Assessment of Mental, Spiritual Well-being, and Religious Coping among Caregivers of People with Mental Disorders: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Caring for individuals with mental illness poses significant challenges for caregivers. In India, where spirituality is deeply rooted, the link between religious coping, spiritual well-being, and mental health in caregivers remains underexplored. Aim: The present study investigated the mental, spiritual well-being, and religious coping methods of caregivers of mentally ill patients visiting a tertiary care hospital in Northern India. Subjects and Methods: The present cross-sectional study recruited 120 caregivers of people with mental disorders using a purposive sampling technique. The mental and spiritual well-being were assessed using the Warwick Edinburgh mental well-being scale and spiritual well-being scale, while religious coping was measured using a brief religious coping scale. Results: The mean age of the participants was 39.15 years (standard deviation (SD) =11.18) and the mean score of mental and spiritual well-being was 44.04 (SD = 7.22) and 72.16 (SD = 6.32), respectively. Individuals aged 41–60 showed the highest mean mental well-being, while those without formal education reported the highest mean scores for both mental and spiritual well-being. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between positive religious coping and both mental well-being ( r = 0.24; P < 0.01) and spiritual well-being ( r = 0.19; P < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings suggest that positive religious coping demonstrated a significant positive correlation with both mental and spiritual well-being, whereas negative religious coping showed no such association. These results underscore the potential role of positive religious coping strategies in enhancing the overall well-being of caregivers of individuals with mental illness.