This study addressed the research question regarding the relationship between spirituality and successful aging among older Black women. The participants in this study completed a questionnaire that measured spirituality and successful aging as a composite of a) physical health, b) continuity of adaptation over time, c) a sense of meaning in life, and d) psychological well-being. The goals of this study are to a) extend the previous research on the multidimensional construct of successful aging and b) add to the sparse research on successful aging for older minority women.
For the purposes of this study, the relationship between spirituality and successful aging was analyzed through a separate two-stage hierarchical multiple regression analyses for each successful aging criterion variable. In order to control for the effects of potentially important variables of individual differences, the demographic variables of age, religious affiliation, marital status, education, and income were entered in stage one of the regression analysis.
The overall findings of this study concluded that only meaning in life was related to spirituality in a population of older Black women. This study was consistent with prior research in several areas, such as the demographic profile for the population indicating that older Black women have lower education and lower income levels. Consistent with the literature on older adults, the participants in this study indicated that as age increases, health and adapation decreases. Finally, although spirituality was not related to successful aging in this study, the results revealed that spirituality is an important factor in the lives of older Black women.
