Self‐control in Pakistani Muslims: relationships with religious orientation, depression and anxiety

Abstract

Islam literally refers to a personal ‘surrender’ or submission, and may therefore promote a form of self‐control that some have associated with psychosocial benefits. English‐speaking Pakistani university students (N = 160) responded to the Brief Self‐Control Scale along with measures of religious interest, religious orientation and psychological maladjustment. Self‐control correlated positively with religious interest ratings and an intrinsic religious orientation and negatively with an extrinsic religious orientation, depression and anxiety. These data supported the hypothesis that the ‘surrender’ of Islamic commitments would be associated with a self‐control that predicts religious and psychological adjustment.