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Article Excerpt
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of spirituality to work and family roles and life satisfaction among gifted adults. Satisfaction with work and family roles was examined in combination with spiritual well-being in order to study the contribution each makes to variance in life satisfaction. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in order to gain a greater depth of understanding of these complex issues. Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that existential well-being and marital satisfaction contributed significantly to life satisfaction. In response to open-ended questions, participants articulated many ways in which their spirituality impacted their work, marriage, parenting, and life satisfaction. Results are discussed in relation to the literature. Implications for mental health counseling and future research are provided.
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Mental health has been linked to spirituality in a number of theoretical writings and empirical studies. In general, spiritual people report more happiness and life satisfaction than do nonspiritual people (Cohen, 2002). Research indicates that one's specific religious affiliation does not matter in terms of the relationship to happiness, as long as one has a sense of spiritual connection (Cohen). Mental health counselors must engage in caring for the whole person, including assessing meaning and spirituality in the lives of their clients (Ortiz & Langer, 2002), and according to Tisdale (2003), counselors must establish competency in spiritual issues to effectively address these issues in counseling.
AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH
In the present study, we explored the relationship of spirituality to work and family roles and life satisfaction among gifted adults. We also looked at the contribution of spiritual well-being and satisfaction with work and family roles to overall life satisfaction. Hansen's (1997; 2001) Integrative Life Planning (ILP) approach provides a framework for helping individuals understand and integrate various aspects of their lives, including work, family, and spirituality, in order to achieve a sense of wholeness and life satisfaction. Hansen developed the model to assist mental health professionals in helping clients adapt to dramatically changing work, family, and societal paradigms. It is a holistic approach to helping clients find meaning and purpose in their lives and make plans for the future. The ILP approach is organized into six "critical life tasks" (p. 18). These tasks are: "finding work that needs doing in changing global contexts," "weaving our lives into a meaningful whole," "connecting family and work," "valuing pluralism and inclusively," "exploring spirituality and life purpose," and "managing personal transitions and organizational change" (p. 19-21). Hansen's definition of spirituality includes both religious and existential factors. Both of these components were examined in the present study.
DEFINING SPIRITUALITY
Consistent with Hansen's definition, Moberg and Brusek (1978) postulated that spiritual well-being comprises two dimensions. The first dimension is one's relationship with a higher power within a system of religious beliefs. The second dimension is one's sense of meaning and purpose in life, apart from any specific religious framework. Paloutzian and Ellison (1982) developed a scale to measure spiritual well-being, based on Moberg and Brusek's conceptualization. They labeled the first dimension Religious Well-Being and the second dimension Existential Well-Being. In the current study, the unique contributions of each dimension of spiritual well-being were considered in relation to life roles.
MENTAL HEALTH AND SPIRITUALITY AMONG GIFTED ADULTS
Participants in this study are part of a longitudinal study of the career and life development of gifted individuals. They were recruited in 1988, during their senior year of high school, and have been surveyed annually since then. Most gifted research focuses on children and adolescents prior to high school graduation (Lewis, Kitano, & Lynch, 1992), and little is known about the life development and well-being of gifted individuals once they reach adulthood (Jacobsen, 1999). In a meta-analysis of studies on the impact of giftedness on mental health, Neihart (1999) found that the research literature shows that gifted children, adolescents, and adults have average or better than average adjustment in comparison to the general population. However, Tolan (1994) cautioned that some common traits of the gifted may have negative consequences for gifted adults. For example, perfectionism may result in problems in relationships with partners and coworkers, and heightened empathy may lead to depression if gifted individuals ruminate over the problems of the world.
Spirituality is a potentially important factor in well-being among gifted adults (Noble, 2000). It is common for gifted individuals to explore spiritual and existential issues from an early age due to their intellectual ability and curiosity (Chauvin, 2000). Chauvin suggested that an existential approach to counseling might be useful for gifted adults who may seek counseling to address issues such as the meaning of their lives, the existence of a higher power, freedom, responsibility, and the inevitability of death. In the present study, we sought to increase the understanding of the relationship of spirituality to life satisfaction among gifted adults.
Although we have limited knowledge about the relationship of spirituality to life satisfaction among gifted adults, there have been studies that have demonstrated a link between spirituality and quality of life or mental health issues. For example, Lee and Waters (2003) found that spiritual well-being can act as a buffer to traumatic stress associated with cumulative or multiple exposures to traumatic stressors. Likewise, Fry (2001) found that existential factors (e.g., personal meaning, optimism) were important predictors of psychological well-being among older adults following spousal loss. In a study of recovering alcoholics, a positive relationship was found between the level of spirituality and the level of contentment with life and the strength of this relationship was independent of the amount of time the participants had been in Alcoholics Anonymous (Corrington, 1989)....
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