Exploring the convergence between religious beliefs with psychological distress in medical students of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in 2014

Abstract

Introduction: The main purpose of psychological health is to prevent worries and to maintain psychological health. Strengthening religious beliefs at all stages of life is a preventive action in order to reduce psychological disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate the consistency between the religious beliefs and psychological distress in medical students in Jahrom University of Medical Sciences.

Method: This analytical study was carried out on 751 students of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in 2014. Data collection was performed by religious beliefs questionnaire and psychological distress questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics.

Results: Results showed that there was no significant consistency between religious attitudes of students with severity indicators of psychological distress, stress (0.128), anxiety (0.726) and depression (0.128).

Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that there was an inverse relationship between religious attitudes of students with psychological distress.As a result, it is suggested that a spirituality-based care program can reduce the students’ psychological distress.

Keywords: Religious beliefs, psychological distress, medical students