title: Spirituality, depression, living alone, and perceived health among Korean older adults in the community.
abstract: Both theoretical and empirical studies have documented the protective effect of religiosity and spirituality on general health in older adults in community and hospital settings; however, no study has documented the relationship between spirituality and depression among older adults living alone in communities in Korea. We tested two hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: Korean older adults living alone would be more depressed and less healthy than older adults living with family, and Hypothesis 2: Individuals who are more religious and spiritual would report a lower level of depression and a higher level of general health even when other demographic and living status variables are controlled. A descriptive, comparative, and correlational design with a convenience sampling method was conducted among community-dwelling Korean older adults in Chounbook Providence, South Korea. This study included 152 men and women older than 65 years old. Hypothesis 1 was supported as Korean older adults living alone were significantly more depressed than were older adults living with family (P<.01). However, for Hypotheses 2, only spirituality activities and Spirituality Index of Well-Being scores were significantly associated with general health and/or depression (P<.01), but there were no relationships between the variables of attendance and importance of religion with general health and depression.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Chonbuk National University, Korea. yks@chonbuk.ac.kr
authors.forename: Kwang Soo
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Hae-Ok
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Joyce J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.forename: Susie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marui
authors.forename: Jung Su
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cook
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D002016:Buddhism / Q000523:psychology; D002835:Christianity / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires