects of life experiences on death anxiety.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. Shannon Jarrott, Karen Roberto, and Erin Lavender-Stott for feedback on this work. Data were collected by Janet L. Ramsey and Rosemary Blieszner.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Aaron M. Ogletree

Rosemary Blieszner

Author Biographies

Aaron M. Ogletree is a scientific program manager at the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of poor health in older adulthood and evaluates the role of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions in reducing health disparities and improving quality of life. He completed his PhD in Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Tech in 2018.

Rosemary Blieszner is alumni distinguished professor of Human Development and senior fellow of the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on family and friend relationships, life events, caregiving, resilience, and psychological well-being in adulthood and old age. Her current investigation with Center for Gerontology colleagues addresses caregiving for persons with dementia in resource-poor rural Appalachia.

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