Religiousness/Spirituality, Social Support, and General Well-Being Among Korean Elderly Immigrants

Purpose: Despite methodological limitations, findings of previous studies point consistently to a positive effect of religion on health and psychological well-being among elderly individuals (Koenig & Larson, 1998; Oman & Reed, 1998). It is a notable fact that religion is both now, and has always been, more common among the socioeconomically deprived, the chronically or terminally ill, the elderly, and minority groups. It may be because these people are more likely to be suffering some persecution or hardship, and that is precisely where scripture predicts God will be with the underprivileged and those in pain. Although recognition that spirituality/religiousness is a very important contributor to the well-being of older adults expanded rapidly (Fabricatore, Handal, & Fenzel, 2000; Yoon, 2006), there is insufficient knowledge on the impact of religiousness/spirituality on the general well-being of Korean elderly immigrants. In this study, the researchers examine the impact of religiousness/spirituality and social support on general well-being among this population.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey study used a purposive sampling method to recruit 177 Korean elderly immigrants in California in 2006. Each participant was interviewed through a structured questionnaire in Korean lasting around 50 minutes. To measure various domains of religiousness/spirituality (values/beliefs, private religious practice, religious/spiritual coping, and religious support), the Brief Multidimensional Measures of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) was used (Fetzer/NIA, 1999). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was used to measure perceived social support (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988). The General Well-Being Schedule (GWB) was used to measure general well-being (Dupuy, 1984). The GWB consists of six subscales including anxiety, depression, positive well-being, self-control, vitality, and general health. This study used a hierarchical regression method to understand relationships among the variables.

Results: Hierarchical regression analyses of the study found that Korean elderly immigrants reporting higher levels of positive well-being were more likely to use more religious/spiritual coping skills (ß=.24, p<.01), receive greater religious support (ß=.23, p<.01), and social support (ß=.34, p<.001). Participants reporting better general health status were more likely to receive greater religious support (ß=.18, p<.05) and social support (ß=.20, p<.05). In the equation to predict vitality, social support (ß=.31, p<.001) and religious support (ß=.18, p<.05) appeared to contribute significantly. Religious support (ß=.26, p<.01) and social support (ß=.22, p<.01) were significant predictors of participant's self-control. Respondents reporting lower levels of anxiety were more likely to receive greater religious support (ß=-.18, p<.05) and social support (ß=-.26, p<.01). Social support (ß=-.32, p<.001) significantly and inversely predicted depression.

Implications: The results of this study can help service providers to understand and evaluate the impact of religiousness and spirituality in Korean elderly immigrants in order to improve quality of life. The unique needs of minority elderly should be considered in service provision. Culturally-sensitive outreach approaches should take into account the importance of faith and faith-based communities for Non-White elderly, especially Korean elderly immigrants. Health/mental health professionals need to be encouraged to collaborate with their faith-based communities in order to provide elderly individuals with interventions that integrate spirituality into educational and clinical modalities.