Introduction:

Self-transcendence is a personal multidimensional expansion, a connection with others, the environment, and/or a higher entity; it is related to the wellbeing of the elderly adult. Objective: This work sought to determine the self-transcendence level of a group of Mexican elderly adults.

Materials and Methods:

This was a cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in three gerontology centers in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico with a random probabilistic sample (n=118). The study included elderly adults who attended the gerontology centers, men and women, ≥60 years of age. The self-transcendence scale in Spanish was used with a resulting value between 15 and 60 (higher score = higher self-transcendence). A pilot test was carried out with 40 elderly adults with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.80. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed for categorical variables (frequencies and percentages); for numerical variables, central tendency and dispersion measurements were made.

Results:

The self-transcendence mean was 51.36; 85.6% were identified with “Finding significance in my spiritual beliefs” and 81.4% with “Enjoying my life rhythm”; statistically significant difference was found in the self-transcendence mean (p ˂0.05) by gender, with the level being higher in women. No difference was noted between age groups.

Discussion and Conclusions:

The self-transcendence mean reflects a high level, compared to other studies and a higher mean was reported between 75 and 84 years of age. Elderly adults identify with characteristics, like religion and enjoying life. The self-transcendence scale can be used in Mexican elderly adults, given that it demonstrated a good level of internal consistency.

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