Blessed assurance - The role of religion and spirituality in Alzheimer's disease caregiving and other significant life events

Increasing attention in the scientific literature is being given to the relationships among religion, spirituality, and overall well-being. Moreover, research has repeatedly identified religion and spirituality as significant coping resources throughout the life course. For this study, a group of 20 Catholic and Protestant older adults were interviewed; half were caregivers of a spouse with Alzheimer's disease and half were noncaregivers. The informants were asked about their views on religion, spirituality, and how they integrated their faith into their lives. Qualitative analysis identified several themes reinforcing previous work that has shown religion and spirituality are important dimensions to the human experience. All of the informants had integrated religious and spiritual beliefs and practices into their lives to help make sense out of stressful situations. The findings underscore the need for further scientific inquiry that examines how religion and spirituality promote healthy adaptation to significant life events. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.