Perceived Social Support and Religious Attitudes as Correlates of Spiritual Well-Being Among Senior Undergraduate Students at Northeast Brazil Adventist University
type: CreativeWork
description: Problem Even though the study of spirituality has been a recurrent theme in academia, in Brazil there has been little emphasis on the analysis of spiritual well-being in the context of university students. Few studies have examined the correlation of spiritual well-being with perceived social support or religious attitudes among university students, and most of these have been in the fields of health care or health recovery. Some research has indicated that religious attitudes may be partially disconnected from improvements in the level of spirituality. -- This study aimed to verify whether this disconnection is real or relevant, and assumed that religious attitudes in the university church, the office of chaplaincy, and the academic courses at Northeast Brazil Adventist University (NeBAU) would result in better spiritual well-being among its students. This study also examined whether there was a connection between the perception of social support and spiritual well-being. This correlation might present a problem because students’ perception of social support may not always relate to positively increasing their spiritual well-being. Furthermore, a lack of adequate social support for students can negatively relate to spirituality. Overall, this study sought to analyze the relationship between religious attitudes, social support, and spiritual well-being in NeBAU students. Method A quantitative, non-experimental survey design was used to examine the relationship between religious attitudes and perceived social support as correlates of spiritual well-being among senior college students at NeBAU. Descriptive analysis and correlation were employed along with factor analysis and reliability tests of the scales. The research sample consisted of 223 senior undergraduate students in the following programs: dentistry, psychology, physiotherapy, nursing, nutrition, business, accounting, information technology, education, and theology. -- The research design that defined how th…
abstract: Problem Even though the study of spirituality has been a recurrent theme in academia, in Brazil there has been little emphasis on the analysis of spiritual well-being in the context of university students. Few studies have examined the correlation of spiritual well-being with perceived social support or religious attitudes among university students, and most of these have been in the fields of health care or health recovery. Some research has indicated that religious attitudes may be partially disconnected from improvements in the level of spirituality. -- This study aimed to verify whether this disconnection is real or relevant, and assumed that religious attitudes in the university church, the office of chaplaincy, and the academic courses at Northeast Brazil Adventist University (NeBAU) would result in better spiritual well-being among its students. This study also examined whether there was a connection between the perception of social support and spiritual well-being. This correlation might present a problem because students’ perception of social support may not always relate to positively increasing their spiritual well-being. Furthermore, a lack of adequate social support for students can negatively relate to spirituality. Overall, this study sought to analyze the relationship between religious attitudes, social support, and spiritual well-being in NeBAU students. Method A quantitative, non-experimental survey design was used to examine the relationship between religious attitudes and perceived social support as correlates of spiritual well-being among senior college students at NeBAU. Descriptive analysis and correlation were employed along with factor analysis and reliability tests of the scales. The research sample consisted of 223 senior undergraduate students in the following programs: dentistry, psychology, physiotherapy, nursing, nutrition, business, accounting, information technology, education, and theology. -- The research design that defined how th…
author: Liessi, Hebert Davi
keywords: Social Support, Religious Attitude, Spiritual Well Being, Students, Brazil, Education, Religious Education
date published: 2025-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:54:19Z
provider: Andrews University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Andrews University