Religious orientation, personality and purpose in life 2 AbstractThe construct of purpose in life is a key notion discussed both by psychologists and by theologians. There are good theoretical reasons for linking the two constructs and arguing that religiosity could enhance the sense of purpose in life. The empirical evidence for the relationship is, however, not unambiguous. A major difficulty with earlier research concerns the problematic nature of defining both purpose in life and religiosity. The present study attempts to clarify the problem by employing new recently developed measures of both constructs. The Purpose in Life Scale (PILS) developed by Robbins and Francis (2000) provides a clear and unambiguous measure. The New Indices of Religious Orientation (NIRO) developed by Francis (2007) re-operationalise the three constructs of intrinsic, extrinsic and quest religiosity as three different ways of being religious. Both instruments were completed together with the Short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised (EPQR-S) by 407 older Methodists in England. The data demonstrate that, after controlling for individual differences in personality, intrinsic religiosity is associated with a better sense of purpose in life, and both quest religiosity and extrinsic religiosity are unrelated to a sense of purpose in life. Religious orientation, personality and purpose in life 3The relationship between religious orientation, personality and purpose in life among an older Methodist sample Purpose in life and psychological enquiryPurpose in life is a construct of considerable interest within the broad field of individual differences. Following the pioneering work of Frankl (1978) purpose in life is understood to be central to the meaning-making process which confers meaningfulness. As such, purpose in life is a central component of psychological well-being. It is purpose in life which makes living worthwhile and which helps to prevent despair from leading to suicide.Early empirical research concerned with the psychological correlates of purpose in life, as reviewed by Yalom (1980), focused largely on the relation between purpose in life and psychopathology. Some more recent studies have maintained this focus. For example, Newcomb (1986) found a negative relationship between purpose in life and fear and anxiety concerning the possibilities of nuclear war and nuclear accidents. Newcomb and Harlow (1986) found, in two different samples, that perceived loss of control and meaninglessness in life mediated the relation between uncontrollable stress and substance use. Harlow, Newcomb, and Bentler (1986) found meaninglessness to mediate between depression and self-derogation and subsequent drug use for women and suicidal ideation for men. Coleman, Kaplan, and Downing (1986) reported that drug addicts were less likely than non-addicts to have a well-defined meaning in life. Schlesinger, Susman, and Koenigsberg (1990) found lower purpose in life scores among alcoholic men and alcoholic women than among nonalcoholics. Bech...

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This article reports the main findings of a quantitative and qualitative empirical study of the well-being of more than 400 older British Methodists measured in terms of their continuing purpose in life. Independent variables include personality, life experience, religious coping, attitudes to death, and religiosity variously measured. Its theoretical basis is drawn from Frankl and Tornstam. The main findings are that purpose in life is positively related to a collaborative religious coping style, an approach-centred death attitude, intrinsic religiosity, and spiritual transcendence. Although purpose decreases with age, gerotranscendence is shown to increase. The pastoral implications of these findings are discussed.

Purpose: The move from independent domicile to residential care can be a traumatic experience for the elderly. This study investigated the mediatory role of the individual's religious and spiritual beliefs on coping with this transition. Design and methods: A self-report survey design was used, and questionnaires were administered to 50 individuals who had entered residential care within the previous 12 months. Results: The analyses showed that scores on a life satisfaction scale were significantly and positively correlated with those from a spirituality measure ( p = .033), from a faith in nature and humanity scale ( p = .001), and from an instrument to measure the use of religion as a coping measure ( p = .004). Contrary to the hypotheses, there were no such significant relationships with measures of either organised or non-organised religion. The relationships between variables were further explored through a path analysis. Implications: The findings pointed to the benefits of a more personal and subjective belief system than a formal one. We concluded that it is important for all those who work with the elderly to acknowledge and

The authors investigated the frequency with which retired UK men and women (N = 102) used specified religious and secular strategies to help them cope with life, and with thoughts on death and dying. Data were obtained from self-report questionnaires and telephone interviews. For general coping, "recognizing how much worse off others are" was ranked first and "looking on the bright side" second. Literature was the highest ranked artistic pursuit, followed by instrumental music. A significant correlation was found between level of religious/spiritual beliefs and thoughts relating to death. Thematic analysis on qualitative comments yielded additional insights into how participants coped with both life and death issues.