The relationship between spiritual transcendence, personal religiosity and mental health in Roman Catholic clergy and nuns

This study investigated the mental health, religiousness, and spiritual transcendence of clergy and nuns. The aim of the research was to compare religious people with regard to gender and type of ministration, and also to examine the mechanism of how spiritual transcendence and religiousness contribute to mental health. The cross-sectional study sample consisted of 140 Roman Catholic clergymen and nuns, in four groups (n = 35 for each sample): diocesan priest, religious order priests, convent nuns, and monastery nuns. Self-report questionnaires were used in the study to assess religiosity (Personal religiousness Scale, PRS), spirituality (Spiritual Transcendence Scale, STS) and both somatic and mental health (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-28). Of the participants, 26% (n = 36) reported mental health disorder symptoms, including somatic symptoms (31%), anxiety and insomnia (27%), social dysfunction (19%), and severe depression (10%). No significant differences between groups were found in mental health and the STS, except the Transcendence Proper subscale (with higher scores belonging to those whose ministration was mostly inside the congregation). Priests scored significantly higher than nuns in the PRS and the Morality subscale. The total PRS, Faith, Religious Practices, and Religious Self, completely mediated the relationship between spiritual transcendence and mental health.