Resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life and self-transcendence in relation to perceived physical and mental health among the oldest old

Abstract

Different concepts have been presented which denote driving forces and strengths that contribute to a person's ability to meet and handle adversities, and keep or regain health. The aim of this study, which is a part of The Umeå 85+ study, was to describe resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life and self-transcendence in relation to perceived physical and mental health in a sample of the oldest old. The study sample consisted of 125 participants 85 years of age or older, who ranked themselves on the Resilience Scale, Sense of Coherence Scale, Purpose in Life Scale and Self-Transcendence Scale and answered the SF-36 Health Survey questionnaire. The findings showed significant correlations between scores on the Resilience Scale, the Sense of Coherence Scale, the Purpose in Life Test, and the Self-Transcendence Scale. Significant correlations were also found between these scales and the SF-36 Mental Health Summary among women but not among men. There was no significant correlation between perceived physical and mental health. The mean values of the different scales showed that the oldest old have the same or higher scores than younger age groups. Regression analyses also revealed sex differences regarding mental health. The conclusions are that, the correlation between scores on the different scales suggests that the scales measure some dimension of inner strength and that the oldest old have this strength at least in the same extent as younger adults. Another conclusion is that the dimensions that constitute mental health differ between women and men.

Development and psychometric properties of the Inner Strength Scale

“…Alpha coefficients between 0.72 and 0.94 have been reported for the English version (Wagnild, 2009) and between 0.83 and 0.90 for the Swedish version (Nygren et al, 2004;2005). In the present study Cronbach's alpha was 0.86.…”

“…In a previous study we found statistically significant correlations between scores on the Resilience Scale (RS) (Wagnild and Young, 1993), the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC) (Antonovsky, 1987), the Purpose in Life Scale (PIL) (Crumbaugh and Maholick, 1964), and the Self-Transcendence Scale (STS) (Reed, 1991) among people aged 85 years and over (Nygren et al, 2005). We concluded that these correlations indicate some common dimension of inner strength.…”

“…The existing scales and questionnaires mentioned above were developed from a variety of theoretical backgrounds and have emphasized different aspects of inner strength. Because empirical overlaps indicate some common dimensions of inner strength between the various scales and questionnaires (Nygren, et al, 2005), meta-theoretical analyses were performed on similar "inner strength"…”

Psychological resources in spinal cord injury: a systematic literature review

“…These results are in line with research with populations with other health conditions such as human immunodeficiency virus or Alzheimer disease or healthy populations. [120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129] Spirituality can be an important component in psychotherapy. [130][131][132] Beneficial effects of meaning making interventions on SE, optimism and self-esteem are reported.…”

Measurement and predictors of resilience among community-dwelling older women

“…A handful of studies have used these instruments to assess resilience in older people (Hardy et al, 2002;Nygren et al, 2005;Wagnild, 2003). Hardy et al (2004) developed a 6-item scale that assessed resilience in response to a specific life event identified by the respondent.…”