Optimism and spirituality in relation to psychological well-being among middle aged adults Dhingra Kirti, Lata Swaran Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005 Online published on 23 December, 2020. Abstract Ageing successfully and positively requires some preparation at an earlier stage, e.g. recognizing the factors leading to successful ageing. The study examined the relationship of spirituality and optimism on the psychological well-being among middle-aged-adults and investigated the gender differences. The sample comprised of male (N=87) and female (N=90) adults of age range from 40 to 60 years. The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, Life Orientation Test - Revised and Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale were used to assess the spirituality, optimism and psychological well-being of the participants, respectively. The results indicated a positive relationship of spirituality and optimism with psychological well-being of the participants. Significant difference was found between the scores of male and female participants on Psychological well-being. In addition, gender differences were also observed on three dimensions of psychological well-being, namely, positive growth, purpose in life, and autonomy. The age group40-45years was significantly higher on psychological well-being than the age group 55-60years. The 55-60 years age group scored significantly higher on spirituality than the 40-45years age group. On the dimensions of psychological well-being, 40-45 years age group scored significantly higher than the 55-60 years age group on environmental mastery, positive relations, personal growth and purpose in life. Regression analysis revealed optimism to be the best predictor of psychological well-being followed by spirituality. Top Keywords Middle-Adults, Optimism, Psychological well-being, Spirituality. Top |