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The role of spirituality in empowerment of family cohesion and family life satisfaction - experience from Croatia

There is a high level of religiosity and lower level of secularization in Croatian society, with 88% of Catholics, 6, 8% of other religions, and 5, 2% people who do not belong to any religious groupation. The integration of spiritual based approach in Croatian social work theory and practice is needed, and finally recognized in last few years. Spirituality is an important personal dimension and a big resource of sense and identity, but at the same time it could be an essential bond between a person and his/her close environment. In social work with families, spirituality is recognized as a significant part in strengthening family cohesion and resiliency. The aims of research were: (1) to define the amount of joint participation of family members in religious activities and the level of their satisfaction with it ; to define the perception of family cohesion and satisfaction with their family life ; (2) to determine differences in the assessment of family cohesion and family life satisfaction due to joint participation in religious activities ; (3) to affirm correlations between satisfaction with joint participation in religious activities and satisfaction with family life and family cohesion. Method: The research was conducted on a random sample of 503 parents (399 mothers and 104 fathers) of preschool children. The respondents anonymously completed a questionnaire about joint family religious experiences, about family cohesion and about family life satisfaction. Results: Participants who have experience of joint participation with family members in religious activities express significantly higher satisfaction with family life (p<0.001) and estimate significantly higher cohesion in their families (p<0.05) in comparison with those who do not have this experience. Significant correlations between satisfaction with joined participation in religious activities and family cohesion (p<0.01) and with family life satisfaction (p<0.01) are confirmed. Conclusions: In order to empower family, it is worth to focus family members on spirituality and religiosity as it can be a powerful resource of strengthening family cohesiveness and resilience. For effective work with families, we need to respect their spiritual dimension, recognize their religious beliefs and spiritual resources. Non-recognition the spiritual dimension in working with families means the impoverishment of the quality of work, as well as negligence of important aspect of family life.

amiliy; life satisfaction; spirituality

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