Spiritual well-being and mental health in university students

Abstract

The present study investigates the relationship between spiritual well-being and mental health in university students. The research sample consisted of 223 university students (110 males and 113 females), who took Spiritual Well-Being Scale and General Health Questionnaire. The results of the study showed that there is a significant relationship between spiritual well-being and mental health. Nevertheless, there was no significant relationship between spiritual well-being and somatic symptoms, anxiety, social dysfunction and depression. The results of the regression analysis showed that religious and existential well-being significantly anticipated mental health. As well, another finding was that spiritual and existential well-being in females was significantly higher than in males. There was no sex-related difference in mental health scores. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.