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The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-being and Quality of Life

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Investigating Prayer

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Abstract

Religious and spiritual well-being should be routinely included in assessments of quality of life (QoL) to encompass the integration of body, mind, and spirit. The FACIT-Sp-12 scale of Spiritual Well-being is strongly associated with QoL and can assess spiritual well-being across a range of religions or in the nonreligious. Spiritual Well-being has been found to be positively correlated with the coping style Fighting Spirit and negatively associated with Fatalism, Hopelessness/Helplessness, Anxious Preoccupation, and Cognitive Avoidance. A three factor model of Faith, Meaning, and Peace has been proposed for the FACIT-Sp-12. In a study of 999 patients, who completed the FACIT-Sp-12, QoL, and mental adjustment questionnaires, Spiritual Well-being accounted for 6.9% of the variance in QoL. Meaning was more associated with Social Well-being and Peace with Emotional Well-being, but both with Functional Well-being. Meaning and Peace had strong associations with the coping style Fighting Spirit, but Meaning was stronger, and Peace and Meaning were both negatively associated with Helplessness/Hopelessness; this pattern has been likened to prolonged survival. Clinicians may achieve simple spiritual assessments by asking their patients questions such as whether they are “at peace.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Council Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Ian N. Olver (Chief Executive Officer)

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  1. Ian N. Olver
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Correspondence to Ian N. Olver .

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Olver, I.N. (2013). The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-being and Quality of Life. In: Investigating Prayer. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4571-5_4

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