I’tikaf and its Psychological Effects in University Students

The purpose of this study is to compare the mental health, meaning in life and life expectancy in students who are participated in I’tikaf (religious seclusion) and those who are not. The present research is a causal-comparative study. Statistical population is all of the West Azerbaijan universities students who were participated in I’tikaf in Urmia Medical Sciences University mosque in 2017 spring. The sample consisted of 20 I’tikaf participants and 20 who were not participated; students were selected with simple random sampling method. For collecting information GHQ, Schneider's life expectancy, and meaning in life scales were used. Data were analyzed by using multivariate analysis of variance(MANOVA) and with SPSS software. The results showed that there is a significant difference between two groups in meaning in life and life expectancy variables but there was no significant difference in mental health. According to results participating inI’tikaf, enhance the life expectancy and the meaning of life.