29-11-2012, 02:06 PM
Spirituality and Well-Being
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Abstract
The relationship between spirituality and well-being has become a growing area of interest to researchers in the human behavioural sciences only in the last few decades. During this time the constructs of spirituality and subjective well-being have undergone considerable development resulting, at times, in a confusing conglomeration of unrelated studies. This paper reviews the literature for agreement in the definitions of spirituality and subjective well-being, and in any proposed relationships between the constructs. The literature was collected from a wide range of sources including psychological, medical, and religious journals. The investigation revealed increasing agreement for the definition of subjective well-being, and some initial attempts at identifying areas of agreement for the definition of spirituality. After reviewing the modest amount of literature available, that directly deals with the relationship between subjective well-being and spirituality, some contradictory findings are discussed. It is proposed that further study is required to clarify the existence and nature of the relationship.
Introduction:
Since the 1960’s a rapidly growing body of literature attests to interest in the relationship between well-being and spirituality. During this time both concepts have evolved from simple, unidimensional and often objectively measurable constructs to more complex conceptions that incorporate both objective and subjective components. It is now increasingly recognised that although objective data, such as level of income, standard of accommodation, and crime rates are important in assessing quality of life (Land, 1999), to yield a more accurate picture it needs to be supplemented by reports of subjective well-being (SWB) (Yardley & Rice, 1990). This has meant that a thorough assessment of life quality now requires data describing people’s objective conditions of life as well their perceptions of those circumstances (Best, Cummins & Sing Kai Lo, 2000) often within a number of life domains whose number and nature are still undergoing debate (Felce & Perry, 1995). The concept of spirituality has been influenced in a similar way. For example, the assessment of spirituality has moved away from measuring purely observable behaviour viewed as ‘spiritual’ such as church attendance or prayer, to incorporate the assessment of a person’s subjective experience of those behaviours.
Subjective Well-Being:
It is widely acknowledged that subjective well-being (SWB) comprises the closely related components of affect and cognition (Cummins & Nistico, 2001; Shmotkin, 1998). Although there has been some argument against the bipolarity of affect (e.g. Russell & Barrett, 1999), the most common view is that the affect component comprises the bipolar dimensions of negative and positive emotionality (Russell & Carroll, 1999; Huelsman, Nemanick, & Munz, 1998). The theory of positive and negative affectivity initially proposed by Watson and Tellegen (1985) posits that individuals are inherently endowed with a tendency toward experiencing either positive or negative emotions that, in turn, influence feelings of satisfaction (Fogerty, Machin, Albion, Sutherland, Lalor, & Revitt, 1999). The proposal that affect influences feelings of satisfaction was demonstrated in a study by Fogerty et al., (1999) who found that orientations toward either positive affectivity or negative affectivity were able to predict levels of job satisfaction by way of job-related stress, strain and coping that were perceived and experienced by the participants. For example, the participants with high orientation toward positive affect were less likely to report experiencing stressors and would more likely to be positively associated with the use of cognitive coping strategies than negative affect orientated participants resulting in higher levels of job satisfaction.
SWB and Homeostasis
SWB homeostasis refers to the general idea that a homeostatic mechanism operates to control the human sense of well-being within a set range for each individual (Cummins, 1998). This idea was first proposed by Headey and Wearing (1992) who recognised that following a negative life experience that reduced SWB levels, people tended to return to their normal levels over time. Homeostasis theory proposes that each person has an in-built or inherent ‘set-point’ for their normal level of SWB and their perceived SWB is normally held around this setting (Cummins, 1995; 1998). When SWB approaches the lower or upper thresholds of the individual’s particular set-point range, the homeostatic system resists further change and then works to bring SWB levels back to lie within the normal range for that individual person (Cummins & Lau, 2001).
Evidence for homeostasis theory can be found both at the individual level and the population level. On an individual level, the discovery that SWB has the tendency to return to its original set-point level over time, was posited as evidence that homeostasis was occurring. A study first to discover an adaptation tendency operating found that, after a period of time, lottery winners reported similar life satisfaction levels compared to paralysed accident victims (Brickman, Coates, and Janoff-Bulman, 1978). This was taken to indicate that changes in life satisfaction levels as a result of life circumstances would eventually return to normal levels over time. A number of subsequent studies have also been reported to provide further evidence for this obtained pattern of results (Schkade & Kahneman, 1998). One example is a study by Suh, Deiner and Fujita (1996), who found that a group of college students, who had experienced the death of a loved reported the return of the perception of positive affect to normal levels within a year following the event.
The Buffering System of SWB
It has been proposed that the cognitive component of SWB comprises three related beliefs that work together to buffer SWB against external circumstances and therefore maintain life satisfaction. These are perceived control, self-esteem, and optimism (Cummins & Nistico, 2001). The cognitive belief of perceived control has been one of the most researched constructs within psychology and both experimental and correlational studies have consistently shown that individual differences in control is one of the critical variables involved in a person’s psychological health and well-being (Shapiro, Schwartz, & Astin, 1996; Thompson 1991). Although a number of models of control have been proposed (Skinner, 1996), a model first developed by Rotter (1966; cited in Rotter, 1975) has been the most popular. Rotter’s model organises control into the components of internal and external locus of control, where internal control describes a perception of control that comes from within the individual that gives the perception of being in control of their circumstances.