A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LONELINESS, BUBERIAN RELIGIOSITY AND SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING IN CANCER PATIENTS.
Contributors: Rush University, College Of Nursing.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 177
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between loneliness, spiritual well-being and Buberian religiosity among patients that had been treated for cancer and to investigate the relationship between certain religious, demographic and illness variables with loneliness spiritual well-being and religiosity.

The population for this sample was drawn from the medical practice of two oncologists in the rural Midwest. A total of 210 persons participated in this study with an age range of 18 to 81 years. Every subject received a mailed questionnaire which included demographic, religious and illness data in addition to the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, Spiritual Well-Being Scale and Buberian Religiosity Scale. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, t-tests, analysis of variance, and multiple regression.

Statistical analysis demonstrated that for these cancer patients there is a strong positive relationship between religiosity and spiritual well-being, a weak negative relationship between spiritual well-being and loneliness and a very strong negative relationship between Buberian religiosity and loneliness. Frequency of church attendance and importance of religion were positively related to spiritual well-being and religious preference was related to religiosity. No relationships were found between loneliness, spiritual well-being, religiosity and age, sex, marital status, ethnic origin, education, occupation, employment, income, pet ownership, number of children and number of individuals living with the subject. Inverse relationships were noted between religiosity and frequency of pain and degree of impairment, indicating that those individuals that did not experience pain and those that had maintained their normal activity scored higher on the Religiosity Scale. An inverse relationship was demonstrated between spiritual well-being and frequency of pain, amount of pain and degree of impairment, indicating that those individuals that had little or no pain and maintained their normal activity scored higher on the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. An inverse relationship was demonstrated between loneliness and frequency of pain, indicating that those individuals that had pain frequently or almost all of the time scored higher on the Loneliness Scale.

These findings were examined for their clinical implications and recommendations were made for further research.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-05, Section: B, page: 1301.

Thesis (D.N.SC.)--RUSH UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF NURSING, 1987.

School code: 0591.