Aim: To examine the impact of perceived importance of spirituality or religion (ISR) and religious service attendance (RSA) on health and well-being in older Australians. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 752 community-dwelling men and women aged 55-85 years from the Hunter Region, New South Wales. Results: Overall, 51% of participants felt spirituality or religion was important in their lives and 24% attended religious services at least 2-3 times a month. In univariate regression analyses, ISR and RSA were associated with increased levels of social support (P < 0.001). However, ISR was also associated with more comorbidities (incidence-rate ratio= 1.2, 95% confidence interval 1.08-1.33). There were no statistically significant associations between ISR or RSA and other measures such as mental and physical health. Conclusion: Spirituality and religious involvement have a beneficial impact on older Australians' perceptions of social support, and may enable individuals to better cope with the presence of multiple comorbidities later in life. © 2010 The Authors. Australasian Journal on Ageing © 2010 ACOTA.
CITATION STYLE
A., M., M., M., S., B., & J., A. (2011). Spirituality, religion, social support and health among older Australian adults. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 30(2), 82–88. Retrieved from http://www.embase.com/search/results?subaction=viewrecord&from=export&id=L361968027 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6612.2010.00453.x
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