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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Religious And Non-Religious Spirituality In Relation To Death Acceptance Or Rejection, Victor G. Cicirelli
Religious And Non-Religious Spirituality In Relation To Death Acceptance Or Rejection, Victor G. Cicirelli
Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications
Meanings of religious and non-religious spirituality are explored, with implications for death acceptance, death rejection, and life extension. In the first of two exploratory studies, 16 elders low on intrinsic religiosity were compared with 116 elders high in religiosity; they differed both in qualitative responses and on death attitudes. In the second, 48 elders were assessed on religious and non-religious spirituality, and compared on attitudes toward death rejection, life extension, and death acceptance. Conclusions were that a sizable minority of elders hold non-religious spirituality beliefs, and these beliefs are related to greater acceptance of life extension and death rejection.
Elders’ Attitudes Toward Extending The Healthy Life Span, Victor G. Cicirelli
Elders’ Attitudes Toward Extending The Healthy Life Span, Victor G. Cicirelli
Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications
Despite continuing debate between anti-aging researchers seeking major life span extension and concerned gerontologists and bioethicists, elders’ views have received little research attention. Study aimed to relate elders’ attitudes toward strong life span extension to psychosocial and background factors. Participants were 109 American elders (65% women) aged 60-99 (M = 77.08, SD = 9.05). Measures included attitudes toward living long and living forever, Desired Age, Death Acceptance, Goal Seeking, Internality, and background variables (age, gender, marital status, education, religion, health). Attitudes were more positive toward an extended life span than living forever (p < .01). In regression analyses, more positive attitudes were related to greater Desired Age, less Death Acceptance, greater Goal Seeking, and greater Internality, and to lower age and non-Christian religious affiliation. Qualitative analyses explored goals for various periods of additional life. Elders’ positive attitudes toward extended life need consideration by experts debating this issue.