Relationship between daily spiritual experience and wellness in adult sample

Straipsnyje analizuojamos dvasingumo ir sveikatai palankios gyvensenos sąsajos suaugusiojo amžiuje. Tyrime dalyvavo 400 lietuvių (168 (42 proc.) vyrai ir 232 (58 proc.) moterys) nuo 18 iki 89 metų amžiaus (amžiaus vidurkis - 40,6±17,9). Vertinant sveikatai palankią gyvenseną taikytas 5 faktorių sveikatingumo klausimynas (5F-WEL). Dvasingumas vertintas kasdienės dvasinės patirties skale (DSES). Rezultatai parodė, kad amžius ir lytis buvo reikšmingai susiję su dvasingumu - vyresnio amžiaus ir moteriškosios lyties tiriamieji nurodė patiriantys daugiau įvairių dvasingumo apraiškų kasdieniame gyvenime nei jaunesnio amžiaus ir vyriškosios lyties asmenys. Įvertinus dvasingumo ir sveikatai palankios gyvensenos sąsają nustatyta, jog dvasingumas buvo reikšmingai susijęs su sveikatai palankia gyvensena atsižvelgiant į lyties, amžiaus ir išsilavinimo veiksnius.Background. Despite spectacular advances in technology and science, 90% of the world's population is involved in some form of religious or spiritual practice. Strong evidence exists, that spirituality as a part of life is universal. Spirituality, health and healing are deeply rooted and closely bound in traditions of many cultures. However health and spirituality research for many years was not a case for the health sciences. There is substantial literature that relates spirituality to a better mental and physical health. Scientific evidence suggests that religion is a powerful coping behavior; religious beliefs provide a sense of meaning, positive world view and psychological integration. Religion provides group connectedness, social resources and mental attitude, which promotes healthy behavior. However, the nature of this relationship is not clear enough. Some evidence suggests that not all religious activities are really beneficial. Better health is positively linked with religion that is internalized, intrinsically motivated, and based on secure relationship with God. Lithuania is post soviet country, where several generations grew up in context of suppressed religiousness. Some scientists indicate that there is a gap between declared religious identity and deep religious experience in Lithuania. So the questions arise: How important is daily spiritual experience in Lithuanian adult sample? What are age and gender trends? Is the spirituality-health (wellness) relationship valid in Lithuanian context? Methods. This study examines the relationship between spirituality and wellness in adulthood. 400 Lithuanian adults, 168 (42%) males and 232 (58%) females, mean age 40.6 (SD17.9), ranging from 18 to 89, participated in the study. For assessment of wellness Five Factor Wellness Inventory (5F-WEL, Myers, Sweeney, 2005) was used. Wellness was conceptualized as a way of life, oriented toward optimal health and well-being, in which body, mind, and spirit are integrated by the individual to live life more fully within the human and natūrai community. This definition describes wellness as an indicator of health oriented lifestyle. Aspect of spirituality was assessed using the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES, Underwood, Teresi, 2002). DSES is a self-report measure which helps to discover forms and freąuency of spirituality expressions in person's daily life. The sixteen-item scale includes constructs such as awe, gratitude, mercy, sense of connection with the transcendent, compassionate love, and desire for closeness to God. Results. The results showed that age and gender were significantly related to spirituality - older respondents and females reported more freąuent spiritual experience, than younger ones and males. Spirituality was significantly related to healthy lifestyle both for males and females. Though with the age some decrease in wellness was observed, more spiritual people still reported higher scores of wellness. Daily spiritual experience correlated positively with specific aspects of wellness - Creative Self, Social self, Coping Self and Essential Self. This data confirms the idea, that spirituality might be a source of personai strengths and resources. However spirituality was not related to freąuency of physical activity or healthy nutrition. On the other hand, spirituality was a significant, but not a strong predictor of general wellness. Multiple regression analysis revealed, that age and spirituality explained only about 13 percent of variance. Spirituality has a significantly positive but not a strong impact on health oriented lifestyle and satisfaction with life during adulthood