Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the association of religiosity and spirituality with fear of death and death acceptance attitudes in chronically ill older adults. In-home interviews were conducted with 257 community-dwelling elders with chronic illness identified through an administrative database of ambulatory care clinics from an academic health center in Kansas City and through primary care practices participating in a practice-based research network in North Carolina. Hierarchical regression models were constructed for predictor variables and the outcomes of fear of death and approach acceptance of death attitudes. Self-efficacy beliefs (b = —.097, p < .001), anxiety (b = .026, p < .01), and physical functioning (b = .015, p < .01) were significantly associated with fear of death attitudes. Self-reported religiosity (b = —.389, p < .001), closeness to God (b = —.595, p < .001), and age (b = —.019, p < .001) contributed significantly to the variance in the final model and were significantly associated with approach acceptance of death attitudes.
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