Life Change and Spirituality Among a College Student Cohort

Abstract

Although life changes among college students likely will remain high, lower spirituality can be enhanced; therefore, interested health educators are encouraged to help students increase their degree of spirituality.

A Sense of Home: The Impact of Church Participation on African American College Students

“…Generally, the literature tends to define religion as a system of doctrine or dogma 80 S. Donahoo and R. A. Caffey that provides principles, rules, rituals, and practices that help people to identify and establish connections between their lives and God or some other higher power (Bryant, 2007;Love, 2001;Muller & Dennis, 2007;Parks, 2000;Tisdell, 2007Tisdell, , 2008. Conversely, spirituality is defined as the more general desire and process of making meaning of life, identifying an individual's purpose and place in the world, and the quest for a holistic definition of self, while also establishing a relationship with the sacred (Chae et al, 2004;Parks, 2000;Sanchez & Carter, 2005;Tisdell, 2007Tisdell, , 2008Walker & Dixon, 2002).…”

“…As frequently cited in the literature, scholars have yet to agree on clear-cut definitions for religion and spirituality (Bryant, 2007;Chae et al, 2004;Love, 2001;Mattis, 2000;Muller & Dennis, 2007;Niñ o, 2000;Parks, 2000;Sanchez & Carter, 2005;Sciarra & Gushue, 2003;Tisdell, 2007Tisdell, , 2008Walker & Dixon, 2002). Generally, the literature tends to define religion as a system of doctrine or dogma 80 S. Donahoo and R. A. Caffey that provides principles, rules, rituals, and practices that help people to identify and establish connections between their lives and God or some other higher power (Bryant, 2007;Love, 2001;Muller & Dennis, 2007;Parks, 2000;Tisdell, 2007Tisdell, , 2008.…”

Comparative study of freshmen college student beliefs and values between representative private and public institutions of higher education in Kentucky.

“…Research suggests that while students desire increased spirituality, they often do not have the knowledge to engage it effectively (Muller & Dennis, 2007). Institutions of higher education can address the interest in spirituality by working to create a campus culture that provides a place for safe exploration of spirituality.…”

“…Additional studies (Muller & Dennis, 2007;Schafer, 1997;Tumer-Musa & Lipscomb, 2007;Winterowd, Harrist, Thomason, Worth, & Carlozzi, 2005;Zullig, Ward, & Horn, 2006) explored the connection between spirituality and certain health aspects of college students. Winterowd et al (2005) studied the influence of spiritual beliefs on stress and anger among college students.…”

“…Additionally, this study suggests the incorporation of parental involvement in encouraging student spiritual development. Muller and Dennis (2007) studied the relationship between life-change or transition and spirituality, "the directing component of health" (p. 55), among college students. Their study found that students with higher amounts of life-change, transition, or unsettledness in their life tended to score lower in spirituality.…”