Religiosity, stress and psychological distress: no evidence for an association among undergraduate students

The relationship between religion and mental and physical health has received substantial scientific interest. It has been suggested that indicators of religiosity are inversely associated with aspects of psychological distress. The aim of the present study was to investigate further the relationship between religiosity, stress and psychological distress. One hundred and seventy-seven undergraduate students completed the Francis Scale of Attitude Towards Christianity (FSAC), the Stress Arousal Checklist, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) and the Multi-dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. No association was found between scores on the FSAC, the measure of stress, social support or the GHQ-30. Stress and social support were the only variables significantly associated with scores on the GHQ-30. The results of the present study provide evidence, among an undergraduate sample, that religiosity is not associated with psychological distress. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.