Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Family Spirituality and Family Health Among Korean-American Elderly Couples

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Spirituality has been regarded as an individual and private matter; consequently, research on spirituality as a family phenomenon has been largely neglected. In addition, most published research has been focused on Western cultures. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of family spirituality and how it influences health among Korean-American elderly couples who are the first generation to reside in the Southeastern USA. A thematic and interpretive data analysis method was used. Thirteen elderly couples (N = 26) participated in in-depth individual interviews in Korean with the primary author. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and then translated by two bilingual researchers with a background in Korean and American culture. Three main themes of family spirituality were identified: (1) family togetherness, (2) family interdependence, and (3) family coping. Also, participants reported that family spirituality strengthened family health by fostering family commitment, improving emotional well-being, developing new healthy behaviors, and providing healing experiences. This finding implies that healthcare providers need to assess family spiritual issues of elderly couples to maximize their strengths for coping with health problems. As our society becomes more culturally diverse, healthcare providers should seek to understand family spirituality from different cultural perspectives to develop a more holistic approach to care.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alderfer, M. A. (2011). Assessing family health. In M. Craft-Rosenberg & S. Pehler (Eds.), Encyclopedia of family (pp. 78–85). Los Angeles: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aldwin, C. M., Park, C. L., Jeong, Y. J., & Nath, R. (2014). Differing pathways between religiousness, spirituality, and health: A self-regulation perspective. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 6(1), 9–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, C. T., Bernal, H., & Froman, R. (2003). Methods to document semantic equivalence of a translated scale. Research in Nursing & Health, 26, 64–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, K., & Lobo, M. (2008). A conceptual review of family resilience factors. Journal of Family Nursing, 14(1), 33–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burkhart, L. (2011). Religious/spiritual influences on health in the family. In M. Craft-Rosenberg & S. Pehler (Eds.), Encyclopedia of family (pp. 878–882). Los Angeles: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carson, V. B., & Koenig, H. G. (2011). Parish nursing: stories of service and care. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang, B. H., Noonan, A. E., & Tennstedt, S. L. (1998). The role of religion/spirituality in coping with caregiving for disabled elders. The Gerontologist, 38(4), 463–470.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dalmida, S. G., Holstad, M. M., DiIorio, C., & Laderman, G. (2012). The meaning and use of spirituality among African American women living with HIV/AIDS. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 34(6), 736–765.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • De Gagne, J. C., Oh, J., So, A., & Kim, S. S. (2014). The healthcare experiences of Koreans in North Carolina: A mixed methods study. Health and Social Care in the Community, 22(4), 417–428. doi:10.1111/hsc.12098.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Denham, S. A. (2011). Rituals, routines, and their influence on health in families. In M. Craft-Rosenberg & S. Pehler (Eds.), Encyclopedia of family (pp. 908–911). Los Angeles: Saga.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flaherty, J. A., Gaviria, F. M., Pathak, D., Mitchell, T., Wintrob, R., Richman, J. A., & Birz, S. (1988). Developing instruments for cross-cultural psychiatric research. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 176(5), 260–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedemann, M. L., Mouch, J., & Racey, T. (2002). Nursing the spirit: The framework of systemic organization. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 39(4), 325–332.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • George, L. K., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., & McCullough, M. E. (2000). Spirituality and health: What we know, what we need to know. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(1), 102–116. doi:10.1521/jscp.2000.19.1.102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldenberg, H., & Goldenberg, I. (2007). Family therapy: An overview (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grennan, H. (2002). Serving up faith, family style: a survey of US CATHOLIC readers finds day-to-day family life nurtures their spirituality–even when things are louder, messier, or busier than they might choose. The Free Library. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Servingupfaith,familystyle:asurveyofUSCATHOLICreaders...-a085176231. Accessed on 13 Jan 2015.

  • Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, W. (2007). Imposing order: A process to manage day-to day activities in two-earner families with preschool children. Journal of Family Nursing, 13(1), 56–82.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstetter, C. R., Ayers, J. W., Irvin, V. L., Sim, D. E. K., Hughes, S. C., Reighard, F., & Hovell, M. F. (2010). Does church participation facilitate tobacco control? A report on Korean immigrants. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 12(2), 187–197.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hurh, W. M., & Kim, W. C. (1990). Correlates of Korean immigrants’ mental health. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 178(11), 703–711.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain, D. (2010). How religion/spirituality effect health?-Reflections on some possible mechanisms. International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy, 3(1), 1–3.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jang, Y., Kim, G., & Chiriboga, D. (2005). Acculturation and manifestation of depressive symptoms among Korean-American older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 9(6), 500–507.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jang, Y., Kim, G., Chiriboga, D., & King-Kallimanis, B. (2007). A bidimensional model of acculturation for Korean-American older adults. Journal of Aging Studies, 21(3), 267–275.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Jo, A. M., Maxwell, A. E., Yang, B., & Bastani, R. (2010). Conducting health research in Korean-American churches: Perspectives from church leaders. Journal of Community Health, 35(2), 156–164.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. S., & De Gagne, J. C. (2012). Addressing health disparities in Korean immigrants through health education. Journal of Health Sciences and Practice, 3(9), 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S., Miles-Mason, E., Kim, C. Y., & Esquivel, G. B. (2013). Religiosity/spirituality and life satisfaction in Korean American adolescents. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(1), 33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. S., Reed, P. G., Hayward, R. D., Kang, Y., & Koenig, H. G. (2011). Spirituality and psychological well-being: Testing a theory of family interdependence among family caregivers and their elders. Research in Nursing & Health, 34(2), 103–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim-Godwin, Y. S., & Bomar, P. J. (2014). Family health promotion. In J. R. Kaakinen, D. P Coehlo, R. Steele, A. Tabacco, & S. M. H. Hanson (5th Eds.), Family health care nursing: Theory, practice & research. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.

  • Kloosterhouse, V., & Ames, B. D. (2002). Families’ use of religion/spirituality as a psychosocial resource. Holistic Nursing Practice, 17(1), 61–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G. (1995). Research on religion and aging: An annotated bibliography. Buckinghamshire: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G. (2012). Spirituality and health research: Methods, measurements, statistics, and resources. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwon, Y., & Kim, E. J. (2011). Korean Americans in dementia caregiving research: Inclusive strategies to barriers in recruitment. Clinical Gerontologist, 34(4), 335–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, N. M., Fincham, F. D., LaVallee, D. C., & Brantley, C. W. (2012). Praying together and staying together: Couple prayer and trust. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 4(1), 1–9. doi:10.1037/a0023060.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavretsky, H. (2010). Spirituality and aging. Aging Health, 6(6), 749–769.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, E. K. O. (2007). Religion and spirituality as predictors of well-being among Chinese American and Korean-American older adults. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 19(3), 77–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, K. H. (2011). The role of spiritual experience, forgiveness, and religious support on the general well-being of older adults. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 23(3), 206–223. doi:10.1080/15528030.2011.533398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y. M., & Holm, K. (2011). Family relationships and depression among elderly Korean immigrants. International Scholarly Research Notices, 2011, 1–7. doi:10.5402/2011/429249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luczak, S. E., Corbett, K., Oh, C., Carr, L. G., & Wall, T. L. (2003). Religious influences on heavy episodic drinking in Chinese-American and Korean-American college students. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64(4), 467–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackenzie, E. R., Rajagopal, D. E., Meibohm, M., & Lavizzo-Mourey, R. (2000). Spiritual support and psychological well-being: Older adults’ perceptions of the religion and health connection. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 6(6), 37–45.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., & Petry, S. (2008). Genograms: Assessment and interventions (3rd ed.). New York: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Min, P. G. (2011). The immigration of Koreans to the United States: A review of 45 year (1965–2009) trends. Development and Society, 40(2), 195–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mofidi, M., DeVellis, R. F., DeVellis, B. M., Blazer, D. G., Panter, A. T., & Jordan, J. M. (2007). The relationship between spirituality and depressive symptoms: Testing psychosocial mechanisms. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195(8), 681–688. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e31811f4038.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mok, E., Wong, F., & Wong, D. (2010). The meaning of spirituality and spiritual care among the Hong Kong Chinese terminally ill. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(2), 360–370.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morse, J. & Field, P. (2nd Ed.) (1995). Qualitative research methods for health professionals. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

  • Musick, M. A., Traphagan, J. W., Koeing, H. G., & Larson, D. B. (2000). Spirituality in physical health and aging. Journal of Adult Development, 7(2), 73–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Negru, O., Haragâş, C., & Mustea, A. (2013). How private is the relation with god? Religiosity and family religious socialization in Romanian emerging adults. Journal of Adolescent Research, 29(3), 380–406. doi:10.1177/0743558413508203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novilla, M. L. B. (2011). Family health perspectives. In M. Craft-Rosenberg & S. Pehler (Eds.), Encyclopedia of family (pp. 472–481). Los Angeles: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, D. H. L., & Defrain, J. (2003). Marriage and the family: Diversity and strengths (4th ed.). NewYork: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, K. M., Freeman, P. A., & Zabriskie, R. B. (2009). An examination of family communication within the core and balance model of family leisure functioning. Family Relations, 58, 79–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Somlai, A. M., & Heckman, T. G. (2000). Correlates of spirituality and well-being in a community sample of people living with HIV disease. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 3(1), 57–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanyi, R. A. (2006). Spirituality and family nursing: Spiritual assessment and interventions for families. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 53(3), 287–294.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Toussaint, L. L., Marschall, J. C., & Williams, D. R. (2012). Prospective associations between religiousness/spirituality and depression and mediating effects of forgiveness in a nationally representative sample of United States adults. Depression Research and Treatment, 2012, 1–10. doi:10.1155/2012/267820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treloar, L. L. (2002). Disability, spiritual beliefs and the church: the experiences of adults with disabilities and family members. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 40(5), 594–603.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H. C. (1993). Collectivism and individualism as cultural syndromes. Cross-Cultural Research, 27, 155–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • US Census Bureau. (2010). Race reporting for the Asian population by selected categories. Available at: http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk. Accessed on 13 Jan 2015.

  • US Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). National healthcare disparities report. Available at: http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhdr11/nhdr11.pdf. Accessed on 13 Jan 2015.

  • Vasiliauskas, S. L., & McMinn, M. R. (2013). The effects of a prayer intervention on the process of forgiveness. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(1), 23–32. doi:10.1037/a0029324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, F. (2011). Resilience and mental health: Challenges across the lifespan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, A. (2003). The transformation of American religion: How we actually live our faith. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, L. M. (2005). Spirituality, suffering and illness: Ideas for healing. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yi, G. H. H., & Bjorck, J. P. (2014). Religious support and psychological functioning in Korean American Protestant Christians. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 6(1), 44–52. doi:10.1037/a0034417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo, G. J., & Kim, B. W. (2008). Korean immigrants and health care access: Implications for the uninsured and underinsured. Research in the Sociology of Health Care, 25, 77–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study is a part of the postdoctoral fellow research of the first author from the Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health, Duke University Medical Center, which was funded by John Templeton Foundation. We gratefully acknowledge editing by Dr. Beverly Rosenthal and Dr. John Godwin.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Nursing Science, College of Health Sciences, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemoon-Ku, Seoul, 120-750, Korea

    Suk-Sun Kim

  2. School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC, 28403, USA

    Yeoun Soo Kim-Godwin

  3. Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Harold G. Koenig

  4. Department of Medicine, King Abudlaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Harold G. Koenig

Authors
  1. Suk-Sun Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yeoun Soo Kim-Godwin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Harold G. Koenig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suk-Sun Kim.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kim, SS., Kim-Godwin, Y.S. & Koenig, H.G. Family Spirituality and Family Health Among Korean-American Elderly Couples. J Relig Health 55, 729–746 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0107-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0107-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation