The relationship between spirituality, serenity, and depression levels of students studying at a university of health sciences in Türkiye

INTRODUCTION: Depression is one of the major health problems of our era. This study aimed to examine the relationship between university students’ depression levels, spirituality, and feelings of serenity, as no previous study in the litera-ture has addressed this relationship.
METHODS: A cross-sectional design with convenience sampling was used. Data were collected from 851 students study-ing at the University of Health Sciences in Ankara, Türkiye, between February and December 2023. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Spiritual Orientation Scale (SOS), and Brief Serenity Scale (BSS) were used for data collection.
RESULTS: The mean total scores of the students were 16.46±11.69 for the BDI, 71.62±16.07 for the BSS, and 84.64±25.62 for the SOS. Regression analysis showed a significant relationship between serenity, spirituality, and depression (F=120.196; p=0.001). Serenity and spirituality explained 22.5% of the total variance in depression levels (R²=0.225).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Serenity and spirituality were found to reduce depression levels. Universities are recommended to encour-age students to engage in spiritual and serenity-related activities and to allocate some free time for these activities, which may positively influence depression levels.

Keywords: Depression, health sciences, serenity, spirituality, students