Development and application of a self-transcendence enhancement program for the well-being of elderly women living alone in Korea

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a self-transcendence enhancement program and examine its effect on self-transcendence, spiritual well-being, and psychological well-being in elderly women who live alone. METHODS: A self-transcendence enhancement program was developed through theory, literature review, and in-depth interviews. The theoretical framework came from the Psychoeducational Approach to Transcendence and Health intervention model based on Reed’s middle-range theory of self-transcendence. The program consisted of multiple modalities in a structured, theory-based program lasting for eight weekly sessions. Using a single-group pretest-posttest design, the program was tested on a group of 40 elderly women aged 75 to 84 years living alone in Daejeon, South Korea. Participants completed self-reported study questionnaires before and after the program at the elderly welfare center. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0, with significance level set at .05. Paired t-test was used to compare mean differences before and after the program. RESULTS: The mean age of the study participants was 79.1 years. After completing the program, the participants showed higher levels of self-transcendence (t=8.78, p<.001), overall spiritual well-being (t=8.30, p=.002), religious spiritual well-being (t=1.79, p=.040), existential spiritual well-being (t=6.75, p=.002), and positive affect (t=3.77, p=.001) than they did before the program. They also reported lower levels of depression (t=–7.59, p<.001) and negative affect (t=–6.15, p<.001). CONCLUSION: The self-transcendence enhancement program developed in this study may be effective for improving the level of self-transcendence in elderly women living alone and helping them to attain spiritual and psychological well-being.