African American women at midlife: The relationship between spirituality and life satisfaction

In this study, 147 African American women from six states were asked to complete the Adult Life Satisfaction Scale and the Black Women's Spirituality/Religiosity Measure (BWSRM), and in-depth interviews were conducted with 6 African American women. Although no significant difference was found among the ratings of life satisfaction and spirituality with respect to age or educational level, the women reported higher levels of religiosity than spirituality, which correlated significantly with life satisfaction. An analysis of a subscale of the BWSRM, however found that the women reported significantly higher levels of spirituality than of religiosity. A moderate correlation was found between age and religiosity, and spirituality was found to be a critical variable that contributed to the life satisfaction of African American women at midlife regardless of age, income, or education.