Confronting suffering and death at the end of life: the impact of religiosity, psychosocial factors, and life regret among hospice patients

Abstract

Although the role of spiritual, psychological, and social factors is receiving increasing attention in the end of life (EOL) context, we know far less than we need to about how these factors shape attitudes toward life and death in the face of looming loss. The present study begins to remedy these limitations by examining the relative impact of demographic characteristics, religious and psychosocial factors, and life regret on death attitudes and psychological wellbeing for a diverse group of 153 hospice patients. In addition to relying on well-validated quantitative assessments, qualitative interviews were conducted with participants to further illustrate the role of study factors in shaping various dimensions of death anxiety or acceptance and quality of life. In general, results showed that factors assessed in this investigation were significantly correlated with death attitudes and emotional health. When study factors were examined simultaneously, gender, ethnicity, intrinsic religiosity, social support, and future-related regret each were shown to have a unique impact on various aspects of EOL adjustment and distress. The article concludes by offering direction to researchers interested in integrating and extending the empirical study of the attitudes of adults facing serious illness, and underscoring the clinical implications of these findings for professionals offering psychosocial and spiritual care at the end of life.