Religiosity, Spirituality, and Death Attitudes in Chronically Ill Older Adults

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the association of religiosity and spirituality with fear of death and death acceptance attitudes in chronically ill older adults. In-home interviews were conducted with 257 community-dwelling elders with chronic illness identified through an administrative database of ambulatory care clinics from an academic health center in Kansas City and through primary care practices participating in a practice-based research network in North Carolina. Hierarchical regression models were constructed for predictor variables and the outcomes of fear of death and approach acceptance of death attitudes. Self-efficacy beliefs ( b = —.097, p < .001), anxiety ( b = .026, p < .01), and physical functioning ( b = .015, p < .01) were significantly associated with fear of death attitudes. Self-reported religiosity ( b = —.389, p < .001), closeness to God ( b = —.595, p < .001), and age ( b = —.019, p < .001) contributed significantly to the variance in the final model and were significantly associated with approach acceptance of death attitudes.