Religion, spirituality and the well-being of informal caregivers: A review, critique, and research prospectus

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review and critique the published literature examining the relationships between religion/spirituality and caregiver well-being and to provide directions for future research. A systematic search was conducted using bibliographic databases, reference sections of articles, and by contacting experts in the field. Articles were reviewed for measurement, theoretical, and design limitations. Eighty-three studies were retrieved. Research on religion/spirituality and caregiver well-being is a burgeoning area of investigation; 37% of the articles were published in the last five years. Evidence for the effects of religion/spirituality were unclear; the preponderance (n = 71, 86%) of studies found no or a mixed association (i.e., a combination of positive, negative, or non-significant results) between religion/spirituality and well-being. These ambiguous results are a reflection of the multidimensionality of religion/spirituality and the diversity of well-being outcomes examined. They also partially reflect the frequent use of unrefined measures of religion/spirituality and of atheoretical approaches to studying this topic. Investigators have a fairly large number of studies on religion/spirituality and caregiver well-being on which to build. Future studies should be theory driven and utilize psychometrically sound measures of religion/spirituality. Suggestions are provided to help guide future work.

Is Religiosity a Protective Factor for Mexican-American Filial Caregivers?

“…Based on a comprehensive review of 84 studies, Hebert et al (2006) report that three mechanisms may link religion/spirituality to caregiver well-being: Supportive social networks, coping resources (i.e., cognitive restructuring and appraisal), and positive emotions that improve relationship quality. In this study, the finding that Hispanic caregivers who reported higher levels of organized religious participation also reported lower levels of subjective burden might be explained by the fact that such participation affords them higher levels of social support, and consequently, lower levels of burden.…”

“…Religion is conceptually defined as a discrete set of beliefs, practices, ideas, and language embraced by a community in search of sacred or transcendent meaning (Hebert, Weinstein, Martire, & Schulz, 2006;Herrera, Lee, Nanyonjo, Laufman, & Torres-Vigil, 2009). Spirituality is often conceptually framed as a belief in (or a search for) the transcendent, or that which positively affirms human life (Herrera et al, 2009).…”

Variables associated with the life satisfaction of elderly caregivers of chronically ill and dependent elderly relatives

“…Likewise, religious involvement did also not interfere with the life satisfaction of the elderly caregivers of the present study. A possible hypothesis to justify such results would be that religious involvement is quite broad and multidimensional, a factor that may hinder its measurement and association with other factors 31 .…”

Spirituality Among Alzheimer's Caregivers: Psychometric Reevaluation of the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale

“…With these caveats in mind, there are, nevertheless, a multitude of studies documenting the use of religion and spiritual belief and practice as coping tools, particularly in the context of caregiving (see Herbert et al, 2006). The predominance of caregivers in the spirituality literature is due in part to the frequency and consistency with which caregivers identify religion or spirituality as critical coping resources (e.g., Choi, Tirrito, & Mills, 2008;Herbert, Qianyu, & Schulz, 2007;Kaye & Robinson, 1994;Pargament, 1998;Shaw et al, 2002;Spurlock, 2005;Stolley et al, 1999;Stuckey, 2001;Wilks & Vonk, 2008).…”

“…Of particular interest have been the intersections between coping adaptivity and religious or intrinsic spiritual belief and practice (for detailed review, see Herbert, Weinstein, Martire, & Schulz, 2006). However, although spirituality and religiosity are often used interchangeably in the literature on caregiver burden and coping, they are distinct, if overlapping, constructs (Hodge, 2001).…”