Abstract
Objectives: Spirituality has been proposed as a potential health asset a
‘developmental engine’ that works by fostering the search for
connectedness, meaning and purpose. The aim is to examine to what extent
spiritual health might be protective of young people’s overall health
and well-being.
Methods: In 2014, young people aged 11, 13, and 15 years in England, Scotland and Canada were surveyed as part of the HBSC study (n = 26,701). The perceived importance of spiritual health and domains (connections with self, others, nature, and the transcendent) was measured in these countries. Multi-level log-binomial models were used to explore relationships between spiritual health and three self-reported positive health outcomes: general health status, subjective life satisfaction and health complaints.
Results: Higher levels of perceptions of the importance of spiritual health, both overall and within the four domains, were associated with higher likelihoods of reporting each of the positive health outcomes.
Conclusions: Spiritual health appears to operate as a protective health asset during adolescence and is significantly shaped by external relationships and connections.
Methods: In 2014, young people aged 11, 13, and 15 years in England, Scotland and Canada were surveyed as part of the HBSC study (n = 26,701). The perceived importance of spiritual health and domains (connections with self, others, nature, and the transcendent) was measured in these countries. Multi-level log-binomial models were used to explore relationships between spiritual health and three self-reported positive health outcomes: general health status, subjective life satisfaction and health complaints.
Results: Higher levels of perceptions of the importance of spiritual health, both overall and within the four domains, were associated with higher likelihoods of reporting each of the positive health outcomes.
Conclusions: Spiritual health appears to operate as a protective health asset during adolescence and is significantly shaped by external relationships and connections.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 387-395 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | International Journal of Public Health |
Volume | 63 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 13 Jan 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2018 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Young people
- Gender
- Nature
- Spiritual health
- Spirituality
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Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) (2013/2014 Survey)
Inchley, J. C. (Creator), Currie, D. B. (Creator), Samdal, O. (Creator), Young, T. (Creator), Torsheim, T. (Creator), Augustson, L. (Creator), Mathison, F. (Creator), Aleman-Diaz, A. Y. (Creator), Molcho, M. (Creator), Weber, M. W. (Sponsor) & Barnekow, V. (Sponsor), WHO Regional Office for Europe, 6 Apr 2016
https://gateway.euro.who.int/en/datasets/hbsc/
Dataset