Pamela G. Reed

Self-transcendence and mental health in oldest-old adults.

Patterns of self-transcendence that older adults report as being important to their emotional well-being are described in this study, and the relationship between self-transcendence and mental health symptomatology in oldest-old adults is investigated. The sample consisted of 55 independent-living older adults, 80 to 97 years old. Methodological trianglulation was used whereby qualitative data together with quantitative findings were examined. Four patterns of self-transcendence, congruent with the investigators definition, were identified by the participants as being important to their sense of well-being: Generativity, Introjectivity, Temporal Integration, and Body-Transcendence. Results of Pearson correlation analysis and matrix analysis of data supported a relationship between self-transcendence and mental health found in previous research, thus demonstrating the importance of the expansion of self boundaries in older adults.

Self-Transcendence: A Resource for Healing at the End of Life

An emerging body of theoretical and empirical knowledge links the concepts of self-transcendence and healing in persons facing end-of-life issues related to aging or life-threatening illness. Self-transcendence is postulated to be a resource for healing in that reaching beyond self-boundaries may lead to a sense of well-being derived from an intensified awareness of wholeness and integration among all dimensions of ones being. This paper proposes a link between self-transcendence and healing, based on clinical and empirical literature. Suggestions for approaches nurses may use to facilitate self-transcendence are included.

A treatise on nursing knowledge development for the 21st century: beyond postmodernism.

This article explicates a framework for nursing knowledge development that incorporates both modernist and postmodernist philosophies. The framework derives from an “open philosophy” of science, which links science, philosophy, and practice in development of nursing knowledge. A neomodernist perspective is proposed that upholds modernist values for unified conceptualizations of nursing reality while recognizing the dynamic and value-laden nature of all levels of theory and metatheory. It is proposed that scientific inquiry extend beyond the postmodern critique to identify nursing metanarratives of nursing philosophy and nursing practice that serve as external correctives in the critique process. Philosophic positions related to the science, philosophy, and practice domains are put forth for continued dialogue about future directions for knowledge development in nursing.

Developmental resources and depression in the elderly.

A longitudinal study was carried out with 28 clinically depressed and 28 mentally healthy older adults, matched on age, sex, and years of education. Developmental resources and depression were measured on three occasions using the Developmental Resources of Later Adulthood and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scales. A 2 X (3) repeated measures factorial analysis of variance indicated that the depressed group had significantly lower developmental scores across all three time periods. Results of cross-lagged panel correlation analyses suggested that the direction of the relationship between developmental resources and depressive symptoms differed markedly between the two groups. The mentally healthy group showed a significant causal tendency for developmental resources to influence level of depression; a reverse trend was noted in the depressed group.

Self-Transcendence and Depression in Middle-Age Adults

Self-transcendence has been found to be an important correlate of mental health in older adults and adults facing the end of life. This study extends current theory by examining the relationship of transcendence and other transcendence variables to depression in middle-age adults (N = 133). Reed’s Self-Transcendence Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, and measures of parenting, acceptance and spirituality were administered. Findings indicating significant inverse correlations between self-transcendence and depression, as well as between other measures of transcendence and depression support Reed’s (1991b) theory. Multiple regression analysis indicated that acceptance may be another significant correlate of depression. Significant gender differences and age-related patterns of increased levels of self-transcendence were found. Study results illuminate the need to continue research into developmentally based transcendence variables related to various experiences of health and well-being across the life span.

Effects of Spirituality and Psychosocial Well-Being on Health Risk Behaviors in Appalachian Pregnant Women

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationships of spirituality and psychosocial well-being to health risk behaviors in pregnant Appalachian women. METHOD Descriptive study of 120 women between 16 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. The instruments used were the Spiritual Perspective Scale and religiosity items from the Jarel Well-Being Scale. Psychosocial well-being was measured by the Prenatal Psychosocial Profile. Four items measured health risk behaviors. RESULTS Higher levels of spirituality (spiritual perspective and religiosity) were significantly correlated with greater satisfaction with social support, higher levels of self-esteem, and decreased levels of smoking. Sociodemographic, psychosocial, and spiritual variables explained 25% of the variance in frequency of smoking, and in the logistic regression analysis, psychosocial stress was the only variable that significantly predicted substance use. CONCLUSION Higher levels of spirituality and lower levels of stress are associated with decreased health risk behaviors among pregnant women from Appalachia. Increasing spiritual resources and decreasing stress during pregnancy offer the potential to improve health promotion efforts in pregnancy with women from Appalachia.

Demystifying Self-Transcendence for Mental Health Nursing Practice and Research

Because human development is an integral aspect of life, pathways to mental health necessarily involve developmentally based issues or resources. This column provides an overview of self-transcendence as one developmentally based resource for mental health. The Self-Transcendence Scale is presented to encourage its use in mental health nursing practice and research.

Self-Transcendence and Well-Being in Homeless Adults:

This study examines the relationships of spiritually and physically related variables to well-being among homeless adults. A convenience sample of 61 sheltered homeless persons completed the Spiritual Perspective Scale, the Self-Transcendence Scale, the Index of Well-Being, and items measuring fatigue and health status. The data were subjected to correlational and multiple regression analysis. Positive, significant correlations were found among spiritual perspective, self-transcendence, health status, and well-being. Fatigue was inversely correlated with health status and well-being. Self-transcendence and health status together explained 59% of the variance in well-being. The findings support Reed’s theory of self-transcendence, in which there is the basic assumption that human beings have the potential to integrate difficult life situations. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence that conceptualizes homeless persons as having spiritual, emotional, and physical capacities that can be used by health care professionals to promote well-being in this vulnerable population.

Nursing: The Ontology of the Discipline

The purpose of this article is to contribute to clarifying the ontology of the discipline by extending existing meanings of the term nursing to propose a substantive definition. In this definition, nursing is viewed as an inherent human process of well-being, manifested by complexity and integration in human systems. The nature of this process and theoretical implications of the new nursing are presented. Nurses are invited to continue the dialogue about the meaning of the term and explore the implications of nursing, substantively defined, for their practice and science.

Implications of the life-span developmental framework for well-being in adulthood and aging.

This article addresses the significance of the life-span developmental framework for nursing. Essential characteristics of the framework are defined and explained. Adult development is presented as a progressive rather than a decremental phenomenon, involving a series of “trade-offs” from one phase to the next. The role of person-environment interactions is emphasized as a major factor in the adults well-being and approach to lifes problems and conflicts, including health-related events. The life-span developmental framework is identified as consistent with nursing conceptual models on human health and development.