Abstract

SANCHEZ-HERRERA, Beatriz. The Spiritual Wellbeing of Persons with and without a Disability. Aquichan [online]. 2009, vol.9, n.1, pp.8-22. ISSN 1657-5997.

Objective: Describe and compare the spiritual well being of persons who are disabled and those who are not. Method: A quantitative, comparative study of a descriptive nature designed to measure spiritual well being according to the Ellison Well-being Scale®. The sample includes 86 persons: 43 who are involved in an integrative rehabilitation process (RHT) at the Teletón University Hospital and 43 who have similar socio-demographic characteristics but no functional alterations. Results: The spiritual well-being of the disabled persons in the sample is high, slightly more in the religious aspect than in the exis-tential dimension, as is the case with those who are not disabled. A comparison of the indicators of spiritual well being for persons with and without a disability showed no significant differences. Discussion: Existing literature indicates that disability can modify a person's spiritual well being with respect to their perception of what is sacred, their relationship with God or a superior force or being, how they relate to themselves and their relationship with others and the environment. However, the results of the study do not make it possible to corroborate those findings.

Keywords : Spirituality; chronic illness; spiritual; wellbeing; disability.

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