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Abstract

University students from Finland and the southern United States were compared in (a) paranormal beliefs; (b) four personality adjustment constructs-alienation, anomie, death concerns, and death threat; and (c) relationships between paranormal beliefs and these personality adjustment constructs. Americans reported significantly greater belief in Traditional Religious Belief, Superstition, Witchcraft, and Extraordinary Life Forms. Finns reported significantly greater death concerns and death threat, whereas the Americans reported significantly greater anomie. Paranormal beliefs showed stronger relationships with measures of personality adjustment for the Finns than for the Americans. There were 13 significant relationships between paranormal belief subscales and measures of personality adjustment among the Finns and only five among the Americans. Findings are consistent with the notion that secularization has advanced further in Finland than in the United States.

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Paranormal Beliefs and their Implications in University Students from Finland and the United States

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