Body image, mental resilience, spirituality, and mental health in the population of young adults

Abstract

Recently, significant increase in prevalence of mental disorders has been observed. Health psychology focuses on the strong need of implementing of preventive activities. The aim of the paper was to assess the interaction between personal dispositions such as mental resilience, spirituality, the attitude towards your own body, and mental health among young adults. The study was conducted in 138 students at secondary schools, 18-20 yrs. old in Lesser Poland. In the study there have been used the following measures: Mental Resilience Scale, Self-descriptive Questionnaire, allow to assess spirituality level, Body Image Questionnaire, and Pathological Symptoms Questionnaire, SCL-27. The obtained results indicated that young adults who present the higher level of mental resilience and positive attitude towards their own body, experience less symptoms of mental disorders. Moreover, the positive correlations were observed between mental resilience, spirituality level, and positive attitude towards body in both female and male groups. Young females compared to the examined males were less satisfied with their appearance, experienced enhanced mental symptoms, and worse assessed their competence to cope with daily difficulties.