Abstract

This descriptive correlational study assessed the perceived spiritual and psychological well-being of bereaved parents. Spiritual well-being was measured by the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB) and psychological well-being was measured by the Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) Index. The sample consisted of 30 participants from three bereaved parent support groups located in North Alabama. The research hypothesis stated there would be a positive correlation between spiritual well-being and psychological well-being in bereaved parents. Findings revealed a positive correlation between spiritual well-being and psychological well-being in bereaved parents = .77, p_ = .000). Additional findings revealed men tended to report higher subjective spiritual and psychological well-being than the women subjects. The more time in a support group the higher the psychological well-being and spiritual wellbeing. Time since death of the child correlated positively with spiritual and psychological well-being. In addition, frequency of church attendance was not related to either spiritual or psychological well-being. The recommendations for future research include replication of this study with a larger sample size, continued research involving spiritual well-being, and the development of appropriate spiritual needs assessment tools. The recommendations for nursing practice include encouraging Nurse Clinicians to include spiritual assessments in their plan of care and to recognize that spirituality is not the same as religiosity . In bereavement situations, the Clinician can also inform the client that the impact lessens with the passage of time. The Nurse Clinician should be aware that women tend to report greater spiritual and psychological needs than men.

Degree

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Department

Graduate Nursing

Degree Date

12-1-1988

Publication Number

27924615

First Advisor

B. J. Landis

Second Advisor

Dr. Rayma Skinner

Third Advisor

Dr. Nancy Hill

Document Type

Thesis

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