Spiritual transcendence, religiosity, ego strength, and self-actualization: A study of gender differences in adulthood.

Spirituality has always been considered to be a natural part of being human. Spiritual orientation leads to spiritual transcendence when the capacity of individuals goes beyond to stand outside of their immediate time and place, and to view life from a larger, more objective perspective. Behavior is transcendent when it overrides environmental contingencies or apparent personal limits. Transcendence is an important predictor of mental health and well-being among middle-aged and older adults (Ellermann & Reed, 200 I). Religion and spirituality are universal threads in the fabric of human experience. While researchers initially measured religion as a uni-dimensional entity, it soon became evident that there were two distinct types of religiousness. Allport (1959) coined the term 'extrinsic' and 'intrinsic religious orientation'. He distinguished between the intrinsically and extrinsically oriented as those who approach religion as 'living' or 'using' religion respectively (Pollard & Bates, 2004). From the self-detennination perspective too, self-initiation and regulation of religious orientation was emphasized in researches (Ryan & Connell, 1989). A third dimension of religious orientation was later developed called the quest orientation. According to Kristensen, Pedersen, and Williams (1975), the third dimension emerged as a result of argument that the intrinsic-extrinsic dichotomy never included all the constituent elements of mature religiosity. According to them, this observation suggests that "at least one fundamental aspect of mature religiosity not included inAllport's original model is an open-ended intellectual search for answers to grander and more existential issues and thus, this religious dimension was named the quest orientation". The present investigation proposed to examine gender differences in all these three aspects of religious orientation, viz., intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest orientation. The aging process is an important step in an individual's spiritual journey and spiritual growth. Erik (1964) postulated that ego virtues or ego strengths are instinctual, inherent, and internal strengths gained by healthy individuals. With the successful resolution of all eight psychosocial crises throughout the life cycle, a healthy personality results (Erikson, 1956). Transcendence is driven by intrinsic motivating factors. Maslow has recently emphasized that growth motivation emphasizes one's journey from self-actualization towards transcendence. Therefore, it was considered important to study how males and females differ on their path towards these life goals. The present study attempted to examine gender differences in spiritual transcendence, religiosity, ego strength, and self-actualization. There are various transitions for both, men and women when entering into the middle years of life. So, it is important to analyze how the two differ in their approach to reach the point of fulfilment in life. The sample comprised I 00 professors (50 males & 50 females) in the age group of 40-55 years. Participants were from urban cities of Punjab, India. I-test (for independent samples) was applied which showed no significant gender differences on spiritual transcendence, religiosity, ego strength, and self-actualization, by and large. Adult women however, reported higher levels of quest orientation (a subscale of religiosity) than men. The findings are interpreted in light of the Indian socio-cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]