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Religion, personality, and aging: a life span perspective
1University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, USA.
Journal of Personality
|January 19, 2000
Summary
This study explores how religion and personality interact throughout a person's life, particularly in older adults. It highlights religion's role in fostering generativity and ego integrity during aging.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Psychology of Religion
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- The aging process involves significant changes in personality and religious beliefs.
- Understanding the interplay between religion and personality is crucial for studying adult development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between religion and personality in aging individuals using a life span development model.
- To explore the influence of contextual factors on religious beliefs and personality traits in later life.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a life span model of development as a theoretical framework.
- Analyzing the concepts of generativity and ego integrity in relation to religious engagement.
Main Results:
- Adult religious life exhibits both constancy and change.
- Religion can encourage religiously motivated acts of justice and mercy.
- Spirituality can deepen as personality matures.
Conclusions:
- Religion positively influences generativity and ego integrative processes in aging adults.
- A life span perspective is essential for future research on religion, personality, and aging.