Uncertainty, Spiritual Well-Being, and Psychosocial Adjustment to Chronic Illness

Abstract

This research was undertaken to assess spiritual well-being as an internal coping resource to buffer the effects of uncertainty on psychosocial adjustment among 94 persons with diabetes mellitus. Five instruments were used to collect data; descriptive, correlational, multivariate, and content analysis procedures were used for data analysis. A predicted negative relationship between uncertainty and spiritual well-being was supported, with a stronger relationship between the existential well-being component of spiritual well-being and uncertainty than the religious well-being component. Uncertainty explained 43% of the variance in psychosocial well-being; existential well-being added an additional 10%, suggesting that it serves as a buffer between uncertainty and psychosocial well-being. The findings suggest that spiritual well-being may be an important internal resource for persons forced to adjust to uncertainty related to long-term health problems such as diabetes mellitus.