Existential/spiritual resources and the subjective quality of life experiences among elderly adults

Abstract

AbstractMy paper presents the results of a research study on the relationship between existential/spiritual resources, that is, spiritual sensitivity (a disposition to experience spirituality, manifested in the embracement of the nature of things in the transcendent and final perspective, in moral sensitivity, and the ability to find meaning in paradoxical and limiting situations), spiritual sensitivity components and subjective quality of life (a generalized attitude to one’s own life mode, in the four existential dimensions: psychophysical, psycho-social, subjective, and metaphysical). Study subjects were older adults (60+, n = 522) living in the current, dynamic, uncertain and fluid modern world conditions. The study had two phases – quantitative and qualitative (narrative interviews). To measure the phenomena, the Spiritual Sensitivity Inventory (Straś-Romanowska, Kowal, & Kapała, 2013) and the Quality of Life Questionnaire (Straś-Romanowska, Oleszkowicz, & Frąckowiak, 2004) were used. The results obtained confirmed a strong mutual relationship between spiritual resources and quality of life, also providing an answer to some questions about the nature of spiritual sensitivity, and its integrating, pro-development and pro-health role in the elderly adults’ life in the post-modern era.