God as the ultimate attachment figure for older adults

Age Differences in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Assessing the Moderating Role of Attachment to God

Objectives: This study examined age differences in mental health problems (depression and anxiety) during the COVID-19 pandemic using nationally representative data from the United States. Drawing from a life course perspective, we also assessed if a secure attachment to God conditioned the relationship between age and mental health. Methods: Data were from the 2021 Values and Beliefs of the American Public Study (N = 1168), collected roughly 1 year into the pandemic. Results: Older adults (61 years and over) reported lower depression and anxiety than respondents 18-30 years of age. However, stronger perceptions of attachment to God significantly closed the age gap in anxiety between these age groups. Discussion: Though absolute levels of religiosity tend to be higher for older adults, secure attachment to God was more protective of the mental health of younger adults during the pandemic. We reflect on our findings through a life course lens.

Volunteering, religiosity, and quality of life in later life: evidence from Singapore

OBJECTIVES

We examine the association of the frequency of formal and informal volunteering with quality of life (QoL) among older adults in Singapore. We also assess if private (private prayer) or public (religious service attendance) aspects of personal religiosity moderate this association. In examining the moderating role of religiosity, we adjudicate between two competing theoretical views-the value-congruence and resource-compensation perspectives.

METHODS

Ordinary least squares regression models were estimated using cross-sectional data from a national survey of older Singaporeans, aged 60 and above, in 2016.

RESULTS

The frequency of both informal and formal volunteering was associated with better QoL. While private prayer did not moderate this association, religious attendance did-the positive association was stronger among those attending religious services less frequently.

CONCLUSION

Volunteering is beneficial for well-being in later life, especially so for older adults with less religious service attendance. These observations dovetail with the resource-compensation perspective, underscoring that the benefits of volunteering are amplified for older adults who are less integrated into their religious congregations. Hence, targeting those with lower levels of religious attendance might be useful in maximizing the benefits experienced by older volunteers.

Perceptions of Dignity, Attachment to God, and Mental Health in a National US Sample

Dignity is a human characteristic equated with real worth, a sense of moral and social personhood, and should have clear links to mental well-being. Empirical work on perceived dignity is relatively scant, but it stands to reason that one source of dignity might be gathered through religion/spirituality, especially through one's relationship with God or a divine power. In this study, we test whether attachment to God may protect against the hypothesized negative mental health consequences of having low perceptions of dignity. Using nationally representative data from the 2017 Baylor Religion Survey (N = 1375), we find that lower perceptions of dignity were associated with higher depression and anxiety. We found that for respondents with low self-perceptions of dignity, stronger feelings of secure attachment to God attenuated (weakened) the otherwise positive association between low dignity and greater depression and anxiety. Taken together, a secure attachment to God could lead believers to confront challenges and problems, including one's dignity being undermined, with confidence and security. We offer future directions for research on an understudied concept in the religion and health literature.

Death of a child, religion, and mental health in later life

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The death of a child may be one of the most stressful events for parents to experience. This study aims to assess how the death of a child prior to midlife is associated with the mental health of parents in later life, and how this association is contingent upon religious belief in a divine plan.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Using data from aging parents (aged 65 and older) in the six waves (2006-2016) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we conducted negative binomial regression analyses to examine the main effects of the death of a child prior to midlife on late-life depressive symptoms, and the buffering effect of religious beliefs on this main effect (N = 8,248). Growth curve modeling was used to analyze the trajectories of depressive symptoms (Obs. = 31,088).

RESULTS

Experiencing the death of a child prior to midlife is positively associated with depressive symptoms among older adults. Yet, the association is mitigated among respondents who exhibit a high level of belief in a divine plan at baseline. Further, a gradual decline in the number of depressive symptoms over time was observed among the bereaved parents who reported a high level of belief in a divine plan.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Belief in a divine plan has a protective effect on older adults who cope with the aftermath of child loss. The findings in the study advance our knowledge about the complex interrelationships among stress, religion, and mental health in later life.

Perceptions of Accountability to God and Psychological Well-Being Among US Adults

This study examines whether accountability to God is positively associated with four measures of psychological well-being-happiness, mattering to others, dignity, and meaning-among US adults. It also tests the possibility that prayer moderates these associations. Data from the 2017 Values and Beliefs of the American Public Survey (n = 1251) were analyzed using multivariate regression. Findings provided support for an association between accountability to God and mattering to others, dignity, and meaning in fully controlled models, and for happiness when religious controls were excluded. They also showed that these relationships were stronger among those who prayed frequently compared with those who did not. Overall, these findings shed light on a new concept-accountability to God-including its association with psychological well-being.

Religious and Spiritual Growth Goals: A Forgotten Outcome

Religious and spiritual (R/S) growth goals have been forgotten among self-improvement goals. We used social cognitive theory, useful in other domains of self-improvement, to study R/S goals. Data from 350 adults (M_age = 40.5, SD = 14.6) were used to examine the relations among age, gender, social interactions, and commitment to R/S goals and physical activity goals. Results of the path analysis, X² (DF = 2, N = 350) = 9.91, p < .01, showed similar contributions of positive social interactions to persistence on both goals. Differences between the two outcomes included a direct effect of age (β = .18), dissatisfaction with negative social interactions (β = .12), and satisfaction with positive social exchanges (β = .15) on persistence on R/S goals. Only positive social exchanges (β = .31) related to physical activity goals. The results are discussed in terms of the feasibility of applying goal-striving frameworks to the examination of R/S growth goals.

Discovering Grace at the Table? Prayers at Mealtime, Marital Status, and Life Satisfaction in Later Life

This study examines the effects of prayers at mealtime on change in life satisfaction among older U.S. adults. In addition, it assesses the ways that marital status conditions these psychological effects of prayers at mealtime. Using two waves of longitudinal data from the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey (2001-2004), a representative sampling of adults aged 65 and older, the analyses reveal that the frequency of prayers at mealtime is associated with an increase in life satisfaction over time. Further, the positive effects of prayers at mealtime on change in life satisfaction are greater for nonmarried older adults than their married counterparts. The findings in the study reinforce claims of the beneficial effects of religion on mental well-being in later life. Moreover, they elaborate on the resource substitution thesis by showing that religion provides greater psychological benefits for older adults who do not have alternative resources for well-being-a marital partner.

Examining the Influence of Early-Life and Recent Traumatic Events on Loneliness in Centenarians

Early-life traumatic experiences have lasting implications for late-life socio-emotional development, contributing to a greater prevalence of poor mental health in very old age. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of early-life and recent traumatic life experiences on loneliness among centenarians. A total of 154 centenarians participated in a semistructured interview. The time of traumatic occurrence and type of trauma experienced influence loneliness in centenarians. Experiencing a natural disaster 70 or more years ago significantly predicted loneliness. Terror management theory proposes that coming to terms with one's mortality represents an underlying source of anxiety that can influence human behavior to create both immediate and future defenses. Evidence from this study can be used to improve how aging service practitioners integrate reminiscence or life-review therapy or counseling within clinical or educational settings.

Attachment to God and Death Anxiety in Later Life: Does Race Matter?

Research suggests that religion plays a critical role in individuals' attitudes toward death in later life. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether a previously unexamined aspect of religion-secure attachment to God-is associated with death anxiety among U.S. older adults and whether this association varies across race. Using longitudinal data from a representative sample of adults aged 65 and older ( N = 936), the analyses reveal that secure attachment to God is associated with a decrease in death anxiety over time. Furthermore, the negative association between secure attachment to God and change in death anxiety is greater for older Blacks than their White counterparts. These results indicate that religion serves a protective function against death anxiety in later life. Moreover, religion provides greater psychological benefits for older Blacks than older Whites, reinforcing a long-standing claim that religion is particularly valuable for individuals from marginalized backgrounds.

Relational spirituality and quality of life 2007 to 2017: an integrative research review

BACKGROUND

Despite the increasing number of evidence-based research on relational spirituality (RS) and quality of life (QoL) in medical-health research, little is known about the links between RS and QoL outcomes and the mechanisms by which RS aspects are functionally tied to QoL.

OBJECTIVE

To determine how RS is perceived/positioned in relation to QoL, we (a) examined recent available data that identify and appraise the links between RS and QoL; (b) identified themes emerging from the association between RS and QoL, and (c) discussed the implications of the effects of RS on QoL outcomes.

METHODS

We conducted an integrative research review of English-language peer-reviewed articles published between 2007 to March 2017 which examined an association between RS and QoL, as identified from a search of three databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, and ScienceDirect.

RESULTS

A total of 20 studies were analysed. Of these, twelve (60%) reported positive association between RS and QoL, three (15%) studies reported inverse associations, whereas five (25%) studies showed evidence of lack of association (with two out of the five studies showing an indirect association). Physical health and psychological functioning were the most researched domains of QoL, and some studies suggest an attachment-based model of RS in the last 10 years of RS and QoL research. Studies conducted with participants with serious illnesses ranging from dementia, cardiac arrest, and breast cancer reported no association between RS and physical health. Our review shows evidence of both the direct and/or indirect effects of RS on QoL as a possible spiritual coping model for complementary alternative health therapy, albeit occurring through several religious-related psychosocial conduits.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION

RS appears to be associated with health benefits as indicated across QoL domains. General medical practitioners and other healthcare agencies could benefit from the understanding that a spiritual coping model could aid their patients, and therefore their clinical practices, in the healing process.

Attachment figures when death is approaching: a study applying attachment theory to adult patients' and family members' experiences during palliative home care

PURPOSE

Attachment theory is currently receiving much attention in relation to how adults cope with severe illness. The study aims were using the experiences of patients and family members to explore attachment figures (a central concept within the theory) during palliative home care.

METHODS

Twelve patients and 14 family members were interviewed during ongoing palliative home care. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

Four types of attachment figures were identified: (i) family and friends, (ii) health care practitioners, (iii) pets and (iv) God. Both non-physical and physical contact with the attachment figures facilitated a sense of security. In addition, the patient/family members and their attachment figures were described by some as a "we", and when one part of the "we" felt insecure, this made the other also feel insecure. The patients' unstable and progressing illnesses constituted a threat to the patients' and family members' sense of security. The availability of the attachment figures made them feel secure, and they could then divert their attention from the patients' illnesses to other things in everyday life, e.g. socialising with family and friends. Some family members also had to cope with the loss of their own attachment figure, when the patient, who had previously been a source of security for them, was no longer able to offer protection and comfort due to the progression of the illness.

CONCLUSION

Important aspects of attachment figures in the end-of-life context were identified, and their clinical implications will be discussed.

What Constitutes a Good and Bad Death?: Perspectives of Homeless Older Adults

This qualitative study explored perspectives toward a good or bad death among 21 older homeless adults residing in transitional housing. Using grounded theory approach, the themes for a good death were (a) dying peacefully; (b) not suffering; (c) experiencing spiritual connection; and (d) making amends with significant others. Themes for a bad death were (a) experiencing death by accident or violence; (b) prolonging life with life supports; (c) becoming dependent while entering a dying trajectory; and (d) dying alone. Healthcare professionals need to develop approaches for end-of-life care grounded in understanding unique needs of older homeless adults.

Enduring as lived experience: exploring the essence of spiritual resilience for women in late life

The purpose of this study was to explore spirituality and its relationship to resilience for women in late life. Over thirty interviews with six women aged 80 and older provide a dataset allowing for the phenomenological investigation of spiritual resilience. Themes emerged illustrating the components of spiritual resilience. The components of spiritual resilience are having divine support, maintaining purpose, and expressing gratitude. These factors are essential to the women's resilience and act as mechanisms that promote high levels of subjective well-being and an overall good quality of life. Essentially, participants articulate how their experiences of enduring hardships are informed by spiritual resilience.

[The impact of attachment on behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia]

Contemporary research has increasingly acknowledged the importance of attachment on stress-related processes in ageing. Congruent with this, there has been much research on attachment in older adults over the past three decades. In this article, the main findings of this research are summarized, with a focus on attachment and dementia. Results show that, in general, the number of attachment figures decreases in old age. Moreover, their identity changes as adult children, deceased loved ones and God become more prominent. With relation to the quality of attachment, anxiety in close relations appears to diminish as people age, while attachment avoidance remains relatively stable. Individuals with high levels of attachment security also report greater well-being and a more positive attitude towards ageing compared to persons with low levels of attachment security. Furthermore, individuals characterized by insecure attachment show more behavioral and psychological problems in dementia. Also, caregiver burden, depression, as well as the quality of care giving and future caregiver commitment differ depending on the quality of attachment of the caregiver. There is preliminary evidence for the efficacy of attachment-based interventions in dementia. Finally, there is a need for greater methodological uniformity and the use of measures that are validated for an older population.

The secure base script and the task of caring for elderly parents: implications for attachment theory and clinical practice

This study explores links between adults' attachment representations and the task of caring for elderly parents with dementia. Participants were 87 adults serving as primary caregivers of a parent or parent-in-law with dementia. Waters and Waters' ( 2006 ) Attachment Script Assessment was adapted to assess script-like attachment representation in the context of caring for their elderly parent. The quality of adult-elderly parent interactions was assessed using the Level of Expressed Emotions Scale (Cole & Kazarian, 1988 ) and self-report measures of caregivers' perception of caregiving as difficult. Caregivers' secure base script knowledge predicted lower levels of negative expressed emotion. This effect was moderated by the extent to which participants experienced caring for elderly parents as difficult. Attachment representations played a greater role in caregiving when caregiving tasks were perceived as more difficult. These results support the hypothesis that attachment representations influence the quality of care that adults provide their elderly parents. Clinical implications are discussed.

Spirituality as a lived experience: exploring the essence of spirituality for women in late life

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.

Attachment, activity limitation, and health symptoms in later life: the mediating roles of negative (and positive) affect

OBJECTIVE

Patterns of attachment-normative styles of relating to significant others-impact relationships across adulthood. Preliminary studies link attachment with health outcomes but have yet to examine older adults or functional impairment, and the mechanisms behind this relationship remain unclear. This report investigated how attachment predicted symptoms and functional impairment and tested the mediating roles of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA).

METHODS

1,118 older adults completed measures of attachment, health symptoms, and functional impairment, together with confounds including age, sex, and income.

RESULTS

As expected, security and fearful avoidance predicted greater symptomology, but only fearful avoidance predicted greater functional impairment. Negative affect partially mediated links between attachment and outcomes, but only for fearful avoidance.

DISCUSSION

Understanding links between attachment, symptom reports, and functional impairment will facilitate better understanding of positive aging versus premature decline, help identify at risk individuals, and guide interventions to assist optimal functioning in later life.

God attachment, mother attachment, and father attachment in early and middle adolescence

The present study examined the interplay of attachment to God, attachment to mother, and attachment to father with respect to adjustment (hope, self-esteem, depression) for 130 early and 106 middle adolescents in Singapore. Results showed that the parental attachments were generally linked (in expected directions) to adjustment. God attachment, however, had unique results. At the bivariate level, God attachment was only linked to early adolescents' self-esteem. When considered together with parental attachments (including interactions), God attachment did not emerge as the key moderator in attachment interactions and yielded some unexpected results (e.g., being positively linked to depression). These results are discussed viz-a-viz the secure base and safe haven functions that God and parental attachments may play during adolescence.

Religious and nonreligious spirituality in relation to death acceptance or rejection

Meanings of religious and nonreligious spirituality are explored, with implications for death acceptance, death rejection, and life extension. In the first of two exploratory studies, 16 elders low on intrinsic religiosity were compared with 116 elders high in religiosity; they differed both in qualitative responses and on death attitudes. In the second, 48 elders were assessed on religious and nonreligious spirituality and compared on attitudes toward death rejection, life extension, and death acceptance. Conclusions were that a sizable minority of elders hold nonreligious spirituality beliefs, and these beliefs are related to greater acceptance of life extension and death rejection.

Religious involvement, beliefs about God, and the sense of mattering among older adults

Using data from a 2001–2002 sample of adults aged 65 and older living in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, we examine the associations among religious involvement (as measured by the frequency of attendance at religious services and praying), the belief in divine control, and the sense of mattering—a key component of the self-concept. We also assess the extent to which these patterns vary by gender, race, and education. Findings indicate indirect effects of religious attendance on mattering through divine control beliefs and the frequency of social contact. Praying increases mattering indirectly only through divine control beliefs. Moreover, divine control beliefs are more strongly associated with mattering among women, African Americans, and individuals with less education. We discuss the contribution of these findings for theory about the links between religious involvement, beliefs about God, and psychosocial resources, and the influence of core dimensions of social status and stratification.

Religion as Attachment: Normative Processes and Individual Differences

The authors review findings from the psychology of religion showing that believers’ perceived relationships with God meet the definitional criteria for attachment relationships. They also review evidence for associations between aspects of religion and individual differences in interpersonal attachment security and insecurity. They focus on two developmental pathways to religion. The first is a “compensation” pathway involving distress regulation in the context of insecure attachment and past experiences of insensitive caregiving. Research suggests that religion as compensation might set in motion an “earned security” process for individuals who are insecure with respect to attachment. The second is a “correspondence” pathway based on secure attachment and past experiences with sensitive caregivers who were religious. The authors also discuss conceptual limitations of a narrow religion-as-attachment model and propose a more inclusive framework that accommodates concepts such as mindfulness and “nonattachment” from nontheistic religions such as Buddhism and New Age spirituality.

Gender moderates the associations between attachment and discrete emotions in late middle age and later life

OBJECTIVES

Although patterns of attachment have been linked to patterns of emotional experience, studies in developmentally diverse samples are few and have not yet examined possible gender differences in attachment or their implications for emotional wellbeing. This article describes patterns of attachment in a diverse sample of 616 men and women from middle age and later life, examines the relations between attachment and nine discrete emotions, and tests the thesis that gender moderates these associations.

METHODS

Convenience sampling was used to derive a sample of 616 ethnically diverse men and women from seven ethnic groups.

RESULTS

Multiple regressions controlling for demographics found no gender differences in attachment categorizations although men reported greater dimensional fearful avoidance. Security predicted greater joy and interest whereas dismissingness was associated with lower shame and fear and with greater interest. Both preoccupation and fearful avoidance predicted most negative emotions but were not associated with positive emotions. Finally, gender moderated these associations such that (a) attachment security was more closely related to interest and, marginally, joy, among men; (b) fearful avoidance was more closely related to fear and contempt among men; and (c) preoccupation was associated with greater interest among men, whereas fear and contempt were associated with preoccupation among women only.

CONCLUSION

Interpreted in the context of theories of emotions, the social origins of emotional experience, and the different roles that social relationships have for aging men and women, our data imply that attachment styles may differentially predict male emotions because of their less diverse networks.

Stress and depression among older residents in religious monasteries: do friends and God matter?

The purpose of this investigation was to explore how friendship and attach-0 ment to God provide protective benefits against stress and depression. Participants included 235 men and women, age 64 and older, residing in religious monasteries affiliated with the Order of St. Benedict. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were completed to assess main and moderating effects of friendship and attachment to God relative to the influence of stress on depressive symptomology. Lower degree of friendship closeness (beta = -.12, p < .10) and greater insecurity with God (beta = -.15, p < .01) were directly associated with greater depressive symptoms. A significant three-way interaction (Stress x Friendship x Attachment to God) also existed relative to depressive symptoms (beta = .14, p < .05). Three "stress-buffering" mechanisms emerged relative to the influence of stress on depressive symptomology. First, a greater degree of friendship closeness in combination with less secure attachment to God represented a greater risk for depressive symptoms. Second, greater friendship closeness in combination with greater secure attachment to God reduced the risk for depressive symptoms. Third, lower degree of friendship closeness combined with less secure attachment to God diminished the noxious effects of stress on depressive symptoms. This has implications relative to how social and spiritual resources can be used to reduce stress and improve quality of life for older adults residing in religious communities.