Believing in religion as a source of value strains among Chinese college students

Abstract

In contrast to the Western world, China is a less religious country. whether in a country without real religions believing in religion would contribute to the variation in value strain is a worth noting issue. Based on previous studies, this study further examined the relationship between religion and suicidality with value strain as a mediating factor among Chinese college students. Employing cluster sampling, there were 13,250 college students recruited across seven provinces in China. Three psychometric scales were used to examine religiousness (Religious Orientation-Revised Scale), value strain levels (Psychological Strain Scale), and suicidal behaviors (Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised). Both univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the influencing power of religion on value strain and suicidality. In addition, a series of linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the mediating effect of value strain on the association between religion and suicidality. the findings showed that first, positive relationships between religion and value strain, and suicidality were both detected; second, adherents to religion were marginalized which may have caused more value conflict further leading to a higher suicidal risk among believers.