Religion, spirituality, social support and quality of life: measurement and predictors CASP-12(v2) amongst older Ethiopians living in Addis Ababa

Abstract

Objectives: As African populations begin to age developing accurate measures of quality of life (QoL) in later life for use on the continent is becoming imperative. This study evaluates the measurement and predictors of QoL amongst older Ethiopians.

Method: The data come from a multi-stage cluster sample of 214 people aged 55 and over living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. QoL was measured using the CASP-12(v2). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the properties of the scale. The relationships between social support, religiosity/spirituality and socio-demographic factors on QoL were tested with linear regression analyses.

Results: The CASP subscales exhibited good internal reliability and the CFA provides reasonable support for an 11-item 4-factor model (CFI, 0.954; RMSEA 0.075). Multivariate regression analyses suggest that both religiousness/spirituality and social support have positive relationships with QoL.

Conclusion: Older people in Africa can often be socially isolated, marginalised and in extreme poverty. Yet few studies have looked at QoL more generally and there is no accepted gold standard measurement of QoL. Yet such a development would allow researchers to directly compare QoL and the determinants of QoL amongst older Africans and those elsewhere. The results show that a modified 11-item CASP is a meaningful measure of QoL for use with older Ethiopians. Both religiousness/spirituality and social support are positively associated with QoL and might be important buffers against deprivation.

Keywords:

• social support
• quality of life/well-being
• religion/spirituality

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments on earlier versions of the paper.