The prevalence of prayer as a spiritual self-care modality in elders.

The purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive study was to (a) investigate whether elders report using prayer as a coping strategy, (b) examine the frequency and type of spiritual treatment modalities used by elders, and (c) determine if there is a relationship between spiritual treatment modalities and coping in this population. The sample consisted of 50 community-dwelling elders with a mean age of 74 years. Descriptive findings indicate that 96% of elders use prayer to cope with stress based on the Jalowiec Coping Scale. Women and Blacks used prayer to cope with stress significantly more often than did men and Whites. The most frequently reported alternative treatment modality was prayer (84%). The total number of spiritual treatment modalities reported was significantly correlated with the frequent use of more positive coping styles.