Self-transcendence: Conceptualization and Measurement

Archives of gerontology and geriatrics

The aims of this study were to describe the associations between ST and psychological and physical wellbeing among oldest old people and to test the influence of negative life events on ST, and the predictive value of the self-transcendence scale (STS) for mortality. ST has been identified as a valuable resource for transcending psychological and physical suffering and has been related to psychological wellbeing and higher quality of life. The study design was correlational, prospective, and longitudinal. The participants were recruited from a medium-sized town and from an adjacent rural area in northern Sweden. The sample consisted of 190 participants (123 women and 67 men) who completed the STS. At a 5-year follow-up, 55 people (29.5%) were alive and able to complete the assessments again. ST was positively associated with psychological wellbeing, self-rated health, having someone to talk with and being able to go outdoors independently. Diagnoses of depression, dementia disease, ...

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2002

In response to calls from the scientific community for improved conceptualizations and measures of spirituality, we describe the concept of "spiritual transcendence" and the development of the Spiritual Transcendence Index (STI). Spiritual transcendence refers to a perceived experience of the sacred that affects one's self-perception, feelings, goals, and ability to transcend one's difficulties. The STI is an eight-item measure of this construct developed and refined based on rational considerations, input from three focus groups of religious leaders, and a reciprocal process of empirically testing the item pool and revising it across six successive surveys. The final scale, together with measures of related constructs, was tested in 220 randomly selected community residents. Although further study of the scale is needed, the STI demonstrated high consistency and validity across several samples in these initial exploratory studies.

Religious Individualisation, 2019

1972

The Freiburger Personality Inventory (FPI) was administered to 49 people practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique. Their scores on the 12 scales of the FPI were compared with a comparison group constructed from available age and sex norms for each scale. The meditators differed significantly from the normative comparison group on ten of the 12 scales, all in the direction of more healthy, balanced psychological functioning. Moreover, the meditators did not differ significantly from the comparison group on the scale of Openness, which gives an indication of the extent to which people are attempting to respond in a socially desirable manner. When the Transcendental Meditation group was divided into two groups based on the length of time they had been practicing the technique, it was found that long-term meditators differed from the normative comparison group on nine scales, whereas the short-term meditators differed on two scales. These results suggest that the Transcendental Meditation program produces continuous, balanced psycho- logical growth.

Research in Gerontological Nursing, 2013

Background: While successful aging is often defined as the absence of disease and disability or as life satisfaction, self-transcendence may also play an important role. Objective: To test a nursing theory of successful aging proposing transcendence and adaptation predict successful aging. A cross-sectional exploratory study (N = 152) among a convenience sample of older adults were surveyed about self-transcendence, proactive coping, and successful aging. Results: Using hierarchical multiple regression, self-transcendence, proactive coping, and all controls (sex, race, health and residence) together explained 50% of the variance in successful aging" (p < .001). However, proactive coping was not a significant predictor of successful aging. Discussion: This study did not support the theory that both self-transcendence and proactive coping predict successful aging. Self-transcendence was the only significant contributor to this multidimensional view of successful aging. Self-transcendence is an important variable in the pursuit of successful aging which merits further investigation.

ISRN Psychiatry, 2012

Aims. This study’s aim was to test the effects of self-transcendence on depression among cognitively intact nursing home patients.Background. Depression is considered the most frequent mental disorder among the elderly population. Specifically, the depression rate among nursing home patients is three to four times higher than that among community-dwelling elderly. Therefore, finding new and alternative ways to prevent and decrease depression is of great importance for nursing home patients’ well-being. Self-transcendence is related to spiritual as well as nonspiritual factors, and it is described as a correlate and resource for well-being among vulnerable populations and at the end of life.Methods. A two-factor construct of the self-transcendence scale (interpersonal and intrapersonal) and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) was applied. A sample of 202 cognitively intact nursing home patients in central Norway was selected to respond to the questionnaires in 2008/2009....

Various forms of self-loss have been described as aspects of mental illness (e.g., depersonalization disorder), but might self-loss also be related to mental health? In this integrative review and proposed organizational framework, we focus on self-transcendent experiences (STEs)-transient mental states marked by decreased self-salience and increased feelings of connectedness. We first identify common psychological constructs that contain a self-transcendent aspect, including mindfulness, flow, peak experiences, mystical-type experiences, and certain positive emotions (e.g., love, awe). We then propose psychological and neurobiological mechanisms that may mediate the effects of STEs based on a review of the extant literature from social psychology, clinical psychology, and affective neuroscience. We conclude with future directions for further empirical research on these experiences.

"At the point where we have been stripped to the simple human essence, we discover participation in an order of reality beyond the self." "We must return to the inarticulate or experiential order that has been there all along." "(W)hat is at stake in our acceptance or refusal of participation in that order is nothing less than our humanity itself." "Our problem is the loss of contact with the ordering spiritual traditions of Western civilization, and the resulting necessity of reestablishing the connection or discovering new spiritual sources of order." (David Walsh, After Ideology, 1990, pp. 257-264) David Walsh's reference to "self-transcendence", in the passage which inspired the topic of this project, occurs within the context of a work which aims to show that modernity must be diagnosed as a period of prolonged and profound spiritual disintegration. According to Walsh, the widespread destructiveness

Review of General Psychology, 2017

Various forms of self-loss have been described as aspects of mental illness (e.g., depersonalization disorder), but might self-loss also be related to mental health? In this integrative review and proposed organizational framework, we focus on self-transcendent experiences (STEs)—transient mental states marked by decreased self-salience and increased feelings of connectedness. We first identify common psychological constructs that contain a self-transcendent aspect, including mindfulness, flow, peak experiences, mystical-type experiences, and certain positive emotions (e.g., love, awe). We then propose psychological and neurobiological mechanisms that may mediate the effects of STEs based on a review of the extant literature from social psychology, clinical psychology, and affective neuroscience. We conclude with future directions for further empirical research on these experiences.

International journal of aging & human development, 2015

The late-life developmental process of self-transcendence shapes elders&#39; perspectives on self, others, the nature of this world, and of a dimension beyond the here and now. This qualitative pilot study evaluated the Psychoeducational Approach to Transcendence and Health (PATH) Program, a psychoeducational intervention to promote self-transcendence and well-being in community-dwelling women at a senior center. The intervention involved eight weekly group sessions using group processes, mindfulness practices, creative experiences, and independent at-home practice. The findings supported the underlying theory-based structure and content of the intervention and indicated the intervention may empower elders to attend to self-care, develop acceptance, and learn new skills associated with health and well-being, thus merits further study. Based on insights gained from facilitators&#39; and participants&#39; experiences and perceptions, the intervention will be revised and strengthened.

1974

EDITORS Evidence is presented that personality develops in stages as a result of the practice of the Transeendental Meditation technique; a reduction in neuroticism dominant in the first few weeks is followed by the growth of creativity and integration throughout the rest of the first year of the practice. ABSTRACT The Freiburger Personality Inventory was administered to a group of 37 subjects three times=-before they learned the Transeendental Meditation technique, approximately seven weeks later, and approximately 55 weeks later. At the last testing, 12 subjects had discontinued meditation and were treated as a control group in the data analysis. Comparison of the mean pretest scores of the 25 meditating subjects with those of the 12 control subjects showed no significant differences. At the time ofthe third testing, approximately 55 weeks later, the 25 meditating subjects showed significantly better scores than the control group on the following five scales: Nervousness, Depression, Irritability, Inhibition, and Neuroticism. They also showed significantly greater improvements than controls on the following seven scales: Nervousness, Depression, Sociability, Inhibition, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Masculinity (self-reliance). Compared to the norm, the meditating subjects showed significantly greater neuroticism at the time of learning TM. However, after approximately 55 weeks of regular practice of the TM technique, they showed significantly greater emotional stability (significantly less neuroticism) and significantly greater sociability than the norm. The changes in the various scales among the first, second, and third administrations suggest that regulative-compensatory processes producing a reduction in neuroticism dominate in the first few weeks of the practice of the TM technique, and that growth of individual creativity and integration continues throughout the rest of the first year.

Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 2021

The first comprehensive studies on the effects of transitioning to persistent forms of selftranscendence are reported. Two online protocols that combined positive psychology exercises and meditation methods were studied. Instruction was pre-recorded and delivered online. Program 1 (n = 379) lasted 4 months, required 1.5-3 hr each day and contained a larger range of methods. Program 2 (n = 246) lasted 6 weeks, required 1.5-2 hr each day, and was a subset of Program 1.

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013

The paper investigates different approaches of transcendence in the sense of spiritual experience as predictors for general psychological resilience. This issue is based on the theoretical assumption that resilience does play a role for physical health. Furthermore, there is a lack of empirical evidence about the extent to which spirituality does play a role for resilience. As potential predictors for resilience, ego transcendence, spiritual transcendence, and meaning in life were measured in a sample of 265 people. The main result of a multiple regression analysis is that, in the subsample with people below 29 years, only one rather secular scale that is associated with ego transcendence predicts resilience, whereas for the older subsample of 29 years and above, spiritual transcendence gains both a positive (oneness and timelessness) and a negative (spiritual insight) relevance to psychological resilience. On the one hand, these results concur with previous studies that also found age-related differences. On the other hand, it is surprising that the MOS spiritual insight predicts psychological resilience negatively, the effect is increasing with age. One possible explanation concerns wisdom research. Here, an adaptive way of dealing with the age-related loss of control is assumed to be relevant to successful aging.

Current theories in psychology conceptualize self-transcendence as a personality trait, a developmental construct, and a particular class of anomalous experience. Despite extensive research on self-transcendence, the process, outcomes, and nature of self-transcendent experience (STE) remain elusive. This study focused on the self-reported narratives of STE in 15 healthy adults. Accounts were collected in face-to-face interviews, transcribed, and thematically analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Qualitative results were recursively examined to construct a preliminary mid-range theory of STE in healthy adults. Three major theme areas emerged from interview data. These were (a) context, (b) phenomenology, and (c) aftermath of STE. Each of these major themes was further divided into distinct sub-themes, including setting, perceptual alterations, and long-term effects. The resulting interpretation of STE is discussed in light of current literature and directions for future research.