University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2005 The Relationship between Spirituality and the Health of College Students in a University Setting Linda Wyatt Nelms University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Nelms, Linda Wyatt, "The Relationship between Spirituality and the Health of College Students in a University Setting., University of Tennessee, 2005.edu/utk_graddiss/2337 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact trace@utk. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Linda Wyatt Nelms entitled "The Relationship between Spirituality and the Health of College Students in a University Setting." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Human Ecology.
Pursley, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Robert H. Kirk, James Neutens, Kathleen A. Lawler Row Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Linda Wyatt Nelms entitled, “The Relationship between Spirituality and the Health of College Students in a University Setting.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Human Ecology.
Pursley Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Robert H. Kirk James Neutens Kathleen A. Lawler Row Accepted for the Council: Anne Mayhew Vice Chancellor and Dean of Graduate Studies (Original signatures are on file with official student records) THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPIRITUALITY AND THE HEALTH OF COLLEGE STUDENTS IN A UNIVERSITY SETTING A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Linda Wyatt Nelms May 2005 Copyright © 2005 by Linda Wyatt Nelms All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my husband, John and my granddaughter, Allison Grace.
iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank all who helped me complete my Doctor of Philosophy degree in Human Ecology. I would like to thank Robert Pursley, Ph. for his guidance, availability and encouragement. I would like to thank all the other committee members, James Neutens, Ph., Robert Kirk, HSD and Kathleen Lawler Row, Ph.
who each provided their assistance in guiding the pursuit of my efforts. A special acknowledgement goes to Edwin Hutchens, Ph. and Dorothy Hutchens, Ph. for their personal encouragement and professional assistance with this project.
I am sincerely grateful to John Lounsbury, Ph. whose knowledge of psychometric concepts and measurement applications was instrumental during the creation of the Spirituality Scale (SS). I am thankful for the assistance provided me by Cary Springer, statistical consultant. I would like to extend my gratitude to Leland R., co-founder of the Kaiser Institute in Denver, Colorado, whose “spiritual vision for a healthier society” served as the inspiration for this research.
I am appreciative of the interest and assistance extended to me by Steve Byrum, Ph., Dean of the Spiritual Leadership Institute in Houston, TX. A special thank you goes to Ronald Blankenbaker, M., who has been a supportive mentor and friend for the past three years. I would like to thank my fellow Graduate Teaching Associates for their support and encouragement and especially to those who helped administer my research questionnaire. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for believing in me and offering their continued support and unconditional love.
iv ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spirituality and the health of college students. Undergraduate students enrolled in Personal Health and Wellness classes at The University of Tennessee were selected to participate in the study. Two-hundred twenty-one students were administered two instruments: The College Student Appraisal of Risks Survey (The CARS) and the Spirituality Scale (SS). The CARS instrument was used to obtain descriptive statistics and specific health risk factors relating to the health of college students.
The SS instrument was used to obtain the student’s self-reported level of spirituality. Based upon a thorough literature review, there has been limited research into the relationship of the health of college students and their level of spirituality. This study does two things. First, it reports the development of a valid and reliable instrument to measure spirituality.
Secondly, this study investigates the relationship between the self-reported level of spirituality and the health status of college students. The significance of the study is that this research is an important step toward understanding the role that spirituality plays in the various dimensions of health in young adults. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. THE PROBLEM Introduction .1 Statement of the Problem .4 The Purpose of the Study .5 Need for the Study .10 Definition of Terms.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction .13 Theoretical Framework: Holistic Wellness Model .13 Research and Literature Related to Content .17 Research and Literature Related in Methodology .30 Research and Literature Related in Content and Methodology .38 Introduction of Assessment Instruments Used in the Current Study .65 Derivation of Research Questions .73 Analysis of the Data. ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE DATA Introduction .81 Demographic Descriptive Statistics .81 Statistical Analysis of Research Questions .89 Implications of the Study. FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary of Study .123 Recommendations for Future Research. THE STUDY IN RETROSPECT….126 LIST OF REFERENCES….…………………………………………………138 VITA ………………………………………………………………………161 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1.
Descriptive Characteristics of Hettler’s Six Dimensions of Wellness. Results of Internal Consistency Reliability Estimates of the 27-Item Spirituality Scale (SS). Twelve Items Extracted From 27-Item Spirituality Scale (SS). Results of Internal Consistency Reliability Estimates of the 12-Item Spirituality Scale (SS).
Results of Internal Consistency Reliability Estimates of the Spirituality Scale (SS) and the NEO Subscales. Demographical Questions Included on the Spirituality Scale (SS). Results of Internal Consistency Reliability Estimates for 13-Item Spirituality Scale (SS). Inter-Item Correlations in the Spirituality Scale (SS).
Mean Responses for 13-item Spirituality Scale (SS). Mean Score of Age Group. Percent and No. Responses of Age Group.
Percent and No. Responses of Male and Female Students. Percent and No. Responses of Ethnic Groups Represented in the Study.
Percent and No. Responses to Question D1, “When attending classes, where do you live?. Percent and No. Responses to Question D2, “What class/academic level are you in now?.
Percent and No. Responses to Question D3, “What is the level of education of your mother?”. Percent and No. Responses to Question D4, “Which of the following best describes your current health?”.
Descriptives Reporting Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality and Self- reported Current Health Status. ANOVA Reporting for Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality by Current Health Status. Tukey HSD Post Hoc Test Reporting Homogeneous Group Differences Between Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality by Current Health Status. Descriptives Reporting Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality and Overall Physical Health.
ANOVA Reporting for Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality by Overall Physical Health. Tukey HSD Post Hoc Test Reporting Homogeneous Group Differences Between Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality by Overall Physical Health. Descriptives Reporting Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality and Physical Activity .98 viii LIST OF TABLES (cont’d) Table Page 26. ANOVA Reporting for Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality by Physical Activity.
Tukey HSD Post Hoc Test Reporting Homogeneous Group Differences Between Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality by Physical Activity ……………. Descriptives Reporting Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality by Life Satisfaction……. Descriptives Reporting Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality by Life Losses or Problems. Group Statistics Reporting Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality and Tobacco Use……….
Descriptives Reporting Participant’s Self-Reported Weekly Alcohol Consumption. Descriptives Reporting Participant’s Self-Reported Level of Spirituality and Racial Groups.107 ix CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction The current investigation was conducted to determine if there was a relationship between spirituality and the health of college students. The past three decades have witnessed the rebirth of a historic and mutual association between spirituality and health, a partnership that has increasingly gained momentum while reinterpreting the concept of health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (pg.
Perrin and McDermott (1997) reinforce WHO’s definition, expressing that health is not a passive state of being, but a dynamic process in which higher levels of wellness can be achieved. In defining health, Miller and Thoresen (1999) write, as wisdom is not merely the absence of ignorance, nor courage the absence of fear, so health is surely more than a lack of disease. A large component of health is subjective, which is what differentiates disease (a biomedical concept) from illness (subjective feeling states such as weakness, pain, or nausea). People may experience illness in the absence of detectable disease (a common problem in medical care) and can experience wellness despite terminal disease.
Even a single continuum, ranging from perfect health to death, fails to capture the richness of experienced wellness (pg. In 1979, William Hettler introduced the Six Dimensions of Wellness, a multidimensional model of health and wellness including physical, mental, social, 1 occupational, intellectual and spiritual dimensions (Hettler, 2004, Cover page). Hettler’s model broadens WHO’s definition of health and firmly grounds recent research like that of Perrin and McDermott (1997) and Miller and Thoresen (1999) who acknowledge health as a more comprehensive and holistic concept. In the Holistic Wellness Model, Chandler, Holden and Kolander (1992) characteristically define Hettler’s six dimensions of wellness as interrelational and interactive and introduce the dimension of spirituality, in partnership with a personal component, at the nucleus of this multidimensional exchange.
An extensive review of the literature revealed that spirituality and religious beliefs and practices serve an integral role within the arena of individual health and well-being. While the individual’s self-reported level of spirituality was the primary focus, due to the associated similarities between religion and spirituality, addressing religious perspectives within the literature were important. Numerous studies that encompass both religious and spiritual components have done so under the auspices of religion, whereas religion is conceptualized as being both extrinsic, i. possessing traditional religious components and intrinsic, i.
However, this paradigm for measuring religion has been criticized by psychologists of religion in recent years (Slater, Hall & Edwards, 2001). Kolchakian and Sears (1999) report that individuals, who are extrinsically motivated, regard religion as a means to an end, such as meeting new people and finding a place to reside within society. In contrast, intrinsically motivated individuals perceive religion as a means within itself, whereas religion is embraced and valued for its contribution to one’s life. 2 Particularly, the Seventh-Day Adventist, a devout and disciplined people, serve as an example of a religious denomination known to practice wholesome and healthful living and strive on the basic teachings that address religious liberty more than the civil mechanism used to achieve it.
To this group of conservative Protestants, the human body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and members abstain from risky health behaviors, such as alcohol, tobacco and drug use. Likewise, sound principles of healthful living are advocated through healthy behavior, such as exercise, diet and philanthropic expectation (Hill, 1995). In the Handbook of Religion and Health, Koenig, McCullough and Larson (2001) cite over 1200 studies on religion and health and, according to the authors, many studies use measures that evaluate one’s level of religiosity from a spiritual perspective as well as from the context of religious beliefs and practices.