Investigating the Correlation Between Spiritual Well-Being and Loneliness in Elderly Individuals in Turkey During the Covid 19 Pandemic

Year 2022, Volume: 12 Issue: 3, 579 - 589, 30.09.2022

Filiz Polat , Fatma Karasu

https://doi.org/10.31020/mutftd.1111419

Cited By: 2

Abstract

Aim: In the pandemi process, it is about examining the relationship between the spiritual well-being and the loneliness of the elderly in Turkey.
Methods: The population of the descriptive study consisted of elderly individuals aged 65 and over in Turkey. The research was carried out between 15.02.2021 and 15.03.2021 with 582 individuals using the snowball sampling method, which is one of the non-probability sampling methods. Data were collected with Personal Information Form, the Loneliness Scale for the Elderly, and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale.
Results: It was determined that 84.5% of the elderly people in the study were in the 65-74 age range, 58.2% were female, 80.1% were single, 76.8% were ≤ primary school graduates. The mean score of the mental well-being scale of the elderly is 125.52±7.40, and the total mean score of the Loneliness Scale for the Elderly is 16.60±3.70. A negative correlation was found between the Spiritual Well-Being Scale and the Loneliness Scale for the Elderly. It has been determined that there is a significant difference between the spiritual well-being scale mean scores of the elderly individuals according to age and marital status, and there is a significant difference between the Elderly Loneliness Scale mean scores according to their age.
Conclusion: It has been determined that the mental well-being and loneliness levels of the elderly are high, and as their spiritual well-being levels increase, the loneliness levels decrease.

Keywords

Eldery individual, Spiritüality, Loneliness, Pandemic, Turkey

Supporting Institution

YOK

Thanks

Acknowledgements We thank all the participants who contributed to this study.

Covid 19 Pandemisi Sürecinde Türkiye’deki Yaşlı Bireylerde Spiritüel İyi Oluş ile Yalnızlık Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

Amaç: Pandemi döneminde Türkiye'deki yaşlı bireylerin ruhsal iyi oluşları ile yalnızlıkları arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektir.
Yöntem: Tanımlayıcı tipteki araştırmanın evrenini Türkiye'deki 65 yaş ve üstü yaşlı bireyler oluşturmuştur. Araştırma, 15.02.2021-15.03.2021 tarihleri arasında, olasılıksız örnekleme yöntemlerinden kartopu örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak 582 birey ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veriler Kişisel Bilgi Formu, Yaşlılar İçin Yalnızlık Ölçeği ve Manevi İyi Oluş Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır.
Bulgular: Araştırmadaki yaşlıların %84,5'inin 65-74 yaş aralığında, %58,2'sinin kadın, %80,1'inin bekar, %76,8'inin ≤ ilkokul mezunu olduğu belirlenmiştir. Yaşlıların ruhsal iyi oluş ölçeği puan ortalamaları 125.52±7.40, Yaşlılar İçin Yalnızlık Ölçeği toplam puan ortalamaları 16.60±3.70'dir. Manevi İyi Oluş Ölçeği ile Yaşlılar İçin Yalnızlık Ölçeği arasında negatif bir ilişki bulunmuştur. Yaşlı bireylerin yaş ve medeni duruma göre Spiritüel İyi Oluş Ölçeği puan ortalamaları arasında anlamlı farklılık olduğu, yaşlarına göre Yaşlı Yalnızlık Ölçeği puan ortalamaları arasında anlamlı farklılık olduğu belirlenmiştir.
Sonuç: Yaşlıların ruhsal iyi oluş ve yalnızlık düzeylerinin yüksek olduğu, manevi iyi olma düzeyleri arttıkça yalnızlık düzeylerinin azaldığı belirlenmiştir.

Keywords

Yaşlı birey, Maneviyat, Yalnızlık, Pandemi, Türkiye

References

• 1. Koenig HG. Ways of protecting religious older adults from the consequences of COVID-19. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2020;28(7):776-779. DOI:10.1016/j.jagp. 2020.04.004
• 2. Roy J, et al. COVID-19 in the geriatric population. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2020; 35:1437–1441. DOI: 10.1002/gps.5389
• 3. Gencer N. Being elderly in COVID-19 process: Evaluations on curfew for 65-year-old and over citizens and spiritual social work. Turkish Journal of Social Work Research 2020;4(1):35-42.
• 4. Hai AH, et al. The efficacy of spiritual/religious interventions for substance use problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Drug and Alcohol Depend 2019;202:134–148. DOI:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.04.045
• 5. Ali J, et al. The relationship between spiritual well-being and quality of life among elderly people. Holistic Nursing Practice 2015;29(3):128-35. DOI:10.1097/HNP.0000000000000081
• 6. Rias YA, et al. Effects of spirituality, knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward anxiety regarding COVID-19 among the general population in INDONESIA: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Clinical Medicine 2020;9:3798. DOI:10.3390/jcm9123798
• 7. Gautam S, Neville S, Montayre J. What is known about the spirituality in older adults living in residential care facilities? An integrative review. Int J Older People Nurs 2019;14:e12228. DOI:10.1111/opn.12228
• 8. Lifshitz R, Nimrod G, Bachner YG. Spirituality and wellbeing in later life: A multidimensional approach. Aging & Mental Health 2019;23(8):984-991. DOI:10.1080/13607863.2018.1460743
• 9. Gürsu O, Ay Y. Religion, spiritual well-being and aging. The Journal of International Social Research 2018;11(61):1176-1190. DOI:10.17719/jisr.2018.3007
• 10. Akat M, Karataş K. Psychological effects of COVID-19 pandemic on society and its reflections on education. Turkish Studies 2020;15(4):1-13. DOI:10.7827/TurkishStudies.44336
• 11. Kula MN. An attempt to ınterpret the coronavirus pandemic with a spiritual perspective. Turkish Studies 2020;15(6):683-694. DOI:10.7827/TurkishStudies.44443
• 12. Kowalczyk O, et al. Religion and faith perception in a pandemic of COVID 19. Journal of Religion and Health 2020;59:2671–2677. DOI:10.1007/s10943-020-01088-3
• 13.Turkish Statistical Institute 2020 (TUIK 2020). https://www.tuik.gov.tr/in website https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Kategori/GetKategori?p=nufus-ve-demografi-109&dil=1/in website https:// data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Istatistiklere-Yaslilar-2020-37227
• 14. Ekşi H & Kardaş S. Spiritual well-being: Scale development and validation. Spiritual Psychology and Counseling 2017;2:73–88. DOI:10.12738/spc.2017.1.0022
• 15. De Jong Gierveld J, Kamphuis FH. The development of a Rasch-type loneliness-scale. Applied Psychological Measurement 1985; 9: 289-299.
• 16. Van Tilburg TG, de Gierveld J. Cesuurbepaling van de enzaamheidsschaal (Cutting scores on the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale). Tijdschrift voor Gerontologie en Geriatrie 1999;30:158-163.
• 17. Akgül H, Yeşilyaprak B. Adaption of loneliness scale for elderly into Turkish culture: Validity and reliability study. Journal of Research on Elderly Issues 2015;8(1):34-45.
• 18. Arslan M. Aging: Interdisciplinary approach, problems, solutions. Ankara: Nobel Academic Publishing; 2016:21-45
• 19. İnce, A. Aging, religiosity and psychological life (Fifty and over age group example in Sakarya). Mediterranean International Conference on Social Sciences; 2017; May 19-22. Montenegro. https://www.udg.edu.me/en/mecasconference
• 20. Harrington A. The importance of spiritual 2 caring for older adults. Aging and Society 2016;36:1–16. DOI:10.1017/S0144686X14001007
• 21. Paksoy HM. A research on effect of belief to emerged fears and behaviors with COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Turkey. Journal of Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences 2020;10(2):135-155 DOI:10.47147/ksuiibf. 798354
• 22. Hirakawa Y, et al. Spirituality in older men living alone near the end-of-life. Nagoya Journal of Medical Science 2019;81:557–570. DOI:10.18999/nagjms.81.4.557
• 23. Alshraifeen A, et al. Spirituality, anxiety and depression among people receiving hemodialysis treatment in Jordan: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Religion and Health 2020;1–16 DOI:10.1007/s10943-020-00988-8
• 24. Rezaei M, Seyedfatemi N, Hosseini F. Spiritual well-being in cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy. HAYAT-The Journal of Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery 2009;14(4):33-9.
• 25. Kahraman S, et al. Effects of seperate living of old women and men on their’s loneliness and life satisfaction n a nursing home. Journal of Sociological Research 2011;14(2):1-16.
• 26. Çam C, Atay E, Işıklı B. Loneliness and quality of life in elderly. Journal of Public Health of the Turkish World Application and Research Center 2018;3(2):50-67.
• 27. Polat F, Karasu F. The Relationship between perceived loneliness level and depression among elderly individuals. Journal of Inonu University Health Services Vocational School 2020;8(1):72-82. DOI:10.33715/inonusaglik.704241
• 28. Chirico F, Nucera G. An Italian experience of spirituality from the coronavirus pandemic. Journal of Religion and Health 2020;59:2193–2195. DOI:10.1007/s10943-020-01036-1
• 29. Boztilki M, Ardıç E. Spirituality and health. Journal of Gazi Osman Pasha Taksim Training and Research Hospital 2017;3(Ek sayı): 39-45.
• 30. Göker H, Tekedere H, Arpacı F. Analysis of the relationship between loneliness perceptions and social media usage among elderly living at home. Third Sector Social Economic Review 2020;55(3):1631-1644.
• 31. Kalınkara V, Sarı İ. The determination of social network usage and loneliness relations in the elderly. Elderly Issues Research Journal (EIRJ) 2019;12(1):8-19.
• 32. Klavuz MA, Guideline E. The importance of spiritual counseling services in coping with losses in the aging period. In: Ayten A, Koç M, Tınaz N, editors. Spiritual Counseling and Guidance vol-II. Istanbul: Dem Publications; 2016. 17-38.
• 33. Hiçdurmaz D, Öz F. Spirituality as a dimension of coping with stress. Anatolian Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences 2013;16(1):50-56.