The relationship between spiritual health and happiness among the students of health Sciences in Guilan University of Medical Sciences
Abstract Background: Spirituality and spiritual health are important concepts among human societies, and the relation of these concepts to other scientific ones is important for health professionals. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between spiritual well-being and happiness among the students of health sciences of Guilan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytic study carried out among 322 students through census sampling method. The Spiritual Health Questionnaire (SWBS) was made by Pulotsin and Ellison in 1982 and used to measure spiritual well-being. Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHI) was used to measure happiness designed in 2007 by Argyle. Validity and reliability of two questionnaires are higher than 0.90. Cronbach's alpha in each dimension of spiritual well-being and also happiness in the present study was higher than 0.7. Results : The mean and standard deviation of spiritual health were 55.82±4.71 and the mean and standard deviation of students' happiness was 60.88+-12.9. There is no statistical correlation between spiritual health with any of the demographic variables. It means that the average spiritual health is not significantly different at different ages or between single students and married students. Conclusion: The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between spiritual well-being and happiness. Also, there is a meaningful relationship between all aspects of spiritual health with happiness. The findings of this research illustrate the happiness is reduced by increasing the average age.