Relationship Between Spiritual Health and Happiness Among the Students of Health Sciences in Guilan University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background: Spirituality is an important concept among human societies, and the relation of this concept to other human characteristics is important for health professionals. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Spiritual Well-Being (SWB) and happiness among the students of health sciences in Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS). Materials & Methods: This was a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytic study carried out among 322 students studying at school of health in GUMS, Iran. The Spiritual well-being scale and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire were used to measure SWB and happiness. Correlation coefficient and multivariate linear regression model were used to assess the association of SWB and happiness. Results: The Mean±SD of SWB and happiness were 55.82±4.71 and 60.88±12.9, respectively. Spiritual health was significantly associated with age and marital status. There was strong correlation between cognitive dimension of spiritual health and welfare dimension (r=0.92, P=0.005) and positive mood dimension (r=0.90, P=0.007) of happiness. The adjusted model for age and marital status showed that satisfaction was significantly associated with SWB (β=0.66, P=0.02) Conclusion: The results revealed a lower than mean value of happiness and SWB among students of health sciences. Satisfaction was the most important predictor of SWB.