Article Title: Religiosity, Personal Meaning, and Psychological Well-being: A Study among Muslim Students in England
Author(s): Abdulaziz Aflakseir
Institute(s): School of Psychology, University of Shiraz, Iran
Journal: Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2012, Vol. 10, No. 1, 27-31
Correspondence Address: Abdulaziz Aflakseir School of Psychology, University of Shiraz, Eram Campus Shiraz, Iran. Email: aaflakseir@shirazu.ac.ir
Abstract
Religion has been considered as a framework for the sense of meaning and purpose. The aim of the present study was to explore the perception of Muslim students who practice their religion towards meaning of life and to investigate the association between religiosity, personal meaning, and psychological well-being. Respondents were 60 Muslim students studying at University of Southampton and Birmingham in England. The participants were administered Life Attitude Profile-Revised Scale (Reker, 1999), Sources of Meaning Profile-Revised Scale (Reker, 1996), Psychological Well-Being Scale (Ryff, 1989), and Strength of Spiritual Belief Scale (King, Speck, & Thomas, 2001). Findings of this study showed that Muslim students perceived their life meaningful. They derived and experienced meaning from various sources and the most important sources of meaning were taking part in religious activities and engaging in personal relationships with family/friends and the least important sources of meaning were participation in hedonistic activities and acquiring material possession. Furthermore, there was a positive association between various dimensions of personal meaning and different components of psychological well-being, spirituality and religiosity. This study has implications for religious scholars and psychologists working on religion.
Keywords: religiosity, personal meaning, psychological well-being, Muslim students
