ISSN 2360-7998
Abstract
The increasing prevalence of emotional health challenges among youths has become a significant public health concern worldwide, with many young people experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, and emotional instability arising from academic, social, economic, and personal pressures. Faith practices and coping strategies have been identified as important protective factors that may promote emotional well-being; however, empirical evidence on their individual and joint influence on the emotional health of Christian youths in Nigeria remains limited. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of faith practices on the emotional health of Christian youths from selected tertiary institutions and religious organisations. Specifically, the study examined the level of engagement in faith practices, determined their level of emotional health, assessed the influence of faith practices on emotional health, and examined their joint predictive influence. The study adopted a descriptive correlational survey research design. The target population comprised Christian youth from selected tertiary institutions and religious organisations. A sample of 596 respondents was selected using appropriate sampling techniques. Data were collected using a researcher-developed structured questionnaire titled the Faith Practices and Emotional Health Questionnaire (FPEHQ). The instrument was subjected to face and content validation by experts in religious studies, psychology, guidance and counselling, and measurement and evaluation, while its reliability was established using Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Descriptive statistics comprising frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, whereas simple linear regression, multiple regression, and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation were employed to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that Christian youths demonstrated a high level of engagement in faith practices (Grand Mean = 3.24). The respondents also showed that they were emotionally healthy (Grand Mean = 3.20). The regression analyses showed that faith practices significantly influenced emotional health (β = 0.624, R² = 0.389, p < 0.05). Furthermore, faith practices exerted a significant predictive influence on emotional health (R² = 0.524, F = 326.87, p < 0.05). The study concluded that faith practices are significant predictors of emotional health among Christian youths. It recommended that churches, educational institutions, families, counsellors, mental health professionals, and policymakers collaborate to develop faith-based emotional wellness programmes that integrate spiritual formation, training, mentoring, and professional counselling services. Such interventions would strengthen the emotional well-being of Christian youths and equip them with the capacity to cope effectively with contemporary life challenges
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Keywords: Faith Practices, Coping Strategies, Emotional Health, Christian Youths, Religious Coping, Resilience