Investigation of the Relations between Religious Activities and Subjective Well-Being of High School Students.

AbstractThis study aims to investigate the relation between participation in religious activities and the subjective well-being of high school students. The study group involves 196 participants, 99 female and 97 male; all of the participants were adolescents attending high school in Eskisehir, Turkey, their ages varying from 14 to 16. The measurement scales used in this study included: Satisfaction with Life, Positive-Negative Affect, and Adolescents' Subjective Well-being Increasing Strategies. The Pearson correlation technique and content analysis method were employed. Though in low levels, quantitative findings show a significant relation between life satisfaction, positive affection, and participation in religious activities. However, no such significant relation could be found for negative affection and participation in religious activities. Qualitative findings show high school students have a better subjective well-being when involved in religious activities, ranging from praying alone to going to mosque on holy days, which helps them discharge religious duties, meets the need for building intimacy with someone, gives them sense of security, instills hope in them, fosters good manners in them, makes them feel rewarded, and helps them cope with stress.Keywords: High school students * Adolescents * Subjective well-being * Participating in religious activitiesIn the modern field of psychology, pathology-based approaches and positive approaches, suggest that cultural factors be taken into account in explaining human behavior (Kaslow, 1996). In consideration of particularly positive psychology, the importance of transferring ethnic, cultural, and religious factors providing positive contributions to the psychological development of high school students. As such, an investigation into the relation between the subjective well-being of high school students and performing their religious duties could make a distinguished contribution to the current literature.Subjective Well-being of High School Students and Strategies towards Increasing their Subjective Well-beingIn recent times, there has been a rise in scientific studies dealing with the subjective well-being of children, particularly the subjective well-being of high school students. As was the case with subjective well-being studies concerning adults, studies involving high school students have been examined based on three vital dimensions: positive affection, negative affection, and satisfaction with life (Diener, 1984; Eryilmaz, 2012). Related studies in the literature have been conducted based upon three significant dimensions, the first of which has looked into the relation between intra-individual features such as personality traits, intelligence, self-esteem, locus of control, and the subjective well-being of high school students (Huebner, 1991; Mcknight, Huebner, & Suldo, 2002). The second one examines the relation between socio-economic features such as age, gender, income, and the subjective well-being of high school students (Huebner, Drane, & Valois, 2000; Huebner, Suldo, Smith, & McKnight, 2004; Jozefiak, Larsson, & Wichstrom, 2009; Karatzias, Chouliara, Power, & Swanson, 2006; McCullough, Huebner, & Laughlin, 2002; Sarakauskiene & Bagdonas, 2010). The third one looks at the relation between variables such as academic contexts, familial relations, and peer relations experienced by high school students and their subjective well-being (Ash & Huebner, 2001; Joronen & Kurki, 2005; Hartup & Stevens, 1997; Park, 2004; Rask, Kurki, & Paavilainen, 2003; Suldo & Huebner, 2004). In addition, high school students' subjective well-being has been considered with respect to subjective well-being increasing strategies (Eryilmaz, 2010, 2012). Tactics used by individuals to raise the level of subjective well-being are known as "strategies adopted for enhancing the subjective well-being;" this was first initiated by Fordyce (1977; 1983). …