Exploring the Relationship between Differentiation of Self and Religious Questing in Students from Two Faith-based Colleges

The current study examined the relationship between two developmental constructs: differentiation of self (DoS) and religious quest (Quest). A sample of 233 tertiary students from two Christian faith-based education institutions in Australia completed the Quest Scale and the Differentiation of Self Inventory-Revised (DSI-R). Results revealed that DoS was not predictive of Quest when the sample was considered as a whole. However, when participants were categorized into two subgroups based on religious identification and practice, one dimension of DoS, emotional reactivity, was found to significantly predict Quest, in particular existential questioning, in the more highly religious group. Further, a second dimension of DoS, I-position, significantly predicted Quest, especially involving perception of religious doubt as positive, for individuals low in religiosity. Practice implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.