Assessment of psychological characteristics of persons with different level of attitude to religion, who came to the course of psychophysical selfregulation

At the International Institute of Human Potential Abilities (St. Petersburg) (IIHPA), a study was carried out to determine the psychological characteristics of 113 patients who attended classes on psychophysical self-regulation. They were divided into 2 groups (intra-church and extra-church believers) according to the results of the MIRVCH questionnaire "Your attitude to church sacraments and rituals". The above groups of patients demonstrated statistically significant homogeneity for all sociodemographic, anamnestic and investigated clinical characteristics.

Psychological health of the respondents was assessed using the methodology of multilevel psychodiagnostic tests (test to determine the level of stress resistance according to Yu.V. Shcherbatykh; A. Beck depression scale and the test to determine the level of anxiety by Spielberger – Khanin). It was found that the main psychological indicators in the MIRVCH patients were within the acceptable values of the tests used.

According to Yu.V. Shcherbatykh test, the psychological characteristics of intrachurch believers by “baseline stress-sympathy index”, “dynamic sensitivity to stress” scales, together with the subscales “increased response to circumstances that we cannot influence” and “the tendency to complicate things unnecessarily” are statistically significantly (p < 0.01) lower versus those of extra-church believers. Indicators of A.T. Beck depression scale and its "somatic" and "cognitive" components showed practical homogeneity among intra-church and extra-church patients (p> 0.05); expressed and severe depression prevailed among extra-church patients with a reliability of at least 91 % (p = 0.09); the levels of state and trait anxiety were significantly higher (p < 0.01) in patients from the extra-church group.

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