Religiosity, spirituality and death anxiety among older adults living at home and in institutional facilities: a comparative study

ABSTRACT

Death is a taboo topic among Filipinos especially within families. Filipino older persons live with their family members as central figures tasked to assure family cohesion and harmony. This is a shared relationship with the family serving as the older persons’ primary source of social and spiritual support. However, with the changing social landscape, more and more Filipino older persons now live in institutions away from their families. This situation was the impetus for conducting a study to determine and compare the levels of religiosity, spirituality, and death anxiety among older adults living at home and in institutional facilities. Following the selection procedure for participation, a sample of 125 older adults were included; those living with their families (n = 67) and those living in institutional facilities for the elderly/ senior care residences/ nursing homes (n = 58). Data were collected using the Spirituality Scale, Revised Death Anxiety Scale, and Dimension of Religiosity Scale. The study revealed that there was a significant difference in the level of death anxiety and spirituality between the participants living at home and in institutional facilities. No significant difference was noted on their level of religiosity.

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KEYWORDS:

• Death anxiety
• older adults
• religiosity
• spirituality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).