Religiosity, Well-being and Mental Health among Hindu and Muslim Adults

By : M. Shafiq , Nasrina Siddiqi , Anika Magan

Page No: 325-333

Abstract
Religiosity has been found to be a significant indicator of Well-being and Mental health. Moreover, general well-being of a person has also been found to play a pivotal role in determining his/her mental health. The purpose of the present investigation is to study the impact of religiosity and well-being on mental health among two groups of adults. The sample of the study consisted of 60 adults who were divided into two groups on the basis of their religion. Thus, each group consisted of 30 participants i.e. 30 Hindus and 30 Muslims. Religiousness Measure by Ieyenger (1993) was used to assess religiosity. Well-being was measured with the help of General Well-being Schedule by Dupuy (1970) and Mental Health was measured using General Health Questionnaire (12) developed by Goldberg and Williams (1998). Results of the investigation suggest that there is a significant difference between Hindu and Muslim adults on the basis of religiosity, with Muslim adults being higher on religiosity. However, no significant difference has been obtained among the two groups on the basis of well-being and mental health. Also we can conclude that Religiosity does not significantly predict well-being and mental health among the two groups. The study has significant practical as well as theoretical implications for exploring the psycho-social linkages to well-being and mental health.

Authors :
Anika Magan : Ph.D. Scholar, Dept. of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
Nasrina Siddiqi : Ph.D. Scholar, Dept. of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
M. Shafiq : Professor — Dept. of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi