Description
Book SynopsisExamine the questions of how, what, and why associated with religiousness and spirituality in the lives of older adults!
New Directions in the Study of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality explores new ways of thinking about a topic that was once taboo but that has now attracted considerable attention from the gerontological community. It examines various approaches to methodology and definition that are used in the study of religion, spirituality, and aging. In addition, it explores the ways that gerontological research can highlight the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of older adults.
The first section will introduce you to new ways of thinking about research methodology and data analysis that can be applied to studying the complexity of older adults'' religious/spiritual practice and beliefs. You''ll learn several approaches to the study of phenomena that are both personal and also deeply embedded in comm
Table of Contents
- Charting a Course for the 21st Century Studies of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality
- Part I. Epistemological Stirrings in the Study of Religiousness and Spirituality
- Examining Spirituality Over Time: Latent Growth Curve and Individual Growth Curve Analyses
- Uncovering Spirituality Resiliency Through Feminist Qualitative Methods
- Spiritual Issues in Health and Social Care: Practice into Policy?
- A Mighty Fortress Is Our Atheism: Defining the Nature of Religiousness in the Elderly
- Part II. Approaches to the Definitional Dilemma
- Practical Philosophies: Interpretations of Religion and Spirituality by African American and European American Elders
- Dwelling and Seeking in Late Adulthood: The Psychosocial Implications of Two Types of Religious Orientation
- Widows’ Spiritual Journeys: Do They Quest?
- The Role of Social Context in Religion
- Part III. The Fruits of the Religious Life
- Why Believe? The Effects of Religious Beliefs on Emotional Well Being
- Coping with the Uncontrollable: The Use of General and Religious Coping by Caregivers to Spouses with Dementia
- Effects of Religiosity and Spirituality on Depressed Affect and Prosocial Behaviors
- Religiosity, Afterlife Beliefs, and Bereavement Adjustment in Adulthood
- Afterword: A Conversation About Theories, Definitions, and Applications
- Index
- Reference Notes Included
