Handling Spirituality/Religion in Professional Training: Experiences of a Sample of Muslim Psychology Students

With increasing research interest in the relationship between spirituality/religion and mental health, the present study uses semi-structured interviews on a select group of Muslim students to explore their understanding and handling of spirituality in a secular training programme. Their understanding of spirituality, its perceived role in therapy and their training experiences are subjected to qualitative analysis using the framework approach (Ritchie & Spencer, 1994. In A. Bryman & R.G. Burgess (Eds), Analysing Qualitative Data. London: Routledge). All five participants perceived spirituality as central to human functioning. Probes into their training experience uncovered issues of bias against religious applicants, apprehension about demonstrating religious commitment, fear of punishment for compromising religious integrity, better rapport with Muslim patients but general uncertainty about handling spiritual issues in therapy, and a strong desire for the integration of spirituality/religion in the program.Cynthia Joan Patel, M.A., is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, South Africa. She is a Registered Counselling and Research Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa). Her research interests include women and religion, attitudes toward abortion, and the meaning of work in women’s lives. Armas E. E. Shikongo, M.A., is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Namibia. His research area is the psychology of spirituality.     

Associations between multiple health risk behaviors and mental health among Chinese college students

Although there is substantial evidence that health risk behaviors increase risks of premature morbidity and mortality, little is known about the multiple health risk behaviors in Chinese college students. Here, we investigated the prevalence of multiple health risk behaviors and its relation to mental health among Chinese college students. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China from May to June 2012. The students reported their health risk behaviors using self-administered questionnaires. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the self-rating depression scale and self-rating anxiety scale, respectively. A total of 2422 college students (1433 males) aged 19.7 ± 1.2 years were participated in the study. The prevalence of physical inactivity, sleep disturbance, poor dietary behavior, Internet addiction disorder (IAD), frequent alcohol use and current smoking was 62.0, 42.6, 29.8, 22.3, 11.6 and 9.3%, respectively. Significantly increased risks for depression and anxiety were found among students with frequent alcohol use, sleep disturbance, poor dietary behavior and IAD. Two-step cluster analysis identified two different clusters. Participants in the cluster with more unhealthy behaviors showed significantly increased risk for depression (odds ratio (OR): 2.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.83, 2.67) and anxiety (OR: 2.32; 95%CI: 1.85, 2.92). This study indicates that a relatively high prevalence of multiple health risk behaviors was found among Chinese college students. Furthermore, the clustering of health risk behaviors was significantly associated with increased risks for depression and anxiety.     

Spirituality Predicts Health and Cardiovascular Responses to Stress in Young Adult Women

The primary focus of this study was to investigate the roles of spirituality and religiosity in self-reported physical health, and to determine whether there is an association between an individuals spirituality and cardiovascular responses to two stressors. Fifty-two females participated in both a betrayal interview and a structured interview, during which blood pressure and heart rate were monitored. Spirituality, as assessed by the Spiritual Well-being Scale, was associated with perceived stress, subjective well-being, and medication use. The Existential Well-being subscale predicted fewer physical health symptoms and was associated with lower mean heart rate and decreased heart rate reactivity. The Religious Well-being subscale was associated with reduced systolic blood pressure reactivity in response to the structured interview. These findings suggest that spirituality may have a salutary effect on health, even in a fairly young sample. While previous studies have predominantly reported that religion, as well as spirituality, have a health protective effect, this study did not find strong support for that conclusion. Religiosity in this age group may still be undergoing developmental maturity, which may explain the lack of relationships to health.     

Spirituality and the Health of College Students

Objectives  The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spirituality and health risks of college students. Methods  Undergraduate students enrolled in Personal Health and Wellness classes at The University of Tennessee were selected to participate in the study. Two-hundred twenty-one students were administered two instruments: The College Student Appraisal of Risks Survey (The CARS) and the Spirituality Scale (SS). Results  Significant relationships between self-reported levels of spirituality and the health of college students were indicated during the study. Conclusions  College students integrating a spiritual component while processing decisions about risks that could negatively affect their health experienced better health outcomes. The significance of the study is that this research is an important step toward understanding the role that spirituality plays in the various dimensions of health in young adults.

中国大学生心理健康教育创新体系的构建

社会各界对于心理健康服务的需求为我国心理学带来新的发展机遇,心理学家有责任积极参与这项工作。文章介绍了为在中国构建大学生心理健康教育的创新体系所做的几项工作:(1)编写用于全国大学生心理健康教育骨干教师培训的规范教材;(2)对全国高校大学生心理健康工作骨干教师进行专业培训;(3)编写大学生心理健康教育学生读本;(4)研制中国大学生心理健康测评系统;(5)组建全国高等学校学生心理健康教育专家指导委员会。     

大专学生情绪焦虑倾向因素分析

研究采用《心理健康诊断测验》（MHT）,研究14岁至19岁共1,331名大专幼师女学生心理健康、情绪焦虑状况,发现不同年级学生情绪焦虑排在前三位的是自责倾向、恐惧倾向和学习焦虑。情绪焦虑与年级存在显著相关。     

网络成瘾大学生的心理问题

本研究用编辑合成的问卷对某校约2000名大学生进行了网络成瘾以及有关心理问题的调查,得到988份有效的调查资料,并追踪到603份有效的16种人格因素（16PF）历史资料。结果表明：1．网络成瘾者与非网络成瘾者在社会支持、生活满意度、交往焦虑、自我和谐、抑郁、自尊等方面都存在差异;2．网络成瘾者的负面的心理因素多,积极的心理因素少;3．从历史资料来看,网络成瘾者与非网络成瘾者在16PF测验的多项人格特征上存在差异,这些差异可能是网络成瘾的内因。     

大学生对心理健康必备能力认知的年级与性别特点

本研究以200名大学生为被试,以访谈及问卷的方式对大学生心理健康必备能力的认知特点进行了调查研究,在大学生心理健康必备能力认知结构模型的基础上,对大学生心理健康必备能力认知的年龄与性别特点进行了研究。结果表明:大学生对心理健康必备能力的认知得分在自我调控、社会应对、学习和人际交往四个因子上没有显著的年级和性别主效应;在“社会应对”和“学习”两个维度上,性别和年级存在显著的交互作用,进一步分析发现,二年级男生在“社会应对”方面能力的认知得分显著高于女生,在“学习”维度上,一年级女生得分显著高于男生。     

辽宁省大学生心理健康素质调查研究

通过对辽宁省不同层次的大学982名大一与大三年级学生进行分层整体取样调查,结果显示：（1）大学生心理健康素质在适应和应对风格分量表上的得分大三年级高于大一年级,在归因风格分量上的得分大一年级高于大三年级,年级差异显著;（2）在人际素质、个性素质、认知风格分量表上性别差异显著;（3）大学生心理健康素质在适应、人际素质、动力系统、自我和应对风格分量表上均存在显著的专业差异,艺术类、文史类学生得分高于理工类学生。     

大学生心理健康普查和建档工作的理性思考

本文针对目前高校心理普查和建档中存在的问题,深入探讨了心理普查和建档的目的、资料内容的构成、科学性与有效性的影响因素、能否筛查出心理障碍和心理危机者、结果的保密性和使用,以及投入与产出的问题等等,以期引起各方对此的深入思考,并科学地对待心理普查和建档工作。     

大学生对心理健康必备能力的认知

本研究以200名大学生为被试,以访谈及问卷的方式对大学生心理健康必备能力的认知进行了调查研究,并建立了大学生心理健康必备能力认知结构模型,结果表明:大学生所认知的自己心理健康必备能力由自我调控、社会应对、学习和人际交往这四个方面的能力组成,它们彼此独立,但又相互关联。     

2010~2020中国内地大学生心理健康问题检出率的元分析

估计我国大学生心理健康问题的检出率, 能够为心理健康政策完善和教育活动开展提供证据支持。对2010~2020年我国大学生主要心理健康问题检出率及影响因素进行元分析, 结果表明, 睡眠问题、抑郁、自我伤害在大学生中较为突出; 近10年, 大学生焦虑、抑郁、睡眠问题和自杀未遂的检出率显著上升, 自我伤害的检出率显著下降; 测量工具、检出标准和检出时间是导致检出率大小不一的关键因素; 整体而言, 东北和中部地区大学生的心理健康情况优于西部和东部大学生; 性别、生源地、独生与否对大学生心理健康问题检出率的影响均不显著。未来应重视研制适合我国大学生的心理健康测评工具并确定检出标准, 同时据此积极开展心理行为问题的筛查与控制。     

Implicit theories of intellectual virtues and vices: A focus on intellectual humility

Psychological science has consistently highlighted links between gratitude and religion, however mediating pathways by which religion relates to gratitude remain ambiguous. Further, it is unclear whether religious gratitude (e.g., gratitude to God) is more related to well-being than general gratitude. To address these gaps, we assessed for both religious and general dimensions of gratitude alongside measures of religious commitment and mental/physical well-being in a diverse sample of n?=?405 adult individuals. Consistent with previous research, gratitude was positively correlated with religious commitment (r?=?0.45, p?<?0.001). This relationship, however, was fully mediated by gratitude towards God. Using hierarchical linear regression, results further found that the interaction of religious commitment and religious gratitude added unique variance in predicting mental well-being, over and above general gratitude. This suggests that being grateful to God enhances the psychological benefits of gratitude in accordance with one's level of religious commitment.     

A Personal Note by the Guest Editor

SUMMARY

“Theological Perspectives on Ageing and Mental Health” begins by setting the scene for discussion of the topic. An exploration of the variety of meanings attributed to mental health, ageing, spirituality and religion provide a framework for what follows. The paper argues that a richly textured understanding of human personhood is a prerequisite for any analysis of ageing and mental health. A brief historical and theological sketch is provided in support of this contention. From the foundation of the human person four characteristics of mental health or well-being, especially among the aged, are developed.     

Revisiting Mahoney’s ‘My body is a temple…’ study: spirituality as a mediator of the religion–health interaction among adolescents

This study proposes and tests a new model that seeks to explain associations between religion, spirituality and health outcomes among adolescents. Specifically, we test for mediating effects of perceived spirituality on religion–health relations. Using data from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, we find that perceived spirituality mediates religion–health relations, but that varies based on youths’ conceptualisation of spirituality. With findings confirming that perceived spirituality potentially promote youths’ psychosocial health, we offer some future research directions and implications regarding relations between youths’ spirituality, religion and health behaviours.