Correlates and Predictors of Spiritual, Existential, and Religious Well-being among Malaysian Muslim College Students

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to (a) describe mean scores of spiritual involvement and beliefs, religiosity, spiritual well-being, existential well-being, and religious well-being among Malaysian Muslim college students; and (b) explore associations among these variables for this Malaysian group. A sample size of 183 Malaysian Muslim college students were recruited from government universities located in the north-eastern region of Jordan and were a self-selected convenience sample. A descriptive and correlational design was used. Results showed that participants had high average levels of spiritual involvement and beliefs, religiosity, spiritual well-being, existential well-being, and religious well-being. Moreover, spiritual involvement and beliefs, and religiosity were positively associated with spiritual well-being and its dimensions (existential well-being and religious well-being), but in the final regression model only spiritual involvement and beliefs retained a significant association after controlling for the religiosity. It was found that higher income levels and being female were associated with higher mean scores of spiritual well-being and its dimensions. In conclusion, the findings demonstrated that levels of spiritual involvement and beliefs, and religiosity have a positive impact on levels of spiritual well-being, existential well-being, and religious well-being. Furthermore, the high mean levels of spirituality and religiosity variables in this study confirm that spirituality and religiosity are important to the lives of Malaysian Muslim college students and the implications for well-being and education are explored. This study supported the multidimensional nature of spirituality and the notion that spirituality and religiosity are two distinct, but related, concepts.

Keywords: spiritual well-being, religious well-being, existential well-being, spiritual involvement and beliefs, religiosity