The relationship between spiritual health and mental health in students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Introduction: The spiritual health is the most important socio-cultural factors that related to mental health. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between mental health and spiritual health in students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in 2014. Method: The study was descriptive- correlative. The participants were of 436 436 freshman students. The questionnaires includes demographic information, Palutzian Spiritual Health Questionnaire (20 item) that 10 questions measure religious health and 10 questions measure existential health. mental health was measured by GHQ-28 ( somatic symptoms, anxiety symptoms, the symptoms of social dysfunction and depression)with cutoff point of 23. Data were analyzed, by using 22 SPSS statistical software and Pearson correlation, t-test and one way ANOVA. Results: 63/5% of students were female and 91/7% of the students were single. Nearly 72% of them were 20-18 years. 58/9% of the participants were native,67/3% have high spiritual health, 95/2%with high religious health and84/2% have elevated their health.87/2% of participants had sufficient mental health and12/8% were suspected of mental vulnerability. Although there was a significant relationship between religious health and health with mental health (P 0<001). Conclusion: The higher spiritual health, psychological trauma will be less. In other words, we can use the spiritual health of the students as a predictor of mental crisis in them.

Keywords

• health
• spiritual health
• religious health
• existential health
• psychosocial health
• students