Spirituality,Depression,and Loneliness among Jewish Seniors Residing in New York City

Abstract

This article reports the results of research that examined a randomized group of 118 Jewish seniors who were clients of one of three Jewish social service agencies in New York City. They were interviewed by four Clinical Pastoral Education residents at the Jewish Institute for Pastoral Care. During the interview, participants were asked to respond to the questions contained in the Brief Depression Scale, Version 3 of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Index of Core Spiritual Experience—INSPIRIT. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the depression and loneliness scores, r(116) = .56, p< .001. Spirituality was not correlated with either of these scales. Both depression and loneliness were significantly higher among women, among people who had physical impairments and those who had been victims of Nazi persecution. Depression and loneliness were inversely related to participants' ability to venture out of their house and to their relationship with their families. Having a sense of meaning or purpose in life was also inversely related to depression and loneliness. Spirituality tended to be higher among women, those participants with more years of religious education, and those with physicals impairments, but only the gender effect was statistically significant.