INTRODUCTION: Religiosity/spirituality and mental health seem to be positively associated. This study examines associations between spiritual well-being and psychiatric disorders in psychology students. METHODS: A spiritual well-being scale - the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20) - and sociodemographic information were used to all psychology students (n = 351) from Universidade Católica de Pelotas, RS, Brazil, during the year of 2002. Current scores were compared to those obtained from medical and law students of the same university in 2001 (n = 464). RESULTS: 84.6% of psychology students presented negative spirituality, compared to 68.8% of medical and 68.5% of law students (p DISCUSSION: The findings coincide with the international experience. It is a matter of concern that psychology students define themselves more distant from spiritual/religious issues, considering the association spirituality/health-illness. CONCLUSION: Spirituality-religiosity appeared as a factor inversely associated to minor psychiatric disorders among psychology students.
Spirituality; religiosity; psychology students; mental health; minor psychiatric disorders
