Relating with God Contributes to Variance in Happiness, over that from Personality and Age

Spiritual Health Consequences from the Iranian Adolescents' Perspective

Spiritual health is a unique force that can influence the physical, mental, and social dimensions of life. In order to know the positive effects of spiritual health, it is necessary to explain the adolescents' experiences in this area. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate Iranian adolescents' experiences regarding the effects of spiritual health. This study was conducted based on a qualitative approach using content analysis. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 adolescents aged 14-18 years. Subsequently, the obtained data were analyzed using the Graneheim and Lundman method. In total, three major categories emerged from data analysis, including mental health promotion, self-control, and purposefulness in life. Considering the significant effects of spiritual health on adolescents' development, it is essential to pay attention to this dimension of health and develop plans to enhance it.

Religiosity and Mental Health: A Contribution to Understanding the Heterogeneity of Research Findings

Most studies report positive associations between religiosity and spirituality and aspects of mental health, while a small proportion report mixed or fully negative associations. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of religiosity measured more specifically, with mental health in a secular environment, using a nationally representative sample of Czech adults (n = 1795). We measured religious affiliation, conversion experience, non-religious attitudes and the stability of these attitudes, mental health problems, and anxiety levels. Compared to stable non-religious respondents, unstable non-religious and converted respondents who perceived God as distant were more likely to experience anxiety in close relationships, and had higher risks of worse mental health. Our findings support the idea that the heterogeneity of findings in associations between religiosity/spirituality and mental health could be due to measurement problems and variation in the degree of secularity. A shift towards religiosity could be expected to be seen in a substantial part of non-religious respondents in problematic times.

Validation of the Persian Version of Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaires

BACKGROUND

Spiritual well-being is an important issue in health sciences, hence the need for validated instruments to assess this aspect of health in the Iranian population. The aim of the current study was to determine the validity of the Persian versions of 2 most common measures of spiritual health (Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire [SWBQ] or Spiritual Health and Life-Orientation Measure [SHALOM] and Spiritual Well-Being Scale [SWBS]).

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study via a convenience sampling method in Iran University of Medical Sciences with 170 participants aged above 18 years comprising students, teachers, and administrative staff and managers. The study was conducted from September 7, 2014 to September 20, 2015 in Tehran. Four questionnaires, namely the SWBQ, SWBS, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ), were used. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 18 and LISREL (version 8.2). Cronbach's alpha, intra-class correlation coefficient, Pearson correlation, and confirmatory factor analysis were employed to assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaires.

RESULTS

Cronbach's alpha for the SWBQ and the SWBS was greater than 0.85. The repeatability of both questionnaires was between 0.88 and 0.98. The Pearson correlation for the SWBQ and the SWBS ranged from 0.33 to 0.53; and all the correlations were significant. The respondents who indicated a higher spiritual well-being also reported better general health and happiness.

CONCLUSION

The Persian versions of the SWBS and the SWBQ have good reliability, repeatability, and validity to assess spiritual health in the Iranian population.

Relationship Between Religious Belief and Happiness: A Systematic Literature Review

Happiness is a feeling that is desired by every human being. To achieve happiness, human try various routes like, to gain financial superiority, fame, entertainment, assets and so on. But on the contrary, religiosity is claimed to be a technique to attain purpose in life, mental health, physical well-being and internal peace, which ultimately leads to happiness in life. This study analyses the studies conducted in last two decades toward understanding the relationship between religiousness and happiness. These studies have been organised in terms of the religions, geographic locations, scales and significance. The study shows that the claim has proven to be true by a vast majority of the surveys irrespective of religion, gender, nationality or race. Although Muslims seems to be the happiest, it requires further verification.

Religion and Happiness: A Study Among University Students in Turkey

This study tests the hypothesis that higher levels of positive religious affect are associated with higher levels of personal happiness among a sample of 348 students studying at a state university in Turkey who completed the Ok Religious Attitude Scale (Islam), the Oxford Happiness Inventory, and the short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. The data reported a small but statistically significant association between religiosity and happiness after taking sex and individual differences in personality into account.