Religious and spiritual beliefs,self‐esteem,anxiety, and depression among nursing students

Research of the role of religious belief and/or spirituality has been conducted on a wide range of health‐related topics, across many disciplines, and in many countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between religious beliefs, self‐esteem, anxiety, and depression in nursing students in Cyprus. One hundred and twenty‐three nursing students were asked to complete a survey consisting of four self‐report questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory, State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, The Royal Free Interview for Religious and Spiritual Beliefs, and Rosenberg Self‐esteem Scale). The lowest levels of depression were observed in the third and fourth study year. Normal self‐esteem levels were found in the majority of the students (71.3%) and most of them perceived current stress at mild levels. No significant differences on the basis of sex were observed. The vast majority (98.2%) of the students stated a strong religious and/or a spiritual belief that was strongly positively correlated with increased self‐esteem and negatively correlated with depression, current stress, and stress as personality trait.