Exploring the Relationship of Mental Health and Spirituality to Family Functioning: Does Spirituality Add to Our Understanding?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52935/18.19205.01Abstract
Adolescent mental health symptomology has been strongly linked to adolescent problematic behavior, including delinquency and family issues. Adolescent spirituality however, while demonstrating some evidence as a protective factor against some problematic outcomes, such as delinquent behavior, has not been as thoroughly explored in relation to other more well established factors such as family functioning. There is little understanding, for example, as to whether spirituality may act as a protective factor for overall family functioning, particularly in the presence of other identified factors. This study sought to examine the relationship of adolescent spirituality and mental health with family functioning in a sample of incarcerated
adolescent males. A longitudinal design was employed to measure both spirituality and mental health during incarceration and post discharge from a boot camp. Results support the likely importance of adolescent spirituality as a protective factor for family functioning.
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