Volume 18, Issue 4 (Winter 2024)                   Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing 2024, 18(4): 570-587 | Back to browse issues page

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Delkhah Z, Alivandi Vafa M, Moheb N. The Relationship of Meaning in Life, Self-compassion, and Perceived Social Support With Fear of Aging: The Mediating Role of Spiritual Well-being. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing 2024; 18 (4) :570-587
URL: http://salmandj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-2552-en.html
The Relationship of Meaning in Life, Self-compassion, and Perceived Social Support With Fear of Aging: The Mediating Role of Spiritual Well-being
Zahra Delkhah1 , Marziyeh Alivandi Vafa * 2, Naeimeh Moheb3
1- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
2- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran. , dr.vafa.a@gmail.com
3- Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
Keywords: Meaning in life, self-compassion, perceived social support, fear of aging, spiritual well-being, elderly
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Introduction
Fear of age is an irrational and persistent fear of growing old that can affect people’s individual, interpersonal, and psychological health. Old age is inherently associated with losses or deficiencies. Paying attention to the individual and interpersonal psychological needs of the elderly is necessary. The present study aims to assess the relationship of the meaning of life, self-compassion and perceived social support with the fear of aging in the elderly in Ilam, Iran, by considering the mediating role of spiritual well-being. The results can provide useful information to clarify the effectiveness of spiritual well-being in the overall health of the elderly. 

Methods
This is a descriptive-correlational study with a cross-sectional design. The study population consists of all elderly people aged 65-80 years from Ilam city in 2021. Sampling was done using a purposive method. The instruments used were Steger et al. ’s meaning of life questionnaires (MLQ), self-compassion scale (SCS), Phillips et al. ’s social support appraisals scale (SSA), Lasher and Faulkender’s anxiety about aging scale (AAS), and Paloutzian & Ellison’s spiritual well being scale (SWBS) [17-20, 22]. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation test and the maximum likelihood method (ML) in SPSS software, version 26, as well as structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS version 24. By using SEM, the mediation role was also determined with the bootstrap method. Data distribution normality was tested by measuring skewness and kurtosis. The significance level was set at 0.05. 

Results
Of 300 participants, 140 (53.33%) were male and 160 (46.77%) were female. In terms of age range, 157 (53. 33%) were in the age group of 65-69 years, 83 (28.33%) in the age group of 70-75 years, and 58 (19.33%) in the age group of 76-80 years. In terms of education level,178 (59.33%) had a bachelor’s degree, 71 (23.77%) had a diploma, 36 (12%) had an associate degree, 14 (4.77%) had a bachelor’s degree, and one (0.3%) had a master’s degree. In terms of the number of children, 4 (1.33%) had one child, 11 (3.77%) had two children, 32 (10.77%) had three children, 58 (19.33%) had four children, 59 (19.77%) had five children and 136 (45.33%) had more than five children. 
The mean scores of the study variables were as follows: AAS=79. 13±11.79; MLQ= 24.98±7.25; SCS= 78.53±9.15; SSA=80.78±14.48; SWBS=65.25±8.21. Skewness and kurtosis values for all study variables were in the acceptable range of -1 and +1. Based on the fit indices, it showed that the model had a relatively good fit; chi-square ratio (cmin/df)=1.882, RMSEA=0. 056, CFI=0.913, IFI=0.914. The R2 coefficient (0.369) showed that 37% of the variance of fear of aging was explained by the model. The relationships between the study variables based on the non-standardized regression coefficient were significant (P<0.001). The path between the meaning of life and fear of aging (β=-0.459, P<0.001) and between self-compassion and fear of aging (β=-0.520, P<0.001) was negative and significant. The meaning of life explained 39% of changes in the fear of aging, self-compassion explained 43%, and perceived social support explained 27% (P<0.05). 

Conclusion
The variables of meaning in life, self-compassion, and perceived social support have a significant and negative relationship with the fear of aging. Self-compassion and meaning of life are indirectly related to the fear of aging through the mediating variable of spiritual well-being. 
Spiritual well-being does not have a statistically significant mediating role between perceived social support and the fear of aging. Having meaning in life, social support and spiritual well-being can be effective against the fear of aging. 

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
In this study, the participants were assured of the confidentiality of their information and informed consent was obtained from them. The study was approved by the ethics committee of Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch (Code: IR.IAU.TABRIZ.REC.1401.066).

Funding
This article was extracted from the PhD thesis of Zahra Delkhah, registered by the faculty of Literature and Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors

Authors' contributions
Conceptualization, methodology, writing, editing: Zahra Delkhah and Marziyeh Alivandi Vafa; Editing & review: Marziyeh Alivandi Vafa and Naeimeh Moheb; Initial draft preparation: Zahra Delkhah; Project administration: Marziyeh Alivandi Vafa.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all seniors participated in this study for their cooperation.
 
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Type of Study: Research | Subject: Psychology
Received: 2022/12/28 | Accepted: 2023/06/13 | Published: 2024/01/01
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