Spiritual Growth and Decline Among Patients With Cancer

Abstract

Greater use of spiritual resources, even if conceptualized as negative religious coping mechanisms or initial spiritual decline, may contribute to increased levels of spiritual growth later. When acting as expert companions, healthcare providers may facilitate spiritual growth by addressing spiritual transformation, creating safe environments for exploring spirituality, becoming familiar with different religious faiths, and seeking appropriate consultation and referrals for patients.

Spiritual transformation after near-death experiences.

“…No other confounding factor in this study was associated with spiritual growth, and none was associated with spiritual decline. Prior research has reported either a marginally significant decrease in Spiritual Growth subscale scores with age (r ϭ Ϫ.16, p Ͻ .05; Cole at el., 2008) or no significant difference (Allmon et al, 2013); the decrease with age in this study was not statistically significant. Likewise, prior research has reported either higher Spiritual Growth subscale scores among Protestants than among Catholics (Cole et al, 2008) or no significant association between Spiritual Growth and religious affiliation (Allmon et al, 2013); in our sample, Catholics and Protestants were statistically indistinguishable in terms of spiritual growth.…”

“…Spiritual Decline in participants with and without NDEs. Allmon et al, 2013). These differences suggest that the nature of the traumatic event may influence the degree of subsequent spiritual decline, as Schultz et al (2014) speculated.…”

“…Positive changes in spirituality have been found to be more common long after a sexual assault than immediately after (Frazier, Conlon, & Glaser, 2001). Participants in this study were sampled between 4 and 81 years after a close brush with death, a considerably longer time frame than in prior research with the STS that sampled persons within 1 year or being diagnosed with cancer (Allmon et al, 2013) or within 2 years after being diagnosed (Cole et al, 2008), and within 5 years after being interpersonally wronged (Schultz et al, 2014). That distinction raises the question whether the in-creased latency since the triggering event may have contributed to the higher scores on the Spiritual Growth subscale in the current study; however, within this study, time since the triggering event in this study varied from 4 to 81 years and was not significantly associated with spiritual growth.…”

Palliative care and spiritual well‐being in lung cancer patients and family caregivers

“…There are multiple definitions of religion/spirituality, but the term spirituality generally refers to a connection with a larger reality that provides meaning to life and can be experienced through private and public devotions or through meditation, nature, or art . The NCP defines spirituality as the ‘aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.’ Individuals diagnosed with cancer often turn to religion/spirituality to cope with their illness and its treatments . Approximately 86% to 91% of patients with advanced cancer have spiritual needs, and these are often defined as spiritual struggles, spiritual seeking (e.g.…”

“…connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.' [1] Individuals diagnosed with cancer often turn to religion/spirituality to cope with their illness and its treatments [5,[11][12][13]. Approximately 86% to 91% of patients with advanced cancer have spiritual needs, and these are often defined as spiritual struggles, spiritual seeking (e.g.…”