The Role of Personality Factors and Religious Lifestyle in Mental Health

The present study has been designed to investigate the relationship of personality factors and religious lifestyle with mental health. The study has been conducted descriptively by using correlation method. The statistical population of this study was composed of 375 students in Qom University and seminary students selected through non-random sampling. To measure the variables of the study, we have used the questionnaire of personality (NEO-FFI-60), the Islamic lifestyle test (ILST-75), and the questionnaire of mental health (GHQ-28). The findings show that there is a negative correlation between religious lifestyle and the total score of disorders in the questionnaire of mental health. Besides, there is a negative correlation between religious lifestyle and subscales of the questionnaire of mental health such as physical symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, disorder in social function and severe depression. The factors of neurosis and openness to experience were positively correlated to the score of disorders in the questionnaire on mental health. The factors of extroversion, agreeability and consciousness are negatively correlated to the score of disorders in the questionnaire on mental health. Based on this study, personality factors and religious lifestyle could explain meaningful portions of mental health.