A Phenomenological Study of Religious Self-Control in Adolescents in Situations of Anger

Document Type : Professional

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of psychology, Institute of Ethics and Education, Qom, Iran.‎

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the phenomenon of religious self-control based on Islamic sources in situations of anger among adolescents in the city of Qom. To examine this form of self-control grounded in Islamic teachings, a semi-structured interview was employed. The interview questions were designed according to religious texts, and the content validity of the extracted components and interview script was confirmed by experts. For conducting the interviews, a sample group of 123 male students aged 13 to 18 from schools in Qom was selected using the cluster sampling method. After conducting the interviews, four experts scored the interview texts. Both qualitative and quantitative content analysis methods were used to analyze the responses. Based on the theoretical framework derived from Islamic sources, five levels of self-control were identified: Level 1: Absence or weakness of self-control. Level 2: Personal-social self-control. Level 3: Theoretical God-oriented self-control with weak practical commitment. Level 4: Theoretical-practical God-oriented self-control based on divine fear and hope. Level 5: Theoretical-practical God-oriented self-control rooted in divine love. According to the findings, it appears that with increasing age, the overall score of religious self-control in situations of anger does not necessarily rise. However, within the cognitive and emotional-affective components, two sub-stages of adolescence can be identified. In the second sub-stage (ages 16 to 18), adolescents with self-control provide higher-level and more developed responses compared to those in the first sub-stage (ages 13 to 15).

Keywords

References

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Morality and Psychology
Volume 1, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
August 2025
Pages 185-222

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