THE EFFECT OF SPIRITUALITY ON DEATH-RELATED DEPRESSION, DEATH ANXIETY, AND LONELINESS AMONG YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

There has been a significant increase in research focusing on the healing role of spirituality in recent years. In this context, the purpose of the current study is to examine the effect of spirituality on death-related depression, death anxiety, and loneliness in young adults. A total of 539 young adults, 315 (58.4%) women and 224 (41.6%) men, participated in the study. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 32 (M = 28.23, SD = 2.63). Personal Information Form, Spirituality Scale, Death Distress, and Loneliness Scale were used in the study. The data of the study were analyzed with SPSS 24. The results of the study show that there is a significant and negative relationship between spirituality and death related depression, death anxiety, and loneliness. The simple linear regression analysis revealed that spirituality explained 7% of the variance in death related depression, 12% of the variance in death anxiety, and 6% of the variance in loneliness. These results can be concluded that spirituality has a protective function against destructive factors such as death related depression, death anxiety, and loneliness. This study once again reveals the importance of carrying out studies to strengthen the spirituality of young adults in particular.