Religiosty and Mental Health in Nursing Students

Young people and nursing students are prone to stress and psychological consequences of it. The aim of the current study was to assess the associations between psychopathology and religiosity in the group of nursing university students.

The study included 100 nursing students of the Faculty of Health Studies in Mostar. The participants were assessed with the SLC-90-R and Dimensions of Religiosity Questionnaire. Sociodemographic data were also collected.

All SCL-90-R subscales negatively correlated with religiosity showing that the strength of religiosity was associated with better mental health of nursing students. Twenty two percent of potential cases of mental disorder were detected based on the GSI cut-off score. Religiosity was a significant predictor of mental disorder in logistic regression based on the GSI. The year of the study and quality of family relations were associated with students' religiosity. Gender, socioeconomic status and parents' education were associated with higher psychopathology scores.

Religiosity showed to be important factor of resilience for nursing students. Further studies are needed.