The connection of spiritual well-being with altruistic attitudes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54359/ps.v18i103.1980Abstract
Context and relevance. Spiritual well-being, as an integrative and systemic indicator of overall health and well-being, reflects positive psychological functioning, particularly the quality of interpersonal relationships. A personal characteristic that determines the nature of interpersonal functioning is altruistic attitudes – the willingness to act out of concern for the welfare of others when choosing one’s behavior. It should be noted that the relationship between altruism and spiritual well-being (both religious and existential) has not yet been studied in a Russian-speaking sample. The absence of such data defines the novelty of this study. Objective. To identify the specific features of the relationship between altruistic attitudes and spiritual well-being in a Russian-speaking sample. Hypothesis. Indicators of spiritual well-being, regardless of the respondent’s age, are associated with a person’s altruistic attitudes. Methods and materials. The study involved 959 respondents (761 females; mean age 38.6 ± 14 years). To assess spiritual well-being and altruism, the following instruments were used: the Spiritual Well-Being Scale adapted by Bakushkin and Ershova (2025) and the Altruistic Attitudes Measurement Technique by Yasin (2020), along with methods of mathematical and statistical data analysis. Results. The levels of spiritual well-being and altruistic attitudes were lower among adolescents and young adults compared to older age cohorts, while the relationship between these indicators was stronger in younger participants. With age, a tendency was observed toward increased altruistic orientation and higher spiritual well-being; however, the strength of the relationship between these indicators decreased. This may suggest that spiritual well-being in later life is influenced not only by altruistic tendencies but also by other factors. Conclusions. Indicators of spiritual well-being are associated with altruistic attitudes across all age groups. Both spiritual well-being and altruistic attitudes increase with age, while the strength of their association decreases, possibly due to the growing influence of additional factors on spiritual well-being. Despite quantitative differences between age groups, the obtained results are consistent with previous research, supporting the reliability of the findings.
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