Wednesday, October 27, 2004
The religious kids are alright
College students who participate in religious activities are more likely to have better emotional and mental health than students with no religious involvement, according to a national study of students at 46 wide-ranging colleges and universities.
Also, students who don't participate in religious activities are more than twice as likely to report poor mental health or depression than those who attend religious services frequently.
Being religious or spiritual certainly seems to contribute to one's sense of psychological well-being, says Alexander Astin, co-principal investigator for the study of 3,680 third-year college students. The study was released this week by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles.
Those who participate in religious activities also are less likely to feel overwhelmed during college.
Religious involvement includes such activities as reading the Bible or other sacred texts, attending religious services and joining religious organizations.
These findings are important because psychological well-being declines during the college years, Astin says. One in five students has sought personal counseling since entering college, and 77 percent of college juniors report feeling depressed frequently or occasionally during the past year. Only 61 percent of the students were depressed frequently or occasionally when they first started college.
The study defines spirituality as desiring to integrate spirituality into one's life, believing that we are all spiritual beings, believing in the sacredness of life and having spiritual experiences.
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