Exploring the association of sense of coherence, and spiritual and religious beliefs in a rural population group on the island of Crete, Greece.
OBJECTIVES/AIM
This article reports the results of an observation study, aimed at exploring an association between spirituality, religiousness, and sense of coherence in a population group residing in a rural area of Crete, Greece.


STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS
The study was conducted during the period 2007-2009. Subjects aged 65 years and older (n = 118) living in two remote and rural villages in the Heraklion county (Crete) were eligible. Eighty-nine people (51 women and 38 men) participated. Demographic data were obtained, and all participants were asked to complete the Greek version of the self-reported Royal Free Interview for Spiritual and Religious Beliefs, and the Sense of Coherence Scale.


RESULTS
Most participants reported strong religious beliefs and this was found to be related with increased age. Widowed participants expressed greater religiousness and spirituality (p = 0.029). The total score for Sense of Coherence was negatively correlated with gender (women have lower scores, p < 0.05), marital status (widows presented lower scores, p < 0.001), and increased age. A strong positive correlation of the Sense of Coherence score with the Spiritual Scale as measured by three questions of the Royal Free Interview was also identified (p = 0.039).


CONCLUSIONS
The impact of gender and marital status seem to be emerging determinants in defining sense of coherence among inhabitants of rural Crete. The positive association between religious/spiritual beliefs and sense of coherence deserves further attention to promote a multidimensional approach in its study.
['Stefanaki|Ioanna N|IN|', 'Shea|Sue|S|', 'Linardakis|Manolis|M|', 'Symvoulakis|Emmanouil K|EK|', 'Wynyard|Robin|R|', 'Lionis|Christos|C|']
D000367:Age Factors D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D003625:Data Collection D005260:Female D006115:Greece D006801:Humans D008297:Male D011594:Psychometrics D012069:Religion and Psychology D015203:Reproducibility of Results D012424:Rural Population D060685:Sense of Coherence D012737:Sex Factors D012944:Social Support D029181:Spirituality D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D017805:Widowhood
coherence spirituality elderly health determinants religiosity stress