A major new survey by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, finds that after several years in college, students become less religiously observant, but more "spiritual."

Undergraduate life also contributes to more liberal political orientations and increased stress, according to UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute.

Among the findings:

• After three years of college, more students rate as "essential" or "very important" statements such as "integrating spirituality into my life" and "becoming a more loving person."
• There is a "steep decline" in religious attendance from freshman to junior year. Frequent attendance at religious services drops, while the percentage of surveyed students who didn't attend at all nearly doubled, from about 20 percent to about 38 percent.
• The psychological well-being of students declined from the first to third years of college. The percent of students who described their lives as "filled with stress and anxiety" jumped from 26 percent in their freshman year, to about 42 percent by junior year.
• College students also became more liberal during college. The percentage of students who indicated their political orientation as "liberal" or "far left" increased from 29 percent to 34 percent in three years, while those describing themselves as conservative and centrists declined slightly.

The longitudinal survey, titled "Spirituality in Higher Education: Students' Search for Meaning and Purpose," tracked data collected from about 14,500 students from 136 colleges. Students were surveyed as freshmen in 2004, and then again in 2007.