Mediating Role of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors on the Relation between Religious Practice and Academic Achievement in University Students

Abstract

Abstract Background The issues of religiosity, healthy lifestyle behaviors and academic achievement are global agendas. Most previous research has focused on either one or two of the variables, not three of them (e.g. just the relationship between religiosity and healthy lifestyle behaviors). And addressing these three issues, by and large, demands a systemic approach to re-thinking the current level and improving it. Objective To examine the causal relationship between religiosity, healthy lifestyle behaviors, and academic achievement in the case of Debre Markos University (DMU) and Injibara University (IU), Ethiopia. Methods Four hundred forty students participated voluntarily using a simple random sampling technique. To attain this objective, a cross-sectional research method design was used. Results The mean scores of students’ religious practice and healthy lifestyle behaviors are more than average in all aspects. MANOVA results revealed that batch, ethnicity (region), and the university did not display a statistically significant difference among the composite (or combined) scores of both students’ healthy lifestyles and religiosity. However, religious affiliation and gender have an effect on religiosity and healthy lifestyle behaviors respectively. The correlation output informs that religiosity and healthy lifestyle behaviors are positively and significantly correlated with each other. Religious practice also significantly predicted students’ healthy lifestyle behaviors. Despite this, the academic achievement of students didn’t have any relationship with their religious practice and healthy lifestyle behaviors. Conclusion University students’ healthy lifestyle behavior doesn’t play an intervening variable in the effect of religious practice on academic achievement. Possible practical implications and recommendations have been forwarded.