Spiritual self-care in adolescents: a qualitative study

Nafiseh Hekmati Pour; Gholam Reza Mahmoodi-Shan; Abbas Ebadi; Nasser Behnampour

doi:10.1515/ijamh-2019-0248

Article

Spiritual self-care in adolescents: a qualitative study

Nafiseh Hekmati Pour , Gholam Reza Mahmoodi-Shan , Abbas Ebadi and Nasser Behnampour

Published/Copyright: October 15, 2020

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Submit Manuscript Author Information Explore this Subject

From the journal International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health Volume 34 Issue 2

Abstract

Objectives

One of the existential questions during adolescence is about the ambiguity in spiritual realms. Adolescents at this age not only have the spiritual, psychological, and unique needs, but also have spiritual needs that help them to relax and solve problems. Therefore, this qualitative study aimed to understand the concept of spiritual self-care in Iranian adolescents in 2019.

Methods

This qualitative study with content analysis approach was conducted on 14 adolescents with the age range of 14–20 years, who had been selected by purposeful sampling method. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews which were carried out between 4 March 2019 and 20 August 2019.

Results

The interviews were transcribed immediately after the recording, and then were analyzed using direct content analysis. A total of 252 primary codes related to the adolescents’ spiritual self-care were extracted from the analysis, which determined 4 main aspects of spiritual self-care (spiritual belief, spiritual experience, social-religious activities, and spiritual growth).

Conclusions

The findings of this study showed that, spiritual self-care is a form of self-care by which a person uses his or her spiritual beliefs, teachings, and experiences as a source of control over stress and crises, and will be able to cope with problems.

Keywords: adolescents; qualitative study; spiritual self-care

Corresponding author: Dr. Gholam Reza Mahmoodi-Shan, Assistant Professor, Nursing Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Initial of Shast Kola Road; Kilometer 4 Gorgan-Sari, P.O. Box 4934174515, Gorgan, Golestan, Islamic Republic of Iran, E-mail: MahmoodiGH@yahoo.com

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the participants for their support in the present study.

Research funding: None declared.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interest: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
Ethical approval: To comply with the study ethics and rights of the participants, necessary permissions were obtained from the Ethics Committee of Golestan University of Medical Sciences (IR.GOUMS.REC.1397.269). Permission was also obtained from the school authorities to select eligible participants and informed consent was obtained from them. The researcher also assured the participants about their right to withdraw from the study at time, and told them their information will remain anonymous and confidential.

References

1. Shokri, MAS, Afsharloo, S. Dental trauma in Iranian children and adolescents: a comprehensive study. Trauma Mon 2020;105:10–5. https://doi.org/10.22038/ijp.2020.49893.3980.Search in Google Scholar

2. Shokri, M, Hatefi, M. Prevalence of trauma and related factors in Iranian children and adolescents: systematic review. Trauma Mon 2019;14. https://doi.org/10.22038/ijp.2020.49720.3975.Search in Google Scholar

3. McNeil, SB. Spirituality in adolescents and young adults with cancer: a review of literature. J Pediatr Oncol Nurs 2016;33:55–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043454214564397.Search in Google Scholar

4. Lyon, ME, D’Angelo, LJ, Cheng, YI, Dallas, RH, Garvie, PA, Wang, J, et al. The influence of religious beliefs and practices on health care decision-making among HIV positive adolescents. AIDS Care 2019;32:896–900. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2019.1668523.10.1080/09540121.2019.1668523Search in Google Scholar

5. Shoshani, A, Kor, A, Pirutinsky, S, Mikulincer, M, Miller, L. A longitudinal study of spirituality, character strengths, subjective well-being, and pro-sociality in middle school adolescents. Front Psychol 2019;10:377. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00377.Search in Google Scholar

6. Mahayati, SL, Happy, H. Spirituality in adolescents with cancer. Enferm Clin 2018;28:31–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1130-8621(18)30032-9.Search in Google Scholar

7. Hojjati, H, Sarbani, A, Alimmohammadzadeh, K. The relationship between daily spiritual experiences and perceived stress in the spouses of war veterans with post-traumatic stress. J Mil Med 2017;19:135–42.Search in Google Scholar

8. Koenig, HG. Religion, spirituality, and health: a review and update. Adv Mind-Body Med 2015;29:19–26.Search in Google Scholar

9. Simone, I. Healing, spirituality, and palliative care. Ann Palliat Med 2017;6:200–2. https://doi.org/10.21037/apm.2017.07.04.Search in Google Scholar

10. White, ML, Schim, SM. Development of a spiritual self-care practice scale. J Nurs Meas 2013;21:450–62. https://doi.org/10.1891/1061-3749.21.3.450.Search in Google Scholar

11. White, M. Spirituality self-care practices as a mediator between quality of life and depression. Religions 2016;7:54. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel7050054.Search in Google Scholar

12. Darabinia, M, Gholami, S, Heidari Gorji, AM. Evaluation of Islamic spiritual self-care (musharatah) in the students of University of medical sciences. J Relig Health 2016;4:12–20.Search in Google Scholar

13. Vasigh, A, Tarjoman, A, Borji, M. Relationship between spiritual health and pain self-efficacy in patients with chronic pain: a cross-sectional study in west of Iran. J Relig Health 2019.10.1007/s10943-019-00833-7Search in Google Scholar PubMed

14. Reyhani, T, Sekhavat Pour, Z, Heidarzadeh, M, Mousavi, SM, Mazloom, SR. Investigating the effects of spiritual self-care training on psychological stress of mothers with preterm infants admitted in neonatal intensive care unit. Iran J Obstet Gynecol Infertil 2014;17:18–27. https://doi.org/10.22038/ijogi.2014.2826.Search in Google Scholar

15. Mohammadi, M, Vaisi Raiegani, AA, Jalali, R, Ghobadi, A, Abbasi, P. Prevalence of behavioral disorders in Iranian children. J Mazandaran Univ Med Sci 2019;28:181–91.Search in Google Scholar

16. Solaimanizadeh, F, Mohammadinia, N, Solaimanizadeh, L. The relationship between spiritual health and religious coping with death anxiety in the elderly. J Relig Health 2019;59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00906-7.10.1007/s10943-019-00906-7Search in Google Scholar PubMed

17. Khalighi, E, Ghiasi, G, Karimi, E, Borji, M, Salimi, E, Tarjoman, A, et al. Assessment of mental health elderly with chronic pain based on quranic components. J Relig Health 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00908-5.Search in Google Scholar

18. Memaryan, N. Spirituality in mental health services. Iran J Psychiatry Clin Psychol 2017;23:6–9. https://doi.org/10.18869/nirp.ijpcp.23.1.6.Search in Google Scholar

19. Hatthakit, U, Thaniwatthananon, P. Self-caring in Islamic culture of Muslim persons with ESRD and hemodialysis: an ethnographic study. Enferm Clin 2019;29:38–41.10.1016/j.enfcli.2018.11.015Search in Google Scholar

20. Borji, M, Moradi, M, Otaghi, M, Tartjoman, A. Relationship between nutritional status, food insecurity, and causes of hospitalization of children with infectious diseases. J Compr Pediatr 2018;9:e63870. https://doi.org/10.5812/compreped.63870.Search in Google Scholar

21. Borji, M, Tarjoman, A, Taghi Nejad, H, Meymizade, M, Nariman, S, Safari, S. Relationship between knowledge-skill and importance of physical examination for children admitted to infectious wards: examining nurses’ points of view. J Compr Pediatr 2018;9:e63292. https://doi.org/10.5812/compreped.63292.Search in Google Scholar

22. Mohammadi, M, Vaisi Raiegan, AA, Mirzaei, M, Zahednezhad, H, Jalali, R, Abbasi, P. Prevalence of underweight in Iranian children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Tehran Univ Med J 2018;76:241–9.Search in Google Scholar

23. Ebrahimi Belil, F, Alhani, F, Ebadi, A. Explaining the concept of self-esteem in patients with chronic conditions based on the family-centered empowerment model: a directed content analysis. Iran J Psychiatr Nurs 2017;5:23–30. https://doi.org/10.21859/ijpn-05024.Search in Google Scholar

24. Elo, S, Kyngäs, H. The qualitative content analysis process. J Adv Nurs 2008;62:107–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x.Search in Google Scholar

25. Mohammadhossini, S, Gheibizadeh, M, Saki Malehi, A, Zarea, K. Burn patients’ need for human caring: content analysis study. Armaghane danesh 2019;24:358–72.Search in Google Scholar

26. Elo, S, Kääriäinen, M, Kanste, O, Pölkki, T, Utriainen, K, Kyngäs, H. Qualitative content analysis: focus on trustworthiness. SAGE Open 2014;4:2158244014522633. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014522633.Search in Google Scholar

27. Hsieh, H-F, Shannon, SE. Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qual Health Res 2005;15:1277–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687.Search in Google Scholar

28. Graneheim, UH, Lundman, B. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Today 2004;24:105–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2003.10.001.Search in Google Scholar

29. Guba, EG. ERIC/ECTJ Annual Review Paper Criteria for Assessing the Trustworthiness.Search in Google Scholar

30. Lucchetti, ALG, Peres, MFP, Vallada, HP, Lucchetti, G. Spiritual treatment for depression in Brazil: an experience from spiritism. EXPLORE 2015;11:377–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2015.07.002.Search in Google Scholar

31. Okhli, A, Hojjati, H, Sadeghloo, A, Molaei, A, Shahrabady, S. The relationship between observing religious beliefs and suffering in hemodialysis patients. J Relig Health 2019:1–11.10.1007/s10943-019-00887-7Search in Google Scholar PubMed

32. Farinha, FT, Banhara, FL, Bom, GC, Kostrisch, LMV, Prado, PC, Trettene, ADS. Correlation between religiosity, spirituality and quality of life in adolescents with and without cleft lip and palate. Rev Lat-Am Enferm 2018;26. https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.2498-3059.Search in Google Scholar

33. Torabi, F, Rassouli, M, Nourian, M, Borumandnia, N, Shirinabadi Farahani, A, Nikseresht, F. The effect of spiritual care on adolescents coping with cancer. Holist Nurs Pract 2018;32:149–59. https://doi.org/10.1097/hnp.0000000000000263.Search in Google Scholar

34. Pour, NH, Hojjati, H. The relationship between praying and life expectancy in cancerous patients. J Med Life 2015;8:60.Search in Google Scholar

35. Dindar, M, Rahnama, M, Afshari, M, Moghadam, MP. The effects of spiritual self-care training on caregiving strain in mothers of mentally retarded children. J Med Life 2016;10. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/23844.8948.Search in Google Scholar

36. Beigi, A, Habibi, S, Rezaei Hesar, H, Niasty, R, Shams Ali, Z, Ashoori, J, et al. Effect of spiritual training on decreased anxiety and increased quality of life of women with gestational of nursing and modern care. J Diabetes Nurs 2016;4:19–29.Search in Google Scholar

37. Alimoradi, Z, Kariman, N, Ahmadi, F, Simbar, M. Preparation for sexual and reproductive self-care in Iranian adolescent girls: a qualitative study. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2017;30. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2016-0094.Search in Google Scholar

38. Amoosti, F. Identifying effective spiritual factors in healthy of military families: a qualitative research. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2015;2:134–42.10.18869/acadpub.mcs.2.3.134Search in Google Scholar

39. Salsali, M, Abbaszadeh, A. Coping strategies in renal transplants recipients: qualitative study. J Qual Res Health Sci 2013;2:208–20.Search in Google Scholar

40. Malinakova, K, Trnka, R, Bartuskova, L, Glogar, P, Kascakova, N, Kalman, M, et al. Are adolescent religious attendance/spirituality associated with family characteristics? Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019;16:2947. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162947.Search in Google Scholar

Received: 2019-11-29

Accepted: 2020-01-02

Published Online: 2020-10-15

You are currently not able to access this content.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2019-0248

Keywords for this article

adolescents; qualitative study; spiritual self-care