Evaluating Spiritual Experiences and Some Psychological Components in Medical Students

Background: Spiritual experiences seem to be an important component inReligious and spiritual life of some one. Aim of the present study was todeterminate relation between daily spiritual experiences, and psychologicalvariables in students of Qom University of Medical Sciences.Methods: In this descriptive and analytical study, 138 students of the QomUniversity 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 descriptivestatistics and the Independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlationcoefficient.Results: Mean and standard deviations of daily spiritual experiences scoreswas 28.27(4.90). The daily spiritual experiences was associated with mentalhealth (r = -0.22, P-value = 0.01) depression(r = -0.25, P-value = 0.005), andstress (r = -0.23, P-value = 0.01).Conclusion: The findings indicated that spiritual experiences wererespectively the most important religious - spiritual components which mayaffect psychological health in students.

Keywords:

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