The Relationship Between Spirituality and Resilience and Well-being: a Study of 529 Care Leavers from 11 Nations

Abstract

Research has found that individuals who were separated from parental care and experienced alternative care settings during childhood are more likely to have poor outcomes as adults. This highlights the importance of understanding factors that are related to resilience and well-being for care leavers. A growing body of research has supported the importance of spirituality in our understanding of resilience and well-being. However, little work to date has examined the relationship of spirituality to outcomes in care leavers. The current study investigated the relationships between spirituality, resilience, well-being, and health in a sample of 529 care leavers from 11 nations. It also examined how different themes of spirituality were related to specific outcome variables. Data revealed that spirituality was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, better mental and physical health, and more resilience even when accounting for current age, gender, age at separation, Human Development Index scores, and childhood adversity. Furthermore, findings indicate that different themes of spirituality are related to specific outcome variables, even when accounting for demographic information. Findings indicate that spirituality may play an important role in resilience and well-being for care leavers. Implications and limitations are discussed.