Against the backdrop of a dramatic increase in the number of individuals living longer, particularly older women, it is vital that researchers explore the intersection of spirituality, gender, and aging. In this qualitative study of six women aged 80 and older, I explore, using, multiple, in-depth interviews, the experiences of spirituality over the life course. A hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of the interviews was performed and provided insights into the nature of their “lived experience” allowing for the understanding of the essence of their spirituality. The results are presented as an interpretation of the participants' perceptions of their spirituality and spiritual experiences. For the women in this study, the essence of their spirituality lies in: being profoundly grateful; engaging in complete acceptance; and having a strong sense of assuredness, while stressing the linkages and importance of spirituality. Implications for understanding spirituality for older adults are considered.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ArdeltM.AiA. L., & EichenbergerS. E. (2008). In search for meaning: The differential role of religion for the middle-aged and older persons diagnosed with a life threatening illness. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 20(4), 288–312. doi: 10.1080/15528030802232353
2.
AtchleyR. (2000). Social forces and aging: An introduction to social gerontology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
3.
AtchleyR. (2008, Summer). Spirituality, meaning, and the experience of aging. Generations32(2), 12–16.
4.
AtchleyR. (2009). Spirituality and aging. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
5.
BliesznerR., & RamseyL. (2003). Uncovering spiritual resiliency through feminist qualitative methods. In McFaddenS.BrennanM., & PatrickJ. (Ed.), New Directions of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality. (pp. 31–50). Binghamton, NY: Haworth Pastoral Press.
6.
BynumC. W. (1986). Gender and religion: On the complexity of symbols. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
7.
CicirelliV. (2004). God as the ultimate attachment figure for older adults. Attachment & Human Development, 6(4), 371–388. doi: 10.1080/1461673042000303091
8.
CohenM.KahnD., & SteevesR. (2000). How to analyze the data. In Hermeneutic phenomenological research: A practical guide for nurse researchers (pp. 71–83). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
9.
CorbinJ., & StraussA. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13(1), 3–21.
10.
DingleyC., & RouxG. (2003). Inner strength in older Hispanic women with chronic illness. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 10(1), 11–22.
11.
EriksonE. (1963). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
12.
FoleyL. (2000). Exploring the experience of spirituality in older women finding meaning in life. Journal of Religious Gerontology, 12(1), 5–15. doi: 10.1300/J078v12n01_03
13.
GlicksmanG. G., & GlicksmanA. (2008). Coming to terms: Is the literature on religion and aging useful for Jewish communal planning?Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 20(3), 194–205. doi: 10.1080/15528030801988864
14.
HarveyI. (2006). Self-management of a chronic illness: An exploratory study on the role of spirituality among older African American women. Journal of Women & Aging, 18(3), 75–88. doi: 10.1300/J074v18n03_0
15.
IdlerE. L.KaslS. V., & HaysJ. C. (2001). Patterns of religious practice and belief in the last year of life. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 56B(6), S326–S34. doi: 10.1093/geronb/56.6.S326
16.
JamesW. (1902). The varieties of religious experience: A study in human nature. New York: Longmans, Green and Co.
17.
JohnsonM. (2009). Spirituality, finitude and theories of the lifespan. In BengstonV.GansD.PutneyN., & SilversteinM. (Ed.), Handbook of theories of aging (2nd ed., pp. 659–674). New York: Springer.
18.
KieslingC.SorellG. T.MontgomeryM. J., & ColwellR. (2006). Identity and spirituality: A psychosocial exploration of the sense of spiritual self. Developmental Psychology, 42(6), 1269–1277. doi: 10.1037/1941-1022.S.1.50
19.
KirkpatrickL. A. (1998). God as a substitute attachment figure: A longitudinal study of adult attachment style and religious change in college students. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 961–973. doi: 10.1177/0146167298249004
KotarbaJ. A.HaileB.LandrumP., & TrimbleD. (2003). Inner strength and the existential self: Improving managed care for HIV+ women through the integration of nursing and sociological concepts. Research in the Sociology of Health Care, 21, 87–106. doi: 10.1177/1049732307306922
22.
KrauseN. (2006). Gratitude toward God, stress, and health in late life. Research on Aging, 28(2), 163–183. doi: 10.1177/0164027505284048
23.
KrauseN. (2004). Stressors arising in highly valued roles, meaning in life, and the physical health status of older adults. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 59B(5), S287–S297. doi: 10.1093/geronb/59.5.S287
24.
LearnC. D. (1996). Older women's experience of spirituality: Crafting the quilt. New York: Garland.
25.
LincolnY., & GubaE. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
26.
MacKinlayE. (2006). Spiritual care in the fourth age of life. London, England: Anthecum Press.
27.
MacKinlayE., & McFaddenS. H. (2003). Ways of studying religion, spirituality, and aging: The social scientific approach. Journal of Religious Gerontology, 16(3), 75–90. doi: 10.1300/J078v16n03_06
28.
MacKinlayE. (2001). The spiritual dimension of caring: Applying a model for spiritual tasks of ageing. Journal of Religious Gerontology, 12, 151–166. doi: 10.1300/J078v12n03_12
29.
ManningL. K. (2010). An exploration of paganism: Aging women embracing the divine feminine. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 22(3), 196–210. doi: 10.1080/15528030903547790
30.
McCulloughM. E.EmmonsR. A., & TsangJ. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 112–127. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.112
31.
McFaddenS. H. (2005). Points of connection: Gerontology and the psychology of religion. In PaloutzianR. & ParkC. (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 162–176). New York: Guilford.
32.
McFaddenJ. (2003). A pastor ponders the boomers. In KimbleM. A. & McFaddenS. H. (Eds.), Aging, spirituality and religion—A handbook (Vol. 2, pp. 412–421). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
33.
McFaddenS., & KozbergC. (2008). Religious and spiritual supports for late-life meaning. Generations, 32(2), 6–11.
34.
MobergD. (2001). (Ed.). Aging and spirituality: Spiritual dimensions of aging theory, research, practice, and Policy. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.
35.
MobergD. (2005). Research in spirituality, religion, and aging. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 45(1/2): 11–40. doi: 10.1300/J083v45n010
36.
MoustakasC. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
37.
Nelson-BeckerH. (2003). Practical philosophies: Interpretation of religion and spirituality by African American and European American elders. In McFaddenS.BrennanM., & PatrickJ. (Eds)., New directions in the study of late life religiousness and spirituality (pp. 85–100). Binghamton, NY: Hawthorne Pastoral Press.
38.
NygrenB.NorbergA., & LundmanB. (2007). Inner strength as disclosed in narratives of the oldest old. Qualitative Health Research, 17(8), 1060–1073. doi: 10.1177/1049732307306922
39.
NygrenB. B.AléxL. L.JonsénE. E.GustafsonY. Y.NorbergA. A., & LundmanB. B. (2005). Resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life and self-transcendence in relation to perceived physical and mental health among the oldest old. Aging & Mental Health, 9(4), 354–362. doi: 10.1080/1360500114415
40.
PollnerM. (1989). Divine relations, social supports, and well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30, 92–104.
41.
RamseyJ. L., & BliesznerR. (1999). Spiritual resiliency in older women: Models of strength for challenges through the life span. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
42.
RayR., & McFaddenS. (2001). The web and the quilt: Alternatives to the heroic journey toward spiritual development. Journal of Adult Development, 8(4), 201–211. doi: 10.1023/A:1011334411081
43.
SandageS. J.HillP. C., & VaubelD. C. (2011). Generativity, relational spirituality, gratitude, and mental health: Relationships and pathways. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 21(1), 1–16. doi: 10.1080/10508619.2011.532439
44.
SandageS. J.JankowskiP. J., & LinkD. C. (2010). Quest and spiritual development moderated by spiritual transformation. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 38(1), 15–31.
45.
SchiemanS.BiermanA., & EllisonC. G. (2010). Religious involvement, beliefs about God, and the sense of mattering among older adults. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 49(3), 517–535. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2010.01526.x
46.
StanfordB. (2006). Through wise eyes: Thriving elder women's perspectives on thriving in elder adulthood. Educational Gerontology, 32(10), 881–905. doi: 10.1080/03601270600846709
47.
TornstamLars. (2005). Gerotranscendence: A developmental theory of positive aging. New York: Springer.
48.
Van ManenM. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
49.
VahiaI. V.DeppC. A.PalmerB. W.FellowsI.GolshanS.ThompsonW. (2011). Correlates of spirituality in older women. Aging & Mental Health, 15(1), 97–102. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2010.501069
50.
WinkP. (2003). Dwelling and seeking in late adulthood: The psychosocial implications of two types of religious orientation. In McFaddenS.BrennanM., & PatrickJ. (Eds)., New directions in the study of late life religiousness and spirituality (pp. 101–118). Binghamton, NY: Hawthorne Pastoral Press.
51.
WinkP. (2006). Who is afraid of death? Religiousness, spirituality, and death anxiety in late adulthood. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 18(2/3), 93–110. doi: 10.1300/J496v18n02_08
52.
WongP. T. P.RekerG. T., & GesserT. (1994). Death attitude profile—Revised: A multidimensional measure of attitudes toward death. In NeimeyerR. A. (Ed.), Death anxiety handbook (pp. 121–148). Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
53.
YalomI. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.
54.
ZinnbauerB. J., & PargamentK. I. (2005). Religiousness and spirituality. In PaloutzianR. & ParkC. (Eds.), Handbook of psychology of religion, and spirituality (pp. 21–42). New York: Guilford.
