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Researchers from the University of British Columbia, as well as from Okanagan College, conducted a study focusing on Zambian children, which found that spirituality and connection to nature are good predictors of their well-being.
Tim Krupa plays with children orphaned by HIV and tuberculosis in the impoverished Chazanga compound in Lusaka, Zambia.
(Photo Credit: Alexa Geddes)
“Our analysis shows that children’s and adolescents’ sense of spirituality and connectivity to nature explain variation in their life satisfaction beyond other factors such as religiousness,” said UBC researcher, Tim Krupa. “That suggests that having an inner belief system and feeling close to nature may be more important to promoting well-being than practising religious rituals.”
Along with Tim Krupa, UBC researcher Mark Holder, Okanagan College instructor Ben Coleman, and University of Alberta instructor Eugene Krupa completed the two-year study using three measures to gauge happiness among Zambian children and adolescents between ages seven to nine.
The study was published in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
Tim Krupa trains with the Junior Leopard Football Club in rural Senanga, Western Province of Zambia. (Photo Credit: Alexa Geddes.)
Zambia reports high levels of participation in organized religion. In the study, 95 per cent of respondents attended church in the past month and 96 per cent reported that religion was important to them.
In addition, despite developing-world living conditions, Zambian children also reported levels of happiness that are comparable to those observed among children living in Western Canada.
The study included 1,329 participants from one rural school and five urban schools in three Zambian provinces.
Zambian children who participated in the UBC study. (Photo Credit: Alexa Geddes.)
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