Spirituality characteristics of women following renal transplantation.

End stage renal disease (ESRD) is a potentially terminal condition that causes patients to consider their mortality. Post research has shown that prayer and religious coping are associated with better posttransplant adjustment and that individuals with life-threatening illnesses have higher levels of spirituality than healthy individuals. Few studies, however, have examined the spirituality characteristics of kidney transplant recipients. This study examined the spiritual perspectives and spiritual well-being of 28 women who had a functioning allograft 18-24 months after receiving a first kidney transplant. Measurement by the Spiritual Perspective Scale (SPS) and Spiritual Well-Being (SWB) Scale scores indicated high levels of spirituality and moderate correlation between spiritual perspective and spiritual well-being. Although older participants had higher levels of spiritual perspective, there were no associations between age and spiritual well-being, nor difference in spiritual perspective and well-being by race, education, or employment status. Thus, particularly for the aging, spirituality may be a valuable psychological resource that should be supported in women posttransplant.