Pranita Jagtap and Manasee Rajhans
Jnana Prabodhini’s Institute of Psychology, Pune
Spirituality plays a significant role in the lives of people. A review of the literature shows
that people engaged in spiritual practices have a sense of peace and purpose in life.
Engagement in such practices leads to positive effects on mental health. This study
aimed to investigate the effect of engagement in spiritual practices on psychological
well-being and quality of life. Data were collected from 308 individuals, using Ryff’s
Psychological Well-being Scale (1989), Quality of Life-BREF scale (World Health
Organization,1996), Personal and Spiritual practice-related information form. The sample
consisted of 126 (41%) males and 182 (59%) females. A cross-sectional research design
was used. Based on practice scores, participants were divided into three groups- spiritual
practitioners (n=149), non-practitioners (n=115), and semi-practitioners (n=44). One-way
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was calculated to compare scores across three groups.
F values for psychological health (F=4.54, p=.01) and social relationships (F=3.49,
p=.03) dimensions of Quality of life are statistically significant. Post-hoc comparison
confirms that practitioners who engaged in spiritual practices are significantly higher
than non-practitioners on psychological health (p=.01) and social relationships (p=.03).
Psychological well-being across groups was compared and results revealed significant
differences in Self-Acceptance (F=3.28, p=.04) and Purpose in Life (F=2.92, p=.05).
Pairwise comparisons show that spiritual practitioners are significantly higher than
non-practitioners on Self-Acceptance (p=.03). Present findings support that spirituality
should be considered a vital factor in psychological health programs.