The relationship between spiritual well-being, anxiety and depression in old

Background: Spiritual well-being can serve as an important factor affecting older adults’ quality of life, reduce their psychological abnormalities, boost their interpersonal relationships, and relieve the severity of their potential illnesses. This research investigated the relationship between spiritual well-being and anxiety and depression in the elderly attending clinics of Shiraz, Iran, in 2012.Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated the condition of 128-old patients who attended the clinics of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2012. The data were collected through a demographic questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS), and Paloutzian and Ellison spiritual well-being questionnaire. The data were then analyzed via student’s t-test and Pearson chi square test in SPSS (Version 18). Results: The participants were aged 70.8±8 years, 35.4% of them were male, 64.6% were female, 74% were married, 39.4% were illiterate, and 29.1% had certificates below the high school diploma. The findings revealed that the mean score on depression was 57.9±4.28 and that on spiritual well-being was 83.43±5.2. All participants showed severe depression and anxiety, 91.3% had extreme stress, and 8.7% suffered from severe stress. Although old adults with higher levels of spiritual well-being were less influenced by mental disorder, according to the Pearson statistical test, no statistically significant correlation was observed between high levels of stress, anxiety and depression and spiritual well-being (P≥0.05). Conclusion: Results from the current study showed that we can address the function of spiritual well-being in enhancing old adults’ quality of life during the nursing care process.

کلیدواژه ها:

Spiritual Wellbeing ، Anxiety ، Depression ، Stress ، Elderly