Objective: This study investigated the effects of spirituality, religiousness, and personal beliefs on the quality of life (QOL) of medical students affiliated with a religious faith and those without affiliation.
Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 275 medical students (78 % response rate) in their fourth and fifth year of study completed the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life instrument and the WHOQOL-SRPB module for spirituality, religiousness, and personal beliefs.
Results: For religious students, a larger range of characteristics of existential beliefs were positively related to quality of life. For all students, hope and optimism and meaning of life predicted higher scores on psychological.
Conclusions: For religious and nonreligious medical students, reduced meaning in life and hope were the strongest indicators of psychological distress. Interventions to improve the mental well-being of medical students may be more effective if aimed at teaching students how to find meaning and purpose in their lives and how to foster an enduring sense of hope and optimism.