Evaluating Spiritual Experiences and Some Psychological Components in Medical Students

Abstract

Background: Spiritual experiences seem to be an important component in Religious and spiritual life of some one. Aim of the present study was to determinate relation between daily spiritual experiences, and psychological variables in students of Qom University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this descriptive and analytical study, 138 students of the Qom University of Medical Sciences were selected via random sampling methods. These students completed the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Data were analyzed in SPSS16 software environment utilizing descriptive statistics and the Independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Mean and standard deviations of daily spiritual experiences scores was 28.27(4.90).  The daily spiritual experiences was associated with mental health (r = -0.22, P-value = 0.01) depression(r = -0.25, P-value = 0.005), and stress (r = -0.23, P-value = 0.01). Conclusion: The findings indicated that spiritual experiences were respectively the most important religious - spiritual components which may affect psychological health in students.

Keywords

• Spiritual Experiences
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Psychological Health
• Students