Authors : Farkhonde Hayati, Mohammad Mahboubi, Atefeh Zahedi, Babak Rastegari Mehr and Mohsen Mohammadi
Abstract: "Spirituality" refers to human inclinations for exploring the concept of life by a need for connecting with something beyond self or by developing one’s "self". The feeling of happiness is a human need that has significant impact on life in a way that it can be considered as the main factor in the health of the family and the society. This study was of analytical cross-sectional type that explored the relationship between daily spiritual experiences and happiness in students at Abadan School of Medical Sciences. The population of the study was consisted of all students at Abadan School of Medical Sciences and the sampling method was census. The Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI) and Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS ver.19. About 320 students at Abadan School of Medical Sciences were studied. The participant’s mean age was 20.78±1.56 with the age range of 18-27 year. Most of the participant (51.6%) were female. Happiness had a significant relationship with sex (p = 0.03), field of study (p = 0.04), academic year (p = 0.01) andsatisfaction with field of study (p = 0.02). The relationship of spiritual experience with the variables sex (p = 0.002), satisfaction with the city (p = 0.009), housing (p = 0.000), hours of sleep (p = 0.03), field of study (p = 0.003) and satisfaction with the city (p = 0.008) was significant. A significant relationship between happiness and spiritual experiences was seen (p = 0.000). The results of the data analysis indicates that daily spiritual experiences and happiness are not only related to each other but also related to variables such as sex, field of study, academic year and…. The female students who were satisfied with their fields of study and had more daily experiences expressed more happiness feeling, compared with males. Therefore, the necessity of employing guidance and counseling before selecting field of study and place of study is clearly felt. The universitie’s management authorities are recommended to help the improvement of spirituality and feeling of happiness in students by planning and implementing educational workshop, creating low-stress learning environments and providing recreational opportunities and facilities.
Farkhonde Hayati, Mohammad Mahboubi, Atefeh Zahedi, Babak Rastegari Mehr and Mohsen Mohammadi, 2016. A Study of the Relationship Between Daily Spiritual Experiences and Happiness in Students at Abadan School of Medical Sciences. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, 11: 1248-1252.