Differences in Attitudes toward Mental Health among Boys from Religious and Non-religious Families Experiencing Religious and Secular Education

BACKGROUND: Post-industrial society faces multiple stresses and developmental risks, both environmental and biological. The issues of mental health have become more dramatic and subject to debate. The current discourse about the religiosity-mental health nexus makes the study of differences in attitudes towards mental health among children from religious and non-religious families experiencing religious and secular education significant and relevant for practice. OBJECTIVE: We studied the attitudes toward different spheres of life of children from Orthodox and non-religious families experiencing religious and secular education. We hypothesized differences in attitudes toward mental health by children from Orthodox families and non-religious families regardless of school choice. We expected the positive attitudes toward mental health to be greater for the children experiencing religious and secular education. DESIGN: Our study assessed 340 primary school boys on a number of measures. The boys’ average age was 10.4 years old. The participants were divided into three groups, taking into consideration the family’s religiosity and educational characteristics. RESULTS: The boys from Orthodox families had more positive attitudes toward family, life, people, their bodies, and their mental health than the boys from nonreligious families. These differences were also significant between groups of boys from religious and non-religious families experiencing secular education. The boys from religious families experiencing religious education had more positive attitudes toward their physical and mental health than the boys from religious families experiencing secular education. CONCLUSION: Positive attitudes toward both physical and mental health are more likely to be formed within religious families.