Structural Modeling of the Relationship Between Religious Adherence and Mental Health Mediated by Psychological-spiritual Transformation abstract
Background and Objectives: Religious adherence, or being religious, refers to the degree of belief or commitment to the beliefs and practices of a systematic religion, which can help improve people’s mental health in various fields. This research was conducted to determine the mediating role of psychological and spiritual transformation in the relationship between religious adherence and mental health.
Methods: This is descriptive-analytical research of the structural equation type. The statistical population included 300 students who were selected using a multi-stage cluster sampling method among the universities of Qom City, Iran. To measure the variables, the psycho-spiritual transformation scale, the general health questionnaire (GHQ), and the religious adherence questionnaire (RAQ) were used.
Results: The correlation between religious adherence and mental health variables was found to be 0.463, with a significance level of 0.01. Also, structural equations were used to determine the mediating role of psychological and spiritual transformation in the relationship between religious adherence and mental health. The results showed that the standardized factor loading of the religious adherence component was 0.42, and the beta value of this component was 0.17. Also, the level of psychological and spiritual transformation was 0.69 (P=0.01). Based on these findings, the variable of psycho-spiritual development level predicts 69% of the relationship between religious adherence and mental health.
Conclusion: The results showed that religious adherence can have either an increasing or decreasing effect on mental health, depending on the mediating role of psychological and spiritual transformation. Therefore, the impact of the relationship between religious adherence and mental health varies according to the level of psychological-spiritual transformation in individuals. The findings suggest that the higher the level of psychological-spiritual transformation, the greater the mental health experienced by individuals.
