Prediction of the Dimensions of the Spiritual Well-Being of Students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran: The Roles of Demographic Variables
Published: July 1, 2017 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/25114.10314
Arash Ziapour, Alireza Khatony, Faranak Jafaafari, Neda Kianipour
1. Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health (RCEDH), Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
2. Associated Professor, Clinical Research Development Center of Imam Reza Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
3. Lecturer, Department of Nursing,School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
4. Students, Research Committee, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
Correspondence
Dr. Alireza Khatony,
Associate Professor, Clinical Research Development Center of Imam Reza Hospital,
Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah-6714415333, Iran.
E-mail : akhatony@gmail.com; Akhatony@gmail.com
Introduction: Spiritual well-being is one of the aspects of well-being which organize the physical, psychological, and social aspects. Given the outstanding and unique roles of students in society, providing spiritual well-being as well as identifying and eliminating the negative factors affecting their mental well-being are of the essence.
Aim: The present study aimed to predict the dimensions of the spiritual well-being of students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences and to investigate the roles of demographic variables in this respect.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive and correlational study, the statistical population was comprised of 346 doctoral students in the for-profit Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceuticals in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2016. For data collection, an instrument comprising the demographic questions and the 20-item spiritual well-being scale by Paloutzian and Ellison (1982) was utilized. To analyze data, the descriptive (frequency distribution, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and chi-squared test) were employed in the SPSS Statistics Software Version 21.0.
Results: The results of the present study demonstrated that the spiritual well-being of students was average (71.86±4.84), and of all demographic variables under study, only the variable of gender significantly correlated with the mean score of spiritual well-being. Also, the results revealed that the students’ score of religious well-being measured higher than that of their existential well-being. However, a significant correlation was found between spiritual well-being and its dimensions. Also, the religious and existential well-being were found to be significantly related (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed the significance of addressing the issue of spirituality among the students of the for-profit Schools at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. Therefore, it is recommended that appropriate plans be laid by the culture and education policy makers to promote the spiritual well-being of university students.
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