The Effects of Spiritual Well-Being on Elderly People’s Cognitive Function: Mediating Effects of Health-Promoting Behaviors and Depression

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of spiritual well-being on the cognitive function of elderly people, focusing on the mediating effects of health-promoting behaviors and depression. Methods: Using convenience sampling, 136 elderly people were recruited from October 2018 through February 2019 for a cross-sectional survey. Data were collected through the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile, Geriatric Depression Scale, Everyday Cognition, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment and analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation. Mediation analysis was also conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 4). Results: The mean scores for spiritual well-being, health-promoting behaviors, depression, objective cognitive function, and subjective cognitive function were 60.96, 108.09, 18.58, 19.49, and 63.35. The mediation effects in step 1 indicated that spiritual well-being had a statistically significant positive effect on health-promoting behaviors (B=0.32, p