Investigating the Relationship Between Spiritual Health and Identity Styles in Patients Referred to the Baharenko Center

Background and Objectives: Spiritual health is one of the crucial dimensions of health in human beings, which provides a harmonious connection between the internal forces of a person, and ultimately, his/her overall health. Identity styles are also based on socio-cognitive processes, in which people are placed in different situations based on their preferred way of processing information, discussing issues related to identity, and making individual decisions. This study aimed to explain the relationship between spiritual health and identity styles in about-to-marry youths to determine how much spiritual health can predict people’s identity styles. Methods: The current study descriptive-analytical was done on 912 individuals who were referred to the Bahar Neko premarital education and counseling center in 2022 and selected using random cluster sampling. Paloutzian and Ellison’s spiritual well-being scale (SWBS) and Berzonsky’s Identity Style Inventory were the research tools. Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach’s α. Data were analyzed with t-test, F-test, correlation, and step-by-step regression tests. Results: Those with an informational identity style had more spiritual health in the existential (P=0.000) and religious (P=0.012) dimensions. A positive and significant relationship was observed between the two variables. However, the higher the score of avoidant identity style (P=-0.032) in individuals, the lower their spiritual health (both in the existential and religious dimensions). Conclusion: Individuals with an informational identity style, who consciously and actively search for information, evaluate it, and use appropriate information, tend to be hardworking, self-regulating, introspective, and self-aware. They have an internal source of control, high self-esteem, problem-solving skills, and often experience a more meaningful life. The results of this study can be helpful for family policymakers, counselors, and support professionals.