The Relationship between Religious Coping and Self-Care Behaviors in Iranian Medical Students

Abstract

In recent years, researchers have identified that coping strategies are an important contributor to an individual's life satisfaction and ability to manage stress. The positive relationship between religious copings, specifically, with physical and mental health has also been identified in some studies. Spirituality and religion have been discussed rigorously in research, but very few studies exist on religious coping. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between religious coping methods (i.e., positive and negative religious coping) and self-care behaviors in Iranian medical students. This study used a cross-sectional design of 335 randomly selected students from Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. A data collection tool comprised of the standard questionnaire of religious coping methods and questionnaire of self-care behaviors assessment was utilized. Data were analyzed using a two-sample t test assuming equal variances. Adjusted linear regression was used to evaluate the independent association of religious copings with self-care. Adjusted linear regression model indicated an independent significant association between positive (b = 4.616, 95% CI 4.234-4.999) and negative (b = -3.726, 95% CI -4.311 to -3.141) religious coping with self-care behaviors. Findings showed a linear relationship between religious coping and self-care behaviors. Further research with larger sample sizes in diverse populations is recommended.

Stress among nurses from countries variously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic – results collected in Poland and Iran

“…The situational context must also be consideredthe intensity of the pandemic is much lower in Poland, which does not preclude humor as a dominating coping strategy. Iranian society is very religious, leading to religious coping being a common self-care behavior [28] and spiritual-religion psychotherapy being widely employed to ameliorate the consequences of stress [29]. Religion is a personal matter in Poland, whereas in Iran, people often turn to a transcendental force for support during crises.…”

Self-Care in Iranian Cancer Patients: The Role of Religious Coping

“…In the study of Jafari et al (2015) which was conducted on patients with type 2 diabetes, a significant relationship was found between religious orientation and self-care. Sharif Nia et al (2017) also demonstrated an independent significant association between positive religious coping and self-care behaviors in patients with chronic illness.…”

Properties-Adjustable Alumina-Zirconia Nanolaminate Dielectric Fabricated by Spin-Coating

“…Then, the relationship between thickness and precursor concentration was also explored after the optimized temperature was confirmed. Finally, the results were analyzed by mathematical statistics and tested by Student’s t -test [16,17]. …”