title: Spiritual life after cancer: connectedness and the will to meaning as an expression of self-help.
abstract: This article uses a mixed quantitative/qualitative design to elicit the attitudes and experience of spirituality in a group of N = 11 heterogeneous cancer participants, who were interviewed regarding self-help practice. Part of this interview enquired about spirituality and was analysed separately from the larger body of data, becoming the Spiritual Interview. The authors argue for a conceptualisation of spirituality as a "will to meaning" and "connectedness." Further, they propose that it is the integration of spiritual life that is the crucial variable in assessing spirituality. Participants demonstrated a wide diversity of attitude and experience that supports the authors' contentions.
authors.affiliation: The Centre for Cancer Management and Psychology, Carrington, NSW 2294, Australia. Stuart.Edser@newcastle.edu.au
authors.forename: Stuart J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Edser
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: May
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D029181:Spirituality