Spirituality and negative religious coping, but not positive religious coping, differentially mediate the relationship between scrupulosity and mental health: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Given the continued rise in negative mental health globally, including among university students, research continues to investigate potential correlates that negatively or positively influence mental health. Our study sought to investigate the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, scrupulosity and mental health among university students. Methods: University students (age: 18+) were administered an anonymous survey consisting of questions assessing: 1) demographics, 2) mental health, 3) spirituality and religiosity, and 4) scrupulosity. The final number of participants whose responses met inclusion criteria was 638. Results: Our results indicate a substantial proportion of participants reporting severe or extremely severe depression, anxiety and stress, and potentially clinically relevant scrupulosity. Additionally, various correlations were observed between the measures addressed, as well as differences in religiosity, spirituality and scrupulosity between participants scoring worse relative to better in mental health. Moreover, while both spirituality and negative religious coping mediated the relationship between scrupulosity and mental health (positively and negatively, respectively), positive religious coping was not involved in such mediation. Limitations: A key limitation of this study includes the difficulty/inability in addressing the complexity underlying spirituality/religiosity in any single study. Conclusions: Our findings indicate negative effects of scrupulosity on mental health, and a mediating role of negative religious coping on this relationship. Spirituality, unlike positive religious coping, appeared to assist in minimizing/mitigating the negative impact of scrupulosity on mental health. This suggests the need for the deeper reality and higher cognitive involvement reflected in spirituality and the appropriate application of such behaviors, including at the clinical level.

Keywords

• Scrupulosity
• Religiosity
• Spirituality
• Mental health
• University students