Korean J Adult Nurs.  2017 Aug;29(4):363-372. 10.7475/kjan.2017.29.4.363.

A Structural Modeling of Middle-aged Adults' Meaning in Life

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Nursing, Changshin University, Changwon, Korea.
  • 2College of Nursing, Catholic University of Pusan, Busan, Korea. sochoi@cup.ac.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of the study was to describe the structural relationship of meaning in life, spirituality, hope, intrinsic religious orientation, and self-esteem among middle-aged adults.
METHODS
The sample included 344 participants between the ages of 40 and 60, who resided in one of four cities. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0, descriptive statistics and AMOS 20.0 which uses structural modeling to test whether the hypothesized model fits the collected data.
RESULTS
Middle-aged adult's spirituality was found to have a significant direct effect on meaning in life. Further, middle-aged adult's reported hope, intrinsic religious orientation, and self-esteem had a direct effect on spirituality. Lastly, self-esteem had a direct effect on hope.
CONCLUSION
The findings from the study indicated that spirituality was the best predictor of meaning in life among middle age. In addition, hope, intrinsic religious orientation, and self-esteem did not have a direct effect on the meaning in life, but had a indirect effect through spirituality.


MeSH Terms

Adult
Hope
Humans
Middle Aged
Models, Structural*
Spirituality

Figure

  • Figure 1. Conceptual framework.

  • Figure 2. Path diagram of modified model.


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