RESEARCH: Spirituality and Religiousness Predict Adaptation to Vision Loss in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Abstract

Religiousness and spirituality have been found to be related to positive adjustment but have not been studied in the context of vision loss adaptation in adulthood and are rarely examined together in the same analyses. The present study examined the effects of these personal resources and social support in adapting to vision impairment. Participants (N = 195) were middle-aged and older adults with recent-onset vision loss. The effects of religiousness (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic orientation) and spirituality on the Adaptation to Vision Loss Scale (Horowitz & Reinhardt, 1998) scores were examined using structural equation modeling. Spirituality predicted better adaptation, extrinsic religiousness was negatively related to adaptation, and intrinsic religiousness was not significantly related to the outcome. Findings suggest that it is important for researchers to include measures of both religiousness and spirituality because they may exert differential effects on psychosocial outcomes. Practitioners should also consider religiousness and spirituality as important personal resources that may foster the process of adaptation.