title: How elderly nursing home residents transcend losses of later life.
abstract: Losses of later life can prove overwhelming to older adults. Some elderly persons seem to cope with these losses with a spirit of acceptance and serenity. The purpose of this study was to identify qualities in selected nursing home residents that allow them to transcend difficulties and continue living with some degree of contentment and satisfaction. Qualitative data were obtained in taped interviews from 95 functionally impaired residents (mean age 82.16 years). Content analysis resulted in several themes supporting the spiritual perspective of Reed's theory of self-transcendence: generativity, introjectivity, temporal integration, body-transcendence, and relationship with self, others, and a higher being.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha 68198-8470, USA. kbickers@unmc.edu
authors.forename: Kathleen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Bickerstaff
authors.forename: Carol M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Grasser
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McCabe
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D001601:Bereavement; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D012931:Social Environment; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires