Perception of God and Paranoia among Iranian University Students
- 1 Department of Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
- 2 Department of Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
This study examined the correlation between types of perception of God and paranoid thoughts among 312 randomly sampled students—175 female and 137 male—in the Azad Islamic University of Tehran in Iran. Two survey questionnaires were administered to the participants through the University’s website—one assessing their perception of God (Lawrence, 1997) , and the other to assess the occurrence of paranoid thoughts among them (Derogatis, Lipman, & Covi, 1973) . Data were analyzed using correlation coefficients and regression methods. The results show that only the negative perception of God correlates with paranoia in both males and females, while the perception of God’s blessings in one’s life correlates with paranoid thoughts only among male students. Students with a positive perception of God experience less paranoia than students with negative perception of God—a finding that may actually suggest that positive spirituality/religiosity holds positive and therapeutic benefits for the paranoid.
- Alavi, S. (2006). Survey of Relation between Feeling Guilty and Image of God in Cancer Patients. Tehran: Alzahra University.
- Allame Majlesi, M. B. (2009). Relation with God. Bahar Al Anvar, 70, 384.
- Braam, A., Mooi, B., Jonker, J. S., van Tilburg, W., & Deeg, D. (2008). God Image and Five-Factor Model Personality Characteristics in Later Life: A Study among Inhabitants of Sassenheim in the Netherlands. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 11, 547-559. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13674670701641886
- Brown, S., & Miller, W. R. (2005). Transformational Change.
- Derogatis, L., Lipman, R., & Covi, L. (1973). SCL-90: An Outpatient Psychiatric Rating Scale—Preliminary Report. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 9, 13.
- Flannelly, K. J., Galek, K., Ellison, C. G., & Koenig, H. G. (2010). Beliefs about God, Psychiatric Symptoms, and Evolutionary Psychiatry. Journal of Religion and Health, 49, 246-261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10943-009-9244-z
- Flores, T. (2012). DSM-IV Manual diagnóstico y estadístico de los transtornos mentales. Masson.
- Greenway, A. P., Milne, L. C., & Clarke, V. (2003). Personality Variables, Self-Esteem and Depression and an Individual’s Perception of God. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 6, 45-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1867467021000029381
- Hill, P. C., & Hall, T. W. (2002). Relational Schemas in Processing One’s Image of God and Self. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 21, 365-373.
- Jonker, H. S., Eurelings-Bontekoe, E. H. M., Zock, H., & Jonker, E. (2008). Development and Validation of the Dutch Questionnaire God Image: Effects of Mental Health and Religious Culture. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 11, 501-515. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13674670701581967
- Kalantarkousheh, S. M. (2012). Gender as a Moderator in the Association of Self-Acceptance and Autonomy of Iranian University Students. Journal of Teaching and Education, 1, 39-46.
- Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2005). Attachment, Evolution, and the Psychology of Religion. New York: The Guilford Press.
- Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Shaver, P. R. (1992). An Attachment-Theoretical Approach to Romantic Love and Religious Belief. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 266-275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167292183002
- Koohsar, A. A. H., & Bonab, B. G. (2011). Relation between Quality of Image of God and Mental Health in College Students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 29, 247-251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.233