Gender Differences in Spiritual Development During the College Years

Abstract

Gender differences in spirituality and related traits are an assumed reality despite the lack of empirical information that directly compares women and men. I used a national and longitudinal sample of 3,680 college students surveyed with the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman Survey (2000) and later with the College Students' Beliefs and Values (CSBV) Survey (2003) to examine gender differences on 13 spiritual characteristics and explore the personal and educational factors associated with changes in spirituality during college. The results showed marked gender differences in spiritual qualities, and gendered patterns of spiritual development were identified that are associated with religious identity, peer relationships, and science exposure.

Influence of Spirituality and Religion on Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in Adult HIV/AIDS Patients in Calabar, Nigeria

“…The female respondents had higher and statistically significant levels of the use of organized religious activity such as attending church compared to male respondents (p  0.05). This finding of greater religious commitment among women has been reported by other researchers [4,30,31]. This may be because women tend to be more open about sharing personal problems and are more relational than men and thus will turn to religion more in difficult times [31].…”

Spirituality, gender, and drug use among students from one University in Barbados

“…21 Spirituality can generally be conceptualised as the experience of a direct relationship with a higher power, and feelings of purpose based on the belief in this power that allows for self-exploration and discovery of a meaningful life. 22 As it relates to the post-secondary environment, spirituality is reappearing on college campuses, encouraging discussions about personal meaning, life's purposes, and spiritual values among students. 11 One study conducted in the United States reported that 80% of incoming college students had an interest in spirituality and that nearly 50% of all incoming students reported that it was either essential or very important for colleges to encourage students' personal expression of spirituality.…”

“…22 The researchers used the College Students' Beliefs and Values (CSBV) Survey to examine gender differences in 13 spiritual characteristics. They found that all women and men were significantly different in all 13 factors.…”

“…Men, however, were more inclined than women to indicate that integrating spirituality into their lives was "not important". 22 In keeping with the premise that males take more risks than females it has been theorised that gender differences in religiosity are related to differences in risk preferences. 44 That is, to be irreligious is to risk punishment from the divine.…”

“…For example orientation towards spirituality by women may be due to women's socialization, which stresses conflict resolution, submission, gentleness, nurturance, and other expressive values that are congruent with religious emphases. 22 This study sought to investigate the relationships among spirituality, gender and drug use among Barbadian university students. The following research questions were proposed: 1) Is there a significant relationship between spirituality and drug use among university students?…”