Fluent Essays

This class discussion focuses on the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of older women. Please read the articles posted in this module before joining the discussion. In your discussion, focus on (a) difference between religion and spirituality (b) role of religion in older womens lives (c) role of spirituality in older womens life (d) use some quotes from the two articles to show me and your class mates that you actually read those articles**** Step 1.Initiate a post to which your class-mates can respond. This should be a substantive post (about 150 to 200 words long). Your post must show that you read the articles posted in this module. Additionally, you can include personal experiences in this post. Step 2. Respond to the posts of two other class-mates. Your responses should be more than I agree Or I disagree statements. Your response should reflect your critical thinking skills and needs to be, at least, 75 words (can be more). Below is a class-mates posts for you to make a response post to Although religion and spirituality are intertwined in the lives of older women, they can play two distinct roles. If someone is religious, they are seeking for purpose that is offered by a sacred higher being. Religion gives older women a sense of significance as they are approaching possibly the end of their lives. It is typical for older women to be lonely and vulnerable, but if they are religious, it can satisfy those feelings and offer contentment. Spirituality is when the sacred is sought after. Spirituality allows for older women to have a connection with something that is higher than themselves. The article, “Exploring the Essence of Spirituality for Women in Late Life,” states, “…spirituality was a key factor for women in promoting resilience to stress over the life course,” and then also stated, “…high levels of spirituality was a predictor of higher levels of self-rated health and subjective well-being.” Being spiritual is quite beneficial mentally and physically for aging women. According to the article, “Exploring the Experience of Spirituality in Older Women Finding Meaning in Life,” spirituality is experienced differently by women. It states, “Spiritual development and spiritual experiences of women are often interconnected with issues of role changes and health and/or illness concerns.” Aging women often find importance in religion and spirituality while they are facing many changes and realities of sickness and even death. exploring_the_essence_of_spirituality_for_women_in_late_life.pdf exploring_the_experience_of_spirituality_in_older_women.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview INT’L. J. AGING AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, Vol. 75(2) 95-113, 2012 SPIRITUALITY AS A LIVED EXPERIENCE: EXPLORING THE ESSENCE OF SPIRITUALITY FOR WOMEN IN LATE LIFE* LYDIA K. MANNING, PH.D., MGS Duke University, Durham, North Carolina ABSTRACT Against the backdrop of a dramatic increase in the number of individuals living longer, particularly older women, it is vital that researchers explore the intersection of spirituality, gender, and aging. In this qualitative study of six women aged 80 and older, I explore, using, multiple, in-depth interviews, the experiences of spirituality over the life course. A hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of the interviews was performed and provided insights into the nature of their “lived experience” allowing for the understanding of the essence of their spirituality. The results are presented as an interpretation of the participants’ perceptions of their spirituality and spiritual experiences. For the women in this study, the essence of their spirituality lies in: being profoundly grateful; engaging in complete acceptance; and having a strong sense of assuredness, while stressing the linkages and importance of spirituality. Implications for understanding spirituality for older adults are considered. INTRODUCTION Evidence indicates that for many aging individuals spiritual capacity gradually increases, especially with regards to self-acceptance and perceptions of one’s *The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and publication of this article by NIH [grant 5T32 AG00029-35]. 95 Ó 2012, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/AG.75.2.a http://baywood.com 96 / MANNING life having integrity (Atchley, 2000; Idler, Kasl, & Hays, 2001; Koenig, 2006; Moberg, 2001; Tornstam, 2005). Scholars argue the natural process of aging, or the passage of chronological time with a finite and foreseeable end, creates a context where older adults can become more self-reflexive and self-accepting, opening the mind/body/spirit to an expansion and deeper sense of knowing (Atchley, 2000; McFadden, 2005). Within the field of aging, there is evidence that as individuals grow closer to the natural end of their lives, the spiritual dimension gains in prominence (Johnson, 2009; Moberg, 2005; Tornstam, 2005). Recognizing that spirituality is an important aspect of the meaning-making and developmental process in later life, it is vital that elders are afforded the opportunity to share their spiritual experiences. Explorations of their spiritual lives provide researchers with insight (Atchley, 2000). Spirituality and Aging In the past decade, spirituality as an area of scientific inquiry has materialized from obscurity, becoming an area of great interest to researchers in aging (Atchley, 2008; Glicksman & Glicksman, 2008; McFadden & Kozberg, 2008; McFadden, 2003; Moberg, 2005; Nelson-Becker, 2003). Atchley (2000) claims that while spirituality is quite popular in mainstream culture and the academy, its “soft” nature from a scientific viewpoint causes “spirituality to be stereotyped by scientific gerontology as a suspect enterprise” (p. 327). This stereotyping results because spirituality deals with aspects of human life not easily measured by conventional scientific methods (Atchley, 2000). Regardless of such experiences being difficult to measure, there are increasing numbers of people willing to discuss their spirituality with researchers (Atchley, 2000; Atchley, 2008; Nelson-Becker, 2003). Moberg (2001) asserts that all humans have a spiritual dimension by nature of being human, and therefore, each person has the capacity for spirituality. In essence, spirituality in late life consists of finding core meaning in life, responding to meaning, and being in relationship with God/Other. Aging invites contemplative activities. For many people, as they grow older, these contemplations are translated into the search for life-meaning (MacKinlay, 2006). Studies suggest that having a strong sense of meaning in life results in better physical and mental health outcomes, as well as improved quality of life and subjective well-being (Krause, 2004; MacKinlay, 2001; Nygren, Alex, Jonsen, Gustafson, Norberg, & Lundman, 2005). This search for life-meaning is influential for spiritual experiences and expressions, particularly as one ages and confronts various realities associated with end of life. This progression changes the nature of meaning making from provisional, everyday meaning to larger life-meaning (MacKinlay, 2006). Understanding the spiritual experiences of the oldest-old is important to better ground what we know as gerontologists regarding aging SPIRITUALITY AS A LIVED EXPERIENCE / 97 over the lifecourse. In turn, this will help us better understand the implications of everyday life-meaning for older adults. The intersection of spirituality, religion, and aging received an upturn of interest in the 1990s, and continues in the early 21st century (Zinnbauer & Pargament, 2005). In particular, an interest in health emerged during this time, indicating a concentration on the functional aspects of spirituality and religion pertaining to aging. Understanding the relationship between “spirituality” and “religion,” including the extent to which they can be disentangled, has been a central part of this spiritual turn in gerontology. The continuing interest in this debate is evidenced by the diversity of definitions and conceptualizations of “spirituality” and “religion” (Atchley, 2009; Johnson, 2009; McFadden, 2005; Zinnbauer & Pargament, 2005; Wink, 2003). For example, Wink (2003) examines “religious dwellers” and “spiritual seekers” over the lifecourse, arguing that spirituality and religion have enough intersecting qualities that they do not need to be split as constructs. This argument suggests that older adults can and do distinguish a difference is salient within scholarly debates, but to the extent these differences are relevant for the every day practice of spirituality is questionable. Zinnbauer and Pargament (2005) define spirituality as the search for the sacred— that which is special, set apart from the ordinary, and deserving of veneration. Religion refers to the search for significance in ways related to the sacred. The process of the search, or seeking, is important for their conceptualization of both spirituality and religion. Despite these conceptual debates and differences, most scholars agree that spirituality and religion are related constructs. As larger numbers of older adults continue to age, it becomes increasingly important to understand how older adults are responding to late life challenges and opportunities, such as the death of a spouse, the loss of physical functioning, changes in role status with retirement, or the cultivation of new relationships in late life. Focusing on older adults’ spiritual experiences is part of this larger understanding. As McFadden (2005) points out, “for many, but certainly not all older people, faith communities, spiritual and religious experiences and beliefs concerning the sacred will contribute to life quality and meaning” (p. 172). Spirituality provides a framework that guides individuals through painful and joyful events, often facilitating positive discoveries amidst negative experiences (Ardelt, Ai, & Eichenberger, 2008). Consequently, spirituality is a powerful resource in late life providing many older adults with the ability to adapt to changing individual needs. Spirituality and Gender in Late Life A review of the literature indicates there is a male-dominated perspective evidenced in the world’s major religious traditions, particularly in the Western world (Learn, 1996; Manning, 2010; Ray & McFadden, 2001). Bynum (1986) argues that areas such as spirituality and religion cannot be investigated without 98 / MANNING considering gender. Ray and McFadden (2001) consider gender in the discussion of spiritual development, asserting that women are much more collective in their spirituality then men, using web and quilt metaphors for how women relate to themselves and others spiritually. Ray and McFadden (2001) point out that “much feminist research and theorizing suggests that individuation models do not adequately describe women’s experience” as it relates to spirituality and spiritual development (p. 202). For example, Learn (1996) likens women’s spirituality in later life to a quilt, suggesting with this metaphor that women stitch together with others various sections and panels and materials using a technique characterized by process to create spiritual identity in later life. Despite these claims, research exists investigating the spiritual lives of older women. For example, Vahia et al. (2011) found that spirituality was a key factor for women in promoting resilience to stress over the life course. Foley (2000) using the Spiritual Well-Being Index found that spirituality was of considerable importance to the women in her study and that high levels of spirituality was a predictor of higher levels of self-rated health and subjective well-being. Harvey (2006) found that for African-American women in later life, spirituality was a key component in the management of chronic illness. These researchers, along with others, claim that more investigation is needed concerning the spiritual lives of older women. The findings presented here illuminate the experiences and voices of women in later life. As the findings make clear, spirituality and religion are more than constructs for these women. Spirituality is a way of being in the world that affords these women connection and meaning. Paying careful attention to our definitions as researchers is important, but more important is providing an understanding of a phenomenon and the meaning it may have for people, meaning as it is told by the individuals living that experience. For the purpose of this research, I explore the spiritual dimensions of my participants; that is, I seek to discover how they experience their spirituality, including their spiritual self. In this research, I use Atchley’s (2009) definition of spirituality as a “realm of human experience encapsulating an intense awareness of the present; transcendence of the personal self; and/or a feeling of connection with all of life, the Universe or a Supreme Being” (p. 2). This conceptualization of spirituality encompasses religion. As the women in this study are interviewed, their own conceptualizations of spirituality emerged as they described for me how they experience and live their spirituality. METHODS Design and Sample This phenomenological inquiry, using models presented by Van Manen (1990) and Moustakas (1994), utilizes a person-centered approach in the gathering and collecting of data. Moustakas, influenced heavily by the scholarship of Van Manen’s approach to phenomenology, adheres to a procedural analysis of a SPIRITUALITY AS A LIVED EXPERIENCE / 99 phenomenon. Hermeneutic phenomenology is the specific type of phenomenology used in this study. In hermeneutic phenomenology, a particular phenomenon that is meaningfully experienced by an individual or group of individuals is investigated, in this case spirituality. This approach considers how the phenomenon is experienced and what it means to the person within a specific context (Moustakas, 1994; Van Manen, 1990). A key component to hermeneutic phenomenology is not only describing the phenomenon under investigation, but also interpreting the meaningful experiences of those being studied. I interviewed six women on five separate occasions throughout this study to understand how they conceptualized and described their spirituality. Multiple interviewing is ideal in phenomenological research as it allows for an in-depth exploration into the phenomenon under investigation (Moustakas, 1994). Interviews lasted from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Sampling for this research aligns with the basic tenets and assumptions of hermeneutic phenomenology as well as the assumptions of narrative inquiry. Participants were not randomly selected or predetermined during the initial planning stages of the project. Women were selected to participate in this study based on their firsthand experience with the phenomenon of interest—spirituality in advanced age. This study used a purposeful sampling approach, common in qualitative design (Corbin & Strauss, 1990; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). I relied on a non-probability, purposeful sample of older women for this research. More specifically, a snowball sampling technique was used to capture the richness and detail (both commonalities and disparities) regarding how the women in this study experience spirituality. Women were sought based on a variety of settings and living arrangements. The women resided in the midwestern region of the United States and were mostly community dwelling (none were institutionalized, one lived in assisted living facilities in an independent apartment, and the remaining five lived in their own homes). The women ranged in age from 82 to 94. Four participants were white and two were African American. All were widowed, and all but one woman had children. Education attainment ranged from a high school degree to a graduate degree. All of the participants lived lives of socio-economic comfort. Five of the six women identified as Christian, and one identified as a Unitarian Universalist; five of the women were still active in their respective faith communities. Initially, I intended to interview nonagenarians and sampled accordingly. I attended a photography exhibit of nonagenarians on display at a local art gallery, which prompted me to contact the artist and request that she connect me with the women from her photography project. The artist agreed and provided me with names and mailing addresses of 15 women over the age of 90. I sent a letter explaining my study to these women, and two responded by telephone to express their interest in being interviewed for this project. I scheduled interviews with these two women and began data collection. The remaining four participants came via snow-ball sampling. 100 / MANNING I contacted each participant by telephone, introduced myself, and explained the nature and intent of my study. As a brief introduction, each woman was informed that the interviews would focus on three topics of discussion: 1. their spiritual lives and experiences; 2. how they experience their spirituality in later life; and 3. what is meaningful and valuable about their spirituality. In addition, each woman agreed to be interviewed up to five additional times. Individual, in-depth interviews were used to gather data to explore each woman’s experience of spirituality. The interviews took place in the homes of the women and concentrated on core, or essential, spiritual experiences, beliefs, and practices throughout the lifecourse and the impact of those experiences on their lives. Initial interviews lasted from 1 to 2 hours. A semi-structured interview guide was used to ask each woman to talk about major spiritual moments over the lifecourse, spiritual experiences, spiritual influences, and current spiritual beliefs and practices. Each interview was audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The interview opened with, “I’m interested in finding out about your core spiritual experiences (beliefs and practices) and how you have come to hold them. Start wherever you would like.” These interviews reflect a degree of interpretation in the moment, by the researcher and the women, regarding spirituality as a phenomenon. Data Analysis As the in-depth interviews were being conducted to gather the lived experience of spirituality for the women in my study, I was able to engage in phenomenological reflection, or engaging in dialogue with each woman about her transcript, particularly in the follow-up interviews that occurred with each participant (Van Manen, 1990). Subsequently, because data collection and analysis occur simultaneously and are ongoing, I was able to adjust my phenomenological investigation according to data emerging from the investigation. This process afforded me the opportunity to adjust my interview guides and manage the process of idea generation. Central to a hermeneutic phenomenological investigation is the technique of phenomenological reduction, or the process of reflecting and writing in a manner that facilitates the researcher’s understanding of the essential structures of a specific phenomenon (Moustakas, 1994; Van Manen, 1990). This process of reduction in a phenomenological investigation involves identifying a phenomenon that ignites motivation on behalf of the researcher, suspending pre-existing assumptions and biases, then discarding pre-existing scientific knowledge about the phenomenon under investigation, and lastly being able to see beyond the descriptions of the lived experience to interpret the larger essence or universal aspects of the experience (Van Manen, 1990). The process of SPIRITUALITY AS A LIVED EXPERIENCE / 101 reduction or arriving at the essence of an experience involves reflection and writing. The methods used, encouraged by the work of Van Manen, of phenomenological reflection and writing as they are used for the purposes of data analysis are discussed below. According to Van Manen (1990), the process of arriving at an understanding of the lived experience is to conduct a thematic analysis and to determine incidents of that experience and essential themes; these two steps are part of the phenomenological reflection process. After the data had been transcribed and checked for accuracy, I read and reread each transcript from each phase of the study. This process is known as a naïve reading of the text, or the reading of the whole text to become familiar with the text and to allow initial thoughts and perceptions to emerge (Moustakas, 1994). This immersion within the data with reading and rereading assisted me in creating initial interpretations, which were also entered into field notes for analysis. This continued before and after each interview. This process indicated a cyclical interpretation of the meaning of the experience, which is consistent with the hermeneutic circle, or the process of understanding a text hermeneutically and for the purposes of interpretation. Thematic analysis was used to reach the specific aims of my study—in other words, to understand the spiritual experiences of women in late life, and it is based upon the recommendations of Cohen, Kahn, and Steeves (2000). The text was representative of the experiences of the women in my study. The transcripts were read line-by-line and coded for specific phrases that indicated a salient aspect of the experience. The thematic analysis was based upon the following steps but in a non-linear fashion. Interview sections were grouped based upon key themes regarding the experience of spirituality as they emerged from the data. Then line-by-line coding was done and phrases were labeled with code names. These were small pieces of information that related their perceptions of how spirituality is experienced. Following open coding, like code names from each area of the phenomenon, in this case spirituality, were placed side by side together for further analysis, and then places into categories based on relation. Categories were then placed together for further analysis to discover the complex interrelations of the content drawn out from each element of the paradigm. Exemplars were chosen to represent the themes. Exemplar themes were connected based on emergent themes and experiences the women expressed during interviews. From the processes of reading, analyzing, writing and reflecting, I arrived at the composite structure, or the essence, of the phenomenon under investigation. Moustakas (1994) explai ... Purchase answer to see full attachment