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 Table of Contents  
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year : 2015  |  Volume : 1  |  Issue : 4  |  Page : 298-300

The relationship between mental health and spiritual attitudes of high school students in the Shahreza


1 PhD Student in Isfahan University, Consultant of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
2 Department of Education, Isfahan University, Isfahan, Iran

Date of Web Publication31-Aug-2015

Correspondence Address:
Azam Mirzasafi
Number 12, Department of Education, Kashani Street, Fooladshahr, Isfahan
Iran
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Source of Support: Nil., Conflict of Interest: There are no conflicts of interest.


DOI: 10.4103/2395-2296.163937

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  Abstract 

Aim: The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between mental health and spiritual trends of high school students in Shahreza. Methods: The method of the study was descriptive–correlational. The study included all students who are studying Shahreza schools, in 2011. The statistical sample included 200 girls and 200 boys selected by multistage cluster sampling. The research instruments for collecting data were two questionnaires. One of them measure spiritual attitudes of students and second measure general health including 28 questions made by Goldenberg. The reliability of the questionnaire was estimated through Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α = 0.85), and the validity was confirmed by determining its correlation with the same instruments. Result: This shows that, there is a negative relationship between depression and spiritual beliefs (r = –0/45). There was also a negative correlation between anxiety and spirituality. Conclusions: Based on these findings, we conclude that the relationship between spirituality and mental health is significant and positive.

Keywords: Mental health, spiritual attitudes, general health


How to cite this article:
Davoodi Z, Mirzasafi A, Heidari H. The relationship between mental health and spiritual attitudes of high school students in the Shahreza. Int J Educ Psychol Res 2015;1:298-300

How to cite this URL:
Davoodi Z, Mirzasafi A, Heidari H. The relationship between mental health and spiritual attitudes of high school students in the Shahreza. Int J Educ Psychol Res [serial online] 2015 [cited 2024 Mar 28];1:298-300. Available from: https://www.ijeprjournal.org/text.asp?2015/1/4/298/163937


  Introduction Top


Students are the spiritual fruits of human society. With the development of new technology, industry, and related problems; disorders and mental illnesses increased significantly. Since the mental health of the students is important, it is necessary that emotional and psychological issues taken seriously and to be processed. Research conducted in recent years show that mental disorders are at different levels of students. The increase of refer students to the student counseling indicate growth of mental, social, and academic problems in them.[1]

About 28.4% of total students have a mental disorder. The prevalence of major depression was 7.8%, adjustment disorder was 6.7%, anxiety disorders was 7.4%, dysthymia was 9.5%.[1] About 31.6% of students in Shahid Beheshti University were suspected of having a mental disorder.[2] About 1.7% of students suffered from the physical problem, 2.3% from anxiety and insomnia, 4.3% had social dysfunction, and 2% had severe depression.[3] About 35/4% reported cases of mental disorders.[4]

On the other hand, every day the number of people who believe that spirituality is a way to treat neurosis and mental distress, are added. Spirituality is a wide range of useful and powerful of human experience that has become very important in today's world. Spirituality response to fundamental questions of human in the world, such as the creation of world, laws, and the purpose of human life in this world and other questions like that. Spirituality is a concept, which has a great relationship with religion. According to his nature human need to connect to spiritual issues. In recent years, some of the researches show a strong relationship between religious trends with mental and physical health.[5] In a research on the relationship between spirituality, religion, and physical; and mental health achieved interesting results. Religious significantly related to emotional status and safety.[6] Religious treatment has accelerated improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety.[7] Negative relationship between spirituality and mental disturbances. Research has been done on the relationship between spirituality and mental health represents a significant relationship between these two concepts. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between spirituality and mental health of high school students in Shahreza city.[8]


  Methods Top


The method used in this study was descriptive–correlational. The study included all students who are studying Shahreza schools, in 2011. The statistical sample included 200 girls and 200 boys selected by multistage cluster sampling. The spiritual attitudes questionnaire is used to measure the spiritual tendency of the students.[9] Each person's spirituality was equal to the point that each person brings to the test. This test consists of 33 questions that participants have the option strongly agree to strongly disagree (five options) is an option. In addition, to the total score, the questionnaire measures four areas of spiritual beliefs contain of feelings acquire spirituality, self-actualization, person's spiritual, and social and religious activities.[9]

General Health Questionnaire was another instrument used in this study. The questionnaire was developed in 1979 by Goldenberg and Hiller on 28 questions. It uses for the screening nonpsychotic mental illness. The questionnaire consists of four parts: somatic symptom, anxiety, depression, and social interaction. It devoted score from very low to very high, between 1 and 4, based on Likert scale. The reliability was calculated with Cronbach's alpha that was 0/85. The validity was confirmed by determining its correlation with the same instruments like Symptom Checklist-90-Revised questionnaire and have been reported about 0/78.


  Results Top


Information in this section of demographic variables, t-test, and correlation coefficient are presented in [Table 1].
Table 1: Descriptive statistics

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According to the [Table 1], 400 subjects surveyed. Two hundred people were the girl with an average age of 16 and school education and 200 boys with an average age of 16.5 with school education.

As shown in [Table 2], the difference between spirituality scores between two sexes was not significant. The general health scores of boys and girls show no significant difference in scores between the two groups of public health.
Table 2: T-test for comparison between mental health and intellectual trends in the two sexes

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As shown in [Table 3], the correlation between the total score and scores for general health, spirituality is significant, and negative (r = −0/38). The most reverse relationship between the total score with severe depression (r = −0/49) and social dysfunction (r = −0/42).
Table 3: Correlation between mental health subscales and the dimensions of spirituality

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It is noteworthy that all factors have a significant relationship with each other. The strongest relationship is between spirituality self-actualization and depression (r = −0/57), and the lowest is the relationship between spiritual beliefs and physical symptoms (r = −0/32).

Regression analysis with the aim to predict public health based on spiritual trends and demographic variables showed that self-actualization (26.6%) and semester (8%), predict 34/6% of public health on the general.


  Conclusions Top


Obtained results showed a negative relationship between depression and spiritual beliefs (r = 0/−45). We conclude that the person with the higher spiritual beliefs, do not feel emptiness, hopelessness, and despair. His self-esteem is good. Such person is optimistic about the future and the environment and shows lower vulnerability for depression.[10] Social and religious activity index was significantly correlated with depression. There was also a negative correlation between anxiety and spirituality. Hence, we can say that individual and collective worship correlated with severity of depression. Based on these findings, we conclude that the relationship between spirituality and mental health is significant and positive. These findings are consistent with the other researcher findings such as Comer, Karimollah and Aghamohammadi, Dehshiri and Sohrabi, Johnny Paghooh, Pargament et al. Hook et al.[11],[12],[13],[14],[15],[16]

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

 
  References Top

1.
Akashe G. Investigation of mental health in students. J Psychiatry Clin Psychol 1995;4:4-11.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.
Dibajniya P, Bakhtiyari M. Status of mental health in students of Shahid Beheshti University. J Ardabil Univ 2001;1:27-31.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Adham D, Amiri M, Dadkhah B, Mohammadi MA, Mozaffari N, Sattari Z, et al. Investigation of mental health in students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences. J Ardabil Univ Med Sci 2007;8:229-34.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
Lotfi MH, Aminiyan AH, Noorishadkam M, Ghomizade A, Zare MR. Investigation of mental health in students of Yazd Shahid Sadooghi University of Medical Sciences. J Med Refinement 2006;3:49-56.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.
Rezvani A. Comparison of Two Methods of Logotherapy and Metacognitive Training on Anxiety Reduction. Vol. 7. Thesis Master of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Isfahan University; 2009. p. 109-13.  Back to cited text no. 5
    
6.
Rippentrop AE, Altmaier EM, Chen JJ, Found EM, Keffala JV. The relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health, mental health, and a pain in a chronic pain population. Pain 2005;116:311-21.  Back to cited text no. 6
    
7.
Hartz G. Spirituality and Mental Health: clinical Applications. Translated by: Kamkar A, Jafari I. Tehran: Ravan Publication; 2008.  Back to cited text no. 7
    
8.
Kim J, Heinemann AW, Bode RK, Sliwa J, King RB. Spirituality, quality of life, and functional recoveryafter medical rehabilitation. Rehabil Psychol 2000;45:365-85.  Back to cited text no. 8
    
9.
Sharifi E, Meftagh D, Sajadian P, Bejanpoor K. Comparison of male and female spiritual trends in Esfahan university. J Behravan 2007;8:220-32.  Back to cited text no. 9
    
10.
Koenig HG. Spirituality, wellness, and quality of life. Sex Reprod Menopause 2004;2:76-82.  Back to cited text no. 10
    
11.
Comer RC. Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology. New York: Worth Publication; 2005.  Back to cited text no. 11
    
12.
Karimollah M, Aghamohammadi M. 1380 Examine the Relationship Between Religious Beliefs and Depression among Nursing Students in Ardabil, Published in the First Conference on the Role of Religion in Mental Health, Tehran; 1389.  Back to cited text no. 12
    
13.
Dehshiri GH, Sohrabi F, Jafari E, Najafi M. Investigation of psychometric properties of spiritual well-being scale among students. Psychol Study 2008;4:35-45.[in Persian].  Back to cited text no. 13
    
14.
Johnny Paghooh MR, Sharifi E, Sajadian P, Jvzdany B. Spirituality and Mental Health, Mental Health article Published in the Fifth Seminar, Tehran; 1389.  Back to cited text no. 14
    
15.
Pargament KI, Zinnbauer BJ, Scott AB, Butter EM, Zerowin J, Stanick P. Red flags and religious coping: identifying some religious warning sings among people in crisis. J Clin Psychol 1998;54:77-89.  Back to cited text no. 15
    
16.
Hook JN, Worthington EL Jr, Davis DE, Jennings DJ 2nd, Gartner AL, Hook JP. Empirically supported religious and spiritual therapies. J Clin Psychol 2010;66:46-72.  Back to cited text no. 16
    



 
 
    Tables

  [Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3]



 

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