The Effect of Value-Based Folk Songs and Spiritual Care and Empowerment Practices on the Psychological Well-Being and Spirituality Levels of Faculty of Theology Students

Abstract

This study examined the effect of spiritual care and empowerment practices supported by value-based folk songs on the psychological health and spiritual well-being levels of Faculty of Theology students. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the aforementioned practice in reducing anxiety, depression, negative self-perception, somatisation, and hostility levels and increasing spiritual well-being. The research was conducted with students aged 18–23 studying at the Faculty of Theology of a state university in Türkiye during the 2023–2024 academic year. A quantitative research method was adopted, utilising a pre-test–post-test design with experimental and control groups. Fifty students, selected through purposive sampling, were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=25) and control (n=25) groups. The Brief Symptom Inventory and Spirituality Scale were used as data collection tools. The experimental group underwent spiritual care and empowerment sessions accompanied by value-laden folk songs for eight weeks; no intervention was applied to the control group. Data were collected through pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test three months later and analysed using SPSS software. The findings indicate that the application significantly reduced the psychological symptom levels of students in the experimental group and significantly increased their spiritual well-being levels. Furthermore, negative correlations were found between spirituality and anxiety, depression, negative self-concept, somatisation, and hostility. This study contributes to cross-cultural psychology and spiritual well-being literature by integrating traditional Turkish folk songs into an experimental design. The research results reveal that spiritual care applications supported by value-based folk songs are an effective method for the psychological health and spiritual development of young adults.