Relationship between religious orientation, anxiety and depression of students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Depression and anxiety among students are important issues, because they lead to scholastic decline and develop many difficulties for students in the future. Furthermore, adherence to religious beliefs and attitudes toward religion as a deterrent to many mental disorders, especially depression and anxiety, has attracted the attention of many psychologists. This study aimed to review the relationship between religious orientations, depression as well anxiety of students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2012.

Methods and Materials:

 This was a descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional correlation study which was conducted on 715 students who were selected through stratified random sampling method. Data collection was done through demographic information questionnaire form, DASS-42 standard questionnaire and the Religious Orientations Scale (ROS) by Allport. Finally, statistical software SPSS was used to analyze the data by descriptive statistics, one way ANOVA as well as the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Average score of depression and anxiety among female students was more than male students; however, in religious orientations, statistically there was no significant relationship between male and female students. Statistically, there was a significant relationship between students&rsquo; depression and anxiety and religious orientations (r = -0.61; P < 0.05) (r = -0.56; P < 0.05).

Promotion of religious orientations leads to reduce students&rsquo; anxiety and depression, and therefore religious beliefs can play an important role in preventing mental disorders in people&#039;s lives particularly among university students.