Sociological Analysis of the Relationship between Spirituality, Self-Concept and Type of Clothing

 
In various contexts, the scope and boundaries of coverage are influenced by multiple factors at both micro and macro levels of society. Therefore, this study adopts a novel approach to examining the type of coverage for female students, focusing on the impact of two variables: spirituality as a cultural-social variable at the macro level and self-perception as a human cognitive variable at the micro level. The study employs a combination of library research and field surveys, utilizing software such as SPSS, PLS 3, and Excel.
The study population consists of 1001 female students, with a sample size of 277. The findings reveal a significant relationship between spirituality and self-perception, as well as between self-perception and type of coverage, as indicated by the Spearman test. The t-test value demonstrates that spirituality directly influences individuals' self-perception, with spirituality accounting for 0.230 of the variance in self-perception based on the coefficient of determination (r2). Similarly, self-perception explains 0.125 of the variance in type of coverage.
With a path coefficient of -0.496 and a t-value of 5.456, spirituality significantly impacts self-perception. Likewise, self-perception significantly influences type of coverage, with a path coefficient of -0.379 and a t-value of 3.245. Among the dimensions of spirituality, spiritual needs emerge as the most influential, while among the dimensions of self-perception, social skills are identified as the most significant.
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Spirituality, Self-Concept, Type of Clothing, Religion, Woman
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‌Introduction
The ongoing processes in Western and Eastern societies indicate growing concerns about physical appearance. Today, the issue of women's clothing and hijab is a prominent challenge and topic of discussion. There are various academic, political, and public debates surrounding women's clothing. Numerous cultural norms dictate women's public appearance in contemporary societies, with considerable diversity even within the United States.
Although people from different cultures, regions, and civilizations follow different clothing styles, beliefs also influence these choices; therefore, the clothes we wear reflect our religious identity and the chastity associated with it. Culture is an area that requires scientific and precise research due to its extensive influence, the importance of its issues, and its real impact. One important aspect of culture is the identity and perception of self by individuals. Self-perception refers to an individual's ability to understand themselves and their needs; moreover, self-perception determines how individuals behave and make decisions. Research on the self-image and spirituality of female university students can further enhance our understanding of the mental and spiritual health of young women.
Therefore, in this study, we focus on the role of spirituality in shaping self-image and how this self-image influences the type of clothing worn by women. Additionally, we contribute to the literature on self-perception. From Geertz's perspective, religion, like individuals, serves to uplift society, and collective consciousness is a prerequisite for it. Thus, the existence of religion depends on the existence of society. Geertz views religion as a blueprint of culture. Alongside common sense, art, empirical sciences, and ideology, religion constructs a cultural system.
Peter Berger's theories on sociology and knowledge theory emphasize secularization in the modern world. There is a close relationship between Peter Berger's sociology of religion and his theories of knowledge. According to Berger's view, religion and knowledge are both influenced by context, text, environment, and language, as knowledge and reality are intertwined with social contexts.
 
Methodology
This research aims to test the following hypotheses: A) It seems that spirituality impacts the self-image of female university students in Shiraz. B) It seems that spirituality impacts the type of clothing worn by female university students in Shiraz through self-image. This study is a fundamental applied study with an emphasis on quantitative and cross-sectional methodology, aimed at advancing our understanding in the fields of spirituality, self-perception, and clothing.
The study population consists of female students from the Faculty of Economics, Management, and Social Sciences at Shiraz University, and the sampling method is convenience sampling. Data collection utilized a survey method, measuring spirituality with the Parsian and Donning Spirituality Scale, self-image with the Beck questionnaire, and clothing type with the Asgarian Bigdeli questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using statistical software SPSS and PLS.
 
Findings
The results of the Spearman test (Table 2) indicate a significant relationship between spirituality and self-image, as well as between self-image and clothing type. The t-value test results (Table 2) demonstrate that spirituality has a direct effect on individuals' self-image. According to the coefficient of determination (r2) (Figure 2), spirituality accounts for 0.230 of the variance in the self-image variable, and based on this statistic, self-image explains 0.125 of the variance in the clothing type variable. Examination of Table 4 and Figure 3 reveals that spirituality influences self-image, as evidenced by the path coefficient value of -0.496 with a significant value of 0.005. Furthermore, statistical tests indicate that self-image impacts individuals' clothing type, with a path coefficient value of -0.379 and a significant value of 0.003.
 
Result
The results of this study are presented in the form of a theoretical framework and analysis based on the research's theoretical underpinning of spirituality and its various dimensions. These dimensions include self-awareness, the significance of spiritual beliefs in life, spiritual activities, and spiritual needs, all of which shape various aspects of individuals' self-concept. These aspects encompass mental abilities, job effectiveness, physical attractiveness, social skills, strengths, and weaknesses. The findings directly impact respondents' self-concept and indirectly influence individuals' self-perception through the mediation of the self-concept variable.
In conclusion, it is suggested that when investigating the relationship between social and psychological variables in research, the role of mediating variables should be considered. When examining the role of religious and spiritual variables in individual characteristics, attention should be paid to economic and social changes. For studies on the variables of clothing and hijab, the role and impact of the variable of self-confidence should be taken into account.
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