Spirituality and wellbeing in later life: a multidimensional approach.

Objectives: Previous studies pointed at positive associations between spirituality and Subjective Wellbeing (SWB) in later life, but were typically limited to one dimension of spirituality and/or one measure of SWB. Applying Fisher's (2010) multidimensional approach to spirituality and measuring both positive and negative aspects of SWB, this study aims at providing deeper understanding of this association. Method: The study was based on an online survey with 306 individuals aged 50 years and over. The questionnaire included the SHALOM spirituality scale as well as measures of depression, satisfaction with life, and personal background. Results: Personal and communal spirituality were the most dominant domains reported by study participants, followed by environmental spirituality. Transcendental spirituality was the least reported domain. Personal spirituality was the only domain positively associated with SWB (lower depression and higher life satisfaction), whereas communal and transcendental spirituality were associated with more depression. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that not all spirituality domains are equally dominant in people's lives or positively associate with SWB. They also suggest that encouraging elderly people to develop their personal spirituality and self-growth may contribute to their wellbeing.

Towards a Holistic Approach to Studying Human-Robot Interaction in Later Life.

Background and Objectives: Implementation of robotics technology in eldercare depends on successful human-robot interaction (HRI). Relying on a systematic literature review, this article proposes a holistic approach to the study of such interaction. Research Design and Methods: A literature search was carried out in five databases. A Boolean phrase search included the term robot and at least one term referencing older age, leading to an initial corpus of 543 articles. Articles were included in this review if they described older adults' interaction with robots. Exclusion of articles that did not meet this criterion, as well as duplicate material, led to a total of 80 articles, that were then subjected to quantitative and qualitative analyses. Results: Studies tended to focus on older users, typically community-dwelling adults, without sufficient consideration of the users' characteristics and the physical, social, and cultural context of the HRI. Using a variety of methods, many studies were snapshot inquiries. The chief topics explored were use patterns, the resulting outcomes thereof and factors that constrain use. Commonly, however, these topics were examined separately. In addition, most studies lacked any theoretical framework. Discussion and Implications: Additional studies are needed to more fully understand what makes HRI successful. The model presented here suggests scholars to conduct theory-driven research, and distinguish among various segments of older users, different types of robots, and group and individual HRI. It also proposes paying greater attention to the users' cultural, physical and social environment, and application of longitudinal and simultaneous examination of uses, outcomes, and constraints.