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CHAPTER 29 Pamela G. Reed 579

The second proposition is that self-transcendence 1. Increased vulnerability is related to increased self-
is positively related to well-being (Reed, 1991a). transcendence.
Alternatively, decreased self-transcendence (as in the 2. Self-transcendence is positively related to well-
inability to reach out to others or to accept friend- being and functions as a mediator between vulner-
ship) is positively related to depression as an indicator ability and well-being.
of decreased well-being or mental health. An impor- 3. Personal and contextual factors may influence
tant refinement to Self-Transcendence Theory has to the relationship between vulnerability and self-
do with the mediating effects of self-transcendence. transcendence and between self-transcendence
Research results accumulated in the last decade indi- and well-being.
cate that self-transcendence mediates the relationship
between vulnerability and well-being. In other words,
self-transcendence is an underlying process or mech- Logical Form
anism that explains why people may attain well-being Reed’s empirical middle-range theory was con-
when confronted with increased vulnerability. structed using the strategy of deductive reformulation
The key assumption about person-environmental to enhance understanding of the end-of-life phenom-
process (Reed, 1991a) led the third and revised set of enon of self-transcendence (Reed, 1991a). The logic
propositions by Reed in 2003. Personal and environ- used was primarily deduction, to ensure that the
mental factors function as correlates, moderators, or middle-range theory was congruent with Rogerian
mediators of the relationships between vulnerability, and life span principles. Analogical reasoning was
self-transcendence, and well-being. also used to work from other theories of life span
In summary, the 2003, updated Self-Transcendence development, comparing psychology and nursing
Theory proposes the following three sets of relation- about human development and potential for well-
ships (Figure 29–1): being in all phases of life. The key concepts of the

Self-Transcendence

Personal
and
Contextual Factors

Vulnerability Well-Being

FIGURE 29-1 Model of Self-Transcendence Theory. (Reed, P. G. [2008]. The theory of self-transcendence.
In M. J. Smith & P. R Liehr [Eds.], Middle range theory for nursing [2nd ed.]. New York, Springer).