Daily Experience of Spirituality and Satisfaction with Life in African Americans
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Authors
Claiborne, Ashley N.
Issue Date
2011
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
"African Americans”,“Spirituality”,“Quantitative Research"
Alternative Title
Abstract
Although current literature supports the importance of spirituality in the African-American community, there has been limited empirical research establishing the significance of spirituality's integration into mental health. This study examines the relationship between spirituality and mental health, specifically satisfaction with life, to facilitate the integration of spirituality into the mental health counseling process. The present study examines demographic comparisons and outcome measures of the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES, Underwood & Teresi, 2002) and the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale (TSWLS, Pavot, Diener, & Suh, 1998). This study utilized a quantitative approach, including multiple regression analysis of the demographic information and the DSES and TSWLS mean scores. This study included 211 participants who identified as African American, were over 18, lived in the United States, and had various socioeconomic statuses and levels of education. Participants completed this study on the Internet. The DSES and TSWLS were made available to participants through pre-established nationwide listservs with predominantly African-American audiences that allowed their members to post information openly. Data analysis partially supported the first hypothesis and fully supported the second hypothesis. The first hypothesis that responses to the DSES would vary across demographics subgroups of gender, education, marital status, religion, service attendance, and socioeconomic status was partially supported, with a significant difference between several subgroups. There was a significant difference between groups regarding education level, marital status, religious affiliation, church service attendance, and socioeconomic status. Compared to their counterparts, spirituality was higher among individuals who identify as Protestant, attend religious services, are divorced, and earn over $80,000. Responses on the spirituality scale did not vary significantly across gender or age groups. The second hypothesis was that there would be a significant positive correlation between spirituality and satisfaction with life. Lower scores on the DSES, which indicate a higher frequency of spiritual experiences, are associated with higher levels of reported satisfaction with life. Individuals who endorsed more frequent experiences of spirituality also endorsed more satisfaction with life.