open access

Ahead of Print
Research paper
Published online: 2024-01-18
Get Citation

Spiritual care, compassion for others and light triad among clergy, social workers and hospice staff

Małgorzata Joanna Fopka-Kowalczyk12, Dariusz Krok3, Dagna Kocur23
Affiliations
  1. Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
  2. Institute of Psychology, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
  3. Institute of Psychology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland

open access

Ahead of Print
Research paper
Published online: 2024-01-18

Abstract

Background: The work involving helping people in difficult life situations requires specific competencies among those providing professional care. This study aims to determine the relationship of spiritual care with compassion for others and the Light Triad among clergy, social workers and hospice staff, and identify differences in the variables analysed. Study subjects and methods: The study was conducted among 578 individuals who belong to three professional groups: clergy (n = 183), social workers (n = 199) and hospice staff (n = 195), aged between 18 and 89 years. The study used the Spiritual Supporter Scale (SpSup Scale), the Compassion for Others Scale and the Light Triad Scale. Results: There were correlations for the vast majority of the variables studied. However, the correlations differed among the groups surveyed, especially in terms of the relationships of spiritual concern with indifference, faith in people, and humanism. Intergroup differences were observed. In terms of spiritual care, clergy had the highest scores while hospice staff had the lowest. In terms of compassion for others, clergy and social workers scored higher than hospice staff. In terms of the light triad, clergy had higher levels of faith in people than hospice staff, while social workers had higher levels of Kantianism compared to hospice staff. Conclusions: There were mixed results in terms of competencies in compassion and spiritual care and there were lower competencies among hospice staff compared to the other groups surveyed. The data obtained could be used as a basis for the offer of training courses and workshops to enhance the competencies relevant to the profession.

Abstract

Background: The work involving helping people in difficult life situations requires specific competencies among those providing professional care. This study aims to determine the relationship of spiritual care with compassion for others and the Light Triad among clergy, social workers and hospice staff, and identify differences in the variables analysed. Study subjects and methods: The study was conducted among 578 individuals who belong to three professional groups: clergy (n = 183), social workers (n = 199) and hospice staff (n = 195), aged between 18 and 89 years. The study used the Spiritual Supporter Scale (SpSup Scale), the Compassion for Others Scale and the Light Triad Scale. Results: There were correlations for the vast majority of the variables studied. However, the correlations differed among the groups surveyed, especially in terms of the relationships of spiritual concern with indifference, faith in people, and humanism. Intergroup differences were observed. In terms of spiritual care, clergy had the highest scores while hospice staff had the lowest. In terms of compassion for others, clergy and social workers scored higher than hospice staff. In terms of the light triad, clergy had higher levels of faith in people than hospice staff, while social workers had higher levels of Kantianism compared to hospice staff. Conclusions: There were mixed results in terms of competencies in compassion and spiritual care and there were lower competencies among hospice staff compared to the other groups surveyed. The data obtained could be used as a basis for the offer of training courses and workshops to enhance the competencies relevant to the profession.

Get Citation

Keywords

spiritual care, compassion for others, light triad, clergy, social workers, hospice staff

About this article
Title

Spiritual care, compassion for others and light triad among clergy, social workers and hospice staff

Journal

Palliative Medicine in Practice

Issue

Ahead of Print

Article type

Research paper

Published online

2024-01-18

Page views

234

Article views/downloads

149

DOI

10.5603/pmp.98543

Keywords

spiritual care
compassion for others
light triad
clergy
social workers
hospice staff

Authors

Małgorzata Joanna Fopka-Kowalczyk
Dariusz Krok
Dagna Kocur

References (43)
  1. Fopka-Kowalczyk M. Wypalanie się i koszty emocjonalne pracowników w relacji z osobą przewlekle chorą i umierającą. Wychowanie na co Dzień. 2016; 1: 39–44.
  2. Wilczek-Rużyczka E. Wypalenie zawodowe a empatia u lekarzy i pielęgniarek. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2008.
  3. Best M, Leget C, Goodhead A, et al. An EAPC white paper on multi-disciplinary education for spiritual care in palliative care. BMC Palliat Care. 2020; 19(1): 9.
  4. Stepulak M. Problemy etyczno-zawodowe psychologa klinicznego pracującego z chorymi terminalnie. In: Makselon J. ed. Człowiek wobec śmierci. Aspekty psychologiczno-pastoralne. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PAT, Kraków 2005.
  5. Saunders C. Trwałe zasady hospicjum, 2004. Przemówienie wygłoszone z okazji 20. rocznicy powstania Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Chorych „Hospicjum” w Krakowie w listopadzie 2001 r.
  6. Pace J, Lunsford B. The Evolution of Palliative Care Nursing Education. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. 2011; 13(Supplement): S8–S19.
  7. Leget C. Art of Living, Art of Dying. Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017.
  8. Fopka-Kowalczyk M, Machul M, Dobrowolska B. Research protocol of the polish adaptation and validation of HOPE scale: qualitative measurement of patients' spiritual needs. J Palliat Med. 2022; 25(10): 1492–1500.
  9. Fopka-Kowalczyk M, Best M, Krajnik M. The spiritual supporter scale as a new tool for assessing spiritual care competencies in professionals: design, validation, and psychometric evaluation. J Relig Health. 2023; 62(3): 2081–2111.
  10. Krajnik M. Wdrażanie opieki duchowej w medycynie: doświadczenia polskie. Med Prakt. 2023; 1: 135–144.
  11. Rutkowska A. Wsparcie jako element rehabilitacji kompleksowej osób z niepełnosprawnością. Niepełnosprawność – zagadnienia, problemy, rozwiązania. 2012; III(4).
  12. American Psychological Association. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Wyd. APA, 2017.
  13. Kadela K, Kowalczyk J.. Standardy Pracy Socjalnej. Rekomendacje metodyczne i organizacyjne 2013. https://www.wrzos.org.pl/projekt1.18/download/Standardy%20pracy%20socjalnej.%20Rekomendacje%20metodyczne%20i%20organizacyje.pdf (7.12.2022).
  14. Muszala A. Duchowość lekarza. AMG. 2017(8–9): 35–41.
  15. Siddall PJ, Lovell M, MacLeod R. Spirituality: what is its role in pain medicine? Pain Med. 2015; 16(1): 51–60.
  16. Lown BA, Rosen J, Marttila J. An agenda for improving compassionate care: a survey shows about half of patients say such care is missing. Health Aff (Millwood). 2011; 30(9): 1772–1778.
  17. Choden PG. Uważne współczucie. GWP, Sopot 2019.
  18. NEFF K. Self-Compassion: an alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self Identity. 2003; 2(2): 85–101.
  19. Pommier E. The Compassion Scale. Nie opublikowana praca doktorska. The University of Texas, 2010. https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/171bd3ba-9ff1-4391-8ad1-6c184dce6e29/content. ([data dostępu??]).
  20. Kocur D, Flakus M, Fopka-Kowalczyk M. Skala Współczucia dla Samego Siebie (SCS-PL). Przegląd Badań Edukacyjnych. 2022; 38: 1–41.
  21. Anandarajah G, Hight E. Spirituality and medical practice: using the HOPE questions as a practical tool for spiritual assessment. Am Fam Physician. 2001; 63(1): 81–89.
  22. Gilbert P. Creating a compassionate world: addressing the conflicts between versus evolved strategies. Front Psychol. 2020; 11: 582090.
  23. López A, Sanderman R, Ranchor AV, et al. Compassion for others and self-compassion: levels, correlates, and relationship with psychological well-being. Mindfulness (N Y). 2018; 9(1): 325–331.
  24. Salazar RL. Communicating with Compassion: The Exploratory Factor Analysis and Primary Validation Process of the Compassionate Communication Scale . Humanities Social Sciences. 2014; 74(8).
  25. Bramley L, Matiti M. How does it really feel to be in my shoes? Patients' experiences of compassion within nursing care and their perceptions of developing compassionate nurses. J Clin Nurs. 2014; 23(19-20): 2790–2799.
  26. Weingartner LA, Sawning S, Shaw MA, et al. Compassion cultivation training promotes medical student wellness and enhanced clinical care. BMC Med Educ. 2019; 19(1): 139.
  27. Francoeur RB, Burke N, Wilson AM. The role of social workers in spiritual care to facilitate coping with chronic illness and self-determination in advance care planning. Soc Work Public Health. 2016; 31(5): 453–466.
  28. Krieger T, Altenstein D, Baettig I, et al. Self-compassion in depression: associations with depressive symptoms, rumination, and avoidance in depressed outpatients. Behav Ther. 2013; 44(3): 501–513.
  29. Kinman G, Grant L. Emotional demands, compassion and mental health in social workers. Occup Med (Lond). 2020; 70(2): 89–94.
  30. Paulhus D, Williams K. The dark triad of personality: narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy. J Res Pers. 2002; 36(6): 556–563.
  31. Kaufman SB, Yaden DB, Hyde E, et al. The light vs. Dark triad of personality: contrasting two very different profiles of human nature. Front Psychol. 2019; 10: 467.
  32. Gerymski R, Krok D. Psychometric properties and validation of the Polish adaptation of the Light Triad Scale. Curr Issues Pers Psychol. 2019; 7(4): 341–354.
  33. Malik O, Shahzad A, Waheed A, et al. Abusive supervision as a trigger of malevolent creativity: do the Light Triad traits matter? Leadership Organ Dev J. 2020; 41(8): 1119–1137.
  34. Rodríguez EA, Agüero-Flores M, Landa-Blanco M, et al. Moral injury and light triad traits: anxiety and depression in health-care personnel during the coronavirus-2019 pandemic in honduras. Hisp Health Care Int. 2021; 19(4): 230–238.
  35. Lei Q, He Z, Koenig HG, et al. Light Personality Style and Moral Injury Among Chinese Health Professionals. J Relig Health. 2023; 62(6): 3942–3956.
  36. Stavraki M, Artacho-Mata E, Bajo M, et al. The dark and light of human nature: Spanish adaptation of the light triad scale and its relationship with psychological well-being. Curr Psychol. 2022; 42(31): 26979–26988.
  37. Pommier E, Neff KD, Tóth-Király I. The development and validation of the compassion scale. Assessment. 2020; 27(1): 21–39.
  38. Faul F, Erdfelder E, Buchner A, et al. Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behav Res Methods. 2009; 41(4): 1149–1160.
  39. Babler JE. A comparison of spiritual care provided by hospice social workers, nurses, and spiritual care professionals. 1997; 12(4): 15–27.
  40. Ondrejková N, Halamová J. Prevalence of compassion fatigue among helping professions and relationship to compassion for others, self-compassion and self-criticism. Health Soc Care Community. 2022; 30(5): 1680–1694.
  41. Wilson O, Avalos G, Dowling M. Knowledge of palliative care and attitudes towards nursing the dying patient. Br J Nurs. 2016; 25(11): 600–605.
  42. Fopka-Kowalczyk M. Ocena potrzeb duchowych i diagnozowanie kryzysu duchowego przez personel medyczny. Medycyna Praktyczna. 2023; 3: 1–6.
  43. Groves RF, Klauser HA. The American Book of Living and Dying: Lessons in Healing Spiritual Pain. Celestial Arts, California 2009.

Regulations

Important: This website uses cookies. More >>

The cookies allow us to identify your computer and find out details about your last visit. They remembering whether you've visited the site before, so that you remain logged in - or to help us work out how many new website visitors we get each month. Most internet browsers accept cookies automatically, but you can change the settings of your browser to erase cookies or prevent automatic acceptance if you prefer.

By VM Media Group sp. z o.o., ul. Świętokrzyska 73 , 80–180 Gdańsk, Poland

phone:+48 58 320 94 94, fax:+48 58 320 94 60, e-mail: viamedica@viamedica.pl