The correlation between Spiritual Health and Loneliness among Students in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

Background and Objectives: Spiritual health is an important aspect of health. Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional experience that causes feelings of emptiness and sadness, and affects social, physical, and psychological health. With regards to specific conditions of students, distance from their families, concerns about educational and career future, social structure of their environment, exposure to risk of loneliness, and the status of spirituality in young people's lives and as there has not been any research about this issue, we decided to investigate spiritual health and its correlation with loneliness. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 525 students from different faculties. The data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of three sections: demographics questionnaire, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Spiritual Well-Being Scale (Palutzian & Ellison). Data analysis was conducted by SPSS. Results: A total of 524 students participated in the study. The average age of the participants was 21.6±2.60 years old. There were 25.2% and 74.8% male and female participants, respectively. The majority of the participants were single (75.2%), living in dorm (72.9%), studied in the Health Faculty (36.3%), and were BSc. students (75.6%). The participants’ mean score on spiritual health was 91.48±17.60. Most of the students (60.9%) experienced moderate levels of loneliness. The results showed a significant negative correlation between spiritual health and loneliness. Conclusion: Regarding the relationship between spiritual health and loneliness and the prevalence of loneliness among these students, it is recommended to pay attention and suggest approaches to improving spiritual health, as a useful strategy to prevent or reduce depression, in this population.