Spirituality constitutes an important psychological resource that may be associated with human functioning in the area of mental health and with the health-promoting behaviors individuals undertake. In the context of patients in psychiatric wards, it is particularly important to understand whether and how different dimensions of spirituality are related to a healthy lifestyle. The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between the dimensions of spirituality and the level of health-promoting behaviors, as well as the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis was used in the study. The study included 130 patients from psychiatric wards (mean age 37.1 ± 13.3 years), including 28 women and 108 men. The analysis included ISS spirituality indicators (direct connection with the Creator, asceticism and self-discipline, meditation and spiritual knowledge, spiritual love), the overall level of health behaviors measured with the IZZ and its components (proper eating habits, preventive behaviors, positive mental attitude, health practices), as well as the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms measured with the HADS. Significant positive correlations were found between all analyzed dimensions of spirituality and the overall level of health-promoting behaviors and their components (rho = 0.18–0.39), which indicates that a higher level of spirituality co-occurs with a more health-promoting lifestyle. The strongest associations with health behaviors were observed for the dimension of meditation and spiritual knowledge. At the same time, no statistically significant relationships were found between spirituality and the levels of depression and anxiety. The obtained results indicate that spirituality, especially in the dimensions of meditation, spiritual knowledge, and self-discipline, may promote engagement in health-promoting behaviors among psychiatric patients. The lack of significant relationships with the levels of anxiety and depression suggests that the relationship between spirituality and mental well-being may be more complex in nature and requires further research.
Keywords: spirituality, health behaviors, anxiety, depression, mental health