Interdependence of Spirituality and Well-Being among Korean Elders and Family Caregivers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of family spiritual interdependence to the well-being of elders and their family caregivers within Korean family caregiving situations. The correlation of spirituality and well-being between elders and caregivers and the actor and partner effect of spirituality on well-being were examined in terms of how family members' spirituality influences their own and partners' well-being.One hundred fifty-seven Korean elder-family caregiver dyads in Seoul, Korea participated and completed independently three spirituality instruments and four well-being instruments independently: Spiritual Perspective Scale (Reed, 1987), Self-Transcendence Scale (Reed, 1986) and Purpose in Life (Crumbaugh, 1968), Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977), Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, et al., 1985) and Positive And Negative Affect Schedules (Watson et al., 1988).The correlations were performed to identify whether demographic variables significantly related to study variables. Several variables regarding family and social interactions related significantly to spirituality and well-being in both elder and caregiver group.The correlations of spirituality and well-being between elders and caregivers reported that elders' spirituality significantly related to caregivers' spirituality and caregivers' well-being significantly related to elders' well-being.The actor and partner effects of spirituality on well-being between elders and caregivers were tested using the Actor-Partner-Interdependence Model (Kashy & Kenny, 2000; Kenny, 1996). The results found that there were significant actor effects. First, spiritual perspective negatively influenced their own positive affect. Self-transcendence positively predicted their own depression and negative affect. Also, Self-transcendence positively predicted their satisfaction with life and positive affect. In addition, purpose in life negatively influenced their own depression and negative affect. Purpose in life positively influenced their own satisfaction with life and positive affect.There was a significant partner affect. Self-transcendence positively predicted their partner's depression. Also, self-transcendence positively influenced their partner's positive and negative affect. There were no significant partner effects from spiritual perspective and purpose in life to well-being. These findings indicate that the health and well-being of family members may be best understood within the context that includes the spiritual dimension of caregiving, particularly the concept of self-transcendence as it relates to several well-being factors.