The relationship of spirituality and self-transcendence to life satisfaction among chronically ill Euro-American and Mexican-American older adults

Abstract

This descriptive correlational study explored possible relationships of spirituality and self-transcendence to life satisfaction among chronically ill Euro-American and Mexican-American older adults. The purpose of the study was to determine if there was a difference within the levels of spirituality, self-transcendence, or life satisfaction between the two ethnic groups that might be related to different ethnic beliefs . Spirituality and self-transcendence were also examined for a multivariate relationship towards life satisfaction among both, the Euro-American and the Mexican-American groups. Instruments used were the Spiritual Perspective Scale (SPS), Self-transcendence Scale (STS), and Life Satisfaction Index-A (LSI-A). No statistically significant differences (p ≤ .05) were found between levels of spirituality, self-transcendence, and life satisfaction between the two ethnic groups, nor were any multivariate relationships found for spirituality and self-transcendence to life satisfaction~ however, additional analysis found significant univariate relationships among the study variables and test items according to ethnicity and gender.